I got halfway through this book and thought, 'If this was a real Pertwee story, the Master would turn up about now.' And guess what happened?
Last of the Gaderene fits the remit of the classic Doctor Who novels perfectly; it feels authentic to the era it portrays. But just on a bigger budget.
"Homo sapiens. What an inventive, invincible species. It's only a few million years since they crawled up out of the mud and learned to walk. Puny, defenceless bipeds. They've survived flood, famine and plague. They've survived cosmic wars and holocausts. And now, here they are, out among the stars, waiting to begin a new life. Ready to outsit eternity. They're indomitable."
What a shock it must have been for viewers in 1975 to see this story; but in a good way. New producer Phillip Hinchliffe immediately stamps his vision on the programme. Gone was the cosy familiarity of the UNIT years as seen in Tom's first story Robot. Here was something completely different. Doctor Who's golden age had begun.
The Ark in Space still stands up incredibly well today. While some of the effects are somewhat dodgy by today's standards, the script and performances transcend this (Noah pulling his hand out of his pocket at the end of episode two shouldn't work as an effect. But the look of horror on Kenton Moore's face conveys the horror of the situation eloquently). It's easy to see why Russell T. Davies and Steven Moffat both regard this as one of their favourite stories from the classic series.
Shada: the infamous story that was never completed. Now finished at last.
Technically, this is a novelisation. But it's impossible to compare to the TV story for the reasons outlined above (indeed Douglas Adams is said to have disliked it so much he would have been happy for it to never see the light of day. Legend has it that the only reason why the 1992 video realise saw the light of day was because he was signing a pile of papers and didn't read what he was signing!). As such it's really an original work in it's own right. I already knew that Gareth Roberts is a fan of Adams' work and a big fan on season 17 Doctor Who.
His love shines through as this was an absolute joy to read. I can give it no higher praise than that.
It says something about the high regard that the BBC now hold Doctor Who in that they made the announcement of the Twelfth Doctor such a major event, broadcast live across the globe (and, no, I didn't get up at 4am to watch it. I waited for the 8.30 replay on ABC2). The execution of the idea however...
First, what the hell was Zoe Ball on? She was either overenthusiastic or thought she was back hosting Saturday morning TV. Couldn't someone actually involved in Doctor Who host it? (Alex Kingston maybe?) The interviews with Steven Moffat, Matt Smith, Peter Davison, Bernard Cribbins (what a joy he was!) and everyone else were fine (Bonnie Langford was a surprise though. And dear Anneke Wills was just bonkers!). But, the distinguished trio of Brian Cox, Stephen Hawking and Robert Winstone aside, why did we need all these pointless celebrities sticking their 2 cents in? Most of them were people I've never heard of (having said that Rufus Hound was actually quite funny).
But the main point of the night was to reveal Peter Capaldi as the Twelth DOctor; a decision that's been met with universal acclaim. I suppose the best thing you could say about Doctor Who Live is that they kept the secret under wraps until the big reveal (surely someone would have seen Capaldi lurking in the dressing rooms? According to the bookies he was the last minute favourite so someone should have been able to put two and two together). Other than that it was fairly forgettable (and bring back Doctor Who Confidential!).
Editors note: I February this year I ran a Doctor Who night at the library I work at and it was so successful that I ran an encore in June. The text below is taken from the updated June encore. While it's presented "as is" complete with original clips, I have added some extras and update the text to reflect current events. Enjoy! Introduction:
It was on the 23rd of November in 1963, at 5.25pm, the Doctor Who made its debut. That day about 4 million people saw the TARDIS take off for the first time.
Getting onto 50 years later, it’s still going (albeit with a few breaks along the way), possibly more popular than ever (even Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II is said the be a fan). Which is why when I was originally asked to do this talk it was rather daunting.. Because for a programme that’s been around, one way or another, for nearly 50 years where do you begin? The beginning? That would be a good idea. But Doctor Who’s had three beginnings that I’m aware of: the original in 1963, the attempted rebirth in 1996 and the new series in 2005. And I’m guessing that some gathered here tonight would be more familiar with some eras of the programme than others. And everybody’s got an opinion on who their favourite Doctor is! So in the best tradition of the show itself while we may start at the beginning, we’ll be jumping backwards and forwards in time and there’ll be lots of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey... stuff (but don’t blink! There may be angels about!). For some people who, like me, may have watched the show for many years, tonight may well be a trip down memory lane. But for others who may have discovered the show in more recent years, tonight may be an introduction to the rich heritage Doctor Who has. But either way, I’m hoping tonight will be a celebration of this TV series that can be funny, scary and mental (sometimes all three at once), but is always wonderful and entertaining.
The Australian Connection:
But before we begin our journey, I want to ask a question: what is the most significant
contribution an Australian has made to Doctor Who?
Since the beginning our country has had a long connection with the programme. The
very first story, An Unearthly Child, was written by an Australian; Anthony Coburn who, it is
believed, was the person who came up with the idea of the TARDIS exterior resembling a police box. Australian actors and actresses have appeared in the show over the years, most notably Janet Fielding who played Tegan, a companion to the fourth and fifth Doctors (and, yes, Kylie Minouge did turn up in a David Tennant episode). The ABC was one of the first and longest term overseas broadcasters to purchase the series with Doctor Who making its debut on ABC Television in Western Australia on the 12th January 1965 (why only Western Australia I hear you ask? Because in the sixties there was no cable or satellite link between the national capitals like there is today. So the film had to be physically transported from state to state. So Doctor Who made it’s debut in New South Wales on the on the 15th of January, Queensland's on the 22nd, Victoria on the 20th of February... and so on). There was even a Doctor Who story set in Australia; 1967s The Enemy of the World which was partially set in what was allegedly Cape Melville in Queensland (it was actually filmed at Climping Beach in West Sussex. Which of course meant it looked nothing like Cape Melville actually does). But the most significant contribution an Australian has made to Doctor Who was made by a composer called Ron Grainer. And while the name might not be familiar, you’d certainly be familiar with what he wrote because it’s been heard at the beginning and end of every episode since 1963.
Yes, it was an Australian that wrote the music for one of television's most distinctive
theme tunes. And, while not wanting to take away from Grainer’s work, part of its
success is due to original arrangement by Delia Derbyshire of the BBC’s Radiophonic
Workshop. And you’ve got to remember it was created in the days before electronic
synthesizers. Each and every note was individually created by cutting, splicing, speeding up
and slowing down segments of analogue tape containing recordings of a single plucked string, white noise, and the simple harmonic waveforms of test-tone oscillators which were normally used for calibrating equipment and rooms, not creating music. In fact, when Grainer first heard the original version, he was amazed and was said to have asked: “Did I write that?” To which Delia modestly replied, ‘Most of it.” To Grainer’s credit he did attempt to get Delia a co-creator credit. But, alas, as she was a member of staff the BBC in its wisdom said no. The original arrangement served, with minor changes, until 1979 and is widely regarded as the best arrangement as it has an unearthly quality to it and still sounds like nothing heard on earth before (or since).
Doctor Who?
Now that we’ve got that out of the way let’s ask what is meant to be the oldest question in the universe: who is the Doctor?
We know he is a Time Lord; in fact the last of the Time Lords (except for when the
Master puts in an appearance) from the planet Gallifey (the Time Lords being wiped out in the last great Time War by the Doctor’s own hand along with the Daleks... supposedly). He’s an adventurer and scientist who travels through space and time in the TARDIS which, as has often been pointed out, is bigger on the inside (the story’s always been that he stole the TARDIS. But, as we discovered in 2011’s The Doctor’s Wife, it’s possible that the TARDIS actually stole him!). He usually solves problems with his wits rather than with force, and is more likely to wield a sonic screwdriver than a gun, although he has been seen to use weapons as a last resort. He saves planets, rescues civilizations, defeats terrible creatures...and runs a lot (mostly down corridors).
To date there have officially been eleven incarnations of the Doctor. We now know that, next year, we’ll be introduced to Doctor number twelve as the news broke on the weekend that Matt Smith will be leaving the show in this years Christmas special (and I have to say that John Hurt popping up at the end of The Name of the Doctor has thrown a spanner in the works) [editors note: of course it's since been announced that Peter Capaldi will be the Twelfth Doctor]. To introduce them, rather than having me roll off a list of names, I’m going to play some video that was taken from the Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular that was held in Melbourne earlier this year where we’ll see all the Doctor’s regenerations to the music of This is Gallifrey and Vale Decem, the death music of the Tenth Doctor (just out of interest, is anyone going to the Sydney concerts next month?)
As I said earlier, everyone's got an opinion on who their favourite Doctor is. Mine will
always be Tom Baker. But I have a soft spot for Patrick Troughton, David Tennant and Matt
Smith. I also think Peter Davison and Christopher Eccleston are woefully underrated, Paul
McGann was a missed opportunity and Jon Pertwee is just bland.
Here’s some trivia: there’s a David Tennant episode called The Doctor’s Daughter which guest starred Georgina Moffat as the title character. In real life, Georgina is the daughter of Peter Davison. So you could say the Doctor’s daughter played the Doctor’s Daughter. But, it wasn’t long after that episode was filmed that Georgina began dating David Tennant. They’re now married and have a daughter of their own! So, you could say the Doctor had a daughter with the Doctor’s daughter (and I thought the whole River Song thing was convoluted!)
Exterminate!
When Doctor Who was originally conceived, it was meant to have a semi-educational focus.
Which is why in the early days there were a lot of historical stories with no science-fiction
elements in them; sort of like Doctor Who meets cavemen from 100,000BC, Marco Polo, the
Aztecs, the French revolution and so on. But the second story broadcast soon put paid to that idea. Or, more specifically, what was seen at the end of the first episode of that story.
Yep, it was the first official sighting of the most fearsome sink plunger in the universe. And Doctor Who was never really the same after that.
The Daleks. Said to be the most evil creatures in the universe and renown of course, for their fearsome battle cry of “EXTERMINATE!”. Would Doctor Who have lasted as long as it has without them? It’s debatable. But one thing is certain; it was the Daleks that really launched Doctor Who into the public’s imagination. By the story's end 10 million people were watching the programme it’s future was assured. Dalekmania had seized Britain. Aside from the all the merchandise that was rushed into production, you could also see the Daleks in colour in two cinema films: Dr. Who and the Daleks and Daleks- Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. Both of which starred Peter Cushing as a human inventor called Dr. Who. The second film also starred one Bernard Cribbins as Tom Campbell; the same Bernard Cribbins who later went on to play Donna Noble’s grandfather Wilf in the new series (he was also the narrator of the original series of The Wombles, but I digress).
Trivia time: the concept of the Daleks themselves was originally created by a writer
called Terry Nation, while their look was created by a BBC designer called Raymond Cusick, who sadly passed away in February this year. Ray’s passing would have been sad at any time, but particularly this year because not only do we celebrate 50 years of Doctor Who. but in December we celebrate 50 years since the Daleks made their first appearance.. The BBC being the BBC, Cusick only received a special ex-gratia payment of 100 pounds, while
Nation went on to make millions (but I guess being known as the man who designed the “Satanic Pepperpots” as some writers referred to them is a nice sort of immortality to have). But the designer originally assigned to work on their first story was one Ridley Scott. The same Ridley Scott who went on to direct Alien, Blade Runner and Prometheus (amongst others). While the design of the creatures is pretty impressive, imagine what they would have looked like if they’d been designed by him. But, when you think about it, it’s not a very practical design is it? I mean, all you have to do it confront them with a set of stairs and that’s their dreams a galactic conquest scuppered. Or is it?
While it had been hinted at various times during the original series the first official
sighting of a Dalek going up a flight of stairs was at the end of episode 1 of 1988s
Remembrance of the Daleks. But it’s the new series that finally dispelled the myth, with Daleks not only flying up stairs, but also whole armies flying through space (thus exterminating the other myth: that there’s always an army of thousands of Daleks, but they’re hiding just around the corner... ). But, as most of us have known for years, real Daleks don’t climb stairs; they just level the building!
Love and Monsters:
The success of the Daleks not only changed the focus of Doctor Who, which gradually went
from being a semi-education programme to a fully science-fiction one. It also caused a bit
of a problem for the production team; while a second Dalek serial was hurriedly written and
produced (which saw the first of their many attempted invasions of Earth), what else could
capture the public's imagination the same way the metal pepper pots from Skaro had? And
throughout the sixties there were many attempts. We had:
● The Voord (which were sort of a poor man’s Creature from the Black Lagoon)
● The Sensorites (which starred in what is possibly the most unmemorable Doctor Who
story ever).
● The Zarbi, The Menoptera and all the associated creatures on The Web Planet (which,
in terms of creating a totally alien landscape, was probably the most ambitious serial of
the Hartnell era).
● The Chumblies (which look like midget Daleks. But nowhere near as frightening, especially with a name like Chumblies)
● The Monoids (who must have had the same hairstylist at the Beatles)
● The Macra (who was basically a giant crab. I’m also reliably informed that it’s construction cost was the same as the price for small motor car making it possibly the most expensive monster seen in Doctor Who at that point)
● The Ice Warriors (who, you will recall, made a comeback in the recent episode Cold War )
● The Yeti (who sounded like a toilet being flushed - I kid you not! That’s exactly how their
roar was made! And Jon Pertwee had this strange obsession about finding them sitting on
public toilets in South London)
● The Quarks (who sounded like giggling school girls)
● The Krotons (of which the less said the better)
But it wasn’t until the 1966 serial The Tenth Planet that the creatures who would be
forever rival the Daleks as the series number one monster made their first appearance. Ladies and gentlemen, meet the next stage of humanity, the Cybermen.
Other popular monsters that the show has spawned include the Autons, the Sontarans and the Silurians; all of whom made their original debut in the Pertwee era and have made a number of appearances in the new series. And the new series has added its own memorable creatures to the mythology including the Slitheen, the Ood, the Silence and, perhaps most frightening of all, the Weeping Angels.
“It’s the end...”
Not only did The Tenth Planet introduce the Cybermen, it also introduced another important concept to the Doctor Who universe.
William Hartnell suffered from a heart condition. So for the majority of the time he played the Doctor he wasn’t a well man. And Doctor Who has never been the easiest show to make (Douglas Camfield, one of the directors who worked on the original series, is quoted as saying “If you can direct Doctor Who you can direct anything - even the traffic in Trafalgar Square!”). And so in 1966, he and the production team came to the mutual decision that it was time for him to leave the series. There was just one problem: what do you do when your leading man has had enough? In most cases, it would be the end of the series. But, the lead character is an alien. So why can’t he just regenerate and become a new man? (or woman, as has been rumoured on occasion)
And that’s what happened. The final minutes of part 4 of The Tenth Planet saw the first regeneration take place with William Hartnell becoming Patrick Troughton
Lost in Time:
This is as a good a point as any to bring up the elephant in the room as far as the black and
white era is concerned. Out of the 253 episodes of Doctor Who that were produced between 1963 and 1969, 147 only exist in the BBC’s archives. 106 are missing.
How and why did this happen?
It’s a long story, but the main reason is at the time, the
BBC thought there was no economic value in keeping them (remember, this in the days before the home video and DVD markets took off) so they wiped the tapes. Now, this was not an unusual state of affairs at the time, for Doctor Who or the BBC (though, with the benefit of hindsight, it’s something they now regret). In fact, Doctor Who has a better survival record that most series from that era, though the survival rate is a bit patchy. In most cases, whole stories still exist. But in others there might be only one episode out of four that exists, or just a couple of clips from an episode. For example, William Hartnell is the only Doctor whose final episode doesn’t exist (save for a few silent, poor quality clips of the historic first regeneration). Patrick Troughton has the even more dubious honour of being the only Doctor whose first story, The Power of the Daleks, doesn’t exist at all, expect for about three minutes of footage (out of a six episode story).
Now, as someone who’s worked in libraries and archives for some years now, I can
understand why the BBC made the decision they did. After all, as much as we may like to,
we can’t keep every book in existence as we don't have the space or resources to do so. But,
as a fan, it saddens me that I will never see a complete run of Doctor Who from episode one
onwards. And there are so many stories from the black and white era that I would love to see, but I know I never will.
● Marco Polo (if nothing else to see how Polo’s epic journey to Peking was recreated in a
TV studio no bigger than the floor space of this library)
● The Dalek’s Master Plan
● The Power of the Daleks
● The Evil of the Daleks
● The Web of Fear (which featured the appearance of the then Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart)
The good news is everything from 1970 onwards exists complete in the archives. And, from time to time, some of the missing episodes do turn up. For example in December 2011, episode 3 of Galaxy 4 and episode 2 of The Underwater Menace were returned to the BBC. The last time a complete story was returned to the BBC was in late 1991 when The Tomb of the Cybermen was returned from Hong Kong. But, the further we get away from the sixties, the more unlikely I think we’ll see those episodes again. But one can always hope.
The other bit of good news is that all the bits that do exist of the missing stories have been realised onto a DVD (approiatly) call Lost in Time. The library had ordered a copy and you can reserve it at the conclusion of tonight's event.
Travelling companions:
Since the programme began the Doctor has never travelled alone. Recently he was joined by Clara Owsin Oswald as played by Jenna-Louise Coleman. But to date over 50 people have travelled with the Doctor, the majority of which have been human and young females (not that one should read anything into that of course!) but have also included at least two Time Ladies (both versions of Romana and the first ever companion, his granddaughter Susan), a lost tribe member of the Sevateem (Leela in a costume few have ever forgotten), one Scotsman (Jamie McCrimmon) and a robot dog (K-9).
Like who is the best Doctor, the subject of who is the best companion is also one that causes great debate within fandom (though most agree that the worst companion was either Adric or Mel). But to me the ultimate companion (and the first lady of Doctor Who) will be Sarah Jane Smith as played by the late, great Elisabeth Sladen. And I think it’s obvious I’m not the only one because she (along with K-9) was the only companion (to date at least) from the original series to cross over to the new. And, not only did she come back, she’s also the only companion to get their own TV
series, The Sarah-Jane Adventures.
Those of you who, like me, have been fans of Doctor Who for some time may have recognised one of the Doctor’s other popular companions Jo Grant as played by Katy Manning was also in that clip.
Sadly The Sarah Jane Adventures came to a premature end after five series following Elisabeth’s death in 2011. A loss which is still felt very much to this day.
This is Gallifrey:
The black and white era of Doctor Who comes to an end in 1969s 10 episode epic The War
Games. Ever since the series beginning it’s been suggested that the Doctor’s been on the run from his own people. And in episode 10, the Time Lords make their first appearance when they finally catch up with the Doctor and put him on trial.
“Chap with wing, five rounds rapid.”
1970 and colour comes to BBC1. And so the Pertwee era begins, with the Doctor being exiled on earth and his knowledge of operating the TARDIS wiped from his memory. While exiled on earth, who does he turn to for help but UNIT - the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce as lead by the ever dependable Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart as played by the late Nicholas Courtney.
If Sarah-Jane is the first lady of Doctor Who, then the Brig, as he’s
universally known, is the vice-president. The esteem in which the both the
character and the actor was held by not only the fans but also the current production team was evident, following Courtney’s death in early 2011, in a special scene that you may remember from The Wedding of River Song where the Doctor discovers that the Brig has passed away.
While the Brig may not be with us anymore, his legacy lives on. UNIT, of course, is still very much part of the series. But, as we discovered in this years The Power of Three, it’s now being led by his daughter, Kate.
“I am the Master”
The Pertwee era also saw the introduction of another character who would have a lasting effect on the series.
The Master, as seen here originally played by Roger Delgado, but more recently with
manic glee by John Simm. If the Doctor is a force for good in the universe, the Master is exactly the opposite. While the Doctor’s always trying to save the universe, the Master is always trying to conquer it.
“So you’re my replacements then?”
1973 and Doctor Who reaches its tenth anniversary; a significant milestone for any
programme, never mind a science-fiction one. So how did the production team mark the
occasion? By re-uniting the Third Doctor with his previous incarnations in The Three Doctors.
This wouldn’t be the only time the Doctor would meet previous versions of himself. For the twentieth anniversary in 1983 we had The Five Doctors (which was really three actual Doctors, some footage of Tom Baker and another actor standing in for William Hartnell). Then in 1985 Patrick Troughton teamed up with Colin Baker in The Two Doctors, for no apparent reason other than they could. And in 2007 David Tennant met Peter Davison in the mini-episode Time Crash. And then there’s Dimensions in Time, but no one likes to talk about that.
“Would you like a jelly baby?”
1974. Tom Baker arrives and what is arguably Doctor Who’s golden age begins. Tom is
probably the best known of all the original Doctors having played the part of seven years;
a record that has yet to be broken. Such was his popularity that, while in Australia for a
promotional tour, he even filmed some ads for the Keep Australia Beautiful campaign.
Who am I to argue with that?
“Welcome to my new empire, Doctor”
One of the reasons why Tom’s Doctor is so popular is because it has so many of what’s
regarded as the best or classic stories were made during his reign. One of the earliest examples of this is Genesis of the Daleks which, aside from being one of the best Doctor Who’s from the original series and a personal favourite of mine, also introduced a character who rivals the Master for the title of the series best villain.
Davros played originally by Michael Wisher but more recently Julian Bleach in the David Tennant episodes The Stolen Earth/Journey's End. The brilliant scientist who created the Daleks. And someone whose facial features, according to a running joke in my family, bears a striking resemblance to a former Australian prime minister (anybody care to guess which one?).
Operation: Golden Era
Earlier I called the Tom Baker era Doctor Who’s golden age: a topic that’s open to considerable, and at times spirited, debate amongst fans. Because everyone’s got their views on who the best Doctor is and that usually coincides with which era is their favourite. For me it will always be the Tom Baker era. Partially it’s for sentimental reasons; Tom was my first Doctor. The first story I can remember watching (bearing in mind I was about four or five years old at the time), was 1979s City of Death. And I can remember the moment; the cliff-hangers to episode one. Julian Glover pulls his face off revealing the alien monster underneath. At that moment the radiophonic scream leading into the closing titles music is heard and from that moment on, I’m hooked. I’ve seen City of Death a number of times since and can now appreciate it for being one of the best written and funniest Doctor Who stories made. Which is not surprising when you realise it was co-written by Douglas Adams just before he went hitchhiking across the galaxy telling everyone not to panic.
But the reason why I think the Tom Baker era is the best is because of Tom
himself, or rather his portrayal of the Doctor. He’s the only actor to get the role right. He’
could be unpredictable, whimsical, offbeat, sombre, funny and alien. He also has a strong moral code, such as when he faces the dilemma of whether to destroy the Daleks in Genesis of theDaleks stating that if he did, he would be no better than the Daleks himself. He is truly appalled at the actions of the Pirate Captain in The Pirate Planet and refuses to listen to Professor Tryst's attempts to justify drug-running in order to fund his scientific work in Nightmare of Eden, coldly telling him to go away. He could also be furious with those he saw as stupid, frivolous, misguided or just plain evil. When taking charge, he could be considered authoritative to the point of controlling and egocentric. At the same time he is capable of moments of genuine warmth. For example in The Ark in Space he pays tribute to the human race’s ability to survive.
In the Tom Baker era you’ve got some of the best stories ever made. Aside from The
Ark in Space, Genesis of the Daleks and City of Death you've got:
● Pyramids of Mars
● The Seeds of Doom
● The Deadly Assassin
● Robots of Death
● The Talons of Weng-Chiang
But all good things come to an end. After seven years Tom bowed out of the role in 1981s Logopolis; a story that was quiet traumatic for me when I first saw it because I had never seen a regeneration story before. So it was quiet of shock for the five year old me to suddenly see my hero turn into the guy from All Creatures Great and Small!
The Wilderness Years:
We jump forward now to 6th of December 1989. Why is this date significant? Because that’s the day that Doctor Who’s 26 year journey comes to a halt.
It was sad that it happened, but in some respects was no great surprise as the show had been falling out of favour with both the BBC and audiences since 1985.
The period between 1989 and 2005, when the series eventually did return, is usually referred to by fans as the wilderness years. While the BBC hadn’t officially cancelled the show, there was certainly no concrete plan to do so any time soon (in fact it was almost like the parrot sketch from Monty Python - “It’s not dead, it’s just resting!”). But it wasn’t all doom and gloom. While there wasn’t any sign that the BBC would be making another series for the foreseeable future, there was still new Doctor Who being made.
W.H. Allen who had been publishing novelizations of the TV stories since the 1970s began publishing original fiction chronicling the adventures of the Seventh Doctor, and later the Eighth Doctor, following on from the end of Survival. A few years later, these New Adventures were joined by the Missing Adventures featuring Doctors One to Six (and later Doctor Seven once the BBC took over the range). Virgin Publishing, as W.H. Allen were by then known as, had an open door commissioning policy and a number of new authors got their first commission on the Doctor Who range; some these first time authors include Paul Cornell, Mark Gatiss and Gareth Roberts, all of whom have now written episodes for the new series. And one of the later Seventh Doctor new adventures, Damaged Goods, was written by one Russell T. Davies who, of course, was the man responsible for bring the show back in 2005. And current show-runner Steven Moffat contributed to a collection of short stories that was published around that time. The BBC have re-realised a number of the novels and novelisations for the 50th anniversary year. Again the library had ordered a number of them. Sadly they didn't arrive in time for tonight but you can reserve them for when they do arrive.
Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, Doctor Who Magazine went from strength to strength during this time, providing not only interviews and articles on the cast and crew, but also a monthly comic strip. I say surprisingly because it’s very unusual for a magazine based on a TV show to survive when the show is no longer in production. But DWM hasn’t missed a month since it was first published in 1979. And, some 400 odd issues later, it’s still going strong (indeed it’s the current Guinness Book of Records holder for the longest running TV tie-in magazine).
And if you wanted to relive the Doctor’s past TV adventures, BBC Video were releasing them on video and later DVD, to enjoy again and again. And I also should mention that since the late nineties Big Finish Productions have been producing original audio stories featuring Doctors Four to Eight and their various companions.
So for a show the BBC wasn’t interested in making anymore, Doctor Who was doing very well indeed (and making the BBC a lot of money too!). But in 1996 there was a glimmer of hope that the Doctor would once again grace our TV screens. Which brings us to...
The Second Coming:
Paul McGann who, somewhat unfairly, will always have the honour of being the George Lazenby of Doctor Who.
The TV movie (as it’s known as there was no on-screen episode title), was an unholy alliance of the BBC, Universal Television and the Fox Broadcasting Network. Now I’ve always thought Paul McGann would have been an excellent Doctor and it’s a crying shame that this was his only outing. Sylvester McCoy got a very dignified finale as the Seventh Doctor. It’s very well directed, the production values are high, and the TARDIS interior has never looked more beautiful. The script, however, was rubbish! It’s like it’s trying to be all things to everybody; to please the fans (who, let’s face it, would watch it anyway) and introduce Doctor Who to a new audience. It fails on both counts. It also has the worst arrangement ever of the theme music (it sounds like it more suited to Star Trek than Doctor Who).
The TV movie was a great success when it was screened in the UK, but bombed in the US. Alas, the final result was the Doctor being banished to the wilderness again.
This is a post-script to this though. Philip Segal, the producer of the TV movie, later published a book, Doctor Who: Regeneration, chronicling his efforts to bring Doctor Who back. It’s a fascinating read and, while I’ve been critical of the TV movie’s script, it’s a lot better than what we could have ended up with. At one point a total re-boot was being considered chronicling his early days on Gallifrey with Borusa as his father and The Master as his brother! If you’re interested in reading this book, our library doesn’t hold a copy. But we can get it for you on interlibrary loan; just see the staff on the service desk at the conclusion of tonight’s meeting (and, in the interest of transparency, I will declare an interest. I’m the library’s interlibrary loans officer so I’m really creating work for myself!).
The Power of Three:
Now we come to 2003, the fortieth anniversary year, and the curious tale of the three Ninth Doctors.
July 2003: it was announced that there would be an animated story, The Scream of the Shalka, on the BBC’s Doctor Who website starring Richard E. Grant as, what was then, the official Ninth Doctor.
But then on September 26 the BBC gave us the best birthday present possible. They announced that Doctor Who would be returning! (I have to admit when I first heard the news I thought it was a hoax! And then I checked the BBC’s website and great was the rejoicing). Of course Christopher Eccleston was cast as the official Ninth Doctor, which relegated the Shalka Doctor to the universe of alternative Doctors. It probably would have been simpler to hire Richard E. Grant for the role, but Russell T. Davies was less than impressed by Grant’s performance in The Scream of the Shalka, being quoted in Doctor Who Magazine as saying “I thought he was terrible. I thought he took the money and ran, to be honest. It was a lazy performance. He was never on our list to play the Doctor.” (As I’ve never seen Scream of the Shalka, I can't comment. But Richard E. Grant did finally make it into officiall Doctor Who playing Dr Simeon, the physical embodiment of the Great Intelligence in last year’s Christmas special The Snowmen and more recently The Name of the Doctor).
And the third Ninth Doctor? Doctor Who Magazine temporarily regenerated the Eighth Doctor into a version of the Ninth Doctor who looked suspiciously like Nicholas Briggs, the actor who now does the Dalek and Cybermen voices for the new series.
Third time lucky?
And finally, at 7pm on Saturday the 26th of March, sixteen years after the Seventh Doctor and Ace had walked off into the sunset, Doctor Who made its return. Jane Tranter who was head of BBC Drama at the time was quoted as saying while she was hoping for 6 million viewers; she was really expecting 4 million. At its peak 10 million people watched Rose, the first episode of the new series. The BBC’s reaction to this news was (unusually for them) swift and decisive. They promptly commissioned a Christmas special and two further series. And great was the rejoicing.
But before The End of the World, the second episodes in the new series, had even aired, the news broke that Christopher Eccleston would be leaving at the end of the series, which had always been the plan. But sometimes things don’t go according to plan. Eccleston coped a lot of flak from certain elements of fandom for only doing one series (indeed when the news first broke, some of the comments were so bad that Outpost Gallifrey closed its forums down for two days to give everybody a chance to cool off). But I’d rather one series of Eccleston than three series with an actor of lesser talent. And of course Eccleston’s departure gave us the person who is, arguably, the most popular Doctor of the modern era,, David Tennant.
The Time Traveller’s Wife (or, “Hello Sweetie!”)
We’re coming to the end of our journey. But we still have one important character to meet.
Melody Pond, better known as River Song, the ultimate time traveller’s wife. Trying to explain her story is nearly impossible because we, like the Doctor, keep meeting her in the wrong order. But we know she’s the daughter of Rory and Amy (a revelation that, literally, had me falling off my chair), kidnapped at birth to be used as a weapon against the Doctor. A moved that backfired spectacularly as she fell in love with and later, allegedly, married him. Along the way she went to jail for murdering the Doctor and then was realised because there was no evidence that he’d ever existed in the first place (ads a whole new dimension to the phrase “it’s complicated” when discussing relationships doesn’t it?).
“To days to come”
So we’ve now come (sadly) to the end of our journey. From its humble beginnings as a TV show that no one thought would last more than thirteen weeks Doctor Who is now a major success story and a national institution (a Doctor Who sequence was produced for the opening ceremony of the London Olympics, but cut due to timing reasons. But, I’m reliably informed that the TARDIS noise was heard at one point. And it would have been really funny if David Tennant has run in, in full costume, to light the cauldron like in Fear Her. But I digress). It will never be forgotten.
But, in the finest tradition of Doctor Who, we’re going to end tonight with a cliff-hanger. What does the future hold for our favourite programme?
This is the year that Doctor Who celebrates its 50th anniversary. To have lasted 26 years, as the original series did, was a remarkable achievement. To still be on the air fifty years after it first begun is incredible, especially for a show that was nearly cancelled before it even began production (the cost of building the original TARDIS console room set in 1963 having spooked the BBC). A special drama called “An Adventure in Space and Time” has been filmed which the chronicle the creation Doctor Who itself. Waris Hussein who directed Doctor Who’s first story, An Unearthly Child - and is also the only member of the original production team who’s still alive, attended the readthrough of An Adventure in Space and Time and came away suitably impressed saying it a fairly accurate depiction of what happened (or as close as you’d get within the confines of a drama). William Russell and Carol Ann Ford, who of course played two of the first companions; Ian and Susan, the Doctor’s granddaughter, also make cameo appearance in the film. It was also the last drama to be filmed at the BBC’s Television Centre in West London before the building closed in March this year (TV Centre was of course where much of the original series of Doctor Who was filmed).
As for the Doctor Who itself... a special 90 minute episode has been filmed for broadcast on, appropriately, the 23rd of November (if the ABC stay true to their current form, we should see it on the 24th). Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman are, of course, in it. As is David Tennant and Billie Piper as, who else?, the Tenth Doctor and Rose. While Christopher Eccleston was in discussions about having a role in the episode, he did eventually decline to return as the Ninth Doctor. Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy have both said that none of the surviving Doctors prior to Eccleston have been asked to appear (but Paul McGann’s been a little cagey on that subject). But I have not doubt that every incarnation of the Doctor will put in an appearance somehow! Jemma Redgrave is reprising her role as the Brigadier’s daughter Kate (which means UNIT’s involved). The Daleks and the Cybermen are rumoured to be involved (and how could they not!) but only confirmed monster in the special are the Zygons (who were originally in a popular Tom Baker story called Terror of the Zygons). It’s also been filmed in 3D and have been described as a love letter to the fans. And I for one can’t wait to watch it. Oh, and also it should hopefully explain who the hell this guy is!
