All in all, another fine episode. I much prefer Brian Worth’s performance as Fullalove to Paul Whitsun-Jones’s (slightly too stagey) portrayal in the original Quatermass serial.
Robert Perceval’s performance as the Minister is a joy to watch, though my reading of the character, pace ScaryB, is not so much that he is sticking his fingers in his ears and shouting “Lalala!” (which is what Breen is effectively doing), as that he is utterly unaware there’s anything to ignore: he is concerned simply and exclusively to protect his own political position, and cannot see beyond it. I don’t think he “lets slip” the line about Breen taking over the Rocket Group because he’s upset, as Bluesqueakpip says: rather, it’s an entirely deliberate reminder to Quatermass of where the power lies, a little flick of the whip because the Professor is being troublesome.
Richard Shaw’s astonishing hunched posture and lurching, uneven gait (one might almost say “tripudiation”) as he comes up out of the pit is also worthy of mention. I like the little touch that, despite the fact that something is obviously very wrong with the enchanted Sladden, the coffee-stall man still automatically moves to get a cup for him before all Hell breaks loose.
Meanwhile, though the episode closes on Sladden and his pursuing cloud of special effects, we shouldn’t forget Miss Judd, whom we left unconscious in the arms of Captain Potter. Their romance has so far been possibly the most understated in the history of television (there’s nothing at all overt about it; it’s simply in the way they instinctively turn to each other – keep an eye out for it next time you watch the whole serial through). What will happen now?
