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whoreviewswho · 2 months

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The Ruler of a Dead World - The Invasion, 1968

Is it totally unfair to call Patrick Troughton's time on Doctor Who somewhat of a failure? Let me explain because I do love Troughton's time on the show. I really do. I would be the first to say that, during his run, the series was frequently brimming with creativity and ingenuity. There are some truly incredible stories in there that have really stood the test of time and went on to define so much of what this franchise would become in later years. To call Doctor Who between 1966 and 1969 a complete failure is, obviously, somewhat of a fallacy. As well we know, the series continued for many years beyond this three season run and great swathes of it, even the bits most of us can't see, have proven to be incredibly popular with fans to this day.

However, it is a narrative that I feel has existed even up to within this past decade (at time of writing, of course) that Doctor Who of the late 1960s is untouchable and some of the greatest science-fiction of its time. And, hey, I like the base-under-siege format as much as anyone else but this unwavering, blind praise is the line of thinking that leads one to write stories like Attack of the Cybermen and Cold War. Yes, Troughton Doctor Who could be good and it is popular. It is also true that the stories of this era were repetitive, hastily assembled, frequently overambitious and falling notably short of nine million plus viewership figures of the Hartnell years.

By the time of season six, I would say it is more than reasonable to claim that Doctor Who was in somewhat of a creative crisis commissioning one serial after another that overextended the production team. Just look at how many of Big Finish's Lost Stories range hail from this period. The War Games replaced two entire serials that will never see the light of day. The same is true for the subject of this writing. Doctor Who was in desperate need of some some stability behind the scenes and revitalisation onscreen. That only makes it all the more ironic that the serial tasked with quietly ushering in such a changes started out just as old-hat and formulaic as any story.

One of the most popular, however frequently appearing, monsters of this period was the Cybermen and producer Peter Bryant seemed more than keen to utilise them further in season six with a script commissioned for one of the creatures’ co-creators Kit Pedler before pre-production on their previous story, The Wheel in Space, had even finished. Pedler contributed an initial treatment for Return of the Cybermen and the task of scripting fell to, now, former script-editor Derrick Sherwin who was of the belief he was to shortly be moved on from Doctor Who altogether. Despite Bryant and Sherwin agreeing that Pedler's storyline was ultimately lacking in usable content, the abandonment of another serial, The Dreamspinner, led to Sherwin's serial charging full steam ahead with the not-insignificant task of bolstering it from six episodes to eight.

Really, the production of season six was more like a series of 'not-insignificant tasks' for Derrick Sherwin. After resigning as script editor following the second serial, The Mind Robber, Sherwin ended up serving as an unofficial assistant producer to Peter Bryant for the larger part of the season before being handed the reins completely for the final serial while Bryant was preoccupied with another programme. Sherwin was eventually moved on from Doctor Who but not until partway through production of the following year's season creating a whole host of different problems that are worth getting into the weeds with some other time.

What I will say here about season seven is that I do think that Sherwin successfully revitalised the programme. The radical new approach would see the show transition from a more science-fantasy, adventure serial into something of a more 'realistic', espionage-tinged programme with a harder edge and more complex, mature drama. Sherwin wanted to shake things up by basing the Doctor primarily on contemporary Earth, teaming him up with government scientists and the military to ward off threats both terrestrial and extraterrestrial.

I mention all of this to say that The Invasion is really where this model for the show actually starts. This serial is more or less a backdoor pilot for the Pertwee era and, ironically, perhaps the quintessential earthbound-Who story. The template for the incoming era was established immediately; the Doctor assists the investigations of a militaristic, security agency into a shadowy and seemingly malicious corporation headed by a megalomaniacal corporate leader, in-league with a dangerous force. While the earthbound format did eventually grow stale itself, it was a genuinely bold choice that I really admire the show for making and sticking to for as long as it did. We're yet to see any of the twenty-first century iterations break from convention as strongly as this.

Bryant and Sherwin initially conceived The Invasion as sequel to The Web of Fear and, although a lot of those connections never, made it to screen, this intention is firmly felt. Besides the tonal and aesthetic similarities that can be drawn (really not much difference between Cybermen in the sewers and Yeti in the underground), it could not be more obvious that Isobel and Professor Watkins were intended to be Professor Travers, who is name dropped for what it's worth. After the suggestion to resurrect one of this era's more obscure dated racial stereotypes, Evans, was nixed, that left Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart the only returning player from The Web of Fear. And even that almost didn't happen since Sherwin was wary of casting a creator-owned character* in such a prominent, potentially recurring role. Thankfully for Nicholas Courtney, the role was not replaced and the Colonel was promoted to the rank of Brigadier and now heading up something a little bit more futuristic than the British Army.

It is a strange thing watching original Doctor Who serials as, effectively, films unto themselves as was the norm prior to The Collection sets. Despite this story being filled with intrigue and great plot developments, barely anybody goes into it without thinking "Oh this is the first one with U.N.I.T. where the Cybermen are at St Paul's". The introduction of U.N.I.T. is one of those wonderful moments in the show’s history that has almost certainly never been fully appreciated by fans with any amount of context since. Our first glimpses of the organisation come from the soon-to-be-beloved Corporal Benton, on a stakeout of International Electromatics. When he rounds up the troops to take in the Doctor, it’s a threatening scene. Mysterious armed men taking our heroes hostage. Things get even more unnerving when the Doctor and Jamie are taken abroad an enormous aircraft only to finally be greeted by the man responsible, a friendly face. Nicholas Courtney is captivating from moment one with charm to spare and a tremendous, natural assertion of authority. U.N.I.T. are immediately established as an epic operation, no doubt thanks in part to the Military of Defence contributing to the production. It would really take until Russell T. Davies offered his take on them that we get to see as comic-book worthy a scale as this. They are operating out of a helicarrier, for goodness sake!

But let's get into the plot here, shall we? The investigation of International Electromatics, the largest seller and manufacturer of electronic goods in the world. A company who, over the past five years, have amassed a monopoly on the electronics market. Essentially, they are what Apple Incorporated is become a good forty years early and, really, this is a fantastic angle to take in a Cyberman plot. Just like Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel attested (and a lot less interestingly at that), people will always obsessed with utilising and developing cutting edge technology. This has always played really well with what the Cybermen were introduced as; the worst outcome from humanity’s technophilic obsessions. It’s a prevalent theme from The Tenth Planet that got lost pretty quickly in their subsequent appearances so to see that being built upon even further here is very exciting. As Vaughn himself proclaims; "Uniformity, duplication. My whole empire is based on that principle". What Sherwin brings with this take on the Cybermen is a delightfully strong statement on industry and capitalism, my need to be like you. This is just as scary as, and I think perhaps more interesting than, their previous painting as the uniformed, communist threat (see The Moonbase). It is incredibly frustrating to be a Cybermen fan and see them constantly presented as less than the sum on their parts. They always have the potential to be the most interesting and horrifying monsters in Doctor Who and have only ever lived up to that promise maybe three times?

Speaking of Tobias Vaughn, he is the bridge between the Cybermen and humanity. Perhaps this is somewhat generic and obvious; he is an arrogant fool who thinks he can get the better of his allies to become the ruler of the world. Vaughn is partially cyber-converted with a bullet-proof, metallic chest-plate and augmented strength but his mind has not been altered with any conditioning. Physically and mentally, he is somewhere in-between man and Cyberman. Vaughn, however, is motivated by purely selfish desires and is highly emotional. His plan is to use the force of the Cybermen as an army to take-over, allowing them to mine the planet for resources and then discard of them once he is in command. What he is not aware of is that the “resources” required turn out to be human beings and the Cybermen have their own agenda.

Vaughn is, in some ways, the protagonist of this story as his character goes gonna journey throughout the serial’s from a malicious and calculating leader in complete control of his people and his situation to realising he is a pawn in a larger game who realises that he is dooming humanity. However, his turn to help the Doctor doesn’t come from a place of selflessness but one of hatred. He wants to destroy the Cybermen for humiliating him and still whole-heartedly believes he is destined to rule the world when he meets his timely death. There is perhaps a theme of power throughout this serial, typified by Vaughn’s driven quest to obtain it and the Cybermen’s display of having it. Packer fits into this dynamic as well as somebody who is more than happy to use and abuse the power he possesses. I like that it is the most physically violent and imposing character who is also the most trepidatious of Vaughn’s plans. It says something about just how purely evil the guy really is.

So, the Cybermen are not the stars of this show and are largely related to silent, creepy monsters who lurk in the background with their immense strength. In terms of pure plotting, their function is to really just be an imposing physical threat that can surprise the audience at the end of episode four because their name isn't in the title. Of course, they have some fantastic, scary moments such as the jump scare that seems to kill Packer and the screaming, crazed Cybermen rampaging in the sewers after being overloaded with emotion. The Cybermen are a genuinely frightening presence when they are on-screen in this story, despite how few and far between those appearances actually are. It is worth noting too that the crazed Cyberman poses no threat to our human heroes at all but instead takes on other Cybermen. In their appearances prior to The Invasion, the Cybermen had begun to seem vulnerable to just about anything but this story, thankfully, sees them back in full force. They are impervious to all forms of attack from U.N.I.T., only halted by the effects of bazookas. It is hard to appreciate now what an ingenious idea the Cerebration Mentor was at the time. A weapon that drives the Cybermen mad with the one thing they truly do not possess; emotion. It’s a chilling concept that I wish, in hindsight, were explored a bit further. The Cybermen are the perfect soldiers. They are logical, ruthless and completely cold and here they are in direct opposition of Earth’s best military forces. I love that the first soldier to die is one who retreats in fear. The emotion is irrational and utterly damning.

This story also debuts my favourite look for the Cybermen, as designed by Bobi Bartlett. It is a shame that this is our only proper chance to see it since they would not be seen again save for a smattering of cameos until 1975 where this design was retooled for the worse. The Cyber-Planner returns for its second and final appearance of the classic show (though apparently it is now a Cyber-Director for whatever reason) and it is kind of cool. The dialogue between it and Vaughn is good but I always found the design a bit underwhelming. Why doesn’t it look anything like Cyber-technology besides the need to surprise the audience?

My biggest criticism with this story is how the Doctor factors into it which is ultimately very little. He has an intriguing role towards the start of the serial, impulsively investigating the company. It leads to some lovely moments such as his singling out Vaughn as a man who blinks too infrequently. I also love the scene when he is taken in by U.N.I.T. soldiers and just resigns himself to the situation by sitting on the curb playing cards. It is all very in-character. Once he starts buddying up with U.N.I.T. though, his contributions to events begin to radically wain. Watkins develops the weapon against the Cybermen, Zoe performs the calculations that lead to the Cyber-Fleet’s destruction and U.N.I.T. launch the missiles that stop the megatron bomb. The Doctor’s biggest contribution to events is determining how the Cybermen plan to invade which is information he could easily have sourced from Vaughn anyways. The Doctor ultimately feels very sidelined in his own show and doesn’t seem get a whole lot of screen time. As a pitch for a new direction for the show, it is a little concerning that surrounding the Doctor with other scientists and action men seems to ultimately make him a little redundant. That said, his narrow escape from being shot by the Cybermen is an excellent sequence and his teaming up with Vaughn is used to great effect. The Second Doctor is so richly defined by this point in his tenure and it serves the story immensely that Troughton and Sherwin are both so attuned to the character that, even when is doing nothing, he is always consistently and interestingly characterised. The Doctor also offers some thematic ties throughout the serial with his repeated hatred of machines and unwillingness to conform to the Brigadier’s orders. The Doctor just does as he pleases, whether the powers that be like it or not which is a neat parallel to the uniformity and efficiency that the both U.N.I.T. and the Cybermen cultivate as well as what Vaughn desires from humanity.

The supporting cast are excellent all round. Wendy Padbury and Frazer Hines are allowed ample time to showcase their talents this with several memorable scenes. At one stage this actually could have been Jamie's final appearance as Frazer Hines alerted his superiors of his intention to leave the show well before this serial went into production. He eventually changed his mind a few weeks before filming asking to extend his contract to end alongside Patrick Troughton's. Jamie showcases some of the best that his character has to offer in this serial with impulsive attacks on Vaughn’s men, chauvinistic but brotherly attitudes toward Zoe and Isobel and courageous rescues in spades. It is a real shame he is out of action for the last part because his comic relief would have been the cherry on top of an already wonderful episode. Zoe proves essential to this plot with her aforementioned mathematical skill but is also awarded opportunities to show plenty of character and joy with her glee at confusing a computer into meltdown. Isobel and Captain James feel a lot like they were introduced with the intent to continue into later stories but neither of them ever did. It feels odd really that the quite insignificant Corporal Benton is the character that had a long life beyond this story and not either of them. The pair are serviceable enough and share a fun chemistry. I hope they ran away and got married after the credits for this story rolled.

Part of the Sherwin and Bryant's intent with this story, and moving forward, being set primarily on Earth was to attempt lowering the budgetary constraints but this serial ironically, proved the most expensive yet! It’s worth it though because the large-scale action, masses of extras in U.N.I.T. colours and extensive location work lends an incredibly dynamic, cinematic feel to The Invasion that most serials of its time severely lacked. The pacing his unfortunately lopsided with the third and fourth episodes especially dragging events out tediously (they even have essentially the same cliffhanger) and the themes of the story barely go further than surface level examination. This is not really a methodical, science fiction story for meditating on ideas. Rather, it is an action-packed, espionage thriller for the modern age. It is certainly atypical of its time but holds up as one of the most exciting and memorable serials of the 1960s. The Invasion is quintessential ‘70s Who produced two years early. It is a pilot for a different show and any interesting thematic, subtextual elements that can be teased out are, frankly, a bonus. The interesting conversations surrounding this story are entirely contextual which is by no means a flaw. The premiering of this serial marks the beginning of the end for the Troughton era, a turbulent but no less innovative time for the show that had quickly run out of steam. It feels incredibly fitting, in a meta textual sense, that the most iconic moment from this story, the one that sells the entire earthbound format, sees the Cybermen, THE big bad of the base-under-siege era, on the steps of St. Paul's. It is well worth a watch even if it is ultimately replacing one light, thrill-oriented, popcorn-chomping version of Doctor Who for another.

*Lethbridge-Stewart is owned by the estate of his creators, Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln.

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junkyardbluebox · 1 year

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Why did the third doctor never have a cybermen story? I mean during the Pertwee era itself not the Five Doctors.

That's a good question. There are a few theories, one of them that Kit Pedler and Gerry Davis (who created the cybermen) were off working on another series called "Doomwatch" during the Pertwee era. Although they did make "The Day of the Daleks" without Terry Nation's input...

Another theory is that Pertwee wanted to start fresh and do something new (supposedly he'd been quoted saying as such at the very beginning of his era).

There's a pretty good (albeit not very new) discussion about it here.

#classic doctor who #3rd doctor #jon pertwee #cybermen

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turntechjughead · 5 months

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one of my favorite things from watching classic doctor who actually has nothing to do with the show at all, but there's a writer credit screen in the tenth planet where kit pedler's name is spelled "kitt pedler" and ever since watching it i've just been weirdly delighted to know people still managed to spell our name wrong even like 16 years before knight rider. i wonder what excuse they gave him.

#probably this has been going on forever but i'm new at it. i've only had this name like four years #txt

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brilliantfantasticgeronimo · 2 years

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the power of the doctor

c+p my livetweets

first note: no one but maybe Kit Pedler and Gerry Davis has gotten the cybermen quite right... sure it's fun to have villains boasting, but cybermen (or ~cybermasters) are scary bc they're not supposed to do That (that being any emotion at all)

do appreciate the continuity of bringing back the ~hybrids~ (tm)... .

still holding out hope that there will be fallout/consequences to the last universe reset / Armageddon and the doctor's "solution" there (1% of hope)

can't tell if Too Dark Scene or Crappy Bandwith T_TACE AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA HIDE YOUR WIFE HIDE YOUR PROFESSORS

SHE'S HEEEEEREMOUTH-ON-LEGS-WALLABY-QUEEN SHUT UP NO ONE TLAK TO MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

im gonna go ahead and say this makes canon one of my favorite short eu stories - https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Girls%27_Night_In_(short_story)

"it's only been 3 decades for me" rip all the timelord-ace lore lol (in this continuity at least)dan slow down crazy it's only been 10 minutes

lmao i died @ the house still not being there xD

for future analysis: message about the comforts of modernity / technology doing away with regional cultures / identities?

i love my contact-lensed hypnotic trash son

yaz: is yours, isn't it? (...) yours from another time? me, immediately, without breathing: VALEYARD?????? RANI!!!?!?!?!

i love this nonesense:

u know what would go great with that new UNIT building.. . .. a UNIT. . .. spin off

“are you ready for this?” “no! ””me neither!” me neither!!!!!!!

graphic design is my passion

im screaming chibnall is actually Getting It Right TOT

i love how this is proving the widely held fandom wisdom(tm) that 13 would not get away with her bs if she had been traveling with tegan and / or donna lol

one day it WILL be the valeyard / the rani and then You Will All See

and that was the day 23.342.340.923 university collage professor thoschei AUs were born and then launched into space

im enjoying this a lot but i do have to give the critique that the emotional grounding of 13's and yaz's arcs feels very thin (as individuals and as a pair) and hasn't been the focus 20 minutes in, better hurry up @ show

I waited 2 years for this omg ot3 dynamicsssss

HE'S IN T H E S T A I R S I REPEAT. HE'S IN **THE** STAIRS!!!!

gotta love a petty in-character reference

"oh, and ace! or should I say dorothy?" (...) "last time I saw you, you were half-cat" epic burns all around in this sunday night

the cameraperson doing those close af angles in the thasmin bit... i see you cameraperson

waiting for a twist because we've done the One Good Dalek thing like 3 times in new who asdfg

i think Dhawan's master is forever gonna be my favorite master by far. the guys simply had no bad scenes ever.

ooo, i liked this moment

CHIBNALL: RECONCILE A L L THE MYTHOLOGY!!!!!!

the master in the doctor’s body... i have read that fic

fear you got beaten to the punch there, m8

me walking to the local convention w/ my first cosplay

chibnall: can i copy your homework? rtd: yes but change it a little

but,,, my spin off....,,, ):

the noise i just made omg

(screaming this was in the results when i went to re-check the meme's text sdlkjfdlksjf)

chibnall: can i copy your homework? moffat: yes but change it a little

we started the era with a funeral, and ended with support group for grief. bookend storytelling!

(though lol not to brag mates but the 10-era crew has probably have cycled thru a dozen whatsapp - facebook - zoom calls and discord groups by the time this is happening)

CHIBNALL IM GOING TO LET YOU FINISH BUT-

OK overall takes...

im gonna need time to digest lol yes, lots of very clever things, cool lore, and thematic bookends (esp, re: the fam, unit, cycles, optimism, and the master), some Right choices for classic characters BUT a lot of wasted potential for the current ones (thasmin, 13, yaz, honestly even dan! what a flimsy goodbye...).

i also think this finale fits well the rest of the era, a lot of excellent set ups for fic writers + fandom to elevate, esp in regards to character stuff and new interpretations of old themes (regeneration as identity, emigration metaphors, companion grief, etc). im always gonna be thankful for this lesson in the 13th era: art is what the interpreter of the art brings to it. a lot of people didn’t bring a lot to this era (for valid reasons, sometimes just for misogyny/racist ones) so they didn’t get a lot, but those who worked their way thru the subtle stuff and even “added-in” stuff, got a great, if imperfect work w/ a lot of nuances, and def things never before done in dw (one of the major wins: making the doctor mysterious again, and making them a refugee / vulnerable rather than “president of the universe” he’d come to be in 10 season of new who). stray points (things i wasnt as satisfied with) 1- im not sure thirteen learned a lot? i think the reason the master's final point in his arc hit and landed so well, while thirteen's didn't as much (for me) is that it all kind of circled around with not really a "lesson" being learned. we really pulled back the layers of the master's narcissism and obsession with the doctor, and followed it all the way through its origins in jealousy and self-hatred. meanwhile the doctor's optimist, happy-go-lucky facade-that-falls that the fandom did such excellent meta about... never quite hit it in the end with the show. EVEN when the setup was so clearly there SO MANY TIMES: giving yaz a gun, comitting triple genocide on the daleks/cybermen/sontarans, the tim shaw of it all... etc. 2- related to the point of 13 not growing: in the end she and yaz didn't commit to anything (quite the opposite, they stuck to the denial from the warriors ep, which i thought would be Turned Around here...), the special instead of calling out the older doctors, validated them for abandoning the companions (when tbh i think the True Thing, even if it hurt, would be for 13 to have outright said to ace and tegan [and yaz, even!] "im sorry, i wish i could have given you what you needed, but i couldnt. and probably never will") Let me stress it tho: i did really like the yaz/13, 5/tegan, ace/7 resolutions in isolation, they got those dynamics Right in a lot of ways (the 7/ace thing about the Cost you pay for “doing the right thing” , the doctor/tegan being like That but rlly only bc they care sm about each other (aaa) thing, and even with the yaz/doctor thing i can see the logic of them always being so positive + supportive, of doing all they can to “stay together”) but looking at it as a whole, in the context of "doctor who as one long running story", this felt a bit like a regression for the doctor, and by extension for ace, tegan and yaz. 3- i think there was also just not enough time to let the story breath. or rather, there WAS time but also a lot of nonsense taking that time (like the dalek trairo or the whole train thing i was SO EXCITED thinking it would be a kid from the doctor’s mysterious origins but nope, it was just a diversion to get to Squiggles.... even vinder whom i rlly enjoyed ... idk i have to question how Necessary it was to have a whole thing about him breaking his ship then repairing his ship... etc. ) . the scene at the veeery end where 13 and yaz eat ice cream was like the first time chibnall slowed the peace *enough* to let the emotions land (and also the only moment i actually started crying asdfg).there were so many more companion / doctor companion interactions to be had, but bc of all the Stuff (tm) there wasn't time to rlly exploit (not having the companions in Somber Silence around the doctor, waiting for her to wake up for days, was almost a writting crime of negligence). but then again, that's been chibnall the whole way through lol he ain't no Aguinaldo Silva and that's fine. "understated emotions" is just not my thing.

#livetweeting is so much work #i think i'll just stick to my text files in the future #dw #spoilers #dw spoilers #the power of the doctor

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madmarkinabox · 4 months

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Season 3

The War Machines

Returning to London in 1966, the Doctor and Dodo investigate the completed Post Office Tower, home to WOTAN, the most advanced supercomputer in the world. But WOTAN has already become too advanced; it's getting into people's heads, it's decided it should be running the planet instead of humans, and is preparing to attack with a small army of giant machine tanks.

I've heard good things about The War Machines in the past. I heard it was one of the First Doctor's best, and after seeing it, I'm inclined to agree. This is the cast and crew firing on all cylinders with a cracking story about artificial intelligence developing too far and spreading out of control too fast. We've seen these stories before. The Terminator. Age of Ultron. This just happens to predate them by a few decades, and such a story is still relevant today, given how fast everyone is jumping on the AI bandwagon. In fact, setting it in then-contemporary Britain only helps to drive it a bit closer to home. I was surprised, but not all that surprised to learn that Kit Pedler had a hand in this one. There was a man who was very forward-thinking. We even contemplate the seeds of what we'd come to call the Internet in the first episode. We'll be seeing his ideas again very soon, much sooner than you'd expect.

If I do have any complaints, it's that the War Machines themselves make very loud annoying noises. They're almost on par with the Zarbi with just how much noise they make. But I can let that go because, despite their crude, boxy designs, they are impressive. They truly are huge. There was a bit in Blue Peter where they brought one into the studio and it was enormous. Also Dodo's departure is very rushed. She's there, she gets hypnotised, and then she's out of the story completely, never to be seen again. Dodo, we hardly knew ye. No, really, we hardly know you, there's not enough left of your short run in the show to form an idea of your character beyond "trendy 60s teen girl," while Polly and Ben, our new companions, already feel fully fleshed out. Ah well. Gripes aside, this truly is one of Hartnell's best. A must watch.

Next time, The Smugglers- oh, and it's gone. So instead, we skip to The Tenth Planet. Oh boy, better strap in...

#classic doctor who #doctor who #first doctor

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sci-fiworlds · 1 year

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A Sci-Fi Worlds Interview with Scott Burditt, Webmaster of Doomwatch.org

Created by Cybermen co-creators Kit Pedler and Gerry Davis, Doomwatch is a largely forgotten cult hit that deserves better. The series centred around a scientific government agency (Doomwatch) responsible for investigating and combating new ecological and technological hazards to mankind. The groups' leader, Doctor Spencer Quist, riddled with guilt for his part in the Manhattan Project and the creation of the Atomic Bomb.

Richard Thomas: First things first, thank you so much for giving the BoA readers the time to answer these questions. I'm a big fan of Doomwatch and I'm sure that, after reading this, many of our readers will be too, so it's really appreciated.

I first heard of Doomwatch because of its connection to Doctor Who and a few years ago I was lucky enough to win a pirate DVD box set on eBay with all the existing episodes. What most impressed me about the series was that it wasn't so much Science Fiction as Science Fact: raising legitimate concerns about the dangers posed by unregulated developments in technology. With the advent of the internet, genetic engineering and stem cell research are problems that have only gotten more dangerous since the series went off the air.

How did you first become a fan of Doomwatch and why do you think the series is still so fondly remembered today, despite the fact that the BBC haven't released all the surviving episodes on DVD yet and there haven't been any reruns in years?

Scott Burditt: I first became a fan of the series in 2004. A friend of mine at the time had VHS copies of a series he thought I might like. I watched The Plastic Eaters and The Red Sky episodes over a couple of bottles of red wine and loved them (and the wine as well!). Always a good way to introduce someone to the series, I think. From that point onwards, I was hooked. I am lucky enough to have the UK Gold repeats of the programme and I even have the infamous untransmitted episode Sex and Violence. The show only ran for three series in the early 70's, so I am not surprised if people ask, "Doomwatch, what's that?" Those that did see it the first time round, never really forgot it. It achieved impressive ratings for it's first season as it really captured the public's imagination, capturing the fears of potential scientific disasters in the face of progress. It's a fascinating series and is fondly remembered for it's opening episode where a plastic eating virus causes a plane to melt in mid-flight and crash, shortly followed by another potentially fatal flight for Doomwatch's new recruit Toby Wren (played by the frighteningly young Robert Powell) who introduces us to the world of Doomwatch perfectly.

Richard Thomas: There are very few Doomwatch sites on the web and the few there are seem to be in a state of decay, so it was a pleasure to find yours. How did the website first come about and is there anything you're particularly proud of?

Scott Burditt: I set up the website for two reasons: the first was my shared frustration with yourself that there didn't seem to be an up to date website and the second is that I felt that a central location for discovering the series while being able to share views and opinions with others was long overdue. The BBC's Doctor Who is quite rightly well served on the internet and I felt something similar to the sites that fans have built for that series should also be done for this classic BBC TV series. Doomwatch.org is my first ever website and I was determined to build a new community for such an important series. I am most proud of the support I have received since the site was built. A lot of good people have come forward and helped me make this happen and hopefully new people will discover the series and also inquire as to why the BBC have not released it as yet on DVD.

Richard Thomas: Looking back on it, I think my personal favourite episode has to be In The Dark starring Patrick Troughton (the second Doctor) as a man trying to cheat death forever using technology. Sadly, though, he gradually loses his humanity, piece by piece, as he becomes more and more machine, becoming little more than a human head on top of a box of tricks. What is your favourite episode or moment from the series and why? Also do you have a favourite actor from the series?

Scott Burditt: Yes, In the Dark shows a frightening potential future in which people could end up, basically, as Cybermen. My favourite episode is The Web of Fear. The episodes opens with two minister's sweating in a sauna, how's that for a shocking start! The episode follows the outbreak of Yellow fever, spread by hundreds of blue coloured spiders carrying the disease. The scene where Ridge produces a feather duster to clear away cobwebs and the spiders in order to affect a rescue attempt of a fellow scientist is sheer class. Simon Oates (Doctor John Ridge) is on top form in this story. Ridge is definitely my favourite character in the series and it is so sad that he died earlier this year. His humour and personality, not forgetting his eye for the ladies proves to lighten the tone in the episodes he features in.

Richard Thomas: Sadly, like the black and white episodes of Doctor Who, most of Doomwatch was lost during the infamous BBC tape purges of the 1960s and 1970s. However, all is not lost as missing episodes of Doctor Who turn up from time to time. If you could pick one lost episode from each of the three seasons of Doomwatch to be found, which would they be and why?

Scott Burditt: From Season One, I think many Doomwatch fans would agree that the return of Survival Code would be most welcome! Mainly to fully appreciate the final episode of the season and the somewhat explosive departure of Robert Powell. Season Two is thankfully complete but a UK 625 line version of The Web of Fear would be nice, as good as NTSC to PAL conversion is you can't hope to match the original format. Season Three is a tough one, but I would choose Cause of Death, as this is potentially one of the most touching episodes of the much maligned Season 3, featuring the death of Ridge's father.

Richard Thomas: The creators of Doomwatch Kit Pedlar and Gerry Davis were, of course, also the original creators of the iconic Cybermen of Doctor Who. Personally, I'm a little concerned by what is called 'Transhumanism,' a growing movement advocating upgrading the human race via genetic engineering and similar advances in technology.

It's still a very long way off but I think there needs to be some kind of international law banning the creation of a Trans or Post-human (basically a Cyberman) as well as strong laws limiting the use of the technologies involved. What do you think Doctor Quist's thoughts on the matter would be?

Scott Burditt: This is a fascinating subject. I think, as a scientist, Quist would be fascinated with the concept, but he would be appalled with any execution of it. I am sure he would argue that nature and evolution should ultimately be allowed to decide man's future development. For a start, where do you draw the line? Would only the rich be the benefactors from this? Human's would effectively would make themselves extinct as a species. Kit Pedler thought up the Cybermen, one Summer, when he was out relaxing in the garden and I am sure no one would want to foresee a future where we live as cold unfeeling machines.

Richard Thomas: 'Transhumanism' might be a good topic for a revived series. Back in 1999, Channel Five tried to revive Doomwatch with a TV movie. Why do you think they failed and, if you were writing the pilot for a new series, what would you do different?

Scott Burditt: I think the Channel 5 TV Movie was a missed opportunity. The central plot concerning a man-made black hole was never going to connect with the audience in the same way that stories about drugs, surveillance technology or subliminal messaging did (and still do today). Although exploring the potential dangers in providing an alternative cheap source of power is very Doomwatch. Despite its decent production values and effective and eery music the story is quite frustratingly muddled and never really bothers to introduce the characters properly, so you end up not caring about them. You never get the sense that they are working as a team either. Some aspects, such as the talking super computer with Angels on strings completely jar with the viewer. I am currently working on a new story for the fanzine with our new writer Grant Foxon, where I have devised a new fan fiction story called The Plastic Rain, which is a direct sequel to Doomwatch's premier story, The Plastic Eaters. In it we see Adam (Our fictional son) of Spencer Quist following his father's footsteps despite a rocky start to his life and eventually the reformation of Doomwatch following the use of the Plastic Eating Virus by eco-terrorists. The story and contents are subject to change, but this is the main premise. Hopefully lots of scenes of melting aircraft, cars and bank cards will feature prominently as the virus accidentally affects members of the public during one of the attacks on government and corporate greed.

Richard Thomas: The original series certainly didn't suffer from a lack of original ideas: plastic eating viruses that can reduce an aeroplane to liquid muck, genetically modified rats that can outsmart a human being, and a plague carrying spiders with Yellow fever venom. What scenarios do you think could most effectively be reused for any revived series and do you have any ideas of your own for possible new ones?

Scott Burditt: There are simply loads, open up any newspaper, they are all there in the open, ready to use! Doomwatch lives on in print and on the internet. The news in general loves downbeat doom and disaster stories, so obviously the public must do too!

Scott Burditt: I think a new Doomwatch night on BBC4 would be fantastic. An updated documentary would be welcome and, even if they couldn't, stretch to a new episode of Doomwatch. I believe they could make a new story from the memories and recollections of Dr. Fay Chantry (featuring Jean Trend), possibly telling Adam Quist (our fictional son of Doctor Spencer Quist) of his fathers exploits and heroism, which would feature sections of the series seen as flashbacks. I will ask BBC4, but I suspect the answer will be no. The DVD release of the series has been mooted since 2006 and it still hasn't been scheduled. Apparently some research work has been done for a potential DVD release, but there are still some issues holding up a release.

Richard Thomas: Whatever the BBC plans are, I know you're planning to celebrate Doomwatch's 40th in style. How is work on the fanzine going and what are some of the things you have planned already?

Scott Burditt: As I mentioned before, "The Plastic Rain" will feature heavily. I am a great believer in fresh new content. As far as I know there has never been a fanzine produced for the series and I hope to provide a high quality glossy product that will also be available to order from the website. I will add interviews and stories as they are fed to me. It's quite exciting stuff!

Richard Thomas: Thanks again Scott. Tell our readers where they can find your website and get your forthcoming fanzine? It might be a good idea to let any potential writers for the fanzine know how to contact you too.

Scott Burditt: The website can be found at www.doomwatch.org If anyone would like to contribute to the fanzine or the website, you can contact me directly at [email protected] or personally at [email protected] I will post up the information on the fanzine nearing it's completion date (should be ready for February 2010 in time for the 40th Anniversary) I hope people enjoy finding out about this fascinating series.

READ RICHARD THOMAS'S SCI-FI WORLDS COLUMNS FOR BINNALL OF AMERICA

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radiofreeskaro · 1 year

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Radio Free Skaro #898 - Awarding the Mainprize

Radio Free Skaro #898 - Awarding the Mainprize - #DoctorWho Doom's Day? - UNIT spinoff? - Director Lennie Mayne in the Miniscope!

http://traffic.libsyn.com/freyburg/rfs897.mp3 Download MP3 What is Doom’s Day and does it have anything to do with Urbankans? Nothing presumably, as it is a new audio adventure teased mysteriously as of this recoding, but Steven and Warren shall pick apart what few clues they have as Chris is on Special Assignment and absent from most of the proceedings this week. We also have news of…

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#Big Finish #Blu-ray #Comic Relief #Four from Doom&039;s Day #Kit Pedler #Red Nose Day #Russell T Davies

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diddlydumpodcast · 1 year

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A photo of Kit Pedler’s gravestone taken by our own Mark in 2017.

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thehylianbatman · 2 years

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A Bad Introduction to British Science Fiction Television

I’m an American, and I have never seen any of these series.

I’m a big fan of Doctor Who. It’s probably my favorite TV show. Heck, probably one of my favorite pieces of media to consume, no matter what medium.

A big part of Doctor Who is its British identity. Whenever the show is being shown to non-Brits, I’m sure a big point to identify it is “It’s British”.

But Doctor Who is not made in a vacuum. Doctor Who is not the only British sci-fi series. There are many others. I’ve encountered them in my readings about Doctor Who, and so I’m going to tell you about them in reference to Doctor Who.

I recently made a Doctor Who post in which other British sci-fi series popped up. That inspired me to make this post. I know that not everyone reads as obsessively as I do, so I wanted to boil down what I had read and present it to a wider audience.

Spin-offs from Doctor Who are not in this post because it’s rather obvious that they come from Doctor Who.

My source for all information is Wikipedia. I highly encourage looking up these series if you have any interest in them from this.

Related to Doctor Who

Adam Adamant Lives! - The first producer of Doctor Who (and still the only woman to have held the role in 2022, which was equivalent to showrunner in the Classic series) was Verity Lambert. Lambert began to leave the show in June 1965, following Season 2′s finale, The Time Meddler, although the transition to her successor, John Wiles, was not complete until October 1965, with The Myth Makers, the third story of Season 3. Following her time on Doctor Who, Lambert was put on Adam Adamant Lives!, which kept her working under Sydney Newman. The show ran for 2 seasons in 1966 and 1967, contemporary with the transition from the First to the Second Doctor, and is missing 13 episodes, wiped in the same manner as early Doctor Who, almost entirely from the second season. However, unlike Doctor Who, only one episode exists in audio-only form; the rest are lost entirely.

Doomwatch - The Cybermen were created in 1966 for The Tenth Planet by script editor Gerry Davis and unofficial scientific advisor Kit Pedler. The pair co-wrote that story, as well as The Tomb of the Cybermen, and Pedler wrote all the other black & white Cybermen stories; Davis wrote Revenge of the Cybermen in 1975. As mentioned, Gerry Davis was Doctor Who’s script editor, from Season 3′s The Massacre of St. Bartholomew’s Eve in 1966 to Season 4′s The Evil of the Daleks in 1967. Following their work on Doctor Who, the pair started Doomwatch. The show ran for 3 seasons from 1970 to 1972, contemporary with the Third Doctor, and is missing 14 of the series’ 38 episodes, entirely from the first and third series. The show was also produced by Terence Dudley, who would go on to write Doctor Who stories for the Fifth Doctor in Seasons 19 and 20, and direct Season 18′s Meglos.

Moonbase 3 - Barry Letts and Terrance Dicks oversaw a second Golden Age of Doctor Who when they took over the show for Season 7 in 1970. The pair remained producer and script editor, respectively, throughout the Third Doctor’s run, until 1974′s Planet of the Spiders; Letts remained producer for the following story, Robot, the first story of Season 12 in 1975, and the debut of Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor. While working on Doctor Who, the pair also created Moonbase 3, also produced by Letts. Moonbase 3 ran for one season of 6 episodes in 1973, all of which still exist. The theme music for the show was also composed by noted Doctor Who composer Dudley Simpson.

Survivors - The Daleks were created in 1963 for The Daleks by Terry Nation. Nation would go on to write all 5 First Doctor Dalek stories before trying to take them away and make them their own phenomenon, due to their popularity. When that failed, Nation refused to let Doctor Who use his creations, leading to them being absent from Doctor Who for Seasons 5 through 8, between 1967 and 1972. The Daleks returned for Season 9′s premiere, Day of the Daleks, in 1972, and Nation would go on to pen a further 3 Dalek stories for the show. Following this, Nation struck out on his own, creating Survivors in 1975. Nation wrote many episodes of the first season before moving on due to conflicts with the producer. Survivors ran for three seasons between 1975 and 1977, all of which still exist. Like Doomwatch before it, the show was produced by Terence Dudley, who also wrote one episode and directed one episode.

Blake’s 7 - Following Survivors, Terry Nation created Blake’s 7 in 1978. The show ran for four seasons between 1978 and 1981, all of which still exist. In addition to Nation, who wrote all of the first season and less of the second and third season, the show’s theme music was composed by Dudley Simpson, and also had episodes written by highly esteemed Doctor Who writer Robert Holmes.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Surely you all know this one. Douglas Adams was also the script editor on Doctor Who, for 1979′s Season 17.

Unrelated to Doctor Who

The Quatermass Experiment - Broadcast as a serial of 6 episodes in 1953, of which only 2 exist at all; the recordings are noted for their low quality, as this series was one of the first to be recorded by the BBC for posterity. The show spawned a successful serial franchise and also inspired Doctor Who, especially the Third Doctor’s era.

Out of the Unknown - Broadcast as an ongoing series in 4 seasons between 1965 and 1971, and missing 28 of the 49 episodes. The show featured an episode with the Daleks, which is now missing, and is also the original source of the robots that appear in episode one of The Mind Robber.

Sapphire and Steel - Broadcast as an ongoing series in 4 seasons between 1979 and 1982, of which all 34 episodes still exist. One of the show’s leads is Joanna Lumley, who would later go on to play the first female Doctor in 1999′s The Curse of Fatal Death.

Red Dwarf - Broadcast as an ongoing series in 12 seasons since 1988/2009, of which all 74 episodes still exist. I could find nothing at a cursory glance to connect it to Doctor Who, but I’ve still mentioned it, so there.

#Doctor Who #Sci Fi #This took entirely too long

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forkidsjust · 2 years

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a-tatterdemalion-in-glass · 2 years

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I find it interesting how the Cybermen in the The Tenth Planet and The Moonbase are so different, but also the latter seems like a natural evolution of the former?

The Cybermen in The Tenth Planet arrive on Earth and announce their intentions and their history. Their planet Mondas, twinned to the Earth and her people, went out into the depths of space, and out there in the cold depths of the void they had to change. Rebuild themselves. Survive. But Mondas is sick and dying, and only one of these twinned planets can survive. The only way to save it is for it to feed on the energy of the Earth, destroying it.

The Cybermen here are twisted, but ultimately human. They cover the remains of their skulls with soft, sterile surgical cloth and leave their last piece of unaltered biology, their hands, exposed. Its like a horrific attempt to make people emphasize with them and their need to survive. To show they're still people. Their voices are all twisted sing-song tones and calm explanations of their intentions. They plan to let Mondas feed on the energy of Earth, and to convert all of humanity to Cybermen, forcibly if need be, to save them. Then Mondas will return to the void, with humanity now living on as empty shells, but survivors in the depths. To them this is a diplomatic answer to the problem.

Ultimately, however, this doesn’t work out. They are rejected, their plans fail. Mondas's feeding on the Earth ironically causes its own destruction and as they bonded themselves to her, the Cybermen die with her.

But some survived. The Moonbase shows that some Cybermen survived the destruction of Mondas. They don’t announce their intentions any more, they work in secret. They use an engineered virus to pick off the members of the Moonbase's crew, and intend to use its gravity controlling weather device to simply wipe the planet Earth clean of all life. Humans are too dangerous to leave alive, and are slowly making their way into the stars. To the Cybermen this isnt revenge, simply a task for self-preservation.

Instead of a soft cloth-bound face that attempts to reassure the onlooker of their organic origin, their skulls are clad in sleek, cold metal. They leave no skin exposed now, and in place of the sing-song tones of the diplomat now crackles a crude, almost indecipherable robotic monotone. The Cybermen no longer need to show their humanity, their reasoning. They no longer need to be diplomatic. All they're focused on now is efficiency, working from the shadows with a cold dispassion to end life on Earth for their own survival. One twisted offer of brotherhood was all they were going to give us.

I like how as well as being a 'redo' of the Cybermen concept and design, their appearance in The Moonbase works without throwing the original away. The group of Cybermen in The Moonbase seem like a natural evolution for the Cybermen to take after the events of The Tenth Planet, and the appearance and actions the Cybermen of The Tenth Planet seem like a natural first attempt at contact with humanity.

And I feel like the two stories being structured so similarly actually works in their favor. By putting the Cybermen in a similar plot and setting, it emphasizes how their approach and methods are different now. It would be one thing to just run the same plot again, but The Moonbase feels like a natural next chapter to The Tenth Planet, and I feel its a really good follow up.

#doctor who #classic who #Cybermen #the tenth planet #the moonbase #first doctor #second doctor #kit pedler #gerry davis #also these covers for the novelizations were too cool to leave out #but ignore the human hands on the Moonbase cover #all of them have weird three finger gloves in that one

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