Gerry Davis | |
---|---|
Born | Gerald Davis 23 February 1930 |
Died | 31 August 1991 Venice, California, U.S. | (aged 61)
Occupation | Writer |
Gerald Davis (23 February 1930 – 31 August 1991)[1] was a British television writer, best known for his contributions to the science-fiction genre. He also wrote for the soap operas Coronation Street and United!.
Career
[edit]Doctor Who
[edit]From 1966 until the following year, Davis was the story editor of the BBC science-fiction series Doctor Who,[2] for which he created the character Jamie McCrimmon and co-created the popular cybernetic monsters known as the Cybermen, who continue to make appearances in the show, having been revived in the new run. His fellow co-creator of these creatures was the programme's unofficial scientific adviser, Dr. Kit Pedler.[3]
Davis briefly returned to writing Doctor Who in 1975, penning the original script for Revenge of the Cybermen,[4] though the transmitted version was heavily rewritten by then script-editor Robert Holmes.[5] Davis also adapted several of his scripts into novelisations for Target Books' Doctor Who range.
Doomwatch
[edit]Following their work on Doctor Who, Davis and Pedler teamed up in 1970 to create the science-fiction programme Doomwatch.[6] Doomwatch ran for three seasons on BBC1 from 1970 to 1972 and spawned a novel written by Davis and Pedler,[7] a subsequent cinema film[8] and a 1999 revival on Channel 5.[9]
With Pedler he wrote the science-fiction novels Mutant 59: The Plastic Eater (1971), expanded from their script for the first episode of Doomwatch; Brainrack (1974); and The Dynostar Menace (1975).[10]
Later work
[edit]In the 1980s Davis worked in America both in television and on feature films such as The Final Countdown (1980).[11] In late 1989 he and Terry Nation made a joint but unsuccessful bid to take over production of Doctor Who and reformat the series mainly for the American market.
Death
[edit]Davis died on 31 August 1991.[12]
Writing credits
[edit]Production | Notes | Broadcaster |
---|---|---|
Coronation Street |
|
ITV |
199 Park Lane |
|
BBC One |
United! |
|
BBC One |
Doctor Who |
11 episodes (1966-1967, 1975):
|
BBC One |
The First Lady |
|
BBC One |
Doomwatch |
|
BBC One |
Anything Can Happen |
|
N/A |
Vega$ |
|
ABC |
The Final Countdown |
|
N/A |
The Hitchhiker |
|
USA Network |
References
[edit]- ^ "SFE: Davis, Gerry".
- ^ "HIGHLAND FLING | Doctor Who Magazine The Essential Doctor Who: Adventures in History | Pocketmags.com".
- ^ "Gerry Davis".
- ^ "Gerry Davis".
- ^ "Interview - Gerry Davis | DWAS Online".
- ^ "Simon Oates: Actor who starred as the scientist Dr John Ridge in". Independent.co.uk. 23 October 2011.
- ^ Pedler, Kit; Davis, Gerry (1975). Doomwatch: The World in Danger - Kit Pedler, Gerry Davis - Google Books. Longman. ISBN 9780582538238.
- ^ "Doomwatch (1972) - IMDb". IMDb.
- ^ Mount, Paul. "Doomwatch Arrives on DVD". Starburst. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
- ^ The Oikofuge - Kit Pedler & Gerry Davis: Three Novels
- ^ "The Final Countdown - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. 6 April 2004.
- ^ "Gerry Davis - the Doctor Who Cuttings Archive".