Producer John Nathan-Turner began the 1980s as a hero to Doctor Who fans, but by the middle of the decade he was seen by many as a divisive figure. Has the enduring controversy surrounding his era overshadowed its greatest successes?

Feature by WILLIAM FOWLER

He was the Doctor all the time.”

An androgynous figure, whose features appear to be made up of powder, merges with the Fourth Doctor as he lies on the grass, apparently dead. The Watcher entering and fusing with the Doctor in Logopolis (1981) was, in retrospect, a curiously apt occurrence, coming as it did at the end of not just Tom Baker’s reign as arguably the most popular Doctor to date, but also John Nathan-Turner’s first year as the show’s producer.

JNT had introduced noticeable changes with Season 18 (1980-81), including a new title sequence and new music, together with a suitably opulent costume for the leading man. Yet Baker had still been in place, as had long-running companions Romana and K9, plus several old-school writers, among them David Fisher and Terrance Dicks. But with the passing of Doctor number four… well, what would happen next?

The Watcher had evoked the intergalactic Watcher race from Marvel Comics in addition to anticipating the increasing amount of ‘viewing’ that would take place in the show itself. There would be controversial flashbacks and, by the time the Sixth Doctor came along, screens and people viewing them would become regular fixtures. This was to be part of the new broom that was JNT – the show moving ahead while consciously evoking the past and riffing on itself in post-modern fashion.

Pictures from John Nathan-Turner’s collection showing Peter Davison during the filming of Castrovalva and at an early photocall in 1981.

Photos courtesy of Stephen Cranford.

John Nathan-Turner, pictured in the Doctor Who production office at Threshold House in 1984.

Graham Rickard’s 1980 book A Day with a TV Producer documented some of the behind-the-scenes work on JNT’s first series.

The TARDIS is drawn towards a space station in the impressive opening sequence from Part One of The Trial of a Time Lord (1986).

Sarah Sutton (as Nyssa), Peter Davison (the Doctor), Matthew Waterhouse (Adric) and Janet Fielding (Tegan) in a publicity shot for Black Orchid (1982), a story from JNT’s second series as producer.