Peter Moffatt (1923-2007) RIP

[Pip Madeley]

Sad news - Peter Moffatt has died. He directed the Doctor Who stories State of Decay (1980), The Visitation (1982), Mawdryn Undead (1983), The Five Doctors (1983), The Twin Dilemma (1984) and The Two Doctors (1985).

We are lucky that he will feature on the DVD commentary for State Of Decay, whenever it appears.

[SiHart]

That's very sad.

They were only talking about him being unwell on the RT forum today too.

I don't think he's one of the best directors the show ever had, but his first few stories are pretty solid, and he did direct The Five Doctors which earns him a few points.

Si xx

[Dirk Gently]

It's only his last two stories (of Pip's list) that I'm not overly keen on, but the rest are fine. I only posted on the R.T yesterday that he was still alive.

R.I.P Peter, 84 isn't a bad age.

[Antony Cox]

Very sad news - I was only watching his little featurette on the Visitation DVD a few weeks ago.

I actually thought he was an OK director - not the best the show ever saw but a good director nonetheless. He was such a lovely man, though - no-one can take that away from him.

RIP Peter - one of the last of your breed.

[Captain Tancredi]

As somebody who really only picked up Who with 'Castrovalva', it's difficult not to feel sad at the loss of somebody who had an influence on how the series looked and felt at the time. Others have said that he didn't have a particularly strong style, but I suspect his style was to encourage the actors to do their best and capture the results- it's difficult, for example, to imagine somebody with a well-defined directorial vision taking on 'The Five Doctors' with all the various egos to marshal. And we can be glad that he remained articulate and able to contribute his views to several DVDs in the last few years of his life as somebody who seemed to genuinely enjoy the process of making Doctor Who.

[Andrew Curnow]

By sheer coincidence I was watching him just the other day on the "A New Body" documentary. He struck me as one of the 'old-school' directors, whose job was to get the work done, and I suspect he was a reliable semi-regular for the JN-T team in terms of bringing the show in within the budget and within the time allowed. I've been rather critical of the direction of some of his shows in the past, and certainly his Colin Baker stories seemed to lack the flair of, especially, State of Decay - but there's a lot to be said for the ability to get the episodes in the can without over-spending.

Certainly, though, his first two or three stories are very good, and it's always a shame when another contributor to the classic series passes on. RIP Peter Moffat.

[Larry]

Another sad loss to Doctor Who.

I realise it was in some cases 30 or 40 years ago but it's sad that so many of those involved with the old series have now died - I just hope that 2/entertain can get as many interviews in the can before it's to late.

[Si Hunt]

It's a well known fact that the nicest people make the worst directors. He was a ropey Director, but (from all accounts) a lovely guy.

Rest in peace.

Si.

[Captain Tancredi]

Indeed, I think the obvious contrast is with the supposedly perfectionist Peter Grimwade- it's a fact of life in any field that the people who have a vision of how they think things should be done aren't necessarily a pleasure to work with. In a collaborative business like making television, you'll always get some directors who come to a project with a clear vision of how they see the script turning into the finished programme, and then you'll get some like Moffatt and probably John Black as well, who trust their actors more and are open to what the other people involved in the project can bring to it. And one of the important things about Who is that stories should feel different from each other, so you need both approaches.

[Dave Tudor]

Coincidentally, I was talking about him just the other day.

As others have said, he wasn't the most exciting directors, although his first few stories were among the best of the early eighties. Also, I can only echo that he seemed a nice old stick, and his presence, especially on the DVDs will be missed.

Rest in peace, Peter.

[FlyingBeastie]

Aww, I just watched the Two Doctors too! I was also just listening to the commentary he did with the Visitation and was laughing at some of his sarcastic remarks, as well as, him pointing out how the twins in the Twin Dilemma were bad actors. Aww, what a loss, that is very sad indeed

[DrWho2150]

The world has lost a great man and a superb director.

*flag at half-mast*