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Donald Baverstock: Difference between revisions
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==== Scheduling and facilities management ==== | ==== Scheduling and facilities management ==== | ||
As Controller of BBC One, Baverstock also made decisions that affected the transmission details of the programme. One key determination was episode length — a particularly contentious issue that divided members of his staff for a few months. After much internal discussion over the course of several months, he had to weigh in personally. On [[5 July ( | As Controller of BBC One, Baverstock also made decisions that affected the transmission details of the programme. One key determination was episode length — a particularly contentious issue that divided members of his staff for a few months. After much internal discussion over the course of several months, he had to weigh in personally. On [[5 July (production)|5 July]] 1963, he decreed that ''Doctor Who'' episodes would be 25 minutes long, as they would remain until 1989. | ||
Baverstock was also personally responsible for the punishing but prolific recording schedule that made [[William Hartnell|Hartnell]] the hardest-working of all the acotrs who played the Doctor. Although [[Sydney Newman]] had lobbied for a longer break between [[production block]]s, Baverstock himself was the one who established that there be only four weeks between seasons in those early years of ''Doctor Who''. | Baverstock was also personally responsible for the punishing but prolific recording schedule that made [[William Hartnell|Hartnell]] the hardest-working of all the acotrs who played the Doctor. Although [[Sydney Newman]] had lobbied for a longer break between [[production block]]s, Baverstock himself was the one who established that there be only four weeks between seasons in those early years of ''Doctor Who''. | ||
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 (production)|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 (production)|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". | ||
