Interview conducted with Stephen Gallagher – 3rd July 2011.
When I decided to attend the Vworp 4 mini Doctor Who convention in Manchester I had one real goal in mind and that was to have a chance to interview one of my favourite Doctor Who writers from the classic series, Steve Gallagher.
Steve, who penned Warriors Gate (Season 18) and Terminus (Season 20), does not attend conventions very often although I find it hard to believe that he “does not get asked much” as he is a very engaging and fascinating gentleman. He is quite conscious of not being one of those people who earns a living from convention going like some do for “holding a spear once in 1974” but equally appeared to be delighted to have been asked to Vworp 4
Not only did Steve grant me an interview but he insisted we moved outside in the blistering sunshine (yes that was the one day of summer!) so I could record the interview better and granted me 30 mins of his time which I am extremely grateful for.
Hi Steve – Do you find it amazing that here we are in 2011 talking about a show that started in 1963?
It is amazing but even though Doctor Who is the flagship show once again, the BBC still does not realise what it has got. They are still playing with the scheduling and there are still people who feel that a programme of that nature embarrasses the institution. They will play around with it just like they did when Michael Grade was there and use any excuse they can to say it’s not like it used to be if ratings fall. However its longevity and success cannot be denied by anyone.
Your first contribution to the show came in 1980 with Warriors’ Gate? How do you regard that show now?
Quite a few of the key elements that I wrote remained within the episodes but a lot of things were stripped out. Because I was young and relatively naive I asked for things that weren’t achievable on the budget. As I got older I learnt what you could push for and what you couldn’t.
Was that the case with Terminus also which followed three years later?
The same situation really. I wrote in a small robot on that show which gave them all sorts of complications. However I do remember Eric Saward telling me to shoot for the sky ideas wise, but obviously there was a limit on what could be done. I gave them a gift in the case of the Guarm as I essentially described it as two glowing red eyes and nothing more. They didn’t take the easy option though and ended up creating a Hector style creature!
Your ideas are very visual and your concepts complex at times. What was the level of disappointment when you saw your ideas not transferred successfully to screen?
I suppose I was a bit crestfallen at the time. You almost want to buttonhole every viewer and tell them what you really wanted so as to get across from your original ideas but of course that is not feasible. The core ideas of Norse mythology in Terminus were there if you look for them.
I remember being left in the Production Office once and as you do I read some of the other submissions. I quickly realised that other writers were simply writing to budget. I felt that I should be true to the concepts I wanted and that the job of bringing it to life on the screen was someone else’s problem.
Did you have a preference between working for Christopher H Bidmead and Eric Saward?
Well it was Chris that gave me my break which of course I am grateful for. He was very much into science and numbers; he was the first person I knew to have a word processor. We both believed that things in the show should have some foundation in reality. For example the concept of Dwarf Star Alloy (which recently made a re-appearance in Day of the Moon) needed to be scientifically possible rather than magical.
As for Eric well he was more of a details man. As I mentioned before he would tell me to shoot for the stars but I remember getting a note from him after Terminus saying “thanks for another million pound production!”
You have referred to yourself as “old guard” and that you and new Doctor Who wouldn’t mesh. What do you think of current Doctor Who?
I forgive the new version a lot. I think the sonic screwdriver solves far too many issues and is essentially a magic wand. But having said that the new fairytale style of Steve Moffat has drawn me back in. It is Peter Pan really isn’t it? We even had the companion flying outside the Tardis! You cannot get more on the nose than that.
I appreciated the Russell T Davies era on an intellectual level but overall it was not to my taste. I made a point of watching “Blink” and “Girl in the Fireplace” because of Moffat and his pedigree of writing and thoroughly enjoyed them. I raised an eyebrow when he took over though. Why take over a show that is already a franchise and runaway success. Why not branch out on your own?
Could you not argue he has done that with Sherlock?
To a degree. I loved the approach he took with the show, but the stories were a bit uneven. Yes I wasn’t too enamoured with those, however it is nothing that cannot be fixed. All the intangibles are there and they feel right so the necessary building blocks for a really good show are there.
Obviously Sherlock has eccentricity in abundance in Benedict Cumberbatch. But what about our own Matt Smith. Has he made the role of the Doctor his own?
When I first saw he had the role I thought ‘my God, he is 12 years old!’ But as I have watched him you can see the eccentricity, but it is reasoned eccentricity, the thought paths are there on the screen. He plays the ninety five year old man stuck in a teenager’s body aspect very well.
As a writer which shows have really caught your imagination in the last couple of years?
A programme called Terriers which starred Donal Logue. It only lasted for 13 episodes before it was axed unfortunately. If you can imagine the truckers from the film Tremors but as unlicensed private investigators. The writing on that show was superb and thankfully they gave the season a logical story arc with a conclusion so viewers did not feel too cheated when it was cut.
I also loved Damien Lewis in Life as an imprisoned police officer who is released after twelve years for a crime he did not commit. He embraces the concept of Zen to find inner piece but the real joy of the show is when that desire for revenge surfaces. Unfortunately this was axed after two seasons but again it was a perfect story arc to conclude the show satisfactorily.
Your experiences with American networks will allow you to empathise with these shows plight surely?
There is a big difference between UK TV production and that in America. My most recent project, The Eleventh Hour, had an average viewership of 12.5 million, even peaking at 15 million at one point. This would be excellent for a prime time 9pm show but we were on at 10pm so it is even more impressive. We were with CBS but CBS were owned by Warner Bros and for our show all ancillary profits went direct to Warner.
For CBS who owned Medium, it made more sense for them to bring back that show which had an established history and although the viewing figures might only be comparable with ours it made more money for that company. So many elements go into TV syndication and whether or not a show is renewed and unfortunately it is not just down to audience appreciation. You learn to shrug your shoulders and move on to the next project.
The one thing I have learnt from being a TV writer is this is not a just universe!
My thanks go to Steve Gallagher for taking the time to allow me to conduct this interview.
