'Action by HAVOC' is one of those credits often quoted by 'Doctor Who' fans of our ancient vintage, but it's not exclusive to the Pertwee stories. 'Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em' relies for its set-piece stunts on their expertise and combined with some inventive work from the Visual Effects department, leads to scene you just wouldn't be allowed to even contemplate filming these days.
We've had the complete series on DVD for a while, but only took the cellophane off it yesterday, so that we could do a video about the second episode, 'George's House' (22nd February 1973).
This one sees Frank battling with the bewildering range of gadgetry in his brother-in-law's modern home and I have some sympathy with his increasing confusion.
Now, I've never got my slippers stuck down the toilet (though I did once leave them in a hotel in Manchester), but I did once temporarily lock myself in the bathroom when staying in Gillingham, Kent.
Inevitably, Frank's attempts to rectify the situation cause a major water leak and this doesn't mix too well with the electronics of the main control room.
But it can be argued that this one is not typical of the series as a whole, so we also had a look at 'Cliffhanger', which opened the second season on 22nd November 1973. As the name implies, this is the one where Frank manages to reverse his car to the edge of a cliff and beyond.
The shots of the coast were familiar to a Dorset boy such as myself and there's a page on the BBC website which tells you a thing or two about the making of this episode. There's even a bit of video with Stuart Fell telling you of what he did to help with the filming, and what he didn't do. even though he was dressed for the occasion...
Our video about 'George's House' can be seen here.
And our video about 'Cliffhanger' can be seen here and the BBC page can be found here.
(Written by Andrew Trowbridge)
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