Dimensions in Time

STUDIO RECORDING

In the early hours of September 21st, Stuart McDonald was woken from a peaceful sleep by the insistent ringing of the telephone bell. Blearily, he answered the phone to hear JN-T saying he must come to Fountain Television studios immediately. As he recalls, the producer was reluctant to give away any information over the telephone:

"John kept saying, 'Come at once, come at once' like some sort of Dalek. I kept asking him why, but he refused to speak. He wasn't giving anything away, and then made the rather oblique statement that 'The moment has been prepared for'. I didn't have a bloody clue what was going on. However, John was the boss, so I had to go."

Arriving at about half past four in the morning, McDonald was surprised to find a lot of press photographers hanging around the studio entrance. Just as he was getting out of his car, another vehicle sped through the studio gates. He remembers what happened next:

"After this bloody great limo had nearly knocked me into the middle of next week, all the paparazzi shot over and tried to take pictures through its darkened windows. I was a bit dazed, particularly as it was still very early, and I couldn't think who it would be in the car. The doors finally opened, and through a hail of flashlights going off and the insistent clicking of lens.......Lionel Blair stepped out. To say that I was completely nonplussed would be an understatement. I just didn't get it."

Although McDonald clearly was none the wiser, David Roden explains that it was the only possible way to keep Tom's appearance in Dimensions In Time a secret:

"A BBC insider had tipped off a Daily Mirror journalist that Tom Baker was once again to play the Doctor, so a whole gang of exclusive-hungry photographers had turned up to get some pictures. JN-T, upon arriving at the studio some hours earlier, had decided to fool them by sneaking Tom in through a side door and then asking Lionel, who is an old friend of John's, to turn up in a flash car, pose for a few pictures and then go home again. He was more than happy to oblige."

After explaining to a still very perplexed Stuart McDonald what was going on, the production team was able to record Tom Baker's sequence very quickly, and by the time Kate O'Mara arrived to record the sequences set inside the Rani's DARDIS at ten o'clock, all traces of Tom Baker were gone. "There was no sign of him at all", she remembers. "When I found out he had been there, my knees turned to jelly. He is like a God in this profession."

The scenes between the Rani and her assistant were very easy, and the interior sequences were completed before the end of the day's shooting. Also recorded at Foundation Television were some of the computer graphics that were used to represent the Rani's DARDIS next to the terrifying time tunnel. It was just before the production team finished for the day, when a minor bombshell was dropped by visual effects designer Mike Tucker, as David Roden recalls:

"We were just about to go to the pub for a pie and a pint, when Mike Tucker came in, looking a bit sheepish. We wondered why he was there, and then we remembered he had been asked to create some kind of models of Bill Hartnell and Patrick Troughton to be sucked into the time tunnel by the Rani. Mike explained that he had delegated this task to a very junior member of the BBC effects department, and that was why we mustn't be too angry. Then he opened up the box he was carrying, and I realised why he looked so embarrassed."

The junior designer had created two completely unrealistic models of the two deceased actors' heads, made from a very cheap kind of wax. Stuart McDonald was "nauseated" by the tastelessness, while Kate O'Mara, who was still in the studio at the time, remembers feeling faint and having to be sedated by a member of the studio staff. David Roden recalls:

"JN-T hit the roof, but it was quite clear that we would have to make do with the heads, as time was short and our budget couldn't stretch to making anything better. By the time all the effects were put on, I thought they looked quite good."

LOCATION RECORDING

The following day, the twenty second, shooting was due to begin at nine o'clock in the morning at the EastEnders permanent exterior set at Elstree studios, Borehamwood. All the cast were asked to appear for a meeting with JN-T and Stuart McDonald prior to filming, even those whose scenes were not set in Albert Square. By quarter to nine, everyone had arrived except Jon Pertwee. He had apparently left his hotel at half past seven to "go for a run", according to his wife Ingeborg, but had not been seen since. Colin Baker remembers the growing air of panic as Pertwee still did not appear:

"Everyone was getting very nervous. Jon had completely disappeared, and for a man of his age it was particularly worrying. His wife was out of her mind with worry, and JN-T was almost in tears. It was all very stressful, and considering the amount of filming we had to do, it was something that the actors could have done without. Remember, we weren't getting any cash for this, none of us. It was all for charity, and for the glory of Doctor Who."

Fortunately, Jon Pertwee turned up safe and sound, having stopped at an old friend's house in London to pick up one of his many velvet smoking jackets to wear in Dimensions In Time. The meeting, which was ostensibly to thank the actors for their valuable time, was very raucous, as Adam Woodyatt recalls:

"It was the first time many of us had met some of the Doctor Whos, and it was a bit exciting. Somebody had smuggled a bottle of Scotch onto the set, so we had all had a few snifters, and were quite excited. I think we were a bit noisy, particularly when John Nathan-Turner tried to make a speech. In fact, I can't remember a bloody word he said!"

JN-T was attempting to say what a glorious production it was going to be, when Sylvester McCoy stood up to great applause, and said that whereas BBC Enterprises couldn't get the Doctors together, JN-T could just make a few phone calls and get them all together without paying them a penny. There was more applause, and JN-T looked quite embarrassed. He said that Sylvester had really summed it all up, and that they should stop talking, and start filming. There was more applause, and then director Stuart McDonald announced the shooting schedule, which was to begin with the first sequence in Albert Square, where Colin Baker and Sophie Aldred meet Deepak Verma.

Unfortunately, details of this day's recording, and that of the following two days, at the Cutty Sark and Greenwich Observatory, are the copyrighted material of the British Broadcasting Corporation, who have refused to allow us permission to describe the events of these three days. A BBC spokesman faxed SpaceWhale Publishing the following message:

"All details of the location recordings made for Doctor Who: Dimensions In Time are currently used in a BBC training film which is for members of staff only, and is consequently highly confidential. Any attempt to describe the happenings during the aforementioned location report would be considered a breach of SpaceWhale Publishing's licensing agreement with BBC WorldWide Publishing, and a criminal act, punishable by imprisonment."

Recording was concluded at the Greenwich Observatory at four o'clock on the twenty fourth of September, with the final scene from the programme, featuring Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred, and K-9.

POST-PRODUCTION

Despite the technical nature of special effects work, particularly in view of the three dimensional visuals that some sequences contained, all post-production work on Dimensions In Time was completed in one day, on the fourth of October 1993. The incidental music was added two days later, composed and performed by Keff McCulloch, one of the musicians who worked on Doctor Who during its twilight years.

The theme music, on the other hand, proved slightly more problematic. Initially, John Nathan-Turner wanted popular group the Pet Shop Boys to perform a version of it, as Neil Tennant recalls:

"John came to us with this video cassette, in some very plain packaging, and asked Chris and I to view it, and see what we thought. Now, both of us are enormous fans of Doctor Who, but when we saw the 3-D effects, we were spellbound. It was honestly like magic. However, the acting and the direction were quite awful. Then John asked us if we'd like to do a PSBs version of the theme tune. Chris was quite tempted, but I took it upon myself to refuse point blank. It wasn't the sort of thing we'd normally do, anyway."

Undeterred, JN-T then tried another high energy disco outfit, Erasure, who also refused. Eventually, an unknown dance group called Ribos and Kroll, who claimed that science fiction, particularly Doctor Who, was "a great influence" on them sent a demo tape to JN-T, who was so impressed that he used their version for Dimensions In Time.

BROADCAST

None of the stars of Dimensions In Time saw any of the post-production work that had been done on the show. Indeed, once they had finished acting, that was the last that they had to do with it, apart from some publicity photos taken at a press call in early November. Indeed, some of them were quite desperate to see the results of their endeavours , particularly Colin Baker:

"I was on tenterhooks for weeks, because I hadn't seen it. I wanted to see what it was like for my Doctor to meet the Brigadier, and of course I wanted to experience the wonderful 3-D special effects. Waiting so long was very hard. Yes, very hard."

At the press call, on the 8th of November, Baker, Peter Davison, Sylvester McCoy and Jon Pertwee got their first look at Dimensions In Time, although only a few brief sequences were actually revealed to them. David Roden, who was present at the event, thinks this is one of JN-T's ideas:

"John knew that Peter, Sylv and Colin would hit the roof when they found out that Tom was appearing in it, without their knowledge or consent, so he kept it a secret from them. All the other Doctors hated Tom's egocentric behaviour, and all that slanging between them had created a bad atmosphere. John had the fans in mind, of course, so he had to do the best for them, instead of pandering to a pack of poncing luvvies."

As well as showing excerpts from the programme, the press call was also notable for a short question-and-answer session, where journalists quizzed the four Doctors, JN-T, and Kate O'Mara about the show. For the first time, we can now reproduce the unexpurgated transcript of the session:

John Nathan-Turner: "Thank you ladies and gentlemen, thank you. Now, who would like to ask the first question?"

Silence.

JN-T: "Come on, don't be shy!"

Nervous laughter from the panel, but still no response from the press.

Jon Pertwee: "Reverse the polarity of the neutron flow because I...am....the Doctor!"

(Loud applause and cheering)

Hack: "Jon Pertwee, how does it feel to be back in Doctor Who after all this time?"

JP: "Oh, it's splendid. I never left, you know."

Hack: "Eh?"

JP: "Well, in spirit, at least. I just sort of....well, that is to say....I....am...the Doctor!"

More applause.

Another hack: "John Nathan-Turner, Sandy Smithies, the Guardian. Why has Doctor Who taken so long to return to our screens? It is four years since the last series."

JN-T: "I always felt that when the time was right, and not before, that Doctor Who would return to BBC Television. Now, the time is right."

Sylvester McCoy: "What John is trying to say, is that we've waited four bloody years for this, and now here we are! I'm loving it, and so is Colin, aren't you Colin?"

Colin Baker: "Wha...what? Oh, ah, yes."

Colin produces a large water pistol, and tries to shoot Sylvester with it. Unfortunately, he misses, and sprays Jon Pertwee by mistake.

JP: "Christ! Gwwffrh! Bloody.....aarargh!"

In his attempts to dry himself, Jon falls off his seat and disappears from view.

JN-T (panicking): "Are you alright, Jon? Here let me help you up, God.....oooof. (sotto voce) Come on Jon, you're not helping."

Some muttering is heard from behind the desk where Jon Pertwee is refusing to come out from. Eventually, he drags himself up and sits back in his chair.

Another hack: "Peter Davison, were then any.....Peter?"

Peter Davison is fast asleep.

JN-T: "Ha ha, must have been a wild night, eh guys?"

CB: "He spent it in with his wife."

SM: "Wa-hey! Straight blowing, as it were! Ha ha ha!"

There is some commotion in the ranks of the journalists.

Angry hack: "This is a bloody kids programme, and you perverts are turning it into some kind of bloody pornography, you bloody f....."

He is ejected by a BBC security guard.

JN-T: "Sorry about that. Now, where were we? Ah yes, Peter. Peter? Peter? PETER!!"

Peter Davison: "Wassat? Eh? Chancellor Flavia! Christ! Sorry, must've nodded off. Yes, I totally agree."

Hack: "With what?"

PD: "Er...what was the question? Sorry, it was a late night last night. At about half past three in the morning, my wife was a little, er...tetchy, and wanted a drink of cocoa. So I had to wander down to the twenty four hour garage to fetch some cocoa."

JP: "Well, that sounds a bit......fetch a tin of what?"

JN-T: "Moving on, now let's see....any more questions?"

Hack: "Why is Tom Baker not appearing in this programme?"

JN-T: "Well now, Tom was contracted to appear in another show, and legally we are honour bound to...."

Hack: "That's bollocks! We know that Tom is actually in it, but you're trying to keep it a secret!"

JN-T: "No, no. That would be absurd. Is he appearing, chaps?"

PD: "Certainly not."

JP: "Not a chance."

CB: "Wouldn't allow it."

SM: "You said it."

JN-T: "There you are. No Tom Baker. He was not asked at any time to appear in Dimensions In Time."

Hack: "Kate O'Mara - any regrets?"

Kate O'Mara: "None whatsoever. If I may paraphrase that dear man, Norman Lamont - Je ne regrette rien."

Hack: "Sylvester, are you a homosexual?"

SM: "WHAAAT? How dare you? I've been happily married for twenty bloody years, you bloody little snout. I'll give you a bunch of fives! Come on! Put up your dooks!"

Hack: "Eh?"

JN-T: "Calm down everybody. Let's see a clip from the programme."

Everyone relaxes as the sequence featuring Peter Davison and his companions escaping from the monsters is shown.

Hack: "Why has your legendary piece of celery turned into some mouldy vegetable, Peter?"

PD: "Don't talk about Nicky Bryant like that."

Laughter.

PD: "But seriously, I don't know. I think it was a cock-up in costume, wasn't it John?"

JN-T: "Er, I'm not sure to be honest, but I'll find out. Stay tuned. One last question from the floor, and then I'm afraid we're out of time."

Hack: "Does anybody think Dimensions In Time is any good? I mean, the bits we've seen look like the biggest load of toss the BBC has made for years. In fact, it's bloody awful. How does anyone else feel?"

CB: "I think that this is a wonderful thing, and that it's fantastic to have Doctor Who back! The world is a better place with Doctor Who, there's less war, famine, I mean....Jesus Christ!"

SM: "Are you alright, Colin?"

CB: "Of course I'm not alright! That bastard is taking the piss out of the finest drama programme in English history! You may scoff, but one day, Doctor Who will be proven as the best drama show of all time!"

Hack: "In your dreams."

JN-T: "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much."

The following week, the BBC began running commercials for Dimensions In Time, with particular emphasis put on the sequences of Jon Pertwee and Deborah Watling leaving the Cutty Sark for the TARDIS. David Roden recalls:

"We decided that Jon was the most popular amongst the Whovians, so we asked the BBC to show as much of him as possible."

By the day of transmission of part one, the 26th of November, the atmosphere was electric at the headquarters of the Doctor Who Appreciation Society. Writer and respected founder member David J. Howe recalls everyone being "on the edge of their seats. Nobody was saying much. There was a knot of tension in my stomach. It was crazy, but we just loved every minute of it."

Meanwhile, the BBC were preparing for their annual Children In Need appeal, of which Dimensions In Time was just a very small part. Hosts Terry Wogan and Sue Cook, were in no doubt about their views on the relevance of Dimensions In Time. "It was a lot of fun", remembers Cook. "But it was just part of a glorious whole, which was raising money for sick kids."

Terry Wogan, on the other hand, was somewhat more enthusiastic:

"I was a big fan of science fiction per se, and although my favourite was Blake's Seven, I loved Doctor Who and his TARDIS, and it was great to see Peter Davison again. Lovely fellow, quite charming. The best part of that whole bloody appeal was Dimensions In Time."

It was at eight minutes past eight o'clock, that Terry Wogan told the nation that it was time to don their 3-D filter glasses, and enjoy the first part of a brand new Doctor Who story - Dimensions In Time. For the next seven and a half minutes, nearly fourteen million viewers were once again transported into space and time with a renegade Gallifreyan and his voluptuous companions, even if it was just to end up in Albert Square with the cast of EastEnders. Ross Kemp, a practising Doctor Who fan who starred as Grant Mitchell in the programme, remembers watching Dimensions In Time:

"It was the highlight of my year, to be honest. I had been building myself up to it for months before, since I recorded my scene in it. Then on that night in November, just a couple of days after the thirtieth anniversary, all my dreams came true. It was absolutely spectacular. I loved every single picosecond of it."

Unfortunately, Kemp was in the minority. At the end of the broadcast, the BBC switchboard was jammed with phone calls from angry viewers. Their complaints ranged from criticism of the dialogue, the acting, the direction, the music, the wax heads, and the lack of continuity to more ludicrous calls attacking politically subversive references in the dialogue , and the lack of choice in the viewer's poll to decide who was to save the Doctor. But it wasn't just the viewers who found something to complain about.

When Peter Davison saw the programme, replete with Tom Baker's sequence, shown before the appearance of any of the other Doctors, he was absolutely furious:

"I was stunned, quite literally. I started watching, and after a few minutes, there was Tom bloody Baker, looking ludicrous in his old costume and a hat to cover up the fact that he was completely bald, with not a curl in sight. I began throwing things around the room, and cursing JN-T for treating us all so contemptuously. I always knew he was kissing Tom's arse, but I didn't think he would go behind our backs like that."

Colin Baker was similarly unhappy with the appearance of the Forth Doctor:

"The worse thing about Tom's appearance is that it is completely irrelevant. It has no place in the dramatic structure of the piece, and the whole tone of the thing is wrong. Tom just sits there, taking the piss out of Bill and Pat, and then says that we should listen to him - for once. I mean, what is he saying? I felt very hurt by it all."

Jon Pertwee was not very pleased with JN-T's underhand techniques, while Sylvester McCoy made public threats against him. At a shop opening the following day, McCoy told a group of Doctor Who fans that he was going to "kick some ass" and that JN-T should "look out for himself". McCoy later denied that there was any real threat in these words, claiming instead that it was all "a bit of a lark".

Other people who were unhappy with it were the EastEnders cast, who had realised too late that the whole thing destroyed their credibility and reputation as talented, serious actors. Mike Reid, the former blue comedian who played Frank Butcher, recalls:

"We'd all been stitched up like bleeding kippers, hadn't we? They made us out to be stupid cockney wankers. I recorded loads of scenes, but the only one they left in made me look a right bloody pillock. Oh Pat. What have you done to me?"

The storm continued over the second episode, broadcast as part of Noel's House Party the following day. Many people were incensed by some comments made by Noel Edmonds to Jon Pertwee, who was a special guest. "Noel thought Jon was senile", claims Jon's widow Ingeborg. "So he started making all these jokes about his lisp. Jon covered it up, but he was very sad. A little bit of him died there and then, all down to that vile man, Edmonds."

The second episode was broadcast at nearly twenty five past seven to just over thirteen and a half million viewers. It was shorter than the first due to cuts recommended by Noel Edmonds. "There were some trivial, irrelevant sequences", says Edmonds today. "And Mr. Blobby had only fallen over twice. One of the two had to be sacrificed, and when it came to the crunch, there was only one choice of who to save."

Fortunately, some fans rang it to say they found the second episode more exciting, while other, non-partisan viewers rang in to thank the BBC for a happy ending, something they described as "rare in this day and age."

AFTERMATH

Despite the high viewing figures received by Dimensions In Time, the amount of complaints received by the BBC seemed to signal that this was not a beginning of a new era for Doctor Who, but a return to the dark days of the cancellation. Indeed, it was to be another three years before a new television film revived viewers' interest in the programme.

John Nathan-Turner campaigned for an extended video release of Dimensions In Time, which was also to feature A Fix With Sontarans and Thirty Years In The TARDIS, a recent Doctor Who documentary. Sadly, BBC Enterprises refused to co-operate, and the footage was consigned to the BBC archives, where it now remains, gathering dust.

David Roden today defends his one, disastrous foray into the world of Doctor Who:

"I think it was a great idea, but it was completely arsed up by BBC Television. John and I had come up with this wonderful way of bringing the show back, and making some money for charity, but they gave us no money, no help, and no bloody encouragement. I still wish we'd have had more time to make it."

Unfortunately, there are very few people who agree with Roden, with the majority of fans considering Dimensions In Time to be a dreadful travesty, and nothing whatsoever to do with true Doctor Who. However, it does have some small value: It was the final Doctor Who television story to date to feature Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison and Colin Baker, four men who gave everything to a programme that they loved. It also gave us a chance to see that wonderful double act Sophie Aldred and Sylvester McCoy one last time. Also, it gave fans some brief hope that their favourite series was coming back, and some hope is always better than none.

6th February 2004