Interesting piece on the BBC news website, tied in with a Newsnight item.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-22628484
Nice interview with Sylvester, and sage words on the effects from Andrew Cartmel. I don't have HD, so was quite shocked at just how rubbery the Destroyer was when I watched this piece on-line.
Was the programme rubbish in the '80's? I think "fun" would be a more apposite epithet.
Yes, if I was stuck on a desert island and could only take one decade of classic Doctor Who with me, it would be the 1970's first (Pertwee & Tom Baker, Sarah Jane Smith & Jo Grant, Delgado's Master and the Brigadier); the 1960's second (Hartnell & Troughton, Ian & Barbara, Jamie and decent Cybermen); with the 1980's bringing up the rear.
The JNT years: they were the best of times, they were the worst of times...
There's no doubt in my mind that the 'way' was well and truly lost by the mid 80s. And yet the early 80s are chock full of good stories - basically the whole of season 18 is a very worthy set of stories, with the wonderful Logopolis serving as the finale.
ReplyDeleteThe 1980's are a very diverse mix of the sublime and the ridiculous throughout. That first JNT season is totally brave & radical, and that should be admired even if you don't necessarily agree with all of it. I've just rewatched those stories. The character of Adric (and in some ways Matthew Waterhouse's oft-derided performance) demonstrates a lot of potential in those episodes where it's just him and Tom. The stories are very strong - including experimental stuff with Warriors Gate and the rest of the E-Space Trilogy.
ReplyDeleteI've always agreed with what JNT wanted to achieve - not necessarily how he went about it, and as time went by things did start to go awry, at least as far as I'm concerned.
As far as I'm concerned most of the 80's stories were great some not so great (real clunkers on one or two occasions)though none were ever as bad as "Fear her" it was bloody terrible. Adric was in my opinion treated very badly he just never got the chance to shine.
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