They Came From Somewhere Else
Encyclopedia
They Came From Somewhere Else is a British sitcom
that was broadcast on Channel 4
in the United Kingdom
in 1984. It pastiches numerous horror film
s including Dawn of the Dead, Don't Look Now
and Carrie.
The single series comprised six thirty-minute episodes starring Robin Driscoll
, Rebecca Stevens, Pete McCarthy
, and Tony Haase. The writing is credited to "Cliffhanger" and the series was developed from a 1982 theatrical production by Cliffhanger Theatre Company founded by Driscoll, Stevens and McCarthy and Martin McNicholas.
The story is set in the fictional British new town
of Middleford where Wendy, Colin and Martin are leading very dull, formulaic lives. The arrival of an American suffering from amnesia coincides with a series of increasingly bizarre events including a rain of liver
, people getting sucked into drains, migraine
s so severe that they cause heads to explode, and zombie
s taking over the supermarket.
Martin believes a strange, radioactive briefcase
is behind the town's problems. The American has the key to the briefcase and he, Colin and Wendy open it and learn the truth of the situation: Middleford is a 21st century rehabilitation prison located on a satellite
orbiting Earth. The town's residents are all inmates who have had their memories and true personalities erased. Colin was the prison's designer but later rebelled against the evil nature of system and was sentenced there himself. The American is a pulp fiction
writer who had been tasked with writing new personalities for the inmates until his wife, Wendy, was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and he has now come to break her out. Unfortunately, his arrival has triggered a B-movie
style doomsday scenario based on his book, "The Night it Rained Liver" and the only way he can stop it and save Wendy from a grisly death is to sacrifice his own life. The series ends with Wendy making her escape, Colin being recaptured and forced to watch as his prison starts receiving child prisoners, and Martin promising retribution after regaining his own identity as a political activist.
British sitcom
A British sitcom tends, as it does in most other countries, to be based on a family, workplace or other institution, where the same group of contrasting characters is brought together in each episode. Unlike American sitcoms, where twenty or more episodes in a season is the norm, British sitcoms...
that was broadcast on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1984. It pastiches numerous horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
s including Dawn of the Dead, Don't Look Now
Don't Look Now
Don't Look Now is a 1973 thriller film directed by Nicolas Roeg. Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland star as a married couple whose lives become complicated after meeting two elderly sisters in Venice, one of whom claims to be clairvoyant and informs them that their recently deceased daughter is...
and Carrie.
The single series comprised six thirty-minute episodes starring Robin Driscoll
Robin Driscoll
Robin Driscoll is a British actor and writer, best known as a writer of Mr. Bean. He and Rowan Atkinson are close friends.He appeared with Rowan Atkinson in Laughing Matters - Visual Comedy, a documentary on the mechanics of visual humour....
, Rebecca Stevens, Pete McCarthy
Pete McCarthy
Pete McCarthy , was a British broadcaster and successful travel writer, noted for his books McCarthy's Bar and The Road to McCarthy.-Biography:...
, and Tony Haase. The writing is credited to "Cliffhanger" and the series was developed from a 1982 theatrical production by Cliffhanger Theatre Company founded by Driscoll, Stevens and McCarthy and Martin McNicholas.
The story is set in the fictional British new town
New town
A new town is a specific type of a planned community, or planned city, that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed in a previously undeveloped area. This contrasts with settlements that evolve in a more ad hoc fashion. Land use conflicts are uncommon in new...
of Middleford where Wendy, Colin and Martin are leading very dull, formulaic lives. The arrival of an American suffering from amnesia coincides with a series of increasingly bizarre events including a rain of liver
Liver (food)
The liver of mammals, fowl, and fish are commonly eaten as food by humans. Domestic pig, ox, lamb, calf, chicken, and goose livers are widely available from butchers and supermarkets....
, people getting sucked into drains, migraine
Migraine
Migraine is a chronic neurological disorder characterized by moderate to severe headaches, and nausea...
s so severe that they cause heads to explode, and zombie
Zombie
Zombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...
s taking over the supermarket.
Martin believes a strange, radioactive briefcase
Briefcase
A briefcase is a narrow box-shaped bag or case used mainly for carrying papers and other documents and equipped with a handle. Lawyers commonly use briefcases to carry briefs to present to a court, hence the name...
is behind the town's problems. The American has the key to the briefcase and he, Colin and Wendy open it and learn the truth of the situation: Middleford is a 21st century rehabilitation prison located on a satellite
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
orbiting Earth. The town's residents are all inmates who have had their memories and true personalities erased. Colin was the prison's designer but later rebelled against the evil nature of system and was sentenced there himself. The American is a pulp fiction
Pulp magazine
Pulp magazines , also collectively known as pulp fiction, refers to inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, half an inch thick, and 128 pages long...
writer who had been tasked with writing new personalities for the inmates until his wife, Wendy, was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and he has now come to break her out. Unfortunately, his arrival has triggered a B-movie
B-movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
style doomsday scenario based on his book, "The Night it Rained Liver" and the only way he can stop it and save Wendy from a grisly death is to sacrifice his own life. The series ends with Wendy making her escape, Colin being recaptured and forced to watch as his prison starts receiving child prisoners, and Martin promising retribution after regaining his own identity as a political activist.
External links
- Obituary, Pete McCarthy, The Times, 11 October 2004