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The Golden Age of Science Fiction: A Journey Into Space with 1950s Radio, TV, Films, Comics and Books
John Wade grew up in the 1950s, a decade that has since been dubbed the ‘golden age of science fiction’. It was a wonderful decade for science fiction, but not so great for young fans. With early television broadcasts being advertised for the first time as ‘unsuitable for children’ and the inescapable barrier of the ‘X’ certificate in the cinema barring anyone under the age of sixteen, the author had only the radio to fall back on – and that turned out to be more fertile for the budding SF fan than might otherwise have been thought. Which is probably why, as he grew older, rediscovering those old TV broadcasts and films that had been out of bounds when he was a kid took on a lure that soon became an obsession.For him, the super-accuracy and amazing technical quality of today’s science fiction films pale into insignificance beside the radio, early TV and B-picture films about people who built rockets in their back gardens and flew them to lost planets, or tales of aliens who wanted to take over, if not our entire world, then at least our bodies. This book is a personal account of John Wade’s fascination with the genre across all the entertainment media in which it appeared – the sort of stuff he revelled in as a young boy – and still enjoys today.
219 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 30, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
May 5, 2019
My thanks to Rosie Croft and to Pen & Sword for sending me a hardback copy of this book, which I freely chose to review, and I recommend to fans of the genre (the illustrations alone are a delight and worth recommending).
This is a book at very personal for the author (Wade explains early on why he chose the 1950s in particular, and although I agree with him, I am sure many might not) and at the same time packed with information that will delight casual readers and also those looking for anecdotes and a quick and easy catalogue of resources about the science-fiction genre in the 1950s. I am not an expert in science-fiction, and although I suspect that those who are might not find anything truly new here, there are nuggets of information and also the personal details and anecdotes collected by the author that help bring to life some of the lesser known facts about the individuals who played an important part in making the genre important and popular, especially in the UK in the 1950s.
The book is divided into five chapters that delve into science-fiction in different popular media: radio, television, films, books, and comics and magazines. As I have already mentioned, the book’s focus is on the UK, although it also includes the USA, but I felt the amount of detail included about British radio and TV programmes is one of the strong points of the book. Not having been around in the 1950s and growing up elsewhere, I was fascinated by the information about how the radio programmes came to be (I am a radio fan, and I’m always keen on learning more about it) and also how British television worked in its early years. Imagining trying to broadcast a science-fiction story life in a studio (in black-and-white, of course) makes one’s mind boggle in this era of computer-generated special effects and high-tech, and I loved the anecdotes and the pictures about it. It felt like travelling back in time.
I was more familiar with the information about films (although there are many mentioned I’ve never watched, and I’ll be on the lookout for in the future), and books (Wade chooses to talk in more detail about John Wyndham, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke and Ray Bradbury, with mentions of many other writers as well), but even within those subjects I discovered things I didn’t know and kept writing down the titles of books and stories to try and get hold of. The chapter on comics and magazines talks more about the genre in the USA, the differences with the British scene (and the difficulties some of the magazines had due to the somewhat “lurid” covers, at least to the British taste of the time), and also the crossover from one medium to another (already evident when magazine serials moved onto the radio, or popular radio programmes ended up on the telly).
I’ve mentioned the illustrations, and as you can guess from the cover, these are wonderful. There are pictures, drawings, movie posters, book and magazine covers, comic strips… Although there isn’t a full bibliography (I suspect much of the information comes from the author’s own archives), there is detailed information about most of the illustrations, in case readers want to use them in their own research.
Wade has a conversational and easy writing style, and he is happy to share his own opinions and memories of programmes, books, comics, and his personal experiences with those involved as well, and it can easily and quickly be read from cover to cover, it would also work perfectly well as a book to pick up, look at the illustrations, and read about whatever piques the curiosity, or simply enjoy the imagination of the artists of the era and compare some of the images with later reality.
This is a book that will bring joy to many people, and not only to those who are into science-fiction, but also readers who want to relive their memories of the time, or who have become attached to the programmes or the stories in later years (Quartermass, Dan Dare, The Lost Planet, Superman, The Day of the Triffids, The Eagle and many others). And anybody who might be looking for a source of casual information (writers, for example) will also enjoy this easy-to-read resource. I am not sure everybody will finish the book convinced that the Fifties were the golden age of science fiction, but I bet anybody reading it will be delighted.
This is a book at very personal for the author (Wade explains early on why he chose the 1950s in particular, and although I agree with him, I am sure many might not) and at the same time packed with information that will delight casual readers and also those looking for anecdotes and a quick and easy catalogue of resources about the science-fiction genre in the 1950s. I am not an expert in science-fiction, and although I suspect that those who are might not find anything truly new here, there are nuggets of information and also the personal details and anecdotes collected by the author that help bring to life some of the lesser known facts about the individuals who played an important part in making the genre important and popular, especially in the UK in the 1950s.
The book is divided into five chapters that delve into science-fiction in different popular media: radio, television, films, books, and comics and magazines. As I have already mentioned, the book’s focus is on the UK, although it also includes the USA, but I felt the amount of detail included about British radio and TV programmes is one of the strong points of the book. Not having been around in the 1950s and growing up elsewhere, I was fascinated by the information about how the radio programmes came to be (I am a radio fan, and I’m always keen on learning more about it) and also how British television worked in its early years. Imagining trying to broadcast a science-fiction story life in a studio (in black-and-white, of course) makes one’s mind boggle in this era of computer-generated special effects and high-tech, and I loved the anecdotes and the pictures about it. It felt like travelling back in time.
I was more familiar with the information about films (although there are many mentioned I’ve never watched, and I’ll be on the lookout for in the future), and books (Wade chooses to talk in more detail about John Wyndham, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke and Ray Bradbury, with mentions of many other writers as well), but even within those subjects I discovered things I didn’t know and kept writing down the titles of books and stories to try and get hold of. The chapter on comics and magazines talks more about the genre in the USA, the differences with the British scene (and the difficulties some of the magazines had due to the somewhat “lurid” covers, at least to the British taste of the time), and also the crossover from one medium to another (already evident when magazine serials moved onto the radio, or popular radio programmes ended up on the telly).
I’ve mentioned the illustrations, and as you can guess from the cover, these are wonderful. There are pictures, drawings, movie posters, book and magazine covers, comic strips… Although there isn’t a full bibliography (I suspect much of the information comes from the author’s own archives), there is detailed information about most of the illustrations, in case readers want to use them in their own research.
Wade has a conversational and easy writing style, and he is happy to share his own opinions and memories of programmes, books, comics, and his personal experiences with those involved as well, and it can easily and quickly be read from cover to cover, it would also work perfectly well as a book to pick up, look at the illustrations, and read about whatever piques the curiosity, or simply enjoy the imagination of the artists of the era and compare some of the images with later reality.
This is a book that will bring joy to many people, and not only to those who are into science-fiction, but also readers who want to relive their memories of the time, or who have become attached to the programmes or the stories in later years (Quartermass, Dan Dare, The Lost Planet, Superman, The Day of the Triffids, The Eagle and many others). And anybody who might be looking for a source of casual information (writers, for example) will also enjoy this easy-to-read resource. I am not sure everybody will finish the book convinced that the Fifties were the golden age of science fiction, but I bet anybody reading it will be delighted.
February 25, 2025
This was a true random find which I love. IT really is a personal take from the author John Wade of how he discovered and fell in love with science fiction in what would become called the Golden Age of Science Fiction.
The author share his knowledge and in many cases personal experiences of the authors and media that came out in this period. But rather than becoming arrogant and even patronising as some authors do he is honest, considerate and genuine about his experiences.
As a result you truly feel his passion for the subject and the excitement he experienced as he came across the various books and comics, TV shows and films and everything else in between. There was an innocence in this genre that is conveyed by the author and even though many of the topics discussed are 70+ years old the author has made such a compelling case that I want to go out and discover them myself.
The author share his knowledge and in many cases personal experiences of the authors and media that came out in this period. But rather than becoming arrogant and even patronising as some authors do he is honest, considerate and genuine about his experiences.
As a result you truly feel his passion for the subject and the excitement he experienced as he came across the various books and comics, TV shows and films and everything else in between. There was an innocence in this genre that is conveyed by the author and even though many of the topics discussed are 70+ years old the author has made such a compelling case that I want to go out and discover them myself.
August 17, 2024
Exactly what it says on the tin - and fun to boot!
February 29, 2020
‘For everyone who understands the true significance of the words ‘Klaatu barada nikto’.
Subtitled ‘A Journey into Space with 1950’s Radio, TV, Films, Comics and Books’, that’s a pretty good summary of the book. Written in a personal style, John Wade describes the importance of some of these cultural genre icons from the 1950’s.
Why the 1950’s? Well, Wade claims that for him it was a ‘Golden Age’ of the genre. Personally, I’ve always thought of ‘The Golden Age’ being based on the age of the reader, rather than specific years. (The Encyclopedia of SF states that it is 12, although I always thought of it as 14 myself.) However, here’s the author’s reasoning:
It is selective, but then it never describes itself as comprehensive. What it does is describe what it was like for a youngster in Britain in the 1950’s who revelled in such matters. It is also very British. Discussions are mainly based upon British cultural references – the BBC’s Journey into Space serial from the 1950’s rather than say Dimension X from the US, the Eagle comic’s Dan Dare rather than Superman, although all of these are mentioned.
I used to read coffee table books like this all the time. I still have my beloved A Pictorial History of Science Fiction and The Illustrated Book of Science Fiction Ideas and Dreams, edited by David Kyle from the 1970’s, for example, and it does remind me very much of those books.
Unlike Kyle’s books, however, The Golden Age of Science Fiction is not coffee-table-book-sized, instead being a comparatively slim hardback novel size instead. But the quality of the paper is good heavy stock, and the pictures throughout are good quality and usually in colour.
The book has five chapters. Generally they start well but it is obvious by the last chapter that the material does not highlight John’s particular strengths.
The first chapter explains how John got hooked to the genre in the first place – not through movies or television, as I suspect it often was in the USA, but through radio. The story of ‘Jet’ Morgan in the BBC Radio serial Journey into Space, which was broadcast in 1953 but explained space exploration in 1965. It lasted for three series and fifty-eight half-hour episodes and was a must for any young budding space enthusiast. John describes here the series and gives a potted biography of the series creator, Charles Chilton.
He then goes onto another now relatively forgotten pioneer of British SF radio, Angus McVicar, who wrote a number of programmes for the BBC’s Children Hour radio. There were then turned into six novels, starting with The Lost Planet. McVicar seems to be mainly forgotten today, but it is clear that he was influential at the time – I remember my Dad having at least one of the books in a small town in England.
And then we have the more famous Dan Dare, whose influence I have talked of before. (LINK, LINK and LINK.) I guess he could be classed as the 'Tom Corbett' of British SF. Though much more famous in his comic incarnation in the Eagle comic (see below), John here talks of the radio show version, first transmitted on the difficult to obtain Radio Luxembourg.
US radio is given a couple of pages at the end of the chapter.
In the second chapter John looks at British television, although TV was a rare and expensive item in the 1950s – beyond the reach of most households. Nevertheless, John explains and discusses those television genre events that were major discussion points to the general public – Nigel Kneale’s Quatermass, a BBC adaptation of Orwell’s 1984, starring a young Peter Cushing, and an adaptation by the relatively new ITV network of HG Wells’ The Invisible Man. Again, brief mention is made of American TV series such as The Adventures of Superman, starring George Reeves, Captain Video and Tom Corbett Space Cadet.
Chapter Three discusses Film. John mentions the trigger points that may have led to a growing appetite for science fiction films (The Second World War, atomic bombs, the Cold War, UFOs) and the genre stereotypes that resulted. The films mentioned are the usual iconic ones, in chronological order – The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), Invaders from Mars (1953) and The War of the Worlds (1953), It Came from Outer Space (also 1953), This Island Earth (1955), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), Forbidden Planet (1956), The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) and The Fly (1958) which were also a key element of my own interest in the 1960s and 70s. This is perhaps the strongest and most enthusiastic chapter in the book. A secondary group of films mentioned in less detail includes Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1959) and Plan 9 from Outer Space (also 1959). There’s also a nice, if uncritical, list of other movies to choose from at the end of the chapter, from Abbott and Costello Go to Mars (1953) to Zombies of the Stratosphere (1952) that should keep most genre film fans busy for a while.
Chapter Four looks at influential authors. It shouldn’t be any surprise that it is totally male-dominated and includes the usual suspects – Arthur C Clarke, Asimov, Heinlein, and Bradbury in some detail, whilst others such as Brian Aldiss, Philip K Dick and A E van Vogt are in much shorter summaries. I was most pleased to see the first part of the chapter give some detail to the work of John Wyndham, whose influence on British literature in the 1950s and in bringing SF to the mainstream can perhaps only be compared to that of Bradbury and Heinlein in the USA. There’s some lovely book covers reproduced in this chapter as well.
The final chapter is about Science Fiction Comics and Magazines, but with that British slant. Lots on Dan Dare and the comic The Eagle (mentioned earlier) but very little on American comics such as Superman. This lack of detail extends to the genre magazines, with brief details on The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Astounding (before it became Analog) and Galaxy Magazine. It doesn’t delve too deeply – no real mention of the British New Worlds magazine, which was around at the time, for example. Again, there’s some nice pictures but really there’s little more than a fairly superficial glance over them and a few scant comments about other issues such as Super Science Stories, Thrilling Wonder Stories and Vargo Statten Science Fiction Magazine.
It certainly doesn’t get into the murky world of fandom like some of the TAFF materials over at David Langford’s Ansible does, or Peter Weston’s With Stars in my Eyes, nor is it well connected enough to give an overview, like Sir Arthur C Clarke’s Astounding Days memoir. (For a detailed analysis of the magazines I would wholeheartedly recommend Mike Ashley’s History of the SF Magazines series, but they are eye-wateringly expensive.)
There’s a list of possible reads at the end of the chapter but it is clear by this stage that they were not major influences or of major interest to the author as a young English boy in the 1950s. To be fair, most of these magazines from across the Atlantic were difficult to get, as I found even in the 1970’s, so the coverage reflects that.
Nevertheless, despite the narrative appearing to run out of steam in the end, The Golden Age of Science Fiction is a nice memento of what it must have been like to be a fan at that time. Reading it did bring a smile to my face, reading of the breathless enthusiasm that radio programmes brought or the impact of movies like Forbidden Planet and The Day the Earth Stood Still had upon a young and impressionable young man. It is clearly written by a fan who wishes to commit to paper their experiences that others may also share, or at least bring the spotlight to bear on aspects that otherwise might go unnoticed. The book may not have depth, but it does have heart. The pictures of old Penguin paperbacks, movie posters and items from the Dan Dare museum (yes, there is one!) are lovely.
Even though I was born after the 1950s, I recognise and appreciate that feeling – that initial “Oh, wow!” moment that this book conveys. I am sure most of us have had it at some point. There are parts of this book I recognise as being part of my childhood as well - those key films mentioned in detail are my 'go-to list' of movies I will watch again and again. But despite not being there in the 1950s, this book is a nice little summary of a certain time. It shows the importance of the genre seventy years ago, but also the longevity of the genre – as well as perhaps highlighting that the importance of British SF didn’t start with 2001: A Space Odyssey and Doctor Who, or those American imports Star Trek and Star Wars.
For those who were there in the 1950s (not many left now, sadly!) I'm sure that this would bring a host of memories back, whilst for those (like me) who were not, it’s an intriguing glimpse into our genre past. For readers in the US it’d make an interesting alternative version of the importance of science fiction to those brought up with the works and memoirs of Asimov, Campbell and Heinlein.
Most of all, The Golden Age of Science Fiction is a lovely reminder that the lure of science fiction, for those who get that ‘sensawunda’ feeling, goes back a long way. Regardless of age or place or time, its importance in culture should be appreciated.
Subtitled ‘A Journey into Space with 1950’s Radio, TV, Films, Comics and Books’, that’s a pretty good summary of the book. Written in a personal style, John Wade describes the importance of some of these cultural genre icons from the 1950’s.
Why the 1950’s? Well, Wade claims that for him it was a ‘Golden Age’ of the genre. Personally, I’ve always thought of ‘The Golden Age’ being based on the age of the reader, rather than specific years. (The Encyclopedia of SF states that it is 12, although I always thought of it as 14 myself.) However, here’s the author’s reasoning:
“Let others tell you that the golden age of science fiction was the 1930s, when the pulp magazines began; the 1960s, when a 20-year-old Julie Christie riveted the attention of every schoolboy I knew in A For Andromeda and the Gerry Anderson puppets thundered onto the small screen; the 1970s and 80s in which Star Wars reinvented the genre; or even the present day, when so many blockbuster science fiction films are being made in widescreen, with Dolby sound and 3D.
For me, the super-accuracy and amazing technical quality of today’s films….pale into significance besides stories of people who built rockets in their back gardens and flew them with their nephews and cooks to lost planets, or tales of aliens who wanted to take over, if not our entire world, then at least our bodies. I grew up in the 1950s, when all this was happening. For me the decade has to be the true golden age of science fiction.” (page xvi)
It is selective, but then it never describes itself as comprehensive. What it does is describe what it was like for a youngster in Britain in the 1950’s who revelled in such matters. It is also very British. Discussions are mainly based upon British cultural references – the BBC’s Journey into Space serial from the 1950’s rather than say Dimension X from the US, the Eagle comic’s Dan Dare rather than Superman, although all of these are mentioned.
“I don’t intend to cover every film, book, magazine or television production of the decade, though. This is not, after all, an encyclopedia of the genre. It’s much more a personal account of science fiction in the 1950s as I discovered and revelled in it, sometimes from American imports but equally from home-grown British writers and productions.” (page xvi)
I used to read coffee table books like this all the time. I still have my beloved A Pictorial History of Science Fiction and The Illustrated Book of Science Fiction Ideas and Dreams, edited by David Kyle from the 1970’s, for example, and it does remind me very much of those books.
Unlike Kyle’s books, however, The Golden Age of Science Fiction is not coffee-table-book-sized, instead being a comparatively slim hardback novel size instead. But the quality of the paper is good heavy stock, and the pictures throughout are good quality and usually in colour.
The book has five chapters. Generally they start well but it is obvious by the last chapter that the material does not highlight John’s particular strengths.
The first chapter explains how John got hooked to the genre in the first place – not through movies or television, as I suspect it often was in the USA, but through radio. The story of ‘Jet’ Morgan in the BBC Radio serial Journey into Space, which was broadcast in 1953 but explained space exploration in 1965. It lasted for three series and fifty-eight half-hour episodes and was a must for any young budding space enthusiast. John describes here the series and gives a potted biography of the series creator, Charles Chilton.
He then goes onto another now relatively forgotten pioneer of British SF radio, Angus McVicar, who wrote a number of programmes for the BBC’s Children Hour radio. There were then turned into six novels, starting with The Lost Planet. McVicar seems to be mainly forgotten today, but it is clear that he was influential at the time – I remember my Dad having at least one of the books in a small town in England.
And then we have the more famous Dan Dare, whose influence I have talked of before. (LINK, LINK and LINK.) I guess he could be classed as the 'Tom Corbett' of British SF. Though much more famous in his comic incarnation in the Eagle comic (see below), John here talks of the radio show version, first transmitted on the difficult to obtain Radio Luxembourg.
US radio is given a couple of pages at the end of the chapter.
In the second chapter John looks at British television, although TV was a rare and expensive item in the 1950s – beyond the reach of most households. Nevertheless, John explains and discusses those television genre events that were major discussion points to the general public – Nigel Kneale’s Quatermass, a BBC adaptation of Orwell’s 1984, starring a young Peter Cushing, and an adaptation by the relatively new ITV network of HG Wells’ The Invisible Man. Again, brief mention is made of American TV series such as The Adventures of Superman, starring George Reeves, Captain Video and Tom Corbett Space Cadet.
Chapter Three discusses Film. John mentions the trigger points that may have led to a growing appetite for science fiction films (The Second World War, atomic bombs, the Cold War, UFOs) and the genre stereotypes that resulted. The films mentioned are the usual iconic ones, in chronological order – The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), Invaders from Mars (1953) and The War of the Worlds (1953), It Came from Outer Space (also 1953), This Island Earth (1955), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), Forbidden Planet (1956), The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) and The Fly (1958) which were also a key element of my own interest in the 1960s and 70s. This is perhaps the strongest and most enthusiastic chapter in the book. A secondary group of films mentioned in less detail includes Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1959) and Plan 9 from Outer Space (also 1959). There’s also a nice, if uncritical, list of other movies to choose from at the end of the chapter, from Abbott and Costello Go to Mars (1953) to Zombies of the Stratosphere (1952) that should keep most genre film fans busy for a while.
Chapter Four looks at influential authors. It shouldn’t be any surprise that it is totally male-dominated and includes the usual suspects – Arthur C Clarke, Asimov, Heinlein, and Bradbury in some detail, whilst others such as Brian Aldiss, Philip K Dick and A E van Vogt are in much shorter summaries. I was most pleased to see the first part of the chapter give some detail to the work of John Wyndham, whose influence on British literature in the 1950s and in bringing SF to the mainstream can perhaps only be compared to that of Bradbury and Heinlein in the USA. There’s some lovely book covers reproduced in this chapter as well.
The final chapter is about Science Fiction Comics and Magazines, but with that British slant. Lots on Dan Dare and the comic The Eagle (mentioned earlier) but very little on American comics such as Superman. This lack of detail extends to the genre magazines, with brief details on The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Astounding (before it became Analog) and Galaxy Magazine. It doesn’t delve too deeply – no real mention of the British New Worlds magazine, which was around at the time, for example. Again, there’s some nice pictures but really there’s little more than a fairly superficial glance over them and a few scant comments about other issues such as Super Science Stories, Thrilling Wonder Stories and Vargo Statten Science Fiction Magazine.
It certainly doesn’t get into the murky world of fandom like some of the TAFF materials over at David Langford’s Ansible does, or Peter Weston’s With Stars in my Eyes, nor is it well connected enough to give an overview, like Sir Arthur C Clarke’s Astounding Days memoir. (For a detailed analysis of the magazines I would wholeheartedly recommend Mike Ashley’s History of the SF Magazines series, but they are eye-wateringly expensive.)
There’s a list of possible reads at the end of the chapter but it is clear by this stage that they were not major influences or of major interest to the author as a young English boy in the 1950s. To be fair, most of these magazines from across the Atlantic were difficult to get, as I found even in the 1970’s, so the coverage reflects that.
Nevertheless, despite the narrative appearing to run out of steam in the end, The Golden Age of Science Fiction is a nice memento of what it must have been like to be a fan at that time. Reading it did bring a smile to my face, reading of the breathless enthusiasm that radio programmes brought or the impact of movies like Forbidden Planet and The Day the Earth Stood Still had upon a young and impressionable young man. It is clearly written by a fan who wishes to commit to paper their experiences that others may also share, or at least bring the spotlight to bear on aspects that otherwise might go unnoticed. The book may not have depth, but it does have heart. The pictures of old Penguin paperbacks, movie posters and items from the Dan Dare museum (yes, there is one!) are lovely.
Even though I was born after the 1950s, I recognise and appreciate that feeling – that initial “Oh, wow!” moment that this book conveys. I am sure most of us have had it at some point. There are parts of this book I recognise as being part of my childhood as well - those key films mentioned in detail are my 'go-to list' of movies I will watch again and again. But despite not being there in the 1950s, this book is a nice little summary of a certain time. It shows the importance of the genre seventy years ago, but also the longevity of the genre – as well as perhaps highlighting that the importance of British SF didn’t start with 2001: A Space Odyssey and Doctor Who, or those American imports Star Trek and Star Wars.
For those who were there in the 1950s (not many left now, sadly!) I'm sure that this would bring a host of memories back, whilst for those (like me) who were not, it’s an intriguing glimpse into our genre past. For readers in the US it’d make an interesting alternative version of the importance of science fiction to those brought up with the works and memoirs of Asimov, Campbell and Heinlein.
Most of all, The Golden Age of Science Fiction is a lovely reminder that the lure of science fiction, for those who get that ‘sensawunda’ feeling, goes back a long way. Regardless of age or place or time, its importance in culture should be appreciated.
April 15, 2021
Napisane w niezwykle przystępny i ciekawy sposób podsumowanie "złotej ery" science-fiction, zdaniem autora, dorastającego i "wychowanego" na kinie, telewizji i literatury epoki, przypadającej na dekadę lat 50-tych XX wieku.
Książka pisana z perspektywy brytyjskiego "zjadacza" i wielbiciela gatunku. Odnosząca się w głównej mierze do dzieł powstałych w Wielkiej Brytanii. Jakkolwiek nie pomijająca tych ważniejszych, wyrosłych na gruncie amerykańskim, mimo dość pobieżnego i skrótowego potraktowania tychże. W niczym nie przeszkadza jednak ta koncentracja na brytyjskich utworach, filmach, serialach (radiowych i telewizyjnych), literaturze i prasie z gatunku science-fiction (jak również horroru). Wręcz przeciwnie - jest to cenny głos pośród licznego grona twórców, których publicystyka jest zorientowana na dziełach z kręgu kultury amerykańskiej. Mimo licznych punktów zbieżnych i wspólnych korzeni, brytyjskie science-fiction i horror (niezależnie od medium) było wyjątkowe i pod wieloma względami odmienne od tego, co oferowała w opisywanym okresie amerykańska popkultura.
Książka bogato ilustrowana. Wśród fotosów z filmów, reprodukcji plakatów oraz okładek książek, magazynów i komiksów, znalazło się wiele unikatowych zdjęć z archiwum autora. Miła ciekawostka i fajna lektura uzupełniająca dla wszystkich wielbicieli klasycznego science-fiction. Polecam!
Książka pisana z perspektywy brytyjskiego "zjadacza" i wielbiciela gatunku. Odnosząca się w głównej mierze do dzieł powstałych w Wielkiej Brytanii. Jakkolwiek nie pomijająca tych ważniejszych, wyrosłych na gruncie amerykańskim, mimo dość pobieżnego i skrótowego potraktowania tychże. W niczym nie przeszkadza jednak ta koncentracja na brytyjskich utworach, filmach, serialach (radiowych i telewizyjnych), literaturze i prasie z gatunku science-fiction (jak również horroru). Wręcz przeciwnie - jest to cenny głos pośród licznego grona twórców, których publicystyka jest zorientowana na dziełach z kręgu kultury amerykańskiej. Mimo licznych punktów zbieżnych i wspólnych korzeni, brytyjskie science-fiction i horror (niezależnie od medium) było wyjątkowe i pod wieloma względami odmienne od tego, co oferowała w opisywanym okresie amerykańska popkultura.
Książka bogato ilustrowana. Wśród fotosów z filmów, reprodukcji plakatów oraz okładek książek, magazynów i komiksów, znalazło się wiele unikatowych zdjęć z archiwum autora. Miła ciekawostka i fajna lektura uzupełniająca dla wszystkich wielbicieli klasycznego science-fiction. Polecam!
April 4, 2022
I will start by saying that I don't think that the 1950s were the Golden Age of Science Fiction, but I also haven't consumed every piece of Sci-Fi media from that era. Because of this, I admire Wade's view of that era of Sci-Fi and I appreciate the research that he did to try to strengthen his argument that it is.
I've read and watched a lot of Sci-Fi, but whenever I think of 1950s Sci-Fi, I think of the really bad movies that are made fun of on shows like Mystery Science Theatre 3000. Because of this, it's hard for me to take many movies or TV shows from that time period very seriously. And even reading Wade's descriptions of the movies made me even more unlikely to watch more than the best (and I'd seen a couple that he considers the best like The Day the Earth Stood Still and Invasion of the Body Snatchers, which are good but not certainly dated).
I have, however, read a lot of Sci-Fi from this era, including Bradbury, Asimov, and Heinlein. I will be honest, I skipped most of the descriptions of the books from this section of the book because these are books that I want to read myself. However, I really appreciated him taking the time to talk about these authors as well as the less well known ones that I now want to check out.
So, I think that Wade's view is a little steeped in nostalgia. I would almost say that we are currently living in the Golden Age of Science Fiction by his definition. We have multitudes of movies and televisions series that are popular and more and more accurate as new discoveries are made. We don't have radio shows anymore but we have a ton of podcasts, from humorous like Mission to Zyxx, to more serious like Wolf 359. And although there aren't magazines like there used to be, there are many great Sci-Fi comics and online places for people to read different Sci-Fi stories.
But I don't think any of that detracts from the care and research that Wade did for this book. This was a very interesting and quick look into an era of Sci-Fi that I am not all that familiar with. And I feel like my reading list (and some viewing) has been expanded because of it.
I've read and watched a lot of Sci-Fi, but whenever I think of 1950s Sci-Fi, I think of the really bad movies that are made fun of on shows like Mystery Science Theatre 3000. Because of this, it's hard for me to take many movies or TV shows from that time period very seriously. And even reading Wade's descriptions of the movies made me even more unlikely to watch more than the best (and I'd seen a couple that he considers the best like The Day the Earth Stood Still and Invasion of the Body Snatchers, which are good but not certainly dated).
I have, however, read a lot of Sci-Fi from this era, including Bradbury, Asimov, and Heinlein. I will be honest, I skipped most of the descriptions of the books from this section of the book because these are books that I want to read myself. However, I really appreciated him taking the time to talk about these authors as well as the less well known ones that I now want to check out.
So, I think that Wade's view is a little steeped in nostalgia. I would almost say that we are currently living in the Golden Age of Science Fiction by his definition. We have multitudes of movies and televisions series that are popular and more and more accurate as new discoveries are made. We don't have radio shows anymore but we have a ton of podcasts, from humorous like Mission to Zyxx, to more serious like Wolf 359. And although there aren't magazines like there used to be, there are many great Sci-Fi comics and online places for people to read different Sci-Fi stories.
But I don't think any of that detracts from the care and research that Wade did for this book. This was a very interesting and quick look into an era of Sci-Fi that I am not all that familiar with. And I feel like my reading list (and some viewing) has been expanded because of it.
November 2, 2021
A personal overview of '50s science fiction in Britain (with some detail about the American scene, particularly its magazines), this is a loving, anecdote-and-trivia-filled tribute to the era. Wade's enthusiasm for and knowledge of that time, make this is a fun, nostalgic read, even for people experiencing the nostalgia second hand.
My favourite anecdote from the book is this one:
'In 1955 we were broadcasting a play called The Creature,' he [Quatermass creator Nigel Kneale] explained. 'It was about the Abominable Snowman. The production was live, and actors were in a studio surrounded by scenery meant to look like an ice cave in the Himalayas. About fifteen minutes before the end of the play, the actors, wrapped in the kind of clothes needed when you're supposed to be 20,000 feet up a mountain, looked out of the cave and there, in plain view, was a man in shirtsleeves, sweeping up the snow. It turned out he was a cleaner who wanted to get home early and so had started clearing up the set while the live broadcast was still going on.'
My favourite anecdote from the book is this one:
'In 1955 we were broadcasting a play called The Creature,' he [Quatermass creator Nigel Kneale] explained. 'It was about the Abominable Snowman. The production was live, and actors were in a studio surrounded by scenery meant to look like an ice cave in the Himalayas. About fifteen minutes before the end of the play, the actors, wrapped in the kind of clothes needed when you're supposed to be 20,000 feet up a mountain, looked out of the cave and there, in plain view, was a man in shirtsleeves, sweeping up the snow. It turned out he was a cleaner who wanted to get home early and so had started clearing up the set while the live broadcast was still going on.'
December 26, 2020
An interesting look at the time of the prime of sci-fi, not too detailed, but the writer keeps reminding the reader that this is 'a personal account'
I then thought there maybe be more auto-biographical account with more personal detail of his life while experiencing this sci-fi, which sounded interesting, but I later discovered I think it meant he would just be detailing mostly the sci-fi that meant the most to him when he was growing up.
With that in account, this is a nicely focused, in-formative odyssey of that golden, technicolor time of sci-fi wonder.
I then thought there maybe be more auto-biographical account with more personal detail of his life while experiencing this sci-fi, which sounded interesting, but I later discovered I think it meant he would just be detailing mostly the sci-fi that meant the most to him when he was growing up.
With that in account, this is a nicely focused, in-formative odyssey of that golden, technicolor time of sci-fi wonder.
May 28, 2025
I enjoyed this very short history of British science fiction in the 1950s. I grabbed this book on a whim and it took me back to my childhood in the 1970s, when these 'old' movies--now 70 years old instead of 20--took up a lot of space in my imagination. Great overview of the television shows, novels, films, and comic books that made up the English sci-fi landscape. I could tell how much the author loved this stuff, in the same way that I always have. A pleasant and nostalgia-inducing read, with tons of lovely pictures!
March 11, 2021
I enjoyed this nostalgic journey through science fiction of the 1950's which is told from British standpoint and therefore one that I identify with and by enlarge, remember. Not a great deal that I did not already know however, and I was disappointed to see no reference to 'Pathfinders in Space' - a classic pre 'Dr. Who' British television series - perhaps it was slightly later than I remember. Pleasant bedtime reading....
June 5, 2023
Pre Star Trek
Having seen this at the Science Museums Science Fiction exhibition gift shop I gave this book a try. It explains how the 1950s growth of science fiction films and books was unique and not to be repeated. That Eagle magazine wasn't successful later in 1980s after it originally stopped it's exhausting print run in 1969 shows how tastes around science are more mainstream and less exotic now.
Having seen this at the Science Museums Science Fiction exhibition gift shop I gave this book a try. It explains how the 1950s growth of science fiction films and books was unique and not to be repeated. That Eagle magazine wasn't successful later in 1980s after it originally stopped it's exhausting print run in 1969 shows how tastes around science are more mainstream and less exotic now.
January 10, 2024
Aside from the various grammar and factual errors, the biggest problem I had with this book was there was no point of view. It says it's a personal story, which is fine, but Wade has no criteria for his picks other than "I like it." There's no telling why he liked it. Why he makes the picks he does? And what difference it makes. It's like he's giving us our Christmas list, but not doing anything to help us know anything about him or why he's picked these for us.
April 10, 2021
A decent read back to an era from before I was born (by a couple of months) and I find myself in agreement with John Wade's choice of classic films and authors of the sci-fi genre in the 50s. Prior to reading this I didn't know that the age for entry to X rated films was increased from 16 to 18, in 1970. Almost worth buying for the images alone. A pleasurable read it was.
February 2, 2022
This is a brief but entertaining look at the SF in the period the author considers to be it's golden age. The sections on film and radio are more interesting than that on literature. In focusing only on his 'big Four' writers the author ignores some of the more interesting fiction that was being produced in that decade. Still, it is a fun read.
October 23, 2021
Not what I was expecting. I wanted a movie review, not an autobiography of the author's young years. Very few movies are actually discussed. If you want to know about the movies and not personal recollects of the age, go elsewhere.
AD2
AD2
September 28, 2022
An enjoyable trip down the memory lane of science fiction.
I was a bit surprised that Asimov's zeroth law of robotics wasn't mentioned and Arthur C Clarkes novel the City and the Stars was missed out.
That said, science fiction is a massive topic to cover.
I was a bit surprised that Asimov's zeroth law of robotics wasn't mentioned and Arthur C Clarkes novel the City and the Stars was missed out.
That said, science fiction is a massive topic to cover.
May 6, 2025
This book does exactly what it claims to do. There’s a lot of interesting material, and my to-watch/read list is a lot longer now. The writing itself isn’t super engaging, and it can be a little hard to get through at points, but in general, like I said, it does exactly what you expect it to.
July 6, 2024
Nice pics.
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May 23, 2020SF In The 1950s
This is a British centric look back at Science Fiction during the 1950s. It covers all media at the time including radio dramas,television,movies,comics,magazines as well as literature. It's British centric but you do get an idea what was going on in America at the time.
This is a British centric look back at Science Fiction during the 1950s. It covers all media at the time including radio dramas,television,movies,comics,magazines as well as literature. It's British centric but you do get an idea what was going on in America at the time.
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