Speaking in a 2003 television documentary about Nigel Kneale's career, the writer and critic Kim Newman praised the underlying themes of "Quatermass II", and their particular relevance to the British way of life. ""Quatermass II" is the British "Invasion of the Bodysnatchers", but I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing... What "Quatermass II" does is take that metaphor and apply it to the specific conditions of Britain in the 1950s; not just the Cold War paranoia, but the traditional British grumbling resentment of bureaucracy as represented by the council, or in this case big business." The British Film Institute's "Screenonline" website also offers praise in its analysis of the serial."With its tale of an invasion by an invisible enemy indistinguishable from ourselves, Kneale's story tapped into contemporary fears about the 'red' (i.e. communist) threat, although in a less direct way than the American science fiction films of the 1950s, including "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". At the same time, it reflected the widespread anxiety of the nuclear age — the story begins with a failed test of a nuclear-powered rocket in Australia (at a time when the country was in reality a site for a series of British nuclear weapons tests). In short, "Quatermass II" was the perfect cold-war drama."