TV Gold

For anyone whom is a fan of the 'classic series' of Doctor Who 2009 is undoubted going to be a really cracking year for new DVD title releases here in the UK!

We kick off the year with the 'E-Space' trilogy box set featuring the Tom Baker 18th season stories 'Full Circle', 'State of Decay' and 'Warriors Gate'... a title that should hopefully be popping through my letterbox in the next day or so.

coming out on 23rd February 2009 the next title is a two story box set pulling together the William Hartnell stories 'The Rescue' and 'The Romans', the former at two parter introducing new companion Vicki and the latter a comedic historic tale.

Next comfirmed title, for 16th March 2009 is Colin Baker's second story 'Attack of the Cybermen', the series second favourite baddies are generally perceived as usually good sellers and IMO I'm sure this title will continue the trend despite a rather series continuity heavy plot.

Flicking to page 40 of 'Doctor Who Magazine' issue 404 will further wet your appetite with hints about what we are likely to get during the remainder of 2009.

I'm a big fan of 'Delta and the Bannermen', a easy going light weight slice of '87 McCoy so it's good to hear this is on its way. I also welcome the Tom Baker stories 'Image of the Fendahl' and 'The Deadly Assassin', the latter has great potential for some great special feature items linked to this rather atypical solo Doctor story.

It's fascinating to hear about the 'Dalek War' two story box set which pulls together Jon Pertwee tales 'Frontier In Space' and 'Planet of the Daleks' with of course the latter gaining the most attention due to the revolutionary brand-new process to bring colour to the long established 'black and white only' copy of the third episode.

I guess for me, and a great many 'classic series' fans the true 'jewel in the crown' regarding these forthcoming releases has got to the potentially stunning three disc 'The War Games' title offering commentaries on all ten episodes plus an indicated 'over two hours worth' of extras as well.

Although not mentioned in this Doctor Who Magazine article the internet has been a buzz recently with indications that the first Doctor story 'The Keys of Marinus', the fifth story from the series first season is another forthcoming title for 2009.

Definitely lots to get excited about!

I hope it's not just me here on this forum who is looking forward to all that this year will bring!

Absolutely loved the extras packed "The Romans" disc and the commentary for me was a real joy to listen to! I've also found "Image Of Fendahl" just as brilliantly enjoyable as I remembered it to be and although rather thin on extras the four on commentary duties for this title are well worth selecting!

As you'll know next one to come out is "The Deadly Assassin" and here is a title for which I've got a interview from an old magazine that you might not have seen...

We step back to November of 1995 and in Issue #2 of CULT TIMES reporter Peter Griffiths talks with actor Hugh Walters

Keeping Time Lords up to date with Presidential events

Hugh Walters played three roles in Doctor Who’s long history, and in the 1976 story The Deadly Assassin he narrated the broadcast of the President’s retirement on the Doctor’s home planet, Gallifrey.

How did you land the role of Runcible the Fatuous?
Those were the days when the BBC made Sunday teatime classic series, I’d worked with the director, David Maloney, on Ivanhoe, the first one made in colour, I think. I did a second classic serial for him as well. directors always have certain people they like working with, and I was one of those people for David. He had seen me in a commercial where I played a series of interviewers, so he rang up and said, “Oh, you can do interview parts, come and play this!”

The story follows the Doctor solving the assassination of the Time Lord President.
It was quite a good script. It was really a rewrite on the Kennedy assassination. We all wore Wagner-type costumes and I was a political commentator. The President was bumped off at the coronation by a space gun thing, and as I knew I was eventually going to be bumped off, I was rather looking forward to being shot! As it turned out, I staggered onto centre stage and collapsed with something that looked like an old-fashioned chair leg sticking out of my back! But it was a well-written episode, and well directed by David. I believe it was very popular.

Chair legs in backs sounded like Mary Whitehouse material. Was there any concern over this?
Like the series, she was in her heyday. I don’t remember any discussion. It was set in the future, and so comic strip in its violence that no one could really complain about it. But you had to play it as though it were happening for real.

The story boasted a very distinctive design.
A lot of the sets weren’t that large, but they were very cleverly shot. The labyrinthian corridors were dressed and redressed and shot from different angles. What was fortunate was that we had the really big studios at Television Centre, so the coronation took place in a huge area filled with extras.

How did Tom Baker rate against the other Doctors you’ve worked alongside?
It’s impossible to say. I thought all the Doctors were jolly good. I never did one with Jon Pertwee, but I enjoyed his performance very much. He was the right sort of mad eccentric. I’ve worked with Tom since, actually. We did a medical video together, all about migraine before it was actually called that. he had the most difficult part reading all the technical terms, but he did have a teleprompter! I played a series of doctors throughout the ages, so while Tom was doing his bit to camera and being very erudite, I was rushing about getting changed!

What about your other Who stories?
All I can remember of the 1965 one was that it was in black and white. I played William Shakespeare, and my friend Roger Hammond, who I knew from university, played Roger Bacon. I do recall hours in the make-up chair having a terrible bald cap fitted! The last one I did was as the creepy assistant to Eleanor Bron, who was basically playing the Wicked Queen from Snow White. I was bumped off by Daleks, which is always the best way to go! They told me to stand there and shudder, so I did, and they turned on all their special effects in the gallery and made me go negative.

As you said, the Seventies was a popular time for Doctor Who.
I never really followed the series, I just watched the ones I did and the odd episode with friends in. but at that time money was being spent on it and they were able to do what they wanted with it. Unlike Star Trek, it was not high-tech at all. It was magical, in the vein of Lewis Carroll.
And now it’s on UK Gold, I still get little repeat fees from Doctor Who. How wonderful to have the odd pound cheque coming through for something you did in 1976!

Still finding this being a great year for classic series titles and would like to say more about a forthcoming title...

As part of a lavish (and for me eagerly anticipated) four disc ‘Dalek War’ box set to be released on Monday 5th October “Frontier In Space” gains a most welcome DVD release. However back when it came out on VHS video TV Zone magazine helped to promote the title with one of their mini interviews with one of the stories guest stars. I don’t know the name of the reporter or which issue it featured in however I have a cutting of this fairly brief item and for those of you whom might of missed it this is what it said…

Peter Birrel – Prince Charming

Becoming a Draconian for the 1973 Doctor Who story Frontier In Space (out on video this month) was an “unbelievable” experience, according to actor Peter Birrel who played the Draconian Prince. “I was head-to-toe in green latex,” he remembers. “It was before the days of the breathing latex that they have now. So you can imagine, I used to pour a quarter of a pint of sweat out of the thing at the end of the day.”
Jon Pertwee has always said that the Draconians were some of the most impressive aliens he met while playing the Doctor, because the actor’s expression can be seen under all the green make-up. “The make-up girl had to do green make-up into the eye socket and I sweated so much it just sank into my skin,” says Peter. “After the day’s shoot I would like in the make-up chair with hot towels over my eyes trying to sweat it out again, but it was weeks before it completely disappeared. My ex-wife used to think I’d died when I came home!”
The aliens look incredibly imposing because they are quite tall, especially with their pointed heads. But Peter, it turned out, wasn’t quite tall enough. “I’m only 5’9” and they wanted to make me a bit taller,” he says. “So I had built-up shoes. You know those flip-flops you wear on the beach? Well I had those, except there were five or six extra pairs of soles stuck underneath. So I was tottering around like a girl in her first high heels! We did some filming out in a quarry somewhere, which was supposed to be the Ogron planet, I think, sort of running across the rocks and things. That was quite dicey there for a bit. I was very lucky, I didn’t break any ankles or anything, but it worried me for a while I have to say.”
The good thing about the costume was that it allowed Peter to hide his moustache under the latex mask and he was able to avoid shaving it off for the part. And of course it was very effective, as demonstrated by the reaction of some on-lookers who arrived to watch the filming at the quarry. “A group of a few people turned up, a lot of them were kids, of course. The make-up truck was down the bottom of a bit of a hill and we had to walk up to the top of the quarry where the camera was. I remember walking up behind Jon and Katy and the kids were jumping up and down and shouting; ‘Oh there’s Doctor Who! There’s Doctor Who’ and Jon smiled and waved. And ‘There’s Jo! There’s Jo!’ and Katy smiled at them. Then I came along in the full make-up and one of them actually screamed and ran away. I though, well at least that works!”