Doctor Who...as an RKO serial?!

Discussion in 'Doctor Who' started by Redfern, Nov 26, 2018.

  1. Redfern

    Redfern Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
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    Georgia, USA
    Several years ago I watched an episode of "Mystery Science Theater 3000", number 417, "Crash of Moons", which was the edit of three segments of "Rocky Jones, Space Ranger" to form a movie length narrative. What does this have to do with Doctor Who? Well, Rocky Jones featured in its earlier episodes a resident scientific genius named Professor Newton played by Maurice Cass until his untimely death in the middle of the series. In some stories, like "Manhunt in Space" which MST3K satirized earlier, Prof' Newton dressed in a stereotypical white lab coat. But in the "Crash of Moons", he wore a black frock coat and baggy, checkered trousers. Those in combination with a haphazardly brushed back receding hairline and a pair of pince nez spectacles made him resemble William Hartnell's Doctor to an almost uncanny degree. Except this material was filmed in mid 1954!

    http://rockyjones.wikia.com/wiki/File:Astrophone.jpg

    No, I'm not suggesting Sydney Newman and/or Verity Lambert got the idea for the Doctor's attire from watching Rocky Jones. It's most likely just one of those blind coincidences when two parties independently come up with a similar idea, in this case, the learned gentleman out of step with the times.

    But it got me wondering. In a different reality, what if Doctor Who had been created roughly a decade or two earlier by an American production team, say RKO Studios, as a Saturday matinee serial, running along side other serials like "Commando Cody" in the theaters? In what ways do you think it would have been similar to the show we know and love and in what areas do you think it would have diverged? Obviously, there would not have been a police box since the US didn't employ those, at least not the kind of "mini stations" erected in the UK. Do you think the creators would have employed the kind of wooden phone booths Clark Kent was noted from ducking into and emerging as Superman? Maybe a grandfather clock, a custom designed one that would allow relatively easy entries and exits? Or do you think they would have not bothered with any kind of "disguise", instead, depicting some kind of "futuristic" capsule with cliched Tesla type coils arcing with electrical discharges (probably faked with back lighting rather than actual discharges or animation)? I do think if a street corner type phone booth were presented, they would have "frosted" the glass to get around the problem of seeing an interior that's larger than its exterior.

    I don't think we would have had the interplay of the Doctor, Susan, Barbara and Ian. I suspect Susan would have been a Billy or a Johnny, a 10 year old boy with a knack for getting into trouble and thus being the catalyst for their adventures. For some reason, I imagine Ian would be named Steve. And while Ian in DW was no wimp by any means, being a US creation, I believe Steve would be more likely to resolve issues with his fists. The RKO serials and others were noted for their "knock-down drag-outs". So odds are he would not have been a teacher, more likely someone in law enforcement or possibly the military. Which means Newman's concept of an "edu-tainment" series, one intended to slip in hints about history and science would not have been part of the equation. Barbara? Possibly a teacher, but given the track record of those serials, she probably would be a secretary or, yeah, you guessed it, a reporter, but one far more in the vein of Lois Lane, accident prone and having a penchant for becoming a "damsel in distress".

    I have some more thoughts, but I'll pause here so that others can offer their feedback before I continue.
     
    Captaindemotion likes this.
  2. Shaka Zulu

    Shaka Zulu Commodore Commodore

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    There's already a video showing what an American Doctor Who would look like, but your idea sounds interesting.