Doctor Who Listener Archive - 1985

2 March 1985
Vol 109 No 2350 (2-8 Mar 1985)
p??: Acting Scared, an interview with actress Ilona Rodgers, by Diana Wichtel (except)

She looks far too young to have been on the original Dr Who — we entirely strike out with his name.

16 March 1985
Vol 109 No 2352 (16-22 Mar 1985)
p7: Letters to the Editor

DOCTOR WHO

It has been noticeable of late that Television New Zealand has been making a concerted effort to "catch up" on the screening of Coronation Street. This eagerness to be up to date is both commendable and very sensible, but unfortunately does not appear to be general policy. In the light of the Coronation Street blitz, I find myself puzzled by TVNZ's apparent neglect of that other long-running British success story Doctor Who.

Doctor Who was last screened in New Zealand in November 1983, and Who fans (and not all of us are too young to keep track of these things) have now been waiting for its return for over a year. While the rest of the world has seen a 20th anniversary special programme featuring all five Doctors, nine further stories of the fifth Doctor (Peter Davison) and goodness only knows how many episodes with the new, sixth Doctor (Colin Baker), New Zealand continues to fall further and further behind.

Personally, I've grown up with Doctor Who, I've hidden behind the sofa with the best of them (back in the days of Patrick Troughton as the second Doctor and the wonderfully scary Yetis), and more recently come to value the programme as one of the few attempts at TV sci-fi which has shown any wit or style. I miss it!

Ruth Delaney
(Tawa)

(Dr Who returns to the screen at 6.30pm on Friday, April 12, on TWO. — Editor)

6 April 1985
Vol 109 No 2355 (6-12 Apr 1985)
cover: photo (col) of the TARDIS [from State of Decay] in bottom left cover, with caption

Dr Who returns, returns, returns, returns...

p9: contents page photo (b/w) of Tom Baker [at Madame Tussauds waxworks with effigies of the Fourth Doctor and Meglos] with caption

94 WHO'S WHO WITH DALEKS

p71: photo (col) of the TARDIS [from State of Decay] with caption

Dr Who: It's a trip back in time for the Time Lord — all the way back to his incarnation as Patrick Troughton, Page 94

p94-95: Article Who's Who, with Daleks by Graham Ford, with photos (b/w) of the first five Doctors and Colin Baker

DR WHO, FRIDAYS on TWO, 6.30pm

Who's Who, with Daleks
by Graham Ford

After 20 years a Dr Who retrospective.

THE GALLIFREYANS are a pretty stuffy, moralistic bunch. They live on an advanced planet, have two hearts, a body temperature of 11 degrees and the ability to transmute themselves into 13 new bodies. This long life-span inevitably led to a rising level of planetary boredom. Then someone invented a "Time and Relative Dimension in Space" machine (Tardis). This device allows the Gallifreyans to whiz through time and space and interfere in other people's business. When it arrives in other worlds, the Tardis is able to change form and blend into the local surroundings. However, one time lord's Tardis has got stuck permanently as a battered police phonebox. If you haven't guessed who the time lord is, read no further.

Dedicated Dr Who fans, on the other hand, will want to know that the good doctor will be appearing on Fridays in a Dr Who retrospective of selected stories showing the doctor in his various transmutations.

This campy, fun series first screened in Britain in November 1963. Today it has a following in 54 countries and is watched by more than 100 million earthlings. Lately the show has become a cult in the United States. It has many US fan clubs, the largest having 18,000 members. Seventy-five Doctor Who novels have been published and the cult has spawned the inevitable hoop-la of badges, T-shirts and other intergalactic flotsam.

A more or less continuous theme runs through the programme. Either the doctor just manages to prevent an invasion of terra firma by hideous, latex-covered monsters that sprout bits of pipe from funny angles, or he is in space pitting his extraordinary powers against the forces of supreme evil.

Obviously there is some mystery about the doctor. Just who is he? There was a clue in one programme, Dr Who hears his door open, sees a great, intense light, walks out and there is the White Guardian (God?). Then the doctor is sent into the firmament to wrestle with the evil Black Guardian (the Devil?). Is Dr Who an Archangel? Richard Last, a Daily Telegraph television critic, sees him more as an intergalactic liberal: "However fantastic his adversary, the doctor ... could generally be seen as the quasi-liberal defender of human values against an authoritarian takeover."

The programme was created by Candian Sydney Newman and Donald Wilson, the man behind televising The Forsyte Saga. They gave the concept to the then 27-year-old Verity Lambert, who had never produced a TV programme before but was to move on to making programmes like The Sweeney. Over the years Dr Who has changed its character as different producers and actors put their stamp on it.

Lambert originally cast William Hartnell as Dr Who. Hartnell made the time lord a lovable, crotchety old man, clearly a traditional wizard archetype. When Hartnell left because of ill health in 1966 the transmutations began apace. The next doctor, Patrick Troughton, is described by the current producer as "a kind of cosmic hobo ... very Chaplinesque". Troughton's Who was a romping clown, wearing loud check trews and a baffled expression. In tight corners he used to tootle on a flute. Yet beneath the bozo exterior was a shrewd brain, Jon Pertwee followed, playing Who rather straight as an aging dandy in a velvet dinner jacket, a frilly shirt and a cape. The pace quickened with Pertwee. There were more chases, stunts and gadgets, many of which Pertwee himself invented.

However, Tom Baker, who bounced along as a "bohemian comic" with undergraduate scarves and an air of mockery, is regarded by critics as being the most successful in the role. Baker played Dr Who more often than any other actor so far and gave him a subtle depth. The show was also broadened in its scope to appeal to adults, and the stories developed a touch of got hie fantasy, including resurrected mummies and the intrigues of Renaissance Italy. The overlong scarves were an accident - a wardrobe lady had ordered too much wool and knitted it all.

Later came Peter Davison as a younger, vulnerable, more heroic doctor who at times was even fallible.

The latest Who is Colin Baker, who played the slimy business tycoon Paul Merroney in The Brothers. Who's new assistant is Perpugilliam Brown, yet another attractive, winsome female, in fact the 25th! The doctor must have some hidden talents. Sadly the Tardis as a police phonebox is to go because the British police no longer use such phoneboxes.

Of the Doctor's enemies the most infamous have been the Daleks. The public still clamour for them. They are, you may recall, nasty metal pepperpots that zoom about, thrusting rubber sink plungers at people and screeching, "Exterminate, exterminate!" Their invention was also accidental. One Friday the production staff were racking their brains trying to come up with a villain to meet the demands of the writer, Terry Nation. Designer Raymond Cusick went home to chew over the idea in the weekend. By Monday morning he was desperate. "Then at the very last minute my wife was cooking me bacon and eggs and I discovered I had lifted up the pepperpot without thinking. The Daleks were literally in the palm of my hand."

Cusick forgot breakfast, grabbed a pencil and sketch pad and roughed out his idea. "I dashed in a taxi to the BBC, slapped the design in front of my special effects staff and told them, 'Make that, and I want to see the first one within a week'."

Since then Daleks have been menacing the world with their plungers and delighting viewers. They are actually powered by skinny men sitting inside on tricycles. "This meant we could take the Daleks outside and manoeuvre them up and down curbs and other obstacles."

A few weeks ago the BBC announced that the Dr Who programme would be scrapped because of economy measures. The 64,000 light year question is, will they change their decision? There have been allegations that it was just a ploy to outrage the public as a step towards getting a higher licence fee.

The Dr Who production office tells us that the decision has been revised and that after a stand-down period of 18 months the series will go back into production. It looks as if the time lord from Gallifrey has not only overcome evildoers like Daleks, Cybermen and the Black Guardian, but a foe far more wicked - bureaucrats.

p123: photo montage (b/w) of the five Doctors, with article; TV listings: The Mind Robber Episode 1 & 2 (TV2, Friday 12/04/85)

According to a recent newspaper report, a massive campaign is underway to save the 22-year-old Dr Who series from being axed by the BBC. American and British fans are offering several million pounds to covet production costs which the BBC say are too expensive at £100,000 an episode. About 50 TV stars including all the five actors who played the Doctor, William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker and Peter Davison (pictured left to right) are considering putting out a BandAid-style record called "Who Cares?" Fans are also organising marches, demonstrations and a deluge of letters to the BBC and 10 Downing Street. What also irks fans is that the BBC are planning a new science fiction series, Star Cops. Whether or not the campaign is successful, the series will probably be aired as repeats for some years to come. In fact you can see the start of a repeat series of DR WHO, with Patrick Troughton, the second Doctor at 6.30 tonight. There's a feature story on page 94.

STOP PRESS: The fans' pressure appears to have paid off. The BBC controller Michael Grade has announced that production of the Dr Who series will resume in 10 months' time, according to the latest newspaper report

4 May 1985
Vol 110 No 2359 (4-10 May 1985)
p79: What I'd Watch column by "Bruce Ansley (Listener Journalist)" (excerpt)

On Friday there's a whole hour of Dr Who on TWO, and as the BBC has decided it cannot afford to continue making the series we'd better get as much of it as possible now.

p123: two photos (b/w) of the Second Doctor and the Third Doctor; TV listings: The Krotons Episode Four and Spearhead from Space Episode 1 (TV2, Friday 10/05/85).

22 June 1985
Vol 110 No 2366 (22-28 Jun 1985)
p87: photo (col) of the Third Doctor [from the cover of the Radio Times Doctor Who tenth anniversary special] and article [quoting from the special], in the Look (Junior Listener) supplement. Promotes The Ambassadors of Death Episodes 3 & 4 (TV2, Friday 28/06/85)

DR WHO
The Ambassadors of Death
Friday on TWO, 6.30pm.

SEVEN MONTHS after leaving Mars the "Space Seven" ship has still not returned to Earth. Strange things begin to happen after a "Recovery Seven" rocket finally makes contact with it and Dr Who (Jon Pertwee) ends up making a solo space journey

IN A 1973 Radio Times Special Jon Pertwee said that he thought the Dr Who programmes had to be "a bit scary", and added, "My boy has a place under the table where he watches it from. But he doesn't have nightmares about it. He likes being scared by it. If parents write to me and say their kids are scared I write back and say: "Well, it's very simple. You lean forward, put out your hand and turn the switch to the off position'."

Some monsters are much scarier than others and not everyone finds the same ones interesting. Pertwee doesn't think much of the Daleks, which he calls "boring", and says his favourites are the Draconians.

If you're a fan of Dr Who and would like to know more about the series, write to The Editor, Australasian Dr Who Newsletter, PO Box 148, Gladesville, New South Wales 2111, Australia.

One of the club's latest successes was with the Tardis. Last year the BBC decided to change the shape of it because British police phone boxes don't look like that any more. A new Tardis was made for "Attack of the Cybermen" (the first story in a new series), but when fans heard about it they were so upset that the BBC agreed to go back to the old Tardis for the rest of the series!

29 June 1985
Vol 110 No 2367 (29 Jun-5 Jul 1985)
p131: TV Quiz by Bruce Russell, questions for quiz No.20

1. Which actor was first to play the role of Dr Who?

13 July 1985
Vol 110 No 2369 (13-19 Jul 1985)
p123: TV Quiz by Bruce Russell, answers for quiz No.20

1. William Hartnell was the first actor to play Dr Who.

27 July 1985
Vol 110 No 2371 (27 Jul-2 Aug 1985)
p123: photo (b/w) of the Brigadier, Liz Shaw and the Third Doctor, with article by Mark Cubey; TV listings: Inferno Episodes 6 & 7 (TV2, Friday 02/08/85)

DR WHO
The Ambassadors of Death
Friday on TWO, 6.30pm.

In DR WHO at 6.30 tonight, the Doctor (Jon Pertwee, right) is trying to return from a parallel universe to rejoin his companions from UNIT, Liz Shaw (Caroline John) and Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney).

Courtney is unique among the gallery of actors who have appeared during the 22-year run of the series - he is the only one to have appeared with five Doctors. (There is now a sixth, but the opportunity is still there for Courtney to pull off a double hat-trick.)

He played Bret Vyron, killed by his sister in "The Dalek Masterplan" with William Hartnell. In "The Web of Fear", as Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart, he assisted Patrick Troughton against the Yeti, an episode that' saw the genesis of UNIT (United Nations Intelligence Taskforce)... He returned, promoted to Brigadier, in "The Invasion" (of the Cyberman) and first met the Jon Pertwee incarnation of the Doctor in "Spearhead from Space". They then worked together for a number of series including the current "The Inferno" (the Doctor being exiled on present-day Earth throughout), He sought the aid of Tom Baker in "The Terror of the Zygons", and, retired from UNIT and working as a teacher, swung back into action to help Peter Davison in "Mawdryn Undead" against the machinations of the Black Guardian.

Courtney sought to emphasise the human qualities of the Brigadier. "I think he has always appeared genuine. At least a brass-hat from the War Office once told a producer: 'He's exactly like our lot!'"

Mark Cubey

10 August 1985
Vol 110 No 2373 (10-16 Aug 1985)
p92: What I'd Watch column by "The Wizard of Christchurch" (excerpt)

To briefly list the other programmes I'd watch: ... Dr Who.

17 August 1985
Vol 110 No 2374 (17-23 Aug 1985)
p123: photo (b/w) of the TARDIS [from State of Decay]; TV listings: The Mind of Evil Episodes One & Two (TV2, Friday 23/08/85)

DR WHO continues — where and when? Tonight at 6.30.

31 August 1985
Vol 110 No 2376 (31 Aug-6 Sep 1985)
p131: TV People column by Bryan Nicholson

Dr Who fans can relax - and stop their massive letter-writing campaign to the BBC. The good Doctor has been saved and it's all thanks to the Yanks. The company that sells Dr Who in America (where the series is rapidly developing a cult following) sought, and apparently received, an assurance from BBC controller of programmes Michael Grade that Dr Who would not be finished off completely. However, having won that battle there is another one that looks as though it will need all the powers of the Doctor himself to win - the marketers in the US want to synchronise the screening of the series so that all of that country is seeing the same one at approximately the same time. Currently episodes featuring all six versions of the Doctor can be seen there, depending on where you happen to live. Bring on the Tardis.

14 September 1985
Vol 111 No 2378 (14-20 Sep 1985)
p100: What I'd Watch column by "Dale Williams (Author and editor)" (excerpt)

Jon Pertwee's Dr Who (Friday 6.30pm on TWO) had a wit and style that deserved better than plywood sets and plasticine monsters.

21 September 1985
Vol 111 No 2379 (21-27 Sep 1985)
p100: Letters, Look (Junior Listener) supplement

Dr Who

Dear editor - I think it should be known that there is a Dr Who fan club in New Zealand. It is non-profit-making, of course, and sends its members a monthly newsletter. Anyone interested should send their name, address and age to the NZDWAS, 8 Jasons Place, Churton Park, Wellington 4, with $7 for a year's membership or $8 for a family group (more than two people).

James Stokes
Wellington

p131: photo (b/w) of the Third Doctor [from The Sea Devils]; TV listings: Colony in Space Episodes One & Two (TV2, Friday 27/09/85)

Jon Pertwee is still DR WHO, this evening at 6.30.

5 October 1985
Vol 111 No 2381 (5-11 Oct 1985)
p139: TV Quiz by Bruce Russell, questions for quiz No.27

1. By what name is the "Time and Relative Dimension in Space" machine known, and on what long-running BBC series?

19 October 1985
Vol 111 No 2383 (19-25 Oct 1985)
p139: TV Quiz by Bruce Russell, answers for quiz No.27

1. The machine is the Tardis, in Dr Who.

26 October 1985
Vol 111 No 2384 (26 Oct-1 Nov 1985)
p131: photo of a Dalek [from the Radio Times Doctor Who tenth anniversary special]; TV listings: The Daemons Episode Five & Day of the Daleks Episode One (TV2, Friday 01/11/85)

TWO The Doctor's old adversaries are back in the second of today's DR WHO stories at 6.30pm. Terry Nation, who dreamed the Daleks into existence in 1963, says they were inspired by a glimpse of the Georgian State Dancers gliding through a performance...