"Mary Whitehouse will never accept this" : A Dr Who Production History (Inspired by Guajolote)
- Thread starter nezza
- Start date
TT: "We shot the pilot in about 5 weeks. It was rough at the edges and no-where near broadcast standard but we were so proud at what we'd done. We handed the master tapes over to Levine and he flew back to the UK. We waited and waited for about 4 months. We kept emailing Levine and kept getting the the same reponse that it would soon be ready. We'd started to get suspicious and decided to contact the BBC in New York...that's when all hell broke loose..."
Since Derrick Sherwin would stay on as producer until the fourth doctors era, would there be anything that played out differently than OTL
Patience is a virtue
Yes, Some of the fourth doctor's adventures would have a political tint with him railing against greed, arrogance and power, much as Chapman did in Life Of Brian.
I'd also assume the third doctors era would be different too?
TT: I was working at a branch of KFC when my mom rang, she was hysterical. She was saying that the Sheriff was there along with two men from the FBI!
NB: "What was going through your mind"
TT "Fear, confusion, panic. I thought 'what the fuck was going on'. I drove, well more like raced home and outside my parents home was the Sheriff's car. I got out of the car and was arrested for copyright infringement. I thought what the hell was happening and then it hit me. Levine and Baggs. I thought 'those sons of bitches'...
NB: "What was going through your mind"
TT "Fear, confusion, panic. I thought 'what the fuck was going on'. I drove, well more like raced home and outside my parents home was the Sheriff's car. I got out of the car and was arrested for copyright infringement. I thought what the hell was happening and then it hit me. Levine and Baggs. I thought 'those sons of bitches'...
Ah that is the hell that was going to break loose good work there @nezza
TT: "I was taken to the local police station. After an attorney was called in I was told that the BBC had been informed that the show we shot was being sold in independent DVD retailers in the uk as official Dr Who. I explained what happened and offered to show them some files I had"
NB: "What files are you talking about?"
TT: Production notes, raw footage etc. I'd even kept all the emails that Levine had sent and had been sent. The police took them and sent them to the Attorney General's office. For three weeks I was in hell over what could happen...then the sheriff arrived. All the charges were dropped. I fell to my knees and thanked God. The authorities in the UK had taken legal action against both Levine and Baggs. We were exonerated and a US court eventually ruled that the show belonged to us.
NB: "Its 10 years since these events. The copies in the UK have become very rare. Do you still have the original"
TT: "Yes, but we agreed that it would never been seen again"
NB: "Are you still angry"
TT" "No not now, but I still have regrets"
NB: "What happened to you afterwards"
TT: "I graduated and started my own production company. We make religious programming for children"
NB: "If you had to blame someone for this, who would it be"
TT: "I would blame the BBC for a lot of this. After the 2003 climax of the series they should have been more explicit about when the show was going to come back. I also blame Levine and Baggs, but most of all I blame myself"
NB: "Why would you blame yourself?"
TT "For being gullible. I wanted so much to be part of the legend of the show. I fell victim to two of the deadly sins, pride and greed and I feel now that the work I do now is sent to me by god"
NB: "Thank you for talking to us"
TT" You're very welcome and God Bless You"
NB: "What files are you talking about?"
TT: Production notes, raw footage etc. I'd even kept all the emails that Levine had sent and had been sent. The police took them and sent them to the Attorney General's office. For three weeks I was in hell over what could happen...then the sheriff arrived. All the charges were dropped. I fell to my knees and thanked God. The authorities in the UK had taken legal action against both Levine and Baggs. We were exonerated and a US court eventually ruled that the show belonged to us.
NB: "Its 10 years since these events. The copies in the UK have become very rare. Do you still have the original"
TT: "Yes, but we agreed that it would never been seen again"
NB: "Are you still angry"
TT" "No not now, but I still have regrets"
NB: "What happened to you afterwards"
TT: "I graduated and started my own production company. We make religious programming for children"
NB: "If you had to blame someone for this, who would it be"
TT: "I would blame the BBC for a lot of this. After the 2003 climax of the series they should have been more explicit about when the show was going to come back. I also blame Levine and Baggs, but most of all I blame myself"
NB: "Why would you blame yourself?"
TT "For being gullible. I wanted so much to be part of the legend of the show. I fell victim to two of the deadly sins, pride and greed and I feel now that the work I do now is sent to me by god"
NB: "Thank you for talking to us"
TT" You're very welcome and God Bless You"
Nicholas Briggs: "The furore surrounding the scandal in the USA generated strong feelings on both sides of the Atlantic. In the USA there was a lot of anger aimed at the victims of the scandal as well as resentment that any more chances of the US getting involved in Doctor Who had gone forever.
In the UK however the mood was different. There was a large amount of sympathy towards the US fans even though a minority made disparaging remarks about the intelligence levels over there. There was a lot of frustration aimed at the BBC for not making it clear when the show would return. There were even conspiracy theories that the BBC had used the end of "Doctors Eternal" to end the show.
Those rumours were quickly scotched by the BBC who said that Doctor Who would return. Inside the corporation however the mood was that the show had to be rebooted. This led to what is regarded by many as the most controversial era of the show and yes that does include the Chapman era"
In the UK however the mood was different. There was a large amount of sympathy towards the US fans even though a minority made disparaging remarks about the intelligence levels over there. There was a lot of frustration aimed at the BBC for not making it clear when the show would return. There were even conspiracy theories that the BBC had used the end of "Doctors Eternal" to end the show.
Those rumours were quickly scotched by the BBC who said that Doctor Who would return. Inside the corporation however the mood was that the show had to be rebooted. This led to what is regarded by many as the most controversial era of the show and yes that does include the Chapman era"
"What happened was a blessing in disguise. I was unhappy with the way in which the series had developed. This whole "straightening out" business had taken away a lot of the mystery from the show. I'm not against postmodernism and in science-fiction it can work, take a look at Slaughterhouse Five but in Doctor Who, no way. I had to use my time as show runner to straighten it in a different way. It was a big risk and I had doubts but my partner Andrew...(sniffs)....sorry. He said 'you've made your career out out of shaking things up, you did it with Queer As Folks and with Bob and Rose, do it with Doctor Who..."
(RTD 2020)
(Davies' partner Andrew Smith died in 2018)
(RTD 2020)
(Davies' partner Andrew Smith died in 2018)