Editorial of Time with the Fans Afterwards
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Pat was charming and spent a lot Editorial of time with the fans afterwards. He signed my little autograph By Paul Winter book ‘To Paul. Pat Troughton’ and I still treasure it to this day. I am one of those fans lucky A year later he was gone, but of enough to have met Patrick course, was never forgotten. Troughton, albeit only briefly. When I was seventeen years old Thank you Doctor. the DWAS annual convention ‘Panopticon’ came to Brighton and I realised that with the town (as it Paul then was) within bus journey dis- tance, I could actually attend. And so for two days in 1985 I im- mersed myself into the world of Doctor Who, at Brighton’s Metropole Hotel on the seafront. THE CELESTIAL TOYROOM ANNUAL 2021 Now, I know of the tremendous angst that event caused behind the scenes, causing the Society Published by The Doctor Who Ap- some financial problems, that in preciation Society. All content is © turn led to other problems and so DWAS and to the respective con- on. However, my enduring memo- tributors. ries are of seeing (and meeting) Jon Pertwee, and making his only full UK convention appearance, CONTACT US Patrick Troughton. Pat appeared on the Saturday and took the DWAS stage with Michael Craze who P O Box 1011 was interviewed first. When the Horsham time came for the man himself to RH12 9RZ, UK appear the room was buzzing with excitement. Instead of coming on- Edited by: Paul Winter to the stage from the side as other Publications Manager: Rik Moran guests had done, Pat instead en- tered the hall from the back. He Front Cover: David Lavelle and Alister Pearson was in full costume and I remem- ber him walking up the aisle, head Back Cover: Graeme Wey down but with a smile on his face, as hundreds of excited fans FIND US ONLINE snapped away with their cameras. A subtle and understated en- www.dwasonline.co.uk trance for the headlining guest Facebook.com/dwasonline and a massive contrast to Mr Twitter.com/dwasonline Pertwee the following day who Youtube.com/dwasonline came crashing in like a metaphori- Instagram.com/dwasonline cal missile. 1 2 laughter. He would rush onto the I think it’s worth looking back Foreword new sets with excitement to see The Era from the start of 1966 to under- what the talented designers had stand the genesis of what would By Anneke Wills come up with next – such enthu- By Tony Jordan become the Troughton era. It siasm was infectious. was the year that England won To this day we all remain enor- the World Cup (indeed, the final To think, over fifty years later Perhaps the most precious mously indebted to The Guv’nor. episode of ‘The War Machines’ and I am still remembering that memory for me, was taking both Without William Hartnell’s bril- was transmitted on the same extraordinary time when Pat took Pat and Mike to my favourite liant portrayal of The Doctor, over the role of Doctor Who. pub, where we would laugh and day that England beat Mexico 2- debrief over a nip or two. we wouldn’t have gone beyond 0 in their second group What an honour it was for Mike the first thirteen episodes, let game). In terms of football anal- and I to be his support team, as How chuffed and amazed he alone more than one hundred ogies, if Verity Lambert’s time as he created his Doctor and then would be now to know of the lon- and thirty. He was a magical fig- Producer had been akin to that found his way into the part, both gevity of the show he contributed ure to the children of this isle, of Sir Matt Busby or Sir Alex Fer- respecting Billy Hartnell, but so much to, and how tickled myself included. We fell in love guson’s eras at Manchester adding the touches that made pink, I think, to see a female with the white-haired traveller United, then sadly John Wiles’ the role uniquely his. Doctor! who moved around the fourth was more akin to Wilf McGuin- and fifth dimensions without ever It was a joy for us both to work Kisses and hugs ness or David Moyes. Much of being in control of his, or his this wasn’t Wiles fault, rather it with Pat, the intelligent, wonder- fully funny and wicked person companions, fate. was the ever-increasing central that he was. I can still hear his Anneke issue of the deteriorating health/ There can be no doubt, howev- performance of William Hartnell er, that by early 1966 the peak of aligned with the fact that all of Hartnell’s era was over. Average the original team from late 1963 viewing figures of nearly 10.5 had left. However, at the time million for Season Two had the powers that be on the Sixth dropped quite sharply to 7.7 mil- Floor of Television Centre were- lion for Season Three, with a no- n’t willing to remove their main ticeable drop following ‘The Da- striker, and so the manager left. leks Master Plan’. The produc- tion team had changed not once, Wiles replacement was 40 year but twice. Most significantly, the old Welshman Innes Lloyd, for lead actor’s health had deterio- whom this was the first role as a rated owing to undiagnosed arte- drama producer. Lloyd was a riosclerosis, and the incredibly physically impressive specimen, bold decision was taken to con- and his ability to steer the good tinue the programme while at the ship TARDIS away from what same time replacing him. Back had become choppy waters and then I found the concept of a into a second Golden Age was a ‘new’ Doctor both bemusing and foretaste of what became a high- distressing in equal measure, ly impressive CV to match his The Highlanders but it was one that I would quick- demeanour. L—R Michael Craze, Patrick Trough- ton, Anneke Wills ly come to love. 3 4 Lloyd and new Story Editor Ger- the swinging sixties than the rel- the newly opened Post Office Season Four of Doctor Who de- ry Davis, the replacement for in- atively old-fashioned Steven and Tower which also served to in- buted on 10th September with cumbent Donald Tosh who left Dodo. On 26th April, it was an- troduce the fashionable Ben and ‘The Smugglers’. Even before it alongside Wiles, started work on nounced that Purves and Lane Polly. William Hartnell had diffi- was broadcast, following on from Doctor Who in February 1966 on would be leaving over the course culty adapting to his new cast- the perceived success of ‘The the serial ‘The Celestial Toymak- of the next couple of stories mates, all the more so as he had War Machines’, Gerry Davis en- er’. The new production team enjoyed a very good working re- couraged Pedler, a medical re- were of the opinion that historical Not content with just this, more lationship with Peter Purves. In searcher by trade, to think in adventures were unpopular change was on the way. With just a few short months the de- terms of his own experiences to with the audience, something ’The Savages’ Lloyd ceased the cline in his general state of inspire a different sort of adver- with which six year old Anthony practice of giving each episode health had accelerated with his sary. Pedler was concerned John of West Acton would have its own title - the intention was to mood swings becoming worse. about the possibility of replacing agreed, had he been asked. Nei- make that sure viewers knew in ‘The War Machines’ was also to human limbs and organs with ther did they feel that the come- advance when a new serial was serve as the last story of Season machines, cybernetics. He pic- dic leaning of the next story, starting, especially through the Three, which with 45 episodes tured a race who had taken this ‘The Gunfighters’, suited their listing in the Radio Times. Last, would prove to be the longest in conscious decision, becoming vision for the programme. In- but definitely not least, they the show’s history. (Although more machine than man and stead they wanted to more sto- wanted scientific fact and reality ‘The Smugglers’ was part of the named them Cybermen. Davis ries on modern day Earth. to become part of the fabric of same production block, it was suggested that these beings show, and so Dr. Kit Pedler of held over to start Season Four). could come from Earth's previ- Within a few weeks Lloyd and the University of London was in- ously unknown twin planet Mon- Davis decided to further re- vited on board. By now Lloyd had managed to das. vamp Doctor Who by introducing convince Head of Drama Sydney two new companions, who were His first impact led to ‘The War Newman, and Head of Serials Pedler had been commissioned intended to be more relevant to Machines’, a story set around Shaun Sutton, that Hartnell to write ’The Tenth Planet ’ in needed replacing with a new ac- May; Davis propounded the the- BBC publicity shot tor. Following a meeting during ory that, given The Doctor was the production of ‘The Smug- an alien, he could die and come glers’, Hartnell reluctantly agreed back to life in a new body. Lloyd that he should depart after one bolstered this idea, suggesting more serial which would be rec- that such a bodily renewal could orded in the Autumn.