A Royal Beginning (1844) Manchester Victoria Station opened its doors on January 1, 1844, marking the start of what would become a long and storied history. It holds the distinction of being the first station in the UK to be named “Victoria,” thanks to the special...
And Now for Something Completely Different – Railway Reflections No.9
Douglas Earle Marshall, Locomotive, Carriage & Wagon Superintendent of the London Brighton & South Coast Railway was on a roll. The company was pleased with the success of his I3 class 4-4-2 tank engines, so much so that Douglas was given free reign to design...
Railway Reflection No8. – The Last Loco
In this case the last loco was not some last of its class high-performance main line express engine that once grabbed the headlines but a lowly tank locomotive that attracted little attention. On week ending 16 February 1952, British Railways officially withdrew...
Oasis, a Britpop Legacy & Manchesters Most Iconic Band
In the mid-'90s, Manchester was more than just a city; it was the beating heart of the British music scene, pulsing with the energy of a new generation of bands ready to take on the world. Among them, one band emerged like a lightning bolt, electrifying not just the...
The History of Wartime Rationing
The Second World War was a period of profound upheaval for the United Kingdom, not only on the battlefields but also on the home front. As bombs fell and men went off to fight, the people left behind faced a different kind of challenge: making do with less. Rationing,...
The Last Night of the Proms
For over a century, the Last Night of the Proms has been the crowning jewel of the BBC Proms, an annual musical festival that has become synonymous with British culture and identity. With its roots steeped in history, the Last Night has evolved from a simple concert...
The Magic of Olympic Closing Ceremonies
The Olympic Games are more than just a display of athletic prowess; they are a celebration of unity, culture, and the human spirit. While the Opening Ceremonies are often grand spectacles that set the tone for the Games, the Closing Ceremonies hold a special place in...
Trailblazing Women in U.S. Political History: From Geraldine Ferraro to Kamala Harris
The journey of women in U.S. political history is marked by perseverance, resilience, and groundbreaking achievements. From the pioneering efforts of Geraldine Ferraro to the historic ascension of Kamala Harris, women have continuously shattered glass ceilings and...
The Amazing Barefoot Marathon Victory of the 1960 Olympics
The 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome witnessed one of the most iconic moments in the history of athletics. Ethiopian runner Abebe Bikila, running barefoot, triumphed in the marathon, becoming the first black African to win an Olympic gold medal. His victory not only...
Joan Benoit’s Historic Marathon Win at the 1984 LA Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics, held in Los Angeles, California, marked a significant milestone in the history of women's athletics. For the first time ever, the Games included a women's marathon, a testament to the growing recognition of women's endurance sports. This...
Doctor Who: The Doctors and the Actors Who Played Them
To be fair while there is just one Doctor, there are effectively nearly twenty (counting the
War Doctor, the Fugitive Doctor, and the Valeyard), and whilst they are all, to all intents and
purposes one person, and this person is always an eccentric traveller through Time and
Space, who is in many ways a hero and one who is suspicious of authority, such are the
differences of character that we otherwise see, there are in effect, well over a dozen more.
It all effectively started back in 1966, when William Hartnell was finding playing the lead role
too much of a physical and mental strain. It was a manifestation of the arteriosclerosis that
he was suffering from, the complications of which he would die of nearly nine years later,
after having to give up acting and being permanently hospital bound in his last months. The
series was too successful to ditch, and they looked for another actor, but not one who
would resemble William Hartnell and give a similar performance. No, they took the brave
route and effectively re-wrote key parts of the character. No longer a grumpy, but
compassionate old man, but a clownish, untidy, and slightly clumsy middle aged man with a
mop of dark hair and well played by an already respected actor, Patrick Troughton.
It started a trend and made the series easy to continue for as long as the BBC and the public
wanted. If an actor had had enough, or had become too tiresome, or both, then replacing
him would be easy. What was especially incredible is that the early Doctors were all very
different from each other. The clownish Second Doctor was replaced by the action man and
smartly, if over thrilly dressed, Third Doctor. The irony here is that Patrick Troughton was a
well respected character actor of serious roles who played it light, and Jon Pertwee (the
Third Doctor in question), was an actor with vast experience in cabaret and comedy, who
played it more straight and serious than any other actor in the role.
Then there was Tom Baker, one of the most well known actors in the role and who gave one
of the most unforgettable performances in the series. Baker first came to public attention in
the Hollywood film, Nicholas and Alexandra (1971), and his career sank from then, to the
point where he was making tea on a building site when the call came through to take the
lead role in the series. One of the most charismatic of actors in the role, behind the scenes
Baker could be charming, friendly, outgoing, outspoken, downright difficult, and a bit of a
**** at times. He was good with other actors, but successive producers and script writers
found him tough to work with. Several times Baker threatened to leave, the BBC Execs
panicked because he was so popular in the role, and inducements were made to make him
stay. That is until 1980, when new Producer John Nathan-Turner told Baker that his
resignation was accepted, and then set about casting Peter Davison, whom Nathan-Turner
worked with on All Creatures Great and Small.
There have been some criticisms of the successive casting of Peter Davison, Colin Baker, and
Sylvester McCoy in the lead role by John Nathan-Turner in the 1980s, but all of them
equipped themselves well and helped bring in more fans to the series. I am biased on one
level, because Peter Davison’s Doctor is my favourite and the one I first grew up with (well
technically it was Tom Baker but his last story was the first one I remember seeing), but
while I agree with Tom Baker’s maxim that no one has really failed in the role, I do disagree
that it does not need acting. It does, given the dialogue and that the Doctor is both an action
hero and an eccentric professor, and that needs to be believable with no sense of
disconnect.
Paul McGann gave a great performance in the TV Movie in 1996 and should have had a long
TV run in the role, but since it has permanently returned in 2005, each of the actors in the
role: Eccleston, Tennant (who came back briefly to the role last year), Smith, Capaldi,
Whittaker, and Gatwa, have dominated the series and made their own stamp on the role
and have ensured that the series has continued to develop and entrance successive
generations of viewers. Be the Doctor a grumpy old man, a clown, a dandy, a Bohemian, a
sensitive cricketer, a temperamental multi coloured jacket wearing individual, a canny
middle aged Scotsman, a Victorian romantic, a calculating warrior (as played by John Hurt in
the 50 th anniversary episode), a modern day Northerner, a temp in plimsols, a young man
with a bow tie fetish, a white haired grumpy Scotsman, a young northern woman, a middle
aged fugitive woman with a London accent (as played by Jo Martin as a possible past
Doctor), or totally confident young man, he/she will always be the Doctor
Paul is Nostalgia Digital’s resident TV Nostalgia Expert, with a love of all things SciFi.
Manchester Victoria Station, A Journey Through Time
A Royal Beginning (1844) Manchester Victoria Station opened its doors on January 1, 1844, marking the start of what would become a long and storied history. It holds the distinction of being the first station in the UK to be named “Victoria,” thanks to the special...
And Now for Something Completely Different – Railway Reflections No.9
Douglas Earle Marshall, Locomotive, Carriage & Wagon Superintendent of the London Brighton & South Coast Railway was on a roll. The company was pleased with the success of his I3 class 4-4-2 tank engines, so much so that Douglas was given free reign to design...
Railway Reflection No8. – The Last Loco
In this case the last loco was not some last of its class high-performance main line express engine that once grabbed the headlines but a lowly tank locomotive that attracted little attention. On week ending 16 February 1952, British Railways officially withdrew...
Oasis, a Britpop Legacy & Manchesters Most Iconic Band
In the mid-'90s, Manchester was more than just a city; it was the beating heart of the British music scene, pulsing with the energy of a new generation of bands ready to take on the world. Among them, one band emerged like a lightning bolt, electrifying not just the...
The History of Wartime Rationing
The Second World War was a period of profound upheaval for the United Kingdom, not only on the battlefields but also on the home front. As bombs fell and men went off to fight, the people left behind faced a different kind of challenge: making do with less. Rationing,...
The Last Night of the Proms
For over a century, the Last Night of the Proms has been the crowning jewel of the BBC Proms, an annual musical festival that has become synonymous with British culture and identity. With its roots steeped in history, the Last Night has evolved from a simple concert...
The Magic of Olympic Closing Ceremonies
The Olympic Games are more than just a display of athletic prowess; they are a celebration of unity, culture, and the human spirit. While the Opening Ceremonies are often grand spectacles that set the tone for the Games, the Closing Ceremonies hold a special place in...
Trailblazing Women in U.S. Political History: From Geraldine Ferraro to Kamala Harris
The journey of women in U.S. political history is marked by perseverance, resilience, and groundbreaking achievements. From the pioneering efforts of Geraldine Ferraro to the historic ascension of Kamala Harris, women have continuously shattered glass ceilings and...
The Amazing Barefoot Marathon Victory of the 1960 Olympics
The 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome witnessed one of the most iconic moments in the history of athletics. Ethiopian runner Abebe Bikila, running barefoot, triumphed in the marathon, becoming the first black African to win an Olympic gold medal. His victory not only...
Joan Benoit’s Historic Marathon Win at the 1984 LA Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics, held in Los Angeles, California, marked a significant milestone in the history of women's athletics. For the first time ever, the Games included a women's marathon, a testament to the growing recognition of women's endurance sports. This...