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Donald Baverstock: Difference between revisions
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He was also ultimately in charge of rationalising the use of production facilities. Thus, he was a key figure in the long-running dispute over whether the show could move from what [[Donald Wilson]] and later [[Verity Lambert]] considered the wholly inappropriate [[Lime Grove Studio D]]. In June 1963, he denied a request to move ''Doctor Who''{{'}}s specialised recording equipment to [[Riverside Studios]] so that his own pet project, {{wi|That Was the Week That Was}}, could enjoy the superior facility. He was involved in several other meetings with various BBC executives and department heads about the headaches caused by Lime Grove's inadequate facilities. Throughout his tenure as Controller, ''Doctor Who'' largely remained at Lime Grove — though it did record at [[BBC Television Centre|Television Centre]] on rare occasion. | He was also ultimately in charge of rationalising the use of production facilities. Thus, he was a key figure in the long-running dispute over whether the show could move from what [[Donald Wilson]] and later [[Verity Lambert]] considered the wholly inappropriate [[Lime Grove Studio D]]. In June 1963, he denied a request to move ''Doctor Who''{{'}}s specialised recording equipment to [[Riverside Studios]] so that his own pet project, {{wi|That Was the Week That Was}}, could enjoy the superior facility. He was involved in several other meetings with various BBC executives and department heads about the headaches caused by Lime Grove's inadequate facilities. Throughout his tenure as Controller, ''Doctor Who'' largely remained at Lime Grove — though it did record at [[BBC Television Centre|Television Centre]] on rare occasion. | ||
==== Content ==== | ==== Content ==== | ||
Baverstock was demonstrably interested in the quality of the drama itself. On or about [[20 May]] [[1963]] he personally signed off on the format document prepared by Newman, [[Donald Wilson]] and [[C. E. Webber]], saying that series was "looking great". | Baverstock was demonstrably interested in the quality of the drama itself. On or about [[20 May]] [[1963]] he personally signed off on the format document prepared by Newman, [[Donald Wilson]] and [[C. E. Webber]], saying that series was "looking great". | ||
{{quote|I hope ... that you will brighten up the logic and inventiveness of the scripts ... I suggest that you should make efforts in future episodes to reduce the amount of slow prosaic dialogue and to centre the dramatic movements much more on historical and scientific hokum.|Baverstock to [[Donald Wilson]], 31 December 1963}} | |||
Later, when extending the commission of the series on [[31 December]] [[1963]], he advised [[Donald Wilson]] to make sure that the internal logic of episodes was improved. He found it problematic that the Doctor and Susan seemed smart while they were in [[the TARDIS}], but then rather dull when they left the Ship and began to explore. He strongly felt that both the TARDIS team and the people that they met would overall behave differently than had been portrayed in ''[[An Unearthly Child (TV story)|An Unearthly Child]]'' and the early episodes of ''[[The Daleks (TV story)|The Daleks]]''. People from the past, he reasoned, should exhibit "lost simple knowledge", while those from the future should have "credible skills and capacities that can be conceived likely in the future". | |||
==== Minor matters ==== | ==== Minor matters ==== | ||
[[Donald Wilson]] and he clashed after Baverstock withdrew a commitment for ''Unearthly'' to be featured on the cover of ''[[Radio Times]]'' in [[November]] [[1963]]. ([[DWMS Summer 1994]]) | [[Donald Wilson]] and he clashed after Baverstock withdrew a commitment for ''Unearthly'' to be featured on the cover of ''[[Radio Times]]'' in [[November]] [[1963]]. ([[DWMS Summer 1994]]) | ||
