Synopsis
Dominic and leading writers and film-makers look at science fiction's obsession with alien invasion, from all-out assault to sinister hidden threats, and how it has reflected real-life anxieties - whether they be the challenge to Victorian imperial power of HG Wells' War of the Worlds, the Cold War-era paranoia of Invasion of the Body Snatchers or more recent concerns about racism and immigration in District 9.
Further Information
Other Archive resources
Future Tense - The Story of H.G. Wells
To mark Wells's 150th birthday Dominic Sandbrook discovers how a sleepy corner of the country inspired some of the most fantastic ideas in science fiction.
In Our Time | The Time Machine
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ideas and anxieties in late Victorian London, explored by HG Wells in his story of time travel, evolution and a planet unfit for humans.