British science fiction and horror scriptwriter Nigel Kneale died last Sunday aged 84 after a long illness. The father of British science fiction on television and to quite an extent film as well, he emerged as force to be reckoned with when his Quatermass serials and films gripped the nation, not to mention a controversial adaptation of 1984.
Other works included The Abominable Snowman, adaptations of Look Back in Anger and The Entertainer, Harryhausen adventure First Men in the Moon, reality TV-predicting Year of the Sex Olympics, The Stone Tape, horror series Beasts, comedy series Kinvig, uncredited (by choice) work on Halloween III and an adaptation of The Woman in Black. His influence on fantastic fiction cannot be underestimated.
