The Doctors Who's who : celebrating its 50th year : the story behind every face of the iconic Time Lord

294 Pages·2014·7.58 MB·English

For Samantha, Nathan and Fern.
‘If you knew Time as well as I do,’ said the Hatter, ‘you
wouldn’t talk about wasting it.’
The Mad Hatter
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Lewis Carroll
Special Introductions
Furies Over Korea – The Story of the Men of the Fleet Air Arm, RAF and Commonwealth Who Defended
South Korea, 1950–1953 by Graham A. Thomas
Firestorm, Typhoons Over Caen, 1944 by Graham A. Thomas
Terror from the Sky – the Battle Against the Flying Bomb by Graham A. Thomas
The Dan Brown Enigma by Graham A. Thomas
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
OVER SOME CONSIDERABLE time members of the Doctor Who family
spoke to me casually, wrote to me, or agreed to be interviewed by me, all of
which helped me in the writing of this book. I would like to thank: Patrick
Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester
McCoy, Louise Jameson, Sarah Sutton, Janet Fielding, Mark Strickson, Anthony
Ainley, Nicola Bryant, Sophie Aldrid, John Nathan-Turner, Dick Mills, Tony
Burroughs and Nicholas Courtney.
Thanks are also due to my father Colin, Dave Bush, Brian Aldrich, Deborah
Charlton, Barry Burnett, Iain Banks, Christopher Lee, Ray Harryhausen, the
proprietor of Pleasures of Past Times (Cecil Court), John O’Sullivan, Moira
Williamson and to Miranda Hart for an Eric Morecambe gem I could have
overlooked – and of course for including Peter Davison in her excellent show.
I would also like to thank some of my friends and family who have shared
their Doctor Who experiences with me over the years, namely Nicholas Skinner,
Richard Ball, and of course, Anita, Samantha, Nathan and Fern. Extra thanks to
Fern Lavinia for helping scout out extra David Tennant clips and Nathan for
watching countless Doctor Who episodes time and again.

Sincerely, many thanks to all.
CC
CONTENTS
Title Page
Dedication
Epigraph
Acknowledgements
Author’s Note
PART ONE: WHO WERE THE DOCTORS?
Chapter One – Doctor Who?
Chapter Two – William Hartnell
Chapter Three – Patrick Troughton
Chapter Four – Jon Pertwee
Chapter Five – Tom Baker
Chapter Six – Peter Davison
Chapter Seven – Colin Baker
Chapter Eight – Sylvester McCoy
Chapter Nine – Paul McGann
Chapter Ten – The First Doctor Revisited
Chapter Eleven – Christopher Eccleston
Chapter Twelve – David Tennant
Chapter Thirteen – Matt Smith
Chapter Fourteen – Peter Capaldi
Conclusion
PART TWO: THE LEGACY
Chapter One – Actors’ Credits
Chapter Two – Lost From the Vaults
Chapter Three – The Legacy of Doctor Who
Chapter Four – Blink – Quality Science Fiction or Flawed Masterpiece?
Chapter Five – The Personality of the Doctor
Further Reading and Sources

About the Author
Also By Craig Cabell
Plates
Copyright
AUTHOR’S NOTE
WE OWE A DEBT of gratitude to the Doctors.
After 50 years of Doctor Who, we owe a debt of gratitude to those excellent
English and Scottish actors who adorned strange Edwardian – for the most part –
costumes, took to the controls of the TARDIS and made television history. How
many times have we watched William Hartnell in Carry On Sergeant, Patrick
Troughton in The Omen, Jon Pertwee in Worzel Gummidge, Tom Baker in
Blackadder, Peter Davison in All Creatures Great and Small, Colin Baker in I’m
a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, Sylvester McCoy in The Hobbit, Paul
McGann in Hornblower, Christopher Eccleston in The Second Coming, David
Tennant in Broadchurch and Matt Smith in Womb and said ‘He was Doctor
Who’?
No matter what else those actors did (or do), they will always be known as
the Doctor. A man – an actor – instantly recognisable, instantly trusted by
parents with their children, because he plays such a unique character in
television history.
It is fitting that during the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who there is a book
that looks at the careers of these special actors who have played the Doctor, to
give something back to them and to acknowledge the wider parameters of their
acting skills. This was something I originally undertook several years ago in the
first edition of this book, The Doctors Who’s Who. The success of that book has
made it possible to revise, update and significantly add to it for the 50th
anniversary, in order to celebrate the actors’ careers alongside the programme
itself. No book has done this before. Of course, each Doctor Who actor has
released an autobiography or had a biography written about him; but this
snapshot overview paints a picture of the programme’s influence on each Doctor
and shows the impact those Doctor Who actors have had on British culture since
around the time of the Second World War.

Doctor Who has had an influence on the supporting cast too. Actors who have
appeared in a short scene in a single episode way back in time are still asked for
autographs by fans and requested to attend conventions or contribute to DVD
documentaries approximately half a century later.
Think about some of the key supporting actors who have passed away (in
2011 and 2012 alone): Nicholas Courtney, Elisabeth Sladen, Caroline Johns and
Mary Tamm. In each case, mention was made of their key role in Doctor Who
alongside the headline announcement of their sad passing; but surely the 1974
movie The Odessa File was far more important to Mary Tamm than Doctor
Who?
Doctor Who demands to be recognised. It is a career highlight, so it is right
that we spare a thought for the other work the Doctor Who actors have done
throughout their careers and the other people who have touched their lives.
Doctor Who has evolved over the years. Regular cast members have come
and gone but as long as a blue police box materialises and dematerialises with a
wheezing, groaning sound and the programme’s once haunting – now
wonderfully menacing – theme tune assures us that the character of the Doctor
is unchanged, the programme will continue to cast its spell over legions of fans
across the world for many years to come.
Doctor Who isn’t a cult TV programme. Approximately eight million regular
viewers per episode make it something more, especially when you couple that
figure with overseas franchises, DVDs and the ability to watch the show later via
BBC iPlayer. The final head count proves that after 50 years Doctor Who is
more popular now than ever before, and its reputation will continue to grow over
the next half century.
The Doctor’s journey is far from over and more actors will have their lives
unrecognisably changed by taking on the iconic role.
‘I realise that I have been very lucky in that I have had three massive successes in my
career to date: The Navy Lark, Doctor Who and Worzel Gummidge. These have kept me in
the public eye for far longer than many of my contemporaries.’
I Am the Doctor – Jon Pertwee’s Final Memoir