T i m e q u a k e

What defines a TV show as Cult? Is it the quality of the scripts, the production values or the fans obsessive devotion to
their beloved programme? This mockumentary is a light-hearted look at why certain television shows gain the term ‘Cult’
and the loyal fans that maybe need to get out more!

Can a film really take fifteen years to make?
Well not intentionally (feels like it though), but REVERSING THE POLARITY / TIMEQUAKE was an idea that I had been wanted to produce for the last couple of years. With the popularity of old TV shows bigger than ever, I wanted to write a screenplay that examined why certain TV series gain the term 'Cult' and the fans that won't have a bad word said about their favourite programme.

But a fictional show was needed to give the illusion of a series that proberly could have done with a larger budget and slightly better scripts and so TIMEQUAKE was born from this brief.
Taking footage from a much earlier movie shot in 1991/92 as well as material from Helical Scan Productions back catalogue, I attempted to recall as many of the original cast members as possible so to create the mythical show that is TIMEQUAKE.


Marq English and Ritchie Taylor set up a shot	The original shoot in 1991	Marq and Mark discuss a scene

Basing the theme of the film on 'Making of' featurettes that regularly appear on DVD releases, the movie started shooting in January 2004. Additional characters were added to the storyline such as Matt Goldberg (Matt Wolf) and Fiona Lemming (Dannie Carr) and the footage from the TIMEQUAKE TV Movie was lifted from DAWNRAZOR (2001), which also starred Matt Wolf. All Rupert Shaw (Rupert Booth) TV sequences were taken from HELICAL SCAN PRODUCTIONS and fitted perfectly in with the edit.

Convention scenes were filmed at various cons in London through the first half of 2004 as well as utilising clips from The Sutton Film Festival. On one occasion, Mark Bennett, George Murphy and myself were ready to shoot a cut-away shot of the two Draven's signing autographs behind a table. Robert Patric (T:2, X-Files) popped off for a coffee and we quickly nicked his table for a quick bit of guerilla filmmaking (and it was quick, believe me!)


Sarah Lee-Allen plays a TV anorak	Rupert and Mark pose for publicity	Ritchie Taylor, George Murphy and Marq English

George Murphy's convention footage was the real deal when he attended one in Perth, Austrailia some years back and he had all this fantastic analogue material we could use which helped immensely.
I thought it important to have some fan injection for the movie and hired some people (including the lovely Sarah Lee-Allen) to become anoraks for the day...('anorak' means 'geek' for our U.S. friends!)

Once filming was complete in May 2004, I began to assemble and produce a workable off-line edit with the wealth of material at my disposle. Ritchie Taylor provided the audio mix and the CGI title sequence.

A special mention has to go to Rupert Booth and all at Helical Scan Productions for being invaluble with the footage they gave us to bring the whole film to life...and on a trivia note, the Abigail Fleming character is indeed played by the same person who was about Six years old in one scene and Nineteen in the next...I love it when a plan comes together.