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This episode of the podcast discusses Robert C. O' Brien's 1974 novel Z for Zachariah and its two subsequent film adaptations, most notably the 2015 adaptation staring Margot Robbie, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Chris Pine.

It's time to discuss some upside hell with 1972's genre defining classic The Poseidon Adventure, taking in the original novel, the sequel, the TV movie and the remake along the way.  

In this episode we take a look into the British nuclear abyss via Peter Watkins’ The War Game, Mick Jackson’s Threads and the animated adaptation of Raymond Briggs’ When the Wind Blows.

What if you couldn't shake the feeling that those around you weren't who they claimed to be? Furthermore, what if an alien invasion took the form of gradually increasing numbers of replicant people. Long before cloned credit cards and fraudulent online purchases, Jack Finney's The Body Snatchers looks at an altogether more horrifying version of identity theft.  Over the years, The Body Snatchers and the four cinematic adaptations that followed have been read as a metaphor for McCarthyism, the dangers of communism, racial and sexual politics, terrorism, disease, alternative culture and many more besides. Swathing a path through this noise that surrounds what is simply a fabulous story, we look at just what it takes to create a near-perfect alien invasion yarn.

The plight of increasingly desperate survivors in the wake of global famine and resultant societal breakdown provides the focus for discussion in episode 2 of Closer to Midnight, as a small band of English men and women risk robbery, rape and murder in an attempt to reach a fortified potato farm. Along with John Christopher’s novel The Death of Grass we take a good look at Cornel Wilde’s 1970 cinematic adaptation No Blade of Grass. After ploughing through topics such as geosocial ignorance, patriarchy, class, ecology, overpopulation, pollution and social admonishment, we are delighted to include an interview with Anthony May – star of No Blade of Grass – who takes us behind the scenes of Cornel Wilde’s visceral classic.  

Robert Neville’s desperate plight as the embattled, sole-surviving human in a vampire-strewn apocalyptic nightmare forms the basis of discussion for our first episode. We look firstly at Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel I Am Legend before moving on to discuss the four cinematic adaptations: The Last Man On Earth, The Omega Man, I Am Legend and I Am Omega. Thematically, there is plenty to chew on – the nature of the self, colonization, capitalism, Christ-analogies and counterculture all get a mention before we conclude that, whilst the novel is a masterclass in taught, efficient storytelling, there is yet to be a wholly satisfying on-screen adaptation – and perhaps the time has, sadly, now passed.