Lime Grove Studios: Difference between revisions

'''Lime Grove Studios''' were housed largely in a single building located on Lime Grove Street in the Shepherd's Bush district of the [[London]] borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. They were the location of much of the studio recording done during the monochromatic era of the original series of ''Doctor Who''.

By the time, the BBC bought it in 1949, it was therefore already an ageing property. Indeed, the BBC initially acquired it as a "stopgap" facility for use only until the new [[BBC Television Centre]] could be completed. Nevertheless, it continued to be used well after the opening of Television Centre, much to the dismay of producers like [[Verity Lambert]] who had accepted the challenge of filming there only on a very temporary basis. The site was closed in [[1991]] and demolished in [[1993]], however, outlasting the original run of ''Doctor Who''.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/heritage/in_depth/buildings/lime_grove.shtml The BBC Story]</ref> Several of [[Jon Pertwee]]'s links for ''[[The Troughton Years]]'' video were filmed at Lime Grove in April 1991, three months before the studios were closed.

Lime Grove Studios were the predominant studios used to film ''Doctor Who'' during the early [[William Hartnell]] and most of the [[Patrick Troughton]] eras. They were used for [[principal photography]], and as such would have been a primary workplace of Hartnell, [[Carole Ann Ford]], [[William Russell]], [[Jacqueline Hill]]. [[Frazer Hines]], [[Wendy Padbury]], [[Deborah Watling]] and Patrick Troughton. They were also the first workplace of [[John Nathan-Turner]] on the program, who was a floor assistant on the single episode of ''[[The Space Pirates]]'' which was shot at Lime Grove.

The studios were notably hated by [[Verity Lambert]],<ref name=SSAz>[http://www.shannonsullivan.com/drwho/serials/f.html Shannon Sullivan's description] of the recording of ''[[The Aztecs]]''</ref><ref>Verity Lambert comments on the DVD release of ''The Aztecs''</ref> both for their size and lack of facilities. One of her principal technical ambitions was to get ''Doctor Who'' shifted out of the cramped quarters of Lime Grove. She eventually succeeded in the second season, but only because [[Sydney Newman]] himself threatened to stop making ''Doctor Who'' unless better facilities could be found.<ref>[http://www.shannonsullivan.com/drwho/serials/g.html Shannon Sullivan's exploration] of ''[[The Sensorites]]</ref> Thus, for all but the last six months of Newman's contract with the BBC, ''Doctor Who'' was mostly recorded at [[Riverside Studios]].

Nevertheless, ''Doctor Who'' returned to its Lambert-era digs beginning with the last episode of ''[[The Wheel in Space]]''. Like his predecessor, [[Innes Lloyd]] was unhappy with the move, as he found Lime Grove even more antiquated than she had.<ref>[http://www.shannonsullivan.com/drwho/serials/hh.html Shannon Sullivan's exploration] of ''[[The Moonbase]]''</ref> ''Who'' continued using the old studios as its main recording facilities until [[Deborah Watling]]'s last appearance in ''[[Fury from the Deep]]''. Nominally, ''Doctor Who'' was then permanently moved to [[BBC Television Centre|Television Centre]]. However, a number of shows involving [[Wendy Padbury]] were at least partially recorded at Lime Grove. ''Doctor Who'' finally shod itself of Lime Grove with the first episode of ''The Space Pirates'', the last whole episode to be shot at the Grove.

Studio D is perhaps the most famous of the Lime Grove studios to ''Doctor Who'' enthusiasts. It was the original studio location for the programme, and thus has become famous in descriptions of the filming of the pilot, ''[[An Unearthly Child]]''. It is also the subject of many unpleasant memories on the part of the production staff, and its many inefficiencies have been touched on in the pages of ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'', and on DVD extras, for years.