So much science fiction on the BBC on Saturday nights! First we get the new series of Dr Who, and now a live reworking of Quatermass.
I managed to miss the live Bill a couple of years ago, and live or not, I never watch Coronation Street. So, aside from things like the live performance from The Globe of Richard II, this is the nearest I've come to live drama.
All round, I really liked it. It was quite intelligent, and not too flashy or effects laden as some will have wanted it to be. The "smallness" of the original Quatermass setting probably didn't work, but the style of the piece worked overall with fifties styling in a 21st century world.
Technically it all went fairly well, with sound rather than pictures being the main problem - sometimes mics weren't faded up fast enough. Only at one point did an actor nearly forget their lines, and David Tennant nearly fell over when he ran during one scene. And it was only at the very end when the actors were congratulating one another on either a successful outcome of a critical event, or completing the live performance, did cameras enter the frame.
The look of the piece was interesting too with a filmic effect brought to bear by the fact that it was shot on HD - although it might have been filmised a bit, that really shouldn't detract from anything. Overall it had a really good style.
Should there be more live drama? Well maybe, but I don't buy the comment in the later documentary that people love interacting and voting and maybe that's where we should go. I hate the idea of a voted ending. That immediately relegates the drama taking away the belief you might have in the story. Anyway, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
Posted by adambowie at April 3, 2005 09:09 PM