The Shingle of Southsea Holmesian Society
Monthly Meeting Minutes
Date of Meeting: 15th October 2019
Location of Meeting:
The Sherloft, My House, Portsmouth, UK
Attendees:
"The Entire Canon" (Paul Thomas Miller)
Apologies:
Invisible Tony apologised.
Presentation:
"The Entire Canon" (Paul Thomas Miller) presented his paper on Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Who:
Doctor Who and Sherlock Holmes
This is not a terribly original essay. I’m not the first to have noticed there are quite a few links between Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Who. Most obviously, the creators of BBC "Sherlock" (2010) also had a big hand in the 21st century return of Doctor Who. Steven Moffat began writing for Doctor Who in 2004 and became producer and head writer in 2009. Mark Gatiss has written several episodes too, and has appeared as a number of characters. Indeed, it was while working together on Doctor Who that the two conceived the idea of a contemporary Sherlock Holmes.
There is also the matter of the structure of both sets of adventures. Both the Doctor and Sherlock Holmes are eccentric geniuses. They are heroes despite not always being relatable or likable. We usually relate to both through a companion. The companion is a decent, moderately intelligent everyman who we can connect with more readily than the hero themselves. Like Holmes, the Doctor goes from adventure to adventure. Usually there is a mystery to solve and a villain to thwart. It is only through the intellect of the hero that this is accomplished. Often in unconventional ways.
This led me to wonder if it were possible to find a Holmesian link for every one of the Doctors to date. The answer is debatable. Each Doctor can be linked to Holmes somehow, but while some links are strong and obvious, others are extremely tenuous. If you are willing to accept the rather dodgy connections, I present my list of links between all the Doctors and Sherlock Holmes.
1. The First Doctor
The First Doctor was played by William Hartnell between 1963 and 1966. His first story was “An Unearthly Child”, in which we are introduced to The Doctor and his granddaughter. They end up accidently abducting two 1960s teachers and encountering a tribe of cavemen. In 1981 the story was novelized by Terrence Dicks (the man who coined the Whovian phrase “regeneration”). Terrence Dicks is also well known for his series of ten “Baker Street Irregulars” children’s books based upon the Baker Street Irregulars of the Holmes canon.
Hartnell died in 1975, so in the 1983 story “The Five Doctors” the First Doctor was played by Richard Hurndall. In 1959 Hurndall had recorded a five part BBC Radio adaptation of The Sign of Four, taking the role of Sherlock Holmes.
The First Doctor was also in two episodes recorded in 2017: “Twice Upon A Time” and “The Doctor Falls”. This time he was played by David Bradley. He had already proved himself in the role when he played Hartnell playing the Doctor in a 2013 docu-drama called “An Adventure in Space and Time”. He was specifically chosen for the role by Mark Gatiss – a writer, producer and actor in BBC’s 2010 “Sherlock” series.
2. The Second Doctor
A year before taking on the role of The Second Doctor, in 1965, Patrick Troughton played Mortimer Tregennis opposite Douglas Wilmer as Holmes in a particularly enjoyable TV adaptation of “The Devil’s Foot”.
I note also that he appeared in the 1948 Laurence Olivier film version of “Hamlet” with four future Sherlock Holmeses: Peter Cushing, John Gielgud, Christopher Lee and Patrick MacNee. Stanley Holloway was also in Hamlet as a gravedigger. A role he must have been suited to , for in 1970 he was a gravedigger again, this time in “The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes”.
3. The Third Doctor
Jon Pertwee is famous to Brits for two roles. First, as the earth-bound Third Doctor from 1970-74, the Doctor forced to temporarily swap the Tardis for Bessie, a yellow vintage roadster. He was also well known for the enchanted yet stupid scarecrow, Worzel Gummidge in a kids TV series which ran from 1979 to 1989. Worzel was infatuated with a life size doll called Aunt Sally, played by Una Stubbs. That Stubbs went on to play Mrs Hudson in the 2010 BBC Sherlock series may seem link enough, but there is a more Sherlockian Worzel connection. In the 1989 episode “Elementary My Dear Worty” Worzel takes on the guise of Sherlock Holmes and using his unique intellect and Holmesian garb, manages to mess everything up.
4. The Fourth Doctor
Tom Baker as The Fourth Doctor presents little challenge to link to Holmes. In the 1977 story “The Talons of Weng-Chiang” The Doctor prowls Victorian London in full Holmesian costume.
Then in 1982 Tom Baker went on to play Sherlock Holmes himself in a TV series version of “The Hound of the Baskervilles”. I have not seen it myself, but I am told it might be the worst version of the story ever made. Quite an accomplishment given the amount of competition.
5. The Fifth Doctor
The Fifth Doctor was played by Peter Davidson, whose daughter, Georgie Moffett, appeared in the 2008 episode “The Doctor's Daughter” with The Tenth Doctor played by David Tennant who she then married in real life. Which I think makes her her own grandma.
More relevantly, it was Peter Davidson who supplied the voice of the presentation in the planetarium scene of “The Great Game”, a 2010 episode of “Sherlock”.
6. The Sixth Doctor
Poor, maligned Colin Baker played the least popular Doctor from 1984 to 1986. Prior to this he had been briefly married to Liza Goddard from 1976 to 1978, making his father-in-law David Goddard. David Goddard was the producer of all 13 episodes of Douglas Wilmer’s 1964-5 “Sherlock Holmes” TV series.
7. The Seventh Doctor
“All-Consuming Fire” is 1994 novel by Andy Lane. In it The Seventh Doctor (along with his companion, Ace) teams up with Sherlock Holmes. When Big Finish produced the story as an audio drama in 2015, the role of The Seventh Doctor was taken by TV’s Seventh Doctor: Sylvester McCoy.
8. The Eight Doctor
The Eighth Doctor has only made a few appearances. He was played by Paul McGann in the 1996 TV movie “Doctor Who” and a 2013 mini-episode, “The Night of the Doctor”.
In 1997 Paul McGann would play Arthur Wright in “FairyTale: A True Story”. This was a film depicting the events of the Cottingley Fairy hoax, in which Arthur Conan Doyle (played by Peter O’Toole) and others were tricked into believing two young girls has photographed real fairies.
Arthur Wright was the father of one of the girls and it was his camera which they used to create their photographs.
9. The Ninth Doctor
When Christopher Eccleston took on the role of The Ninth Doctor in 2005, it was inevitable that he would face the Daleks. When he encountered them in “Dalek” and “The Parting of the Ways” they were voiced by Nicolas Briggs.
Briggs does a good deal of work for Big Finish who produce audio dramas. Most notably he is the voice of Sherlock Holmes in their Holmesian dramas. This includes the version of “All-Consuming Fire” which they recorded with The Seventh Doctor, Sylvester McCoy.
Nicolas Briggs has voiced several Whovian characters including the Judoon and the Nestene in The Ninth Doctor’s first episode: “Rose”.
10. The Tenth Doctor
I was surprised to find David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor a difficult one to connect with Sherlock Holmes. The best I can do are two rather ropey associations…
In the 2008 episode “Fires of Pompeii” one of the Doctor’s antagonists is Lucius Petrus played by Phil Davis. In 2010’s “A Study in Pink”, Phil Davis would go on to play Sherlock Holmes’s antagonist; Jeff Hope.
David Tennant is also good friends with Benedict Cumberbatch and told Cumberbatch that he should try for the part of the Eleventh Doctor. It is to the benefit of all BBC “Sherlock” fans that he did not.
The Tenth Doctor was also played once by Richard E Grant in 1999 in a comedy skit called “The Curse of a Fatal Death”. Richard E Grant is dealt with later in this essay.
11. The Eleventh Doctor
In his 2012 episode “The Snowmen” Matt Smith’s Doctor dresses as and claims to be Sherlock Holmes. This fails to convince Dr. Simeon and The Great Intelligence as he spouts “Shut up! I’m making deductions! It’s very exciting!”
The Great Intelligence in this scene is voiced by Sir Ian McKellan, who played Sherlock Holmes in the 2015 film “Mr Holmes”. Whereas, Dr. Simeon is played by Richard E. Grant who we will discuss later on…
Matt Smith also auditioned for the role of Dr. John Watson in the BBC “Sherlock” series. It is said that he was considered too weird for the role but that the audition stood him in good stead for the Doctor role he would later be offered.
12. The Twelfth Doctor
Peter Capaldi – The Twelfth Doctor – did play Sherlock Holmes once in a sketch with Alexei Sayle as Dr. Watson. It appeared in series one, episode six of The All New Alexei Sayle Show in 1994 and saw a sycophantic Watson toadying up to Holmes:
Holmes: It’s getting dark
Watson: My God, Holmes! How did you know?
Holmes (irritated): I looked out of the window.
And so it goes on, much to Holmes’s annoyance.
Incidentally, Sayle himself appeared in the 1985 Doctor Who story, “Revelation of the Daleks” as an annoying D.J. known only as D.J.
13. The Thirteenth Doctor
Jodie Whittaker (The Thirteenth Doctor) had her debut film role in “Venus” (2006) where she was the female lead opposite Peter O’Toole. Peter O’Toole has said in subsequent interview that Whittaker is one of his two favourite female actors: “She’s not only an accomplished young woman but she’s a very, very special person. She’s got lots and lots of qualities that I’m extremely fond of.”
As well as playing Arthur Conan Doyle in “FairyTale”, as previously mentioned, Peter O’Toole voiced Sherlock Holmes in four animated Holmes films made in 1983.
Rather tenuously, then, it could be said that a Sherlock Holmes is a massive fan of The Thirteenth Doctor.
14. The Valeyard
The Valeyard is an unusual manifestation of The Doctor from the 1986 story “The Trial of a Time Lord”. He is an amalgamation of the Doctor's darker sides and acts as The Sixth Doctor’s prosecutor during his trial on Gallifrey.
He was played by Michael Jayston who appeared as The Earl of Rufton in Jeremy Brett’s 1991 TV version of “The Disappearance of Lady Francis Carfax”.
15. The War Doctor
John Hurt played this version of The Doctor in 2013’s “The Day of the Doctor”. He is a warrior version of The Doctor who came between his eighth and ninth incarnations.
One of Hurt’s most famous roles is that of Gilbert Kane in 1979’s film “Alien”. He was not the first choice for the role, however. That was Jon Finch, who had to leave after one day’s filming due to illness.
In 1994 Jon Finch played Count Sylvius in the Jeremy Brett version of ”The Mazarin Stone”.
The willfully erroneous conclusion then, is that had Jon Finch not been taken ill in 1979, he would have played The War Doctor, and Hurt would have played Count Sylvius. While demonstrably untrue, it is the nearest thing to a link I could find, so it will have to suffice.
16. The Film Doctor
Peter Cushing played The Doctor twice in big screen movies, “Dr. Who and the Daleks” (1965) and “Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.” (1966). These are rehashes of plots from the TV series and are generally considered non-canonical.
Peter Cushing has also played Sherlock Holmes on three separate occasions: in the 1956 Hammer Horror film “The Hound of the Baskervilles”, the 1968 TV series “Sherlock Holmes” and the 1984 TV movie “The Masks of Death”.
17. The Dream Doctor
In the 2010 episode “Amy’s Choice” Toby Jones played the nefarious Dream Doctor – a twisted version of The Doctor, hell bent on his own destruction.
In 2017 he played the similarly nasty Culverton Smith in BBC Sherlock episode “The Lying Detective”.
Needless to say, he was thwarted by our heroes on both occasions.
18. The Shalka Doctor
“Scream of the Shalka” was a 2003 webcast episode of Doctor Who starring Richard E. Grant as the Doctor.
In 2002 Grant had two Holmesian roles in different TV movies. He was Mycroft in “Sherlock” with James D’Arcy playing Sherlock Holmes. And in “The Hound of the Baskervilles” he was Jack Stapleton to Richard Roxburgh’s Holmes.
More importantly, in 1992 Richard E. Grant played Sherlock himself in “The Other Side”. This was a supernatural TV drama in which Arthur Conan Doyle was haunted by, among others, the ghost of Sherlock Holmes. It is well worth seeking out for its original plot.
19. The Comic Relief Doctor
In 1999, as part of that years Comic Relief programming Rowan Atkinson played The Doctor in a skit titled “The Curse of a Fatal Death”.
Atkinson has played many roles, among them Inspector Raymond Fowler in the police sit-com “The Thin Blue Line”. In the very first episode ("The Queen's Birthday Present", 1995) we are treated to a discussion between Fowler and an underling regarding Sherlock Holmes in which he is appalled to discover that Holmes and Watson were homosexual.
Appendix:
In the course of my research for this essay, I also stumbled upon a few Sherlock Holmeses who have a link to Doctor Who which also deserve a mention. There are likely more out there to discover, and it is a subject I may return to.
Jonathan Price played Sherlock Holmes in the 2007 TV series “Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars”. In 1999 he played The Master in the previously mentioned Comic Relief spoof: “The Curse of a Fatal Death”.
Clive Merrison is well known to Holmesians as the voice of Sherlock Holmes on BBC radio in a long running drama series which ran from 1989 to 1998. He was also in Doctor Who twice: he was “Deputy Chief” in 1987’s “Paradise Towers” and Jim Callum in 1967’s “The Tomb of the Cybermen”.
David Mitchell and Robert Webb played Holmes and Watson twice in sketches on “That Mitchell and Webb Look”. In series one, episode two (2006) in a sketch called Holmes and Watson they played actors alternating their roles as Holmes and Watson. In 2010 they ended series four, episode six with a sketch called “Old Holmes” in which Mitchell plays Holmes and Webb plays Watson. In 2012 they appeared in Doctor Who as Robot 1 and Robot 2 in “Dinosaurs on a Spaceship” – a rather comedic episode.
Nicholas Rowe is best known for taking the lead in the Spielberg film “Young Sherlock Holmes” (1985) but he played an actor playing Holmes in 2015’s Mr Holmes, too. Between these two appearances, in 2009, he was the voice of Rivesh Mantilax in an animated Whovian miniseries called “Doctor Who: Dreamland”.
Elementary’s Sherlock from 2012 onwards, Jonny Lee Miller, had a brief appearance in Doctor Who when he played “Kinda child” in the 1982 “Kinda” story.
John Cleese has played Holmes on two occasions. Once in 1973’s “The Strange Case of the Dead Solicitors” and again in “The Strange Case of the End of Civilisation As We Know It” (1977). These are both comedic shorts for TV. He also made a cameo with The Third Doctor as an unnamed art critic in 1979’s “City of Death”. It’s a blink and you’ll miss it moment where he critiques the Tardis which has been left in an art gallery.
Any Other Business:
"The Entire Canon" (Paul Thomas Miller) showed us his rash. It was none of our business.
