Who is Michael E. Briant?: a memoir by the Doctor Who director - Tapa blanda

“Making an episode of a modern-day police, medical or domestic drama was nothing compared to imagining how Colony in Space should look and be made. Twenty parts to be cast, locations to be found for two weeks’ filming in a landscape that looked like a foreign planet, a robot to be created... and, and, and... I confess that sometimes, during the preparation period, I would drive home thinking that if I just crashed the car into a concrete wall and injured myself, then I would not have to direct this show...”

Michael E. Briant directed numerous episodes of classic TV series throughout the 1970s such as Blake’s 7, Secret Army, Warship and most famously Doctor Who. Many of his Who stories (The Sea Devils, The Green Death and Robots of Death) are regarded as all-time greats by fans of the series.

In this memoir, Briant reminisces about his life and work, from his beginnings as a child actor in the 1950s, followed by a highly successful career working for the BBC and later for Dutch television, right through to his impressive circumnavigation of the world and attack by pirates in the Gulf of Aden. He includes separate chapters on each of his Doctor Who stories and also shares memories of his early years on the programme in the 1960s, while he was working his way up in the TV profession, and William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton were at the TARDIS controls.

“I am sure you will enjoy reading his memoirs as much as I have” Christopher Barry, Doctor Who director

After a career as a child actor, Michael E. Briant joined the BBC in the Sixties, working on many different drama series including several early Hartnell and Troughton Doctor Who stories. In 1969 he cut his directorial teeth on shows such as The Newcomers and Z Cars. On the strength of his direction of the six-part Jon Pertwee Doctor Who adventure Colony in Space, Barry Letts invited Briant back to Who every subsequent season during his tenure as producer. Two of his stand-out stories of this period include The Sea Devils and the much-loved Jo Grant swansong The Green Death. Work on popular dramas Sutherland's Law and Dixon of Dock Green followed, as well as two more Who stories with Tom Baker as the Doctor, including the highly-regarded Robots of Death. Although Robots turned out to be his last Who, Briant was in at the start of another science fiction drama, Terry Nation's Blake's 7. Briant's love of the sea and sailing was indulged by work on naval drama Warship, classic serial Treasure Island and The Onedin Line. More popular drama followed including Secret Army, episodes of which he considers to be amongst his finest work, and the Emmy award-winning Dickens serial A Tale of Two Cities which he also adapted. After a brief sojourn heading up a video film company, Briant directed popular zoo vet series One By One and sailing drama Howards' Way. Briant subsequently brought British drama and comedy production techniques to the Netherlands, winning many awards in the process. In the mid-Nineties, Briant decided to fulfil his lifelong sailing ambitions and had many adventures on the high seas during his circumnavigation of the world, making two sailing series en route and writing several books. Michael now lives in Spain.