''First Born'' is a British

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

serial produced by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

in 1988 and directed by

Philip Saville Philip Saville (28 October 1927 – 22 December 2016) was a British director, screenwriter and former actor whose career lasted half a century. The British Film Institute's Screenonline website described Saville as "one of Britain's most prolifi ...

. Vasco Sabino played the adolescent hybrid, Gor, in episode 3. Other notable cast members included

Charles Dance Walter Charles Dance (born 10 October 1946) is an English actor. He is known for playing intimidating, authoritarian characters and villains. Dance started his career on stage with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) before appearing in film an ...

, Jamie Foster, Julie Peasgood,

Gabrielle Anwar Gabrielle Anwar (born 4 February 1970) is a British-American actress. She is known for her television roles as Sam Black in the second series of '' Press Gang'', as Margaret Tudor in the first season of ''The Tudors'', as Lady Tremaine in the ...

Philip Madoc Philip Madoc (born Philip Arvon Jones; 5 July 1934 – 5 March 2012) was a Welsh actor. He performed many stage, television, radio and film roles, and was recognised for having a "rich, sonorous voice" and often playing villains and office ...

Sharon Duce Sharon D. Duce (born 17 January 1948) is an English actress. Career Born in Sheffield, she trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art then became a stage actress at the Sheffield Repertory Theatre, the York Theatre Royal, and the ...

and Roshan Seth.

Premise

starred as genetic researcher Edward Forester, whose work leads him to create a man-

gorilla Gorillas are primarily herbivorous, terrestrial great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or five su ...

hybrid, using

sperm Sperm (: sperm or sperms) is the male reproductive Cell (biology), cell, or gamete, in anisogamous forms of sexual reproduction (forms in which there is a larger, female reproductive cell and a smaller, male one). Animals produce motile sperm ...

from an unknown sperm donor and cells taken from a female gorilla. He then raises the baby as his own son, only to find that there are horrifying consequences for playing God.

Critical Reception

Science fiction historian

Brian Stableford Brian Michael Stableford (25 July 1948 – 24 February 2024) was a British academic, critic and science fiction writer who published a hundred novels and over a hundred volumes of translations. His earlier books were published under the name Br ...

gave ''First Born'' a negative review. Stableford described the program as a "knee-jerk hymn of hate against scientists in general" and "a kind of dumbed-down ''

Doomwatch ''Doomwatch'' is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC, which ran on BBC1 between 1970 and 1972. The series was set in the then present day, and dealt with a scientific government agency led by Doctor Spencer Quist ( ...

'' episode expanded to three times its natural length". Pringle, David. ''The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'', London, Carlton Books. 1996. (p.159-160)

Production

A portion of filming took place in and around the North Wiltshire area, with the Forester family home scenes having been filmed on location in Calne. Woodland scenes from Episode 2 were primarily filmed on location at Savernake Forest near Marlborough, but were subsequently mixed with footage filmed on location in Switzerland. Longleat Safari Park was also used in filming as the setting for the kidnap scenes at the end of Episode 2. The three-part serial was written by Ted Whitehead and adapted from the novel ''Gor Saga'' by

Maureen Duffy Maureen Patricia Duffy (born 21 October 1933) is an English poet, playwright, novelist and non-fiction author. Long an activist covering such issues as gay rights and animal rights, she campaigns especially on behalf of authors. She has receive ...

. It was produced by Sally Head and directed by

. The theme tune was composed by

Hans Zimmer Hans Florian Zimmer (; born 12 September 1957) is a German film score composer and music producer. He has won two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, five Grammy Awards, and has been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmy Awards and a Tony ...

. 2entertain Ltd released the serial on Region 2 DVD in the UK on 17 July 2006.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0096584, title=First Born
YouTube recording of "First Born" by Hans Zimmer
BBC science fiction television shows 1980s British television miniseries 1980s British science fiction television series 1988 British television series debuts 1988 British television series endings Television series about genetic engineering Television shows scored by Hans Zimmer

Premise

Critical Reception

Production

See also

References

External links