Dave Martin (screenwriter)
Encyclopedia
David Ralph Martin was an accomplished television and film writer. He was born in Handsworth
, Birmingham
, England and contributed numerous scripts for the Doctor Who
television series between 1971 and 1979 including:
For all of these, Martin collaborated with Bob Baker
. Together they were nicknamed "The Bristol Boys" by the Doctor Who production teams with whom they worked.
Baker and Martin's most notable contributions to the Doctor Who mythos were probably the robot computer K-9
(created for The Invisible Enemy) and the renegade Time Lord
Omega
(created for The Three Doctors, Doctor Whos tenth anniversary story).
They also worked together on the 1975 children's science fantasy
television serial Sky
and Into the Labyrinth
.
In 1986, he wrote the Doctor Who Make Your Own Adventure book Search for the Doctor
.
In early 2007, Martin, a smoker, was diagnosed with lung cancer
; he died of the disease in March. He is survived by his wife Celia (née Constanduros, born 1944), their son and his daughter from his first marriage.
Handsworth, West Midlands
Handsworth is an inner city area of Birmingham in the West Midlands, England. The Local Government Act 1894 divided the ancient Staffordshire parish of Handsworth into two urban districts: Handsworth and Perry Barr. Handsworth was annexed to the county borough of Birmingham in Warwickshire in 1911...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England and contributed numerous scripts for the Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
television series between 1971 and 1979 including:
- The Claws of AxosThe Claws of Axos-Writing:In late 1969, script editor Terrance Dicks contacted new writing duo Bob Baker and Dave Martin after reading a draft script they had sent around the BBC for another production, A Man's Life. After offering the duo a seven-part story in November 1969 for Doctor Whos eighth season, Baker and...
(1971) - The MutantsThe MutantsThe Mutants is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 8 April to 13 May 1972....
(1972) - The Three Doctors (1973)
- The Sontaran ExperimentThe Sontaran ExperimentThe Sontaran Experiment is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was originally broadcast in two weekly parts on 22 February and 1 March 1975.-Synopsis:...
(1975) - The Hand of FearThe Hand of FearThe Hand of Fear is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 2 October to 23 October 1976...
(1976) - The Invisible EnemyThe Invisible EnemyThe Invisible Enemy is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 1 October to 22 October 1977...
(1977) - UnderworldUnderworld (Doctor Who)Underworld is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 7 January - 28 January 1978.-Synopsis:...
(1978) - The Armageddon FactorThe Armageddon FactorThe Armageddon Factor is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 20 January to 24 February 1979...
(1979)
For all of these, Martin collaborated with Bob Baker
Bob Baker
-External links:...
. Together they were nicknamed "The Bristol Boys" by the Doctor Who production teams with whom they worked.
Baker and Martin's most notable contributions to the Doctor Who mythos were probably the robot computer K-9
K-9 (Doctor Who)
K-9, or K9, is the name of several fictional robotic canines in the long-running British science fiction television series, Doctor Who, first appearing in 1977...
(created for The Invisible Enemy) and the renegade Time Lord
Time Lord
The Time Lords are an ancient extraterrestrial race and civilization of humanoids in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, of which the series' eponymous protagonist, the Doctor, is a member...
Omega
Omega (Doctor Who)
Omega is a fictional character from the long-running British science fiction television series, Doctor Who. In the context of the series, Omega is known as one of the founding fathers of the Time Lords of the planet Gallifrey, and is a revered figure in Time Lord history together with the equally...
(created for The Three Doctors, Doctor Whos tenth anniversary story).
They also worked together on the 1975 children's science fantasy
Science fantasy
Science fantasy is a mixed genre within speculative fiction drawing elements from both science fiction and fantasy. Although in some terms of its portrayal in recent media products it can be defined as instead of being a mixed genre of science fiction and fantasy it is instead a mixing of the...
television serial Sky
Sky (TV serial)
Sky is a mystically-oriented children's science fantasy television serial made for ITV by HTV in 1975 and broadcast in six parts.Looking something like a young, effete blond ubermensch, a morally ambiguous alien boy with weird solid blue eyes, the eponymous Sky , finds himself on Earth, where he...
and Into the Labyrinth
Into the Labyrinth (TV series)
Into the Labyrinth is a British children's television series produced by HTV for the ITV network between 1980 and 1982. Three series, each consisting of seven 25-minute episodes, were produced and directed by Peter Graham Scott...
.
In 1986, he wrote the Doctor Who Make Your Own Adventure book Search for the Doctor
Search for the Doctor
Search for the Doctor is a Seven House adventure book written by Dave Martin and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Sixth Doctor and K-9-Plot:...
.
In early 2007, Martin, a smoker, was diagnosed with lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
; he died of the disease in March. He is survived by his wife Celia (née Constanduros, born 1944), their son and his daughter from his first marriage.