The 1975 debut of BBC2’s “Fantastic Double-Bill” kicked off a series of horror-centric movie seasons which would continue for years to come. The Stone Tape was originally intended for that series, but instead was afforded a 90-minute running time and a prime slot on Christmas Day. The Ghost Stories For Christmas strand made its 1971 debut with little fanfare, but had no trouble in finding its audience while Dead Of Night (1972) provided seven creepy tales (sadly, only three of the episodes survive today). Its great popularity was not enough to save some episodes from ending up in the missing-presumed-wiped file, but it did at least get a big screen spin-off from Tigon in 1972. Horrors of a scientific bent were the raison d’être of Doomwatch, which kicked of the new decade with its February 1970 debut. It was considered too shocking for broadcast in the UK, instead being seen at special theatrical screenings and festivals. Out Of The Unknown arrived in 1965, its Sci-Fi stylings increasingly taking in more horror themes as the show progressed through four series, whilst The War Game (1966) brought an all too stark vision of horror to the screen, depicting the aftermath of a nuclear attack. Jon Pertwee’s incarnation of Doctor Who encountered The Daemons in 1971. 1950sĪlthough a fledgling TV service had been operated by the BBC before World War II, and transmissions resumed after hostilities ceased, BBC Television as we know it was perhaps really kick-started when the live broadcast of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953 saw a massive increase in the number of homes with a television set.Ī true horror highlight of these early days is Nigel Kneale’s Quatermass trilogy, which appeared between 19 – all would make the leap to cinemas courtesy of Hammer Film Productions (a fourth story was eventually produced by Thames Television for broadcast on ITV in 1979). If I’ve left out your personal favourite, let us know in the comments section. It is a selective list of personal highlights and might be considered a starting point for your own deep dig through Auntie’s archive. This whistle-stop tour (and I concede, it’s more a 70-year trip than a 100-year ride, but let’s not nit-pick) is in no way intended to be comprehensive. For such a supposedly stuffy institution, they have produced plenty of shows which have chilled, unnerved and occasionally downright terrified a nation and, in marking the BBC’s centenary it seems only right that we draw your attention to some of their finest macabre moments here. You’ll come across a few of them here, in my own celebration of some horror highlights from the BBC’s history. And yet, the Beeb (to use another of its nicknames) has frequently produced shows which few, if any other broadcaster would take a punt on.
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