Sad to hear that the writer Philip Martin has passed away, at the age of 82. Martin wrote two highly regarded stories during the Colin Baker era of the show. The first was Vengeance on Varos, which introduced the popular character of Sil. It was inevitable that Martin - and Sil - would be invited back, and a new story was in preparation for the 23rd Season when the series was placed on hiatus.
Martin was then asked to contribute to the revised Trial of a Time Lord format, and contributed the second segment (episodes 5 - 8) which is generally known as Mindwarp. For many, it's the best part of the season.
The abandoned story - "Mission to Magnus" - was novelised by Martin, and later adapted for audio.
Born in Liverpool, Martin wrote for Z-Cars, which was set in his home city. Later, he wrote a play for the BBC called Gangsters, which revolved around the criminal underground of Birmingham. This led to a full series, starring Maurice Colbourne. Martin appeared in the series as a villain who looked and sounded like WC Fields.
Last year he revived Sil for a spin-off video production - "Sil and the Devil Seeds of Arodor" - for Reeltime Pictures.
RIP.
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