Archaelogical Science Fiction, Prometheus and Doctor Who

Started by NecronomIV, Jul 17, 2022, 07:33:28 AM

Author
Archaelogical Science Fiction, Prometheus and Doctor Who (Read 4,992 times)

NecronomIV

This is an excerpt from an essay I wrote on a Doctor Who forum in a series discussing the Cybermen, that directly compares a 1967 Doctor Who story The Tomb of the Cybermen with Prometheus and archaelogical science fiction in general.

I thought I'd post this fragment here just for the fun of it.

... Tomb of the Cybermen is probably the most influential classic series Cyberman story.  Here's a plot you may recognise:

"An archaeological expedition from Earth arrives on a barren, desolate planet. They discover and enter a seemingly abandoned alien base. As they explore they encounter mysteries, strange machines, and people start to die. Some of the expedition have their own sinister agenda involving finding and waking up the owners, who are discovered in hibernation. On being revived, the aliens prove incredibly dangerous and can't be negotiated with, and seek to travel back to earth to conquer, enslave or destroy humanity."

This is, of course, the plot to the 2012 film Prometheus directed by Sir Ridley Scott and written by John Spaiths and Damon Lindleoff. However, anyone who has seen or read Tomb of the Cybermen may find hauntingly familiar. Let's do a quick comparison of the two:

1. An archaeological expedition from Earth arrives on a barren, desolate planet. They discover an alien structure ...



2. They explore, finding mysteries, strange symbols and writing, and iconography of the vanished inhabitants.



3. They find remnants of the inhabitants ... just empty shells. Without heads.



4. Strange and dangerous creatures inhabit the remains. People start to die ...



5. The financier of the expedition has an agenda, an ulterior motive for financing the expedition.



6. They discover the vanished aliens still alive in hibernation. The financiers revive them against good advice. They are tall, imposing, powerful.



7. The hubris of the humans, thinking they can control or make demands. The aliens prove to be incredibly dangerous and powerful; they can't be negotiated with, and seek to travel back to Earth to conquer, enslave or destroy humanity.



8. The hubris of the aliens, they are attacked and killed by their own creations. (The Prometheus one is a little gruesome, so I've gone for a shot that obscures the monster a bit).



Of course, the pacing and positioning and emphasis of the story beats differ, but like a horse and a zebra you can see there's a common ancestor. Even down to the coda ...



I'm not suggesting the creative team of Prometheus were ripping off Davis and Pedler (though Scott, who was working at the BBC at the time The Daleks was in production, may well have seen Tomb of the Cybermen only a few years later), rather the similarities come from because both works exist in the niche genre of archaeological science fiction. Prometheus itself is a prequel to ALIEN, with which it shares some of the same space-archaeology DNA: originally the alien-eggs were stored in a pyramid as part of an alien ritual, with writing and pictograms on the wall, and this concept was bought back for the ALIENS vs Predator film.

Prometheus, with the benefit of a film budget, post-millennium special effects, and a director considered by many to be among the best of his time, is measurably better than Tomb of the Cybermen (though it also has its flaws).

ALIEN and Prometheus were both strongly influenced by H.P Lovecraft's writing, especially the novella At the Mountain of Madness (1931). H.P. Lovecraft, in turn, was influenced by the Mummy genre, Egyptology being very much in the zeitgeist (the tomb of Tutankhamen was discovered in 1922) and that is also what Tomb is derived from. The Mummy stories are the common ancestor to all these works, with Egypt being the "alien" civilisation with a rich and complex history and strong icongraphy, and the Mummy the sleeping horror, the powerful, mythic figure disturbed by the scientists.

Archaeology and Science Fiction fundamentally have a great deal in common: though one is focused on understanding the past, and the other is on trying to understand the present by imagining a future. Both are works of deduction. Here's what we know; here's the clues: now extrapolate forward or backward. Whether the plot is a Victorian adventurer exploring a pyramid, or Professor Parry et al. exploring the tomb of the Cybermen, or Elizabeth Shaw exploring an alien installation, the framing is the same: intrusion into a dangerous place of mystery, and trying to reconstruct who, what and why of the context, as well as trying to gain something (usually riches, knowledge or power).

Archaeological science fiction encompasses works like Rendezvous with Rama, Rogue Moon, Revelation Space and Diamond Dogs, Roadside Picnic, Winds of Time, Across a Billion Years, Man in the Maze, Engines of God and At the Mountains of Madness ...

I'll spare you the rest of the essay  ;D  The pictures were the fun thing really.

SiL

SiL

#1
Great write up and pictures - but no mention of Quatermass and the Pit, which Scott has said was an influence since 1979 and is also archaeologically driven sci fi? :P

NecronomIV

Quote from: SiL on Jul 17, 2022, 08:08:30 AMGreat write up and pictures - but no mention of Quatermass and the Pit, which Scott has said was an influence since 1979 and is also archaeologically driven sci fi? :P

There is, I acknowledge, a gaping chasm in my education, but I've still yet to get around to Bernie Q.  ;D

SiL

Get on it! The original BBC series is floating around online and there's a great Blu Ray of the Hammer film.

OmegaZilla

finally, a good post

great and interesting analysis - I should revisit Tomb sometimes - and as SiL says, Quatermass and the Pit is a huge influence not only on the Alien films but sci-fi at large, starting from the 50s miniseries that was condensed into the film

I should add, Prometheus is only influenced by lovecraft by proxy - they clearly only used the scrapped material from previous scripts (mostly for Alien) so it ends up being structurally similar to certain lovecraft tales... but if it does, so does AvP, which Prometheus lifts plenty from

is the DW forum Gallifrey Base? Do link me, I'm a huge DW buff

Immortan Jonesy

Immortan Jonesy

#5
I'm not a Dr Who connoisseur, so this is totally new to me. Thank you! and yeah, when it comes to archeological Sci Fi, there are eerie similarities in others works of fiction. Mision to Mars (2000) for example, is a bit similar to Prometheus, but the origins of life on Earth are the twist at the end. Plus, just like in Prometheus, the movie ends with the protagonist traveling to the new world of the alien creators. The film was written by Jim Thomas and John Thomas (Predator, Predator 2). There's a giant head, a star map, a sandstorm! lol













NecronomIV

NecronomIV

#6
Quote from: Omegamorph on Jul 17, 2022, 08:15:12 PMfinally, a good post

great and interesting analysis - I should revisit Tomb sometimes - and as SiL says, Quatermass and the Pit is a huge influence not only on the Alien films but sci-fi at large, starting from the 50s miniseries that was condensed into the film

I should add, Prometheus is only influenced by lovecraft by proxy - they clearly only used the scrapped material from previous scripts (mostly for Alien) so it ends up being structurally similar to certain lovecraft tales... but if it does, so does AvP, which Prometheus lifts plenty from

is the DW forum Gallifrey Base? Do link me, I'm a huge DW buff

Thank you. Sure, here you go: A BF Cybermen Review Thread

Caution for others - you can only read this if logged in to that forum. :( Maybe I'll post the whole thing on the "Free-to-air" internet one day.



Quote from: Immortan Jonesy on Jul 18, 2022, 03:26:30 AMI'm not a Dr Who connoisseur, so this is totally new to me. Thank you! and yeah, when it comes to archeological Sci Fi, there are eerie similarities in others works of fiction. Mision to Mars (2000) for example, is a bit similar to Prometheus, but the origins of life on Earth are the twist at the end. Plus, just like in Prometheus, the movie ends with the protagonist traveling to the new world of the alien creators. The film was written by Jim Thomas and John Thomas (Predator, Predator 2). There's a giant head, a star map, a sandstorm! lol













Wow, I had no idea about that film until they started talking about it on the recent Prometheus podcast, which I just started listening to today. V. interesting! (although I gather it's a less than stellar film)

OmegaZilla

OmegaZilla

#7
Quote from: NecronomIV on Jul 18, 2022, 05:13:30 AMThank you. Sure, here you go: A BF Cybermen Review Thread

Caution for others - you can only read this if logged in to that forum. :( Maybe I'll post the whole thing on the "Free-to-air" internet one day.
I haven't been there since season 7 came out hahahahah

gotta recover that password

do keep going however, Doctor Who - especially classic Who - is a silent contributor to many sci-fi and fantasy ideas going around. Hell, the Daleks and Cybermen are among the first examples of 'armies of cybernetic exterminators' that found ample use in the 70s and 80s. Doctor Who is BBC, and the Alien series is done by a lot of 'big chaps'!  ;D

If you want a hand in your essays, do tell. I happen to be recovering season 8 as of now (cherrypicking but you get the gist) and I also intend to rewatch a lot of Classic Who stuff for my research projects that employ this approach by structural comparison (which is essential to understanding a great many things)

About Mission to Mars, it's no secret I loathe it, but if you watch it you'll see some seed of pulp sci-fi (Who included) in it and maybe you'll like it, in which case I'll be sorry, but...

Spoiler


[close]

BlueMarsalis79

Heaven Sent's pretty amazing when you get to that one.

NecronomIV

Quote from: Omegamorph on Jul 18, 2022, 08:10:27 AM
Quote from: NecronomIV on Jul 18, 2022, 05:13:30 AMThank you. Sure, here you go: A BF Cybermen Review Thread

Caution for others - you can only read this if logged in to that forum. :( Maybe I'll post the whole thing on the "Free-to-air" internet one day.
I haven't been there since season 7 came out hahahahah

gotta recover that password

do keep going however, Doctor Who - especially classic Who - is a silent contributor to many sci-fi and fantasy ideas going around. Hell, the Daleks and Cybermen are among the first examples of 'armies of cybernetic exterminators' that found ample use in the 70s and 80s. Doctor Who is BBC, and the Alien series is done by a lot of 'big chaps'!  ;D

If you want a hand in your essays, do tell. I happen to be recovering season 8 as of now (cherrypicking but you get the gist) and I also intend to rewatch a lot of Classic Who stuff for my research projects that employ this approach by structural comparison (which is essential to understanding a great many things)

About Mission to Mars, it's no secret I loathe it, but if you watch it you'll see some seed of pulp sci-fi (Who included) in it and maybe you'll like it, in which case I'll be sorry, but...

Spoiler


[close]
Thank you for your offer, but they're pretty personal essays in some ways, and deeply niche in that it's about the portrayal of the Cybermen in the Big Finish audio drama series. The project is slowed to a snails pace, but its something I'll pick up again. When that happens, perhaps I can run a draft by you?

Quote from: BlueMarsalis79 on Jul 18, 2022, 09:29:14 AMHeaven Sent's pretty amazing when you get to that one.

There's not much Doctor Who I'd say is unambigiously a masterpiece, but that one is magnificent.

OmegaZilla

OmegaZilla

#10
Quote from: NecronomIV on Jul 18, 2022, 11:14:56 AMThank you for your offer, but they're pretty personal essays in some ways, and deeply niche in that it's about the portrayal of the Cybermen in the Big Finish audio drama series. The project is slowed to a snails pace, but its something I'll pick up again. When that happens, perhaps I can run a draft by you?
I deliberately don't listen to the audio dramas but as far as the TV stuff is concerned I can be a beta reader for you no problem

Great idea all around however so whenever you want some help you know where to shout 'allons-y' at, and my research is very similar to yours, so perhaps we can exchange sources!

javablue

Quote from: Omegamorph on Jul 18, 2022, 08:10:27 AMDoctor Who - especially classic Who - is a silent contributor to many sci-fi and fantasy ideas going around.

I've thought for some time that David's flute in Prometheus referenced the second Doctor Who's recorder, thereby perhaps linking David to the Doctor and/or linking Prometheus to the second Doctor's episodes.

OmegaZilla

OmegaZilla

#12
Quote from: javablue on Jul 21, 2022, 01:30:35 PM
Quote from: Omegamorph on Jul 18, 2022, 08:10:27 AMDoctor Who - especially classic Who - is a silent contributor to many sci-fi and fantasy ideas going around.

I've thought for some time that David's flute in Prometheus referenced the second Doctor Who's recorder, thereby perhaps linking David to the Doctor and/or linking Prometheus to the second Doctor's episodes.
I'm not big on Troughton eps, can you elaborate?

javablue

Quote from: Omegamorph on Jul 22, 2022, 12:15:18 AM
Quote from: javablue on Jul 21, 2022, 01:30:35 PM
Quote from: Omegamorph on Jul 18, 2022, 08:10:27 AMDoctor Who - especially classic Who - is a silent contributor to many sci-fi and fantasy ideas going around.

I've thought for some time that David's flute in Prometheus referenced the second Doctor Who's recorder, thereby perhaps linking David to the Doctor and/or linking Prometheus to the second Doctor's episodes.
I'm not big on Troughton eps, can you elaborate?

I was never really into Dr Who either but when I saw David with the flute I remembered that one of the early doctors was famous for having a recorder (a flute-like musical instrument) so I checked and found that it was the second doctor. I thought that Ridley may have purposely included it as an allusion to the second doctor series (which includes The Tomb of the Cybermen). There's a lot of intertextuality in Prometheus (I have tried to bring this up in the past, to no avail).

NecronomIV

Quote from: javablue on Jul 22, 2022, 01:12:12 AM
Quote from: Omegamorph on Jul 22, 2022, 12:15:18 AM
Quote from: javablue on Jul 21, 2022, 01:30:35 PM
Quote from: Omegamorph on Jul 18, 2022, 08:10:27 AMDoctor Who - especially classic Who - is a silent contributor to many sci-fi and fantasy ideas going around.

I've thought for some time that David's flute in Prometheus referenced the second Doctor Who's recorder, thereby perhaps linking David to the Doctor and/or linking Prometheus to the second Doctor's episodes.
I'm not big on Troughton eps, can you elaborate?

I was never really into Dr Who either but when I saw David with the flute I remembered that one of the early doctors was famous for having a recorder (a flute-like musical instrument) so I checked and found that it was the second doctor. I thought that Ridley may have purposely included it as an allusion to the second doctor series (which includes The Tomb of the Cybermen). There's a lot of intertextuality in Prometheus (I have tried to bring this up in the past, to no avail).

Well, that one went right over my head. Tempting to think it's a nice little nod to Troughton. Thank you. While we're here and discussing it, have you a link to past threads about intertextuality in Prometheus/Covenant. Always interested in that kind of thing.

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