Taking place at BFI Southbank as part of their year-long 50th anniversary celebrations, the screening of the four-part 1988 story was accompanied by highly entertaining Q&A sessions with Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred, John Lesson (the voice of K9), Dick Mills from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, writer Ben Aaronovitch, and visual effects expert Mike Tucker.
Here are some of the highlights…
» Sylvester McCoy: “On my very last day on The Hobbit, [Peter Jackson said] ‘…and I got the pleasure of working with my Doctor Who.’”
» Dick Mills: “Our mixing desk was from 1943 out of the Albert Hall.”
» Ben Aaronovitch: “Sylvester’s main contribution to scripts was ‘Please can I have less dialogue, I can’t cope!’”
» Sophie Aldred: “For me [Doctor Who] was like my drama school, working with these amazing people, like Sheila Hancock. It was my education working with them.”
» Sylvester McCoy: “I wanted to bring back the mystery of the First Doctor. I felt there was too much known about him.”
» Sophie Aldred: “We had absolutely no idea [about the threat of being cancelled] behind the scenes.”
» Dick Mills: “You’d have producers and writers coming in saying ‘Surprise me! Amaze me!’ and you didn’t know whether to set fire to them or whatever.”
» Sylvester McCoy: “I’d always thought, no matter what happens, I’ll do the regeneration scene.”
» Sophie Aldred: “Apparently Russell T Davies had this idea that the ratings [on The Sarah Jane Adventures] went up when old companions returned… and apparently it was Ace’s turn next. The opening shot was going to be this smart sports car pulls up outside Sarah Jane’s house and Ace is in this smart suit and heels.”
» Sylvester McCoy: “I think the reason [the 1996 TV movie] didn’t work was because I was in it. In order to capture a new audience it was too confusing. It was all my fault! The guilt!”
» Sylvester McCoy: “I remember thinking ‘Fuck ‘em!’ [the BBC execs trying to cancel the show].”
» Ben Aaronovitch: “Doctor Who [post-2005] is the reason [the BBC] is having a drama renaissance.”
» Sophie Aldred: “[Myself and Sylvester McCoy] scared a short of similar maverick background.”
» Sylvester McCoy: “Matt Smith is an astonishing 12-year-old actor.”
» Ben Aaronovitch: “Right from the beginning of ‘Dragonfire’, [the chemistry between Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred] was there and we just went ‘oh my God, write stuff [for them]!’”
» Sylvester McCoy: “I called [the Special Weapons Dalek] ‘Rambo Dalek’.”
The BFI’s 50th anniversary celebrations continue next month with a screening of the Ninth Doctor’s ‘Bad Wolf’ and ‘The Parting of the Ways’ at 2pm on Saturday 24 August.
> Find out how to buy tickets on the BFI website.
What’s your favourite Seventh Doctor story? Let us know below…