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The Nightmare Man was one of those quirky imaginative science fiction dramas that the BBC used to do very well from the Sixties through to the mid-Eighties. It was based on and adapted from David Wiltshire's 1978 novel 'Child of Vodyanoi'.
When you pay your licence fee, you should expect nothing but the best from your BBC. After all, the BBC is a public service broadcaster and its obligation is to satisfy the needs and requirements of the public who fund it, especially when they are expected to pay over £100 a year for the service. I can categorically say that, when it comes to intelligent and thought provoking science fiction drama, the BBC has been failing in its remit for the last 20 years.
Sure, the BBC does lots of things well. I am sure that most of have no complaints about the service we get, but sometimes by moving forward, things move back. And much of the creativity, imagination and courage that must have been around at the time of the original Doctor Who, Blakes 7, Quatermass, Survivors, The Day of the Triffids and The Nightmare Man is not there now.
Of course, it could be argued that the driving force behind that creativity and imagination were Nigel Kneale and Terry Nation, but there must be other creative minds out there today worthy of similar encouragement and nurturing? Either the imaginative talent is just not there or not coming forward, or the managerial will doesn't exist to encourage such leaps of faith in these hardbitten, cyncial times. The truth is out there...
So, for the minority of viewers who like their grey matter tested by thought-provoking, interesting and clever drama, there is a rich and deep seam of televisual history to plunder that makes this generations televisual output look pretty dire by comparison. After all, I'm not knocking (for example) costume dramas, (some of them are hugely entertaining), but I sometimes feel that if I see one more corseted costume or palpitating bodice I will implode.
A recent discovery I made was The Nightmare Man. Made on a shoestring budget, this was a 4-part science fiction drama series based on a remote, craggy Scottish island where a mysterious creature is going about bumping off the islands inhabitants, disposing of them in a grisly, terrifying manner. The mystery deepens when a strange alien-looking craft is found washed up on a beach, fuelling speculation that the creature might be a being from outer space.
The Nightmare Man (mostly) works. The acting is first rate, although there are occasions where the plummy accents seem a little dated and the dialogue sounds a little stilted and unbelievable. Despite its themes and occasional action pieces, The Nightmare Man is very much a dramtic tour de force. The script could easily be transferred to the stage, such is the focus of the drama over the action.
A surprise here is the young Celia Imrie playing a wee bonny Scots lass. Imrie is a good all-round actress but, like many of her kind, seems somewhat fated to be typecast in the role of bored middle-class, middle-aged housewives (see Calendar Girls). Here, she shows a skill and ability for accent that impressed me.
The Nightmare Man only amounts to about two hours of viewing, yet it has the capacity to draw you in and hold your attention. For that, it succeeds. When the final episode comes, things seem a little rushed, but the twist in the tale is a pretty good one and one suspects it could be portrayed more convincingly today if it were to be remade (fat chance!).
I thoroughly enjoyed The Nightmare Man and award it;
8/10.
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