The Caves of Steel - Television Adaptation

Television Adaptation

An adaptation of The Caves of Steel was made by the BBC and broadcast on BBC2 on 5 June 1964 as part of an anthology strand called Story Parade, which specialized in adaptations of modern novels. It starred Peter Cushing as Elijah Baley and John Carson as R. Daneel Olivaw. The adaptation was the brainchild of Story Parade story editor Irene Shubik, who was an enthusiast of science fiction and a fan of Isaac Asimov in particular, once referring to him as “one of the most interesting and amusing men I have ever met”. Shubik had previously devised and story edited the science fiction anthology series Out of This World, which had adapted Asimov's short story Little Lost Robot in 1962. The adaptation of the novel was handled by Terry Nation, who at this time had recently found fame and fortune as the creator of the popular Dalek monsters for the science fiction series Doctor Who.

The screenplay was generally faithful to the plot of the novel. The only major deviation was the conclusion – in the television version the murderer commits suicide when he is unmasked, although in the novel he agrees to work to convince the Medievalists to change their ways. The other major change is that the roboticist Dr. Gerrigal is a female character in the television version.

Director Peter Sasdy later directed a number of Hammer horror films as well as the Nigel Kneale television play The Stone Tape. The Caves of Steel garnered good reviews: The Daily Telegraph said the play “proved again that science fiction can be exciting, carry a message and be intellectually stimulating” while The Listener, citing the play as the best of the Story Parade series, described it as “a fascinating mixture of science fiction and whodunit which worked remarkably well”. The play was repeated on BBC1 on 28 August 1964. As was common practice at the time, the master tapes of The Caves of Steel were wiped some time after broadcast and the play remains missing to this day. A few short extracts survive: the opening titles and the murder of Sarton; Elijah and Daneel meeting Dr. Gerrigel (Naomi Chance) and Elijah and Daneel confronting the Medievalist Clousarr (John Boyd-Brent).

The success of The Caves of Steel led Irene Shubik to devise the science fiction anthology series Out of the Unknown, during which she oversaw the adaptation of six more Asimov stories, including The Caves of Steel’s sequel The Naked Sun.

Cast of BBC2 Adaptation:

• Peter Cushing as Elijah Baley
• John Carson as R Daneel Olivaw
• Kenneth J Warren as Commissioner Julius Enderby
• John Wentworth as Dr Han Fastolfe
• Ellen McIntosh as Jessie Baley
• Ian Trigger as R Sammy
• Stanley Walsh as Simpson
• John Boyd-Brent as Francis Cloussar
• Naomi Chance as Dr Gerrigel
• Hennie Scott as Bentley Baley
• Richard Beale as Controller
• Richard Beint as Shop Manager
• Patsy Smart as Customer