News broke yesterday that Terrance Dicks, one of the most important and prolific writers for Doctor Who, passed away late last week.
Dicks was hired as assistant script editor on the BBC sci-fi TV series Doctor Who in 1968. He and Malcolm Hulke co-wrote the 10-part serial “The War Games,” and his run introduced the concept of the Time Lords and initiated the Doctor’s exile to Earth. He served as a script editor for Doctor Who producer Barry Letts, on all of Letts’ five seasons as series producer from 1970 to 1974. He also worked on several novelizations of the series. Even when he stepped down from script editing, he continued to work on the series for years in multiple capacities.
Some of the most well-known stories he worked on include Tom Baker’s Fourth Doctor debut, “Robot”; “The Brain of Morbius”; “Horror of Fang Rock”; and “State of Decay.” His final script for the series was “The Five Doctors,” the legendary 20th anniversary special that has the five different incarnations of the Doctor all together in an epic team-up—even though some things had to be tweaked because Baker did not show up, and the original First Doctor had passed away. Altogether, over 150 episodes of the series were edited or written by Dicks, leaving a lasting mark on the series’ history.
Chris Chibnall, Doctor Who’s current showrunner, released a statement about Dicks’ passing through the official Doctor Who website:
“The lights of Doctor Who are dimmer tonight, with the passing of Terrance Dicks. He was one of the greatest contributors to Doctor Who’s history, on screen and off. As writer and script editor, he was responsible for some of the show’s greatest moments and iconic creations. As the most prolific and brilliant adaptor of Doctor Who stories into Target novels, he was responsible for a range of books that taught a generation of children, myself included, how pleasurable and accessible and thrilling reading could be. Doctor Who was lucky to have his talents. He will always be a legend of the show. Everyone working on Doctor Who sends his family and friends our love and condolences at this difficult time.”
Beyond his legacy as a writer, Dicks is also survived by his family.
(via io9, image: BBC)
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