And this is why you should never spend all your time watching old TV...

[thisbluespirit]

I'm sure other Classic DW fans will be sorry to hear that Bernard Horsfall has died (1930-2013). (Gulliver, Taron in Planet of the Daleks, Goth and another Time Lord, or Goth unnamed, who knows?)

:-(

And I'm sad, because, as I said a couple of posts ago, I can't get Enemy at the Door (1978-1980) out of my head and he played the main character among the Islanders, Dr Philip Martel. He was every bit as good and reliable and real as he always seemed in his guest Doctor Who roles and it was great to see him in a major part. And he really was exceptional in the storyline that bridged S1 and S2. (I can't explain properly without spoiling that bit. And Enemy at the Door really is worth watching, and worth watching relatively unspoiled, so I won't do that.) But he was great. It was hard to come back down to episode-of-the-week after watching the way he and Alfred Burke (and others, but particularly those two) played that out between them.

*salutes sadly*

Comments

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Sad news. This really is the trouble with watching older shows. :(

[thisbluespirit]

I know! But, on the plus side, we do get to see all these wonderful people that we wouldn't otherwise. But, yeah. I don't know what it was, but there was always something very reassuring about Bernard Horsfall whenever he turned up and whoever he was playing.

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

And such a lovely voice. *sigh*

[taiyou_to_tsuki.livejournal.com]

Gulliver! :c The Mind Robber was one of my earliest Who serials and his performance was delightful and memorable, so this is sad to hear (though I never recognised him in later serials, which is ridiculous, as he has quite a distinct voice).

[thisbluespirit]

Yes! I think a lot of people are saying the same thing. Gulliver was the first place I know I saw him, too - a relatively small role but he made it work and made him likeable. And he was pretty much always like that in things. So, yeah.

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

*bigsquishyPershugs*

That old TARDIS in the sky's getting too many new people lately.

[thisbluespirit]

Lucky it's presumably larger inside than out, then. :-/ But, yeah. He's one of those reliable guest actors - hard not to like him just from that, really.

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

Absolutely.

[singeaddams.livejournal.com]

Gulliver! I loved him. What a shame.

[thisbluespirit]

I know! Gulliver was the first time I saw him, either. (Or at least, that I remember him from). :-/ The perils of a 50 yr old fandom, I suppose, but even so, it's always sad to hear the news - and far sadder still for his family and friends, of course.

[liadt]

Oh no :( He was always a welcome presence in Who & other things.

[thisbluespirit]

He was. When you offered me Enemy at the Door, I wasn't sure (for the same reasons as you - depressing WWII drama?) but one of the things that made me take you up on it was definitely the promise of him in the lead. Three was no way he wouldn't be good in it.

Ah, well. But, yeah. It's still always sad to hear the news.

[ravenskyewalker.livejournal.com]

Yes, I noticed that yesterday. How unfortunate. I'd love to check out Enemy at the Door, but it's probably not available in the USA. :-/ I'll see, though.

(Just checked. It's available! A bit expensive, though. Sometime...)

[thisbluespirit]

I know. :-(

I was going to say, Network usually seem to do Region 1 releases, but they don't do long runs, so they're often quite expensive. (EatD isn't too bad over here, via Amazon Marketplace but Star Cops! Still not gone down below £80. Although it has steadily gone down from £120, so I'm hoping eventually... :lol:)

[jjpor.livejournal.com]

I was very sorry to read this. One of the great repeat Who guest stars and sort of set the tone for how the Time Lords would be, at least in their 70s appearances. I'd agree with the other commenters above, though, that the thing I really remember him for is Gulliver in The Mind Robber, an excellent story imho and he was very good in it too.

[thisbluespirit]

Yes - I mean, Mind Robber was one of those they repeated way back in the early 90s, so that's where I saw him first, too and there was something so likeable about him in it.

:-(

(Btw, this has nothing to do with anything, but that icon isn't by me; someone else should get the credit. I saw that in your profile once. I'd guess maybe it's from that year you did fandom_stocking, because someone kindly made an icon for every DW fan that year.)

[jjpor.livejournal.com]

Yes, indeed. :(

And I can't help wondering, while we're on the subject, whether the Beeb plans any old series repeats for the 50th anniversary? BBC America are getting one story a month all year, apparently. I haven't heard anything as yet about the UK. But you would have thought, if they could have done it for the 30th, back at a time when Doctor Who was generally not as well-liked by non-hardcore fans as it is now...

(Hmm...I wonder why I thought it was yours? Probably because I did get quite a few from you that time. I will correct that...and then try my best to ascertain who did create it, because as you say...)

[doctorpancakes.livejournal.com]

Such sad news. He's long been one of my favourite Doctor Who guest actors, and I was just yesterday enthusing about how excited I was to possibly get to meet him at Gallifrey next month, just a few hours before I heard the news. Such a brilliant, lovely gentleman.

[thisbluespirit]

Yes. :-(

And, oh, I didn't know he was currently booked for Gallifrey. It must have been unexpected, then. That is sad. He was indeed always good in his DW roles and, as I said, I've been lucky enough to see him in another drama where he had a lead role lately, and he was everything that you would expect - and more.

[femme-slash-fan.livejournal.com]

I literally just rewatched Mind Robber and welled up... damn it. I thought I was getting used to the whole... people not being around any more thing... apparently not. :(

He was amazing though.

[thisbluespirit]

Aw. I don't think there's any shame in being sad that good people have gone, even if we didn't really know them. It is sad, after all.

[femme-slash-fan.livejournal.com]

I know, but I felt kinda like someone had run me over... which is vaguely pathetic. I figure I'll get over it, I mean... I can finally watch most of SJA/ Anything Liz Shaw without crying so... I just need to wait it out.

Also, I might have to remember to do a little graphic-y thingy for him and the others... since that helped with Caroline and Elisabeth's... didn't really help with Mary though... >.<

I think I'm too damn empathic for my own good sometimes.