History Franchise / Quatermass

* ObstructiveBureaucrat: [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-zagged]]. During TheInfiltration, these oppose Quatermass' attempts to uncover the truth about the AlienInvasion, some out of petty authoritarianism, others because they're possessed by aliens. However, a senior civil servant named Fowler helps Quatermass because experienced enough in how the system works to realize that the obstructiveness is happening in a way that ''doesn't make sense''.

* CoolGuns: Kickalong prominently uses a Sterling in several scenes.

* NewAgeRetroHippie: The serial somehow managed to combine this and TheNewRockAndRoll; the cities are decaying, and one symptom of this is a band of violent hippies -- sorry, "Planet People" -- who believe they've made contact with a peaceful race of aliens [[spoiler:(who are actually conning the hippies and plan to harvest them as a food source)]]. Kneale decided in retrospect that he shouldn't have gone with hippies (as it was 1979) and should have used punks instead, [[TheQuincyPunk but that's another trope entirely]].

* IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight: In the climax, [[spoiler:Quatermass defeats an alien plant which has absorbed three astronauts by use of this technique. It's a pity [[invoked]] [[MissingEpisode we can't actually watch it]].

* IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight: In the climax, [[spoiler:Quatermass defeats an alien plant which has absorbed three astronauts by use of this technique. It's a pity [[invoked]][[MissingEpisode we can't actually watch it]].

* IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight: In the climax, [[spoiler:Quatermass defeats an alien plant which has absorbed three astronauts by use of this technique. It's a pity [[invoked]][[MissingEpisode we can't actually watch it]]]].

* TheAestheticsOfTechnology: The RetroRocket-style design for the alien spacecraft in the tv serial is replaced in the film with a more exotic design that gave it a more weirdly "alien" look.[[note]]Nearly 5 decades since the film's release, many of the design aesthetics of the alien spaceship -- the surfaces, the lines and curves, and even the colour -- which all must have looked very unusual and exotic in 1967 now are all bizarrely similar to what is commonly found on the designs of contemporary automobiles today.[[/note]]

* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: The setting is a dystopian future UK plagued by social breakdown, fuel and food shortages, and heavily armed street gangs. The Soviet Union still exists, and it vies with the US to spend billions on useless space projects. No date is given but clues in the text indicate that it is happening in 1990. Ironically, it turned out to be at least partially TruthInTelevision, as the Soviet Union ''did'' still exist in 1990, not having broken up until around Christmas 1991, and the late '80s ''were'' the scene of a last spat in UsefulNotes/TheSpaceRace. Social breakdown in the UK, not so much (despite teenagers readopting hippy-ish culture and dancing themselves silly in fields).

The first three serials were successfully remade as films by Film/{{Hammer|Horror}}, two of which were scripted by Kneale himself. The fourth was re-edited directly into a film-length version, titled ''The Quatermass Conclusion'', and given a limited theatrical release. There were also {{novelization}}s by Creator/NigelKneale.

The first three serials were successfully remade as films by Film/{{Hammer|Horror}}, two of which were scripted by Kneale himself. The fourth was re-edited directly into a film-length version, titled ''The Quatermass Conclusion'', and given a limited theatrical release.

** Another release simply restored traditional spelling of "Experiment" to the first movie's title. That peculiar title only made sense in Britain, where ''The Quatermass Xperiment'' was given an X rating. The British "X" was applied to much tamer material than its American equivalent, but highlighting the rating in the film's title gave notice that the movie [[RatedMForMoney featured stronger fare than the norm, for those who like that sort of thing]].

* IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight: In the climax, [[spoiler:Quatermass defeats an alien plant which has absorbed three astronauts by use of this technique. It's a pity [[MissingEpisode we can't actually watch it]]]].

* HazmatSuit: Quatermass and his team watch film footage of the aftermath of a nuclear-powered RetroRocket exploding in the Australian desert, killing hundreds. Men in 1950s hazmat suits are shown running Geiger counters over the area, which is HarsherInHindsight given [[https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/maralinga what was actually happening at Maralinga in the 1950s]].

* JustifiedTitle: ''Quatermass II'' features the Professor's experimental rocket, known as the Quatermass II. [[WordOfGod Kneale later confessed]] that he only wrote in that connection because he couldn't think of a better title for the second serial than "Quatermass II", and he had to justify it to himself.

[[folder:Multiple installments]]

* TheAestheticsOfTechnology: The RetroRocket-style design for the alien spacecraft in the tv serial is replaced in the film with a more exotic design that gave it a more weirdly "alien" look.[[note]]Nearly 5 decades since the film's release, many of the design aesthetics of the alien spaceship -- the surfaces, the lines and curves, and even the color -- which all must have looked very unusual and exotic in 1967 now are all bizarrely similar to what is commonly found on the designs of contemporary automobiles today.[[/note]]

!!The serials and Hammer films provide examples of:

* ''Quatermass II'': Professor Quatermass (John Robinson) is asked to investigate a series of strange meteor showers, and discovers that they're part of a subtle alien invasion.

''The Quatermass Experiment'' was remade for television by the BBC in 2005 as a single feature-length drama, with the spy subplot and some comic material edited out to save time. For added conformity to the original, this version was broadcast live (the first live drama broadcast on the BBC for many years, with the exception of filmed stage plays) with no special effects that would have been unavailable for TV in 1953. Notable amongst the cast is Creator/DavidTennant, who'd been cast in [[Series/DoctorWho Who]] just before the broadcast.

!!The serials provide examples of:

* AlienInvasion: ''Quatermass II''
* AncientAstronauts: ''Quatermass and the Pit'' and ''Quatermass.''
* AnyoneCanDie: The rather casual death of [[spoiler:Fullalove]], who had survived ''The Quatermass Experiment'', in ''Quatermass and the Pit''.
* ArcWords: The nursery rhyme from ''Quatermass''.
-->Huffity, puffity, Ringstone Round,\\
If you lose your hat it will never be found...
* AstralProjection: In the climax of ''The Pit'', a Martian (whether real or just a manifestation of the spaceship) appears in this way.
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Judith's parting words to Victor, before he set off in the rocket from ''The Quatermass Experiment'', were a request that he bring her back something from space. Turns out he ''does'' bring something back, but....
* BigRedButton: The nuke detonator in ''Quatermass'' has one.
-->"Just thump it."
* BodyHorror: ''The Quatermass Experiment'', and to a lesser extent the second two serials.
* BroadcastLive:
** The three 1950s serials, as was usual in those days because the video recorder hadn't been invented yet.[[note]]The first videotape machines were used in the US in 1958, the same year as the third ''Quatermass'' serial, but the BBC didn't acquire some until a few years later.[[/note]] The second and third serials did include some scenes that were filmed in advance, with the film being played back and fed into the live broadcast feed at the appropriate point. [[note]]This resulted in a drop in picture quality on the film recordings of the live episodes, but most of the film sequences for ''Quatermass and the Pit'' survived and were reinserted into the remastered DVD.[[/note]]
** The 2005 remake of ''The Quatermass Experiment'' was also done live, [[LiveEpisode as a gimmick]], although it backfired slightly because the live footage was treated to look like film.
* CircleOfStandingStones: In the fourth serial (also released in re-edited form as a movie, and variously called ''The Quatermass Conclusion'' or just ''Quatermass''), young people are drawn to stone circles and apparently ascended to a higher plane. But all is not as it seems. It is eventually revealed that standing stones and other ancient sites [[spoiler:are warning markers at places where an alien device killed people in the past -- and is doing so again]].
* ColdIron - proves the Martian "devil's" undoing in ''Quatermass and the Pit''.
* CompilationMovie: ''Quatermass'' was edited down into a feature film called ''The Quatermass Conclusion'' for release in other countries, like the US.

* CoolGuns: Kickalong prominently uses a Sterling in several scenes in ''Quatermass''.
* CreepyChildrenSinging:
-->Huffety puffety Ringstone Round.\\
If you lose your hat it will never be found,\\
So pull up your britches right up to your chin,\\
And fasten your cloak with a bright new pin,\\
And when you are ready, then we can begin,\\
Huffity, puffity puff!
* DeathOfAChild: In ''Quatermass'', Joe Kapp's wife and children are killed off-screen in an alien bombardment.
* DecoyProtagonist: In ''Quatermass and the Pit'', Roney actually achieves a lot more when it comes to understanding and neutralising the alien menace than Quatermass.
* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: ''Ring''stone ''Round'', the Stonehenge {{Expy}} in ''Quatermass''.
* TheDogBitesBack: Yeah, ''Quatermass II'' aliens, it's a great idea to [[spoiler:liquidise your rebellious minions' representatives ForTheEvulz when the minions have rocket-launchers]].
* DressingAsTheEnemy: To infiltrate the higher security domes in Winnerden Flats, Quatermass nabs a dead plant worker's uniform in ''Quatermass II''.
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: Twice in ''Quatermass'':
** [[spoiler:Annie gets either knocked out or killed in a sudden head-on crash with a Land Rover driven by possessed soldiers, and then gets incinerated by an alien energy bolt]]
** [[spoiler:Joe Kapp gets ready to heroically sacrifice himself as a backup to Quatermass to ensure the nuke is detonated, but is casually shot dead by Kickalong when the Planet People invade the observatory grounds.]]
* DyingRace: The alien AncientAstronauts in ''Quatermass and the Pit''.
* EnemyWithin: Any human who still has the Martian race memory left intact in ''Quatermass and the Pit''.
* GasMaskMooks: The plant workers in ''Quatermass II''.
* TheGenerationGap: In ''Quatermass'' it turns out that the Generation Gap is caused by the malign influence of aliens.
* HeroicSacrifice:
** Dr. Roney in ''Quatermass and the Pit''.
** In ''Quatermass'', [[spoiler:Quatermass himself and possibly his granddaughter (it doesn't seem that she actually knew what that big red button was for, although the novelization claims "she knew because he knew". Plus, the fact that her photo was propped up against it might have given her a clue)]].

* HostileTerraforming via AtmosphereAbuse: Part of the aliens' plan in ''Quatermass II''. An alien vanguard takes over selected humans so they can build a chemical plant to make an atmosphere that will support their kind of life, and kill off all terrestrial life.
* HugeHolographicHead: The Martian spectre in ''Quatermass and the Pit''.
* HumanResources: Quatermass speculates that this is the alien's motivation in ''Quatermass,'' although we never find out for sure.
* IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight: Show up at some point in all of the BBC shows: Quatermass with the three astronaut personalities still inside the monster in ''The Quatermass Experiment'', Quatermass and the possessed Dillon in ''Quatermass II'', and reversing the usual roles, Roney talking Quatermass down when he falls under the Martian ship's influence in ''Quatermass and the Pit''.
* ImprobableInfantSurvival:
** In ''The Quatermass Experiment'' a young girl encounters the infected astronaut and comes away unharmed.
** But definitely averted in ''Quatermass''.
* IntrepidReporter: James Fullalove in ''The Quatermass Experiment'' and ''Quatermass and the Pit'', and Hugh Conrad in ''Quatermass II''.
* IronicNurseryTune: "Ringstone Round" from ''Quatermass.''
* JerkAss: Kickalong in ''Quatermass'' is a seething cauldron of hate. In one scene he pretends to beg for food from a man cowering in a boarded up house, and when the man passes out a can of beans Kickalong machine-guns him.
* JustifiedTitle: ''Quatermass II'' features the Professor's experimental rocket, known as the Quatermass II. [[WordOfGod Kneale later confessed]] that he only wrote in that connection because he couldn't think of a better title for the second serial than "Quatermass II", and he had to justify it to himself.
* KillItWithFire: The Army's plan to kill the creature in Westminster Abbey at the end of ''The Quatermass Experiment''.
* MadeOfIndestructium: The craft from ''Quatermass and the Pit''.
* MentalPictureProjector: Roney's "optic encephalographic" in ''Quatermass and the Pit''.
* MindControlMusic: Implied. While the Planet People are gathering, ethereal music plays on the sountrack, apparently symbolising the alien influence that's drawing them to their deaths like a deadly version of the [[Literature/ThePiedPiperOfHamelin Pied Piper]]. The final closing credits make it clear that it has the same tune as the Ringstone Round nursery rhyme.

* ObstructiveBureaucrat:
** Colonel Breen and the Minister in ''Quatermass and the Pit''.
** Subverted however in ''Quatermass II'', where's he's hampered by them, but also helped by Fowler, a senior civil servant who is experienced enough in the way the system works to realise there's something distinctly wrong going on.
--->'''Fowler:''' Quatermass, we've had dealings for a number of years. You as a driving force of an enterprise of The Future, I as one of the [[{{Lampshading}} obstructive civil servants you had to contend with]].
* OmnidisciplinaryScientist: Professor Quatermass develops into one of these over the course of the three fifties serials, although in the first he pointedly notes that he's "only an engineer" during one scene. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], since when you keep running into hostile aliens, you eventually learn to be prepared.
* PathOfInspiration: The Planet People in ''Quatermass'' are a sect influenced by aliens to voluntarily submit themselves for consumption.
* PillarOfLight: In the fourth, self-titled serial the Planet People are a sect who believe they are being transported to a wonderful new planet by beams of light that descend to the Earth. Professor Quatermass discovers that the beams have a much deadlier purpose.
* PuppeteerParasite: The alien invaders in ''Quatermass II''.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Lomax in ''The Quatermass Experiment'', Fowler in ''Quatermass II'', and Annie Morgan in ''Quatermass''. Quatermass himself probably counts as well.
* ScienceHero: Bernard Quatermass.
* SpontaneousHumanCombustion: In ''Quatermass'', the sole survivor of an alien attack suddenly explodes into ash a couple of days later. (Quatermass had previously wondered why Annie hadn't noticed the corpses he saw at Ringstone Round a few days earlier. They'd obviously gone the same way.)
* StarfishAliens: The aliens in ''The Quatermass Experiment'' and ''Quatermass [=II=]'' are weird to almost EldritchAbomination levels. Put another way, the ''least'' bizarre aliens Quatermass encounters are three-legged telepathic insects from Mars.
* SupportingProtagonist: Quatermass may be the title and main character of ''Quatermass and the Pit'', but it's Dr. Roney who first investigates the pit, is one of the only characters unaffected by the Martian Devil, and ultimately performs a HeroicSacrifice to defeat the Martians.
* TalkingTheMonsterToDeath: Happens at the end of ''The Quatermass Experiment''.

* TheWildHunt: The episode "The Wild Hunt" of ''Quatermass and the Pit'' involves the alien race holding a periodic Wild Hunt to weed out the unfit. Quatermass theorises that this urge has been genetically passed down through the human race, leading to wars and racial conflict.
* WriterOnBoard: The fourth, self-titled serial: "Hippie teenagers are terrifying, lawless punks with no respect for anything and when the chips are down only a scientific team made up entirely of old people ignored by the world are capable of saving it."

!!The Hammer films provide examples of:
* TheAestheticsOfTechnology: The RetroRocket-style design for the alien spacecraft in the tv serial of ''Quatermass and the Pit'' is replaced in the film with a more exotic design that gave it a more weirdly "alien" look.[[note]]Nearly 5 decades since the film's release, many of the design aesthetics of the alien spaceship -- the surfaces, the lines & curves, and even the color -- which all must have looked very unusual and exotic in 1967, now are all bizarrely similar to what is commonly found on the designs of contemporary automobiles today.[[/note]]
* AskAStupidQuestion: Invoked by Sladden in ''Quatermass and the Pit'' after the lights go out in the Underground station and he mutters to himself:
--> Where was Moses when the lights when out?\\
In the flippin' dark.
* CaptainErsatz: After the success of ''The Quatermass Xperiment'' Hammer immediately wanted to make a sequel. They couldn't get the rights however, so they made ''X the Unknown'' a movie with an extremely similar plot-structure and atmosphere to the first with a highly Quatermass-like hero named Doctor Adam Royston.
* CompilationMovie: ''The Quatermass Conclusion'' is an odd example, since the original serial was deliberately written and shot so that it could be edited down into a much shorter movie (the section with the old people in the scrapyard was specifically written to be cuttable without affecting the plot too much). An interesting idea, and it ''almost'' worked.
* HeadInTheSandManagement: The Minister of Defence in ''Quatermass and the Pit''.
* InsufferableGenius: Quatermass comes across as one in ''The Quatermass Xperiment'', refusing to listen to criticism from anyone.
* {{Kaiju}}: The large alien creatures that emerge from the domes and destroy the plant in ''Quatermass 2''.
* AMythologyIsTrue: ''Quatermass and the Pit'' reveals that the insectoid Martians and their telekinesis and spectral projections, are the origins of the beliefs in poltergeists, ghosts, and horned demons.
* SinisterSubway: ''Quatermass and the Pit'' replaces the ordinary building site of the TV show with a London Underground station being reconstructed for an extension, making the scenes even creepier.
* StuffBlowingUp: The climax of ''The Quatermass Xperiment'', replacing the IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight denouement of the original. Kneale was not impressed.
* XtremeKoolLetterz: The first film was actually titled ''The Quatermass Xperiment'', to draw attention to its X rating[[note]]approximately an R rating in modern US terms[[/note]] (for motives as described in AvoidTheDreadedGRating, except that this film came by its rating honestly).