01. Fury From The Deep - Patrick Troughton
02. The Invasion - Patrick Troughton
03. The Evil Of The Daleks - Patrick Troughton
04. The Web Of Fear - Patrick Troughton
05. The Tomb Of The Cybermen - Patrick Troughton
06. The Power Of The Daleks - Patrick Troughton
07. The Dalek Invasion Of Earth - William Hartnell
08. The Daleks - William Hartnell
09. The Caves Of Androzani - Peter Davison
10. Revelation Of The Daleks - Colin Baker
11. The Curse Of Fenric - Sylvester McCoy
12. The Greatest Show In The Galaxy - Sylvester McCoy
13. The Mind Of Evil - Jon Pertwee
14. Inferno - Jon Pertwee
15. Genesis Of The Daleks - Tom Baker
16. The Ice Warriors - Patrick Troughton
17. The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit - David Tennant
18. The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances - Christopher Eccleston
19. Ghost Light - Sylvester McCoy
20. Remembrance Of The Daleks - Sylvester McCoy
21. The Ambassadors Of Death - Jon Pertwee
22. Doctor Who And The Silurians - Jon Pertwee
23. The Seeds Of Death - Patrick Troughton
24. The Moonbase - Patrick Troughton
25. Asylum Of The Daleks - Matt Smith
26. The Wheel In Space - Patrick Troughton
27. The Two Doctors - Colin Baker
28. Frontios - Peter Davison
29. Planet Of Giants - William Hartnell
30. Dalek - Christopher Eccleston
31. Blink - David Tennant
32. Delta And The Bannermen - Sylvester McCoy
33. The Daemons - Jon Pertwee
34. The Talons Of Weng-Chiang - Tom Baker
35. Vengeance On Varos - Colin Baker
36. Attack Of The Cybermen - Colin Baker
37. Resurrection Of The Daleks - Peter Davison
38. The Unquiet Dead - Christopher Eccleston
39. Planet Of The Dead - David Tennant
40. Daleks In Manhattan/Evolution Of The Daleks - David Tennant
41. The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People - Matt Smith
42. Planet Of The Ood - David Tennant
43. The Doctor's Daughter - David Tennant
44. Amy's Choice - Matt Smith
45. Midnight - David Tennant
46. Survival - Sylvester McCoy
47. The Sea Devils - Jon Pertwee
48. The Tenth Planet - William Hartnell
49. The Abominable Snowmen - Patrick Troughton
50. Earthshock - Peter Davison
Favourite Eras - based on the above list
01. Patrick Troughton - 402 points
02. Sylvester McCoy - 166 points
03. Jon Pertwee - 156 points
04. William Hartnell - 112 points
05. David Tennant - 100 points
06. Colin Baker - 96 points
07. Peter Davison - 80 points
08. Christopher Eccleston - 67 points
09. Tom Baker - 53 points
10. Matt Smith - 43 points
A special one-off drama about the creation of Doctor Who has been commissioned to mark the programme's 50th anniversary. An Adventure In Space And Time will tell the story of the genesis of the BBC science-fiction series in the early 1960s. "This is the tale of how an unlikely set of brilliant people created a true television original," said its writer Mark Gatiss. The 90-minute production will air on BBC Two next year.
Showing posts with label Tom Baker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tom Baker. Show all posts
Friday, 23 November 2012
Tuesday, 27 March 2012
Something wicked this way comes…
I’ve never been much of a fan of Being Human… until now! I’ve always watched it because I believe in supporting what little telefantasy comes our way. I can only put my change of heart down to the change of cast. Over eight episodes, the Fourth Series - completed on Sunday on the otherwise ghastly BBC Three - dispensed with the entire original cast of vampire Mitchell (Aidan Turner), werewolves Nina (Sinead Keenan) and George (Russell Tovey), and finally ghost Annie (Lenora Crichlow) in favour of new werewolf Tom (Michael Socha), new vampire Hal (Damien Molony), and introducing new ghost Alex (Kate Bracken). I’m hoping that Series Five will see a return of the other new werewolf-in-the-pack Allison (Ellie Kendrick), introduced in my favourite episode of the season, Puppy Love, as a replacement for Nina and partner for Tom. The transitional nature of this series was reminiscent of the Twenty-First Series of Doctor Who, which underwent a similarly radical change of cast… back in 1984! Michael Socha made semi-regular appearances in last year’s run of Being Human and returned - full-time - as lovable as ever, more so. I anticipated Lenora Crichlow’s departure and Kate Bracken looks like being a worthy successor but what really astounded was the performance of Damien Molony, in the light that Hal Yorke is his first television role. The original cast were fine but, for me, the new cast is a marked improvement.
The main plot of this year’s series of Being Human centred around baby Eve, daughter of George and Nina and would-be-saviour of mankind, whom Annie takes it upon herself to mother. Future Eve (Gina Bramhill) has herself killed (as you do) and returns through time, via purgatory (as you do when you’re deceased!), in order to terminate herself as infant because her survival will mean the survival of the vampire species and the end of human civilisation as we know it! Eve is both saviour and nemesis which she flippantly dismisses with the line, “Talk about multitasking!”. This is, of course, the same time paradox set up as in the Jon Pertwee Doctor Who story The Day Of The Daleks and reused in The Terminator franchise but, if you’re going to borrow, you might as well borrow from the best! The real dilemma though is how can anyone bring it upon themselves to kill a defenceless infant despite the knowledge that, otherwise, they will initiate the downfall of mankind. This is also the essential premise of the Tom Baker Doctor Who story Genesis Of The Daleks. In Being Human, there is no cop-out! Writer, and series creator, Toby Whithouse is clearly a man with balls of steel!! The baby dies. It’s not dwelt on excessively but, nevertheless, the infant passes over to the other side, along with Annie, to rejoin its natural parents and reunite the original house-sharing quartet.
Although much humour is to be had over the last two months of Being Human, most - admittedly - of a very dark nature, it could be argued that the series does take an awfully long time for the arc to reach the point at which it can begin to resolve itself. It isn’t until the end of the penultimate episode that the vampire-threat-en-masse The Old Ones arrive, led by the ever-reliable Mark Gatiss (perhaps typecast after the Doctor Who story The Lazarus Experiment?), as Mr Snow, at which point he utters just four words, “Well then… who’s hungry?”. Compare this with the three-part Sylvester McCoy Doctor Who story Survival, from 1989, in which the Doctor comes face-to-face with his nemesis The Master after just twenty-five minutes! The arch-enemy turns to the Doctor and wryly exclaims, “Why Doctor… what an unexpected pleasure!”. It takes seven of its eight hours for Series Four of Being Human to arrive at the same point! The Doctor Who story runs to just an hour-and-a-quarter, in total, so speed is of the essence! Usually, I prefer my science fiction/fantasy straight but, in the case of Being Human, I like the humour and adore the domesticity. I can believe in it. For that reason, my preference is for the first three-quarters of this series over the last two instalments in which events reverted to the darker nature of Series Two and Three after, earlier, rediscovering the humour of the First!
The main plot of this year’s series of Being Human centred around baby Eve, daughter of George and Nina and would-be-saviour of mankind, whom Annie takes it upon herself to mother. Future Eve (Gina Bramhill) has herself killed (as you do) and returns through time, via purgatory (as you do when you’re deceased!), in order to terminate herself as infant because her survival will mean the survival of the vampire species and the end of human civilisation as we know it! Eve is both saviour and nemesis which she flippantly dismisses with the line, “Talk about multitasking!”. This is, of course, the same time paradox set up as in the Jon Pertwee Doctor Who story The Day Of The Daleks and reused in The Terminator franchise but, if you’re going to borrow, you might as well borrow from the best! The real dilemma though is how can anyone bring it upon themselves to kill a defenceless infant despite the knowledge that, otherwise, they will initiate the downfall of mankind. This is also the essential premise of the Tom Baker Doctor Who story Genesis Of The Daleks. In Being Human, there is no cop-out! Writer, and series creator, Toby Whithouse is clearly a man with balls of steel!! The baby dies. It’s not dwelt on excessively but, nevertheless, the infant passes over to the other side, along with Annie, to rejoin its natural parents and reunite the original house-sharing quartet.
Although much humour is to be had over the last two months of Being Human, most - admittedly - of a very dark nature, it could be argued that the series does take an awfully long time for the arc to reach the point at which it can begin to resolve itself. It isn’t until the end of the penultimate episode that the vampire-threat-en-masse The Old Ones arrive, led by the ever-reliable Mark Gatiss (perhaps typecast after the Doctor Who story The Lazarus Experiment?), as Mr Snow, at which point he utters just four words, “Well then… who’s hungry?”. Compare this with the three-part Sylvester McCoy Doctor Who story Survival, from 1989, in which the Doctor comes face-to-face with his nemesis The Master after just twenty-five minutes! The arch-enemy turns to the Doctor and wryly exclaims, “Why Doctor… what an unexpected pleasure!”. It takes seven of its eight hours for Series Four of Being Human to arrive at the same point! The Doctor Who story runs to just an hour-and-a-quarter, in total, so speed is of the essence! Usually, I prefer my science fiction/fantasy straight but, in the case of Being Human, I like the humour and adore the domesticity. I can believe in it. For that reason, my preference is for the first three-quarters of this series over the last two instalments in which events reverted to the darker nature of Series Two and Three after, earlier, rediscovering the humour of the First!
Saturday, 8 October 2011
Inspecting Wexford
When Doctor Who finished in 1989, the series of serials that replaced it in my affections was a TVS production called The Ruth Rendell Mysteries. At the centre of these psychological whodunits was a grumpy, weatherworn copper called Chief Inspector Wexford. He was played with tremendous subtlety by a brilliant character actor, mixing tenderness with anger, sympathy with outrage, and I received the news of George Baker’s passing with great sadness. Wexford was a more open-minded policeman than his moralising sidekick, Mike Burden, though Christopher Ravenscroft gave an equally valid performance and the chemistry between the pair was electric. For me, while Jeremy Brett was the quintessential Sherlock Holmes, George Baker was the archetypal modern-day bobby. While not wishing to take anything from the late, great John Thaw’s superlative portrayal of Inspector Morse or Roy Marsden’s thoughtful take on Commander Adam Dalgliesh, the detective holding the greatest appeal was George Baker’s Reg Wexford.
Part of the attraction of The Ruth Rendell Mysteries lay in its format. Each series consisted of several self-contained stories invariably told over multiple episodes. Towards the end of its run, Wexford adopted the Morse structure of imparting a narrative in a single 103-minute film, to a certain degree, and perhaps these were less successful, creatively speaking. But, for the majority of its life, the chosen construct consisted of 51-minute episodes, unravelling its multiplicity of puzzles over two, three or occasionally four-part adventures. In that respect, it became a natural successor to the Time Lord’s escapades, while Cracker adopted the same strategy subsequently. Brian Bennett’s terrific theme tune must, surely, also be a contributing factor to the programme’s immeasurable success.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t in on the magic from the very beginning! I missed, and still haven’t seen to this day, the first television adaptation of a Ruth Rendell Inspector Wexford novel. Entitled Wolf To The Slaughter, it was told over four parts. I believe it was transmitted earlier in the day than subsequent stories. I picked up on the series from the second serial, A Guilty Thing Surprised, related in three episodes and guest starring Michael Jayston and Nigel Terry, and never missed a single broadcast thereafter. I’m not sure why Wolf To The Slaughter has never been repeated on ITV3, or released on VHS or DVD? The other stories have seen the light of day since their initial broadcasts, although ITV now seem to own only the rights to screen the last three tales, Simisola, Road Rage and Harm Done. My favourites include Kissing The Gunner’s Daughter, a four-part investigation into multiple murder which concluded the final series; The Mouse In The Corner, a two-part discourse concerning the abuse of a spouse; but, best of all, An Unkindness Of Ravens, detailing nasty goings-on amongst a female collective and featuring the gorgeous Imogen Boorman (Hellbound: Hellraiser 2, Casualty) as a murderous schoolgirl!
Although Wexford was probably his most famous role, Baker’s repertoire included comedy, drama, soap operas and science fiction over a remarkable six decades. In the mid-Sixties, he appeared in Dennis Potter’s Alice opposite Deborah Watling, before she became my favourite Doctor Who companion! He guest-starred in Doctor Who himself, alongside his namesake Tom Baker, and, between those two, in the first series of the original version of Survivors. He played Number Two in the first episode of the original version of The Prisoner, then shared screen time with John Hurt, Derek Jacobi and Brian Blessed in I, Claudius. On the big screen, amongst numerous roles, he featured in three of the James Bond series, firstly You Only Live Twice (1967), then On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) and latterly The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). But, the film most are likely to recall is The Dam Busters (1955). George died yesterday of pneumonia, aged 80, having recently suffered a stroke. He will be remembered as a meticulous man, always smartly presented, who, interestingly, retained a record of all those with whom he worked, both in front of and behind the camera. He met his third wife, Louie Ramsay, on the set of The Ruth Rendell Mysteries, ironically cast as on-screen wife Dora. She passed away just seven months ago.
Part of the attraction of The Ruth Rendell Mysteries lay in its format. Each series consisted of several self-contained stories invariably told over multiple episodes. Towards the end of its run, Wexford adopted the Morse structure of imparting a narrative in a single 103-minute film, to a certain degree, and perhaps these were less successful, creatively speaking. But, for the majority of its life, the chosen construct consisted of 51-minute episodes, unravelling its multiplicity of puzzles over two, three or occasionally four-part adventures. In that respect, it became a natural successor to the Time Lord’s escapades, while Cracker adopted the same strategy subsequently. Brian Bennett’s terrific theme tune must, surely, also be a contributing factor to the programme’s immeasurable success.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t in on the magic from the very beginning! I missed, and still haven’t seen to this day, the first television adaptation of a Ruth Rendell Inspector Wexford novel. Entitled Wolf To The Slaughter, it was told over four parts. I believe it was transmitted earlier in the day than subsequent stories. I picked up on the series from the second serial, A Guilty Thing Surprised, related in three episodes and guest starring Michael Jayston and Nigel Terry, and never missed a single broadcast thereafter. I’m not sure why Wolf To The Slaughter has never been repeated on ITV3, or released on VHS or DVD? The other stories have seen the light of day since their initial broadcasts, although ITV now seem to own only the rights to screen the last three tales, Simisola, Road Rage and Harm Done. My favourites include Kissing The Gunner’s Daughter, a four-part investigation into multiple murder which concluded the final series; The Mouse In The Corner, a two-part discourse concerning the abuse of a spouse; but, best of all, An Unkindness Of Ravens, detailing nasty goings-on amongst a female collective and featuring the gorgeous Imogen Boorman (Hellbound: Hellraiser 2, Casualty) as a murderous schoolgirl!
Although Wexford was probably his most famous role, Baker’s repertoire included comedy, drama, soap operas and science fiction over a remarkable six decades. In the mid-Sixties, he appeared in Dennis Potter’s Alice opposite Deborah Watling, before she became my favourite Doctor Who companion! He guest-starred in Doctor Who himself, alongside his namesake Tom Baker, and, between those two, in the first series of the original version of Survivors. He played Number Two in the first episode of the original version of The Prisoner, then shared screen time with John Hurt, Derek Jacobi and Brian Blessed in I, Claudius. On the big screen, amongst numerous roles, he featured in three of the James Bond series, firstly You Only Live Twice (1967), then On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) and latterly The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). But, the film most are likely to recall is The Dam Busters (1955). George died yesterday of pneumonia, aged 80, having recently suffered a stroke. He will be remembered as a meticulous man, always smartly presented, who, interestingly, retained a record of all those with whom he worked, both in front of and behind the camera. He met his third wife, Louie Ramsay, on the set of The Ruth Rendell Mysteries, ironically cast as on-screen wife Dora. She passed away just seven months ago.
Friday, 6 May 2011
Lis Lives!
At the beginning of next week, BBC Four are repeating a classic “Doctor Who” serial in memory of Elisabeth Sladen, aka investigative journalist Sarah Jane Smith. Despite already owning the story, I welcome and encourage the repeat of any “Doctor Who”, especially those adventures in time and space originally broadcast between the years of 1963 and 1989, so I will of course be tuning in, as indeed should everyone with an interest in the series. There’s still something magical about watching a show on transmission, however handy and useful the various means of catch-up can be. It’s an odd custom, though, to delay until after someone’s passing the celebrations of the achievements of their life. The four episodes in question comprise Elisabeth’s last regular appearances on the show alongside the ever-irrepressible Tom Baker as the Doctor. Tremble in terror at “The Hand of Fear”!
In Part One, airing on Monday 9th May at 19:40, Sarah Jane finds a fossilised hand and places a ring from it on her finger. She is knocked unconscious by an explosion and taken to hospital.
In Part Two, also airing on Monday 9th May - immediately after the first instalment - at 20:05, the fossilised hand is now in the possession of a technician called Driscoll at Nunton power station. He places it in the reactor core, causing disaster.
In Part Three, airing on Tuesday 10th May again at 19:40, the hand has regenerated into a Kastrian called Eldrad who has modelled his form on Sarah Jane. (I bet that’s only because he likes wearing women’s underwear!) He persuades the Doctor to take him back to Kastria.
In Part Four, also airing on Tuesday 10th May - again immediately after the previous instalment - at 20:05, Eldrad reconfigures his body to its final, male form. Furious with finding his world dead, he states he will return to Earth to rule it.
The script is by Bob Baker and Dave Martin, who together later created K-9 for “Doctor Who”, while Bob went on to write none other than “Wallace and Gromit”!
In Part One, airing on Monday 9th May at 19:40, Sarah Jane finds a fossilised hand and places a ring from it on her finger. She is knocked unconscious by an explosion and taken to hospital.
In Part Two, also airing on Monday 9th May - immediately after the first instalment - at 20:05, the fossilised hand is now in the possession of a technician called Driscoll at Nunton power station. He places it in the reactor core, causing disaster.
In Part Three, airing on Tuesday 10th May again at 19:40, the hand has regenerated into a Kastrian called Eldrad who has modelled his form on Sarah Jane. (I bet that’s only because he likes wearing women’s underwear!) He persuades the Doctor to take him back to Kastria.
In Part Four, also airing on Tuesday 10th May - again immediately after the previous instalment - at 20:05, Eldrad reconfigures his body to its final, male form. Furious with finding his world dead, he states he will return to Earth to rule it.
The script is by Bob Baker and Dave Martin, who together later created K-9 for “Doctor Who”, while Bob went on to write none other than “Wallace and Gromit”!
Wednesday, 20 April 2011
The Passing of Sarah Jane Smith
I couldn’t bring myself to call this post “The Death of Sarah Jane Smith” as death is too final a word but I’m saddened to report that actress Elisabeth Sladen has passed away aged just 63 after her battle with cancer. “News at Ten” was muted when I glanced at the screen and recognised a clip from the First Series “The Sarah Jane Adventures” story “Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane Smith?”, where Sarah Jane and Maria are reunited in limbo land! I thought what on earth is this doing on the news and, in an instant, I realised. To say it took me by surprise is an understatement. “Doctor Who” actors have been dying at the rate of one a month but I didn’t expect the next one to be Elisabeth. Towards the end of last year, Graham Crowden was followed by Ingrid Pitt. At the start of this year we lost T P McKenna, who played Captain Cook in “The Greatest Show in the Galaxy”, and, after the news of Brigadier Nicholas Courtney in February, March saw the demise of “The Celestial Toymaker” Michael Gough. And now, here we are in April…
Elisabeth Sladen joined “Doctor Who” in 1973 for Jon Pertwee’s fifth and final season, in the story that also introduced the Sontarans, “The Time Warrior”. Before her first year was out, Sarah Jane saw off Daleks, dinosaurs and Ice Warriors only to watch in disbelief as the third Doctor regenerated into Tom Baker at the end of “Planet of the Spiders”. The DVD of Jon’s final regular adventure only went on sale the day before Elisabeth’s passing. A favourite image of Sarah Jane is the still featured on its cover, spider clinging to her back. She would stay with Tom for a further two-and-a-half years. One of the most memorable Sarah Jane moments came during Tom’s first year, during the seminal “Genesis of the Daleks”, when, fleeing her captors, she falls from scaffolding up which she is climbing and director David Maloney freezes her descent as the cliff-hanger! Breathtaking stuff - even if the resolution, at the start of the next episode, is a bit of a cheat. She was at her most gorgeous in “Planet of Evil” but then Elisabeth was always an extraordinarily good-looking woman.
It is often cited that Elisabeth Sladen’s Sarah Jane Smith broke the mould of “Doctor Who” companions in that she was no screaming bimbo but an investigative journalist with feminist tendencies. I’m not sure she did counteract the trend, even if that was the original intention, because there are certain requirements necessary of the sidekick in melodrama - to ask questions, get into trouble and scream in the face of danger! But Lis pulled off all of these with such great aplomb that her place in the folklore of “Doctor Who” is assured. She played other characters of course, appearing in Frank Spencer sitcom “Some Mothers do ’ave ’em” and semi-regularly in medical drama “Peak Practice”. A couple of years ago, she had the opportunity to act alongside her husband, Brian Miller, in “The Sarah Jane Adventures” Series Three story “The Mad Woman in the Attic”, one of my favourite instalments. Elisabeth also leaves behind her daughter Sadie. In the last interview I saw with her, She stated they were already filming Series Five of “The Sarah Jane Adventures” and one can only hope Elisabeth completed work on the next series and that it will air, as usual, towards the end of the year as a fitting tribute to her.
Elisabeth Sladen joined “Doctor Who” in 1973 for Jon Pertwee’s fifth and final season, in the story that also introduced the Sontarans, “The Time Warrior”. Before her first year was out, Sarah Jane saw off Daleks, dinosaurs and Ice Warriors only to watch in disbelief as the third Doctor regenerated into Tom Baker at the end of “Planet of the Spiders”. The DVD of Jon’s final regular adventure only went on sale the day before Elisabeth’s passing. A favourite image of Sarah Jane is the still featured on its cover, spider clinging to her back. She would stay with Tom for a further two-and-a-half years. One of the most memorable Sarah Jane moments came during Tom’s first year, during the seminal “Genesis of the Daleks”, when, fleeing her captors, she falls from scaffolding up which she is climbing and director David Maloney freezes her descent as the cliff-hanger! Breathtaking stuff - even if the resolution, at the start of the next episode, is a bit of a cheat. She was at her most gorgeous in “Planet of Evil” but then Elisabeth was always an extraordinarily good-looking woman.
It is often cited that Elisabeth Sladen’s Sarah Jane Smith broke the mould of “Doctor Who” companions in that she was no screaming bimbo but an investigative journalist with feminist tendencies. I’m not sure she did counteract the trend, even if that was the original intention, because there are certain requirements necessary of the sidekick in melodrama - to ask questions, get into trouble and scream in the face of danger! But Lis pulled off all of these with such great aplomb that her place in the folklore of “Doctor Who” is assured. She played other characters of course, appearing in Frank Spencer sitcom “Some Mothers do ’ave ’em” and semi-regularly in medical drama “Peak Practice”. A couple of years ago, she had the opportunity to act alongside her husband, Brian Miller, in “The Sarah Jane Adventures” Series Three story “The Mad Woman in the Attic”, one of my favourite instalments. Elisabeth also leaves behind her daughter Sadie. In the last interview I saw with her, She stated they were already filming Series Five of “The Sarah Jane Adventures” and one can only hope Elisabeth completed work on the next series and that it will air, as usual, towards the end of the year as a fitting tribute to her.
Thursday, 24 February 2011
Remembering the Brigadier
Nicholas Courtney, aka Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, is sadly no longer with us… at least in person. But he has left behind an immeasurable contribution to my favourite television series, “Doctor Who”, ensuring he will never be forgotten. It all started when director Douglas Camfield cast him as Bret Vyon, opposite first Doctor William Hartnell, in the epic twelve-part story “The Daleks’ Master Plan” in the mid-Sixties. Nick and Dougie clearly had a good working relationship because when the director was hired to oversee the reconstruction of the London Underground, for the Patrick Troughton adventure “The Web of Fear”, the actor was cast as Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart, ready to battle the Yeti in those dark, dank tunnels. A year-or-so later and Lethbridge-Stewart was back, this time promoted to Brigadier, in the eight-part Cyber-infestation “The Invasion”, engaging the silver giants down in the sewers of London and on the steps of St. Paul’s. It’s surprising the term Brigadier ever became a watchword in “Doctor Who” circles because the rank is actually a demotion from Colonel! Even more ironic is that Camfield was an ex-military man and could’ve had the error in the script corrected. But, in retrospect, maybe it’s just as well the mistake was left in because it gave birth to one of the series’ most-enduring and popular characters.
By the time the second Doctor regenerated into Jon Pertwee, and black-and-white pictures gave way to colour, Nick Courtney became a regular on “Doctor Who”. The year was now 1970. The Doctor has been banished to Earth to reluctantly work as scientific advisor to military outfit UNIT, the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce, tracking all manner of alien invasion in the style of “Quatermass”! In “Inferno”, just as Patrick Troughton had as Salamander in “The Enemy of the World”, Nicholas is given the opportunity to play an evil version of the Brigadier, the Brigade Leader, resplendent in Blofeld-style eye-patch, when the Doctor ends up on a parallel Earth. A year on sees Nick given one of his most memorable lines in “The Daemons”, “Chap with wings, five rounds rapid!” His time as a regular essentially came to an end when it was time for a new producer to be appointed. “Robot”, Tom Baker’s first story was Barry Letts’ last. New producer Philip Hinchcliffe naturally had new ideas and wanted to direct the series towards a gothic influence. Nick, however, would return occasionally, seeing off the Loch Ness Monster in “Terror of the Zygons”. By the time Peter Davison was the Doctor, Alistair was teaching maths at a boarding school for boys in “Mawdryn Undead”. The twentieth anniversary adventure, “The Five Doctors”, gave the character another of those immortal lines, describing the Doctor as a “marvellous chap, all of them!”
In the final series of classic “Doctor Who”, Alistair Gordon is now retired and married to Doris, played in episodes one and four of “Battlefield” by the lovely Angela Douglas. It was rumoured, at the time, that the Brigadier was to be killed off but, luckily, has a last minute reprieve against the Destroyer. The story includes a poignantly reverberating scene where seventh Doctor Sylvester McCoy cradles his friend’s head in his hands, believing him to be dead, and calls him a “thick-headed numbskull”. The only Doctor Nick hadn’t acted with by the end of the Eighties was the sixth, Colin Baker. Producer John Nathan-Turner corrected this omission, after the show’s cancellation, with the 1993 “Children in Need” Special “Dimensions in Time”. This wasn’t to be the last appearance of the character on television. A few years ago, the Brig resurfaced aiding-and-abetting Miss Smith in the Season Two finale of “The Sarah Jane Adventures”. This story has become his swansong. Former Doctor Tom Baker remembered Nicholas Courtney as “a wonderful companion” with “a marvellous resonant voice”. Quite a legacy and to paraphrase a line from the aforementioned “Battlefield”, Nick just did the best he could!
By the time the second Doctor regenerated into Jon Pertwee, and black-and-white pictures gave way to colour, Nick Courtney became a regular on “Doctor Who”. The year was now 1970. The Doctor has been banished to Earth to reluctantly work as scientific advisor to military outfit UNIT, the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce, tracking all manner of alien invasion in the style of “Quatermass”! In “Inferno”, just as Patrick Troughton had as Salamander in “The Enemy of the World”, Nicholas is given the opportunity to play an evil version of the Brigadier, the Brigade Leader, resplendent in Blofeld-style eye-patch, when the Doctor ends up on a parallel Earth. A year on sees Nick given one of his most memorable lines in “The Daemons”, “Chap with wings, five rounds rapid!” His time as a regular essentially came to an end when it was time for a new producer to be appointed. “Robot”, Tom Baker’s first story was Barry Letts’ last. New producer Philip Hinchcliffe naturally had new ideas and wanted to direct the series towards a gothic influence. Nick, however, would return occasionally, seeing off the Loch Ness Monster in “Terror of the Zygons”. By the time Peter Davison was the Doctor, Alistair was teaching maths at a boarding school for boys in “Mawdryn Undead”. The twentieth anniversary adventure, “The Five Doctors”, gave the character another of those immortal lines, describing the Doctor as a “marvellous chap, all of them!”
In the final series of classic “Doctor Who”, Alistair Gordon is now retired and married to Doris, played in episodes one and four of “Battlefield” by the lovely Angela Douglas. It was rumoured, at the time, that the Brigadier was to be killed off but, luckily, has a last minute reprieve against the Destroyer. The story includes a poignantly reverberating scene where seventh Doctor Sylvester McCoy cradles his friend’s head in his hands, believing him to be dead, and calls him a “thick-headed numbskull”. The only Doctor Nick hadn’t acted with by the end of the Eighties was the sixth, Colin Baker. Producer John Nathan-Turner corrected this omission, after the show’s cancellation, with the 1993 “Children in Need” Special “Dimensions in Time”. This wasn’t to be the last appearance of the character on television. A few years ago, the Brig resurfaced aiding-and-abetting Miss Smith in the Season Two finale of “The Sarah Jane Adventures”. This story has become his swansong. Former Doctor Tom Baker remembered Nicholas Courtney as “a wonderful companion” with “a marvellous resonant voice”. Quite a legacy and to paraphrase a line from the aforementioned “Battlefield”, Nick just did the best he could!
Friday, 22 October 2010
Waiting for God no longer
Scottish actor Graham Crowden, known for his work on British radio, film and TV has died at the age of 87, his agent has confirmed.
Graham is perhaps best known for his roles in the Andrew Davies comedy-drama series “A Very Peculiar Practice”, in which he appeared as the often-inebriated head of a University medical practice alongside Peter Davison and David Troughton (a career high for all three actors in my opinion), and as a resident in an old people’s home, wisecracking with Stephanie Cole (currently Auntie Joan in “Doc Martin”), in BBC sitcom “Waiting for God”.
Crowden turned down the role of “Doctor Who” after the departure of Jon Pertwee, eventually playing a villain in the series opposite Tom Baker in “The Horns of Nimon”. In the picture, Graham is seen confronting Mrs Richard Dawkins, Lalla Ward, while in the background, feigning interest in-between them, is ex-“Blue Peter” presenter and sometime panellist on “The Wright Stuff” Janet Ellis.
Graham also appeared as a clergyman in Neil Jordan’s film “The Company of Wolves”, a dramatisation of Angela Carter’s take on “Little Red Riding Hood”. The actor’s agent, Sue Grantley, said he was “a lovely, lovely man”.
Graham is perhaps best known for his roles in the Andrew Davies comedy-drama series “A Very Peculiar Practice”, in which he appeared as the often-inebriated head of a University medical practice alongside Peter Davison and David Troughton (a career high for all three actors in my opinion), and as a resident in an old people’s home, wisecracking with Stephanie Cole (currently Auntie Joan in “Doc Martin”), in BBC sitcom “Waiting for God”.
Crowden turned down the role of “Doctor Who” after the departure of Jon Pertwee, eventually playing a villain in the series opposite Tom Baker in “The Horns of Nimon”. In the picture, Graham is seen confronting Mrs Richard Dawkins, Lalla Ward, while in the background, feigning interest in-between them, is ex-“Blue Peter” presenter and sometime panellist on “The Wright Stuff” Janet Ellis.
Graham also appeared as a clergyman in Neil Jordan’s film “The Company of Wolves”, a dramatisation of Angela Carter’s take on “Little Red Riding Hood”. The actor’s agent, Sue Grantley, said he was “a lovely, lovely man”.
Friday, 27 June 2008
My Vision is NOT Impaired
My eyesight isn’t as good as it used to be! That said, I’m looking forward to seeing the return of the Daleks on Saturday. Some say the murdering swine from Skaro have been overused since the series returned in 2005 but, personally, I can’t get enough of them. To me, they’re what “Doctor Who” is all about.
Those who came to “Doctor Who” during the Seventies, and in particular during the Tom Baker era, may have a different perspective on the Daleks. The creatures were only seen twice during Tom’s seven-year reign as the Doctor, highly successfully on their “Genesis” outing opposite Time Lord number four but not quite so whilst seeking out their “Destiny”! The Daleks weren’t so dominant during this part of the show’s history.
I grew up watching “Doctor Who” in the Sixties. I was a child during Dalekmania. My brother and I had a toy Dalek each that ran off batteries. We collected the set of thirty-six adventure cards, ostensibly “free” with Wall’s “Sky Ray” ice lollies, in which “Dr. Who” joined forces with the Space Raiders to battle the Daleks. We went to see the two movies at the cinema starring Peter Cushing. Not inappropriately, the first was called “Dr. Who and the Daleks”. Around this time, 1965, the Daleks became synonymous with “Doctor Who”.
Bernard Cribbins played P.C. Tom Campbell in the 1966 sequel, “Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.”, and it’ll no doubt fuel a wave of nostalgia this weekend to, once again, see the actor waging war on the streets of London against the metal mutants. The time-travelling copper even came face to face with a Red Dalek! A Dalek of a similar hue can be seen in “The Stolen Earth”, the first episode of the two-part Season Four finale.
I skived off wind band rehearsal, one Saturday morning, to see both Dalek films in a double bill at the Odeon. I remember being irritated with all the younger kids, at the matinée with their mothers, who wouldn’t be quiet so I could concentrate on the exterminatingly exciting, otherworldly, enthralling entertainment!
Those who came to “Doctor Who” during the Seventies, and in particular during the Tom Baker era, may have a different perspective on the Daleks. The creatures were only seen twice during Tom’s seven-year reign as the Doctor, highly successfully on their “Genesis” outing opposite Time Lord number four but not quite so whilst seeking out their “Destiny”! The Daleks weren’t so dominant during this part of the show’s history.
I grew up watching “Doctor Who” in the Sixties. I was a child during Dalekmania. My brother and I had a toy Dalek each that ran off batteries. We collected the set of thirty-six adventure cards, ostensibly “free” with Wall’s “Sky Ray” ice lollies, in which “Dr. Who” joined forces with the Space Raiders to battle the Daleks. We went to see the two movies at the cinema starring Peter Cushing. Not inappropriately, the first was called “Dr. Who and the Daleks”. Around this time, 1965, the Daleks became synonymous with “Doctor Who”.
Bernard Cribbins played P.C. Tom Campbell in the 1966 sequel, “Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.”, and it’ll no doubt fuel a wave of nostalgia this weekend to, once again, see the actor waging war on the streets of London against the metal mutants. The time-travelling copper even came face to face with a Red Dalek! A Dalek of a similar hue can be seen in “The Stolen Earth”, the first episode of the two-part Season Four finale.
I skived off wind band rehearsal, one Saturday morning, to see both Dalek films in a double bill at the Odeon. I remember being irritated with all the younger kids, at the matinée with their mothers, who wouldn’t be quiet so I could concentrate on the exterminatingly exciting, otherworldly, enthralling entertainment!
Saturday, 20 January 2007
Thursday, 1 September 2005
Michael Sheard (1940-2005)
I was sad to learn of the death of popular character actor Michael Sheard from cancer at the age of only 65. He appeared on television in no less than six "Doctor Who" Stories as well as in a Big Finish audio "Doctor Who" story. To "Doctor Who" fans he will probably best be remembered for his performances as Laurence Scarman in the Tom Baker story "Pyramids of Mars" (pictured) from 1975 and as the doomed Headmaster in "Remembrance of the Daleks", a Sylvester McCoy story from 1988, which, in an odd coincidence for me, I rewatched just a few weeks ago.
As K9 returns to the programme, in episode three of next year's series, it is interesting to note that Michael appeared as Supervisor Lowe in the robot dog's opening story, from 1977, "The Invisible Enemy", a reworking of the Donald Pleasance/Raquel Welch movie "Fantastic Voyage". He also guested as Mergrave in fifth Doctor Peter Davison's opening yarn "Castrovalva" in 1982. Predating all of these are his appearances in the William Hartnell third season story "The Ark" in 1966, as Rhos, and as Dr. Summers in my favourite Jon Pertwee story "The Mind of Evil" in 1971.
As well as appearing in my favourite third Doctor tale, Michael Sheard also guest starred in my favourite "Space:1999" episode "Dragon's Domain" as Dr. Darwin King at the end of 1975. This simple but brilliantly evocative story pre-empts the Alien series of films in its depiction of an entity hellbent on survival at any horrific cost. Just over four years later, Michael popped up in another popular SF series playing Klegg in the second episode of the third season of "Blake's 7" entitled "Powerplay", first broadcast in January 1980.
Over the years he was seen in many of the shows which now have a cult following such as "Adam Adamant Lives!", the original 1970 version of "Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)", the "Department S" spin-off "Jason King", the Roger Moore/Tony Curtis vehicle "The Persuaders!", the non-SF live action Gerry Anderson series "The Protectors", "The Sweeney", "The New Avengers", "The Professionals" and "Minder". He made many appearances in "Dixon of Dock Green", "Softly Softly", "On the Buses" and the first season of "Auf Wiedersehen, Pet".
As in "Auf Wiedersehen, Pet", he was often cast as a German and often as that most notorious of all Germans Adolf Hitler perhaps most memorably opposite Peter O'Toole in the television adaptation of Geoffrey Household's "Rogue Male" in 1976. He even played Hitler in a two-part episode of "The Tomorrow People", ITV's answer to "Doctor Who" at the time! Arguably, the most prestigious production he appeared in was Stephen Poliakoff's "Caught on a Train" as Preston, in 1980, alongside Peggy Ashcroft and Michael Kitchen. A remarkable acting career.
To return briefly to Michael Sheard's appearances in "Doctor Who". I mentioned at the start of this piece that he guested in a Big Finish audio. In the eighth Doctor story "The Stones of Venice" he played Count Orsino opposite Paul McGann and this can be heard in exactly a month from now, starting Saturday 01 October, on BBC7 following the conclusion of the Cybermen adventure beginning this weekend.
Thursday, 9 June 2005
Desert Island "Doctor Who"!
With only two episodes left before the first new season of "Doctor Who" for almost sixteen years reaches what promises to be a tumultuous climax in a battle against the Daleks, I thought it might be an opportune time to compile my list of favourite stories that, as well as reflecting on some of the great stories of the past, also includes one from the ninth Doctor’s era. There are several new classic stories to choose from that have indeed justified all the hype and kept the show true to its original spirit and as fun as it always was. Coincidentally, I have the requisite number of eight choices as per the radio show from which this idea is affectionately borrowed!
From William Hartnell’s era my choice of favourite story would have to be "The Dalek Invasion of Earth". The use of extensive location filming, for the first time, enhances the atmosphere greatly. I know that, forty years on, the Robomen look and sound silly and the flying saucer is obviously dangled from a piece of string but the serial’s shortcomings are compensated by the imagery of the Dalek rising from the River Thames and a group of them patrolling Trafalgar Square, not to mention crossing Westminster Bridge in the trailer. And then there is the sensitive ending marking Carole Ann Ford’s departure from the series after playing the Doctor’s granddaughter, Susan, for ten stories...
So many perfect serials from Patrick Troughton’s time on the show! "Fury from the Deep" is my choice simply because it frightened me more than anything else I’ve ever seen. It has several excellent cliffhangers and I’ll never forget one of the characters walking out to sea and not stopping as she becomes totally immersed by the water or Victoria trapped in a locked room as the seaweed and foam threaten to engulf her. I long to see this story again but, alas, it seems gone forever. Years later, when I became interested in the programme in a more academic way, I discovered the director Hugh David (David Hughes) had taught my Dad maths at Grammar School and his wife, who had been the English teacher, guested in the Tom Baker story "The Ark in Space".
My favourite period of the Jon Pertwee era is the beginning. I love the first six serials because they are complex and challenging. Of the six, "The Mind of Evil" is my favourite though writer Don Houghton’s other serial, "Inferno", comes a close second. The reason I like it is because the idea of a parasite feeding off the fear in men’s minds is so much more frightening than some lumbering monster! It’s a cliché now but the camera closing in on the prisoner’s hand, pulling the trigger on the Doctor, only to pull out the following week to reveal the Brigadier’s gun preventing the death of our hero was new, and therefore clever, to me at the time.
My favourite Tom Baker serial is "Genesis of the Daleks" despite the BBC always falling back on it for repeat seasons! Writer Terry Nation, creator of the Daleks, devised the character of Davros in order to raise the standard of dialogue between hero and enemy, succeeding here in discussing many moral issues. Sarah Jane Smith seemingly falling to her death from the rocket scaffolding, as she tries to make her escape, and the freeze frame is another moment that will stay with me for the rest of my life. I just couldn’t see how they were going to get out of that one when it first aired!
Cliffhangers play an important part in making a good serial and "The Caves of Androzani" boasts two of the finest. When Peter Davison’s Doctor and new companion Peri are shot dead at the end of the first episode I didn’t foresee the resolution. It’s a shame it took until the last story of this era to get it right but director Graeme Harper presents us with a thoroughly gripping tour de force. Christopher Gable is electrifying as Sharaz Jek and I love the scene of the dying Doctor, coat caked in mud, struggling to carry his companion back to the TARDIS in an act of self-sacrifice that leads to his premature regeneration at the story’s close.
"Revelation of the Daleks" is "Doctor Who" for adults. Writer Eric Saward presents us with an alternative take on the Doctor through the character of Orcini, and his sidekick with personal hygiene problems, which is why Colin Baker’s Doctor doesn’t really enter the fray until over halfway through. Nicola Bryant, as Peri, is lucky to have worked with Harper on both his serials which probably accounts for why she is one of my favourite companions when all the others, Polly, Victoria and Zoë, hail from the mid-to-late Sixties. There are moments of real pathos in this serial such as Natasha discovering what has really become of her father and the death of Jobel, which is no mean feat when you consider the ghastly nature of his character!
From Sylvester McCoy’s three years on the show, my choice has to be "The Curse of Fenric". This period has come in for much criticism when, certainly during the last two years, the show was actually beginning to find its feet again. It wasn’t all played for laughs as is often suggested. One of the scariest things in this serial isn’t the Haemovores or the rather placid Ancient One but the transformation of the two girls into vampires because the allegory, equating loose morality with bodily decay, is far more frightening than any monster could be, even when those monsters are well-realized. The story contains some very memorable dialogue too. Who can forget the chilling menace of "We play the contest again... Time Lord", at the end of episode three, and "Don’t interrupt me when I’m eulogizing"?!!
Finally, from the single season that constitutes the Christopher Eccleston era, my eighth choice is Steven Moffat’s two-part story that begins with "The Empty Child" and concludes with "The Doctor Dances". Set during WWII, like "The Curse of Fenric", this production has everything including a spine-tingling transformation sequence featuring "One Foot in the Grave" actor Richard Wilson towards the end of the first episode. The unearthly boy of the title is called Jamie, no doubt after the second Doctor’s Scottish companion. His mum is called Nancy, undoubtedly after the character who befriends Fagin’s boys in "Oliver Twist", linking back to the earlier Dickens episode. And the Glenn Miller tunes were previously aired by the DJ in "Revelation of the Daleks". Just a few of the subtle references that help make this story as near perfect as possible.
And, if I was only allowed just one of the eight to take to my mythical island it would have to be, if it still existed in the BBC’s archive, "Fury from the Deep". I don’t think I would be disappointed, given the opportunity to see it again, as anything that can leave such an indelible mark on the memory has to have been an extremely powerful piece.
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