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''Nebulous'' is a
post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction are genres of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astronom ...
science fiction comedy Science fiction comedy (sci-fi comedy) or comic science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction or science fantasy that exploits the science fiction genre's conventions for comedic effect. The genre often mocks or satirizes standard science fic ...
radio show written by
Graham Duff Graham Duff is an English writer, actor and producer. His work for television and radio is typified by intricate plotting, large casts, frequently dark subject matter and a love of wordplay and surrealism. Duff's writing is influenced by the ...
and produced by
Ted Dowd Ted Dowd is a British television and radio producer. His work includes: This Time & Mid Morning Matters with Alan Partridge, Gavin & Stacey, Saxondale, Nighty Night, Hunderby, Camping, Ideal, The Mighty Boosh, Moone Boy, Home Time ''Home T ...
from
Baby Cow Productions Baby Cow Productions Limited is a British comedy television production company based in London and Manchester, founded by Steve Coogan and Henry Normal. Since its establishment it has diversified into radio, animation and film. According to th ...
; it is directed by
Nicholas Briggs Nicholas Briggs (born 29 September 1961) is an English actor, writer, director, sound designer and composer. He is associated with the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its spin-offs, particularly as the voice of the Da ...
. The series premiered in the United Kingdom on
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
. Set in the year 2099 AD, the show focuses on the adventures of the
eponymous An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...
Professor Nebulous, director of operations for the eco-troubleshooting team KENT ''(the Key Environmental Non-Judgmental Taskforce)'' as they combat various catastrophes and try to set the world back on the right path following a worldwide environmental disaster known as "The Withering". As well as being a
parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...
of a number of famous
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 ...
programmes, including ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
'', ''
Quatermass Professor Bernard Quatermass is a fictional scientist originally created by writer Nigel Kneale for BBC Television. An intelligent and highly moral British scientist, Quatermass is a pioneer of the British space programme, heading the British E ...
'' and ''
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 ( ...
'', ''Nebulous'' is considered a
cult radio A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, book ...
programme, attracting a number of guest appearances from famous actors. There have been three series of ''Nebulous''; the first was broadcast between 6 January and 10 February 2005. The series was well received by critics, and a second series was broadcast between 5 April and 10 May 2006, with a third series commissioned by the BBC which began broadcasting on Thursday, 15 May 2008. The first series was released on
compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. It employs the Compact Disc Digital Audio (CD-DA) standard and was capable of hol ...
on 5 February 2007 by
BBC Audio AudioGO (formerly BBC Audiobooks) was a British publisher of audiobooks and a range of spoken word and large-print titles. It was majority owned by AudioGO Ltd, and minority owned by BBC Worldwide. It was formed in 2010, when AudioGO purchased ...
. Since 2009 all three series have been broadcast on
BBC Radio 7 BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It mostly broadcasts archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes, and is the sister station of Radio 4. It is the pri ...
. Duff has also announced that he is planning to make an animated series of ''Nebulous''.


Production


Development

The development of the series began with the production
pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...
, written by Graham Duff and produced by Baby Cow Productions in March 2003. The episode, which eventually became " Night of the Vegetarians", featured much of the final cast, but with a number of differences: a different actor played
Rory Rory is a given name of Gaelic origin. It is an anglicisation of the /''Ruaidhrí'' and /''Ruaraidh'' and is common to the Irish, Highland Scots and their diasporas. for the given name "Rory". The meaning of the name is "red king", composed ...
, and Sir Ronald Rowlands was voiced by Duff, while
Gemini Gemini most often refers to: * Gemini (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac * Gemini (astrology), an astrological sign Gemini may also refer to: Science and technology Space * Gemini in Chinese astronomy, the Gemini constellat ...
originally had two voices: a female voice played by
Julia Dalkin Julia Dalkin (born 1975) is a British actress. Partial filmography *''Nebulous'' (radio) (2005–2008) *''EastEnders'' - Polly (2009), DC Brook Penrith (2013) *''Doctors (2000 TV series), Doctors'' - Suzanne Matthews (1 episode, 2008) *''The Wo ...
, and a male voice by
Nicholas Briggs Nicholas Briggs (born 29 September 1961) is an English actor, writer, director, sound designer and composer. He is associated with the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its spin-offs, particularly as the voice of the Da ...
. Malcolm Boyle - who wrote the Nebulous theme and edited the pilot - had written an entire original score for the show. However, due to BBC radio budget limitations, this was not used in the completed series. Nicholas Briggs had also originally created a very deep, realistic
soundscape A soundscape is the acoustic environment as perceived by humans, in context. The term, originally coined by Michael Southworth, was popularized by R. Murray Schafer. There is a varied history of the use of soundscape depending on discipline, ...
, similar to those he had created for the
Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and radio drama, audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'' ...
''Doctor Who'' audioplays, but was advised that "it's likely the listener will have distractions and will not listen to it more than once; therefore, the soundscape must be totally accessible from any point in the episode", toning down the sound effects to match the series' comic nature.


Recording

The Moat Studios in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
recorded ''Nebulous'' in
stereo Stereophonic sound, commonly shortened to stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configurat ...
, with each half-hour episode typically taking one day to record, including
read-through The read-through, table-read, or table work is a stage of film, television, radio, and theatre production when an organized reading of the screenplay or script is conducted around a table by the actors with speaking parts. In addition to the ...
and
rehearsal A rehearsal is an activity in the performing arts that occurs as preparation for a performance in music, theatre, dance and related arts, such as opera, musical theatre and film production. It is undertaken as a form of Practice (learning metho ...
. Nicholas Briggs produced the sound, using a combination of synthesised effects from a
Roland SH-101 The Roland SH-101 is an analog synthesizer manufactured by the Roland Corporation between 1982 and 1986. Though it did not achieve significant commercial success, it later became a staple of electronic music in the 1990s, particularly house music ...
and foley
sound effect A sound effect (or audio effect) is an artificially created or enhanced sound, or sound process used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media. In m ...
s. Briggs also carried out the studio editing in order to bring the 30-minute episodes down to the 28 minutes mandated by the BBC to allow time for radio trailers between programmes.


Plot


Setting

Set in the year 2099, the series depicts the
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
as very different from today. Following a number of environmental disasters, such as "the Withering" – which resulted in the loss of a great deal of human knowledge including the
vacuum cleaner A vacuum cleaner, also known simply as a vacuum, is a device that uses suction, and often agitation, in order to remove dirt and other debris from carpets, hard floors, and other surfaces. The dirt is collected into a dust bag or a plastic bin. ...
and
fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...
(although the latter came back fairly quickly) – and a "Cattle-clasm" that killed off most of the livestock, the Earth has been reduced to a wasteland separated between "Withered Zones" and the remaining inhabitable areas. The Withering shifted the Earth into a new orbit, resulting in disruption to the seasons and a reformed calendar. Every day of the week is now 25 hours long except for Thursday (which, due to time anomalies, has not occurred in over a decade), while the change in the length of the year led to the creation of new months such as Janril, Febtober, and Marchuary. In addition, the dreary season of Hamble was created, which is permanently dark, cold and drizzly. The Withering resulted in
vegetarians Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. A person who pra ...
,
pigeons Columbidae is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. ...
and
gays ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...
becoming
endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...
, and completely wiped out
tarts A tart is a baked dish consisting of a filling over a pastry base with an open top not covered with pastry. The pastry is usually shortcrust pastry; the filling may be sweet or savoury, though modern tarts are usually fruit-based, sometimes with ...
. The Earth's geography is also radically altered. A new
mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...
was formed in Britain by a day-long
ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...
, and the Earth now has twelve and a half
continent A continent is any of several large geographical regions. Continents are generally identified by convention (norm), convention rather than any strict criteria. A continent could be a single large landmass, a part of a very large landmass, as ...
s. Many locations have been displaced and reduced to islands, including
Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
and the London borough of
Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century ...
, which is now in the Indonesian Ocean as a part of the Cockney Islands. The
Solar System The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Sola ...
is equally altered:
Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...
has been deep fried by
Harry Ramsden's Harry Ramsden's is a fast food restaurant chain based in the United Kingdom which offers fish and chips and assorted themed dishes. Founded by restaurant entrepreneur Harry Ramsden in Guiseley, West Yorkshire, in 1928, it was sold to his partne ...
, Mercury and
Neptune Neptune is the eighth and farthest known planet from the Sun. It is the List of Solar System objects by size, fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 t ...
have been knocked together, and there was an initiative to destroy the
Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...
, which according to the show was deleterious to the
nightlight A nightlight is a small light fixture, usually electrical, placed for comfort or convenience in dark areas or areas that may become dark at certain times, such as at night or during an emergency. Small long-burning candles serving a similar fun ...
industry.
Religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...
also exists in the ''Nebulous'' universe. Pieced together following the Withering, theologians conclude that there were four true deities: the evil twins
Yin and Yang Originating in Chinese philosophy, yin and yang (, ), also yinyang or yin-yang, is the concept of opposite cosmic principles or forces that interact, interconnect, and perpetuate each other. Yin and yang can be thought of as complementary an ...
,
Feng Shui Feng shui ( or ), sometimes called Chinese geomancy, is a traditional form of geomancy that originated in ancient China and claims to use energy forces to harmonize individuals with their surrounding environment. The term ''feng shui'' mean ...
the destroyer, and merciful Bod, based on the children's television programme '' Bod'', the theme tune of which has become a
hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...
, sung in
Gregorian chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainsong, plainchant, a form of monophony, monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek language, Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed main ...
. Bod is analogous to
God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
, hence the commonly used phrase " Oh my Bod!"


Storyline

''Nebulous'' follows the adventures of the eco-troubleshooting team "KENT" (the ''Key Environmental Non-Judgmental Taskforce'', named after the
English county The counties of England are a type of subdivision of England. Counties have been used as administrative areas in England since Anglo-Saxon times. There are three definitions of county in England: the 48 ceremonial counties used for the purpo ...
of
Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
). The group is directed by Professor Nebulous toward the goal of restoring a natural balance to Earth. However, they are woefully under-funded; KENT was forced to open a laundry to supplement funds. There is at least one other eco-troubleshooting team based in England, but despite their common goals they have a less-than-hospitable view of each other. LOUGHBOROUGH (the ''Legitimate Organisation Undertaking General Humanitarian Business Operations Requiring Optimum Unconditional Global Harmony'', named after the
Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...
town
Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood (borough), Charnwood Borough of Leicestershire, England; it is the administrative centre of Charnwood Borough Council. At the United Kingdom 2021 census, the town's built-up area had a popula ...
) is run by Professor Nebulous’ ex-love interest, Doctor Erica Flazenby. By comparison to KENT it is over-funded and well-equipped, with bazers,
black helicopter The black helicopter is a symbol of an alleged conspiratorial military takeover of the United States in the American militia movement. Black helicopters have also been associated with UFOs, especially in the UK, men in black, and similar co ...
s and info pills, which provide the user with information by ingestion. ''Nebulous'' both
parodies A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satirical or ironic imitation. Often its subject is an original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, etc), but a parody can als ...
and pays homage to several well known science fiction programmes and films in both its setting and plotlines, often incorporating several different elements within a single story: Professor Nebulous himself is similar to
Bernard Quatermass Professor Bernard Quatermass is a fictional scientist originally created by writer Nigel Kneale for BBC Television. An intelligent and highly moral British scientist, Quatermass is a pioneer of the British space programme, heading the British ...
, a British
scientist A scientist is a person who Scientific method, researches to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engag ...
who led a research group and fought
aliens Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, a lifeform with ext ...
in the classic science fiction serial ''
The Quatermass Experiment ''The Quatermass Experiment'' is a British science fiction serial broadcast by BBC Television during the summer of 1953 and re-staged by BBC Four in 2005. Set in the near future against the background of a British space programme, it tells th ...
'' and its sequels. KENT itself is based partly on the Department of Measurement of Scientific Work, nicknamed "Doomwatch", the eponymous organisation from the BBC science fiction television programme ''
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 ( ...
'', and partly on the Doctor Who Organization "U.N.I.T", otherwise known as the "
United Nations Intelligence Taskforce Unit may refer to: General measurement * Unit of measurement, a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law **International System of Units (SI), modern form of the metric system **English units, histo ...
". The second episode of series one, " The Loverly Invasion", is a direct spoof of the ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
'' episode "
The Claws of Axos ''The Claws of Axos'' is the third serial of the Doctor Who (season 8), eighth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC One, BBC1 from 13 March to 3 April 1971. ...
", while " The Deptford Wives" takes both its name and premise from ''
The Stepford Wives ''The Stepford Wives'' is a 1972 satirical "feminist horror" novel by Ira Levin. The story concerns Joanna Eberhart, a talented photographer, wife, and young mother who suspects that something in the town of Stepford is changing the wives fro ...
'' (and also borrows from ''
Jurassic Park ''Jurassic Park'', later referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton, centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of De-extinction#Cloning, cloned dinosaurs. It bega ...
''). From the first episode of series 3 onwards, this also began to include the recent ''Doctor Who'' spin-off ''
Torchwood ''Torchwood'' is a British-American science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off of the 2005 revival of ''Doctor Who'', it aired from 2006 to 2011. The show shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect i ...
'' and the ITV series '' Primeval'', with references to "baby dinosaurs falling through a hole in time" and "the sheer amount of paranormal activity in the Cardiff area alone ... starting to threaten the Earth's plausibility shield". Episode 6 of that series also parodied the tendency in British sci-fi for attempts to take over the world to start in Britain, with the chief villain (played by
Tenth Doctor The Tenth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is played by David Tennant in three series and nine specials. The character has also appeared in other ''Docto ...
actor
David Tennant David John Tennant (; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He is best known for portraying the Tenth Doctor, tenth and Fourteenth Doctor, fourteenth incarnations of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction series ''Docto ...
) stating "Funnily enough, that's a tax thing," as well as one of the
Ninth Doctor The Ninth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Christopher Eccleston during the first series of the show's revival in 2005. Within the serie ...
's nicknames, "the oncoming storm" (with Nebulous known as "the oncoming drizzle").


Cast

*
Mark Gatiss Mark Gatiss (; born 17 October 1966) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, director, producer and novelist. Best known for his acting work on stage and screen as well as for co-creating television shows with Steven Moffat, he has received ...
Professor Boffo Nebulous *
Rosie Cavaliero Rosalind Cecilia Cavaliero (born 27 November 1967) is a British actress. She has appeared in numerous television roles. Filmography Film Television Video games Podcasts Radio Theatre * ''Dracula'' at the Everyman, Cheltenham – Florr ...
Paula Breeze (assistant to Nebulous) *
Graham Duff Graham Duff is an English writer, actor and producer. His work for television and radio is typified by intricate plotting, large casts, frequently dark subject matter and a love of wordplay and surrealism. Duff's writing is influenced by the ...
Rory Lawson Rory Lawson (born 12 March 1981) is a Scottish former rugby union player who played his career in Scotland and England as a scrum half. He won 31 caps for Scotland. He attended Dollar Academy where he captained the school's 1st XV. After a nu ...
(assistant to Nebulous) *
Paul Putner Paul Putner (born 18 March 1966) is an English actor and comedian. Life and career Putner was born in March 1966 in East Grinstead, West Sussex. He studied at LAMDA where he won the Kenneth More prize for comedy acting. His first significant ...
Harry Hayes (researcher for KENT) *
Graham Crowden Clement Graham Crowden (30 November 1922 – 19 October 2010) was a Scottish actor. He was best known for his many appearances in television comedy dramas and films, often playing eccentric scientist, teacher and doctor characters. Early life C ...
Ronald Rowlands (Minister with Unusual Portfolio) *
David Warner David or Dave Warner may refer to: Sports * Dave Warner (strongman) (born 1969), Northern Ireland strongman competitor * David Bruce Warner (born 1970), South African alpine skier * David Warner (cricketer) (born 1986), Australian cricketer Othe ...
Doctor Klench (Nebulous' arch-rival) *
Julia Dalkin Julia Dalkin (born 1975) is a British actress. Partial filmography *''Nebulous'' (radio) (2005–2008) *''EastEnders'' - Polly (2009), DC Brook Penrith (2013) *''Doctors (2000 TV series), Doctors'' - Suzanne Matthews (1 episode, 2008) *''The Wo ...
Nebulous's mother,
Gemini Gemini most often refers to: * Gemini (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac * Gemini (astrology), an astrological sign Gemini may also refer to: Science and technology Space * Gemini in Chinese astronomy, the Gemini constellat ...
(KENT's resident supercomputer) *Matt Wolf – Nebulous's father Following positive reviews and high listening figures, the second series was able to attract a number of guest appearances from well known actors, including
Peter Davison Peter Malcolm Gordon Moffett (born 13 April 1951), known professionally as Peter Davison, is an English actor. He made his television acting debut in 1975 and became famous in 1978 as Tristan Farnon in the BBC's television adaptation of Jame ...
,
Steve Coogan Stephen John Coogan (; born 14 October 1965) is an English-Irish actor, comedian, screenwriter and producer. His accolades include four BAFTA Awards and three British Comedy Awards, and nominations for two Academy Awards and a Golden Globe Aw ...
, and
Kate O'Mara Kate O'Mara (born Frances Meredith Carroll;Michael CoveneObituary: Kate O'Mara ''The Guardian'', 30 March 2014 10 August 1939 – 30 March 2014) was an English film, stage and television actress, and writer. O'Mara made her stage debut in a 19 ...
. The third series featured appearances from
Julia Davis Julia Davis (born August 1966) is an English actress, comedian, director and writer. She is known for writing and starring in the comedies Human Remains (TV series), ''Human Remains'' (2000) and ''Nighty Night'' (2004–2005). She later worke ...
and
David Tennant David John Tennant (; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He is best known for portraying the Tenth Doctor, tenth and Fourteenth Doctor, fourteenth incarnations of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction series ''Docto ...
.


Reviews

Reception to ''Nebulous'' was generally positive: a reviewer from ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' described the first series as "a winning blend of Doomwatch, Quatermass and British silliness that has cult written all over it", while the second series was described as "cool and cultish". However, ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' was more guarded, comparing the show to "'' Hitchhiker's'' without the philosophy or ''
Red Dwarf A red dwarf is the smallest kind of star on the main sequence. Red dwarfs are by far the most common type of fusing star in the Milky Way, at least in the neighborhood of the Sun. However, due to their low luminosity, individual red dwarfs are ...
'' without the energy", going on to say that show is "funny, but not seriously so". A reviewer for ''Doctor Who'' website UnitNews also initially expressed concerns about the level of jokes in the show, but later claimed "I should have been more patient because when they did arrive, coinciding with the introduction of the character Harry, they were relentlessly funny".


References


External links

* * (Archived Radio 4 page) * (Archived BBC Comedy page) * {{good article BBC Radio comedy programmes British science fiction radio programmes 2005 radio programme debuts British radio dramas Post-apocalyptic fiction BBC Radio 4 programmes Science fiction comedy Works set in the 2090s 2099 Television series set in the 2090s