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Doomwatch

Doomwatch – 1972
Director
Peter Sasdy

Writers
Gerry Davis story
Clive Exton
Kit Pedler story (as Dr. Kit Pedler)

Producer
Tony Tenser

Cast
Ian Bannen – Dr. Del Shaw
Judy Geeson – Victoria Brown
John Paul – Dr. Quist
Simon Oates – Dr. Ridge
Jean Trend – Dr. Fay Chantry
Joby Blanshard – Bradley
George Sanders – The Admiral
Percy Herbert – Hartwell
Shelagh Fraser – Mrs. Straker
Geoffrey Keen – Sir Henry Layton
Joseph O’Conor – Vicar
Norman Bird – Brewer
Constance Chapman – Miss Johnson
Michael Brennan – Tom Straker
James Cosmo – Bob Gillette
Cyril Cross – George
Geoff L’Cise – Don
George Woodbridge – Ferry Skipper
Jerome Willis – Lt. Com. Tavenar
Jeremy Child – David Broome
Brian Anthony – Brian Murray
Rita Davies – Mrs. Murray
Walter Turner – Mr. Murray
Paddy Ryan – Grandfather Murray
Reg Lever – Sam
James Mellor – 1st Man
Eamonn Boyce – 2nd Man
Paul Humpoletz – 3rd Man
Pam St. Clement – Young Woman
Katherine Parr – Middle-Aged Woman

Review by Theo Robertson

Doomwatch (1972)

Sub-Standard Film Version,
Whenever the BBC has a SF hit on its hands it decides not only to hand out film rights but to hand out film rights where their series will be remade as inferior products like the films based on the QUATERMASS serials or the first two DOCTOR WHO stories to have featured the Daleks, or most disappointingly of all an original screenplay based on the classic DOOMWATCH series.

The problem with this screenplay is that it pushes all the regular characters from the show like Dr Ridge into the background while the action revolves around Dr Shaw, a character who never appeared in the series. The story itself – and the budget too for that matter – would have been adequate for a 50 minute episode of the show but seems somewhat stretched out. Ironically if the producers had decided to adapt one of the original BBC scripts like TOMORROW THE RAT instead of having an original screenplay this film might have been a classic.

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