'TARDIS' Volume 9 Number 1

'TARDIS' Volume 9 Number 1

It's mid 1984. Season 21 is all done and dusted, I've been brave enough to join the DWAS and the postman has just popped a copy of 'TARDIS' through our letter-box. Significantly, this is the first A5 'Doctor Who' fanzine I've ever encountered.

OK, so I've already received a few issues of the newsletter 'Celestial Toyroom' which contains the odd merchandise review and details the odd goings-on at various Local Groups, but this is the real stuff. Concentrated fan writing in its purest form and, as such, a bit of an eye-opener.

It all looks rather professional, with a nice colour picture of Peter Davison on the front. Editor Richard Walter has assembled together contributions from a long list of names (some of whom would become very familiar over my next ten years or so as a DWAS member) but it would be some time before I would pluck up the courage to think that anyone would be interested on what I had to say about the worlds of 'Doctor Who'.

Opposite a shot of Anthony Ainley (wasn't this just before all that hoo-hah about actors' fees for photos?) there's an upbeat editorial, looking forward to the adventures to come in 1985, then we get a feature on forgotten Doctor Trevor Martin, who is apparently known to millions of viewers as Arthur Whittaker in 'Coronation Street', although the character doesn't ring any bells with me and I've just had to look him up. Although I note that Matthew Robinson is directing some episodes at this point.

Answering questions on 'Doctor Who And The Daleks And The Seven Keys To Doomsday' (phew, that was tiring just typing that!), Trevor is represented by a couple of publicity stills from the production, along with a photo of the Daleks in their control room from the second Peter Cushing film.

There's a brief piece by Dale Kilgare on heroes and their transport, which starts with the Doctor and the TARDIS, but also includes Noah and the Ark (Gilgamesh gets a mention here, several years before the 'New Adventures' series), Jason's ship 'Argos' (other catalogue-based shops were available at the time) and Roy Rogers & Trigger. Alright, Dale?

Tony Whitehead attempts to make some sense of the continuity problems around the Second and Third Doctors in 'The Five Doctors', and this sort of thing will lead to the 'Season 6B' theory that will occupy some corners of fandom in the future.

The 'TARDIS' Visdata section gives us four pages of photos themed around the Troughton era, including that gloriously daft picture of the Cyberman doing a V-sign at 'Michael Jackson' and Anneke Wills. Yes, Michael Jackson. That's what the caption says...

The bulk of this issue is devoted to everyone's thoughts on Season 21, which seems to have gone down pretty well all round. Ian McLachlan is prepared to declare it 'infinitely superior to its predecessor', which is generous if mathematically imprecise, but there's a feeling of optimism and modern readers might be surprised at some of the kind words offered in the direction of 'Warriors Of The Deep' ('an example of just how good a Davison story can be') and 'The Twin Dilemma' ('I hope we'll have more of Anthony Steven's work in the future').

'Primevil Legacy' is a short comic strip that manages to cram Troughton, Jamie, Zoe, Colin Baker, Peri, the Terileptils (plus robot) and a Kroton into five pages and still end on a cliffhanger with two completely black frames, which is going some by anybody's standards.

And then it's time for the letters page, which is a lively place, although a bit bewildering for a new reader as the writers refer to arguments that are on-going, but unlike Twitter you can't look up what was said previously.

We appear to be in the middle of a debate over the Graham WIlliams era and whether JN-T should go now. That phrase won't go away in a hurry... There's discussion about American fandom, with some annoyance that 'The Five Doctors' was shown in the US two days before airing in the UK.

Nicholas Pegg hasn't got a video and would jump at the chance to see 'The Claws Of Axos' or 'Pyramids Of Mars', while Saul Nasse is ruminating on whether the colour for monsters should be green or not, before we round off with photos of Roger Delgado and the Second Doctor & Jamie.

Some 34 years after it was published (ouch!) this edition of 'TARDIS' is still an entertaining read, with its high production values matched by the high standard of writing. And with hindsight, it's a fascinating time capsule of the 'Doctor Who' fandom of 1984.

(Written by Andrew Trowbridge)

A House Divided

A House Divided

There are only so many plots in drama, according to some, but the same must therefore be true of comedy. (There's also the comment that history doesn't always repeat itself, but that historians often do, although that's an argument for another day)

We recently did a review video of the 'Steptoe And Son' episode 'Divided We Stand', and went into it in as much detail as we could muster, thinking that would be our final word on the subject.

But we were going through the list of episodes of 'The Munsters' to decide which episodes to take a look at for the article in 'Round The Archives' Episode 28, when Lisa noticed the story 'A House Divided' (7th April 1966, written by Dick Conway), which seemed a trifle familiar from its description.

Herman and Grandpa have been working on a go-cart for Eddie's birthday, but a test-drive goes terribly wrong, and Herman wrecks it beyond repair. Grandpa and Herman fall out and, after it transpires that half of the house is in Grandpa's name, a white line is painted down the house dividing it in two.

Herman will stay in his half with Grandpa confined to the other. Is this beginning to ring a few bells?

There's a scene involving the telly and even the bath has been divided, with Grandpa denied access to the hot water tap.

Fed up with all this nonsense, Lily demonstrates how daft the situation is by doing the same to the dining table.

Now, we're not suggesting that Galton and Simpson were necessarily regular watchers of 'The Munsters', but if we replace Herman with Harold and Grandpa with Albert, we're not a million miles away from the events of 'Divided We Stand'...

But then we have to ask the question about the 'Z Cars' story 'The Spike' from 1973, which apparently concerns a fiddle going on at Munster House, which conjures up all sorts of images of 'Carry On Screaming' in our heads...

That's the trouble with doing all this digging late at nights!

(Written by Andrew Trowbridge, with thanks to everyone who helped answer our questions about UK transmissions)

Demons Of The Punjab

Demons Of The Punjab

With six episodes of this new season of 'Doctor Who' now having been shown, it's interesting that our two favourite stories are the historical ones, with the TARDIS crew observing events in the manner of the Hartnell days.

If, by some miracle, large chunks of Season Three were to be recovered, one of the first stories we'd watch would be 'The Massacre' which is an unusually ambitious script, making little concession to what most viewers probably expected from a 'Doctor Who' story.

Vinay Patel's first script for 'Doctor Who' went down very well in our house and we're already looking forward to his next one.

It even got us indulging in a flight of fancy by imagining what a Hartnell historical written by Ted Willis would have been like. If you know his work on 'Sergeant Cork', you'll be familiar with his concern for social issues that were relevant both in Victorian times and today.

But, as Stephen Gallagher has said, social justice has always been of concern to writers of 'Doctor Who'. If bringing this approach into sharper focus has surprised people, then that's fine by us.

Our video about 'Demons Of The Punjab' can be seen here.

(Written by Andrew Trowbridge)

Oh, Hello!

Oh, Hello!

Yesterday we watched Episode Six of Series Two of 'Supergran', entitled 'The State Visit' (12th April 1987). It featured, amongst others, Nichola McAuliffe as Hatty the Hat Hatterley and one Charles Hawtrey as Clarence, Duke of Claridge.

Though there is less of Charles Hawtrey than was possibly originally intended, as he was apparently somewhat merry when filming took place.

It's a fun episode, though nothing remarkable.

It features much in the way of mistaken identity and Iain Cuthbertson (as The Scunner Campbell) gets to dress up and enjoy himself.

And there is also a character called Whispering Grass (a rare credit for Peter De Dee), who is The Scunner Campbell's informant, dressed like Worzel Gummidge for reasons that are not entirely clear to us.

But during our review video, Andrew asked me where in the ranks of the extended Royal Family Clarence would sit. The answer mainly depends on who his parents were.

So if we are imagining that in the fictional world of Supergran our present Queen is the monarch, then Clarence would be either her cousin or perhaps an uncle.

It is noticable also that the name Claridge is quite close to Clarence, as well as being the name of a posh department store.

There hasn't been a Duke of Clarence (and Avondale, to give it the full title) since the death of Prince Eddy, the eldest son of Edward the Seventh and grandson of Queen Victoria.

Perhaps this is due to him being a suspect in the Jack the Ripper murders (he was at Balmoral when the murders took place, which rather rules him out, unless he had a bicycle) and his possible involvement in the Cleveland Street male brothel scandal, which made this title appear a tainted and unlucky one to some eyes.

One other well known Duke of Clarence was George Plantagenet, the brother of King Edward the Fourth and Richard the Third, who was apparently drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine after being convicted of treason by his brother Edward.

Many of the ducal titles have been reused with a tweak here or there over the years after the holder has died without an heir.

A current example of this practice is Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh. This title has previously been used by Prince Alfred, who was Queen Victoria's second son. Prince William, Duke of Cambridge's title was previously held by Prince Adolphus, seventh son of George the Third and Prince Harry's title of Duke of Sussex by Prince Augustus Frederick who was George the Third's sixth son.

In any case, 'The State Visit' is an enjoyable way to spend a half an hour and if nothing else you can see a very happy and refreshed Charles Hawtrey.

Our video about 'Supergran And The State Visit' can be seen here.

(Written by Lisa Parker)

Trouble At Trumpton Fair

Trouble At Trumpton Fair

When Virgin Publishing launched their New Adventures range of 'Doctor Who' books, there was much discussion in fanzines as to whether these were 'real' or not. Were they the official continuing adventures of the Doctor and Ace after the events of 'Survival' Part Three? In short, were they (here comes that word) canon?

I forget the majority of the arguments on both sides, but it's amusing how much time people invested in this mass debate as it never really worried me when I read the various 'Tell Me A Story Books' based on the works of Gordon Murray.

Emerging from the lower layers of my drawers recently, I've been flipping through three such slim volumes and amazing myself as to how well I could remember some of the illustrations, if not the finer details of the plots.

'Packet's Day Of Trouble' (written by Shirley Morrison, illustrated by Colin Frooms) sees Mrs Dingle's post-office cum village shop full to capacity with even PC McGarry after a new red pencil for his notebook. Flustered, Mrs Dingle trips over her dog, Packet, knocking a rack of greetings cards flying, but gives him a bone to say sorry for getting cross with him.

He buries his prize in a field, hiding it under the coat worn by Farmer Bell's scarecrow, working at such a pace that the farmer and the local bobby become concerned at to what's going on.

This tale is paired with 'A Foggy Adventure' in which Paddy and Mary Murphy pick blackberries and stalk a mysterious figure (who turns out to be Roger Varley the sweep) in the fog.

'The Mayor Of Trumpton's Day Out' (written by Muriel Gray, illustrated by Johni Cumming) is a bit odder in that we get an insight into the thoughts of the Mayor's car (GM102), which is fed up with doing the same old thing every week. Instead, it takes control of the situation and drives itself to the seaside, much to the surprise of Philby the chauffeur. Once they've arrived, the car natters to a passing seagull, as its passengers go for a paddle while eating candyfloss.

 This whole thing of making the car come alive does seem rather at odds with the usual more realistic mode of storytelling in the Trumptonshire universe, but I never lost much sleep over it at the time, I must admit.

The back-up tale in this one is 'The Little Fire Engine' in which Peter Platt takes a fancy to a miniature version of the familiar vehicle that he spots in the toyshop of one Mrs Jolly. In fact, so taken is Peter with this model that he gets himself locked in the toyshop. Thankfully he alerts the passing policeman to his predicament when he releases a balloon out of the window, on which he has painted the word HELP, which is succint, but a bit vague.

'Trouble At Trumpton Fair' (written by Shirley Morrison again, but this time illustrated by H McGregor) sees Trumpton Park play host to a fair, which attracts the whole of the local fire service at once. It's the full works, with goldfish to be won at the hoopla stall, coconuts and another showing for the dreaded candyfloss. Barney McGrew rams the Mayor's dodgem car, which doesn't amuse his worship, but they regain their reputation by rescuing an acrobat who has been stranded up his tightrope pole when his ladder gets broken. They get tea and cakes as a reward, though Miss Lovelace and those damn dogs somehow gatecrash the celebrations at the end, for no adequately explained reason.

Finally, we have 'The Weather House', which strays into previously unexplored territory for the series. Mrs Cobbit's clock has stopped, so her Uncle Arnold takes it for Mr Platt to have a look at. At the clock shop, Uncle Arnold spots one of those weather houses which have a lady holding a parasol (who comes out when it's sunny) along with a geezer and an umbrella (who, of course, shows his face when it's raining). Uncle Arnold takes a fancy to this item and buys it on the spot, intending to give it to Mrs Cobbit as a gift.

So far, this doesn't sound too out of the ordinary, as I've skipped over a couple of details. Uncle Arnold carries a small black wand in his pocket, a secret known only to himself and Mrs Cobbit's cat, Charles.

Also, Charles can talk, it seems, suggesting that it would be fun if the lady and the gentleman from the weather house could actually meet each other. Cue Uncle Arnold getting his wand out...

The two wooden figures are surprised, but delighted to finally be able to come face to face, but Uncle Arnold has meddled in things he does not understand as the weather takes a sudden turn for the worse. The sun shines, but it rains like mad. There's a rainbow, wind, thunder, the whole business. Charles hides under the table, which seems an eminently sensible move.

Thankfully, the wand has still got some charge left, as we're getting close to the final page, and the umbrella man pops back inside. Weather conditions improve straight away and Mrs Cobbit is pleased with her new present, commenting that it'll be handy if it can warn her about freaks storms like they one she's jsut encountered.

Charles keeps schtum about the whole affair, proving that he's got considerably more sense than Uncle Arnold.

It's a weird one this, and fans of Gordon Murray's work might like to consider how some of the plots of televised episodes might have been very different if Uncle Arnold had been on hand to whip out his wand without warning...

(Written by Andrew Trowbridge)

We are the 'Round The Archives' Podcast Appreciation Society!

We are the 'Round The Archives' Podcast Appreciation Society!

Lisa does late nights on Thursday, finishing (theoretically) at 8.30 pm, so I'm at a bit of a loose end in the earlier part of the evening. This week I happened to be on Twitter when Bob Fischer mentioned that his radio show on BBC Tees was on the air.

So, I tweeted in a quick hello from Dorset, which Bob was kind enough to read out, referring to the various 'Doctor Who' quarries that our fair county boasts.

If you want to hear the bit in question its about 27 minutes and 50 seconds into this, but bear in mind that this link won't stay live forever.

Bob, of course, knows his fandom stuff, so his memory of a water-pistol fight between fans of 'Blakes 7' and 'The Hitch-Hikers Guide To The Galaxy' (I won't get into the murky waters of the correct use of apostrophes in the titles of these two shows) raised a smile or two.

Also, it allowed him to claim that his show was more national radio than local, with such a far-flung audience. Though I think we still have the edge this week with Azerbaijan and The Former Yugoslav Republic Of Macedonia popping up in the lower range of our statistics...

Later, Bob was joined by folk singer Kate Rusby and played a number of her tracks including a version of 'The Village Green Preservation Society'.

Now, this always morphs into my head into a song about the Doctor Who Appreciation Society (please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks this!), but last night it shimmered and changed again into something along the lines of :

"We are the 'Round The Archives' podcast appreciation society!
God save 'Rentaghost, 'Z Cars' and 'The Good Old Days'!"

(I know it doesn't exactly rhyme, but 'The Good Old Days' does make at least some claim towards being variety)

Having recently found my old DWAS membership card from 1984, we were very pleased when Martin forwarded a fabulous design for the RTAPAS. As Martin points out, even the fact that it contains the word 'tapas' isn't as daft as it sounds : small portions on a wide range of topics. Oh well, please yourselves...

I'm not sure whether we should start handing out these as business cards, but you can see how one thing leads to another in 'RTA'-land, can't you?

Bob's book about fandom, 'Wiffle Lever To Full!', is available here, and would fit nicely into your Christmas stocking, of course!

(Written by Andrew Trowbridge, with thanks to Martin Holmes & Bob Fischer)

No Sale

No Sale

Thursday, 8th April 1976... Donald Gee and Bob Hoskins are still 'On The Move', 'Fingerbobs' is all 'Bumpy' and 'Are You Being Served?' returns for its fourth series with 'No Sale'.

That Thursday schedule is pretty solid, with 'Tomorrow's World' and 'Top Of The Pops' leading in to our visit to Grace Brothers, followed by the first of six editions of 'The Burke Special'.

The store is experimenting with early opening so that people can shop on their way to work. Unusually, this actually turns out to be quite a good idea, as takings go up for once, but the staff are less keen on the arrangement and do their best to sabotage the sales figures.

Mister Humphries is at least vaguely familiar with 'Doctor Who' (though the fact that he enters dressed in a similar fashion to Ben Jackson is probably a coincidence), so I like to think that he was part of that huge audience for 'The Seeds Of Doom' earlier in the year.

Mister Grainger is sporting one of the comedy crossed plasters that you only see in 'The Bash Street Kids' after being bonked with a bottle of bismuth and Mrs Slocombe's hair is in a bit of a state after a ride in the sidecar of Miss Brahms' dad's motorbike.

Mister Lucas gets to tell one of his tallest stories ever, but Mister Rumbold appears to be between secretaries at the moment, possibly due to the production team having splurged on lots of actors to play the customers.

However, a phone-call from a mysterious voice sparks his interest, even if the caller is guilty of breaking the Trade Descriptions Act (1968), which leads to Young Mister Grace getting wonderfully confused.

It takes the combined skill of the Gents and Ladies Departments to nobble this dangerous new way of selling, so it's a refreshing change to see them united in a common goal, in contrast to their typical previous friction.

Our video about 'No Sale' can be seen here.

(Written by Andrew Trowbridge)