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This episode we're joined by Dave Thomas, writer of Hammer: Back From The Dead, to look at Quatermass's first big screen adventure.

On the way we'll look at the origins of this film and what it meant for Hammer, why Brian Donlevy might actually be the villain of the piece and what connects The Quatermass Xperiment with the Marlboro Man. We'll awaken cathartic memories of Britain's scariest comic...

...and investigate just what the bloody hell is going on with that US poster.

This episode we're joined by writer Andy Murray, whose book Into the Unknown: The Fantastic Life of Nigel Kneale is an absolute must read. You can get it here.

In the first of a two part chat, we look at what Nigel Kneale's been up to since The Quatermass Experiment, the casting of John Robinson and how the BBC felt the need to combat the launch of commercial television and a quick side step to the proposed Quatermass prequel, set in 1930s Berlin.

Howard's short story, The Austringer, can be found here.

For the second part of our look at Quatermass II, we are once again with Andy Murray, writer of Into the Unknown: The Fantastic Life of Nigel Kneale, which you can purchase here. 

There's some dark stuff in the later episodes of Quatermass II, so we have to warn you that BERGCAST is not for children or persons of a nervous disposition.

In this episode, Jon and Howard are joined by writer and actor Gareth Preston as they examine Hammer's attempt to do Quatermass without Nigel Kneale, in Jimmy Sangster's attempt at his very own Royston and the Pit...

On the way we look at how the portrayal of radiation in films might depend on which side of the atomic bomb you were at the end of World War II. We examine whether Royston just spends the entire film trying to kill his boss's son, and we witness what might be the birth of Fraser Hines's ego.

All that plus the horrific deaths of the writer of the theme song to Goldfinger and the producer of Month Python.

Donlevy's back! This episode sees the first of a two-part chat between Jon and producer and writer James Goss as we look at how he first discovered Quatermass and a slightly wider discussion on Nigel Kneale's influence on Doctor Who (including an interesting conspiracy theory concerning The Invisible Enemy), before we make the two-hour trip from London to Carlisle, via Hemel Hempstead, to begin our look at Hammer's Quatermass 2 and wonder what Donlevy's Quatermass must be like at the Rocket Group's Christmas Party.

On the way we'll look at how conspiracies must seem efficient, and the terror of charm and the fear of Communist colonisation. Oh, and what actually is Broadhead's first name anyway?

Jon also gives a shameless plug to the BFI's Projecting the Archive strand, and in case you were wondering, the name of the actor James was so impressed with is John Van Eyssen, probably best know for playing Jonathan Harker in Hammer's first Dracula film, in 1958.

This episode sees the conclusion of Jon and guest James Goss's look at Hammer's Quatermass 2. In a wide-ranging discussion that encompasses everything from Alan Plater to Flesh Gordon, they witnesses the trauma of Sid James being shot in the face (apparently), admire the inventive use of filler text and investigate if this really is the first use of the suffix '2' in a film title. James also tells us about interviewing Nigel Kneale for his student magazine...

Today, the BERGCAST team takes a deep dive into the only place to go: the pit, source of terror, haunting and the awful Darwinian impulse that drives the human race to suicidal mass action, which isn't remotely topical. We're joined by our special guest, novelist, playwright and Squaxx dek Thargo, the brilliant Maura McHugh.

The sky. The sky is purple.

This is the second part of our descent into the Pit with prolific writer Maura McHugh.

Along with our discussion of what may be Nigel Kneale's finest moment, we look at MONSTERS FROM THE ID, the Nazi rocket scientist no one wanted, great character surnames, the entire absence of a philosophical leviathan, and HP Lovecraft's debt to bad archaeology.

It's a force more powerful than 1,000 H-bombs unleashed to devastate earth! What is? Our excitement at, for the final episode of BERGCAST Season One, not only the both of us being in the same place, but getting to meet Hammer archivist and Doctor Who Magazine editor Marcus Hearn in the headquarters of the BFI no less.

Marcus enlightened us on why it took so long to make a third Quatermass (but why they kept trying), and who else could have played our pal Bernard.

We touch on the awkward relationship that Quatermass has with the sex/colour/blood aesthetic of Hammer Horror and Babs Windsor's bra.

We hear a tale of two Roy Bakers, and muse on whether the only things violated in this movie are trade descriptions.

And we talk about the power of this film, and how the juxtaposition of the prosaic and the uncanny lend it its curious power.  We're taking a break for a month or so now, as we get our Martians in a line for BERGCAST Season Two, where we'll be meeting a whole new set of guests, and going to the Quatermass Conclusion... and beyond.

Thanks to our lovely engineer Emma, Andrea Kinnear, Toby Hadoke and Sarah Reuben of the BFI, and also  Kier-La Janisse of the Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies, without any of whom, as the saying goes, this would not have happened.

BERGCAST Season Two will begin soon enough, but until then, we're going to supply you with some dead air, as the Man in Black introduces the first of a series of ghost stories, written for your pleasure and discomfort.

The first of our tales, “The Austringer (1969)”, tells the story of a man who finds the Holy Grail of archive television, and the consequences of its discovery.

There's a risk inherent in a love for obsolete technology. It can haunt us, especially if it once belonged to someone evil. 

Enjoy the second of our lockdown ghost stories, written and read by Howard and introduced by Jon in his guise as BERGCAST's own Man in Black.

In the concluding part of our look at the lost work of Nigel Kneale, Toby Hadoke talks about the practicalities of adapting The Road for radio, and Andy Murray examines the controversy of The Big, Big Giggle and its legacy in other Kneale works. 

We also look at why his two Wednesday Plays are less well remembered than other missing work like Out of the Unknown: The Chopper & wonder, did Nigel invent joyriding?

Mark Gatiss referred to Nigel Kneale as “the man who invented popular television”. 

It can be a curse of a writer tagged as ‘genre’ that they may never been seen alongside the very best. As Mark said when Kneale died, “He is amongst the greats – he is absolutely as important as Dennis Potter, as David Mercer, as Alan Bleasdale, as Alan Bennett, but I think because of a strange snobbery about fantasy or sci-fi, it’s never been quite that way.”

In this episode, we chat with Mark about his love for Nigel Kneale’s work, his influence and his legacy. Mark recalls the one time he met the man himself and how he tried to get greater industry recognition for Kneale. He also talks about following in the Nigel’s footsteps by adapting Wells’s The First Men in the Moon, and the experience of making The Quatermass Experiment in 2005.

It's another very special episode of BERGCAST, as we're joined by our second-favourite Doctor in media, the tremendous Dr Una McCormack, with whom we're talking about the 1972 Kneale play The Stone Tape. In a discussion where we talk about the history of British manufacturing, the surprising role of Boromir, the value of fanfiction and parallels with classic Japanese horror, Una raises the very pertinent point of whether the story of a man's downfall really needs to be presented over the corpse of a woman, and we speculate as to what The Stone Tape would look like if it were feminist... and in space.

For this episode, we're joined by Andrew Screen, writer of a forthcoming book about Nigel Kneale's anthology series Beasts to talk about that, and its predecessor, Murrain, which is for obvious reasons very close to Howard's heart.

Join us for a discussion of how great a terse character description can be, the truth about the farmer's name in Murrain, and what Pauline Quirke has to do with a talking Mongoose called Gef. 

Andrew was also kind enough to send us pictures (taken by Julian Jones) of the locations from Murrain as they are now, a couple of which you can see here.

What was Our Nigel’s beef with the Hammer Family? How did a toy poodle play a part in one of the most chilling scenes ever shown on broadcast telly? Was there really a time when Bernard Horsfall strangled two beloved TV scientists in a single week? Which Hellraiser movie was the one with the spaceship?

Tap the play button to find out. 

We'd like to say a big thank you to Caroline Champion, Johnny Mains and Andy Murray for their help on this one. 

On the way we’ll examine influence of Judith Kerr or Kneale’s work, what sets Kneale apart from writers like John Wyndham, and if Donald Pleasance has ever looked young. 

Hope you enjoy.

As we talk about the bleakest and most apocalyptic story of a pretty bleak canon, we also explore the links the 1979 ITV Quatermass has with Blood on Satan's Claw, compare Nigel Kneale with George Lucas and Charles Dickens, and what “aging well” really means.

In this episode, the voices of Jon and Howard are joined by the mellifluous and delightful tones of Egyptologist and Horrified editor-at-large John J. Johnston. Join us as we explore the early career of Peter Cushing, the history of imperialism and the 50s craze for Yeti movies, Nazi practical jokes and the transcendent, formative power of the media we loved as children.

We discuss the one time Nigel Kneale shared a credit with Ray Harryhausen, why these films have resonated with us since childhood, how stop motion animation takes us right into the uncanny valley, and whether First Men in the Moon is really the first fully realised alien culture in cinema. 

And by the way, you can find Jon's other podcast, Due Signori in Giallo, at duesignori.cast.rocks.

Stephen’s book on The Brood can be found here: https://www.pspublishing.co.uk/the-brood-hardcover-by-stephen-r-bissette-4784-p.asp

Studio of Screams: https://www.pspublishing.co.uk/studio-of-screams-ebook-s-r-bissette-m-morris-c-golden-t-lebbon-s-volk-5280-p.asp

SR Bissette’s Thoughtful Creatures: https://www.amazon.co.uk/S-Bissettes-Thoughtful-Creatures-Color/dp/B09CRXYQP7

You can find Sixties Cinema Reconsidered here, Celluloid Tales: Norfolk Film History here, and Invictawood: The Story of Kent and the Silver Screen here.

Taking a deep dive into the terrifying Kneale-scripted Christmas drama The Woman in Black we're joined by Robert Taylor, author of the forthcoming book Sound Haunting: The Making of Central Films’ The Woman in Black. In a lengthy and intimate discussion, we talk about the genesis of the drama, what happened when Nigel Kneale wrote the script too quickly, how a woman in a dress and a hat standing absolutely still can chill you to the bone, and the enduring power of Christmas TV memories.

Robert recently wrote an essay about The Woman in Black on Horrified.com, which you can read here.

It only remains for us to wish you all a merry, and ghostly Christmas. We've got big news coming in the New Year, so stay tuned. Contact will remain established.

The Nigel Kneale Centenary Celebration will be held at the Crouch End Picturehouse on April 23rd. You can find out a full rundown of what's going on at nigelknealecentenary.com or cut out the middlehuman and just buy your ticket here – but be quick, they're selling steadily. Toby's 7th Dimension special will air on Radio 4 Extra in the week running up to that – why not bookmark the schedules so you don't miss it? And you can pre-order your copy of Tomato Cain and Other Stories at the Comma Press site right now.

Oh, and let's not forget that we'll be posting frequent updates on our Twitter feed – follow us on @BERGCASTCalling.

Nineteen Eighty-Four will be released on 11th April. Pre-order it here. 

If you're lucky enough to be able to get to London, you can book tickets for the Nigel Kneale season at the BFI this month here. And you can find out about the April 23rd Centenary day at Picturehouse Crouch End here.

Joining Jon in this episode is Kneale biographer Andy Murray, who’s been the driving force in getting this book back in print for the first time since the early 1960s. Andy talks about how the opportunity arose, why you’ll find more than just the stories from the original edition here, and what you can expect from this eclectic collection (spoiler free of course), that sees the formative Kneale shaping the ideas and styles that would make him one of the more important screenwriters of the 20th century.

You can order Tomato Cain and Other Stories from Comma Press here.

Oh, and yeah, did you know there was an Australian adaptation of The Quatermass Experiment? No? Neither did we. A word about that in the preamble.

Find Brontë's links here.

There's also an extended intro to meeting co-host Andy Murray, Nigel Kneale's biographer.

Toby chats to Jon and Andy about its long gestation, the challenge of tenses and how to slay sacred cows respectfully.

And they're also joined by writer/filmmaker Simon Guerrier, whose two part Nigel Kneale documentary straddles both releases.

You can buy the Quatermass films (and much more besides) from Hammer if you visit the Hammer shop here:

https://hammerfilms.com/collections/the-quatermass-collection

You can also check out the work of Simon Guerrier:

https://0tralala.blogspot.com/

We're all pretty stoked for his forthcoming biography of Doctor Who scribe Terrance Dicks.

As Andy mentions at the end, both he and Jon will join Toby Hadoke and Brontë Schiltz at The Quatermas Event at Derby QUAD on 6 December. Tickets here:

https://www.derbyquad.co.uk/events/thequatermassevent/

Hope to say hello to a few listeners!