The Peter Davison Era - Final Thoughts

Harry -
The Peter Davison Era marks the end of an era for me. His early stories were the last ones I watched on TVOntario as a kid. After that, I lost track of the Doctor for a time, as he wandered to other channels and my teenage interests wandered elsewhere. I wouldn't catch up with the Colin and Sylvester eras until years after their original broadcasts.


Sarah -
I did not know that. Perhaps it was a wise time to stop! Peter Davison was my second Doctor. I started watching Doctor Who with "The Ribos Operation", which was just chance, but is an excellent story with which to start. Fortunately, I had been primed by my cousin on the concept of regeneration (and the fact that WTTW would get back to showing Tom Baker again so I could catch up on the rest of my Doctor's stories).


Harry -
There will always be a warm glow about this era for us. I remember Adric as this amazing starchild who travelled with the Doctor. I didn't have any standout memories of the other companions, but I always remember this Doctor as "the friendly young one". Watching all the stories again in order certainly brought a whole new perspective.


Sarah -
In the years I was regularly watching Doctor Who, I would have had the chance to see all of the Fifth Doctor's stories at least twice. I've watched some random stories in recent years, but this is the first time I've watched them all through in order since the the 80's. I concur on having a whole new perspective.

While I loved the Romanas in the Fourth Doctor's era, the Fifth Doctor's tenure is when I really emotionally imprinted on the companions. I immediately understood Adric. I was around the same age and, yeah, he was annoying -- but I was surrounded by annoying teenage boys, so at least I could understand where he was coming from. As I've mentioned, I liked Adric so much that I named my cat after him. I've only named one pet in my entire life and I picked Adric. (So suck it, haters!) I'm still devastated every time I watch Earthshock and had forgotten that the Fifth Doctor's last word was "Adric."

Like all the companions in this era, he only had a few chances to shine and his best moments were with the Fourth Doctor. I’d like to see some Big Finish stories featuring Adric and Nyssa, with whom he always had the best chemistry.


Harry -
Both the novels of the wilderness years and the Big Finish audios have done well in filling the gaps between televised stories.


Sarah -
It was great to have Matthew Waterhouse join the TARDIS team for some stories. I'm hoping there will be more.

Nyssa has never made a strong impression on me and this rewatch made me understand why – she’s constantly being left behind in the TARDIS or shunted to the side. I need to make time to listen to the Nyssa-Fifth Doctor Big Finish stories to develop a better understanding of Sarah Sutton’s portrayal.


Harry -
I concluded that it was a lack of discipline on the show-runners' part at the time that writers were able to boot characters they weren't interested in into the TARDIS for an episode or two, or three.


Sarah -
And then there was Tegan. I loved Tegan and adored Janet Fielding's performance when I was a teenager. As an adult, I am so frustrated by the way the character was treated. Mister-Nice-Guy Doctor is surprisingly hostile towards her far more often than I remembered. While I appreciate the friendship between Tegan and Nyssa, I would say Turlough is her best match of all the companions.


Harry -
I very much enjoyed following Tegan's journey. She stood out from all the other companions by the force of her personality (and her accent). In addition to the far-too-many times that the Doctor dismissed her, it was sad that in the end she decided that she couldn't handle the violence and death that accompanied the Doctor wherever he went.


Sarah -
She suffered some brutal moments during her time in the TARDIS.

As for Turlough, he may be the most neglected companion of all. Once he stopped trying to kill the Doctor, there was almost nothing for him to do. Some of his scenes with Tegan stand out for me, but little else.


Harry -
One thing we got in these three seasons was a lot of returning monsters. Daleks, Cybermen, Silurians, Sea Devils. Of the new monsters, I liked the Terileptils most and would love to see them return. Other than that, we got a lot of slow-moving, sad-looking props.


Sarah -
It was good to give some of the classic foes a break so we could appreciate having them back.


Harry -
In terms of the look and feel of the show as we moved deeper into the 80s, you could hear a much more "synthy" soundtrack in more stories. By the time we get to "The Caves of Androzani", the scenery is dominated by the pastel neons that are so much a part of that decade. Everyone suddenly grew giant shoulders and hair too.


Sarah -
It was a glorious time to be alive!


Harry -
After two consecutive "man of action" Doctors in Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, Peter Davison gave us a quieter, more affable Doctor. He was certainly one who was content to hold back and let others do some heavy lifting for him. I'm reminded immediately of Tegan and Nyssa hauling his zero room coffin up to Castrovalva!


Sarah -
There's something telling about a Doctor spending much of his first story in a box!


Harry -
One thing that struck me as we were reviewing "The Caves of Androzani": we both loved how much the Doctor returned to his "man of action" persona. It presented me with a bit of a conundrum. Because we liked the most Pertwee/Baker-esque of Peter Davison's stories, does that present an indictment of the entire Davison era? Was this Doctor too content too often to let the action happen around him, rather than driving the action himself? Did he force his companions to do too much, resulting in burn out, or in the most tragic case, loss of life? Having watched the entire era in order, I can't help wishing this Doctor had been more assertive in these stories, to stop events from spiralling out of control. Not sure if that makes sense. Am I being completely loopy here Sarah?


Sarah -
I think you've hit it on the head. I was really looking forward to reaching these stories and spending time with this version of the TARDIS team. Perhaps my expectations were too high, but it felt like a series of disappointments. Poor character development, sloppy scripts, some really, really sketchy sets and monsters -- and this on a series beloved for its sketchy sets and monsters!

There are some high points -- "Earthshock", "The Caves of Androzani" -- and low points -- "Time-Flight" -- but most of the stories are just mediocre. The blame is usually laid at the feet of JN-T and Eric Saward and I can't disagree. No one was taking care with Doctor Who. While devoting himself to the preservation of the series, it feels like JN-T wasn't paying much attention to the actual product. Doctor Who's history is filled with strong producers and script editors who made the show a success Doctor after Doctor.

If you had asked me my opinions of the Third and Fifth Doctors' eras at the beginning of this project I would have said that the Third Doctor's era was OK and the Fifth Doctor's was brilliant. Having rewatched all their stories, the Third Doctor's era has become one of my absolute favorites. I've gone back to rewatch many of John Pertwee's stories since we discussed them because there's so much there. We have Barry Letts and Terrance Dicks to thank for that.

Will rewatch any of Peter Davison's stories as we move along in our marathon? Maybe Earthshock and Caves, but I can't imagine wanting to see anything else for a long while.


Harry -
Knowing what's ahead, this era was the calm before the storm. Onscreen, the Doctor is about to become louder, brasher and more openly manipulative. Less sensitive, less likeable, I guess. As for the show itself, it is about to be plunged into troubled waters, as behind the scenes anxieties influenced the product on the screen.


Sarah -
It will be a big change from Peter Davison. How do you feel about his performance as the Doctor?


Harry -
Peter was only 29 when he signed on to play the Doctor -- the youngest by far to that point. He was bound to be different from the preceeding Doctors for that reason alone. After Tom Baker's larger-than-life portrayal of the character, the new Doctor was calmer by design -- a deliberate shift in character. In various commentaries Peter has said that he would have played a certain scene or a certain story differently, but everyone says that when looking back on their work. What stands out most about his Doctor is the very fact that he stands out. He's not in-your-face, he's more likely to draw you in towards him. He's affable, not bombastic. He's more likely to slip into a room than burst in. When he raised his voice it was in annoyance, not arrogance. Quite simply, he was nice. And that's a nice Doctor to be able to revisit once in a while.


Sarah -
Peter Davison is such a good actor and he's had perhaps the most successful career of all the actors to have played the Doctor. There are so many times when the script gives him nothing to do and his talents feel wasted. It's a pity he wasn't give more to work with.


Harry -
Not to keep harping on it, but knowing what's ahead, we will miss these, calmer, quieter days. Very soon I should think!

Shall we?


Sarah -
Brave Heart, Harry. I'll be right by your side through it all!