Doctor Who earned its buns back in the Sixties with veteran actor William Hartnell zooming onto the 15 inch, black and white screen from somewhere in a distant galaxy later revealed as Gallifrey. A technical problem, which has never been solved to this day, meant that when his Space/Time Machine, the Tardis, appeared on the scene, the chameleon device, used to make the craft fit in with the locale, jammed in Police Box mode. Saving the BBC scuds of cash because now they didn’t need to think up new designs for each episode of the series. The writers soon found that the way to engage young minds was to frighten them into taking up a viewing position from behind the sofa – and keep on doing it. It was a new idea in broadcasting and opened up some frontiers which might not have been breached for years to come. Probably the most remarkable concept put forward by the programme was the ‘reincarnation’ of the Doctor when the present incumbent had run out of juice or wanted to move on. Whether Hartnell bowed out or was pushed out isn’t certain, but it seems that Verity Lambert, who produced the original Whos, had left the show and her successors were looking for new blood to take the show in another direction. During an epic battle with the Cybermen, Hartnell collapsed but sprang up rejuvenated in the shape of Patrick Troughton, a reasonable look-alike but with a transformed personality. Unfortunately, it seems that the Time Lords, the Doctor’s brothers in brains, were not happy with their man on the spot acting the buffoon and interfering in the lives of aliens and ordered a refurbish. Jon Pertwee took the series in a whole new direction. Or, more truly the writers gave the actor the possibility of taking the Doctor in a whole new direction. And Pertwee jumped at the chance. During Troughton’s incarnation he had worked with an Army unit, enterprisingly called UNIT, that had been formed to defend the earth against anything nasty coming from extraterrestrials. Its leader was Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart played by Nicholas Courtney. The Brigadier was to become the longest running character in the franchise. When Pertwee went, Tom Baker swirled in, teeth a-flashing and scarf a-swirling. His predilection for jelly-babies gave the confectionery industry a jelly baby boost for years as well as helping President Reagan get into the White House. Tom Baker was to be the longest running, and some claim the best and most important, Doctor to date. Baker was succeeded by Peter Davison. The Doctors were getting younger and younger in their reincarnations and Peter was almost a baby compared to the original Doctor. He abandoned scarves and went for the eccentric cricketer look. I did Warriors of the Deep with him and when the series was canned my part was given as an example of why the show had to go. No hate mail, please. Colin Baker came next as an amiable, quick-witted Doctor mixed with a soupcon of sarcasm and Sylvester McCoy checked in and out as the series foundered and was banished to outer space without even a Sonic Screwdriver to fiddle with. The great thing about the old Doctor, before the regeneration in 2005, was that it was the sort of show to which adults and kids could relate. Everyone could be a critic and make remarks about the sets, the dialogue, the plots, the monsters, the villains and everything Who-ish. That was BC (Before Computers). While the unregenerated Doctor mooned around the outermost Galaxies, back on Earth everything changed. CGI became the new special effects and traumatised sets and M&S costumes disappeared. The new Doctor Who series is really another programme in disguise. When the heads of BBC saw that, whatever they might think, the Who-thing wasn’t going to disintegrate but continue its non-existent existence in the form of films, books and memorabilia, they wanted to capitalise on it. But the viewing public had moved on and they needed to play catch-up. So they decided to throw a reasonable budget at the new Doctor, strip him down to less exotic costumes and leave the monsters and scenery to the CGI department. It hasn’t quite worked out like that. Probably due to the fact that they brought in Christopher Eccleston to do the scenery chewing. The newly regenerated show has become much harder and more horrific then the gentle, slightly comedic shows of yesteryear. One of the most chilling episodes of the Eccleston era was the one with the children with gas masks instead of faces wandering around and asking everyone in a pathetic voice, “Are you my Mummy?” There was also the sexual tension that built up between Eccleston’s character and Rose. A place where former Doctors had never ventured. The confluence between Rose and the Doctor became even more intense when Eccleston decided to hand in his cards (reason to be discussed and denied endlessly) and make way for and even more exuberant and wild-eyed David Tennant. I remember on Warriors of the Deep how the fat suits worn by the Myrkas tende to come apart the moment the director called “Action”. Another boost to the series’ lavish presentation is that, through the magic of CGI, regiments of Cybermen or squadrons of levitating Daleks can invade wherever they want and wreak whatever devastation the writers wish without appearing through a restricted orifice, in the wood and canvas sets, in single file. Happy days. Now The Doctor is going through the greatest regeneration of his long life. More gullible audiences of the early 60s probably would have been unable to take a young Doctor. It was still an era of discipline and reverence for the older members of a constrained society. Now there seems to be no problem with having the world and the universe saved by a 26-year-old. Matt Smith is all set to become the 11th Doctor. Read Ingrid’s column every Tuesday at Den Of Geek. Last week’s is here.
