Bernard Quatermass - Parodies and Homages

Parodies and Homages

In February 1959 the BBC radio comedy series The Goon Show broadcast a parody of Quatermass and the Pit, entitled "The Scarlet Capsule". Harry Secombe played his regular character in The Goon Show, Neddie Seagoon, in turn playing "Professor Ned Cratermess, OBE." This was followed later in the same year by a spoof on another BBC radio comedy show, That Man Chester, which launched a regular strand entitled "The Quite-a-Mess Three Saga", with Deryck Guyler as "Professor Quite-a-Mess". However, the "Quite-a-Mess" name and references were dropped after only three of the episodes under pressure from Kneale, who felt that a 13-week spoof would be to the detriment of the original character.

In Hemel Hempstead, a road was named Quatermass Road by the commission for the New Town when the town and the area was being developed. This was in recognition of the fact that Hemel was used as a filming location for some of the early TV shows.

In the early 1970s, a British progressive rock group named both themselves and their first album "Quatermass".

Goa trance musicians Jason Gill & Simon Washington formed a group named Quatermass in 1995.

A television spoof appeared in a 1986 episode of the BBC sketch show The Two Ronnies, which featured a sketch entitled "It Came From Outer Hendon", written by David Renwick. This spoof starred Ronnie Corbett as "Professor Martin Cratermouse".

In Joe Dante's 1990 film Gremlins 2: The New Batch, in a corridor of the Clamp Tower, one of the door nameplates is for "Dr. Quatermass".

The DVD release of the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead includes a bonus feature in the form of a simulated newscast covering the rise of zombies across America. A doctor is interviewed about the zombies being dead people who have come back to life - his name being Dr. Quatermass.