Doctor Who - Documentary s07e10 Episode Script
Tomorrow's Times - The Third Doctor
NARRATOR: The British Library's newspaper archive in London contains a wealth of hidden information and opinion about Doctor Who.
This series looks at the comments made by the critics and reporters who reviewed the programme for daily newspapers and other publications.
What do these comments tell us about the way the programme was perceived in the days and weeks following the broadcast of the original episodes? - How did you know? - I saw it in The Times.
That's impossible, the reporter's still here.
Tomorrow's Times.
When Doctor Who returned in 1970, the show had undergone the most radical reinvention in its history.
The programme now starred Jon Pertwee as the Doctor and was broadcast in colour for the first time.
Matthew Coady, writing in The Daily Mirror of the 27th of January, 1970, reviewed the first story of the new series, "Spearhead From Space".
His review would unwittingly describe much that would characterise this bold new era of Doctor Who.
(MAN READING) "Jon Pertwee's Doctor is wholly acceptable.
"Where William Hartnell was comically irascible "and Patrick Troughton like a greying, worried schoolboy, "the newest recruit is suave and confident, "obviously a Harley Street Doctor.
"At the same time, he manages to look like Danny Kaye "while sounding like Boris Karloff "and that's a mixture for the connoisseur.
" On the 7th of February, The Morning Star's Stewart Lane reflected that with "Doctor Who and the Silurians" the series was (MAN READING) The Sun had been launched as a tabloid in November 1969.
During the 1970s, it would revolutionise British newspaper journalism with a popular mix of sex and sensationalism.
On the 28th of February, The Sun's Alex Palmer looked at the current serial, "Doctor Who and the Silurians".
Instead of focusing on Jon Pertwee's Doctor, however, he instead interviewed co-star Caroline John, who played the Doctor's assistant, Liz.
Caroline explained that her 10-year-old brother Sebastian had visited her during the making of the story.
WOMAN: "He came down to the studio one day to see the Silurians.
"It was the first time I had seen them, too "and I asked them how they were made.
"I'd forgotten there were people inside them.
"I felt such a clot and Sebastian was disgusted.
"He has always asked me what happens next and begging for clues.
"It's difficult not to tell him but I never do.
"He has to wait and see like everyone else.
" When Doctor Who returned in 1971, Caroline was gone.
But the grittier feel to the programme remained.
"Terror of the Autons", the story that began the eighth series, would prove to be the most controversial to date.
(WOMAN READING) Asked Sylvia Clayton in The Daily Telegraph of January the 18th.
(WOMAN READING) "Policemen with apparently normal faces "rip off their masks to show a hideous non-face underneath.
"Small children of my acquaintance have found these devices terrifying "in a way fantasy figures, such as the Daleks and the Cybermen, were not.
" (CONTINUES READING) On the 29th of February, Philip Howard of The Times cited a remarkable statistic about the programme, which many critics felt was leaving its youngest audience members behind.
(MAN READING) "The survey of television violence, published on Thursday, "show that each episode of Doctor Who "contained, on average, four violent incidents.
" Mr Howard approached Doctor Who producer Barry Letts for an explanation.
MAN: "We take great pains to have no blood "or nastiness or anything like that.
There is no explicit cruelty.
"We never show a spear going in or blood coming out.
" The Sun picked up on this concern in a short article plugging "Colony in Space" on the 10th of April.
(WOMAN READING) Criticism from the press was one thing, but the disapproval of the programme's original star was quite another.
In an interview with Shaun Usher of The Daily Sketch, William Hartnell expressed no regrets at having left Doctor Who.
(MAN READING) On the 30th of January, 1972, The Daily Express reported that (WOMAN READING) Jon Pertwee was similarly surprised.
And told The Express (MAN READING) 1973, Doctor Who's 10th anniversary year, began with a celebratory story, "The Three Doctors".
The Daily Mirror's Matthew Coady was impressed by the line-up of Jon Pertwee, Patrick Troughton and William Hartnell but strangely worried by the surfeit of special effects.
MAN: "The significant thing about Saturday's opener "was an increased reliance on technological tricks.
"For 10 years now, this has been predominantly an actors' serial "tarted up with horror movie props and a lot of ingenious machinery.
"Its long gallery of monsters bent on dominating the world "has always been recognisably human.
"This time it looks as if it is director Lennie Mayne who's having the ball.
"The powerful organism is a piece of pure movie technology, "a shape wriggling across the screen.
"Crudely done, perhaps, but instantly effective "because it lacks all trace of human identity.
" (MAN READING) On the 20th of June, The Times paid tribute to actor Roger Delgado, who had been killed in a road accident in Turkey two days before.
Delgado had made a huge impact as the Doctor's arch enemy, the Master.
(WOMAN READING) "Versed in all the black arts who repeatedly plots to do down Doctor Who.
"Though entirely convincing "in his sudden Mephistophelean appearances and disappearances "and his blood-curdling threats of disaster for the Doctor, "he was a villain whom it was hard to hate.
" I advise you not to give me any trouble, Doctor.
Not if you value the life of every man on this base.
In December 1973, a happier event was marked by the BBC at Doctor Who's 10th anniversary party.
For the benefit for those who didn't get an invitation, me, The Times sat in the corner smirking at the proceedings.
WOMAN: "Terry Nation, author and inventor of this series, "was gesturing with a chicken drumstick "as he attempted to explain the Daleks' appeal to children.
" (WOMAN READING) On the 28th of December, The Daily Telegraph's Richard Last wrote in praise of a repeat screening of "The Green Death", which had already proved one of the most popular stories of the year.
(MAN READING) MAN: "But what makes this venerable series tick "is the complete conviction of all concerned.
"They believe unreservedly in the ubiquitous Doctor "and so, for the moment, do we.
" Jon Pertwee disappointed many viewers and critics when, in February 1974, he announced he was leaving Doctor Who.
A BBC spokesman told The Sun (MAN READING) The Fourth Doctor was soon revealed to be Tom Baker.
On the 16th of February, The Daily Mirror spoke to Tom, who admitted MAN: "I'm a great fan of Doctor Who and the role appeals to me very much.
"It's also going to mean a great deal of security for me.
" (MAN READING) The gap between Jon Pertwee's final series and Tom Baker's first was partly filled by the West End stage production Seven Keys to Doomsday.
Trevor Martin starred as the Doctor and former television companion Wendy Padbury played his assistant Jenny.
On the 17th of December, 1974, Times theatre critic Irving Wardle ran a positive review of the play, but chastised its writer over a point of Doctor Who continuity.
MAN: "There is a moment in Seven Keys To Doomsday "when Terrance Dicks allows authorship to go to his head "and permits the Doctor to open a Dalek like a hinged biscuit tin "and scrape out its occupant, "while the rest of the cast avert their eyes in horror.
" (MAN READING) Jon Pertwee's final story, "Planet of the Spiders", had been transmitted from May to June 1974.
A report in The Times quoted Dr Michael Hessian, consultant psychiatrist to the Church of England's Children's Society, who claimed that the story was (MAN READING) A BBC spokesman said that this was the first time they'd heard about the alleged effects and argued that the spiders used in the story were, in any case (MAN READING) The article also quoted Mrs Mary Whitehouse, the secretary of self-appointed television watchdog The National Viewers' and Listeners' Association.
She claimed that her organisation had already warned the BBC about the effect Doctor Who was having on very young children.
(WOMAN READING) Critics were genuinely sad to see Jon Pertwee go.
And The Daily Mirror's Donald Gomery was no exception.
On the 10th of June 1974, he wrote (MAN READING) MAN: "How was he going to die yet allow the Doc to live on? "Baffling stuff.
But thanks, Jon, for all you've done for us kids.
" During the early 1970s, reviewers found a new respect for Doctor Who's performances, stories and production values.
Indeed, since the 10th anniversary, there was a broad acknowledgement of the show's status as a national institution.
Status, however, came with responsibility.
Questions about the show's psychological impact were now being asked on a regular basis.
The debate would only intensify in the coming years.
This series looks at the comments made by the critics and reporters who reviewed the programme for daily newspapers and other publications.
What do these comments tell us about the way the programme was perceived in the days and weeks following the broadcast of the original episodes? - How did you know? - I saw it in The Times.
That's impossible, the reporter's still here.
Tomorrow's Times.
When Doctor Who returned in 1970, the show had undergone the most radical reinvention in its history.
The programme now starred Jon Pertwee as the Doctor and was broadcast in colour for the first time.
Matthew Coady, writing in The Daily Mirror of the 27th of January, 1970, reviewed the first story of the new series, "Spearhead From Space".
His review would unwittingly describe much that would characterise this bold new era of Doctor Who.
(MAN READING) "Jon Pertwee's Doctor is wholly acceptable.
"Where William Hartnell was comically irascible "and Patrick Troughton like a greying, worried schoolboy, "the newest recruit is suave and confident, "obviously a Harley Street Doctor.
"At the same time, he manages to look like Danny Kaye "while sounding like Boris Karloff "and that's a mixture for the connoisseur.
" On the 7th of February, The Morning Star's Stewart Lane reflected that with "Doctor Who and the Silurians" the series was (MAN READING) The Sun had been launched as a tabloid in November 1969.
During the 1970s, it would revolutionise British newspaper journalism with a popular mix of sex and sensationalism.
On the 28th of February, The Sun's Alex Palmer looked at the current serial, "Doctor Who and the Silurians".
Instead of focusing on Jon Pertwee's Doctor, however, he instead interviewed co-star Caroline John, who played the Doctor's assistant, Liz.
Caroline explained that her 10-year-old brother Sebastian had visited her during the making of the story.
WOMAN: "He came down to the studio one day to see the Silurians.
"It was the first time I had seen them, too "and I asked them how they were made.
"I'd forgotten there were people inside them.
"I felt such a clot and Sebastian was disgusted.
"He has always asked me what happens next and begging for clues.
"It's difficult not to tell him but I never do.
"He has to wait and see like everyone else.
" When Doctor Who returned in 1971, Caroline was gone.
But the grittier feel to the programme remained.
"Terror of the Autons", the story that began the eighth series, would prove to be the most controversial to date.
(WOMAN READING) Asked Sylvia Clayton in The Daily Telegraph of January the 18th.
(WOMAN READING) "Policemen with apparently normal faces "rip off their masks to show a hideous non-face underneath.
"Small children of my acquaintance have found these devices terrifying "in a way fantasy figures, such as the Daleks and the Cybermen, were not.
" (CONTINUES READING) On the 29th of February, Philip Howard of The Times cited a remarkable statistic about the programme, which many critics felt was leaving its youngest audience members behind.
(MAN READING) "The survey of television violence, published on Thursday, "show that each episode of Doctor Who "contained, on average, four violent incidents.
" Mr Howard approached Doctor Who producer Barry Letts for an explanation.
MAN: "We take great pains to have no blood "or nastiness or anything like that.
There is no explicit cruelty.
"We never show a spear going in or blood coming out.
" The Sun picked up on this concern in a short article plugging "Colony in Space" on the 10th of April.
(WOMAN READING) Criticism from the press was one thing, but the disapproval of the programme's original star was quite another.
In an interview with Shaun Usher of The Daily Sketch, William Hartnell expressed no regrets at having left Doctor Who.
(MAN READING) On the 30th of January, 1972, The Daily Express reported that (WOMAN READING) Jon Pertwee was similarly surprised.
And told The Express (MAN READING) 1973, Doctor Who's 10th anniversary year, began with a celebratory story, "The Three Doctors".
The Daily Mirror's Matthew Coady was impressed by the line-up of Jon Pertwee, Patrick Troughton and William Hartnell but strangely worried by the surfeit of special effects.
MAN: "The significant thing about Saturday's opener "was an increased reliance on technological tricks.
"For 10 years now, this has been predominantly an actors' serial "tarted up with horror movie props and a lot of ingenious machinery.
"Its long gallery of monsters bent on dominating the world "has always been recognisably human.
"This time it looks as if it is director Lennie Mayne who's having the ball.
"The powerful organism is a piece of pure movie technology, "a shape wriggling across the screen.
"Crudely done, perhaps, but instantly effective "because it lacks all trace of human identity.
" (MAN READING) On the 20th of June, The Times paid tribute to actor Roger Delgado, who had been killed in a road accident in Turkey two days before.
Delgado had made a huge impact as the Doctor's arch enemy, the Master.
(WOMAN READING) "Versed in all the black arts who repeatedly plots to do down Doctor Who.
"Though entirely convincing "in his sudden Mephistophelean appearances and disappearances "and his blood-curdling threats of disaster for the Doctor, "he was a villain whom it was hard to hate.
" I advise you not to give me any trouble, Doctor.
Not if you value the life of every man on this base.
In December 1973, a happier event was marked by the BBC at Doctor Who's 10th anniversary party.
For the benefit for those who didn't get an invitation, me, The Times sat in the corner smirking at the proceedings.
WOMAN: "Terry Nation, author and inventor of this series, "was gesturing with a chicken drumstick "as he attempted to explain the Daleks' appeal to children.
" (WOMAN READING) On the 28th of December, The Daily Telegraph's Richard Last wrote in praise of a repeat screening of "The Green Death", which had already proved one of the most popular stories of the year.
(MAN READING) MAN: "But what makes this venerable series tick "is the complete conviction of all concerned.
"They believe unreservedly in the ubiquitous Doctor "and so, for the moment, do we.
" Jon Pertwee disappointed many viewers and critics when, in February 1974, he announced he was leaving Doctor Who.
A BBC spokesman told The Sun (MAN READING) The Fourth Doctor was soon revealed to be Tom Baker.
On the 16th of February, The Daily Mirror spoke to Tom, who admitted MAN: "I'm a great fan of Doctor Who and the role appeals to me very much.
"It's also going to mean a great deal of security for me.
" (MAN READING) The gap between Jon Pertwee's final series and Tom Baker's first was partly filled by the West End stage production Seven Keys to Doomsday.
Trevor Martin starred as the Doctor and former television companion Wendy Padbury played his assistant Jenny.
On the 17th of December, 1974, Times theatre critic Irving Wardle ran a positive review of the play, but chastised its writer over a point of Doctor Who continuity.
MAN: "There is a moment in Seven Keys To Doomsday "when Terrance Dicks allows authorship to go to his head "and permits the Doctor to open a Dalek like a hinged biscuit tin "and scrape out its occupant, "while the rest of the cast avert their eyes in horror.
" (MAN READING) Jon Pertwee's final story, "Planet of the Spiders", had been transmitted from May to June 1974.
A report in The Times quoted Dr Michael Hessian, consultant psychiatrist to the Church of England's Children's Society, who claimed that the story was (MAN READING) A BBC spokesman said that this was the first time they'd heard about the alleged effects and argued that the spiders used in the story were, in any case (MAN READING) The article also quoted Mrs Mary Whitehouse, the secretary of self-appointed television watchdog The National Viewers' and Listeners' Association.
She claimed that her organisation had already warned the BBC about the effect Doctor Who was having on very young children.
(WOMAN READING) Critics were genuinely sad to see Jon Pertwee go.
And The Daily Mirror's Donald Gomery was no exception.
On the 10th of June 1974, he wrote (MAN READING) MAN: "How was he going to die yet allow the Doc to live on? "Baffling stuff.
But thanks, Jon, for all you've done for us kids.
" During the early 1970s, reviewers found a new respect for Doctor Who's performances, stories and production values.
Indeed, since the 10th anniversary, there was a broad acknowledgement of the show's status as a national institution.
Status, however, came with responsibility.
Questions about the show's psychological impact were now being asked on a regular basis.
The debate would only intensify in the coming years.