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BBC’s “Once Upon A Time” documentary series heads into space

By John Freeman on February 9, 2024

Following the success of the Once Upon a Time… strand, which has won multiple awards for its documentaries on Iraq and Northern Ireland, the BBC has commissioned Once Upon a Time in Space.

Over four parts, director James Bluemel and his Keo Films team will take the same character-centred approach to tell the human story of space exploration.

Pioneering astronauts, visionary scientists and engineers, daring space tourists, maverick billionaires and astro-theorists will all give testimony in the series, which aims to connect the past with the present as humankind starts a new Space Race.

It was all the way back in 1972 when Eugene Cernan became the eleventh person to walk the Moon. Upon leaving, he proclaimed: “We shall return.” But it’s only now, decades later, that humans are once again heading back into space.

China, Russia, America, India, Saudi Arabia and Japan are all investing in lunar exploration as they struggle for power.

NASA astronaut and Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch participates in training last month, in the Neutral Buoyancy Lab at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Image: Josh Valcarcel – NASA – John

Clare Sillery, BBC Head of Commissioning, Documentaries, says: “In his Once Upon a Time series of documentaries, filmmaker James Bluemel has been clear-eyed and fearless in his choices. His distinctive approach has brought a new understanding to the most challenging and complex subjects.

“I’m delighted to support his creative ambition as he and the brilliant team at Keo turn their attention to space exploration. I’m excited to see what surprising new perspectives they will unlock and what the series might reveal about us and our modern world.”

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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.