A Process of Rediscovery

As I learnt more and more about Doctor Who through the 90’s, I became fascinated with the behind-the-scenes production aspect of the series. To become interested in the technical side of something you love can lead to a point where you no longer enjoy it for what it is, i.e. by dissecting something too much through reducing it to its component parts, it can lose its original charm. Thus I began to watch stories and perhaps wonder where the cameras were in the studio in relation to the actors, or how far out of shot the boom mic was (not nearly far enough in some stories, I might add). Over the years I’ve had to fight hard to force myself to watch the show as a set of entertaining adventures rather than an exercise in learning about television production, but fortunately I’ve now come full circle and can enjoy the series once again. This was especially apparent when I recently watched the DVD release of The Aztecs.

The Aztecs is a story I’d only seen once before via the original VHS release from 10 years or so ago, and so it was almost like watching a story I’d never seen before. Thanks to the excellent quality of the black & white DVD releases, watching a ropey old BBC video from years ago again just reiterates what awful quality those original films prints were. Thus, I was absolutely gob-smacked at the pristine presentation of the Aztecs on DVD, and especially at the results of the VidFIRE process. It’s ironic then that this technical aspect of the restoration actually helped me to really get into the story and enjoy it for what it is – a cracking piece of television from the sixties. The same thing happened to me when I first saw Titanic at the cinema; I can honestly say that I was so immersed in the film as a result of the stunning way in which the ship was realised on screen (with the able assistance of the Jack/Rose story line which I personally thought was rather good) that after a while I quite forgot that it was all going to end in tears – I literally forgot about the iceberg.

Whilst I’m mentioning the film Titanic, there are some interesting parallels between the various films on the subject which have been made over the years, and the general attitude to special effects in cult TV shows from the 1960’s and 70’s. The problem with special effects in science fiction, both on television and in films, is that they have progressed so far in the last 30 years or so that earlier, more ‘primitive’ productions are often shunned as being cheap and sub-standard. In my original manuscript of Growing Up With The Doctor where I often went rambling off at a tangent about why I love Doctor Who, I’ve mentioned this fact several times in discussing why some of us can accept restricted production values whilst still appreciating and even loving what we’re watching, but it has to be reiterated as it’s possibly the most important point to consider when looking at how the original series of Doctor Who is regarded today as a television production by the general public. For example, James Cameron’s Titanic was made in 1995 and was a breakthrough in its use of CGI to re-create the liner and its infamous demise, but if we compare it with S.O.S Titanic from 1979, the latter is quite laughable to look at as far as the model work is concerned, especially the last few scenes where the Titanic sinks below the surface of the Atlantic (the fact that most of it was filmed on the Queen Mary doesn’t help either, as the Art Deco styling and obvious architectural differences between the two ships are glaringly obvious). Ironically, A Night to Remember from 1958 which deals with the same subject matter, is almost universally acknowledged as a cinematic masterpiece even though the model shots were, in reality, just as bad as or perhaps even worse than its 1970’s counterpart. The acceptance of these more primitive visual effects may be due to the fact that the film was made in black and white rather than colour, something which black & white TV could also usually get away with.

This unusual acceptance of more primitive special effects is evident elsewhere, such as Fritz Lang’s futuristic Metropolis from 1926, which is also regarded as a milestone in visual effects, and as the classic pioneering science-fiction film. But why, in that case, are television programmes such as Doctor Who and Blake’s 7 criticised for the quality of special effects? Well, I’m not sure I know the answer to that particular question. But as I’ve tried to explain when reviewing The Ark in Space over on PS, some of us can manage to look past a wobbly set or rubber monster costume, and appreciate quality of the story lines, acting and overall effort that went into the production of the show. I think that this is possibly the key to understanding the continuing popularity of so-called ‘cult’ television programmes, and especially particular shows such as Blake’s 7, Doctor Who, Doomwatch, Sapphire and Steel, etc. Part of the appreciation of this type of television show is due to the style, i.e. low budget 1970’s television science fiction, which has an ambience and charm all of its own, but is also due to recognising the production’s value and substance below the surface.

So it’s now that Doctor Who has grown up yet again with my own progression as an adult. Even now as opposed to ten years ago I’m still appreciating the series on more levels than before, re-discovering something which I though I already knew back-to-front. And it’s a good thing too; I remember reading Si Hunt’s rather poignant review of Robots of Death where he explained that the story no longer has anything to offer him in terms of viewing enjoyment, no matter how brilliant it is, simply because he’s watched it so many times. I sort of reached that stage myself in the late 1990’s and stopped watching for a while, but fortunately I’m over that now. It’s a fact that throughout our lives we never stop learning, and as I continue to learn about life so I continue to gain more enjoyment from watching Doctor Who.

Next Episode: Growing Up With The Doctor – Looking Back