The Doctors Who's Who (15 page)

‘A man is the sum of his memories, a Time Lord even more so.’

The 5th Doctor
 
‘The Five Doctors’

It was during
All Creatures Great and Small
that John Nathan-Turner, then just a production unit manager, recognised Davison’s talent and noted him as someone to watch. When Tom Baker decided to leave
Doctor Who
, Nathan-Turner (now producer) decided upon Davison as a good choice for the next Doctor.

Davison stated that his intention was to make the Doctor ‘vulnerable and perhaps flawed, and that he would sometimes make things worse before he made them better.’ His research for the role included looking at videos of all his predecessors and hoping something would stick. He didn’t consciously take things from the previous Doctors but instead tried to pick up on a moral thread, which he could then make his own.

Davison was only 29 when he became Doctor Who, the youngest person ever to play the Time Lord at that time (Matt Smith would later land the role at the tender age of 26) but his maturity shone through, quickly endearing him to both young and old viewers alike.

Unlike many of his predecessors, Davison didn’t have much say in his costume. In one interview he claimed that he chose the cricket sweater as he was asked to pick something that
denoted action and eccentricity, but the Edwardian coat, striped trousers and plimsolls were not his. His question mark shirt was the suggestion of John Nathan-Turner, who introduced it into Tom Baker’s costume during his last season.

Davison sometimes wore a Panama hat and had a stick of celery pinned to his lapel. The presence of the celery was explained in his very last story, ‘The Caves of Androzani’. It was meant to turn purple if the Doctor was subjected to certain gases that he was allergic to. The idea was then to eat the celery, ‘if nothing else I’m sure it’s good for my teeth,’ he would state.

Like the very first regeneration (Hartnell to Troughton), the first Peter Davison story followed the last story in the preceding Doctor’s tenure in the role, without a break between seasons. The story was called ‘Castrovalva’ and was frustrating for many fans, as the Doctor was hardly himself after his regeneration and it was difficult to see how the new actor would interpret the role. However, the story did build into something quite interesting with the presence of the new Master (Anthony Ainley), who was so prevalent in Tom Baker’s last two stories.

The next story, ‘Four to Doomsday’, fared well, as did the period piece ‘Black Orchid’, where the Doctor actually got to play cricket. ‘Kinda’ was next – an average story with a brilliant and highly scary new foe, The Mara – but it was the ingeniously plotted Great Fire of London story, ‘The Visitation’, which really won the hearts and minds of the seasoned
Doctor Who
fan, a story hailed as a classic to this very day. However, it was not voted the best story of that season by the
Doctor Who Monthly
faithful; that accolade went to ‘Earthshock’, which included the return of the infamous Cybermen. The story had a memorable and shocking climax – the death of Adric, one of the Doctor’s
young and faithful companions. The end credits were silent as a consequence, showing Adric’s broken badge for mathematic excellence discarded on the floor. It was a powerful ending and one that has remained in older fans’ minds ever since.

Lighter moments in ‘Earthshock’ included the presence of a spaceship captain (Briggs), played by British character actress Beryl Reid. Reid later said that she thoroughly enjoyed her time fighting the Cybermen, and this clearly comes across in the story.

Unfortunately, the last story in Davison’s first season was the most disappointing. ‘Time Flight’ brought the Master back again, but failed to make any lasting impression on fans and is all but forgotten today as a consequence.

After ‘Castrovalva’, Davison was accepted as the new Doctor Who. His sincerity and youthful get-up-and-go was instantly appealing and struck the right balance against his evil adversary the Master, who cropped up throughout Davison’s era; even in the 20th anniversary story, ‘The Five Doctors’.

During his first year as the Doctor, Davison was the subject of the classic TV surprise show
This is Your Life
. Hosted by Eamonn Andrews, the popular presenter pounced on a celebrity when they were least expecting it with a big red book that tracked their life story. They were then whisked off to a TV studio, played embarrassing clips – in Peter’s case
The Tomorrow People
– and subjected to embarrassing anecdotes from former stars, co-stars, and teachers from their impressive life.

Sandra Dickinson blazed the trail and was joined on stage by her two brothers (both of whom were Peter’s best men at their wedding), who wore
Doctor Who
sweaters. But the highlight was really the cast of
All Creatures Great and Small
, led by
Robert Hardy. It was clear that they were all great friends. Carol Drinkwater (Helen Herriot) brought on some balloons and all of them gently ribbed the star actor. The real-life Tristan Farnon (Brian Sinclair) also came on stage, and stated that he was flattered that someone as tall and handsome as Peter Davison would play him on screen.

Another highlight in the show was when members of the cast of
Love For Lydia
came on stage. Mel Martin recounted a screen kiss with Peter’s shy character in the series that caused him to really blush on screen. Indeed it was one of his original drama school teachers who commented on Davison’s natural sensitivity, which had been there from the start and really made his many characters believable – but the reality was onscreen for all to see as the
Love For Lydia
clip was shown.

Davison’s second season as Doctor Who saw the return of the Brigadier (Jon Pertwee years), played once again by Nicholas Courtney, and the Black Guardian (Tom Baker years), once more played with menace by veteran actor Valentine Dyall. Again there were strong stories throughout, most notably ‘Arc of Infinity’ (shot in Amsterdam and featuring future Doctor Who Colin Baker as a Time Lord guard), which marked the return of the all-powerful Omega (Pertwee years). However, it was ‘Mawdryn Undead’ (featuring the Brigadier) and ‘Terminus’ (the last story for companion Nyssa) that were the most noteworthy stories. It seemed all stops were pulled out to celebrate 20 years of the longest-running Science Fiction show of all time.

Unfortunately, one story that didn’t work out so well was ‘Snakedance’. It marked the return of the Mara from ‘Kinda’, but both ‘Snakedance’ and ‘Kinda’ were two of the most uninteresting scripts of the Davison era – a great shame, as the Mara were incredibly scary in both stories. What probably
didn’t help matters with regard to ‘Snakedance’ was the laughable giant snake that appeared at the climax of the story and was meant to symbolise the Mara’s pure evil, when in actual fact it only highlighted the beginning of the programme’s diminishing special effects budget. On that basis, it is unfortunate that the Mara haven’t made a more memorable comeback in
Doctor Who
since the Millennium return. Who knows what reaction they would get with a half-decent script and special effects nowadays…

The 20th anniversary season concluded with ‘The Five Doctors’. The feature-length story was broadcast on Friday, 25 November 1983 (two days after the actual anniversary) as part of Terry Wogan’s
Children in Need
charity evening, with a short introduction vignette by Wogan, joined by Peter Davison. For only the second time in the show’s history (the first being the Peter Davison story ‘Castrovalva’) was there a teaser before the opening title sequence. This took the form of a clip of William Hartnell saying his farewell to Susan at the end of ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’, the first ever companion to leave the programme.

It was a wonderful tribute to the first Doctor and perfectly set the scene for the celebration story that followed, which included Carole Ann Ford taking on the role of Susan again; this time as an adult (18 years had passed since her last appearance in the programme). She was splendid, as was Jon Pertwee, who didn’t look much older than the day he left the show (already his hair had turned completely white during his reign as the Doctor). It was a treat to see Patrick Troughton as the Doctor in full colour, something that would happen again during the Colin Baker years, in Baker’s finest story, ‘The Two Doctors’.

‘The Five Doctors’ showcased all the other Doctor Who actors, Richard Hurndall standing in for the late William Hartnell, and footage from the unreleased ‘Shada’ compensating for the absence of Tom Baker.

Although the story ‘The Visitation’ saw the end of the sonic screwdriver as the Doctor’s magic get-out-of-trouble tool, Pertwee’s Doctor used it in ‘The Five Doctors’, marking its last appearance in the classic series. As the present incumbent, Peter Davison took the lead and was the catalyst for bringing all the Doctors together for a satisfying end scene. Although technically the star of the programme, Davison provided an almost humble, laid-back style alongside Troughton and Pertwee, which is both endearing and important to the balance of the end scene featuring the four Doctors.

It was a great shame that Tom Baker was not present at the celebration, a decision he claims to regret to this day, and the lack of his commanding presence after seven years in the TARDIS does affect the overall impact of the story. Originally Baker was intended to work alongside Sarah Jane (Elisabeth Sladen) but that pleasure fell to Jon Pertwee, who described Baker’s Doctor when reunited with Sarah Jane as ‘all teeth and curls’. The special effects held up well through-out the story and, with extra scenes added and additional CGI images on DVD, the 20th Anniversary Special still entertains audiences to this day.

While Davison’s stories seldom over-reached the modest BBC budget, towards the end of his tenure there was more criticism of poor special effects. For example, ‘Warriors of the Deep’ was a great comeback story for the Sea Devils and their cousins, the Silurians, but the impact was lessened by a giant monster that looked like the winning prize in a
Blue Peter
papier mâché competition. The story had great sets (by Tony Burroughs) and
a half-decent script, but the poorness of the monsters started
Doctor Who
on a downward spiral that finished with the show’s demise during Sylvester McCoy’s reign.

Davison would only play the Doctor for three years. This is commonly thought to be Patrick Troughton’s fault, who advised the young actor to quit because of typecasting. Both Davison and Troughton did some TV interviews together around the time of ‘The Five Doctors’ and Troughton did mention typecasting then, so this perception does have some credibility.

It appears that Davison thought that three years was long enough and sentimental headlines said things like ‘Dishy Doctor Peter says Ta-Ta to TARDIS!’ This headline was the work of
The Sun
, who called Davison a ‘heart-throb’. It also stated that producer John Nathan-Turner wanted the next Doctor to be vastly different, perhaps older.
The Sun
took this to heart and had Clarkson draw a cartoon of the next Doctor as an old eccentric based on politician Michael Foot, making him look like William Hartnell.

Nathan-Turner hadn’t ruled out the possibility of a woman taking over the controls of the TARDIS, but maybe this was simply the producer being provocative – apparently he also considered getting rid of the TARDIS.

As culture changes the idea of a female Doctor appears more tempting to the production staff of
Doctor Who
. In the new series, River Song is a popular character and at one stage she could have been mistaken for a future Doctor coming backwards in time. Surely any anniversary story featuring more than one Doctor doesn’t necessarily have to include the Doctors we’ve already had so far, it could include a future one? Now wouldn’t that be interesting, and the perfect way to trail a female lead…?

‘It is very easy for an actor to stay in a safe role, but there’s a danger of being typecast.’

Peter Davison
 
The Sun, Friday, 29 July 1983, on announcing
his departure from Doctor Who

Despite being the first young Doctor, Davison created a credible character, deeply moral and sincere, which endeared him to many children. He wasn’t an aloof eccentric like his predecessor, but a breath of fresh air, invigorating the role and programme with a strong supporting cast of companions. In fact Davison was the ‘companion’s Doctor’, caring and nurturing them like a some-times exasperated schoolteacher. His lack of flirtation with the more attractive female companions - such as Nyssa (Sarah Sutton) and Peri (Nicola Bryant) - made him appear more like a protective older brother than potential suitor; the Doctor’s first kiss with a companion was still years away (Paul McGann’s watershed movie version).

Davison probably had the last decent season of the Classic Series, which culminated with the regeneration story, ‘The Caves of Androzani’. Not since the Tom Baker story, ‘The Deadly Assassin’, did we witness the Doctor being blown up, covered in muck and taken to the brink of his physical capabilities. Not only that, but this time he loses the battle and actually dies – well, regenerates.

‘The Caves of Androzani’ was a pastiche of
Phantom of the Opera
and, during David Tennant’s era, was voted the best story ever by
Doctor Who Magazine
readers. It also won a poll on satellite TV and remains one of the most accomplished stories of all time. Written by
Doctor Who
veteran scriptwriter Robert Holmes, it was funny, sad, scary and ultimately heroic,
with the Doctor staggering back to the TARDIS with his dying companion in his arms, giving her the elixir that would save her life. Sadly there was not enough left for him, and he died.

It seems that Peter Davison quit while he was still ahead of the game and judging by what happened directly afterwards, i.e. the deteriorating quality of special effects, monsters and scripts, his decision to leave was probably the right one, albeit for different reasons.