STARLOG INTERVIEW E Lisabeth S

eople keep thanking us for com flair for words is disarming, frequently dis crowd—supposedly to look after the Doctor STARLOG INTERVIEW ing—like we are doing them a big solves into convulsions of giggles as she and make sure he was in good health. Of P favor," she says, sitting in the 19th- searches her memory for anecdotes of her course, you can't do that with the Doctor. He floor luxury suite of a Los Angeles Hotel with years as Sarah Jane Smith. Yet, she is also ex takes off on a tangent straight away.. .you all of Hollywood at her feet. "I am not being tremely introspective and analytical when it are just left to trail behind." humble,'' she continues, "but they have done comes to discussing her character, the pro ' 'There is a lovely scene that Ian did," adds us the favor, to be asked to come to Holly gram, her relationship with the other per Sladen. "The Doctor has two hearts—and it wood—to be allowed to be applauded and formers and her profession. was lovely when he took his stethoscope out looked after—I'm not joking. I have had on and found both of them. He was totally out ly a couple of hours sleep in the last couple of Joining the Show of his depth." days, and I'm not the least bit tired." In discussing the show with Ian Marter, the "She's as high as a kite," says the words pour out from the two of them. working AS A Team gentleman next to her. There's obvious respect and friendliness be According to Marter, there was a very "I am," she admits. tween them as they interrupt each other occa good relationship among him, Baker and Just a few minutes earlier an audience of sionally to add bits of information, give a Sladen. "We got on very well," he says. several hundred people were flying equally compliment or to jostle the other's memory. "It was a lovely team," Sladen interposes. high as she, Elisabeth Sladen, and he, Ian Sladen had been playing Sarah Jane Smith ' 'We sometimes almost didn't have to finish a Marter, recounted their adventures as char for about a year when Marter joined the show sentence. We knew what we were about. And acters on the British science-fiction television as a regular. But Marter had actually been the we were allowed to alter things." tradition—Dr. Who. Sladen portrayed Sarah first of the two to appear on Dr. Who. "Tom had this maxim," Marter adds, Jane Smith, the Doctor's female companion, "I was asked to play a character in just one "and we sorta adopted it as a threesome, that and Marter played Harry Sullivan, the Doc story when Jon Pertwee was playing Dr. if there is an alternative between utter dia tor's aide. Who," Marter elaborates. "The character I logue and some action—let's have the action Both performers had nothing but praise played was in a story called 'Carnival of Mon and cut the dialogue. We used to actually cut for their American fans at the Doctor Who sters.' I played a naval officer on a merchant a lot of our lines voluntarily." convention in early March in Los Angeles, ship that got abducted in the Indian Ocean, "And," says Sladen, "we also could cut sponsored by Sirius Productions. miniaturized and put into a sort of machine. I ourselves from a scene. If all I'm doing is was an upright English naval officer type. standing around in the background not add Pleased with Response "Then two to three years later when Tom ing anything important, I might just as well be "They knew us by name," Sladen says Baker was going to come into the show as the out of the way, really." somewhat incredulously. "They didn't say Doctor (Liz was already in the show) they de "We used to rewrite a lot of it, actually, in 'Hello Sarah, hello Harry'—you know, the cided they would like a similar character conjunction with the director and sometimes characters. They wanted to know about us, based on the one I played in 'Carnival of the writer, but more often than not the writer which is even more flattering. They thanked Monsters' and use him as a sort of regular wasn't there," Marter chimes in. "We would us for staying overtime to sign autographs, with the Doctor and Sarah Jane." change things if they were awkward or but how can you walk away when people "And Ian coming into it," Sladen inter couldn't work or we thought there was a bet have been queuing up for so long? I shall cry jects, "gave me more scope because normally ter way of doing it." before I leave, I'm getting so emotional." they had to find something for Sarah to do "We were allowed to lose our tempers as Marter is more low-keyed, but he too is —either be tied up, gagged or knocked on characters," Sladen elaborates. "And that genuinely appreciative of the response of the head. Now I had someone to argue with was good. We developed that ourselves. The Elisabeth Sladen American fans to Dr. Who.' 'They think a lot when the Doctor was out of the way, which day we stopped caring was the day we stop about the program. The enthusiasm is genu was wonderful. It was special." ped criticizing each other." ine. And the questions have been very intelli "My first episode," Marter continues, "I really feel I gave it all I had," Sladen gent; not just: 'Can I have your autograph,' "was Tom Baker's first episode. I was says. "We had fun and laughs, but I also & lan Marter: and 'How do you learn your lines?' " brought in as part of the army unit—the unit cared desperately that it be right because "Yes, and there's attention to detail," adds Sladen. "We had a fancy-dress contest last night. It wasn't just the Doctor they were Dr. Who's companions dressing up as, but all sorts of characters they had seen in the program—even small part characters." Come to Hollywood It was this attention to detail that caused the two performers to suffer considerable By ALAN BRENDER consternation enroute to the convention. For though they do both appear in many of the episodes currently being shown on American television, both of them have been out of the in March of 1980 an unprecedented event took series for several years. Sladen left in '76 and Marter a year earlier. place in southern California. Two of Dr. Who's "I was apprehensive," Sladen admits, time-traveling companions arrived at the "because I felt 'am I going to remember?' I was nervous, too, because I didn't want to let Hyatt Regency for a week-end of no-holds- down all the people who worked so hard on barred fun and reveling in "a special tribute to this convention. The night we arrived, after an eleven hour flight, we were immediately British fantasy/' we are pleased to warp you taken out to a meal. We were a bit zonked. back to that weekend for a delightful discus They were talking about the show and actu ally quoting lines we had said! It was really sion with two charming time trippers. quite worrying. But, in fact, it helped because it tickled our memories." Left: Sarah and Harry watch as the Doctor attempts to stop the "Genesis of the Daleks." Above: Tickle seems to be an apt word in Sladen's The U.N.IT. team: Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, Doctor Harry Sullivan and sometimes case. This petite, beautiful actress, whose scientific advisor, the Doctor in "Robot." 44 STARLOG/January 1981 STARLOG//a/iMory 1981 45 DOCTOfci PARKING ONLY On the "Planet of Evil." "I was being rescued at the time," Sladen adds. "I had to sit in a bog wearing a plastic nappy (diaper) around me for about five hours. I had my eyes closed when they did that scene. I thought, 'My goodness, that shout sounded realistic. This scene is going Harry and Sarah at the Doctor's private parking spot, await the TARDIS. well!' Then I discovered Tom was actually in dire pain." you're on show to so many people. the writers were trying to do—make the Doc "That is not the reason, I should add," "It was difficult to be in because you don't tor go up. I think that in those situations says Marter, "that it was a two-part story. really have the ammunition as an actor to where you have minor characters in three We've had this myth going around that the cover yourself as you might in a different kind somes or twosomes, as in Streets of San Franstory was cut because of Tom's broken collar of play. You had to draw very much on your cisco, the only way to make that main charac bone. But it was always intended to be a two- own character because you were so close to ter better is to make the other characters part story. Fortunately, Tom recovered very otherwise having no character. I was allowed, better. It doesn't work the other way quickly. And by using his double very clever therefore, to put a lot of me into it." around." ly, they were able to cut the story together ''I think her character,'' says Marter,' 'was "Tom would have been the first to say very well." a very real character—a very strong base that that," Sladen continues.

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