45 years of memories ...

[SiHart]

It's kind of appropriate that on this version of PS's second birthday and Doctor Who's 45th anniversary that the PS homepage has had just over 45000 visitors.

Happy anniversary to my favourite TV show!

Si xx

[Carol Baynes]

My point was meant to be "for the masses". I know sci-fi was around before that. Indeed we had Quatermass, but usually Earth based, with a single sci-fi idea extended from what we knew.
[/I]

"The Time Machine" was for the masses! I think you're seriously under-estimating Wells' popularity there! Decades after his bestseller there was even a hit film based on the book. I'm sure the idea of a time machine wasn't unique to Wells either and probably wasn't unheard of in 1895 when the book was published.
"Sci-fi was around before that", you say. Understatement or what!? The "Quatermass" serial were arguably bigger television events than "Doctor Who" was in the beginning. Countless science fiction novels and films precede this era. Asimov would probably have laughed at "Doctor Who", and the public were quite used to watching fantastical adventures at the cinema- the 1950s were rife with sci-fi films.

Sorry if I seem a bit harsh but it does get my goat when I read blatantly untrue statements on here, especially when they seem to be elevating "Doctor Who" to some kind of culturally revolutionary position! We all know it's good, but it wasn't always that orginal.

[Andrew Curnow]

I think, though, it's probably true to say that Doctor Who was a breakthrough in terms of a sci-fi show for a wide family audience, certainly on TV. Quatermass was a late-night series ("it emptied the pubs") not aimed at kids, and was also never intended to run for more than the length of one serial (at a time). DW certainly seems to be specifically aimed at getting a far wider audience interested, and also in having 'sci-fi'*** in the mainstream listings on a pretty permanent basis.





***Mind you, I suppose that depends on whether you consider DW to have been sci-fi in the first place, which is another argument.

[SiHart]

This time 45 years ago an institution was born. I've written at length about how much I love Doctor Who, so I won't go on about that again, well not all of it anyway.

Instead I'd like to celebrate one of the most iconic things about the show: the theme.

There are many TV themes. Some are really memorable, some are annoyingly hummable (I'm looking at you Van De Valk), some are terrible, and then there are the instantly recognisable ones that endure. Doctor Who is lucky enough to have the last of these, a theme you recognise right from the moment it starts. There's the dum-di-dum bass line and the ooo-wee-ooo melody line that combine to form something we all know and love. Great stuff.

But it's the way it was made originally that makes it for me. The original arrangement by Delia Derbyshire is still hard to beat. Even 45 years later it sounds like nothing else ever made, because there are very few other pieces of music assembled in quite the same way. And assembled is the right word, as it was painstakingly pieced together bit by bit by tape loops of recordings of noted generated by wave oscillators, white noise generators and the much loved Radiophonic Workshop wobbulator. The bass line was formed from a plucked string again looped along with a wave oscillation loop. These were all then run round the Radiophonic Workshop, at various speeds to create the right pitch and eventually when all the elements were right they were played together to build the theme up from nothing. There was no multi-track recording available so it really was a series of tapes played at the same to time to create the theme! It all sounds so primitive, but it created something truly timeless. Something that stand up well today and something that was entirely unlike anything heard on TV in 1963.

As I've mentioned before, I recently bought The Radiophonic Workshop retrospective. The first CD starts with some of the earliest work from the workshop, very bleepy, primitive sounding soundscapes and ticking sound checks to go with the BBC clocks. Then, we hit 1963 and the Doctor Who theme is one of the tracks and it's such a huge leap from the others. Light years ahead- taking all the things they've done so far and refining it to such a degree that it stands head and shoulders above the other tracks on the CD, even the much later ones. Not many TV themes do that.

The theme has been rearranged a number of times, with great and not so great success, but it still endures to this day. We all have our opinions on which arrangements have worked better than others, but I think most people agree it's very difficult to better that original arrangement.

So let's raise a toast to Delia Derbyshire and Dick Mills for realising one of the most iconic pieces of music ever heard on British TV.

[Andrew Curnow]

Hear, hear - what a great post, Si.

I'd also like to give a mention to the homespun ingenuity that gave us the TARDIS sound effect. Again, something totally unique and still instantly recognisable.

[WhiteCrow]

I wouldn't really like to single out anyone particular. So much of it is so spot on.

The music is perfect, as pointed out by Si, it sets out that you're about to watch something all together unearthly.

But look at Unearthly Child - it starts out quite reasonably and down to Earth. It feels like some kind of Grange Hill where Susan turns out to be on drugs and a back street prostitute, with her Grandfather pimping her. Or maybe she's an illegal immigrant. Then half way through, the sci-fi elements which occur half way through come out of the blue.

But the acting is good - even Carol Anne Ford, but especially Jaqueline Hill and William Russell as her snooping teachers.

And the set too looks still fantastic and unearthly, the eclectic mix of collected antiques and high tech that the TARDIS should look like.

[duncan]

So many memories to choose from!

Being scared silly by The Sea Devils. Being sad at jo's departure at the end of The Green Death. Not liking Sarah until halfway through her first season. Being totally miffed when watching my first regeneration and needing my Dad to tell me what was happening. Hating Tom Baker in Robot episode 1 and starting a bring back Pertwee campaign in the school playground. Loving the rest of Tom's first season. Sutech, Morbius and oh my god, that ending to part three of The Deadly Assassin. Getting very disappointed at The Key to Time season. Wondering what the heck Warriors gate was all about. Feeling sad at Tom's departure and agahst that they moved Dr Who to a twice weekly midweek slot. I had started an evening job in Presto's by this time and we had no VCR. So I missed a fair bit of Peter's first season. Buying Doctor in Distress and then loving the trial of a Timelord season. Embarrassed by Sylvesters first season, but being gripped by his second. Then, it's all over and I missed part three of Survival. I never got to see the last ever episode of the classic series untill it got it's video release. Checking DWM every month for news of it's return. Missing the issue that announced that a movie was to be made with Paul McGann in the role. My brother told me about McGann and I didn't believe him. Going into Virgin to get the video on the day of release. I didn't want to wait until it was on TV whih was just as well as it was my birthday and we went out anyway. Jumping for joy on the news that the show was to return in 2005. Joining the BBC message boards only to see them shut it down 44 posts later. Joining DW2005 and Logopolis Metropolis, then finding Planet Skaro. 4 series down and I'm really enjoying it.

Thanks Doctor Who. I've loved every second of it.

[Wayne]

I've loved every second of it.

Told you 'Love & Monsters' was good.

[duncan]

Some seconds were loved less than others.

[Ralph]

"The Time Machine" was for the masses! I think you're seriously under-estimating Wells' popularity there! Decades after his bestseller there was even a hit film based on the book. I'm sure the idea of a time machine wasn't unique to Wells either and probably wasn't unheard of in 1895 when the book was published.
"Sci-fi was around before that", you say. Understatement or what!? The "Quatermass" serial were arguably bigger television events than "Doctor Who" was in the beginning. Countless science fiction novels and films precede this era. Asimov would probably have laughed at "Doctor Who", and the public were quite used to watching fantastical adventures at the cinema- the 1950s were rife with sci-fi films.

Sorry if I seem a bit harsh but it does get my goat when I read blatantly untrue statements on here, especially when they seem to be elevating "Doctor Who" to some kind of culturally revolutionary position! We all know it's good, but it wasn't always that orginal.

I have to agree totally Carol and much of Doctor Who's best material was lifted or inspired by a lot of good sci-fi ideas that preceded it. The much loved bug eyed monsters, a staple diet of much of Who, was big time in those b movies of the 1950s.

[WhiteCrow]

I have to agree totally Carol and much of Doctor Who's best material was lifted or inspired by a lot of good sci-fi ideas that preceded it. The much loved bug eyed monsters, a staple diet of much of Who, was big time in those b movies of the 1950s.

Hmmm ... one of the problems with those "B-movies" is they were of course a staple of American culture. I really couldn't say just how much a staple of British culture they really were.

Before Doctor Who, and really before Star Wars, anything sci-fi was considered a niche market. So yes there was something like the Time Machine, but how popular was it and how much of a cross section of British society at the time watched it?

I honestly don't know. All I can base it on is my own family and my mothers/grandparents recollections. I got the feeling from them, that really if they were going to the cinema and paying money to watch something, they enjoyed watching some glamour esp musicals or comedies. Doctor Who as I said brought sci-fi into their house mainstream.

But that's just the recollection of a working class mining community, and I understand not representative of the whole country.

My grandfather was more educated on time travel through Tommy Handleys comedy "Time Flies" where a song and dance man is transported via a mysterious time machine back to Elizabethan times, spinning off a few of musical numbers. I always thought this 1930s movie is closer in spirit to the inspiration of Doctor Who than the Time Machine, but few seem to have seen it.

[Ralph]

Before Doctor Who, and really before Star Wars, anything sci-fi was considered a niche market.

I have to disagree, Star Trek TOS many years prior to Star Wars was never niche market - it was extremely popular on British TV in the 1970s - It was shown on BBC1 peak time and repeated during that era more than any other series on TV such was the public appetite for more. Star Wars in my view was a benefactor of the Star Trek popularity. I agree Star Wars reignited the Star Trek revival because despite public demand the money men in Hollywood weren't prepared to put decent money into the genre until that point (perhaps because they similarly held misguided views )

Edited to add: Further as Carol pointed out lets not forget the major impact "Quatermass" had on British TV in the 1950s - it was a massive event. My parents confirmed that everyone wanted to see it back then - it totally captured the public's imagination and I mean the general public - no niche market!!