by Shannon Lush
Throughout its 50 years, 'Doctor Who' has mined hundreds,
perhaps thousands, of pre-existing songs, films, books, oral and written
traditions, and established world history for source material. From the 'historical',
stories of the First Doctor's era that would see the TARDIS crew encounter
well-known figures from history such as Emperor Nero and King Richard the
Lionheart, to the Jason and the Argonauts-parallels to the Fourth Doctor story
'Underworld', the adventures of The Doctor have in some way or other been
inspired by outside elements.
Due to its nature as a British series, it is therefore
natural that 'Doctor Who', chiefly the product of British writers, actors,
directors, and producers, has explored subject matter to which these folks
consider important and reflective of British history and culture. Script editor
Robert Holmes peppered his Season 15 story 'The Sun Makers' with numerous
satirical references to the British tax system, for example. British history
spans thousands of years, but what subject could be more alluring to 20th
century Whovians than that of the world-recognized, tragic tale of the British
liner 'Titanic'? Of all possible topics for 'Doctor Who' to tackle, this would
seem to be a natural fit; the subject matter is so well known to modern
audiences that many can recount 'some' detail that has been embedded in pop
culture by this point. The ship's port of call, her intended final destination
in New York City, her Captain's name, the relevant date of April 15th, 1912...
Yet, for the most part and with rare exception, the
'Titanic' has rarely played a role within the televised 'Doctor Who' universe.
Most notably, a space ship named after her featured prominently in the Tenth
Doctor's era, during the events of the Christmas Special entitled 'Voyage Of
The Damned'. The plot in its basic form featured the Doctor preventing this
namesake ship from crashing and suffering the same fate, symbolically, as the
original. In 50 years of 'Doctor Who' stories broadcasted on television, this is
the only time that the 'Titanic' played a major role, and even then it was not
truly the ship herself, merely a futuristic spaceship with the same name. It is
perhaps testament to the residual scarring of the national British psyche that occurred
after the original tragedy that, during post-production of this story,
producers were obliged to 'spoil' the ending by revealing that this 'Titanic'
does not 'sink'.
However, the 'Doctor Who' connection to 'Titanic' did not
begin there. Earlier, the Fourth Doctor offered a downbeat, and somewhat
morbid, comment during the events of the story 'Robot'. He stated he didn't
care for the word 'unsinkable', and when his companion Harry Sullivan
questioned this belief, The Doctor reinforced it by remarking 'Said the iceberg
to the Titanic, gloop, gloop, gloop, gloop'. Much later still, she is invoked
to demonstrate the shadowy nature of The Doctor. The character Clive in the
story 'Rose', the debut episode of the 'New Series' begun in 2005, shows Rose a
photograph of the Ninth Doctor standing before 'Titanic' herself prior to her
maiden voyage. Clive remarks that as the story goes, The Doctor had convinced a
family not to sail on her. The implication is The Doctor therefore saved their
lives as they escaped the fate that nobody at the time was aware would befall
the ship..nobody, of course, except the time-travelling Doctor.
Other than these incidents and in-story mentions, 'Titanic'
did not play a part in televised 'Doctor Who', perhaps chiefly due to the
sensitivity involved in locating a story aboard a ship that must, by worldwide
historical knowledge, sink. The Doctor saves lives, after all, and in this
situation, he simply cannot, otherwise the bounds of credibility that allow
such a series to skirt the edges of known historical records would collapse.
The preferred term used on-screen to limit the Doctor's involvement in
affecting lasting and meaningful change in historical events is 'time locked';
in the case of 'Titanic', given how it is such a well-known part of British
history yet has not been afforded even one story set partially or fully aboard
her in 50 years of 'Doctor Who', the term seems to encompass the writing and
production teams of the past, as well. Whether or not any have ever considered
a story featuring 'Titanic', none have been willing to produce such a story.
This is, however, not the end of the 'Titanic' connection to
'Doctor Who'. Despite the lack of on-screen adventures, there are notable
examples of both Expanded Whoniverse work as well as material featuring 'Doctor
Who' performers who also have worked on material documenting 'Titanic'. While
this is not an exhaustive list, (as Expanded Universe material is continuously
being produced and therefore future releases may indeed delve into the subject
matter more thoroughly), some of the more notable material includes, perhaps,
among the best.
'A Night To Remember', the 1958 British film adaptation of
the 1955 nonfiction bestselling book of the same name by Walter Lord, is widely
considered, like the book it is based upon, as the definitive account of the
'Titanic' tragedy in its medium. Walter Lord himself as a young child in
England had witnessed 'Titanic' leaving port. The awe it filled him with would
years later inspire him to seek out survivors and produce a fact-filled book of
high journalistic integrity and investigative material. The book stands today
as the definitive account in the eyes of 'Titanic' historians, of both the
armchair as well as professional variety. The 'Doctor Who' connections to the
several media adaptations of Lord's book are numerous.
The film was primarily shot in Pinegrove Studios, slightly
over five years before those very studios would become home to 'Doctor Who'. It
features a large number of actors who would go on to play memorable characters
in 'Doctor Who'. Billed as the film's co-star was Ronald Allen, who appeared
first as Rago in the Second Doctor's story 'The
Dominators', then as Professor Cornish in the Third Doctor's
'The Ambassadors Of Death'. Honor Blackman would go on to match wits with the
Sixth Doctor as Professor Lasky in 'Terror Of The Vervoids', part of the 'Trial
Of A Timelord' that comprised the entirety of Season 23. The afore-mentioned
'The Sunmakers' is represented, with the actor Richard Leech appearing in this
film as well as there, as the character Hade. Ralph Michael would later appear
as Balaton in another Fourth Doctor story, 'The Pirate Planet', written by
script editor Douglas Adams.
Harold Goldblatt portrayed Professor Dale in the Third Doctor
story 'Frontier In Space', a store widely considered a 'prequel' to the story
that followed, 'Planet Of The Daleks'. Philip Ray played Eldred in 'The Seeds
Of Death', from the Second Doctor's era. An uncreditted young actor by the name
of Jeremy Bulloch, decades before the role of Boba Fett in 'Star Wars' would
transform his life, also appears briefly. He would go on to feature in two
'Doctor Who' stories, 'The Space Museum' as Tor during the First Doctor's era,
and 'The Time Warrior' as Hal during the Third Doctor's time.
The greatest connection between the film and the production
universe of 'Doctor Who', however, is the appearance of two actors who
performed extremely admirably in the former and boast quite interesting
accolades in the latter. Jack Watling, a well-regarded actor often in demand in
the British film and television industry of the 1950's and 1960's, played
Professor Travers in the Second Doctor classic story 'The Abominable Snowmen',
as well as its sequel-of-sorts, 'The Web Of Fear'. The latter story has just
recently been re-discovered after a near-fifty year absence as one of the
'lost' stories, and was reviewed in depth in the companion podcast series to
this blog. Its special status as a lost story regained and re-released during the
50th Anniversary celebrations of 'Doctor Who' was instantly assured as it
climbed the iTunes charts within minutes of being made available for purchase
on that platform. Jack Watling, in addition to his distinguished acting career,
also of course was the father of the actress Deborah Watling, who portrayed the
companion character Victoria Waterfield during the Second Doctor's era, and
twice during that period acted alongside her father in these stories featuring
'The Great Intelligence'.
Geoffrey Balydon, who appeared in both 'A Night To Remember'
as well as the Fourth Doctor story 'The Creature From The Pit' as the character
Organan, remains notable simply for the unique 'alternate Doctor' factors that
dominate his career. In addition to being seriously considered for the role of
the Fourth Doctor prior to the casting of Tom Baker, he went on to play an
alternate Doctor in the 'Doctor Who Unbound' series of audio plays from Big
Finish Productions, the central theme of which concerned untold tales drawn from
a myriad of possible or potential outcomes to established 'Doctor Who' canon.
In Balydon's stories he portrayed not an alternate Fourth Doctor, but instead a
very different First Doctor.
The 'Night To Remember/Doctor Who' connections do not end
with the film version of the story, however. As with most creative products,
the book spawned not merely a film comprised of numerous future 'Doctor Who'
actors, but an audio book as well. In this instance, the abridged story was
narrated by an actor familiar to Whovians for several guest star appearances.
Martin Jarvis began his association with 'Doctor Who' as the character Hilio in
'The Web Planet' during the second season of the series, and returned to play
Butler in the dreadful 'Invasion Of The Dinosaurs' during Jon Pertwee's tenure.
It is as the Governor, however, in the Sixth Doctor's era in 'Vengeance On
Varos', that many longtime fans will recall him, due to that character being,
arguably, the hero of the piece. Bound by duty, conflicted by feelings of mercy
and ultimately redeemed by the climax of the tale, Jarvis brought the Governor
to life in a highly-memorable manner, and that story ranks among the best of
Colin Baker's all-too-short era.
Jarvis brings authoritarian tones, dignified bearing, and ability
to embody the various real-life people he is called upon to mimic to the
audiobook version. His work stands as an excellent companion piece both to the
book upon which it is based as well as the film. Clearly, the reluctance to
tackle the subject matter of such a tragic event in British history on-screen
only extends that far; behind the scenes, the long list of actors who
transitioned from portraying ill-fated passengers and crew of 'Titanic' to
nomads, military officers, professors, futuristic villains and monsters in
'Doctor Who' cements the connection to two iconic British topics.
To this point, 'Titanic' has featured prominently in the
Expanded Whoniverse on only one occasion, the 'New Adventures' novel 'The
Left-Handed Hummingbird', by Kate Orman. It remains the only example of the
fictionalizing of the world-known event, and the only novel to locate the
majority of events aboard the great ship. And so, 'Titanic' and 'Doctor Who'
remain linked in these ways, thanks to the excellent work of the many creative
people who graced both topics with their luminous work.
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