Difference between revisions of "Move over Dalek"
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In 1989, the Doctor (like so many of his colleagues in the NHS) was eventually defeated by underfunding. The sixth Doctor, Peter Davison (1983-86), acknowledges that the sheer scale, ambition and inventiveness of movies like Star Wars set new standards for science fiction drama. 'We couldn't compete,' he says. 'Our resources were too limited.' Seventh Doctor Sylvester McCoy (1987-89) agrees. 'I was a very frustrated time lord,' he says. | In 1989, the Doctor (like so many of his colleagues in the NHS) was eventually defeated by underfunding. The sixth Doctor, Peter Davison (1983-86), acknowledges that the sheer scale, ambition and inventiveness of movies like Star Wars set new standards for science fiction drama. 'We couldn't compete,' he says. 'Our resources were too limited.' Seventh Doctor Sylvester McCoy (1987-89) agrees. 'I was a very frustrated time lord,' he says. | ||
| − | With programme budgets stretched like cat gut, the sets looked like you could punch a hole through them with a butter knife. The Doctor's 'young assistant', once a rival to a Bond girl, ended up more like a hostess on the Generation Game. And despite a goodish team of writers including the young Douglas Adams (credits: [[broadwcast:City of Death|City of Death]], Shada and [[broadwcast:The Pirate Planet|Pirate Planet]]), audiences only had to visit their local cinema to see a world where mountains didn't sound hollow and rocket launchers didn't quiver. It was fantasy, but it looked good enough to eat. Hollywood was doing everything it could to make the scenery convincing. With Dr Who, viewers had to make that imaginative leap themselves. The penny-pinching Dr Who earthscapes seemed to owe less to Nasa than to Blue Peter. | + | With programme budgets stretched like cat gut, the sets looked like you could punch a hole through them with a butter knife. The Doctor's 'young assistant', once a rival to a Bond girl, ended up more like a hostess on the Generation Game. And despite a goodish team of writers including the young Douglas Adams (credits: [[broadwcast:City of Death|City of Death]], [[broadwcast:Shada|Shada]] and [[broadwcast:The Pirate Planet|Pirate Planet]]), audiences only had to visit their local cinema to see a world where mountains didn't sound hollow and rocket launchers didn't quiver. It was fantasy, but it looked good enough to eat. Hollywood was doing everything it could to make the scenery convincing. With Dr Who, viewers had to make that imaginative leap themselves. The penny-pinching Dr Who earthscapes seemed to owe less to Nasa than to Blue Peter. |
There was also the question of the Doctor himself. In 1963 he was an eccentric boffin, not unlike Jacob Bronowski. Towards the end, he had become a tiresomely nutty professor, more like Jerry Lewis. There are now five surviving Doctors. Some of their time zones intersect, such as Doctors Davison and McCoy, who are currently performing in happy conjunction in Dick Whittington at the Theatre Royal, Windsor. McCoy - who, true to type, is 'a potty pirate' - feels burnished, privileged even, by the experience. 'We ought to have a special tie for the five of us,' he says proudly. | There was also the question of the Doctor himself. In 1963 he was an eccentric boffin, not unlike Jacob Bronowski. Towards the end, he had become a tiresomely nutty professor, more like Jerry Lewis. There are now five surviving Doctors. Some of their time zones intersect, such as Doctors Davison and McCoy, who are currently performing in happy conjunction in Dick Whittington at the Theatre Royal, Windsor. McCoy - who, true to type, is 'a potty pirate' - feels burnished, privileged even, by the experience. 'We ought to have a special tie for the five of us,' he says proudly. | ||
