Presenter: Nicholas Briggs
A good story and careful characterisation are the essence of Doctor Who argued Victor Pemberton in the mid-1990s shortly after Paul McGann played the character. This former script writer who worked on the Patrick Trouton era was critical of the middle years of the series where the show had pulled away from what he felt was its essence and just one of the comments included in this new collection of documentary interviews and behind-the-scenes insights looking at the Patrick Troughton years in what will be a series of Doctor Who interview collections released on DVD and Blu-ray in the coming months.
This special edition collector’s pack is aimed at devoted fans of the series, putting together several interviews filmed with key staff working on the Patrick Troughton era recorded from 1980s to early 2000s reflecting back on the developments in Doctor Who both before and since. Some, like Pemberton, argue quite strongly that the show lost credibility beyond the Troughton era with poorer storytelling and thin characterisation in the 1970s – something which fans of Peter Davidson or Colin Baker may find objectionable.
This new DVD release is a collection of previously recorded interviews and panels from a show called Myth Makers dedicated to interviewing Doctor Who personnel. Featuring six episodes of the show, interviewer Nicholas Briggs, who voiced the Daleks, held conversations with Pemberton, then Head of Drama Shaun Sutton and Script Editor Derrick Sherwin which together comprise around three hours of material on the first DVD alone. Their discussions are also quite wide-ranging and not specific to the Trouton era looking more broadly at drama development and writing as well as the longer-term impact and shape of Doctor Who over the ensuing decades. Those interested in the wider context will find these informative and insightful but for fans looking for a focus on Troughton specifically may question their inclusion here as they try to pick through the wealth of content for specific references to the second Doctor.
The second DVD is a little more focused with three further episodes of Myth Makers that include a double bill entitled Flight Through Eternity: The Sixties filmed at a convention in Guilford in 2007 where fans could meet some of the supporting actors who passed through the show during that decade and the only female voices appearing in 310 minutes of interviews when the show’s make-up artist and a performer are interviewed. With discussion of specific episodes, these 50-minutes programmes are probably most useful to fans.
The final edition of Myth Makers included here focuses on The Innes Lloyd Team and is the only one entirely dedicated to Troughton’s Doctor, featuring a grainy panel recorded at Imperial College London in the mid-1980s celebrating 20 years since Troughton’s time on the show was broadcast. The Doctors: The Pat Troughton Years: Behind the Scenes – Volume 1 is a companion piece to the series release on DVD a few years ago but sadly contains no new reflections on Troughton’s legacy, and although a few stills are included in the interviews there are no clips from the episodes themselves. While there are behind the scenes insights from those who were there and fans of the era may enjoy a nostalgic reflection on how television used to be made, viewers used to the more interactive and visual style of modern documentary-making, or hoping new information on the programme, may find the format quite dry.
The Doctors: The Pat Troughton Years: Behind the Scenes – Volume 1 is available on DVD now.
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Behind the scenes insights
