Time Gentlemen (BSB TV Month)
- Publication: BSB TV Month
- Date: September 1990
- Author: David Bishop
- Page: 22
- Language: English
DOCTOR WHO WEEKEND Saturday 22 and Sunday 23, Galaxy
Galaxy presents some rare 'Doctor Who' footage in a weekend devoted entirely to the intrepid time traveller. Here, we interview Jon Pertwee, the dandiest Doctor of them all ...
THERE'S A LOT of love put into Doctor Who, says Jon Pertwee. The veteran actor certainly knows his subject — he portrayed the time traveller on television for five years in the 1970s.
During his time on the show there was a regular supporting cast which gave it a real family feeling on and off screen, he says.
'I'm a tremendous believer in team shows. I did The Navy Lark on radio for nearly 20 years and it had the same cast throughout — and the same family feeling.
'Having such a good atmosphere behind the scenes made our team work on screen so much better during Doctor Who.'
Pertwee was born into a theatrical family in London in 1919 and went into show business after serving in the Royal Navy during the Second World War.
A great capacity for unusual voices and accents made him a star on radio. He has also worked in a circus, and in music hall, cabaret, film and television.
In 1969 he replaced Patrick Troughton as Doctor Who, becoming the third actor to play the rebel time traveller.
Speaking from his holiday home in Spain, Pertwee, 71, says: 'My Doctor was a scientific action man with a great love of gadgets. I was also a dandy, dressed in frilly shirts and velvet smoking-jackets.'
When Pertwee took over, the black and white series was ailing and close to being pulled from British screens. But his arrival heralded a new era of popularity for the programme, something he attributes to the advent of colour TV.
'I was the first Doctor to appear in colour, you see, and it made everything more vivid, especially the monsters.'
One adversary he is known to dislike is the one most associated with Doctor Who — the Daleks.
'To me they were just boring. They seemed to be made out of cardboard with tennis balls cut in half and stuck on the sides!'
BSB's Doctor Who Weekend (see right) features adventures from the programme's first 10 years. Sadly, Pertwee is the only actor who played the Doctor in that decade still alive. But the first three can be seen together in one story. The Three Doctors was made in 1973 to mark the show's 10th anniversary.
Pertwee recalls it was the first time. he worked with Troughton, his predecessor in the TARDIS.
Pat became a very good and dear friend, but he had his way of working and I have mine — for the first few days we clashed very badly.'
Troughton, he reveals, had a capacity for ad-libbing, which Pertwee found disconcerting.
'Once he stopped talking, I would say: "What the hell was that?" "That was your line," Pat would reply. "Oh no, it wasn't!" "Well, it was close enough!"'
Pertwee pointed out that he was the Doctor now and Troughton should try his method of acting. 'We had a great laugh and got on like a house on fire from then.'
After leaving Doctor Who in 1974, Pertwee hosted the mystery show Whodunnit? and then brought the fictional scarecrow Worzel Gummidge to life for television.
In 1983 he returned to Doctor Who for the 20th anniversary special The Five Doctors and starred last year in a Doctor Who stage play, The Ultimate Adventure. He often attends Doctor Who conventions.
What does he remember most fondly about the programme?
'The wonderful atmosphere among people working on the show. And the money was good!'
Caption: JON PERTWEE: his arrival in 1969 heralded a new era of popularity for the Doctor
Caption: THE DALEKS: Pertwee's least favourite monsters threaten
WEEKEND TIME TRAVEL: DOCTOR WHO RETURNS
AN UNPRECEDENTED event happens on British television this month when BSB devotes a whole weekend to one drama series — Doctor Who. On September 22 and 23 Galaxy is showing nothing but Doctor Who related programmes, including a dozen adventures from the world's longest-running science fiction series.
Bur the weekend is more than just a collection of stories. There will be rare one-off episodes, documentaries, studio guests and much more. John Gau, managing director of Galaxy, says there should be something for everyone, with material for the casual viewer as well as fans.
'It's a celebration of Doctor Who,' he explains. 'We get more letters, phone calls and enquiries about it than about anything else we show.'
From October, BSB is going back to the, very first Doctor Who story and showing all the surviving, complete adventures, one episode a week. (For the last six months Galaxy has been showing selected black and white stories from the programme's early years.)
'This special weekend is the perfect way to relaunch Doctor Who on BSB,' says John Gau.
He sees the event as proof of what satellite television can achieve.
'We have much more flexibility to do things like this. It would be inconceivable for the BBC to devote an entire weekend to Doctor Who —but we can.'
To provide continuity for the weekend and links between stories, Galaxy's regular entertainment show 31 West will become 31 Who for the two days.
Stephen Phelps, 31 West's series editor, says there are dozens of different aspects of Doctor Who to focus on during the weekend, because of its 27-year history. He promises plenty of surprises with guests from both in front of and behind the cameras of Doctor Who.
The 31 Who crew have to provide more than four hours of links for the two days, their biggest challenge yet, according to Phelps. 'I just wish I had my own TARDIS to make it easier!'
Hosts for the weekend are 31 West regulars Debbie Flint and Shyama Perera, plus guest presenter John Nathan-Turner, producer of Doctor Who since 1979.
Something of special interest to Doctor Who fans during the weekend should be two one-off episodes billed as The Yeti Rarities.
These single episodes are all that remains of two Patrick Troughton stories featuring furry favourites the Yetis. They are being introduced by actor Nicholas Courtney, who has starred with almost every Doctor Who.
In the 70s the BBC destroyed hundreds of black and white programmes, believing they had little repeat value on colour television. As a result, many classic episodes from Hancock's Half Hour. Z Cars and Till Death Us Do Part have disappeared for ever.
Most of Doctor Who's first six years of stories were 'lost', but with the help of fans many programmes have been recovered or found overseas. Episodes have been discovered in Australia, Nigeria, Crete and even in the basement of a Mormon church in Clapham!
Unfortunately more than 100 episodes remain lost.
(For full details of what is screening during the weekend, see the listings on pages 63 and 64)
Captions:
THE TARDIS: looks can be deceptive
TEAMWORK: Patrick Troughton (left), Nicholas Courtney as the Brigadier and Katy Manning as Jo
THREE DOCTORS: Doctor No. 1 William Hartnell, Pertwee and Troughton
to "exterminate" in The Survivors
FURRY FAVOURITES: the very rare Yetis
Disclaimer: These citations are created on-the-fly using primitive parsing techniques. You should double-check all citations. Send feedback to whovian@cuttingsarchive.org
- APA 6th ed.: Bishop, David (September 1990). Time Gentlemen (BSB TV Month). BSB TV Month p. 22.
- MLA 7th ed.: Bishop, David. "Time Gentlemen (BSB TV Month)." BSB TV Month [add city] September 1990, 22. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: Bishop, David. "Time Gentlemen (BSB TV Month)." BSB TV Month, edition, sec., September 1990
- Turabian: Bishop, David. "Time Gentlemen (BSB TV Month)." BSB TV Month, September 1990, section, 22 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Time Gentlemen (BSB TV Month) | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Time_Gentlemen_(BSB_TV_Month) | work=BSB TV Month | pages=22 | date=September 1990 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=22 April 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Time Gentlemen (BSB TV Month) | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Time_Gentlemen_(BSB_TV_Month) | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=22 April 2025}}</ref>
