Ode to the BBC Radiophonic Workshop

It was the theme that got me.

(Read more ...)


From the very start, the hammering synth bass grabbed me. Then, a theremin-like melody nailed me to the floor. And the stupid-looking kaleidescope vid behind the opening credits made me laugh.

That was my intro (and The Intro) to Doctor Who -- the sci-fi adventure TV show from across the pond. The fourth Doctor was the one that made the trip to Stateside (as in United ... ) for reasons that became clear much later.

US's public television picked up Doctor Who from the Beeb because the star -- actor Tom Baker -- had obvious international appeal. The previous Doctors had been straight from Stratford-on-Avon, and they appealed to British youth, primarily. The original Doctor was an elderly gent in tails (the tux kind) who first took kids on historical tours as an educational program. But (as I believe I've read) the Beeb soon expanded the sci-fi element, and the Doctor as we know him was off and running (from the Daleks or the Cybermen -- I'm not sure which).

A later Doctor combed his hair forward to look Beatlesque, and the third incarnation looked like a refugee from Carnaby Street (no disrespect meant to Jon Pertwee's memory or relations -- I think even he realized it was a bit over the top).

But it was left to Tom Baker to bring the Doctor overseas. He looked (and acted) more like a Tom Stoppard character than anything else, and PBS apparently felt US kids of all ages would like him. They were right.

The first ep I saw introduced the audience to Romana -- the main thing I remember is that Mary Tamm's character could not recall her Earthly name, and she did not like the one the Doctor chose for her. The comic tension between the two set the stage for the series, and it remains a classic.

I saw the eps while I worked in afternoon newspapers: normally we were in early, took a long mid-afternoon break, and were back at it in the evenings -- covering government meetings and the like. So I had free time to spend with the Doctor most afternoons, and I enjoyed every minute.

Though I did not like Mary Tamm's successors as much, I still loved the wild time-bending concept, the absolutely ridiculous special effects, the wonderfully suspenseful scripts, and the sparky (but non-suggestive) repartee between Baker's Doctor and whoever his female companion was at the time.

Baker stayed as long as anyone could (playing iconic characters is tough -- as anyone who's played Superman could tell you), and his successors were less popular. But a thrilling revival, as I understand it, is well underway, as is a licensed comic.

However, I remember the old series fondly (I watched on an eight-inch black-and-white TV set), especially the most unforgettable part -- that marvelous opening theme.  It's my understanding that the original recipe*  for it is long lost from the archives of the Beeb's Radiophonic lab. But I'm sure modern incarnations of the theme still draw you in. They'd have to.

(return)


It was that good.

___
*The "recipe" was far from lost, which was the subject of a later post.


LJ orig.: April 19, 2008