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Paul MC Smith

@wonderfulbooks.co.uk

Design, data and Doctor Who. http://www.wonderfulbook.co.uk

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Paul MC Smith@wonderfulbooks.co.uk · 20h ago

The year according to Peter Haining’s ‘Doctor Who: The Key to Time’ — Today in 1968: Freddie donned the Quark costume again for the final episode of ‘The War Games’, while John returned as an Axon Boy in ‘The Claws of Axos’. Have any of the lads been traced and interviewed?

August 10 1968 Three schoolboys fulfil what must be the ambition of millions of young Doctor Who admirers – they play the monsters in the Doctor’s adventure which opens the sixth season. Because of the diminutive size of the alien Quarks in ‘The Dominators’ a five-part story by Norman Ashby, director Morris Barry recruits three boys, Gary Smith, Freddie Wilson and John Hicks, to occupy and operate the machines. Even though the youngsters find it difficult to manipulate the tiny Quarks in their cramped interiors, acting in the series proves an unforgettable and unique experience for them!Quarks - blib-blibble-blub-blub-blubDoctor Who - The Key to Time: A Year-by-Year Record, by Peter Haining
Paul MC Smith@wonderfulbooks.co.uk · 20h ago

The year according to Peter Haining’s ‘Doctor Who: The Key to Time’ — Today in 1968: Freddie donned the Quark costume again for the final episode of ‘The War Games’, while John returned as an Axon Boy in ‘The Claws of Axos’. Have any of the lads been traced and interviewed?

August 10 1968 Three schoolboys fulfil what must be the ambition of millions of young Doctor Who admirers – they play the monsters in the Doctor’s adventure which opens the sixth season. Because of the diminutive size of the alien Quarks in ‘The Dominators’ a five-part story by Norman Ashby, director Morris Barry recruits three boys, Gary Smith, Freddie Wilson and John Hicks, to occupy and operate the machines. Even though the youngsters find it difficult to manipulate the tiny Quarks in their cramped interiors, acting in the series proves an unforgettable and unique experience for them!Quarks - blib-blibble-blub-blub-blubDoctor Who - The Key to Time: A Year-by-Year Record, by Peter Haining
Paul MC Smith@wonderfulbooks.co.uk · 3d ago

The year according to Peter Haining’s ‘Doctor Who: The Key to Time’ — Today in 1979: One suspects Mr McKay hadn’t seen the series in well over a year. The Star Trek episode ‘This Side of Paradise’ had been on BBC1 the previous Friday, though… (Article from cuttingsarchive.org)

August 8 1979 Three weeks prior to the return of Doctor Who an extraordinary attack is launched on the programme in the London Evening Standard which links it with Star Wars and describes both as ‘lust in space’. Writer Peter McKay declares: ‘The stories are gibberish. So is the action. Little effort is made to make the thing believable; or, failing that, amusing. This is not just an adult view of a children’s programme. My own children and their friends think it is gibberish too. The real fans of Doctor Who are not children at all. They are middle-aged men who enjoy watching half-naked young girls being chased by space monsters. No matter what time the stories are set in, or what new girl is chosen to be the Doctor’s accomplice, one thing remains constant. The girls are always half-naked. And they are always being chased. The same is true of Doctor Who’s American rival, Star Trek, a superior piece of nonsense, in which the space ladies wear very short skirts. Star Trek is, though, far easier on the eye than Doctor Who. Tom Baker’s interpretation of the Doctor – the first and best was that of the late William Hartnell – is simply annoying. I sometimes wish that, with his long silly scarf, he suffer an Isadora Duncan style fate in the engines of a passing space cruiser. USS Enterprise, perhaps.’London Evening Standard, 8 August 1979 Lust in Space? Malcolm Muggeridge once said that it required a special madness to be an actor. Out there on the boards each evening, spouting the same words. Someone else’s words, too. Surely to play Dr Who on television is a further dimension of this predicament. They have been repeating an old Dr Who serial on the BBC and it is impossible to watch actor Tom Baker in the title role without wondering what on earth is going on in his curly head. The stories are gibberish. So is the action. Little effort is made to make the thing believable; or, failing that, amusing. This is not just an adult view of a children’s programme. My own children and their friends think it is gibberish, too. The real fans of Dr Who are not children at all. They are middle-aged men who enjoy watching half-naked young girls being chased by space monsters. No matter what time the stories are set in, or what new girl is Chosen to be the doctor’s accomplice, one thing remains constant. The girls are always half naked. And they are always being chased. The same is true of Dr Who’s American rival Star Trek, a superior piece of nonsense in which the space ladies wear very short skirts. The stories in Star Trek are as daft as those in Dr Who, but they do occasionally have a satirical edge. In one recent episode, Captain Kirk and his crew found a galactic Garden of Eden. But there could be no question of staying there. Why? Well, there was no strife. People were not killing each other. Without such mayhem, suggested the story, life was hardly worth living. Star Trek is far easier on the eye than Dr Who. Baker’s interpretation of the doctor—the first and best was that of the late William Hartnell—is simply annoying. But he will be back with a new series on September 1. I sometimes wish that, with his long, silly scarf, he suffer an Isadora Duncan-style fate in the engines of a passing space cruiser. USS Enterprise, perhaps.Doctor Who - The Key to Time: A Year-by-Year Record, by Peter Haining
Paul MC Smith@wonderfulbooks.co.uk · 3d ago

The year according to Peter Haining’s ‘Doctor Who: The Key to Time’ — Today in 1979: One suspects Mr McKay hadn’t seen the series in well over a year. The Star Trek episode ‘This Side of Paradise’ had been on BBC1 the previous Friday, though… (Article from cuttingsarchive.org)

August 8 1979 Three weeks prior to the return of Doctor Who an extraordinary attack is launched on the programme in the London Evening Standard which links it with Star Wars and describes both as ‘lust in space’. Writer Peter McKay declares: ‘The stories are gibberish. So is the action. Little effort is made to make the thing believable; or, failing that, amusing. This is not just an adult view of a children’s programme. My own children and their friends think it is gibberish too. The real fans of Doctor Who are not children at all. They are middle-aged men who enjoy watching half-naked young girls being chased by space monsters. No matter what time the stories are set in, or what new girl is chosen to be the Doctor’s accomplice, one thing remains constant. The girls are always half-naked. And they are always being chased. The same is true of Doctor Who’s American rival, Star Trek, a superior piece of nonsense, in which the space ladies wear very short skirts. Star Trek is, though, far easier on the eye than Doctor Who. Tom Baker’s interpretation of the Doctor – the first and best was that of the late William Hartnell – is simply annoying. I sometimes wish that, with his long silly scarf, he suffer an Isadora Duncan style fate in the engines of a passing space cruiser. USS Enterprise, perhaps.’London Evening Standard, 8 August 1979 Lust in Space? Malcolm Muggeridge once said that it required a special madness to be an actor. Out there on the boards each evening, spouting the same words. Someone else’s words, too. Surely to play Dr Who on television is a further dimension of this predicament. They have been repeating an old Dr Who serial on the BBC and it is impossible to watch actor Tom Baker in the title role without wondering what on earth is going on in his curly head. The stories are gibberish. So is the action. Little effort is made to make the thing believable; or, failing that, amusing. This is not just an adult view of a children’s programme. My own children and their friends think it is gibberish, too. The real fans of Dr Who are not children at all. They are middle-aged men who enjoy watching half-naked young girls being chased by space monsters. No matter what time the stories are set in, or what new girl is Chosen to be the doctor’s accomplice, one thing remains constant. The girls are always half naked. And they are always being chased. The same is true of Dr Who’s American rival Star Trek, a superior piece of nonsense in which the space ladies wear very short skirts. The stories in Star Trek are as daft as those in Dr Who, but they do occasionally have a satirical edge. In one recent episode, Captain Kirk and his crew found a galactic Garden of Eden. But there could be no question of staying there. Why? Well, there was no strife. People were not killing each other. Without such mayhem, suggested the story, life was hardly worth living. Star Trek is far easier on the eye than Dr Who. Baker’s interpretation of the doctor—the first and best was that of the late William Hartnell—is simply annoying. But he will be back with a new series on September 1. I sometimes wish that, with his long, silly scarf, he suffer an Isadora Duncan-style fate in the engines of a passing space cruiser. USS Enterprise, perhaps.Doctor Who - The Key to Time: A Year-by-Year Record, by Peter Haining
Paul MC Smith@wonderfulbooks.co.uk · last wk.

Pretty sure that TARDIS is Clayton Hickman's recreation of Skilleter's Target cover art. Hope they paid him.

Battles in Time First Doctor Collector's Edition card of the Tardis, showing the Police Box in the junkyard
Doctor Who Merchandise@doctorwhomerch.bsky.social · last wk.

Shipping now! Battles in Time: The First Doctor Limited Edition Collector's Set The first in a new line of limited-edition collector’s cards focused on the individual Doctors, their companions and greatest foes. 15 card set. Order here (shipping now): www.masterreplicas.co.uk/collections/...

Paul MC Smith@wonderfulbooks.co.uk · last wk.

The year according to Peter Haining’s ‘Doctor Who: The Key to Time’ — Today in 1983: No sooner is Davison’s departure announced than the rumours begin. Brian had been approached in 1966 to take over from Hartnell, but wouldn’t appear in Who until 1986… (Article from cuttingsarchive.org)

August 1 1983 Brian Blessed is to be the new Doctor according to a rumour picked up by newspapers as far flung as the Yorkshire Telegraph & Argus and the Australian Sydney Morning Herald and given front‑page prominence. Several television reporters are convinced the hugely entertaining character-actor is destined to be the sixth Doctor, and from London the Morning Herald’s correspondent tells his readers on the other side of the world: ‘Older men are walking a little straighter this week with the news that the prized role of Doctor Who is to go to Brian Blessed, forty-five, who has enjoyed great success on both stage and screen since he won acclaim as PC Fancy Smith in the long‑running BBC series Z-Cars.’ Listing some of his other triumphs, the paper goes on: ‘But it was as the rumbustious but lovable winged man in Flash Gordon that Blessed showed his likely Doctor Who personage – noisier and more irascible than recent inhabitants of the role, but with a flashing, warming smile which will surely charm even Daleks away from extermination. Aficionados are already saying Blessed can be the best Doctor Who since the redoubtable Jon Pertwee . . .’ Brian Blessed, however, is saying nothing of the sort, the rumour having apparently originated from the Doctor Who Exhibition in Blackpool! And so the speculation goes on . . .Daily Express, 1 August 1983 Who’s Who? Brian’s Doctor No. 6 By Peter Mason The secret of who’s Who was out last night. Actor Brian Blessed is taking over the role of television’s time-travelling doctor from Peter Davison. Command of the Tardis—Dr Who’s multi-dimensional spaceship—should pose few problems for Blessed. For the 45-year-old actor started his TV career as Pc Fancy Smith in Z-Cars. And as everyone knows, the Tardis is disguised as an old-fashioned blue police telephone box. Since Z-Cars, Brian has popped up on stage, films and television playing such diverse roles as Banquo, opposite Peter O’Toole’s Macbeth; Augustus Caesar in I, Claudius; and, more recently as comedian Rowan Atkinson’s father, Richard IV, in The Black Adder. He also played Deuteronomy in the West End hit musical Cats. Blessed’s elevation to the role of Time Lord quashes reports that the next Dr Who was to be a woman. BBC chiefs had even described the kind of woman they were looking for. Blessed, will take over from 31-year-old Davison when the next series, due to start screening in January, finishes. He will be the 6th Dr Who since the programme started nearly 20 years ago.
Paul MC Smith@wonderfulbooks.co.uk · last wk.

2026 is the 21st anniversary of Doctor Who’s revival. When the Classic Series was 21, WH Allen published The Key To Time by Peter Haining, in which he “explored the history of the series through key dates in its many life-cycles”. Let’s revisit what AUGUST dates he picked…

Doctor Who - The Key to Time: A Year-by-Year Record, by Peter Haining
Paul MC Smith@wonderfulbooks.co.uk · last wk.

More info www.dwasonline.co.uk/dw7079 Great insights from the likes of @jamiehailstone.bsky.social @0tralala.bsky.social @paulscoones.bsky.social @karadennison.bsky.social @dalesmithonline.com @matt-hills.bsky.social

Bruce Nicholson@frontiervinyl.bsky.social · 2w ago

Something I've been working on for a while with @wonderfulbooks.co.uk @and-e-roo.bsky.social and many, many others for @dwasonline.bsky.social is Doctor Who 70-79. This full-colour hardback publication looks at the decade of the Third and Fourth Doctors through www.dwasonline.co.uk/dw7079

Gav Rymill@themindrobber.bsky.social · 2w ago

🧂💥NEW VIDEO💥🧂 Terry Nation’s original Master Plan: The first draft of Devil’s Planet, and lost storyline ideas. Full breakdown and comparison between Nation’s script and Tosh’s rewrite. Watch now! (Link Below 👇🏻)

Bild
Paul MC Smith@wonderfulbooks.co.uk · 2w ago

The year according to Peter Haining’s ‘Doctor Who: The Key to Time’ — Today in 1983: On the BBC Evening News, Davison spoke to Kate Adie about his departure. His record for shortest Doctor would not be retained for long…

July 28 1983 Another era in the history of Doctor Who comes to an end with Peter Davison’s announcement that he is giving up the role of the Doctor at the end of the twenty-first season next March. The news is broken on the BBC lunchtime News and Peter says: ‘I decided when I took the part it would only be for three years and that will be up next January. There is a danger, I feel, of actors becoming stereotyped if they stay in a series too long. And I’ve always done three years of everything else. It’s a nice round figure. But it has still been a most enjoyable role.’ (To date, Peter’s is the shortest run as the Doctor – just 74 episodes.) There is immediate speculation about who will be the next Doctor, the Daily Mail declaring that the search is on for an older actor. John Nathan-Turner says, ‘We’ve tried a young one and now we’re after someone older. What I have in mind is an actor with the magic of the early, eccentric Doctors. I think one of the strengths and successes of the programme is because of the differences between successive Doctors.’Michael Buerk on the BBC Evening News announce’s Peter Davison is to leave Doctor Who, while Kate Adie talks to the man himselfDaily Mail, 29 July 1983 Time runs out for the Doctor By Moira Petty The BBC’s galactic warrior, Dr Who, is too young and too sexy – and now producers are searching for an older model. Blond Peter Davison, the 33-year-old fifth Doctor who broke a successful mould, is quitting after the next series in January. Despite a twice-week screening at peak hours, viewing figures for the Time Lord’s aoventures [sic] have slumped from a one-time high of 20 million to 8½ million. And producer John Nathan - Turner yesterday revealed that he is looking for an actor with the magic of the early, eccentric Doctors. Yesterday Mr Davison, who found fame as the gentle vet Tristan in All Creatures Great And Small, insisted he jumped, and wasn’t pushed. But his youthful, prep-school approach is thought to have gone down well with viewers. Mr Davison will be one of the Doctors celebrating 20 years of time travel in November when an anniversary 90-minute special is screened. But the sixth Dr Who will be appointed within two months, and seen by viewers next March.Doctor Who - The Key to Time: A Year-by-Year Record, by Peter Haining
Paul MC Smith@wonderfulbooks.co.uk · 2w ago

The year according to Peter Haining’s ‘Doctor Who: The Key to Time’ — Today in 1983: On the BBC Evening News, Davison spoke to Kate Adie about his departure. His record for shortest Doctor would not be retained for long…

July 28 1983 Another era in the history of Doctor Who comes to an end with Peter Davison’s announcement that he is giving up the role of the Doctor at the end of the twenty-first season next March. The news is broken on the BBC lunchtime News and Peter says: ‘I decided when I took the part it would only be for three years and that will be up next January. There is a danger, I feel, of actors becoming stereotyped if they stay in a series too long. And I’ve always done three years of everything else. It’s a nice round figure. But it has still been a most enjoyable role.’ (To date, Peter’s is the shortest run as the Doctor – just 74 episodes.) There is immediate speculation about who will be the next Doctor, the Daily Mail declaring that the search is on for an older actor. John Nathan-Turner says, ‘We’ve tried a young one and now we’re after someone older. What I have in mind is an actor with the magic of the early, eccentric Doctors. I think one of the strengths and successes of the programme is because of the differences between successive Doctors.’Michael Buerk on the BBC Evening News announce’s Peter Davison is to leave Doctor Who, while Kate Adie talks to the man himselfDaily Mail, 29 July 1983 Time runs out for the Doctor By Moira Petty The BBC’s galactic warrior, Dr Who, is too young and too sexy – and now producers are searching for an older model. Blond Peter Davison, the 33-year-old fifth Doctor who broke a successful mould, is quitting after the next series in January. Despite a twice-week screening at peak hours, viewing figures for the Time Lord’s aoventures [sic] have slumped from a one-time high of 20 million to 8½ million. And producer John Nathan - Turner yesterday revealed that he is looking for an actor with the magic of the early, eccentric Doctors. Yesterday Mr Davison, who found fame as the gentle vet Tristan in All Creatures Great And Small, insisted he jumped, and wasn’t pushed. But his youthful, prep-school approach is thought to have gone down well with viewers. Mr Davison will be one of the Doctors celebrating 20 years of time travel in November when an anniversary 90-minute special is screened. But the sixth Dr Who will be appointed within two months, and seen by viewers next March.Doctor Who - The Key to Time: A Year-by-Year Record, by Peter Haining
Paul MC Smith@wonderfulbooks.co.uk · 3w ago

The year according to Peter Haining’s ‘Doctor Who: The Key to Time’ — Today in 1965: Most scenes of 60s Who were recorded in ‘one take’ but fights were often pre-filmed for snappier editing. This one is performed in studio during the episode’s recording, cuttting between different camera shots…

July 24 1965 After the big-budget film, the last story of the second season of television programmes ends with the low-budget production of Dennis Spooner’s ‘The Time Meddler’. Despite the necessary cost‑cutting, director Douglas Camfield produces a stylish four-parter with a dramatic fight between Saxons and Vikings all done in one long, continuous take which has to be painstakingly choreographed to avoid accidents. Aside from establishing the new companion, Steven, the story also introduces for the first time another Time Lord apart from the Doctor – the Meddling Monk, played by veteran comedy-actor, Peter Butterworth.‘The Time Meddler’ episode two, ‘The Meddling Monk’: Saxons fight a Viking raiding party that has earlier attacked a villagewomanDoctor Who - The Key to Time: A Year-by-Year Record, by Peter Haining
Paul MC Smith@wonderfulbooks.co.uk · 3w ago

The year according to Peter Haining’s ‘Doctor Who: The Key to Time’ — Today in 1965: Most scenes of 60s Who were recorded in ‘one take’ but fights were often pre-filmed for snappier editing. This one is performed in studio during the episode’s recording, cuttting between different camera shots…

July 24 1965 After the big-budget film, the last story of the second season of television programmes ends with the low-budget production of Dennis Spooner’s ‘The Time Meddler’. Despite the necessary cost‑cutting, director Douglas Camfield produces a stylish four-parter with a dramatic fight between Saxons and Vikings all done in one long, continuous take which has to be painstakingly choreographed to avoid accidents. Aside from establishing the new companion, Steven, the story also introduces for the first time another Time Lord apart from the Doctor – the Meddling Monk, played by veteran comedy-actor, Peter Butterworth.‘The Time Meddler’ episode two, ‘The Meddling Monk’: Saxons fight a Viking raiding party that has earlier attacked a villagewomanDoctor Who - The Key to Time: A Year-by-Year Record, by Peter Haining
Paul MC Smith@wonderfulbooks.co.uk · 3w ago

The year according to Peter Haining’s ‘Doctor Who: The Key to Time’ — Today in 1963: Peter’s sources let him down here. Whitaker joined the show on 24 June, and two scripts from Anthony Coburn were already underway (although still needed a lot of work)…

July 22 1963 BBC staff writer David Whitaker is the first person recruited by Sydney Newman as script editor for his embryo team to create Doctor Who. With the concept for the new series outlined in a memo, Whitaker is asked to commission a pilot script. He gives the job to Australian-born Anthony Coburn, a versatile writer with a particular interest in science and history. David Whitaker later recalls his brief: ‘Sydney Newman wanted to use the format to combine the latest ideas about space-travel with a way of educating viewers about the past. If stories went into the future or onto other planets we also had to stick to what was known or generally accepted to be true.’David WhitakerSimon Guerrier’s biography of David Whitaker is available from Ten Acre Books - https://tenacrefilms.bigcartel.com/product/david-whitaker-in-an-exciting-adventure-with-televisionDoctor Who - The Key to Time: A Year-by-Year Record, by Peter Haining
Paul MC Smith@wonderfulbooks.co.uk · 3w ago

The year according to Peter Haining’s ‘Doctor Who: The Key to Time’ — Today in 1963: Peter’s sources let him down here. Whitaker joined the show on 24 June, and two scripts from Anthony Coburn were already underway (although still needed a lot of work)…

July 22 1963 BBC staff writer David Whitaker is the first person recruited by Sydney Newman as script editor for his embryo team to create Doctor Who. With the concept for the new series outlined in a memo, Whitaker is asked to commission a pilot script. He gives the job to Australian-born Anthony Coburn, a versatile writer with a particular interest in science and history. David Whitaker later recalls his brief: ‘Sydney Newman wanted to use the format to combine the latest ideas about space-travel with a way of educating viewers about the past. If stories went into the future or onto other planets we also had to stick to what was known or generally accepted to be true.’David WhitakerSimon Guerrier’s biography of David Whitaker is available from Ten Acre Books - https://tenacrefilms.bigcartel.com/product/david-whitaker-in-an-exciting-adventure-with-televisionDoctor Who - The Key to Time: A Year-by-Year Record, by Peter Haining
Paul MC Smith@wonderfulbooks.co.uk · 3w ago

The year according to Peter Haining’s ‘Doctor Who: The Key to Time’ — Today in 1977: The movie, devised by Tom Baker and Ian Marter, never got made. But Baker worked with James Goss on a novelisation of the script in 2019… (Article from cuttingsarchive.org)

July 18 1977 Tom Baker’s chance remark last November suggesting fans might like to contribute to the projected feature-length movie, Doctor Who Meets Scratchman, has had a remarkable sequel, the London Evening Standard reports. ‘Doctor Who has received sacks of mail from his fans,’ says the newspaper, ‘and all the letters contained money. But sadly for Tom Baker he has had to send all the money back. This extension of his superior powers from merely travelling through time to magnetically drawing pound notes towards him arose through a misquote in a newspaper.’ The Standard describes Tom Baker’s attempt to set up the film and the offer of half of what he needed from the British Board of Film Finance. ‘Baker mentioned this in an interview, but the remark came across as an appeal to his fans for funds. They quickly proved what a loyal bunch they are and he received eight thousand letters containing varying amounts. They have come from children, from parents, from grandparents. Baker was amazed, but when he inquired into the legitimacy of raising money, even inadvertently in this way, he was told he would have to send the lot back. He was advised that he should have started a company, advertised shares, and promised a dividend.’ The Standard adds that the eight-thousand contributions are now going back, and although Baker has received an approach from a City bank, they are only interested in backing a package of three films rather than just one.London Evening Standard, 18 July 1977 Londoner’s Diary Tardis trip to future film meets setback Dr Who has received sacks of mail from his fans, and all the letters contained money. But sadly for Tom Baker, who plays the Doctor in the television series, he has had to send all the money back. This extension of his superior powers from merely travelling through time to magnetically drawing pound notes towards him arose through a misquote in a newspaper. Baker, who has taken the Dr Who audience past the 13 million mark, decided he would like to make a Dr Who film. There have been two previous films, both starring Peter Cushing, but Baker wanted to do one himself. He has written his own screenplay and called it Dr Who Meets Scratchman. He set out to get finance for the film. and the British Board of Film Finance promised £250,000 half the amount he needed. Baker mentioned this in an interview, but the remark came across as an appeal to his fans for funds. They quickly proved what a loyal bunch they are. Baker has received 8000 letters containing varying amounts. They have come from children, from parents, from grandparents. Baker was amazed, but when he inquired into the legitimacy of raising money, even inadvertently, in this way, he was told he would have to send the lot back. He was advised that he should have started a company, advertised shares, and promised a dividend. So 8000 contributions are being returned to the donors. And Baker is looking for one backer prepared to provide the full £250,000 required. He has already had an approach from a City bank. But they were interested in doing three films rather than one.Cover of ‘Doctor Who – Scratchman’ by Tom Baker (with James Goss). “In his first-ever Doctor Who novel, Tom Baker’s incredible imagination is given free rein. A story so epic it was originally intended for the big screen, Scratchman is a gripping, white-knuckle thriller almost forty years in the making.”Doctor Who - The Key to Time: A Year-by-Year Record, by Peter Haining