Rob Shearman and the Whoovers
So... after almost not going to the Whoovers event with Rob Shearman in Derby, I was brave and went.
I almost didn't get there because I got lost in Derby. Which wasn't entirely unexpected. A very helpful lady in a petrol station helped me out though, and I eventually found the correct building. (At this point, I'll not mention the fact that I had printed out lots of helpful maps, and the best place to store such maps was obviously my coffee table.)
The evening started with some clips of 'Dalek' dubbed into Italian and French - notable if only for the hysterical mess that the dubbers have made of the Dalek voices. I'll have to get a copy of that at some point. Pure class.
Next, Steve Hatcher interviewed Rob Shearman, and a few in the audience asked questions too. Being the shy, retiring type that I am, I didn't ask a question. We heard lots about how Rob had become involved in writing the episode, from the incident with his agent through to redrafting the script as 'Absence of the Dalek' as copyright issues took hold. He is a brilliant story teller - very engaging to listen to. He was asked to write the episode as a result of his audio, 'Jubilee,' and while there are obvious differences between the two, some similarities remain. Van Stratten (originally DuChain) was going to have a wife who was the main villian. Adam was originally Van Stratten's son. There were all sorts of fascinating little insights into how the episode developed from his first draft of the script, and if nothing else, it has made me appreciate just how much work goes into producing a series like Doctor Who.
He talked about how Eccleston played the role, and about him leaving, and unlike a lot of the rumours that circulate, he was very positive about it all, with the exeption of course of the fact that the press leaked the story of him leaving. An extra took a picture of the Dalek and sold it to a tabloid for £50,000.00 - that is more than Shearman got for writing the episode!
In an effort to stop the press saying Daleks were pants, they purposefully tackled all the cliches. The 'Elevate' with the stairs is the obvious one. The Dalek bumps were made use of as the Dalek self-exterminated. In an early draft, he wanted the sucker to go right around the guard's head, then pick him up and shake him around. That might have been going a bit far, but there are elements of that in Doomsday. He had said to his wife that he was writing an episode with a Dalek, and his wife had given him a list of why Daleks were pants for him to work on.
Topless Eccleston was at Julie Gardener's request. He spent just two days on set, and only saw filming with Billie, not Eccleston, but he was very impressed. He talked at length about the Dalek mechanisation and voice.
There were lots of other things he said, I'll never remember them all!
After a brief interlude during which I talked to a girl who knew Rob, and I helped fold raffle tickets, we had a short video of all the times that, 'What are you doing here?' is said through Doctor Who - an amusing compilation. Then there was a live commentary of the first 20 minutes or so of Dalek. It was interesting to link back everything he had said about the development of the programme to what finally appeared on screen. He dislikes the long Rose/Adam scene, apparently, it was meant to be a real spark between them. Love at first sight and all that. He said he couldn't make it believable because he had based Adam on himself - heheh! His favourite part is where the Doctor first meets the Dalek. I'm inclined to agree with him, it was brilliantly put together. Extermination rays aren't electric, so the bit with the sprinkler system wouldn't really work. Meh, they look electric to me.
As the evening drew to a close, I was conscious of the fact that I was tired and had to get home. The girl I had been talking to earlier in the evening very kindly took me to talk to Rob Shearman before he got tied up in autograph signing. We shook hands, and he thanked me for travelling all that way. I, of course, thanked him for the interesting evening, and then I set off home.
I'm glad I went, and as they seem like a friendly bunch in Derby, I'll definitely be heading to their special events in the future.
I almost didn't get there because I got lost in Derby. Which wasn't entirely unexpected. A very helpful lady in a petrol station helped me out though, and I eventually found the correct building. (At this point, I'll not mention the fact that I had printed out lots of helpful maps, and the best place to store such maps was obviously my coffee table.)
The evening started with some clips of 'Dalek' dubbed into Italian and French - notable if only for the hysterical mess that the dubbers have made of the Dalek voices. I'll have to get a copy of that at some point. Pure class.
Next, Steve Hatcher interviewed Rob Shearman, and a few in the audience asked questions too. Being the shy, retiring type that I am, I didn't ask a question. We heard lots about how Rob had become involved in writing the episode, from the incident with his agent through to redrafting the script as 'Absence of the Dalek' as copyright issues took hold. He is a brilliant story teller - very engaging to listen to. He was asked to write the episode as a result of his audio, 'Jubilee,' and while there are obvious differences between the two, some similarities remain. Van Stratten (originally DuChain) was going to have a wife who was the main villian. Adam was originally Van Stratten's son. There were all sorts of fascinating little insights into how the episode developed from his first draft of the script, and if nothing else, it has made me appreciate just how much work goes into producing a series like Doctor Who.
He talked about how Eccleston played the role, and about him leaving, and unlike a lot of the rumours that circulate, he was very positive about it all, with the exeption of course of the fact that the press leaked the story of him leaving. An extra took a picture of the Dalek and sold it to a tabloid for £50,000.00 - that is more than Shearman got for writing the episode!
In an effort to stop the press saying Daleks were pants, they purposefully tackled all the cliches. The 'Elevate' with the stairs is the obvious one. The Dalek bumps were made use of as the Dalek self-exterminated. In an early draft, he wanted the sucker to go right around the guard's head, then pick him up and shake him around. That might have been going a bit far, but there are elements of that in Doomsday. He had said to his wife that he was writing an episode with a Dalek, and his wife had given him a list of why Daleks were pants for him to work on.
Topless Eccleston was at Julie Gardener's request. He spent just two days on set, and only saw filming with Billie, not Eccleston, but he was very impressed. He talked at length about the Dalek mechanisation and voice.
There were lots of other things he said, I'll never remember them all!
After a brief interlude during which I talked to a girl who knew Rob, and I helped fold raffle tickets, we had a short video of all the times that, 'What are you doing here?' is said through Doctor Who - an amusing compilation. Then there was a live commentary of the first 20 minutes or so of Dalek. It was interesting to link back everything he had said about the development of the programme to what finally appeared on screen. He dislikes the long Rose/Adam scene, apparently, it was meant to be a real spark between them. Love at first sight and all that. He said he couldn't make it believable because he had based Adam on himself - heheh! His favourite part is where the Doctor first meets the Dalek. I'm inclined to agree with him, it was brilliantly put together. Extermination rays aren't electric, so the bit with the sprinkler system wouldn't really work. Meh, they look electric to me.
As the evening drew to a close, I was conscious of the fact that I was tired and had to get home. The girl I had been talking to earlier in the evening very kindly took me to talk to Rob Shearman before he got tied up in autograph signing. We shook hands, and he thanked me for travelling all that way. I, of course, thanked him for the interesting evening, and then I set off home.
I'm glad I went, and as they seem like a friendly bunch in Derby, I'll definitely be heading to their special events in the future.