Great Doctor Who Quotes #4

"Believe me child, your future lies with David and not with a silly old duffer like me... One day I shall come back. Yes. I shall come back. Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs, and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine."

- The Doctor, The Dalek Invasion of Earth: Flashpoint 

(Boxing Day 1964)

Written by Terry Nation

(this speech also formed the pre-credit sequence to The Five Doctors, and featured in An Adventure in Space and Time)

A Tribute to Caroline John (1940-2012)

It was announced today that the actress Caroline John had died of cancer, on June 5th, aged 71. She was best known for her role as Liz Shaw in the ground-breaking seventh season of Doctor Who (January to June 1970). Tributes have been led by current show-runner, Steven Moffat.

John was born in York in 1940, and after training at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, she worked in theatre. She toured with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre, before landing the part of Cambridge scientist, Dr Elizabeth Shaw.

Liz was recruited to the newly created UNIT team as their scientific advisor, and John joined the programme   along with a brand new leading actor - Jon Pertwee as the Doctor. John was cast by outgoing producer, Peter Bryant, and  Liz was conceived as a an interlectual equal to the Time Lord. Ironically, it soon became apparent to the show's new production team, helmed by Barry Letts, that this type of companion was actually unsuitable, and  Liz Shaw was written out after just one series. 

John starred in the first four, Third Doctor stories: Spearhead from Space, The Silurians, The Ambassadors of Death, and Inferno. She reprised the character on TV in The Five Doctors (1983), and Dimensions in Time (1993), then later for Big Finish's audio adventures (from 2007). Liz Shaw also featured in the Mark Gatiss scripted P.R.O.B.E. video spin-off series (1994-96).

John was married to Doctor Who co-star, Geoffrey Beevers, who first played the Master in The Keeper of Traken. They starred together in A Very British Coup (1988), and Poirot (1989). They had three children. John's funeral was held in London this week.

Doctor Who Series 7 News

Production commences next month on the thirty-fourth season of Doctor Who, and rumours concerning the return of 'classic' era monsters have surfaced online again.

After being afforded only a cameo role last year, the Daleks may well feature in the 2012 run, but I hope that Mr Moffat prolongs their 'rest' until the Anniversary.

A more welcome prospect would be the supposed return of the Great Intelligence and it's cohorts, the Yeti. These robots were first linked with NuWho when Peter McKinstry's concept art (for the DVD Files partwork) was released in 2010. Excluding a brief appearance in The Five Doctors, the Yeti were last seen in The Web of Fear way back in 1968, and they are surely due a rematch with the Doctor.

Personally, I'd love to see a Genesis of the Cybermen-type adventure too, showcasing the (non-Cybus) Mondasian variant. I think that Cyber stories work best when injected with body-horror.