Thomas Nigel Kneale
Nigel Kneale in 1990, discussing his career on BBC Two's The Late Show. The Late Show (1989&ndash1995 was a British television arts magazine programme broadcast on BBC Two weeknights at 11
Born	18 April 1922(1922-04-18) Barrow-in-Furness, England
Died	29 October 2006 (aged 84) London, England
Pen name	Nigel Kneale
Occupation	Screenwriter
Nationality	Manx
Writing period	1946–1997
Genres	Science fiction, thriller, horror

Nigel Kneale (18 April 1922 – 29 October 2006) was a Manx writer, who worked mostly in the United Kingdom. Events 1025 - Bolesław Chrobry is crowned in Gniezno, becoming the first King of Poland. Year 1922 ( MCMXXII) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and Seaport in Cumbria, England. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Events 437 - Valentinian III, Western Roman Emperor, marries Licinia Eudoxia, daughter of his cousin Theodosius II Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a Pseudonym adopted by an Author or their publishers to conceal their identity Employment is a Contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. Screenwriters or scenarists are Scriptwriters who write the Screenplays from which Films and Television programs are made Nationality is a relationship between a Person and their State of Origin, Culture, association Affiliation and/or Loyalty The Isle of Man (Ellan Vannin ˈɛlʲən ˈvanɪn or Mann (Mannin) is a self-governing Crown dependency, located in the Irish Sea at the geographical A literary genre is a category of literary composition Genres may be determined by Literary technique, tone, Content, or even (as in the case of fiction The thriller is a broad Genre of Literature, Film, Gaming and Television. Horror fiction is broadly Fiction in any medium intended to scare unsettle or horrify the audience Events 1025 - Bolesław Chrobry is crowned in Gniezno, becoming the first King of Poland. Year 1922 ( MCMXXII) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 437 - Valentinian III, Western Roman Emperor, marries Licinia Eudoxia, daughter of his cousin Theodosius II Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The Isle of Man (Ellan Vannin ˈɛlʲən ˈvanɪn or Mann (Mannin) is a self-governing Crown dependency, located in the Irish Sea at the geographical The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Active in television, film, radio drama and prose fiction, he wrote professionally for over fifty years, was a winner of the Somerset Maugham Award and was twice nominated for the British Film Award for Best Screenplay. Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic Radio drama is a form of audio storytelling broadcast on radio. For the Wikipedia guideline regarding editing articles see WikipediaManual of Style. The Somerset Maugham Award is a British literary prize given each May by the Society of Authors. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA is a British charity that hosts annual awards shows for film television television craft video games and forms of animation

Predominantly a writer of thrillers which used science-fiction and horror elements, he was best known for the creation of the character Professor Bernard Quatermass. The thriller is a broad Genre of Literature, Film, Gaming and Television. Horror fiction is broadly Fiction in any medium intended to scare unsettle or horrify the audience Professor Bernard Quatermass is a fictional character originally created by the writer Nigel Kneale for BBC Television. Quatermass was a heroic scientist who appeared in various television, film and radio productions written by Kneale for the BBC, Hammer Film Productions and Thames Television between 1953 and 1996. Hammer Film Productions is a film production company based in the United Kingdom. Thames Television was a licencee of the British ITV television network covering London and parts of the surrounding counties Kneale wrote original scripts and successfully adapted works by writers such as George Orwell, John Osborne, H. G. Wells and Susan Hill. Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950 who used the Pseudonym George Orwell, was an English writer John James Osborne ( December 12, 1929 &ndash December 24, 1994) was an English Playwright, Screenwriter, Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 &ndash 13 August 1946 He was an outspoken socialist and a pacifist, his later works becoming increasingly political Susan Hill (born February 5, 1942) is a British Author of Fiction and Non-fiction works

He was most active in television, joining BBC Television in 1951 as one of its first staff writers; his final script was transmitted on ITV in 1997. Independent Television (generally known as ITV) is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters set up under the Independent Kneale wrote well-received television dramas such as The Year of the Sex Olympics (1968) and The Stone Tape (1972) in addition to the Quatermass serials. The Year of the Sex Olympics is a 1968 television play made by the BBC and first broadcast on BBC2 as part of its Theatre 625 The Stone Tape is a Television play directed by Peter Sasdy and starring Michael Bryant, Jane Asher, Michael He has been described as "one of the most influential writers of the 20th century,"^[1] and as "having invented popular TV. "^[2]

Early life and career

Kneale was born Thomas Nigel Kneale in Barrow-in-Furness, England. Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and Seaport in Cumbria, England. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland ^[3][4] His family came from the Isle of Man, and returned to live there in 1928, when Kneale was six years old. The Isle of Man (Ellan Vannin ˈɛlʲən ˈvanɪn or Mann (Mannin) is a self-governing Crown dependency, located in the Irish Sea at the geographical ^[5][6] He was raised in the island's capital, Douglas, where his father was the owner and editor of the local newspaper, The Herald. Douglas (Doolish is the capital of the Isle of Man and its largest town ^[7][8] He was educated at St Ninian's High School, and after leaving studied law, training to become an advocate at the Manx Bar. An advocate is one who speaks on behalf of another person especially in a legal context ^[8][7] He also worked in a lawyer's office,^[3] but became bored with his legal training and eventually abandoned the profession. A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law as an attorney, Counsel or Solicitor; a person ^[4] At the beginning of the Second World War Kneale attempted to enlist in the British Army, but was deemed medically unfit for service^[7] due to photophobia from which he had suffered since childhood. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. Photophobia is a Symptom of excessive sensitivity to Light and the aversion to Sunlight or well-lit places ^[9]

On 25 March 1946 Kneale made his first broadcast on BBC Radio, performing a live reading of his own short story "Tomato Cain" in a strand entitled Stories by Northern Authors on the BBC's North of England Home Service region. Events 1199 - Richard I is wounded by a crossbow bolt while fighting France which leads to his death on April 6. Year 1946 ( MCMXLVI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927 Live radio is Radio broadcast without delay Before the days of Television, audiences listened to live dramas comedies quiz shows and concerts on the radio much The short story is a literary genre of Fictional Prose Narrative that tends to be more concise and to the point than longer works of fiction such Northern England, The North, The North of England or (less commonly The North Country refers to the parts of England north of an ill-defined line ^[10] Later that year he left the Isle of Man and moved to London, where he began studying acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art ( RADA) in Bloomsbury, London, is generally regarded as one of the most prestigious Drama schools in the world ^[6] He made further radio broadcasts in the 1940s, including a reading of his story Zachary Crebbin's Angel on the BBC Light Programme, broadcast nationally on 19 May 1948. Events 1535 - French explorer Jacques Cartier sets sail on his second voyage to North America with three ships 110 men and Year 1948 ( MCMXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. ^[11] He also had further short stories published in magazines such as Argosy and The Strand. The Strand Magazine was a monthly fiction magazine founded by George Newnes. ^[7] He began using the name "Nigel Kneale" for these professional credits, but continued to be known as "Tom" to his family and friends up until his death. ^[12]

After graduating from RADA, Kneale worked for a short time as a professional actor performing in small roles at the Stratford Memorial Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. Stratford-upon-Avon (ˌstrætfɚd əpɒn ˈɛɪvən is a Market town and Civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. ^[8] He continued to write in his spare time and in 1949 a collection of his work, entitled Tomato Cain and Other Stories, was published. ^[7] The book sufficiently impressed the writer Elizabeth Bowen that she wrote a foreword for it,^[7] and in 1950 the collection won the Somerset Maugham Award. Elizabeth Dorothea Cole Bowen (7 June 1899 &ndash 22 February 1973 was an Anglo-Irish novelist and short story writer A foreword is a (usually short piece of writing often found at the beginning of a book or other piece of Literature, before the introduction, and written by someone The Somerset Maugham Award is a British literary prize given each May by the Society of Authors. ^[4] (His son, Matthew Kneale, would later win the same award in 1988 for his novel Whore Banquets. Matthew Kneale (born November 24, 1960) is a British writer best known for his 2000 novel English Passengers, which won the prestigious ^[13])

Following this success, Kneale gave up acting to write full-time. ^[6] He did take small voice-over roles in some of his 1950s television productions, such as the voice heard on the factory loudspeaker system in Quatermass II (1955), for which he also narrated most of the recaps shown at the beginning of each episode. The term voice-over refers to a production technique where a non-diagetic voice is broadcast live or pre-recorded in Radio, Television, Film, Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic For the Marty Friedman album see Loudspeaker (album A loudspeaker, speaker, or speaker system is an electroacoustical Quatermass II is a British science-fiction serial, originally broadcast by BBC Television in the autumn of 1955 A narrator (or the extremely rarely used female equivalent narratress) is within any story (literary work movie play verbal account etc ^[14] Kneale's publisher was keen for him to write a novel,^[3] but Kneale himself was more interested in writing for television. ^[3] A keen cinema-goer, he believed that the audience being able to see human faces was an important factor in storytelling. ^[15]

His first professional scriptwriting credit came when he wrote the radio drama The Long Stairs, broadcast by the BBC on 1 March 1950^[6] and based on a historical mining disaster on the Isle of Man. Radio drama is a form of audio storytelling broadcast on radio. Events 86 BC - Lucius Cornelius Sulla, at the head of a Roman Republic army enters in Athens, removing the Tyrant Year 1950 ( MCML) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Mining is the extraction of valuable Minerals or other geological materials from the earth usually (but not always from an Ore body ^[6] In 1951 he was recruited as one of the first staff writers to be employed by BBC Television;^[16] before he started working for the BBC, Kneale had never seen any television. ^[17] Kneale was initially a general purpose writer, working on adaptations of books and stage plays and even writing material for light entertainment and children's programmes. Light entertainment is a term used to describe a broad range of usually televisual performances Children's television series are Television programs designed for and marketed to Children normally broadcast during the Morning and Afternoon ^[10] The following year, Michael Barry became the Head of Drama at BBC Television, and spent his entire first year's script budget of £250 to hire Kneale as a full-time writer for the drama department. Michael Barry ( May 15 1910 &ndash June 1988 was a British Television producer and executive who was an important early influence on BBC ^[10] Kneale's first credited role in adult television drama was providing "additional dialogue" for the play Arrow to the Heart, broadcast on 20 July 1952. Arrow to the Heart was a British television drama originally broadcast by BBC Television in 1952 and remade in 1956 Events 1304 - Wars of Scottish Independence: Fall of Stirling Castle - King Edward I of England takes the last rebel stronghold Year 1952 ( MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. ^[18] This play was adapted and directed by the Austrian television director Rudolph Cartier, who had also joined the staff of the BBC drama department in 1952. Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich A television director directs the activities involved in making a Television Episode. Rudolph Cartier (born Rudolph Katscher; 17 April 1904 &ndash 7 June 1994 was an Austrian Television director who worked predominantly in British ^[19] It was the beginning of a successful working relationship between the pair, that would lead to some of Kneale's best known work.

BBC staff scriptwriter

Neither Kneale nor Cartier were impressed with the state in which they found BBC television drama. At his initial job interview with Michael Barry, Cartier had criticised the department's output as being too sedate and theatrical,^[20] while Kneale was frustrated at what he saw as the slow and boring styles of television drama production then employed, which he felt wasted the potential of the medium. ^[21] Together they would help to revolutionise British television drama and establish it as an entity separate from its theatre and radio equivalents; the television historian Lez Cooke wrote in 2003 that "Between them, Kneale and Cartier were responsible for introducing a completely new dimension to television drama in the early to mid-1950s. "^[22] Jason Jacobs, a lecturer in film and television studies at the University of Warwick, wrote in his 2000 history of early British television drama that "It was the arrival of Nigel Kneale. Film theory debates the essence of the cinema and provides conceptual frameworks for understanding film's relationship to Reality, the other Arts individual Television studies is an academic discipline that deals with critical approaches to Television. The University of Warwick is a British Campus university located on the outskirts of Coventry, West Midlands, England and is . . and Rudolph Cartier. . . that challenged the intimate drama directly. . . Kneale and Cartier shared a common desire to invigorate television with a faster tempo and a broader thematic and spatial canvas, and it was no coincidence that they turned to science-fiction in order to get out of the dominant stylistic trend of television intimacy. "^[23]

The science-fiction production to which Jacobs referred was The Quatermass Experiment, broadcast in six half-hour episodes in July and August 1953. The Quatermass Experiment is a British science-fiction serial broadcast by BBC Television in the summer of 1953 and re-staged by ^[24] The serial told the story of Professor Bernard Quatermass of the British Experimental Rocket Group, and the consequences of his sending the first manned mission into space when a terrible fate befalls the crew and only one returns. Professor Bernard Quatermass is a fictional character originally created by the writer Nigel Kneale for BBC Television. The Quatermass Experiment was the first adult television science-fiction production,^[25] held a large television audience gripped across its six weeks,^[3] and has been described by the Museum of Broadcast Communications as dramatising "a new range of gendered fears about Britain's postwar and post-colonial security. The Museum of Broadcast Communications (or MBC) is located in Chicago Illinois. "^[26] Kneale was inspired in choosing the character's unusual surname by the fact that many Manx surnames began with "Qu";^[27] the actual name itself was picked from a London telephone directory. ^[27] The Professor's first name was chosen in honour of the astronomer Bernard Lovell. Historically Astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky while Astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena Sir Alfred Charles Bernard Lovell - better known as Sir Bernard Lovell OBE PhD FRS (born 31 August 1913) is an English ^[27]

The BBC recognised the success of the serial, particularly in the context of the impending arrival of commercial television to the UK. Controller of Programmes Cecil McGivern wrote in a memo that: "Had competitive television been in existence then, we would have killed it every Saturday night while [The Quatermass Experiment] lasted. Cecil McGivern CBE ( May 22 1907 in Newcastle, England &ndash January 30 1963 in Buckinghamshire, We are going to need many more 'Quatermass Experiment' programmes. "^[28] Like all of Kneale's 1950s television work for the BBC, The Quatermass Experiment was transmitted live. "Live TV" redirects here For the British TV station formerly known by this name see L!VE TV. ^[29] Only the first two episodes were telerecorded and survive in the BBC's archives. Telerecording (known as kinescoping in the USA) is the British name for a process pioneered during the 1940s for the storing of electronically-shot ^[29]

Kneale and Cartier next collaborated on an adaptation of Wuthering Heights (broadcast 6 December 1953) and then on a version of George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (12 December 1954). Wuthering Heights is Emily Brontë 's only Novel. It was first published in 1847 under the Pseudonym Ellis Bell and a posthumous second Events 1060 - Béla I of Hungary is crowned king of Hungary 1240 - Mongol invasion of Rus: Kiev Year 1953 ( MCMLIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950 who used the Pseudonym George Orwell, was an English writer Nineteen Eighty-Four was a British television adaptation of the novel of the same name by George Events 627 - Battle of Nineveh: A Byzantine army under Emperor Heraclius defeats Emperor Khosrau II 's Persian Year 1954 ( MCMLIV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1954 Gregorian calendar) ^[30] Nineteen Eighty-Four was a particularly notable production; many found it shocking, and questions were asked in Parliament about whether some of the scenes had been suitable for television. The House of Commons' is the Lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords ^[31] There was also prominent support for the play; the Duke of Edinburgh made it known that he and the Queen had watched and enjoyed the programme,^[32] and the second live performance on 16 December gained the largest television audience since her coronation the previous year. For the ship see RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Context States headed by Elizabeth II Events 755 - An Lushan revolts against Chancellor Yang Guozhong at Fanyang, initiating the An Shi Rebellion The Coronation of the British Monarch is a Ceremony (specifically Initiation rite) in which the Monarch of the United Kingdom and of the other ^[32] The Guardian newspaper's obituary of Kneale in 2006 claimed that the adaptation had "permanently revived Orwell's reputation,"^[4] while the British Film Institute included it in their list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes of the 20th century in 2000. The Guardian (until 1959 The Manchester Guardian) is a British Newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. The British Film Institute ( BFI) is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to encourage the development of the arts of film television ^[33]

The Creature—an original script by Kneale concerning the legend of the abominable snowman—was his next collaboration with Cartier, broadcast on 30 January 1955,^[30] followed by an adaptation of Peter Ustinov's play The Moment of Truth (10 March 1955),^[30] before Kneale was commissioned to write Quatermass II. Events 1648 - Eighty Years' War: The Treaty of Münster is signed ending the conflict between the Netherlands and Spain Year 1955 ( MCMLV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar) Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (ˈjuːstɪnɒf or /ˈuːstɪnɒf/ 16 April 1921 – 28 March 2004) born Peter Alexander Baron von Ustinow Events 241 BC - First Punic War: Battle of the Aegates Islands - The Romans sink the Carthaginian fleet bringing Year 1955 ( MCMLV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar) Quatermass II is a British science-fiction serial, originally broadcast by BBC Television in the autumn of 1955 ^[34] Specifically designed by the BBC to combat the threat of the new ITV network,^[26][30] which launched just a month before Quatermass II was shown,^[35] the serial was even more successful than the first, drawing audiences of up to nine million viewers. Independent Television (generally known as ITV) is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters set up under the Independent ^[36] Kneale was inspired in writing the serial by contemporary fears over secret UK Ministry of Defence research establishments such as Porton Down, as well the fact that as a BBC staff writer he had been required to sign the Official Secrets Act. The Ministry of Defence ( MoD) is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters Porton Down is a UK government and military Science park. It is situated slightly northeast of Porton near Salisbury in Wiltshire, The Official Secrets Act is any of several Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the protection of official information mainly related to National ^[30]

Almost simultaneously with the transmission of Quatermass II in the autumn of 1955, Hammer Film Productions released The Quatermass Xperiment, their film adaptation of the first serial. Hammer Film Productions is a film production company based in the United Kingdom. The Quatermass Xperiment ( The Creeping Unknown in the United States) is a 1955 British science-fiction / Horror ^[37] Kneale was not pleased with the film,^[6] and particularly disliked the casting of Brian Donlevy as Quatermass, as he explained in a 1986 interview. Brian Donlevy ( February 9 1901 &ndash April 5 1972) was an American Actor, known for many film roles from the 1930s to "[Donlevy] was then really on the skids and didn't care what he was doing. He took very little interest in the making of the films or in playing the part. It was a case of take the money and run. Or in the case of Mr Donlevy, waddle. "^[38]

Quatermass II was Kneale's final original script for the BBC as a staff writer. ^[18] He left the corporation when his contract expired at the end of 1956;^[39] "Five years in that hut was as much as any sane person could stand," he later told an interviewer. ^[40] He continued to write for the BBC on a freelance basis. A freelancer, freelance worker, or freelance is a person who pursues a profession without a long-term commitment to any one employer

Freelance film and television work

The same year that he left the BBC, Kneale wrote his first feature film screenplay, adapting Quatermass II for Hammer Film Productions along with producer Anthony Hinds and director Val Guest. See also Pre-production Screenwriting A screenplay or script is a written plan authored by a Screenwriter, for a Film or Television Quatermass 2 (also known as Quatermass II) is a 1957 British science-fiction / Horror film based on the BBC Television A film producer is a person who creates the conditions for making movies. Anthony Hinds (born 1922 aka Tony Hinds, aka John Elder, is a British Screenwriter and producer. A film director, or filmmaker, is a person who directs the making of a Film. Val Guest ( December 11 1911 &ndash May 10, 2006) was a British Film director, best known for his science-fiction ^[40] Hinds and Guest had overseen the first Quatermass film, upon which Kneale had been unable to work due to his BBC staff contract. ^[40] Kneale was disappointed that Brian Donlevy also returned in the role of Quatermass. ^[40] The film premiered at the end of May 1957,^[41] and was reviewed positively in The Times: "The writer of the original story, Mr. The Times is a daily national Newspaper published in the United Kingdom since 1785 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register. Nigel Kneale, and the director, Mr. Val Guest, between them keep things moving at the right speed, without digressions. The film has an air of respect for the issues touched on, and this impression is confirmed by the acting generally. "^[42] 1957 also saw the release of another cinematic collaboration between Kneale and Guest, when Kneale adapted his 1955 BBC play The Creature into The Abominable Snowman;^[43] in this case, Hammer retained the star of the BBC version, Peter Cushing. The Abominable Snowman (aka The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas) is a 1957 British Horror film, directed by Val Guest and Peter Wilton Cushing, OBE (26 May 1913—11 August 1994 was an English actor known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played Baron Frankenstein ^[38]

In May 1957, Kneale was contracted by the BBC to write a third Quatermass serial,^[39] and this was eventually transmitted as Quatermass and the Pit across six weeks in December and January 1958–59. Quatermass and the Pit is a British television science-fiction serial, originally transmitted by BBC Television in December ^[44] On this occasion Kneale was inspired by the racial tensions that had recently been seen in the United Kingdom, and which came to a head while the serial was in pre-production when the Notting Hill race riots occurred in August and September 1958. See also Filmmaking Pre-production is the process of preparing all the elements involved in a Film, play, or other Performance. The Notting Hill race riots were a series of racially-motivated riots which took place in the Notting Hill area of London, England over several ^[45] Drawing audiences of up to 11 million,^[44] Quatermass and the Pit has been referred to by the BBC's own website as "simply the first finest thing the BBC ever made. "^[46] It was also included in the British Film Institute's "TV 100" list in 2000, where it was praised for the themes and subtexts it explored. "In a story which mined mythology and folklore. . . under the guise of genre it tackled serious themes of man's hostile nature and the military's perversion of science for its own ends. "^[47]

Despite the success of the serial, Kneale felt that he had now taken the character of Quatermass as far as he could. "I didn't want to go on repeating because Professor Quatermass had already saved the world from ultimate destruction three times, and that seemed to me to be quite enough," he said in 1986. ^[38] It was also his final new collaboration with Rudolph Cartier, although the director did later handle a new version of Kneale's 1953 adaptation of Wuthering Heights for the BBC in 1962. ^[48]

In 1958 Kneale's play Mrs Wickens in the Fall, transmitted by the BBC the previous year, was remade by the CBS network in the United States, retitled The Littlest Enemy. CBS Broadcasting Inc ( CBS) is an American radio and Television network. ^[49] Broadcast on 18 June as part of The United States Steel Hour anthology series, the script was severely cut back in length. Events 618 - Coronation of the Chinese governor Li Yuan as Emperor Gaozu of Tang, the new Emperor of China, initiating three centuries The United States Steel Hour (aka Theater Guild on the Air) was an American radio Anthology series which embarked on the ambitious ^[49] It was Kneale's only involvement with American television, and he was not pleased with the result. "I made up my mind I would never ever again have anything done on a television network in America," he later commented. ^[49]

For the next few years, Kneale concentrated mostly on film screenplays, adapting plays and novels for the cinema. Described by The Independent as "one of the few writers not to fall out with John Osborne,"^[7] Kneale adapted Osborne's plays Look Back in Anger and The Entertainer in 1958 and 1960 respectively, both for director Tony Richardson. The Independent is a British compact Newspaper published by Tony O'Reilly 's Independent News & Media. John James Osborne ( December 12, 1929 &ndash December 24, 1994) was an English Playwright, Screenwriter, Look Back in Anger (1956 is a John Osborne play and 1958 movie about a love triangle involving an intelligent but disaffected young man (Jimmy Porter The Entertainer is a 1957 play by John Osborne, made into a Film in 1960, which told the story of a failing third-rate Music Tony Richardson ( June 5, 1928 – November 14, 1991) was an English theatre and Academy Award -winning film ^[6] Kneale knew Richardson through having previously adapted a Chekhov short story for the BBC, which Richardson had directed. Anton Pavlovich Chekhov ( –) (Анто́н Па́влович Че́хов) was a Russian short-story writer and Playwright, considered to be one ^[50] Kneale was nominated for the British Film Award (later known as a BAFTA) for Best Screenplay for both films. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA is a British charity that hosts annual awards shows for film television television craft video games and forms of animation ^[31] Film producer Harry Saltzman, who had produced the two Osborne adaptations, approached Kneale about scripting a project he was working on to adapt Ian Fleming's James Bond novels for the cinema; Kneale was not a fan of Fleming's work and turned the offer down. A film producer is a person who creates the conditions for making movies. Harry Saltzman ( October 27 1915 - September 28 1994) was a theatre and Film producer best known for his mega-gamble which resulted Ian Lancaster Fleming ( May 28, 1908 – August 12, 1964) was a British author, Journalist and Second World War James Bond 007 is a Fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve Novels and two Short story ^[51] Further adaptations Kneale did work on were H.M.S. Defiant (1962, from the novel Mutiny by Frank Tilsley)^[52] and First Men in the Moon (1964, from the novel by H. G. Wells). HMS Defiant (released as Damn the Defiant! in the United States) is a British Film released in 1962 See also A Trip to the Moon, The First Men in the Moon (1919 film, First Men in the Moon (1964 film The First Men in the Moon Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 &ndash 13 August 1946 He was an outspoken socialist and a pacifist, his later works becoming increasingly political ^[53]

Less successfully during this period, Kneale completed screenplays for adaptations of the novels Lord of the Flies by William Golding and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Lord of the Flies is an allegorical Novel by Nobel Prize -winning author William Golding. Sir William Gerald Golding ( 19 September, 1911 – 19 June, 1993) was a British novelist poet and Nobel Prize for Literature Brave New World is a 1932 Novel by Aldous Huxley. Set in the London of AD 2540 (632 A Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 &ndash 22 November 1963 was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. ^[17] Neither of these scripts ever saw production, as the companies making them went out of business—Kneale commented in a 2003 interview that "I reckon I closed down at least two film companies. "^[17] Another screenplay that went unproduced was a Kneale original, a drama involving a wave of teenage suicides called The Big Giggle,^[17] or The Big, Big Giggle. Teenage suicide is the act of self-killing by a Teenager. Although the Suicide rate among youth significantly decreased in the mid-1990s suicide deaths in the ^[38] Written in 1965 while Kneale was suffering from a mystery illness and forced to stay in bed for a long period, the concept started life as a drama serial for the BBC, before the corporation had second thoughts about the nature of the storyline and the possibility of copycat suicides;^[17] Kneale later agreed that they were probably right not to make it for television. A copycat suicide is defined as a duplication or Copycat of another Suicide that the person attempting suicide knows about either from local knowledge or due to accounts ^[38] The production was nearly made as a film by 20th Century Fox, but John Trevelyan, Chief Executive of the British Board of Film Censors, forbade the script's production. John Trevelyan may refer to Sir John Trevelyan 2nd Baronet (1670-1755 British MP Sir John Trevelyan 4th Baronet (1735-1828 British The British Board of Film Classification ( BBFC) originally British Board of Film Censors, is the organisation responsible for Film, DVD ^[38][17]

In 1966 Kneale worked again for Hammer Film Productions when he adapted Norah Lofts's 1960 novel The Devil's Own into the horror film The Witches. Norah Lofts, née Norah Robinson, ( 27 August 1904 &ndash 10 September 1983) was a 20th century best-selling Horror films are Movies that strive to elicit Fear, Horror and terror responses from viewers The Witches (US The Devil's Own) is a 1966 British Horror film made by Hammer Films. ^[54] Kneale had first worked on the screenplay for the adaptation in 1961,^[54] the same year in which he had begun to adapt Quatermass and the Pit for Hammer. ^[55] Like The Witches, the film version of Quatermass and the Pit took several years to reach the screen, eventually being released in 1967. Quatermass and the Pit is a 1967 British science-fiction / Horror film, produced by Hammer Film Productions and based on the ^[56] Roy Ward Baker directed, with Andrew Keir starring as Quatermass. Roy Ward Baker (born December 19, 1916) is an English Film director born in London. Andrew Keir ( April 3, 1926 &ndash October 5, 1997) was a Scottish actor who rose to prominence featuring in a number of films from ^[56] Kneale was much happier with this version than the previous Hammer Quatermass adaptations,^[57] and the film was described by The Independent in 2006 as "one of the best ever Hammer productions. "^[7] Quatermass and the Pit was Kneale's final credited film work; 1979's The Quatermass Conclusion was only released to cinemas in overseas markets after having been made for television in the UK,^[58] and he had his name removed from the credits of Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982). Quatermass (also known as The Quatermass Conclusion or Quatermass IV) is a British television science fiction Halloween III Season of the Witch is a 1982 Horror film and the third installment in the ''Halloween'' series. ^[6]

Kneale had returned to writing for television with the BBC for the first time since Quatermass and the Pit when his play The Road was broadcast in September 1963. ^[6] The play concerned the population of an 18th century village who become haunted by visions of a future nuclear war,^[3] and was followed by several further one-off dramas for the BBC over the following decade, including two entries into BBC1's The Wednesday Play anthology strand. The Wednesday Play was a British Television play which ran on BBC1 from 1964 ^[18] During this period he was regarded as one of the finest writers working for the BBC. ^[59] Kneale did his first work for the ITV network during this time, writing one-off play The Crunch for the ABC company in 1964. Independent Television (generally known as ITV) is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters set up under the Independent Associated British Corporation (otherwise known as ABC Television or ABC Weekend Television) was one of a number of commercial television companies set up in the 1950s ^[60]

A particular critical success was The Year of the Sex Olympics, broadcast as part of BBC2's Theatre 625 series in July 1968. The Year of the Sex Olympics is a 1968 television play made by the BBC and first broadcast on BBC2 as part of its Theatre 625 Theatre 625 is a British television drama anthology series produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC2 from 1964 to 1968 ^[61] Kneale's first television work to be made in colour—although only a black-and-white copy now survives—the story was based in a future where the majority of the population are kept in a docile state by constant broadcasts of pornography and other low-brow reality television programming. Black-and-white is a number of Monochrome forms in Visual arts. Pornography or porn is the explicit depiction of Sexual subject matter with the sole intention of sexually exciting the viewer Reality television is a genre of Television programming which presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations documents actual events and usually features ordinary The Live Life Show, in which a family are watched twenty-four hours a day as they struggle to live on an isolated rural island, becomes a massive success, especially when a murderer is introduced into the set-up. Rural areas can be large and isolated (also referred to as "the country" and/or "the countryside over the course of time

The Year of the Sex Olympics has been praised for its foreshadowing of the rise of reality television programmes such as Big Brother (1999–present) and Celebrity Love Island (2005–2006). Big Brother is a Reality television show where in each series a group of people live together in the Big Brother House isolated from the outside world but continuously Love Island (formerly Celebrity Love Island) was a British Television programme. ^[61] The critic Nancy Banks-Smith wrote in 2003 that: "In The Year of the Sex Olympics [Kneale] foretold the reality show and, in the scramble for greater sensation, its logical outcome. Nancy Banks-Smith is a British Television Critic; she began writing for The Guardian in 1969 . . This is satire from a TV insider, but it mutates into something far more desolate and disorientating. "^[62] The island locations scenes for the production were filmed on the Isle of Man, Kneale's homeland. ^[62]

In 1965 Kneale had been approached by the producer of the BBC2 science-fiction anthology series Out of the Unknown to write a new one-off 75-minute Quatermass story for the programme. Out of the Unknown was a British Television Science fiction Anthology drama series produced by the BBC and broadcast on ^[57] Nothing came of this, but seven years later he was commissioned by the BBC to write a new four-part Quatermass serial, based in a dystopian near future world overrun with crime, apathy, martial law and youth cults. A dystopia (from the Greek δυσ- and τόπος alternatively cacotopia, kakotopia, cackotopia, or anti-utopia) is the vision of a society Martial law is the system of rules that takes effect when the military takes control of the normal administration of justice This article does not discuss "cult" in the original sense of "veneration" or "religious practice" for that usage see Cult (religious practice ^[57] The serial was announced as a forthcoming production by the BBC in November 1972,^[63] and some model filming was even begun in June 1973,^[57] but eventually budgetary problems and the unavailability of Stonehenge—a central location in the scripts—led to the project's cancellation. Stonehenge is a Prehistoric Monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury ^[57] "It lingered through the summer and slowly died as a project," he later commented. ^[38]

Kneale's next script for the BBC was The Stone Tape, a scientific ghost story broadcast on Christmas Day 1972. The Stone Tape is a Television play directed by Peter Sasdy and starring Michael Bryant, Jane Asher, Michael A ghost story may be any piece of Fiction, or Drama, that includes a Ghost, or simply takes as a Premise the possibility of ghosts or the belief ^[64] Lez Cooke praised the production, when writing in 2003, describing it as "one of the most imaginative and intelligent examples of the horror genre to appear on British television, a single play to rank alongside the best of Play for Today. Play for Today was a British television anthology drama series produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984 "^[65] His final BBC work was an entry into a series called Bedtime Stories, adapting traditional fairytales into adult dramas. A fairy tale or fairy story is a fictional Story that may feature folkloric characters (such as fairies, enchantments]] often involving Kneale's script, Jack and the Beanstalk, was transmitted on 24 March 1974, and marked the end of his BBC writing career. Events 1401 - Mongol emperor Timur sacks Damascus. 1603 - James VI of Scotland Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ^[66]

ITV and Hollywood

A selection of Kneale's material available on DVD. DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is

Kneale's remaining television work was written for ITV. ^[6] His first script for ITV was the one-off play Murrain, made by the network's Midlands franchise holders Associated TeleVision (ATV) in 1975. Murrain (ˈmɜrɪn is a highly infectious disease of Cattle and Sheep. This article is mainly about the English Midlands For other uses see Midlands (disambiguation. Associated TeleVision Limited, best known simply as ATV, was a British ITV company from 1955 until 1981 ^[67] The play, a horror piece based around witchcraft, led the following year to a series called Beasts, a six-part anthology where Kneale created six different character-based tales of horror and the macabre. Witchcraft, in various historical anthropological religious and mythological contexts is the use of certain kinds of Supernatural or magical powers Beasts is a series of six television plays by Manx writer Nigel Kneale, unconnected but for a bestial horror theme made by ATV ^[67] Beasts did not gain a full network run on ITV; different regions transmitted the episodes in different timeslots and some in different sequences. ^[68]

In the mid-1970s Kneale made his only attempt at writing a stage play. Called Crow, it was based upon the memoirs of real-life Manx slaver Captain Hugh Crow. ^[17] Kneale was unable to find backing to produce the play for the stage, but sold the script to ATV who put it into pre-production for television. ^[17] However, shortly before filming it was cancelled by order of ATV's owner, Lew Grade—Kneale was never told why. Lew Grade Baron Grade (25 December 1906&ndash13 December 1998 born Lev Winogradsky, was an influential Showbusiness Impresario and Television ^[17]

Following the cancellation of Crow, Kneale moved to work for another of the ITV companies, Thames Television, who in 1977 commissioned the production of the scripts of Kneale's previously abandoned fourth Quatermass serial, to be produced by their Euston Films subsidiary film company. Thames Television was a licencee of the British ITV television network covering London and parts of the surrounding counties Euston Films was a British Film and Television production company ^[57] The production was structured to work both as a four-episode serial for transmission in the UK, and a 100-minute film version for cinema release overseas—something Kneale later regretted agreeing to. ^[38] Starring John Mills as Quatermass and with a budget of over £1 million^[57]—more than fifty times the budget of Quatermass and the Pit in 1958^[69]—the serial was not as critically successful as its predecessors. Sir John Mills CBE (born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills; 22 February 1908 &ndash 23 April 2005) was an English "Thematically no less awesome than Mr Kneale's earlier science-fiction essays for BBC Television, his ITV debut has proved only a so-so affair," was the verdict of The Times when previewing the final episode. ^[70] Tying in with the series, Kneale returned to prose fiction when he wrote his only full-length novel, Quatermass, a novelisation of the serial. A novelization is a Novel that is written based on some other media story form rather than as an original work ^[38]

Kneale's next television series was a departure from his usual style—Kinvig, his sole attempt at writing a sitcom, produced by London Weekend Television and broadcast on ITV in the autumn of 1981. Synopsis The show revolves around the eponymous Des Kinvig ( Tony Haygarth) who runs an electrical repair shop in the small town of Bingleton ^[6] Although his first out-and-out comedy, Kneale was keen to stress that there had always been elements of humour present throughout his scripts,^[38] and some of the press reaction to Kinvig was positive. Synopsis The show revolves around the eponymous Des Kinvig ( Tony Haygarth) who runs an electrical repair shop in the small town of Bingleton "If you like the idea of the Hitch-Hiker's Guide but found its realization tiresomely hysterical you may well prefer Kneale's relaxed wit. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy series Cast splendid, direction deft," was The Times's preview of the first episode. ^[71] However, the series was not a success, although Kneale later remained personally pleased with it. ^[38]

In 1982 Kneale made another one-off diversion from his usual work when he wrote his only produced Hollywood movie script, Halloween III: Season of the Witch. Halloween III Season of the Witch is a 1982 Horror film and the third installment in the ''Halloween'' series. Kneale had initially been approached by the director John Landis to work on the screenplay for a remake of Creature from the Black Lagoon,^[72] and he and his wife spent some time living at the Sheraton Hotel in Hollywood while Kneale worked on the project. John David Landis (born August 3, 1950) is an American movie Actor, director, writer, and producer. A " remake' " is a term used to described something that has been done again sometimes with better Quality, and usually with more features This article is on the film For the titular character see Gill-man Creature from the Black Lagoon is a Monster film Sheraton Hotels and Resorts is Starwood Hotels & Resorts ' largest and second oldest brand ( Westin being the oldest ^[72] The Black Lagoon script never went into production, but while in America Kneale met the director Joe Dante, who invited him to script the third film in the Halloween series, on which Dante was working. Joseph Domenick "Joe" Dante (born November 28, 1946) is an American Film director and producer of films generally with Halloween is an American horror franchise that consists of nine Slasher films Novels and Comic books The franchise ^[72] Kneale agreed, on the proviso that it would be a totally new concept unrelated to the first two films, which he had not seen and did not like what he had heard of. ^[72]

Kneale's treatment for the film met with the approval of John Carpenter, the producer of the Halloween series, although Kneale was required to write the script in only six weeks. A film treatment (or treatment for short is a piece of prose typically the step between scene cards ( Index cards and the first draft of a Screenplay for John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American Film director, Screenwriter, producer, film score ^[72] Kneale got on well with the director assigned to the film, Tommy Lee Wallace,^[72] but when one of the film's backers, Dino De Laurentiis, insisted upon the inclusion of more graphic violence and a rewrite of the script from Wallace, Kneale became displeased with the results and had his name removed from the film. Tommy Lee Wallace (born September 6, 1949) is an American Film producer, director and Screenwriter. Agostino De Laurentiis, usually credited as Dino De Laurentiis (born August 8 1919) is an Academy Award -winning Italian ^[72]

He returned to writing scripts for British television, including in 1989 an adaptation of Susan Hill's novel The Woman in Black for transmission on ITV on Christmas Eve. Susan Hill (born February 5, 1942) is a British Author of Fiction and Non-fiction works The Woman in Black is a 1983 horror Novel by Susan Hill about a menacing Spectre that haunts a small English town ^[73] Lynne Truss, reviewing a repeat broadcast of the production on Channel 4 for The Times in 1994, wrote that: "Clip-clop is not usually a noise to get upset about. Lynne Truss (born 1955) is an English writer and journalist who was born in Kingston upon Thames. Channel 4 is a public-service Television and Radio broadcaster in the United Kingdom centred around a television channel of the same name which began But it will be an interesting test, today, to go up behind people and whisper 'clip-clop', to find out whether they saw The Woman in Black last night. People who made the bold decision to watch this excellent drama will respond to any 'clip-clop' by gratifyingly leaping in the air and grabbing the backs of their necks. "^[74] The adaptation nearly went unmade; Kneale had written the script in ten days but been advised by his agent to wait before submitting it to the producers Central Independent Television so that they would not think he had rushed it. Central Independent Television, more commonly known as Central and now legally ITV Central Ltd, is the British Independent Television contractor ^[75] When he did submit the script three weeks later, he discovered that Central had been about to cancel the production as they had assumed that Kneale, then 67, had not been able to complete the work due to his age. ^[75]

Susan Hill herself did not like some of the changes that Kneale had made to The Woman in Black. ^[73] It has been observed that Kneale on some occasions operated a double-standard with adaptations; being unhappy when others made changes to his stories, but willing to make changes to stories he was adapting into script form. Referring to The Woman in Black adaptation, the writer and critic Kim Newman noted that: "He was very offended at the notion of Susan Hill using the name of Kipps from HG Wells as the hero of The Woman in Black, and so he decided not to use it and to change the hero's name to Kidd. Kim Newman (born July 31, 1959) is an English journalist, film critic, and Fiction Writer. I'm sure if somebody thought that Quatermass was a silly name and changed it, he'd be furious!"^[76] However, an adaptation he wrote in 1991, a four-part version of Kingsley Amis's novel Stanley and the Women, met with approval from the original author, with Amis regarding it as the most successful adaptation of any of his work. Sir Kingsley William Amis, CBE ( April 16, 1922 &ndash October 22, 1995) was an English Novelist, ^[77]

Kneale also adapted Sharpe's Gold for ITV in 1995, as part of their series of adaptations of Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe novels. Sharpe's Gold is a 1995 British television drama part of a series screened on the ITV network that follows the career of Richard Sharpe Bernard Cornwell OBE (born February 23, 1944) is a prolific and popular English Historical novelist He is best known for his Sharpe is a British series of Television dramas about Richard Sharpe, a fictional British soldier in the Napoleonic Wars. ^[6] This was an assignment that surprised his agent; "We didn't think he'd want to bother with them but he did. That was probably because he liked the producer. "^[4] He returned to writing for radio for the first time since the 1950s in 1996, when he wrote the drama-documentary The Quatermass Memoirs for BBC Radio 3. The Quatermass Memoirs is a British Radio drama-documentary, originally broadcast in five episodes on BBC Radio 3 in March 1996 ^[78] Partly composed of Kneale looking back at the events that led to the writing of the original three Quatermass serials and using some archive material, there was also a dramatised strand to the series, set just before the ITV Quatermass serial and featuring Andrew Keir, star of the Hammer version of Quatermass and the Pit, as the Professor. Andrew Keir ( April 3, 1926 &ndash October 5, 1997) was a Scottish actor who rose to prominence featuring in a number of films from ^[78]

While recording an audio commentary for that film in 1997, Kneale speculated about a possible Quatermass prequel set in 1930s Germany. On disc based video formats an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers that plays in real time with video Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. ^[78] According to The Independent, Kneale conceived a storyline involving the young Quatermass becoming involved in German rocketry experiments in the 1930s, and helping a young Jewish woman to escape the country during the 1936 Berlin Olympics. PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, an International Multi-sport event which was held in 1936 in Berlin ^[7]

Kneale was invited to write for the successful American science-fiction series The X-Files (1993–2002) during the 1990s, but declined the offer. The X-Files is a Peabody, Golden Globe and Emmy Award -winning American Science fiction television series created by Chris Carter ^[3] His final professional work was an episode of the ITV legal drama Kavanagh QC, starring John Thaw. Kavanagh QC was a British Television series made by Carlton Television for ITV between 1995 and 2001. John Edward Thaw CBE ( 3 January, 1942 &ndash 21 February, 2002) was an English Actor, who made his début ^[6] Kneale's episode, "Ancient History", was about a Jewish woman who during the Second World War had been subjected to horrific experiments in a concentration camp. Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people commonly in large groups without trial ^[6] Transmitted on 17 January 1997 and cited as one of the programme's finest episodes,^[79] it brought Kneale's writing career to a close after more than fifty years. Events 38 BC - Octavian marries Livia Drusilla. 1287 - King Alfonso III of Aragon invades Minorca Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar

He continued to appear as an interview subject in various television documentaries,^[18] and also recorded further audio commentaries for the release of some of his productions on DVD. DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is In 2005 he acted as a consultant when the digital television channel BBC Four produced a live remake of The Quatermass Experiment. Digital television (DTV is the sending and receiving of moving images and sound by discrete ( digital) signals in contrast to the analog signals used by BBC Four is a BBC Television channel available to digital television ( Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable) viewers in the ^[80] He lived in Barnes, London, until his death on 29 October 2006 at the age of 84, following a series of small strokes. Barnes is an affluent riverside London suburb in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Events 437 - Valentinian III, Western Roman Emperor, marries Licinia Eudoxia, daughter of his cousin Theodosius II Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. A stroke is the rapidly developing loss of brain functions due to a disturbance in the blood vessels supplying blood to the brain ^[12]

Legacy

The writer and actor Mark Gatiss, paying tribute to Kneale on the BBC News Online website shortly after his death, indicated that he was among the first rank of British television writers, but that this had been overlooked. Mark Gatiss (born 17 October, 1966) is an English Actor, Screenwriter and Novelist. "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 quite been that way. Dennis Christopher George Potter (17 May 1935&ndash7 June 1994 was a controversial English Dramatist, best known for The Singing Detective David Mercer ( 27 June 1928, Wakefield, England &ndash 8 August 1980, Haifa, Israel) was an Alan Bleasdale (born 23 March 1946 in Liverpool, Merseyside, England, brought up in Huyton Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934 is an English Author and Tony Award -winning Playwright. "^[75] Similarly, his obituary in The Guardian commented that:

"Kneale was by no means the only author to have been largely wasted by television, and to have seen his status overtaken by soap opera hacks. A soap opera is an ongoing episodic work of Fiction, usually broadcast on Television or Radio. But his place is secure, alongside Wells, Arthur C. Clarke, John Wyndham and Brian Aldiss, as one of the best, most exciting and most compassionate English science fiction writers of his century. Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE (16 December 1917–19 March 2008 was a British Science fiction Author, Inventor, and John Wyndham was the main Pen name used by the often post-apocalyptic British Science fiction writer John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris Brian Wilson Aldiss, '''OBE''', (born August 18, 1925 in East Dereham, Norfolk, England) is a prolific English "^[4]

Writing about The Year of the Sex Olympics in 2003, Nancy Banks-Smith felt that Kneale was one of the few television writers whose work was particularly memorable.

"Once upon a time, Lord Hailsham, proceeding to the chamber of the House in black stockings and full-bottomed wig as Lord High Chancellor, spotted a friend and cried lustily, "Neil!" They say a whole party of American tourists fell to their knees. Viscount Hailsham, of Hailsham in the County of Sussex is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The House of Lords is the second house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is also commonly referred to as "the Lords" The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor is a senior and important functionary in the Government of the United Kingdom. At the name of Kneale, I feel, every knee should bow. How much TV do you remember from last night. . . last year. . . last century? Quite. Curiously, I can remember clearly the first time I saw The Year of the Sex Olympics by Nigel Kneale. It was 35 years ago. "^[62]

Kneale was admired by the film director John Carpenter,^[3][31] who as well as involving Kneale with the unsuccessful Halloween III project also wrote the screenplay for his 1987 film Prince of Darkness under the pseudonym "Martin Quatermass". John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American Film director, Screenwriter, producer, film score Prince of Darkness (also known as John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness) is a 1987 American Horror film directed A pseudonym is a fictitious alternative to a person's legal name (see Alias) ^[81] The horror fiction writer Stephen King has also cited Kneale as an influence,^[3][31] with Kim Newman suggesting in 2003 that King had "more or less rewritten Quatermass and the Pit in The Tommyknockers. Horror fiction is broadly Fiction in any medium intended to scare unsettle or horrify the audience Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American Author, Screenwriter, Musician, Columnist, The Tommyknockers is a 1987 horror novel by Stephen King. While maintaining a horror style the novel is more of an excursion into "^[82] Other writers to have acclaimed Kneale as an influence on their work have included comics writer Grant Morrison^[83] and television scriptwriter Russell T. Davies,^[84] who described the Beasts episode "Baby" as "the most frightening thing I've ever seen. A comic book (often shortened to simply comic and sometimes called a comic paper or comic magazine) is a Magazine or Book of narrative Grant Morrison (born January 31 1960 is a Scottish Comic book writer and artist Russell T Davies, OBE (born Stephen Russell Davies, 27 April, 1963) is a critically acclaimed British Television producer . . Powerful stuff. "^[84] Film screenwriter and director Dan O'Bannon is also an admirer of Kneale's writing,^[83] and in 1993 wrote a potential remake of The Quatermass Experiment,^[85] of which Kneale approved,^[86] but the film was never made. Dan O'Bannon (born Daniel Thomas O'Bannon on September 30, 1946 in St ^[85]

High profile entertainment industry figures have publicly expressed admiration for Kneale's work, including The Beatles' drummer Ringo Starr,^[87] members of the rock group Pink Floyd^[87] and Monty Python's Flying Circus writer/performer Michael Palin. The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960 Ringo Starr, MBE (born Richard Starkey on 7 July 1940 is an English Musician, Singer, Songwriter and Actor Pink Floyd are Monty Python’s Flying Circus (also known as Flying Circus or during the final series just Monty Python) is a BBC Sketch comedy Michael Edward Palin, CBE (born 5 May 1943 is an English Comedian, actor writer and Television presenter best known for being one of the members ^[87]

Kneale never saw himself as a science-fiction writer,^[17] and was often critical of the genre. He particularly disliked the BBC series Doctor Who (1963–89; 1996; 2005–present), for which he had once turned down an offer to write. Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. ^[5] "It sounded a terrible idea and I still think it was," he commented in 1986. "The fact that it's lasted a long time and has a steady audience doesn't mean much. So has Crossroads and that's a stinker. Crossroads is a British Television Soap opera set in a Motel near Birmingham, England. "^[38] Doctor Who was heavily influenced by Kneale's Quatermass serials,^[88][89][90] in some cases even using specific storylines that were very similar to those from Quatermass. ^[91][92]

Family

In the early 1950s Kneale met fellow BBC scriptwriter Judith Kerr, a Jewish refugee, in the BBC canteen. Judith Kerr (born June 14 1923 in Berlin, Germany) is a writer According to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, a refugee is a person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race ^[12] They married on May 8, 1954^[93] and had two children; Matthew Kneale, who later became a successful novelist,^[31] and Tacy Kneale, an actress and later a special effects designer who worked on the popular Harry Potter series of films. Events 589 - Reccared summons the Third Council of Toledo 1450 - Jack Cade's Rebellion: Kentishmen Year 1954 ( MCMLIV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1954 Gregorian calendar) Matthew Kneale (born November 24, 1960) is a British writer best known for his 2000 novel English Passengers, which won the prestigious Harry Potter is a series of seven Fantasy novels written by British author J ^[4] Kerr became a successful children's writer, with the Mog series of books^[31] and When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, which was based on her own experiences of fleeing Nazi Germany in her youth. Mog the cat is the main character in a series of children's books written by Judith Kerr. When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit is a children's novel by Judith Kerr, first published in 1971. Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German ^[8] Kneale worked with Kerr on an adaptation of When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit in the 1970s, but the eventual makers of the film version disregarded their script. ^[94] Similarly, in 1995 Kneale scripted a four-part adaptation of one of Kerr's sequels to the book, A Small Person Far Away, but this also went unproduced. ^[95]

Kneale was proud of his son's success as a writer. When his novel English Passengers won the Whitbread Book of the Year award in 2001, his father commented that: "Matthew's much better than I am. English Passengers (ISBN 0-385-49744-X is a 2000 Historical novel written by Matthew Kneale, which won that year's Whitbread Book Award The Costa Book Awards are among the United Kingdom 's most prestigious literary awards I just wrote screenplays. "^[96]

Kneale's younger brother was the renowned artist and sculptor Bryan Kneale, who was Master and then Professor of Sculpture at the Royal Academy from 1982 to 1990. The definition of an artist is wide-ranging and covers a broad spectrum of Activities to do with creating Art, practicing the Arts and/or demonstrating Bryan Kneale (born June 19 1930) is a Manx Artist and sculptor, described by BBC News Online as "one of the Isle of This article refers to an art institution in London For other meanings of Royal Academy see Royal Academy (disambiguation. ^[97] Bryan Kneale painted the covers for the Quatermass script books released by Penguin Books in 1959 and 1960. Penguin Books is a British Publisher founded in 1935 by Allen Lane. ^[98] He was also responsible for a painting of a lobster from which special effects designers Bernard Wilkie and Jack Kine drew their inspiration for the Martian creatures they constructed for the original television version of Quatermass and the Pit. Clawed lobsters compose a family ( Nephropidae, sometimes also Homaridae) of large marine Crustaceans Lobsters are economically important as The illusions used in the Film, Television, Theater, or Entertainment industries to simulate the imagined events in a story are traditionally called As an adjective the term "martian" is used to describe anything pertaining to the Planet Mars. ^[99]

Footnotes

References

External links

• Nigel Kneale at the Internet Movie Database
• British Film Institute biography
• Nigel Kneale at BBC Four, including clips from their 2003 documentary on him. BBC Four is a BBC Television channel available to digital television ( Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable) viewers in the
• Quatermass.org.uk - Nigel Kneale & Quatermass Appreciation Site