A Note From a Very Surprised and Grateful Troughton Fan

12 October 2013 in SIDRAT, 15 comments

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Dear everyone

Greetings.

Apologies for radio silence, but I have been mostly in hospital again over the last two months. No point in beating around the bush – open heart surgery, two rounds, from which I am now trying to recover.

My nephews say I am doing fine, as does my soon to be wedded child – and I guess that is all I can ask for. The surgeon also seems happy enough.

I have been out of electronic communication for a long time now, but the nephews and some friends have been doing their best to keep me up to date with things and I have some idea, although incomplete by far, of discussions on the Forum here.

@Craig – love the redesign. Congratulations.

I thank all for their thoughts and well wishes – much appreciated. Long way to go, but I need to be right for the wedding on Anniversary Day and that is my sole goal. For now.

I have, these last weeks, been thinking the Doctor’s two hearts is a damn fine idea …

It’s self-indulgent, but I want to share this with you: my nephews prevailed upon the staff here and as a treat for me arranged for a special room to be set up where, commencing at 12.01 am on Friday last they were able to download Web Of Fear and watch it with me. My brother got them out of school for the day and they sat with me on my hospital bed as we watched. The youngest found it really scary in parts.  (Hurrah!)  I think they actually enjoyed it as much as I did. As soon as Part Five finished, they wanted to see it again.

I had just about given up on ever seeing the glory of Troughton’s work as the Doctor in anything but my imagination and memory (open-heart surgery can take the shine off optimism) but I cannot adequately express the sheer unmitigated joy in watching the recovered episodes – so vibrant, fresh and almost as if they had been made yesterday – with my cool, hip, with-it nephews. The quality of the versions you can download is absolutely amazing.

I have always loved Web of Fear – and seeing it again simply magnifies that, not diminishes it in any way. I hope you all enjoy it. I unhesitatingly recommend it.

But – please – do yourself a favour and watch Enemy of the World first. Because it leads directly into Web and it shows the kind of roller-coaster effect the programme had in those days.

Enemy is delicious – truly delicious. I had forgotten so much. Troughton’s turn as Salamander is astonishingly good and there is a scene in Episode Five with Jamie and Victoria which is gob-smacking. The nephews wanted to rewind and watch it again and again. Not to mention the ending of Part Six – which is much more enigmatic, frightening and downright surprising than I remember it.

The one thing about Enemy which I think not seeing it again has made most of us, certainly me, overlook is that, given Barry Letts directed it, you really do see the seeds of the Pertwee era sown very clearly in it. When you add Web of Fear to the equation, you see absolutely why Invasion came along in the next season.

But the difference in style in Enemy – well, there is no other BG story like it until you get to Pertwee’s time, and when you get there, so many seeds are sown by Enemy. It’s an important story in so many respects – not the least because it demonstrates that BG Who was not inherently racist. It also doesn’t muck around with recaps of episode finales – it is remarkable how Episode Three, which we have had access to, takes on a completely different tone when put in context. It is also an example of the format being stretched to its limits. Letts knew how to tell an action-packed story; Troughton provided the magic with able assistance from Jamie and Victoria (who is a tough little Miss here). I love it. If we get permission, the nephews and I will watch it again tomorrow.

I hope some of you who don’t know Troughton’s Doctor will get from these recovered episodes an idea about why I value his acting so highly. I completely agree with David Tennant when he said that, one way or another, every Doctor that followed Troughton was doing a variation of his performance, of his notion of the Doctor.

It must be obvious that sharing these episodes with my nephews has been a remarkable thing for me – and a real boost to recovery. It made me especially glad to be alive.

Changing topic…

I know a little about the internal BBC machinations from some visitors but can’t go into detail except to say this:

  1. There are more episodes to come. Definitely.
  2. It is pleasing to see Ian Levine have to backtrack spectacularly.

I also don’t think that Moffat knew when he envisaged Snowmen that Web would be recovered; I doubt he knew about it when Name of the Doctor was planned either. One would have suspected that the temptation, if he had known, would have been to bring back the Yeti. Instead, he re-imagined the GI and focused on the ethereal force rather than its robotic soldiers. I don’t know this for a fact – but I think this is an occasion when serendipity has been at work. Happily.

Okay – I have blabbered on enough. Apologies for the long-windedness, but some things don’t change.  🙂

Best wishes to each and every one of you – and do enjoy the Paternal Magician in action. I don’t know when I will be back – nurses are glaring at me, as I must sleep and take things easy.

(Note: My eldest nephew had to type this while I dictated so he has my great, great thanks. @Craig or @Shazzbot – if you would rather this go somewhere else, please move it.  And feel free to format it [italics for story names, proper spacing, etc] as I actually can’t do that stuff at the moment. Sorry to be a nuisance!)


15 comments

  1. Oh, @HTPBDET – I am squeeeeeeing far louder and more excitedly than everyone here the other night over the recovered Troughton stories.

    YOU’RE BACK!   {sigh}

    I’ve seen the first part of Tomb of the Cybermen today and am just embarking on the first part of Web of Fear.  PT may indeed unseat Sylvester McCoy as my favourite Doctor incarnation, but that is still to be seen.  🙂  I’m not going to let your own favouritism cloud my personal judgment.

    I will do my Editor’s duties as necessary, but I don’t think much work is needed.

  2. @HTPBDET – Just finished watching ‘Tomb’ Parts 1 & 2. It’s my first experience of PT (as The Doctor). I’ve only ever seen the occasional clip in documentaries (mainly ‘Confidential’) and they really don’t do him justice. His portrayal is just so eye-wateringly perfect. I can fully understand why, of all the previous Doctor’s, Matt Smith chose to incorporate elements of PT and why everyone has become quite emotional about ‘Enemy’ and ‘Web’. I imagine the Troughton family are chuffed to bits.

    For reasons I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I don’t have access to the ‘found’ episodes but who knows, maybe Santa will look kindly on me?

    Pleased to hear you’re ok and the ‘find’ has given you a boost.

  3. @HTPBDET

    I’d just like to add that it is great to have you back, even if just for this one piece for now. Take it easy and look after yourself. Glad you had such a great week.

    I hope you’ve got a great wedding outfit picked out. Are you going as a paternal magician? I would like to think so.

    Note: Apologies, but I have edited your post a bit as I am unsure of the legal status of some of your assertions. Hope you understand.

  4. @HTPBDET – I can’t say how pleased I am that you were well enough to watch these recovered stories. I was worrying that you might not be able to see the rediscovery of your favourite Doctor.

    Thanks to the kindness of a friend, I’ve now seen the remastered version of Episode 1 of the Web of Fear. It’s astonishing; not just the storytelling and acting of everyone concerned, but also the quality of the set design on such a limited budget. Those sets look like they’re working in the real tube.

    I was gripped; I often find the BG Who’s a little cheesy for my adult tastes – but this wasn’t. I’m really looking forward to watching the rest of the two retrieved stories. I hope that, as your friends say, there may be more to come.

  5. @HTPBDET – I’ve never seen much Troughton, so am looking forward to a journey of enlightenment with these episodes (and Tomb of the Cybermen, being televised next Saturday.)  The happiness that many have expressed on here at the discovery of the two missing serials has made me smile this week – but none more so than the news that you were able to watch with your family around you – that just seems completely, beautifully apt.

    Take it easy and I hope all goes well.  Best wishes for the big day.

  6. @HTPBDET: I was truly delighted to read this. I’m glad the trailer has confirmed my belief (though doubtless I missed you saying so elsewhere) that your avatar is Salamander rather than the Doctor. I’ve been desperately holding back on watching Enemy until my Eurostar is underwater but you’ve got me squeeing with anticipation all the more. The Loose Cannon version had me gripped enough as it was! Patrick Troughton was truly a genius. I don’t know if William Hartnell really said he was the only man who could replace him, but he was so right is he did.

    So glad to hear you’ve been able to enjoy them. I really hope you are fully able to enjoy November 23rd.

  7. @HTPBDET sorry to hear that you have been back in hospital but hopefully you will be fully active once again, in time to prepare for the anniversary and wedding. We have all missed you here. Glad that you were able to watch the newly rediscovered episodes with your nephews.

    I have only seen the extant Troughton stories so I’m really excited about the recovery of two more stories. Will start watching them tonight. I certainly hope that you are right and there are more stories found.

    cheers

    Janette

     

  8. @HTPBDET

    Thank you so much for checking in with us. It is so great to “hear” your voice amongst us again. Of course I thought of you as soon as I heard about the Troughton episodes, and was hoping you’d be able to see them.

    You’ve got (almost all of) world’s greatest nephews. My nephew’s not too shabby himself. But yours are beyond question the best of the best in the UK.

    I am glad beyond all telling that you and your nephews were able to download the shows and watch them together. As you’ve continued to share stories of how you’ve shared Doctor Who with your family over the years, I’m glad that you had the opportunity to share these Troughton episodes with them. A big thank you to your brother for letting his sons ditch school. A big thank you to the hospital staff for helping facilitate your private screening. An especially big thank you to the doctors, nurses, and other staff who’ve helped you pull through 2013’s challenges. And a big, big, big thank you to your nephews, brother, fledgling, that McGann boy, and your other visitors for keeping you company, cheering you up, arranging for this screening, and making this coming November 23 a day to remember.

    Sending you virtual chicken soup and healing thoughts from across the pond.

    TardisBlue

  11. @HTPDET

    Great to hear from you – lots of us were thinking about you last week, and especially at 00.01 on 11-10-13.  I had a complete fangirl meltdown just seeing the opening Troughton titles again – THE theme tune! – the quality is better than the TV when I originally watched it!  Not to mention seeing the bleeping Yeti control-sphere again… oh my!

    Apart from  illicit screenings of Dr Who – strictly medicinal of course 😉 – please do exactly what the nurses, doctors (with a small “d” 😉 ) tell you – then hopefully we can have many years discussing old Dr Who epsiodes with you.

    Hugs to your fantastic nephews, brother, soon-to-be-married fledgeling for keeping you in touch with us.  And yes the Gallifreyan biology does have a lot to recommend it – but you seem to be working with a supersized human one, so hopefully it can be properly mended soon.

    Interesting thought that Moffat & co didn’t know about these in the planning stages for S7 – that indeed would be a wonderful serendipidy/zeitgeist thing. What did strike me on watching these is how much the production team have absorbed the qualities of BG Who, especially of PT,  – it runs so strongly through 7.2, in many ways.

    The other thing I’m delighted about with these particular stories being found is that they completely put the lie to the oft repeated cliches about Dr Who’s “poor” production values, shaky sets, dodgy acting. Pa! Watch and learn you unbelievers 😉

    Now if only we could get some Hartnell back too….

  13. @HTPBDET

    Thanks so much for taking the time and making the effort to get in touch, when you should be concentrating on yourself and your loved ones. But as you can tell from the comments above, your friends here appreciate hearing from you and knowing you’re on the mend.

    And although there should be lots of calm, care, peacefulness and rest, if recovery is hard and things feel bleak, fight, fight, fight the bastard thing, fight.

    The best graffiti I ever saw was “Never ever ever give up” painted on a wall.

    Moments with family watching TV are why.

    take care and hope to hear from you again when you’re better.

  14. @HTPBDET

    Even though I’ve been offline for several weeks myself (just life getting in the way), when I heard the news about the recovered Troughton eps, one of my first thoughts was that “old(!) @HTPBDET will be delighted.” Hope it helps you on the road to recovery. Best wishes.

  15. I read this when it was originally posted but as a fairly new person to these shores, I didn’t understand the context.  I have posted my own thoughts (including the GF’s) in the thread for Enemy of the World.  ‘Tough little miss’ for Victoria – indeed!  I thought the way she stared down people was quite remarkable considering her age and the time period the story was broadcast (not to mention the historical period from which she was plucked to become a TARDIS companion).

    There was another blog which I can’t find now, about how @HTPBDET died.  Re-reading this blog now and knowing about the other one is very sad.  But the author at this time is obviously so happy about seeing these Troughton episodes again.  You should know that reading your blogs about your life with The Doctor made my girlfriend finally start to understand why Doctor Who means so much to me too.

    Marty

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