Review The Classic Who Writers

[Doctor Omega]

I never knew what Saward's problem was with Michael Robbins' interpretation of the character.

Same goes for the regulars who were mocking his line delivery on the audio-commentary.

I actually thought he was a great supporting character in it and would have made for an interesting companion on the Doctor's travels.

Same goes for Beryl Reid in Earthshock. It didn't matter that the actress was clueless as to the plot, imo. She delivered her lines with conviction and was a great asset to the story, I thought.

 

[ant-mac]

I never knew what Saward's problem was with Michael Robbins' interpretation of the character.

Same goes for the regulars who were mocking his line delivery on the audio-commentary.

I actually thought he was a great supporting character in it and would have made for an interesting companion on the Doctor's travels.

Same goes for Beryl Reid in Earthshock. It didn't matter that the actress was clueless as to the plot, imo. She delivered her lines with conviction and was a great asset to the story, I thought.

I had no problem with the character.

In fact, I thought he was one of the highlights of Peter Davison's first season.

What was wrong with his delivery of his lines?

 

[Doctor Omega]

On the commentary, when he says "What are these things you speak of....." after leaving a gap after Janet's line, Janet bursts out: "Oh, pick up the bloody cue Michael! Don't leave me standing there with egg on my face!!"

I think the fact that he was savouring his lines and taking his times with them, relishing his dialogue and not worrying too much about when he said them was a source of irritation for his loving castmates.

Matthew Waterhouse, meanwhile, is busy taking the piss out of Michael who he says kept complaining that Doctor Who was the worst job that he had ever done. "This was a man who had been on ON THE BUSES for twenty years!" and also says that Michael never stopped going on about the charity work he did. At one point Mace says "I was once a noted thespian" - and Davison chimes in with "and then I went into ON THE BUSES!"

Only Peter Moffat does the decent thing and steps in with "Come come. Don't speak ill of the dead. I know he was a little lax on the lines, but remember: he's supposed to be an old ham!" They calm it down a bit after that.

Equally, Beryl Reid is a source of mirth for our gang.

I find their commentaries to be very funny indeed, but think the Michael Robbins mockery in particular to be completely unfair.

I always thought it odd how the Davison Doctor seemed to interact better with guest stars of the week rather than with his actual companions. Nerys Hughes, Michael Robbin and Polly James in THE AWAKENING all worked well with the fifth Doctor, I thought.

 

[ant-mac]

On the commentary, when he says "What are these things you speak of....." after leaving a gap after Janet's line, Janet bursts out: "Oh, pick up the bloody cue Michael! Don't leave me standing there with egg on my face!!"

I think the fact that he was savouring his lines and taking his times with them, relishing his dialogue and not worrying too much about when he said them was a source of irritation for his loving castmates.

Matthew Waterhouse, meanwhile, is busy taking the piss out of Michael who he says kept complaining that Doctor Who was the worst job that he had ever done. "This was a man who had been on ON THE BUSES for twenty years!" and also says that Michael never stopped going on about the charity work he did. At one point Mace says "I was once a noted thespian" - and Davison chimes in with "and then I went into ON THE BUSES!"

Only Peter Moffat does the decent thing and steps in with "Come come. Don't speak ill of the dead. I know he was a little lax on the lines, but remember: he's supposed to be an old ham!" They calm it down a bit after that.

Equally, Beryl Reid is a source of mirth for our gang.

I have to say I think a bit less of them because of it...

And I didn't see MW picking up any gold stars for acting excellence.

 

[Doctor Omega]

Like Walter Koenig, I think Waterhouse is a much better writer than he is an actor. His book BLUE BOX BOY is an enlightening insight into the working atmosphere of Eighties WHO, full of fascinating titbits. He says Paul Darrow used to sit having lunch with them because he found his Blake cast-mates boring. He also says that Anthony Ainley auditioned for Bond once and Cubby simply said "Too short!". Mention of Cubby's name wiped the smile off Anthony's face.

Anthony Ainley as Bond. There's a thought......

Mind you, he was such a private individual that I don't think he would have appreciated the world's press bothering him at one of his cricket matches!

 

[Doctor Omega]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-49555763?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment_and_arts&link_location=live-reporting-story



Goodbye Terrance.....

 

[Doctor Omega]

I think that the passing of Terrance Dicks kind of draws a line under the whole CLASSIC era for me.

Yes, Doctors and Companions - and Classic era writers - are still with us, and they will all be great losses when their time comes.

But Terrance Dicks, with his many books, captured my childish imagination in an era where repeats of old Doctors were nonexistent (I never saw Hartnell or Troughton move until 1981) - and made me fall in love with adventures on other worlds - and thrill as horrors from other worlds came to us. There were no disappointing budgets to disappoint the viewer in those slim volumes with their eye-catching covers.

Other Target book authors may have written more complex books, such as Ian ("Styr's oily breath")Marter, but Terrance was an absolutely dependable, master-craftsman storyteller and writer - even when he was in "churning them out" mode.

And he was the King of the opening lines for a book: "Through the ruin of a city stalked the ruin of a man" springs to mind

So true that he encouraged an entire generation to read.