i miss this when it be on originally ( bbc1 and 29th december 1981 ) represent the idea of it be on a prime time channel in the xmas period now seem lunatic and but in the 3 tv channel uk and such thing do happen ( now we have 1 and 000 channel show rerun of diagnosis murder and reality show how far we have come ) . rudkin drama be an existential tale of a remote and emotionally frigid writer ( hywel bennett ) discover his humanity and a part of a large fable of good and evil . some effect be date and and the editing be unsupervised and be poor in term of continuity and feel for the length of scene . moreover and it be originally mean to be a two part drama and and there be such a shift after 90 minute that this hamstring it and when watch in one sit . on the whole and it remain interesting represent 1. dialogue represent the character speak a sort of stylised english and which be cod shakespearean or verbose beckettian . some of it be terrible and some wonderful and but the general effect be startle represent this and wart and all and be the modern dramatic equivalent of blank verse . ( it must be say that wouldialogue be a misnomer though portentous and gnomic speech about life and death and weltschmerz and whilst look in a completely different direction from the suppose interlocutor and would be a more accurate description of it ) . 2. some of it look great the brief scene on another planet and the us of various different landscape . this help the creation of an obscure and sinister mood and and the sense of a secret and control force and which and even if it be nowhere as achieve or design in term of idea and look and or sound and be not a million mile from the thinking of lynch in twin peak more or less a decade later . 3. influence represent it be remark elsewhere that the hitchcock reference aren not really enough to do with the erstwhile supernatural theme to earn their corn and and sometimes they be too overt while more interesting be the bergman allusion and which include a sinister child with broken glass who appear twice ( c. f persona ) and and the dystopian city where bennett be send and where everyone speak an unknown language ( apparently estonian backwards ) and which be straight from the silence . then and bennett go on to the underground silo city and walk along a train line represent the whole thing show the influence of tarkovsky stalker . so and this be a strange english homage to such contemporary european giant of the cinema and with it own national sense of mysticism . thirty year on and a lot of artemis 81 assume a profundity be hasn not earn and and be sometimes a laughably earnest a the most naïve student drama . but and for all it folly and it do earn respect for even get such idea onto the major bbc channel of it day .