A for Andromeda
| A for Andromeda | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Written by | |
| Directed by | Michael Hayes (uncredited) |
| Starring | |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 7 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) |
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| Running time | 45 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC One |
| Original release | 3 October – 14 November 1961 |
| Chronology | |
| Followed by | The Andromeda Breakthrough |
A for Andromeda is a British television science fiction drama serial first made and broadcast by the BBC in seven parts in 1961. Written by cosmologist Fred Hoyle, in conjunction with author and television producer John Elliot, it concerns a group of scientists who detect a radio signal from another galaxy that contains instructions for the design of an advanced computer. When the computer is built, it gives the scientists instructions for the creation of a living organism named Andromeda, but one of the scientists, John Fleming, fears that Andromeda's purpose is to subjugate humanity.
The serial was the first major role for the actress Julie Christie. Only one episode of the original production survives, along with a few short extracts from other episodes. A for Andromeda has been remade twice: first by the Italian state television RAI in 1972 and by the BBC in 2006. A sequel, The Andromeda Breakthrough, was made by the BBC in 1962.
The opening titles of each episode are prefaced by a television interview in which Professor Ernst Reinhart (Esmond Knight) looks back on the events of the serial.
Britain, 1970 – a new radio telescope, designed by the young scientists John Fleming (Peter Halliday) and Dennis Bridger (Frank Windsor) under the supervision of Professor Reinhart (Esmond Knight), has been built at Bouldershaw Fell. Shortly before its official opening, the telescope picks up a signal from the distant Andromeda Nebula. Examining the signal, Fleming realises that the signal is a computer program.
Fleming is permitted to use the computer facilities at the London Institute of Electronics, where he is aided by Christine (Julie Christie). Using the computer to decode the message, Fleming realises that the message contains a set of instructions for the construction of another more advanced computer. The message also contains another programme for the computer to run, and data to process. Bridger meanwhile, has sold out to an international conglomerate called Intel, represented by the sinister Kaufmann (John Hollis). The British government decides to build the computer at a military establishment at Thorness in Scotland. The computer is switched on and begins to output its first set of instructions.
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