Found in translation

Great film versions of TV series

Quatermass and the Pit (1967)

An ancient Martian spaceship is discovered in a London Tube station in this fine adaptation of Nigel Kneale's great BBC series.

Porridge (1979)

By far the best of the epidemic of films derived from 1970s British sitcoms.

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004)

Here's a delightfully deranged translation of a superb kids' cartoon.

The Untouchables (1987)

The 1960s gangster series becomes a characteristically flashy Brian De Palma drama.

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)

Underrated big-screen prequel to David Lynch's Twin Peaks.

South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut (1999)

As the title suggests, the film is larger and even more satisfactorily disgusting than the series.

Traffic (2000)

Steven Soderbergh brings the admired Channel 4 series on the drug wars to America.

Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

Number two in the franchise ties with IV: The Voyage Home for the title of best Star Trek flick.

Serenity (2005)

Spiffing space opera derived from the prematurely cancelled show Firefly.

The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse (2005)

The grim BBC comedy gets a flawed but ingenious cinema version.