Friday 24 July 2020

ANALYTICAL: DOCTOR WHO - THE DELICATE YEARS: EPISODE THREE - REBORN

And so we reach Part Three of my analysis of "The Delicate Years" of Doctor Who. The show makes a proper return in 2005 that continues to this day. It's off to a great start. But then it stumbles for just a little bit....




"NO SECOND CHANCES" ONLY RINGS TRUE FOR SYCORAX
As we enter the 21st Century, fans are resigned to the fact that there will never be new episodes of  Doctor Who. But, quite honestly, we're happy with what we are getting. Even Doctor Who Magazine is still going strong. For a show that has been, pretty much, off the air for over fifteen years (with only the briefest return in 1996). that's pretty damned amazing.

And then, in 2004, the announcement is almost casually released. Russell T. Davis, creator of the popular Queer as Folk series will be the Head Writer for a revival of Doctor Who. No "backdoor pilot", this time, either. A full season of thirteen 46-minute episodes and a one-hour Christmas Special. Fans can barely believe what they're hearing. Is Doctor Who really coming back?!

The Big News is ever-so-slightly bittersweet, however. There is no mention of Paul McGann being involved with this new series. He won't be allowed the same privilege McCoy received to give his Doctor a proper send-off. Things will just begin with the Ninth Doctor already in action (although the slightest hint is given that he has freshly regenerated).

While many bizarre choices were made in the creation of The 96 Telemovie, it's clear that RTD has put a lot of thought into how he will present a version of Doctor Who that suits 2005. The very first episode shows all sorts of new and modern conventions for the show. But it also includes the Autons. A beautiful nod to the past. As a total nitpick: I love that they even went to the trouble of finding the same sound effect that was used in the Classic Series when the Auton hand drops away to reveal its gun.This is the sort of dedication you get when fans are making the show! Immediately, we are re-assured that this is not a re-boot - but a continuation. The first twenty-six seasons of the series are not about to be ignored.

By the end of Rose, many fans are already thinking this new version of Doctor Who looks very promising.


SERIES ONE - PRETTY MUCH, A MASTERPIECE
As the season continues, we see a few major differences between this new series and the one that came before. Most stories will be resolved within one episode with only the occasional two-parter. Cliffhangers and multi-part adventures will no longer be commonplace.  There will also be a season-long arc that will involve the words "Bad Wolf" appearing over and over. By no means is this going to be as tight of an ongoing story as Trial of a Time Lord, but it will be a thematic link throughout the season.

And, of course, the biggest development since Classic Who: the Time Lords have been wiped out and the Doctor is the last of his race. This bit of news has all kinds of consequences. It puts a very different spin on how the protagonist is presented. It also gives the show a sort of new starting point that is less cluttered by the continuity of the original series. We don't have to spend too much time explaining Time Lord culture,now, because they don't actually exist anymore.

There are a few other minor alterations to the formula of the show but those are the big ones. The core spirit of Classic Who is still there - but this is a very different beast, now. RTD has definitely modernised things and made the central premise something workable for 21st Century television.

I think it's safe to say that Series 1 is still one of the best seasons of New Who. Even the weaker stuff involving the Slitheen has its merit. As much as some were annoyed by the fart humor, it established quite clearly that Doctor Who was not a show that took itself too seriously and was going to have a bit of fun now and again. In general, the emotional resonance of the program had become quite astounding, too. Who can forget Pete Tyler's final decision to willfully let a car run him over in order to save the Web of Time? Or the beautiful holographic message the Doctor leaves for Rose after he's tricked her into returning home in Parting of the Ways? Or Rose reducing her mother to tears when she reveals to her that she was the mysterious woman who kept her husband company as he died? No one expected Doctor Who to ever "hit us in the feels" like that.

Overall, these were some very solidly put-together episodes. In the end, however, Series 1 gave all of us way more than we expected. The show was an absolute hit. And it deserved to be.

Even the fact that Christopher Eccleston decided to leave after only one season worked to everyone's advantage. It introduced, very quickly, the concept of regeneration to a new audience so that everyone would understand this was a vital ingredient to the formula of the program. Thematically, it also moved the Ninth Doctor through a beautiful character arc that had him healing from his survivor's guilt before going on to his next incarnation.

There really is almost nothing wrong with New Who's first season. It is truly a triumphant return.


SERIES TWO - ONE LAST LITTLE BIT OF DELICACY
There is a metaphor that is, sometimes, attached to Series 1 of New Who. Some fans compare it to the first album a popular band releases that gives them their big break. In many ways, the band has put years of experience and effort into that album. Their entire career has been building up to this moment and this creates a magnificently-crafted piece of music. Which is why the album ends up having such a huge impact on the public and earns fantastic sales.

Because of the success of that initial album, a band is then pushed very hard by their record executives to make them more money. Quite often, they are rushed into making a second album that isn't as strong as the first. The musicians weren't given enough time to "incubate" some more and create equally-strong material. Essentially, they recorded that second album before they were truly ready to.

Much the same can be said for Series 2. Russell T Davis even admits that he wasn't ever expecting there to be a second season. That he would just get those first set of episodes and then Doctor Who would be over with again. So he hadn't made the most concrete of plans for the show's future beyond that first commission.

This creates a very uneven second season. Really, the only thing outstanding in Series 2 is Girl in the Fireplace. A lot of the other stories are pretty sub-par (in my opinion, at least). And some are even genuinely bad. Most would site Love and Monsters and Fear Her as being the big culprits in this department (and I wouldn't argue much with that opinion), but I actually think Idiot's Lantern is the biggest stinker of the bunch. After giving us a brilliant episode like Unquiet Dead, Mark Gatiss delivers the exact opposite, this time.

Probably the biggest sin of Series 2, however, is its attempt at another season-long arc. Whereas the insertion of the term "Bad Wolf" seems quite fluid in Series 1, "Torchwood" comes across as painfully shoe-horned. It feels most ludicrous because the Doctor should have had a moment like he did in Boomtown, where he remarks on the fact that the word seems to be following him all over the place. But it never happens. Which comes across as somewhat odd.

Of all the seasons of New Who, I definitely consider Series 2 to be the worst. If we lined it up against Old Who too, I'd even say this is another time where I would prefer Season 24. I feel most sorry for more recent fans that are trying to binge watch the new series from its very beginning. Many complain about how hard it is to get through Series 2. I just tell them to hang in there. It gets better.

Unlike Season 24, this dip in quality doesn't seem to put the program's future in jeopardy. A third season is commissioned with barely a flinch from the BBC. But it does give us a show that appears very unsteady on its feet. At this point, the overall direction of the program seems very unclear. We're really not sure of the formula, anymore as the styles of the stories seem to be going all over the place There also seems to be a poor use of budget. Fear Her is required to take place, principally, on a street because they've run out of money. Even the character of the Doctor is a bit inconsistent. It seemed right for Eccleston's Doctor to have all that angst since he was recovering from what he did in the Time Wars. His journey through Series 1 causes him to heal those emotional scars by the time he regenerates. Tennant, however, is all about angst again. It makes all of Nine's character growth seem irrelevant.

These numerous problems are the reason why I consider this season to still be part of "The Delicate Years" of the show. RTD really needed to sit down and get a clearer idea of what he wished to do with his creation. It does not appear that he did that between his first and second seasons. The result is a show that still seems very uncertain of itself.


FULL RECOVERY
As the somewhat-painful Runaway Bride Christmas Special wraps up, RTD seems to get the downtime he needs to re-evaluate his vision for the program. Series 3 reaches our screens with a quiet confidence of a show with a firm direction. From this point, onward, Doctor Who really seems to have a clear idea of what it's about, again.

Is Series 3 perfect? Of course not. The Dalek story it offers is quite shaky. And some are a bit disappointed by the "Tinkerbell Ending" that the season has when the positive mindset of the entire population of Earth suddenly gives the Doctor super powers. Series 4 has a few problems, too. It has my least favorite season finale, ever. I'm not particularly fond of "The Specials" that we get over the next year, either. Waters of Mars is brilliant. The rest of them are mediocre, at best. Some of them are genuinely bad (Next Doctor is my least favorite New Who episode ever).

Overall, however, the show is performing consistently again. Moff takes the reigns from RTD and keeps the calibre of story-telling high. The show goes back to being the massive success it once was. Everything is right with the world, again. 

But Series 3 really does mark the beginning of the full turnaround. It is at this point that the show is finally running smoothly again. There might still be the occasional "hiccup" here and there. But, overall, Doctor Who is back in all its glory.

And so, the Delicate Years have reached their end. The fans have got their show back. Joy has returned to our lives!

It should be noted, however, just how long those Delicate Years lasted: Six entire seasons and a feature-length Special. This speaks volumes of the uniqueness of Doctor Who. No other show would be allowed that long of a period of time to sort itself out. Anything else would have been abandoned ages ago. But there is such a unique magic to this program that its audience is willing to let it go through whatever transformations it needs to make.

Doctor Who really is the most incredible of TV shows. Chronicling its Delicate Years was a great way to highlight that.



AFTERTHOUGHT: ARE WE AT ANOTHER FRAGILE PERIOD?
At the time of writing this, we are twelve seasons into the new series. In fact, it was just pointed out the other day that Doctor Who has now been back on the air for as long as it was off. These are things we should be grateful for. The show has returned to being an institution.

And yet, I'm starting to see negative indications, again. Perhaps, even, Signs of Doom! 

Probably the biggest red flag I've seen, of late, is the strong desire in fandom to demonise the current Head Writer. Some folks do take the same stance I do with Chris Chibnall. We actually like a lot of what he's doing and think the show is very good. It's most distressing, however, how fans who dislike him will actually berate us for our tastes. This doesn't happen every time I express a pro-Chibnall opinion - but it happens frequently enough. I have even gotten flack for some of the entries I have written of late concerning my stance on his work. 

Now, I have read some very well-formulated opinions by fans who do not appreciate his vision for the show. Those sort of dissertations are out there. And the ones who make effective cases are often happy to just "agree to disagree" with me rather than turn things into attacks. But a whole lot more of what I'm seeing comes across as fairly mindless vitriol. In some cases, it's legitimate blind hate. 

This sort of attitude strongly resembles the sort of contemptible behavior we saw directed towards John Nathan Turner back in the late 80s. When fans started becoming impossible-to-please and the show started getting shorter seasons and negative attention from BBC Executives. All of which, eventually, led to its demise.

Could we be seeing the first signs of a return to another fragile period? If some of these other factors start coming into play. If a few key figures in the upper echelons of the BBC decide the show needs another rest, then this could spell out some serious trouble for the show.

Does this mean we should just like the show, regardless? Because, if we don't, it could get cancelled! Of course not. But, maybe, we could reserve our opinions until we've given them some serious consideration. So many fans need to verbalise how they feel so quickly. Particularly now that we have the internet. And they also understand that if they're inflammatory in their remarks, they will probably get more attention.

Perhaps we should care more about the show than we do about being noticed. Have a negative opinion if you really do feel that way. But creative teams will probably pay better attention to what you're expressing if the criticism is constructive rather than rude. I know if I were a showrunner and all I was seeing was: "Rob Tymec sucks at making Doctor Who!" I would pay little heed to what you have to say. Because, in the end, that sort of language is just abuse. And who would actively seek that sort of treatment?

BBC executives, however, might start getting just a little too distressed about such strong opinions and wonder if harsher changes need to be made. And we've seen what becomes of the show when something like this happens.

I hope I'm not coming across as too preachy, here. But I also just felt this might be a good place to state my feelings on the matter. Quite honestly, I'm only saying this because I really don't want to have write another essay, someday, on a second wave of Delicate Years....







And so, the three-parter ends. Again, I hope I didn't get up on too much of a high-horse in my closing paragraphs. I also hope you enjoyed my own insights into what the show went through during its most difficult transition. Perhaps I will look into behind-the-scenes subjects more often. 

Missed Part One? Here you go: 
https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2020/07/analytical-doctor-who-delicate-years.html

Part Two: 
https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2020/07/analytical-doctor-who-delicate-years_20.html











Monday 20 July 2020

ANALYTICAL: DOCTOR WHO: "THE DELICATE YEARS" - EPISODE TWO: IN THE WILDERNESS

Got some interesting feedback from the first part of this essay. Thanks to all of you who chimed in with responses. This was something very different for me to write about and I needed to know how you felt. 

As I mentioned in Part One, I prefer to discuss the mythos of the show rather than behind-the-scenes matters. But a lot of you expressed to me that you found it an enjoyable read so I'll continue on.... 



THE WILDERNESS YEARS - THE FIRST HALF
The 90s is a sad time in the lives of any fan who started watching Doctor Who before it went off the air. Many of us went on a wonderful journey of discovering this wildly imaginative low-budget science fiction series that just seemed to have way more charm than any other franchise out there. I remember fondly discovering some latter-day Tom Baker episodes on a local PBS station here in Canada and falling instantly in love with it. A good chunk of my boyhood was then spent finding other TV channels that featured the program. I soon watched every episode in existence. All while picking up novelisations and other literature concerning the show. 

But nothing was more exciting than when a new season came out. It often took some time before the episodes would reach me in Canada. So the anticipation could be quite gruelling. There was no real internet to speak of at the time. But there were fanzines that could give me teasers about what was to come in the latest adventures of my favorite Time Lord. This just whetted my appetite all-the-more as I waited for new material to reach my side of the ocean.

While I was still blessed with an extremely healthy social life (not something an awkward, geeky teenager always gets), some of my fondest memories actually involved me turning down invitations to parties and other such events because there was a new episode of Doctor Who on that night and I couldn't miss it. On a few occasions, I even broke off dates with girls who had asked me out! 

But, as the 80s ended, all that happiness seemed to ebb away. News came out that it looked like the show had been truly laid to rest. Quite sadly, I accepted that life would have to just go on without Doctor Who. 

What really happened, however, was that life went on without Doctor Who on television. Other forms of media started picking up the torch and continuing the story.

Probably the biggest development was a series of  "New Adventures" novels that were released by Virgin Publishing. They followed Ace and the Doctor after the events of Survival. They even novelised several scripts that were meant to be in future seasons of the show. Eventually, Ace was written out and new companions like Bernice "Benny" Summerfield and futuristic police officers Chris Cwej and Roz Forrester were introduced. Which really gave the novels their own sense of identity rather than being just a continuation of a TV series. While it still wasn't quite the same level of satisfaction that new episodes would give me, I really enjoyed this book range. The Seventh Doctor became even darker than he already was on the program and his character went to some very interesting places. All in all, this was probably my favorite form of alternative media that came out during the Wilderness Years.

But I should also mention the contribution Doctor Who Magazine made during this dark time. Not only did they continue to publish interesting articles about a show that was now extinct, but they also did an ongoing comic strip that prolonged the adventures of the Doctor and Ace. The comics became especially interesting as they started tying in with things that were going on in the New Adventures novelisations. It all became one big fun shared reality for tv-starved fans to enjoy. 


1996 - THE YEAR OF HOPE
For a good five years, books and comics were the mainstay for people that still wanted some kind of fix from the Doctor Who Universe. Virgin released a second range of novels called "The Missing Adventures" that involved earlier incarnations of the Doctor (I only collected these books a bit as I didn't really like them as much as the New Adventures). An occasional video was released that would involve companions or monsters from the show but could not feature the Doctor, himself. There was even a range of audio adventures starting to develop.

And then this rumor started circulating that Doctor Who was being revived. There had been any number of rumors of this nature over the years, of course, but this particular grapevine seemed more firmly rooted. Steven Spielberg even seemed to have his name attached to the project. This definitely offered a ray of hope for the fans. If anyone could bring back Doctor Who, it would be Spielberg. 

As 1996 approached, more and more concrete news came out. Although Spielberg left the production, a return to television still seemed imminent. This was to be a British/American co-produce. Which made some fans a bit nervous. Would all the eccentricity of the series be removed to make it more palatable for a U.S. audience? In some ways, though, we were only so concerned. We were dying to see Doctor Who on our screens again. We could live if some of its integrity was compromised. 

When it did finally arrive, some interesting choices had been made. There would be a new Doctor played by Paul McGann. Who was, quite honestly, brilliant in the role. Oddly, though, Sylvester McCoy was still brought back for the first ten minutes or so of the story to get a regeneration scene. It was great to see the effort being made to join this feature-length story to the original series. But this would also alienate anyone trying out the show for the first time. To change your lead ten minutes into your story was definitely a bold decision.

There was one distinct Americanisation made to the tale. We would also be getting a new incarnation of the Master. He would not be British, though. He was played by famous U.S. actor Eric Roberts. Roberts is great at playing villains. But it was still very strange to hear the Master speaking his lines in such a different accent.

There were several other weird choices of this nature. This happened mainly because there were so many executive producers with different agendas that needed to be met. Philip Segal, the man who was putting the whole adventure together, was blown about by the various whims of his pay-masters. Ultimately, Doctor Who - The Movie (or The 96 Telemovie) only worked so well for its potential audiences. It had been hoped that this would be a sort of "backdoor pilot" that would lead to a series. Sadly, because the story never quite found its niche, this didn't happen.


DOCTOR WHO - THE MOVIE: THE AFTERMATH
As quickly as our hopes had been raised, they were dashed against the rocks. Doctor Who was over again. Poor 'ole Paul McGann would only ever get one full story. And, with this failure, it seemed definite that another effort would never be made to revive the show.

Doctor Who had gotten its one chance and had missed the mark.

There was, however, one interesting nuance to this production. Up until now, the show had always been made by "career TV producers". People that worked in the industry who just happened to get assigned Doctor Who by the BBC. This was the first time a Super Fan had made a story. Someone who, like me, had just grown up loving the series and wanted to see it continue. It gave an interesting spin on how the whole adventure was depicted. It also set a precedent. If Doctor Who was to make another return sometime in the future - it would need another Super Fan to do it. No sane television producer would be willing to work against the adversity that would be levelled against them as they tried to bring the show back. Only someone with the deepest love for Who would endure such a thing. From this point on, the main creative force fueling the series would always come from a fan.

If you read the first part of this essay (https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2020/07/analytical-doctor-who-delicate-years.html), you'll recall that I decided to watch my DVD collection from the beginning of Trial of a Time Lord until the end of the Classic Series. I, then, continued with The 96 Telemovie and went on to observe a few early seasons of New Who. This constitutes what I consider "The Delicate Years" of the show. 

Just for fun, after I finished Paul McGann's introductory story, I also bothered to put on Night of the Doctor to watch Eight regenerate into the War Doctor. I then continued with Day of the Doctor so I could observe the War Doctor turn into Nine. While neither of these stories were produced during the Wilderness Years, it's still fun to insert them into the viewing order. They give us a bit better of an idea of what happened during those years between Season 26 and Series 1. Just like The 96 Telemovie, the material is somewhat scant. It seems that, at best, we will only ever get glimpses into this specific period. Which, admittedly, gives the whole thing a rather fun air of mystery. 


THE WILDERNESS YEARS: PART TWO
While McGann's Doctor appeared to be only getting one full television story, his adventures were far from over.

Once more, novels had a strong role to play in continuing the saga. Virgin Publishing's rights to Doctor Who had lapsed and BBC Books took up the reigns. The Eighth Doctor's first story in prose picks up only moments after the Telemovie finishes. The somewhat-legendary Terrance Dicks is hired to write the novel. It's quite the fan-pleaser as Eight ends up travelling down his own timestream to have encounters with all his predecessors.

This range quickly receives the title of EDAs (Eighth Doctor Adventures) and lasts for several years. It took a while for this series to really grow on me. Overall, I still prefer the New Adventures. But some interesting things do happen with the EDAs. Most notably, the Doctor learns that the Time Lords are going to wage a very serious war with another species. This is not quite the same Time War that we hear about when the show does return. But it's still interesting that the idea was first born in these books.

The other form of entertainment that really finds its mark during this time are the audio dramas produced by Big Finish. They, too, pick up the torch and keep the Eighth Doctor running. Amazingly enough, the series is still going to this day. In the instance of both the novels and the audio dramas, stories were also created for other incarnations beyond the Eighth Doctor. Just as Virgin did "Missing Adventures" for previous incarnations. As the new series rolled in, Big Finish even started producing stories involving Doctors that were on the show. The EDAs, however, were concluded.

As great as all this is, the canon that gets established during both parts of the Wilderness Years through alternative media will, eventually, get thrown out. Or, at least, that's how I see it. Other fans may feel differently on the matter.

Both a Big Finish story using the Sixth Doctor and a New Adventures novel featuring the Seventh Doctor get "re-jigged" in the first few seasons for the Ninth and Tenth Doctors, respectively. In my view, the Doctor can't have the same adventure twice. It just doesn't really make sense. So, we have to accept that all Wilderness Years stuff doesn't really count.

Some like to point out, of course, that the Eighth Doctor does name a bunch of companions from Big Finish during Night of the Doctor.  Which must mean Big Finish is canon. I'm inclined to believe that those companions did travel with Eight - but the adventures they had in the audio dramas didn't, necessarily, occur during their travels. If we ever get a few seasons of a show featuring Paul McGann (which is highly unlikely to happen, at this point) then what we see in these episodes will be what I consider to be canon. Hopefully, some of the companions from Big Finish would be included in the run. But, to be honest, this is all a pretty big pipe dream!  Poor 'ole Paul was lucky to even get that webisode! That was purely a 50th anniversary gift given to us by Moffat. Luckily enough, he's as big of a pedant as we are and needed to see Eight regenerate!

In the end, "alternative media Doctor Who" was a wonderful diversion to keep us entertained until the show properly came back. Nothing more. It was a great ride, though. Some awesome stories were told and several people who were involved with their telling became part of the televised series as it did return.

Even Russell T. Davis, himself, wrote a New Adventures novel! 




In the Grand Tradition of such great stories as Delta and the Bannermen and Planet of Giants, we're going to make this topic a three-parter. Hope you enjoyed the middle chapter. We'll be looking at the triumphant return and its shaky second season as we embark upon Episode Three. 

Here's Part One, again, if you missed it: 
https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2020/07/analytical-doctor-who-delicate-years.html



















Tuesday 14 July 2020

ANALYTICAL - DOCTOR WHO: "THE DELICATE YEARS" - EPISODE ONE: THE DYING DAYS

So this would be another idea for an entry that just, sort of, came to me from out of nowhere. I'm not entirely sure how interesting other fans might find this analysis. We'll see....


A LITTLE BACKGROUND....
When I re-watch the show from my DVD collection (still haven't made the switch to Blu-Ray - gonna fight it for as long as I can), I tend to just watch individual stories in little or no particular order. I might watch The Time Warrior one day and The God Complex, the next. And then Arc of Infinity after that. I love to just jump all over the spectrum of the program.

Every once in a while, however, I'll go back to watching the show chronologically. I'll just pick a specific spot in the series and watch episodes continuously for a while...

Recently, I started watching the show in this fashion at Episode One of Trial of a Time Lord (aka The Mysterious Planet) and just kept viewing from that point, onward. Sadly, Six complained about carrot juice three times over and then transformed, quite unconvincingly into Seven. I then continued with Sylvester McCoy until he strolled off into the distance with Sophie Aldred while performing his final voiced-over soliloquy. But I didn't stop there. I enjoyed the stories that take place or are meant to take place in the Wilderness Years and even watched a season or two of New Who.

Then, suddenly, I felt I'd watched enough. I was ready to go back to just random viewings. I wondered why I chose to stop when I did. And then I realized it. I was watching the episodes that were made when Doctor Who was at its most delicate time. I started exactly when the show moved into an era where it faced the risk of being cancelled. I then observed its struggles to come back to life. Finally, I watched it truly get back on its feet and start firing on all cylinders, again.

I'd now like to go over those specific periods in greater detail and explain what they represented in terms of the show's demise and recovery. Normally, when I write in this blog, I prefer to stick to explorations of the mythos of Doctor Who. On this occasion, however, it's gong to be an examination of behind-the-scenes dynamics.


SEASON 22: NOT QUITE IN THE DELICATE YEARS - BUT CERTAINLY THE CATHARSIS
As we look at this period of fragility in the show's history, some would like to believe that it began in Colin Baker's first full season. But I would be inclined to refute that. The fact of the matter is, Season 22 possesses many attributes of a television program that is doing quite well for itself. Its most obvious trait would be the fact that it contains all the episodes that a season of Doctor Who normally has. To me, the greatest sign that the show was in trouble was the sudden and harsh reduction of episodes that we only see after this season concludes.

It should also be noted that the season brought us quite a few of its greatest returning villains and/or monsters. Which gave it some pretty respectable ratings. But it didn't just rest on its laurels. It also introduced two new characters (Sil and the Rani) that were so well-appreciated that they would be seen again in future stories. While I could list several more positive traits, it would just be easier to say that, overall, the season went over fairly well.

However, several key executives in the BBC were tired of the show. They felt funds at the Beeb should be directed towards newer and fresher projects rather than be used on older programs. Despite the fact that these older programs were institutions that were generating tonnes of income for the television station through merchandising and oversea sales. These execs had an axe to grind with Doctor Who and they needed some kind of catalyst to begin its demise.

They managed to find one flaw about the series that they could blow out of proportion. Season 22 is grittier and more violent than usual. Some believe that certain action elements went too far in terms of gratuitousness. But, in all reality, that's highly subjective.There's far more objectionable stuff, for instance, during much of Tom Baker's earlier days. Condo getting his stomach blown open by Solon's gun in Brain of Morbius, for instance, was an unnecessarily graphic sequence that is far more disturbing than anything Season 22 had to offer. But there were still some objections about the violence in the Sixth Doctor's debut season. This was all that  BBC executives like Michael Grade and Jonathon Powell needed to begin their campaign to kill off the show.


SEASON 23 - WHERE TROUBLE TRULY BEGINS
Overemphasising the disdain experienced by some of the darker tones of Season 22, the Powers-That-Be at the BBC declare a hiatus on the show so that it can go through extensive re-tooling. In reality, little or no attention is given to the program while it is off the air. This was done more as an attempt to get the show out of the public's attention for a bit so that it would, hopefully, suffer lower ratings when it did come back.

In order to make the blow as crippling as possible, Doctor Who is also allocated half the episodes it regularly receives when it does return to air. Not only did fans not get their favorite program for over a year, but, as it does return - it's not around for very long before it's gone again for a while.

This is, truly, the beginning of the end. Amazingly enough, the show does keep going for another four installments. But the Fourteen Episode Season is the final nail in the coffin. The body inside the casket kicks and screams for quite some time. But, eventually, it does get lowered into the earth and buried.

The one positive that comes from this decision is that the program is still receiving, more or less, the same budget it had when it was required to make twenty-six episodes. With less content to make but still plenty of money to throw at it, the production value definitely improved. The cheap effects that the show was, generally, mocked for became less frequent. Doctor Who really starts looking good. We see the best evidence of this in the beginning few seconds of the first fourteen-part season.


TRIAL OF A TIME LORD - DOOMED FROM THE START
While the opening sequence of Trial of a Time Lord is visually stunning, it's not the only shock that Season 23 creates. The biggest surprise about the whole story is its actual premise. One would expect the production team to repeat what they did in their last outing and bring us lots of recurring villains/monsters to attract viewers. But, instead, they take a very different route.

They make several bold choices. The biggest and most obvious being the decision to create an "art imitates life" piece. The show, itself, is being put on trial by the BBC executives to see if its worth keeping alive. The Doctor goes through a similar experience as he is subjected to the judgement of his peers. The opening lines of dialogue between prosecutor and defendant ("At last, Doctor." "Am I late for something?") are even meant to mirror fan reaction to the whole hiatus we had just suffered through.

But that's not the only brave decision made by the creative team. While The Key to Time was the first attempt at an umbrella themed season, it was nowhere near as tight in continuity as Trial of Time Lord was. It really was necessary to watch, pretty much, every single episode of the season to truly understand what was going on. Even modern-day Who uses enough stand-alone and/or "filler" episodes to make it a bit more accessible for the casual viewer. Trial of a Time Lord made no allowances for this. In many ways, one should admire the integrity of those that created this season.

Unfortunately, a lot of people didn't. Fandom, at the time, was going through a bit of a vicious cycle. One that happens in any franchise, really. For a time, fans will become impossible to please. Everything about what they love is picked apart and placed under the harshest of microscopes. Every fan seems to now fancy themselves as being producers, writers, directors and actors and has to tell everyone how "they would have made it better" rather than enjoy the content given to them (ironically, some people with this type of personality end up dabbling in fan fiction and we often see how much worse they would have made things!).

This was the state of fandom when Trial of a Time Lord came out. While the season is not perfect (not any season is), the problems it did have were grossly exaggerated by many of those who watched it upon its initial release. In many ways, it didn't matter what the production team made that year - it was going to get bashed pretty hard. It is,in fact, quite satisfying to hear the term "some serious re-evaluation required" being frequently used by reviewers of this season over subsequent years.

However, at the time, Trial of a Time Lord was not well-received by many. Which added, quite strongly, to its imminent demise.


THINGS COULD NOT GET WORSE - UNTIL SEASON 24!
As if dealing with BBC politics and difficult fans wasn't enough, John Nathan-Turner also had to face a slew of problems within his own team structure as Season 23 concludes.

For several years, tension between the producer and script editor, Eric Saward, had been growing. Both creatively and professionally, they seemed to be having problems seeing things eye-to-eye. It is difficult to tell whether there truly was a "good guy and bad guy" in this debacle. Personally, I'm more inclined to think JNT was the nicer fellow - but that's just me! Either of these men could have done a lot of wrong in this fight. Both, in terms of how they were treating each other and handling the show.

Things finally come to a boil between them while Trial of a Time Lord is still under production. After the death of Robert Holmes, Saward is forced to pen the final episode of the saga, himself. In a fit of pique, however, he withdraws the script and quits the show. Hastily, the producer must commission Pip and Jane Baker to come up with a finale of their own. They, literally, have a writer's briefing with a lawyer present to ensure that none of Saward's ideas are stolen. There could not be a tenser way to end a season-long opus. Interestingly enough, the final episode still holds up quite well. And, if you happen to read up on what Saward had planned, the ending devised by the Bakers is considerably more upbeat. Had they gone with Saward's bleaker version, this might have been the opportunity the BBC executives were looking for to not renew the show.

The position of script editor during the Classic Series is a crucial one. They are, pretty much, what the Head Writer is, these days. Saward quitting so abruptly was going to make finding someone to fill his shoes all the more difficult. They would be coming in to the creative team without any guidance from their predecessor.

This, however, is nothing compared to the other major internal problem.

In their continuing quest to gaslight the program in any way they can, Execs from the Beeb also decide that Colin Baker is just not suitable for the part. They refuse to renew his contract but still want him to come in and film one more story so that they can regenerate him in the final episode. Quite reasonably, Baker tells them to shove their offer where the sun don't shine. While Colin admits many years later that he did wish he had filmed a proper swansong for his character, no one can really fault him for the choice he made. He was being treated deplorably by the BBC and had every right to do what  he did.

But, ultimately, Season 24 must now be created without the presence of two key positions in its staff. This has a huge detrimental influence on the quality of the series.


THE PAINFUL BIRTH OF A NEW ERA
While Season 23 seems to survive internal politics and still produce something quite decent, the same cannot be said for the next outing.

Almost frantic, JNT gets very lucky with all of his new hires. Andrew Cartmel is a young but very inventive script editor who will go on to bring the show to one of its most creative highs. Sylvester McCoy will also create a brilliant interpretation of the lead role.

But, before either of them can do that, there are some serious teething problems.

Many of them are clearly evident in the very first story of the season. While I think it's actually okay, Time and the Rani is not liked by most people who have seen it. Admittedly, there are some aspects to the plot that are difficult to swallow. The Rani disguising herself as Mel is, probably, one of the more bitter of pills. But there are other problems, too. Sylvester McCoy's entrance into the character is the most embarrassing of visuals that also doesn't make much sense (death by exercise bike?!). He also plays the part a bit too comedically in his first adventure. Although, admittedly, his antics are quite fun to watch. Even his twisted proverbs create some genuine amusement.

Part of the real problem with this particular tale is the fact that Pip and Jane were commissioned to write the story and then thrust upon the new script editor. One can understand why the husband-and-wife writing team got the job. They had pulled Trial of a Time Lord out of the flames and JNT was hoping they could get lightning to strike twice. But Cartmel just didn't feel the script supported the direction he wanted to move things in and there was, apparently, a lot of bickering between the editor and the scribes. Pip and Jane Baker would never return to the show. Unfortunately, because of creative differences, they left behind a fairly clunky script.

As Cartmel continued on, he attempted to bring in a number of writers that he felt would revive the show and make it fresh, again. And he was right in his choice. However, he was a script editor trying to find his own feet while, at the same time, grooming a group of fairly green writers. Which meant a heavy number of misfires before things really started to go right.


PRETTY MUCH, UNIVERSALLY REVILED
Many consider Season 24 to be one of, if not, the worst seasons of Doctor Who. Fan reaction was so negative, in fact, that quite a few people stopped watching the show at this point.

I would contest that quite a bit of this backlash happened because Fandom was still in its darker phase of being overcritical of everything. Time and the Rani is passable. I actually think Paradise Towers and Delta and the Bannermen are quite strong. To me, the only real "stinker" in this line-up is Dragonfire. And, even then, it shows some promise. Particularly in the introduction of Ace - one of my all-time favorite companions.

When I compare this to another season that rates lowly - say, Season 17- then I have to wonder what all the fuss was about. Destiny of the Daleks and Nightmare of Eden are passable. I actually think City of Death is a bit over-rated. Horns of Nimon is only redeemed by the fact that it is a bit of a guilty pleasure (https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2016/05/book-of-lists-top-five-guilty-pleasures.html) - but that does mean it's still quite bad. And then Creature from the Pit is, perhaps, the greatest embarrassment the show has ever produced. This is a hideously bad story that even makes something like Dragonfire gleam like a gem.

Season 17's greatest sin, however, spans all of its stories. It is pushing the laughs way too hard. This no longer seems like Doctor Who. But, rather, a cruel parody of the show where nothing is ever being taken seriously anymore. Even when things are meant to be terrifying, they come across more as camp.

If I could delve even more into my own personal opinion, I consider most of what happened in the Pertwee era after Season 7 to be quite sub-standard. There are tales like Mind of Evil that manage to rise above much of the formula-driven, preachy, over-padded nonsense that drives most of this period. But, overall, I would take Season 24 over much of what is offered during Seasons 8 to 11.

So, to me, the rumors of Season 24's death have been greatly exaggerated. It's still troubled, in places. No doubt of that. But I'd hardly call it the worst. Not if I can find, just off the top of my head, five other seasons that I enjoy less.

This is, of course, my own opinion. Many still hold Season 24 in very low regard. This lack of love for the season does incalculable amounts of damage to the show's future. Things do get better in the last two seasons of the Classic Series. But, for many: it's too little, too late.


THE LAST TWO SEASONS: WHO CARES ANYMORE ABOUT GRABBING RATINGS?!
While the show continues to gasp its final breaths, little complaint can be laid at its doorstep about the quality of its content. As Season 25 opens, both Sylvester McCoy and Andrew Cartmel have settled nicely into their positions. The Seventh Doctor's character is now very thoroughly fleshed out and this is reflected in both the writing and the performance of the part. The scripts, in general, have improved dramatically (even though some of them were still doing quite well in Season 24). Stories like Remembrance of the Daleks, Ghostlight and Curse of Fenric are not just great Who tales, they are some of the most impressive feats of television, ever.

There is some divisiveness over certain stories like Happiness Patrol or Greatest Show in the Galaxy because they are going for a slightly more camp sensibility. But it's still evident that they tackle some pretty clever themes and ideas. Even weaker stories like Silver Nemesis and Battlefield have enough redeemable qualities to them that nothing can truly get snubbed by the fans.There are some great action sequences in Nemesis and the Brigadier is, pretty much, at his absolute coolest during Battlefield. This new stable of writers that Cartmel assembled are truly flourishing and the show almost seems to be heralding a new Golden Age.

It is almost as if everyone has stopped caring about trying to get a mass appeal and just wants to produce some really sophisticated television. The creative team seems to be hoping that people will be impressed enough by the intelligence of the content and not worry so much, anymore, about fan-pleasing gestures. Such a tactic is a pretty big gamble, of course. But it's difficult not to respect the High Road that gets taken, here.

Sadly, the risk doesn't pay off. Doctor Who has evolved so well during this period that a lot of what it's accomplishing is going over the heads of its audience. Quite a few of these stories will take a few years before they truly get the appreciation they deserve. Particularly a script like Ghostlight. Where the style of plot was just too far ahead of its time to be properly understood when it was initially transmitted.

And so, as the magnificently-layered Survival is aired, a decision is made to finish the season on a very poetic but conclusive note. In the adventure's final scene, Ace and the Doctor are shown strolling off into the sunset as Sylvester McCoy delivers a beautiful monologue in voice-over. The impression is given that their adventures will continue - we just won't be watching them anymore.

To all intents and purposes, Doctor Who is done.







As usual, my word-count is getting the best of me. I just had too much to say about this turbulent time. This seems to be a good place to leave things off. We'll re-join the tale as a new version of the show tries to rise from its own ashes.  

Again, delving so deeply into the behind-the-scenes drama is not something I usually do, here. Hope you're enjoying this.