Doctor Who
Part One: Doctor Who?:
“It was odd how it started when you think about it. I mean, it seems so obvious now that it would have happened but it only did so because of a comment about eight years before it all happened. John was working with the BBC then, light hearted series, music, songs, comedy, that sort of thing. During it, he actually managed to watch a few Troughton episodes and loved the whole thing. “Oh man!” He’d say “I love it!” He then managed to watch a few episodes with Pertwee and his eyes would light up when he saw the cars and the action “I’d love to be a part of something like that!” He said, right in the middle of the BBC canteen. He was talking to some of his people about it and it became a bit of a running gag throughout the year but when the time came for a decision to be made, the words came back to me…”
- Extract from interview with Johnathan Nathan-Turner, 1992 (1)
“It was the Armageddon Factor which did it. God knows what the argument was about now. Tom heard some comment from someone which probably was just them commenting on what Nathan said about him at some point but it doesn’t really matter. Tom had been worse on set, his demands reaching a high point and whatever the comment was, it set him off in a terrible way. Even Graham wasn’t able to calm him down and that, it seemed, was that. After five years in the role, Tom announced there and then he was leaving it, determined to quit. I think the fact that Nathan was going to get the job as head of the show at some point played into it, those two never did see eye to eye over things. After some desperate re-writing and re-shooting, the Armageddon Factor was finished, the entire series ending with Tom going into regeneration and without any idea of who’d be next to take up the role. Considering what followed afterwards, I confess to being in two minds over whether or not leaving was a good thing after all.”
- Extract from interview with Mary Tamm, 1988
[Scene: Inside the TARDIS. Romana and the Doctor are looking to the screen where the Black Guardian has been revealed in an attempt to steal the Key of Time.]
BLACK GUARDIAN:
Doctor! You shall die for this!
DOCTOR:
For exposing a rather shallow ruse? [To Romana] A bit of an overreaction you must admit.
Doctor! You shall die for this!
DOCTOR:
For exposing a rather shallow ruse? [To Romana] A bit of an overreaction you must admit.
[The TARDIS suddenly shakes as the Black Guardian lets out a scream of rage, lights flickering and steam coming from the console as Romana and the Doctor start to look over it. After a few seconds, the Doctor gets down and opens up the console, blinding lights greeting him.]
ROMANA:
The Heart of the TARDIS! What’s he doing to it Doctor?
DOCTOR:
He’s… Yes, he’s overloading it seems. It’ll blow us to pieces and tear a hole in the Galaxy at this rate!
ROMANA:
Is there anything we can do?
The Heart of the TARDIS! What’s he doing to it Doctor?
DOCTOR:
He’s… Yes, he’s overloading it seems. It’ll blow us to pieces and tear a hole in the Galaxy at this rate!
ROMANA:
Is there anything we can do?
[The Doctor looks to Romana, his expression going off into the distance as he realises what he must do.]
DOCTOR:
Well, I’ve had a good run I suppose, time for a fresh start.
ROMANA:
You don’t mean…
DOCTOR:
I can absorb the excess energy, see to it that the TARDIS will be inert, harmless until you and whoever comes after me thinks of a long term solution.
ROMANA:
Wait Doctor, let me…
Well, I’ve had a good run I suppose, time for a fresh start.
ROMANA:
You don’t mean…
DOCTOR:
I can absorb the excess energy, see to it that the TARDIS will be inert, harmless until you and whoever comes after me thinks of a long term solution.
ROMANA:
Wait Doctor, let me…
[Not letting her finish, the Doctor reaches into the Heart of the TARDIS, letting out a scream as the energy overwhelms him as he absorbs it. The lights in the TARDIS darken, leaving only a pale glow as the Doctor falls back onto the floor, Romana catching him as he does so.]
ROMANA:
Doctor! Try to hang on, I’ll do what I can!
DOCTOR:
No, it’s far too late for that. This incarnation’s spent. Oh, what a life, what an end… Goodbye, Romana.
Doctor! Try to hang on, I’ll do what I can!
DOCTOR:
No, it’s far too late for that. This incarnation’s spent. Oh, what a life, what an end… Goodbye, Romana.
[A glow envelops the Doctor as the regeneration kicks in. The camera cuts to Romana as we see her react to this change, the light fading as she sees the new Doctor, but the audience can’t.]
ROMANA:
… Doctor?
… Doctor?
[Cut to credits and end theme.]
- Final scene from ‘The Armageddon Factor’, the final serial featuring the Fourth Doctor
After the storming off set and the entire series as a whole by Tom Baker, Graham Williams decided to call it a day, retiring from Doctor Who as he freely admitted that this was probably just the logical conclusion to him being unable to stand up to Baker. John Nathan-Turner was promoted, although not without some reluctance. Rumours swirled about that he had been responsible for the argument that saw Baker leave the show and Turner had to make a lot of promises to make sure he could secure the spot. One of these was an expansion of Doctor Who’s popularity, both at home and abroad. It was a big promise, but one that secured Turner the role of producer for the show just as he was making some very desperate phone calls to a man he’d overheard making a comment in the BBC canteen eight years ago.
- Extract from ‘The First Forty Years in The TARDIS: Doctor Who, 1963 – 2003’
“The BBC wants John for what?!”
- Jerry Weintraub, on the phone to John Nathan-Turner, 1979
“It was the work of a few desperate weeks, but we managed to get John out to the UK and have an audition. I suppose it’s damn lucky that he met with Doug when he first entered the BBC, him being the new script editor had him eager to meet the new Doctor. John had been away from the UK for a long time and he’d been catching up with the controversy the show had been having over its violence. Meeting with Doug from the get go calmed his nerves though as the idea of taking Doctor Who into a lighter, more comedic tone suited John down to a T. They sat down and talked for about an hour over ideas regarding the series and John was more confident than ever he’d do it. At the audition, he actually read extracts from Hitchhiker’s, as well as scripts we were desperately trying to complete and managed to find a good take on the role, remembering what Troughton was like and taking some of the quirks from him, while adding some of the country boy charm he was famous for. It was a good take on the character considering what we were aiming for, although I will admit that criticisms that we may have gone too far with it weren’t entirely unjustified.”
- Extract from interview with Johnathan Nathan-Turner, 1992
One unexpected effect of the casting was the opening of doors in the US for Doctor Who. John Nathan-Turner’s ambitions for expanding the show’s popularity in the US, particularly with the showing of episodes on PBS, got a boost when the casting of the Fifth Doctor opened all new doors for him. The hasty promises Turner had made in order to secure his job were coming to fruition as the newly cast Doctor was able to use his contacts in the industry to start his role in a blaze of publicity. Viewing figures for Doctor Who steadily climbed in the US before the new Doctor even appeared. When he did, publicity around the casting, as well as the show itself, helped it get solid ratings. A triumph for Turner, but one that simply acted as a stay of execution.
- Extract from 'The Silver Age of Science Fiction: 1983 – 1993'
“It was one of the most peculiar letters I’ve ever had to write, that much is true. But upon Her Majesty’s instructions, I did indeed send correspondence to the Head of the BBC at the time, expressing Her Majesty’s confusion regarding the announcement of the newest man to the role of Doctor Who. She had enjoyed the programme for some years and expressed reservations over the casting choices in private, and the letter which I penned. The BBC responded politely, as they insisted in having faith in the choice as it promised a new era for the show. As Her Majesty commented to me at a later point, this was certainly true, but not really in the manner in which they expected it to.”
- Extract from interview with Sir Phillip Moore, former Private Secretary to the Sovereign (1977 – 1986), 1993
“I will admit, it’s certainly a Hell of a lot nicer than the rest of the fan mail we’ve been getting.”
- Comment Douglas Adams made towards John Nathan-Turner over Queen Elizabeth II's letter regarding the casting choice made for the Fifth Doctor
“The BBC can announce that John Denver shall be the fifth person to take on the role of Doctor Who. The famous singer and actor has stated he’s looking forward to taking part in the television show and welcomes the challenge that comes from being part of such a historical series. Filming on the new series is expected to start in May with the series starting in September.”
- Extract from the BBC announcement regarding John Denver’s casting to be the Fifth Doctor. Note the lack of overly glowing terms one would expect from this sort of thing.
- Photo of John Denver, taken in between takes of ‘Redemption of The Daleks’ May, 1979. The lack of question mark guitar stands out, it being one of the few things Denver actively disliked while filming his first series of Doctor Who.
“Now I’ve been a part of a lot of nerd wars, I can still smell the blood on the streets from the Ghostbusters vs. Star Trek riots of ’87. But they all pale in comparison to two things, Tolkien purists who’d throw themselves into the Grand Canyon rather than watch the Disney trilogy and English people who hear the opening notes to Country Roads. Now you might think that English people are a bunch of tea drinking, crumpet eating whiners who still can’t admit how awesome George Washington is, but you’ve never seen those guys go full berserker mode on some poor bastard who thinks that the Sixth Doctor wasn’t all that good compared to the country singer.”
- Extract from ‘The Ultima Movie Reboot: A Review’, a video posted on the Schwoony Experiment
1: The actual POD. Since I have no idea if John Denver liked Doctor Who, watched Doctor Who, or was even aware of Doctor Who’s existence, it’s a pretty broad POD. But what the Hell, this timeline’s for fun more than anything else. Comments are welcome as in all things, as are question and possible suggestions on improving the format if needed.
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