Looking For Peter
Dalekmania is a well-documented phenomenon, but the lesser aliens of 1964 come nowhere near this level of interest, with Voord-ambivalence giving way to Sensorite-indifference.
From my point of view, the main selling point of the DVD release of 'The Sensorites' is the charming extra 'Looking For Peter' which attempts to cast some light on the enigmatic writer Peter R Newman.
Toby Hadoke takes up the challenge and wastes no time demonstrating one of those universal truths. Namely, never believe anything on the internet, which in Peter's case claims that he died in both 1969 and 1975.
Phone calls to Rob Shearman and 'Doctor Who Magazine' don't make much headway, but a meeting with Richard Bignell at Alexandra Palace holds a bit more promise and the pair head off to Westminster Register Office to search through the files of death certificates.
The way these type of documentaries are shot always amuse me, as I tend to overthink things. Producer /director Chris Chapman does a fine job, of course, though one shot seems to imply he's been locked in the vault all night as the camera rushes eagerly towards the door when it is opened.
The certificate confirms the 1975 date as being the correct one and it seems that Ilford in Essex is the place to continue the investigation. Interestingly, the name of one of Peter's brothers is revealed to be Francis Sydney Newman, the latter two names being rather familiar to people working on early 'Doctor Who'.
Toby then takes a trip to Shepperton Studios, exploring such locations as Peter Sellers Way (no relation to Eileen Way) and meets up with Marcus Hearn to discuss Peter's film for Hammer, 'Yesterday's Enemy'.
Some time later, Richard has completed his digging with Peter's birth certificate providing more clues that have enabled him to compile a complete list of brothers and sisters.
It's at this point that I'm going to get even more vague, as the story takes on a more personal element, but suffice it to say that all this activity is not in vain.
What started out as an intellectual exercise suddenly becomes part of the real world and ends on a very thoughtful note.
'The Sensorites' may not be a particularly brilliant story, but these sort of pieces remind us that every name that comes up on the credits is that of an actual person, whose work on 'Doctor Who' was only a very small part of much fuller lives.
'Looking For Peter' is one of the gems of the DVD extra range, so a sincere round of applause for everyone involved.
No comments:
Post a Comment