Name
Simon Wellings
Age
I’m only 743. I used to be even younger.
Mental Age
About the same
How long have you been a member of the group?
My first meeting was way back in November 1987 – almost to the day that Pete Tyler got run over! I remember meeting Phil Collinson who was a good laugh. Phil of course went on to do bigger and better things but not before we made our own amateur Dr Who film in 1989, featuring him as the Doctor and me as the villain! We loved it but it was appalling. You may have read about it in the “Sex, Lies & Videotape” article in DWM last year – it’s the film that David Tennant nicked from Phil’s flat in order to embarrass him at his leaving do in March 2008. Peter Davison was apparently in the audience and said it was the worst thing he had ever seen! David Tennant said he had got his own performance wrong all these years and said Phil had finally shown him how the part should have been played! Phil had to crawl under a table!
The group kept going until about 1993 where there was a lengthy hiatus until 2004 when Neil kick started it back up again. Oh, I forgot, there was a brief revival in 1996 around the time of the Paul McGann movie – I seemed to be the only fan who liked it!
Who is your favourite Doctor and why?
Tom Baker was without a doubt the most memorable and distinctive and he commanded the most authority – that expressive face, those huge eyes, that sumptuous, fruity voice of the Gods. He had a fantastic ability to switch between dramatic seriousness and thigh-slapping funnies like no other actor I know. He was remarkable, trend-setting and way ahead of his time. He was the people’s Time Lord.
Favourite companion?
New series – Rose Tyler – such a soulful performance and Billie’s gorgeous!
Classic series – a toss up between Leela, Sarah Jane, Liz Shaw and the Brig.
Favourite episode?
Too many good ones but I’ll have a go:
New series – I love Father’s Day, The End of the World & Blink. But the best one is I think The Empty Child – fantastic, brooding atmosphere with a really moving ending.
Classic series – particular favourites of mine are Genesis of the Daleks, Deadly Assassin (terrible title, great story), Terror of the Zygons (another terrible title, another great story), Seeds of Doom & Ambassadors of Death, but the best one has to be Caves of Androzani – absolutely gripping from start to finish and with a great cast. I even liked the Magma Monster and it’s little cape!
If you were a God what would you do to the world?
In order to preserve a certain amount of free will and meaning, I would hide little bits of myself inside people’s heads so they could find me if they wanted to look.
Cake or biscuit?
I like both depending on the quality. On the whole, cake probably has the edge.
Last book you ever read?
Dr Who: The Shooting scripts. I write scripts in my spare time. Once I wrote an audio story for Paul McGann’s Doctor and it got as far as Nick Briggs who said he would talk to me about it! But nothing came of it so I’m not sure what happened to it after that despite numerous enquiries on my part. Perhaps Nick thought it was rubbish and didn’t have the heart to tell me?!
What are the contents of your fridge?
Mostly nice stuff but I find I am reluctant to throw food out until it has well and truly gone off - maybe it’s a guilt-trip about the starving millions in Africa ? It reminds me of the flawed “clean plate principle” for kids. Contrary to popular parental opinion – eating everything on my plate or from my fridge has been shown to do nothing for the well-being of starving people in Africa .
What did you laugh at so much that stuff came out of your nose?
Moths Ate My Dr Who Scarf with the fabulous Toby Hadoke. I also had a tear in my eye at the end.
What would your Autobiography be about?
How to be the writer, director, producer and main character in the movie entitled “My Life”.
Would you travel to the past or the future?
My only interest is in the future as I’m going to be spending the rest of my life there.
If you had a Superpower what would it be?
Most Superheroes are loners and are dysfunctional and tend to appear in really bad films. Their superpowers don’t make them happy. My superpower would therefore have to be super self-awareness – kind of like Buddha in a cape!
What did you want to be when you were 12 years old?
I wanted to be a bigger Simon. I felt it was inevitable.
What would you do if you suddenly became a fish?
Probably no reaction. Is a fish aware that it swims in water any more than we’re aware that we move through the air? If I had an ounce of Simon left, I would probably get bored after a while, crawl up out of the mud and learn how to walk (where have I heard that before?) and then sprout wings and fly away somewhere. Should only take half a million years or so.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment