A Word on Verity Lambert

A Word on Verity Lambert

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Before moving on to The Myth Makers, I'd like to spend a moment reflecting on Verity Lambert's tenure as producer for Doctor Who. Every so often, when someone who has left an indelible mark on the program departs, I'll pause at that spot in the marathon to make one of these posts.

Aside from the actors and actresses who have played the Doctor, it's impossible to think of somebody who has left a deeper impression on Doctor Who than Verity. As she was the steward of the show through its first two years, everything I loved about those two years can ultimately be regarded as her responsibility. I'm not well-versed in the production history of this era beyond what I've seen dramatized, but I know based on her time, her place, and her level of accomplishment, Verity must have been a real badass to make it in the BBC "boys' club", and not just that, but make something truly special in the process. The fairly even quality of the show across Seasons One and Two (bar a handful of aberrations) attests to the work of somebody with a fine eye for detail and a clear vision of what Doctor Who had to be.

Verity Lambert's Doctor Who celebrates the joy of discovery, and it pours out of almost every episode, no matter whether that episode happens to be a successful one or not. She and her production team put an immense deal of care into what could have just been another Tuesday job for them, another 25 minutes to put out the next Saturday, but never in all 18 of the stories that I've watched so far have I felt that due effort wasn't given. I sense that the show has, at this point, lost someone very special, so it's with excitement (but trepidation) that I enter what comes next.

John Wiles, ball's in your court.

(Modified from the original posted at Gallifrey Base on 31 March 2020.)