I got an entire 6 cosplay (coat, vest, shirt, pants) over 3 years ago from Honest Dragon China for a pretty good deal. Unfortunately they haven't offered that cosplay in a while.

I'll have to keep an eye out on them then. Rather enjoyed Six's outfit and looks fun to cosplay as.

Steven Spielberg already knew about Doctor Who IOTL; Jon Pertwee was repeatedly a second choice in two of his productions: Judge Doom in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (Spielberg attempted to approach him through their mutual friend Steven Martin [!], but Martin asked him not to, as it would simultaneously combine Pertwee's life-long dream of being in a Disney film with his dismay at being cast as the villain) and Henry Jones, Sr. in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (had Connery declined the role).

To this day, Spielberg is a fan of Who; he even let Steven Moffat out of working on Tintin to go produce Doctor Who out of the sheer love both Spielberg and Peter Jackson have for the show (ironically, Jackson had also been chasing another former Doctor for several roles in his films: Sylvester McCoy, who was the back-up choice for Bilbo Baggins in the LOTR trilogy if Ian Holm was not available, as well as being heavily considered for the part of Herb the cameraman in King Kong -- Jackson finally cast him as Radagast the Brown in his Hobbit trilogy).

I realised that Spielberg was a fan of the series, but didn't realise it went quite that far back. And that really is an odd set of connections with Steve Martin thrown into the mix. ITTL, he went along to the set as he was encouraged by the publicity around John Denver's casting and his own fandom meant he was eager to have a look around it.
 
Nelvana and Ghibli Begin Their Partnership
Part Five: The Rise of The Bear:
“It was Doctor Who that saved us. Odd now, to look back on it, but there you go. They first had John Denver's episodes up on PBS, the light hearted ones. But then they showed episodes from the other guys in the role, the weird looking one with the scarf and the tall guy. Elements of horror and thriller were starting to show through these Sci-Fi shows and we managed to turn it to our advantage. With Doctor Who being such a hit, we managed to push the executives into actually putting effort into advertising and its release with our own 'Sci-Fi' project. It wasn't what we wanted, but we at least managed to make profit for when the limited release hit the country and the money from the soundtrack really helped.”
- Extract from an interview with Michael Hirsh, 1997

Rock & Rule:
Released: August 12th, 1983
Studio: Nelvana
Budget: 8.1 Million US Dollars
Box Office: 10 Million US Dollars
- Run down of Rock & Rule's information and performance (1)

Controversy had helped somewhat with Rock & Rule's performance, it's notoriety improving ticket sales in the limited release it saw in major cities. It had also made Nelvana stand out from the likes of Disney, succeeding in helping establishing a separate identity for them as a film studio. This came at a cost however, MGM wasn't willing to fund a similar project at such a risk. Executives made it clear that, while they would continue to fund any potential projects, it would not be the same as Rock & Rule, they wanted something for more general audiences. Several ideas were given throughout late 1983, only for all to be shot down. It would take an unexpected turn at a meeting between Nelvana's directors as an answer came to them from an old source.
- Extract from The Mouse & The Bear: The Two Giants of Western Animation, 2012

“Well, it sounds silly now but it was simply because someone was humming the theme tune to Speed Racer. It just started off by one of the janitors I think, and it just then spread around the building. Had about two people in the creative meeting just keep at it and soon about six of us were singing along to it. After that, it was Patrick Loubert who actually brought up the idea of us distributing Japanese animated films. It would keep the suits happy on costs, lets us build up a name for ourselves as an alternative to Disney and let our animators work on our TV shows while we get round to building up a division for animated movies that the studio would be happy to take a chance on. It went down really well with MGM executives, seeing it as low risk compared to our earlier project and then the time came to look into which films we could use. We got into contact with studios in Japan when we came across Castle of Cagliostro. It had action, comedy and some faint romance and superb animation, something for everyone. TMS and Toho were happy to let us handle the distribution, turned out it'd been a failure in its original release in Japan, we were hoping for some better luck.”
- Extract from an interview with Clive Smith, 1999 (2)

“Really? Nelvana? Dan put you up to this?”
“Hey, you lost the bet didn't you? I get to choose a movie for you, I choose this one.”
“Alright, but if this leads to me doing a music number with Lou Reed... You're not invited.”
- Alleged conversation between Robin Williams and John Belushi, late 1983 (3)

“We were amazed that Robin Williams accepted the part really. I think the offer was wired to him by accident. But he rang up and accepted, looking for whatever role we'd give to him. It was only later on I'd find out about the bet he made with John Belushi but he'd fallen in love with the Ghibli stuff by then and become a staple of our voice actors. I still think naming his daughter 'Nausicaa' was a bit much though.”
- Extract from an interview with Clive Smith, 1999

Rupan III – Paul Le Mat
Lady Clarisse d'Cagliostro – Susan Sheridan
Count Cagliostro – Kevin Conroy
Daisuke Jigen – Robert Loggia
Fujiko Mine – Sheryl Lee Ralph
Goemon Ishikawa – Don Francks
Inspector Zenigata – Robin Williams
- Some of the English voice cast for Nelvana's dub of 'Castle of Cagliostro' (4)

“A fun adventure for kids and parents alike, Castle of Cagliostro makes for great summer time viewing. The adventures of Rupan and his gang provides a hugely entertaining escapade that still leaves you wanting more. A great export from Japan that leaves me hoping for more.”
- Extract from a review of the 'Castle of Cagliostro' from the Chicago Tribune, 1984

“Can we get lunchboxes with these guys or not?”
- MGM executive asking about merchandising potential for the movie and TV series based off Lupin III, 1986

Released in July 1984, The Castle of Cagliostro was a modest hit for Nelvana studios and allowed TMS to make back their losses on the film from its release in Japan. While executives were happy with the money made, Rock & Rule came back to haunt them though as potential viewers were concerned with Castle of Cagliostro having the same adult themes that their previous film had. Realising that this needed to change, the responsibilities between their films and television properties were split to help build up separate brands with their own identity. The Nelvana name kept with properties such as Care Bears while the newly formed Studio Elven would handle the new properties and films. Named after how many people were at the board meeting that decided the changes (Although conspiracy theorists say it was a Biblical reference), the first order of business for Clive A. Smith, the man put in charge of Studio Eleven, was to enter negotiations with Japanese studios to continue dubbing and distributing their films. Although creating their own properties was something Studio Eleven wanted to aim for, MGM executives continued to hold the purse strings, limiting their ambitions until more successes were found. For this, Smith contacted the director of Castle of Cagliostro, Hayao Miyazaki, for further negotiations over his newest project.”
- Extract from The Mouse & The Bear: The Two Giants of Western Animation, 2012

“It almost never happened. Me and several others, including an executive from MGM travelled to Japan to talk with Hayao Miyazaki regarding his newest film in April. 1984. It'd been a really big hit in Japan and with the executives feeling confident over Castle of Cagliostro, dubbing was seen as the way to go. The meeting started off fairly cordial, Miyazaki liking the idea of his work going into wider audiences while Topcraft executives were eager for the money from it. Everything almost collapsed once our executive mentioned the fact they'd want cuts for American audiences, changing elements that we'd find 'unsuitable'. The look on Myazaki's face told me instantly that this wasn't going to fly. His work was encouraging and we at Studio Eleven felt that there was a lot of potential in a partnership with Topcraft so to hear this guy ramble on about how we were going to cut and slice the movie to suit American audiences, I could see the project go down the drain right there and then. Even Miyazaki interrupted him at one point to bluntly say “We don't want any cuts.” I had to take the man aside at one point and told him that we didn't want to risk this partnership. MGM were still reluctant to give the greenlight to our own projects so we needed this. It took some arguing, but we were allowed to get our way and agree with Miyazaki and Topcraft over this. It was a gamble, when we got home, MGM told us that if Valley of The Wind didn't do well, we wouldn't get another movie project like this. Thankfully, it was a gamble that paid off.”
- Extract from an interview with Clive Smith, 1999

“From a bumbling detective to a kick-ass sword master, I'm moving up baby!”
- Robin Williams on being cast as Master Yupa in Nausicaa of The Valley of The Wind

“This isn't your standard Disney fare, and for that, Valley of The Wind is all the stronger for it. A tale of hardship and overcoming the mistakes of the past, Nelvana's latest import from Japan in a modern day animated masterpiece. With strong environmental themes that are never overly preaching, the film shows that animation can be used for more than a standard fairy tale in movies. With excellent performances from its voice actors, including a Robin Williams performance with a surprising level of gravitas, Valley of The Wind is something that should be watched and be looked upon as a film that will change perceptions of how animated films can be seen.”
- Extract from Roger Ebert's review of 'Nausicaa of The Valley of The Wind', August 1985

Releasing Nausicaa just a week after Disney's own release of the Black Cauldron was a direct challenge to Disney as the two films went head to head. It was an outstanding victory for Studio Eleven as Valley of The Windwent on to reach the top of the box office while Black Cauldron floundered. A strong advertising campaign that highlighted Nausicaa's differences from standard Disney films, showing it to be an epic tale that took its audience seriously, was a direct contrast to the more standard and clichéd work Disney was perceived to be producing. Studio Eleven had the major success it had hoped for and a strong relationship with Topcraft as more movies were soon to be created by Miyazaki and others working at Topcraft. The first shot in the war between Studio Eleven and Disney, Studio Eleven taking on the role as the 'anti-Disney' establishing it, although it would later turn out to be a double edged sword.
- Extract from The Mouse & The Bear: The Two Giants of Western Animation, 2012

The contrast between the female protagonists in Disney films and the output of Studio Eleven couldn't be more clear. The demure and submissive Princess role exemplified by the type in Disney films was overshadowed by the female protagonist that Studio Eleven was showing young girls a role model that would be strong, one that gave them an alternate to the weaker figures of Disney movies. Tales of parents marching out of cinemas after Nausicaa takes vengeance on her father's killers were matched by their children begging to be let back in. The Princess archetype Disney loved was being undermined as young girls found new characters to look up to, ones that would emphasise strength of their own personality.
- Extract from essay 'Feminist Icons in Animation', 2006

“1985 was a really good year for Studio Eleven and Nelvana, Care Bears was a success for us as well, one that was overshadowed by Nausicaa though. We had managed to score one against Disney and we were looking for ideas for our own project and even had a few talents come over from Japan to help animate our shows. Hideaki Anno proved to be a huge coup when he decided to stay on to help work on the Doctor Who (5) show we managed to get the rights for.”
- Extract from interview with Clive Smith, 1999

1: Rock & Rule didn't get any advertising at all and only a limited run in Boston. Knock on effects help rectify this.
2: A similar story goes behind why the Addams Family movies were made. A bunch of executives were in a car and started singing along to the theme. Not sure if true but a fun story nonetheless.
3: Close friends in OTL, Robin Williams was one of the last people to visit John Belushi before his death. ITTL, things go differently.
4: Went for actors/actresses who'd done voice acting around this period. The list seems plausible to me but I'm always up for being corrected.
5: An OTL project that never got beyond the ideas and sketches phase. Not quite so here...
 
I first heard about Nelvana and the Doctor in the old "Planet of the Doctor" documentary that the CBC did.
I wonder if this will affect the Disney Renaissance- or Don Bluth's own attempts. (Hope it doesn't butterfly away "The Great Mouse Detective".)
 
I first heard about Nelvana and the Doctor in the old "Planet of the Doctor" documentary that the CBC did.
I wonder if this will affect the Disney Renaissance- or Don Bluth's own attempts. (Hope it doesn't butterfly away "The Great Mouse Detective".)

Oh, there will be a knock on effect to Disney alright, Nelvana is going to be able to challenge them in terms of quality and quantity with being able to distribute Topcraft movies as well. Don Bluth will show up at some point as well.
 
WWF Looks to the UK
Part Six: Who Will Survive?:
The opening of Channel Four was a long awaited move for British audiences ever since the rumoured ITV2 had been alleged to appear. (1) When the time came to select programming for the new channel, Doctor Who's popularity in the US saw Channel Four executives scan the television channels of the US networks for popular programming to place on the brand new channel, looking to replicate the success Doctor Who had with showing a popular program from overseas. As several of these agents for Channel Four were in New York to discuss prospective programming, they were contacted by the chairman of the World Wrestling Federation, Vince McMahon.
- Extract from 'A History of British Television', 2001

Despite the 'low-brow' reputation of professional wrestling, there are advantages to the spectacle for the television executive that can't be overlooked too easily. First and foremost is cost, the companies themselves front the money for bookings, members of its roster and the production of its output with television companies only offering amounts to cover the distribution rights. The wrestling companies themselves offer the full creative aspect, taking control of that themselves with little input needed aside from the own decency standards of the television company themselves. Similar to other sports programs in that respect, wrestling also has the advantage of being cheaper than more popular counterparts such as football. For these reasons, professional wrestling can be seen as a good investment for television, provided executives can overlook the stigma with professional wrestling being seen as a low class form of entertainment.
- Extract from 'Sports in Television', 2001

By the early 1980's, Vince McMahon Senior was giving more and more control over the World Wrestling Federation to his son, Vince McMahon who was proving to be much more ambitious in his vision than his traditionalist proved to be. He saw professional wrestling being brought out of the territorial system and into the national limelight, to become a cornerstone of pop culture and to do that, he needed to get as much exposure for his company as possible. When British executives were scouting for television programming in early 1981, Vince McMahon did everything he could to organise a meeting between him and them to push the WWF as an acceptable entertainment venue for the family. He wanted to go beyond the territory of the WWF to the entire US and, after that, the world. After some hard negotiations, Vince McMahon got what he wanted, a limited time slot on Britain's Channel Four to increase brand awareness outside of the WWF's traditional boundaries. The money the company would get from the deal wasn't much, but that was a small price to buy for building up the company into something bigger than the wrestling world had ever known. And as the UK was outside of the traditional wrestling territory system, there was no objection from the NWA until the other companies realised what Vince McMahon was doing. By then, it was far too late.
- Extract from 'The Rise And Rise of Professional Wrestling, 1984-2000', 2001

ITV: 16:00 – World of Sport Wrestling
Channel Four: 16:00 – World Wrestling From New York
- The time slots for both wrestling shows from 1982-1985 in the period known as the 'Saturday Afternoon Competition'

The Saturday Afternoon Competition was a turning point for British wrestling in terms of showing off a product that appeared to be a direct attack on how things had been managed for years in British promotions. Not subject to the rounds of British style wrestling and full of different personalities with the highlight being Andre the Giant, the style of wrestling offered by the WWF was an exciting alternative to the more traditional All Star Promotions. Placed against the fare on ITV, Channel Four's hour long weekly WWF showcase managed to both sap viewers from World of Sport's wrestling program, as well as create new ones on a small scale at first. This might have only been a temporary blip on the pop-culture landscape of the UK however. For the contract Channel Four had with WWF for distribution rights was only for three years. But, in 1984, Hulkamania was born in Madison Square Garden and soon arrived on the shores of Britain.
- Extract from 'The Rise And Rise of Professional Wrestling, 1984-2000', 2001

“It was a surprise to learn just how successful we were in the UK at first. We only had an hour long slot of programming and no physical presence in the country. But I suppose that helped, the less people have, the more they tend to want it. But when Hulk Hogan really started to take off, Channel Four were being sent letters asking, if not demanding, for merchandise. Kids were really getting behind the character overseas and it led to use actually having to start shipping t-shirts, toys and all that over there, really increasing our presence in the country. It helped us to renegotiate a contract for more hours with Channel Four when it came to that point in time. When the WWF really began to expand, a tour through England was a natural choice.”
- Extract from an interview with Pat Patterson, 2004

The rise of American wrestling, personified by the WWF, presented a real challenge to the home-grown promotions in the UK. The figure of Hulk Hogan loomed large in WWF programming, his charisma and connection with the fans was something that had rarely been seen before. Big Daddy still had his popularity with the traditional wrestling crowds in the UK but as the WWF's presence in the country grew, it was starting to eat into the popularity of Joint Promotions as they were losing the ratings competition. That said, the personal popularity of Shirley Crabtree was strong, the focus less on him being overshadowed by Hulk Hogan and more on fans wanting them to meet in the ring.
- Extract from 'From The Ashes: The Rise of British Wrestling', 2012

The difference in production styles between the WWF and World of Sports made the feeling between them all the more pronounced. The WWF did everything bigger, the crowds were wild and the action in the ring was more rapid with less breaks than what was seen in Joint Promotions as well as the celebrity involvement that was typical in the Rock and Roll period of the WWF expansion. (2) In 1985, when World of Sport was cancelled and Joint Promotions was given an earlier slot in the day, it actually did a lot of good to bring up its popularity. The rising popularity of the WWF had increased wrestling's popularity as a whole in the UK, been switched to another time slot, when they weren't in competition with the WWF, their ratings gained a small, but noticeable rise. The loss of the Saturday Afternoon Competition was a blow to Joint Promotions though and one that brought about change within the company as they tried to capitalise on WWF's popularity.
- Extract from 'The Rise And Rise of Professional Wrestling, 1984-2000', 2001

“The popularity of the WWF started to have an impact on the business over here, that much is true. We saw increased interest in wrestling, but it wasn't the wrestling that we were necessarily doing. In 1985, once Joint Promotions were given a different time slot, the decision was made to bring in trainers from the US to allow us to get a taste of the American style of wrestling, the lack of rounds and a quicker pace. This wasn't the first time many of us had experience in this sort of thing, plenty of others on the roster had toured in Japan and other countries. But this was to really change the name of the game. Joint Promotions were at risk of losing their TV deal unless something was changed. So they threw out the old match rules for the younger wrestlers, letting us move away from what was being regarded as old fashioned. The older boys such as Shirley and them kept to the old style, some of them were just limited in what they could do in some ways. But for those of us who were young and fresh, we found a way to stand out more than ever with the American style matches. When the time came for us to really make a stand in 1990, we were prepared for it.”
- Extract from an interview with Steven Regal, 2009

British Bulldogs vs. Terry Funk & Hoss Funk (WWF Tag Team Championship match)
Paul Orndoff vs. Hercules Hernandez
Junkyard Dog & Tito Santana vs. The Hart Foundation
Hulk Hogan & Andre The Giant vs. King Kong Bundy & Big John Studd
Uncle Elmer vs. Macho Man Randy Savage (WWF Intercontinental Championship match)
Corporal Kitchener vs. The Iron Sheik
Ricky Steamboat vs. Jake Roberts
- Card from a house show result in Birmingham 5th May, 1986, winners are outlined in bold

Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship
WWF Tag Team Championship (With the Dynamite Kid)
British Heavyweight Championship
- Extract from a list of professional wrestling Championships held by Davey Boy Smith

1: A common rumour was the creation of an ITV2 in order to increase commercial British television. It had actually been set up several years before with televisions built to receive such a channel and was a reason why Channel Four got such good reception when it first launched.
2: British wrestling from the 1940's onwards was regulated by the Admiral-Lord Mountevans rules. Very different from the US style of wrestling, this enforced six weight classes, a three round match set up with a victory determined two falls unless one of the competitors was knocked out or disqualified. These rules have since fallen to the wayside over the years as the American style of wrestling became popular.
 
Planning for the Sixth Doctor
Part Seven: Springtime:
The cancellation of Doctor Who was not without controversy. Fan mail poured in by the thousands, asking when the show would return, demanding that the show would return and matters of a similar nature. Such was the public pressure on the BBC that by January, 1983, the decision was made to bring the show back. The resistance was there however, the backstage problems in the last few series of Doctor Who had soured some on the board of executives and the lack of a creative force made many wary. Alan Hart, the Controller of BBC One, was the main force behind pushing for a new series but found himself stymied by the new Head of Drama. The fallout of the cancellation of Doctor Who had led to Shaun Sutton, the previous Head of Drama, retiring and Michael Grade had managed to get the job. Not wanting to be responsible for 'demeaning' his role by having anything to do with Sci-Fi, Grade dragged his feet, managing to find some support from the board of directors over his positions. A compromise was eventually reached in January 1983, Doctor Who would return, but on Grade's terms. He would make the decisions regarding who would head the show, who would be the main writer and would have general direction over the casting of the main character. Through this, Grade would go onto fail in his ultimate objective of causing Doctor Who to be a flop upon its return.
- Extract from ‘Doctor Who: The Backstage Story’, 2008

“Was I upset when the job for being head of Doctor Who went to someone else? I felt as if I had a lot more to offer certainly, the seeds which I helped plant during my time as head of the show certainly flourished as the nineteenth series was shown. The truth of the matter is that I'm proud of what I did for Doctor Who and that others carried on the ideas I had. My time in the community is still ongoing of course and I feel as if my influence has always been a positive one.”
- Extract from interview with John Nathan-Turner, 1989

“We were set up to fail and that's the honest truth. Thankfully, Grade gave us plenty of rope, thinking we were going to hang ourselves without realising the freedom he gave us at the same time. I was took on because he saw 'cancelled Sci-Fi' show and instantly thought it was a bad thing, discounting the ratings Blake's 7 actually did and its popularity. I was reluctant about taking the job on but I thought this was the last chance for Doctor Who and I'd managed to make a good run of it before so I was determined to try and save it by doing the best that I could. I knew Grade was trying to hamper my efforts straight away when I was given a list of attributes as to who I could cast as the main character. He had to be older than forty, preferably classically trained and have had strong experience but not an instantly recognisable household name. The last one was something Grade insisted upon, I think he didn't want anyone to overshadow John Denver so everyone instantly thought of him with the show and the classically trained bit was to limit our choices even more as no one from that sort of background would have chosen Sci-Fi as a career highlight. We managed to find someone with that criteria though, someone that even Grade couldn't find fault with, try as he might. After all, as far as classically trained goes, you can't outdo Eton.”
- Extract from an interview with David Maloney, 2002

“I was delighted to take on the role you understand. I saw it as an exciting opportunity as they were bringing Doctor Who back and I felt that change was in the air with it. To become the Sixth Doctor was to help define this change and make my mark upon the show as a whole. I never dealt with Michael Grade personally, but I did get the impression he wanted us to fail with the endeavour, that's why he insisted upon Alan I believe. The man had no television experience and his most acclaimed work was believed to be an incomplete anti-Thatcher diatribe. I don't believe he ever managed to finish that project after he started work on Doctor Who. I also read some of his short stories he did for the Doctor Who, I built up several files reflecting on all those who'd had the role before and the stories that the magazine had been publishing. I wanted a feel for this character, to understand what we were going to do with him. David, Alan and I met up before production was to start for that exact purpose in fact. To understand what we were going to do with the program, the vision we had in mind for it.”
- Extract from an interview with Jeremy Brett, 1992

“So to start off, do either of you have any questions?”
“Just one. I've been looking through the series and its various incarnations and a thought's occurred to me. How much do we know about the Doctor and the Time Lords?”
“Oh... Quite a lot.”
“Rather a problem then, isn't it? Where's the mystery, where's the interest, when we know so much?”
- Extract from a conversation held between David Maloney, Alan Moore and Jeremy Brett, 1983

The decision to change how Doctor Who was formatted came as some felt a a new take on the series was needed. With the emphasis of a story arc in the show, the idea of the length of the series being shortened gained traction. Eventually, Michael Grade was forced to allow a thirteen episode series of forty-five minute episodes to be made, despite his protests. With one episode being broadcast a week on Doctor Who's traditional Saturday evening slot, the writing became a lot more focused on the story that would become the forefront of the new series.
- Extract from 'The First Forty Years in The TARDIS: Doctor Who, 1963 – 2003’, 2004

“Did I know that Grade wanted us to fail? Oh God yes, why else would he hire me? I did see the notice asking for writers and assumed that it was just a starting position. The fact that Grade put me in the head writer's position just shows he looked at my past work and thought comic books equalled The Beano or some such nonsense. I was in half a mind to reject the offer completely until I met with Jeremy. Seeing the enthusiasm he had for the project, the research that had gone into it, and the ideas he was willing to try out made me more enthusiastic for it as well. Along with David, we were able to find a direction for the show that we felt confident with. But it wasn't just us, PJ Hammond was taken on as a scriptwriter and he worked very well with Eric Saward. Other scriptwriters came of course but we'd managed to get a general idea of what to do with the series by then. We wanted to make Doctor Who go places it had never been before, to reignite interest. I think we succeeded.”
- Extract from an interview with Alan Moore, 1993

“Did the Daleks ever take the Time Lords to task over the 'Genesis of The Daleks' attack?”
“No, nothing was done directly about that.”
“Something to consider then...”
- Conversation during a writer's meeting regarding ideas for the nineteenth series of Doctor Who

“There was honestly no surprise when Grade managed to somehow prevent the show from coming back on air in time for the twentieth anniversary, most of us was expecting him to drag his feet and muck about with it as much as he could. The controversy over that though really helped build up even more support for the show as people eagerly waited for it to start. When it finally began in January, the hype was unbelievable as people were frantic to see it again. Pushing back the airing date only got them worked up even more so when it began, it got off to a very strong start.”
- Extract from an interview with David Maloney, 2002

“So when it came to Doctor Who, you put in charge a man you thought would only fail, told him to hire an actor with a very limited set of criteria and then made another man with no television experience at all into the head writer. So, with all that in mind, what exactly went right?”
- Question Paul Merton asked Michael Grade during an episode of Room 101, 2001

Doctor Who: Trial of a Time Lord
- The name of the first serial of the nineteenth series of Doctor Who, started airing 7th January, 1984
 
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Part Seven: Springtime:

“There was honestly no surprise when Grade managed to somehow prevent the show from coming back on air in time for the thirtieth anniversary, most of us was expecting him to drag his feet and muck about with it as much as he could. The controversy over that though really helped build up even more support for the show as people eagerly waited for it to start. When it finally began in January, the hype was unbelievable as people were frantic to see it again. Pushing back the airing date only got them worked up even more so when it began, it got off to a very strong start.”
- Extract from an interview with David Maloney, 2002
Don't you mean 20th anniversary in 1983?
 

ScrewySqrl

Kicked
I like it.

It looks like, in trying to kill it, Grade will have instead given us some of the 2005 revival much earlier.
 
Alan Moore is certainly someone I can see doing a splendid job on Dr Who, as long as he can resist putting a naked Dr Manhattan on it. Shame V For Vendetta doesn't get finished though.
 
Lovely choice of actor for the Doctor but who is now Holmes?

Haven't quite made my mind up on that just yet. Need to look into it a bit further but from my reading, it seemed as if there were some legal problems at the start of the series which might have made things harder to push through.

Well, I didn't see that coming. Brilliant really, even if you did kill some comics classics.

Oh yes, there'll be a fair few effects on comics as a whole although this doesn't mean that Moore never goes into comics.

Don't you mean 20th anniversary in 1983?

Yes I did. Corrected.

I like it.

It looks like, in trying to kill it, Grade will have instead given us some of the 2005 revival much earlier.

Yep, there's a reason why the title of this chapter is a reference to The Producers after all. ;)

Alan Moore is certainly someone I can see doing a splendid job on Dr Who, as long as he can resist putting a naked Dr Manhattan on it. Shame V For Vendetta doesn't get finished though.

Keep in the mind the date of some of these interviews though. Things could very well change in between some of them and when the TL ends. And Moore's going to have a filter here at least due to his inexperience with television work.
 
Mind, I do wonder how Grade "outs" himself as having tried to kill the show, since it's sounding like it became very public knowledge very quickly. Tries to re-cancel it without looking at ratings/appreciation index during the new season?
 
TL where Jeremy Brett is Doctor Who and Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and George Lucas making video games? Where do I sign up?
 
Well, it looks like things are going to be better for Doctor Who now...

For the time being. Things may change yet...

Mind, I do wonder how Grade "outs" himself as having tried to kill the show, since it's sounding like it became very public knowledge very quickly. Tries to re-cancel it without looking at ratings/appreciation index during the new season?

I think putting Moore in charge of writing was the biggest red flag for many people. Considering that the hype that builds up around the series as the nineteenth series come into place, Grade's choices come under heavy scrutiny.

TL where Jeremy Brett is Doctor Who and Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and George Lucas making video games? Where do I sign up?

Glad you're enjoying. And there'll be a fair few changes yet, surprised no one seemed to pick up on Nelvana's acquisition a few updates back.
 

ScrewySqrl

Kicked
For the time being. Things may change yet...



I think putting Moore in charge of writing was the biggest red flag for many people. Considering that the hype that builds up around the series as the nineteenth series come into place, Grade's choices come under heavy scrutiny.



Glad you're enjoying. And there'll be a fair few changes yet, surprised no one seemed to pick up on Nelvana's acquisition a few updates back.


That may be due to the other thread showing a Nelvana Doctor Who 13-ep series in 1986.
 
I'm quite enjoying this. I especially appreciate the nod to Nelvana animation. In OTL Rock and Rule very nearly sunk them, and I think it contributed to the 'lurching/desperate' quality of some of their choices. A large problem with Rock and Rule was that it was such an odd piece the marketers really didn't know what to do with it. What you've done here is given the company an opportunity to forge a coherent strategic direction.

Apart from that, I'm quite enjoying the literary style of the work - the quotations from different persons in this new history, the unpredictable permutations, and the excerpts from the series.

Don't mind me. I'm just going to keep working in my tiny corner of Nelvana. But if anyone wishes to read my work there as a subset of this, I won't object. If Dav goes off in very different directions from me, I'll continue my own, and enjoy his as well.
 
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