tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88003261423912505282024-03-13T14:07:29.915-02:30The Whostorian BlogAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015123008999082517noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8800326142391250528.post-80851777981494493642015-02-13T09:00:00.000-03:302015-02-13T09:00:02.053-03:30No Taste For Carrot Juice: Why The BBC Programmed Whovians To Hate The Sixth Doctor by <a href="mailto:shannonmlush@gmail.com" target="_blank">Shannon Lush</a><br />
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The 'Doctor Who' actor whose television tenure was, to use his own words, 'thwarted in it's progression', has in recent years been given renewed life and a character re-appraisal with Big Finish Audio...but why do so many Whovians continue to disdain this incarnation? Let's explore the possibilities...<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />Many decades have now passed since the dark days of the infamous 'hiatus' of 1985-6. Yet, it seems, no matter how much pumping the flesh Colin Baker has done at convention appearances around the world, there is still a segment of Whovians that will have you believe the actor's contributions to 'Doctor Who' ought to be minimized. They truly believe his era was deservedly shortened, and his Sixth Doctor was and is nothing but an unlikeable loudmouth.<br /><br />Let's set the record straight: the Sixth Doctor is my personal favourite Doctor. In my days as a neophyte Whovian, sampling different eras of the classic series, reading the Target novelizations, and attending meetings of the local fan club where I picked member's brains about this cult British series that seemed to be on perpetual life support by 1990, I always gravitated to this one incarnation and his era. Why? <br /><br />After all, long before I became a Whovian, the local PBS station aired old Tom Baker stories, seemingly every day. I had a passing familiarity with 'Doctor Who' at the time. I assumed he was some sort of intergalactic repairman...with a tin dog as a pet! I stumbled upon Marvel Comics in dusty discount bins featuring the Fourth Doctor, who sometimes encountered Marvel heroes that I was familiar with. In pop culture, the mere mention of 'Doctor Who' inevitably conjured up images of the Fourth Doctor. <br /><br />To quote Jon Pertwee, 'Doctor Who' was apparently about the fellow who was 'all teeth and curls'. The Fourth Doctor was by far the most popular version among the local fan club, featuring on the cover and appearing in stories in our magazine 'The Whostorian Quarterly' more often than any other versions. So why didn't I become a Tom Baker disciple, as many a Whovian before me?<br /><br />The inextricable truth is that, by virtue of the belittling of the Sixth Doctor that went on with the local fan club, I paradoxically became a fan. First of the actor and of his plight, and then once I obtained the TV stories and had caught up on the Target novelizations, of the character. The fan members scorned this particular Doctor and his era...why? I was intrigued. I had to know more. <br /><br />As time went on and I learned about the particulars of the Colin Baker Era, including the finger-pointing, the accusations, the recriminations, the behind-the-scenes turmoil, it became clear to me; Colin Baker in no way deserved the shoddy treatment afforded him by the BBC. Until 2005, BBC weren't exactly known for their respect or devotion to one of the biggest money-making properties in their stable, but never before had one lead actor suffered such wrath from fans, media, and his own BBC bosses. <br /><br />I essentially became a fan of the Sixth Doctor initially as a thumbing my nose moment at the local fan club who collectively looked down upon the Colin Baker Era. I didn't understand how educated fans could swallow the 'party line' and transfer their aggression and anger at not only the lead actor of their beloved TV series, but upon the fictional character he portrayed. It wasn't Colin Baker's casting that led to the infamous 'hiatus'. It was BBC bean counters seeking to re-allocate funds away from the expensive 'Doctor Who' series and channel the funds towards the ambitious daytime TV programming they had planned. <br /><br />Colin Baker was a well known actor in England by the time of his casting as the lead in 'Doctor Who'; among his credentials had been a critically praised appearance in a 'War And Peace' miniseries. He had the advantage of having appeared within 'Doctor Who' previously, unlike every previous lead in the series. His role in 'The Brothers' soap opera had made him a household name, as that series was also quite popular in Europe in general. <br /><br />In casting Baker, producer John Nathan-Turner was looking for an established, respected and experienced actor, and found one. The narrow-minded nature of anti-Colin Baker Whovians precludes the facts. Colin Baker was hired because Colin Baker was an excellent choice for the role. There are fans who would have you believe he was hired simply on a whim. The often-used story goes that he was hired because he happened to entertain Nathan-Turner at a party they both attended. A single glance at Baker's acting resume should dispel fans of that notion. Like the actors before him, Colin Baker was hired to star in 'Doctor Who' because he was a very good actor, not because he was a charming fellow at cocktail parties. <br /><br />To suggest 'Doctor Who' was not ever in danger of being cancelled or interrupted prior to the Colin Baker Era, and that therefore 'Colin Baker was so bad he had to be taken off the air', is another fallacy that is bandied about to this day. 'Doctor Who' was almost cancelled before it was a year old! The proof is to be found in many places, but primarily within the pages of several reference books about the history of the series, such as 'The Handbook' series.<br /><br /> 'The First Doctor's Handbook' reproduces production notes sent from the Controller of BBC1. The very first season of 'Doctor Who' was on such shaky ground, plans were afoot to simply cancel the series outright after it's initial 13 episode run. Fortunately, it turned out to be easier to simply continue to produce new episodes than to discard the entire concept and cast about for something fresh to replace it with. That was the same position the BBC took once again in the late 1960's, at the dawn of the Pertwee Era. <br /><br />Thus, 'Doctor Who' behind the scenes had been 'cancelled' on paper several times. Terrance Dicks, co-creator of the Timelords, has stated this publicly as well. Colin Baker was not the lead actor when the series was canceled in 1989. Nor was Colin Baker the lead actor when FOX TV passed on the idea of making a new series. Yet Baker's era is singled out despite this, when numerous examples such as the ones cited here exist to demonstrate that 'Doctor Who' was not bullet-proof prior to or after Baker fronted the series. Yet this will not change some Whovians minds. <br /><br />'The Hiatus' was publicly blamed on Baker and on his 'violent, unlikeable portrayal', but consider this: if indeed the BBC felt the Sixth Doctor was simply not working and in need of a creative overhaul, then why didn't they specifically direct the production team to alter his characterization at the script stage? Weeks before episodes were shot and aired?<br /><br />The 'powers that be' chose to not simply summon John Nathan-Turner to their corporate offices and command him to tone the character down. 'They were hostile to us in playbacks', stated script editor Eric Saward. That meant they waited until episodes were filmed as scripted to make negative comments. This was completely a waste of time, money, and resources. Once the episodes were filmed they would have been forced to be re-filmed or else heavily edited in order to remove or alter any material the BBC may have objected to. But the BBC never did. Not once. <br /><br />They instead appear to have taken a 'wait and see' attitude instead of active and direct intervention. John Nathan-Turner had been their chosen producer of 'Doctor Who' since the dying days of the Tom Baker Era. Eric Saward had written several outstanding episodes, including 'The Visitation' during the Peter Davison Era. The BBC knew and appeared to trust these men with a TV series that had been running for decades and was well regarded by the public. At no point was either man 'called on the carpet' so to speak to answer for any perceived creative issues that may have be detrimental to the series in the short term. Why not?<br /><br />If indeed the BBC as a corporation were so concerned over the so-called lack of quality of the episodes of the Colin Baker Era, then what, exactly, did they do about it? Nothing. They didn't tell the two men they were paying hefty salaries to, Nathan-Turner and Saward, to change or alter anything. Instead, they abruptly suspended the series, cited Colin Baker's portrayal as 'too violent', and then appeared to seriously contemplate cancelling the series. <br /><br />Except, miraculously, the moment 'Doctor Who' is suspended, the plans for BBC's new daytime television programming proceeds rapidly! It's almost as if the claim of the 'objectionable content of the Colin Baker era' was nothing more than a smokescreen to divert funds elsewhere!<br /><br />Only dedicated fans of 'Doctor Who' were aware who John Nathan-Turner and Eric Saward were, thus it would have made no sense for the BBC to publicly blame them for anything perceived to be wrong with the series. But the general public knew exactly who Colin Baker was. He was the lead actor, the one appearing in their homes every week on the television, the one dressed in the outlandish costume...who better to blame the woes of his era on than the man himself? Who better to blame the 'declining standards' of the series on than the man who had no hand in writing any of the episodes, who had no hand in producing any of the episodes, who had no contact with the BBC superiors on a creative level and who was merely being paid to act in the series? <br /><br />Remarkably, sadly, and unbelievably, this nefarious strategy worked! To this day, the overall reaction of certain segments of Whovians to the Colin Baker Era is 'oh, that was crap', or 'wasn't he the one they fired?' or 'I thought his Doctor was too violent or not likeable at all'. You will never hear the proper blame given to the proper people, because nobody involved in the decisions at the time were or are as high-profile as Colin Baker was. John Nathan-Turner certainly wasn't (outside of established fandom). The general public wouldn't know who the producer of 'Doctor Who' was any more than they would know who the producer of 'Dallas' was. This was the mid-1980's, when such information was not readily available on the internet. As flamboyant and media-savvy as Nathan-Turner was, he was not a household name, unlike his lead actor. Colin Baker was scapegoated, and, sadly, in many ways, still is.<br /><br />To suggest that there wasn't time to overhaul the series in a major way that would have satisfied BBC's supposed objections ignores the fact that 'Doctor Who' had seen it's format altered several times in the past without missing a beat or causing any noticeable interruption.<br /><br />The most notable example of this is, of course, the departure of Patrick Troughton and the debut of Jon Pertwee. The BBC, again according to Terrance Dicks, considered simply canceling the series prior to the Pertwee Era; inflation was striking the UK, sets were expensive to build, contractors were expensive to hire to build futuristic bases and believable monsters on a weekly basis. <br /><br />But instead, the BBC calmly allowed the series' production staff to pitch a solution; ground The Doctor on contemporary Earth, eliminate the need for expensive sets by setting the majority of the scenes at UNIT headquarters and environs. Turn 'Doctor Who' from a science-fiction, outer-space series into a modern-day action-adventure series with spy-movie overtones. Once the decision was made and mutually agreed upon by BBC and production staff, the changes were narratively incorporated well in advance. Crisis averted, problem solved.<br /><br />Thus, if the BBC were 'so' upset at the Colin Baker Era, then why did they not simply make a similar command? Why was the series suspended? Why was Colin Baker scape-goated? Why did the BBC anger millions of 'Doctor Who' fans? Why did they allow one of their most popular series to become fodder for tabloid newspapers of the day? Why didn't they just quietly change the format? The answer is, because the hiatus was never once really about 'Doctor Who'. It was about diverting money.<br /><br />John Nathan-Turner was on record for his preference of retaining Colin Baker as the lead actor. Colin Baker certainly wished to remain, even going so far as to allow his contract to lapse on the understanding that, once the proper paperwork was filed, he would be re-contracted. Even after having his professional career placed in jeopardy by the BBC, Baker still trusted that the dark days were over, and that he would fulfill his commitments to 'Doctor Who'. After all, the Head of Series himself, Johnathon Powell, had specifically asked for Baker to agree to at least four years, which meant re-signing after the expiration of the initial two year deal. But instead, the BBC misled Baker, and he was not re-contracted. <br /><br />The idea that Baker was 'fired' is completely false. He simply was not re-contracted for 'Doctor Who' once his initial contract had been fulfilled. Yet, the myth persists that the man was 'fired from the role'. According to Baker himself in numerous interviews, this simply was not the case. He had agreed in 1984 to play the role until at least 1988, and by 1986 was lied to and misled until the BBC's obligations to pay him were ended. He was cast aside. His professional career, his job and his ability to earn a living, were impacted heavily. So heavily in fact that, to this day, 'Doctor Who' remains his highest-profile role. An actor who, prior to 'Doctor Who', had juggled theatre runs with film and television work, was after 'Doctor Who' relegated to plays with limited touring runs. <br /><br />There are Whovians who will denounce Baker for refusing to appear in 'Time And The Rani', in order to facilitate a regeneration scene. Yet John Nathan-Turner also revealed something quite damning and surprising...the overall feeling was not that Baker was 'terrible' and needed to be fired. Quite the opposite. 'They said nothing derrogative about your performance', Nathan-Turner reported to Baker. 'They simply feel a new Doctor would give the series a leg up'. <br /><br />Let's analyze that statement, shall we? So, are Whovians to believe that Colin Baker was a 'terrible choice', as has been the party line for decades? That his Doctor was simply 'unwatchable'? Despite, as I said, no proof that would lead anyone to believe the BBC ever put the time and effort into salvaging the series, if they felt that strongly about it? <br />Then why would the Head of Series and Serials, Johnathon Powell, tell his producer John Nathan-Turner, that Baker was fine? Why would he lie to both of them? Especially as they were not renewing Baker's contract anyway? The decision was made to bring in a new actor to try and gain back the fans who had left due to all the turmoil, therefore if, indeed, the truth was that BBC felt Baker was terrible, then why not just say so? <br /><br />Answer: because the BBC screwed up and the only person to pin the blame on that would stick was Colin Baker. Remove Colin Baker, hire a new Doctor, problem solved, was their way of thinking. The geeks will return to their beloved 'Doctor Who', BBC daytime programming would continue to be a new venture, and all would be right with the universe. Right?<br /><br />Except the part where, under the BBC-approved new lead actor, Syvlestor McCoy, 'Doctor Who' found it's ratings dip lower than the 'Titanic's' bow. Rather than suspend the series, rather than even bother to make McCoy a scapegoat, and rather than try another format change or anything of note whatsoever that would indicate they cared one iota about salvaging the thing, the BBC simply, finally, cancelled the series. Colin Baker was not the lead actor when the series was cancelled. And many of his stories had far superior ratings in their original broadcast in the UK than his successor McCoy. Sometimes the difference is calculated in the multiple millions. <br /><br />Let's review, shall we? The BBC publicly decried the Colin Baker Era as being so unlike what they expected 'Doctor Who' to be, that they suspended the series, claiming it would be 'rested and revamped'. Were that strictly true, why did BBC Controller Micheal Grade, the man primarily responsible for pulling the trigger on the whole thing, immediately go on holiday to avoid the newspaper's inquiries into the BBC mentality on this matter? When he did finally meet with the brain trust of 'Doctor Who', the meeting according to Eric Saward lasted 'less than ten minutes'.<br /><br />All Grade demanded was the series be 'less violent and more humorous'. The result was 'The Trial Of A Timelord'. Any viewer of that particular shortened season can see plain as day that, other than slightly softening the relationship between the Doctor and Peri characters, there is, simply put, not glaring differences in the overall structure and tone of the series from it's previous season. The Sixth Doctor is still flippant, defiant, still a spirited and theatrical figure. Peri is still cheeky. There are still monsters. There is still violence. <br /><br />If the BBC objected to the 'violent content', is there anything more violent than Peri's essence being forcibly killed and replaced with the Mentor Kiv in what is scripted and directed as a shocking moment? If the series was intended to be 'less violent', then why did the BBC not object to the creation of The Valeyard, literally the 'dark Doctor' who was meant to be the shadowy, malevolent version of the Doctor's dark impulses? <br /><br />Answer: because the claptap about the 'violent' Colin Baker Era was just that. Nothing more than excuses, lies, and made-up reasons to justify diverting funds from a popular series to serve the BBC's own empire-building. If indeed this was not the case, then the 'Trial' season would have been afforded the proper allocation of funds necessary to produce a full 23-episode season instead of a truncated 14 episodes. The BBC would have scrutinized the scripts from day one, ensuring their supposed desire to see 'Doctor Who' re-formatted to be more appealing to the public had been met.<br /><br />They did none of this. They afforded 'Doctor Who' ten minutes of their precious time, and they made useless directives they didn't intend to follow up on. Had 'Doctor Who' been what the BBC told fans it was, unwatchable, then they would have replaced the men directly responsible for the creation of it, namely John Nathan-Turner and Eric Saward. They did neither. They didn't even assign anyone to overlook the series, as had been done before with former producer Barry Letts assigned to 'ride shotgun' on John Nathan-Turner's initial season. <br />What they did do, what is remembered now decades later, is create a blame-game and choose the one person who they felt would bear the brunt despite his being just the lead actor...Colin Baker. It worked so well that it's still working. <br /><br />Finally on this point, IF the BBC truly, in their heart of hearts, felt that Colin Baker simply was not a good actor, not a suitable choice for the role of The Doctor, and felt he was not capable of portraying different aspects of The Doctor that what he was permitted to in his brief television appearances, then the anti-Colin Baker Whovians will have to explain away why not a word of protest was drawn when the man they didn't fire, John Nathan-Turner, cast Sylvestor McCoy.<br /><br />Unlike Colin Baker, who as stated previously, was a well-known and respected actor with decades of acting experience and high-profile appearances in well-received programming, Sylvestor McCoy was a children's series regular! The man had a light-entertainment background, zero acting experience outside of plays and theatre work, and not one high-profile role to speak of. Yet he's supposed to give 'Doctor Who' that 'leg up' that, somehow, Colin Baker wasn't trusted to? <br /><br />McCoy was a virtual unknown, and his initial season amply demonstrated his lack of formal training and experience. Thus, IF the BBC truly were looking for a lead actor that would kick-start the series into another period of ratings success, then why didn't they veto the choice of McCoy? Why didn't they provide the 'Doctor Who' production office with a list of their preferred actors, people they personally felt would be more suitable choices to take the series, at the damaged and bruised stage that it was at the time, into a new phase?<br /><br />Indeed, every actor personally cast by Nathan-Turner turned out to not match Tom Baker's ratings or his tenure in the role. At what point wouldn't the BBC figure out that, perhaps, they should take a more hands-on approach with casting? Why didn't the BBC at the very least hire a consultant to work with Nathan-Turner? After all, it was and is a pivotal decision-making process. Answer: because prior to the idea of producing day-time television that could only be afforded by pilfering profits from 'Doctor Who', which would require a cover story to explain disrupting such a massively popular TV series, BBC never cared about 'Doctor Who' in the slightest. <br /><br /><br />Why wasn't Colin Baker retained? He was the established Doctor, after all. Merchandising streams were created in his likeness. He had agreed in the early contract negotiations to stay at least 4 years, as the BBC were looking to 'get more continuity' out of the next Doctor than they had with Davison, who left after only 3 years. The simple and easy solution would have been to keep Colin Baker, and fire or else demote John Nathan-Turner, with an eye towards doing the same to Eric Saward.<br /><br />If the entire problem with the Sixth Doctor's Era was the perception that the Doctor was 'too violent', then why didn't they make any easy decisions? Why was every decision like pulling teeth? Answer: because if you are doing unkind things to your TV properties, (primarily 'Doctor Who' but other series as well at the time were abruptly canceled or interrupted to divert the money flow to daytime TV), and you truly wish to take the heat off yourself, then you don't make the logical decisions, you make the ones that benefit you the most. <br /><br />Logically, financially, creatively, it made the most sense to retain Colin Baker. But emotionally, if you are seeking to pin the blame for all the series' woes on one person in order to take it off yourself, then you have to fire him. Publicly. You have to make it stick, you have to make it memorable. You have to make the public and the Whovians who watch the show by the droves, buy the VHS tapes, buy the merchandise, and need a scapegoat for all the bad times caused by BBC actions, hate Colin Baker. And, by extension, hate the Sixth Doctor character he plays.<br /><br />Decades later, the main players, the Micheal Grades and the Johnathon Powells and the tabloid journalists, have all been forgotten in the whole sordid story. But Colin Baker can't be and won't be. He wears that fan scorn like he wore the multicolored coat.<br /><br />Now, let's turn to the supposed 'violent, unlikable', Sixth Doctor character. It will be yet another well-worn defense on my part. There are those who will still maintain, in true BBC puppet fashion, that this particular incarnation of the Doctor is 'so' over the top and degenerative, that he simply had to be voided out. Forgotten about, cast aside and not even afforded a proper regeneration story or a chance to say goodbye to those fans he had managed, against all odds, to build.<br /><br />In order to begin the defense of the 'violent' Sixth Doctor, it is necessary to look at the nature of the Doctor characters that came before him, as well as those that came after, in order to put the Sixth Doctor in his proper context. An often-repeated assertion was that this particular Doctor was simply 'unlikable'. Much of this can be attributed to intentional design, John Nathan-Turner having publicly stated that he desired a Doctor that possessed an 'acid wit'. Script editor Eric Saward either instructed those penning stories for this era to adhere to this overall characterization or else inserted it himself into scripts. Over time, the Sixth Doctor came to be an especially arrogant and egotistical person, capable of great mood swings.<br /><br />But is that 'so' dramatically different than, say, the majority of the Tom Baker Era? The Fourth Doctor routinely belittled opponents and allies alike, exclaiming 'Harry Sullivan is an imbecile' in 'Genesis Of The Daleks', engaging in petty one-upmanship with Romana for the duration of the 'Key To Time' season, and cutting the Brigadier, his trusted friend and long-time ally, down to size in 'Robot'. The Doctor on that occasion openly wondered how he ever managed to tolerate life among the UNIT ranks for so long, and made it clear he was overjoyed to escape Earth and the constraints of UNIT. 'It's about time I did something more with my life than chase the Brigadier around', he says. So, yes, folks, the Fourth Doctor was moody, unpredictable, often unreliable, and...arrogant and egotistical. Yet, Tom Baker remains quite possibly the most popular lead actor ever to have appeared in the series, and the Fourth Doctor Era is not only critically lauded it remains financially lucrative to the BBC to this day. <br /><br />Want further proof that the Sixth Doctor was certainly not alone in being 'unlikeable'? Why not revisit the early days of the series itself, when William Hartnell held court. Those who condemn the Sixth Doctor conveniently forget that it was the First, and not the Sixth, who not only kidnapped his first (on screen) traveling companions Ian and Barbara, but the reasons why he did so...because he feared being discovered hiding out in 1960's London. Such a pedestrian reason to explain removing two human beings from their lives on Earth and forcibly whisking them away to face Daleks, Zarbi, and all manner of strange creatures on far-flung worlds. <br /><br />Then, there is the Second Doctor, condemned as 'too callous' by his companion Jamie. The Third Doctor utilized a martial art to defeat and overpower opponents. Read that sentence again. The Doctor literally developed a self-defense strategy in the event he was engaged in hand-to-hand combat. That presupposes that this Doctor fully anticipated and expected to fight people! Yet, no sort of reproach for these incarnations springs from Whovians. No, all rancor is reserved for the Sixth Doctor. Scenes such as the 'you'll pardon me if I don't join you' acid bath found in 'Vengeance On Varos', The Doctor being forced to shoot Cybermen in 'Attack Of The Cybermen', and the death-by-suffocation thanks to an ether-soaked cloth in 'The Two Doctors' have been isolated and picked apart as 'proof' of this Doctor's supposed mean streak. <br /><br />The acid bath scene in 'Varos', attested to by Colin Baker himself, merely depicts a grisly final end to henchmen who were seeking to capture and potentially kill the Doctor. He evaded them, and literally moved to the side while they fell into the acid bath. He didn't push them, he didn't trick them into it, all he did was make what many seem to think is a 'cruel' joke at their expense after the fact. Yet, when placed in it's proper context, within a story that was concerned with the corrupting effects of television itself and of subjugating a populace through propaganda and suggestive programming, the comment stands out as nothing more than a justice-minded Doctor justifiably verbalizing relief that he avoided their fate. <br /><br />The Doctor shooting the Cybermen in 'Attack Of The Cybermen' has also been seen by many as 'un-Doctor-like'. The Third Doctor was allied with a military task force that often used, as the Brigadier would say, 'five rounds rapid'. While The Doctor invariably decried the 'military mind' and in particular criticized The Brigadier for being willing to shoot first and ask questions later, he also benefited from being a member of UNIT. He had access to state-of-the-art technology and laboratory equipment...in other words, he talked the talk, but certainly didn't walk the walk. If he was truly as appalled as he proclaimed by UNIT's usage of military weaponry, then he would have resigned his position with them and sought refuge on Earth elsewhere. That he didn't do so is indicative of a willingness to accept the violence and firepower that UNIT offered...not to mention their protection. Again, this is also the incarnation that reveled in hand-to-hand combat. Yet, the Sixth Doctor is criticized for an act of extreme self-defense in a situation where he was out of other options.<br /><br />Besides, since when is shooting Cybermen a bad thing? As has been often attested to, once conversion has taken place it is extremely difficult, often impossible, to reverse the process. Once a Cyberman is created, odds are it remains a Cyberman until it is destroyed. By the Sixth Doctor's Era, The Doctor had encountered the Cyberman literally thousands of times (factoring in the expanded universe work as well). He knew how ruthless and unrelenting they were. He was one of, if not the biggest, enemies of all Cyber-kind. He didn't expect any mercy and was literally trapped in a room full of awakening Cyberman. Though like all incarnations, the Sixth Doctor has an aversion to weapons, sometimes extreme situations call for extreme measures. He did what he had to do. <br /><br />Taken out of context, these scenes can be damaging to the character of the Sixth Doctor. The only way in which they can be seen as offensive is precisely that, out of context. A simple rewatching of the episodes in which these scenes occur ought to be ample proof, if such is needed, that this Doctor is nowhere near as 'violent and unlikeable' as he is made out to be. As for his relationship to Peri, often criticized as being 'strained' at best, it is important to note that producer John Nathan-Turner intentionally directed Nicola Bryant to act in an accent not her own, which resulted in a distinct whine when speaking her lines. The concept of the Doctor and Peri continually arguing was brought forward into the stories based upon an initial regeneration story...in other words, it was never meant to be as pronounced as it became and was never meant to carry on for as many episodes as it did. <br /><br />When pressed on the subject by fans, Nathan-Turner acknowledged it was a carry-over from a semi-abandoned concept from 'The Twin Dilemma', of the Doctor continuing to be 'unstable', and he claimed it was being minimized (which it eventually was, though the mellowing-out of the characters towards each other was only depicted briefly in 'The Mysterious Planet'; the unproduced stories from the original Season 23 clearly show the characters have, indeed, grown far closer and into the traditional dynamic between Doctor and companion). Both Baker and Bryant were more than aware of this aspect of their characters and both were vocal in their determination that it be removed, so much so they both made a pact to speak their lines 'against type' if need be to ensure it carried over onto the screen.<br /><br />Thus, while justifiably criticized, the relationship between the Sixth Doctor and Peri for the majority of their time together on screen was an issue that was addressed by producer, stars, and writers. Follow-up expanded universe work has largely replaced the contentious relationship with a much more relaxed and casual one, even in stories set in Season 22. Thus, one of the biggest hurdles to the audience accepting this particular Doctor was identified and was actively being downplayed during the production of the series. While steps were in place to eliminate it altogether, time ran out for Colin Baker and, unfortunately, the follow-up work being done to mellow the characters was not depicted on screen. <br /><br />Now, we come to the coat. The 'explosion in a rainbow factory', to quote Baker. Had Colin Baker had his way, his Doctor would have pre-dated the Ninth Doctor by twenty years, dressing in predominantly black. His original intention was overridden by Nathan-Turner, who pointed out The Master was associated with an all-black ensemble. Thus, the birth of the patchwork, 'totally tasteless' costume. And oh, the derision it engenders! <br /><br />It is pointless to state that, like virtually every other big decision made during his era, Colin Baker had absolutely no say in how his character was outfitted. That decision fell to the producer, the same man who dressed Baker's predecessor in cricketing garb. The reason that Nathan-Turner alway gave for his preference for on-going characters to wear uniform-like costumes rather than simply off-the-peg clothing was down to merchandising; with one recognizable costume, a character is much easier to license for exploitation. Think of Superman and Spider-Man, in their instantly recognizable attire. While a sound financial strategy, this eye towards the bottom line versus realism strained credibility. In the audience's eyes, it simply made little sense why companions such as Turlough, Nyssa, and Tegan would wear the exact same clothing week in and week out, when it was clear even the Doctor availed himself in the past of the TARDIS wardrobe room. <br /><br />To attempt a partial explanation for why this Sixth Doctor, like the Fifth and his many companions, wore the same clothing, with slight variations here and there, it was necessary to nail down an aspect of this incarnation straight away rather than develop it within the unfolding narrative of the series; this Sixth Doctor simply does not care a damn what you think. Though previous incarnations had been content to display varying levels of egotism, lack of empathy, and a flair for the melodramatic, this incarnation was the first one to which the axiom 'the clothes make the man' could truly be applied. <br /><br />Though Tom Baker's later seasons saw him sporting question mark lapels, though Peter Davison was dressed in rather ridiculous cricket attire with a bizarre stick of celery attached, while also retaining the question mark lapels, though Sylvestor McCoy went so far as to don a full question mark sweater and carry a question mark umbrella, somehow, some way, they escape fan scrutiny and derision. Yet, Colin Baker's costume, which perfectly suited his doctor, is remembered with scorn. So much so that the cover art to many of his Big Finish audio plays depict his Doctor wearing muted blue colours, as if he dipped his usual costume in blue ink..an act of retroactively covering up the outlandish nature of his television costume. <br /><br />So, there we have it...I've explained in this blog why the Sixth Doctor's television episodes were not considerably 'more violent' in comparison to his predecessors and successors, and it has to be pointed out also, in an era of such series as 'The A-Team', 'Doctor Who' was not even the most violent series on the air! Those who criticize the overtly sexual clothing of Nicola Bryant as Peri conveniently forget the skimpy loin-cloth the character of Leela sported in the Tom Baker Era, and, in fact, overlook the basic nature of the role of the female companion, which itself evolved from that of a trusted ally and friend to that of one, to quote from 'The Fourth Doctor's Handbook', ' involved a light-hearted space romp...with a pretty girl on board to keep the dads interested'. Sadly, 'Doctor Who' until the 2005 reboot was not a series with strong female characters. Even Tegan, perhaps one of the most progressive female companions, was reduced to eye-candy on more than one occasion.<br /><br />Whether or not you agree with everything stated here, which quite admittedly has been written with a great bias for a great Doctor and a great actor, I ask you dear reader to admit in your heart of hearts...the Sixth Doctor remains by far a memorable incarnation, for good or for ill, and perhaps, just perhaps, deserves your re-appraisal. Re-watch a random episode from his era. Listen to a Big Finish Audio play featuring him. Read a BBC Books story featuring this Doctor. However you approach the character, in whatever medium, you may just find yourself smiling at his renowned 'acid wit', at his penchant for spirited debate, his no-nonsense approach to enemies and even allies alike...if you appreciate a Doctor who truly appears non-human, who truly 'is' a Timelord in every sense of the word, from the sneering pomposity to the bravado that accompanies a man who can master time travel, then look no further than my favourite Doctor, the Sixth Doctor!<br /><br />....plus, just for fun, you may even see the seeds of the Ninth Doctor sown during the Colin Baker Era. Disdain for humanity? Check. Clothing that sets him apart from all those who came before or after? Check. An 'ends justify the means' approach? Check. The Ninth Doctor is the Sixth Doctor reborn...but that's a tale for another blog....<br /><br /><br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015123008999082517noreply@blogger.com2Mount Pearl, NL, Canada47.520640700000008 -52.80768180000001247.477745700000007 -52.88836280000001 47.56353570000001 -52.727000800000013tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8800326142391250528.post-45732883605035286602015-02-06T09:00:00.000-03:302015-02-06T09:00:02.306-03:30Big Finish Strikes Back: The 'Doctor Who' Audio Trilogy Inspired By Star Warsby <a href="mailto:shannonmlush@gmail.com" target="_blank">Shannon Lush</a><br />
<br />Big Finish Productions, the audio play specialists who create dazzling new adventures for classic Doctors, have for many years now squeezed every last penny out of their licensing agreement with BBC, cranking out excellent stories that rival, and in many ways surpass, the current television series. Taking full advantage of the 'Doctor Who' actors under contract to them, they have produced so many stories for the Eighth Doctor that it makes a mockery of the fact that incarnation has only appeared on screen twice in almost twenty years. The much-maligned Sixth Doctor has, under Big Finish's careful guidance and with the benefit of simply superior scripting, become a jewel in their audio range crown. Fans who have worn out their copies of multi-Doctor team-up stories have been given the gift of stories featuring several Doctors together, and in the case of the recent release of 'The Light At The End', all classic Doctors together. Simply put, Big Finish produces material that demonstrates what love and passion for 'Doctor Who' can, when focused and determined, accomplish. <br />
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However, with such a bevy of excellent stories released monthly, it is perhaps inevitable that, once in a while, Big Finish is subject to fatigue, and like the TV series before it, requires to dip into the realm of other fictional franchises in order to pilfer material, spinning already-extent straw into new audio gold. The release of a loose trilogy of stories essentially serves to jumpstart their 'Doctor Who' range...by getting a creative boost from 'Star Wars'. <br /><br />Unofficially, the selling point of these three individual yet linked tales is that the Doctors who star in them are not accompanied by any companions; that fact alone would be enough to draw in a fan back in the day, for novelty purposes if nothing else. Now, however, with the expanded universe of books, comics, audio plays, and even iPhone video games, the concept of The Doctor journeying solo no longer holds that special appeal; he's done it for years in various mediums, and certainly has before within the confines of several Big Finish stories. Besides, when traveling solo, The Doctor for narrative purposes is still required at some point to befriend another character, simply to allow the character to serve the traditional role of sounding-board. This is especially a requirement within these audio plays, as it is distinctly odd to hear The Doctor talk to himself...so much so, that on those occasions when he does, he even remarks upon how odd it is! In all the stories, an ersatz companion or two is introduced as needed.<br /><br />The first story of the trilogy, 'The Burning Prince', a Fifth Doctor tale, concerns The Doctor randomly materializing the TARDIS inside a diplomatic envoy ship en route to a special wedding. Warring factions of different Houses have sought to patch up the cracks by arranging a marriage between Prince Kylo and Princess Ariona, in an effort to reinforce a galaxy-spanning Empire on the decline due to the constant fighting. Naturally, political enemies to this marriage seek to scuttle the proceedings, and The Doctor helps to save the crew of the ship when it is stricken by sabotage. In true Fifth Doctor fashion, he's a bit slow on the uptake and takes the duration of the story to really piece the clues together, but in the end he is left with promising a dying man that he will check in on the man's niece, which he does...just not in this incarnation. <br /><br />'The Burning Prince' is certainly well done, and captures the interest of the listener from the very start. It moves along at a great pace, there is no padding, and within a short period of time, the secondary characters grow on the listener, so much so that a sense of real loss is evoked when some of them are killed. All the hallmarks of the Davison Era are there...bodies pile up, The Doctor is yelled at by a few military officers, and he breathlessly describes the 'bad news' scenarios just in time for the cliffhangers. It's a slice of the Davison Era and the actor sounds comfortable and at home recreating his particular Doctor. <br /><br />When next we learn of the final fate of Prince Kylo and his Empire, it is within the Sixth Doctor story 'The Archeron Pulse'. A planet of barbarians is home to a new base, thanks to a treaty signed between the Empire and the barbarians. The only problem is that when a new enemy of the Empire ruthlessly cuts a swath through space itself with an incredibly powerful beam of pure destruction called the Archeron Pulse, The Doctor must ascertain the identity of the madman behind the Pulse...and why is he determined to destroy the Empire, even if innocent lives are caught in the middle of his vendetta?<br />'The Archeron Pulse' continues the trend of flat-out excellent Colin Baker Big Finish audio stories. The script is overfilling with witty one-liners and The Sixth Doctor gets all the best lines. The barbarian leaders are mostly played for laughs, though their savage bravery in protecting their homeworld from this mysterious villain and his all-powerful beam, armed with only primitive weapons is touching and really makes them memorable. The Doctor's verbal jousting with the hidden enemy is a definite highlight that evokes that of The Fourth Doctor and Davros' conversation regarding the limits to which one would go to prove a point in 'Genesis Of The Daleks'. Though it is definitely telegraphed as to the identity of the hidden enemy, the revelation is played for maximum effect and as usual the voice acting is of the highest caliber. At the story's conclusion, The Doctor pats himself on the back for his mercy towards the villain, seemingly re-purposes the enemy's soldiers into 'justice machines' for the good of the universe, and merrily goes on his way....<br /><br />In the final story in the trilogy, 'The Shadow Heart', The Seventh Doctor is on the run from a bounty hunter...and he hides in a bar, where he meets smugglers. He doesn't know the smugglers, but he will. He doesn't know the bounty hunter, but he will. 'The Shadow Heart', more than the previous entries, evokes the television era in which it's Doctor hails from, as the Doctor spends the majority of the story meeting people that he is sure he will know soon, and it works backwards from there, in the jigsaw puzzle of the web of time that the Seventh Doctor was adept at weaving his way through. It clues up the outstanding plot threads adequately, though it does feel as if they were grafted onto an already existing story and not a lot of time is spent on them...for example, the 'Justice Machines' that the Sixth Doctor inadvertently turned into pitiless killing machines that blast people to dust due to the slightest perceived infraction of the law is really something that ought to horrify even the jaded Seventh Doctor...he is certainly called to task for it, yet barely acknowledges his error in judgment, and corrects it almost as an afterthought. Not to mention, Chase Masterton, from 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine', is one of the more tone-deficient guest voice actors in Big Finish history. She delivers her line in a flat tone that betrays the fact she is reading them in a sound booth. A drinking game could be created on the number of times she says the word 'Doctor' and always delivers it in an annoying bray of a whine. Her performance is a real detriment to the story.<br /><br />Taken individually, these three stories are, for the most part, enjoyable and well produced tales of their respective Doctors. Taken as one long, multi-generational story, however, there are some issues. To begin with, the motivations of those characters that continue through the three stories are ever-shifting...seemingly, the fate of Prince Kylo at the conclusion of 'The Archeron Pulse' was quite fitting, and listeners can be forgiven for believing that it is the perfect end to the character's tortured wanderings. Yet he re-appears in 'The Shadow Heart' and his explanation for why simply doesn't ring true, especially when these three stories are heard back-to-back. 'The Shadow Heart' especially feels copious, and that is perhaps why the majority of the plot doesn't involve the Empire much at all and it is padded out with humorous (and in the case of Chase Masteron, hopeless) bounty hunters. 'The Shadow Heart' serves as 'The Return Of The Jedi', with its silliness and nonsensical plot elements, after 'The Archeron Pulse' doubles as 'The Empire Strikes Back'. No other description would be as apt, once the comparisons to 'Star Wars' are made to these three 'Doctor Who' stories, which will commence now.<br /><br />(Spoiler alert: I have attempted to be vague regarding the plot and revelations in these three Big Finish stories so that you, dear reader, can listen to all three and enjoy them together as one long epic story. However, in order to make my points regarding the liberal 'borrowing' of 'Star Wars' elements, I must reveal much detail now regarding the characters in the stories, so if you intend on enjoying them on your own, don't continue to read this blog...and if you do, then don't send me hate mail, because I warned you!).<br /><br />As science fiction properties, 'Star Wars' and 'Doctor Who' could not be any more different; one is a space opera, the other is heroic adventure series. Though behind the scenes they have shared writers and actors, in the fictional narrative contained within each, they are oil and water. The Doctor is a scientist, Luke Skywalker is a wizard. Yet, in the case of this Big Finish trilogy, 'Doctor Who' has borrowed so heavily from 'Star Wars' that it is a surprise George Lucas didn't make a cameo somewhere in one of the audio plays!<br /><br />Beginning with 'The Burning Prince', the character of Prince Kylo, who re-occurs throughout the trilogy itself, is very much patterned after the Anikin Skywalker character as depicted in the prequel trilogy of 'Star Wars'. In fact, is it safe to say that this unnamed Big Finish trilogy primarily depicts Prince Kylo at various stages of his life very much as 'Star Wars' is the unfolding story of Anakin Skywalker. The cover art to 'The Burning Prince' even goes so far as to depict a blonde-haired young man, scowling in pain and rage, dressed in black, and the cover model very much resembles Hayden Christenson in 'Revenge Of The Sith'.<br /><br />Kylo in 'The Burning Prince' is quick-tempered, arrogant, and petulant....like his literary father before him. He also is powerful; a pyro-kinetic, he lashes out in fits of rage, igniting those around him in flame. Over the course of the story, he shakes free of the constraints his superiors place upon him and taps into his terrible potential for destruction in order to get what he wants. He feels betrayed by those he thought were his friends and he experiences the highest highs and the lowest lows as he wields his terrible power. In these ways and many more to come, Kylo is patterned after Anakin Skywalker, down to feeling betrayed by his mentors and undergoing a strained and ultimately doomed relationship with his beloved. <br /><br />Other elements of 'The Burning Prince' also harken back to 'Star Wars'. As a fictional universe renowned for its lived-in feeling, 'Star Wars' is heavily populated by monsters of all shapes and sizes. While 'Doctor Who' of course has its own monsters, aliens, and unearthly creatures, in this audio drama The Doctor is appalled that the Empire has captured sentient, man-like beasts who growl, speak in garbled tones, and are depicted as being giant and furry...much like the Galactic Empire of 'Star Wars' captured Wookies as slaves. Wookies are, of course, man-like beasts who growl and speak in garbled tones, and are giant, furry creatures. Through the course of the story, The Doctor and the small band of survivors from the crashed diplomatic envoy ship are pursued and harassed by these creatures, as the ship has crashed on their home world. The creatures display resourcefulness in hunting the survivors and enacting justice for their enslaved brethren that would do Chewbacca proud.<br /><br />The space-opera elements of 'The Burning Prince' extend the 'Star Wars' comparisons. It involves a galaxy-spanning Empire with an imperialistic agenda, fronted by duplicitous beings. At the conclusion of the story, in homage to The Emperor's General Order 66 which causes the end of the Jedi Knights, Princess Ariona reveals that she has been manipulating Kylo, and her House will become the sole leadership of the Empire once she orders the death of every member of his House. Thus, Kylo the 'Doctor Who' equivalent of Anakin Skywalker the Jedi Knight, becomes an accessory to the murder of his own people, as Anakin surely did.<br /><br />However, this is certainly not the end for Kylo. For, as Anakin Skywalker is wounded so terribly that he is left for dead by those he once trusted and loved, so too is Kylo. As Anakin Skywalker is encased in a life-saving containment suit complete with a breathing apparatus that changes his voice, so too does Kylo. As Skywalker is reborn as Darth Vader, a new name and identity, so too is Kylo. Both figures yearn to seek revenge on those they feel betrayed them. Both figures speak in tortured tones that reveal the machinery behind the man. Both figures wield great power over subordinates, command armies, and amass fleets of ships that attack and invade planets. Kylo as depicted on the cover art of 'The Archeron Pulse' is clearly modeled after Darth Vader; his face is covered in a mask, he is wearing a long, flowing cape, gauntlets on his hands and arms, and he is posed very similar to classic Darth Vader depictions.<br /><br />As Darth Vader had at his command the power of the Death Star to terrorize the galaxy, so too does Kylo have at his command the Archeron Pulse, a weapon of pure destruction that turns planets into barren wastelands. He unleashes it often enough in the audio play that the comparisons to the destruction of Alderaan seen in 'A New Hope' are impossible to ignore. There are even lines of dialogue that evoke Grand Moff Tarkin's line of 'you may fire when ready'.<br /><br />'The Archeron Pulse' also features Kylo's troops, which are ruthless, incapable of being reasoned with, and single-minded in their desire to follow Kylo's orders of murder and mayhem. They serve as the storm troopers of 'Doctor Who', and the comparisons are brought into even sharper relief when the Sixth Doctor reprograms the lot of them into 'Justice Machines'. In this story, much as in 'The Empire Strikes Back', Kylo descends upon the heroes after an absence of many years, shocking them and bringing death in his new guise as the raspy-voice reaper of pure evil. As Luke Skywalker tries to reason with Darth Vader, attempting to come to an emotional understanding that may quell the rage within, so too does the Sixth Doctor attempt this with Kylo, sparing him from death at the hands of his own troops. <br /><br />It is not merely the character of Kylo and his choice of weaponry and troops that echo 'Star Wars', nor is it the notion of planet-destroying machines alone. In each episode of the trilogy, the sound effects of the weapons used are closely matched to blasters and lasers, the ships fly through space with great whooshing gusts as they do in 'Star Wars', there are dogfights in space that cannot help but summon up comparisons, and by the time of 'The Shadow Heart' there is even a space-going giant alien snail; oversized versions of common Earth creatures are a classic trope of the 'Star Wars' universe. This of course also fails to mention the numerous bounty hunters that populate 'The Shadow Heart'. Along with smugglers, bounty hunters are so prevalent in this story that one essentially becomes both the pursuer and later the companion of sorts to The Doctor. A post-credits sequence in 'The Archeron Pulse' set within a seedy off-world bar populated by all manner of creatures establishes a bartender character. One who sounds exactly like Sebulba from 'The Phantom Menace'. Much later in 'The Shadow Heart', the bartender's fate is sealed in a moment that very much homage to the final fate of Greedo in 'A New Hope'. <br /><br />On the production side, all three stories are filled to bursting with excellent sound effects that truly open the mind's eye to a wondrous universe filled with strange creatures. It is, quite simply, impossible to miss the numerous and specific antecedents to 'Star Wars' on display in these stories. However, far from being a detriment to the unfolding tale that these stories tell in three individual yet linked chapters, the mere fact that the comparisons are so unapologetically blatant that they serve to enhance the experience; 'Star Wars' is such a recognizable part of the pop culture and holds such special meaning to so many people that it feels like visiting an old friend when listening to these stories. The universe of 'Star Wars' and its tech, weapons, vistas and costumes are so recognizable that they are easily adopted by the listener in populating this story in their mind's eye. It feels like walking down a street from one's childhood; some elements may change, but it is intimately familiar nonetheless.<br /><br />While Whovians may never be able to revel in a fully licensed crossover between 'Doctor Who' and 'Star Wars', these stories serve to scratch that particular itch as best they can. They also stand on their own as good, compelling stories with just enough elements of their own not borrowed from 'Star Wars' that they can be enjoyed by anyone who likes good stories, well told. Big Finish Productions are the finest producers of spin off material for 'Doctor Who', and it is clear that even when they need to sometimes pop around the neighbors and borrow a cup of creative sugar from other franchises to sprinkle on their output, they still produce....dare we say...forceful work?<br /><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015123008999082517noreply@blogger.com0Mount Pearl, NL, Canada47.520640700000008 -52.80768180000001247.477745700000007 -52.88836280000001 47.56353570000001 -52.727000800000013tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8800326142391250528.post-24276503841231444282015-01-30T12:35:00.000-03:302015-01-30T12:35:30.000-03:30Time lords And Time for the Lord: Religion In Doctor Who<br />
By <a href="mailto:shannonmlush@gmail.com" target="_blank">Shannon Lush</a><br />
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The relationship between religion and science fiction has always been one of mutual exclusivity. The very nature of popular science fiction, with its usual reliance on scientific technology and principals, seems to preclude the presence of real-world religious belief. Certainly, the three most popular science fiction television and film franchises, namely 'Doctor Who', 'Star Wars', and 'Star Trek' ,have all seemed to decide that, in their fictional universes, religious belief, specifically the Judeo-Christian concept of God, is simply not a concept worth exploring in great detail, if at all. Each franchise was created from the ground up by hundreds, if not thousands, of contributors from all walks of life. It is safe to assume that, somewhere along the way, by intentional design on the part of the initial creators of each franchise, an unwritten rule was put in place to avoid the topic of real-world religion altogether where and when possible.<br />
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Two of the 'Big Three' are and have been weekly television series. They were, and are, subject to broadcasting standards. As pieces of popular entertainment, 'Doctor Who' and 'Star Trek' both seek to entertain the masses, and not insult them by delving into areas such as religion; to put it mildly, religion could invariably be taken the wrong way should they ever attempt to introduce it as a topic or plot point. Fantasy religions, cults, and false idolatry are, of course, acceptable and are on display in all three franchises. But to tackle the real deal? Organized religion, prayer, and scripture? The Doctor would rather face a pantheon of Daleks armed to the teeth. Captain Kirk would rather climb a mountain. Luke Skywalker would rather chop his own hand off.<br />
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Outside of the strictures in places from network overlords, it is fair to say that in the case of 'Star Trek', intentional design led to the creation of a mostly agnostic, and at times downright atheist-based universe. Gene Roddenberry, born and raised as a strict Baptist, rebelled at an early age from the enforced belief system of God, and infused his greatest creation with a definite lack of Christian belief systems. Discounting the non-human characters such as Spock who hail from worlds in which religion and spirituality are very much on display in everyday life, the human characters of 'Star Trek', by and large, are not believers in any one God for the most part. Captain Kirk remarked once that 'we find the one quite sufficient’, in answer to a power-hungry being once revered as a god who demanded worship. However, as with all throwaway lines of dialogue indicating a familiarity with God, religion, and worship, Roddenberry or others would in later years state that this was 'forced' upon the series. Network executives were eager to reassure viewers that, even in the far future, there was still a belief, however deeply buried, in God.<br />
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By the time of 'Star Trek 5: The Final Frontier', the ducking and weaving of the issue abruptly ended and the crew of the good ship 'Enterprise' were finally confronted with what they were explicitly told was God. And to a person, they promptly questioned it. As it turned out, they were right to do so, once again confirming to audiences that, much as he'd done throughout his career, Roddenberry either wrote or else produced and presented story after story that demonstrated that in his mind, religion, God, and belief was outdated and didn't belong in a future humanity. The moral of every 'Star Trek' episode or film that ever touched upon the 'God question', is that God, simply, isn't out there. And perhaps humanity is better off for that, according to ‘Star Trek’.<br />
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In later years, especially with Roddenberry's death and the advent of new 'Star Trek' series such as 'Deep Space Nine' that would go out of its way to delve deeply into religious issues that Roddenberry frowned upon, 'Star Trek' began exploring those once-forbidden questions. But for all the ground it made up in the decades since, the mere fact that the original series boasted humans seemingly out of touch with religion and God will always stand as the blueprint for which all other 'Star Trek' materials are created. Captain Kirk, who at various times in his life, lost lovers, children, and his beloved ship, until 'The Final Frontier' was never depicted as succumbing to a higher power to help him cope or reason with the losses. Kirk was never seen to pray, in other words. Doctor McCoy, a Southern gentleman at heart, was always depicted as having a strong moral core, though rarely is this attributed to anything spiritual in his background. He does accept 'God' more readily than Kirk in 'The Final Frontier', going so far as to state 'maybe you shouldn't ask God for his ID!’ However, as this is after he is affected by Sybok's mind-probing to 'ease his pain' (explained in expanded universe material as an ancient, invasive and banned version of the Vulcan mind meld), it is unknown if this is truly indicative of his feelings towards the idea of 'God' being real, or an after-effect of Sybok's mood-altering mental process.<br />
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On multiple occasions, 'Star Trek' characters exclaim 'My God!’ such as Kirk's 'My God, Bones, what have I done'?, in 'Star Trek 3: The Search For Spock', as Kirk watches the remains of his beloved 'Enterprise' burn up in the orbit of the Genesis planet. However, invariably Gene Roddenberry would claim that these exclamations were merely down to 'racial memory'...in other words, though the characters say the words 'My God' often, it does not indicate an actual belief in an all-powerful entity, merely a hand-me-down phrasing from a time in humanity's past when such a saying was common. When it suited him, Roddenberry would point out that the future depicted in 'Star Trek' was 'only a few hundred years from now, after all'. At other times of course, he would insist that virtually all societal ills of today that have plagued humanity for hundreds, if not thousands of years, such as racism, poverty, sexism and murder, would be eradicated within the same brief time period.<br />
With the rare exception of Uhura, who as a character was deeply spiritual on the insistence of the actress playing her, the main characters in 'Star Trek', drawn from diverse ethnic backgrounds, are never depicted as being overly interested in anything remotely religious. The opportunity to possibly explore Asian religious beliefs through the character of Sulu is lost. Though it is revealed that Sulu is of American ancestry, being born in San Francisco, spinoff media clearly depicts him having extremely close ties to his Asian ancestors. Chekov, as a Russian, is assumed to be likewise an atheist or agnostic, and the opportunity to explore the future of the Russian belief system through him is also never done.<br />
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On the whole, as popular as 'Star Trek' continues to be, with its legions of fans worldwide, many of whom readily praise the positive messages, the depiction of a peaceful future for humanity, and the triumph of the human spirit that the series engenders, it plays it safe when it comes to religion. The message seems to be that it's fine for the Klingons to worship Kahless and to have Stovakor as their afterlife, but at no point is 'Star Trek' going to depict Jesus or Heaven, or even go anywhere near them as topics. There is a 'great barrier' of intentional design preventing such topics from being addressed.<br />
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George Lucas, on the other hand, never went out of his way to downplay or whitewash religious belief in his franchise, though he also established a favorable situation where it was doubtful real-world religions would ever be given a focus; after all, in a 'galaxy far, far away', what we know as God either may not exist or else may be known under a different name or guise. Unlike 'Star Trek', which primarily deals in the future of real-world humans, 'Star Wars' is a storybook universe with no direct ties to humanity, other than most of the characters appearing to be humanoids.<br />
Borrowing elements from pagan beliefs of the ancient past, Lucas studiously avoided Judeo-Christian overtones. Though a case can be made that there is plenty of comparisons one could draw between Jesus, God, and the father/son relationship between Luke and Darth Vader, these seem coincidental rather than intentional. In the 'Star Wars' universe, even the robotic droids seem to have an understanding of a higher being, with C3PO proclaiming 'thank the Maker!' on a few occasions. C3PO’s statement has a double meaning. He could be referring to his own personal maker, later revealed to be Anakin Skywalker. But then wouldn't he say 'thank MY Maker?’<br />
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Safely tucked into a fantasy universe of his own creation not encumbered by real-world religious belief systems, Lucas nevertheless explored some religious beliefs with' 'Star Wars'. The Jedi Order are comprised of monks, wizards, and shamans, though at their heart their warrior class are referred to as 'Knights', which conjures up the real-world historical knights who not only embarked on Crusades but also according to legend protected religious artifacts. And the Jedi Knights are charged with keeping the peace and protecting the entire known galaxy, especially from the scourge of their fallen-angel brethren, the Sith. At its most basic a tale of good versus evil, 'Star Wars' may not go out of its way to introduce Judeo-Christian themes overtly, but the familiar trappings of the basic morality battles played out in the standard biblical tomes known to Christianity suffices to gently reinforce the concepts.<br />
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Of course, speaking of the influence of the primary creators upon the religious concepts apparent or absent in their work would not be complete without discussing the thought process that Sydney Newman, credited as the primary creator of 'Doctor Who', had for his most famous creation. The waters run murky here, as unlike Roddenberry and Lucas, there is not a wealth of biographical information or personal quotations from Newman to draw upon when delving into the creation process of 'Doctor Who'. Also unlike the others, Newman was at the time on the other side of the desk, as it were; launching TV series was his 9 to 5 job and as his own boss, he was not required to pitch ideas to anyone. It was therefore a much smoother process than that of Roddenberry and Lucas, who were subjected to compromising certain principals to see their visions come to life.<br />
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As a television executive first and foremost, Newman's entire job consisted of conceptualizing and shepherding TV series for BBC. Once he accomplished the task of creating one series, he moved onto the next. Though he demonstrated great affection for 'Doctor Who' both during his time with BBC and well into his retirement, it was not an all-consuming creative endeavor for him; it was bottom-line creating, with an eye towards TV budgets and production facility allocation rather than making bold artistic statements. It is doubtful that Newman, and the dozens of others who contributed to the early 'Doctor Who' creative process, gave much if any thought as to whether religion in any recognizable Earth-born form would ever play a role in 'Doctor Who’. Perhaps not as anything other than to be set dressing in a few historical-based stories in the early run.<br />
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In its 50 plus years of existence, 'Doctor Who' has evolved from its humble roots as an entertainment series meant primarily for children into a worldwide science fiction series that stands shoulder to shoulder with 'Star Trek' and 'Star Wars'. It is inevitable that, in that time, it has come under fan queries for the nature and role of religion within its framework. After all, like 'Star Trek', The Doctor's adventures encompass planet Earth. As a reality-bending TV series concerned with time travel, 'Doctor Who' can delve into areas that others cannot.<br />
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How has religion been approached traditionally on 'Doctor Who'? Absent any specific directives one way or the other from Sydney Newman, it was left to individual script writers to insert the notion of religion into their stories. The series' various story and script editors then either approved these topics or else asked for their removal for fear of insulting anyone. Productions notes from as far back as the early 1960's still exist to demonstrate that scripts were altered on the basis of not offending 'religious nutters'.<br />
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By the 1970's, with the rise of Hammer Horror films and a revival of Gothic themes and imagery in general within the pop culture of the time, 'Doctor Who' delved into the subject matter of cults, witchcraft, paganism and shamanism...but studiously avoided traditional Judeo-Christian topics. Even the short-lived spinoff 'K9 And Company' saw its pilot episode featuring the little tin dog assisting Sarah Jane Smith in battling witchcraft, that plague of small-time English villages.<br />
Unique to 'Doctor Who', the main character is an alien being. One who hails from a far distant planet in a far distant time and space, and one with its own belief systems. By giving such an origin for the central character, the creative personnel of 'Doctor Who' cleverly side-stepped their hero's personal belief system and thoughts on God. After all, he's an alien; he's not expected to necessarily subscribe to any Earthly spiritual beliefs, any more than he would those of the denizens of Pluto, Mars, or Jupiter.<br />
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The introduction or deletion of potentially inflammatory material in 'Doctor Who' was handled and continues to be handled on a case-by-case basis: again, unlike 'Star Trek' which was subjected to the personal belief system of its primary creator and therefore for much of its existence adhered to his dogmatic (and decidedly atheistic) viewpoint, 'Doctor Who' was, by and large, left to its own devices to either focus attention on religion...or not. A well-known myth from the early days of the series describes great hand-wrangling by BBC and 'Doctor Who' production personnel towards broadcasting the episode 'The Crusades' in the Middle East; though in actual fact this amounted to no more than a few hurriedly-scripted production memos instructing certain care be taken so as not to inflame historical or racial prejudices in the area, it is indicative of the approach taken to such matters.<br />
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'Doctor Who' was a series concerned with the travels of an enigmatic alien wanderer, and even its early historical-type stories are replete with factual errors and fictionalized scenarios that differ greatly from known history. Sometimes this was accidental on the part of the writers; after all, writers for 'Doctor Who' were not usually (though there are exceptions) also learned scholars of history. They were, and are, writers who were, and are, seeking to tell compelling stories that happen to sometimes be set in historical times.<br />
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Shifting to The Doctor himself and the exploration of his beliefs, he clearly believes in some way in the existence of a soul. He has verbalized on numerous occasions that beings such as the Cybermen and Daleks are ‘soulless creatures’ and when confronted with especially criminal behavior on the part of humans, he questions whether they have 'lost their soul' or else 'have no soul'. Is this down to his cultural upbringing on his home planet of Gallifrey? Do his people have a belief system in the existence of souls? Or is this a product of his interactions with and observations of humans; is this shorthand he picked up in his travels? <br />
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The title of The Doctor's people, 'Time Lords', is also intriguing. It is interesting to note that it was not until several years into the run of the series that the term was coined; it was not a part of the original format for 'Doctor Who'. Terrance Dicks, co-creator of The Time Lords, has on numerous occasions stated that when inventing names for characters, races, and machines in 'Doctor Who' he tends towards the dramatic, applying names that simply sound grandiose without much meaning behind them; it is therefore doubtful that in naming The Doctor's people 'Lords' he or Malcolm Hulke, the other credited writer of 'The War Games', were attempting or intending to equate them with the Judeo-Christian concept of a Supreme Being.<br />
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More likely, the long tradition of British parliamentary procedure, which features of course the House Of Lords, or referring to certain classes of people of authority and privilege as ‘My Lord’ played a role in the selection of ‘Time Lords’ as the title for The Doctor’s people. Certainly later stories such as ‘The Deadly Assassin’ confirms that by and large, British history and government account for the inspiration points for The Doctor’s race and its unique history and culture; in that story, the concept of Cardinals, Chancellors, and Presidents as well as academies are directly inspired by the structure of colleges such as Cambridge and Oxford.<br />
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Nevertheless, within the narrative framework of ‘Doctor Who’, the fact that the people of Gallifrey self-identify as ‘Time Lords’ is quite illuminating. As the self-appointed ‘lords of time’, it is possible that, on Gallifrey, no such belief in a ‘Supreme Being’ exists. Because, as ‘Lords’, in both a traditional and functional sense, Gallifreyans are, themselves, their own Gods? To put it mildly (and terribly inadequately), belief in ‘God’ can be boiled down to several components.<br />
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First, a belief in the existence of a universe-and-life creating ‘Supreme Being’ that is responsible for everything, ever. As ‘Time Lords’, Gallifreyans open the very universe around them, and bend it to their will. They shape history, can re-write, alter or delete it to their satisfaction, and even such obstacles as ‘fixed points in time’, which are considered impossible to breach, can and have been breached and then altered by individual Time Lords (namely The Doctor but also many others). Therefore, in form and function, in this fundamentally important way, Time Lords perform the tasks and demonstrate the ability that humans would ascribe to God Himself.<br />
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Second, a belief in God denotes a fundamental belief in the existence of life after death. The concept of regeneration is strikingly close to that of life after death. Producer Barry Letts, a man fascinated with Buddhist principals had explored the parallels in regeneration to that of the Eastern belief system of reincarnation and the perpetual cycle of death and rebirth. Clearly, the concept of regeneration has proven over the decades to have been the signature concept for ‘Doctor Who’, and one that has drawn the most acclaim. It is the one element unique to ‘Doctor Who’ in all of science fiction and has not only inspired and fascinated millions for a myriad of reasons creatively, it has continually proven its worth as a concept, as the engine of longevity for the series.<br />
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But does The Doctor ‘die’ when he regenerates? Is he then ‘reborn’? Is each Doctor a different person with a different soul, or one man perpetually in a process of undergoing metamorphosis every so often? Does The Doctor’s soul go on to an afterlife upon each regeneration, or do Time Lords not have a ‘Heaven’? Are they their own Gods, and are TARDISES their temple of worship, their churches?<br />
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As with the term ‘Time Lords’, regeneration was not a part of the original format documents, and thus like most of the enduring elements of ‘Doctor Who’, it was made up as they went along. Regeneration, renewal, rebirth; however it is termed (and it has been interchangeable from time to time, though for the majority of the series it has been ‘regeneration’ as the preferred term to explain the process), it was a stop-gap solution invented in a moment of need that has literally saved the series from oblivion for decades. But because it was invented in this way, like most enduring elements the spiritual considerations of such a unique process were not set in stone, nor set down on paper. This leads to speculation now…was there ever a time when regeneration ‘was’ considered spiritual?<br />
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The only clues to this and to how Gallifreyans view regeneration are through primarily The Doctor’s viewpoint on the matter and, occasionally, some of his contemporaries. Though a bizarre, painful, unexpected process that with rare exception cannot be controlled or contained (at least by The Doctor), with uncertain results for him, The Doctor after time came to rely upon it to continue his existence. In the ‘classic series’, more often than not The Doctor regenerated purely by accident, and usually as a last-ditch failsafe ability that he employed when the situation was dire enough to call upon it.<br />
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In this manner, it is difficult to consider the concept of regeneration as some form of ‘reward’ for moral deeds in the sense that a morally upright Christian believer would consider their souls attaining the eternal reward of ascending to Heaven and thus living on forever, simply due to the uncertain outcome of regeneration. After all, even when he succumbs to the process as a direct result of morally righteous actions on his part, such as to save the lives of others, this does not always mean The Doctor is ‘rewarded’ after the fact in any noticeable way (unless his continuing to live on after catastrophic bodily harm that otherwise would kill him can be considered reward in itself).<br />
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Regeneration also, by and large, does not tend to differentiate between the basic concept of ‘good and evil’; as a Time Lord, even murderous or immoral beings such as Borusa, The Monk, The Master and The Rani can and have regenerated, thus it is not a reward for moral actions. The (admittedly non-canon) charity episode ‘The Curse Of Fatal Death’ saw The Master refer to regeneration as ‘the miracle of the Time Lords’; human companion characters have by and large been amazed, stunned, and shocked at regeneration, but have not thus far weighed the possible religious questions implicit in the process. Until such time as a companion blesses themselves upon witnessing the process or questions what actually happens to the soul of the previous (and now, for all intents and purposes, deceased) incarnation of The Doctor, then the question may never be answered.<br />
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The Doctor has credited the TARDIS on multiple occasions with gifting, or at the very least assisting, in the regenerative process; the Second Doctor explicitly states ‘it’s a part of the TARDIS…without it I couldn’t survive’. Most regenerations have taken place either inside or close to the TARDIS, and on almost all occasions The Doctor is quickly hustled inside its doors either before or immediately after the process. The exact nature of regeneration, other than being described as ‘complete cellular metamorphosis’, remains a complete mystery bereft of any outward connections to spirituality. The closest equivalent one can muster to connect the process to anything based in religion is the presence of and/or desire to return to the TARDIS to ensure successful changes. As stated, in many ways, the TARDIS is akin to a church, and it is permissible to consider The Doctor at the moment of regeneration is experiencing some form of crisis of faith that requires or compels him to return to this place of possible worship. <br />
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The third and final belief in ‘God’ that is traditionally ascribed to believers would be to live a moral life. Certainly, The Doctor has done so, having been depicted for over 50 years of adventures as an extremely moral being who champions morally upright causes. He inspires others to take the moral path whenever possible in all their dealings and actions, and in every incarnation, despite differences in surface mannerisms and personality quirks, at his core stands for the recognizably ‘good’ in any given situation.<br />
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But, if indeed he is not human and it is quite well established that there is no Judeo-Christian belief system on Gallifrey to which he could have been instructed in at an early age in order to avoid the temptations of the Devil and the possibility of his soul burning in Hell if he strays from a moral path…then what compels The Doctor to be moral?<br />
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There is a debate, which has raged for countless years and will no doubt continue to rage for many more, that essentially seeks the ultimate answer to the question of; without the ‘moral compass’ of religion to teach a person to understand and respect the concepts of ‘good versus evil’, is that person truly a morally sound person?<br />
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If a person is not instructed to not commit acts of recognizable sin for fear of eternal damnation, are they more or less likely to commit acts of sin and not fear any form of spiritually unpleasant consequences? It is a ‘nature versus nurture’ debate that has sharply divided the religious and the lay person, and driven even further divisions between science and religion. Religious scholars and tutors and priests may believe that without such teachings on ethics and morals, a person may commit acts of sin without fear of judgment.<br />
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So, presuming that The Doctor, while being quite familiar with Judeo-Christian (and, truly, virtually all Earth-based) religions, is not a believer in God and is, of course, depicted as a scientist who seeks the scientific approach at virtually all points in his travels…what compels this man to perpetuate moral acts of courage, kindness, and compassion? Without promise of eternal reward? As a Time Lord, he has been seen at best as a ‘trouble-maker’ and at worst as a dangerous criminal whose moral code is a threat to the established order. Clearly, he is not merely one among a race of do-gooders. Throughout the course of the series, Time Lord society has been depicted as morally corrupt, stodgy, isolationist, smug and superior-minded. The sins of others do not impact on the Time Lords, nor will they seek to proactively assist others unless their own affairs are threatened in the process.<br />
Thus, there is little if anything in his people’s way of life that would compel The Doctor to undertake continuous journeys to help others and to save the lives of others, often by placing his own life at extreme risk. The closest equivalent to any form of threat of eternal punishment for committing acts of what could be deemed sins is the revelation that at a young age, Time Lords are forced to view the Untempered Schism, and in truth this quasi-religious indoctrination process seems to reflect more upon the Time Lord’s desire to maintain order within their own society than any attempt at instilling a moral value system into their youth.<br />
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As a race, Time Lords can be seen to worship no other ‘Supreme Being’ than the time vortex and time itself; The Doctor remarked that viewing the Schism made him into the wanderer he became, that he started ‘running, and I’ve been running ever since’; given this, and added to the comments The Doctor has made that he was ‘bored’, that he felt his people turned a blind eye to the suffering of the universe outside their transduction barriers, and that The Doctor is not alone in his rebelling against the established order of Time Lord society, it is safe to assume that, whatever the outcome of subjecting Time Lords to the Schism, it is not an initiation meant to instill a moral code. It is rather a form of brain washing to instill obedience. However he gained his ‘moral compass’ and whatever drives him forward, it was not due to the Time Lords.<br />
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Though it truly appears that Time Lords do not have a concept for God, there are two figures in their history that may be the closest equivalent to both God and The Devil; Rassilon and Omega. Rassilon is the only figure that has consistently been depicted in both the classic series and the new as the one every Time Lord fears. Rassilon is potentially the only character that could be classified as akin to both God and as a Jesus figure.<br />
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To begin with, Rassilon existed prior to established Time Lord history, and hails from an age before recorded time, with his actions and words being handed down orally and then within the pages of scrolls, some of which are forbidden, and within ‘bibles’ such as The Book Of The Old Time. These facts parallel the biographical information extant regarding Jesus. Myths and legends have grown around Rassilon, much as they have about Jesus, and he appeared to have at least one disciple, or at least one named thus far, in Omega. Like ancient religious sites in the Holy Land purported to have association with Jesus, the Tomb of Rassilon is steeped in legend.<br />
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Like Jesus, Rassilon is said to have practically invented or directly inspired modern society in some form or other. Like Jesus’s inspiration of the ‘BC’ dating system, there is a ‘Rassilon Era’. Like commonly used phrases such as ‘my gentle Jesus’ there are epitaphs such as ‘Great Rassilon’! On the one face-to-face(s) encounter with Rassilon himself during the original series, every incarnation of The Doctor is sent into a state of absolute shock at the mere thought of actually conversing with him. They avert their eyes, stammer, grovel, and essentially, for lack of a better term, undergo what appears to be a religious experience.<br />
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With a metaphorical wave of the hand, Rassilon puts right the wrongs done in his name by Borusa, and punishes Borusa for his sins, condemning him to eternal torture. Rassilon is explicitly said to have ‘cheated death’, ‘gained immortality’, and to be able to ‘live forever’, all qualities traditionally ascribed to Jesus. Rassilon’s form of immortality is so desirable that Time Lords who themselves live for untold thousands of years still seek it out; like Jesus, Rassilon offers the gift of eternal life, but is capable of judgment at the methods chosen to attain it.<br />
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To extend the comparisons even further, the general belief in Jesus is that, at a time of great need, he will return once more, to sit in judgment of humanity. Rassilon appeared in the flesh to lead his people in ‘The End of Time’. Like Jesus is scripted as returning to the world ‘as the lion’, Rassilon returns not as a spiritual leader, but a fierce and formidable warrior. Rassilon in ‘The End of Time’ was so awe-inspiring and powerful, and his intentions so clearly a parallel to Judgment Day, that The Doctor underwent tremendous, soul-crushing suffering and hardship to stop him.<br />
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In addition to the appearances on screen, in which he displayed greater powers than any Time Lord before or since, Rassilon also has symbols of power and devotion attributed to him. The TARDIS has at various times been decorated with Rassilon seals, much as a church would boast stained glass pictures of Jesus and contain statues of Him, or a believer in Jesus would hang photos and busts of Him in their home. There has been mention of Gallifreyan holidays named for and concerning Rassilon, much as there is a Christmas and Easter. The Doctor has had TARDIS keys in the shape of Rassilon seals, and sometimes has even worn these keys as necklaces, much as believers in Jesus would wear a crucifix around their neck.<br />
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Perhaps Rassilon is the figure of devotion for The Doctor that explains his moral compass; clearly, on some level, The Doctor at the bare minimum respects, fears, and possibly even worships Rassilon, as can be inferred from all available evidence. Like believers in Jesus, The Doctor has spoken of his personal relationship with Rassilon, as he did in ‘Remembrance of the Daleks’. If, indeed, there is a Jesus figure to be found in ‘Doctor Who’ to which most, if not all, Time Lords, seem to either fear and greatly respect, then it is Rassilon.<br />
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The final signifier of Rassilon being both the Jesus figure as well as the God of Time Lords can also be found in his first appearance in ‘The Five Doctors’; the Second Doctor recounts that in the ‘Dark Times’ when Time Lord society was more chaotic and brutal, it was Rassilon who ‘put a stop’ to the kidnapping of races and the enforced fighting that entertained primitive Time Lords in the Death Zone. The Abrahamic traditions of God directly intervening in his subject’s cruel acts are quite obvious here, as is the concept of God as the Law-Giver, issuing the Ten Commandments. Rassilon from his own Temple Mount issued commands, established laws, and ended the sacrificing of lesser races, introducing the concept of mercy to the Time Lords.<br />
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If Rassilon is both God and Jesus to the Time Lords, then Omega can be identified as the Devil. As in traditional biblical lore, the true story of Omega’s ‘fall from grace’ is lost to time…and also depends upon who is asked. At one time, Omega was a trusted servant, friend, and contemporary of Rassilon, as the Devil, in traditional accounts, was once a trusted angel in God’s employ. As the Devil is said to have coveted the power and glory of God, so too is Omega supposed to have coveted the mighty power of time travel, and in so doing angered Rassilon, who banished him to his own personal ‘Hell’, much as God does to the Devil. Naturally, Omega has his side of the story…<br />
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When he is first encountered in ‘The Three Doctors’, Omega is bitter, angry, and trapped in a world he cannot escape from, much as the Devil is said to be, with only nonhuman entities to command; for the Devil, of course, demons, and for Omega blob-like Gell Guards. Like the Devil sending out demons to do his work for him, the Gell Guards are sent out to lead human beings (and Time Lords) to their ruin. Omega has no love for Time Lords; he views them as unworthy of his worship and he views them as Rassilon’s ‘children’, for lack of a better term, in exactly the manner in which the Devil views humanity as nothing more than ‘all God’s children’, whose souls he must corrupt and possess.<br />
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The Doctor certainly fears Omega, and pities him, even going so far as to state that ‘all my life’ he has known of and respected Omega, much as a Christian knows of and respects the trickery and power of the Devil and is vigilant against it. Though The Doctor doesn’t display the revulsion at standing face to face with Omega as a human likely would at doing so to the Devil, he is shocked and revolted at the sight of Omega’s headless body, and the decay which has eaten away at Omega, much as Hell would corrupt and eat away at any denizen of it, including the Devil and his insatiable thirst for living souls.<br />
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As much as Omega in his two televised appearances was depicted as supremely powerful, so too is he twisted, corrupt, evil, and capable of leading others down a dark path. He does this to Hedin in ‘Arc of Infinity’. Omega possesses The Doctor as humans can be ‘possessed’ by the Devil. Like the Devil, Omega makes ‘deals’ with Hedin. There is also the biblical inspiration for the very name ‘Omega’, the opposite number to the biblical ‘Alpha’.<br />
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While perhaps unintentional on the part of the writers and producers of ‘Doctor Who’, the characters of Omega and Rassilon subscribe too well to the traditionalist viewpoint of God and the Devil to be completely accidental. It is difficult to believe that, in some subtle way, a spiritual path was not laid down within the narrative framework of ‘Doctor Who’ for no other reason than to simply provide fictional signposts for future writers and actors to be inspired by. After all, it is not by accident that the seal of Rassilon adorns so many objects and is worn on so much clothing; it is not by accident that the ‘Great Rassilon’ phrases are written into scripts.<br />
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Somewhere along the way, as both ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Star Trek’ have proven, religion as a concept to be explored finds a way. The topics are too fundamentally interesting, the symbols and teachings too much a part of human cultural DNA to stay buried. Try as they might to not put such matters front and center , the biggest science fiction franchises of the past fifty years have, deep down inside and if one looks hard enough, more than enough religious iconography, phrases, viewpoints, and perspectives on display. Like the best science fiction, they shine a light on humanity and use monsters and aliens to tell stories relevant to it. As much of a scientist as The Doctor is and has been, even he acknowledges that, sometimes, there is much more to life than what can be seen with his own two eyes…Rassilon willing.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015123008999082517noreply@blogger.com0Mount Pearl, NL, Canada47.520640700000008 -52.80768180000001247.477745700000007 -52.88836280000001 47.56353570000001 -52.727000800000013tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8800326142391250528.post-78016465835091488562015-01-23T09:43:00.000-03:302015-01-23T09:43:09.107-03:30The Anniversary Of Destiny: 11 Doctors, 11 audio stories!By <a href="mailto:shannonmlush@gmail.com" target="_blank">Shannon Lush</a><br />
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Big Finish Productions, keepers of the flame of the original series, have consistently produced unique audio play content that expands and builds upon the Whoniverse as originally presented in the classic TV series. From ‘what if’ speculative adventures in their ‘Doctor Who Unbound’ range to seasons of adventures featuring Romana II on Gallifrey, Big Finish have produced material that cannot fail to delight and entertain dedicated Whovians. Breathing new life into old characters and providing adventures for classic Doctors undreamed of in their televised tenure has become a company hallmark.<br />
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The single limitation, if one could call it that, of Big Finish has been, until recently, their license to produce ‘Doctor Who’ content only as it pertained to the classic series. Due to the nature of television licensing, content featuring the New Series could not be produced…until now. Partnering with fellow audio licensee Audio Go, Big Finish have, in addition to their excellent multi-Doctor story ‘The Light At The End’, produced an eleven-part series of stories entitled ‘Destiny Of The Doctor’, to celebrate the 50th Anniversary.<br />
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The premise is simple: eleven self-contained stories, each featuring one incarnation of The Doctor, all culminating in the eleventh and final story that will reveal the ultimate ‘destiny’ of The Doctor and tie up the loose plot threads introduced sparingly within each individual story. Each story is written by a writer with established ‘Doctor Who’ credits, and most are performed by an actor (or actress) reprising their televised roles as well known companion characters. Each story is of easily-digestible hour durations approximately, and many stories feature the usual sound bed of classic series opening and closing themes, as well as sound effects that enhanced the productions.<br />
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It is worth pointing out that, though the following reviews of each story may take a few twists and turns that reveal a harsh spotlight on some of them, Big Finish and Audio Go are to be congratulated for their fine work and for their passion for ‘Doctor Who’. Truly, no production or merchandising company outside the BBC itself produced better material celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the TV series we all know and love. Big Finish in particular remains the benchmark for active ‘Doctor Who’ material produced, and have been at the forefront of providing quality entertainment in many other areas, including ‘Sherlock Holmes’ and other licensed TV material. They are to be praised in this vast undertaking, and for all they have done with ‘Doctor Who’ up to this point.<br />
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<b><u>‘Destiny Of The Doctor 1: Hunters Of Earth’</u></b><br />
Written by: Nigel Robinson<br />
Performed by: Carole Ann Ford (as Susan Foreman)<br />
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Premise: Coal Hill School, Shoreditch, 1963. Four months after arriving surreptitiously in Totter’s Lane and attending Coal Hill School, Susan Foreman, an alien from a strange world traveling with her grandfather the mysterious ‘Doctor’, is still trying to fit in with the mods, proto-hippies, and Beatles-obsessed youth of London. But when the youths around her begin to turn on her, calling her ‘alien’ and form mobs against her…do they know her true nature, that of…an unearthly child?<br />
Review: As the opening story in this epic series, ‘Hunters Of Earth’ is very grounded in time and almost an afterthought. It is unique in that it serves as a ‘prequel’ of sorts to the debut episode of ‘Doctor Who’ itself, re-introducing the listener to the First Doctor and his granddaughter Susan long before they encountered Ian and Barbara and began their televised journeys. In this way, it is interesting to hear the interplay between Susan and The Doctor unfettered by the paternal concern of Ian and Barbara; The Doctor is quite protective of Susan and spends much of the story fretting over her and seeking to protect her from any harm.<br />
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The usage of early ‘Beatlemania’ is also accomplished in a unique way, as it becomes integral not only to the plot but also to the resolution of the story, and one of the devices that defeats the unseen ‘enemy’. Far from being just window dressing, the over-reliance on familiar 1960’s London tropes, the references to popular music of the day and to major events, actually form a basis of the plot and all serve a need, which, like The Beatles, is a delightful and new way to use old songs and celebrities. Carol Ann Ford sounds as if she hasn’t aged a day, effortlessly voicing a young and breathless Susan as if she has just stepped onto the soundstage for her first day on ‘Doctor Who’. Her recreation of the legendary first companion character is quite a highlight to this story.<br />
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On the negative side, though the words and actions are perfectly in keeping with the First Doctor, unfortunately Carol Ann Ford is not up to the task of evoking William Hartnell’s portrayal; her every attempt at delivering lines as if the First Doctor is speaking sounds as if one might imagine the actress doing a bad impression of him during tea time on the set back in the day. The secondary characters are quite forgettable and rather flat, and their motivation changes frequently; with one heroic speech from his nephew for example, the overly paranoid former military commander completely reverses his opinion of and hostile intentions towards The Doctor and Susan.<br />
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Perhaps a story that is slightly over an hour long simply does not allow for much characterization, but this really felt contrived and the closure felt forced. The unseen ‘enemy’ is never revealed, and there are several dangling plot threads that are not resolved. Though obviously they are meant to carry forward to future stories in this series, it is frustrating to consider the poor fan who perhaps could only purchase one of these stories, and therefore will miss out on the revelations; slightly more clever writing could have satisfied both those who purchased only this introductory episode as well as those who went all-in on the entire series.<br />
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In summation, the recreation of Susan and of the by-gone era of the First Doctor is the selling point of this story. 3.5 out of 5 on the patented Whostorian Scarf Scale.<br />
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<b><u>‘Destiny Of The Doctor 2: Shadow Of Death’</u></b><br />
Written by: Simon Guerrrier<br />
Performed by: Frazer Hines (as Jamie MacCrimmon) , with Evie Dawny as Sophie<br />
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Premise: The TARDIS is dragged off course by the pull of a pulsar, and arrives on a strange planet littered with odd statues…of people doing mundane scientific work. Quickly captured and accused of murder, The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe must convince the scared scientific survey crew they are not responsible for killings that leave the victims aged to death and reduced to dust. But…who or what is? What shadow of death has befallen them all?<br />
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Review: After an uncertain and tentative debut episode, this series settles in quite nicely with ‘Shadow Of Death’. This tale of murder on an isolated and lonely alien planet, of a menace stalking the corridors of a scientific outpost and of a race against time (in every sense of the word, as it turns out), perfectly evokes the glorious era from which it is recreating, that of the Second Doctor. Like the best ‘monster stories’ of the time, ‘Shadow Of Death’ pits the quirky and befuddled Doctor against a far more powerful enemy, with only his wits as his ally and his companions questioning whether, this time, he’s in over his head. It is a slice of the Second Doctor’s era, and recreates it to perfection.<br />
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It is a tribute to Big Finish and Audio Go that with limited resources, namely two actors and a host of sound effects, they are able to bring to life a bygone era of the classic series so well. In fact, producing magic on a shoestring budget is of course one of the hallmarks of the classic series, and this story not only recreates an era, but the method that era used to achieve its success. The single greatest attribute of this story is Frazer Hines. He brings the character of Jamie to life so well it is like slipping on a pair of comfortable shoes. Hines is a veteran of stage, screen, and radio, and his experience shines through in his audio play performances. Like Carol Ann Ford in the first instalment, Hines performs his popular companion character to pitch-perfect greatness, and the decades melt away. The listener truly believes this is young, brave and loyal Jamie once more standing shoulder to shoulder with the Second Doctor and being overly protective of whichever ‘lassie’ is along for the ride.<br />
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Hine’s contributions do not end with recreating Jamie, however. Somewhere along the way, and with great practice, the actor can now mimic the vocal patterns and speech delivery of the late, great Patrick Troughton, and therefore gives voice to the Second Doctor as well in this story. Though not positively dead-on, Hines is perhaps seventy-five percent there, and this greatly enhances the story, as the listener can delight to the interplay between Jamie and the Doctor as Hines performs both roles. Unlike Carol Ann Ford’s unfortunately failed attempt to mimic the well-known cadence and delivery of Hartnell, Hines by and large succeeds in the role, and there are lines and moments he delivers that leave the listener positively invested in the story. Through Frazer Hines, this story brings the Second Doctor’s era back to life in a satisfying way.<br />
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The story itself is tight and gets right to the point; there is little padding. Much is jammed into the one hour of story, and like the best stories of the televised era in which it is drawn, characters are always on the move, always questioning, and dialog flies fast and fierce. Though Hines does not attempt to mimic Wendy Padbury’s portrayal of the character of Zoe, the story gives her much to do and say, and her presence is felt throughout. The revelation of the ‘monster baddies’ won’t come as a shock to astute listeners who pay attention closely to the clues sprinkled throughout the story, but their use of and manipulation of time, which at one point facilitates a pivotal moment in this series that will be played out much later over the course of it, is well done and well written. This is the first story in this series to obliquely reference the New Series, and the moment is played and performed well.<br />
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As a stand-alone story, ‘Shadow Of Death’ could have been slotted anywhere along the post-‘Wheel In Space’ timeframe of Season Five of the classic series, it’s really that good. While Frazer Hines pulling double duty as both the Second Doctor and Jamie is by far the selling point of this story, the recreation of the ‘when I say run, run’, ‘oh my giddy aunt’, absurdity and magic of the Second Doctor’s classic era itself is a close second.<br />
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There are not many quibbles involved in this story to pick apart; it is a treat for fans and it stands as a well-done and fitting celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the series. On the patented Whostorian Scarf Scale, this easily gets a 5 out of 5.<br />
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<b><u>‘Destiny Of The Doctor 3: Vengeance Of The Stones’</u></b><br />
Written by: Andrew Smith<br />
Performed by: Richard Franklin (as Captain Mike Yates), with Trevor Littledale as Carmen<br />
Premise: Mere hours into his first meeting with the Third Doctor, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and UNIT, Mike Yates finds himself captured by a desperate and exiled race of hostile aliens called Armidians, who wield awesome power through ancient rune stones…and are eager to utilize them to exact vengeance on all humanity for an ancient battle.<br />
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Review: The sense of underwhelming in this story comes immediately, as the familiar theme music of the Third Doctor’s era is bizarrely absent, and in its place is a poorly produced knock-off version that sounds as if it is composed on an electronic keyboard relic from the 1980’s. While perhaps a minor quibble, the usage of the TV theme tunes to each Doctor’s era truly sets the tone straight away, and in this story, the replacement version is so poor it turns the experience sour and gets the whole thing off on the wrong foot.<br />
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Richard Franklin is a poor choice to handle this particular audio story. Possessing none of the mimic abilities of Frazer Hines in the previous story, Franklin gamely makes a few slight attempts at sounding like the Brigadier and only barely carries it off in very small and isolated doses. He makes no attempt whatsoever to mimic the Third Doctor’s highly memorable delivery, and perhaps it’s just as well, as Pertwee’s portrayal was and remains so well established only truly skilled mimics can approach such a monumental task. The result, unfortunately, is a one-man performance in which every character sounds exactly like every other character and it is easy to get confused in a whitewash of similarity. Franklin even fails to recapture his previous companion character of Yates, and overall his tone is stilted, monotone, and flat. It sounds very much as it is; one man reading lines in a sound booth. There is no sense of epic grandeur, no dramatic recreation of a bygone TV era, nothing that would mark out this story as anything special whatsoever. It is easily the poorest of the series thus far.<br />
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The story itself is quite pedestrian and by-the-numbers. Yet another alien menace with a bone to pick with humanity, yet another alien menace who feels as if they can justify a claim to Earth, and yet another alien menace that The Doctor tries to negotiate a peace treaty with while The Brigadier cocks the guns behind his back, and begins blowing things up. The whole thing descends into mindless shooting, the main ‘baddie’ swears oaths of alien vengeance on behalf of his people, and in the end nothing much is resolved except, of course, our heroes are left standing to ponder the balance between military preventative action and alien diplomacy. As a story, it serves as a ‘greatest hits’ package of the era it is drawn from, and neither delivers nor offers anything new. Some plot points appear to borrow heavily from the classic story ‘The Deamons’, and suffer from comparison to that gem.<br />
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On the positive side, while the story itself is weak and derivative, there are a few nice character moments for Yates in particular. To begin with, this story establishes that Yates was seconded to UNIT, like all of its personnel, from the regular army, and depicts the very moment this is achieved. It establishes his earliest relationship with his future best friend Benton, as well as his initial encounter with both The Brigadier, who promptly promotes him to Captain, as well as The Doctor. It is fun to hear his reaction to Bessie the roadster and to the mobile UNIT headquarters inside a Hercules cargo plane.<br />
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In summary, this story would have worked far better as a memoir of sorts of an older Yates recalling events from decades ago retrospectively rather than attempting to create a contemporary story in which Richard Franklin fails to recreate an entire era with any degree of accuracy. Many of the Companion Chronicles series from Big Finish have chosen the former tactic and it works to great success, as the listener feels as if they are being told stories directly from an older companion reminiscing on the past. Doing so accounts for the aged sound of many classic series actor and actresses’ voices, and the framing narrative generally works better. Not every former companion actor can deliver performances to the level of Frazer Hines, after all.<br />
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This story was a chore to finish even though it was only an hour long. 1.5 out of 5 on the patented Whostorian Scarf Scale.<br />
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<b><u>‘Destiny Of The Doctor 4: Babblesphere’</u></b><br />
Written by: Jonathan Morris<br />
Performed by: Lalla Ward (as Romana II), with Roger Parrot as Orilius<br />
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Premise: On a human colony of ornate furnishings, Renaissance-inspired clothing, and a deep appreciation for art and literature…why are the colonists wasting away in death-like states? What is the ‘Babblesphere’, and why are colonists literally dying to sign up for it?<br />
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Review: The most immediately apparent element of this story is the return to form of the classic TV theme tune, this time the memorably moody Fourth Doctor’s theme. After being conspicuously absent from the previous story in the series, the theme music sets a great tone. The now-classic late 1970’s sound effects and buzzy incidental music help to capture the flavour of the Tom Baker era. Lalla Ward is more than up to the task of recreating her character of Romana, having been doing so to great effect in other Big Finish series, mostly notably ‘Gallifrey’ in which she is the leading actress. Her familiarity and experience with both playing Romana and performing audio plays is a welcome change from Richard Franklin’s stilted monotone of the previous story. Ward truly acts in this story, and does her best to give a unique voice and personality to each individual character, though in truth her faux-husky delivery of her ex-husband Tom Baker’s lines as the Fourth Doctor leaves a little to be desired. It’s a serviceable performance that is adequate but for a larger-than-life character such as this Doctor (and an equally larger-than-life actor like Baker), nothing less than the real deal can possibly pass muster even in the best of circumstances.<br />
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It is, then, perhaps fortunate that Romana herself carries the bulk of the story, with the role-reversal of The Doctor being the one that is spirited away by evil robots, for once, leaving Romana to rally the troops and mount a rescue. Though in lesser hands, this plot twist would feel like a cheat to an audience who, after all, can reasonably expect to hear The Doctor being the star of the story, Ward’s deft handling of Romana combined with strong storytelling ensures no missed opportunities. Romana as a character was in many ways intended as a female Doctor herself anyway, and when the spotlight is thrust upon her, she shines. <br />
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The story itself rises above its station. Like the best ‘Doctor Who’ offerings, it works on several levels. On one hand, it is a typical Fourth Doctor tale, involving an insane living computer system that enslaves a colony of people, and on that level, it is comparable to ‘The Face Of Evil’ and a host of other Fourth Doctor stories involving The Doctor defeating likeminded machine entities. That notion is even gently mocked within the dialog, with The Doctor joking that he has defeated such evil schemes from automated despots ‘once or twice’ in the past. On a much deeper level, however, it functions as a modern day morality play about the rise and dominance of social media such as Facebook and the intrusive breaking down of public privacy. ‘Babblesphere’, a mind-scape fantasy realm where inhabitants chatter away to each other about mundane and trivial matters such as what they had for breakfast and the sharing of meaningless gossip is a fictionalized version of the modern day internet. On this level, the story can be appreciated for the message of warning about the miss use of technology that all great science fiction shares concern over.<br />
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In summary, ‘Babblesphere’ is nearly pitch-perfect in being everything that made the Fourth Doctor’s era so great; The Doctor stares down implacable evil with a grin and cheeky wisecracks, Romana is at points assertive yet playful in her interplay with The Doctor and the good guys win in the end, with a parting shot directed at The Doctor from Romana that elicits a chuckle from the listener. This story hits all the marks, with the now-expected cameo from the Eleventh Doctor even providing another chuckle with his line that ‘Ice Warriors are cool…literally! The Fourth Doctor throws a caustic remark about his future counterpart’s appearance that won’t be spoiled here but is also appreciated for its humour value.<br />
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On the patented Whostorian Scarf Scale, this story earns a 4 out of 5.<br />
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<u><b>‘Destiny Of The Doctor 5: Smoke And Mirrors’</b></u><br />
By: Steve Lyons<br />
Peformed by: Janet Fielding (as Tegan Jovanka), with Tim Beckman as Houdini<br />
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Premise: The Doctor, Adric, Tegan and Nyssa encounter an old friend of The Doctor’s, the legendary magician Harry Houdini. Houdini requests his help in investigating strange happenings at a carnival. But there is more to Houdini than he’s revealing. And the carnival houses a powerful, and alien, menace…<br />
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Review: Unfortunately, like several of the televised episodes of the Fifth Doctor’s era, this story is rather bland. The main disappointment is Janet Fielding’s monotone reading of the script. With no changes in tone and no trace of dramatic tension in her voice, it is less a performance than a recital of lines. Subsequently, it is difficult to make sense of who is speaking, what they are doing, and why they are doing it. As a work of prose, this story would be functional; as an audio play, it simply doesn’t hold up. The production itself doesn’t help matters along; the audio bed seems to consist of nothing more impressive than walking, scuffling, and running noises punctuated with the odd gasp or two. It all fails to capture the appropriate flavour to stimulate any sort of mindscape required to enjoy this story on any level. On the plus side, the on-again, off-again choice of the actual TV theme music comes down in favour of utilizing the Peter Davison era’s theme this time around. It’s a slight positive, but with this story, one takes what one can from it.<br />
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The plot itself is meandering and nothing much happens for the bulk of the story. Harry Houdini as a character is indecisive and divides his loyalties between The Doctor and the baddy of the tale, revealed, exhaustingly, to be that usual suspect in the rubbish beard. Removed from the producer-ship of John Nathan-Turner and his insistence on re-using the same villains, especially during the Davison era, it is an odd choice for Steve Lyons as the writer of this story to re-use one of the most overused villains of the 1980’s TV era. Perhaps Lyons was merely paying homage to the TV era in which the story is drawn from, and the proliferation of the villain on screen there was all too apparent; Lyons therefore checks all the appropriate marks of this era. Tegan is surly and impatient with The Doctor and complains incessantly over his failure to return her to Heathrow; Nyssa has flashes of brilliance coupled with vulnerability; Adric is whiny and petulant; The Doctor muddles through without much of an idea of the bigger picture until coming up with a messy solution just in the nick of time. The problem is, much as the preceding ‘Vengeance Of The Stones’, this is less a new story capturing the flavour of the TV era as it is a ‘greatest hits’ package that presents nothing new. It serves to re-arrange some of the furniture and passes it off as a new room.<br />
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Uniquely in the series up to this point, the guest actor accompanying the main vocal performer is quite bad. Previous entries have featured unobtrusive actors and actresses that merely serve to go along for the ride, and their performances have been consistently good. But Tim Beckman is absolutely miscast as Harry Houdini. Perhaps taking his cue from Fielding, he recites lines rather than performing them, and it is unbelievable to consider a well-established historical figure on the level of Harry Houdini would speak in so flat a manner. Even as he agonizes over his flip-flopping in loyalties, it comes off as featureless and dull. Beckman could have saved this story from drudgery had he chosen to play Houdini as the over-the-top, theatrical, passionate man he no doubt was, but instead he sinks to the level of boredom that Fielding aspired to in this story.<br />
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In summation, this story has borrowed elements from ‘The Celestial Toymaker’, with a deadly carnival providing the setting for a group of trapped companions to struggle to escape from and a malevolent villain behind the scenes operating the devices and rides that seek to cause harm. Unfortunately, there is not a moment where The Doctor confronts the villain such as that in ‘Toymaker’; everything is wrapped up rather quickly once, implausibly, Houdini on a whim changes his loyalties back to The Doctor and the Doctor, predictably, figures it all out just in time. This story is not an addition to the Fifth Doctor’s era; it is a pale imitation of it.<br />
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On the patented Whostorian Scarf Scale, regrettably this has to fall alongside ‘Vengeance Of The Stones’ and earn merely a 1.5 out of 5.<br />
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<b><u>‘Destiny Of The Doctor 6: Trouble In Paradise’</u></b><br />
Written by: Nev Fantan<br />
Performed by: Nicola Bryant (as Peri Brown), with Cameron Stewart as Columbus<br />
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Premise: October 12, 1492. As Christopher Columbus sails the ocean blue, he is shocked to find that the rumours that he scoffed at are true…the ocean opens up and he is about to sail off the edge of the world. Only the arrival of the ‘primitive shaman’ known as The Doctor and his ‘barely clothed’ savage known as Peri in their ‘worship hut’ can possibly save known history…but The Devil stalks the halls of the ‘Santa Maria’…<br />
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Review: Once more, the listener is subjected to a strange hodgepodge of ersatz theme music in place of the familiar TV theme. This time, it is a jarring and bastardized mash-up of the original TV theme from the Colin Baker era with that of the ‘Trial Of A Timelord’ season theme. Fortunately, the story itself rises above this unfortunate musical intro, but it is beginning to become quite distracting, especially given the myriad other Big Finish audio plays that boast the authentic theme music. One is left to wonder, given the obvious clearance of character likenesses and other copyrighted material inherent with the BBC in regards to ‘Doctor Who’, if perhaps at the last minute prior to releasing this series if the proper accreditation of certain TV themes was not obtained or they were revoked, as it is quite puzzling as to the reasoning behind the decision not to utilize the original music.<br />
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Whatever the reason, the story itself, once it begins, is quite good. Nicola Bryant not only provides the spoken audio portion of the script but also recreates her role as Peri Brown, complete with the faux American accent. This is very important to the story, and unlike Janet Fielding before her, this little performance is quite appreciated and helps the listener to differentiate the narration from the dialog quite well. It is also a testament to Bryant that she is able to capture the essence, if not the tone, of the Sixth Doctor. Previous episodes in this series featured female companion actresses struggling to adopt masculine tones with mixed to negative results. Bryant sidesteps this hurdle and settles instead for capturing the haughty, grandiose, boisterous nature of the Sixth Doctor through the dialog itself rather than attempting to mimic Colin Baker’s delivery. The effect is unobtrusive and natural-sounding, and the listener can easily picture the Sixth Doctor delivering the lines.<br />
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Of particular note in this story is the accompanying voice actor, Cameron Stewart, who plays Christopher Columbus. Unlike the previous story’s failure with a tonally flat and lifeless Harry Houdini, here an historical person of such note as Columbus is given a grand, sweeping performance that brings him to life wonderfully. Stewart’s overbearing, xenophobic, and irritatingly aristocratic version of Columbus is a joy to listen to, and he threatens to steal the show. Combined with strong writing, the performance stands out as the best of the guest actors in the series thus far.<br />
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The story itself is quite strong. Rooted to a specific time in history, it presents both the public perception and the truth of Christopher Columbus. For the first time, and in quite a refreshing manner, Peri’s American nationality is brought into sharp focus as she comes face to face with the man most responsible for the creation of her native land. To The Doctor’s chagrin, she is more than aware of what the history books have to say, as well as the hidden truth that historians are eager to sweep under the carpet regarding the man’s brutal nature. Far from venerating Columbus as a father of her nation, Peri condemns him as a butcher and monster. It is a spunky, spirited side of Peri that was revealed only in flashes on the TV series and which have come to light much more frequently in the audio plays, as the writers and performers take the opportunities afforded them to explore more deeply into a given character. Nicola Bryant gives a strong performance as Peri, and carries this story quite well.<br />
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The promised fate of ‘sailing off the edge of world’ is turned from figurative warning to literal reality when the universe itself begins to unravel; far in the future, the Eleventh Doctor is dealing with another mega-catastrophe, and it is this story that begins fully to connect the threads of this series together, as it is the first story in which the plot is directly initiated by the Eleventh Doctor, requesting the Sixth Doctor to retrieve an item of grave importance to him for later usage. A very enjoyable moment for the listener is Nicola Bryant’s mile-a-minute mimicking of Matt Smith’s delivery as the Eleventh Doctor. Unlike the previous episodes in this series, the cameo comes quickly and is very entertaining, with the Eleventh Doctor buttering up the Sixth by repeatedly referring to his ‘cool coat’.<br />
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In summary, this is a very well done story by all involved. It is tightly written and superbly performed, with every conceivable plot point, big or small, resolved by the end. It makes the most of its time and provides action, drama, and entertainment from start to finish. The only slight to be found is the very over the top performance given to the ‘Devil’, which is provided un-credited by Stewart. He can be forgiven for this, as his Columbus is so well done. The bickering between The Doctor and Peri is nowhere near as pointless as it was in the early episodes of the TV series, and serves to not only advance the plot but also to allow both characters to explore issues of morality and historical perception. The Doctor is appropriately larger-than-life and very true to form to his Sixth incarnation, and it is quite refreshing to explore the darker nature of well-known historical figures rather than merely be subjected to the broad strokes, as often happens when they crop up in ‘Doctor Who’.<br />
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On the patented Whostorian Scarf Scale, this easily rates a 4.5 out of 5.<br />
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<u><b>‘Destiny Of The Doctor 7: Shockwave’</b></u><br />
Written by: James Swallow<br />
Performed by: Sophie Aldred (as Dorothy ‘Ace’ McShane), with Ian Brooker as Irwin<br />
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Premise: The Doctor may have picked the worst time in galactic history to reclaim an item that has become a religious artefact; during a supernova of a planet’s sun that is causing shockwaves that threaten to destroy all life in the system. What message does the artefact have for him? How fast can they outrun the shockwave that threatens to engulf everything that lives?<br />
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Review: Sophie Aldred narrates a strong and touching story that stands as among the best of the series so far. Her attempt at Sylvestor McCoy’s exaggerated Scots brogue is charming and puts the listener in the proper frame of mind, and her recreation of her signature character of Ace is appropriately gung-ho. Sticking to the immediacy of the script rather than overacting, she gives a very good performance that enhances a very good story. The familiar, poppy and upbeat McCoy theme is present and it must be said that the incidental music throughout is extremely well done and effective in conveying the various moods of the piece. Ian Booker provides a memorable supporting role, and his Captain Owen is given much to do and say and isn’t just a prop to further the plot.<br />
The well-drawn supporting characters are performed by Aldred in different voices. This is very appreciated by the listener, as it helps to differentiate them. Nanjay, the member of a fatalistic religious cult that considers the strange artefact The Doctor seeks, called the Voice Of Stone, as a holy relic, is a strong supporting character that is given much to do, and the listener explores the different sides to her. She begins her association with the TARDIS crew, like Katarina in the TV series before her, as a naïve and shy girl who falls back on her religion to process the monumental events swirling around her. Like Katarina, her final fate is touching and leaves The Doctor and his companion moved to great emotion. It is the powerful writing combined with an excellent performance by Aldred that brings Nanjay to live.<br />
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In many ways, this story is too ambitious for a format with the limitations of an audio play. The main plot centers around a desperate flotilla of starships, full to bursting with thousands of beings, breaking away from a dying planet before a massive shockwave from a sun rips the planet to pieces. This is followed by a pedal-to-the-metal race of these ships to reach a point where the shockwave will dissipate and not destroy them in its wake. Conveying the enormity of the events stretches the audio bed to its limit, and unfortunately results in a few scenes that fail to live up to expectations. The plot itself would be a stretch for the New Series to bring to life, let alone an audio play. It’s a quibble, but the voice cast and their performance do their best to cover for this. There remains a sense of epic scale that unfortunately is somewhat of a wasted opportunity here.<br />
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In summary, ‘Shockwave’ provides an excellent slice of the McCoy era. It is a very entertaining and compelling story that hooks the listener in at the outset and gives both The Doctor and Ace great lines and much to do. There are no forgotten or unused plot threads. It is a treat to hear Sophie Aldred’s rendition of Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor, though Nicola Bryant’s version in the previous story is still the one to beat.<br />
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On the patented Whostorian Scarf Scale, this easily rates a 4.5 out of 5. <br />
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<b><u>‘Destiny Of The Doctor 8: Enemy Aliens’</u></b><br />
Written by: Alan Barnes<br />
Performed by: India Fisher (as Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Pollard), with Michael Maloney as Hillary Hammond<br />
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Premise: London, 1935. The prospect of war swirls in the streets. Spies are everywhere. The Doctor and Charlie tangle with embedded German agents…but are they the only ‘enemy aliens’ hiding in plain sight? Or is something more sinister biding its time, waiting for the signal…to invade?<br />
Review: Though the theme music reverts to yet another generic and haphazardly composed version, it is understandable given the circumstances of the Eighth Doctor’s era having its origin on American TV; the original theme music accompanying his era is beyond the scope of BBC ownership, and therefore beyond that of Big Finish, certainly. Big Finish’s range of adventures featuring this Doctor, which comprise several seasons at this point, utilize a completely different theme tune arrangement than that of the TV movie.<br />
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It is apparent over the course of these stories that a given story will either rise or fall on the performance of the main narrator. Certainly, scripting and production expertise can bulk up a weaker performance, just as a strong performance can be hampered by technical limitations or poor writing. Factoring in these fluctuations, however, it must be said that this story falls completely flat due to the uninspired, breezy and disinterested performance that India Fisher gives. Granted, the written story is crammed full of useless jargon and peppered with trivia that serves as nothing more than padding which doesn’t help her out whatsoever. The character of Hillary Hammond, voiced adequately by Michael Maloney, is akin to a ‘Scooby-Doo’ villain; as the only new character introduced to the story that accompanies the two leads, it is the epitome of underwhelming to discover he is one of the ‘bad guys’. He would have gotten away with it, too, if not for the over-written script that positively declaims his true nature at every turn. Make no mistake, though, a better performance from India Fisher could have potentially saved this story from the drudgery it descends into.<br />
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The story itself is very over-wrought and riddled with nonsensical moments. It begins on the heels of another, unrelated adventure to which the listener is not exposed to, and copious references are made to this early story, which not only detracts from this story but serves to confuse and annoy the listener as they are not ‘in’ on the details. From there, the revelations are of a very small and inconsequential nature; The Doctor need not have been involved in the proceedings, as it almost feels as if they are beneath his attention. The revelation of Nazi involvement is boring and overdone; when has a story set in the mid to late 1930’s NOT involved Nazis in some form or other? The Doctor as written in this story is quite slow on the uptake, and nowhere near as clever or resourceful as he is depicted as being in multiple other Big Finish stories featuring him. It is a tremendous letdown given the otherwise outstanding work that India Fisher has done for the Eighth Doctor Adventure series, and what Big Finish has done for the Eighth Doctor.<br />
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In summary, the sole positive that can be said regarding this story is that, as an entry in the series following several top-notch tales, it serves as a good point for the listener to catch their breath and simply listen to an uncomplicated tale that is quite forgettable. As an individual episode and representative of the Eighth Doctor, however, this story unfortunately fails on every conceivable level. The audio bed is muffled and limited; the performers are clearly checking the clock on the wall of the recording studio and just rapid-firing the lines rather than delivering quality performances. So close to the conclusion now of this epic experiment in multilayered storytelling, it is quite a disappointment and stands in stark contrast to the otherwise fine work done on behalf of this Doctor.<br />
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On the patented Whostorian Scarf Scale, this poor bugger ranks a 1.5 out of 5.<br />
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<b><u>‘Destiny Of The Doctor 9: Night Of The Whisper’</u></b><br />
Written by: Cavan Scott and Mark Wright<br />
Performed by: Nicholas Briggs (as The Ninth Doctor, Captain Jack Harkness, and Rose Tyler), with John Schwab as McNeil<br />
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Premise: New Vegas, the far future. An artificially created pleasure dome modelled on the Earth city is controlled by the beast-like gangster Wolfsbane. Posing as Earth authorities, The Doctor, Captain Jack and Rose infiltrate his criminal empire in order to bring it down from the inside…until the appearance of a cybernetic vigilante called ‘The Whisper’ threatens to not only expose them, but begins dispensing swift justice to even minor infractions of the law. Who, or what, is The Whisper?<br />
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Review: This tale begins in strong fashion with the bombastic, proud, and sonically charged TV theme from the Ninth Doctor’s era, bringing the listener back to the early days of the New Series in style. As the first story to not be handled by a former companion, it could have gone either way. As much as Nicholas Brigg’s connection to the New Series through his able voicing of both the Daleks and Cybermen is assured, without the anchoring presence of an actor or actress from the given era, it is an iffy proposition if he is up to the task of voicing so many characters. <br />
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Firstly, unlike Fraser Hines’ confident handling of the Second Doctor, factoring in that he is after all giving voice to an actor that he worked alongside for several years and therefore can reasonably be expected to give a commanding mimicking performance of (which he does), Nick Brigg’s version of Christopher Eccleston’s delivery comes off as odd and distracting. It sounds very much like Eccleston suffering from a severe case of bronchitis. If The Ninth Doctor sounded like he came from the north, then Nick Brigg’s attempt at copying him sounds nothing like it. Briggs gets a pat on the back for at least giving it the old college go, but it really just sounds ridiculous. Briggs may perhaps have bitten off far more than he can chew, as he voices almost every character in this story. His attempt at Rose Tyler fares only slightly better than The Doctor. His version of Captain Jack is over the top and is akin to a salacious American game show host.<br />
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While the complete failure of Nicholas Briggs to capture authentic sounding versions of the main characters is an issue, the story rises above it. With ample references to ‘holo-comics’ and layered with incidental music that sounds ripped from the latest spandex-clad blockbuster feature film, this story shows its roots right off the bat, man. New Vegas is an appropriate, if futuristic, stand-in for the neon-splashed excess of Gotham, and the sound effects accompanying the movement of ‘The Whisper’ as it makes its way across rooftops include grappling-gun and repelling rope. The story is a study in vigilante justice, and seeks to separate The Doctor and his actions and justifications from those of his pulp-hero counterparts, and on that level it works well. Wolfsbane, the villain of the piece, is a werewolf-like gangster in the mould of The Kingpin; bloated by his own success, vain and hideous, yet capable of great violence and cunning. Unlike previous entries that sought to overindulge in lumbering aliens with deep barrel voices to the point that it became almost unlistenable, Wolfsbane is handled well and never loses his edge as a believable threat or descends into overacting from the voice artist.<br />
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In summary, despite a valiant but failed virtuoso performance by Briggs in an ill-fated triple role, ‘Night Of The Whisper’ is a treat to listen to. It is simple and uncomplicated in plot, fun where it needs to be, has plenty of good lines to portion out to each character, and keeps one foot grounded in its source material with both subtle references to Bad Wolf, as well as copious call-backs to earlier adventures of the initial New Series season. This is a story that definitely would have been better suited to a text story, if only to spare the listener the butchery that is Brigg’s Eccleston impersonation, but in the end there’s plenty to love about it regardless of that.<br />
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A biff, bam, pow on the patented Whostorian Scarf Scale reveals it garners a 4 out of 5.<br />
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<b><u>‘Destiny Of The Doctor 10: Death’s Deal’</u></b><br />
Written by: Dan Jones<br />
Performed by: Catherine Tate (as Donna Noble), with Duncan Whisby as Crux and Erskine<br />
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Premise: Death’s Deal, the most dangerous planet in the cosmos. A graveyard of space vessels lured to their doom. Creatures slither under the ground. The Doctor and Donna are joined by a ragtag group of marooned travellers. But why have they all come here to a planet off limits to most? What are they searching for? And more importantly…who or what is watching and plotting underfoot?<br />
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Catherine Tate delivers a strong performance in ‘Death’s Deal’, and surprisingly so. The abrasive and argumentative Donna Noble character is, of course, in full effect in this story, but Tate embodies each individual character she voices with individual flavour and personality as well. Unlike Nick Briggs in ‘Night Of The Whisper’, Tate has clearly not bitten off more than she can chew; she ably handles several characters at once, effortlessly switching between them by altering the pitch of her voice and changing her delivery each time. Unlike other stories in this series, which are tailored to give the bulk of the spotlight to the companion characters to accommodate the actors portraying them, ‘Death’s Deal’ feels more akin to a Tenth Doctor story, as he is just as present in the story as Donna is, and Tate manages to capture David Tennant’s style quite well.<br />
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The story is a good one; from the point of arrival, the principal characters are always on the move, always discovering new and interesting things and being placed in peril often enough to keep the pace an up tempo one. The secondary characters also are given their own moments to shine, and are given just enough characterization to make the audience care what happens to them. This story is a bit of a run-around, but that’s a good thing, as it allows for an open-air feel. It’s a strong entry in this series and a satisfying slice of the Tennant Era. So close to the finish line of this series, this particular story had to serve a few masters, and does so admirably.<br />
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On the patented Whostorian Scarf Scale, the deal is a 4 out of 5.<br />
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<u><b>‘Destiny Of The Doctor 11: The Time Machine’</b></u><br />
Written by: Matt Fitton<br />
Performed by: Jenna Coleman, with Micheal Cochrane as Chivers and Nicholas Briggs as The Creevex<br />
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Premise: November 23rd, 2013…the day humanity discovers time travel. The Doctor knows this isn’t supposed to happen, not at this time and not in this way, and he’s determined to stop the perversion of the timeline. But he can one man prevent the universe-shattering events to follow? Only with the help of ten other men..his previous selves…<br />
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‘The Time Machine’ is the final story in this sprawling, epic series and as such it has much to live up to. To begin with the decision was made to include Jenna Coleman as the narrator, but she doesn’t reprise her role as Clara, which is an odd choice on the part of the writer and producers. Most of the previous entries have of course featured companion actors and actresses reprising their established companion roles, and immediately it feels like a let-down to not have Clara as an integral part of this story, paired up with her Doctor. Instead of a representative slice of a chosen Doctor’s era, the feeling instead becomes akin to a Christmas Special or a late David Tennant special series, with a one-off companion that shares the Doctor’s adventures instead. Coleman voices the character of Alice Watson, a nebbish lab assistant. While adequate to the plot and with a surname that inspires multiple examples of The Doctor impersonating Sherlock Holmes, as the final story in this series and given the celebratory nature involved, it is unfortunate Clara is not on hand to join in.<br />
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As a narrator, Jenna Coleman is rather good. She gives life to Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor in a way that satisfies the audience, capturing the spirit of his manic performances without descending into ill-advised attempts at mimicking, as previous performances in this series are guilty of to the detriment of the stories themselves. The Doctor is jokey and irreverent and the dialog is timely to recent seasons and their story arcs, which helps make the story feel like a companion piece to the TV series, as it was intended to be. Coleman has more than one other performer to help her along in the telling of this tale, which seems appropriate as the final story in the series should be afforded as much effort as possible to give it a truly epic feel.<br />
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Michael Cochrane plays Chivers, the well-meaning but manipulated professor who ‘invents’ time travel. He’s a typical boffin type, but is given several touching scenes and Cochrane does a fine job of vocally conveying the wonderment and terror that comes along with inventing time travel. His scenes with Coleman as she plays Alice are humorous and really convey a ghost of a feeling of the rapport between the First Doctor and Susan; whether intentional or not, they are appreciated and help to ground the story, as there are wild flights of fancy and terror throughout the narrative and Alice and Chivers’ interactions are the required human elements that give the whole thing its soul.<br />
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Nicholas Briggs, the gatekeeper of Big Finish and the one man who steps between the worlds of the audio plays and the televised series on the regular, has in the past failed to convincingly play multiple characters, namely in ‘Night Of The Whisper’. Here, he is once again the ‘heavy’ and once again giving voice to an entire monster race, the Creevex. The uniformity of the Cybermen doesn’t allow Briggs to perform as much as read lines, while his work on the Daleks is to the other extreme, often coming across as over the top (given that the Daleks themselves are meant to be over the top). As the Creevex, Briggs finally brings a solid performance to this series, and fittingly he seemed to have saved his best for last. The Creevex are well-written and very memorable. Unlike the majority of the alien threats to The Doctor, the Creevex have already won and the story therefore has a sense of urgency and desperation that Briggs facilitates, as the Creevex gloat over The Doctor’s failure to save his universe. There is nothing more unsettling to hear than the monsters not only winning but winning convincingly, and Briggs plays those moments for all they are worth. The chill that runs down the listeners back as the Creevex finish every line of dialog of The Doctor, anticipate his every move, outpace and outthink him at every turn, is satisfying and is played to perfection by Briggs.<br />
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The sound design of this story is also outstanding; the Creevex slither and skitter and, as giant insects, chitter and open and close their mandibles and it is a testament to Big Finish and Audio Go that the sound design is not only up to the task of creating sounds to fit their movements, but surpasses expectations.<br />
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Of course, the selling point of this entire story is that it is the end of an eleven hour (ish) journey with stops at all points along the timeline of ‘Doctor Who’. Fans up to this point have enjoyed Carole-Ann Ford reprising Susan, a rare treat in any medium. They have been exposed to former companion actors and actresses reprising their memorable roles and representing a by-gone era. As a celebration of ‘Doctor Who’ in its 50th Anniversary, does this story deliver a final, epic ending that ties up every loose thread of dangling plot points, tying them all together in a metaphorical birthday bow?<br />
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The answer is, mostly, affirmative, to quote K9. ‘The Time Machine’ delivers a pivotal scene that features the Eleventh Doctor proudly and defiantly yelling to the triumphant Creevex that they aren’t dealing with just one man, just one Timelord…they have been pitted against eleven of them, all working together for one common goal, to defeat their awesome plans once and for all. The scene is more effective than the similar one found in the televised ‘The Day Of The Doctor’, as it works on several levels; on its own, it is dramatic and reinforces the belief that, despite outward appearances, The Doctor is a veteran time traveler with a godly grasp of the mechanics of the concept and how to utilize his own past and his past selves as weapons.<br />
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It also serves the audience well, as in a series of call-backs to every previous adventure in this series it touches upon the crux of those stories and gives the listener the unique opportunity to re-live those past adventures from a different perspective. Though the self-congratulatory nature of the scene could have been overplayed and self-indulgent, it comes off instead as a proud moment that reinforces the ties between not only the Classic and New Series, but the ties between every incarnation of The Doctor; for a series that celebrates the differences between each version of The Doctor, to have them depicted as the same man with the same goal, united across time and space and fighting one common enemy, fills the listener with a sense of pride in their fandom of this quirky and heroic adventurer.<br />
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Rather than settle for a line or two of dialog and an all-too brief cameo comprised of screen captures of past adventures in order to get across the idea of a common goal uniting all Doctors, this series instead takes the listener on a journey that immerses them in the struggle against evil played out over eleven separate yet linked adventures. Free from the time constraints and limitations of the televised series, ‘Destiny Of The Doctors’ is instead a massive celebration of ‘Doctor Who’ first and foremost, an unbroken quest that takes in multiple points of time and space featuring multiple Doctors.<br />
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Second, and a grand experiment in storytelling<br />
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Third. Like ‘The Light At The End’, Big Finish’s output of material to coincide with the 50th Anniversary remains here among the best, and while individual stories rose and fell on their own merit, taken as a whole ‘Destiny Of The Doctors’ is a positive affirmation of the scope and scale of ‘Doctor Who’, of the love and passion it evinces, and represents the evolving nature of the series at the same time it celebrates previous eras.<br />
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Big Finish, as stated in the introduction, ought to be praised for their extremely dedicated handling of ‘Doctor Who’ and of the entertainment and joy they bring to fans, and that sentiment extends at this time to Audio Go as well. As an individual story, ‘The Time Machine’ is a taut and believable tale that deftly juggles its own existence as both an entry in the series and the finale to the series, and easily earns a 5 out of 5 on the patented Whostorian Scarf Scale. As a series taken as a whole, ‘Destiny Of The Doctors’ must earn a similar rank on the same scale, easily earning a 5 out of 5 for the ingenuity of its creation and for delivering what it set out to do and telling one long story broken into 11 parts. Well done to all involved.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015123008999082517noreply@blogger.com0Mount Pearl, NL, Canada47.520640700000008 -52.80768180000001247.477745700000007 -52.88836280000001 47.56353570000001 -52.727000800000013tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8800326142391250528.post-43019620558965518772014-10-29T22:40:00.000-02:302014-10-29T22:40:52.847-02:30Diamonds Are Forever: Review Of Big Finish Audio Episode ‘Grand Theft Cosmos’<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span lang="EN-CA">By Shannon Lush<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">Doctor: Eighth (Paul McGann)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">Companion(s): Lucie Miller (Sheridan Smith)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">Writer (s):
Eddie Robson<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">Director: Barnaby Edwards<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">Producer: Nicholas Briggs<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">Duration: 1 episode, 60 minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">Following on from the problematic ‘Skull Of
Sobek’ which I reviewed in the previous entry, the next release in production
order, ‘Grand Theft Cosmos’, is, quite simply, refreshing. The story is simple; in 19<sup>th</sup> century Sweden, The Doctor and Lucie are
traveling on a miracle of the ages, an electric train. While Lucie grumbles
over being forbidden to bring her iPod for fear of cultural contamination, The
Doctor engages in conversation with an expert in the works of the artist
Claudio Tardelli. Turns out Tardelli is more than he seems; he’s an alien and his work contains dangerous
by-products that can and do harm the
fabric of the universe. The Doctor has been attempting to suppress the
man’s work across time and space, going so far as to ensure that is continually
discredited. But now his work is being snapped up by the King of Sweden. The
expert, Simonsson, has been charged by His Majesty to hunt for Tardelli’s
little-known and rare work. The Doctor realizes that he is responsible for
creating a collector’s market for Tardelli’s work, given the man disappeared in
the 17<sup>th</sup> century.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">A unique black diamond in Simonsson’s
possession that he is bringing back to the King is suddenly stolen from under
everyone’s noses by Karen (Louise Fullerton),
an old friend of Lucie’s that she thought died in a previous encounter
with the Cybermen (a reference to the
Big Finish audio episode ‘Human Resources’ in the first ‘season’ of Eighth
Doctor Adventures). Turns out Karen is
in league with The Headhunter, a female bounty hunter who had previously been
hired to capture Lucie (which turns out to be a story arc that is continued in
this episode and resolved much later. I really need to listen to these in order
more often!) The black diamond turns out
to be a fake, planted to throw off thieves. But The Headhunter and Karen later
break in to the vault in the King’s palace and snag the real thing. This
results in the appearance of a giant living statue, The Guardian, that
single-mindedly seeks to guard the diamond…as well as the person inside it. The
diamond is a ‘bolt hole’, a mini universe created by the alien known as
Tardelli to hide in when The Doctor’s urgings of the authorities in France in
the 17<sup>th</sup> century to investigate him required a quick exit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">The Headhunter reveals this is her plan all
along, to force Tardelli out of hiding in order to offer him a job; her
employer is a bored King on another world who is eager to hire him as an ‘art
expert’. The Doctor, however, takes advantage of The Guardian’s programming to
preserve the diamond, and the universe of sentient beings living inside it,
when Tardelli casually decides to have it destroyed. The Guardian turns on Tardelli and in the
ensuing chaos The Headhunter, Karen, and Tardelli make their escape. After granting the statue its freedom to
pursue an existence in the woods of Sweden, The Doctor assures Lucie that
Tardelli’s days of universe-damaging sculptures and art pieces will come to an
end; unbeknownst to him, The Headhunter’s employer is not a patron of the arts
akin to the King of Sweden…he’s a giant monster with a penchant for devouring
court jesters that he bores of quickly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">Barnaby Edwards, the writer of this story,
has over 80 and counting Big Finish Audio productions credits, and recently
appeared in ‘The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot’ 50<sup>th</sup> Anniversary special
featuring several former Doctor actors (all of whom are Big Finish alumni).
Edwards also is the principal Dalek operator in the current TV series; suffice
it to say, this man knows his ‘Doctor Who’, and ‘Grand Theft Cosmos’
demonstrates that admirably. The level
of ‘Who-ness’ in this episode is just over the top. It begins as an old timey
romp through Sweden that becomes a train robbery that turns into a whodunit
then becomes a monster story then
finishes with some great, classic ‘Doctor Who sci-fi’ with a pocket universe
and a warp ship escape for the dastardly villains…who themselves are played up
as just as charming and personable and mysterious and intriguing as the two leads.
All of that in one hour!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">One of the best elements at play here is
the sense of fun. Every actor is playing it absolutely straight but there’s a
distinct twinkle of the eye that the listener can actually detect in their
performances. Once again Paul McGann
demonstrates that his Eighth Doctor is one of the best, an adventure hero with a quicksilver mind and
a quicker wit. He’s given plenty to play off of, as this story is brimming with
great characters, none of whom are wasted in the least. The kudos go to the
writer of course for fashioning such a fast-paced, charming story, but it is the actors who really bring it to
life, and fronted by an engaged and smooth lead like Paul McGann they really
follow his lead.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"> Sheridan Smith’s Lucie Miller is just an
out-of-the-park homerun when it comes to companion characters. Truly, in the
span of the two hours I’ve spent getting to know this character, she’s come
alive as ‘the’ definitive Eighth Doctor companion. That’s how well I’ve responded to this
character. Her banter and rapport with The Doctor marks her out as a fine
companion written , directed, and performed perfectly. Lucie Miller is a more interesting and
well-rounded companion in the two hours of audio work that I’ve experienced
thus far than Amy Pond was in the multiple TV episodes I endured of her. I
didn’t have any reaction to Amy’s ‘death’ whatsoever; I was glad to be rid of
her, actually. But I know that Lucie’s fate is similar in the audio range, and
I honestly believe I will utter a sad David Tennant misquote on that day I hear
it ’I don’t want her to go’. Great character, a gem of the audio range.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">The Headhunter (Katirina Olsen) and her
‘employee’ Karen (Louis Fullerton) are also fun characters. Though they were
introduced in a previous adventure that I’ve yet to hear and are part of an
ongoing story arc that I’m coming in at a weird angle on as a listener,
fortunately the combination of their witty banter and the preference of writer
Edwards not to go ‘too’ self-referential (a lesson Steven Moffat could learn!)
means I quickly gained an appreciation for them without feeling left-out or
clueless. The Headhunter is a really interesting character that I am glad has
more appearances elsewhere in the audio adventures. She’s capable of great one-liners, she is a
physical threat to the heroes, she’s got gadgets to spare, she’s smart and
sexy…basically, she’s River Song! I know I’ve asserted that Moffatt kinda stole
the whole ‘future female Indy Jones-type adventurer’ from Bernice Summerfield
(go ahead and do a tale of the tape on the two characters, he really ‘did’
steal her from Paul Cornell) but honestly, The Headhunter is River Song if
River really ‘was’ an amoral thief. She calls herself a ‘bounty hunter’ but at
the end of the day, and especially in the context of this story, she acts like
a thief. And she’s awesome. So is her ‘sidekick’ or ‘employee’ Karen. The
double-act of Karen/Headhunter and The Doctor/Lucie is just a joy to listen to,
either separate in pairs or all together in one place. This is a smart, fun,
story, populated by smart, fun characters. The Headhunter would make a great
addition to the TV series one day, and I for one would champion that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">As for the ‘who-ness’, as previously
mentioned, this story is chock full of what ‘Doctor Who’ fans want. First off,
nobody is truly ‘evil’ in the traditional sense; even Tardelli has his
motivations and justifications that the listener can understand. So, the story works on the level of
appreciating different viewpoints. Second, nobody dies. That may have become a
cliché now in a post-‘Doctor Dances’ Whoniverse in which The Doctor literally
shouts it from the rooftops, but it’s a rare treat when a story can hold
suspense, drama, humour, even a few beats of horror…without killing off anyone
in horrible ways. It’s to the writers credit that he was capable of juggling so
many thematic balls in the air and bringing it all in for a landing without
resorting to shock tactics (the argument can be made Tardelli ‘will’ die
horribly soon after he arrives on his new planet, but the scene is also played
with an undercurrent of The Doctor ‘could’ be telling Lucie that purely to make
her feel better that she accidentally allowed all the villains to escape, that’s
up to the listener to decide). In a nutshell: Barnaby Edwards fashioned a
classic story that entertains throughout and also paid homage to ‘Doctor Who’
as a family-friendly media product, and that’s admirable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">Finally, in the grand tradition of ‘Doctor
Who’, it borrows from itself in a few aspects. Not in a slavish, fan-service
way, but in a ‘nods to the past’ way.
Perhaps inevitably I thought of ‘Talons Of Weng-Chiang’ as scenes in a vault described an awakened
ancient being called The Guardian; it’s all the more relevant when Tardelli is
voiced by an actor well known for ‘Talons’, Christopher Benjamin, who played
Jago in the latter (and still does, in a Big Finish audio spinoff series with
Jago and Litefoot). The madcap dashing about evoked a sense of Tom Baker’s
early episodes, while The Doctor’s respect for life in all forms, his
championing of not only the denizens of Tardelli’s constructed pocket universe
but of The Guardian itself, is flat out, pure ‘Doctor Who’ at its finest. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">This isn’t a technobabble-heavy story, it
isn’t a purely historical one, it isn’t a sharp character-defining story full
of pathos and big speeches from The Doctor. Instead, according to the writer
and actors on the bonus commentary that accompanies the disc, it’s a story
meant to be the best of what ‘Doctor Who’ is, rolled into one solid hour, part
‘Ocean’s Eleven’, part ‘Butch Cassidy’, part ‘Frankenstein’ and part ‘Clue’. It
is well written, well-acted, well produced, and well liked. At least by this
reviewer, anyway!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">‘Grand Theft Cosmos’ can be purchased
online through Big Finish’s website, bigfinish.com, along with other licensed
works like ‘Blake’s 7’, the ‘Jago And Litefoot’ spinoffs I mentioned, and ‘Stargate’. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">On the patented Whostorian Scarf Scale, I’m
giving this one a perfect score, a 10 out of 10. This is the type of story that
makes me proud to be a Whovian. This is what ‘Doctor Who’ should be about. This
story is better than most of the Matt Smith era in my opinion. In one hour. On
audio. Yep, I said that. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">Send me your comments on this blog or
anything ‘Doctor Who’ related at <a href="mailto:thewhostorian@gmail.com">thewhostorian@gmail.com</a>,
follow the show on Twitter @TheWhostorian and/or follow me @Marshalllush. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015123008999082517noreply@blogger.com0Mount Pearl, NL, Canada47.520640700000008 -52.80768180000001247.477745700000007 -52.88836280000001 47.56353570000001 -52.727000800000013tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8800326142391250528.post-2845408893086018272014-10-17T00:19:00.000-02:302014-10-17T00:19:43.770-02:30Canon And Crocodiles: Review of Big Finish Audio ‘The Skull Of Sobek’ Doctor: Eighth (Paul McGann)<br />
Companion(s): Lucie Miller (Sheridan Smith)<br />
Writer(s): Marc Platt<br />
Director: Barnaby Edwards<br />
Producer: Nicholas Briggs<br />
Duration: 1 episode, 60 minutes.<br />
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Paul McGann was the first ‘new’ Doctor of my early Whovian days. In 1994, having completely caught up to the past 31 years of televised adventures (with the assistance of the telesnap archives printed in ‘Doctor Who Magazine’ to fill in the missing stories, and a full devotion to the Target novelizations to fill in the rest), I eagerly followed along with each item of news regarding what would eventually become the FOX Television Movie. Many Whovians malign that movie; they appeared to have missed the entire point of its existence as a ‘backdoor pilot’ in hopes of launching a new series. I didn't mind the oh-so-shocking kiss between The Doctor and his companion Grace; it was a wonderful, innocent moment of two people expressing joy. I didn't mind the reference to the chameleon circuit as a ‘cloaking device’, to liberally borrow a term from ‘Star Trek’. After all, the Borg certainly had much in common with the Cybermen, so turnabout is fair play. In fact, both myself and Steve Lake, the other host of ‘The Whostorian’ podcast, will point to this single movie as the best place for people not familiar in the least with ‘Doctor Who’ to obtain a crash course. Call it selfish on my part, but one of the reasons I do so is the hope that the old adage of ‘you always remember your first Doctor’ for Whovians will ring true, and we can mint new fans of Paul McGann’s wonderful Eighth Doctor close to twenty years after the character’s first appearance.<br />
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Though the FOX TV movie failed to lead to a series, it refreshed the spinoff material and allowed for new stories to be told with a new Doctor, new companions, and new destinations. Future blog entries will review the BBC Books adventures of this Doctor (they aren't all as bad as ‘War Of The Daleks’, after all), who remains a long-serving Doctor in spinoff material; so much so, in fact, there has been more licensed work created featuring this incarnation than any others! Today we turn our attention to an audio story, ‘The Skull Of Sobek by Big Finish Productions. They began as the brainchild of Whovians who first ventured into audio/visual work with unlicensed, fan-made productions. Some of these I was fortunate enough to listen to on cassette tapes while sitting around local ‘Doctor Who’ fan club meetings, and they impressed me even then; it was pointed out to me their work strongly influenced the creation of Eleventh Hour Productions, the Newfoundland-based audio/visual club that would produce their own ‘Doctor Who’ movies. By the early 2000’s, Big Finish Productions had obtained the appropriate rights to produce officially licensed stories, and they were handed arguably the biggest one of all to work on: chronicling the future of the current, BBC-approved Doctor. The Eighth Doctor wasn’t fronting any new television movies or TV series and it appeared unlikely he ever would. ‘Doctor Who’, as it had been since 1989, was dead as far as the BBC were concerned; they exploited what they could from the FOX TV movie, farmed the license out to a select few, and moved on. Thankfully, Big Finish Productions had formed from fandom itself, and there was none better to handle The Doctor’s future than his own devoted fanbase.<br />
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To that end, ‘The Eighth Doctor Adventures’ audio range was created, featuring Paul McGann as The Doctor, with a succession of actors as various companions created exclusively for the range paired with him. ‘Doctor Who’ was back, just in a different media form than the one he’d enjoyed for decades. Those who had watched the mini episode ‘The Night Of The Doctor’ featuring McGann’s return to the role on-screen for the first time in almost twenty years are only now catching up to the fact that he’s been doing full seasons of stories in Big Finish for almost as long. That mini episode has sparked a renewal of interest in the Eighth Doctor; thousands of fans even signed petitions directed to the BBC to green light a TV spinoff series featuring McGann. Whether or not that ever becomes a reality nobody knows at present. Time will tell. But it must have warmed the hearts of everyone at Big Finish as well as their legion of fans when McGann salutes his companions on-screen. It was one small step for canonicity, one giant leap for harmonization ‘of’ canon.<br />
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For far too long, foolish and stubborn fans have belittled the Eighth Doctor, refusing to allow him into their own personal viewpoint of canon for reasons that don’t stand up to scrutiny. Personally, the moment he regenerated from the Seventh Doctor, I accepted him. The fact BBC then went out of their way to wrap the ‘Doctor Who’ brand around him with licensed merchandise, including a book and comic strip range, was icing on the cake. Then his first brief appearance in ‘The Next Doctor’ episode of the TV series should have hammered it home to these stubborn fans. Still, there have been holdouts! ‘The Night Of The Doctor’ itself and all it does in seven minutes of screen time to enhance the Eighth Doctor, provide a crucial bridge to the current series as well as acknowledging the Big Finish range, really and truly should finally, inevitably, stamp out any dissenters.<br />
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‘Doctor Who’ is unique in that unlike ‘Star Wars’, nobody seems to be going out of their way to denounce licensed material, nor arbitrarily deem entire reams of expanded universe material ‘non-canon’ after the fact. Years and even decades after ’Star Wars’ fans filled the coffers of the creators, these creators in turn simply decided to turn a blind eye on decades of material enjoyed by their devoted fan base. Those actions are shameful, in my opinion; the second a cheque is cashed and material is purchased, then a fan, any fan, has the right to consider it all canon. The Eighth Doctor is, was, and always will be a canon Doctor. To suggest otherwise is to be boorish, pedantic, and insufferable. We as Whovians should just be grateful that there isn't some Almighty Creator standing on an Olympus made of our money casting lightning bolts of banishment on all our spinoff material. The Big Finish audios, in my opinion, are canon. It seems, if all the clues, hints, ideas, concepts, characters and themes borrowed or adapted from them into the new series is any indication, that men like Steven Moffatt agree with me on that.<br />
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Now, then…on to the review. This story, ‘The Skull Of Sobek’, is from 2008, so right away, on the production side, it’s slightly dated. Since its release, advances in audio production have been made and the more current Big Finish stories that I've heard (such as ‘The Spectre Of Lanyon Moor,’ which Steve and myself reviewed on the podcast episode #73), contain far more scope in terms of replicating ‘real world’ environments. There are, unfortunately, moments in ‘Sobek’ in which far too many sounds vie for attention at once,. This makes it difficult to mentally reconcile a mind’s eye viewpoint of the story. Some of the dialogue sounds ‘stagey’; actors reading lines in a sound booth rather than characters living and breathing and existing in the listener’s mind’s eye. It’s a fault of Big Finish unfortunately throughout the range, but again, it appears to have been addressed and corrected in the most recent releases.<br />
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The story itself, written by veteran TV series writer Marc Platt who wrote ‘Ghost Light’ and who has penned a tremendous amount of other Big Finish audio stories, is tightly written. It centers on the long and bloody personal conflict between two alien members of a race of crocodilians, last of the planet Sobek who blame one another for its downfall. To the Sanctuary of Imperfect Symmetry on the planet Indigo 3 they decide on a final battle, individually choosing their ‘champions’ to battle for them. Naturally, those ‘champions’ are The Doctor and his companion, Lucie Miller! It takes The Doctor to wade through the self-preservation of the religious order caught in the middle of this war, by literally wading through the hidden waters in the lower levels that house the giant and merciless Old Prince (played by Giles Watling, brother of Deborah Watling who played Victoria in the Second Doctor’s era, and son of Jack Watling, who played Travers in two episodes featuring The Great Intelligence of the same era). Along the way, he discovers the metaphysical ‘Skull Of Sobek’, a religious artifact that is amplifying the situation worldwide, causing chaos and threatening to destroy the carefully constructed Sanctuary, which stands alone against several gathering armies at its gates, all eager to reign down fire and brimstone in the name of appeasing a holy relic from a destroyed world….<br />
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The story relies on science-fiction parallels to real-world religious orders, dogma, and trappings. Characters read from books meant to be bibles, invoking the wrath of ‘Sobek’ and foretelling of events to come in parables and prose. While that aspect of it can grate at times, given its rather ham-fisted and obvious parodying of the secretive and mystical nature of real-world religious institutions, the secondary characters belonging to the order are well acted. Abbot Absolute (Art Malik) is pitch-perfect as a stentorian, authoritative head of the order who absolutely loathes the idea of not only actually providing shelter to those in aid as advertised for fear it will cause him harm down the road, but as a character who gets his just desserts for it as well. Sister Chalice (Barbara Flynn) is equally old-school in a ruler-on-the-knuckles way; Chalice is perfectly happy to allow Absolute to founder with his male charges, but retains Lucie as a ‘sister’ under her own guidance, and unlike Absolute she genuinely seems to care for Lucie’s well-being, even going so far as to attempt to convince Lucie to stay in the order after the threat has passed and The Doctor is naturally eager to take his leave of this world. For its muddled nature as a less-than-straightforward adventure that is at times hard to follow, the guest cast rise admirably to the occasion and there are no weak links.<br />
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Lucie Miller is a spirited and head-strong companion, who has the potential to be one of the best of the expanded universe (this story marks my first introduction to the character). Like the best companions of screen and prose, she compliments rather than overshadows The Doctor. Her relationship with McGann’s Doctor is not (so far) fraught with the tired and overused sexual tension hook, nor is she depicted as laughing at deadly enemies nor ridiculing The Doctor’s decisions, two irritating and all-too-common mistakes made with companions, especially those featured in adventures written by their creators who sometimes forget the name of the series is ‘Doctor Who’ not ‘Smart Mouthed Self Aware Companion’. Time will tell how her character further develops, as again this is early days for her to my ears, but I immediately liked her and her banter with McGann was witty and intelligent. She also faces some personal demons in this story (admitting a childhood fear of crocodiles and now being faced with giant, walking and talking versions of them), and Sheridan Smith imbues Lucie with plenty of personality and character.<br />
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Paul McGann is always a joy to hear as The Doctor. His incarnation is fun, lively, intelligent and full of wit, charm, and bravado. McGann has become a veteran of Big Finish audio and the results are easy to hear; at this point, he is so comfortable in the role that there are no timing mistakes, no miscues, and no tonal surprises. Paired with a good companion in a well written story with plenty of stuff for him to do and say, McGann shines.<br />
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In summary, ‘The Skull Of Sobek’ has few faults, but those that are there are somewhat glaring. It suffers from the ‘been there, done that’ nature of ‘Doctor Who’; after what is now 50 full years of adventures across several mediums, there are bound to be stories that feel like re-treads and ‘Skull Of Sobek’ immediately draws comparison to ‘The Awakening’ TV episode ( church setting, alien device/creature feeding off negative energy). The crocodilian aliens are not given much to do other than be rather one-note ‘baddies’; there is mild exploration of their motives, which include healthy doses of survivor’s guilt over being the last of a once-great planet that they tell Lucie equated to ‘paradise’ (seeing a representation of it, Lucie readily agrees). But any other character development is downplayed in favour of their single-minded devotion to warfare and revenge, and of finishing the last great battle between them that cost them their planet to begin with. It is their trashing about, lumbering along, and splashing in water that causes the majority of the issues with the story itself in terms of understanding what is going on; the sound effects used to convey their size and shape and actions are just turned up too loudly and literally wash out the other effects and dialogue when they are around. Perhaps a choice of a different ‘giant creature baddie’ would have been better; giant crocodiles are loud, unsubtle, and probably useless in the long run as their grandiose design is lost completely in an audio story.<br />
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On the plus side, at one hour in duration, this story is quite bite-sized, to use a terrible pun. I listened to it in one day in two half hour intervals, and it was a complete adventure which had little padding to speak of. It was later re-broadcast on BBC Radio 7, in conjunction with an increase in interest for all things ‘Doctor Who’ in the wake of the revival of the TV series. The hour-long format works well for the audio range, and I look forward to hearing more of these from Big Finish. My final gripe, which is also minor, is the theme music is a strange mix of several previous theme tunes, all thrown together. The classic ‘stinger’ effect is overused, being repeated several times. This doesn’t mesh well with the hints of the electronic 1980’s version which in turn fades in from the original huffy, chugging 1960’s version. The other classic Doctors stories have either chosen theme tunes from their respective eras or else have defaulted to the Tom Baker era tune, which is a perennial favourite of most Whovians. Granted, perhaps in this case the clearance to re-use the FOX TV theme couldn’t be obtained, but it’s a shame the stories are hampered right from the start with such a confusing and disappointing mix; pick one and be done with it, I feel.<br />
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On the patented Whostorian Scarf Scale, I’m giving this story a solid 7 out of 10.<br />
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‘The Skull Of Sobek’ can be purchased online through Big Finish Productions’ website, <a href="http://bigfinish.com/">bigfinish.com</a>, along with all other ‘Doctor Who’ audio plays. Fans can also follow them for news updates on both ‘Doctor Who’ releases as well as other licensed work such as ‘Blake’s 7’ and ‘The Avengers’ (the British show, not the Marvel movies…god, you kids today and not respecting the classics!), on Twitter @bigfinish.<br />
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I can be contacted directly on Twitter as well, @Marshalllush or @TheWhostorian, and by email at <a href="mailto:shannonmlush@gmail.com">shannonmlush@gmail.com</a> and <a href="mailto:thewhostorian@gmail.com">thewhostorian@gmail.com</a>. I welcome any and all comments and certainly love review suggestions. You can also hear me discuss everything ‘Doctor Who’ with Steve Lake on <a href="http://thewhostorian.ca/" target="_blank">The Whostorian podcast</a>, just click the links on this website to hear the most recent episode as well as our archive.<br />
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Until next time, to borrow a quote from The Doctor in ‘Skull Of Sobek’, I’m not a champion..I’m more of a general busybody! – Cheers, Shannon.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015123008999082517noreply@blogger.com0Mount Pearl, NL, Canada47.520640700000008 -52.80768180000001247.477745700000007 -52.88836280000001 47.56353570000001 -52.727000800000013tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8800326142391250528.post-48313320282943429582014-01-31T14:14:00.001-03:302014-01-31T14:14:48.331-03:30'Titanic' Connections in 'Doctor Who' Fact And Fiction<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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by <a href="mailto:shannonmlush@gmail.com" target="_blank">Shannon Lush</a></div>
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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. <br />
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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...</div>
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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'. </div>
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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. </div>
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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. </div>
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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.</div>
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'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.</div>
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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 </div>
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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.</div>
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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.</div>
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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'.</div>
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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.</div>
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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. </div>
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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.</div>
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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. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015123008999082517noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8800326142391250528.post-76973261225438087572013-09-15T10:56:00.000-02:302014-03-05T00:02:01.176-03:30Torchwood: Children Of Mirth<br />
By <a href="mailto:shannonmlush@gmail.com" target="_blank">Shannon Lush</a><br />
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This particular entry will be delving into (it’s fair to admit, obsessing over), Torchwood, the ill-fated spinoff series of Doctor Who. Before I ascend too far up the ladder of vitriol, reigning down buckets of Whovian spittle all the way, a few admissions…<br />
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First, I never particularly liked anything to do with this series. When the project was revealed, I felt the concept of a secretive, alien-fighting’ band of government agents was served quite well by UNIT and any newly-created group of like-minded characters were nothing more than watered-down versions. For over thirty years in Doctor Who and just as long within spinoff media, it was well established that UNIT were the world’s foremost defenders from the threat of alien incursion. If any organization was deserving of a televised spinoff from Doctor Who, it is UNIT. Indeed, Big Finish Audio has created excellent spin-off adventures featuring established and new characters. One such adventure even provided David Tennant his first Doctor Who credit, years before he gulped a cup of tea and discovered his fighting hand.<br />
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Second, the main cast of characters and the actors who portray(ed) them are, quite frankly, boring. This assertion may well land me in Whovian hell, but having sampled my share now of what many people consider the “best that Torchwood has to offer” episodes that fans of the series rank up there with the best of Doctor Who, I feel qualified to make that statement. Despite his matinee-idol looks and his dreamy eye colour, John Barrowman is a bad actor. Sorry. Wooden in style and with a gait that lends itself more to mimicking a window shop dummy (perhaps he’s an Auton..?), Barrowman is just not a good actor. He has a mild flair for comedy, evidenced in both his appearances within Doctor Who and Torchwood, but like Matt Smith he is extremely limited in his acting range and completely out of his depth when dialogue calls for anything other than a gratuitous butt-cheek flash. Sorry. The truth hurts.<br />
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Barrowman’s Captain Jack Harkness character, used sparingly but to good effect in his appearances in Doctor Who, initially showed promise, brave and resourceful, with more than a touch of mystery and capable of great charm, Jack’s dashing good looks and attire in his initial appearances evoked a WW2 recruiting poster-version of reality; he was an old-fashioned hero, square jawed and quick with his wits as well as fists. That he was resurrected by Rose (and the BBC) to go on to serve as the series lead in the Doctor Who spinoff series cheered the heart of many, including myself. Then I actually saw the series…but more on that later.<br />
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Eve Myles is a capable actress and provided a memorable guest star in the Doctor Who episode ‘The Unquiet Dead’, and honestly, it’s not so much her acting I dislike as her character in Torchwood. She is by turns selfish, self-absorbed, with a penchant, (found also in the worst excesses of many Russell T Davies characters and stories), for chattering inanely over nonsensical topics instead of focusing on the world-shattering and serious matters that unfold around her. Though this tendency is not limited to her character (it can be found on display in abundance with the Tenth Doctor), it is quite distracting and highly annoying. How are viewers supposed to suspend their disbelief and buy into the seriousness of the alien threat of the week if the characters themselves aren’t?<br />
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The rest of the cast is equally terrible and pedantic. Colourless and morose (two terms that also could describe the series itself), they neither stand out nor particularly do anything of worth, besides fret about their bi/straight/same-sex relationships. Indeed Torchwood is less a Doctor Who spinoff series it seems than a cynical ‘Dating Game’-style reality show. Now, before you sharpen the pitchforks and prepare to storm the castle, allow me to discuss my objections to the inter-personal relationships on display on what, after all, is a drama series with characters that supply their own drama. Firstly, it’s no secret that Russell T Davies, creator and executive producer of Torchwood, is gay. That fact alone has never once detracted nor enhanced his standing as a Doctor Who executive producer nor as a writer in my eyes; many Whovians have bemoaned his supposed ‘gay agenda’, but by and large and with rare exception, I personally have never felt the man’s sexual orientation to be relevant to discussing his work within or without Doctor Who. He certainly is not the first gay male to produce Doctor Who. Long-time Whovians will note that John Nathan-Turner, the longest-serving producer in Doctor Who history was also gay. <br />
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Thus it is not that Davies is gay and thus naturally, writes characters that are or could be likewise. He writes what he knows, just as a straight man or woman writer would. While it was initially quite a shock to witness the subtle (and quickly by turns not-so-subtle) references and depictions to gay culture and attitudes in Doctor Who under Davies’ run, I have to say it was a pleasant shock. For the venerable old series Doctor Who to finally be allowed to openly display this behaviour, which I’m sure John Nathan-Turner himself would surely have wished to do at least twenty years ago and couldn’t, is indicative of not only the strides the series has taken but those that human society has taken. After all science fiction at its best holds up a mirror to the society that produces it and explores themes that those societies struggle with. Doctor Who under Davies had grown up and I was proud to be a fan of such a progressive series. <br />
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However, while Davies took his opportunities, and rightly so, to introduce these elements into Doctor Who, it was clear from his public comments that putting these elements on display in a televised forum were and are important to him. Doctor Who perhaps was not the best forum to continue to introduce these story elements and character lifestyle choices, given its nature, first and foremost as a family drama series. Not everyone is as progressive and liberal-minded as the average Whovian after all. Therefore, when his producer days had come to an end on Doctor Who and it was eventually announced he would produce a spinoff series called Torchwood, I was both pleased for the existence of another series set within the Whoniverse as well as for Davies, who now had a blank canvass on which to convey the messages that were important to him. <br />
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The inclusion of the character of Captain Jack as the series lead was intriguing, yet made complete sense. After all he was a popular reoccurring character and as already noted, in his appearances in Doctor Who, he was noble, heroic and had learned at the foot of The Doctor himself. On paper, it seemed to be a fantastic idea, to quote the Ninth Doctor. The reality however, is something completely different. At this point I’ll detail some strong objections that I’m sure will cause most readers to shout ‘but you clearly haven’t watched enough to judge’! I’ll note that my Torchwood viewing is limited to the following: the first five (5) episodes of the first season…the entire five (5) episode run of the ‘Children Of Earth’ season/miniseries…every guest appearance by any Torchwood member within Doctor Who itself. There. That’s all of it.<br />
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Now then, remember all those moments that Davies inserted into Doctor Who that, while genuinely praiseworthy for his progressive stance, nevertheless could be questioned by fans and the public alike as being out of place in a family drama series (and again, I personally had no issues with them, but a quick Google search of ‘RTD gay agenda Doctor Who’ will reveal a great mass of haters out there who ‘did’)? In Torchwood, Davies delights in being able to write content he wants to write and has the freedom to detail whatever agenda he wishes, and good on him for that. But, uhm…what the hell happened to Captain Jack? The one from Doctor Who? The one with the twinkle in his eye, quick with a smile and above all else, heroic? <br />
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In Torchwood, Jack Harkness isn’t Jack Harkness. Instead, he’s a win-at-all-cost, skeletons-in-the-closet mystery man. Now again, before you accuse me of ‘not having watched enough’ I watched over ten full hours of television featuring this character outside of his appearances within Doctor Who. Whomever this heartless monster of a man ‘is’, he isn’t Captain Jack. In ‘Children Of Earth’ he not only is compelled to assist in the outright abduction and mutilation of dozens of children, but he inexplicably sacrifices his own grandson in order to clumsily stop a supposed alien ‘invasion’ by the same beings (who not ‘once’ in 5 full hours ever demonstrate any threat to humanity whatsoever other than an ability to paralyze children…in the old days, the Brigadier would have stopped these clowns before lunch with the Third Doctor without much effort…but I digress). <br />
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It almost appears as if….no, it can’t be….could Russell T Davies have drastically re-written this character to be nothing more than a Doctor clone? Let’s see…’I’ve lived a long time, I’ve done some horrible things’ (a quote from Jack, but that could easily have been said by the Doctor, and virtually has been on numerous occasions). Travels in time and space. Wears extravagant clothing. Utilizes sonic devices and alien gadgets. Routinely yells at aliens, asserting his dominance and does the whole ‘you’ll be sorry, do you even KNOW who the hell you are messing with, buster??’ routine. Yep, it’s Doctor Jack, I presume.<br />
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It’s quite possibly too much to suggest that, having completely stripped Jack Harkness of anything that made him unique as a character and instead replaced it with ersatz Doctor qualities; Davies went one step further and cranked up the melodrama inherent in the character being, for all intents and purposes, bi-sexual. There are copious long and lovingly rendered scenes of Jack open-mouth kissing other characters, namely that Ianto guy whose character’s death seemed to disturb people far more than a fictional character’s death ought to. Is it far too crude to suggest that Davies has his own personal Doctor Who clone…that routinely drops his pants and participates in activity that the ‘real’ Doctor never would? That Jack Harkness is, plain and simply a gay Doctor Who? Perhaps it’s too much to suggest.<br />
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…except I’m doing it anyway.<br />
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That observation aside, let’s move on to the broad sweeping themes inherent in Torchwood. Once viewers are subjected to the obligatory gay sexual innuendo, usually accompanied by scenes depicting sexual acts that have ‘zero’ to do with any actual plot or character development, there has been in my observations of this series, yet another agenda above and beyond the alleged ‘gay agenda’ that so many people accuse Davies of possessing: he has an atheist agenda. One that is quite simply, frustrating in the extreme.<br />
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The moment that caused me as a viewer to completely disengage from Torchwood early on and not bother to revisit the series until recently, at Steve Lake’s incessant prodding, I screened ‘Children Of Earth’, came in an episode of the first season in which the ragtag group begin utilizing a device that temporarily raises the recent dead back to life. A running gag which was to my mind a very cynical and black humour gag concerned the length of time in which a target person is brought back to ‘life’. According to the interplay between the main characters, it was fast becoming a source of irritation that they were unable to properly glean much knowledge concerning a person’s final moments, including who killed them, as the device was limited to only a minute or two of restoring a person before they died again. This was a morbid and downbeat story element to be sure, but I pressed on.<br />
Wearily and bitterly complaining all the while, the team resurrects a particular person who promptly shouts words to the effect of ‘oh God, there’s NOTHING!’ referring to the lack of an afterlife. This one moment caused me such despair that I disgustedly turned the damn episode off and as I said hadn’t bothered with the series until recently. Not since the series ‘Homicide’ had I witnessed such cavalier treatment of the nature of death and such dismissal of dignity of dead bodies. At least within ‘Homicide’, a series concerning the day-to-day lives of homicide detectives, the point is repeatedly stressed that their approach to the dead is a response to the stresses of the job. What’s the excuse in Torchwood?<br />
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I’m not particularly religious, nor am I particularly spiritual, but this touched a nerve. Davies and company on the writing staff of Torchwood had already portioned off a piece of the Whoniverse and populated it with drab, dismal characters going about their days in a bleak TV series with more than its share of depressing and dank moments. Fine. Davies and company insisted on replacing good, solid plots and stories with shock-value gay sex scenes, copious nudity for no particular reason and characters more interested in quipping about phallic objects than actually investigating alien menaces. Fine. But to simply smack viewers in the head with this atheist agenda? A bit much.<br />
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Least you think this is an isolated incident, look no further than ‘Children of Earth’. Early on, there’s a scene in which a Doctor, an actual medical one not a Timelord, attempts to join the team. Gwen Cooper elects to speak to him and ascertain not only his motives but his mindset. Turns out this Doctor’s early medical career involved him rather specializing in cases of suicide. Apparently the idea of the existence of alien life as it has been frequently showcased to the world population in Torchwood, Sarah Jane Adventures, and Doctor Who itself, has caused a shift in the Catholic perception and worldview. The Doctor relates a story in which he recently dealt with a woman who killed herself and left a note explaining her actions. He says the knowledge of aliens existing caused the woman, and millions like her it seems, to feel as if their lives are meaningless, and they are simply no more than a small dot in the universe. The woman said in her note; “science won.”<br />
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There’s not one word to describe the absurdity of not only this scene but of the entire notion of this ridiculous, one-dimensional story element, there’s about a half a dozen. First, even as a lapsed Catholic, I’m here to tell you, Catholicism doesn’t just fall apart because there could be alien life in the vast cosmos. If anything, and this belief system has actually been voiced by senior Vatican officials, it would confirm the spectacular length and breadth of God’s abilities to create life. Second, would someone please inform Mr. Davies that one of the world’s largest observatories charged with studying for alien life, is run BY the Vatican? It’s in Arizona, it’s staffed by both Catholic and lay scientists and it’s been around for well over twenty five years. <br />
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So in one scene, Davies unequivocally has a character state there is no afterlife and he ought to know, he was just brought back from the dead after all. Second, in Davies’ slice of the Whoniverse, just because humanity may be starting to understand there’s aliens out there, those whacky Christians just can’t handle it and are willing to commit another sin (suicide), because, and honestly this is the dumbest line of dialogue ever and demonstrates a complete and utter failure to understand basic Catholic beliefs; ”Science won.”<br />
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Doctor Who has existed for fifty years, and the Whoniverse has been expanded on by a tremendous variety of individuals in a large form of media. Everyone from former stand-up comedians (Terry Nation) to former monks (Tom Baker) to former lawyers (Colin Baker) have contributed to it, all adding their own unique perspectives from a variety of personal backgrounds. The Doctor has fought and befriended demons and devils as well as angels. He’s gone into other dimensions. If you read the New Adventures novels, he’s even fought an alien race called the Hoothi on a planet called Heaven. If you read the Target novelizations of select regeneration stories (particularly those by Terrance Dicks), you’ll discover that the regeneration process in the Doctor’s opinion is a death of sorts and becoming a new man is, perhaps, a re-birth. There are Christian parallels to be drawn in some of the Doctor Who concepts for sure. Especially that scene in the TV Movie where the Master, for all intents and purposes, crucifies the Doctor and the scene post-regeneration where the Doctor is shrouded in a white robe and acting like a resurrected Jesus.<br />
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The point is Doctor Who is a story about a heroic time traveler and up to now, anything to do with him, in any form of spinoff media has confined itself to telling stories of a similar vein. Whether or not the authors or producers of episodes or stories themselves believe in an afterlife or have a spiritual bend or else are outright atheistic in their belief system never filtered into the product simply because there’s no place for it. Doctor Who isn’t about coming down on one side or the other of such a debate any more than it would come down negatively or on the positive about capital punishment (and in the select instances in the past when that particular topic for example has arisen, the Doctor has been depicted as alternatively supporting it, then several stories later denouncing it) Whether by accident or design, politically charged or ‘hot button issues’ have been presented on both sides and by and large avoided altogether, given that Doctor Who is not and should not be about presenting one side of any such debate. It should merely introduce the suggestion of debate. As I said above, shine a mirror, by all means. Not a fun house mirror, distorted to only present one angle, one viewpoint.<br />
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Torchwood is a series in which Davies and/or his writing staff simply and foolishly present one side of a very contentious and emotional issue, in this case the existence of an afterlife. To do so itself is short-sighted, to compound this by also seeming to mock and belittle the belief systems of a large majority of the viewing audience (or so it would appear to be the case, as surely I’m far from the only offended one to have watched this series, there’s at last count several billion like minded people on this planet) is almost beyond belief. This adherence to one viewpoint, in this case atheism, is one of the greatest failings of this series, one of a great many.<br />
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Steve Lake, in his rebuttal to this assertion of mine regarding the “atheist agenda” on display, suggested I was missing the point. That in fact, the stories merely “introduced the debate” or “caused viewers to question” which, were it true would be fine. As I’ve said several times already, science fiction at its best serves to dress up current issues in little green men from Mars clothing to make them more palatable to the mass audiences. Except, anyone who honestly reads the scripted dialogue or watches the scenes I’ve highlighted can plainly see they are all close-ended statements, not meant to suggest or entertain debate. There’s hardly any question that a character saying “there’s no God, no afterlife, there’s NOTHING” doesn’t mean “maybe not.” <br />
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I suppose I’m angry over all this chiefly because it’s a betrayal of what Doctor Who is supposed to MEAN. Again, heroic stories that entertain as well as educate and inspire, coupled with explorations of current and topical issues. All Torchwood seems to be about is a bi-sexual Doctor clone, who does terrible things when he’s not making out with his co-stars or prancing around half-naked, partnered with a team of emotionally damaged individuals who sprout foolish sexual innuendo in the face of serious death every episode. Death that flies in the face of Judeo-Christian beliefs for no good reason other than Davies wants it to. <br />
<br />
In closing I’m going to be somewhat nasty here and I really don’t care. I’m glad Torchwood is cancelled. Steve calls it’s a “hiatus”, but given that that word was applied to Doctor Who itself and it cost the series well over fifteen years of being away from TV screens, I’m feeling pretty good about the fact that Torchwood is quite unlikely to be resurrected like that poor fellow was. As a slice of the Whoniverse, it was embarrassingly poorly acted, it was dour and dismal and told stories that at best were laced with farce and at worst were capable of turning a person off of the whole thing for many a year. <br />
<br />
Torchwood is a cynical and moody alternative to the bright and spirited Doctor Who. For his fifty years of insisting upon the scientific method, the Doctor somehow was able to balance solid stories that entertained and certainly did not insult their own audience (well…let’s just not talk about the entirety of season 24 and leave it at that, shall we?). Whatever Davies was hoping to accomplish with Torchwood, all he succeeded in doing is creating a series that is uncomfortably grim and the complete opposite of the positive messages and hopeful nature of its parent series. Perhaps that was the point, I don’t know. All I do know is that Russell T Davies is to be applauded now and forever for his work on Doctor Who, I honestly disliked the “would you mind not farting” line far more than I ever would any supposed ‘gay agenda’ he allegedly had as producer. If Torchwood represents his ideal Doctor Who unfettered by network censors or the limitations of appealing to a family drama demographic, then good on him for that too. <br />
<br />
But at the end of the day, the only thing Torchwood is going to be remembered for is a spinoff series that failed so spectacularly it was first put on life support as a co-production, then populated with actors from the Star Trek franchise in a vain attempt to get some fresh eyes to watch it (and provide the cast with actors who actually know how to act), then finally, to sleep a long sleep. It probably won’t be back. It’s probably dead.<br />
<br />
<br />
And you know what? According to Davies, dead is dead. So there. <br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015123008999082517noreply@blogger.com2Mount Pearl, NL, Canada47.520640700000008 -52.80768180000001247.477745700000007 -52.88836280000001 47.56353570000001 -52.727000800000013tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8800326142391250528.post-74887737978304157302013-09-11T01:39:00.000-02:302013-09-11T01:39:46.741-02:30We'll Rant And We'll Roar<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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by <a href="mailto:shannonmlush@gmail.com" target="_blank">Shannon Lush</a></div>
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This particular entry of the blog is going to be a little
different, primarily as it will basically detail my response to a recent review
of The Whostorian Podcast found on iTunes. The reviewer quite nicely provided
our humble little podcast with a 4 out of 5 star review, which is not only
appreciated it's definitely a big help to us, as every comment and review on
iTunes (and, indeed, everywhere else we are found online) helps us stand out
and gain listeners. So, to this reviewer and to all who have sampled our show
and associated media output such as this blog, a hearty 'thank you'. Both Steve and myself continue
to perform the podcast as a labour of pure love to both 'Doctor Who' the
franchise and to fellow Whovians, and feedback, even if it's negative, is
greatly appreciated. </div>
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Now, then...onto the review itself. This reviewer said the
following: 'This is a great show with tons of information and good reviews.
Shannon needs to stop the over the top complaining about anything new. If you
can't just move on from the classic Doctor Who and enjoy the show as
entertainment then maybe you should stop watching. And stop commenting on
things you don't want to watch. It is extremely annoying.'</div>
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To begin with, I don't personally utilize iTunes (personal
preference, I simply dislike Apple products and especially iTunes), therefore I
didn't myself 'see' this review until Steve brought it to my attention. So, I
hope there are not people out there who feel I or Steve 'duck' from negative
reviews or criticism. That's not the case at all; if possible, and especially now
as we perform the show also for dissemination over Youtube as a video podcast,
we try and not only read every comment we garner but also respond, where and
when possible.</div>
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For the past 60-odd episodes, I've made it pretty clear that
I am, certainly, a 'Classic Series' fan first and foremost; it was my first
love, I have multiple fond memories of it and I don't apologize one iota for
preferring the 'Classic' to the 'New Series'. That being said, to decry that I
don't like 'anything' related to the new series is, quite simply, wrong. As any
random episode of the past 3 plus years can attest to, I have praised multiple
episodes of the 'New Series', and I consider the David Tennant</div>
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Doctor to be the second best Doctor in the history of
'Doctor Who' itself, second only to Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor. I greatly
enjoyed Christopher Eccleston's run and, again if one samples some of the
episodes we have done in the past, it's quickly apparent my disliking of
Eccleston extends purely to the actor's abrupt departure from the series and
public bashing of it, NOT to the Ninth Doctor character.</div>
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I don't like 'Torchwood', that's true. I find it rather
unwatchable, and its shoddy ratings and terrible reviews (at least, the ones I've
personally seen), seem to bear that disgust out. I'll eventually get around to
watching it, but by and large, I really didn't like what little of what I've
seen of it, and don't really look forward to taking the time to watch it. I'm
prepared to have my opinion changed, in fact I hold out hope it will be...I
just don't think that's going to happen, is all.</div>
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As for my being 'over the top'...I'm a Newfoundlander, we
all sorta talk fast and we are all rather animated, anyone who has ever seen
the various local characters performed by local actors such as Snook can attest
to this! Yes, I'm loud, boisterous, and yes I'll even agree I'm 'over the
top'...apart from the fact that it's always a purely joyous occasion to discuss
'Doctor Who', even the elements I dislike, I also maintain that it's our
spirit, our honest approach to the pod, and our sheer love for the material
that manifests itself as 'over the top' that helps us to stand out from other
podcasts. Nothing against any other 'Doctor Who' podcasts, they are all fellow
Whovians after all...but I'm actually quite proud of how unique The Whostorian
is, from the sensibilities we bring to it to the topics we cover that you will
not hear anywhere else. So, yes, I'm over the top, and proud of it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Finally, let me state that while I disagree with the
reviewers' assessment of me for the most part, I do appreciate their candor and
the fact that they took the time and effort to write. Our podcast is for the
fans, and we really love hearing from people, regardless of what they have to
say!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thanks to this reviewer and thanks to you reading this...to
quote Steve, see you around the vortex!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015123008999082517noreply@blogger.com0Mount Pearl, NL, Canada47.520640700000008 -52.80768180000001247.477745700000007 -52.88836280000001 47.56353570000001 -52.727000800000013tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8800326142391250528.post-72031903924610495022013-08-26T10:16:00.002-02:302013-08-26T10:18:56.776-02:30'Who And Me': Former producer Barry Letts's audiobook review<br />
<br />
<br />
by <a href="mailto:shannonmlush@gmail.com" target="_blank">Shannon Lush</a><br />
<br />
As an old-school Whovian, I am well accustomed to searching high and low for 'Doctor Who' goodies. Pulling tatty copies of 'Doctor Who' comic books from dusty boxes at comic shops, finding a battered and weather-beaten Mel action figure from a garage sale, and traveling on two buses across two cities in order to track down Target novelizations are all escapades I've endured, and enjoyed, to build a humble collection of merchandise. Canada in the 1980s and 1990s was not a country overflowing with 'Doctor Who' merchandise, and Whovians worth their salt hunted like Slitheens high and low for whatever they could unearth.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
That is why, in this modern age of the new series and with merchandise overflowing from the same locations locally that once wouldn't afford shelf space to 'Doctor Who' whatsoever, the rise of the Internet has become a God-send. DVDs, Blu-Rays, comics, figures, fiction and nonfiction books...anything can be had, for a price, no matter how far away it is in the world and how far a Whovian is from it. Distance no longer matters. As a Whovian most interested in the Classic Series, it was with a true sense of accomplishment and appreciation that I acquired 'Who And Me', the audiobook by Barry Letts, producer of 'Doctor Who' during the Jon Pertwee era, and the man who Tom Baker credits with being the deciding factor in casting him for the role.<br />
<br />
My exposure to audiobooks is limited; as much as I am a podcaster myself and a podcast enthusiast, I have mainly stuck to physical books for my entertainment. My spoken book experience has been strictly limited to fiction, such as 'Star Trek' Pocket Books read by the likes of James Doohan (in bravura performances portraying virtually all the parts), and in terms of 'Doctor Who', it's been such works as 'The Paradise Of Death' audioplay (ironically written by Letts), and 'Slipback' with Colin Baker. Nonfiction audiobooks have previously eluded me and it's thus a joy to gain entry to it through 'Doctor Who'.<br />
<br />
'Who And Me' is part autobiography, part 'Doctor Who' tell-all. Barry Letts was a former actor of many years in England prior to transitioning to director, and finally producer. The audiobook is composed of 7 chapters of between 30 and 45 minutes duration, and is read in full by Letts himself, often imitating the voices of other actors, directors, and BBC big wigs in the pursuit of telling his stories. To begin with, Letts glosses over his early years, his upbringing, and his time served in World War Two into no more than a few brief words; obviously, this material was extant in the original book version and truncated for the audiobook version, where space is at a premium. As such, the listener is immediately deprived of what is, arguably, the best element of an audiobook, which is listening to a person recount their own life story from their point of view. Nevertheless, Letts' honesty regarding his own life choices, mistakes he felt he made along the path to his chosen career as an actor in post-war England, coupled with a genuine warmth, good humour, and dry wit, compensate for the loss of the material regarding his early life. The listener is struck by how personable, funny, and engaging Letts was as a person.<br />
<br />
As a friend to Patrick Troughton prior to the latter accepting the role of the Doctor, Letts both acted alongside him in plays and early British television series, as well as advised him during his time as the Doctor, as Letts by this point had no professional association with 'Doctor Who' other than as a casual viewer. As such, Letts intimates that it was he who suggested Troughton do the show for only three years. Perhaps this is true, as Letts states it rather matter-of-factly, perhaps it is an exaggeration given Troughton's well-known stance against typecasting is now embedded into Whovian lore; it suffices that Letts establishes himself as a level-headed and sensible person when recounting his conversations with Troughton regarding this period, traits that he would later bring to producing the series itself.<br />
<br />
Casting about for a way in which he could continue in show business while acting offers began drying up, Letts began dabbling in writing, producing several screenplays and scripts for a variety of TV series, and eventually struck upon the notion of directing. Lett's mirth and joy over discussing this period in his life, where he drastically changed occupations against all odds and the advice of most of his friends and colleagues, is among the more entertaining portions of the audiobook, chiefly as Letts begins to clash with other directors and BBC big wigs by this point, and frequently acts out the parts of both he and the other person in several arguments. His acting background comes to the forefront here, and it all becomes highly entertaining to listen to.<br />
<br />
It was at this point that 'Doctor Who' re-enters Lett's life, as he accepts an assignment to direct his friend Troughton in the episode 'The Enemy Of The World', considered to this day to be one of the most bizarre Second Doctor stories, heavily influenced by the 'James Bond' films of the time, so much so that much of the equipment, vehicles, and gadgets seen in the episode were literally rented or borrowed from the Bond production offices. Letts, a novice director, admits to a great deal of the blame for the uneven pacing and inappropriate 'action movie'-style context of the episode, given neither the budget nor the relative sophistication of the cameras were up to the task of replicating Bond and filtering it through a 'Doctor Who' episode. He also admits that Troughton pushed him to play Salamander, the Doctor's tin-pot dictator double, and Letts relented out of friendship to Troughton despite the ham-fisted nature of televised 'evil double' stories being an obvious sign that people were running out of ideas on a given TV series.<br />
<br />
With the negative experience of 'Enemy' out of the way, Letts goes on to describe how a series of random coincidences led him to not only be named the producer of 'Doctor Who', but to have a major hand in casting Jon Pertwee as The Doctor, and in this phase of the audiobook the listener feels they are getting their money's worth. He begins by detailing his personal belief in Buddhism and Eastern philosophy, world-views that filtered their way into several Pertwee stories of his producer era and which even today remain somewhat controversial for being out-of-place in a SF drama series generally aimed at children. It is evident that his discourses on the benefits of Enlightenment are only touched on here and are further explored in depth in the actual printed edition of the book. Take that for what you will; Letts himself explains that time constraints prevent him from espousing further on the matter, and resigns himself to merely defending the practice of introducing new storyline ideas based on his own interests.<br />
<br />
Letts gives fresh insight into classic Pertwee stories such as 'The Claws Of Axos' and especially the perennial fan-favourite 'The Daemons'. He reveals that 'The Daemons' was based originally on the audition piece he wrote for actresses being considered for the companion role eventually developed into the Jo Grant character, and eventually played by Katy Manning. He praises Terrance Dicks as an excellent story editor, a fine idea man, and a good co-worker, and was proud of his close professional relationship with Dicks, feeling that when the producer and story editor on a TV series are of like-minds, then the production is harmonized and will produce quality episodes.<br />
<br />
In contrast to his relationship with Dicks, Letts makes several back-handed digs at Pertwee himself. While he recounts several heart-warming male-bonding moments, such as Pertwee telling Letts the story of his pain and sadness that his father, the renowned playwright Roland Pertwee, did not take the time to see his son perform in a play in which he was receiving rave reviews early in his acting career, the bulk of the audiobook finds Letts chiding Pertwee for acting as somewhat of a prima donna, insisting on using BBC staffers and vehicles for his own personal use and for being paranoid of Roger Delgado's Master character 'outshining' the Doctor. Perhaps the most revealing story involves Letts arriving at a public appearance in which Pertwee had commanded a high pay-day to appear. Pertwee's dismissive attitude to Letts throughout the day led a woman to assume Letts was nothing more than Pertwee's assistant. When she inquired as to what Letts was doing there, he replied haughtily 'Madam, I am Mr Pertwee's EMPLOYER'. Even with the passage of time, Letts is noticeably bitter towards Pertwee as he tells this particular story.<br />
<br />
Letts also admits that several of the elements that simply did not work for him as director of 'Enemy Of The World' he recycled as producer and introduced into the Pertwee era, notably the 'action-hero' format and the obvious 'James Bond' flourishes of The Doctor, with his Venusian Aikido, love for gadgets, and the M16-surragate UNIT. Outside of his often-strained relationship with his star actor, Letts speaks warmly of the supporting cast, especially Roger Delgado, with whom he personally cast as The Master and with whom he performed in his acting days. Letts takes the time to acknowledge the hard work of the HAVOC stunt team, who were the 'real' UNIT officers of the series, routinely risking their lives to perform dangerous and spectacular stunts for often little pay and virtually no credit.<br />
<br />
On its own, 'Who And Me' the audiobook is chock-full of funny stories, revealing trivia and jocular anecdotes of one man's experiences as producer of a BBC series that often suffered from lack of budget and always seemed to be subject to BBC scrutiny at the editing and censoring stages. Letts reserves most of his professional animosity for particular BBC big-wigs who made production difficult for one reason or other.<br />
<br />
Letts' rich voice and ability to perform dual roles as the narrator and character, as well as giving voice to the numerous well-known 'Doctor Who' actors who permeate the era, always increases the enjoy ability factor of each tale. The only niggling disappointments to be found here is the feeling that the print version of the book contains much more material than the audiobook, and thus the audiobook experience feels like one is hearing the companion piece to a much larger work, akin to listening to the director's commentary without watching the actual movie first. Also, on a personal level, I felt that as it is mostly superfluous to the rest of the audiobook and to the tone and type of stories Letts tells, the entire segment regarding Buddhism and philosophy ought to have been excised, or replaced with more material about either 'Doctor Who' or Lett's acting career. To skim over Lett's early life and upbringing, relevant information that helps to understand a person's personality and outlook, and yet retain up to half an hour of meaningless chatter about Buddhism, was in my opinion a big mistake.<br />
<br />
On the whole, Barry Lett's 'Who And Me' is quite enjoyable, rife with the type of insider information that Whovians will marvel at. This well-regarded period of 'Doctor Who' history is recreated and revisited by one of the few individuals who helped to shape it, and this was well worth tracking down. Barry Letts passed away several years ago and there remains a sadness about the notion of listening to a man discuss some of his most important life's work and fondest memories when the listener is aware he is now deceased. Nevertheless, for Whovians new and old, who want to know more about the Jon Pertwee era and especially those interested in the production of a television series, this is a highly recommended audiobook. Now to locate the print version for the rest of the story!<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015123008999082517noreply@blogger.com0Mount Pearl, NL, Canada47.520640700000008 -52.80768180000001247.477745700000007 -52.88836280000001 47.56353570000001 -52.727000800000013tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8800326142391250528.post-27418659175282089092013-08-22T09:53:00.001-02:302013-08-22T09:53:40.185-02:30Episode 66 - The 2nd Greatest Show In The Galaxy<br /> <div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><br /> <div data-boourl='https://audioboo.fm/boos/1560049-episode-66-the-2nd-greatest-show-in-the-galaxy/embed' class='ab-player'><a href='http://audioboo.fm/boos/1560049-episode-66-the-2nd-greatest-show-in-the-galaxy'>listen to ‘Episode 66 - The 2nd Greatest Show In The Galaxy’ on Audioboo</a></div><script type='text/javascript'>(function() { var po = document.createElement("script"); po.type = "text/javascript"; po.async = true; po.src = "https://d15mj6e6qmt1na.cloudfront.net/assets/embed.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();</script><br /> </div><br /> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015123008999082517noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8800326142391250528.post-69953281964182642002013-06-29T18:16:00.000-02:302013-06-29T18:16:19.098-02:30'World (Re)Shaping With Grant Morrison<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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by <a href="mailto:shannonmlush@gmail.com" target="_blank">Shannon Lush</a></div>
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As promised a very long time ago now (sorry readers, been
awhile since I've been able to sit down and compose a proper blog entry review
for this page, I'll try and be more prolific now that we all are impatiently
waiting for the 50th Anniversary episode), it's time to delve into 'Doctor Who'
comics review. We'll begin with tales from the current rights holder of the
property for comics, IDW Comics, who in addition to publishing an on-going
series featuring the current Matt Smith Doctor (I've been catching up on some
of them, so expect a review soon), also produce special issues such as the
recent 'Star Trek The Next Generation/Doctor Who' crossover story 'Assimilation
Squared' which Steve (rightly) slagged to pieces on 'The Whostorian' podcast.
To add to this creative output, they also print a title, 'Doctor Who Classic
Comics', that exclusively presents material reprinted from 'Doctor Who
Weekly/Monthly/Magazine' ongoing comic strip, and it is an issue of that series
we will be reviewing this time around. </div>
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Before we get down to it, let me state that, for better or
for worse, IDW Comics has been impressively prolific when it comes to
presenting material based on 'Doctor Who'. Whether the stories are creative
masterworks or as bad as a Sil bowel movement, whether the artwork is
beautifully rendered or as terrible as it was in 'Assimilation Squared', it is
good to see that 'Doctor Who' comics are being produced regardless, and clearly
IDW are squeezing as much material as they can to justify what must be a massively
expensive licensee fee from BBC Worldwide. Good on them! I will also say that,
from what I have ascertained in what I have personally read, they are dedicated
to adding modern computer colouring and other flourishes to old material. The
pages of 'Classic Comics' no longer contain the printer's dots so indicative of
1980's comics and the lesser paper stock and weak ink. These days, they are
presented in high-quality, computer-aided rendering, and it really shows. So,
again, a pat on the back to IDW for treating 'Doctor Who' material with care
and respect. </div>
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<br /></div>
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..even 'if' some of the stuff they produce is just
creatively terrible.</div>
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<br /></div>
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OK, then. Let's get down to reviewing 'Doctor Who Classic
Comics', issue #2, shall we?</div>
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Who wrote it: Grant Morrison, regarded as one of the comic
industry's best and brightest. Morrison's Justice League America story 'Rock Of
Ages' is widely considered the definitive super-team story. His 'Animal Man'
run pushed meta-textual boundaries, while his most recent accomplishment has been
to kill off the latest incarnation of Robin The Boy Wonder, his own creation,
in an un-dramatic, one-panel sequence in DC's least solicited Bat title,
'Batman, Inc'. Fans were not amused.</div>
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Who drew it: John Ridgway, a British artist, and no stranger
to 'Doctor Who Magazine'. He is credited with 13 Sixth Doctor stories, many of
them written by Morrison, as well as 10 Seventh Doctor stories, all of them
published in 'Doctor Who Magazine' and reprinted later by IDW. Other comic work
includes Marvel's 'Transformers' series as well as 'Incredible Hulk', while
other science fiction work includes DC's 'Babylon 5' and the iconic British
anti-hero 'Judge Dredd'.</div>
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Who published it: The story originally ran in three parts
for 'Doctor Who Magazine', from issues #127 to #129. It is collected together
and reprinted in full as issue #2 of IDW Comic's 'Classic Doctor Who' series,
under the title 'Grant Morrison's Doctor Who', with new covers by Robert Hack.</div>
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The story: The Sixth Doctor, with companions Peri and
Frobisher, arrives once again on the acid rain-swept planet of Marinus (as
depicted in the classic series' televised episode 'The Keys Of Marinus'),
responding to a distress call. They encounter a fellow Time Lord, rapidly dying
from the effects of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>'sporadic pulses of
accelerated temporal progression'; time itself is moving at a far more rapid
pace here. The unnamed Time Lord, sent by the High Council to investigate this,
dies due to being on his final regeneration, his body glowing and decaying far
faster than normal. Before he dies, he mutters the words 'Planet 14'; The
Doctor cannot remember the details, but is sure he's heard of this before,
while he was the Second Doctor. To gain insight, he decides to locate his
former companion Jamie.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Arriving in 18th century Scotland, the TARDIS crew are taken
aback to discover that Jamie is now a recluse living in a battered old hut,
considered quite mad by the townsfolk, who don't believe his ravings about visiting
other worlds and encountering alien life: The Doctor has 'miscalculated the
arrival point', thus it is 40 years later in Jamie's life, and he is now a
wizened old man. Jamie confirms that 'Planet 14' refers to their battle against
the Cybermen (depicted in the classic televised episode 'The Invasion').
Realizing the Cybermen are involved somehow, The Doctor is determined to get to
the bottom of how the Cyber Controller from that time period could remember him
when at that point he hadn't visited 'Planet 14' yet...along with Jamie, the
TARDIS crew re-visit Marinus. Though they have only been gone a week by the
TARDIS's internal chronometer, the planet's oceans are dried up and great
devastation has occurred. Before they can investigate further, Cybermen-like
creatures advance on them, necessitating a rush back into the TARDIS, this time
accompanied by Maxilla, an intergalactic repairman...of machines called
'WorldShapers'.</div>
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As the TARDIS cruises the time vortex, a shaken Maxilla
explains that he had been contracted to fix a series of broken worldshapers,
devices that are designed to localize time distortions and rapidly age
uninhabited worlds to the point they can sustain life.. and Marinus was the
'14th Planet' on the list. When he arrived on Marinus, he discovered that the
native Voords had captured the worldshaper device, and their tampering resulted
in a 'rapid evolve' of the entire Voord race; the planet's oceans suddenly
dried up, and the Voord race were now so advanced they grafted mechanical parts
to themselves, becoming...the Cybermen! Shocked by this development, The Doctor
decides the worldshaper machine, always intended to be used on uninhabited
worlds, is a devastating weapon in the hands of the Cybermen, and sets the
TARDIS to home in on the device's residual energy.</div>
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The Doctor emerges from the TARDIS in the catacombs of the
capital city, with just Maxilla and Jamie in tow; he explains to Jamie that in
order to facilitate their earlier adventure in which the Cyber Controller
remembered them from 'Planet 14', it must be this way. Maxilla discovers the
worldshaper machine, apparently unguarded. He hurries to appropriate it, but is
killed instantly when he hits a protective force shield. The Cybermen arrive,
and the Doctor instructs the Cyber Controller to 'remember our auras, we'll be
meeting again'. When the Cyber Controller scoffs, the Doctor and Jamie attack
them, dispatching the small group. Jamie bravely leaps into the force shield,
telling the Doctor he never 'intended to die in bed'; with his dying breath, he
summons the strength to shatter the delicate machinery with a swift slash of
his Clan McCrimmon sword. The resultant burst of time-stream energy begins to
engulf the entire planet, turning it into a desolate waste, while The Doctor runs
back to the safety of the TARDIS.</div>
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<br /></div>
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When the TARDIS crew once again venture outside, the planet
is a dead husk..The Doctor now recognizes this as Mondas, home of the
Cybermen!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Doctor is not surprised to
find a group of Time Lords, flanked by Chancellery Guards, sifting through the
rubble. The Doctor argues that the worldshaper's last gasp of timestream energy
has completed the evolution of the Voord into Cybermen, and he attempts to
rally the Time Lords in preventing their evil from escaping out into the
universe. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Dismissively, the Time Lords rebuff him and simply say 'it
is being dealt with', before threatening to impound the TARDIS and recall The
Doctor to Gallifrey if he doesn't immediately leave. Disgusted, The Doctor
promises that they 'haven't heard the last of this', and as he leaves, two Time
Lords discuss the cyclical nature of evolution and reveal their motivations
behind not involving themselves in stopping the birth of the Cybermen; in the
far-future, millennia from this point, the Cybermen will evolve into the
universe's most peace-loving beings, and become allies and mentors of the Time
Lords....what's a few million years of evil and bloodshed to the inhabitants of
the cosmos, if the end result benefits Gallifrey?</div>
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Review: Let's begin with the artwork, which, as any comic
fan is aware, can make or break a story regardless of how well written it may
be. Ridgway's conservative, back-to-basics style lends itself well to depicting
the Whoniverse and all its myriad inhabitants. The use of heavy, charcoal-type
pencils with a heavy touch of appropriate shading and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>emphasis on natural movement as opposed to
the traditionally North American 'posed' style of comic books is a definite
plus; there is no cartoony exaggerations of movement, no cluttered and
over-worked panels. The artwork is simple, smooth, and pleasing. There is
evidence that Ridgway consulted publicity stills of Nicola Bryant as Peri
(specifically from 'The Mysterious Planet' episode, as Peri is depicted here
with the exact same clothing as there), and Baker's Doctor, who along with Peri
are the two characters given close-up shots. The Sixth Doctor's outlandish
costume, notoriously difficult to accurately depict for artists, appears
perfectly weighted and hangs naturally on The Doctor; there is no Todd
McFarlane-esque flapping cloth or exaggerated length. Outside the regulars, the
guest characters are somewhat of a mixed bag; Ridgway's simple style definitely
tones down the character of Frobisher the shape-changing Wifferdill, nominally
in the form of a penguin in most stories, and normally treated to 'Who Framed
Roger Rabbit'-type, fourth-wall breaking moments by most artists, which
detracts greatly from the stories he appears in. Jamie looks nothing like he
did in the classic series, though due to the dictates of the story itself
that's not saying much; he's a generic old man. Wearing a quilt. </div>
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<br /></div>
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The Voord-Cybermen are impressively designed, as well,
resembling Troughton-era Cybermen with webbed metallic appendages and elongated
heads. The Time Lords are, to quote the Tenth Doctor, 'Time Lords in funny
hats', the traditional depiction of High Council members as seen in numerous
episodes; the Chancellery Guards, with their ‘Buck Rogers'-style ray guns and
domed-shaped helmets, were a nice touch. Finally, the unnamed Time Lord
investigator who sent the distress signal that kicked off the entire story is
himself nothing more than an aged man akin to Jamie, though his TARDIS,
described simply as a 'newer model' by The Doctor, is a visual treat; the
exterior is giant and ominous, pearl black coloured with grooves and spikes,
and the visual drives home that, just perhaps, this is a secretive Celestial
Intervention Agency craft. The interior is large and 'beautiful', to quote
Peri, with silvery shards of stalactite-like material extending from the
ceiling, almost as if it is a Fortress of Solitude. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Now, on to the story...and where to begin?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>IDW Comics ought to be applauded (or at
least, their sales and marketing department should), for having the foresight
to tap into the average comic fan's knowledge of the name Grant Morrison and
thus subtitling this special reprint series 'Grant Morrison's Doctor Who'. Like
a young Vidaal Sasoon designing the hairstyle that the First Doctor's
grand-daughter Susan wore in the first season of the classic series, James
Acheson providing set designs for several Tom Baker episodes years before he
won numerous Academy Awards for doing so in big-budget films, and writer Alan
Moore penning text stories for 'Doctor Who Magazine' years before he turned the
entire comic book industry on its head with 'Watchmen', the Whoniverse has
always benefitted from the contributions of individuals who later would leave
their mark on the television, film, and graphics industry in big, bad
ways...why not boost sales of reprint collections by branding it as
little-known work by a writer who went on to become a well-respected name in
the comic book industry?</div>
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The problem, as it seems to always be with matters
pertaining to The Doctor...is the timing. In 2013, Morrison is at the peak of
his storytelling prowess, a meta-master with a bibliography of hits, from
defining runs on established pop-culture icons like Superman and the X-Men, to
arguably 'the' finest graphic novel presentation of Batman, 'Arkham Asylum'. In
1986-7, however, he was a struggling writer pitching mind-bending ideas to
Marvel UK, and doing fill-in work for 'Doctor Who Magazine' while he awaited
his 'big break'. Though we are concerned solely with the 'Worldshapers' story
in this review alone, the entirety of his 'Doctor Who' work, to borrow River
Song's oft-repeated mantra of 'spoilers'...it's just not very good.</div>
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While of course opinions, like the TARDIS, are all
relative..facts are, simply, facts. Morrison's casual approach to canon, on
display in numerous works published by the 'Big Two' of Marvel and DC, may grit
some teeth among comic book fans but the sheer number of other stories written
by other writers featuring the same characters appear to mollify them; if you
don't like his 'Batman is James Bond in a cape' approach, you can simply read
another title written by another writer featuring Batman. But to take a casual
approach to 'Doctor Who' canon? One needs to have balls the size of a Sontaran
War Wheel to think it will escape notice or reproach. In the mid-1980's, in an
era when the series itself was being considered for cancellation...with no
internet, no Big Finish audio plays, no BBC Books text stories (only
sporadically-printed Target novelizations of existing episodes), no other
fictional exploits of The Doctor that fans could choose instead...'Doctor Who
Magazine' was IT for Whovians. Even Marvel Comic's 'Doctor Who' comics were
themselves re-printed from this source material. Thus, the sins of sloppy
stewardship of the comic stories are magnified tenfold given this placement in
time. </div>
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The first detrimental element is Morrison's approach to The
Doctor's character. Devoid of mannerisms, bland and wishy-washy, the Sixth
Doctor, a bombastic, arrogant, and spirited meddler in the television series is
reduced here to 'generic Doctor'; for all intents and purposes, this Doctor may
visually be the Sixth, but in action and dialog he may as well be Peter
Cushing's Technicolour incarnation, for all the difference it would make. It's
a shame, too..if ever an incarnation of The Doctor was tailor-made for the type
of out-of-the-box (no pun intended) writing Grant Morrison is capable of, it's
the Sixth Doctor.</div>
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Next, the companions; this particular story brings together
two televised companions from different eras...and a penguin. While the Sixth
Doctor has been burdened in other media with what can at best be described as
unfortunate choices for companions (the hyper-active fitness buff Mel in the
television series; Maggie the aged professor who looks and sounds like Robin
William's 'Mrs Doubtfire' in the Big Finish audio plays and 'Real Time'
webcast; Jason the 17th century fop in 'The Ultimate Adventure' stage-play;
Grant the manic-depressive in the 'Missing Adventures' novels), Frobisher the
shape-changing Wifferdill is, without a doubt, the worst of the spin-off
material lot.</div>
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Exclusive to the comic strips, and created, presumably, to
fulfill the role of companion as well as serving to provide the strip authors
with dramatic opportunities to place him into situations of dire peril not
permitted by the script-immunity nature of the television series, Frobisher is
nothing more than comic relief at best. Like the better-known Howard The Duck,
Frobisher is an anthropomorphic comedian, offering one-liners in inappropriate
junctures; numerous dramatic cliff-hangers are undercut by either his 'Looney
Tunes'-like wide-eyed reactions, his one-liner zingers, or both. It is
extremely difficult to buy into the shock of, say, a Cybermen race evolved from
the Voord and advancing slowly upon a trapped and helpless Doctor...when the
little penguin is cowering in fear and scampering behind his legs. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Peri herself retains some semblance of her television
character, and it is this fact that further fuels the speculation that 'The
Mysterious Planet' was source material for not only Ridgway, but perhaps
Morrison as well, as in this story she is quietly confident and clearly happy to
be traveling with The Doctor. Though she falls victim to the 'explain the
dangling plot points to me, Doctor' behavior all companions through the series'
history and in every medium, she also has good moments, such as the obvious
pity she feels for old Jamie, murmuring to Frobisher that when last she
encountered him, Jamie was 'much younger then'; this is a moment when Morrison
and Ridgway were in lock-step, as she is shown looking down, her face shadowed
in a moment of empathy. Peri's mere presence is enough to discount Frobisher's
very existence, as her rapport with The Doctor, even as it is given only a few
brief moments to shine and hampered by The Doctor's obtuse nature as written by
Morrison, is still clearly evident; Peri is The Sixth Doctor's natural
companion, and despite the legions of other creations that populate the
spin-off merchandise, she is still the one best suited to him.</div>
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Jamie, though he doesn't look a thing like fans remember,
still has the fighting spirit, tenacity, and loyalty to The Doctor that makes
him among the most favourite of all companions. Perhaps the finest portions of
this tale come in the moments where The Doctor collects Jamie from 18th century
Scotland. Upon arrival, they are treated to a gaggle of stereotypical 'Och!
Aye!' Scots, and given Morrison himself is Scottish, one can detect the
deprecating jabs he gives his homeland. Jamie is clearly Morrison's favourite
character within this story, though, and for many reasons. He is given moments
of gravity such as breaking down and crying, ashamed of having The Doctor see
him so old and frail, which leads to a tender moment between the two, and later
The Doctor facilitates a measure of revenge on the villagers who mocked and
belittled Jamie by gathering them to see 'a conjuring trick'; the TARDIS
dematerializing, which not only shocks them, it confirms that 'Mad Jamie' was
speaking the truth all along, and the look of shame on the face of the
ringleader for doubting him was beautifully illustrated. Later, there are
throw-back Second Doctor/Jamie moments, such as attacking the Cybermen to throw
them off guard, then running like hell, that were enjoyable. The denouement of
the story also lends credence to the belief that, whatever else was
accomplished or revealed within it, and whatever Doctor stars in it, this is,
truly, Jamie's story. </div>
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Morrison's failure to pay even lip service to established
canon is the true downfall to what, on the surface, could have been an
enjoyable story; while casual fans will thrill to the sight of a TARDIS that
towers, literally, over the characters, established Whovians are left
scratching their heads over bizarre scenes such as The Doctor directly
questioning the unnamed Time Lord's craft itself, and, even more bizarre, it
answering him! While this scene provides crucial plot information, had Morrison
simply had the unnamed Time Lord reveal the same information himself prior to
dying, it wouldn't have been necessary to bend canon to the breaking point. It
has long been established that all TARDISes are sentient to a degree, and this
has been depicted quite often in the current series, most blatantly in 'The
Doctor's Wife' episode, in which the TARDIS literally takes human form
(complete with swapping roundels for cleavage; but we digress). In 1987, however,
it had been well established that, as much as the TARDIS provides non-verbal
clues to its various moods and even can, when required, attempt to save the
lives of its occupants from impending doom ('The Edge Of Destruction' televised
episode is an excellent example), no TARDIS is capable of carrying on full
conversations with anyone! It is a clumsy failure to adhere to basic guidelines
established in the series, and quite unforgivable given the existence of the
unnamed Time Lord who could have provided the exact same exposition.</div>
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Before exploring further canon-bending, it is important to
note that, as detailed above and within several other blogs on this site, the
importance of the comic strips to the overall 'Doctor Who' mythos cannot be
taken for granted. More than all other forms of spinoff media, the comic strips
are, essentially, the 'B Grade Canon' of the Whoniverse. Though the Target
novelizations form their own canon, being mostly penned by former classic
series script editor Terrance Dicks (co-creator of The Time Lords themselves),
they are 'after-the-fact' canon; at no point does anything printed within a
Target novel take precedence over what has been already televised, even if the
novels may fill in details that were glossed over or missing altogether from
the episodes.</div>
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The comic strips were birthed not long after the very series
they were based upon was, and thus have become by Guinness World Records
consideration the longest-serving science fiction comics based on the
longest-serving science fiction TV series. Though a majority of the early work
is juvenile and obviously not meant to conflict with or add to established TV
canon, by the early 1980's the strips were, indeed, considered to be the proper
forum for 'Doctor Who' professionals, be they former script editors, writers of
episodes, or even producers such as John Nathan-Turner who suggested or
demanded alterations to certain stories, to convey ideas that were not
permitted in the TV series for reasons of budget or time, but nevertheless were
intended to be disseminated to fans. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Let us reiterate that producer Russel T Davies had
instructed the pivotal regeneration from the Eighth Doctor to the Ninth be
depicted in the pages of the comic strip; it was the strip editor who refused,
on the grounds the page count would not do such a monumental moment proper
justice. Clearly, outside the series itself, the modern comic strips are
secondary canon that, from time to time, move up to the forefront and run
neck-and-neck with the real thing in Whovian's eyes. Against this backdrop and
with these salient points in mind, let us resume Grant Morrison's numerous
canon-breaking moments in 'The World-Shapers'.</div>
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Though it is not explicitly stated the unnamed Time Lord who
sent the distress signal was a CIA agent, it is heavily implied; after all, as
noted above, his TARDIS is sleek and powerful, and by the conclusion of the
story Marinus/Mondas/'Planet 14' is crawling with Time Lords who make short
work of The Doctor's objections to their handling of affairs, much as they did
numerous times in numerous stories that fall into the fan-generated 'Season 7B'
mold (for more on 'Season 7B', see 'The Whostorian' podcast, we covered it
there). Their interactions with The Doctor harken back to the televised episode
"Genesis Of The Daleks', in the suggestion of altering the origins of a
race of galactic conquerors (while in the episode it is suggested TO The
Doctor, here it is The Doctor who does so), while the suggestion that they
dispatched an agent to investigate unauthorized time disturbances echoes not
only the televised episode 'The Two Doctors' (which also of course features
Jamie), but also 'Carnival Of Monsters', which features a similar plot,
concerning a device that can alter, rearrange, or capture time; in the episode,
it is the Mini-Scope, and here it is the world-shaper...and both have a token
number of Cybermen.</div>
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<br /></div>
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While accidental or intentional, these 'your roots are
showing' moments are pleasures to experience for fans, as it does lend to the
belief that this story fits into the overarching tapestry that is the
Whoniverse, with reoccurring themes, scheming and aloof Time Lords manipulating
events, and the like. Whether the credit can go to Morrison the writer or the
'Doctor Who Magazine' editors who were well-versed in Whovian lore who insisted
he sprinkle this stuff in to spice the story up for the initiated, it's not
known. However, of the positives that one can take, there are negatives...lots
of them.</div>
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In addition to the talking TARDIS is the conceit that, for
no reason other than to advance the plot and allow for the insertion of Jamie
into the story, The Doctor simply blanks on the details of past adventures.
Unless it was a subplot at the time of the original run of the comic and was
addressed and resolved elsewhere, there is no underlying reason ever given as
to 'why' he doesn't clearly remember the events of 'The Keys Of Marinus' or
'The Invasion'. 'If' it was a subplot, there is no context given to it, no
indication in later stories that were published, and no 'editor's note'
pointing to previously published stories in the line for any clue: The Doctor
simply does not remember certain events of his past, and therefore must seek
out Jamie in order to figure it out. Uhm...OK, then. Couldn't he have consulted
the TARDIS data banks? His 500 Year Diary? Again, this is done specifically to
justify bringing Jamie into the story, and for no other reason. Yet another
dagger in the fan-boy heart thrown by Grant Morrison. He's not done yet,
though... </div>
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<br /></div>
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The Time Lords captured The Second Doctor, put him on trial,
and forcibly regenerated him, as depicted in 'The War Games' televised episode.
That one episode was a turning point for the series, and events surrounding it
have led to Whovian legend-making for decades, culminating in the 'Season 7B'
belief system. One of the best-remembered moments of the episode is of the Time
Lords wiping clean the memories of Jamie and Zoe from their time with The
Doctor, save their respective first encounters (because you always remember
your first..). Jamie had his mind erased of The Doctor and their travels
together, except for the events of 'The Highlanders', his first encounter with
him...how does he remember all that 'Planet 14' stuff the Cyber Controller was
babbling about in 'The Invasion'? Grant Morrison's answer was: 'cause the Time
Lords are idiots.</div>
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Harness the power of a star and suspend it in a perpetual
supernova and turn that energy into time travel capability, thereby conquering
all of time and space and unlocking the power to bodily renew themselves for
thousands of years? Done. Properly wipe clean the memories of a dirty Scottish
teenager from the 17th century? THAT was out of their skill set!</div>
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Yes, Jamie patiently explains to Peri, ('cause she was in
her 'I have to ask the question on behalf of the reading audience' phase), the
Time Lords 'thought' they wiped clean his and Zoe's memories...but fortunately,
The Doctor taught them both 'certain mental tricks' to combat the attempt. The
Doctor derisively adds that 'fortunately, the average human brain is more
advanced than the Time Lords believe'. </div>
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....Who wants to call 'bullshit' on this? Show of hands?</div>
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On the one hand, some elements of this feed into those of
'Season 7B' quite nicely; Jamie is depicted as traveling with the Second Doctor
in 'The Two Doctors' AFTER the point they were supposed to be mind-wiped and
The Doctor exiled and regenerated, after all..they are even on a mission on
behalf of the High Council in much the same way the unnamed Time Lord was when
he arrived on Marinus. But as much as 'Season 7B' is a unique, elaborate (and
far too sensible to ever be given official canon status) fan-generated
explanation for tons of stuff that just doesn't make sense in the Troughton era
and multi-Doctor team-up stories, it's not canon...and neither is Morrison
writing off the 'oldest and most advanced civilization' as being defeated by
The Doctor's Far Eastern mental trick (did we mention Grant Morrison is a big
fan of Tibetan spiritualism?). So they can expand mental energy sufficient to
capture a TARDIS from the time vortex and force it into a space station during
The Doctor's (second) trial...but they can't properly mind-zap two teenage
humans. Sure.</div>
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However, the granddaddy of canon-altering is the dramatic
reveal in this story that the Cybermen, that universe-conquering race of
emotionless robotic warriors that consistently come second only to the Daleks
in terms of 'Doctor Who' monsters...are originally Voords. From Marius. </div>
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<br /></div>
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The 'true origins' of the Cybermen have, admittedly, been
shrouded in secrecy; beyond consistently appearing as humanoids, there is not
much to point to as to their origin point (we are specifically referring to the
classic series' version, the so called 'Mondasian Cybermen', not the current
series' overused Cybus Industries models; we know they originated in a parallel
universe Earth). What 'is' known is that, during their first-ever appearance in
the televised episode 'The Tenth Planet', they revealed they once were much
like humans, as emotional and humanoid as those they terrorize in the South
Pole tracking station. They also reveal they originate on 'Earth's twin planet,
Mondas', and of course in their first story, their home world is destroyed by
absorbing too much energy, which weakens them greatly, to the point they are
defeated. Later revelations have slightly amended this weakness, along with
that of radiation, magnetism, freezing cold...basically, all that remains now
to classify as a semi-consistent weakness is gold. But at 'no' point during
their televised appearances, and nowhere that has been found within spinoff
media, have they been revealed or even hinted at originally being Voords.</div>
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To begin with, in order for this to be the case, fans would
have to accept that Marinus is Mondas..which means that it was 'Earth's sister
planet, hidden behind the sun'. Further, fans would need to accept that in all
the planet-hopping The Doctor, Ian, and Barbara and Susan do in 'The Keys Of
Marinus', there is not one mention of the technology found there possibly being
adaptable to limb-replacement or skin grafting, which the Cybermen have alluded
to often enough as being the starting point down their path of full conversion.
</div>
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Further, two schoolteachers with more than a passing
familiarity with astronomy never give a passing thought to the skies, where
stars and planets would reveal they were not far from their home of Earth,
where at this point in time they desperately want to return to if only The
Doctor could get them there...The Doctor himself, a scientist with an IQ off
the charts, also never mentions it. Sure.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Perhaps the above reads as nebbish, nit-picky, and
ridiculously inverse: good, it should. Because in order for Grant Morrison to
weave his canon-altering tale that serves as nothing more than a moment in a
story but would have lasting repercussions on the entirety of the Whoniverse,
then it needs to pass muster and stand up to scrutiny, and, like all the other
casual, dipsy-do 'facts' he trots out in the pursuit of telling this tale, it
sure doesn't. </div>
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It is one thing to write a story that adds depth to the
Whoniverse, only to see the story kicked down the ladder of canon later by the
series itself. This occurred in the wonderful comic story 'The Mark Of
Mandragora', which teamed the Seventh Doctor with Sarah Jane-Smith in battle
against a Fourth Doctor adversary. The story was a rollicking, fun, fast-paced
adventure and Sarah-Jane was extremely well-written in it, demonstrating, as if
any further proof were needed, that shewas the definitive 'Doctor Who'
companion character, able to evince a level of camaraderie, love, and
friendship with any and all incarnations of the Doctor. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Over a decade later, the televised episode 'School Reunion'
obliterated it's canon value with one throw-away line of dialog, to the effect
of The Doctor having regenerated several times since last he saw Sarah-Jane,
establishing that 'The Hand Of Fear' televised episode was the last time the
two were together (since she doesn't recall the events of 'The Five Doctors').
To be relegated to non-canon status by the TV series itself is perfectly
acceptable; it happens. To attempt to undercut multiple episodes 'of' the TV
series, multiple other comic strips past and present, and devise an origin
story for the Cybermen when the TV series itself has always seemed reluctant to
do so? It is one thing when David Banks, the actor who played the Cyber Leader
in the 1980's, releases audio cassette tapes of his reading of 'The Origins Of
The Cybermen'; all the 'revelations' are his alone, unsupported by anyone else,
and were released under a production company called Silver Fist, as nothing
more than a vanity project. That and others like it, from fan fiction to Big
Finish Audio, are comfortably slotted to 'tertiary canon'; most Whovians
wouldn't dream of considering these modern examples of spinoff merchandise to
be even approaching canon. As stated above, the comic strips, however, are an
entirely different matter.</div>
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Then, of course, there is Jamie. Morrison reveals that he
can survive a Time Lord-induced mind-wipe with no ill effects. He is 40 years
older than he appeared in the 'Two Doctors' episode, which is name-dropped
frequently in this story....though the explanation for this, too, is extremely
weak, and is chalked up to The Doctor 'misjudging the coordinates'; when it
serves the plot, Morrison is happy to dumb-down The Doctor, it seems. Though,
as stated, it leads to the only moments in the strip that conveyed true emotion
mixed with the best characterization all around for the TARDIS crew, the set-up
is ludicrous; why not simply have invented a more logical reason for Jamie's
aging? Perhaps the Time Lord's tampering with his mind also aged his body
prematurely? Perhaps the TARDIS was acting wonky due to the worldshaper's
effects, and itself overshot the mark...anything would have been better than
simply having The Doctor be stupid. Then again, he's a Time Lord. They can't
even manage to wipe a kid's mind, after all. </div>
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The death of Jamie is handled with sensitivity and pathos.
As one of the most popular companion characters, the very concept of killing
him off seems repugnant on the surface of it, especially as up to this point it
has not been reflected or referenced within the TV series or other spinoff
media...but in this instance, it has yet to be contradicted specifically,
either. 'If' indeed one chooses to accept the comic strip adventures as at
minimum having the closest ties to the established Whoniverse canon, and as
stated above personages such as Russel T Davies and John Nathan-Turner
supported this belief by their words and actions, and at maximum being the
adventures of The Doctor as important as the series itself, then it is a
pivotal and important moment.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Grant Morrison is no stranger to controversial deaths, as
anyone who follows the current 'Batman' comics series is well aware; in
comparison to the cavalier treatment he afforded his own creation, the Damien
Wayne Robin, having him stabbed in the midst of a battle by an unnamed ninja,
Jamie's death was afforded far greater measure. Dying heroically in a self-sacrificial
way in order to not only save his friend The Doctor, save the planet Marinus
and by effect the universe itself from the destructive time waves crashing over
it, and prevent the Voord-Cybermen from accessing a super powerful weapon of
mass destruction, all by his own choice and in order to preserve his dignity,
leaves fans saddened, shocked...but relieved that the character was given the
proper respect for what he means to Whovians to be given such a death. </div>
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<br /></div>
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The only minor quibble regarding the entire death may not be
Morrison's fault so much as the limited page-count, which also affected Davies'
plans to 'kill' the Eighth Doctor, after all; The Sixth Doctor does not have
proper time to mourn or address the death in the manner that it truly deserved.
Though he gravely barks 'Jamie's dead!' at Peri when in the safety of the
TARDIS, and though here Ridgway's pencils again maintain a respectful and even
tone that only adds to the panel and the scene, the relentless pace of the
story racing to its climax means no further time can be spared dwelling on it.
Like so much to do with this story, it is the quieter moments that define it
far more than the canon-breaking nonsense that encompasses its bulk. </div>
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<br /></div>
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In summation, as a slice of what 'Doctor Who' is like in the
hands of a writer now revered for his bucking-authority style, his wild
disregard for established canon, and his off-the-wall concepts, 'The
WorldShapers' has a few solid moments, all of which involve Jamie. For the
sheer fun of it, from an outrageously shaped TARDIS to a return to Marius to a
gaggle of moustache-twirling evil Time Lords, it has its moments. It doesn't
stand up to scrutiny as a document for change within the Whoniverse, and it
doesn't do any favors to its source material, that's for sure. It operates far
better for the impressive visual work of John Ridgway than for the convoluted
mess Morrison writes himself into a corner over. </div>
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The death of Jamie is, truly, the only element that one
could recommend as a reason to read this. Perhaps that's enough....but then
what about the Cybermen with flipper hands..?</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015123008999082517noreply@blogger.com0Mount Pearl, NL, Canada47.520640700000008 -52.80768180000001247.477745700000007 -52.88836280000001 47.56353570000001 -52.727000800000013tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8800326142391250528.post-27042843096779360042013-03-13T15:28:00.001-02:302013-03-13T15:29:08.556-02:30Podcasting 101This week for the Whostorian blog I thought I'd go off on a different tangent. I've been reading some articles and listening to a couple of shows by other members of The 76th Street Network talking about what process goes into making their podcasts and what equipment they use. So this week, instead of talking Doctor Who, I'd like to talk about podcasting in general and the learning process that went into bringing the show to where it is today. <br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Two years ago myself and Shannon were talking one day about of all things, Doctor Who, and the former Whostorian fan magazine. He was the publications last editor and was remembering how much fun it had been and the enjoyment of bringing discussion of one of his favourite topics to the masses. I'd been a pretty avid listener of Radio Free Skaro at the time and as I mentioned it, Shannon said something along the lines of "I wish we could do something like that. We'd totally own it." I thought about for a few minutes as the conversation kept going.<br />
<br />
I already had a Logitech headset with a mic for talking on MSN and Skype, it wouldn't be too difficult to pick up another one. I also had a copy of Adobe Audition on my laptop for some editing I'd been doing and it was capable of recording from multiple inputs. I also had an account on podbean.com, and Shannon was co-hosting another podcast that used the same service, so that took care of finding a place to host the show. Finally I looked at Shannon and said "C'mon, I'll get my laptop and swing by Staples for an additional mic and we'll do this." That was, as it turns out, the simplest thing about the Podcasting process, at least insofar as my education into it has been.<br />
So there’s where it began, the decision was made that quickly and we were off and running. The original setup was my <a href="http://www.toshiba.ca/web/product.grp?lg=en&section=1&group=223&product=9442&part=9913#spectop" target="_blank">Toshiba A500 laptop</a> 2 <a href="http://reviews.logitech.com/7061/3621/logitech-clearchat-comfort-usb-reviews/reviews.htm" target="_blank">Logitech ClearChat</a> headsets and recorded using Adobe Audition.<br />
<br />
Like I said, it was that simple, or at least you think it would be. Shannon has repeatedly called me anal when it comes to The Whostorian and a lot of other things I do in my life. I admit that I am particular about how I do things and I tend to go in head first and try to the best job that I can do. I’m a bit of a perfectionist, I’ve been guilty all my life of tinkering and puttering with things that I’m working on in an effort to continually tweak and improve upon things until I’m happy with the result and I’m never happy with the result.<br />
<br />
The first thing I learned about recording with the Logitech sets was that they were omnidirectional and picked up almost everything in the environment. People outside, the fridge kicking in, the cat, even myself and Shannon echoing in the recording because both mics were picking us up. So I turned to Google and YouTube and learned about noise reduction and hiss reduction and voice normalization and de-clicking and a host of other possible manipulations that can be done in Audition to improve the sound quality. Shannon would cringe and I could almost hear his teeth grind when we’d sit down to record and I’d ask for silence from us both for the first 10 seconds of the recording so I could use that for noise reduction in editing. In Audition I could take that 10 seconds and use it to remove most of the background noise from the episodes. No more fridge, no cat, no outside noise. I was happy with that... for a while.<br />
<br />
It wasn’t perfect but it sounded alright, the editing was working, though at least on two occasions I went back to Shannon and told him we needed to record again because I thought it was crap and un-salvageable through editing, it was too horrible to use. Begrudgingly he agreed, the entire time I’m sure, cursing me as “too anal” and just being ridiculous. After those episodes I decided that it had to be an issue with Audition, so I went looking for different, better recording software. Sony Soundforge we discovered can only record from one input, so we couldn’t use two mics. Audacity for PC doesn’t do a good job of it either, at lot of recording programs it turns out are built around single input recording.<br />
<br />
I finally settled on Sonar Producer by Cakewalk. This worked exceedingly well, but we discovered that we could only record for about 15 minutes before this echo developed in the entire recording that we couldn’t get rid of. We adapted to recording segments for the podcast that I would then cut together later to sound like a continual hour long conversation.<br />
<br />
Happy for the time at least with the Software, I was listening to episodes when editing and noticed there was always a little echo or tinny sound to the podcast. I figured it was the microphones so the hunt began for new recording hardware. I spent a month looking at reviews of different microphones, comparing notes on features, USB vs. XRL inputs, learning about unidirectional and omnidirectional and the word cardioid. What ended up being the best and most economical choice was the <a href="http://bluemic.com/snowball/" target="_blank">Snowball Microphone by Blue</a>. It’s USB, it’s plug and play, there’s no extra software to install and it works with almost every recording program you can think of. At the time I found a deal where I was able to pick up three of them for about half price, so I spent $150 instead of $300.<br />
<br />
I added a couple of low cost pop filters and the sound was getting to a point where I was almost satisfied with the quality. Then lady luck stepped in, in the form of Shannon’s cat going into heat. When a female cat goes in heat, she can be very, very vocal about it and Shannon’s cat was a prime example it. We couldn’t record at his apartment as normal for about a month, so we moved production to my apartment. The hollow, tinny sound was gone, our voices sounded crisper, clearer, richer on the new recording and we realized that the problem was the open concept of Shannon’s apartment. His kitchen, dining room and living room all flow together with no walls to break up the space and nothing really on the walls to baffle noises from bouncing around the space. My living room is more enclosed and there’s more clutter. I have a bookcase that takes up three quarters of one wall and my sectional couch dominates another. I was finally happy.<br />
<br />
Now that it’s just me hosting The Whostorian I’ve really only changed one thing. I record using Sony Soundforge now, I used to use it anyway for editing regardless of what software I used for recording. It’s a simple program with a lot of options for cleaning up sound and for zooming in for cut and paste edits. So the list I gave at the beginning has evolved to this point, my faithful <a href="http://www.toshiba.ca/web/product.grp?lg=en&section=1&group=223&product=9442&part=9913#spectop" target="_blank">Toshiba A500 laptop</a> One <a href="http://bluemic.com/snowball/" target="_blank">Blue Snowball Microphone</a> with a pop filter and Sony Soundforge 10.<br />
<br />
Am I done? Hardly. I have a plan for the next steps and the next changes that I want to make. I have a <a href="http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/UBB1002.aspx" target="_blank">Behringer Mixer</a> and I want to pickup a couple of <a href="http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/wired_mics/a0933a662b5ed0e2/index.html" target="_blank">Audio-Technica AT2020 microphones</a>. I’ll stick with Soundforge because it’s an awesome program and I’ll only be working with the input from the mixer into my laptop so I don’t have to change my recording software.<br />
<br />
I’ve even done some testing with connecting the Snowball to my iPad and recording in Garageband on it. I get a really nice recording and that setup is super portable so I can take it basically anywhere. I can even mount the microphone to the dash of my car and record while I drive, press record before I leave my driveway and it’s no different than talking to someone hands free on my cellphone. The only drawback is that I find editing difficult on the iPad, but as with anything it’s a learning curve and if I work at it then it’s sure to get easier. Until I do, I can easily import the file to my computer and then edit in Soundforge as normal.<br />
<br />
I have learned so much in the past two years about audio hardware and about editing and what works for me personally and what doesn’t work at all. It’s been a series of ups and downs, of frustration and excitement, trial and error and I’ve loved every minute of it and I’m looking forward to anything that I still have to learn about everything.<br />
<br />
Stylin’ SteveAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015123008999082517noreply@blogger.com0St. John's, NL, Canada47.5605413 -52.71283149999999347.2171488 -53.35827849999999 47.9039338 -52.067384499999996tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8800326142391250528.post-54974889296886018082013-01-30T12:55:00.000-03:302013-01-30T12:55:53.850-03:30Steve's guide to New Whoviansby <a href="mailto:thewhostorian@gmail.com" target="_blank">Stylin' Steve</a><br />
<br />
As I said on the podcast, this week my friend Gerry asked me "What is Doctor Who and why is it so popular these last few years." Word for word, here is my answer; <br /><br />"Doctor Who is a British Sci-Fi show that's been on for the past 50 years. It's about an alien time traveler who calls himself The Doctor and his adventures with different people tagging along."<br />
<a name='more'></a>Now I know what you're all thinking, that's a pretty general and a lot vague for an answer. I can hear it all now; "You didn't explain the TARDIS! You didn't mention his two hearts! What about the Sonic Screwdriver? The Time War? UNIT? Rose? Sarah Jane? K-9? Daleks?" And a host of other whys and why nots of things I didn't get into detail with. <br /><br />Honestly, my answer to his question was intentionally vague. He was interested already to see what it was and I gave him just enough information to make him that little extra bit curious so he'd check out the series. I could have given him all the information in my head, which is considerable, but my feelings are, why do that to him? Why overload a newcomer to Doctor Who with the incomplete history of it and every little detail about gadgets, gizmos and people? Let him discover all of it as he watches, the way we used to find things out before the advent of Internet and Wikipedia and Podcasts. <br /><br />I told him to start with the 2005 series and he asked, if the show started in 1963 then why not start at the beginning?<br /><br />The easy answer there most Whovians know is that 2005 is a beginning of sorts, it's the start of Doctor Who for a new generation of fans. I hate to say this, given how much I love the classic series, is that if everyone discovering Who for the first time went back to "An Earthly Child" the show wouldn't have even half the new following it does now. <br /><br />Today's audiences expect a certain level of action, of adventure and a fast pacing to stories and movies and tv shows. The new Who series certainly delivers on that, as Donna Noble said in The Doctor's Daughter: "<b><i>He saves worlds, rescues civilizations, defeats terrible creatures and runs a lot. Seriously, there's an outrageous amount of running involved.</i></b>"<br /><br />Granted there are some episodes that slow the pace down a bit, <i>The Satan Pit</i>, <i>42</i>, <i>Love and Monsters,</i> <i>Gridlock</i>, <i>Human Nature,</i> etc. But for the most part, the pacing is pretty quick and there's a "get in, sit down, shut up & hold on" feel to the new Doctor stories. <br /><br />With that said, take a new fan of the show and then sit them down for <i>100,000 BC </i>or <i>The Aztecs</i> or <i>The War Games</i>. All great episodes, all well written, brilliantly acted (for the most part) but all slow in execution. That was because in the Classic series they had time for epic length stories. It was common for a story arc to go three, four or sometimes even six or even ten episodes. There are 159 stories broken into almost 700 episode to the Classic series.<br /><br />Combine that with the special effects of the time, a lot of which sadly don't hold up by today's standards, duct tape, tinfoil and chicken wire only go so far, and a new series fan will call into question if what they are watching is even Doctor Who. Those of us who grew up with the Classic series watch it now with a sense of nostalgia that today's fans just won't have.<br /><br />So when someone asks about Doctor Who, start them with the 2005 revival and let them get used to the Doctor, to the aliens and monsters, to the T.A.R.D.I.S. , to regeneration and Time Lords and Sonic Screwdrivers. Let them see the wonder that is this epic Science Fiction series and then guide them to the Classic episodes. My Personal recommendations for some would include, <i>Planet of the Giants</i>, <i>The Dalek Invasion of Earth</i>, <i>Tomb of the Cybermen</i>, <i>The Seeds of Death</i>. That's just the first two Doctors. There's an entire universe to explore.<br /><br />- Stylin' Steve<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015123008999082517noreply@blogger.com0St. John's, NL, Canada47.5605413 -52.71283149999999347.2171488 -53.35827849999999 47.9039338 -52.067384499999996tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8800326142391250528.post-59780473738099236302013-01-17T04:55:00.000-03:302013-01-17T04:55:00.060-03:30The Pages Of Time: A Brief History Of 'Doctor Who' Comic Books<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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by <a href="mailto:shannonmlush@gmail.com" target="_blank">Shannon Lush</a></div>
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Note: Due to technical oddities beyond my control, I won't
be reviewing 'The Minister Of Chance' podcast featuring 'Doctor Who' alumnus at
all now, sorry. If you enjoyed it, then perhaps, if you ask nicely, Steve Lake
will handle a review of the series on 'The Whostorian' podcast itself. It's
available on iTunes for free download, and their twitter account is
@MinisterChance. I support them, so should you! </div>
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<br /></div>
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..and now, we return to our regularly scheduled blog entry,
already in progress....</div>
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As we kick 2012 to the curb and collectively laugh at the
Mayans in the process, 'The Whostorian Blog' will begin reviewing one of the
longest-lasting spin-off merchandise examples of the Whoniverse; comic books.
'Doctor Who', in addition to being rewarded the title of 'world's longest
running science fiction television series' by Guiness Book Of World Records,
also boasts another record; it's comic strip and comic book incarnations themselves
are the longest-serving examples of such, having started to appear very shortly
after the thin, whispy black and white patterns of William Hartnell's original
opening credits sequence first graced BBC screens. </div>
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In order to appreciate the current state of 'Doctor Who'
comics, it is important to briefly run down the list of licensees to same.
Initially limited to British newsstands in the form of semi-regular annuals
such as 'TV Countdown' and 'TV Action', which featured comic strip adventures
of other licensed properties such as 'Thunderbirds' and 'UFO' alongside those
of The Doctor, the stories were primitive and tame. Often, they reflected the
fact that not 'all' elements of a chosen television series were licensed; in
the case of 'Doctor Who', only the likeness of the Doctor as played by Hartnell
and the TARDIS were made available to Polystyle Publications, the publishers. </div>
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This meant that new companions, initially in the form of the
Doctor's 'grandchildren' John and Gillian, were created to fill the void left
by Ian, Barbara, and Susan. These 'grandchildren' would even outlast Hartnell
himself, going on to appear in stories featuring his televised successor,
Patrick Troughton. For well over a decade and through several name and
editorial changes, Polystyle Publications was the primary source for 'Doctor
Who' comic strip adventures (it is important to note that, unlike publishing
houses that would come later, the stories of this timeframe were originally
presented as comic strips first and foremost, and only appeared as 'comic
books' insomuch as they were collected together to form longer storylines;
Polystyle Publications devoted only a few pages per issue to 'Doctor Who', and
were not truly the first licensees of 'comic books' featuring the character in
the traditional sense).</div>
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Another early and important publisher for 'Doctor Who' was
World Distributors, who produced 'Doctor Who Annuals' sporadically from 1965
through to 1985, an outstanding association with the Time Lord that lasted
through many televised incarnations. Unlike 'TV Countdown/Action', the annuals
not only produced unique material exclusively devoted to 'Doctor Who' alone
without competition with other licensed products, but they benefitted
tremendously from the contributions of actual 'Doctor Who' production
personnel. Text stories, production photographs, interviews and more were
regular highlights of the annuals, and the annuals more closely resembled early
fanzines than traditional comic books.</div>
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'TV Century 21' was also an important early comic strip
media form for early Whovians, though more geared towards those immersed in the
throes of 'Dalekmania': fronted economically by Gerry Anderson, creator of the
'Thunderbirds' primarily as a vehicle for his own creations, Terry Nation licensed
his creations the Daleks to appear in the pages. Thus the earliest 'origins' of
the Daleks were told, ghost-written by television series story editor David
Whitaker. The stories were limited to depicting the Daleks as 'good guys' who
strictly operated defensively, fending off cosmic invaders to their home
colonies in a complete role reversal from the series' depiction of them as a
ruthless and cunning alien menace. To be fair, the campy nature of many of the
stories evoke a pleasant, retro 'Buck Rogers' feel and are worth seeking. The
Doctor himself never makes an appearance, though other elements of the
whoniverse created and owned by Nation, such as Sara Kingdom from 'The Daleks'
Masterplan', does.</div>
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Though these examples serve to illustrate that 'Doctor Who'
was, from virtually the first transmission of the series, considered an
excellent license for merchandisers to seek out and exploit, the products
themselves suffered from 'also-ran' status; once the money had changed hands
and the comic strips, comic books, or annuals, had been printed, it was clear
that those in charge simply felt that printing the words 'Doctor Who' and
crudely drawing a cartoony TARDIS would suffice, that fans would purchase the
products regardless of the inattention to detail or seeming lack of care given
to it. In many ways, they were right; 'Doctor Who' comic appearances of this
time period were all-ages affairs, momentary additions to a young fan's
devotion to the series. At no point was there any consideration given to penning
serious stories that would take full advantage of the character. That would
come much later. </div>
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As much as Great Britain had and has its own history of
home-grown comic book products, much like Canada they tend to be rather staid
and lacklustre, lacking in proper dynamism and panache. The reserved nature of
the British culture precluded the creation of many over-the-top, colourful
adventure heroes; even James Bond answers to his superior, Her Majesty.
Influential comic book talent such as Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, Dave Gibbons,
Bryan Hitch, and Neil Gaiman, all of whom would go on to work upon 'Doctor Who'
in one form or other, found themselves wasting away in the U.K, uninspired and
under-appreciated. What saved them all, indeed what saved 'Doctor Who' as a
viable comic property, was making the jump 'across the pond', and being born
again in the wild and heady, capes-and-cowls, action-packed world of American
comics. </div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
While DC Comics is credited with getting the ball rolling
when their superhero character Superman started to leap tall buildings in a
single bound and inspire scores of imitators that quickly populated early newsstands
and earned fan interest, it was and is Marvel Comics that truly changed the
world of comics forever. Around the time that 'Doctor Who' was first
transmitting in the U.K, in the U.S.A Marvel was initiating the 'Marvel Age Of
Comics', resurrecting World War Two comic hero Captain America to lead the
mighty Avengers super team, demonstrating with Spider-Man that 'with great
power comes great responsibility', and allowing readers to feel a sense of
familial connection to the world's first superhero family, The Fantastic Four. </div>
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If DC Comics was classical music, then Marvel was
rock-and-roll. Featuring flawed characters who struggled with universal notions
of identity, depression, jealousy, anger, rebelliousness, financial and
personal hardship, Marvel, dubbed 'The House Of Ideas', hit upon what was, on
paper, an excellent one: create a newsmagazine about 'Doctor Who', and
eventually merge the Whoniverse into their Marvel 'multiverse', allowing The
Doctor to interact with Marvel characters. After all, in a satisfying example
of wibbly-wobbly, timey-whimey, it had been the American servicemen stationed
in the U.K during World War Two who indirectly inspired the creation of the
British comic book market, distributing their U.S forces-approved American
comic books to eager children and fellow Allied soldiers. </div>
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In 1972, Marvel created Marvel U.K, primarily to service the
British market with reprints and also-ran material, shipping numerous copies of
popular American titles to their British cousins for them to enjoy. Some titles
would be altered to suit the sensibilities of the British market, considered
unquestionably more formal and button-down than the teen-angst American one;
'G.I. Joe' was re-named 'Action Force', for example, while 'The Transformers',
in the U.S considerably more violent and action-packed and reflective of the
cartoon it was based upon, was in the U.K certainly more philosophical, apt to
spend pages upon pages with robotic characters pondering the moral implications
of their unending civil war rather than engaging in massive and destructive
brawls. </div>
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As a 'made in the U.K' product, however, 'Doctor Who' under
Marvel U.K initially was treated with the respect that a home-grown product
would be expected to; the early days of the magazine first entitled 'Doctor Who
Weekly', then 'Doctor Who Monthly', and now, under the sticker-and-collector
cards publisher Panini simple 'Doctor Who Magazine' or 'DWM' to fans, reported
nothing salacious or gossipy. They preferred instead to run 'making of'
articles about upcoming televised adventures, offered mail-in competitions,
printed quiz material, and featured bare-bones interviews with production
personnel. When John Nathan-Turner assumed full producer ship of the TV series,
however, and in tandem with the growing cheeky attitudes on display everywhere
else in British tabloid journalism, 'Doctor Who Magazine' became a hotbed for
controversial opinions and hard-line stances, along with headlines that
screamed low-brow and often inaccurate news.</div>
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In terms of the comics themselves, Marvel U.K produced comic
strips 'in house' for publication within the magazine, leading to work by the
afore-mentioned British comic talents such as Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.
These stories were and are often collected and feature some of the finest
examples of the genre, chiefly among them 'The Mark Of Mandragora', a sequel to
the television episode 'The Masque Of Mandragora', and featuring the Seventh
Doctor re-teaming with the popular companion Sarah Jane Smith. Numerous other
examples abound of the quality of the 'Doctor Who Monthly/Magazine' comic
strips; once it regenerated from its 'Weekly' status, the comic strip became
one of the true examples of quality original stories. Within Whovian fandom,
the canon of the comic strips, while certainly considered at the very least to
be 'secondary', has been given the respect to be virtually interchangeable with
that of the other major licensee, Big Finish Productions audio plays, to such a
degree that often characters and story lines depicted within the comic strips
find their way, sometimes in altered form, into the audio plays, and vice
versa. </div>
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The dawn of the current BBC series would see an offer made
by Russel T Davies as television series producer to 'DWM' editorship to
officially depict the canon regeneration of Paul McGann's Eighth Doctor into
the then-current Christopher Eccleston Ninth, an indication of the respect
level given to the magazine and to the comic strips. The offer was declined on
grounds that the editors did not think the allocated space given to them could
possibly justify depicting such a momentous Whoniverse event, and they could
also not adequately resolve their storyline with the Eighth Doctor in such a
way as to accommodate the request.</div>
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As much good as Marvel, the 'House Of Ideas', was to 'Doctor
Who' in terms of the creation, publication, distribution, and marketing of
'Doctor Who Magazine', which quickly rose to become the industry standard tome
for fans and remains so to this day, the same cannot be said for their
treatment of the character itself once they got hold of him. Appearing in
back-up stories in titles such as 'Incredible Hulk Presents', and encountering
characters such as Death's Head, a robotic mercenary, the Doctor traipses merrily
across the Marvel Universe...or, at the very least, one of the several thousand
'Earth' designations that Marvel assigns to a wider 'multiverse', in order to
differentiate between titles that feature encounters between licensed
characters such as the Doctor and established Marvel characters. </div>
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The 'universe' created by the likes of Stan Lee and Jack
Kirby way back in 1961 is called 'Earth 616', to give an indication of just how
'many' different and varied universes exist within Marvel. For the record, the
'All New Official Handbook Of The Marvel Universe', volume 1, #7, assigns the
Whoniverse as 'Earth 5556'. As the majority of the Marvel U.K line is
encompassed within this, the Doctor primarily encountered them to the exclusion
of the more popular cape-and-cowls heroes such as Spider-Man. The Knights Of
Pendragon, Death's Head, Motormouth, and Dragon's Claw all appeared with or
referenced the Doctor or some other element of the Whoniverse on occasion.</div>
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While Marvel U.S generally performed admirably with their
licensed characters, integrating diverse characters such as Godzilla into their
universe and providing it a nemesis in the form of S.H.I.E.L.D agent and
well-known supporting character Dum-Dum Duggan, the same cannot be said for
'Doctor Who'. Denied proper integration which would have helped American
readers familiarize themselves with the character, given zero advance publicity
in the pages of other Marvel U.S titles and with scarcely a mention in the
well-read and popular 'Stan's Soapbox' feature in which Marvel CEO Stan Lee
hyped upcoming projects, the good Doctor first appeared in an American title in
the form of Fourth Doctor Tom Baker. </div>
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In the pages of the comic book 'Marvel Spotlight', an
anthology series intended to be a 'proving ground' for possible new series or
re-tooled ideas, The Doctor first tested the waters of American comic
books...even though the story itself, spanning issues #57 to #60 and collected
since under the title 'The Star Beast Saga', was a poorly re-inked reprint of a
'Doctor Who Weekly' strip. With such limited exposure and within the pages of a
title that did not see the distribution of much better known titles as 'Amazing
Spider-Man' and other A-list material, these issues did not in any way set
sales records, nor was there 'any' rush to head back to the printers to order
further printings. </div>
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Two important considerations must be made to demonstrate
'why' Marvel chose to debut 'Doctor Who' as a Marvel comic after its four-issue
test, since neither sales figures nor industry buzz could possibly account for
it. First, on the 'Doctor Who' side of things, this period in series history
coincided with a directed push from the BBC first and with producer John
Nathan-Turner later, to attempt to crack the elusive American mainstream
market; as detailed in previous blogs, efforts were made not only to popularize
'Doctor Who' on U.S television by providing PBS stations with hours upon hours
of content in the form of episodes, but this period also began the emergence of
'Doctor Who' stars and production personnel on the stages of multiple American
conventions. Comic books, that quintessentially American pop culture media
form, were simply another outlet to exploit. </div>
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Second, Marvel, the largest and most productive American
publishing company of comic books at the time, were masters of maximizing their
profits while minimizing their overhead. Actively seeking to obtain licenses to
produce everything from 'Planet Of The Apes' titles to special 'KISS' magazines
to even the life-story of Pope John Paul II, Marvel diversified its output to
appeal to fans of both the popular and the cult, and did so as cheaply and
economically as possible. The way they figured it, they had established Marvel
U.K in order to stretch their profits on already-produced American material
that was repackaged for a European audience; they simply 'reversed the
polarity' when it came to 'Doctor Who'. This time, it would be the American
readers who would be given the second-run material, repackaged in the U.S as a
comic series from material already published in strip form in the U.K. </div>
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'Doctor Who' the Marvel comic series began its run in
October 1984, and finished just under two years later, in August 1986, for a
total of 23 produced issues. The fantasy of the 'House Of Ideas' providing new
and fresh stories full of the pathos, characterizations, drama, and appeal that
was its hallmark among comic fans quickly was dashed with the reality of
cost-cutting, editorial confusion, and artistic apathy. Titular editor Jim
Shooter, 'still' a controversial figure within the comics industry to this day,
primarily for work he actually did during this period of time with Marvel,
clearly spent 'no' time overseeing this title from an editorial standpoint. The
same man who crafted 'Secret Wars' and its sequel, the same man who oversaw one
of the finest stories in Marvel, if not comics, history, 'The Dark Phoenix
Saga', and the same man who created an entire 'Legion Of Superheroes' with its
sweeping future history of DC Comics at the age of fifteen years old...never
bothered to 'once' attempt to craft, initiate, or influence any story published
during the 23 issues. Shooter is an editor in name only on 'Doctor Who'; it's
doubtful he was even aware his name appeared within. </div>
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On the writing side of it, for the first 14 issues, the
series is handled more or less well thanks to the writing team of Pat Mills and
John Wagner. Both had submitted story ideas to the television series, and both
had grown weary of the seemingly endless re-writes required in order to fit
their pitches into workable episodes. When artist Dave Gibbons was given the
opportunity to become the artist on 'Doctor Who Weekly', he suggested both of
them be named writers, and to turn their rejected and neglected stories into
comic form instead. While some of the ideas, such as the Doctor turning into a
werewolf, a killer midget alien called Beep The Meep, and the Doctor battling a
'Time Witch', are all unimaginative and childish, they 'did' reflect the
declining nature of the series itself at the time. </div>
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Gibbon's art was sparse and workmanlike, and that was yet
another contributing factor to this series falling under the radar; despite the
obvious attempt to 'jazz up' the covers to visually hook readers with the
tried-and-true action shots and multiple uses of exclamation points, Gibbon's
clean yet mundane style does not lend itself to the chore. Had Marvel coughed
up a few bucks to assign a different cover artist who could provide some
much-needed visual flair, perhaps it would have stood out from the herd more.
As it was, for a visual medium like comics, both the cover and interior art
simply were nothing to call Winston Churchill from a TARDIS red phone over.
Marvel didn't even bother to hire anyone to re-draw panels, clean up the
inking, or polish the title in any way; they obtained the original artwork,
removed the references to its source at 'Doctor Who Weekly', and shipped it to
the printers. Done. </div>
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From issue #15 onwards, however, Mills and Wagner departed
and the writing chores were handled by Steve Parkhouse, another British comics
veteran, but one that definitely began to steer the series (more accurately,
the comic strip upon which the series is collected), into 'traditional American
comic book' territory. Whether by accident or design, the Doctor, at this point
the Fifth, is characterized much more as a typical American comic book
protagonist; he battles not just villains but super villains; he is pithy and
makes caustic remarks woefully out of character for the Fifth Doctor; he is
more apt to strike a pose. Encumbered with both art and writing chores on the
title, Parkhouse benefits slightly from the transition to glossier paper that
the comic industry as a whole was experimenting with at the time, but this is
cold comfort in the end. </div>
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Marvel's handling of 'Doctor Who' as a property could and
'should' have been much more. With the right artists, writers, editors, and
with the power of proper marketing, 'Doctor Who' could have made an impact much
greater than it did. Comic book fans today still talk about legendary series
such as 'A Death In The Family', 'Days Of Future Past', and 'Dark Phoenix
Saga'. Had Marvel wished to pair a properly motivated writer and artist team
and give them free reign over their licensed corner of the Whoniverse, there is
no end to the type of epic stories that 'could' have been fashioned. Instead,
as happens so often with 'Doctor Who' in comic form, from 'TV Countdown'
through to Marvel and now to IDW Publishing, the characters are given to people
who either do not know the series or simply do not care, or both. </div>
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Marvel shut down its U.K branch ten years after it cancelled
'Doctor Who' the comic. It continued to publish<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>'Doctor Who Magazine' until it sold that to Pannini. Therefore,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>issue #23 of the comic, with its American
comic book-style cover screaming 'Is This The End Of The Doctor?!' as a
warplane dive bombs the Doctor, who strangely is running 'away' from the safety
of the TARDIS, remains the last gasp of Marvel's attempt to 'superhero-ify' the
Time Lord. A massively misused opportunity summarizes the tenure of The Doctor
in the Marvel universe.</div>
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Marvel is to be applauded for its creation of what is now
'Doctor Who Magazine', and for securing the rights to 'Doctor Who' and
producing a comic title. It is to be deriding for nickel and diming 'Doctor
Who' when it could easily have utilized its vast supply of talented writers and
artists, that it refers to constantly as 'the bullpen', and made 'Doctor Who'
the comic a giant success. However, at the end of the day, Marvel was and is no
different than many other licensees and even the BBC itself, in that the brand
power of 'Doctor Who' has been obtained for a cheap price and results in cheap
merchandise based upon it. At least there's a corner of the Marvel Multiverse set
aside for 'Doctor Who'. It's not much..but it's something to hang one's Whovian
hat on.</div>
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IDW Publishing, much further down the totem pole well behind
DC and Marvel, announced in 2007 they had acquired the rights to publish
'Doctor Who' comics. As NOW Comics and Dark Horse Comics had done decades
beforehand, IDW eschewed the notion of establishing its own comics titles
within a shared 'universe' in favour of producing licensed titles based on
popular films and television series. Today the current publisher of a variety
of 'Doctor Who' titles, annuals, and a regular series, IDW has done a lot of
good work and done more with the character and the license than any previous
publisher has..they also have produced an awful lot of cringe-worthy material.
Ask 'Whostorian' podcast host Steve Lake about the 'Star Trek/Doctor Who'
crossover miniseries 'Assimilation Squared', for further information.</div>
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In the blog entries to come, we will be reviewing stories
drawn from all published eras of 'Doctor Who' comics, from the days of The
Doctor and his 'grandchildren' to the days of The Doctor teaming up with the
Sleaze Brothers, right through to the current IDW series. The hopeful
expectation will be a review of a story pulled from each era per blog; a 'TV
Action' story, a Marvel story, an IDW story. This is dependent upon time
considerations as well as availability of titles, but my collection of
Whoniverse merchandise is bigger on the inside! So, I shall do my best!</div>
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I hope you have enjoyed this truncated and rambling introduction
to 'Doctor Who' comic books. Do yourself a favour and seek some of these out.
Not only is the Marvel series collected in graphic novel format, the earlier
'TV Action' stuff was likewise reprinted by 'Doctor Who Magazine' under the
title 'Doctor Who Classic Comics', and of course the IDW stuff remains readily
available at comic shops and online stores, including smartphone apps. Any
questions, comments, invitations to play the Game Of Rassilon, please feel free
to email me at the links provided, or post on the Facebook 'Whostorian podcast'
fan page group wall. And remember to download and support the podcast! </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ShC57jAN5A8/UPe08mlHZ6I/AAAAAAAAAQI/xHKAT5-N6RM/s1600/300px-Doctor_Who_Vol_1_23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ShC57jAN5A8/UPe08mlHZ6I/AAAAAAAAAQI/xHKAT5-N6RM/s1600/300px-Doctor_Who_Vol_1_23.jpg" height="320" width="209" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hxntRCM9E6A/UPe08i9oFOI/AAAAAAAAAQM/plm3jK7cTjQ/s1600/Doctor_Who_Vol_1_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hxntRCM9E6A/UPe08i9oFOI/AAAAAAAAAQM/plm3jK7cTjQ/s1600/Doctor_Who_Vol_1_1.jpg" height="320" width="207" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015123008999082517noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8800326142391250528.post-26241557302392187202012-12-13T22:50:00.002-03:302012-12-13T22:54:31.894-03:30Elvis Tunes And Area 51: A Review Of 'Dreamland' Animated WebcastBy <a href="mailto:shannonmlush@gmail.com" target="_blank">Shanon Lush</a><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ACXK0OtW4Wg/UMqMhflmEaI/AAAAAAAAAPk/FnsAeG0KFW8/s1600/250px-Dreamland_(Doctor_Who).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ACXK0OtW4Wg/UMqMhflmEaI/AAAAAAAAAPk/FnsAeG0KFW8/s1600/250px-Dreamland_(Doctor_Who).jpg" /></a></div>
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December is the month for 'Doctor Who' fandom to flex their
democratic muscles, it seems. Fans can vote for the current series on TV.com's
'best of television' poll, as well as give their collective nod likewise to The
People's Choice Awards. Former Sixth Doctor Colin Baker sadly fell short in his
quest to be crowned this season's winner of the British reality TV series 'I'm
A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here', though he 'did' manage a few respectable vote
tallies during some of the individual contests. While Americans were occupied
last month with deciding who would be the 'most powerful man in the world',
Whovians this month are busy voting in more important matters, helping to
secure 'Doctor Who' in its rightful place as a pop culture institution.
Besides, every card-carrying Whovian worth their TARDIS key chains already
'know' the good Doctor is 'really' the most important in the world, or even the
universe.</div>
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While we celebrated the 49th anniversary of the world's
greatest science fiction series in November, while we impatiently await the
transmission of this year's Christmas special, and while we all continue to
speculate on what (or 'who', to utilize an overused pun) will comprise the 50th
anniversary specials, I decided to do my own voting this month on what the
topic of this blog review would be. Would it be 'The Minister Of Chance', an
audio adventure featuring spin-off Whoniverse characters, boasting not one, but
two former Doctors, Paul McGann and Sylvester McCoy, in the cast (not to
mention former UNIT soldier Captain Hawkins/Tekker from 'Timelash', Paul
Darrow)? Or would I indulge my inner Tennant, and review the 2009 animated
serial 'Dreamland', instead? </div>
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Well, the answer is pretty obvious, and easily found in the
title of this blog. At the end of the day, work commitments (not to mention the
'oncoming storm' that is Christmas!), have kept me from listening to all of the
available 'Minister' episodes, though I am currently about half way through,
and will review the entire series on the next blog addition. For now, let us
take a look at 'Dreamland', starring the voice talents of the last of the great
Doctors, the sadly missed David Tennant.</div>
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The Story</div>
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The companion less Doctor arrives in 1958 Dry Springs,
Nevada, and enters a local diner intending on sampling some of the era's food,
not to mention the ambiance of this legendary time frame. He meets a waitress,
Cassie (played by David Tennant's now-wife and Peter Davison's daughter,
Georgia Moffatt), and the Native American Jimmy Stalkingwolf (played by Canadian
singer Tim Howar, of Mike And The Mechanics), who fill the ad-hoc role of
companions. The trio are quickly attacked by Men In Black when the Doctor
discovers and activates a strange alien artifact. Extended running and chasing
ensues, including being attacked by a Viperox, the first appearance of the main
alien 'baddies' in the story. The trio are rescued by the United States Army,
who (of course) then immediately kidnap them with the intent of wiping their
minds of the alien's presence, along with everything else. The Doctor affects a
break-out inspired by Houdini 'and' the 'Die Hard' films, rationalizing that
since they haven't been released yet, nobody will figure out their plan to
escape through the ventilator shaft!</div>
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Unfortunately, of course, the alarm sounds and the Army
comes running, but not before the Doctor discovers a real, living 'grey' alien
has been captured and is being held captive as well. By this point, it is
revealed that the Viperox race, who had been seen to be the hidden reason for
the Roswell Incident in 1947, when they fired upon the grey alien's ship as it
was attempting peaceful contact with humanity, are ruthless invaders who take
over planets by landing with a small force including a pregnant Queen, who then
proceeds to give birth to an entire army, all the while hidden in underground
lairs. What's more, because they promise to provide a special weapon to Colonel
Stark, the Communist-hating commander of Area 51 in order for him to get the
drop on Soviet Russia, the U.S. Army are actually in league with these monstrous
beings...all they need is the DNA code from the husband of the grey alien they
shot down in order to activate the alien artifact. The Doctor determines to put
an end to the Viperox scheme, one way or another...</div>
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The Cast</div>
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Simply put, any medium that features David Tennant in the
role of The Doctor is going to produce wonderful results. While the quality of
animation is akin to the worst of the old 'Reboot' series, Tennant's charm and
obvious enthusiasm for the role of the Doctor distracts even the biggest
detractors of the animation; once again, he capably raises a production to a
higher standard simply because of his presence. The Doctor remains his hipster
self, confusing his companions with endless references to a pop culture that
they haven't experienced yet. Tennant's Doctor's ability to shift from
whimsical and nonsensical ramblings one minute and then become deadly serious
the next is one of the best elements of the character, and his performance of a
good quality script here is much appreciated. As always, the best Doctor since
Tom Baker delivers as only he can. </div>
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The companions get more screen time in the visual sense than
would normally be the case, especially for an episode with a shade under
forty-five minutes running time, but while they are represented well in that
sense, neither the script nor the voice acting leaves much of an impression. It
doesn't help that they simply are not that interesting; Cassie is a waitress
and while she shows flashes of Tegan-like independence when she questions the
Doctor and bucks his authority somewhat, overall Georgia Moffatt simply doesn't
have to much to 'do' here other than voice a very generic character that could
have really been anyone else. Jimmy the Native American is cringe-worthy, the
delivery barely above that of a whisper, flat and monotonal. His very inclusion
as a companion seems to have been purely to fulfill a minor plot point later on
in the episode, and he and his fellow Native Americans suffer from what I call
'Chakotay Syndrome': the unfortunate tendency of 'anyone' who includes natives
of 'any' tribe or creed in science fiction/fantasy to adopt a knee-jerk
reaction to offending anyone, therefore said Native Americans will always be
depicted as vaguely and generically as possible. Hence the proliferation of
dialogue that sounds lifted from old 'Lone Ranger' episodes featuring Tonto!
Like Moffatt, Tim Howar struggles gamely with the words he's handed and the
result is lifeless and dull. Fortunately for all concerned, though, David
Tennant is given the best lines and his Doctor really carries the story (I
would argue that this is how it 'should' be regardless. After all, the series
is called 'Doctor Who' not 'Doctor Who And His Gang Of Emo Teens' pardon me while
I consume some of my anti-Steven Moffatt medication, I seem about to go off on
a rant..)..</div>
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The remainder of the cast, however, are excellent. As the
primary Viperox leader Lord Azlok (don't you just 'love' loud, bombastic
science fiction bad guy names?), David Warner, no stranger to the Whoniverse,
virtually chews the scenery. His Azlok is malevolent, intelligent,
superior-minded, and xenophobic, and Warner plays every aspect admirably. I'm
personally 'still' waiting for David Warner to mail in a performance, whether
it's in film, TV, or animation. Hasn't happened yet, and certainly not here, he
was an excellent choice. Stuart Millighan as the misguided patriot Colonel
Stark skirted the edge of your basic military man, of the type the Doctor would
philosophically oppose about every other week on the classic series in the
1970's. The character itself is riddled with the conventional cliché stereotyping
that occurs in most 'Doctor Who' military personnel (except of course The
Brigadier) historically, and his about face after the Doctor spends
approximately 30 seconds convincing him the Viperox will simply crush his
much-vaunted U.S Army the way they had countless other more advanced armies on
countless other planets is rather convenient to the plot, but all in all, it's
a serviceable performance. The remaining cast each perform their roles in
equally serviceable ways. </div>
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Summation</div>
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'Dreamland' is forty five minutes of 'Doctor Who' goodness
circa 2009, before the dark times of Matt Smith. It is choke full of homage material
to fondly-remembered movie moments, from a mine car chase evocative of both
'Goonies' and 'Indiana Jones' to the Doctor's funny use of pop culture itself
as a weapon, when he figures out that he can simply borrow elements from the
'Die Hard' films to in order to escape the mind-wipe gas that Colonel Stark
unleashes on him and his companions, to the Queen Viperox, who looks and sounds
like that from 'Aliens'. Of course, it also plays like a mid-1990's FOX UFO
special, with the inclusion of Men In Black, (who actually warranted a
live-action return appearance in the 'Sarah Jane Adventures' story 'The Vault
Of Secrets'), the 'secret truth' behind both the Roswell Incident as well as
uncovering the goings-on of Area 51. Far from being cautious, the Doctor is
positively giddy with excitement at the prospect of 'finally getting to the
bottom of that stuff', and I've said in previous blogs that 'Doctor Who' as an
action-adventure science fiction series ought to make every effort to utilize
well-known themes such as 'grey aliens', as well as Bigfoot, vampires,
etc...the 1950's were a boom period for UFO activity and perhaps the one and
only time in this planet's history that the subject was taken with something
approaching serious and sober thought rather than the tabloid newspaper
approach that was later adopted to discredit it, and I greatly enjoyed the
depiction of the 'grey aliens' in 'Dreamland' not as mysterious and potentially
malevolent abductors of sleeping humans, but as caring and compassionate beings
who sought peaceful relations with humanity. </div>
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While many bemoaned the lack of quality animation of this
webcast, and it 'is' true it is poor in the extreme given the advances in
computer animation in the year that it was made in, died-in-the-wool original
Whovians will choose to appreciate the story over the delivery method. A
well-told story that succeeds despite shoe-string special effects has long been
the hallmark of 'Doctor Who', and this is no more evident than in 'Dreamland'.
For whatever reason, it doesn't appear that much money was spent on this story
in terms of animation, and that 'could' be due to its initial release being on
BBC's Red Button, a 'freeview' interactive TV service maintained by the BBC, originally
designed for teletex service; perhaps the mind-set was that as the transmission
method would be low-grade, what was the point of spending money on it as it
wouldn't be in a high-definition format, anyway? It was also transmitted on the
BBCi Player as well as the official BBC website. In terms of the latter, the
animation quality is actually greater than that of its sister animated 'Doctor
Who' releases for the website, the flash-animated 'Scream Of The Shalka', 'Real
Time', 'Death Comes To Time', and 'The Infinite Quest'. </div>
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Taking the animation limitations aside, the story itself
shines. It contains fast-paced, snappy dialogue, action sequences that would be
at home in any televised 'Doctor Who' episode, a monster race that visually
appear as giant cockroaches, complete with twitching mandibles for the creep
factor, enough nods to the classic accoutrements of 1950's UFO stories to
satisfy fans, and best of all, the greatest modern Doctor of them all, in a
story that does him justice and in which David Tennant gives it his all. What
more could anyone ask for? 'Dreamland' is the Ghost Of 'Doctor Who' Past, and
it's a welcome ghost during this cold and dark Christmas night, and I'm
grateful my vote counted! I'm Shannon Lush, wishing all those who listened and
continue to listen to 'The Whostorian' podcast, my fellow traveler Mr Stylin'
Steve Lake, all Whovians everywhere one and all, a Merry Christmas and a Happy
and joyous New Year, and thank you all for reading my blog in 2012; if the
Mayans will it, I'll be back soon into 2013 with my review of 'The Minister Of
Chance'. In the meantime, go support Sylvester McCoy in 'The Hobbit', and don't
forget to vote for 'Doctor Who' every chance you get in whatever poll or vote
there is!</div>
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<br /></div>
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...and by the way, I 'am' partial to Christmas gifts. Just
throwing it out there :-).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You can find 'Dreamland' full episode here, from Youtube: </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRADobrEQGc">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRADobrEQGc</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015123008999082517noreply@blogger.com0Mt Pearl, NL, Canada47.5206407 -52.807681847.4777477 -52.8866458 47.5635337 -52.7287178tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8800326142391250528.post-87696480924217189442012-10-31T18:01:00.000-02:302012-10-31T18:01:24.069-02:30Who A'Ween: Cryptids, Monsters, And Legendary Creatures In 'Doctor Who'<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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by <a href="mailto:shannonmlush@gmail.com" target="_blank">Shannon Lush</a></div>
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<i>Writer's note: This particular blog entry was patched
together, must like Frankenstein's Monster, over a period of time. For several
days, I had suffered from debilitating stomach flu, and was only able to write
sporadically, if it all. Thus, if some of the narrative appears disjointed at
times, please factor in, it was written at various times through a period of
almost two weeks. Thanks, hope you enjoy it, and Happy Halloween!</i></div>
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For a television series such as 'Doctor Who', based on the
premise of a time traveling alien who encounters and opposes all manner of
devious and demonic monsters, the idea of utilizing classic monsters as
antagonists 'should' have been a slam-dunk. After all, the modest budgets
allocated each season were stretched to their limits in creating new and unique
alien monsters every week; why not present home-grown versions of classic
cryptids such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, Dracula, etc.? Not only would
it save valuable exposition, as the vast majority of the viewing audience were
no doubt familiar on 'some' level with these legendary creatures, but the
design work was, essentially, already done for the production team, as the
basic visual framework for these characters existed within the public mind
already. On paper, then, it is odd that more stories involving these creatures
were not pitched, and even odder that there was such a relatively small amount
of appearances that did make it to the screen.</div>
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Notwithstanding rights and clearance issues concerning some
creatures, another benefit was that many of them simply were not owned by any
one company or person; as variations on mythical beings, most of them existed
in the public domain, free to the world to use and adapt to their liking. The
public domain usage of vampires in general, for example, and certain elements
of the classic 'Dracula' story, have after all led to a proliferation of
appearances by vampiric characters within pop culture, most especially in the
last ten years. Similarly, the tragic story of the Frankenstein's Monster,
itself a variation of the ancient Jewish characters of Golems, has fallen
within public domain usage, with the exception of the Universal Picture's
trademarked depiction of the character (which also is in effect for their
version of the Dracula character). Again, the sheer number of legendary,
mysterious characters with built-in mannerisms, backstory, powers and
weaknesses, would, on the surface, seem very attractive and easily exploitable.
Yet, the proof is on the screen; despite its nature as an action-adventure
series designed to appeal to the whole family, 'Doctor Who' did not often
tackle monsters from folklore and myth that would have been familiar 'to' many
family members comprising the audience. </div>
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One of the reasons for this may lie in its initial creator,
Sydney Newman. While North American television series tended to defer to their
creators and respect their edicts, in England it was a different story; as the
Head Of Series And Serials at the BBC, Newman merely got the ball rolling, and
while he created the initial framework of the series, he did so merely as one
of the many functions of his job and without the desire for publicity or
residuals. Everything he created was instantly the BBC's ownership without
question; as such, Newman was, like everyone who worked on 'Doctor Who', a
'hired hand' who did not supplement their income in any shape or form.
Therefore, he was free in a sense to lay the groundwork without concern for
financial success, and his motivation was to ensure the quality of his work was
up to a high standard, as it was his good name as a creator and producer and
not the effect on his pocketbook that was on the line. As someone who infused the
series with a definite desire to 'educate and entertain', emphasis on the
former, Newman made it clear that the Doctor would be facing scientifically
plausible alien creatures, not mythic creatures culled from superstition. </div>
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There need be no better examples of Newman's preference for
'science-based characters' than the Cybermen. Their co-creator, Kit Pedlar, was
an actual doctor and scientist who was inspired to co-create the soul-less
beings over fears that artifical hearts, pacemakers and the like may lead, one
day, to replacing all that was 'human' about the race with cold, mechanical
steel and unfeeling robotics. This perfectly sums up Newman's desire for
scientific reality as the basis for drama in 'Doctor Who'. </div>
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There is also Newman's often-repeated demand that there be
no 'bug eyed monsters' in 'Doctor Who'. While not specifically targeting the
types of fantasy and paranormal-based creatures that ghosts, goblins, Bigfoot,
and Nessie were, this meant, at least in its early years, that 'Doctor Who', a
scientist, encountered 'monsters' made from science, not fantasy. Even the
Daleks, cited as the creatures that instantly put 'Doctor Who' the series on its
head and cemented it as a renewable series for the BBC, had their origins as
radiation-soaked beings now encased within mobile travel units. Nothing
mythical about them. </div>
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Yet, as the series progressed through the years, and the
Doctor battled a (pardon the pun) 'who's who' of science-based monsters and
adversaries, this restriction, imposed upon the series by its creator and
carried forward by its initial producers, gradually became relaxed, primarily
due to the changing nature of audience tastes. After all, as much as the Daleks
were instantly a hit, numerous long-running, mult-part episodes featuring them
made even the children, their ardent fans, weary. The series had exploited the
Daleks to a mutual absolute maximum. Running parallel to this was, of course,
their creator Terry Nation's attempts to further exploit them in everything
from licensed merchandise to a pitch to the ABC Network in the U.S for their
own series, which never happened. The follow-up, the Cybermen, while a definite
second to the Daleks in terms of popularity right to this very day, simply
didn't resonate with the audience in precisely the ways in which the Daleks
did. Simply put, by the Second Doctor's era, fresh blood was needed. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
From the Second Doctor's era, which is now considered to be
the 'golden age' in terms of monsters, 'Doctor Who' as a series had grown and
matured and shaken off its rigid guidelines. The Doctor was no longer simply a
curious wanderer in space and time, and no longer was portrayed strictly as a
scientist; now, he was an impish jokester, and this broadening of the main
character fed into his chosen monsters; where once the adversaries consisted of
twisted scientific experiments gone wrong, now there was room to incorporate
those who were more obviously monstrous, and more obviously based upon
Earth-based creatures from legend. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
From that point, while it never forgot its roots totally as
a series meant to educate, and while there would be hundreds more monsters,
aliens, and adversaries presented that fit the basic mould of scientifically
plausible beings, the door had been opened for the inclusion of creatures that
did not need to have been created in a mad scientist's lab in order to scare
children and get them running behind the sofa. Below are the stories that
presented variations on creatures that the viewers may expect to find knocking
on their doors demanding candy every Halloween. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
'The Chase' (1st Doctor): One of the many Dalek-centric
episodes from the classic Hartnell era, season two's 'The Chase' is, to borrow
a quote from Ben Arronovitch, writer of 'Rememberance Of The Daleks', "a
story that seems as if the writer simply presented a series of ideas he had
while in the bath". True, this loose collection of stories, in which the
running theme is simply that of the Doctor and his companions on a romp through
time and space attempting to avoid a Dalek death squad with orders to (what
else) exterminate them on sight, isn't very good, and is one of the stories in
which it is evident the exploiting of the Daleks was truly underway, as, in
order to make the plot work the Daleks were given their own time machine called
a 'Dardis' in the script, though thankfully not on screen! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Suddenly, adversaries that were trapped on their own world
and which the Doctor had beat by simply cutting off their source of mobility
throughout Skaro, now were equally matched to him and had command over all of
time...and yet, they chose to immediately engage in a protracted chase, instead
of exploiting this new-found ability to alter time itself and, perhaps, wipe
the Doctor from history. Regardless of its ludicrous nature, this story also is
notable for featuring the first true appearance of recognizable, legendary
monsters...it also immediately 'sends them up' and plays them for laughs. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In episode three, while first causing the crew of the
legendary 'lost ship', the 'Marie Celeste', to jump overboard on the sight of
Daleks slipping and sliding across her bow (nope, I'm not kidding), the Doctor
quickly escapes those dastardly Daleks once more, and jumps the TARDIS forward
in time...to a fake 'haunted house' within a Disneyland-style theme park, the
Festival Of Ghana, in the year 1996.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There, they encounter watered-down Universal Pictures' versions of both
Dracula and Frankenstein's Monster. Again, I'm not kidding. It gets worse.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While no-doubt in stressful, high-alert status after several
quick getaways from Daleks, the Doctor and his companions are then scared by
the (obviously robotic) Dracula and Frankenstein's Monsters, which look, walk,
and talk (or more appropriately, grunt) exactly as you would expect they would.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
'Doctor Who' then becomes, for an episode, 'Scooby Doo',
featuring madcap hall-way running, including running in and out of doors and
closets, and eventually all culminating in a humorous conclusion: somehow,
while the Doctor can't seem to stop the relentless Dalek death squad, Dracula
and Frankenstein can!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They, uhm...well, they use the power of their, uh, robotic
elements to create this weird force field which, for reasons fans are 'still'
waiting for, causes the Daleks to be repelled, giving the Doctor and company
the chance to once again give them the slip. Yep. SO not kidding. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Clearly, if this episode is 'any' indication, 'Doctor Who'
is not a series in which one could expect to find the Wolfman, at least not
played straight. Anarchist-type monks, yes. Giant ant-like Zarbi, yes. Heck,
even an adventure that is essentially 'Honey, I Shrunk The Kids' 40 years or so
before the movie, was played straight. But Dracula? Frankenstein's Monster?
That stuff's for kids, and they aren't real. Unless we need them to save the
day and defeat the Daleks for us...</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That, essentially, sums up the way it was for classic
monsters within the Hartnell era. But, as we have read, the times, they were
a'changin'...</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
'The Abominable Snowmen' (2nd Doctor): It took time, but by
Patrick Troughton's second season, it was clear definite changes had been made
not only to the character of the Doctor, but to the nature of his adversaries,
as well. With the restrictions on creatures specifically with science-based
origins relaxed, producers tentatively delved into the realm of true monsters,
and presented a story in which the Doctor encounters the legendary Abominable
Snowman, the Tibetan equivalent of Canada's Sasquatch and Bigfoot from the
United States. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dialog within the episode indicates that the Doctor is well
aware of these creatures’ existence and he considers them shy and timid. This
being 'Doctor Who', of course, it is immediately established that there are in
fact 'two' types of Snowmen; real, and robotic versions, in order to satisfy
critics of either approach. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Though producers at the time desperately casted about for a
replacement arch nemesis for the Doctor, as Terry Nation by this point had
withdrawn the Daleks from BBC usage, the remote location of the Snowmen and
establishing that they were themselves of animal intelligence and presented
little threat naturally without being controlled by others precluded them from
contention.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Audiences took well to them, indicating that 'Doctor Who'
was on the right track in terms of introducing 'real world' monsters and they
returned in 'The Web Of Fear'. While quite notable for being one of the few
creatures to have been afforded more than a one-off appearance, this episode is
considerably more important within Whoniverse circles for its first appearance
of Colonel (later Brigadier) Lethbridge-Stewart, and as a blueprint for the
later U.N.I.T, Earth-bound stories of Pertwee's era.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is worth pointing out that, to further degrade these creatures’
own menace as adversaries, the Great Intelligence simply inhabits the robotic
versions instead of the real ones (though many of the same costumes were used).
Nevertheless, 'testing the waters' with mythic monsters had produced two
outstanding episodes in one season, a real thumbs-up to the producers and
writers for expanding the Whoniverse to now include all manner of ghosts,
goblins, and things that go bump in the night.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
'The Daemons' (3rd Doctor): An Earth-based Doctor such as
Jon Pertwee was bound to encounter all manner of Earth-based monsters. When not
battling evil industrialists, corrupt politicians, and the odd Auton outbreak,
this Doctor fought perhaps, the most evil mythic monster ever created, the Devil
himself! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Roman Catholic character known as 'the Devil', often
depicted with horns, bat-like wings, forked tongue, and generally crimson in
color, was, according to believers of Christianity in its many variations, the
source for all the 'evil' in the world.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Of course, because this is science fiction, because it's
meant for family viewing, and because, well, the BBC simply didn't want to rock
the boat with those who felt it was somehow blasphemous to depict the alien
Timelord battling the Christian 'Devil', the character is named Azal in the
story, though as a concession to viewers not so close-minded, the Doctor also
conveniently explains that Azal's race, the Daemons, have visited Earth in
pre-history and, basically, are the inspiration 'for' the Christian 'Devil' of
myth and faith. A case of having their cake and eating it too!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This story is considered among the greatest in 'Doctor Who'
history by fans and by those who worked on it. Clearly, including not just
creatures from the paranormal realms but those from religion and ancient myth
were fair game, and by the Third Doctor's era, the drift away from Sydney
Newman's original contention of 'no bug eyed monsters' was well underway.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As the remainder of the Pertwee era melted away, the
familiar 'family viewing' trappings made their departure as well. As quickly as
time and propriety could allow, newly appointed series producer Phillip
Hinchcliffe and script editor Robert Holmes eagerly wrote out the various UNIT
soldiers, and re-set their new Doctor, now played by Tom Baker, on a path back
out to the stars. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They intentionally infused their era, widely now considered
'the' greatest in series history, with what Tom Baker called 'an alchemy' of
borrowed themes from various sources. Everything from pop culture of the
mid-1970's, especially tongue-in-cheek political references, cropped up in some
form. If ever there was a time in which folklore, myth, and legendary creatures
would be used as source material, it was during this period, especially
considering the success of the Hammer horror film studios, a major source of
inspiration for the 'Doctor Who' production team. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After dispatching Cybermen and Daleks in his debut season,
the 4th Doctor went up against one of the United Kingdom's must enduring
cryptids in his second, the Loch Ness Monster. 'Terror Of The Zygons' not only
brought back the Brigadier and saw the departure of Harry Sullivan as a
companion, it provided a story that would have made Sydney Newman proud,
plausibly 'explaining' the Loch Ness Monster as one of a number of cyborg
brought to Earth and controlled by the Zygons. Without their signal device to
control it, which the Doctor causes the being, called a Skarasen, to devour, it
returned to the 'only home it's ever known', according to the Doctor: Loch
Ness.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For all the science and wizardry on display in the story,
which is essentially window-dressing in order to provide the 'science-based'
explanation that some segments of fans prefer and to which Newman and others
insisted upon, it is worth nothing that, when Target Books published the
novelization, they labelled it as 'Doctor Who And The Loch Ness Monster'! With
the famous 'Nessie' now dealt with, and with the story garnering acclaim and
high ratings, the Hinchcliffe/Holmes team now felt emboldened to introduce even
more well-known creatures, and what better source to draw upon than the classic
Universal Pictures' horror icon, the Mummy? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Unlike the mild lampooning Dracula and Frankenstein's
Monster received in 'The Chase', however, 'Pyramids Of Mars', like 'Terror Of
The Zygons', treated the legendary creature with respect and dignity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a story dripping with Egyptian motifs,
revealing that the famous god Horus was in reality the conqueror Sutekh's
brother and valiantly fought to defeat him on behalf of their people, the
Osirians.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Of course, Sutekh isn't dead, and it falls to the Doctor to
defeat him once and for all, which he does, imprisoning him in a time corridor
that he cannot escape within his lifetime. Another classic that holds up to
this day, 'Pyramids Of Mars' expanded the mythic monster count to two within
the same season, proof positive that, when it came to things that go bump in
the night, perceptions had changed and the door was opened for them to appear
in 'Doctor Who' with open arms.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It didn't take long for the next creature to show up. Within
a matter of weeks, the fans who kneeled before the might of Sutekh now found
themselves treated to the return of Frankenstein's Monster...only this time, it
would be less obvious that Mary Shelly's 'modern Prometheus' creature was the
direct inspiration for 'The Brain Of Morbius'. Like Frankenstein's Monster
itself, it was a patch-work of different sources formed into one. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The original story was written by Terrance Dicks, who had
borrowed from himself in naming the planet in which the action takes place
Karn, as it was in his 1974 stage play 'Doctor Who And The Daleks In Seven Keys
To Doomsday'. Dicks turned in his completed scripts, then took a much needed
holiday, and was unavailable when script editor Robert Holmes and director
Christopher Barry required several alterations to be made. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As a result, Dick's original intention for the
Frakenstein-like monster that lurches around in the story to be given more
prevalence as the 'main baddy' is watered down, and the result is that nobody
seems to notice the obvious solution of using the Doctor's head to hold
Morbius' brain, something Dicks had intended from the start. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The story itself, re-written extensively by Robert Holmes,
is heavily reminiscent of the screen versions of 'Frankenstein' rather than the
original novel, another element that Dicks had intended to be the reverse; in
the finished story, the monster is ungainly and lumbering, as the Universal
Picture's version was, Solon fulfills both the 'mad scientist' role as well as
that of the bumbling Igor-type manservant at times, and the windswept-castle,
crashes of thunder and lightning, and overall dank atmosphere all harken back
to the film version. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When Dicks discovered the depth of the changes made to his
story without his approval, he demanded to have his name removed, resulting in
his insistence in the pen name being 'bland' therefore, 'The Brain Of Morbius'
is credited to 'Robin Bland'!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While other stories would feature Oriental mysticism
('Talons Of Weng-Chiang') and Druidic and cult behaviour ('The Stones Of
Blood'), the influx of legendary creatures reached its peak in the season
numbered with the supernaturally-imbued 13. While half-hearted attempts to
present characters drawn from cults, witchcraft, and the like were scattered
about as noted in the above stories and others, it would not be until season
18, and 'State Of Decay', that a true legendary monster would be presented once
again front-and-center. And this monster is, perhaps, the most famous of all:
Dracula.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Vampirism was, and remains, an extremely fertile source of
inspiration for writers of all genres. By its very nature, it can be adapted to
fit into virtually all formats, from science fiction, fantasy, and drama, to
thriller, erotica, and comedy. The fascination with undead creatures that
require the blood of living beings in order to maintain their immortality
remains as powerfully compelling as source material as Dracula's hypnotic stare
itself. 'Doctor Who' was no different, and in Tom Baker's final season, the
Doctor did battle with the ancient enemy of mankind...err, Timelords!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
'State Of Decay' presented the Doctor trapped in the smaller
universe of E-Space, as, indeed, did the preceding story, 'Full Circle', and
the following story, 'Warrior's Gate', comprising a mini 'E-Space Trilogy'
within season 18. Here, the Doctor discovers the 'Great One', as the villagers
of the unnamed planet have dubbed the creature that dwells in the tower and for
whom the other lesser vampires, 'The Three Who Rule', do its bidding. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Doctor reveals that the Great Vampires were ancient
blood enemies of the Timelords, and each TARDIS was programmed with special
instructions from Rassilon himself to hunt down and destroy the King Vampire
without fail. Rassilon had commissioned great fleets of bow ships, armed with
giant spears to impale the creatures, in order to vanquish this great and evil
menace to Gallifrey and all other living things. Naturally, it is the Doctor
who fulfills Rassilon's wishes and manages to impale the creature at the moment
of its awakening, severing the link with the Three Who Rule, who then crumbles
to dust.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
An interesting side-note is that this story was quickly
commissioned and written by Terrance Dicks, after the BBC big-wigs at the time
forced the late abandonment of another story he had written, also about
vampires but more closely connected to the Dracula mythos, entitled 'The Witch
Lords'. The feeling at the time was that, as the BBC was in post-production on
a very expensive and prestigious version of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>'Dracula' they intended to transmit, a 'Doctor Who' story that also
featured the character would be seen as satirical.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As was often the case, what the production team of ‘Doctor
Who' were often able to present with a miniscule budget often rivalled much larger
budgeted films and TV series. The BBC worried that viewers may actually be more
impressed with the less-is-more 'The Witch Lords', and pulled the plug on it.
Clearly, poor Terrance Dicks seemed to have 'the' worst luck when it came to
writing monster stories for 'Doctor Who', if this and 'The Brain Of Morbius'
was any indication!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By the arrival of John Nathan-Turner as producer, the glitzy
1980's stories became much more akin to the 'Battlestar: Galactica', 'Space:
1999', and 'Buck Rogers' series that competed against 'Doctor Who' for science
fiction audiences; Dracula, witches, warlocks, and the like were discarded in favour
of laser battles, alien monsters, and stories that took place in deep space,
where nobody could hear a Yeti scream. While the Davison era would not feature
any recognizable cryptids, in Colin Baker's brief era, an old friend of the
Doctor's made a surprising appearance: the Loch Ness Monster! Well...kinda..</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
'Timelash', which competes to this day for the award for
'worst episode in series history', nevertheless has the distinction of
presenting a SECOND Loch Ness Monster, with attendant origin story. In a story
that already featured future 'War Of The Worlds' author H.G Wells as a
character, the creature called the Borad, a hybrid Karfelon/Morlox, had taken
over the planet, and, naturally, the Doctor wasn't having any of that.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Stuff happens, yadda, yadda, yadda, the Doctor gives the
Borad, who had banished political enemies to the 'timelash' device, a time
corridor to Scotland, Earth, in 1173AD, a taste of its own (bad) medicine, and
there you go...two different versions of the 'origin' of the Loch Ness Monster.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But then again, there's at 'least' two different versions of
Atlantis within the Whoniverse, so let's just forget it all happened, shall we?
Trust me, avoid the episode unless you feel like you 'should' be punished for
something...though a future 'Whostorian Death Zone' match pitting the Borad
against the Skarasen ought to garner some support, what do you think?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The final legendary creature to appear within the classic
series did so in the final season itself. Season 27's 'Curse Of Fenric', itself
a rare gem from the usually silly and inept Sylvester McCoy era, presented,
once again, vampire-like beings.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And once again, the 'big boss' vampire, this time called
Fenric, is an ancient enemy of the Timelords, or, rather, one in particular;
the Doctor. Along with his legion of Haemovores, long-nailed, fanged, vampiric
types, Fenric sets out on a bloody revenge plan for the Doctor's imprisoning
him within a flask. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While once again not a 'true' vampire in the traditional
sense, Fenric's command of his 'wolves' harkened back to Dracula's similar
hypnotic stare and limited mental powers, and, of course, the Haemevores
themselves make excellent vampiric thralls. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That'll do it for a brief look at the creatures of the night
as they are presented within 'Doctor Who'. If there's any that you feel I
missed or wish to make a case for inclusion on this list, please feel free to
message me, and, of course, have a happy and safe Halloween!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015123008999082517noreply@blogger.com0Mt Pearl, NL, Canada47.5206407 -52.807681847.4777477 -52.8866458 47.5635337 -52.7287178tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8800326142391250528.post-42701015662675011942012-10-17T15:06:00.000-02:302012-10-17T15:06:55.816-02:30Why I Hate The Eleventh Doctor<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
by <a href="mailto:shannonmlush@gmail.com" target="_blank">Shannon Lush</a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As the leaves wither and die on the trees and the kids
prepare their costumes, I contemplated a Halloween-themed blog this week. Then
I decided, since many have cause to question my reasoning, to detail, finally,
the 10 reasons I hate the Eleventh Doctor, instead.</div>
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</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
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Why, you ask? Because in my days as co-host of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>'The Whostorian' podcast, and frequent
contributor to the various associated media, from Facebook fan page to the
Twitter account, I've indulged in spirited debates with fellow Whovians and
those called 'Nuvians', fans who have been minted in the years from 2005 to the
present, who are barely aware the very series they have come to know and love
in it's present form has a near-50 year history already, regarding the current
merits, or distinct lack thereof, of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>'Doctor Who'<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it seems to my
mind, as a fan since 1989, that the bar has been set quite low lately. </div>
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<br /></div>
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I'm all for change; the series itself depends upon it,
through the nature of regeneration. Without a periodic shuffling of the
creative deck, 'Doctor Who' would have died when William Hartnell either grew
too ill to soldier on as the First Doctor, or else his cantankerous ways would
have led to the BBC firing him and/or cancelling the series by the mid-1960's.
In the decades since, Whovians have both enjoyed the brilliance of Tom Baker
and the aborted violent excesses of Colin Baker; the highest highs and the
lowest lows, as it were. Yet throughout it all, fans could rely upon one thing;
that despite its status as the lowest-budget science fiction television series
possibly in the history of the genre, the stories would lift it higher. Sure,
the monsters are made of tinfoil and every alien planet is just a rock quarry
in Wales...but damn, the acting was great, and the stories really resonated, brimming
with the finest messages dressed in science fiction trappings that the BBC
could present, until now.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Why do I hate Matt Smith's Doctor 'so' much? Why after
20-plus years of devoted fandom, after mapping as many corners of the
Whoniverse as is humanly possible for a fan to do, often on incomes that rarely
supported the purchases, do I feel that finally, I have reached the point where
I find the series I love so dearly nearly unwatchable? There's a myriad number
of reasons, but for the purposes of this blog, and in order to silence those
critics who feel I'm being unjustifiably harsh in my viewpoint, I present to
you the top 10 reasons I've come to feel this way. </div>
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<br /></div>
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10. The Clothes Make The Man: Sure, 'Doctor Who' has often
dressed its main character in ludicrous clothing (6th Doctor). The clothing has
been eccentric versions of casual clothing, often from different time periods
in Earth's past (1st, 2nd, 8th), present (4th, 7th, 9th, 10th), or even very
bad ideas (the 5th Doctor wears basically a cricketing outfit, which was
pointed out by British fans to be akin to putting Captain Kirk in a hockey
sweater). In the 'classic series', the majority of the Doctors (or at least the
ones who didn't have to deal with John Nathan-Turner as producer) sorta dictated
what their Doctors would wear (Tom Baker, Jon Pertwee, and Sylvester McCoy all
either influenced the clothing, or outright wore whatever they damn well
wanted), and by the Davison era the stuff really began to get all cartoony. The
modern series strives to reflect maturity, in order to appeal to modern
sensibilities; after all, had Christopher Eccleston shown up in 'Rose' wearing
what Colin Baker wore in 'The Twin Dilemma', the only dilemma would have been
how quickly the BBC could cancel the series amid the howls of laughter from the
public. After all, this isn't the gaudy 1980's, this is a post 9/11 planet with
a generation now raised on reality TV and social media; appearances matter now
more than ever, and even mild critical analysis can be damning in the long run.
And what does the Eleventh Doctor look like? The Nutty Professor, that's what.
Complete with a 1960's Walt Disney-film console room.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Eccleston captured what was intended to be the 'mood' of
modern 'Doctor Who' with the simple-yet-effective black coat and dark jumper,
dark pants, and dark shoes. It was a departure and took some getting used to,
but, somehow, it worked and it worked well. Audiences could well believe this
was a Doctor who had lived through the death of his homeworld. 'Nuvians' were
not turned off the series because the main character dressed in a manner that
evoked sympathy (black is a universal mourning color, after all), in a manner
not dissimilar to millions of regular, everyday humans. </div>
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<br /></div>
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David Tennant, given free rein to explore the character far
more than Eccleston did (or, more accurately, than he 'chose' to do), was able
to 'brighten' the Doctor significantly, though still anchoring him in reality
with variations of a simple trenchcoat and hipster-styled clothing. Not too
dissimilar to the clothing options of thousands of others throughout the world.
So far, so good, right?</div>
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<br /></div>
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Now, we come to Smith. Let's first examine the blow-tie.
Despite his assertion that 'bow ties are cool', the fact is, no, they aren't,
nor have they 'ever' been. Bow ties were and are the province of nerds, and
always have been. Granted, many Doctors have taken to wearing clothing from
Earth's past that has long since gone out of fashion, and have managed to pull
it off. But in those cases, the Doctors themselves have won the day by wearing
unusual clothing and 'still' managing to be the coolest people in the room.
Smith wearing a bow-tie not only places him on the same level as every science
nerd in the world, it detracts from each and every scene in which he is meant
to convey serious, dramatic, universe-altering messages...because you just
can't take your eyes off the ridiculous bow-tie. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Can it get worse? Yep, it sure can. Because nothing screams
'badass' like a tweed jacket. If bowties are for science nerds, tweed jackets
are for the pipe-smoking professors of little Midwestern colleges that correct
the nerd's science exams. But at least he doesn't wear suspenders, right?
Wait...sigh!</div>
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<br /></div>
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While previous Doctors have made fashion fatalities before,
Smith's outfit is simply the height of hilarity. He doesn't have the excuses of
this being the 1980's...of JN-T dictating what he is to wear...this is
'supposed' to be the 'same' person to whom the Time War happened, after all,
this is 'supposed' to be the same person who looked thousands of Daleks in the
face and sacrificed his own PEOPLE to stop their evil. And he's wearing
suspenders, a bow tie, and a tweed jacket...? </div>
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<br /></div>
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9. The Doctor Can't Act. This is, you know, kind of a big
deal. Think about this little fact: when 'Doctor Who' re-debuted, in 2005?
Yeah, Matt Smith was just BEGINNING his career in acting, after injuries ended
his sporting career. Look at the history of previous Doctors for an excellent
example of how, in acting, experience usually counts for a heck of a lot. Sure,
there are excellent child actors, and sure acting is a vocation in which one
can shine without benefit of years and decades of experience. But to play the
central role of The Doctor, there's a very good reason that William Hartnell
was cast in the series, and it's because he made 65 films BEFORE he ever
harrumphed his way through the TARDIS doors. Why is Tom Baker the
longest-serving Doctor but Sylvestor McCoy is embarrassingly incapable of
delivering even the tiniest speech without it sounding fan-film bad? Because
Baker had been acting in theater, films, and TV for over 10 years BEFORE he
became The Doctor, while McCoy was stuffing ferrets down his trousers to
entertain children in light entertainment plays. Jon Pertwee was a household
name in acting circles before he was The Doctor, and was such a showman he
could do comedy, drama, spooky, you name it, all at the same time and often in
the same episode! David Tennant is such a superior actor, he could play the
shark in 'Jaws'.</div>
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<br /></div>
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So, what happens when you give an actor in his mid-20's the
role of a lifetime and he doesn't have the acting chops to pull it off? You get
a Doctor completely incapable of emoting. In scenes in which he is required to
play anything other than all bouncy-Attention-Deficit, he fails miserably. When
he is required to convey sadness, he looks down to his shoes like a scolded
child. When he is required to convey contemplative, he purses his lips.
Defiant? He juts out his chin. Compare this to the tour de force performances
of Eccleston in 'Dalek' and the why-didn't-he-get-a-freakin'-Emmy 'Human
Nature' turn of David Tennant (or, really, 75% of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tennant's entire career AS the Doctor), and
you'll see, the fact is the writers are hampered with an actor who simply isn't
that 'good', and the actor is consequently saddled with trying to portray a
centuries-old Timelord in a bow tie who can do little more than frown after
waving his sonic screwdriver and checking it's readings, and bounding about the
console room set like a demented child shrugging off Ritalin. Sorry. But the
truth hurts.</div>
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<br /></div>
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8. Every Episode Uses 'Time Itself' As The Antagonist.
Remember when 'Father's Day' dramatically illustrated the effects of time gone
wrong? Wasn't that a great episode, full of excellently-conveyed moments that
really brought home to the viewers 'hey, time itself can really be screwy,
kids, good thing we got the Doc here to fix it'? Remember how new and novel the
concept of Time Itself was within the new series? Remember how the vast
majority of episodes of the Eccleston/Tennant eras were essentially
self-contained stories with little nods to some of the over-arching storyline
threads spread throughout a season, such as the whole 'Bad Wolf' thing? When it
was all in the background and didn't get in the way of telling the ACTUAL
stories? Now, how about trying to sit down and recounting how time itself was
all screwed up week in and week out for the last three YEARS of the show? Can
you even 'do' that? The Doctor and company have been to the end of the
universe, re-written time, died and come back to life, hit the cosmic 're-set'
switch just HOW many times now? When did a show about time travel become a show
about TIME, period? There was a time not too long ago when the TARDIS was used
as what it was intended; a vehicle to spirit our heroes to their destination of
the week. Now, the TARDIS and all of time and space have been messed with 'so'
much in the last few years, it's like trying to re-trace the footsteps of those
kids in 'Family Circus'. I'm all 'for' visually depicting the power of time,
and of the scope of history to bring the Doctor to the distant past and the
far-flung future. But, hell, didn't we wreck the entire universe and put it all
back together again LAST week? </div>
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<br /></div>
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7. Historical Characters Are Basically 'Bill And Ted'
Versions. Remember the excellent episode 'The Unquiet Dead', which featured an
aged Charles Dickens encountering the Doctor? Weren't those great moments,
revealing the private pain and the genius of this real-life person from
history? That cute little moment when the Doctor says he's a fan? That pensive
and dramatic moment when the Doctor tells Rose that despite their adventures
together, Dickens will die in the following year? Dickens, a real person who
really lived, was handled with sensitivity and pathos. Now...put Hitler in the
closet. Yep, that's right, take the most evil and ruthless man in history, the
man who ordered the deaths of countless millions and plunged the world into the
bloodiest conflict it has ever had the misfortune of enduring...and shove him
in the damn closet.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
'Unquiet Dead' established a pattern in which historical
people would be treated properly, as befitting their importance to the realms
of history. Sure, you can 'have' your fun, you can 'have' the Doctor joke that
the 'ladies call you Chuck', but at the end of the day, IF you are going to go
the route of peppering your stories about a time traveller with real-life
people who made their mark on science, literature, and the world at large just
in general...is there really ANY need to make them appear buffoonish? Do we
REALLY need the man who, once again, sacrificed his own PEOPLE to stop the
Daleks...getting felt up by Egyptian Queens? Is there 'any' good reason that
the Doctor, who once refused to alter history and save Adric, his companion,
despite the pleading and the tears of his other companions to do so...to hide
under the beds of medieval kings? What purpose does this clownish behaviour
serve a story other than to elicit a cheap laugh? We are also supposed to
believe that the same man who kidnapped Barbara and Ian because he was afraid
they MIGHT breathe a WORD of his existence to the authorities of their time, a
man who worked for the most secretive Intelligence Taskforce in the world, a
man who forced Mickey to wipe out 'every' trace of his existence from the
internet and intelligence agencies worldwide....lets Winston Churchill
speed-dial him? Makes NO attempt to disguise his obvious alienness (or even his
bow-tie) when he bounds out of the TARDIS in what, over time, seems like
'every' major world event in history? I don't know about you, but it was bad
enough that Indiana Jones came face-to-face with Hitler. The very same man who
pressured Davros to tell him if he had it in him to unleash a virus that would
wipe out all life, is the very same man who blundered into Adolf friggin'
Hitler's office and had no recourse whatsoever but to shove him in a closet...I
mean, really?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
6. Companions Used To, You Know..NOT Comment On EVERYTHING.
In a hilarious moment from the charity episode 'Time Crash', the 5th Doctor
chides the 10th that he is basically just commenting on 'everything that
happens right in front of him'. It's a playful dig at the writers and producer
of the modern series, and thankfully self-deprecating, indicating they were
aware of the tendencies on their part and were, hopefully, going to correct it.
While it's been an issue with the modern series as a whole, it's really been
ramped up lately with the Rory and Amy characters (and allow me to say it,
because I just do not 'care' anymore...boy, am I ever glad they are gone!).
Constant, inane chatter from the companions that does nothing other than to
serve the teen-beat viewers watching with yet another arch and self-aware TV
series. A Dalek invasion force? Well, sure, companions in the past would, you
know, cower in fear and shut their damn mouths and just help the Doctor defeat
them somehow. Now? We get running commentary on the state of the companion's
relationship, what the frowny face on the Doctor 'really' means, and some inappropriate
comedy witticisms involving button-pushing. Emo, angst-ridden dialog has
replaced the real thing. And all it's done is turn dramatic moments into
cartoony jokes, ruined the suspense and surprise of many a plot and monster,
and just made it impossible to enjoy an episode of 'Doctor Who' without feeling
trapped on an elevator with a teen girl next to you loudly making plans to hit
up the mall on her iPhone. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I'm not just imploring you, readers...I'm BEGGING you, go
back and watch 'Genesis Of The Daleks'. 6 episodes of creeping, dripping evil
all about war, slavery, revolution, hate, bile, and terror...and not ONCE does
Sarah Jane Smith metaphorically poke the Doctor in the ribs, wink to the
camera, and start talking about stuff that has NOTHING to do with getting the
hell OFF the planet full of Daleks. When did 'Doctor Who' become
'Stream-Of-Conscious-Companions-Hour'?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
5. Hey, Cybermen Have Feelings Too, You Know. Boy, is it
possible to NOT explore the inner emotions of millions of robotic death
machines who want nothing more than to extinguish the life force of every being
they encounter in the cosmos? Valuable screen time has been devoted to
depicting the motivations of just about every alien baddy that the Doctor has
dedicated his life to defeating, and you know what? Apparently, they aren't so
bad when you get to know them. Yeah, this is the 21st century, and yeah,
science-fiction is meant to be utilized as a medium in which one can impart
universal messages of peace and love and acceptance. But hey, the friggin'
Daleks DESTROYED THE DOCTOR'S PLANET. He's ALLOWED to get a little pissy with
them. Less 'oh those poor innocent people became Cybermen, let's kneel at the
fallen shells and glimpse the life they could have still had were it not for
the conversion' and more 'those evil soulless Cybermen need to be blown up
eleventy billion times and I'm not going to stop until they are', please. If
viewers are given the chance to explore the tragic elements behind EVERY
monster race, then they become less horrific and more sympathetic. And if they
become more sympathetic, then the Doctor wiping them off the face of the
Universe every damn time he encounters them just makes him come off as an uncaring
dorkwad, doesn't it? Sometimes, a Dalek is just a Dalek. Enough with the
'Behind The Music' monster moments, let's get back to what the core of the
series IS: the hero (the Doctor) stopping evil baddies (the monsters) from
killing/converting/exterminating everything that the hero (the Doctor) has ever
cared about. While we are far from the black and white era now with 'Doctor
Who', it sure could use more black-and-white motivations. Lest the next time we
see the Daleks, they are all singing 'Koombaya, my Lord, koombaya'. And don't
even get me started on the power of 'love' somehow defeating a Cyberman
conversion process. That may fly in 'Care Bears', but millions of dead husks of
planets that once thrived on 'love' and now are among the ranks of Cybermen
ought to attest to the fallacy of THAT notion. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
4. Sure, He's A Timelord. But He's Just Like You And Me.
'I'm not human, Sara, I'm a Timelord. You don't understand the implications'.
That's a quote from the 4th Doctor when Sarah Jane tells him to lighten up,
that he should be happy to be returning to Earth. 'The Earth isn't my home', he
tells her, accurately. In other words: the Doctor may walk like a man, the
Doctor may talk like a man, but he ain't a man. He's an alien from an
impossibly-old world that all but worshiped and certainly served the power of
time travel....and dressed like pimps doing so, too. But somewhere along the
way, and this 'didn't' start with the Smith years but it sure has taken root
here as well, the writers and producers just gave up on even trying to write
him for what he IS...an ancient alien, and not the kind you see on the History
Channel, either. The Doctor sings, cries, hugs, cries, kisses, cries, laughs,
cries, jokes, cries, and did I mention cries...JUST like any normal human
adventurer would. If you turned on a random episode mid-way through and had no
prior knowledge of it, you'd swear the Doctor was as human as his companions
were. Tom Baker played the Doctor with what he called 'Olympian detachment' for
7 damn years, because he (and the writers and producers) were terrified that
they couldn't buck the trend of 'humanizing' the Doctor that had sorta begun in
the Pertwee era. Colin Baker's Doctor was as far from 'human' as it was
possible to get and still stay on the air...and even then, they got screwed up
for 18 months as it was. Point is, when your Doctor wears bow ties, laughs at
the same things your human companion does, is good for a hug and some face
time, and the only concession made to his 'alien-ness' is a penchant for fish
fingers and custard (which makes him more of a pregnant human with odd cravings
than a Timelord), then the drift away from 'not human' is in full force. The
series is littered with character-defining moments that perfectly convey that
the Doctor ISN'T human. Maybe a good way to start getting him back to that is
have him actually tell his chatty and nosey companions to shut the hell up and
NO he's not in the mood for hugs and tears just right now. An occasional
spontaneous outburst, having the Doctor screw up his face and petulantly say
stuff like 'nobody human has anything to say to me today' just doesn't cover
it...especially when not long afterward, he's kicking a soccer ball. A little
more effort in putting the 'Timelord'<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>back into 'The Doctor', please.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
3. When In Doubt, Put EVERYONE In The Tub. Picture a trip in
the TARDIS like it's a weekly bath night. You want to meet the Silurians? Ok,
put the rubbery ducky in there. Wait, you want to add the Daleks? Ok, that
thimble from the sewing kit in the closet will represent them. What, now you
want the Weeping Angels to come along, too? Ok, that little ceramic statue on
the shelf will suffice. Wow, this bathtub is now full to bursting with lots of
different objects, cluttering the entire tub and ruining happy fun bath time.
And all because you weren't satisfied to 'just' play with the rubbery ducky. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That's the problem with Stephen Moffatt's outlook as
producer. Why give the audience ONE Dalek (which seemed to work just fine in
'Dalek', but I digress)...when we can give them ALL the Daleks! And not just
Daleks, but big-ass Daleks with flamethrowers and spikes and weird light bulb
thingies and oooh hey, all the colors of the rainbow, and even more rubber
skirts and did we mention these puppies are like 20 feet tall? Yeah, man,
that's how you do it. Moffatt seems to be approaching the series the same way a
9 year old boy does to playtime in the backyard, when G.I. Joe goes toe-to-toe
with Optimus Prime, presided over by Stone Cold Steve Austin. And maybe a Super
Soaker. Wait, Optimus Prime WITH a Super Soaker. Yeaaaaaah!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sometimes, less is more. Not 'every' baddy need be armed to
the teeth with Universe-Shattering-Weapons 'every' time they are encountered,
nor do they need to be completely re-designed from the ground-up in order to
illustrate, loudly and with extreme prejudice, that you are watching a STEVEN
MOFFAT PRODUCTION OF DOCTOR WHO WRITTEN BY STEVEN MOFFATT PRODUCED BY STEVEN
MOFFAT CHARACTER RE-DESIGNS SUGGESTED BY STEVEN MOFFATT. Yeah, OK, we 'get' it,
dude, you are running the show now. But do the Daleks 'have' to look like Power
Rangers?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Doctor never encounters a 'couple' of Daleks...he
addresses ALL OF THEM. The Doctor never meets a 'few' Angels...he needs to
fight off an INVASION OF THEM. Yes, the series is basically a hero fights bad
monsters using nothing but his wits (and overusing the hell out of a sonic
screwdriver)...but sheesh, I'm starting to get tired just WATCHING that many
Daleks on a TV screen at once! Moderation is the key. Because if the Doctor
constantly beats entire invasions of millions of monsters...then he's not the
Doctor anymore, he's friggin' Alexander The Great. Better not state that too
loudly, though, otherwise next season the Doctor will be seen wiggling out of one
of Alexander's war elephants' butts. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2. The Question That Should Never Be Answered Is A Freakin'
Joke. Not much to say here to this one, really. Only that it's a sad and
pathetic day in the annals of 'Doctor Who' when the producer feels the need to
pen a season-spanning storyline out of what was previously regarded as a
barely-tolerable in-joke. Yeah, the show is called 'Doctor Who'. Yeah, the main
character calls himself<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>'The Doctor' and
despite a few jokey exchanges over time, has never appended a name after the
honorific title other than the obviously-fake 'Jon Smith'. And yeah, that means
he essentially is 'Doctor...Who?' It's been that way for achingly close on 50
years now, and it looks to continue to be that way for some time to come. But
to turn it into, variously, a long-running 'gag' AND as the final destination
point of a season's worth of stories? That takes the cake, it truly does.
Sometimes, you can really see that the true blueprint for Steven Moffatt's
version of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>'Doctor Who' was 'The Curse
Of Fatal Death'. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
..though, to be fair? Rowan Atkinson would make a better
Doctor than Matt Smith, hands-down, and that special was proof of that.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1. THIS Incarnation Of The Doctor Will Usher In The 50th.
The previous nine entries are testament to how I feel about Matt Smith's era
and Steven Moffatt's producer ship of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>'Doctor Who'. And yet, for all the hundreds and hundreds of dollars I've
spent collecting various Whoniverse items, for the pages and pages I've written
in stories, reviews, news items, as well as editing them in the pages of 'The
Whostorian' magazine and the hours of work it took to produce usable material
as co-host of the podcast...THIS adolescent cartoon is what will be the
platform that 'Doctor Who' celebrates its grand 50th Anniversary? An event I've
personally waited upon for well over 20 years of my life...and it will be
brought to me by the same producer who gave me bow ties, Power Ranger Daleks,
and 'Dinosaurs On A Spaceship'. Really? Now, if THAT isn't a collective kick in
Rassilon's Tomb, I don't know what is!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015123008999082517noreply@blogger.com41Mt Pearl, NL, Canada47.5206407 -52.807681847.4777477 -52.8866458 47.5635337 -52.7287178tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8800326142391250528.post-79697295548629353002012-10-10T13:40:00.000-02:302012-10-10T14:38:58.628-02:30'Some Of Them Die': Companions Who Get Killed<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
By <a href="mailto:shannonmlush@gmail.com" target="_blank">ShannonLush</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This week,
in honour of the on-screen deaths of Amy and Rory in the mid-season finale
episode 'The </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Angels Take
Manhattan', we take a special look back at the companions of the Doctor who
have been </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
killed,
directly or indirectly as a result of traveling with the Timelord.</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The role of
the companion has, of course, changed over the almost-five decades the series
has been in existence.
In its basic form, the companion characters are the 'anchors' of reality that
ground </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
'Doctor Who'
in some semblance of the 'real world'. In a Whoniverse full of impossible
things, from </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Yeti in the
Underground to a race of near-immortal beings who shed every vestige of
themselves </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
periodically
in order to be renewed, it was and is important that the viewing audience be
served by </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
presenting
individuals that mirror themselves. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
To that end,
the companion is a cipher, there to ask the questions that the viewing audience
may be </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
wishing they
could ask, whenever the Doctor was about to fire up the TARDIS and venture off
to </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
another
far-flung world. They served the writers of the stories by providing convenient
reasons for </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
the Doctor
to explain important plot points. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The
companion characters were often female, to 'keep the dads watching' as many
producers of the </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
series
explained, often portrayed in extremely sexist manners by the male writers,
producers, and </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
actors that
populated the series. Many a companion actress complained that their roles
essentially </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
required
nothing more strenuous in their acting than to convincingly portray twisted
ankles, screaming hysterically
and running in fear from the various monsters present, or else, like Tegan
chafed at in 'The Five
Doctors', fetching the tea.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Conversely, the male companions often provided
little more than 'muscle', in the form of lifting<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>polystyrene rocks, wrestling monsters, or
destroying futuristic-looking prop equipment. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
As the
series progressed, and began to be scrutinized more and more by critics and
audiences who </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
either
expressed outrage or else mocked it's dated presentations of stereotypical
companions, 'Doctor </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Who' slowly
and begrudgingly embraced change, and began a process of introducing modern
companions. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The Tegan
character was a headstrong, modern woman fully capable of speaking up for
herself and her friends, and
often butted heads with the Doctor himself, in addition to most of the
antagonists in </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
episodes
featuring her. Dorothy McShane, better known as 'Ace', was perhaps the first
fully-formed </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
companion
character, with story lines centered around her past and her growth as a person
; while not </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
receiving
on-screen co-star status, anyone who has watched an episode of the Seventh
Doctor's era </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
featuring
Ace certainly would agree she is, in fact, equal to the Doctor himself in terms
of screen </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
time and
depth of character. The embryonic character development begun with Sarah Jane
Smith, which stalled with
Peri, regained traction with Ace, for the betterment of the series.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
For all
their worth as characters essential to the plot of the series, to their value
as marketing </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
tools,
perhaps the one arena in which 'Doctor Who' companions serve to their utmost is
an arena that </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
has been
cautiously and tentatively explored only rarely in the history of the series:
killing them. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
As noted,
companions, in their most basic form, are meant to provide the 'bridge' by
which viewers </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
can relate
to the alien main character, fantasize themselves into his adventures each
week, and </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
vicariously
travel along with him in his TARDIS as he explores time and space. As perverse
as it </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
sounds,
killing a companion in effect amputates the identifying character from the
audience.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It is at
best risky, at worst catastrophic, and can cause concern, fear, doubt, and that
cardinal sin of any long-running
series; audiences turning it off.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So, why
proceed with it? After all, in a fantasy-based action adventure series such as
'Doctor Who', </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
when even
the main character never actually 'dies' in the human sense and companions can
always </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
simply leave
or be left behind by the Doctor, what is the motivation to actually sever that
link </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
between
audience and series? To understand it, we must delve into the history of the
chosen </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
companions who
have been seen to be killed on-screen. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
First, there
are ground rules, of course. We are focusing, for reasons of time and clarity,
only upon </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
those
companions that have been featured in the series itself, and those that have
been seen to be </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
killed on-screen.
And by this we mean, the companion is killed and is not resurrected, cloned, </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
copied,
their deaths are not written off as dream sequences or later retconned by
'timey whimey' </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
means so
that they didn't die, but are instead alive in some alternate universe...no, we
mean, they </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
are dead, no
coming back. For in a fantasy series such as 'Doctor Who', featuring such a
whimsical </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
and at times
sentimental Whoniverse, the harsh reality of death has been explored in a
variety of </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
ways, and
many a character has found a way to 'cheat death'. To quote the 10th Doctor, we
mean dead </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
as in 'no
second chances'. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Second, the
expanded Whoniverse has frequently touched on and all-out featured multiple
companions that have
died while traveling with the Doctor. Many a writer of expanded Whoniverse work
has saddled the
Doctor with the added burden of partial or full responsibility for the deaths
of </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
companions
of their own devising, in order to layer on the tension and drama for their
stories. Not </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
only are we
not focusing on these stories in this blog, we also gently scold the writers of
such </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
stories for
choosing to do so, as it not only cheapens the rare but momentous events of
companion </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
deaths
within the series itself by overplaying them, it serves no purpose other than
to torture the </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
noble Doctor
character. Too many writers have taken the joy out of the Doctor character in
this way.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Now that we
have established the ground rules and have explored the traditional role of the
companion character
and how and why it has changed, let us now look at why have writers and
producers chosen to kill certain
ones. To do this, we must travel back in time to the heady days of William
Hartnell's First Doctor, when the series was new and the future was bright even
'if' it was in black and white.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The year was
1965. 'Doctor Who' was beginning to establish the foot-hold into the British
public </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
consciousness
that would eventually see it grow to become a mainstay on BBC One. Now in its
third </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
season, the
series had already flexed its creative muscles, successfully alternating
historical </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
stories with
those set in the future, expanding to please audiences who preferred one or the
other, </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
if not both.
'Dalekmania' had hit and the dreaded Daleks were set to make a triumphant
return in an </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
epic
storyline that would dominate this season and be a ratings hit. The ground work
for this had </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
begun in the
second episode, 'Mission To The Unknown', which would serve as a 'prequel
story', the </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
plot
elements of this flowing into 'The Daleks Masterplan'.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Sandwiched
between these two episodes was another, an historical story that served several
functions.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
First, to
reduce the set design budget of the season as a whole, in order to ensure proper
allocation of funds
went to the Dalek epic, as this story was set in ancient Greece and did not
require </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
expensive
costumes or futuristic props.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Second, to write-out the companion character
Vikki, who many saw for what she
was intended to be to begin with, a watered-down replacement for the departed
Susan.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Third, to
introduce a new companion character, once more a female, only this time, with
an important </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
element
attached; a companion from the far distant past who was created to visually
remind the </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
audience of
the vast scope of time and space to which the Doctor was able to traverse.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
While modern
and cynical fans and audiences alike could speak to the portend of doom it
would be to </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
introduce
such a character, to which even modern electricity would be akin to magic let
alone a </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
TARDIS, the
production staff at the time perhaps could be forgiven for not understanding
the long term adverse
implications that the character of Katarina, handmaiden to a Trojan prophetess,
would be. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Nevertheless,
'The Myth Makers', itself a rather bland and nondescript episode in a season
full of </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
the highest
highs and the lowest lows, will always be recalled for introducing this
little-known </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
companion.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Played by
Adreinne Hill, Katarina found herself aboard the TARDIS when she assisted the
grievously </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
wounded
Steven, spiriting him away from the historical battle that waged around them.
Immediately </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
attempting
to quantify her experience inside the TARDIS and traveling through time and
space in ways her
primitive mindset could understand, she equated the Doctor to a god from the
pantheon of Greek gods, and
rationalized the TARDIS as his great cabinet, to which she was traveling
through spirit worlds.
Uneasy with the arrangement to begin with, the Doctor gently chided her for her
belief </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
system,
though eventually he decided against debating it, as to do so would open up a
can of worms.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It is here,
in Katarina's lack of understanding that the genesis of her ultimate undoing
begins. As </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
noted, the
pitfalls of introducing a character that simply cannot come to terms
physically, </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
emotionally,
and rationally with the very underpinnings of the series itself, that of
individuals </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
traveling
through time and space in a time machine, 'should' have been apparent to all
involved, and </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
yet somehow
were not. Objections 'should' have been raised at the scripting stage, long
before </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Katarina
made her actual on-screen debut. They were not. Instead, blinded by the need to
forge on </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
with a new
female companion as the series had done for the previous two years, the
production team </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
simply made
a mistake. Fortunately for them, a loophole was just around the corner. A
loophole from </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Skaro, that
would provide the most efficient jumping-off point for Katarina. A loophole
called the </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Daleks...</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
While not
billed as a companion as such in the media of the day, Katarina 'was' intended
to continue </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
as a
companion, though for how long is a matter of debate. At the time, 'Doctor Who'
operated very </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
much on a
skin-of-the-teeth mentality, and this was reflected in the manner in which
companions were selected and
cast. Unlike the modern series it would become, with long-running story arcs, in-dept character
exploration, and reoccurring themes, the series of the 1960's was still quite
new and was never really
assured of its place in the corporate BBC's hearts and minds. As such, it
adopted an </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
unofficial
'wait and see' approach, and this bled into the way in which companions were
casted beyond the first
three. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The actor
and actresses behind the characters of Susan, Ian, and Barbara, being the first
companions </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
ever in
series history, were each given contracts reflective of the time; again, though
not billed as </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
such in the
credits, this trio were more akin to 'co-stars' than companions, as the
original series </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
formatting
intentionally featured an ad hoc 'family' consisting of the Doctor, his
granddaughter, and </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
her two
former school teachers. This meant that they were given more money, more
storylines devoted to their
characters, and more behind-the-scenes consideration than most of those who
came after them. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
By the time
they all departed, the companion character grew closer to what it would be as
the series </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
progressed;
an easily replaceable, short-term friend for the Doctor and the person or
persons he </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
simply
explained things to for the benefit of the audience. No longer would companions
be related to </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
the Doctor
by blood as Susan was, and no longer would any companions be casted in order to
fulfill the requirements
set out in various series 'bibles'. By 1965, companions were de-emphasized and
the </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Doctor
himself gained center stage, a creative tweak that many a production team was
pleased to </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
enforce for
the perceived benefit of the series.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
With all of
that in mind, the myriad of storyline problems that Katarina's existence as a
companion </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
generated
almost immediately upon arrival slapped the production team in the face just as
quickly. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Frantic
meetings were held, and groans of exasperation were heard, as writers and
producers </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
envisioned
being forced to continually re-visit the issue of how the Doctor could co-exist
with </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
someone from
several thousand years ago in Earth's history, who would not understand even </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
rudimentary
science and would shrink away from a light bulb being turned on. In this era,
in which </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
the series
was attempting to shed its fantastical nature in general and become more 'hard
SF' in </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
tone, even
within the historical stories, Katarina simply could not continue as a
companion.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Terry
Nation, creator of the Daleks and writer of the following story, 'The Daleks
Masterplan', was </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
asked to add
additional scenes to his epic, which would serve to write the Katarina
character out, as </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
this story
was the first and best opportunity presented that would allow for the character
to be </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
dumped.
Nation, not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, quickly realized that not
only would </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
killing
Katarina within a Dalek story contribute greatly to the Dalek's street cred, it
would allow </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
him to twist
her unfamiliarity with technology to his advantage for dramatic purposes. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Protective
of the Doctor, a man she considers as some form of 'god', Katarina not only
kills herself </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
when he is
threatened along with herself and Steven by the villainous Kirksen aboard a
ship bound for a
Dalek-occupied world, she does so in spectacular fashion, activating an airlock
that blows herself and Kirksen
into space. There, she dies what must be a painful and horrific death. Nation
added ambiguity to
her motivations, inserting an exchange of dialog between the Doctor and Steven
to the effect that
while Steven calls it an accident based on her lack of knowledge of modern
tech, the </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Doctor
considers she sacrificed herself for their safety and somehow knew all along
her breaking the </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
airlock seal
would result in keeping them safe. An unusually grim and violent end to a
companion </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
character,
the first of its kind in series history.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
After
dispensing with Katarina, and learning the lesson of never introducing
characters from a time </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
period so
far removed from the age of science that they would never be able to catch on,
the </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
production
team of the day received little in the way of negative feedback from BBC brass
or </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
audiences.
Then again, as much as modern fans consider the series to have 'grown up' in
the past five </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
decades and
to have grown away from its roots as a funny little kid's show, the fact is
early </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
'Doctor Who'
often presented violent segments; including implying a character was raped in
'The Time Meddler' and
the time-destructor sequences in which characters are forcibly aged to death in
the very story
Katarina is herself killed, 'The Daleks Masterplan'. To its fans in the 1960's,
Katarina's </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
death barely
registered as noteworthy, or anything more sinister than providing a powerful
moment in </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
an episode
full of them. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
After the
misstep of Katarina was purged from the series, it would not be for another
sixteen years </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
before the
issue of killing a companion was revisited, and this time it was milked for all
it was </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
worth. The
character of Adric, introduced during the dying days of Tom Baker's era, was a
young </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
mathematician
who had stowed away on board the TARDIS in the episode 'Full Circle'. Held over
to the Fifth
Doctor's era, Adric proved to be one of the most unpopular companions in series
history, no </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
small feat
given the number of companions that had preceded him. Nevertheless, the actor
who played him, Matthew
Waterhouse, did not endear himself to fellow cast mates or production staff
alike. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
As an actor
with very little experience, Waterhouse was not skilled enough in his craft to </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
convincingly
give life to the character. To be fair, Adric was beset with annoying
personality </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
traits, a
fault to which blame lay with the various writers, including the character's
creator Andrew </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Smith,
himself a nineteen year old fan of 'Doctor Who' who had somehow managed to
convince producer John
Nathan-Turner to green-light his one and only contribution to the series with
'Full Circle'. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Due to the
stunted character development, coupled with Waterhouse's limited acting range,
and </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
ultimately
affected by the actor's often acrimonious relationship with Peter Davison,
Janet Fielding, </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
and Sarah
Sutton, the character of Adric quickly raised the ire of fandom. So much so
that, unlike </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Katarina's
death, which was a production-team decision handled 'in-house' and not with an
eye to </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
pleasing
and/or shocking the audience, the death of Adric was the complete opposite; it
was planned </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
and executed
by individuals who expressed pleasure that Waterhouse would be removed from
'Doctor </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Who', and it
was actually celebrated by fans who had gained advance knowledge and literally
held </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
'Adric's
death' parties on the night the episode in which the character dies,
'Earthshock', was </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
transmitted.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The one and
only champion of Adric was John Nathan-Turner, the producer. As was the case
with the </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
vast
majority of the creative decisions made during this time, JN-T was the man to
which 'the buck </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
stops here';
he pulled the trigger on every detail that needed attending to when it came to
'Doctor </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Who', from
set design to directors, casting to costumes. As the first producer to not only
bend the </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
collective
ears of Whovians in order to seek out their opinions on the series, but to
actually </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
institute
changes in order to appease them, JN-T had heard rumblings of discontent
regarding Adric </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
from day one
of the character's introduction. For whatever reason, whether feeling proprietorial
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
regarding
the character given that he had approved 'Full Circle' and had a major role in
casting </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Waterhouse,
or else as he was loath to be forced to 'start from scratch' with yet another
male </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
companion
character, JN-T had held out hope that Adric would somehow become a fan favourite
given enough time.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It was not
to be, and along with pre-planning for stories to celebrate the twentieth
anniversary, </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
JN-T began
to consider the landscape of 'Doctor Who' during its eighteenth and nineteenth
seasons. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The great
experiment of returning the series to a three-companion format, as it had been
in William </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Hartnell's
first season, was beginning to wear on JN-T and script editor Eric Saward.
Saward had </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
convinced
JN-T that more companions meant 'farming out lines' to more people, it meant
creating more on-going
sub-plots within each episode, and it meant less screen time went to Peter
Davison, the Doctor that
JN-T had himself casted. Aware of the need to 'pair down' the companions,
coupled with the savings
to the show in real money by removing one of its cast members, and with a strange
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
compulsion
to appease fandom, JN-T relented on whether to keep Adric. He would slowly
phase out the other two
companions and, over time and with the Colin Baker era, return to the 'one
Doctor, one </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
companion'
format that had worked so well with Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker. But, ever the
showman, he decided, if
Adric was to leave, then he would leave in spectacular, memorable fashion.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Several
stories were placed in consideration for the event, but it was Eric Saward's
own 'Sentinel' </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
that won
out. Re-named 'Earthshock', and featuring the return of the Cybermen in newly
redesigned-</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
for-the-1980's
costumes, JN-T went to great lengths to ensure maximum shock value. He ordered
the </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
gallery that
overlooked the studio closed for the duration of filming. He turned down
numerous fan </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
magazine
interview requests during the making of the episode, and even went so far as to
turn down </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
the cover of
'Radio Times', the BBC's listing magazine carried throughout England. Ostensibly,
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
these
measures were put in place in order to preserve the shock value of a Cybermen
appearance, as </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
they had not
been seen in 'Doctor Who' at that point in seven long years. But equally as
shocking to </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
JN-T's mind was
that the Cybermen would draw first blood on the Fifth Doctor, and kill his
companion. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
And it all
would have worked, too...if not for those darn BBC pages, young volunteers who
worked for the
Corporation itself in clerical work, who had access to copies of the script and
accompanying </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
inter-office
memos, and leaked word of the pending death of Adric. Whovians rejoiced.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Regardless
of this, Adric's death did indeed come as a huge shock to millions of casual
viewers. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Given that
there is virtually no indication within the story itself that he is to be
killed, and in hindsight there
appears to be a ratcheting-up of the annoying, nasal tone and the whining that
typified the character
every moment he is on screen, the event caught many off-guard. Beyond the fact
that he dies somewhat of
a hero, preventing a giant ship from crash landing into Earth during a
populated era in the future
and instead causing it to plunge back through time in order to facilitate the
'Doctor Who' </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
explanation
for the extinction of the dinosaurs, Adric is not particularly interesting as a
character </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
even up to
the last.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, his motivation to save the entire
planet and a peace conference being held there seems less to do with making
the ultimate sacrifice in order to save the day than it does with a childish
need to be 'proven right' about a
mathematical calculation regarding trajectory. Regardless of the sloppy writing
that went into the character's
final scenes and the equally sloppy acting on display during it, the death of
Adric caused thousands of
letters of protest from parents of small children who claimed it adversely
affected their children, once again
illustrating the dangers of severing the connection to the fans when the
decision to kill a companion is made. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Conversely,
and perhaps cynically, at least several hundred letters of gratitude over the
decision </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
were also
collected, as older fans proclaimed it was 'the best decision' that JN-T had
ever made as </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
producer up
to that point! JN-T had once again turned a negative into a positive, and in
this case, </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
the
rumblings of discontent from his actors and actresses, not to mention Whovians
in general, had </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
tipped his
hand when it came to doing what should be considered distasteful and
counter-productive, </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
actually
killing off a companion rather than simply having them written out. JN-T had
swung for the </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
fences, and
connected with a home run. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The third
death of a companion combined elements of Katarina 'and' Adric, insomuch as it
involved </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
quickly
sweeping a character under the carpet for the good of the series, and JN-T
capitulating to </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
outside
pressure and agreeing it was a necessity. Still seeking to eventually pair down
the companion </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
count to
one, JN-T in his capacity as producer of a fantasy action adventure series was
constantly </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
being
pitched on everything from product placements to convention appearance dates to
specially built props.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
One day, he
was approached by a man who up-sold him what JNT-T then convinced himself could
be </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
the ultimate
companion; a mostly immobile, mannequin-sized prop figure that came to be named
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Kamelion. It
was built outside the purview of 'Doctor Who' by an amateur prop builder who
dreamed up unique props
and then sold them to television and film projects. In Kamelion's case, it was
built to </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
be able to
mimic human voice, and could be programmed to do so..at a rate of a line at a
time, </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
allowing
it's basic on-board processor time to operate the figure's 'lips' and form the
words </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
convincingly
for later playback. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Aside from
this, it had basic motor skills, could slowly raise its arms and tilt it's
head.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Mostly,
though, it was best suited to being propped against a wall, or sat in a chair,
and just...do nothing. Yet, this expensive,
bulky, useless excuse for a paper weight somehow captured JN-T's heart, and he
temporarily abandoned his desire to pare down the companions in order to
introduce Kamelion into the series, feeling that
eventually it would be the only companion the Doctor would have and, perhaps,
the only one he would ever need.
The best laid plans of mice, men, and 'Doctor Who' producers often go awry..</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The dull and
lifeless Kamelion, voiced by actor Gerald Flood, made it's 'debut' in the dull
and </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
lifeless
episode 'The King's Demons', in which it had a major part. A convoluted scheme
of the Master saw
Kamelion, which the Master picked up on the planet Xeraphin, the central figure
in a plot to undermine
democracy itself. Kamelion's hologram generating power gave the Master the
ability to </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
impersonate
King John, the monarch who signed the Magna Carta agreement that limited
sovereign power in England
and heralded the birth of self-government and the rise of elected governments.
Other than an ill-advised
return to an historical type-story that 'Doctor Who' had done much better
decades beforehand,
'The King's Demons' puts JN-T's folly out there for all to see, in all its
limited </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
glory. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Having
apparently not learned his lesson with K-9, that immobile props do not make
good companions, JN-T quickly
came to regret his decision. Like a car owner sold a lemon by a fast-talking
used car salesman,
JN-T finally checked under the hood and realized his mistake. Kamelion could
not move properly,
meaning all camera shots taken of it needed to be static shocks. Kamelion could
not express any
discernible range of moods, as it's face was permanently etched in a blank,
stoic stare. Kamelion required
weeks of programming in order to maintain a ten second conversation with an
actor. Worse, Kamelion's
creator, the one person who could actually be relied on to fix the bugs and
assist the production
team with the numerous problems they faced with the thing, died in a boating
accident shortly
after Kamelion was introduced into the series...and he didn't write an
instruction manual to consult. In
short, Kamelion had to go. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This one is
all on JN-T. No Whovians were lobbying for another computerized character after
K-9. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
After K-9,
no production staff wanted to deal with the daily headaches such a character
could cause. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The fact
that K-9, which had itself cost thousands of dollars to build, modify, and
utilize, could </div>
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run circles
around Kamelion yet JN-T himself had dictated it be written out of the series
regardless </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
of the time
and money spent on it, was a 'my bad' moment for JN-T. Rather than subject
himself to </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
fresh rounds
of 'why are we bothering'-type memos from staff, JN-T simply opted to write
Kamelion out as soon as a
story had a few spare minutes somewhere in it to do so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Rather than
place references to its abrupt disappearance from the TARDIS crew it just
joined in the </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
following
stories, as JN-T had done with K-9 given that character's continuing in the
series was a </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
late
decision which forced the inclusion of cover stories in episodes in which it
was not originally </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
meant to
appear, it would not be until 'Planet Of Fire', another dud of a story, that
Kamelion is </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
'killed'. A
wishy-washy, easily manipulated being to begin with, Kamelion once again comes
under the Master's
influence, and actually begs the Doctor to put it, and the viewers, out of
their misery and </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
kill it.
Despite the Doctor's reverence for life in all its forms, he acts completely
out </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
of character
and kills it using the Master's TCE weapon. Even given the chance to provide
the </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
viewers with
something akin to a companion's heroic death scene, JN-T clumsily bungles it,
and instead violates the
internal continuity of the Doctor character simply to wipe Kamelion clean from
the Whoniverse.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Kamelion is
the final companion to have been killed within the confines of the original
series, </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
though he is
not the last companion to die. In addition K-9 Mark Three killed within the new
series, </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
in the
episode 'School Reunion', heroically sacrificing itself to save the Doctor and
it's other </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
friends from
the Krillitane, there is, of course, Amy and Rory Williams in 'The Angels Take </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Manhattan'.
As odd and disconcerting a prospect it is to actively seek the death of a
companion </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
character
for publicity and storyline reasons, the fact that it has been done so rarely,
as detailed </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
here, is a
testament to the power of restraint. The chosen companions detailed in this
blog that have </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
been killed
have all left their mark, large or small, on the Whoniverse in general, and
serve to </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
remind fans
that, for all the light-hearted space romping that is often on display, there
is a dark </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
underbelly
of realism in the form of death than can creep in. To quote the Doctor, 'Some
left me. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Some got
left behind. And some... not many, but... some died.'</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015123008999082517noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8800326142391250528.post-57199695855457154652012-09-26T11:33:00.000-02:302012-09-26T11:34:32.462-02:30The Moment Has Been Prepared For, Part Two: From Question Mark Apparel To Half-Human..On My Mother's Side!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
by <a href="mailto:shannonmlush@gmail.com" target="_blank">Shannon Lush</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Last time, we took a peek at the first four actors to play
The Doctor on TV, and appropriately, we ended on Tom Baker, the most popular
actor to this day. This week, we shift our focus to the glitzy, superficial
1980's, and we will end off on the era that could have been, the so-called
'American Doctor Who', headed by Paul McGann. </div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
THE FIFTH DOCTOR: PETER DAVISON (Duration: 3 years, 1982 to
1984)</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Who To Credit</b>: By the time that Tom Baker had quit as The
Doctor, producer John Nathan-Turner had firmly become the 'hands-on' creative
force behind 'Doctor Who'. As the first producer to truly understand the power
of the media to promote the show, JN-T utilized every opportunity to
shamelessly plug it in a variety of interesting ways. In addition to
instructing Baker to 'let slip' that the producers were strongly considering
casting a female as his successor, for no reason other than it added to the
intensity of the media scrutiny when Baker announced his departure,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>JN-T also arranged for the creation and
transmission of a special retrospective. 'The Five Faces Of Doctor Who' thus
became the first compilation package of 'best of' episodes chosen from the
past, allowing British audiences to watch episodes featuring all four previous
Doctors while they waited for the debut of the new Fifth Doctor, and that
episode, ultimately entitled 'Castrovalva', was the cherry on top. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
JN-T also had arranged for the production of the first-ever
spin-off series concept, producing the pilot episode of an intended new series,
'K-9 And Company'. Actress Elizabeth Sladen had declined to re-join 'Doctor
Who' when invited by JN-T, who was afraid that Tom Baker's large and loyal fan
following would stop watching now that he was gone; therefore, JN-T needed to
give them another reason to remain loyal by bringing back the most popular
companion character ever, Sarah Jane Smith. She did, however, accept his second
offer, to co-star in the spin-off. Along with voice actor John Leeson, who gave
life to K-9, Sladen returned as Sarah Jane in the pilot episode of 'K-9 And
Company', in an episode entitled 'A Girl's Best Friend'. While ratings were
strong given the whimsical K-9's popularity with children and the Sarah Jane
character's popularity with just about everyone, the BBC decided to pass on an
option of commissioning a series. Nevertheless, its very existence remains a
testament to JN-T's thought processes at the time, to maximize 'Doctor Who' at
every opportunity.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As producer, JN-T would go on to become, to this day, the
most controversial, visible, fan-friendly, and important creative person behind
the ups and downs of 'Doctor Who' throughout the 1980's. And his first big
decision, the one he wanted above all others, the one that had contributed to
on-set arguments with Tom Baker frequently, and the one that he lay awake at
night dreaming about was: he wanted to cast his own Doctor. And essentially,
that's exactly what he did.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Why He Accepted</b>: Peter Davison is the stage name of Peter
Moffett, who by the time he was approached by JN-T to become The Doctor was
beginning to become a familiar face on British TV screens, if not yet a
household name. Discovering that he could not apply to become an actor under
his real name due to the actor's union Equity's rule disallowing this due to
the director of the same name (who would later direct Davison in 'Doctor Who',
in fact), Moffett changed it to Davison, and it is under that name Whovians
would come to recognize him. The rules have since been changed, allowing
Davison's own daughter to not only appear in 'Doctor Who' under the surname
Moffett, but to also marry David Tennant, who played The 10th Doctor!</div>
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<br /></div>
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In a very definite attempt to get away from the overwhelming
and iconic image of Tom Baker's 4th Doctor, JN-T wrote a shortlist of the
qualities and traits he wished to emphasize with the 5th Doctor. Among them
were that he must have short hair, preferably blonde! Recognizing, as previous
producers of the show had, that nobody wins by casting a 'poor man's' carbon
copy of the previous Doctor, JN-T was eager to get as far away from the acting
style, overall physical look, and even larger-than-life and booming vocals of
Tom Baker and his version of the Doctor. To this end, he recalled enjoying an
actor who he had previously worked with in the TV series 'All Creatures Great
And Small', an actor who fit the bill in every way that JN-T wanted: Peter
Davison. A publicity photo of Davison in cricketing outfit taken for a charity
event during that show that just happened to be hanging in JN-T's office even
inspired the final design of the 5th Doctor's clothing. It appeared to be
written in the stars.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Not so fast. When contacted by JN-T out of the blue, Davison
was astonished by two points made during the conversation. First, that not only
was Tom Baker leaving the show that Davison had often fantasized about
guest-starring in once his acting career took off...but that JN-T wanted a 'personality
actor' to play the 5th Doctor. 'Never in a million years did I see myself as a
personality actor', Davison recalled, 'someone who just came with a ready-made
personality to a role'. And yet, by JN-T's reckoning, that was exactly the type
of actor he was looking for, and what's more, Davison was 'exactly' the actor
he was looking for. Despite massive reservations, Davison eventually accepted.
Why? 'If I had turned it down, and they had casted someone else, I couldn't
very well tell anyone then that I'd been asked to play it first'. From day one,
Davison felt he was too young, too unsuited to the role, and often wondered why
he was given the simple instructions from producers, directors, and writers of
'you are The Doctor. Now go and do it!', as he recalled years later. Perhaps
JN-T truly felt that Davison the 'personality actor' would simply play it as
himself..?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The only true inspiration Davison got from this time was
from, perhaps appropriately, a child. During a press launch to announce his
appointment as The Doctor, he chanced to be speaking in front of a crowd of
children. When he asked them 'how should I play it?', the answers ranged from
bland to repetitive. Except one boy, who said he should play it 'like Tristan,
only brave', in reference to the character of Tristan Farnan from 'All
Creatures Great And Small', the show that had brought Davison to not only
JN-T's attention, but had been Davison's break-out role. 'I quite liked that
suggestion', Davison said, 'it was simple, to the point. I thought 'if only I
can catch onto that idea!'</div>
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<br /></div>
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It is not well known now, but at the time that Davison
played The Doctor, he was in fact quite busy as an actor, alternating between
the TARDIS and the ITV drama series 'Sink Or Swim' at the same time, consequently
becoming the only Doctor actor to pull double-duty on another series as a
regular while working in 'Doctor Who'. This would perhaps hurt his credibility
as The Doctor, as audiences could see Davison not only in two regular series
airing at the same time, but also in a series of guest-starring roles, small
film roles, even as the voice of animated features, all while he battled
Daleks, Cybermen, and Matthew Waterhouse. While a boon for the actor to have
such a variety of high profile acting jobs, it had the unfortunate side-effect
of watering down The Doctor and rendering him less than 'special' if one could
see the same man in ordinary situations on the other channel. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps as another side-effect to this steady work was
Davison's approach to the role, as he simply did not have adequate time to
truly stress over being The Doctor. Unlike Tom Baker, who came to obsess over
minute details in scripts and lines, Davison's Doctor was younger, fresher,
less complex and by far the most 'human' in terms of character than all of his
predecessors. Though being a hero to millions of children meant he was released
from a lucrative television advertising contract by Guinness Beer, and the ads,
which had already been filmed, were erased.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the end, Davison accepted the role, as he viewed it as an
acting challenge. He accepted that, as Tom Baker's replacement, he would be
required to fill big shoes and win over a hard core Baker fan base, and
realized that he would utilize the opportunity that playing the lead in 'Doctor
Who' would give his career, as he likely would never have such a highly-visible
part offered to him again. But there was the small matter of typecasting..</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As has been noted, Patrick Troughton met Davison in the
parking lot of the BBC car park, congratulated him, and told him to 'only do
three years'. Davison would adhere to the advice of Troughton, one of the small
number of men who had been exactly where Davison was going. His Doctor was
youthful and naive, with flashes of stubbornness and quick-temperedness. But he
always intended it to last only three seasons. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Why He Quit</b>: Despite his puzzlement over JN-T's insistence
that he was a 'personality actor', Davison maintained that he was, simply, an
actor. One who looked for work and one who, hopefully, was always working. At
no point did he ever give 'Doctor Who' or The Doctor character the type of
attention and/or obsession that others did. He was eager to avoid the pitfalls
of typecasting which had plagued every previous Doctor actor to one degree or
other, and instead of foregoing other work in order to fully concentrate on
'Doctor Who', Davison, as noted, successfully juggled lead roles in two
different shows at once. Due to this outlook, Davison made it clear that he
would play the role for only 3 years. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Other mitigating factors in his decision to leave, above and
beyond his self-imposed deadline, were that he felt the 'budget was never
enough, just barely adequate', that certain stories, particularly within his
second season, were not good, dramatic stories that as an actor he could be
proud of, and that union strikes hampered the show and left him 'at the point
of exhaustion'. He claimed to be 'relieved' when he was finished with the grind
of 'Doctor Who'. He 'had' asked for a period of contemplation over whether he
would return for a 4th season, and at one point had even contacted JN-T to
indicate he was leaning towards doing so. JN-T told him that he had already instructed
the wardrobe, script, and casting departments to prepare for a new actor as The
Doctor, and thus Davison reverted to his previous decision to leave. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
'I do miss it, from time to time', Davison said. He noted
that 'strikes delayed my last stories so that I was wore out by the time it was
all over, but yes, one does suffer the odd pang'. As the youngest Doctor to
that point, Davison's era is best remembered for the introduction of glitzy new
FX, the 'two episodes a week' format that ultimately worked against the success
of the show in the long term, the 20th anniversary 'The 5 Doctors' special, and
for being the only televised instance where a future Doctor appeared as a
character other than The Doctor, when Colin Baker played Maxil in 'Arc Of
Infinity'. Perhaps Davison's finest performance came in his final, swan-song
story, 'The Caves Of Androzani'. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
THE SIXTH DOCTOR: COLIN BAKER (Duration: 2 years, 1984 to
1986)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Who To Credit</b>: John Nathan-Turner, once again. By this point
having overseen the casting of his own Doctor with Peter Davison, JN-T had
become comfortable in this particular aspect of the perks that come with being
producer of 'Doctor Who', and once more relished the idea of casting his own
man in the lead. As a senior producer who rose through the ranks on various BBC
and independent series, JN-T was friends with a great many people in the
British television landscape, both in front of and behind the camera. While
quietly considering who to approach to take over the series during the period when
Davison had requested more time to mull over whether he wished to remain for a
fourth year, JN-T happened to attend the wedding of a former assistant floor
manager of his. Coincidentally, Colin Baker, who had worked with both JN-T and
Davison on 'Arc Of Infinity' barely a year and half previously, also was in
attendance. Little did he know it, but JN-T was mentally 'auditioning' Baker
from the moment they both sat together. 'I thought, if he can keep a roomful of
hardened show-business professionals entertained for hours at a time, he could
do the same to an audience of millions', JN-T would recount later. Baker
himself, recalling how JN-T had asked him to 'tone down the acting in the
background, please', while playing Maxil in 'Arc', nevertheless also noted that
it was that very performance that put him on the producer's radar. 'Maxil was
an over-the-top performance', Baker said, 'so much so, John remembered it
vividly and thought of me when Peter decided after all he would leave'. A
clandestine meeting, far from the prying eyes of press and Whovians alike, was
set up a local pub later in order for Baker and JN-T to further discuss the
little matter of casting a new Doctor. 'He told me Peter was leaving, which I
didn't know at the time', Baker recalled. 'Suddenly, who appears but Peter! I
had to pretend I was there for a completely different reason, like I'm there to
clean the windows!', Baker laughed. When finally offered the role, Baker
accepted without hesitation. 'I had contacted my agent when I heard Tom was
leaving, saying 'look, there's a job going at the BBC and I'd very much like
it, so get on it', but by the time he got through to them, Peter had been
casted already', Baker said, indicating his desire to play the role extended
for years. In fact, his association with 'Doctor Who' in general can be traced
back to decades before he ever assumed the lead. In addition to being a
roommate and good friend of Patrick Troughton's son David for ten years, Baker
had also narrowly missed being cast as Jellico, the assistant to the evil
Winters in 'Robot', Tom Baker's first story. When the time came, he finally
realized a dream of sorts when he was cast as Maxil, never actually considering
that it would be this role that would lead him indirectly to becoming the
Doctor himself. 'Many people suggested that my true audition for the part was
shooting Peter!’ he joked, 'the unofficial rule being if you zap the incumbent,
you get to be the next one!'. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Why He Accepted</b>: In addition to his admiration for 'Doctor
Who' and his memories of being a fan growing up in England, which made him the
first Doctor to have actually been such prior to being the lead actor, Baker
also realized the career opportunity it afforded him. Perhaps his
highest-profile work prior to 'Doctor Who' had been a drama series called 'The
Brothers', which, in his own words, 'was a bit like the 'Dallas' set-up, only
they didn't sit around pools freezing and pretending it was hot!' A series
about a hauling company comprised of a fleet of trucks run by two brothers,
Baker's character, Paul Merrony, came into the series half way through its run.
'I was J.R before J.R was! In England, I was the man the fans loved to hate!'.
While consistently topping fan polls as the 'best bad guy on TV' at the time in
the late 1970's, when the series ended Baker found himself 'out in the cold', type
casted and overlooked for parts dissimilar to the ruthless and unethical banker
role he had played. By the 1980's, after appearing in guest-starring roles in
both 'Doctor Who' and 'Blake's Seven', Baker nevertheless found the bulk of his
work in the theatre, and jumped at the chance to be a part of what he called 'something
that has left an indelible print on generations'. Promised by the head of BBC
Drama at the time, David Reid, to be given 'a four year contract, as Peter had
left after three, and they wanted to get a bit more continuity out of it',
Baker would find himself instead a victim of what he termed 'power politics'.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Why He Quit</b>: As a victim to everything from a new running
time for his episodes (45 minutes, instead of the traditional 22, effectively halving
his seasons and ensuring 'Doctor Who' was no longer a permanent and familiar
fixture on British television for long periods), to the costume he was forced
to wear ('an explosion in a rainbow factory', he described it as), to the implementation
of controversial efforts to 'darken' the nature of the series and specifically
of the Doctor, ('we do want to give the Sixth Doctor more of an acid wit', JN-T
said during the press launch), to the shifting nature of BBC funds allocations
going to a new daytime programming format instead of on its nigh time
programming, which resulted in the cancellation of several series and the
'pausing' of 'Doctor Who' for 18 long months, Colin Baker endured daily
upheaval in the role he always dreamed of playing. 'For a brief period there, I
had the best job on television, and like any child who has his toy taken away
before he's done playing with it, I was more than a little cross when they took
it away from me', he would fume. As the only televised Doctor to be officially
'axed' from the role thanks to instructions from BBC corporate suits like Michael
Grade and Jonathan Powell, who had replaced David Reid, Baker stated that the
'concession' that JN-T had won for him, to be invited back in order to film a
regeneration story, not only was insulting but that he would have been forced
to forego work in the meantime, due to the demands of the BBC contract. 'I've
always likened it to your girlfriend giving you the push but then saying 'you
can come spend a night with me again next year', he said. 'You know, if someone
else had been cast in that role in 1984, and I was playing it now, I'd still be
in that role for years to come', Baker summarized, chalking up his tenure to
being 'unlucky'. Perhaps his most amusing quote regarding his time as the
Doctor was the underwhelmed reaction of his wife. Upon being officially casted,
he went home in a triumphant mood. 'I burst through the door, put my hands on
my hips, and bellowed I AM THE DOCTOR!' he said. 'My wife said, 'oh, yes?
Listen, could you now take out the rubbish, please'?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
THE SEVENTH DOCTOR: SYLVESTER MCCOY (Duration: 2 years on
BBC television, 1987 to 1989: 9 years as 'official BBC licensed Doctor' in
spin-off material).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Who To Credit</b>: While anxious to finally depart 'Doctor Who'
as it's producer, having performed as such since the dying days of Tom Baker's
reign, JN-T was forced to carry on when the BBC made it clear it was either
that, or be removed as a staff producer. To quote Colin Baker again, 'the BBC
mixed it up: they kept the guy who didn't want to stay, and fired the guy who
did!'. Handcuffed to the series at a time when he felt he had given it a
significant portion of his life, JN-T's weary approach to casting his third
Doctor in 8 years was reflected in the casting of light entertainer Sylvester
McCoy.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Born in Scotland as Percy James Patrick Kent-Smith, McCoy
was raised in a household that did not even own a television! Working in insurance
initially, and gravitating towards show business due to his job as an usher in
a movie theatre, McCoy found his talents for farce and comedy would come into
play often. Adept at odd facial expressions (the regeneration sequence in the
FOX TV film featured McCoy contorting his face naturally, without the need for
FX to assist!), being able to play the spoons, juggling...all became a part of
his act, as he began touring with comedy theatre groups. In addition to
'stuffing ferrets down my trousers', as he said, he adopted the stage name 'Sylvester
McCoy' after a reviewer mistook the name as his, as he was billed as that
fictional actor on a poster as an 'in-joke'.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was playing the Pied Piper in theatres that he was
spotted by JN-T, and McCoy has said he felt it was the fact that the Piper wore
multi-colored costumes similar to those worn by Colin Baker as the Doctor that
may have caught JN-T's eye. Once he became aware of the possible interest, he
instructed his agent to call JN-T directly to place him into nomination for the
role. Coincidentally, a mutual friend of theirs had just before called to
himself vouch for McCoy as an ideal candidate for the next Doctor. Suspecting
collusion, JN-T was nevertheless intrigued enough to agree to meet with McCoy and
sound him out for the role.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Showing up to the meeting wearing a cream-colored jacket,
paisley scarf, and tweed hat quite similar to the clothing worn by the
character that would become his Seventh Doctor, McCoy won JN-T over to the idea
of casting him. Despite his lack of extensive television experience and
name-value recognition, McCoy not only was friends with Bonnie Langford, who he
would inherit from Colin Baker as his Doctor's first companion, but his appeal
to children was what JN-T would cite as a major factor. 'I hadn't watched
'Doctor Who' in years', McCoy said, and what memories he did have centered
around Patrick Troughton, which informed his decision to 'play it for laughs',
as he admitted.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
His initial year, season 24, is generally regarded as among
the worst in the series' history, as the Doctor became an impish, clown-like
figure, featuring multiple moments of hat-doffing, not to mention pratfalls.
The introduction of the character of Ace in 'Dragonfire' and the arrival of new
script editor Andrew Cartmel, who would significantly 'darken' the McCoy years
with the blessings of both McCoy and JN-T, extended the series' lifespan
further than perhaps it would have under McCoy's initial characterization. In its
final seasons as a BBC drama series, McCoy would give 'Doctor Who' some of his
strongest performances in excellent stories such as ‘Remembrance Of The
Daleks', 'The Curse Of Fenric', and 'Battlefield'. Once the series was placed
on 'hiatus' again by the BBC in 1989, the expansion of the character further in
numerous books and comics permanently shifted the 7th Doctor into the dark,
foreboding figure of enigma and 'cosmic chess playing' that JN-T had attempted
and failed to do to anyone's satisfaction with Colin Baker. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Why He Accepted</b>: As noted, Sylvester McCoy was quite keen to
attach himself to a venerable but still money-making and moderately successful
BBC series, even more so when he discovered that JN-T, having been stung by the
public and fan's refusal to accept a darker Doctor and adult-oriented stories
with the Sixth Doctor's era, was open to the idea of not only 'playing it for
laughs', but for incorporating elements of McCoy's own act into the Doctor
(hence, the newly-regenerated Doctor's bizarre decision to pratfall away from
the Rani in his debut 'Time And The Rani'). JN-T, in perhaps an over-reaction
to the drama associated with Baker's dismissal, decreed that they would be
forced to 'play it safe', and present a Doctor who was virtually 'kid
friendly'; as noted, the result was the bland and childish stories of season
24.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While he had performed in TV series in the past as a guest
star, these had all been of the light-entertainment and children's educational
variety, thus McCoy was, on paper, an unsuitable choice for a producer striving
to present more mature stories, which would require a more experienced actor.
To his credit, McCoy, despite lacking in the finer points of acting and to his
end in the role exaggerating his natural Scots brogue, displayed strong performances
in several stories in the latter years of his tenure. McCoy championed the idea
of taking on the role despite the resentment it caused within his own family;
in a revealing interview with 'Doctor Who Magazine' years removed from his time
as the Doctor, he stated that his eldest son had come to 'hate' the Doctor
character, as his father grew more and more recognized for it. 'He said he
wished I had stayed in theatre and gained success there', McCoy admitted,
though he also said that being 'Doctor Who' gave him everything he would go on
to have in life. 'God, the money's appalling', he laughed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Why He Quit</b>: The Seventh Doctor is, essentially, split down
the middle in the eyes of many fans: there is the 'TV version', which
definitely grows and matures and gains not just a twinkle in his eye but a
streak of malevolence and hints of a dark past, of being 'more than just a
Timelord'. There is also the speculative expansion of the character once the
series itself ended, with the Doctor beginning to wield time itself as a weapon
in order to 'take the fight to the enemy', becoming ever more ruthless, to the
point that, when she encounters him again in the novel series, Mel slaps him,
sickened by what he's become and what lengths he will now go to in order to
justify his actions and achieve victory.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
All of these elements introduced into the novels 'would'
have been presented, in some form, in the TV series, had it continued. As it
was, many former script editors, Terrance Dicks among them, contributed to the
'New Adventures' novels, and major revelations regarding the Doctor, his past,
and that of Gallifrey itself, had all been adapted from the original plans that
Andrew Cartmel had prepared for the TV series, the so-called 'Cartmel
Masterplan'. To all this, one must credit McCoy, who took the role 'as a
laugh', and ended up introducing a character closer to the First Doctor's style
and approach, of a 'wizard' to quote William Hartnell.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As an actor, he brought a satisfaction to those yearning for
the good old days with his performance. One such scene was, smiling
enigmatically, he held up a finger to shush his companion when she wonders
aloud, 'who are you?' in 'Silver Nemesis'.</div>
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And yet for all the hard work McCoy put in at a time when
'Doctor Who' was not only an old series but one in which the BBC sharks were
always circling, waiting to slash its budget, juggle it around the schedule,
put it on the shelf, and/or cancel it outright, it came to naught when the axe
finally came down. As the last televised Doctor in what is now called 'the
classic series', McCoy's Doctor remained the 'BBC Doctor' for longer in print
and spinoff materials than Tom Baker was the Doctor on TV.</div>
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And while he has indicated that he would have remained with
the series on TV for up to 5 years or perhaps more, it was his promise, once it
was made clear the BBC would not renew the series itself without an outside
partnership, that he would 'pass the torch' to another actor to assume the role
that remains, perhaps, McCoy's greatest contribution for Whovians. Fully 8
years from his last appearance in 'Survival', Sylvester McCoy gratefully
accepted the chance to play ‘The Old Doctor' in the FOX TV film, in order to
'pass' the role to his friend Paul McGann. He also took the opportunity to
record a special in order to reflect on his time and its passing, called
'Bidding Adieu'.</div>
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THE EIGHTH DOCTOR: PAUL MCGANN (Duration: less than 2 hours
in only televised appearance in FOX TV film; 9 years in spinoff material, 1996
to 2005; unrevealed final appearance; current 'Big Finish Audio' Doctor). </div>
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<b>Who To Credit</b>: The very nature of the FOX TV film meant the
approach to casting the lead role was vastly different than it had been in John
Nathan-Turner's time. To begin with, 'Doctor Who' had been a long-running BBC
series, and the job of casting was unofficially given to whomever the producer
was at the time, subject to not only contributions from the creative staff, but
with final approval from the BBC itself; in the long history of the series, no
casting choice made was ever overturned or rejected by the BBC big wigs in
charge at the time it was made. For the FOX film, however, other, loftier
considerations came into play. </div>
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By this point in 1995, 'Doctor Who' was unofficially 'dead'
as an ongoing concept wholly owned and transmitted by the BBC 'in-house'; even
during the McCoy years, the BBC were quietly negotiating with companies such as
Coast-To-Coast Productions (who later became Daltenrays, co-owned and financed
by Roger Daltry, lead singer of the British band The Who), in order to 'farm
out' the series for co-production funding, either to continue as a series or
else a film or film series. </div>
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There was also the fact that JN-T had departed 'Doctor Who'
as the last of its 'classic series' producers, and was not even given a
perfunctory consulting call or appointment in the negotiations that would lead
to the marriage of BBC Worldwide, the American production company Amblin
Entertainment, and the FOX Television stations, all of whom had their hands in
the pie when it came to the funding and realization of a brand-new adventure
for a brand-new Doctor. </div>
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The TV producer Philip Segal, who is British, was employed
by Amblin Entertainment, and was among the first to champion the idea of
bringing 'Doctor Who' to American audiences; counting the syndication of the
classic series beginning with Tom Baker on PBS channels, and the current
attempts made through BBC America, SPACE channel in Canada, and SyFy in the
United States, it is the third time in Whoniverse history that someone,
somewhere, tried to forcibly crack the elusive North American market with the
good Doctor. </div>
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Segal had badgered his boss, Steven Spielberg, for
permission to 'go after' the rights to 'Doctor Who', and Spielberg had agreed
to lend his name to the cause. 'Spielberg's golden name is what got me in the
door with the BBC', said Segal. Eager to begin a partnership with the legendary
director and his company, who had at the time sold two moderately successful,
and certainly glitzy, SF series to the NBC Network, 'SeaQuest DSV' and 'Earth
Two', both of which Segal had received producing and co-producing credits on,
the BBC overcame their objections to allowing the 'quintessentially British'
series to be reformatted to appeal to North American audiences.</div>
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After ABC passed on the idea, FOX optioned the film as a
'backdoor pilot', intending to gauge audience reaction and use it to measure
whether they wished to commit to either a full season of a new series, or else
a series of TV films. In the end, its underwhelming ratings initially in the
United States came as little surprise to Whovians who understood that FOX had a
tendency to abruptly cancel promising projects when they did not immediately
make a ratings splash.</div>
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Coupled with stiff competition from ABC in the form of a
'Roseanne' episode centered on main character Dan having a heart attack and
virtually 'no' advance publicity on the part of FOX 'or' Amblin, alongside
actor Eric Roberts, who played the Master, feeling the role was so 'cartoon terrible'
that one month prior to the film's broadcast he did not utter a single word
about it while appearing on David Letterman's show, which was watched by
millions of North Americans, the film was doomed to failure. In the home of
'Doctor Who', however, nearly 10 million people watched it, many of whom had
purchased the VHS which was placed on sale in England prior to its debut on
television there! </div>
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One of the most contentious issues was, in a film intended
to launch a brand-new series, for an audience not whatsoever familiar with
'Doctor Who', and with three different production entities each with their own
list of preferred candidates...who would play the Doctor? The most extensive
casting sessions ever for the role of 'The Doctor' was undertaken, with
numerous suggestions of 'name value' actors, both British 'and' American. </div>
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Reflecting the earliest scripts, Peter O'Toole was sounded
out for the role of Rassilon, which in this 're-imagined' Whoniverse, was to be
the Doctor's father. He expressed initial interest, but nothing was ever
signed. Alan Rickman turned it down. Harrison Ford was considered. Christopher
Eccleston, in 1995 mind you, appeared on a list as possible young actors
considered 'too off the mark' by marketing departments.</div>
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In the end, the decision was made to 'cheap out' slightly on
the Doctor in order to put the money into the 'bad guy' of the film, who was to
be The Master. Thus, Eric Robert's salary for a few weeks’ worth of acting in
what he considered so beneath him he didn't breathe word one of it to a
national TV audience weeks prior to its debut, surpassed that of every other
actor chosen, including that of the Doctor himself, Paul McGann! Let us also
point out Eric Roberts is the lead in a film entitled 'Sharktopus', in which he
wails 'damn you, sharktopus'!. Just sayin'.</div>
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Paul McGann satisfied the concerns of Philip Segal, who was,
like JN-T before him, aware of the large and vocal Whovian population that were
making their opinions known as to the 'Americanization' fears of this new
project. McGann was British, and had a healthy respect for 'Doctor Who',
immediately attending conventions even before filming began, in order to 'get
on the pulse of it'. McGann was a respected actor from a family of actors, and
his own brother had even screen tested for the Doctor! </div>
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He was familiar with the character and the history,
comfortable enough with the fans, and had delved into SF before, having
appeared in one of the 'Aliens' films. 'I knew it would have an immediate
impact', McGann said, and has recently stated that had the series gone ahead,
he would have been 'delighted' to continue to play the role. As it is, his
Eighth Doctor remains the longest serving in audio play form, being the
'flagship' Doctor for the Big Finish range.</div>
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<b>Why He Accepted</b>: In numerous panels across numerous fan
conventions, McGann has made it clear what initially attracted him to the role
was that it was 'so very British'; 'everyone knows Doctor Who, the young and
old alike', he said. It would be his most high-profile role, and he had hoped
that it would lead to a new series. Financially, the film paid well and the
opportunity to perform before a North American audience also factored into his
agreement.</div>
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<b>Why He Quit</b>: Technically, Paul McGann is 'still' playing the
role of the Doctor. Due to complicated rights issues that arose with the
parties involved in funding and broadcasting the film, impediments were in
place for several years that prevented the BBC from moving forward with
regenerating the character into (what would become) the Eccleston Doctor.
Before the BBC were able to finally regain the full rights to the likeness,
their stop-gap solution was to create a briefly-official 'Ninth Doctor' with
the 'Scream Of The Shalka' webcast, in order to side-step the matter
altogether.</div>
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When the decision was made to bring the series back, one of
the first decisions new producer Russel T Davies attempted to address was what became
of the Eighth Doctor and why is there not a regeneration scene? Approached by
Davies, Pannini Books, a division of the sticker company that produced 'Doctor
Who' licensed comics and comic strips, had briefly planned to write and
illustrate a 'bridging story' linking the Eighth Doctor to the Ninth and
presenting a regeneration. Apparently, Davies himself supplied the script, but
when tasked with this momentous Whoniverse event, the editors passed, fearful
that the limited page count afforded them was not sufficient to properly give
the story justice. </div>
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Thus, as he has really never 'stopped' playing the role,
McGann continues, in both Big Finish and BBC Radio drama plays, one of which
acted as a 'teaser' for the new series and features the McGann Doctor becoming
exasperated with an alien race that claims that he should be wearing a 'black
leather jacket', and proclaiming 'what kind of a fashion sense nightmare do you
think I become??'. Now that the rights issues have been cleared, the Eighth
Doctor's stories continue to entertain Whovians who appreciate his charismatic,
friendly approach to the Doctor. Official 'canonicity' was attained, much to
the chagrin of embittered long-time Whovians who had refused to acknowledge the
Eighth Doctor as 'official' until he appeared within 'Doctor Who' on BBC One
itself, when the character did just that several times now, represented both in
the artwork of 'The Book Of Impossible Things' in the Tennant era, as well as
visually as a flashback/roll-call of past Doctors in Matt Smith's debut 'The
Eleventh Hour'. </div>
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We are going to skip the post-2005 series Doctors, as they
are all rather recent and their respective history has been extensively covered
elsewhere; in Smith's case, of course, it is still ongoing. I do hope you have
enjoyed this look back at the actors who played the Doctor, and join me again
soon for another blog entry chock full of 'Doctor Who' goodness! </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015123008999082517noreply@blogger.com0Mt Pearl, NL, Canada47.5206407 -52.807681847.4777477 -52.8866458 47.5635337 -52.7287178tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8800326142391250528.post-73512179708161890072012-09-12T21:59:00.000-02:302012-09-12T22:01:10.599-02:30The Moment Has Been Prepared For: The Inside Stories Of The Casting And Departures Of The Doctors<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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By <a href="mailto:shannonmlush@gmail.com" target="_blank">Shannon Lush</a></div>
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The casting of the role of The Doctor is, inarguably, the
most important decision undertaken by anyone involved in 'Doctor Who', on any
level. Stories were commissioned and placed in an early phase of
pre-production, first by the show's story editors, and then later, by script
editors, the job title being altered to more accurately reflect the
individual's duties. But these scripts always featured a vague, undefined
'Doctor' absent the mannerisms, personality traits, even physical descriptions
that can only come with an actor cast in the role. Terrance Dicks, former
script editor of the show during the early to mid 1970's, reflected that it was
only after meeting and speaking with Tom Baker upon his official acceptance of
the role did he begin to explore the character possibilities of the Fourth
Doctor; prior to that, the stories did not jump off the page.</div>
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Because the Doctor character in these stories was nothing
more than a metaphorical cardboard cut-out. A shadow of what it becomes when it
is inhabited by an actor. 'Tom in the flesh does have this type of looney
scatter-brain', Dicks said, and that informed the character as eventually
written by Dicks in the debut episode of Baker's Doctor, 'Robot'. Similarly,
other production personnel frequently noted that, without an actor chosen in
the role, it is difficult to comprehend and visualize the overall style, from set
design to story arcs, that a new era of 'Doctor Who' was capable of. 'Any actor
playing the Doctor shouldn't be acting 'all' the time', former producer Barry
Letts once said. 'There has to be a contribution from the actor, it makes life
easier for him, for the producers, for everybody'. Without an actor chosen, or,
worse, without that certain actor with special qualities chosen who 'can'
contribute to the series in their own unique ways, the show as a whole suffers.
In this blog, we will look in depth at each actor who played the Doctor; who
casted them, what they brought to the role in general and why they left the
role that former Doctor Colin Baker often called 'the best job on television'.</div>
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<b>THE FIRST DOCTOR: WILLIAM HARTNELL (Duration: 3 years, 1963
to 1966)</b></div>
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<b>Who to credit:</b> The early years of 'Doctor Who' would have
quickly faded from memory were it not for the efforts of a handful of talented
writers, producers, the overall guiding hand of its primary creator Sydney
Newman, and the birth of 'Dalekmania', which kept the little black and white
show on the lips and in the hearts of a generation of British children. But it
starts with the Doctor. The first title character in the history of British
television (to that point) to be an alien, the Doctor needed to be mysterious
and interesting enough for children (and, just as importantly, their parents,
who controlled the TV viewing habits) to want to tune in again and again. It
was Newman who envisioned the role of a 'grandfatherly, senile old man', but it
was a combination of the show's first ever producer, Verity Lambert, and it's
first director, Warries Hussien, who approached William Hartnell. </div>
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Despite having to 'talk nonstop to convince him', as Hussien
remembers, Hartnell accepted the role and entered Whovian legend as the first-ever
Doctor, the original, you might say. 'From the moment this lovely young woman,
Miss Verity Lambert, started telling me about the Doctor, I was hooked',
Hartnell said.</div>
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<b>Why He Accepted:</b> One of the reoccurring themes that readers
will discover in this blog entry is that financial considerations will come to
play in an actor both accepting and leaving the Doctor role. However, in
Hartnell's case, while he claimed he 'was paid very well, though I worked
bloody hard for it', all existing documentation, coupled with interviews by
surviving family, friends, and production team members of his era, indicate
Hartnell was more driven to take on the role due to concerns over type-casting.
As the oldest actor to date chosen for the role, Hartnell's career as an actor
was on the decline, but had seen him perform in more than 60 films by 1962.
While he preferred light comedy and 'farce' roles, it would be 'tough, army
type' roles in post-World War Two productions that would lead to his typecasting
as an actor who embodied thieves, rogues, villains, and, as he put it 'out of
work, on the dole' individuals. A BBC One series intended for evening
transmission, the potential to be viewed by millions of people, with a
production commitment of 13 episodes attached, was too tempting an offer for
Hartnell to refuse. Despite claiming the idea of space travel 'scares me
stiff', he later would say he relished the role, stating 'the magic of Doctor
Who will always cling to me'. </div>
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<b>What He Brought:</b> A little-known fact regarding 'Doctor Who'
is that, like 'Star Trek', it, too, produced a pilot episode, and the pilot was
rejected, though unlike 'Star Trek', the BBC actually allocated funds each
quarter specifically for these 'test run' episodes, in order to iron out the
kinks. As a result, the Doctor was depicted in the very first 'pilot' as being
'too mean-tempered', to quote series creator Sydney Newman. Hartnell agreed,
'he was too mean, and I told them so. Later they changed it and it was quite successful'.
Hartnell, whether rightly or wrongly, often took credit for ideas and concepts
that may or may not have originated with him. He claimed the idea of the Doctor
often mispronouncing the surname of his companion Ian Chesterton, variously
calling him 'Chatterton' or 'Chesserman', in order to bring to the screen
Newman's original idea of the Doctor being 'a senile old man', was his. To be
fair, William Russell, who played Ian, credits Hartnell with this, as well. In
his later years, Hartnell also said the story 'The Gunfighters', which oddly
depicted 'a Wild West American story on a low-budget British television
series', originated with him; 'children like to play cowboys and Indians', he
said. Whatever the truth of these claims, what is undisputed is that Hartnell,
at the age of 56, suffered multiple physical injuries in the performance of the
role. He was temporarily paralyzed during shooting of scenes for 'The Dalek
Invasion Of Earth' when he fell from a stretcher the Doctor was being carried
on in one scene. He also cut himself deeply on the hand when he gripped the
upper portion of a Dalek prop under its dome, where the silver band ringing it
was sharp; he insisted that in future, all sharp parts of Daleks props, and
indeed of 'all' alien props in the show, be rounded down and fastened with
tape, as a safety measure. In short, Hartnell gave it his all, aware that he
was becoming the hero to millions of children worldwide, as the BBC began to
slowly exploit their ability to sell their home grown series overseas. Another
little known fact of this time is that 'Doctor Who' began airing in Canada in
1965 on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), during Hartnell's time.
This fact has never been given the attention it deserved from either the modern
CBC, who aired the new series for several years beginning in 2005, or by the
SPACE specialty channel in Canada, who currently air it in first-run
syndication.</div>
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<b>Why He Quit: </b>William Hartnell's departure from the series
that made him a household name is, to this day, subject to a small measure of
controversy. It is well known now that Colin Baker, the actor who played the
Sixth Doctor, was in effect 'fired.' His contract was allowed to run out
without being renewed, and BBC big wigs specifically instructed the producer to
replace him before giving the green light to any further seasons. However,
documentation and interviews with the principal production individuals and
actors of Hartnell's era reveal now that, just perhaps, decades before Baker
was 'axed' Hartnell may have been. </div>
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William Hartnell, to quote the actor Peter Purves, who had
played his companion Steven, 'was a devil!’ Numerous writers, production
people, actors, and even BBC big wigs have all noted that Hartnell was
difficult to deal with on a day-to-day basis. While he had apparently
maintained an excellent relationship with Verity Lambert and his initial
co-stars, he was resistant to change; Lambert's successors as producer
inevitably clashed with their star on many levels, from overall direction of
the series for the long term, to make-up, costume and prop changes. </div>
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Many people now state that the production days were dictated
according to Hartnell's moods in any given moment. They also state that they
grew to understand the enormous pressures placed on the veteran actor. Unlike
those that would come after him in the title role, Hartnell would not be
afforded the advantage of retakes, as television technology in England at the
time simply wasn't up to the task; 'Doctor Who' was taped but always performed
'as if live', meaning there was no time or money allocated for expensive
retakes of key scenes. Consequently, flubbed lines, miscues, and ad libs
abounded in this era.</div>
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The myth that Hartnell was so sick with arteriosclerosis
that he routinely made mistakes in dialogue and therefore was replaced as The
Doctor as a concession to his health simply isn't true. It 'is' true that he
was always in poor health; he had been forced to resign from active military
service in World War Two due to what he would later call 'poor nerves'. A
lifelong series of ailments hounded him, yet he appeared, as has been noted, in
well over 60 films over a near 50 year acting career, not counting the numerous
television appearances he had made in the years before 'Doctor Who'. </div>
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Simply put, despite his frequent 'resting' periods, the most
recent of which had been directly before being approached to play The Doctor,
Hartnell nevertheless had the energy to endure long shooting days on a
technically complicated science fiction series for the better part of three
years. Hardly a man who was 'too sick to continue'.</div>
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Hartnell's wife attested to the fact that he was 'awfully
sick', however she also stated that he 'loved them all', in reference to his
co-stars, and wished to continue in the role for at least five years, as he
himself had publicly stated on numerous occasions, and then retire from acting
altogether. Instead, producer John Wiles had other ideas; at the early drafting
of the script stage of 'The Celestial Toymaker', he had approached his BBC
bosses to use the opportunity afforded them with the scene in which the
Toymaker character turns the Doctor invisible and mute to recast the role in
mid-story! </div>
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Essentially, Hartnell as the Doctor would be unceremoniously
ditched and, when he was brought back to normal, would be played by someone
else from that point onwards! Not surprisingly, the idea was rejected quickly,
but it serves as an extreme example of the animosity that the production team
had towards Hartnell by this point. Wile's successor as producer, Innes Lloyd,
who also did not have the best relationship with his star actor, was the one
who finally managed to dispose of him from the series, on the grounds that it
would be 'good for the series, and more importantly, good for Bill', and that Hartnell
needed 'a long rest'. </div>
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Why did two producers try so hard to get rid of Hartnell?
Because he was difficult. Hartnell 'did not suffer fools gladly', to quote
Anneke Willis, who played his companion Polly. Hartnell felt that 'too much
evil was entering into the spirit of the thing', in reference to the changing
nature of the series itself as the light-hearted adventure series for families
that Hartnell had signed on for and worked hard to create and maintain. In its
place, and under the producer ships of Wiles and Lloyd and perpetuated by
various story editors, was suddenly pages and pages of technobabble that
Hartnell was assigned to recite in an age before retakes.</div>
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This was an attempt to 'buck the series up', to make it more
adult in content and more scientific in theme; around this time; the series
began retaining the uncredited scientific consulting of Dr Kit Pedlar, who
would co-create the Cybermen. The age of historical stories, where 'we all
dressed in great gay clothing', to quote Carole Ann Ford, who played Susan, was
giving way to the cold, hard science fiction themes that would later flourish
in the era to come. Hartnell, in many ways, felt betrayed by this, and clashed
often with anyone and everyone who championed these changes.</div>
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In the end, while on paper it was deemed a necessary measure
and justified in the same manner in which one puts an old horse out to pasture,
the sad reality is that 'Doctor Who' abandoned its first Doctor. Hartnell
described the Doctor as 'a combination of Santa Claus and Father Time', he
resisted labelling him as a 'scientist', instead calling him 'a wizard', and
truly felt it was creatively wrong to steer the show away from space fantasy and
more into science fiction. </div>
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In this, absent the support of Verity Lambert, and coupled
with young co-stars as companions who did not have his experience or acting
'clout' to support his stance, he simply was made obsolete when his usefulness
was at an end and his stubbornness became too much to bear. Often physically
weak and requiring the use of stunt doubles such as Edmund Warwick, who appeared
as the 'fake Doctor' in 'The Chase', Hartnell's heart sank at the prospect of
leaving. </div>
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'I didn't willingly give up the part', Hartnell would say in
later years. Today Whovians assume that the frequent fluffs of dialog, the
stutters, stammers, and 'mmms' of Hartnell are on-screen proof, if any was
needed, that men such as Wiles and Lloyd were correct, that Hartnell was too
sick to continue. In actual fact, as noted by numerous people, these were all
'part of the act'. Hartnell's widow stated that her husband had intentionally
devised these so-called 'Hartnellisms' in order to better reflect the Doctor's
absent-mindedness and his senility; as mentioned previously, inherent parts of
the initial Doctor character outlined by Sydney Newman. </div>
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Numerous companion actors, William Russel among them, stated
that 'Bill Hartnell was nothing like the Doctor', that he not only was not
forgetful of his lines, but in fact was so professional in his approach that he
had 'marked out every button on the TARDIS console in his mind, deciding what
it did and when to press it. Eagle-eyed reviewers need only look to the
character of the Abbot in 'The Massacre Of St. Bartholemew's Eve' as proof that
the 'dialog fluffs' of Hartnell's era were strictly character-driven and not a
side-effect of Hartnell's illness. </div>
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How do we know this? Because Hartnell plays the Abbot as
well in this episode, it is a substantial character part with plenty of dialog,
and, as the Abbot, Hartnell reels off his lines flawlessly without error and
without one single 'hmm'. If one suffers from an illness that prevents them
from reciting dialog accurately, odds are that the illness isn't going to
choose for them which character to portray in order to manifest symptoms!</div>
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If nothing else, in addition to the public and private
comments Hartnell made after leaving the series disputing the myth that he
simply was too sick to continue, there is the fact that he himself did not
retire from acting immediately! 'The events of that time are engraved on my
heart', he wrote to the head of his fan club. He admitted he suffered a
complete nervous breakdown over the entire affair, and he resumed acting once
he 'got on his feet'. He returned to both television and theatre for almost a
decade after being swerved out as The Doctor. It is fitting his final role as
an actor was the Doctor in 'The Three Doctors'. </div>
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<b>THE SECOND DOCTOR: PATRICK TROUGHTON (Duration: 3 years,
1966 to 1969)</b></div>
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<b>Who to credit:</b> Innes Lloyd, the man who would literally
drive William Hartnell home after a farewell party for the actor's departure,
is primarily the man who decided to cast Patrick Troughton. In fact, in a
demonstration of how far in advance in terms of his thoughts on who to cast in
the role of what would become the Second Doctor, Lloyd asked Hartnell during
the trip for his opinion on Troughton. Apparently, Hartnell affirmed Troughton
as being 'the only man in England who can take over!'.</div>
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High praise, indeed! Other than the brief suggestion of
mild-mannered actor Patrick Wymark possibly being casted at one point, Innes
Lloyd was taken with the idea of Troughton from very early on. So were the BBC,
who enthusiastically agreed with Lloyd's decision, so much so they allowed
Lloyd to travel directly to the set of the project Troughton was working on at
the time in order to personally invite him to the series. </div>
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<b>Why He Accepted:</b> As a self-confessed 'spooky character
actor' who was more at home being a guest-star, sometimes in heavy makeup, on
various television series of the 1950's and 1960's, Troughton had a great deal
of reluctance to the idea of taking on the role of a character in a by-then
established hit series, one in which even he admitted was 'carried by Billy
Hartnell'. </div>
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He initially was inclined to turn it down, but reconsidered
when he realized that the steady pay would help provide his sons with college
educations. He decided to accept with several self-imposed stipulations. First,
he planned on 'only doing 3 years', both in order to avoid potential
typecasting as well as ensure he would not forego other projects for too
lengthy a period.</div>
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Second, he would not make himself available to the press, as
he felt that when the viewing public knew too much about an actor's personal
life, it had a detrimental effect upon their ability to 'suspend disbelief' and
'buy' an actor in a role when they 'knew when you mowed the lawn'. With those
provisions in place, Troughton set about to have 'as much fun as I could for as
long as I could'.</div>
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<b>What He Brought:</b> It was Sydney Newman who essentially
'created' the overall look and appeal of the Second Doctor, simply by putting
his foot down. On a visit to the set mere days before production would begin on
Troughton's first episode, Newman objected to both the design of the
character's clothing, as well as to his hair. </div>
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The production team had made an effort to distance the
Second Doctor from the First visually, and thus choose what Troughton later
described as 'a Windjammer-type' outfit that resembled 'something Napolean
might wear'. Newman said Troughton's Doctor ought to be 'a tramp, a hobo of the
skies', and thus he was quickly dressed in the tatty, wrinkled jacket and check
trousers that he later made famous.</div>
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Additionally, Newman instructed them to 'tamp his hair down’,
resulting in a 'mop top' style that resembled 'those lads from Liverpool', and
hottest band in the country at the time, the Beatles. It is debated whether
producers intentionally 'borrowed' the look in order to 'cash in' on the
Beatles fad, but the resemblance remains easy to spot. </div>
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Patrick Troughton brought enthusiasm, passion, and energy to
the series, which is clearly evident in the episodes themselves. His breezy
style of acting, in which learning his lines was, to him, more of a suggestion
than a requirement, resulted in frequent and intentional ad-libs. His
ad-libbing nature and lack of what some actors would consider 'professionalism'
resulted in a famous story in which his successor Jon Pertwee lost his temper
during the recording of 'The Three Doctors', when Troughton 'said everything in
the scene except what he was supposed to say!', according to Pertwee. The two
later became close friends and frequent sparring partners in an epic
water-pistol duel/feud that continued in the many fan conventions the two
appeared at together. </div>
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What Troughton failed to bring to personal appearances and
media presence during his time as the Doctor, he made up for in humanising the
role, presenting a softer and more even-tempered character than Hartnell. Under
him, the show experienced a second golden age, as popular monsters such as the
Yeti made their debuts, as well as redesigned Daleks and Cybermen. Another
feather in the cap of the show in this era is the debut of U.N.I.T and the
first appearance of the popular supporting character of The Brigadier, though
at this point he was a Colonel in rank. </div>
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<b>Why He Quit: </b>Troughton had always said, privately and at
times publicly, that he intended to stay for only 3 years, no more and no less.
So adamant was he regarding this number as the optimum time an actor can play
the role before boredom from viewers and typecasting from casting agents set
in, that twenty years later, he advised Peter Davison to do the same number of
years for the good of his career, as well.</div>
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Despite continuing his career on television and films after
leaving 'Doctor Who', the advent of larger-arena fan conventions by the 1980's
would see Troughton happily frequent them, interacting with Whovians young and
old and regaling them with stories of his time as the Doctor. It was in fact
while attending a 'Doctor Who' fan convention in the United States that
Troughton passed away suddenly.</div>
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In terms of the character, he briefly flirted with the
notion of perhaps staying a fourth year. However, he discovered there was to be
a long-term plan of phasing out the space adventure format in favour of the
ground-based U.N.I.T, which the producers stated would go ahead regardless of
who played the Doctor. Troughton then decided that, as the series itself was
entering a new thematic phase, it was best a new Doctor was cast to be the
vanguard of these creative changes.</div>
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<b>THE THIRD DOCTOR: JON PERTWEE (Duration: 5 years, 1969 to
1974)</b></div>
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<b>Who to credit: </b>Change was coming to 'Doctor Who'. The BBC
were privately concerned at the costs associated with making the series, even
going so far as to commission a pilot episode for a replacement series be made.
That series, 'Stoney Black', would have featured the misadventures of a humble
and naive Australian living in London, a sort of pre-'Crocodile Dundee' type.</div>
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When those invested in the future of 'Doctor Who' pointed
out to the BBC that 'Doctor Who' could be reformatted to be brought down to
Earth, the BBC relented and gave the go-ahead, rendering 'Stoney Black'
irrelevant. It exists now as proof positive that, for as much money and
audience figures 'Doctor Who' could and has brought to them, the BBC were and
remain quite capable of making the decision to pull the plug if the situation
warranted. </div>
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Growing inflation, oil and gas shortages, and recessions in
the economies of many of the world's countries gave the BBC pause for thought;
'Stoney Black' could deliver real-world entertainment, unfettered with the need
to create new worlds, costumes, monsters, aliens. If 'Doctor Who' could be made
to do the same, then it would be allowed to try. The only problem was, Patrick
Troughton was leaving, and his successor must take the 6 year old drama series
out of the realms of fantasy and closer to reality. Who could be cast to do
this?</div>
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Producer Peter Bryan had developed a 'short list' of actors
to consider for the third Doctor, one of which was the actor Ron Moody. Moody
turned it down, and later claimed he 'regretted the decision to do so'. Bryant
had another name who was 'very high up' on the list; Jon Pertwee. As a member
of an acting family, who had himself been involved with the entertainment world
in some capacity or other since before World War Two, Pertwee's reputation and
resume preceded him.</div>
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When Bryant mentioned his name to Head of BBC Drama Shaun
Sutton, the latter enthusiastically agreed, and personally contacted Pertwee
himself, as they were in fact good friends. Despite Sutton's preference for
Pertwee to portray the role 'as yourself', essentially meaning that Pertwee was
being hired on the understanding that he would infuse this Doctor with light
comedy styling, in the end he decided to play it 'against type', and therefore
'straight'. Pertwee would later comment that Sutton did not understand that a
'grounded' Doctor needed to be played absolutely seriously. This lack of
understanding would come to play a part in Pertwee's leaving the role 5 years
later.</div>
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<b>Why He Accepted:</b> Pertwee was an 'actor's actor', a performer
with cross-over appeal due to his years on television, radio, and film. He had
performed the popular World War Two radio comedy series 'The Navy Lark' for 18
years, and had developed a fan base. In addition to the steady pay that being
The Doctor would bring, he negotiated for and was given certain 'perks', as a concession
to his 'star power'. </div>
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He was given limited veto power over scripts and storylines,
though in the end he developed an excellent working relationship with script
editor Terrance Dicks, which meant he rarely took advantage of this. His
approval was also required in terms of casting, and this would come to the
forefront at the conclusion of his first season as the Doctor, when he made it
clear that the role of Dr Liz Shaw was 'not working out'.</div>
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The character was, in his opinion, 'too intelligent in her
own right' to even need the Doctor's mentorship. Pertwee preferred a return to
the more traditional 'Doctor Who girl', one who would not steal the spotlight
from the Doctor, one who required lengthy explanations to events, and one who
could either twist her ankle or be carried off by the monsters, preferably
both.</div>
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The subsequent casting of Katy Manning as the character of
well-meaning but bumbling Jo Grant had fingerprints of Pertwee's 'backstage
clout' all over it. Given these far-reaching abilities to affect and shape his
working environment on a day-to-day basis, coupled with his insistence on
wearing whatever clothing he wanted, driving whatever vehicles he wanted, and
giving the Doctor character an action-adventure and gadgetry flair based on his
own interests in the same, Pertwee would have been mad 'not' to take the role.
'I got away with murder on 'Doctor Who', he once said. 'I just played me,
really. Apart from being hard work, it was a piece of cake!'.</div>
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<b>What He Brought: </b>Star power. Lots of it. By the time he left
the role in the 1969/70 season, Pertwee's Doctor had become responsible for a
great many 'firsts' in the history of the series to that point. He was the
first to host a multi-Doctor story with 'The Three Doctors'. The first
appearance of The Master happened in his era; in fact, an entire season of
stories featuring the Master as the reoccurring bad guy happened in his era.
The first to feature the Autons, the Sontarans, the Draconians. The debut of
the most popular companion of all time, Sarah Jane Smith, happened in Pertwee's
era. Not to mention the expansion of U.N.I.T as a covert alien investigation
group. </div>
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Pertwee's presence alone inspired writers to craft new and
unique storylines that would have been out of place and unsuitable for either
Hartnell or Troughton, and under Pertwee, 'Doctor Who' became known for doing
what science fiction does best; using the trappings of outer space and little
green men from the future to comment on societal issues of the present. </div>
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All of this wrapped up under the flamboyant cape of the man
who not only played the Doctor, he 'lived' the role. Pertwee made multiple
personal appearances, and rose to become something of an 'ambassador' and
'elderly statesman' in the eyes of generations of Whovians. </div>
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He personally drove the same cars the Doctor did. His era
was broadcast mostly in color, another first. In short, both during and after
his time in the TARDIS, Jon Pertwee poured his heart and soul into publicizing
and maintaining 'Doctor Who' as the mainstream success it became in the 3rd
Doctor's era. In the early 1990's, he was named the first-ever entrant into the
'Hall Of Fame' established by 'Doctor Who Magazine'.</div>
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<b>Why He Quit:</b> While Pertwee often cited the slow, gradual
break-up of 'his team', the producers, writers, and actors with which he was
most comfortable working with as a major factor in his decision to leave
'Doctor Who', two mitigating circumstances stand out as being the determining
factors. </div>
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First, his friendship with the actor Roger Delgado, who
played The Master. Delgado had been tragically killed in a car accident in
Turkey while shooting a film in the off-season of Pertwee's final year on the
series. The death hurt 'Doctor Who' in general, depriving it of its most
popular anti-hero character, and meaning the forced abandonment of a story
everyone was looking forward to filming, entitled 'The Long Game'.</div>
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That particular story would have seen the on-screen 'death'
of Delgado's Master, who would have been depicted as saving The Doctor's life
in an ambiguous manner, leaving open the further exploration of the
Master/Doctor relationship and adding layers of complexities to it. Delgado's
death affected Pertwee personally and deeply, and he began to feel that perhaps
it was a sign that he needed to move on from 'Doctor Who, and make a clean
break with the series. </div>
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Second, he was turned down by Shaun Sutton, the
afore-mentioned Head Of Drama for the BBC and close friend, for a raise. While
he rarely expressed frustration publicly, there is no doubt that this was a
'slap in the face' of sorts to Pertwee, who had, as noted, given his all to the
role and had increased its audience and mainstream appeal, not to mention its
overall revenue for the BBC, in the process. Once again, the BBC had nickel and
dimed 'Doctor Who' for no good reason, and the result was that one of the most
popular and long-serving Doctors would shortly be written out. </div>
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<b>THE FOURTH DOCTOR: TOM BAKER (Duration: 7 years, 1974 to
1981)</b></div>
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<b>Who to credit:</b> Barry Letts had produced Pertwee's final
season, and wrote the actor's final regular appearance in the series, the
episode entitled 'Planet Of The Spiders'. As such, he can and should be given
credit for casting Tom Baker, a virtual unknown at the time, as The Doctor.
However, as with everything else concerning Tom Baker, the actor the vast
majority of both Whovians and the general viewing public to this day consider
to have been the man 'born to play the role', the truth is a little more colourful
than all that.</div>
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Baker had been a struggling actor for years prior to 'Doctor
Who', and at the time of Pertwee's departure, had been signed on to several
medium-budget film projects that were being filmed overseas. In a short space
of time, however, these promising films all had been cancelled due to inability
to raise production funds. </div>
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As a result, Baker began to experience a sense of
desperation. In a slight panic, he personally wrote to Bill Slater, at the time
the Head Of Serials at the BBC. 'Somewhere there is a job for me', he stated.
As Baker himself tells it, his letter was the last one Slater read prior to
turning in for the night. As a coincidence, Slater had just that day attended a
pre-production casting session for the new season of 'Doctor Who' with Letts,
who at the time had been frustrated by the turning down of the part from
several actors.</div>
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Among them were Graham Crowden, who later would memorably
play the character of Soldeed in the episode 'The Horns Of Nimon'; Jim Dale,
who had appeared in the 'Carry On..' series of comedy films which Jon Pertwee
also had done; Micheal Bentine, a comedy actor who wished to have far too much
influence in terms of casting, scripts, and production for Lett's taste; and
finally Richard Hearne, who wished to play the role as basically a carbon copy
of his then-popular 'Mr Pastry' comedy character.</div>
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Slater called Baker at 11pm that night upon finishing the
letter, setting up an interview for the next day. Letts, for his part, had been
sent to his local cinema 'around the corner' by Baker to view the latter's
appearance in 'The Golden Voyage Of Sinbad', which was making its cinematic run
at the time. Based on the interview and upon Baker's performance in the film,
Letts offered Baker the role. </div>
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<b>Why He Accepted: </b>As noted, Tom Baker at the time was a
virtual unknown. By his own admission, he was working on a building site as a
'tea maker' when offered the role. 'It had nothing to do with 'Doctor Who',
Baker said, 'it was all just a happy accident, really'. Grateful for the
opportunity for gainful employment on a popular series, and admittedly unaware
of the nature, realities, and pressures of playing The Doctor, Baker
essentially 'made it up as we went along'.</div>
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While he is credited with influencing the initial style of
the Doctor's clothing, which mirrored his own, rather casual fashion sense, it
was one of those 'happy accidents' that led to the creation of his character's
most famous piece of wardrobe. The decision had been made to outfit the Fourth
Doctor with a scarf, 'like the kind you'd see in the West Bank area of France',
said Baker. </div>
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However, so much wool had been purchased, 'someone's
relative at the BBC' knitted the entire amount into one long, voluminous scarf.
Baker tried it on, was told 'keep it, it's funny', and the Fourth Doctor now
had a handy prop, marketable visual image, and symbol of his Doctor's whacky,
unique outlook, all at the same time. </div>
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Over the years, Tom Baker has repeatedly stated that, while
keen to infuse his Doctor with a 'childlike outlook', and striving to always
keep the character 'fresh', he accepted the role first and foremost because it
was an acting job. That he would go on to become the icon that he did he chalks
up to 'another happy accident'. </div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>What He Brought: </b>There is probably not enough space on the
server of this website to properly detail just what Tom Baker brought to the
role of the Doctor. That he is still considered, over thirty years after his
era, to be the 'definitive' Doctor, is just one indication that his work is
still being assessed positively, that his presence is still being felt greatly,
and that his tenure is, truly, the high water mark for 'Doctor Who'.</div>
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At the time, 'Doctor Who' was in no way in danger of being cancelled;
Jon Pertwee had seen to that. It was not yet the 'jewel in the crown of BBC
One' that it would become with Baker in the role, but it 'was' a popular series
and a regular fixture in the top 20 most watched series on British television. </div>
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The temptation was there to do a 'poor man's Jon Pertwee',
as was suggested by certain producers and writers who were comfortable with the
scope of the show and with its position within TV audience ratings. There was a
'don't rock the boat' mentality among some. However ignorant of the history of
the character Baker initially was, once he decided that the Doctor was an alien
and therefore ought to be played 'with Olympian detachment' in order to put
forth the character's alien origin, he blazed a trail across the Whoniverse. </div>
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Inspired by his outlandish, mad-cap suggestions, and eager
to distance themselves from the 'U.N.I.T family' era, new producer Philip Hinchcliffe
and script editor Robert Holmes carried out work together that, to this day,
resonates through Whovian history. Any card-carrying Whovian worth their K-9
batteries will tell you Tom Baker remains the greatest Doctor,
Hinchcliffe/Holmes remains the greatest era, and there is to be no argument
allowed to doubt these assertions. And they would be right. The question is not
'what did Tom Baker bring to 'Doctor Who', the question is what 'didn't' he
bring? </div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Why He Quit: </b>I once had occasion to share a conversation
with a British actor named George Murphy in a pub in Toronto. Murphy was at the
time a fledgling actor who remarked upon the purchase of a certain nonfiction
book I had brought with me, fresh from acquiring it at the Forbidden Planet
bookstore down the road from the pub.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
The book, 'Who On Earth Is Tom Baker', was the autobiography
of the man who changed 'Doctor Who' forever, and will be itself a blog review
subject in a future instalment. Murphy had worked with Anthony Ainley briefly
in a recent film, and remarked that it is too bad, as Ainley had apparently
told him, that 'JN-T sacked Baker'. I was surprised by this anecdote, as
Whovian history, coupled with public comments from both Baker and John
Nathan-Turner, his final producer, tell a different story. While they both
revealed that there was professional friction apparent in the relationship
between them, the decision to leave 'Doctor Who', by both men's admission had
ultimately been Baker's.</div>
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Murphy went on to relate that, according to Ainley, JN-T
'hated' Baker and wanted him 'out the door so badly', that he privately fired
him, and concocted the story of Baker's leaving of his own free will to negate
bad press and facilitate the casting of JN-T's own chosen actor, a prospect
JN-T apparently relished as a chance to 'stamp his mark' on the series.</div>
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It is quite true that JN-T disliked the jokey atmosphere
that Baker had come in his later seasons to inject into proceedings, and went
out of his way to nip it in the bud. He darkened the tone of the series
greatly, specifically instructing script editors, directors and actors to
jettison any sign of the 'undergraduate humour' that was allowed to flourish
under the likes of Graham Williams and Douglas Adams.</div>
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He then instructed the costume department to design a
darker, more subdued version of Baker's trademark long coat and scarf; the
resultant color scheme coupled with Baker's overall approach definitely skewed
the series into a sombre, brooding one. At the time, many fan reviewers
applauded this direction, weary of the Williams/Adams years and the excesses of
childish, camp characters such as K-9, the slapstick sound effects and
ludicrous scenes of the Doctor breaking the fourth wall and talking directly to
camera.</div>
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But would this be enough to cause Baker to become enough of
a problem that JN-T was forced to fire him? Given the weight of evidence
otherwise, it is evident that it wasn't. Allow me to deconstruct this. </div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Firstly, the source of the 'JN-T fired Baker' allegations
was Anthony Ainley, the actor who had played The Master in multiple episodes of
JN-T's producer ship, and certainly in the final episodes leading up to Baker's
finale as the Doctor. However, if ever anyone disliked JN-T, it was Ainley.</div>
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Ainley had spouted off about what he felt was JN-T's lack of
credentials, his lack of attention to the proper details such as budget and
scripts, and a host of other issues that Ainley had, not the least of which
would be his feeling The Master 'was put out, supplanted', to quote Colin Baker
as the primary bad guy in 'Trial Of A Timelord', a role essentially 'stolen' by
The Valeyard. Played by Micheal Jayston, The Valeyard character had been
co-created by JN-T, with Eric Saward the then-script editor.</div>
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Thus, Ainley is not an unbiased individual when the subject
came to JN-T. That he worked with and for JN-T multiple times, had been chosen
for the Master role partially 'by' JN-T, and had a day-to-day involvement in
'Doctor Who' for weeks and months at a time must be given credence. But if this
were true, why, over 30 years later, would this fact still be hidden?</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Baker has gone on to do many other things since leaving
'Doctor Who', though his career was always impacted and affected by his long
tenure; he had more than doubled Patrick Troughton's time-limit for an actor to
avoid typecasting, staying for nearly seven years. But for all he owed to
'Doctor Who', Baker would not have avoided telling the truth, especially now.
If, indeed, he had been fired, he would have revealed that by now.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Finally, as this story was related not by Ainley, who has
since sadly passed away, but by a man who worked with Ainley very briefly, it's
likely an attempt to merely 'wind up' a fan. I gave it no credence then, and
even less now. Because in the final analysis, from multiple people involved,
Tom Baker left the series he revolutionized of his own free will, though it is
true that JN-T did not exactly go out of his way to talk him out of it.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Having played the role seven years, having contributed time,
energy, enormous passion and personal appearances in support and publicity of
the role, Tom Baker felt in his final season that he 'hadn't found rehearsals
as funny as I had done', that 'it was time to move on, and let someone else
come in', that he 'began to feel the role 'was' me, we had become so utterly
intertwined'. In his final season's worth of stories, he was so physically sick
in fact that his famous hair curls needed to be achieved with multiple
applications of hair perms!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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'In many ways, I never wanted to leave', Baker said. But,
leave he did. It is true his final 2 seasons had seen a drop in overall
ratings, a sign that, perhaps, the viewing audience were beginning to tire of
his Doctor. Competition from ITV in the form of the glitzy 'Buck Rogers' TV
series stole away millions. Wildcat strikes from everyone from catering to
gaffing, rigging, and scenic design specialists had their toll. Baker's time as
the most popular Doctor was nearing its end.</div>
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While Baker had asked for an extended period in which to
consider whether or not he would stay, in th end his soul searching resulted in
the same decision. Meanwhile, JN-T was already planting the seeds for the
future by rapidly casting the companions Adric, Nyssa, and Tegan, who would go
on to travel with the 5th Doctor, and who would be introduced to the fans
during Baker's final stories in order to 'preview' the new era that was to
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At seven years, Baker's time remains the benchmark which no
other actor has matched, to this day, playing The Doctor. While Sylvester
McCoy's 7th Doctor was the officially licensed Doctor from 1987 through the
spin-off media, until his final scenes in the 1996 Fox TV film, making him 'The
Doctor' for just under 10 years, this was not achieved on screen, and the BBC
has constantly-shifting attitudes towards the canonicity of various spin-off
material anyway. Tom Baker took 'Doctor Who' from the foundations that had been
built upon by his predecessors, and created an entirely new level of popularity
with the property.</div>
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And when he finally left, famously resisting the temptation
to return to celebrate the 20th anniversary in 'The 5 Doctors', though we would
return in the 1990's in 'Dimensions In Time' and even now, more than 30 years
later, voicing the Fourth Doctor for Big Finish's audio range, the most popular
Doctor to this day went out on his own terms, at this own time. It 'was' the
end...but the moment had been prepared for.</div>
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Next week: We finish off our look at the Classic Series
Doctors! We will explore what 'really' attracted a 'personality actor'like
Peter Davison to the role, delve into the murky Colin Baker era, and why
Sylvestor McCoy stuffing ferrets down his trousers may just have won him the
'best job in television!'. All that, and Paul McGann! What more could you ask
for! </div>
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<![endif]-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015123008999082517noreply@blogger.com0Mt Pearl, NL, Canada47.5188889 -52.805833347.4759949 -52.8847973 47.5617829 -52.726869300000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8800326142391250528.post-32545196873836412202012-09-05T05:46:00.000-02:302012-09-05T05:46:29.405-02:30'Slippin' Back'<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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By <a href="mailto:shannonmlush@gmail.com" target="_blank">Shannon Lush</a></div>
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The foggy mists of time always reveal some hidden gem from
the expanded Whoniverse, notable for its rarity, its whimsical nature, or sometimes
for the guilty pleasure value it holds. Prior to the BBC's attempt at mature
and adult-oriented spinoff material, which began in earnest with the 'New
Adventures' series of novels, most 'Doctor Who'-themed spinoff and expanded
Whoniverse offerings pandered to the lowest common denominator. </div>
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Either they
revealed their limited grasp on the 'officially licensed material', and as such
either ignored relevant details that were introduced and promoted within the
series itself (witness the abomination that is the 'Timelord' role playing game
source book, a future subject for review within this blog if ever I lay my
hands on it again), or else they simply abandon all hope of reconciliation with
the Whoniverse from which they spawned and instead sought to create their own
mini-universe of canon (such as the Marvel U.K and U.S comic stories). Every
once and awhile, however, even in the gaudy days of the 1980's, when everything
from music to fashion was loud and abrasive, an unexpected entry into the
expanded Whoniverse would come along that defied criticism from Whovians for
these reasons. After all, this was an officially-licenced audio play, created
by the BBC themselves, intended for transmission on BBC Radio Four. This was
only the second time 'Doctor Who' in audio form would be presented by the BBC
(the first being the LP 'The Pescatons', narrated by Tom Baker and starring his
fourth Doctor), and it would mark the first in which the story was not a
narration or a book-on-tape, but rather a new, original story featuring the
loud and abrasive, not to mention gaudy, Sixth Doctor. This was 'Slipback'.</div>
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Perhaps, in a renegade, classically low-budget way, the
first 'true' audio plays were those created by the young fans of the show, that
first generation who marvelled to the black and white adventures of the
doddering old fellow as he awkwardly traversed tinfoil worlds and plastic
skies. Utilizing the microphones and primitive tape recorders of the time,
these proto-Whovians held their devices up to the tiny speakers from their
black and white televisions, and recorded entire episodes as they happened in
real time. In a generation before the advent of VCR's, this truly was the only
way in which one could 'capture' a story and preserve it forever. Otherwise,
precise details would be lost to a young mind's imagination in the days between
the Saturday evening airing and the Monday re-enactment for the benefit of
their peers during the recess playground gatherings. Little did these children
know, in addition to supplementing their own library of 'Doctor Who' stories in
an era when the BBC did not budge from their unofficial stance of never
repeating stories unless absolutely forced to, they were doing a valuable
service both to the BBC and to the generations of Whovians like them to come.
For, today, a great majority of those black and white classic era stories have
subsequently been 'junked' (or, to use the correct terms for it, 'copied over,
as the cheap BBC had exploited their use to their satisfaction and simply
re-used the film reels and canisters they had been placed on and in'). These
stories, long thought lost forever, have been brought back to 'life', in the
form of worthwhile ventures such as the Doctor Who Restoration Team, which animate
them using a combination of 'telesnaps' (again, young fans who held primitive
cameras up to their TV screens and literally photographed entire episodes)..and
those very audio recordings made 50 years ago, cleaned up with the latest
software where applicable. Often, the Restoration Team will also partially or
fully animate the stories, and combine that with the audio, for as close a
presentation to the original as is possible with today's technology. Clearly,
'Doctor Who' in audio form has its own long and glorious, though little-known
and unheralded, history. These fans did this out of love and devotion to their favourite
show, and in essence were themselves time-travelers, causing the creation of
their own fan-generated 'Big Finish audios' 30 plus years prior to the real
thing!</div>
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By 1985, 'Doctor Who' appeared, on the surface, to be doing swimmingly.
Those fans who once held tape machines to their TVs while their parents made
supper and pined for the late news, gave way to a new breed of fan who were
more sophisticated in their tastes, more technologically oriented, and more
voracious in their consumption of all things 'Doctor Who': the consumer boom of
the 1980's did not go unnoticed by either the BBC or by John Nathan-Turner, the
producer of the series. Sales of Target novelizations of selected episodes were
strong and growing, as were sales of VHS releases of those and others. Forays
were being made 'across the pond', as 'Doctor Who' continued its non-stop
broadcasting appearances on PBS (Public Television) stations throughout the United
States and Canada. New fans were being created in the U.S, and these markets,
in large American cities such as Detroit and Chicago, were eagerly being
courted by Nathan-Turner, who quickly arranged for convention appearances by
not only the current Doctor Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant, but former Doctors
such as Peter Davison, Tom Baker, and Jon Pertwee. After a brief spell of
declining due to his long-standing reluctance to speak to the press, a trait
which worked against publicity of the series during his era, Patrick Troughton
was won over and became a fan favourite. Sadly, Troughton died while appearing
at a convention in the U.S, as did Pertwee a few years later. </div>
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When it came to promotion of the series abroad, the man fans
would name 'JN-T' was your man. He had catered to every whim, from stories that
brought back the Cybermen, to the Daleks, to even the Second Doctor, to
approving scores of new merchandise requests. Fans could order a 'Gallifrey
Beach And Body Towel' to take to the beach with them. It would appear that life
was good. </div>
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But, for all this attention to the outside details that the
BBC itself would later create an entire division within their corporation just
to oversee (BBC Exploitation, now known as BBC Enterprises), JN-T overlooked some
key details within the creative output of the series itself that, ultimately,
led to an abrupt and prolonged 'hiatus'. The true nature of the 1985 hold on
production that stretched to 18 months is still debated to this day, mostly due
to the key players involved. Both those who pulled the trigger and those
affected by the decision offer differing opinions as to the 'why'. Fan research
and numerous interviews point partially to an internal BBC decision to once
again save money by either not producing 'Doctor Who' or else producing it as
cheaply as possible. In that case, the creation of the BBC's daytime service
resulted in a full season's order of the expensive soap opera 'Emmerdale',
which would need to be paid for in advance. A 'trimming the fat' mentality
became prevalent at the time. The BBC Controller in overall charge, Micheal
Grade (see the Colin Baker Q&A here in this blog page for further details
during this period of time in the series' history), decided against continuing
to fund the production of what was once described, during the glorious Tom
Baker era, as their 'flagship show'. </div>
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JN-T had allowed the series to become a soft target for
scorn, ridicule, and criticism. The Doctor's clothing was considered tacky,
over-the-top, and unsubtle. Storylines became increasingly adult-oriented,
focusing less on traditional and straight-forward action-adventure and more
upon violence and unsuitable content such as numerous alien beings 'lusting
over Peri'. JN-T blamed his script editor, Eric Saward, for allowing these
running themes to prevail in the body of scripts. Saward insisted he had
re-written numerous scripts to bring them more in line with the 'spirit' of
'Doctor Who'. Yet, upon filming, JN-T either encouraged the inappropriate behaviour
or else failed to curb it, and rarely chastised the directors. Colin Baker
began to grumble his own comments and suggestions were beginning to fall on
deaf ears, despite his role as the one person who was front-and-centre and
taking the slings and arrows (which he still does, sadly, to this day, though
the efforts of Big Finish and his numerous convention appearances have assisted
fans in seeing the Sixth Doctor in a new light). Nicola Bryant, unhappy with
the skimpy and revealing clothing she was asked to wear as Peri, nevertheless
held her tongue, aware the role of a companion is all-too-easily replaced and
not having the requisite acting experience or credits, she decided not to make
a fuss. In short, the only people happy around this time were those fans who could
snap up increased merchandise options, meet and greet one of the actors who
played the Doctor and/or a companion, and, in an odd way, the division of the
company that became BBC Enterprises. Despite the premature 'axing' that the
main corporation's big wigs had given the series, they were reaping the
financial rewards of book sales. Even with the series on hold and its future
cloudy, as long as the merchandise machine was kept greased, it was all gravy,
according to BBC Enterprises.</div>
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When the show went dark for those 18 months, Baker was one
of the few who could afford not to worry overmuch. He had a contract, and would
continue to be paid his fee regardless. JN-T was a BBC producer; he could and
did acquire other short-term projects, which included dreaming up Christmas
pantomime programs for children that were mounted throughout the country and
often featured 'Doctor Who' actors such as Baker and Bryant. Script editor
Saward likewise had projects that would keep the cash flow alive. But despite
the public backlash against the Colin Baker era that was beginning to ferment
at the time, despite the thrashing it was taking in the take-no-prisoners
British press, specifically the tabloid and 'scandal rags', despite the
all-time-low of being taken off the BBC airwaves for the first time in its
history (save pre-emptions due to long-running Cricket and Olympic
coverage)..BBC Radio Four still contracted it's script editor Saward, it's lead
actor and actress, in addition to casting Vaentine Dyall (who had played the
Black Guardian in the series), the actress Jane Carr (who had a popular role in
the hit series 'Minder'), John Glover (who was at the time providing voices for
the infamous 'Spitting Image' puppet series), and writer and stand-up comedian
Nick Revell. Why? In order to create, write, record, and produce 'Slipback',
the only original audio play at the time, of course. </div>
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'Doctor Who' was creatively on its last legs and beginning
to truly show not only it's age but that, perhaps in hindsight, it 'needed' a
rest badly in order for everyone involved to assess what was going wrong and
what needed to be fixed. Of course, they failed to take advantage of the rest
they did get, anyway, with the mixed bag that would be the truncated season
known as 'The Trial Of A Timelord', but that's a different story. None of this
would stop BBC Enterprises from attempting to squeeze more financial life out
of it. A quickly-penned contract with Eric Saward to not only write the story
but also the Target novelization 'of' the story (which became the first, but
not the last, of the Target novelizations of a non-televised story), in
addition to the spike in popularity several weeks’ worth of advertising for the
story in advance would no doubt bring to the associated merchandise meant that
BBC Enterprises may not have had the TV series to exploit at the time but they
sure were going forward with another revenue stream, creativity be damned.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is with this 'do it for the money' approach that sours
many on 'Slipback', this reviewer included. Call it cynical, but when the left
hand of BBC is publicly questioning if they even 'want' to bring the TV series
back, while the right hand of the BBC is heavily promoting a 'new, original
story featuring the Doctor and Peri', it's a safe bet it's not being done for
the fans. The story itself, what little there is to discuss and review, is
essentially this: The Doctor and Peri arrive for no reason on the space liner
'Vipod Mor', where they quickly get accused of being art thieves by detectives
on board who are investigating thefts. The usual confusion abounds regarding
the Doctor's identity. Eventually, after a whole lot of nothing happens, a
mutant being is let loose in the cargo hold, in order to break up the monotony
of the story, I suppose. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Turns out the mutant exists due to Slarn, the
captain/overlord of the ship. He continually threatens to unleash a horrific
virus that his species is capable of exuding while he relaxes in a toxic ooze bubble
bath. Like just about every other monster/bad guy of season 21 he gets a real
mad-on for Peri. Some other stuff happens, don't worry you aren't missing
anything, until finally it is revealed that the entire ship is not only
traveling back in time, it's rapidly approaching Event One, and it's blowing up
will cause the Big Bang. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This plot point comes smack dab in the middle of the final
episode and is totally there to clumsily clue the whole thing up on a semblance
of drama, except first the Doctor attempts to 'stop' this activity, which means
those pesky Timelords magically appear and talk him out of doing so, which just
smacks the taste out of the mouth of the word 'anticlimax'. This story also
pushed 'Terminus' up against the locker in school, called it a momma's boy, and
is waiting for it behind the monkey bars.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yes, the depicted events of 'Terminus' the TV series will,
of course, always take precedence over what is considered 'secondary canon' by
Whovians. But the mere fact this sloppy, second explanation for the Big Bang
was allowed to be written and dramatized n the first place, by the series'
script editor of all people, is unforgivable. Not only was 'Terminus'trasmitted
in recent memory of the current TV production team (and most of them worked on
'Terminus' anyway!), but, as the producer of 'Slipback' was a BBC Radio
producer named Paul Spencer and not JN-T, Saward literally had and has nobody
to blame for this one but himself. </div>
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<br /></div>
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In 'Slipback', the Doctor is secondary to the plot (which
would also happen in Saward's 'Revelation Of The Daleks' episode...OK, I know
Saward disliked just about everything to do with the Sixth Doctor's era and in
fact resigned in a huff mid-way through 'Trial Of A Timelord' and disallowed
JN-T to use his original script to close that saga out, but the script editor OF
'Doctor Who' ought to, I don't know, write stories that feature THE DOCTOR
prominently!). Peri is given little to do save run around, get captured at one
point, and essentially serve as eye-candy for yet another slug-like bad guy.
Slarn, voiced by the late, great Valentine Dyall, gets all the best lines, and
is essentially Sil, if Sil sounded just like the Black Guardian. It's too bad
that 'Slipback' marked the final work as an actor of Dyall's long and
distinguished career, as he passed away not long after recording his part, and
one month prior to the story's original radio transmission. But, hey...Orson
Welles voiced Unicron, and that capped his career, too. Life is rarely fair.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The production end of the story is only so/so. While it in
places is plainly evident that the principal actors are all gathered around a
microphone, as there is no feeling of 'depth' to some of the actions they take,
overall it holds up about as well as can be expected; the BBC were and are no
slouches in the radio production side of things. Most of the cast were veteran
radio actors and presenters (Dyall and Baker had done years of radio work in
their careers), and that experience can be heard in their confident deliveries.
It is the lack of plot and of action, the reliance upon 'stock sound effects'
such as 'generic space ship hum' and 'generic futuristic whoosh of door
opening', which contributes to the absolute certainty one feels upon listening
to each and every episode of this hour-long bore fest (6 episodes of 10 minutes
duration), that it was created solely in order to suck more money out of people
with the sure-thing book tie-in and the favourable BBC press releases and cassette
tape and CD release. It is, quite simply, quantity rather than quality.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In a time when 'Doctor Who' sorely needed people of vision
and insight, people who could grab the creative reins and deliver a superior
product, 'Slipback' ultimately was more of the same, and more from the same
people who had been responsible for the situation it was in on television.
'Slipback' could have been much more than simply a cash-grab. It could and
should have been a brief but shining example of what a 'Doctor Who' given a
re-birth could be, what a 'Doctor Who' it's superiors at the BBC demanded it
change into. It didn't need stock situations, it needed a strong story that
would have reminded the BBC,Whovians, and casual fan alike that 'Doctor Who'
was back, and better for the rest. Saward at no point in the script
acknowledges the elements that caused the BBC to pull the show off the air,
elements he contributed to! He instead perpetuates them again and again in this
story! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As it stands, 'Slipback' is yet another failed experiment in
an era that, sadly, saw more than its share. It is a small sliver of an
original story, a slight 'bonus mini episode' to sandwich between the televised
seasons 21 and 22, but it's not much more than that. BBC Audio has in recent
years sold the story for play as an mp3 and digital download, and in 2010 the
U.K newspaper The Daily Telegraph, perhaps in some small way as an atonement
for the relentless media bashing they and their brethren heaped on 'Doctor Who'
not merely in Colin Baker's time in the TARDIS but throughout the 1980's as a
whole, actually gave the story away on CD for free in one of their daily
editions. I have to say, as bad as it is, I'd listen to it for free! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As a forerunner to the great Sixth Doctor audio plays to
come with the Big Finish range, and the 'Real Time' BBC flash animation webcast
featuring the character, it is good that there are contemporary audio stories
involving Baker that are superior to 'Slipback'. Because if it was alone in the
universe in terms of audio stories, it would be a bleak and rarely-discussed
story. The hiatus was bad, all around...or haven't we discussed 'Doctor In
Distress?';-). </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015123008999082517noreply@blogger.com0Mt Pearl, NL, Canada47.5206407 -52.807681847.4777477 -52.8866458 47.5635337 -52.7287178tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8800326142391250528.post-58593567744978383582012-08-29T15:05:00.000-02:302012-08-29T15:18:16.412-02:30Scream Of The Whovians<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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By <a href="mailto:shannonmlush@gmail.com" target="_blank">Shannon Lush </a><i><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><br /></span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">**Note: I wrote this in the late evening/early
morning hours while a torrential downpour of rain spattered off the roof and
beat against the windows of my humble abode. It provided the perfect atmosphere
and mood by which to write. It is one of the joys of being a long-serving
Whovian: the mere mention of titles of stories and actor's names and big events
that surrounded their creation and transmission cause good memories to come
pouring forth faster than the rain. I hope you enjoy this blog entry as much as
I did crafting it!**</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">'Doctor Who' fandom, in addition to boasting the
longest running television science fiction series in history, also can beat its
collective chest over its expanded universe of spin-off material. From original
novels to comic books and strips, audio and even stage plays, the quirky, low
budget series that captured imaginations from day one has, for almost 50 years
now, presented diverse stories for fans to enjoy. Today we will be reviewing
'Scream Of The Shalka', a 2003 flash-animated adventure first transmitted on
BBCi, or BBC Interactive, the corporation's official website.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">In order to properly understand the story and its
shifted status from 'officially approved by the BBC' to 'relegated to
non-canonical nonsense', several facts must be presented. To begin with, in
2002/03, when this adventure was green-lighted for creation, the BBC appeared
to have no intention of resurrecting 'Doctor Who' in televised form. As
highbrow and stuffy as the BBC were (and in many respects, still are), their
relationship to what was once considered a 'flagship series' has always been
contentious; many a BBC Controller or programmer has lamented the fact that,
for every period piece, every hard-hitting drama featuring stiff-upper-lipped
British actors giving their all in the name of art, every prestigious mini
series featuring Lawrence Olivier, their biggest money-spinning export to
multiple countries happened to be a low-budget kid's series they made on the
cheap featuring rock quarries in Surrey! Simply put, 'Doctor Who' was not the
property the BBC wished to be associated with in the eyes of worldwide
audiences. They weren't proud of it, no matter how much money it put in their
corporate hands. Like an unwanted child, 'Doctor Who' spent its existence on
BBC screens searching for love and acceptance from its parents, and instead by
1989 found itself cancelled indefinitely. Sure, the BBC were loath to utter the
word 'cancelled', and swapped it out for the less offensive 'hiatus', in order
to continue to profit from the gravy train while offering nothing new. But no
'Doctor Who' on the screen was no 'Doctor Who' on the screen, no matter which
way it was labelled.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">As much as the BBC sought to make 'Doctor Who' for
as little money as they could possibly get away with, as much as they forced
Whovians to wade through the empty promises of a brighter future from
Controllers and various other talking heads who periodically, when corned by
the press or persistent fans, would reiterate the party line of 'we intend to
insure a bright future for 'Doctor Who' and at some point it will return', as
much as they slapped Whovians with their right hands while diving into their
pockets to grab profits from the latest New Adventures book or VHS tape release
with their left, by the early 2000's it did appear, finally, to fans and the
BBC alike, that 'Doctor Who' would never return to the screen. After all, when
the only televised adventures the BBC relented to making during the 1990's
consisted of clumsy or comedic (and comedic ally clumsy!) tripe such as the
1993 charity special 'Dimensions In Time', in which the Whoniverse was allowed
back on BBC1 for a grand total of 15 minutes, but only if it was forcibly
merged with that of 'EastEnders', or the 7th Doctor, Ace, and K-9 'searching
out space' in the children's series of the same name, and answering
science-based questions along the way, even the most dedicated and hard-core
Whovian began to doubt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anthony Ainley's
over-the-top command of 'you must die, Doctor, die!’ in the final moments of
Peter Davison's regeneration began to become an epitaph that echoed through the
minds of fandom. Not even the august personage of Steven Spielberg, who stamped
his approval on a plan to put in motion the creation of what would become the
1996 Paul McGann TV film, could save our beloved Doctor this time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">By 1999, with the amusing 'Curse Of Fatal Death'
charity special featuring comic genius Rowan Atkinson as the Doctor, it was
apparent that the BBC were only interested in lending the character out for
comedy appearances, rather like a cheap clown for children's birthdays.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Then, someone at the BBC reached into their pockets
like the miser Scrooge, produced a well-worn shilling, and thought 'we can
re-make him, gentlemen, we have the technology'. As they had done for what
seemed like time immemorial when it came to producing new 'Doctor Who', the BBC
looked to the cheapest method. No more would they sell the feature film rights
to shady operators like Coast-To-Coast Productions, who spent close on a decade
scrambling to raise funds before the deadline to start filming lapsed, only to
fail miserably and be forced to allow the rights to revert back to the BBC. No
more would they seek to co-produce a new series and then argue over the nickels
and dimes of budget and profits, as they did with Amblin and FOX over the
McGann film, souring both on the prospect of follow-up films. No, 'Doctor Who'
would, for once, stay in-house and under the corporate umbrella. The result was
the first-ever fully-licensed, animated 'Doctor Who' adventure. While an
admirable feat in itself, the resultant story is, simply put, awful.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">'Scream Of The Shalka' was written by Paul Cornell,
who was rapidly on his way at the time to becoming a fan-favourite in the mould
of Terrance Dicks, as from his pen had come the likes of 'Love And War', a
celebrated novel from the 'New Adventures' line of Virgin Publishing. In
addition to introducing the character of Bernice Summerfield, who herself would
go on to enjoy spin-off success both inside the Whoniverse and, when Virgin
Publishing lost the license to continue to make original 'Doctor Who' stories,
essentially took over from the Doctor as the main protagonist, Cornell had
authored several popular works of fiction and non-fiction about the series. He
was given the mandate of not only producing a new story for a new medium, in
this case flash-animation, he also was tasked with creating a completely new
incarnation of the Doctor. More on the character he devised to come.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">On paper, the notion of a writer so well versed in
'Doctor Who' itself, who had the respect of Whovians as a true torch-bearer for
the new generation of 'Doctor Who' mythos, seemed like a home-run. Or, so it
seemed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">With Cornell on board, it fell to James Goss, one
of the executive producers of the project, to make the decision on mounting a
brand-new, fully-licensed, continuation of 'Doctor Who' with a new lead actor,
rather than simply hire Paul McGann to reprise his role as the fully-licensed
8th Doctor. Goss had been made senior content producer of the BBC's website,
and under his aegis, had expanded the online presence of 'Doctor Who' on the
site. Visitors to the website in this time could be forgiven for thinking that
the BBC actually cared about 'Doctor Who', given Goss's hard work on what
became the BBC's 'Cult TV' section. At this point in the sordid tale of
'Shalka', the facts become murky. This reviewer cannot find any rationale
behind the decision to present a 'new' Doctor, from Goss or anyone else
involved. Common sense would dictate, if the 8th Doctor existed as the
'officially licensed BBC Doctor' by this point in time, which the character
was, 'why' the need to deviate? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Consider these salient facts: like his seven predecessors,
the 8th Doctor's image and likeness were trademarked by the BBC; in effect, the
BBC 'owned' the character. Since his debut in the FOX/Amblin TV film of 1996,
the character featured in the comic strips published in 'Doctor Who Magazine',
as well as what would become, today, the longest-serving number of 'Doctor Who'
adventures featuring one<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>specific
incarnation, the Big Finish audio play range. The character also became the
main protagonist of the BBC Book's 'Doctor Who' novel range, which took over
the officially-licensed printed adventures from Virgin (after the Doctor was
depicted as possibly having sex with his successor as protagonist in the Virgin
books, Bernice...but that's an entirely different rant for another blog!).
That's not counting the numerous merchandise created around and featuring the
8th Doctor. In short, the real-world reason the Doctor was regenerated in the
FOX film had less to do with storylines and much more to do with the
much-needed regeneration of the spin-off work itself. A new, younger, handsome
and charismatic Doctor was exactly what the books, comics, and audios needed, a
creative shot in the arm to inject new life into a character that had been, by
that point with the 7th Doctor, mined for every dramatic purpose under the sun.
By 2003, the McGann version of the Doctor had been accepted as the 'current'
Doctor by Whovians and casual fan alike. One would naturally assume that 'if'
the BBC were giving the corporate nod to continuing the officially-licensed
adventures of 'Doctor Who', this incarnation, which they owned lock, stock, and
barrel, and which was the 'face of the franchise' by this point, would be the
one to go with. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">'Bugger off with the bloke', the BBC said, and Paul
Cornell got to work coming up with a completely new Doctor, voiced by a
completely different actor: Richard E Grant. While this reviewer to this day
shakes his head at the oversight of intentionally handicapping the project with
now being forced to spend valuable screen time introducing a new Doctor,
perhaps there were forces at work that conspired to force this change. Perhaps
Paul McGann refused the project, assuming of course he was ever at any point
asked, though this assumption overlooks the actor's repeated association with
the Whoniverse through Big Finish, as well as convention appearances...not to
mention the zeal by which he states he not only would have continued as the
Doctor had the FOX film led to a new series, but his wish to appear in the
current series as well at some point, perhaps in time to celebrate the 50th
anniversary. Perhaps, given the combination of flash animation over audio and
the new medium of the internet as the broadcaster, it was felt a new Doctor
would act as the mascot of BBCi, eschewing the previous incarnations depicted
in other media forms. Whatever the true reason, whoever ultimately made the
decision, whatever the short and long-term plan was, the result is that 'Scream
Of The Shalka' features a Doctor that, for one brief period, was the
officially-approved-by-the-BBC '9th Doctor'. Yes, you read that right: before
Christopher Eccleston, before the new series, before Russell T Davies, the
officially licensed Doctor, regenerated FROM Paul McGann's 8th Doctor...was the
one depicted in 'Scream Of The Shalka'. Did we mention the BBC just can't stop
messing with Whovian's hearts? We covered that, right?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Richard E Grant, aside from being one of those pretentious
actors with initials denoting their middle names, seemed on the surface to be a
decent, if not spectacular, choice to give life to this '9th Doctor'. Aside
from starring with McGann himself in the cult film 'Withnail And I', he had
appeared alongside Bruce Willis in the film 'Hudson Hawk'. Aside from a brief
turn as the Doctor already in 'The Curse Of Fatal Death', portraying a future
incarnation of the Doctor for laughs, Grant had done nothing of substance and
nothing of note that would be worthy of rewarding him with what many previous
actors chosen to play the Doctor called 'the role of a lifetime'. He was not
given the role based on his 'Fatal Death' experience, any more than Mr Bean was
ever seriously considered to be the next Doctor. The truth of the matter is
that Grant was cheap, Grant was available, and he had limited experience in
voice acting. And his subsequent performance would reflect his unsuitability to
the role. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">To make matters worse, the chosen animation company
for this project, a Manchester-based outfit called Cosgrove-Hall, decided to
visually pattern the 9th Doctor after the actor voicing him, resulting not only
in a Doctor with bags under his eyes and a pronounced lip, but with long,
flowing hair slicked tight to his scalp. In this 'new Who', the Doctor
seemingly applies hair product in liberal doses. Cosgrove-Hall had produced, or
co-produced, such classic British animated exports as 'Danger Mouse' and 'Count
Duckula', so there was hope they would do their vision of the Whoniverse
justice. Then again, Paul Cornell wrote 'Love And War', and he's not getting
off the hook, either. Life isn't always fair, now is it?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">This Doctor is depicted as taller, wears Victorian-inspired
clothing complete with crushed green velvet smoking jacket and cape, is more
physical than his previous incarnations, shouts at what are
no-doubt-supposed-to-be Timelord overlords who appear to frequently direct
and/or misdirect his travels, is curt and impatient with his human companion,
has a sonic screwdriver, dislikes the military mindset, and is arrogant and
superior-minded. In other words, a poor man's 3rd Doctor.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">There are shades of other incarnations tossed in
for good measure, as well; instead of creating a fresh, new version from the
ground up, Paul Cornel performs a strange alchemy upon the character, picking
out recognizable personality traits from the previous eight incarnations and
putting them all in a blender. The result is a 9th Doctor who has moments of
manic genius like Tom Baker, resigned disgust at the dark elements present in
the universe like the latter McCoy years, spirited belligerence like Colin
Baker, and the aforementioned parallels to the fashion sense and action-adventure
feel to the Pertwee years. Not only is this a top-heavy character for Whovians
to attempt to get used to, Grant's absolutely dot-for-dot, line-reading
approach does it no favours. Tonally flat and dull, with no hint of immersing
himself into the role whatsoever, Grant's Doctor emotes about as well as Adric.
Teamed up with an animation studio that here appears not to have been paid
enough by the BBC to properly design and animate the character much beyond
cardboard cut-out level with a range of motion befitting the worst
penny-pinching of Filmation's 'He-Man', what should be the triumphant return of
the legendary Time Lord in an epic adventure that boasts not only a new actor
in the role but a new injection of talent, time, and money, is instead bested
by episodes of 'South Park'.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">On to the story itself. As lamented earlier, this
story by necessity must spend a portion of its playing time introducing this
new incarnation of the Doctor. After all, whatever else must be said of
Whovians for blindly supporting everything 'Doctor Who' in the face of decades
of BBC indifference and hostility to the character, one thing we all are united
on is we will forgive shoddy FX, budgets that couldn't stretch to purchase a
Happy Meal, and location filming to such exotic locales as windswept rock
quarries, so long as the story is good. Especially an introductory story for a
new Doctor, those we especially go easy on, realising the tentative nature of
the whole thing and the nebulous nature of the initial Doctor character as a
work-in-progress. We suffered through the worst excesses of 'Twin Dilemma',
after all. How bad can this be?</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">In Paul Cornell's case, he took the approach of
'it's a new Doctor. Don't ask questions'. There are vague hints this Doctor
somehow indirectly caused the death of a previous companion. Vague hints that
the Doctor is not in the business of saving people anymore; as he curses at the
Timelords, he is 'tired' and 'doesn't do this anymore'. Fair enough.
Foreshadowing future revelations of sweeping changes in the Whoniverse is fine,
especially since the BBC has green-lighted follow-up stories of this
Doctor...no, wait, they didn't. Meaning every utterance of every vague,
unspecified situation will go down as unresolved. That's not entirely Cornell's
fault; after all, he was commissioned to write this story more than likely on
the understanding it would serve as a 'pilot', a trial run for future stories
in which he, or other writers, could pick up the bread crumbs he's laid down
here and expand on them and fill in the blanks. That a series or any follow-up
adventures did not come to fruition is hardly his fault. Except Cornell was
also paid to write a novelization based on this story, after the fact. Meaning
all the vague allegations to a ghastly companion death, meaning the existence
of the Master as inhabiting the body of an android and becoming, essentially,
the Doctor's fussy TARDIS butler who at one point even checks the voicemail,
meaning the very nature and specifics of the 8th Doctor's regeneration into
this 9th, 'should' be resolved by the writer who invented all of them. This
reviewer didn't read the novelization, and likely never will, so on this point,
we have to give Cornell the benefit of the doubt until we know otherwise. But
if it comes to pass that we learn that Cornell was paid twice to tell the same
story and in neither does he expound upon the dangling potential storylines
that need to be resolved in order to satisfy the chosen few who, like this
reviewer, enduring sitting through the animated story, then may he be pushed
into the path of Sontarans marching to glory.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">So, the Master. The Doctor's arch-nemesis, here
reduced to flicking a few buttons on the console and tossing out the odd wry
line. Truthfully, he is one of the better characters and brightens the entire
story, attempting in vain to rescue it from run-of-the-mill boredom, but that
is down to the voice actor, Derek Jacobi, who went on to become the Master
officially within the new series, after this trial run. Visually, it appears
the look is based more on an aged Roger Delgado than Anthony Ainley, or, as
this reviewer immediately flashed on mentally on a Delgado much older and one
with paunch, which is odd for an android unless the Doctor fashioned it that
way intentionally, one final indignity for his old enemy? Jacobi in one scene
spouts his lines with conviction and aplomb convinced this reviewer he, and not
Grant, ought to have been cast as The Doctor. He actually doesn't sound as if
he is asleep in the chair reading his lines, unlike Grant.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">The final piece to this story, on the human side
anyway, is the companion. The latest model, as it were, is Alison Chaney, a
former history undergrad that gave up her education in order to be with her
boyfriend, Joe...although, the 'why' is left unexplored, as is so much else in
terms of characterization in this story. Suffice it to say, at the point the
Doctor first encounters her, she is a bar maid. Oh, this Doctor drinks, did we
cover that? Yes, Cornell should be applauded; one of the few elements he hasn't
nicked from previous Doctors and baked into this version is that this Doctor,
for some weird reason, fancies a pint. Because nothing says 'near-immortal Time
Lord' like downing one in the pub. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Alison is rather bland. Granted, the truncated
nature of the story doesn't allow for much in the way of a spotlight, but what
little there is, isn't especially appealing. She prattles on about how she
feels her boyfriend, Joe, who is a doctor himself but this fact is at no point
utilized by the Doctor despite the circumstances of what is, after all, a
freakin' alien invasion, is boring her and keeping her from things. A vast
majority of her whining is during moments where both she and the Doctor, a man
she's just met, are kidnapped and held captive by the aliens whose appearance
and existence Alison seems to shrug off. Cornell pens an unconvincing reason
for this, to the effect she has 'seen lots of bad things already', but this seems
forced and placed there solely to short-circuit the problem of pairing a modern
human up with a Doctor who routinely encounters giant alien monsters without
the human losing their minds in terror and fear. The Doctor may have wished to
retain her friendship and invite her to travel with him; odds are most of the
audience watching this wouldn't. The actress, Sophie Okonodo, who like Grant
and Jacobi, has transitioned to appearing in the current TV series, gives a
unexceptional performance...but it's better than Grant's, that's saying
something.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">The baddies here are an alien race called the
Shalka. Slightly larger than human sized, they are biomorphic creatures who
burrow into lava and the subsurface of a planet. There's a few moments of
technobabble in which the Doctor goes on and on about them, but essentially
they are a race dedicated to conquest, members of the Shalka Federation, which,
they claim, boast 'billions of member worlds'...even if the Doctor admits he's
'never heard of them'. Turns out, they select worlds that are in risk
'ecologically', worlds in which pollution is beginning to really affect the
standard of living. They infiltrate the worlds, turning the populations into
their own weapon of destruction by fitting them with amplified voice
modulators, so that they can 'scream' using sonic bursts to break the world's
already weakened ozone layers, allowing the worlds to be destroyed on the
surface, while the Shalka can exist underground and in the magma veins. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Their invasion force, numbering two thousand, are
under the command of Prime, the only member who has fitted itself to not only
speak proper BBC English, but who would, for plot reasons, be unaffected by the
'screw 'em all up' device that the Doctor is contractually obligated to
construct to stop them in their tracks. To summarize this mess of a plot much
more would be pointless. Suffice it to say: the Shalka secretly sneak into a
town, lull the human population into obedience simply by sonically blasting
those who dare to raise their voices or make any other noises, such as scrape a
chair. So, the Shalka are the intergalactic equivalent of a librarian, shushing
people. Or the people who don't like it when you talk during a movie. When the
time is right, the populations of entire towns in which they took control are
placed under mental command, gather outside like the Whos in Whoville around
the Christmas tree, and unleash the fury of voices that haven't been used above
a whisper in a couple of weeks. Genius.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Ok, so... let's see, an invasion plan predicated on
subjugating human beings and preventing them from talking until the Shalka want
'em to talk. Anyone who opens their mouths to protest in anything above a
whisper is harshly punished, in one instance sonically blasted to a fine dust.
An invasion plan that requires cutting an entire town, village, or city off
from the rest of the world...or at least, hoping the people in other towns,
villages, or cities don't ever visit, call, or engage citizens of the invaded
locations. 'Cause they gotta spare their voices, doncha know. An entire
invasion that could be undermined by a 13 year old girl with a reasonably
affordable text plan. Even by 2002 standards, this invasion plan is so
ridiculously easy to foil using basic non-vocal communication technology, no
wonder the Doctor is angry at the Timelords for sending him in to take care of
it! Anyone trained in Braille and/or sign language could get a message to the
world about the Shalka! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Lest we spend too much time on the absolute
hilarity of the Shalka's plan, let's focus a little on the creature's visual
appearance itself. It's a cross between the Xenomorphs from 'Aliens', spiky and
brittle and segmented, and the Zygons, for some reason. Taken on their own, the
Shalka are visually interesting, despite their drone-like nature; like all too
many invasion/advance/shock forces in 'Doctor Who', they are not given their
own unique personalities, and instead rely on a 'mouthpiece', in this case, the
human-speaking Prime. Prime was voiced by Diana Quick, and in yet another nod
to 'the Whoniverse is a small world after all', the actress appeared in the
same film that gave Tom Baker a featured role, 'Nicolas And Alexandria'. Quick
made the most of what poor material she was given, and managed to make Prime a
quick-witted adversary for the Doctor; more than once, Prime belittles the
Doctor verbally in a scolding and amusing manner. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">No proper invasion story is complete without
getting out the Army to shoot at stuff, and 'Shalka' is no exception. A small
squad of U.N.I.T soldiers are brought in to help the Doctor deal with all this,
after the Doctor has complained bitterly about them of course. In yet a further
tired and stretched-out swipe from the Pertwee years, the man in charge of this
group of soldiers, Major Kennet, is sarcastic, doesn't suffer the Doctor's
superiority complex for long before prodding him to action, and is willing to
take the lead rather than order others to their potential deaths. No word on
whether Cornell was ever cuffed round the ears by Nick Courtney.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">The whole story concludes with the Doctor
overcoming the Shalka threat by literally singing Opera. No, really. He
overrides the mind control of the Shalka with the help of some gadgets and
Alison, who is able to amplify her 'voice' through the mind of those under mind
control because for some completely bizarre reason, she is human and that
somehow matters. The Shalka intentionally implanted the device she used to do
so IN her themselves, only to have the Doctor turn the table and break the
conditioning of thousands of people simply by telling them not to scream.
Uhm... what? There's more to it, but it's padding and technobabble meant to
distract from the fact that the story is awful, and is easily recognised as
such. The Doctor and Major Kennet reconcile their respective opinions and admit
they make a good team when pressed into service together, Alison climbs aboard
the TARDIS as the new companion after the Master talks her into it. Allow this
reviewer to repeat that. Alison agrees to travel through time and space after
an android replica of the Doctor's worst enemy asks her to. This is included to
further illustrate that the Doctor is still such an unlikable wanker even after
all this time. Thus ends the first and only animated appearance of what
Whovians refer to as 'The Shalka Doctor'. Mercifully.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">While this production was at half its present age
and half its present reputation as a turkey, plans were afoot elsewhere within
the BBC to bring 'Doctor Who' back as a fully-realized, live-action series once
more. 'Shalka' had its day in the sun as 'official'; upon the announcement of
the new series, Russell T Davies officially crushed it's dream of canonicity by
declaring that with Eccleston officially the BBC-approved '9th Doctor', this
story was swept under the rug like the ugly stepchild it was. Of special note
is the venom in which RTD bemoaned Grant's performance, stating, as this
reviewer did, that he felt that Grant simply 'gave a lazy performance', and
casting aspersions upon the project as a whole. This rings hollow, however, as
whatever else can and has been said regarding 'Scream Of The Shalka', including
the fact it is essentially a by-the-book reworking of your basic Pertwee alien
invasion story featuring U.N.I.T, right down to the eco-friendly messages it
clumsily presents, many elements of this production would bleed into the TV
series under RTD's producer ship, too many to be mere coincidence.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Borrowed elements that would later crop up in
multiple Eccleston/Tennant stories include, but are not limited to: a debut
story of a new Doctor that does not feature a depicted regeneration; the Doctor
deriding humans, here referring to them as 'sheep' in the same snide and
condescending manner Eccleston's officially-licensed 9th Doctor used when he
called them 'apes'; the Doctor uses a TARDIS-shaped cell phone, similar to that
used by both the 9th/10th Doctor, Rose, and other companions; the Doctor's
recent past is immersed in vague, troubling issues which he is having a
difficult time coming to terms with; the Doctor feels remorse, regret, and guilt
over somehow causing the death of others, in this case alleged to have been his
previous female companion; The Master is played by Derek Jacobi; The Doctor is
shallow, arrogant, and has a decidedly darker outlook on life in general,
traits he shares with the 'official' 9th Doctor; Alison is not only involved in
a racially diverse relationship akin to Rose, though here in reverse as she is
black and Joe is white, she also abandons her boyfriend out of no more
compelling or understandable reason than boredom, to hitch her wagon to the
Doctor as Rose does; David Tennant makes an un-credited cameo appearance
voicing The Caretaker, apparently as the actor was at the time working close to
the production of 'Shalka' on an unrelated project and, upon discovering what was
being worked on next door, begged the production staff to allow him to take
part. All of these elements and several of the actors would go on to form major
parts of RTD's tenure in 'Doctor Who', and therefore, in this reviewer's
opinion, RTD's caustic comments can perhaps be attributed more to adhering to
the BBC's mindset at the time of quickly striking 'Shalka' from the official
records in order to clear the path for the new series than to any perceived
malice on RTD's part; RTD is simply 'toeing the line' in this case.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">For those Whovians who feel obliged to seek out
this now-unofficial adventure, it is no longer available on the official BBC
website, where it had found a home for a great many years after it had been
stripped of official status. The novelization by Paul Cornell was published by
BBC Books and still exists for purchase, presumably, online and in certain SF
shops; those readers of this blog who somehow locate a copy and read it are
encouraged to contact this reviewer at the email address provided on this page
or through The Whostorian's Twitter account @TheWhostorian, in order to clarify
whether Paul Cornell expanded upon the story in any way and accounted for the
backstory and/or plot threads he introduced in the story. And if he didn't, back
to the head of the approaching Sontaran army with him. No second chances. We
are that kind of fans.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">With such shoddy and limited animation, quite
possibly the most offensive arrangement of the classic Ron Grainer theme tune,
which incorporates disco and dance music. A story that is riddled with plot
holes, and the final sense of vindication every Whovian inevitably feels that
the new series replaced this in the hearts, minds, and canon of fans and BBC
alike once they conclude watching this travesty. 'Scream Of The Shalka' is, if
nothing else, proof that Richard E Grant must be stopped. Each and every
appearance he makes within the Whoniverse results in mind-numbing farce. Let us
all hold hands and scream greater than the Shalka as we witness his return to
the Whoniverse this fall alongside Matt Smith, quite possibly the 'only'
incarnation of the Doctor that the 'Shalka Doctor' is superior to. And I
include Peter Cushing in that list. </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015123008999082517noreply@blogger.com0Mt Pearl, NL, Canada47.5206407 -52.807681847.4777477 -52.8866458 47.5635337 -52.7287178tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8800326142391250528.post-18457642398828332392012-08-22T10:09:00.001-02:302012-08-22T10:10:42.650-02:30An Interview with Colin Baker<br />
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By <a href="mailto:shannonmlush@gmail.com" target="_blank">Shannon Lush </a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
From the archives of The Whostorian Quarterly, the original
fanzine that evolved into the Podcast we have today, we present, an until now
unpublished interview with Colin Baker.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Colin Baker portrayed the sixth incarnation of The Doctor on
the classic BBC 'Doctor Who' series, from 1984 to 1986. Here he is interviewed by one of his biggest fans!</div>
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<br /></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>** Editor's Notes: Michael Grade was the BBC executive most
responsible for placing 'Doctor Who' during Baker's tenure on indefinite
suspension, and was instrumental in the decision to remove Baker from the role
less than a year later.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Big Finish productions is a very popular audio drama
company that produce 'Doctor Who' and other SF/fantasy genre audio plays, of
which the Sixth Doctor stories have garnered tremendous fan notice and
critically strong reviews.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Eric Saward was the script editor for the majority
of Colin Baker's time with 'Doctor Who'.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Verity Lambert was not only the
first producer of 'Doctor Who', she was also the first drama producer the BBC
ever had at that point.</i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i>'The Stranger' was a series of direct-to-video stories
which often assembled former 'Doctor Who' writers, actors, and production
personnel to work on and appear within them. **</i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Shannon: Thank you for agreeing to be interviewed for 'The
Whostorian' Quarterly Colin. I want to get right to it...Michael Grade. Have you
ever received anything approaching some form of formal or informal apology from
Grade, especially given his admitted change of heart and devotion to the new
series and in light of the time past now...?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Colin Baker: No, and I did not expect nor would expect an
apology from someone who did what in his opinion was right for the BBC. I
didn’t like what he did, obviously, but there is no reason for him to apologize
unless for some reason he decided that what he had done was wrong by his own
standards. He just did his job as he saw it. That’s life. I moved on.</b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Shannon: Is there any other juggernaut SF/Fantasy/Drama
'franchise' to which you ever wished to be affiliated with and /or appear
within, such as 'Star Trek' or 'Battlestar Galactica' or 'Star Wars'?</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Colin Baker: I would have been proud to have been associated
with any of those TV series. All good – and as a jobbing actor who likes
sci-fi, it would have been great to have contributed to any of those. And I
would love to have been in a Matrix film! I would love to be in a Harry Potter
film, or Lord of the Rings – the list is endless.</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Shannon: Has there ever been a situation where someone in
print or other media slagged you off, as was once the fashionable thing to do
regarding your era… only to come back years later and apologize and realize the
error of their ways, either due to reassessment of your TV era or the wonderful
Big Finish audio plays?</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Colin Baker: That has never happened from the press or media
– but they didn’t “slag me off” in quite the same way as some of the fan media
did. I have had letters from people rather ingenuously confessing that they
used to think I was rubbish but have revised their opinion in the light of the
Big Finish work or even the passage of time in some cases. A bit double edged
as until they told me I didn’t know they were out there and thinking I was
rubbish!! But better that way round than the other way round, I suppose!!</b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Shannon: Do you ever get the chance to pal around with your
'War & Peace' co-star Anthony Hopkins?</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Colin Baker: Yes, he and I were quite chummy for a while and
I went to his house and he came to mine and we went out for a drink after
rehearsals on many occasions. He was a very good companion and very talented
and committed to the work. A brilliant mimic and could impersonate all the
great actors superbly. Everything he does is touched with genius and faultless.</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Shannon: Can you elaborate on the process of writing the
graphic novel 'Age of Chaos'?</div>
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<br /></div>
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Did you only write the text, or did you also have input
regarding the art?</div>
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<br /></div>
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Essentially, how collaborative an effort was this graphic
novel, did you enjoy the experience, and would you do another?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Colin Baker: I greatly enjoyed the process of writing 'Age
of Chaos'. It was like writing a film script. I wrote what the content of each
frame should be; for example, 'close up of Peri with castle in the background',
and what the dialogue bubble would contain. Sometimes the artist would choose a
different angle or backdrop, etcetera, but in the main my description was
followed. It was really enjoyable and I like to think that one day I will get
the opportunity, and the time, to do it again. I was lucky with my artists, one
for the cover and one for the content, I recall. The visualization was superb.</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Shannon: The Daleks look a lot different now than they did
in your era of the show. Do you like the design and voice of the Daleks now, or
do you prefer the 'classic' look of the Daleks as they were in your time?</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Colin Baker: To be honest they all look like Daleks to me! I
have no strong feelings about the design, any more than I have about the design
of 'companions' for instance. Jo was a companion of her time as Peri was of hers.
No preference in that area.</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Shannon: Is there any episode of the classic and new series
that, if you had the power to do so, you would have made an episode featuring
your Doctor instead of the one in the series at the time?</div>
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<br /></div>
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Any episode that you have thought 'That one would have been
a perfect tale for my Doctor?'</div>
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<br /></div>
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Also, given that you turned down the option of regeneration,
and rightly so, I wonder, had you decided to go ahead and pass the torch so to
speak, was there any particular scenario and writer that you would have
considered ideal for the regeneration to have occurred?</div>
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<br /></div>
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For example heroically
sacrificing your incarnation to save others, being poisoned, shot, etcetera?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Colin Baker: No I am very happy with the other Doctors’
versions of their stories – although I have to say some of the stories of the
new series are lip smackingly attractive. Chris Eccleston was superb in the two
episode 'gas mask' story, as was David Tennant in the 'Angels' story. I envied
them the writing and would have loved to have done such stories but they were
rightly 'theirs'.</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Shannon: Had you not taken the role of the Doctor, would you
still have been interested in performing 'The Stranger'?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Did you initially consider the role to be an outgrowth of
the concept of 'psuedo-Doctor Who' or did you always feel it was its own entity
that, given time and material, would stand on its own as a science fiction
saga?</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Colin Baker: Well the Stranger was clearly a creation that
would not have happened had I not played the sixth Doctor so the question would
not arise, Shannon. But had those scripts landed in a vacuum as it were on my
doormat, I would probably have been keen to do them. And they may well have had
a life of their own.</b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Shannon: I wondered if you had any personal memories of
Verity Lambert, the very first producer of 'Doctor Who, to share, and thoughts
on her role in the success of 'Doctor Who'?"</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Colin Baker: Sadly I never met Verity or worked with her.
Clearly she had a key role in the existence of 'Doctor Who' and many other
wonderful programs and her creativity will be greatly missed.</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Shannon: Nicola Bryant was quite untested as an actress when
she accepted the role of Peri and became your co-star. Did you impart any
wisdom of the business to her when you two became co-workers, and do you
believe that being a 'Doctor Who' companion in the original series was a
benefit or a hindrance to actors and actresses?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Colin Baker: If anything, Nicola imparted her wisdom to ME.
She was more experienced in 'Doctor Who' than I was and needed no advice or
wisdom from me! Companions do seem to have had a tough time of it afterwards,
too. But most of them were female and actresses generally have a tougher time
forging a long career in this business, sadly.</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Shannon: Had you stayed on the series, by all accounts the
script writers and producer's intentions was to further 'darken' the tone of
it, and shades of that can certainly be found in Sylvester McCoy's era later
on. You indicated before that you would have been pleased with that
interpretation of the character had it occurred during your time. </div>
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</div>
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Was your conception of the Sixth Doctor always a character
with an edge about him? </div>
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<br /></div>
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Had the producer wished to take a different approach
completely, turning him into something else, such as more jovial or carefree,
would you have accepted that? </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Or did you enjoy the dramatic opportunities that playing a
'darker' tone allowed?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Colin Baker: I would have done whatever I was asked to do.
That is the nature of the business I am in. Unless you are a huge star like Al
Pacino, then you either deliver the goods you are asked to deliver or you don’t
work much!! I would have liked the character to develop pretty much along the
lines that Big Finish under Gary Russell and now Nick Briggs have offered me
the chance to do. That involves a mixture of 'dark' and 'light', as all good
stories do.</b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Shannon: Did you ever again work with or under Eric Saward after
the 'Starburst' situation?</div>
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And in the grand scheme of things, would you have been
rather more pleased working with, perhaps Phillip Martin, in the script writing
capacity?</div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Or do you reappraise Saward's contributions to your era now,
or feel, as most fans do, that his work was, in your words, 'casual script
editing'?</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Colin Baker: I am not well disposed towards Eric Saward, who
as far as I am concerned treated me in a rather shabby way, saying one thing to
my face and another behind my back. On that basis I would certainly have been
disinclined to work with him again, if I had any say in the matter. Philip
Martin was an excellent writer – I have no idea whether he has been or wants to
be a script editor but am sure he would make a very good job of it.</b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Shannon: Kate O'Mara worked with you both in 'The Brothers'
as well as 'Doctor Who'. Are there any actors or actresses from the former
series that you wished had reunited with you in the latter?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Colin Baker: I am always happy to work with anyone that I
worked with before and enjoyed working with all the actors and actresses in
'The Brothers'.</b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Shannon: 'Doctor Who' merchandise is, of course, plentiful.
Are they any particular Sixth Doctor entrants into that pantheon that have
caught your eye and that you thought was nice? And did you or do you ever
collect any?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Colin Baker: You are a prolific questioner Shannon! I can’t
think of any merchandise that stood out particularly though I must confess I
haven’t made an in-depth study of it! There is a new sixth Doctor figurine
coming out soon, which, if it is as good as the model they sent to me for my
approval, I think will be excellent. The standard of merchandise has improved
dramatically since my time, with the new popularity of the program and the more
sophisticated modeling procedures.</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>And that concludes the interview.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thanks to my former Co-Host, and always
Co-Conspirator, Shannon Lush for digging that interview out of The Whostorian
Quarterly archives and a very special thanks to Colin Baker for granting
Shannon the interview.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><a href="mailto:shannonmlush@gmail.com" target="_blank">Shannon's Email </a></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><a href="https://twitter.com/MarshallLush" target="_blank">Shannon's Twitter</a></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><a href="http://www.allexperts.com/ep/1102-76050/Dr-Who/Shannon-Marshall-Lush.htm" target="_blank">Shannon on allexperts.com</a></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t wait to see
what else Shannon has in store.</i></div>
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<i> </i></div>
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<i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
- </span></span></span>Steve</i></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015123008999082517noreply@blogger.com0St John's, NL, Canada47.5605413 -52.712831547.389100299999996 -53.0286885 47.7319823 -52.3969745tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8800326142391250528.post-73071246276585229412012-08-15T07:37:00.002-02:302012-08-18T02:20:16.522-02:30Mastermind ReviewBy <a href="mailto:shannonmlush@gmail.com" target="_blank">Shannon Lush</a><br />
<br />
Long before the BBC took matters into their own corporate hands to
provide fans of the good Doctor with fresh material, a small yet
exuberant group from St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, created the next
best thing; their own adventures.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
Cutting their creative teeth
with a film called "The Overseers", the AYUDWFCON, or
As-Yet-Unnamed-Doctor-Who-Fan-<br />
<div class="gmail_quote">
<wbr></wbr></div>
Club-Of-Newfoundland, found they enjoyed
the experience well enough to embark upon a second. Under the auspices
of the group's audio/visual wing, Eleventh Hour Productions, (formed
originally for "The Overseers"), the group wrote and produced the
follow-up, entitled "Mastermind", in 1993.<br />
<br />
If "The Overseers"
had been a study in minimalism, in order to accommodate the low budget,
"Mastermind" was a visual breath of fresh air. Where the former had
been content to verbally suggest the existence of sets, such as the
console room, the latter actually depicted them. This became a personal
milestone for the members of the group dedicated to stretching the
limits of their imaginations as well as their wallets!<br />
<br />
"Mastermind",
like it's predecessor, once again followed the adventures of the
Doctor, as played by club member Blair Gaulton, and his companions,
Simon, played by eventual fanzine editor and Outpost Gallifrey
contributor Shannon Patrick Sullivan, and Imric, played by Jason
Cantwell.<br />
<br />
The story follows on from events depicted in "The
Overseers". In the earlier tale, it was established that this Doctor
is, indeed, the regeneration following Sylvester McCoy, and therefore
the "Eighth" (I wonder what Christopher Eccleston was doing 'round
about the summer of 1993?). Having rescued the pickpocket, Imric, from
the sterile world of Vanestra, the Doctor is faced with getting to know
the lad, as well as patiently acting as a sounding board for Simon, who
still holds a torch for a young woman he encountered in a previous
adventure.<br />
<br />
It was this independent, renegade quality of Eleventh
Hour Productions that initially attracted my interest in the creative
wing of the fan club. Instead of merely creating adventures to
entertain and share with other fans, EHP were making strides towards
establishing new myths! From blithely inserting references to stories
of "our" Doctor published in our fanzine, "The Whostorian Quarterly",
to presenting not an unofficial, "what if?"-type Doctor but a
full-fledged regeneration following on from the actual incarnation of
the series (in our minds, anyway), EHP were intent to create our own
saga. What began as a humble attempt to pay homage to our favourite
defunct television series quickly began to take on epic proportions.
Taking it all together, and bearing in mind the "Doctor Who" landscape
of the early to mid-1990's was a darn sight more barren and windswept
than our home province ever will be, it was a proud accomplishment,
almost qualifying as "seasons" of a fan-generated series.<br />
<br />
I got
into the act rather quickly. First, I suggested that our fan films
ought to link up with those of another group's, and a line uttered by
the "Seventh" Doctor in the excellent Johnathon Blum fan flick "Time
Rift" was referenced by our own "Seventh" Doctor in another of our
films, "The Oracle Of Time". I was later made aware that such an occurrence, it was believed, was unprecedented. I embraced the spirit of
enthusiasm as we all forged ahead with what we felt sure would be the
ultimate future of our hero, in the hands of the very fans that the
original series had cultivated.<br />
<br />
The Doctor of "Mastermind" is an
idealistic crusader, young and witty. His companion Simon is a rather
more morose fellow, and this is explained both in print (in our
fanzine) and in the later film as being due to his parents being
captured by the Daleks. I did not write or contribute to the creative
development of the first two films (though I would go on to co-write
the third and pen my own "Eighth" Doctor stories for the fanzine), but
I could appreciate the intricate layers of character and plot
development that went into the overall creative output of our happy
little fan club. And when it came time to conceive of a third film, I
was pleased that those seeds had been sown, and their existence made my
job significantly easier!<br />
<br />
As for Imric, the streetwise new
companion, a curtain was drawn across his character in the form of the
Master (well, the title was "Mastermind", an obvious signpost if there
ever was one!). The Master appears once more to plague The Doctor,
having escaped the Cheetah people planet, (we left the details
intentionally vague, if I recall, though it is explained fully in the
third film), and is now using the telepathic Doradan Ambassador,
Medulla, for his own evil ends. Taking the body of Imric was a definite
nod to his methods in "The Keeper Of Traken", and continuing the
wink-wink familiarity by killing Imric off, (the names Imric and Adric
are very similar, aren't they...?), I was again startled by the
ingenuity and imagination of the group I had wisely joined. It is not
every fan club that intentionally inserts such a downbeat resolution to
their fan film! It was brave and ambitious, and it was this that
convinced me I had to become more creatively involved in future
projects.<br />
<br />
Ah, Medulla. The character of Medulla is really
nothing more than a cipher to explain to the viewers the sometimes convoluted scheme of the disembodied Master, but that didn't stop me; I
had to dive right in! Even when the costume was unveiled to me, and it
stood revealed as a heavy black robe, complete with itchy cardboard
shoulder piece and vision-obscuring, fishbowl-shaped helmet, I didn't
hesitate. These people were on the forefront of something magical, and
I wanted in.<br />
<br />
The console room was an actual room in the basement
of Phil McCausland's house. Phil was the originator of everything to do
with local "Doctor Who", and had previously played a major role in the
first film. Using the chimney pipe as a base (and a Time Rotor), we
built our very own console. Consisting of fanciful drawings, old
computer keyboards, and other bits of vaguely futuristic bric-a-brac,
we added a little piece of "Doctor Who" to Phil's basement. I felt a
kinship to all those that had worked on the actual series. Like those
under-funded, brilliant designers, we too had faced the seemingly
insurmountable task of taking tape, common household items, and our own
imagination and weaving a working universe around them, a universe that
was supposed to look as if it had depth and resonance. I think we
succeeded admirably, but of course that's just my opinion. I could have
been giddy from the heat of so many lights, so many bodies in a
confined space, and a helmet that I couldn't see out of!<br />
<br />
Despite
the sultry, sweaty heat of those August days and evenings, despite the
inexplicable and all-too-frequent power outages that particular summer
(one of which provided the group with the opportunity to record a
humorous "bonus" episode, "Absence Of The Daleks", in Phil's backyard),
and despite missed cues, retakes, and even prop flops, we eventually
finished the second fan film effort of EHP.<br />
<br />
With the actual live
action work done, we then had to insert appropriate props and FX. We
were approached by an amateur model maker named Bob Power, who had
appeared as a corpse, (with his leg inexplicably defying gravity,
despite his character's predicament!), in "The Overseers", and offered
to build and allow to be filmed a couple of ships. One of those ships
was a real beauty, and was used as Medulla's transport. The ship's
captain, Mandaris, portrayed by Jonathon Stack, sneers wickedly at
Simon when the latter finds himself transported aboard unexpectedly
(after the TARDIS fused with the ship; "Nightmare Of Eden", wink,
wink....!) Clearly, Mandaris is proud of his ship, and perhaps the
reason was that he, and us all, ohhhed and awwwed over the physical
prop when Bob brought it to show us.<br />
<br />
As for the TARDIS, we were
very keen on capturing the "feel" of the original series. Nothing could
be better in our minds than to actually depict that famous blue box
spinning along through the time vortex. Somebody, perhaps Shannon
Patrick Sullivan, suggested we place a model TARDIS on a turntable,
tilt the camera appropriately, and light the scene with a minimum of
source light. It worked like a charm, and I actually prefer that brief
scene of our trusty, battered Police Box model to it's much more
elegant (and far more expensive) counterpart in the Paul McGann film! I
don't know who owned the particular model that we used, though it could
have been several people; it was rather a point of pride to possess
"Doctor Who" merchandise in such an out-of-the-way place like
Newfoundland.<br />
<br />
As for FX, we used the various effects available
to us at the editing facility that was lent out to us for a day, Jabba
Videomakers. It's owner was more accustomed to producing wedding and
graduation videos, and probably never dreamt that a simple little
video effect he may have used many times to enhance shots of happy,
smiling newlyweds would become a sinister time wave distortion effect
in our hands!<br />
<br />
I actually spent that day there waiting to
re-record lines that I spoke "on stage" as Medulla. The nature of the
costume made my voice sound exactly like it was supposed to; a heavy
smoker under a heavy helmet in heavy, warm weather! It was always
intended that I would re-record the lines later, in order to give them
a proper eerie, echoing quality as befits the galaxy's foremost
telepath (I had plenty of time to formulate a complete back story for
Medulla during rehearsals, and thus came to believe he was far more
powerful and influential than anybody else had thought!). In the end,
though, a combination of time constraints and lack of proper technical
training ("push that button there"...."YOU push that button, I'm not
getting in trouble for breaking studio equipment...!") conspired to
immortalize my muffled, winded voice forever. But there's always the
Special Edition DVD! (A fond, fond dream!)<br />
<br />
Another aspect to our fan films which I enjoyed immensely is that we emulated the original
series as much as possible, from plot elements to props, effects to
enthusiasm. One of "Doctor Who"'s most distinctive elements has always
been it's incidental music. Every episode took on a new dimension when
that wonderful, ethereal music aurally painted the scenes, and we
wanted to do the same. To that end, our very talented group member
Stephen Winsor, who later co-wrote and directed and produced the third
film, contributed a fantastic soundtrack. Eleven years later, and I
still listen to the tracks he composed especially for "Mastermind",
they are that unique and dear to my heart.<br />
<br />
So, that, my friends,
is my recollection of not only the fan film "Mastermind", but of
wonderful days spent in the company of wonderful people, doing nothing
other than tossing our collective creative efforts into that vast and
ever-growing mini-universe of fan creations.<br />
<br />
And, if not for
"Doctor Who", I would not now have these memories, these words to
contribute to this site, to hopefully be read by other fans who, just
perhaps, have their very own special connection to the legacy of this
"cult" British series!
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015123008999082517noreply@blogger.com0St John's, NL, Canada47.5605413 -52.712831547.389100299999996 -53.0286885 47.7319823 -52.3969745