Richard Martin helped make early Doctor Who frightening, especially when he brought the Daleks into a recognisable London. We value his willingness to experiment, though he could not always make an alien world convincing.
Fi1m perspective
The depopulated London of The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964) gives the Daleks somewhere recognisable to be frightening. We found those location sequences unsettling because the empty city makes the invasion feel close to home. Richard Martin handles the outdoor action effectively, although some sequences are awkwardly timed. That mixture makes him worth revisiting: he can find a persuasive setting for an improbable threat, then let the timing of individual scenes weaken it. We recommend his early television science fiction with patience for the rougher stretches.
Martin directed stories across the first two seasons of Doctor Who (1963), including three episodes of its second serial, The Daleks (1963). Producer Rex Tucker brought him onto the programme, and his collaborators included producer Verity Lambert. The work did not depend entirely on finding another alien to put in front of the actors. In the first episode of The Edge of Destruction (1964), he creates suspense through confinement. That is a useful fit for a programme whose actors earn its scares by making absurd situations matter.
His interest in special lenses and effects could also lead to trouble when a story needed an entire alien environment. The Web Planet (1965), with its insect-like creatures, is the clearest caution: Martin’s direction does not make its creaky sets convincing. We admire the attempt to make these places look unfamiliar, but the scenes still need to work once we have noticed the effects. The Chase (1965), his final Doctor Who contribution, has further problems with timing.
He moved on to other television drama, including episodes of All Creatures Great and Small in 1990. The early experiments are worth seeking out, but an appetite for unusual images is no guarantee that Martin will sustain the tension. Start with The Dalek Invasion of Earth for the location filming, and allow for the awkward passages between its stronger sequences.
Biography
Richard Martin is a British retired television director and actor. Born Richard Martin Thomas on 3 January 1935 in London, he began his career as an actor, appearing in series such as Ivanhoe (1958) and Maigret (1960). He later worked as a director from the 1960s to the 1990s.
Martin directed several early Doctor Who serials during the programme's first two seasons (1963–1965), including episodes of The Daleks, The Edge of Destruction, The Dalek Invasion of Earth, The Web Planet and The Chase. His other directing credits include episodes of Compact, Crown Court, Late Night Horror and All Creatures Great and Small (1990). He has also been credited as Richard Martin Thomas.
He has been married to actress Suzanne Neve since 1963.
