 In May 1957 , Kneale was contracted by the BBC to write a third Quatermass serial , and this was eventually transmitted as Quatermass and the Pit across six weeks in December 1958 and January 1959 . On this occasion Kneale was inspired by the racial tensions that had recently been seen in the United Kingdom , and which came to a head while the serial was in pre @-@ production when the Notting Hill race riots occurred in August and September 1958 . Drawing audiences of up to 11 million , Quatermass and the Pit has been referred to by the BBC 's own website as " simply the first finest thing the BBC ever made . " It was also included in the British Film Institute 's " TV 100 " list in 2000 , where it was praised for the themes and subtexts it explored . " In a story which mined mythology and folklore ... under the guise of genre it tackled serious themes of man 's hostile nature and the military 's perversion of science for its own ends . " 
