Report: Horror of Fang Rock at BFI Southbank

Doctor Who The Collection – Season 15 (Classic Who) is released on Blu-ray on the 18th of March. To celebrate the BFI (British Film Institute) on the London Southbank ran a special event with guests on the 4th of February showing Horror of Fang Rock, one of the best-regarded serials from season 15.

Darkness and Light

For those able to wake up early on a Sunday morning there was an opportunity to see Doctor Who: Darkness and Light – The Life of Graham Williams which will be released as part of the forthcoming Doctor Who: The Collection – Season 15 Blu-ray. I’m so glad that I did because being honest I don’t think I knew much about him. I knew of his three years on the show and knew that he had to move away from the more gothic aspects of Doctor Who introduced by Phillip Hinchcliffe but not much else. Chris Chapman, the director. introduced the documentary

In 1977, Birkenhead-born first-time producer Graham Williams took over one of the BBC’s most famous shows, Doctor Who. His turbulent three years in the role saw clashes with star Tom Baker, budgetary nightmares and catastrophic industrial action – but also the highest viewing figures the programme has ever achieved. Graham died in 1990, aged just 45, leaving behind a wife and three young children. In this intimate new film, Graham’s family, friends and colleagues look back on a life of darkness and light.

At 97 minutes the documentary, directed by Chris Chapman, uses the prism of his three children, his widow, friends and colleagues to get as close under the skin of a complicated man who was hugely ambitious for himself and the show. The screening room wasn’t full and it’s a shame because it’s a stunning documentary of a young producer, a collage of personal recollections brought to life through the use of the soundtrack and images. Much like Showman – The Life of John Nathan-Turner, it left me moved by its intimate focus and raw emotion at times. It’s a good thing though to be stirred and reminded how every one of us travels through life carrying our individual stories within us.

After a break to gather ourselves together, it was time to rejoin friends for the main screening of one of Tom Baker’s best stories. Our hosts were Justin Johnson (Lead Programmer for BFI Southbank) and Dick Fiddy, (BFI Archive TV programmer).

Mark Ayres, composer for the boxset and responsible for the sound restoration was a BFI regular at these events and was invited to the stage. He confirmed Horror of Fang Rock is offered with immersive 5.1 surround sound which was partly a creative decision based on the story’s “base under siege” enclosed nature There weren’t many sound effects for the story and the soundtrack was originally in mono, as were many stories of the time but adding a reverberation of sound through 5.1 surround sound creates a new dimension to the story. I can certainly testify to feeling waves of claustrophobia watching this story with some of the sound effects such as the clanging of the lighthouse bell and the noise of power from the generators. It’s a small cast who also carry off their performances very well during this story.

Horror of Fang Rock was written by Terrance Dick and Frankie Skinner, comedian, actor, presenter and writer was also invited to the stage and spoke about how although he lived across the road from Terrance Dicks he wasn’t brave enough to speak to him and meet him. Frank focused on his love of the Target books which Terrance wrote the majority of and also disclosed how he, Frank, once slept in a disused lighthouse, which was a birthday gift from his father. He discovered however quite late into the evening that the lighthouse was actually in use to much laughter from a full auditorium.

Chris Thompson, who created some of the special effects for Horror of Fang Rock came to the stage. Talking about his admiration for what the original effects team would have done and being very familiar with the story from the original VHS release he touched on some of the enhancements such as the boat crash being made to look at if it was on 16mm film. He also pitched for a practical effect of a Rutan puppet which was agreed but he admitted it was his first practical prop and a learning curve in terms of its construction. The puppet is extremely heavy and he joked is now residing as a lampshade. He brought the Rutan prop to the queue of autograph signings and it’s much larger than I expected.

As part of these BFI screenings, the audience is treated to extracts from the bonus features for these new releases. The Behind of the Scenes snippets are hilarious as with various actors and guests from Doctor Who Louise Jameson, Colin Baker, Sarah Sutton, Janet Fielding, Matthew Waterhouse, Katy Manning, Betsan Roberts (wife of director Pennant Roberts), and comedian and presenter, Toby Hadoke.

Pete McTighe came to the stage as the writer and director for the Final Battle for Doctor Who The Collection – Season 15. trailer. This preview for the Blu-ray release has become the most watched of all the pre-release trailers and Pete has felt the pressure of trying to top each new release. Pete confirmed there may need to be a break in the future due to the time it takes to produce and plan them. The trailer features Leela Jameson and Pete reserved some praise for Chris Thompson and the special effects team for recreating Gallifrey and the Time War.

He also acknowledged an opportunity to give Leela a new purpose after what was an uncharacteristic ending for the character of staying on Gallifrey with Captain Andred. Louise agreed later in her interview that her exit wasn’t satisfactory but up until the final days of filming, the producers were still trying to persuade her to stay.

Louise Jameson came to the stage to join Pete McTighe. Reminiscing over her return to filming the trailer over three or four hours in an afternoon Louise Jameson quipped she found herself in a huge quarry with a small crew which brought back vivid memories of her original stint in Doctor Who. Talking of the impact of the show she never expected that a part which lasted ten months would be providing her, she then joked, with her pension.

She was later joined by actors John Abbott who played Vince Hawkins and Annette Woollett who played Adelaide to discuss Horror of Fang Rock. John Abbott recalled Tom Baker in one famous excentric moment throwing away John’s script because he said he knew his lines. Annette Woolett played Adelaide as a rather nervous woman and recalled the slap that Leela gave the character at one point fondly. Louise seemed rather pleased to be able to replace her Leela skins for much of the story and also explained the decision regarding getting rid of her eye lenses. Leela’s eyes changed from brown to blue due to the explosion of the mother ship but Louise could no longer wear the red lenses which were becoming painful.

After the interviews, all the guests stayed for a photo signing where a long queue formed to meet them. The signings are a fantastic opportunity for fans to get a memento of the day and meet a well-regarded actor or actress. It took around thirty minutes to get to the front of the queue to meet John Abbott and he was utterly charming as he signed my DVD cover. There was also a special BFI postcard for the event available at the signings. Thank you to the BFI for another wonderful event.

Doctor Who The Collection – Season 15 Limited Edition Blu-ray is available from Thursday18th March from £54. 99 from all good retailers