Criticism
Criticism of Nathan-Turner's production of Doctor Who ranged from including too many back-references to the casting of guest stars from light entertainment. As mentioned, he was criticised for choosing Bonnie Langford as a companion: though Langford had been a child lead in ITV's 1970s adaptation of Just William, she was better known as a musical theatre performer and dancer. It was also felt that he chose companions because of "gimmicks", such as the character of Tegan Jovanka (an Australian flight-attendant) in the hope of getting more popularity for the show, with viewers in Australia. This was also true for the American character Peri Brown (in an attempt to endear the show more to the US). Peter Davison has claimed that Nathan-Turner's decision to introduce an American companion in an attempt to appeal more to the American market was one of his reasons for leaving the role, because A.) he felt it was wrong for the Series and B.) He realised the Series was out of his control he could do nothing about decisions he disagreed with. He was also criticised, at the time, for casting lead actors Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy, whom some thought were unsuitable for the role. Nathan-Turner also received criticism, including from former series producer Barry Letts, for introducing question marks to the Doctor's costume during his time as producer of the series. Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy have all admitted they were never completely happy with their costumes in the series. Colin Baker's multicoloured and beautifully dis-tasteful costume received particular criticism.
Some fans feel the quality of the series was improving up until its cancellation in 1989 although ratings were around all time lows. Nathan-Turner also helped introduce the character of Ace at the end of Season 24. By the end of Season 26, Nathan-Turner was aware that the show would likely not return the next year and asked Cartmel to add more weight to the conclusion of the final story, resulting in the Doctor's speech at the end of Survival.
Read more about this topic: John Nathan-Turner
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