Weekend with TV: The Making of Doctor Who

Engramme's Weekend with TV #2 - Doctor Who (Listening B2)

It's the weekend, and of course it's English TV time. So sit back, relax, and enjoy this post.

Peter Capaldi (12th Doctor) & TARDIS

The Rings of Akhaten (S7-E7)

- Could you guess which TV series the above posters belong to? How do you know?

According to BBC entertainment, Doctor Who is the TV's longest-running sci-fi show, after nearly 54 years and 839 episodes to this date, the last of which (season 10 finale) aired on BBC Two on July 1, 2017. Known to have contained the most frightening and violent sci-fi scenes of all time, according to its Wikipedia entry, it has nevertheless become a most significant part of British pop culture, with its time-traveling blue police box, an icon in Britain and elsewhere.

- Have you watched this TV show before? Do you know what the story is all about?

The plot of the show  revolves around a 'Time Lord' called 'The Doctor', a being from another planet, who travels the universe in his blue-box spaceship and fights against a variety of enemies to save civilizations and help people in need.

Watch & Enjoy

One unique aspect of this TV series is that the main character, 'The Doctor', has to change every few years; therefore, the actors playing The Doctor keep changing. The first actor to play The Doctor was William Hartnell.

In the following scene, from a 2013 BBC TV drama about the making of Doctor Who, Verity and Waris, the producer and director meet William at a restaurant to offer him the lead role.

Before You Watch: What do you think the three people will discuss?
What is interesting about the question William asks at the end?

- Did William sound interested in the role? What do you think changed his mind later?

To help you improve your listening skills¹,  we've written out the script for this scene. However, there are a few mistakes in the script. Watch/Listen one more time and correct the errors (bold) in the text:

William Hartnell (older man): I don't want any of this muck, thanks very much. I'll have a trick. Right. William: You(’re) the director, son? Waris Hussein (younger man): Yes. William Hartnell: Hardly out of the cradle, the pair of you… Right! Let's talk perky. I'm not sure about this. Not sure at all. Verity Lambert (woman): No? William: Apart from anything else, I don't want to take on another wrong run. Had enough of that on The Army Game. Nearly killed me. Weekly bloody rep! Waiter: Would you like to order drinks? William: Whiskey and Coca. Chopee, chopee. Whose idea was all this? That fella for my TV? Verity: Sydney Newman, yes. But so many people have been at the birth of the thing, we'd be here all day... William: Tell me about the actors. Verity: Two school teachers: Ian and Barbara. They're intrigued about one of their pupils: A younger called Susan. She seems to have impossible knowledge for a girl from 1963. So the schoolteachers follow and roam. But "home" is a junkyard... William: Yes, yes, yes. Scripts. I need to see scripts. Verity: Oh, the go in wonderfully…Wonderfully! The BBC are really excited about the show. They're throwing... everything at it. Stay to the art facilities. William: How do they get about? Flying saucer or something? Verity: Ours is a space in time machine that can blend in with its background. William: You mean it's covered in invisible paint or something? Waris: No, no...It adapts to sort its environment. Verity: It gets stuck in one shape. Waris: At least cost. William: At least cost? Verity: How gorgeous would that be? An ordinary 20th-century object on the surface of an alien parent! Waris: Fantastic! Verity: And the opening titles are like nothing you've ever seen. Waris: Yes! You see, if you point a camera down its own monitor, it creates the most wonderful shapes, patterns...Like beers, endlessly reflecting… swooping and pulsing, like butterfly wings. William: Maybe I could be in them? Film crew: Just pop in front of the carrot would you, Tony? Film crew: Let's see how that looks. William: Oh, Christ, no! That's terrifying! Verity: …and wait till you hear the music, we're using the latest technology. Old man: How did you do it? Young girl: Brian's huskies. William: And what about the Doctor himself? Verity: He's something like 600 years old. Looks like a senile or man but he's tough. Waris: Tough and wiry, like an old turkey. It's what you do so well, Mr. Hartnell. Stern and scary...but with a twinkle. Verity: Charsee, Bill. You're perfect for it. No-one will be able to raise chair. William: You really think so? Verity: C.S. Lewis meets H.G. Wells meets Father Christmas. That's the Doctor. William: Doctor who?!

Click HERE (pdf) or see 'comments' for answers.

Your Turn!

Tell us in the comments below:
- What's been the longest-running TV show in your country? What's the story?
- Have you been following any English-language TV series? Which one(s)? Why do you like it/them?

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Thank you. We really hope you enjoyed this weekend episode. Click on WEEK#1 if you missed our last weekend's installment of Game of Thrones S07. The Engramme team wishes you a great weekend ahead :)

For Teachers: Click HERE to download a pdf copy for your classroom use.

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1 Why this exercise? One way to effectively practice listening, according to Wilson (How to Teach Listening, Pearson Longman, 2008), is to focus on the 'sound changes' that make it difficult to hear the (strings of) words actually spoken. This activity will enhance your ability to 'distinguish between key sounds' that make a difference in the meaning of what you hear.^↩