Get it on Google Play

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

Join the JTSF Logbook our free newsletter: https://journeythroughscifi.beehiiv.com

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

Follow the show so you never miss an episode, and if you can a review or a share costs nothing and helps a lot.

Journey Through Sci-Fi is part of the Evolution of Horror Network. 


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

Official website RSS
spotifypatreon
Journey Through Sci-Fi: Science Fiction Film History
Podcast Episodes
The Best Sci-fi of 2025: Future Frontiers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:33
We look back at the biggest sci-fi moments of 2025 — franchise returns, standout TV, Marvel's slump, DC's revival, and the auteur films that kept the genre interesting. From Superman and 28 Years Later to Severance and A…
Flubber (1997) & The Nutty Professor (1996): The 90s CGI Boom [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:15
This week on Journey Through Sci-Fi, we revisit Flubber (1997) and The Nutty Professor (1996) to explore how both films became showcases for the 90s CGI boom. We look at how early digital effects, morphing tech, ILM's ru…
Re-Animator (1985) & Poor Things (2023): Reanimated & Reimagined [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:16:10
"Who's going to believe a talking head? Get a job in a sideshow!"We're diving head-first (literally) into the weird world of Frankenstein's legacy once again, with Re-Animator (1985) and Poor Things (2023). From glowing…
Prey (2022): How It Re-Energised the Predator Franchise [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:24
To celebrate the upcoming Predator: Badlands and the big-screen re-release of Prey on November 5th (for a very limited cinema run) we're bringing one of our favourite Patreon episodes to the main feed. In this bonus epsi…
Tron: Ares (2025): It's Tronin' Time! Spoiler-Free Chat [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:51
As we've just revisited Tron and Tron: Legacy, you knew we couldn't resist jacking back into the Grid for Tron: Ares. This is a spoiler-free sneak peek of our full Patreon episode, where we talk Jared Leto's turn as Ares…
Tron (1982) & Tron: Legacy (2010): Inside the Machine [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:15:15
What happens when humanity steps inside the machine? This week we're diving back into the grid! In anticipation of Tron: Ares, we revisit both Tron (1982) and Tron: Legacy (2010). Two landmark films that imagined what li…

«12345»