A Review by Stuart Gutteridge 21/10/98
At long last, the unsung heroes of Doctor Who are given a chance to shine in their own right. Reeltime Pictures' I Was A Doctor Who Monster is a fascinating trawl through the series twenty six year run. Based at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith, where a lot of Doctor Who in the sixties was recorded, this documentary aims to reset the balance with a vast amount of new interviewees and their memories of their time on the show.
Presented (and based on an idea) by the Seventh Doctor, Sylvester McCoy, whose own interest in the subject is very refreshing, guides the audience through Doctor Who`s history, either strolling through a variety of props, or better still, amateur recreations of various stories, including The Daleks and The Daemons. He is further supported by Sophie Aldred (along with Lisa Bowerman, whose only input is that she nearly became a Cheetah Person in Survival.)
Whilst there are no clips (bar one from Downtime), the reconstructions and interviewees more than make up for this. Their stories are very similar: they often couldn`t see where they were going, the monster suits were uncomfortable, etc. However, their enthusiasm for the show remains unchanged.
There is only one minor fault here: the monsters from the eighties aren`t given the equal amount of screen time that the previous eras are allocated. This is forgivable, however, and doesn`t detract from the documentary; it merely enhances it, given that the majority of monsters appeared in the sixties and seventies anyway.
A Review by Christine Gravelle 10/6/99
I was flipping through the channels when I inadvertently came upon this special. Hosted by Sylvester McCoy, who also came up with the idea for this show, I was a Doctor Who Monster explored the monsters as well as revealing the people inside the costumes.
Sylvester McCoy was a great host, showing his charm as he presented creatures such as the Sea Devils to the Daemons to the Daleks. It was interesting to listen to the actors discuss the various impediments to their costumes and how they were chosen for the part. For example, the Ice Warriors were chosen for their tall height and fairly large status. The passion these actors spoke with was obvious when they revealed an anecdote or they discussed the main Who actors. Learning what the costumes were made of was also very revealing. It's amazing what can be created with a miniscule budget!
There were some things I didn't like about the special. I found the background music to be a little immature - it reminded me of educational videos teachers made us watch in elementary school. As well, I didn't like the bits with other actors playing out scenes where they were original Doctor Who characters. It didn't seem to fit well with the rest of the special. Perhaps real footage or more photographs from the sets would have suited the special better.
Entertaining and interesting, this special should be watched by anyone who considers himself or herself a Doctor Who fan.
A voice for the monsters by Tim Roll-Pickering 21/2/03
Through their series of Myth Makers tapes, Reeltime Pictures have gained a reputation for producing interviews with a twist, offering more than just a talking head reeling of anecdotes. This documentary interviews many actors who played monsters throughout the series' run, enhanced by some links by Sylvester McCoy explaining a bit about the development of the series and its monsters, as well as by some newly recorded material intended to recreate the recording of the series as various companion lookalikes deal with different situations. The material is even treated to suggest successively 1960s style 405 line television, early 1970s CSO effects and 1980s fast paced video shooting. As a result there is some moving material that enhances a documentary which is unable to use clips from anything other than Downtime. Also displayed are many previously unseen photographs from the series, though unfortunately they are like many unofficial stills and thus not the highest quality of both composition and reproduction. <>The interviews are highly revealing, allowing many performers a chance to finally appear in person, describing various aspects such as the costumes, the visual effects, the production atmosphere, the stars and so on. A common feature is that many found themselves encased in uncomfortable, claustrophobic costumes, whether made of rubber such as the Voord or fibreglass such as the Kandyman. Heat and sweat are common to most stories, but few are in anyway bitter about the experience. All seem glad to have been a part of the series. Despite the apparent limitations of the initial idea and the absence of actual clips from the series to illustrate or contradict the interviewee's recollections, this is a highly watchable interview/documentary tape.
Some of the stories are highly amusing, including the tale of two Mandrels being bound up in a scene recorded before lunch and then being left trapped in the studio for hours whilst the cast and crew were relaxing, or the Dalek operators in Trafalgar Square finding that they couldn't go to the toilet easily and so all taking advantage of a nearby grating! Little moments like this merely enhance the stories no end as well as making the viewer feel a sense of admiration for all the monster actors and what they did to make the series so memorable and scary.
One feature that stands out exceptionally well is the general quality of the production. The whole thing feels as though it has been shot on broadcast television format equipment, whilst the production values for both the location and set interviews both hold up remarkably well. This video could easily hold its own if broadcast on television, a feature which many other independent documentary tapes have been unable to achieve. As a result this tape is highly recommended. 8/10