So now that the dust has settled over Matt Smith’s impending departure it has been interesting to see the reaction from critics and fans and bloggers. While a lot of people are sad to see Matt go others are embracing the change and looking at the upcoming transition with excitement.
The waiting period for getting a new Doctor is always fraught with speculation and innuendo. Lots of names are being battered about but at the end of the day there are a handful of real candidates for the role so it will be interesting t see how this plays out.
I and many of my contemporaries are very curious as to how so many hanging story threads will be wrapped up in two episodes. I tend to think a lot of it just isn’t and that we may even get a slap dash sentence or two in the scripts to explain some of the things we have seen.
I don’t expect too much overall explanation in the Anniversary Special since they have John Hurt to deal with and also because it is focused on celebrating the show’s five decades and not just Matt Smith’s leaving.
Smith’s final bow has taken a lot of people by surprise. The timing was not great and he seemed set on staying. Nonetheless this is a period of change, discomfort and nervousness that shall pass in the instant minutes that the new Doctor appears on screen.
JENNA-LOUISE ON MATT SMITH’S EXIT
Jenna-Louise Coleman spoke with the BBC on Friday about filming her final scenes with Matt Smith. Her comments came shortly after she met with The Queen at the opening of the new BBC House.
I just can’t think about it yet. I think because we’ve got so much left to do We haven’t even begun our goodbye yet. So, I suppose that’s all I can think about at the moment.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-22813229
GAIMAN TALKS NEW DOCTOR
Neil Gaiman talked about his thoughts on the search for the next Doctor via Timblr,
I think that if you’d asked me who should be the 11th Doctor 5 years ago I wouldn’t have listed Matt Smith, because I didn’t know who he was or what he was capable of, and if you’d asked me who should play Sherlock Holmes in a modern day revival around the same time I wouldn’t have said Benedict Cumberbatch, because I didn’t know who he was either.
I actually like it when The Doctor is a relatively unknown actor, or one without one huge role that made them famous. A star, like Sir Ian, brings all the other roles they’ve ever played to the table when they act. Seeing John Hurt as the (Spoiler) at the end of the Name of the Doctor, meant that this was a certain type of part with a certain amount of gravitas, and you understood that John Hurt was bringing everything with it (including being John Hurt), just as Derek Jacobi did as the Master.
But I like to see The Doctor as The Doctor, and an actor who doesn’t bring baggage is a grand sort of thing. A star waiting to happen. So I don’t want to see Helen Mirren or Sir Ian McKellen or Chiwetel Ejiofor, or any of the famous names people are suggesting.
I want to see The Doctor. I want to be taken by surprise. I want to squint at a photo of the person online and go “but how can that be The Doctor?”. Then I want to be amazingly, delightedly, completely proven wrong, and, six episodes in, I want to wonder how I could have been so blind. Because this is the Doctor. Of course it is.
THE SNOWMEN ON DVD
The 2012 christmas special is now available on DVD, Release separately form the second half of Season Seven DVD of The Snowmen features the entire special plus the prequels Vastra Investigates and The Great Detective which helped set up the story.
Also included as are Clara’s White Christmas and the 2013 Children In Need special.
Synopsis
Christmas Eve, 1892, and the falling snow is the stuff of fairytales. When the fairytale becomes a nightmare and a chilling menace threatens Earth, an unorthodox young governess, Clara, calls on the Doctor for help. But the Doctor is in mourning, reclusive and determined not to engage in the problems of the universe. As old friends return, will the Doctor really abandon humankind, or will he fight to save the world and Christmas from the icy clutches of this mysterious menace?
I wish there was a commentary track but I am guessing that is coming on the full DVD season. IN general this is an enjoyable story, even if Richard E. Grant is a tad under utilized. but from the start you can tell that Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman have a real spark on screen together.
SERIES SEVEN, PART TWO ON DVD
Also available now on DVD is the second half of Season Seven which features that last batch of stories from the season, The Bells Of St. John, The Rings Of Akhaten, Cold War, Hide, Journey To The Centre Of The TARDIS, The Crimson Horror, Nightmare In Silver and The Name Of The Doctor.
Hopefully the full season DVD will have some extra bits included since this one too is a bit scant on extras. Nonetheless it is a fun romp with Matt Smith turning in some superior acting in the latter half of the season.
This two disc set also includes The Bells Of St. John prequel and deleted scenes from The Name Of The Doctor featuring Clarence And The Whispermen.
Despite some awkward and uneven stories there are some wonderful moments in them that take The Doctor into new territory as a central character.
JON PERTWEE REMEMBERED
Everything about Jon Pertwee, the man who would play the Third Doctor is larger than life. As a performer he cast a large shadow that transcended stage, screen and television. Oh yeah he also was a spy and a war hero and close friend of Laurance Olivier.
Born John Devon Roland Pertwee (de Perthuis de Laillevaul was his real surname) in Kensington on July 7, 1919, Pertwee was part of a famous acting. His father was the noted playwright and stage actor Roland Pertwee and his mother, Avice Scholtz, was also was involved in acting.
The lifelong pattern of always doing thing on his own terns first emerged when he was young. He was an active child who often roamed the family’s estate with reckless abandon. One of his childhood friends was Christopher Milne, who was the son of A.A. Milne, a friend of Jon’s father.
In his adolescence he was reckless and displayed a proclivity for being expelled from several schools. Despite his reputation as a tough kid he was accepted to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1936.
His tenure there however was short lived as he was expelled from RADA because he refused to play a Greek ‘wind’ in an acting exercise. He thought the role was a waste of time and talent. At RADA he also was accused of writing graffiti on the restroom walls.
Undaunted by having a string of rough and tumble educational experiences Pertwee eventually found work on stage and on the music hall circuit. It was on this circuit where he befriended John Selew a noted radio actor. Selew and Pertwee hit it off immediately and became close friends. Pertwee’s big break happened when Selew was unable to make a scheduled performance, which allowed Pertwee to step in. It was a monumental moment for the young actor.
Radio quickly became the medium that would define his early career and enable him to develop his skillful use of accents and character voices. He found great success with Radio Luxembourg before the Second World War broke. During the war Pertwee served as an officer in The Royal Navy. His tour of duty included being stationed on the HMS Hood. His acting talents helped save his life as he was dispatched by the ship’s captain for officer training in May of 1941. It was an assignment that was more fitting of his talents. This transfer spared his life as he was not onboard the Hood when it was sunk by the Bismarck. However Pertwee lost nearly his entire Navy buddies in the attack, an event which resonated with emotionally for the rest of his life.
After serving on the Hood Pertwee served in Naval Intelligence where he did a great deal of top secret spy work while also instructing servicemen on how to use the crafts of their trade. Pertwee’s work included clandestine operations involving training his fellow servicemen on how to utilize escapology equipment, store compasses in brass buttons and hide maps in white cotton handkerchiefs, He even worked with a pipe that fired a .22 bullet.] As an intelligence officer he worked alongside Ian Fleming and the two remained friends after the war. As an officer with sensitive information he reported to Winston Churchill directly.
When the war was finished Pertwee went back to work. He appeared on radio stage and screen and established himself as a character actor. In 1946 he appeared in the BBC film Toad of Toad Hall. In 1949 he starred in Murder At The Windmill with Garry Marsh and Peter Butterworth (who starred as The Meddling Monk in the Hartnell era). He starred in Puffney Post Office in 1950.
In 1953’s Will Any Gentleman…? Pertwee worked alongside William Hartnell. In 1955 he starred in A Yank In Ermine. 1955 was also the year when Pertwee, then 35, married actress (and future companion) Jean Marsh who was twenty.
(picture courtesy of PAPHOTOS.UK)
They had a tempestuous marriage that ended in 1960. That same year he married Ingeborg Rhoesa whom he was married to until his death in 1996.
In 1959, after bouncing around in a series of character parts in radio dramas and comedies, Pertwee achieved stardom via his work on The Navy Lark. He continued to work on the show until 1977. Pertwee loved The Navy Lark and often used his own war experiences to flesh out his character. The Navy Lark really opened doors up for Pertwee who was now established as a stage, screen and television actor.
Pertwee was fortunate to be a part of the Carry On film series, appearing in four of the series films, Carry On Cleo (1964), Carry On Screaming (1966), Carry On Cowboy (1965) and again in 1992 for Carry On Columbus. In 1966 he was part of an amazing ensemble cast (Zero Mostel, Buster Keaton and Phil Servers) for A Funny Thing Happened On, The Way To The Forum. In 1967 he appeared The Avengers, guest starring in the episode From Venus with Love. He also was the storyteller for ten episodes of Jackanory from 1966-67 where he costarred with Bernard Cribbins and Judi Dench.
When it was announced that Patrick Troughton was leaving Doctor Who in 1969 Pertwee was urged to take a shot at the role by his friend and co-star Tenniel Evans. Pertwee rang his agent and asked him to set up an audition. For the rest of his life Pertwee credited Evans as the one person who pushed him towards becoming The Doctor.
What Pertwee did not know at that time is that he was already on the list of candidates for the role. The show’s producers Peter Bryant and Derrick Sherwin knew of his work and thought he would be a good Doctor. After another actor turned down the role fate led Jon Pertwee to the TARDIS and he was the Third Doctor. Although he traversed time and space from 1970-74 it was the role that would define his career.
For the next five years Pertwee would dazzle audiences as a gadget loving, stubborn and whimsical Time Lord that was not far removed from his own real life persona. The Third Doctor spent his exile on Earth driving fast cars, tinkering with gadgets and scolding those who got in his way. He was a troublemaker and a dashing leading man,
The Pertwee era was a unique one for the program. It saw an immense amount of change to the program and Pertwee was under a lot of pressure to make it all work. For starters the show was now in color. Second, the Doctor was trapped on Earth, more or less working a regular job as the Scientific Advisor for UNIT. He was frustrated to be away from his TARDIS and felt generally miserable with his exile. Yet for him the experience was made bearable by the presence of his companions in UNIT.
As a result his era also saw The Doctor become a deeper and more complex character. During this time the character formed complex relationships with his companion Jo Grant and friend Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. Pertwee’s Doctor also had his own nemesis in The Master. The Master, as played by Roger Delgado, was an unscrupulous equal of The Doctor. Seeing Delgado and Pertwee do battle was a treat for Whovians of that time.
Pertwee was the Third Doctor. He loved fast cars, he was a real life spy, he loved to be the smartest person in the room and he was also an incredibly charming, flamboyant and charismatic person. He also loved doing his own stunts.
As The Doctor his tenure introduced many villains that have permeated into the new series, The Master, Autons, Silurians and Sontarans were all introduced in the Pertwee years. The idea of The Doctor as a bonafide man of science was also reinforced during this time. In 1973 Jon presided over the tenth anniversary of the show with a special episode, The Three Doctors.
The Three Doctors introduced the multi-Doctor story and helped reveal more about the nature of The Doctor. It also introduced Omega as a character. The onscreen dynamics between Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee did not come easy. There was some dissent in the ranks early on as the two actors worked in completely different way. Finally they sorted it all out and developed a wonderful two-man comedy team that would be popular on the convention circuit in the coming years.
In 1974 Jon decided to leave Doctor Who. He saw a lot of changes coming to the show and was also concerned about typecasting. Leaving the show at that time was an audacious move for Pertwee who was walking away from the role of his career. But not before turning out one of his best performances in his time on the series in his finale, Planet of The Spiders.
While still making Doctor Who Jon starred in The House That Dripped Blood in 1971. This experience made Pertwee more interested in working on films again. He also continued to work on The Navy Lark while he was The Doctor. His career also saw a gig as a game show host for Whodunnit? on ITV from 1972-78. He starred in 1975’ s One Of Our Dinosaurs is Missing with Helen Hayes, Clive Revill and Peter Ustinov.
Lightning struck again in 1979 when Pertwee was offered the lead in his own TV series. He would play Worzel Gummidge for two stints, (1979-81 and then again from 1987-89). It was a role that Jon loved dearly. It enabled him to draw on his comedic training yet also allowed him to use the many voice impressions he loved doing. When Worzel Gummidge returned for a second time it was Jon’s shear will alone that brought it back.
Worzel Gummidge was his baby. He had a hand in developing the character, (a scarecrow who comes to life and has zany misadventures). Pertwee also guided the program’s promotion and production. The end result paid off big for Pertwee who was relieved to have avoided typecasting.
But Pertwee still had some Time Lord DNA left in him as he returned to the role in 1983 for its Twentieth anniversary special, The Five Doctors. Pertwee loved working with Lis Sladen again and his scenes in the special were particularly good. Later that year He was The Doctor again in 1989 for a theatrical production entitled The Ultimate Adventure. He also starred in two Doctor Who radio adaptations The Paradise of Death and The Ghosts of N-Space.
During the 1980s and early 1990s Pertwee was a popular guest on the convention circuit, His appearance with Patrick Troughton were particularly hilarious as the two actors playfully bickered and jabbed each other. From 1982-86 he voiced Spottyman in SuperTed animated series. He returned to the show in 1989 for a special. He also enjoyed a new life as a pitchman for print and radio adverts..
Ever the showman Pertwee took full advantage of his slapstick comedy for Who is Jon Pertwee?, his one-man show, which featured him reflecting on his career in TV, stage, radio, theatre and film. Doing the show was fun for him since he loved telling stories and he recounting memories from his life.
He had a good year in 1995, providing voices for the Discworld video game and guest starring as General Von Kramer in Attack of The Hawkmen, an episode of the series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. Sadly Attack of The Hawkmen was his final TV role. Pertwee’s last film role was in a short, Cloud Cuckoo in 1994.
Pertwee took time to reflect on his time on Doctor Who and his amazing career in two biographies, Moon Boots and Dinner Suits (released in 1984) and I Am the Doctor (written with David J. Howe and released in 1996). Jon Pertwee also had success on the pop charts as well. In 1972 he recorded I Am The Doctor which was basically him speaking over the Who theme. In 1980 he peaked at Number 33 on the charts with Worzel’s Song.
Pertwee become the second Doctor to die in America, suffering a heart attack on May 20th 1996, while vacationing in Connecticut. His death happened just days after the Fox TV film aired. Jon’s sense of humor extended beyond the grave when, per his will, his cremation featured a dummy of Worzel Gummidge attached to his coffin.
Jon Pertwee crammed a lot of living into his seventy-six years of life. His legacy as the Third Doctor has helped define the series. His career as an entertainer spanned over sic decades, encompassing print, song, stage, screen, radio film and television. He also was a consummate comedian and dramatist. Despite this he will always be known to many as The Doctor.
INFERNO ON DVD
Jon Pertwee’s 1970 epic, Inferno has been released on DVD in a Special Edition format. The two-disc set features restored picture and improved audio. The enhanced picture really is noticeable and it helps give build the epic quality of the story.
Inferno was one of Nicholas Courtney’s favorite Doctor Who adventures. He loved being able to play the villain in this story. In fact seeing the UNIT characters flipped in a different universe is a lot of fun to see, even now.
The extra features include an audio commentary from Terrance Dicks, Barry Letts, Nicholas Courtney and John Levine. There are also is a deleted scene, PDF content, a photo gallery and production notes.
The Doctor Forever : The Dark Dimension. This documentary series explores the world of Doctor Who after it left television in 1989.
Can You Hear The Earth Scream? explores the making of the episode and features interviews with the cast and crew.
Unit Family: Part One: The first part of a series that looks at UNIT and how it impacted the program.
Hadoke versus HAVOC is a lot of fun. In this documentary presenter Toby Hadoke does something pretty cool in reuniting the members of Pertwee era stunt team named HAVOC. This reunion feature the team talking about Inferno and their era on the show. To cap it off Hadoke himself learns how to do some stunt work
Synopsis
If you break through the Earth’s crust now you’ll release forces you never dreamed existed!
20th Century Earth. An unhinged scientist, Professor Stahlman, is attempting the first penetration of the Earth’s crust in a top secret drilling project called Inferno. His purpose? To tap into a new energy source at the core. But at what cost? When the Doctor is called in with his companion Liz Shaw to oversee the project, he soon develops grave misgivings. Things begin to go very wrong when a mysterious green substance leaks from the drillhead. A substance which turns all who come into contact with it into alien primeval creatures called Primords.
Meanwhile, the Doctor finds himself transported into a parallel universe identical to 20th Century Earth. The mystery deepens as he finds that although the place, time and people are all the same, no-one seems to know who he is. Only one thing is certain: the drilling must be stopped before the full force of the energy from the core is unleashed, destroying not only this Earth but the one the Doctor has just left behind.
THE MIND OF EVIL ON DVD
Those who have seen the restored version of The Mind Of Evil have raved about it. For this DVD to happen the restoration team had to essentially build it from the ground up. They had to restore sound, picture and most importantly color.
Synopsis
Professor Keller has created a machine that can pacify even the most dangerous of criminals. But when The Doctor and Jo arrive at Stangmoor Prison for a demonstration, things start to go horribly wrong – especially when they discover that the Doctor’s old enemy The Master is responsible for the machine. What could he possibly want from the criminals? And what connects him with an impending World Peace Conference?
This a polished and new version of The Mind Of Evil looks great and it was worth the wait. In addition to the restoration this gem from 1971 has been dressed up and supplemented with some great extras.Included amongst the regular features of photo gallery, production notes and PDF materials there is a full house for the audio commentary. As usual Toby Hadoke steers the commentary so that the viewer get meaningful info on the episode from Barry Letts, Katy Manning, Pik-Sen Lim, Fernanda Marlowe and director Timothy Combe.
The Military Mind is a making of featurette that was made in 2009 and thus features the late Barry Letts and Nicholas Courtney.
Now And Then revisits Dover Castle and other filming locations all in under ten minutes.
There is also Behind The Scenes: Television Centre which takes footage from 1971 and looks at the bustling BBC recording studio location. You really get a feel for what a madhouse it really was.
I really enjoyed the DVD and was relieved that the reports I heard from those who saw it at a BAFTA screening were accurate. This is everything that is good about Jon Pertwee’s Doctor. While it remained underrated in the classic series pantheon of stories it is a stellar episode for UNIT and Roger Delgado and recommended for anyone who wants to see his version of The Master.
Next Time…Louise Jameson Writes, more news and some speculation
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