A for Andromeda
Encyclopedia
A for Andromeda is a British television
science fiction
drama
serial
first made and broadcast by the BBC
in seven parts in 1961. Written by the noted cosmologist
Fred Hoyle
, in conjunction with author and television producer John Elliot
, it concerns a group of scientists who detect a radio
signal from a distant galaxy
that contains instructions for the design of an advanced computer
. When the computer is built it gives the scientists instructions for the creation of a living organism
, named Andromeda. However, one of Andromeda's creators, John Fleming, fears that Andromeda's purpose is to subjugate humanity.
The serial is notable for being the first major role for the actress Julie Christie
. Only one episode of the original production survives, along with a few short extracts from other episodes. However, A for Andromeda has been remade twice; first by the Italian
television station RAI
in 1972 and later by the BBC in 2006. A sequel
, The Andromeda Breakthrough
, was made by the BBC in 1962.
) looks back on the events of the serial.
“The Message”
Britain, 1970 – a new radio telescope
, designed by the young scientists John Fleming (Peter Halliday
) and Dennis Bridger (Frank Windsor
) under the supervision of Professor Reinhart (Esmond Knight
), has been built at Bouldershaw Fell. Shortly before its official opening, the telescope picks up a signal from the distant Andromeda Nebula
. Examining the signal, Fleming realises that the signal is a computer program
.
“The Machine”
Fleming is permitted to use the computer facilities at the London Institute of Electronics, where he is aided by Christine (Julie Christie
). Using the computer to decode the message, Fleming realises that the message contains a set of instructions for the construction of another, more advanced, computer
and for a program to run on it. Bridger, meanwhile, has sold out to an international conglomerate, Intel, represented by the sinister Kaufmann (John Hollis
). The British government decides to build the computer – at a military establishment at Thorness in Scotland
. The computer is switched on and begins to output its first set of instructions.
“The Miracle”
The team at Thorness is joined by the biologist
Madeline Dawnay (Mary Morris
). The computer is outputting instructions for the creation of living cells. Fleming becomes nervous, worried that whatever lifeform they are creating may not have humanity's best interests at heart. Dawney proceeds with the experiment, however, synthesising a primitive protoplasm
ic lifeform. In the meantime, Bridger's leaking of Thorness' secrets has been discovered. Bridger is confronted by Ministry of Defence
agent Judy Adamson (Patricia Kneale
); fleeing he tumbles over a cliff to his death.
“The Monster”
It is now 1971 and the protoplasmic lifeform, now nicknamed “Cyclops
” on account of its giant eye, continues to grow. Fleming has become ever more sceptical about the project, certain that the computer has its own agenda. He comes to realise that two terminals positioned either side of the computer's main display have the ability to affect the brainwaves of those who stand near it. His warnings are not heeded, however, and Christine, mesmerised by Cyclops and by the machine, is compelled to grasp the two terminals – she falls to floor, killed by a massive electric shock.
“The Murderer”
Following Christine's death, the computer outputs a new set of instructions – this time for the creation of a complete human embryo
. Fleming is horrified and demands that it be killed. He is ignored. The embryo rapidly grows to maturity; everyone is stunned when it is revealed to be a clone
of the deceased Christine. The creature – which they name “Andromeda” – quickly learns to communicate and is brought before the computer. The computer, realising its instructions have been carried out, destroys Cyclops as it has been superseded by Andromeda.
“The Face of the Tiger”
Andromeda is put to work developing a program to enable Britain to intercept orbital missiles
which a foreign power is firing over British airspace
as a demonstration of power. Using the missiles designed by Andromeda they are successful in destroying one of the missiles. The Government is now determined to make full use of Andromeda, not just for defence but also to aid industry. Fleming continues to make trouble and has his access to the computer revoked. He is horrified to discover that the Government has made a trade deal with Kaufmann and Intel for the rights to a new enzyme
that Andromeda has developed that heals injured cells. By this stage, Dawnay is also beginning to have doubts about Andromeda – she agrees to aid Fleming by entering a program into the computer to convince it Andromeda is dead. The program is quickly discovered and reversed by Andromeda. However, the computer soon exacts its revenge – it corrupts the formula for the enzyme, making Dawnay and her assistants sick.
“The Last Mystery”
It is 1972 and the message from the Andromeda Nebula has stopped transmitting. Fleming has been able to determine the correct formula to counteract the effects of the enzyme and save Dawnay. Fleming, Dawnay, Reinhart and Judy now agree that Andromeda must be stopped – however, the military now have control over the project. Andromeda tries to kill Fleming but fails; she confesses to Fleming that she is a slave of the computer which is working to take over humanity. Fleming gains entry to the computer room where he takes an axe to the machine, destroying it. Now free of the machine Andromeda is able to access the safe that contains the copies of the original message with the instructions for building the computer which she burns so that the machine cannot be rebuilt. She flees with Fleming to one of the islands near the base. Pursued by soldiers, they hide in a series of caves on the island. However, Andromeda is apparently killed when she falls into a deep pool. The dejected Fleming is brought back to Thorness by the soldiers.
was a noted astronomer
, best known for his work on the understanding of the creation of the elements
through stellar nucleosynthesis
, for developing the steady state theory
of the universe and for coining the term “Big Bang
” for the steady state theory's rival dynamic evolving model of the universe. Hoyle also had a taste for science fiction, having written a novel, The Black Cloud
(1957), about a cloud of interstellar gas that threatens the Earth; this was adapted for radio and broadcast on 14 December 1957 by the BBC Home Service
. The BBC were also interested in adapting The Black Cloud for television but Hoyle had already signed away the movie rights. Hoyle followed The Black Cloud with another science fiction novel, Ossian's Ride (1958); this attracted the interest of Norman James, a BBC designer keen to move into television production, who contacted Hoyle with a view to obtaining the rights to the novel. In discussion with the writer, James learned that Hoyle was interested in writing an original story for television. James contacted John Elliot
, the assistant head of the BBC Script Department, who was interested in making a science fiction serial. Elliot, along with James and BBC script editor
Donald Bull, met with Hoyle who outlined a potential story for an eight part serial; this was what would eventually become A for Andromeda. Hoyle drew his inspiration for the serial from the work of astronomer Frank Drake
who at that time had begun “Project Ozma
”, one of the first experiments in the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence
(SETI). In late June 1960, the BBC made an offer of 250 guineas
to Hoyle for the idea, which would be dramatised for television, as a serial in seven 30-minute parts, by John Elliot. Hoyle replied, “It has seemed to me that the overall sum of 250 gns is unsatisfactorily low. My own computations would suggest 1000 gns. I estimate that such a sum would still be only 2-3 percent of the receipts by the BBC from licences. Such a percentage still seems low – it is considerably less than rates available in the US”. Eventually, a fee of 700 guineas was agreed. Elliot delivered his draft scripts between March and April 1961; at this point it was decided that each episode should run for 45 minutes and so Elliot had to work to expand each script.
The title role of Andromeda was played by Julie Christie
. Hoyle originally saw Andromeda as an androgynous
character but Elliot changed this to a young woman. The production team were keen to cast a young, unknown actress. While searching for a suitable candidate, co-producer and director Michael Hayes met an agent who suggested Julie Christie, then a student at the Central School of Speech and Drama
, recommending her as “the new Bardot”. In playing the part, Christie wanted to give the character of Andromeda more emotion but Hayes directed her to act more impassively, using his camera to define the character. Mindful that a sequel was under consideration, Hayes advised the BBC to sign her up before she became a big star; he was ignored and the role had to be recast for the sequel, The Andromeda Breakthrough
. Christie went on to have a highly successful film career, her breakthrough role occurring in Doctor Zhivago (1965).
Peter Halliday
played John Fleming. He had trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company
where he met and befriended Michael Hayes. Halliday had a reputation for playing angry young men.
Because the serial was set in the near future, both Hoyle and Michael Hayes felt that women would occupy more progressive roles in the years to come. This was reflected in the writing and casting; appearing as the security services agent, Judy Adamson, was Patricia Kneale
. Kneale found the character “a rather prissy sort of person, not really the sort of person I usually played at all.” A late change to the script was changing the sex of the biologist character, George Dawnay, to Madeline Dawnay; writing to Mary Morris
offering her the part, Hayes said, “don't be put off by the fact that the lady appears to smoke a pipe half way through and give vent to some rather strange utterances.”
, including at IBM
's offices on Wigmore Street
, and in the vicinity of Tenby
in Pembrokeshire
, Wales
where the Manorbier
Army Base stood in for the Thorness research centre. The army assisted the production by providing a helicopter for scenes of personnel arriving at Thorness and for aerial shots of the base and environs. They also supplied a pursuit launch for the chase scene in the final episode. A number of pre-filmed inserts were also shot at Ealing Studios
. The production then went into studio at BBC Television Centre
with each episode recorded every Wednesday between 1 August 1961 and 13 September 1961. For editing purposes, the output of the electronic studio cameras was recorded onto 35mm film rather than videotape
. A last minute addition to the serial were the pre-credits sequences at the start of each episode depicting Reinhart recalling the events of the serial in a television interview. These were made in the style of the well-known interview programme Face to Face hosted by John Freeman and were shot at Television Centre on 22 September 1961.
. The accompanying article said, “A new science fiction series is an exciting prospect at any time. When it is backed by the authority of a scientist with the international reputation of Fred Hoyle, it ranks as a major television event”. A for Andromeda was broadcast on Tuesday nights at 8:30pm from 3 October 1961. The opening episode was watched by 7.5 million viewers; however, by the end of the serial this had risen to 12.9 million viewers and the serial averaged 9.6 million viewers over its seven week run.
A for Andromeda was met with a varied critical reception. “Science fiction serial starts well”, said The Times
after the broadcast of the first episode, adding, “Although it is encouraging to have the authority of Professor Fred Hoyle for the scientific credibility of [A for Andromeda]... it is the skill of Mr Hoyle the novelist that will mainly be called upon to hold our attention”. The Evening News, meanwhile declared the serial to be “a jolly good successor to Quatermass
”. Not so impressed was L. Marsland Gander in the Daily Telegraph who wrote, “As a devotee of Prof. Hoyle and a keen student of disembodied intelligence I felt impatient... I am too well acquainted with [his] work to be disappointed, but the temptation is great”. A harsher verdict came from Philip Phillips of the Daily Herald who said, “The next six episodes might be brilliant. But I won't be watching them” while The Sunday Times
said, “I cannot with the best will find anything in the least exciting about A for Andromeda”.
The BBC produced an Audience Research report for episodes one, five and seven. Many respondents criticised the serial for being slow and full of scientific terminology. However, as the serial progressed, viewers became more enthusiastic; after episode five, one viewer said, “The serial, like Andromeda herself, suddenly came alive. This episode was spine-chilling”. Another commented “I didn't like the way Andromeda was created – it is absolutely against Christian belief”. J.A.K. Fraser of Dornock
, Scotland
, wrote to the BBC's correspondence programme Points of View
, saying, “Enough surely has been seen of Prof. Fleming's overacted hysterical outbursts”. Writing to the Radio Times, B.W. Wolfe of Basingstoke
said, “Congratulations on the recent BBC-tv science-fiction serial A for Andromeda. Bug-eyed monsters we have seen before, but never a creature so radiantly beautiful as Andromeda herself. I was completely captivated”. Other letter writers to the Radio Times discussed the scientific accuracy of the serial including one correspondent, C.W. Bartlett of Watford
, who wrote to inform readers that the reference to DNA
(then newly discovered) was not a fictional substance but really existed. This was expounded upon by the Daily Mail
which drew comparisons with the creation of Andromeda and an announcement from Italy
and Russia
that scientists had fertilised a human egg outside of the womb; “These are tough times for the science fiction writer”, the paper wrote, “Jules Verne
and H. G. Wells
have long been left in the wake of the rocket, the H-bomb and the atom submarine. Now our own Fred Hoyle is desperately trying to keep a jump ahead of his fellow scientists in the laboratory”.
, were taken of all seven episodes and are held in the collection of Michael Hayes.
television (RAI
) in 1971. Adapted by Inisero Cremaschi and directed by Vittorio Cottafavi it follows the plot of the BBC original very closely. This version still exists and has been repeated on Italian TV. It has been released on VHS
, and latterly on DVD
but without English subtitles. The cast includes Paola Pitagora as Judy Adamson, Luigi Vannucchi as Fleming, and Tino Carraro as Reinhart.
:it:A come Andromeda (serie televisiva)
in early 2006. It was produced by Richard Fell, who the previous year had overseen a remake, performed live, of The Quatermass Experiment
, another classic BBC science fiction production largely absent from the BBC archives.
praised the book as “science fiction at its best” while Weekly Science Diary said, “It is a brightly written, really exciting tale with the added inducement of scientific accuracy”. It has since been translated into several languages. There have also been two alternative versions; the first – issued by Macmillan
in 1964 – rewritten by Elliot in simpler English as a study aid for English language students and the second a children's version published in 1969.
A number of film studios, including MGM, the Associated British Picture Corporation
and Hammer Films, made inquiries regarding the film rights to A for Andromeda. However, no film version was ever made.
In 2006, BBC Worldwide
released a DVD
boxset, The Andromeda Anthology, comprising the original A for Andromeda and its sequel The Andromeda Breakthrough. A for Andromeda was reconstructed using tele-snaps with on-screen captions to describe the plot set to a soundtrack of music from the serial. The surviving film sequences were placed in the narrative where appropriate and the surviving episode “The Face of the Tiger” was presented in its entirety. Extra features included a commentary on the surviving material by Michael Hayes, Peter Halliday and Frank Windsor; a specially made making-of documentary, Andromeda Memories; an excerpt from Points of View as well as a photo gallery, PDF
s of the shooting scripts and the Radio Times articles and detailed production notes by television historian Andrew Pixley. Both the Italian and BBC remakes of A for Andromeda have also been released on DVD.
In 2007, footage of Julie Cristie and Peter Halliday in the series is seen in Torchwood
episode, "Random Shoes
".
Italian version
2006 remake
British television
Public television broadcasting started in the United Kingdom in 1936, and now has a collection of free and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channelsTaking the base Sky EPG TV Channels. A breakdown is impossible due to a) the number of...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
serial
Serial (radio and television)
Serials are series of television programs and radio programs that rely on a continuing plot that unfolds in a sequential episode by episode fashion. Serials typically follow main story arcs that span entire television seasons or even the full run of the series, which distinguishes them from...
first made and broadcast by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
in seven parts in 1961. Written by the noted cosmologist
Cosmology
Cosmology is the discipline that deals with the nature of the Universe as a whole. Cosmologists seek to understand the origin, evolution, structure, and ultimate fate of the Universe at large, as well as the natural laws that keep it in order...
Fred Hoyle
Fred Hoyle
Sir Fred Hoyle FRS was an English astronomer and mathematician noted primarily for his contribution to the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis and his often controversial stance on other cosmological and scientific matters—in particular his rejection of the "Big Bang" theory, a term originally...
, in conjunction with author and television producer John Elliot
John Elliot (author)
John Herbert Elliot was a British novelist, screenwriter and television producer. Between 1954 and 1960 he scripted a succession of one-off television plays including War in the Air and A Man from the Sun...
, it concerns a group of scientists who detect a radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
signal from a distant galaxy
Galaxy
A galaxy is a massive, gravitationally bound system that consists of stars and stellar remnants, an interstellar medium of gas and dust, and an important but poorly understood component tentatively dubbed dark matter. The word galaxy is derived from the Greek galaxias , literally "milky", a...
that contains instructions for the design of an advanced computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
. When the computer is built it gives the scientists instructions for the creation of a living organism
Organism
In biology, an organism is any contiguous living system . In at least some form, all organisms are capable of response to stimuli, reproduction, growth and development, and maintenance of homoeostasis as a stable whole.An organism may either be unicellular or, as in the case of humans, comprise...
, named Andromeda. However, one of Andromeda's creators, John Fleming, fears that Andromeda's purpose is to subjugate humanity.
The serial is notable for being the first major role for the actress Julie Christie
Julie Christie
Julie Frances Christie is a British actress. Born in British India to English parents, at the age of six Christie moved to England, where she attended boarding school....
. Only one episode of the original production survives, along with a few short extracts from other episodes. However, A for Andromeda has been remade twice; first by the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
television station RAI
RAI
RAI — Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane, is the Italian state owned public service broadcaster controlled by the Ministry of Economic Development. Rai is the biggest television company in Italy...
in 1972 and later by the BBC in 2006. A sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
, The Andromeda Breakthrough
The Andromeda Breakthrough
The Andromeda Breakthrough was a 1962 sequel to the popular BBC TV science fiction serial A for Andromeda, again written by Fred Hoyle and John Elliot....
, was made by the BBC in 1962.
Plot summary
The opening titles of each episode are prefaced by a television interview in which Professor Ernst Reinhart (Esmond KnightEsmond Knight
Esmond Penington Knight was an English actor.He was an accomplished actor with a career spanning over half a century. For much of his career Esmond Knight was virtually blind...
) looks back on the events of the serial.
“The Message”
Britain, 1970 – a new radio telescope
Radio telescope
A radio telescope is a form of directional radio antenna used in radio astronomy. The same types of antennas are also used in tracking and collecting data from satellites and space probes...
, designed by the young scientists John Fleming (Peter Halliday
Peter Halliday
Peter Halliday is a Welsh actor.He is probably best known for his role as Dr. John Fleming in A for Andromeda and its sequel,...
) and Dennis Bridger (Frank Windsor
Frank Windsor
Frank Windsor is an English actor, mainly on television.He attended Queen Mary's Grammar School, Walsall. He began his career on radio and made an appearance in a 1953 film of Henry V...
) under the supervision of Professor Reinhart (Esmond Knight
Esmond Knight
Esmond Penington Knight was an English actor.He was an accomplished actor with a career spanning over half a century. For much of his career Esmond Knight was virtually blind...
), has been built at Bouldershaw Fell. Shortly before its official opening, the telescope picks up a signal from the distant Andromeda Nebula
Andromeda Galaxy
The Andromeda Galaxy is a spiral galaxy approximately 2.5 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Andromeda. It is also known as Messier 31, M31, or NGC 224, and is often referred to as the Great Andromeda Nebula in older texts. Andromeda is the nearest spiral galaxy to the...
. Examining the signal, Fleming realises that the signal is a computer program
Computer program
A computer program is a sequence of instructions written to perform a specified task with a computer. A computer requires programs to function, typically executing the program's instructions in a central processor. The program has an executable form that the computer can use directly to execute...
.
“The Machine”
Fleming is permitted to use the computer facilities at the London Institute of Electronics, where he is aided by Christine (Julie Christie
Julie Christie
Julie Frances Christie is a British actress. Born in British India to English parents, at the age of six Christie moved to England, where she attended boarding school....
). Using the computer to decode the message, Fleming realises that the message contains a set of instructions for the construction of another, more advanced, computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
and for a program to run on it. Bridger, meanwhile, has sold out to an international conglomerate, Intel, represented by the sinister Kaufmann (John Hollis
John Hollis
John Hollis was an English actor. He played the role of Lobot in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and the German porter at the chateau in The Dirty Dozen...
). The British government decides to build the computer – at a military establishment at Thorness in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The computer is switched on and begins to output its first set of instructions.
“The Miracle”
The team at Thorness is joined by the biologist
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
Madeline Dawnay (Mary Morris
Mary Morris
Mary Morris was a British actress.-Life and career:She was the daughter of Herbert Stanley Morris, the botanist, and his wife Sylvia Ena de Creft-Harford. She was educated at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.She made her stage debut in Lysistrata at the Gate Theatre, London, in 1935...
). The computer is outputting instructions for the creation of living cells. Fleming becomes nervous, worried that whatever lifeform they are creating may not have humanity's best interests at heart. Dawney proceeds with the experiment, however, synthesising a primitive protoplasm
Protoplasm
Protoplasm is the living contents of a cell that is surrounded by a plasma membrane. It is a general term of the Cytoplasm . Protoplasm is composed of a mixture of small molecules such as ions, amino acids, monosaccharides and water, and macromolecules such as nucleic acids, proteins, lipids and...
ic lifeform. In the meantime, Bridger's leaking of Thorness' secrets has been discovered. Bridger is confronted by Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
agent Judy Adamson (Patricia Kneale
Patricia Kneale
Patricia Kneale was a British stage and television actress.-Career:Kneale gained a Meggie Albanesi scholarship to RADA, where she was awarded the Bancroft gold medal. Her acting debut was in 1947, as Olivia in Twelfth Night at Regents Park. In 1952, she played Lady Macbeth at the old Nottingham...
); fleeing he tumbles over a cliff to his death.
“The Monster”
It is now 1971 and the protoplasmic lifeform, now nicknamed “Cyclops
Cyclops
A cyclops , in Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, was a member of a primordial race of giants, each with a single eye in the middle of his forehead...
” on account of its giant eye, continues to grow. Fleming has become ever more sceptical about the project, certain that the computer has its own agenda. He comes to realise that two terminals positioned either side of the computer's main display have the ability to affect the brainwaves of those who stand near it. His warnings are not heeded, however, and Christine, mesmerised by Cyclops and by the machine, is compelled to grasp the two terminals – she falls to floor, killed by a massive electric shock.
“The Murderer”
Following Christine's death, the computer outputs a new set of instructions – this time for the creation of a complete human embryo
Embryo
An embryo is a multicellular diploid eukaryote in its earliest stage of development, from the time of first cell division until birth, hatching, or germination...
. Fleming is horrified and demands that it be killed. He is ignored. The embryo rapidly grows to maturity; everyone is stunned when it is revealed to be a clone
Cloning
Cloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...
of the deceased Christine. The creature – which they name “Andromeda” – quickly learns to communicate and is brought before the computer. The computer, realising its instructions have been carried out, destroys Cyclops as it has been superseded by Andromeda.
“The Face of the Tiger”
Andromeda is put to work developing a program to enable Britain to intercept orbital missiles
Intercontinental ballistic missile
An intercontinental ballistic missile is a ballistic missile with a long range typically designed for nuclear weapons delivery...
which a foreign power is firing over British airspace
Airspace
Airspace means the portion of the atmosphere controlled by a country above its territory, including its territorial waters or, more generally, any specific three-dimensional portion of the atmosphere....
as a demonstration of power. Using the missiles designed by Andromeda they are successful in destroying one of the missiles. The Government is now determined to make full use of Andromeda, not just for defence but also to aid industry. Fleming continues to make trouble and has his access to the computer revoked. He is horrified to discover that the Government has made a trade deal with Kaufmann and Intel for the rights to a new enzyme
Enzyme
Enzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process, called substrates, are converted into different molecules, called products. Almost all chemical reactions in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur at rates...
that Andromeda has developed that heals injured cells. By this stage, Dawnay is also beginning to have doubts about Andromeda – she agrees to aid Fleming by entering a program into the computer to convince it Andromeda is dead. The program is quickly discovered and reversed by Andromeda. However, the computer soon exacts its revenge – it corrupts the formula for the enzyme, making Dawnay and her assistants sick.
“The Last Mystery”
It is 1972 and the message from the Andromeda Nebula has stopped transmitting. Fleming has been able to determine the correct formula to counteract the effects of the enzyme and save Dawnay. Fleming, Dawnay, Reinhart and Judy now agree that Andromeda must be stopped – however, the military now have control over the project. Andromeda tries to kill Fleming but fails; she confesses to Fleming that she is a slave of the computer which is working to take over humanity. Fleming gains entry to the computer room where he takes an axe to the machine, destroying it. Now free of the machine Andromeda is able to access the safe that contains the copies of the original message with the instructions for building the computer which she burns so that the machine cannot be rebuilt. She flees with Fleming to one of the islands near the base. Pursued by soldiers, they hide in a series of caves on the island. However, Andromeda is apparently killed when she falls into a deep pool. The dejected Fleming is brought back to Thorness by the soldiers.
Origins
Fred HoyleFred Hoyle
Sir Fred Hoyle FRS was an English astronomer and mathematician noted primarily for his contribution to the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis and his often controversial stance on other cosmological and scientific matters—in particular his rejection of the "Big Bang" theory, a term originally...
was a noted astronomer
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
, best known for his work on the understanding of the creation of the elements
Chemical element
A chemical element is a pure chemical substance consisting of one type of atom distinguished by its atomic number, which is the number of protons in its nucleus. Familiar examples of elements include carbon, oxygen, aluminum, iron, copper, gold, mercury, and lead.As of November 2011, 118 elements...
through stellar nucleosynthesis
Stellar nucleosynthesis
Stellar nucleosynthesis is the collective term for the nuclear reactions taking place in stars to build the nuclei of the elements heavier than hydrogen. Some small quantity of these reactions also occur on the stellar surface under various circumstances...
, for developing the steady state theory
Steady State theory
In cosmology, the Steady State theory is a model developed in 1948 by Fred Hoyle, Thomas Gold, Hermann Bondi and others as an alternative to the Big Bang theory...
of the universe and for coining the term “Big Bang
Big Bang
The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological model that explains the early development of the Universe. According to the Big Bang theory, the Universe was once in an extremely hot and dense state which expanded rapidly. This rapid expansion caused the young Universe to cool and resulted in...
” for the steady state theory's rival dynamic evolving model of the universe. Hoyle also had a taste for science fiction, having written a novel, The Black Cloud
The Black Cloud
The Black Cloud is a science fiction novel written by astrophysicist Sir Fred Hoyle. Published in 1957, the book details the arrival of an enormous cloud of gas that enters the solar system and threatens to destroy most of the life on Earth by blocking the Sun's radiation.-Plot summary:In 1964,...
(1957), about a cloud of interstellar gas that threatens the Earth; this was adapted for radio and broadcast on 14 December 1957 by the BBC Home Service
BBC Home Service
The BBC Home Service was a British national radio station which broadcast from 1939 until 1967.-Development:Between the 1920s and the outbreak of The Second World War, the BBC had developed two nationwide radio services, the BBC National Programme and the BBC Regional Programme...
. The BBC were also interested in adapting The Black Cloud for television but Hoyle had already signed away the movie rights. Hoyle followed The Black Cloud with another science fiction novel, Ossian's Ride (1958); this attracted the interest of Norman James, a BBC designer keen to move into television production, who contacted Hoyle with a view to obtaining the rights to the novel. In discussion with the writer, James learned that Hoyle was interested in writing an original story for television. James contacted John Elliot
John Elliot (author)
John Herbert Elliot was a British novelist, screenwriter and television producer. Between 1954 and 1960 he scripted a succession of one-off television plays including War in the Air and A Man from the Sun...
, the assistant head of the BBC Script Department, who was interested in making a science fiction serial. Elliot, along with James and BBC script editor
Script editor
A script editor is a member of the production team of scripted television programmes, usually dramas and comedies. The script editor has many responsibilities including finding new script writers, developing storyline and series ideas with writers, ensuring that scripts are suitable for production...
Donald Bull, met with Hoyle who outlined a potential story for an eight part serial; this was what would eventually become A for Andromeda. Hoyle drew his inspiration for the serial from the work of astronomer Frank Drake
Frank Drake
Frank Donald Drake PhD is an American astronomer and astrophysicist. He is most notable as one of the pioneers in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, including the founding of SETI, mounting the first observational attempts at detecting extraterrestrial communications in 1961 in Project...
who at that time had begun “Project Ozma
Project Ozma
Project Ozma was a pioneering SETI experiment started in 1960 by Cornell University astronomer Frank Drake, at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory at Green Bank, West Virginia. The object of the experiment was to search for signs of life in distant solar systems through interstellar radio waves...
”, one of the first experiments in the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence
SETI
The search for extraterrestrial intelligence is the collective name for a number of activities people undertake to search for intelligent extraterrestrial life. Some of the most well known projects are run by the SETI Institute. SETI projects use scientific methods to search for intelligent life...
(SETI). In late June 1960, the BBC made an offer of 250 guineas
Guinea (British coin)
The guinea is a coin that was minted in the Kingdom of England and later in the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom between 1663 and 1813...
to Hoyle for the idea, which would be dramatised for television, as a serial in seven 30-minute parts, by John Elliot. Hoyle replied, “It has seemed to me that the overall sum of 250 gns is unsatisfactorily low. My own computations would suggest 1000 gns. I estimate that such a sum would still be only 2-3 percent of the receipts by the BBC from licences. Such a percentage still seems low – it is considerably less than rates available in the US”. Eventually, a fee of 700 guineas was agreed. Elliot delivered his draft scripts between March and April 1961; at this point it was decided that each episode should run for 45 minutes and so Elliot had to work to expand each script.
Casting
Julie Christie
Julie Frances Christie is a British actress. Born in British India to English parents, at the age of six Christie moved to England, where she attended boarding school....
. Hoyle originally saw Andromeda as an androgynous
Androgyny
Androgyny is a term derived from the Greek words ανήρ, stem ανδρ- and γυνή , referring to the combination of masculine and feminine characteristics...
character but Elliot changed this to a young woman. The production team were keen to cast a young, unknown actress. While searching for a suitable candidate, co-producer and director Michael Hayes met an agent who suggested Julie Christie, then a student at the Central School of Speech and Drama
Central School of Speech and Drama
The Central School of Speech and Drama was founded in London in 1906 by Elsie Fogerty to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students...
, recommending her as “the new Bardot”. In playing the part, Christie wanted to give the character of Andromeda more emotion but Hayes directed her to act more impassively, using his camera to define the character. Mindful that a sequel was under consideration, Hayes advised the BBC to sign her up before she became a big star; he was ignored and the role had to be recast for the sequel, The Andromeda Breakthrough
The Andromeda Breakthrough
The Andromeda Breakthrough was a 1962 sequel to the popular BBC TV science fiction serial A for Andromeda, again written by Fred Hoyle and John Elliot....
. Christie went on to have a highly successful film career, her breakthrough role occurring in Doctor Zhivago (1965).
Peter Halliday
Peter Halliday
Peter Halliday is a Welsh actor.He is probably best known for his role as Dr. John Fleming in A for Andromeda and its sequel,...
played John Fleming. He had trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
where he met and befriended Michael Hayes. Halliday had a reputation for playing angry young men.
Because the serial was set in the near future, both Hoyle and Michael Hayes felt that women would occupy more progressive roles in the years to come. This was reflected in the writing and casting; appearing as the security services agent, Judy Adamson, was Patricia Kneale
Patricia Kneale
Patricia Kneale was a British stage and television actress.-Career:Kneale gained a Meggie Albanesi scholarship to RADA, where she was awarded the Bancroft gold medal. Her acting debut was in 1947, as Olivia in Twelfth Night at Regents Park. In 1952, she played Lady Macbeth at the old Nottingham...
. Kneale found the character “a rather prissy sort of person, not really the sort of person I usually played at all.” A late change to the script was changing the sex of the biologist character, George Dawnay, to Madeline Dawnay; writing to Mary Morris
Mary Morris
Mary Morris was a British actress.-Life and career:She was the daughter of Herbert Stanley Morris, the botanist, and his wife Sylvia Ena de Creft-Harford. She was educated at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.She made her stage debut in Lysistrata at the Gate Theatre, London, in 1935...
offering her the part, Hayes said, “don't be put off by the fact that the lady appears to smoke a pipe half way through and give vent to some rather strange utterances.”
Production
Norman James had hoped to produce the serial himself but the BBC felt it was too complex an undertaking for a novice producer. However, James was given the role of co-producer and designer; he also received an additional payment in acknowledgment of his role in developing the serial. Assigned as co-producer and director was Michael Hayes who had directed the Shakespearean serial An Age of Kings (1960). Location filming took place in July 1961 around LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, including at IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
's offices on Wigmore Street
Wigmore Street
Wigmore Street is a street in the City of Westminster, in the West End of London, England. The street runs for about 600 yards parallel and to the north of Oxford Street between Portman Square to the west and Cavendish Square to the east....
, and in the vicinity of Tenby
Tenby
Tenby is a walled seaside town in Pembrokeshire, South West Wales, lying on Carmarthen Bay.Notable features of Tenby include of sandy beaches; the 13th century medieval town walls, including the Five Arches barbican gatehouse ; 15th century St...
in Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
where the Manorbier
Manorbier
Manorbier is a village on the south coast of Pembrokeshire, Wales.The name means the 'Manor of Pyr'.-History:The Norman knight Odo de Barri was granted the lands of Manorbier, Penally and Begelly in gratitude for his military help in conquering Pembrokeshire after 1003. The first castle was motte...
Army Base stood in for the Thorness research centre. The army assisted the production by providing a helicopter for scenes of personnel arriving at Thorness and for aerial shots of the base and environs. They also supplied a pursuit launch for the chase scene in the final episode. A number of pre-filmed inserts were also shot at Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever since...
. The production then went into studio at BBC Television Centre
BBC Television Centre
BBC Television Centre at White City in West London is the headquarters of BBC Television. Officially opened on 29 June 1960, it remains one of the largest to this day; having featured over the years as backdrop to many BBC programmes, it is one of the most readily recognisable such facilities...
with each episode recorded every Wednesday between 1 August 1961 and 13 September 1961. For editing purposes, the output of the electronic studio cameras was recorded onto 35mm film rather than videotape
Videotape
A videotape is a recording of images and sounds on to magnetic tape as opposed to film stock or random access digital media. Videotapes are also used for storing scientific or medical data, such as the data produced by an electrocardiogram...
. A last minute addition to the serial were the pre-credits sequences at the start of each episode depicting Reinhart recalling the events of the serial in a television interview. These were made in the style of the well-known interview programme Face to Face hosted by John Freeman and were shot at Television Centre on 22 September 1961.
Broadcast and critical reception
The debut episode of A for Andromeda was promoted on the cover of listings magazine Radio TimesRadio Times
Radio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...
. The accompanying article said, “A new science fiction series is an exciting prospect at any time. When it is backed by the authority of a scientist with the international reputation of Fred Hoyle, it ranks as a major television event”. A for Andromeda was broadcast on Tuesday nights at 8:30pm from 3 October 1961. The opening episode was watched by 7.5 million viewers; however, by the end of the serial this had risen to 12.9 million viewers and the serial averaged 9.6 million viewers over its seven week run.
A for Andromeda was met with a varied critical reception. “Science fiction serial starts well”, said The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
after the broadcast of the first episode, adding, “Although it is encouraging to have the authority of Professor Fred Hoyle for the scientific credibility of [A for Andromeda]... it is the skill of Mr Hoyle the novelist that will mainly be called upon to hold our attention”. The Evening News, meanwhile declared the serial to be “a jolly good successor to Quatermass
Quatermass
Quatermass may best be known as the surname of the title character of a British science fiction franchise of several television serials and films, and a radio production...
”. Not so impressed was L. Marsland Gander in the Daily Telegraph who wrote, “As a devotee of Prof. Hoyle and a keen student of disembodied intelligence I felt impatient... I am too well acquainted with [his] work to be disappointed, but the temptation is great”. A harsher verdict came from Philip Phillips of the Daily Herald who said, “The next six episodes might be brilliant. But I won't be watching them” while The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
said, “I cannot with the best will find anything in the least exciting about A for Andromeda”.
The BBC produced an Audience Research report for episodes one, five and seven. Many respondents criticised the serial for being slow and full of scientific terminology. However, as the serial progressed, viewers became more enthusiastic; after episode five, one viewer said, “The serial, like Andromeda herself, suddenly came alive. This episode was spine-chilling”. Another commented “I didn't like the way Andromeda was created – it is absolutely against Christian belief”. J.A.K. Fraser of Dornock
Dornock
Dornock is a small Scottish village in Dumfries and Galloway, situated about one mile west of Eastriggs and two miles east of Annan. Dornock is built on land which is 10 to 20 metres above sea level. Dornock Burn runs east of the village and the railway between Annan and Gretna is north of the...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, wrote to the BBC's correspondence programme Points of View
Points of View
Points of View is a long-running television show shown in the United Kingdom on BBC One, featuring the letters of viewers offering praise, criticism and purportedly witty observations on the television of recent weeks...
, saying, “Enough surely has been seen of Prof. Fleming's overacted hysterical outbursts”. Writing to the Radio Times, B.W. Wolfe of Basingstoke
Basingstoke
Basingstoke is a town in northeast Hampshire, in south central England. It lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon. It is southwest of London, northeast of Southampton, southwest of Reading and northeast of the county town, Winchester. In 2008 it had an estimated population of...
said, “Congratulations on the recent BBC-tv science-fiction serial A for Andromeda. Bug-eyed monsters we have seen before, but never a creature so radiantly beautiful as Andromeda herself. I was completely captivated”. Other letter writers to the Radio Times discussed the scientific accuracy of the serial including one correspondent, C.W. Bartlett of Watford
Watford
Watford is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, situated northwest of central London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough is separated from Greater London to the south by the urbanised parish of Watford Rural in the Three Rivers District.Watford was created as an urban...
, who wrote to inform readers that the reference to DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
(then newly discovered) was not a fictional substance but really existed. This was expounded upon by the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
which drew comparisons with the creation of Andromeda and an announcement from Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
that scientists had fertilised a human egg outside of the womb; “These are tough times for the science fiction writer”, the paper wrote, “Jules Verne
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
and H. G. Wells
H. G. Wells
Herbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...
have long been left in the wake of the rocket, the H-bomb and the atom submarine. Now our own Fred Hoyle is desperately trying to keep a jump ahead of his fellow scientists in the laboratory”.
Archive status
As was common practice at the time, the BBC's copies of the serial were junked after broadcast and the bulk of the serial remains missing to this day. In 2005, a copy of the sixth episode, “The Face of the Tiger”, was returned to the BBC archives by a private collector; this is missing the pre-credits sequence of Reinhart's interview. A number of film clips from episodes one, two, three and seven also exist, as does a full audio-only copy of episode seven, taken from an off-air recording. A complete set of off-air photographs, known as tele-snapsTele-snaps
Tele-snaps were off-screen photographs of British television broadcasts, taken and sold commercially by John Cura . From 1947 until 1968, Cura ran a business selling the 250,000-plus tele-snaps he took...
, were taken of all seven episodes and are held in the collection of Michael Hayes.
A come Andromeda (1972)
A version of the serial entitled A come Andromeda, still set in Britain ("in the following year") but filmed at Italian locations, was made for ItalianItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
television (RAI
RAI
RAI — Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane, is the Italian state owned public service broadcaster controlled by the Ministry of Economic Development. Rai is the biggest television company in Italy...
) in 1971. Adapted by Inisero Cremaschi and directed by Vittorio Cottafavi it follows the plot of the BBC original very closely. This version still exists and has been repeated on Italian TV. It has been released on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
, and latterly on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
but without English subtitles. The cast includes Paola Pitagora as Judy Adamson, Luigi Vannucchi as Fleming, and Tino Carraro as Reinhart.
:it:A come Andromeda (serie televisiva)
A for Andromeda (2006)
A second remake of A for Andromeda was made by BBC Fictionlab for BBC FourBBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
in early 2006. It was produced by Richard Fell, who the previous year had overseen a remake, performed live, of The Quatermass Experiment
The Quatermass Experiment
The Quatermass Experiment is a British science-fiction serial broadcast by BBC Television in the summer of 1953 and re-staged by BBC Four in 2005. Set in the near future against the background of a British space programme, it tells the story of the first manned flight into space, overseen by...
, another classic BBC science fiction production largely absent from the BBC archives.
In other media
The prospect of novelising A for Andromeda arose early in the serial's production when Souvenir Press contacted the BBC in May 1961 indicating their interest in publishing a tie-in novel. John Elliot responded stating that while the concept had been Hoyle's, the characterisation, dialogue and plot structure was his. Elliot sent copies of the shooting scripts to Souvenir and was formally commissioned to write the novelisation in July 1961. The terms of the contract concerned Hoyle as they gave Souvenir first call on the sequel; he insisted that this could only be permitted if the sequel's novelisation was largely written by Elliot. Elliot delivered his manuscript on 28 September 1961. The novelisation was closer to the original 30-minute scripts and had much of the material required to pad each episode to 45 minutes removed. Promoting it as the story that would “out-Quatermass Quatermass”, the book was published by Souvenir in February 1962. The Mail on SundayThe Mail on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday is a British conservative newspaper, currently published in a tabloid format. First published in 1982 by Lord Rothermere, it became Britain's biggest-selling Sunday newspaper following the closing of The News of the World in July 2011...
praised the book as “science fiction at its best” while Weekly Science Diary said, “It is a brightly written, really exciting tale with the added inducement of scientific accuracy”. It has since been translated into several languages. There have also been two alternative versions; the first – issued by Macmillan
Macmillan Publishers
Macmillan Publishers Ltd, also known as The Macmillan Group, is a privately held international publishing company owned by Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. It has offices in 41 countries worldwide and operates in more than thirty others.-History:...
in 1964 – rewritten by Elliot in simpler English as a study aid for English language students and the second a children's version published in 1969.
A number of film studios, including MGM, the Associated British Picture Corporation
Associated British Picture Corporation
Associated British Picture Corporation , originally British International Pictures , was a British film production, distribution and exhibition company active from 1927 until 1970...
and Hammer Films, made inquiries regarding the film rights to A for Andromeda. However, no film version was ever made.
In 2006, BBC Worldwide
BBC Worldwide
BBC Worldwide Limited is the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in 1995. In the year to 31 March 2010 it made a profit of £145m on a turnover of £1.074bn. The company had made a profit of £106m...
released a DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
boxset, The Andromeda Anthology, comprising the original A for Andromeda and its sequel The Andromeda Breakthrough. A for Andromeda was reconstructed using tele-snaps with on-screen captions to describe the plot set to a soundtrack of music from the serial. The surviving film sequences were placed in the narrative where appropriate and the surviving episode “The Face of the Tiger” was presented in its entirety. Extra features included a commentary on the surviving material by Michael Hayes, Peter Halliday and Frank Windsor; a specially made making-of documentary, Andromeda Memories; an excerpt from Points of View as well as a photo gallery, PDF
Portable Document Format
Portable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
s of the shooting scripts and the Radio Times articles and detailed production notes by television historian Andrew Pixley. Both the Italian and BBC remakes of A for Andromeda have also been released on DVD.
In 2007, footage of Julie Cristie and Peter Halliday in the series is seen in Torchwood
Torchwood
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...
episode, "Random Shoes
Random Shoes
"Random Shoes" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Torchwood, which was broadcast on 10 December 2006. It is the ninth episode of the first series.-Synopsis:...
".
External links
Original version- A for Andromeda at Action TV
- A for Andromeda at the British Film InstituteBritish Film InstituteThe British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
's Screenonline
Italian version
2006 remake