John Nathan-Turner
Encyclopedia
John Nathan-Turner was the ninth producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...

 of the long-running BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...

, from 1980 until it was effectively cancelled in 1989. He was the longest-serving and, at the time, the most widely known Doctor Who producer.

Biography

Born Jonathan Turner in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

, he adopted the double-barrelled stage name
Double-barrelled name
In English speaking and some other Western countries, a double-barrelled name is a family name with two parts, which may or may not be joined with a hyphen and is also known as a hyphenated name. An example of a hyphenated double-barrelled surname is Bowes-Lyon; an example of an unhyphenated...

 of John Nathan-Turner to distinguish himself from an actor of the same name. He was educated at King Edward VI Aston
King Edward VI Aston
King Edward VI Aston School is a selective, all-boys' grammar school and specialist Sports College. The school, designed by Birmingham architect J.A. Chatwin, opened in 1883 and is still located on its original site, in the Aston area of Birmingham, England....

, where he showed an early interest in acting and theatre. He joined the BBC as a floor assistant in the 1960s, and first worked on Doctor Who in 1969 as part of the floor crew at the time that the series was recorded in Studio D of the Lime Grove Studios
Lime Grove Studios
Lime Grove Studios was a film studio complex built by the Gaumont Film Company in 1915 situated in a street named Lime Grove, inShepherd's Bush, west London, north of Hammersmith and described by Gaumont as "the finest studio in Great Britain and the first building ever put up in this country...

. His first story was The Space Pirates
The Space Pirates
The Space Pirates is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in six weekly parts from 8 March to 12 April 1969.-Plot:...

in 1969, in which he was credited as John Nathan. John was the only son of Sam and Kath and lived in Erdington,Birmingham.

He later served as production unit manager under Graham Williams
Graham Williams
Graham Williams was a British television producer and script editor, whose best known work was on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who....

 from 1977 to 1979. He accepted the position of producer for Season 18, the last that featured Tom Baker
Tom Baker
Thomas Stewart "Tom" Baker is a British actor. He is best known for playing the fourth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction television series Doctor Who, a role he played from 1974 to 1981.-Early life:...

's portrayal of the central character, the Doctor
Doctor (Doctor Who)
The Doctor is the central character in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, and has also featured in two cinema feature films, a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series....

. He subsequently cast the next three actors to play the role: Peter Davison
Peter Davison
Peter Davison is a British actor, best known for his roles as Tristan Farnon in the television version of James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small and the fifth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, which he played from 1982 to 1984.-Early life:Davison was born Peter Moffett in Streatham,...

 (1981–1984), Colin Baker
Colin Baker
Colin Baker is a British actor who is known for playing Paul Merroney in The Brothers from 1974 to 1976 and as the sixth incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who, from 1984 to 1986.- Background:Colin Baker was born in London, but moved north to...

 (1984–1986) and Sylvester McCoy
Sylvester McCoy
Sylvester McCoy is a Scottish actor. As a comic act and busker he appeared regularly on stage and on BBC Children's television in the 1970s and 80s, but is best known for playing the seventh incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who from 1987 to...

 (1987-1989 & 1996).

Nathan-Turner's experience under Graham Williams helped form his views for the future of the series. He strongly felt that many people, both within the programme and in the viewing public, no longer took Who seriously. It was also generally agreed that Tom Baker had been allowed too much influence of the direction of the series and that Williams was not willing to confront him. Nathan-Turner, along with the new Script Editor, Christopher H. Bidmead
Christopher H. Bidmead
Christopher Hamilton Bidmead is a British writer and journalist.Bidmead trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts , later playing several roles on stage, television and radio. By the early 1970s he was scriptwriting for Thames Television, producing material for Harriet's Back in...

, decided that Baker needed to be reined in and made to take the role more seriously. For Nathan-Turner's first season in charge of the show, former Doctor Who producer Barry Letts
Barry Letts
Barry Leopold Letts was a British actor, television director, writer and producer best known for his work on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, and for producing the BBC's Sunday Classic drama serials in the late 1970s and early 1980s...

 was asked to return in the role of Executive Producer, and acted as an advisor for Nathan-Turner in this period.

Nathan-Turner decided to begin a sweeping overhaul of the series, replacing the original theme music with a more contemporary electronic beat. He also introduced revamped title and credit sequences, featuring a new face shot of Baker (the original having been taken in 1974). He commissioned costume designer June Hudson
June Hudson
June Hudson is a British television costume designer, most famous for her work on British science fiction tv series in the 1970s. Her most notable work featured in the classic series of Doctor Who and Blake's 7.- Doctor Who :...

 to make a new outfit for Tom Baker, giving her carte-blanche (even giving permission to remove the trademark scarf if she liked, which she only gave a new burgundy and purple colour pattern instead). He did, however, insist that question marks be added to the costume. Nathan-Turner had no writing experience and as a result, choosing stories was left largely to script editors. Nathan-Turner's first major story influence was bringing back the Master
Master (Doctor Who)
The Master is a recurring character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He is a renegade Time Lord and the archenemy of the Doctor....

, the logistics of which he left to Bidmead to deal with. After Nathan-Turner's first season in charge, both Bidmead and Letts left the series. Letts was never replaced in Nathan-Turner's time in charge of the show, while Bidmead was briefly replaced by Antony Root
Antony Root
Antony Root is an award-winning television executive and producer.- Education :He was educated at King's College School, Cambridge, Marlborough College and Christ's College, Cambridge where he read Philosophy and English...

, and then more permanently by Eric Saward
Eric Saward
Eric Saward was born on 9 December 1944 and became a scriptwriter and script editor for the BBC, resigning from the latter post on the TV programme Doctor Who in 1986....

, who would be script editor for much of Nathan-Turner's time in charge of the show.

By the end of Season 19, Nathan-Turner decided that the series would benefit by re-using earlier villains and characters — Earthshock
Earthshock
Earthshock is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts from 8 March to 16 March 1982...

enjoyed considerable acclaim with the return of the Cybermen. Season 20 saw the return of the Black Guardian, Omega, and the Brigadier. The re-use of classic villains often proved difficult for both script editor Eric Saward and the writers. Nathan-Turner, however, was largely focused on generating publicity for the series and snagging well-known stars. He also wanted to avoid using directors and writers from the previous periods, the few exceptions being director Pennant Roberts and writers Terrance Dicks
Terrance Dicks
Terrance Dicks is an English writer, best known for his work in television and for writing a large number of popular children's books during the 1970s and 80s.- Early career :...

 and Robert Holmes
Robert Holmes (scriptwriter)
This entry is about the television scriptwriter. For other people with the same name, see Robert Holmes .Robert Colin Holmes was an English television scriptwriter, who for over twenty-five years contributed to some of the most popular programmes screened in the UK...

.

Having served as producer for so long, and having a more public persona than previous incumbents, Nathan-Turner was often the object of intense scrutiny by the series' fans, who often referred to him as "JNT" or "JN-T". Decisions such as how he selected Colin Baker
Colin Baker
Colin Baker is a British actor who is known for playing Paul Merroney in The Brothers from 1974 to 1976 and as the sixth incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who, from 1984 to 1986.- Background:Colin Baker was born in London, but moved north to...

 for the role of the Sixth Doctor
Sixth Doctor
The Sixth Doctor is the sixth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by Colin Baker...

 (he reportedly "made him laugh at a party"), and the casting of Bonnie Langford
Bonnie Langford
Bonita Melody Lysette "Bonnie" Langford is an English actress, dancer and entertainer. She came to prominence as a child star in the early 1970s then she subsequently became a companion of Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy's Doctor Who and has appeared on stage in various musicals such as Peter Pan:...

 as his 2nd companion are still a topic of discussion in the Doctor Who fan community twenty years later. His tenure coincided with a period of large growth in the show's fan base in the United States, thanks to repeated showings on affiliates of the American Public Broadcasting Service
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....

 (PBS). Nathan-Turner was a familiar face among the many Doctor Who celebrities who made spot-appearances during PBS pledge drives in support of more Who in America.

Nathan-Turner made a number of controversial changes to the series. In Season 19, he had the sonic screwdriver
Sonic screwdriver
The sonic screwdriver is a fictional tool in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spinoffs. It is a multifunctional tool used by The Doctor. Its most common function is that of a lockpick, but can be used to perform other operations such as performing medical scans,...

 destroyed in The Visitation. (Eric Saward, who wrote the story, initially only meant to remove it for a single episode as he thought that the Doctor "had an entire cabinet full of them".) Early in his producership, the show was moved from its Saturday evening slot to air on Monday and Tuesday of each week. Despite a degree of outrage, it did lead to a large increase in viewing figures. He also oversaw the removal of K-9
K-9 (Doctor Who)
K-9, or K9, is the name of several fictional robotic canines in the long-running British science fiction television series, Doctor Who, first appearing in 1977...

 from the series — though he did commission the pilot of K-9 and Company
K-9 and Company
K-9 and Company was a proposed television spin-off of the original programme run of Doctor Who . It was to feature former series regulars Sarah Jane Smith, an investigative journalist played by Elisabeth Sladen, and K-9, a robotic dog. Both characters had been companions of the Fourth Doctor, but...

. He even allowed the TARDIS
TARDIS
The TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...

 to lose its iconic police box
Police box
A police box is a British telephone kiosk or callbox located in a public place for the use of members of the police, or for members of the public to contact the police...

 shape at one point, though its distinctive interiors — modernised in high-white — were more heavily used than at any time since the 1960s, giving the (now multiple) companions an on-screen home.

Nathan-Turner was arguably the highest-profile producer of the series, and his reign was at times controversial. His changes to the programme were initially well-received by Doctor Who fans, to whom he extended an unprecedented degree of welcome. Editors of non-professional magazines or "fanzines" would be granted interviews by Nathan-Turner in the Who production office. Although he did not divulge the contents of forthcoming storylines in such conversations, he would speak in-depth and at length about his approach to producing the show.

This openness to fandom proved a double-edged sword for Nathan-Turner. As his tenure on the series lengthened, and especially when the show's ratings began to drop, fan criticism of Nathan-Turner became more prevalent. Fanzines began to blame him for decisions made about the series, whether he was responsible for them or not. The series was placed on hiatus at the end of its 1985 season. By the time it returned in September 1986, his professional relationship with Saward was rapidly deteriorating.

Nathan-Turner's lack of first-hand experience in scripting and direction contributed to his tendency to be distrustful of some of the crew around him. Former director-turned-writer Peter Grimwade
Peter Grimwade
Peter Grimwade was a British television writer and director, best known for his work on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who....

 had agreed to direct Resurrection of the Daleks
Resurrection of the Daleks
Resurrection of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts between 8 February and 15 February 1984...

, but Nathan-Turner removed him from the post — mainly due to his perception of being snubbed by Grimwade when he did not invite him to a dinner party. He also became upset when the replacement director, Matthew Robinson, discussed a camera shot with Saward — Nathan-Turner insisting that a script editor had no place in such matters. Grimwade later made a thinly-veiled parody of Nathan-Turner on the series Dramarama called The Come-Uppance of Captain Katt, while Saward made hurtful remarks about him in an unguarded magazine interview just after leaving the series in 1986.

However, Nathan-Turner, who had great organisational flair, knew the BBC's ways intimately and often fixed deals to the show's advantage. Supporters of his reign argue that the producer was not solely to blame for the series' decline in ratings and that the hierarchy at the BBC, funding issues, ratings calculation methods, the decline of in-house drama production, and the decision to schedule the series opposite the popular Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...

should be to blame.

Following the difficulties of Season 23, some believe that he in fact was growing tired of the programme. In a documentary about the "end" of the series, some people claimed that Nathan-Turner approached the BBC about leaving the series, but had been told that if he left the series would be cancelled. Some even state that despite the controversy, Nathan-Turner was likely the only thing left holding the suffering series together for its last three seasons.

Criticism of Nathan-Turner's production of Doctor Who ranged from including too many back-references to the casting of guest stars from light entertainment. As mentioned, he was criticised for choosing Bonnie Langford as a companion: though Langford had been a child lead in ITV's 1970s adaptation of Just William
Just William (1970s TV series)
Just William was an ITV television series based on the Just William series of books by Richmal Crompton. It ran for two series.-Cast:-Series One:# William and the Begging Letter# William the Great Actor# The Outlaws and the Tramp...

, she was better known as a musical theatre
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...

 performer and dancer. It was also felt that he chose companions because of "gimmicks", such as the character of Tegan Jovanka (an Australian flight-attendant) in the hope of getting "cheap tickets" for possible filming abroad. This was also true for the American character Peri Brown (in an attempt to endear the show more to the US). This was not true in either case, just a rumor. He made the decision that the Doctor should have companions that weren't always from contemporary England. He was also criticised, at the time, for casting lead actors Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy, whom some thought were unsuitable for the role.

Some fans feel the quality of the series was improving up until its cancellation in 1989 although ratings sank to all time lows. Nathan-Turner also helped introduce the popular character of Ace at the end of Season 24. By the end of Season 26, Nathan-Turner was aware that the show would likely not return the next year and asked Cartmel to add more weight to the conclusion of the final story, resulting in the Doctor's speech at the end of Survival
Survival (Doctor Who)
-Writing:Writer Rona Munro approached script editor Andrew Cartmel at a BBC scriptwriting workshop and said that she'd "kill to write for Doctor Who." The story Munro developed incorporated themes including the morals of hunting...

.

Nathan-Turner continued to be involved in Doctor Who-related events, including the show's 20th Anniversary celebrations at Longleat in 1983 and co-writing the 1993 charity special Dimensions in Time
Dimensions in Time
Dimensions in Time is a charity special crossover between the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and the soap opera EastEnders that ran in two parts on 26 and 27 November 1993. It was filmed on the EastEnders Albert Square set, and features several of the stars of that programme...

, and co-presenting the BSB
British Satellite Broadcasting
British Satellite Broadcasting was a British television company which provided direct broadcast satellite television services to the United Kingdom...

31 Who programmes during their 1990 Doctor Who Weekend, until shortly before his death. He made his final contribution to the series when he appeared in a DVD retrospective on Resurrection of the Daleks in 2001.

John was in poor health in the last year of his life and he contracted an infection and died of liver failure
Liver failure
Acute liver failure is the appearance of severe complications rapidly after the first signs of liver disease , and indicates that the liver has sustained severe damage . The complications are hepatic encephalopathy and impaired protein synthesis...

 just over a year before the announcement by the BBC that the show would be revived, with new episodes to air beginning in 2005. He was survived by his long-term partner, Gary Downie
Gary Downie
Gary Downie was a production manager on many 1980s episodes of the long running science fiction television series Doctor Who, and partner of its producer John Nathan-Turner. His own analysis of the role of a production manager can be found on the BBC DVD release of The Two Doctors...

, a production manager on Doctor Who. Downie died on 19 January 2006. Downie spoke, in an interview with Doctor Who Magazine
Doctor Who Magazine
Doctor Who Magazine is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...

, of his time with Nathan-Turner. Nathan-Turner lived for many years in London with a home also in Saltdean, Brighton.

External links

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