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A Message from Mars (1913): The First Friendly Alien

A Message from Mars (1913): The First Friendly Alien

Author: James Payne September 10, 2026 Duration: 50:04
Journey Through Sci-Fi: Science Fiction Film History
TvTV & FilmFilmHistory

Where does the friendly alien begin? Not with E.T., but with a Martian exiled to Edwardian London to reform the most selfish man alive.

Journey Through Sci-Fi returns with a brand new series. We Come in Peace traces the history of friendly aliens on screen. In this opener we set out the stall: what makes a visitor friendly rather than hostile, why everything gets measured against E.T., and how one mistranslated Italian word put Martians in our heads.

Then we go back to 1913 and A Message from Mars, widely held to be the first British science fiction film. Ramiel, a Martian stripped of his rank and banished to Earth, has to reform a selfish London bachelor called Horace Parker. It is A Christmas Carol with a spaceman, and almost every benevolent visitor since owes it something.

In this episode:

  • Friendly visitor or invader? Where the line actually sits
  • Voltaire's Micromégas (1752), possibly the first friendly alien story ever written
  • Kenneth Arnold, Roswell, and how 1947 gave us the flying saucer
  • Schiaparelli's canali: the mistranslation that built fictional Mars
  • Ramiel's tough love, the zap power, and some baffling 1913 camera trickery
  • Lizard people or Arthurian courtiers?
  • Britain in 1913: picture palaces and a film industry inventing itself

Also discussed: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Cocoon, Batteries Not Included, Earth Girls Are Easy, It Came from Outer Space, Aelita: Queen of Mars, A Princess of Mars, Project Hail Mary and Armageddon.

Watch along with us. A Message from Mars is free on BFI Replay: https://replay.bfi.org.uk/video/7f470ecc-3ccd-5cde-aca0-ac97153f8ecd

Lizards or courtiers? Tell us what you saw.

Next time: The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) meets its 2008 remake.

Hosted and produced by James Payne and Matt Willcock. Edited by James Payne.

Bonus episodes on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/journeythroughscifi

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Full back catalogue and everything else: https://journeythroughscifi.com

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Ever wondered how a silent film from a century ago connects to the spectacle you saw at the multiplex last weekend? That’s the kind of thread Journey Through Sci-Fi: A Science Fiction Film Podcast follows, tracing the entire arc of the genre from its flickering beginnings to its CGI-drenched present. Hosts Matt and James act as your guides, not just reviewing movies but unpacking the ideas that fueled them. They’re interested in how a particular film’s design changed movie-making, or how a story from the 1950s reflected the anxieties of its time, creating a conversation across decades. You’ll hear detailed discussions that place each film within a larger historical tapestry, making connections you might have missed. This isn't a random list of reviews; it's a curated, chronological expedition. By focusing on one film per episode, the podcast allows for a deep dive into the context, the production challenges, and the lasting cultural footprint of each title. Whether it's the pioneering special effects of a classic or the philosophical questions posed by a modern epic, Matt and James explore how science fiction cinema holds a mirror to our own world. Tune in for a thoughtful analysis that appreciates both the artistic ambition and the pure entertainment value of the genre, discovering how every spaceship, robot, and alien visitor tells us something about ourselves.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

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