In Defense of Victoria Waterfield

Earlier this week, the news broke that veteran Doctor Who actress Deborah Watling had passed away following a brief illness.

Watling played Victoria Waterfield in seven serials from 1967 to 1968, including the majority of Season Five which is widely considered one of the most classic seasons of the classic run, the (in)famous Monster Season. Now, whilst the early generations of fandom considered that year's stories to be absolute classics and the cast to be one of the definitive TARDIS teams, neither the season nor Victoria has done well that well when put under the microscope by the fans of later years.

Or, to put it another way, by fans who can go back and review the stories.

You see, even once home video became a thing there was the problem that huge swathes of Watling's appearances no longer existed in the archive. Until 2013 her only complete story was The Tomb of the Cybermen with four out of six episodes of The Ice Warriors and single episodes The Evil of the Daleks, The Abominable Snowmen, The Enemy of the World and The Web of Fear representing the rest of her time with the series. It didn't help that the vast majority of these stories were practically interchangeable “classic base under siege” stories, a formula the series didn't deviate much from in Season Five because of severe budgetary and time management issues. Bases under siege needed only a small number of sets and, to be frank, not so much imagination as to require a lot of editing time.

And then, of course, there's the fact that character just wasn't something that era of the show did. Between the formulaic storytelling and the time constraints any sort of character work was basically abandoned in favour of treating characters purely as plot function.

Watling's plot function was damsel in distress. Not unsurprisingly, this fact aged badly. You can't really watch any of her stories without getting a masterclass in the Male Gaze: she's cute, she's in danger all the time and the camera can't keep away from close-ups of her terrified yet photogenic face.

Here's the thing, though: the scripts were pretty bad, the series was somehow formulaic in spite of having the whole of time and space to play with; and the characters had no character. Yet this is one of the most fondly remembered eras of the show. Received wisdom has it that this is because of the “classic base under siege” format and, naturally, the monsters.

I'm not entirely convinced. Not that the monsters are that bad or even that the formula is all that bad, even if it repetitive as hell.

I think it was the cast. Troughton was a fantastic actor, an absolute genius at wrestling the material he was given into something with depth. Whilst Watling wasn't quite that good what she had in spades was charisma and that was her way of polishing her part in the script until it shone. Victoria might not have had many character traits beyond “prim” and “marginally smarter than Jamie” but she was extremely likable and that's an important quality in an adventure serial lead.

That's what I get from the Season Five TARDIS crew: three fantastically likable actors having the time of their lives, both in and out of character. Watching them together, now more possible than ever with the recovery of The Enemy of the World and the lion's share of The Web of Fear, you can see why this era is so fondly remembered by the fans who were there at the time...

… and it wasn't the monsters.

Rest in peace, Deborah Watling, you were amazing. 

Trevor Baxter, 18 November 1932 - 16 July 2017

Trevor Baxter was one of those actors I only knew through Doctor Who. He was, of course, one half of the definitive Robert Holmes double act as Professor George Litefoot in (the sadly rather racist) The Talons of Weng-Chiang and its (markedly less racist) later aiduo spin-off Jago & Litefoot.

Jago & Litefoot is, without a doubt, my favourite series Big Finish makes and, naturally, Baxter was a big part of that. He and Christopher Benjamin (as music hall impresario Henry Gordon Jago) shared such a natural chemistry both on screen in the 70s and in studio for the audios. It seemed effortless. I know it wasn't, good acting never is, but the two men played off each other so wellit really is no wonder that a spin-off was on most fan's wish lists from the day the two appeared together in Talons.

I even recall there being mention once in a DWM article that there were plans for a Jago & Litefoot series back in the 70s, though I can't find any mention of it on the internet to confirm.

The Jao & Litefoot audios are comfort food to me, a warm and comfortable series to listen to after a stressful day and Trevor Baxter was a huge part of that formula.

Its a small tribute but, I think, a proper one to give for an actor whose work made more than one evening extremely pleasant. 

John Hurt's Caligula

If you want to know how great an actor the late John Hurt was, track down a copy of I, Claudius and watch his performance as the Emperor Caligula.

With the greatest respect to the man, John Hurt was not a particularly beautiful man and you'd think that would discount a man from playing Caligula, a notoriously attractive man. Hurt brings such power to the role through his performance that you can see it. His fey, breathy delivery conveys the charisma of the man whilst his haughty air lends a smouldering sexual presence to the role. He litters his lines with little breathy pauses as if unsure of what he's about to say next, second guessing himself constantly as he decides what best to say to his own advantage. He's twitchy, just a little as if he's constantly holding it in except when he explodes in anger or panic.

The scene where Caligula makes his first proclamations as Emperor is a tour de force. After several episodes of being a manipulative snake masterfully pulling the strings of the ailing Tiberius, Caligula cuts loose. He rants and rambles, loses track of the conversation, drifts off into asides about how he resents Claudius having so much more hair than he does. Its a fascinating descent into madness, one of the best scenes in the whole series.

Now, this is just one role in a career of great roles but I do think it conveys the sheer range the man possessed.

Now, we'll just wait for Brian Blessed to die and we'll talk about his turn as Augustus.

Joanie "Chyna" Laurer, 1970 - 2016

This past week one of the greats of professional wrestling passed away.

On Wednesday, Joanie Laurer, known to wrestling fans around the world as Chyna, died at the tragically young age of 45. She debuted back in the Attitude Era as Triple H's bodyguard; was at one time in consideration to become the first ever female World Heavyweight Champion; actually was the only women ever to hold the Intercontinental Champion; and, was the first of only two women to ever appear in the Royal Rumble.

She was a big, muscular woman (a professional bodybuilder, in fact) working in wrestling when blonde hair and implants were basically part of the uniform. She almost always held power in her storylines and had dignity even when she didn't (with the exception of that... rather uncomfortable angle with Chris Jericho). She was a part of D-X in its most legendary form which alone makes her a major figure in the Monday Night Wars. She competed on a level with, and even feuded against, some of the best male wrestlers of her day. She even competed in a few inter-gender matches that weren't horrible to watch, even if one of them did seriously bring into question whether WWE's bookers know how vaginas work.

Like Trish Stratus and Lita she was one of those great female wrestlers who was better than the women's division of their day ever deserved, one of those who worked to elevate the form even as the industry itself sank into valuing female competitors only for their looks.

She was the Ninth Wonder of the World and we were privileged to have the glimpse we got of her. 

Satoru Iwata (1959-2015)

There aren't many games companies where I know the names of the executives or have any real impression of them as people.

I knew the name of Satoru Iwata, the man who once said “Video games are meant to be just one thing. Fun. Fun for everyone.”. He was the man who, as president of Nintendo when the WiiU failed to make sales targets, took a massive pay cut so they wouldn't have to make cuts lower down the corporate structure. I've seen this man in adverts where he's played by a muppet who slowly turns into a Starfox character (alongside muppets of two other Nintendo executives) and, of course, there's this...

I don't agree with every decision he or Nintendo have made in the last few years but this isn't a rant, this is what humble tribute I can pay to this man who believed in fun over all at a time when other games publishers and developers have driven the industry into something horribly resembling a crash trying to me grim and adult about things. The fact that he and his company have clearly and demonstrably prioritised customer enjoyment as the justification for taking our money, even in these self-consciously grim times, is no small thing.

This man's life's work brought joy to millions and I don't think there can be much greater a tribute than that.

Rest well, Mister Iwata, we understand and may you forever be remembered with bananas in your hand. 

Christopher Lee (1922 - 2015)

How to even write this one? So I write a list of the things he acted in? We'd be here all day. Do I talk about the first time I saw him in something? I don't remember what that was, from my point of view this man always existed. The man's legacy was monolithic.

If you're of a certain age he was the definitive Dracula and if you're of any other age was an iconic Dracula. He was in Star Wars, The Avengers, James Bond, The Wicker Man, The Lord Of The Rings, the Discworld adaptations, he recorded metal albums about Charlemagne (I am not kidding and they are well worth listening to).

He was also of that great generation of actors who were just great characters in their own right. Some highlights from his Wikipedia biography have him, as a child, meeting the assassins of Rasputin (one of whom he would later play), wartime operations as part of the SAS, which he'd never discuss due to the Official Secrets Act, being the direct reason Hammer adapted Dennis Wheatley's novels and, my personal favourite, being tricked into narrating a softcore porn movie.

Most of all, though, there's that voice. That deep, resonant and commanding voice. That voice sold Saruman's authority and Dracula's sexual power, it even had the power to elevate his more middling roles like Star Wars' Count Dooku into memorable performances.

The Grand Pantheon of British Actors has lost another of the greats and he shall be missed.