The X Creatures is a British documentary television series that was produced by the BBC which was broadcast from 26 August to 30 September 1998 on BBC One.[1] It was presented by Chris Packham, and examined the possibility of the existence of mystery animals.[2]

The X Creatures
Title card
GenreDocumentary
StarringChris Packham
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes6
Production
Running time22 minutes
Original release
NetworkBBC One
Release26 August (1998-08-26) –
30 September 1998 (1998-09-30)

The name of the show was a reference to the popular fictional television show The X-Files. Each episode (there were six in all, each lasting 30 minutes) involved Chris Packham travelling to a certain place on Earth where the creature supposedly exists, and examining eyewitness accounts, as opposed to searching for the creature. No VHS or DVD releases were ever made.

Episode list

edit
# Title Plot Date
1 Yeti, Myths & Men This episode looked at two hominid creatures - the Yeti, also known as the Abominable Snowman from the Himalayas,[3] and the Orang Pendek from Sumatra.[4] 26 August 1998
2 Alien in the Abyss This episode looked at a creature that is known to exist, despite the fact that at the time so little was known about it - the giant squid.[5] 2 September 1998
3 Loch Ness: Fathoming the Monster A look at the legendary Loch Ness Monster from Loch Ness in Scotland.[6][7] It also looks at the existence of a giant lizard - Megalania in Australia. 9 September 1998
4 Shooting the Bigfoot A look at Bigfoot, also known as Sasquatch of North America. In particular, there was an attempt to debunk the Patterson–Gimlin film. 16 September 1998
5 Big Cats in a Little Country A look at the existence of big cats in the wild of England.[8] 23 September 1998
6 Beyond the Jaws of Extinction A look at the possible existence of the extinct thylacine, also known as the Tasmanian tiger.[9] 30 September 1998

References

edit
  1. ^ Mulholland, John, ed. (17 February 1997). "Natural History Unit: 'The X-Creatures'". Media. The Guardian. No. 46, 789. London, England. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Brockington, Dan (2013). Celebrity and the Environment: Fame, Wealth and Power in Conservation. Zed Books Ltd. p. 60. ISBN 978-1-84813-624-3.
  3. ^ Forestier, Katherine (28 July 1999). "Ape myths". South China Morning Post.
  4. ^ Banks-Smith, Nancy (27 August 1998). "So why did grandma catch fire?". G2. The Guardian. No. 47, 266. London, England. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Rees, Jasper (5 October 1998). "Television Review". The Independent. London, England: Independent Digital News & Media. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022.
  6. ^ Monbiot, George (2011). Bring on the Apocalypse: Collected Writing. Doubleday Canada. pp. 169–170. ISBN 978-0-307-37499-8.
  7. ^ Jordan, Richard (9 September 1998). "Television Wednesday". G2. The Guardian. No. 47, 277. London, England. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Boucher, Caroline (20 September 1998). "There's no airbrushing..." Life. The Observer. London, England. p. 65. ISSN 0029-7712 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Wollaston, Sam (1 October 1998). "Things that go woof miaow in the night". G2. The Guardian. No. 47, 297. London, England. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com.
edit