Monsters galore face new Dr Who
- Publication: Daily Mail
- Date: 1981-12-31
- Author:
- Page: 2
- Language: English
NO SELF-respecting Doctor Who can take possession of his official limousine ... the Tardis ... without a new set of monsters and distinctly unpleasant characters getting into the act.
Peter Davison, who becomes the embodiment of the fifth Doctor Who in the next few days, is no different. And some of the "things" he's destined to meet in the next 26 episodes Would make a Dalek nervous. There's the Urbankans, a race of frog people. The Mara are rather snake-like and the Plasmatons and the Tereleptils are quite unspeakable.
And John Nathan-Turner, "Doctor Who" producer, is planning a surprise with the return of a monster from a previous series. "But I'm not going to say which one. It will come as a surprise," he says.
He has plenty to choose from: Cybermen, Yetis, the Ice Warriors, Gundans, Mutants, Ograns, Mechanoids and, of course, the Daleks. The Doctor and the Tardis ("Time and relative dimension in space") has survived them all.
The Doctor, who has just celebrated his 18th year, goes bi-weekly in the new series and has a bigger than ever star-studded list of "goodies" and "baddies" to help or hinder him on his travels.
They include Richard Todd, Beryl Reid (space freighter captain), Nerys Hughes (scientist), Derek Waring (a nasty). Nigel Stock and Stratford Johns (Urbankan).
Eccentric
Peter Davison (30) slipped into the famous role in the final episode of the last series, taking over vacant possession of the fourth Doctor, played by Tom Baker (1975-81), whose trade mark was a nice cosmic line in scarves.
The three other Doctors were the eccentric portrayal by William Hartnell (1963-66), the zany Patrick Troughton version (1965-69), and the gadget-loving Time Lord played by Jon Pertwee (1970-75).
John Nathan-Turner said: "Peter as the Doctor has a little of his predecessors and a lot of himself. He plays a more youthful Doctor, more heroic and vulnerable.
"Since it began 18 years ago, the only original things left are the Doctor and the signature tune. It's ever changing but the basic premise is still brilliant.
"The concept of a doctor and his companions travelling around in a police box gives you sorb scope for story lines."
Peter Davison's Companions are Matthew Waterhouse as "Adric," Janet Fielding as "Tegan" and Sarah Sutton as "Nyssa."
Another favourite villain will also be reappearing in the new series, The Master - the original actor was Roger Delgado who died in a tragic road accident some years ago.
All the producers have enjoyed making "Doctor Who" in the past. But it does have its funnier moments.
John Nathan-Turner said: "It a difficult to tell who's who under the monster outfits, especially if you have two actors and a lot of eaters playing the same monster.
"You also have to stop the filming and let them out to breathe sometime."
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.: (1981-12-31). Monsters galore face new Dr Who. Daily Mail p. 2.
- MLA 7th ed.: "Monsters galore face new Dr Who." Daily Mail [add city] 1981-12-31, 2. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: "Monsters galore face new Dr Who." Daily Mail, edition, sec., 1981-12-31
- Turabian: "Monsters galore face new Dr Who." Daily Mail, 1981-12-31, section, 2 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Monsters galore face new Dr Who | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Monsters_galore_face_new_Dr_Who | work=Daily Mail | pages=2 | date=1981-12-31 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=11 May 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Monsters galore face new Dr Who | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Monsters_galore_face_new_Dr_Who | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=11 May 2025}}</ref>
