Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 26, 2022 10:14:34 GMT
I don’t mind him as a writer, but I do find him to be overrated in that sense. The only one of his stories that’s among my favourites is The Talons of Weng-Chiang. I don’t know much about him as a person.
|
|
|
|
Post by timleschild on Aug 26, 2022 10:32:37 GMT
Thoughts on him how? As a writer? As a person? Or this just another overated thread?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 26, 2022 10:43:20 GMT
Thoughts on him how? As a writer? As a person? Or this just another overated thread? As a writer and a person. |
|
|
|
Post by bonehead on Aug 26, 2022 10:48:09 GMT
Thoughts on him how? As a writer? As a person? Or this just another overated thread? Did you use to post under the name johnhurtdoctor? Your posting style is very similar. |
|
|
|
Post by mark687 on Aug 26, 2022 10:58:15 GMT
Thoughts on him how? As a writer? As a person? Or this just another overated thread? Did you use to post under the name johnhurtdoctor? Your postal style is very similar. Don't ask that  Regards mark687 |
|
|
|
Post by timleschild on Aug 26, 2022 14:17:41 GMT
Thoughts on him how? As a writer? As a person? Or this just another overated thread? Did you use to post under the name johnhurtdoctor? Your posting style is very similar. No |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 26, 2022 14:30:18 GMT
For me Robert Holmes is vastly underrated! His stories - either solely or with other writers - are some of the best Doctor Who stories ever... Spearhead from Space/The Time Warrior/Pyramids of Mars/The Deadly Assassin/The Talons of Weng-Chiang/Caves of Androzani are in my all-time favourite Doctor Who stories list. So I think Robert Holmes deserves any plaudits that he gets for his Doctor Who work.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 26, 2022 14:41:23 GMT
TBF, The Ark in Space and The Deadly Assassin are also great stories. Spearhead from Space is good, although I felt as though the focus was more on the Doctor post-regeneration than the threat of the Autons. I’m currently reading the Pyramids of Mars novelisation, but have yet to watch the tv version.
|
|
|
|
Post by mark687 on Aug 26, 2022 14:49:36 GMT
Slightly controversial view
One of the best improving writers as his time went on.
Krotons and Space Pirates dull as dullness from Spearhead [and with Terrance Dicks as Script Editor and how they worked together] its home runs all the way from then on even the 80s entries
And Yes The 2 Doctors Is A Classic Triumph!
Regards
mark687
|
|
|
|
Post by bonehead on Aug 26, 2022 15:25:24 GMT
As a script editor, he oversaw some extraordinary series and tales. As for his own individual stories (carfeful - I'm going to list them!): The Space Pirates, Carnival of Monsters and Power of Kroll remain my least favourite. The Krotons is a whole lot of fun and criminally underrated, as is The Two Doctors (at the time, people/fans said the inclusion of The Second Doctor and Jamie was unnecessary as there was no particular anniversary to justify a multi-Doctor story. Who needs an excuse to bring Pat back??). The Mysterious Planet from Trial of a Timelord is also underrated, I think: it's a good solid tale, but undermined by dodgy humour and is not exactly the spectacular kind of thing to bring Doctor Who back from its 18 month haitus, in my opinion).
Where were we?
Spearhead from Space, Terror of the Autons, The Time Warrior and The Ribos Operation are all terrific, and the rest - yes, even The Sunmakers (which I love) - are truly brilliant, classic Doctor Who.
Everyone still awake? Good. I'd say that Robert Holmes deserves the stellar reputation he has, and his mission to send the children scurrying behind the sofa is exactly how I like Doctor Who to be. That Series 22 was modelled in part on the style of the previous series' Caves of Androzani, and got taken off air for 18 months for being too violent (which is nonsense, by the way) indicates that Holmes was adept at dishing out the scares, but was often deft and subtle enough to get away with it - to a certain extent.
|
|
|
|
Post by iainmclaughlin on Aug 26, 2022 23:35:05 GMT
For my money he was the best writer classic Who ever had. He had a shaky start with his Troughton scripts but once we got to Spearhead he was in his stride and he was writing funny, fast, exciting scripts. His work through the 70s was spectacularly good. His seasons as script editor are probably my favourite era of the show. Caves of Androzani may well be the best serial of the classic series. I can forgive him The Two Doctors and for his work on Trial not being up there because... well, I'm not a fan of Eric Saward as a script editor. With a stronger editor, both of those could have been far more impressive. He did some great work away from Who. If he was around today, I think he'd be a superstar writing major projects.
|
|
shutupbanks
Castellan
There’s a horror movie called Alien? That’s really offensive. No wonder everyone keeps invading you.
Likes: 5,666 
|
Post by shutupbanks on Aug 27, 2022 1:33:15 GMT
I enjoyed most of his stories because he was a witty writer who wrote fabulous dialogue and some excellent plots. But there are two things I would like us all to consider. What if he’d taken the Blakes 7 script editor job and recommended Chris Boucher for the position on Doctor Who? How would both shows have faired? The other is that there are a lot of obnoxious fans who think that because they can spot a “Holmesian double act” they know something about writing and tv production and for that I will always have a slight disrespect for the man.
In all seriousness I think he and Terrance Dicks are responsible for the feel and tone of the show from Pertwee onwards. And he was able to get stuff past the censors by creating more obvious targets to distract them with.
|
|
|
|
Post by Timelord007 on Aug 27, 2022 7:52:25 GMT
The best writer of Doctor Who, Roberts stories are the gold star of any era, he understood the show & wrote some of the most iconic stories in its 60 yr history.
|
|
|
|
Post by nucleusofswarm on Aug 27, 2022 10:13:53 GMT
For my money he was the best writer classic Who ever had. He had a shaky start with his Troughton scripts but once we got to Spearhead he was in his stride and he was writing funny, fast, exciting scripts. His work through the 70s was spectacularly good. His seasons as script editor are probably my favourite era of the show. Caves of Androzani may well be the best serial of the classic series. I can forgive him The Two Doctors and for his work on Trial not being up there because... well, I'm not a fan of Eric Saward as a script editor. With a stronger editor, both of those could have been far more impressive. He did some great work away from Who. If he was around today, I think he'd be a superstar writing major projects. Holmes may not have created Who, but I think there's a good argument to be made that he created, or at least with Dicks, THE Who we tend to think of in terms of iconography and tropes. Going harder into horror beyond merely spooky, the huge embrace of pastiche, presiding over arguably the two most popular Classic Doctors and creating a slew of beloved characters in those eras who are held up as gold standards (like Sarah Jane) for companions or supporting platers, no to mention the codification of who and what the Time Lords were. |
|
