Very British Futures - The Nightmare Man

The Nightmare Man

07/27/21 • 57 min

The tourist season is over and Inverdee Island is closing down and preparing for the winter. But when the body of Shelia Anderson is discovered, seemingly torn apart by a killer with inhuman strength, the islanders must join together to fight something terrifyingly unknown.

Broadcast only once in 1981, The Nightmare Man has achieved cult status as rare but expertly made piece of primetime SF/Horror from the BBC. Looking into the roots of this drama and Child of Vodyanoi, the original novel it is adapted from, Gareth Preston is joined by writers Ian Taylor and John Isles. Can it be compared with Doctor Who of the time? How well does Cornwall stand in for Scotland? How scary is it for a modern audience?

Produced by Gareth Preston
Music by Chatri Art ( chatriart.bandcamp.com )

Ian Taylor's book on the career of Jenny Agutter All Sorts of Things May Happen is available from We Belong Dead books.

Produced by Gareth Preston
Music by Chatri Art ( chatriart.bandcamp.com )

Ian Taylor's book on the career of Jenny Agutter All Sorts of Things May Happen is available from We Belong Dead books.

Previous Episode

Threads

It's just another day in Sheffield, everyone going about their own affairs, when suddenly the unthinkable happens - a nuclear strike. When the survivors scrabble out of the rubble, that is just the beginning of a waking nightmare, as modern society quickly crumbles into starvation and suffering.

The BBC2 TV play Threads was a television landmark that is still as powerful today as it was in 1982. Written by Barry (Kes) Hines and directed by Mick Jackson before he went to Hollywood, it is a polemic, extensively researched attempt to depict the true horror of life after a nuclear conflict.

Joining Gareth Preston to discuss this memorable production are author Rik Hoskin and lecturer Andrew Roe-Crines.

Follow Very British Futures on Twitter @FuturesVery and find out more at garethpreston.blog

Bystander 27, Rik Hoskin's latest novel is available at all good bookshops.

You can read Selecting Starmer, one of Andrew Roe-Crines' recent articles on left-wing politics, for free at tandfonline.com

Next Episode

Out of the Unknown

Deep space explorers encountering strange new dangers. Mutant powers hidden among us. Futuristic societies with surprising moralities. Cutting edge technology bringing unexpected dilemmas for the people who use it. Created by the pioneering television producer Irene Shubik and featuring some of the leading talents on television on both sides of the lens, Out of the Unknown remains one of the BBC's best science fiction series. Drawing on stories from SF masters such as Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, John Wyndham and John Brunner, as well as original scripts, it remains one of television's most sustained attempts to adapt the mood of literary science fiction.

Gareth Preston is joined by Stephen Hatcher and Dylan Rees to discuss the series, which sadly is missing half its episodes, yet what remains is still thrilling and challenging. Along the way they pay particular attention to three key episodes: The Dead Past, Some Lapse of Time and The Machine Stops.

Music by Chatri Art chatriart.bandcamp.com
Produced by Gareth Preston