Difference between revisions of "Doctor Who, the new season"
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| − | For those of you with either long memories, or large collection of Starburst, you may remember [[The New Dr Who|issue 27's John Fleming interview]] with the then new producer of Doctor Who, John Nathan-Turner expressing his ideas for how he wanted the programme to look in the 80s. Since then he has three seasons under his belt and the fourth is about to be unleashed onto an audience who, after [[broadwcast:The Five Doctors|The Five Doctors]]will be expecting nothing short of brilliance from the man who said "We are concentrating on new writers who come with fresh ideas and a fresh outlook towards the programme" way back in 1980. | + | For those of you with either long memories, or large collection of Starburst, you may remember [[The New Dr Who|issue 27's John Fleming interview]] with the then new producer of Doctor Who, John Nathan-Turner expressing his ideas for how he wanted the programme to look in the 80s. Since then he has three seasons under his belt and the fourth is about to be unleashed onto an audience who, after [[broadwcast:The Five Doctors|The Five Doctors]] will be expecting nothing short of brilliance from the man who said "We are concentrating on new writers who come with fresh ideas and a fresh outlook towards the programme" way back in 1980. |
If nothing else, Nathan-Turner will probably be remembered as the only producer to have cast three actors in the role of the Doctor: first Peter Davison, then Colin Baker and, stuck in the middle, Richard Hurndall taking the late William Hartnell's place as the First Doctor. The 21st season could well be a make-or-break season, both with long-term fans and the general viewing public, for whilst Nathan-Turner's approach was very refreshing and exciting in 1980, by 1983 it had worn off considerably. There is a limit to how far viewers will accept a story that trundles along slowly featuring few, if any climaxes, until the very end of the fourth episode— one such story a season is okay, seven is a bit of a strain. Added to this is the dubious popularity of Peter Davison as the Doctor (fans at the BBC's Longleat Convention last April will remember, I'm sure the attendee's reaction to the question, "Who is your favourite Doctor" when only about three hands went up in favour of poor Peter), and it isn't difficult to explain why viewers will be looking for something innovative and different in the new season. | If nothing else, Nathan-Turner will probably be remembered as the only producer to have cast three actors in the role of the Doctor: first Peter Davison, then Colin Baker and, stuck in the middle, Richard Hurndall taking the late William Hartnell's place as the First Doctor. The 21st season could well be a make-or-break season, both with long-term fans and the general viewing public, for whilst Nathan-Turner's approach was very refreshing and exciting in 1980, by 1983 it had worn off considerably. There is a limit to how far viewers will accept a story that trundles along slowly featuring few, if any climaxes, until the very end of the fourth episode— one such story a season is okay, seven is a bit of a strain. Added to this is the dubious popularity of Peter Davison as the Doctor (fans at the BBC's Longleat Convention last April will remember, I'm sure the attendee's reaction to the question, "Who is your favourite Doctor" when only about three hands went up in favour of poor Peter), and it isn't difficult to explain why viewers will be looking for something innovative and different in the new season. | ||
