If you had no idea that Kelly Reilly — of “Yellowstone” fame — was in a movie a long time ago with Tom Hardy, you’d be forgiven. Released back in 2006, as a BBC Four telemovie, the two starred in a modern retelling of the science-fiction-drama “A for Andromeda.” Also in the movie is Charlie Cox, who you might recognize as Marvel’s “Daredevil.” When it aired, it was a big hit with the locals, for a week apparently, watched by 580,000 viewers, before fading away into obscurity.
The original show was a seven-part series that aired in 1961, written by cosmologist Fred Hoyle — and it seems only one episode has survived the times. Dropping slight spoilers here, but the series follows a group of scientists who discover a radio signal that’s coming from another galaxy, not unlike the “Wow” signal of 1977.
Eventually, they discover the signal is a series of instructions for building an advanced computer, which they do. When the computer is built, it gives them even more instructions on how to create a living organism named Andromeda. Without spoiling the rest, some rather interesting events occur and the 2006 remake with Hardy and Reilly follows nearly the exact same plotline, albeit with more modern visual effects.
Where to watch A for Andromeda
Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like “A for Andromeda” is available for streaming in either the original 1961 format or the more modern 2006 film. There are some places you can find them online, provided you’re willing to do some sleuthing.
As mentioned, the original tapes for the old series were reportedly wiped because of the high cost of the videotapes at the time as well as the storage costs. It was cheaper for broadcasters to erase and reuse tapes rather than buy new ones. It’s estimated that between 60 to 70 percent of all BBC programming produced from the mid-1950s to mid-1970s is lost and unrecoverable.
That’s a shame, because both the movie and the show cover some prescient ground with artificial intelligence, humanoid robotics, and potential interstellar visitors all making the rounds in media these days. The story explores themes like cloning, biological warfare, AI, and dastardly science. If you do get the opportunity to watch the 2006 film, at the very least, you might do so and consider yourself lucky. You might also note the rising stars that Hardy, Reilly, and Cox reveal themselves to be.
