The Doctors – The Pat Troughton Years 2

Welcome to Geeksville! It doesn't seem that long ago that this reviewer was writing about The Peter Davison Years and now we’re already on to THE PAT TROUGHTON YEARS Vol 2. Anyone interested in the second Doctor Who will be delighted with this 2-disc DVD release.

To be honest, there isn’t actually a great deal said about Pat Troughton. It is primarily the interviewees talking about their individual contributions to the series during his time and we kick off with Derek Martinus (interviewed in 2006). Martinus won a scholarship to Yale after his National Service and got involved with acting (like a great many on the technical side of Dr. Who). Upon his return to London he was lucky to get himself a part in a production at the Arts Theatre Club where he was spotted by a rep director (which culminated in his discovery of a desire to go into directing). Luck seems to have been on Martinus’ side. A little later - after he'd written to him - he met the legend that was Sydney Newman and was invited to go on the ‘BBC Director's Course’ and the rest is history. He worked on the series from 65' to 70' and directed around 26 episodes over 6 serials - among them the classic 'Evil of the Daleks' from '67 (which has now been restored, albeit with animation together with some original footage) but more about this on the second disc. It is only too obvious from Martinus' manner that he found the first Doctor, William Hartnell, a bit of problem (as many seem to have done) and speaks highly of both Pat Troughton with “his refreshing enthusiasm” while Jon Pertwee also brought “great enthusiasm”. Martinus went on to do costume dramas and later corporate work. He seemed a contented man, despite the BBC not wanting him anymore.

Next up is yet another giant: Douglas Camfield (arguably the most respected of all Dr. Who directors) who was coincidentally born in the same year as Martinus. Camfield's involvement with the series goes right back to 'The Unearthly Child' and there is not space here to go into just how many productions he was actually a part of - covering fourteen years in all! He also directed numerous other BBC serials in his comparatively short life span. Sadly, as presenter Nicholas Briggs points out, this Panopticon 5 interview from 1982, filmed on an old VHS camera, is not exactly state of the art but never mind, you will want to see it anyway. Subtitles are kindly provided. There is only one microphone on offer shared with interviewer Ian McLachlan. Camfield goes into a fair bit of technical detail and often consults his notebook - did you know about the use of a 'Quantel machine'? It makes a change to hear something positive about Hartnell as well, as it was he who got Camfield his first break as a director. Camfield describes himself as a 'Hawk' director btw and describes Pat Troughton as “a delight to work with”. It really would have been something to see Camfield remake 'The Daleks Masterplan' with new technology. The directors from Panopticon 7 (6 Sept '86) feature Michael E. Briant and Christopher Barry (interviewed by Chris Dank) who were between them responsible for no less 16 stories!

Barry was brought in by Verity Lambert as a production assistant (a great way to learn the ropes) and had been a trainee at Ealing Studios before joining the BBC in '55. He worked on the series from 63' until 95' and it was he who had the pleasure of directing most of the first Dalek episodes (the schedule being too heavy for one director) explaining to a sympathetic audience the difficulties of directing a Dalek - he came up with the idea of putting them on sand and railway lines and recounts an unfortunate Dalek smash-up. There were complaints about the violence in 'Robots of Death' (directed by Briant) but the robots looked so nice, didn't they... aah. In defence of these accusations the directors refer to its reflection on the world (now more so than ever)… which is fair enough. Briant even went so far as to get a Cyberman to take his head off for a kid (this could have frightened the child even more). You will also learn about the benefits of the Chrome Key and the first episode of 'Creature from the Pit' being the most terrifying experience of Barry's life! He thought producer Barry Letts insane and Tom Baker wanted to run the show. Now this is is the stuff we like to hear!

Disc 2 kicks off with Nick Briggs going to a suburban street in South London to interview designer Barry Newbery at his home (interview was held in 1999). If anyone who calls themselves a ‘Whovian’ hasn't heard of this man you'd better have a rethink. Newbery designed no less than fourteen sets starting with 'An Unearthly Child' - no mean feat considering the shows meagre budget! He comes over as a rather gentle and unassuming man (then getting on a little in years) who describes his job as “the best in the world”. As for his colleagues, practically everyone “was a delight to work with”. Newbery obviously found it easier working in monochrome and explains why he had to use fibreglass. He shows Nick a vast amount of photographs taken from the show which some years later appeared in a book.
Then it’s on to Peter Bryant’s (another ex-actor) team, filmed at Imperial College London for Panopticon 9 in 1988. As Nick rightly points out, these conventions represent an irreplaceable moment in history. As well as Bryant, we also have Morris Barry, Derek Martinus and Victor Pemberton on board, with Ian McLachlan once again as the interviewer.

First up, a considerably younger Martinus reflects on his career. Verity Lambert brought him in virtually from the cold (he must have been impressive on the aforementioned director's course) to take over from an ailing director on 'Galaxy 4' -where he found himself as a virtual ‘mangenue’ crossing swords with the wily old veteran Hartnell (“who intended having him for breakfast”) but…
Victor Pemberton (who was initially brought in as assistant script editor) is quick to tell us that Pat Troughton was his favourite Doctor. Pemberton felt (remember this is '88) that the series had become like a circus element with light entertainment rather than drama and lacking good stories! Morris Barry was considered by some to be an old school director and worked on three Troughton episodes (and returned as an actor in - 'Creature from the Pit'). He has a number of fascinating insights to tell us, among them an informative story about the Quarks – “poor little chaps in some kind of box” (schoolboys, in fact) and the ventilation situation was also a major problem for Daleks and Cybermen, as can be imagined.
Peter Bryant actually produced all of the Pat Troughton episodes. Like Pemberton he too laments the downgrading of the programme to its detriment. He tells us that is was hard work with the amount of shows they had to produce in a year. He had initially been a radio producer before being brought in to replace Innes Lloyd. It was he who came up with the inspired idea of casting Jon Pertwee (who was always something more than just a comedy actor). When McLachlan finally asks them about Pat Throughton it would seem they all enjoyed working with him though Morris Barry thought Hartnell the best Doctor. Pemberton remarks that he could be “very bloody minded” - this has a funny tailpiece.

Last up we have brief interviews with five not terribly well known actors (Peter Craze, Jane Sherwin (one-time wife of Derrick), Hubert Rees, Terence Bayler and Roy Spencer) - all of whom have some interesting anecdotes to tell about their experiences. Jane Sherwin mentions that she would have liked to have had a credit for the very dangerous stunt of driving the First World War ambulance straight at the camera in 'The War Games' (which Throughton had refused to do). Being Derrick Sherwin's wife, she felt she couldn't refuse. Craze becomes so anti-lovey as to refer to Hartnell as a “miserable old wotsit”!

Once again, THE DOCTORS – Behind the Scenes (in this case, THE PAT TROUGHTON YEARS VOL 2) is an absolute thrill-ride for all the Dr. Who geeks who like to take their obsession further. It’s a shame that there are never any clips from the various episodes included though that may have something to do with copyright issues.
This Limited Edition 2-disc DVD release is strictly limited to 1000 copies each.