feeling listless

Who So Richard E Grant has turned down various media and convention offers on the back of his appearance as Doctor Who. Although it might have been nice to see him turn up with his Withnail and I cohort, you can see his point of view. He’s very much from outside the British point of view on the series; he says that he’s never seen an episode and at the time of his appearance in the Comic Relief skit he professed to never having even heard of the thing. As he says in the letter on his website, this new cartoon is really just another a job (another entry in his diary I suppose). In reality it’s just as valid a performance as those essayed by people like David Warner in the Big Finish Unbound series. No one seems to have been rushing about inviting Sir Derek Jacobi to anything so why should this be different?

[Although I’ve a feeling Jacobi would actually turn up for one. I seem to remember him being in theatreland London at the same time as Tom Baker, old drinking buddies?]

This admission from the BBC about the rights issues (which had supposedly been stopping the production of a new tv series) is deeply interesting (perhaps someone should have a word with Lorraine Heggessey). With all of the merchandise which is floating around, surely the best way to insure sales is to have something on it’s supposed primary media. But I can see why nothing is forthcoming. They’re scared to death that if and when it happens it’ll be wrong, or badly made, or unpopular and hurt what franchise is there and working. You can see there point, no point turning away potential newbees. But the real issue to me is why they would think the new creation could be bad. Looking across the various media the series now exists in, it must be plain to them there is a lot of talent and in the case of people like Mark Gatiss, reasonably high profile talent who are fans and able to produce when needed. But they need to get away from the idea that the series was a massive space adventure requiring expensive special effects. Many of the classics of the original run were based on Earth and more importantly about character not monsters. I’m not saying they should all be the Paris based City of Death, but why not take a leaf out of Sixties Star Trek’s book and re-use costumes from other dramas. There was certainly enough on show on the recently repeated Daniel Deronda to make a pastiche of the period set Dalek adventure Evil of the Daleks. The show, even now, is about ingenuity, and making the most of what you have and these could still be the mantras. We’ll see. But if I can’t get McGann, can I suggest Jack Davenport? He was very good in Ultraviolet. See you next month, Doctor.