The Green Death

For some, the jolly family atmosphere of "The Green Death" must bring back happy personal associations, maybe of sitting watching Doctor Who on a Saturday night as a child. For the younger fan, perhaps the story evokes an equally buoyant spirit in a fictional sense; rarely has the Doctor seemed so happy, so loved and so established. He may finish the story with a tear running down his cheek, but you have to loved first to have lost. It's the end of an era, but what a happy era it was.

However, once you become aware of the world behind Doctor Who, and more specifically the plight of those actors who were to millions of children, care-free heroes who saved us all every four or six weeks, your perception of them all cannot help but change; the facts blend into the fictional. It doesn't work for all the key players in the UNIT setup - Manning and Levene have disappeared into obscurity now, bar the odd Anniversary visit, and the crumbling, skeletal Nicholas Courtney that once grumbled his way through signing a big stack of art prints (while we waited to his blissful ignorance just in front of him) is too far removed to still be "our" bristling Brig. Even Jon Pertwee is dead, leaving most of our icons existing forever in character to play out their parts as heroes. Beyond the odd hush-hush something at Porton Downs, we can only guess at what became of them all.

But there is one man who I will always see beyond his on-screen persona, and that is Richard Franklin. Albeit more through a process of elimination, I can't help but be fascinated by this man, if only for his unlikely years as a hero and subsequent fall from grace. I watch a story like "The Green Death" now and I see not a character, but a man who was, perhaps, lucky to be a part of such a dynamic team. Not that I'm passing judgement on Franklin's acting talents, but he seems to me almost comically unsuitable for the clearly intended role of beefcake captain and Jo Grant love interest. If she ever made their "night on the town", one can only ponder that it was both a first and last date, as the romantic plot idea is dropped before it's even begun. Where-as I imagine Benton probably did go ballroom dancing after work, intuition tells us that Yates only frequented bars where females go to avoid getting picked-up.

And so I wonder what became of Franklin after Doctor Who finished. I guess he rubbed along earning a crust like everyone else, but history seems to have been less forgiving to him than for certain others, and bar a walk-on in "The Five Doctors", the actor has seemed largely untroubled by high profile spin-off shows, audio's or presenting jobs. It's hard to feel sorry for jolly familiar faces like Sophie Aldred, perhaps because we've supported her ever since she left the show, or maybe because she seems to embrace her status for what it is - a bit of fun. Or perhaps because she doesn't seem to depend on us. But what happened to Franklin in the wilderness years?

A few years ago I read a DWM review of a low-key one-man show Franklin performed, and the verdict wasn't good at all. I remember wondering what hope there was when even the fans rip what you do to shreds. How much lower can you go? A few years later, I met Franklin at a signing where he was flogging copies of a CD that someone had made of a book he'd been trying for decades to get published. There were quite a few copies left.

I don't suppose there is any need to feel sorry for him, just another actor trying to pay the rent. But at the same time, that's who he now is - just another working man. Once he was a hero, then, by some accounts, he was a failure. Just like the rest of us. The likes of Colin Baker and Sarah Sutton must face the same knocks from life's punch bag - death, debts, good and bad times. But somehow their discretion has made them seem more invincible. You wouldn't be surprised if you bumped into Franklin in Asda or at a cash point (and even less surprised if it had just swallowed his card). Whether his thin portrayal of Yates or the internet stories of his "romantic" endeavours are to blame, Richard Franklin is now more real than Captain Mike Yates.

So when I watch "The Green Death", in particular the final scene as everyone toasts the happy couple and dance round, I see the Doctor, my hero, silently reflecting on his loss. And the Brigadier, part of this establishment, congratulating the happy couple. And I see Richard Franklin, one-time actor, some-time just another tryer. I know that he might not even be that nice a man. But for some reason I hope that wherever he is, he's doing okay.