Doctor Who: Sydney Newman...

[fajrdrako]

I was talking on the phone this evening with a friend whose conversations tend to be minefields, but often also interesting. We were discussing Doctor Who, among other things - and he's one of my local friends who grew up in the UK and was watching Doctor Who before anyone in Canada had ever heard of it. He had just seen "The Shakespeare Code", which aired on CBC tonight. He pointed out that "Freedonia" was the country in Duck Soup - I'd forgotten that. And Duck Soup is a movie I love. He's very good at spotting these connections, which I am not.

In the course of our conversation he asked me if I knew who Sydney Newman was, and I did, because of the reference to him in "Human Nature" - he's the man who created Doctor Who. Then he asked me if I knew Sydney Newman was Canadian, which I didn't, and that he was also behind The Avengers - which was one of my favourite shows at the time it aired in Canada. I was what - twelve, thirteen, something like that? I had no idea that the same man conceived two of my favourite TV shows.

This inspired me to look up Sydney Newman on Wikipedia. Very interesting man, illustrious career - and in the picture, he looks like one of his own characters.

My friend said that Newman was horrified by the idea of the Daleks, which the writers came up with despite him.

Comments

[hamadryad11.livejournal.com]

he's one of my local friends who grew up in the UK and was watching Doctor Who before anyone in Canada had ever heard of it.

Gosh! How long ago was that? I'm sure I saw it in the 70's (although I must admit I didn't actually watch it).

I should see if the local public library has any of the old episodes. It might be interesting to see them.

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

It began in 1963. I believe the first episode, An Unearthly Child, which introduced the Doctor and his grand-daughter Susan, clashed with the JFK assassination.

I began watching c. 1969-70, when about 4 or 5.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

My aforementioned friend from the UK would have been watching Doctor Who in 1963, probably, but I don't think it came to Canada for a while. I'm not sure when it was first aired here. Something else to research!

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

I have some Who goodies to post!
Meanwhile, check out this link for a print:
Doctor Who & the Master (http://www.ssplprints.com/picdetails.php?typecoll=3&collid=&imgnum=198420&page=1&imgcoo=1om1).
I am sending you the actual magazine covers!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Oh, how wonderful! That's gorgeous.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Doctor Who has aired in the UK since 1963 but it started later than that in Canada. I've been trying to find a date - no luck so far. The Doctor Who Information Network (which is Canadian) started in 1980, so the show was familiar to Canadians by then. Started here in the early 70s, maybe? If I find a date I'll pass it on!

My local library does not have the old episodes, or the new ones either - drat! And precious few of the books.

[hamadryad11.livejournal.com]

OK, this according to Wikipedia:

In Canada, the series debuted in January 1965, but the CBC only aired the first twenty-six episodes. TVOntario picked up the show in the 1976 beginning with The Three Doctors and aired it through to Season 24 in 1991. TVO's schedule ran several years behind the BBC's throughout this period. In the 1970s TVO airings were bookended by a host who would introduce the episode and then, after the episode concluded, try to place it in an educational context in keeping with TVO's status as an educational channel. The airing of The Talons of Weng Chiang resulted in controversy for TVOntario as a result of accusations that the story was racist. Consequently the story was not rebroadcast. CBC began showing the series again in 2005.

I haven't found corroboration yet, but it seems to be a well-researched article.

My local library doesn't seem to have Dr. Who either. That's disappointing. They have so many BBC movies and series, I thought they might have that one, too. :(

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

1965! Okay, I must have missed that entirely, and only heard about the show when it turned up again in the 1970s. I don't know what I'd have thought of it then, but it's a sure thing I wouldn't have turned it on (I didn't like SF in those days), and likely I wouldn't have liked it if I had.

Though I hear people talk about Wikipedia being unrealiable, I find that it's usually very good - especially on entertainment subjects.

I think I might put in a request for my library to get the old Doctor Who series. They should!

[hamadryad11.livejournal.com]

I didn't watch it because the guy with the big hair scared me. It looked too weird. And I didn't really get into sci-fi until Star Wars really. I had watched Star Trek as a child, because my older sister was a huge fan, but I didn't really 'get' sci-fi at that time. Plus the episode with the rock creature scared me so much I wouldn't watch it for a long time afterwards.

I think I might put in a request for my library to get the old Doctor Who series.

That's a good idea. I should try it. They need to get season 4 of Cracker, too.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure when I 'got into' SF on televison. With Babylon 5, maybe? I started reading and enjoying SF books when I was 18, but I still mostly don't like SF movies and television. There are exceptions - most of them within the last few years. I can't think what the first SF movie I liked was. Terminator 2, maybe. (I saw it before Terminator 1.)

[hamadryad11.livejournal.com]

Well, let's see... I remember watching Space 1999, Buck Rogers, the original Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek (in almost all its incarnations), V, Max Headroom, Earth 2, Babylon 5, Firefly...

I also watched some X-Files, but I really only liked the episodes with Krycek. I caught occasional episodes of other series considered to be either sci-fi or fantasy, but most of them were short-lived interests.

I guess you could say I 'got' sci-fi on TV, pretty early. :P

I still haven't seen the Terminator movies, except for a few bits here and there!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Yes, thinking about it, I saw Star Trek before Babylon 5, but not much before - I was really late in discovering Star Trek. Loved X-Files, but that was later.

I saw Terminator 2 expecting not to like it - I can't remember why I watched it, but I did. And I was astounded by how good it was. It taught me something about preconceived notions, and judging things before I saw them.

[teenygozer.livejournal.com]

My friend said that Newman was horrified by the idea of the Daleks, which the writers came up with despite him.

Specifically, it was Terry Nation who came up with the Daleks! He worked on Avengers as well, as script editor during the Tara King years; created Blake's 7, and also helped create McGyver in the US. I remember reading that Newman saw Dr. Who as an educational vehicle that would teach kiddies about world history, but having seen those episodes I have to say the Daleks are a lot more interesting.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Since I love most of the Dalek episodes I've seen, I have to agree! I can't imagine the Doctor without the Daleks. If I may borrow that word that is so overused by everyone who has ever written anything about Doctor Who - they're iconic! Terry Nation knew what he was doing.

[wijsgeer.livejournal.com]

oh wow. I loved the avengers as well, I watched it when it aired (or repeated) on Dutch TV. I also really loved MacGyver. Who aired a year or so later (and some years after that).

And yes, I prefer a Doctor Who with Bad Guys. Scary ones. Otherwise it might become a gentle soap-series. As for that, it is good to see that Martha's family is on 1 line again. I loved when she trusted her father to give her a sign and how he dared to take a stance.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

MacGyver was fun! Not that I saw much of it, but maaboroshi when through a Richard Dean Anderson phase a while ago and showed me a bunch of episodes.

I just loved the Avengers. I wonder if I'd still love it now? Probably. I remember particularly liking an episode called "House of Cards" even though I don't remember now what happened it it.

I prefer a Doctor Who with Bad Guys. Scary ones. Otherwise it might become a gentle soap-series.

They handle the balance very well - juggling action/suspense, humour and soap opera in just the right proportions.

I loved when she trusted her father to give her a sign and how he dared to take a stance.

I loved that too. And when her mother messed up so badly, I love it that she was trying to say "I'm sorry" when they bundled her into the truck.

[teenygozer.livejournal.com]

Terry basically worked on the pilot for McGyver and came up with the idea that McGyver could create amazing things with stuff he found just lying around. The hands-on Mr. Wizard stuff that we all loved about the guy: "Let's blow up a tank using a rubberband, a can of soda, and some paper clips!" This is a very Dr. Who idea if you think about it, the way McGyver walks into a situation and, using his superior knowledge of science and boundless confidence, wins the day.

The Avengers is still very watchable, I bought the DVDs and do not regret it. Sadly, though Mrs. Peel is the better Avenger chick by far, Tara King actually had (mostly) the better-plotted stories, and I think Terry had a lot to do with that. I just wish Mrs. Peel had continued on with Steed for a few more years. "House of Cards" isn't the name of an episode, I suspect you mean "House that Jack Built"? Because that is my fav episode, despite the fact that Steed & Emma are pretty much separated for the entire episode. She's trapped in a completely automated house that some crazed ex-employee built to punish her for firing him from Knight Industries when she inherited it from her father. That was years ago, when she was still Emma Knight -- he had wanted to completely automate the factories and she didn't like that idea, felt that human beings were too important to the process. Once she figures out how the house works, she kinda does a Captain Kirk on the poor thing and drives it mad before blowing it up! Or, I should say, she kinda does a McGyver on it, as she destroys it using things she has on hand.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

When we were watching Doctor Who on Saturday, maaboroshi remarked how McGyver-like it was when the Doctor was whipping up the devices to make them not-quite-invisible. It's a fine tradition.

I adored Mrs. Peel of course, but I liked Tara King, too. It's been so long! I'm proud that I remembered even part of the title of my favourite episode, and of course it was actually "The House that Jack Built". Now I want to see it again! Maybe some day I'll get the DVDs.

[duncanmac.livejournal.com]

Most interesting ... it was a part of history I was unaware of (though I admit I'm not usually aware of TV shows and their provenance in general).

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I don't look into the history of TV shows unless I have a reason to. I guess this is one of those times I have a reason to. How intriguing!

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

This inspired me to look up Sydney Newman on Wikipedia. Very interesting man, illustrious career - and in the picture, he looks like one of his own characters.

Sadly, his anti-intellectualism is now the norm on British TV and in British popular culture; while, ironically, Doctor Who is now one of the few intelligent and interesting popular dramas around.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I'd call that a success story - in various ways! I always thought The Avengers was very clever, but I'm not sure if it would live up to my memories.