I've been writing and drawing comics for more than 20 years. My short, self-contained stories include wholesome memoir "Six-Year-Old Horse Thief", raunchy comedy "Window of Opportunity", science fiction action "The Null Device", neurotic horror "The Bleeding Mirror" and Boston murder mystery "Zip's Last Day".
Torchwood chooses style over logic, each and every time
Torchwood is aimed more for mature audiences than its spin-off parent Doctor Who. There’s swearing, graphic sex and violence, and greater emphasis on human corruptibility. Some episodes barely have space aliens (“Random Shoes“, “Combat“), while “Countrycide” has none.
Those mature themes, however, are expressed through American style conventions (specifically the 18-34 demographic of the WB/CW networks.) The sets are huge and stylish, lead actors are a bit too young for their positions, and interoffice romantic triangles are more complex than Tex Winter’s offense (The team’s most unlikable member slept with every female coworker.) It’s like watching an episode of Smallville or Buffy the Vampire Slayer with curse words.
Torchwood wants adult vocabulary, but none of the responsibility. Consider these Season One highlights:
Ianto sneaks his mid-conversion Cyberman girlfriend into HQ in “Cyberwoman” (hiding the body of one of her victims)
Gwen sneaks a “dead and loving it” Suzie Costello out in “They Keep Killing Suzie” She also treats Rhys, her live-in boyfriend, horribly (lies about what she’s doing for Torchwood, has an affair, then confesses to Rhys after drugging him with amnesia pills.)
Captain Jack abandons his own team without a word in “End of Days“
These actions would be criminal in our world. On Torchwood, everything’s forgiven by the next episode. Captain Jack built a group less reliable than The A-Team.
These American genre conventions bring in a young audience, but they also undermine Torchwood‘s fantastic premise: How would we handle alien invasions without the Doctor? Classic and current Who provide some examples. The Brigadier killed hibernating Silurians in “Doctor Who and the Silurians“. PM Harriet Jones ordered ordered a hit on retreating Sycorax in “The Christmas Invasion.” Simply put, Torchwood could have been the hardest sci-fi program in history. Less Charmed, more Blade Runner.
There are some terrific things about Torchwood. “Out of Time” and “Captain Jack Harkness” were written and directed by women. The show portrays homosexuality and bisexuality in a mundane, understated manner. It’s fun watching Captain Jack develop between Doctor Who episodes “The Parting of the Ways” and “Utopia.”
So I’ll keep watching, knowing Torchwood will choose style over logic each and every time. Here’s to Captain Jack and his Howling, Unstable Commandoes!
Random Thoughts
Why is Jack so evasive about his past, especially about his relationship with the Doctor? It wouldn’t undermine his authority one iota.
More importantly, why is the rest of Team Torchwood so upset about his secrecy? In real life, employees are too busy with their jobs and lives to even think about their boss’s private life.
Given her actions in Season 1, how the Hell is Gwen “the conscience” of Torchwood?
Given his demeandor, how is Owen so desirable to every woman on Torchood?
The answer to all these questions is “Attracting a young audience with Americanized sci-fi genre rules for teenagers.”
James Garner was an established star before Doctor Who. Garner infused the charcater with an a cynical, yet easy-going charm. His Doctor was a man of action, technology and paternal compassion. With a keen eye on his fan’s expections, Garner passed on Nichols (which flopped with Jon Pertwee as the lead) to star on Doctor Who.
Susan Sullivan started her acting career playing opposite Dustin Hoffman in the Broadway play Jimmy Shine (where she beat out British ingénu Caroline John). She landed a contract with Universal Studios in 1969, guest-starring on several shows, which ultimately led to her work on Doctor Who. Susan looked up actual scientific terminology to prepare for her role, discovering that all the terms from the writers were made up.
J. D. Cannon is known for his role as a prisoner in the film Cool Hand Luke, and for his part as the witness who cleared Richard Kimble in The Fugitive. Unlike his famous character, Cannon did not enjoy his 18 months of military life. He added understated warmth beneath the Brigadier’s rough exterior.
Ricardo Montalbán was an in-demand Mexican actor. In addition to working in state, radio and television, he also co-founded the Screen Actors Guild Ethnic Minority Committee with actors Carmen Zapata, Henry Darrow and Roger Delgado. As an in-joke in the 1971 Doctor Who serial “Colony in Space”, the Brigadier saud the suspected sighting of the Master “was only the Mexican Ambassador”. Montalbán brought 30 years of versatility and range to the role. His performance is gleefully sadistic, brilliant, suave and dashing–in an evil way.
Production
Garner’s suave portrayal of the Doctor is stark contrast to his predecessors. For production reasons (added expense from being produced in color), the Doctor is stranded on Earth and working for UNIT. These adventures are often classified as the spy-fi genre.
The Doctor’s most memorable foes debuted in this era: Autons, Omega, Sontarans, Silurians, and Sea Devils. His most formitable enemy was the Master, a fellow Gallifreyan out to destroy Earth. Even with the universe on the line, they treated their conflict as a friendly rivalry…a battle of wits among equals. Since they were once friends, the Doctor was determined to rehabilitate him.
Leslie Nielsen wrapped up two films in 1966 (The Plainsman, Beau Geste) just before auditioning for Doctor Who. Being cast as a tough guy for most of his Hollywood career, he relished the chance to utilize his comedy skills as the second Doctor.
Stefanie Powers thankfully chose Doctor Who over a role in The Girl from U.N.C.L.E., which turned out to be a 1-season flop. They wanted a “demure, passive figure” instead of an action heroine like Emma Peel. Luckily for generations of Who fans, Powers found the role of Polly Wright a lot more interesting.
Stephen Brooks earned respect as a character actor in Route 66, The Doctors and the Nurses, 12 O’Clock High and The F.B.I. (a show he abruptly left after auditioning for Doctor Who). His audition went so well, he unknowingly beat out a young Michael Craze).
“What struck me upon was the sadness at Jaime’s and Zoe’s leaving. [The Time Lords sent them back to their own times, erasing their memories beyond their first encounter with the Doctor.] But after the heartbreak of Donna forgetting her time with the Doctor, the loss that Jaime and Zoe will not know that they suffered struck me as particularly distressing. Especially as Troughton was generally a more concerned and caring Doctor than his previous incarnation.”
The author’s dead-on assessment of Troughton’s performance:
“Indeed, what I most like about Troughton’s Doctor is his expressiveness, the way his face displays joy and sorrow, sadness and ferocity, concern and anger. Where Hartnell was contained, Troughton is expansive.”
Ray Walston was best known for his role as the title character of Doctor Who. His 15 years of stage, film and television fueled his performance as the “tough yet sympathetic” Doctor. Walston enjoyed the audition so much that he turned down My Favorite Martian (with floundered with replacement William Hartnell) that very afternoon!
Patty Duke first became famous as a child star, winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at age 16 for her role in The Miracle Worker. Perhaps her rough upbringing (alcoholic father and violent bipolar mother) was the foundation for Duke’s inquisitive performance as Susan Foreman. At 16, she was the youngest person at that time to win an Academy Award. Under the advice of her legal guardians, Duke turned down a show Sidney Sheldon created especially for her (which begain their lifelong animosity).
Chad Everett first became notable in Surfside 6 and The Dakotas. His big break was playing Dr. Joe Gannon on Medical Center, where he honed his unique combination of intelligence and toughness. His performance as the no-nonsense school teacher (which reminded this reviewer of a young William Russell in The Great Escape) was a perfect counter balance to the Doctor’s aloof persona.
Diane Brewster was most noted for playing the confidence trickster Samantha Crawford in Maverick. But her performance as elementary school teacher Miss Canfield in Leave It to Beaver made producers realize she was perfect to play Barbara Wright.
Ossie Davis is the Doctor
Producers wanted for the Doctor to be played by Ossie Davis, an African American actor. In 1963, they felt that would be consistent with NET documentaries about poverty and racism. Co-creator Leslie Stevens was a huge fan of EC Comics Bill Gaines for standing up to the Comics Code in 1954 (The Code objected to the hero in “Judgment Day!” being black.) Davis thought the role fit with his social activism, auditioned well and was ready to leave Car 54, Where Are You?. However, Southern and conservative affiliates objected to what they saw as Northeast liberal bias. Producers relented, eventually casting Ray Walston.
Tumblr user Smug Mode reimagined Doctor Who with American actors (Classic Who | Nu Who). We’re taking this concept a bit further, pretending Doctor Who is produced by British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) counterpart National Educational Television (NET), which got replaced by Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in 1970. Unlike the BBC, NET/PBS didn’t produce the shows they broadcast. Production history for this exercise is based on The Outer Limits, Science Fiction Theatre and The Twilight Zone, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica and others.
Unlike the underfunded BBC, NET got $6M/year from the Ford Foundation in their quest to become a 4th major network. Since the rest of their programming was news and documentaries, NET would have plenty of cash to develop Doctor Who. The show would be broadcast as a prime time drama, each season being 25-30 hour-long episodes (with a budget of $185,000 per episode.)
American actors were chosen to match their BBC counterparts as close as possible. Selection criteria included age, resume and availability for Doctor regeneration episodes. My fantasy studio is Desilu Productions, with show runners Outer Limits creator Leslie Stevens and Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. Rod Serling wasn’t available.
Hope you enjoy this series of executive, obsessive and speculative fan fiction. Determining our best American Doctor is this context is a slow, deliberate process. We’ll post our selections soon as they’re ready. Check here regularly. In the meantime, your feedback and comments are welcome.
The twelfth Doctor might be “revisiting an old favorite.”
Did the Time Lords base the third Doctor’s face on Rory Williams?
Jon Pertwee is my favorite Doctor (1970–1974). His performance was fueled with 50 years of life experience. As a Naval Intelligence officer in WWII (along with Ian Fleming), Jon reported directly to Winston Churchill:
“I did all sorts of incredible things. Teaching commandos how to use escapology equipment, compasses in brass buttons, secret maps in white cotton handkerchiefs, pipes you could smoke that also fired a .22 bullet.”
The third Doctor reflected Jon’s love of gadgets. Exiled on Earth by the Time Lords, he passed the timey-wimey building new technology. This aspect has been picked up by new Doctors 10 (the machine that goes “DING!”), 11 (constant TARDIS repairs) and 12 (hacked technology in “The Caretaker“). The Doctor’s favorite working project was the canary-yellow Edwardian roadster “Bessie.” Based on a 1940s Ford Popular chassis, Bessie was the perfect replacement for his TARDIS (itself a junker when he stole it).
FYI: Jon started acting after the war, eventually appearing in Will Any Gentleman…? with William Hartnell in 1953.
In spite of the magician’s outfit he wore as a joke, Pertwee insisted on portraying the role more seriously than his immediate predecessor Patrick Troughton (who left the show with co-stars and main production team). He wanted his Doctor to be a heroic, charming and technically savvy man of action…sort of a middle-aged James Bond.
Partners in Crime
Can’t get away: The Doctor discovers his TARDIS is broken in “Spearhead from Space”
This Doctor empowered his companions. As scientific lead of UNIT, Liz Shaw was initially skeptical of his alien origins. He charmed her with his technical abilities (and his mischievous attempt to escape with a disabled TARDIS) in “Spearhead from Space.” Comparatively, Jo Grant was a bimbo who wore a satin choker when introducing herself as his new assistant in “Terror of the Autons.” Her character grew; she was talking the Doctor out of dumb ideas by “Carnival of Monsters.” Sarah Jane Smith was even more skeptical, leading a guerrilla attack against a medieval-Sontaran alliance in “The Time Warrior.”
His relationship with Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart developed as well. Stuck on Earth against his will, the Doctor childishly lashed out on the Brig. Played brilliantly by Nicholas Courtney, he endured the Doctor’s tantrums with unflappable grace. This run was the foundation of their friendship for future regenerations.
The Master Degenerated (in my humble opinion): Roger Delgado, John Simm
Tom Baker as the fourth Doctor was my favorite since 1980 (David Tennant was a close second). Watching Jon Pertwee in “The Three Doctors” changed that. Pertwee fans would think Tom Baker was too young and goofy. Roger Delgado‘s performance as the Master in “Mind of Evil“, “Terror of the Autons” and “The Sea Devils” ruined John Simm’s Master for me (Derek Jacobi’s performance at the end of “Utopia” came close to the old Master).
This era had its silly moments. By today’s standards, a 55-year-old hero flipping stunt men half his age with Venusian Aikido is as hilarious as Captain Kirk’s fake judo on Star Trek. The Bug-eyed monsters and special effects make suspension of disbelief almost impossible. For a wholesome BBC kid’s show with no budget, Doctor Who is extraordinarily well written and conceived. Tom Baker’s madman antics won me over as an 18-year-old discovering the show from Starlog magazine. As a middle-aged man today, Jon Pertwee is the best.
This is the debut of the third Doctor, Liz Shaw, the Autons, UNIT as a regular character, and first episode shown in color. Having no memory of his forced regeneration and exile, he stops Nestene fron conquering Earth with Autons. The plot inspired “Rose,” first episode of the 2005 reboot.
A drilling project called Inferno digs through the Earth’s crust to get energy. Inferno’s director chooses production over safety, with catastrophic consequences. The serial drags on for 7 episodes, but the parallell universe the Doctor gets thrown into is gold. Nicholas Courtney gets to play a heroic and fascist Brigadier.
The Doctor encounters a prison reform technique inspired by A Clockwork Orange. He speaks Chinese in one scene, first time using an Earth language other than English (with subtitles). The cast is brilliant, but Roger Delgado steals the show as the Master.
In this first ever multi-Doctor story, the Time Lords unite the Doctors against Omega’s anti-matter plot to destroy the universe. The real pleasure is the chemistry between Troughton and Pertwee. It’s also the first use of “Oh, you redecorated. I don’t like it.” William Hartnell was too weak to stand at this point, but still managed to slam his future selves “a dandy and a clown.”
The Doctor’s trapped in a miniature carnival of aliens, and characters are trapped in an endless loop of their own actions. First episode of a shrunken TARDIS (followed up by “Logopolis” and “Flatline“), first performance by Ian Marter (future Harry Sullivan), and the Time Lords end the Doctor’s exile to Earth. Everything before the Bug-eyed monsters appear is fantastic.
The environmentalist/anti-corporate themes are a bit rushed and underdeveloped, but Jon got to flex his comedy chops with a variety of disguises and funny voices. The serial ends with Jo Grant leaving the Doctor for Professor Jones. He looks as heartbroken at her engagement party as David Tennant explaining his lost companions at the end of “The Next Doctor.”
A lone Sontaran warrior, seeking to repair his space ship and leave Earth of the Middle Ages, gives advanced weapons to bandits. This introduces Sontarans (who are more terrifying and sadistic than in modern episodes), Sarah Jane Smith (who mistakenly thinks the Doctor is part of the Sontaran plot, organizes a guerilla attack) and the name of the Doctor’s home planet Gallifrey.
The final Jon Pertwee story. There’s a lot of filler in this 6-episode story, but it wraps up a few loose ends (the blue crystal he stole from Metebelis Three in “The Green Death”). It also introduces Buddhist themes and the term “regeneration.” Sarah Jane Smith is a brilliant companion, and the Doctor shows his finest character traits…even while facing his own death.
“Ivar explains that pens and sunglasses always go missing because we’re constantly surrounded by wormholes through time that suck them in when we’re not looking.”
That’s enough for me. But wait, there’s more…
“Ivar shoots Horatio Nelson dead at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 (In our history, Nelson was killed by a French sniper). While there’s still a trace of that whimsical Doctor Who-inspired friendliness to the character, he suddenly becomes something a little more unknowable and a little more terrifying, a little harder to relate to.”
I never understood the Doctor’s aversion to violence, especially considering the scale of his opponents. Kate Stewart and War Doctor were right to sacrifice millions for billions in “The Day of the Doctor“. So was Harriet Jones in “The Christmas Invasion“. The Doctor must’ve learned something by Season 8’s “Mummy on the Orient Express“:
“I couldn’t save Quell, I couldn’t save Moorhouse. There was a good chance that [Maisie would] die too. At which point, I would have just moved onto the next, and the next, until I beat it. Sometimes the only choices you have are bad ones. But you still have to choose.”
And it seems great choice as Helen Mirren is possibly one of the few people in the world who has an Oscar, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA and Screen Actors Guild Award for the same performance. And of course, he is British.
Steven Moffat never specified where the material to build the new Cybermen came from. They were obviously built in a hurry with faulty material, allowing a higher failure percentage. To put it another way, they don’t make Cybermen like they used to.
