JNT

[Antony Cox]

A few thoughts now I've finished reading this...

When the buzz concerning this book first appeared on the internet, naturally the most controversial aspect of it was the sex scandals and frankly, this put me off ever wanting to read it. I’m no prude but the thought of reading about this aspect of someone’s life, someone whom I admired and respected in a lot of ways, really didn’t appeal, and I immediately stopped reading about it on-line and had no intention of buying the book. However, a few weeks ago I met up with Andrew Clancy who’d been bought the book for his birthday and had been wanting to lend it to me, and the fact that he handed it over to me there and then meant I could hardly refuse, and in any case by that point I was intrigued…

The following evening I started reading and two weeks later I’ve already finished it.
It’s such an interesting book in so many ways. As much as you think you know all about the behind-the-scenes world of DW during the 1980s, nothing can prepare you for the real warts-and-all facts. The story of JN-Ts childhood and background is interesting and comprehensive but it’s not long before 1979 has arrived and the whole amazing, sordid, harrowing and downright tragic story of the era begins.
The scandalous side of his life is prevalent through a lot of the book but it’s by no means the ‘main feature’, as it were. Whist he no doubt had baser urges and didn’t seem too bothered if the objects of his desires were underage or not, it seems that Gary Downie was undoubtedly the predatory partner whereas John seemed to have a more ‘take-it-or leave it’ attitude. Despite the scandal and the arguable opinions on whether he was a good producer of DW or not, by the time I’d reached the end of the book my opinion of JN-T was still quite positive. His relationship with Gary Downie seems a familiar one in showbiz; a partnership where one half is a very successful talent who is reasonably easy-going and well-liked whilst the other is a talentless controlling influence whose jealousy often directs the fate of the former.

Most of the contributors seem to be decent people whether they liked John or not, though some really don’t come off well, such as Jonathan Powell and Gary Leigh. One other person whose dirty washing is paraded out in its entirety for all to see is Eric Saward, whose conspicuous absence as a first-hand contributor speaks volumes. I feel sorry for him in a lot of ways and have always found him a very talented writer, but the extent of his eventual behaviour and vitriol actually surprised me, even though I’m used to him being a moany old bitch through every one of his DVD contributions.

The most eye-opening and tragic aspect of the book is just how badly the BBC treated JN-T, and it’s my opinion of this ‘most respected British institutions’ which has really taken a hammering, at least of how it was back then. Whilst John may have made some ill-judged decisions from the mid-eighties onwards, the BBC appears to have completely abandoned him and gone out of their way to undermine his position, and this undoubtedly had an effect on how his life played out from then on. It’s very easy to fall into the trap of simply saying that someone who has died as a result of excesses in certain vices, i.e. smoking and drinking, ‘had it coming to them’ or ‘it was all self-induced’ (and I speak from personal experience of this; my Mum having been a victim of the former and my Dad very nearly becoming a victim of the latter), there’s always a story behind the excess. Thus, whilst JN-T was always a party animal, the factors of his dismissal from the BBC in such unfair circumstances and unfortunate lack of a significant career thereafter, coupled with the death of his mother, surely lead to him drinking himself to an early death. It’s a painful read from the period of 1985 onwards; it’s like watching an historic car crash in slow motion and being able to predict the outcome whilst the vehicle is still some way from the scene.

I’m glad I’ve read it, though, and thanks to Andrew for lending it to me.

[Rob McCow]

Totally agree about the BBC and it's attitude there. Though as with all these things, it's individuals within the BBC who made it impossible for JNT to progress.

They should have given him another half-decent series to work on. Never mind that Doctor Who was cancelled, the BBC's actions wound up contributing to JNT's death.

[SiHart]

It seemed to me that Jonathan Powell was swayed by his personal dislike of the man to make sure he didn't have anything else to move onto, and once one person starts something like that it's easy for the next one to just carry on with it. If nothing else, JNT was a competent Producer, if he wasn't, they wouldn't even have let him carry on with Doctor Who. they just systematically took away all his choices.

[Ian Lethbridge-Stewart]

Glad you enjoyed the book Ant. I wouldn't have been so determined to lend it to you had I known that initially you weren't that keen on reading it!

I think your comments pretty much sum up the way I felt after reading the book. To me JN-T does not come off as the worst person in the book!
Your spot on with your comment about the relationship between JN-T and Gary Downie. Most of the stuff about Gary is pretty bad, but even then I still felt sorry for him at the end after JN-T had died. It was quite emotional when Tom Baker, who wasn't initially much of a fan of JN-T, contacted Gary to see how he was bearing up.
I found the later parts of JN-T's life difficult to read, turning up at a Doctor Who event in a wheel chair and worrying about the way he came across in his DVD interview for the Ressurection of Daleks DVD. Also, how bad must things have got for them to contemplate starting a new life in another country?
I too was upset by the treatment of JN-T by the beeb, at one point the only ex-BBC person who seemed to have anything nice to say about JN-T was Jonathan Powell's predecessor (David Reid, I think).
I knew nothing of the Nicola Bryant incident or of the paranoid nasty man that Anthony Ainley appears to have become before he died (that was really quite upsetting too as I'm huge fan of his Master). Gary Russell appears to have really hated Anthony Ainley!

Anyway, although it is depressing in places it is a good read; I like the way that JN-T had nick-names for pretty much everyone and even Evil Annie doesn't come out of it all that badly.

[Si Hunt]

I'm not convinced by this. In the big it says something like he got enraged and spat at her. Could mean anything. Maybe he just shouted a lot and little flecks of saliva cannoned out of his foaming mouth and pebble-dashed her dress.

Si.

[Nyder]

I haven't got very far into this book yet (he's currently working on All Creatures). So far, all is well - he's being portrayed as a nice chap, who goes out of his way to help his friends and is always a must have for parties. I have a feeling things are about to be portrayed differently ....

[SiHart]

I'm not convinced by this. In the big it says something like he got enraged and spat at her. Could mean anything. Maybe he just shouted a lot and little flecks of saliva cannoned out of his foaming mouth and pebble-dashed her dress.

Well whatever it was he did it was enough for her not to speak to him again for the rest of his life. You don't do that to someone for a few flecks of saliva, do you?

[Simon R]

I'm not entirely sure I believe the bit about him answering the phone to Biddy Baxter "mid act". The person telling that anecdote seems quite flamboyant and no one else can verify it.

[Antony Cox]

I'd rather than than the thought of Biddy Baxter phoning JN-T 'mid act'...

[Simon R]

He was surprised and delighted one would assume.

[Nyder]

I take great exception to Richard Marson calling Crossroads "turgid & embarrassing" - especially when he didn't back it up with anything, he just sort of threw the sentence in.

Unfortunately it's a symptom of the whole book. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't expecting an academic critique of JNT, but it seems to be a whole load of "he said this" and "she said that" all strung together. An entertaining, but quite shallow.

[Simon R]

It's quite badly written in places and often reads like a GCSE English essay with a statement backed by a tenuous quote.

[Nyder]

Just started THAT chapter. Erm, after having read the second sentence (the author talking about his trip to TVC being a seminal moment) - I think he could have chosen his words more carefully!!

[Stuart Wallis]

"My office is this way, come with me..."

[Antony Cox]

"Let's make some magic!"

[Rob McCow]

"Would you like to tangle with my Kraags?"

[dalekkiller]

I read the whole book last night. The most depressing aspect of the book was just how nasty, bitter and downright horrible fandom was in particular the MLG

[duncan]

I started this book on my way into work yesterday morning and am about 75 pages in to it. It really is a fascinating and addictive read and i haven't really got to the juicy bits yet.

[duncan]

All finished. Thats the quickest I have ever read a book of that size.

Can anyone recommend any of the other Who Biogs? I was thinking of Lis Sladen's book?

[SiHart]

Lis Sladen's one is a good read. I also really enjoyed Barry Letts' Who and Me and Peter Purves' Here's One I Wrote Earlier.

[duncan]

Thanks Si, I'll look those up. Lis' book is currently less than £2 for the Kindle version.

[SiHart]

I'd definitely snap it up at that price Duncan

[Ian Lethbridge-Stewart]

This might be old news but Richard Marson, the author of the JN-T book appears to be doing a similar book about Verity Lambert, which is due out next January (2015) - according to the MiwK website. I'd not looked at the website for ages so I'm not sure how long that book has been listed there.
I'd probably be interested in getting this one when it is released.

http://www.miwkpublishing.com/store/...&product_id=48

[Simon R]

I hope it's better written than the JNT one. I bet it doesn't go into detail about her sex life.

[dalekkiller]

I don't quite see why people are complaining about the stuff about his sex life since it was an important part of his life