[CoalHillJanitor]

Well, I wanted to start a Verity Lambert appreciation thread but realised I know very little about her. Has anyone got interesting facts or anecdotes about her?

Basically I know she was the first producer of Doctor Who, only about 27 when Sydney Newman gave her the job. She introduced the Daleks over Newman's objection about 'bug-eyed monsters' and after their success she was given a freer hand. She produced the show up through Mission to the Unknown. Always said to have got on well with Hartnell and the other actors. Her death in 2007 was one day short of 23 November (the show's 44th aniversary) and five days short of her 72nd birthday.

What else about our Verity?

[daveyboy7472]

I don't know much more about her than you have mentioned but I do know she wasn't very happy when Jon Pertwee took over and the show became exclusively set on Earth. I think for her it went against her original ideas that the character was anti-establishment and also that the original premise of the show had been scrapped.

[JohnnyForget]

Originally Posted by daveyboy7472

I don't know much more about her than you have mentioned but I do know she wasn't very happy when Jon Pertwee took over and the show became exclusively set on Earth. I think for her it went against her original ideas that the character was anti-establishment and also that the original premise of the show had been scrapped.

Well, I agree with her on that one.

[Jethryk]

Originally Posted by daveyboy7472

I don't know much more about her than you have mentioned but I do know she wasn't very happy when Jon Pertwee took over and the show became exclusively set on Earth. I think for her it went against her original ideas that the character was anti-establishment and also that the original premise of the show had been scrapped.

Also not impressed about the later years of the Classic series I believe, can remember her being quite scathing about the Kandyman.

[daveyboy7472]

Originally Posted by Jethryk

Also not impressed about the later years of the Classic series I believe, can remember her being quite scathing about the Kandyman.

You can understand her feelings though. As the one who helped launch the show on air, to watch some of the McCoy Era must have left her tearing her hair out.

I have watched some interviews on DVD but can't recall if there was a period of later Who she really did enjoy.. Would love to know what she thought of the Hinchcliffe Era.

[Tom Tit]

For me, she was one of the finest producers of the classic era, alongside Phillp Hinchcliffe and Barry Letts. And the reason is that they took the show very seriously and what ended up on the screen was a positive achievement given the time and budget constraints they were always under.

[daveyboy7472]

Originally Posted by Tom Tit

For me, she was one of the finest producers of the classic era, alongside Phillp Hinchcliffe and Barry Letts. And the reason is that they took the show very seriously and what ended up on the screen was a positive achievement given the time and budget constraints they were always under.

Not only all that she was also under pressure to deliver as one of the first female producers at the BBC. Considering that and what you've said, she did brilliantly.

[Jethryk]

Originally Posted by daveyboy7472

You can understand her feelings though. As the one who helped launch the show on air, to watch some of the McCoy Era must have left her tearing her hair out.

I have watched some interviews on DVD but can't recall if there was a period of later Who she really did enjoy.. Would love to know what she thought of the Hinchcliffe Era.

Was about to say I thought she quite liked Tom Baker then remembered where my memories were coming from.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S04i65FqEmU

you must have seen this - The Story of Doctor Who Documentary.

1st 10 or so minutes feature Verity Lambert quite heavily. around 24m 45 she talks anout the Jon Pertwee years briefly (the point you made) 31m30 Tom Baker and 52m30 the later series.

[Jon Ross]

Originally Posted by daveyboy7472

I have watched some interviews on DVD but can't recall if there was a period of later Who she really did enjoy.. Would love to know what she thought of the Hinchcliffe Era.

Having seen plenty of interviews with Doctor Who producers, they all tend to think their era is the best and what came later or earlier wasn't as good. In other words they are all rather biased and think they did it better than anyone else. Which is perhaps not surprising, but their opinions on the show are not always the most reliable.

[Jon Ross]

Originally Posted by Tom Tit

For me, she was one of the finest producers of the classic era, alongside Phillp Hinchcliffe and Barry Letts. And the reason is that they took the show very seriously and what ended up on the screen was a positive achievement given the time and budget constraints they were always under.

All the Doctor Who producers in the classic series had budget limitations, but overall, Letts and Hinchcliffe benefited enormously from the best real terms budgets the show ever had (partly thanks to the money that came in from people buying the colour licenses in the '70s, which resulted in the drama department allocating more money to all their shows). Apparently they still managed to overspend every year, and Hinchcliffe was famous for going over-budget on set design. He got away with it because the BBC wasn't run by accountants in those days, but it had a knock-on effect for Graham Williams, whose budgets were watched much more closely (hence why his era looks a hell of a lot cheaper).

[Jon Ross]

Originally Posted by CoalHillJanitor

Well, I wanted to start a Verity Lambert appreciation thread but realised I know very little about her. Has anyone got interesting facts or anecdotes about her?


What else about our Verity?

Of all the Doctor Who producers, Verity Lambert certainly achieved the most in television and films, and not just because she was a pioneering woman producer.

You might want to read this:

http://www.screenonline.org.uk/peopl...923/index.html

[M@nterik]

Originally Posted by Jon Ross

Having seen plenty of interviews with Doctor Who producers, they all tend to think their era is the best and what came later or earlier wasn't as good. In other words they are all rather biased and think they did it better than anyone else. Which is perhaps not surprising, but their opinions on the show are not always the most reliable.

Graham Williams certainly didn't. I met him a few times and interviewed him and he was well aware of the limitations of his era although was disappointed it was trashed by those who came after.

A lovely, lovely man taken from us far too soon.

[king yrcanos]

Apparently, the last thing she did for Doctor Who was record the Commentary for the Time Meddler according to Donald Tosh (script editor from The Time Meddler-The Celestial Toymaker (uncredited))

[daveyboy7472]

Originally Posted by Jon Ross

Having seen plenty of interviews with Doctor Who producers, they all tend to think their era is the best and what came later or earlier wasn't as good. In other words they are all rather biased and think they did it better than anyone else. Which is perhaps not surprising, but their opinions on the show are not always the most reliable.

Maybe, but as first producer of the show, and one of the people behind the show's creation in the first place, I tend to think Verity Lambert's opinion probably carried more weight than anyone else's.

[Jon Ross]

Originally Posted by M@nterik

Graham Williams certainly didn't. I met him a few times and interviewed him and he was well aware of the limitations of his era although was disappointed it was trashed by those who came after.

A lovely, lovely man taken from us far too soon.

I've always felt rather sorry for Graham Williams. His era certainly ain't the best, but he had an almost impossible job, with so many problems to contend with: budget cuts, strikes, the Whitehouse backlash and a domineering star to deal with. Taking all that into account, he did rather well.

[Jon Ross]

Originally Posted by daveyboy7472

Maybe, but as first producer of the show, and one of the people behind the show's creation in the first place, I tend to think Verity Lambert's opinion probably carried more weight than anyone else's.

I can see why you might think that. What I meant though was that we don't know whether we would have had Cybermen, The Master or even regeneration if Verity stayed in charge. She always, naturally, believed Hartnell was the definitive Doctor. It's possible she might have believed, deep down, that the show shouldn't have continued without him. If you look at what a different show and characterisation Doctor Who is today, it has only the slimmest connection with what Verity put on screen in the early - mid-'60s. I do remember she said she liked Eccleston and the revival of the show because it took the programme seriously - I guess she must have missed the episode with the fart monsters.

I also remember I was quite disgusted when BBC TV news didn't even mention that she'd died, considering the career she had.

[daveyboy7472]

Originally Posted by Jon Ross

I can see why you might think that. What I meant though was that we don't know whether we would have had Cybermen, The Master or even regeneration if Verity stayed in charge. She always, naturally, believed Hartnell was the definitive Doctor. It's possible she might have believed, deep down, that the show shouldn't have continued without him. If you look at what a different show and characterisation Doctor Who is today, it has only the slimmest connection with what Verity put on screen in the early - mid-'60s. I do remember she said she liked Eccleston and the revival of the show because it took the programme seriously - I guess she must have missed the episode with the fart monsters.

I also remember I was quite disgusted when BBC TV news didn't even mention that she'd died, considering the career she had.

I do have to disagree with you slightly on this. Though I obviously agree the show is very different to when it first started(which can be said as far back as the Troughton Era) there are still strong connections with the beginning of the show. The TARDIS still being a Police Box on the outside(still very much a 60's icon), the fact that it's bigger on the inside than out. The Daleks, even the theme music used during the 9th and 10th Doctors Era had echoes of the original in them. So I'd say that connection is more than slim.

To be fair, I think Verity Lambert left at the right time and it's good there were lots of different producers in the 60's that came along with some different ideas(not all good ones though), it helped refresh the show and keep it going. And who's to say if she had stayed that we wouldn't have had the Cybermen? You just never know!

[Jon Ross]

Originally Posted by daveyboy7472

I do have to disagree with you slightly on this. Though I obviously agree the show is very different to when it first started(which can be said as far back as the Troughton Era) there are still strong connections with the beginning of the show. The TARDIS still being a Police Box on the outside(still very much a 60's icon), the fact that it's bigger on the inside than out. The Daleks, even the theme music used during the 9th and 10th Doctors Era had echoes of the original in them. So I'd say that connection is more than slim.

I think you're talking about the iconography of the show there. I'm talking about the change in the production style (which is now much more Americanised and Hollywood movie-style where the original series was a very theatrical TV show) but also the characterisation is VERY different. Whereas the Doctor was originally a grumpy grandfather figure, the modern Doctors are exclusively younger men with a sexual dimension too, which I would say is as different as it's possible to get.

[CoalHillJanitor]

Originally Posted by Jon Ross

I think you're talking about the iconography of the show there. I'm talking about the change in the production style (which is now much more Americanised and Hollywood movie-style where the original series was a very theatrical TV show) but also the characterisation is VERY different. Whereas the Doctor was originally a grumpy grandfather figure, the modern Doctors are exclusively younger men with a sexual dimension too, which I would say is as different as it's possible to get.

Well, the First Doc did mellow considerably during Verity's tenure ... and don't try to tell me he felt nothing for Cameca! But yes, it was very stagey like most BBC drama of its time.