Doug Naylor
Encyclopedia
Douglas R. Naylor is a British
comedy
writer, science fiction
writer, director and television producer
.
Naylor was born in Manchester
, England
and studied at the University of Liverpool
. In the mid-1980s, Naylor wrote two regular comedy sketch shows for BBC Radio 4
entitled Cliché and Son of Cliché
. These sketch shows were scripted by Naylor along with another writer, Rob Grant
. This writing partnership was successful with Naylor and Grant going on to co-write and produce numerous BBC
television series throughout the 1980s and 1990s. These included programmes such as Comic Relief, Spitting Image
, and The 10 Percenters
.
The collaborations between Grant and Naylor have often used the pseudonym Grant Naylor
. This collaboration is today best remembered for the creation of the British science fiction
comedy
television series, Red Dwarf
(their earlier radio sketch shows formed the basis for the show; Chris Barrie
starred in both those and Red Dwarf). This show went on to achieve global cult status.
However sometime between the airing of sixth series of Red Dwarf in 1993, and the writing of the seventh series in 1996, Rob Grant
ended his partnership with Naylor after revealing he was tired of it and that he intended to quit and pursue other projects. The pair announced their professional split and cited creative and professional differences, along with Grant's desire to move onto new shows.
With this split it appeared as though Red Dwarf was finished; other obstacles included the fact that Chris Barrie
was tied up starring in the Brittas Empire and the other star of Red Dwarf, Craig Charles
, was in prison. However when Charles was exonerated and Barrie became available for a few episodes a seventh series finally went ahead. Doug Naylor went on to write the seventh and eighth series of Red Dwarf mostly on his own (70% of the series by his own estimate), but some episodes were co-written with such writers as Paul Alexander
and Kim Fuller
, and there was even an episode co-written with one of the cast members, Robert Llewellyn
.
, Naylor and Grant Naylor Productions are primarily focused on the production of the DVD
releases of Red Dwarf and the postulated and much-hoped-for movie.
In 2008 it was announced by Grant Naylor Productions that Red Dwarf would return to TV screens in the form of four half hour specials for the digital channel Dave. The episodes were broadcast over the Easter weekend, 2009, and comprising a three-part special (20 minutes each), Back to Earth
, and a behind-the-scenes "Making of" Back to Earth. Naylor wrote the scripts for the three new episodes and also directed them. Back to Earth received record ratings for freeview channel Dave.
As of April 2011, Doug Naylor has been commissioned to write a new 6 episode series of Red Dwarf (working title Red Dwarf X). It is not yet known which characters, aside from the main 4, will return or whether it will resolve the cliffhanger at the end of series 8 or be a follow on or prequel to Back to Earth. The show starts filming in November 2011 with a probably 2012 release.
when he was a young boy.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
writer, science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
writer, director and television producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
.
Naylor was born in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and studied at the University of Liverpool
University of Liverpool
The University of Liverpool is a teaching and research university in the city of Liverpool, England. It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration. Founded in 1881 , it is also one of the six original "red brick" civic...
. In the mid-1980s, Naylor wrote two regular comedy sketch shows for BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
entitled Cliché and Son of Cliché
Son of Cliché
Son Of Cliché was a comedy sketch show that ran for two series on BBC Radio 4 between 23 August 1983 and 29 December 1984.The sketches were written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, and were performed by Chris Barrie, Nick Maloney and Nick Wilton....
. These sketch shows were scripted by Naylor along with another writer, Rob Grant
Rob Grant
Robert Grant is a British comedy writer and television producer, who was born in Salford and studied Psychology at Liverpool University for two years....
. This writing partnership was successful with Naylor and Grant going on to co-write and produce numerous BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television series throughout the 1980s and 1990s. These included programmes such as Comic Relief, Spitting Image
Spitting Image
Spitting Image is a British satirical puppet show that aired on the ITV network from 1984 to 1996. It was produced by Spitting Image Productions for Central Television. The series was nominated for 10 BAFTA Awards, winning one for editing in 1989....
, and The 10 Percenters
The 10 Percenters
The Ten Percenters was a British television comedy series, broadcast on ITV, which began as a pilot in 1993 , and was followed by two series which were shown in 1994 and 1996...
.
The collaborations between Grant and Naylor have often used the pseudonym Grant Naylor
Grant Naylor
Grant Naylor was the collective name used by writers Rob Grant and Doug Naylor for their collaborative work, particularly the television series Red Dwarf. Grant and Naylor themselves called this pseudonym a "gestalt entity" Grant Naylor was the collective name used by writers Rob Grant and Doug...
. This collaboration is today best remembered for the creation of the British science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
television series, Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf is a British comedy franchise which primarily comprises eight series of a television science fiction sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999 and Dave from 2009–present. It gained cult following. It was created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, who also wrote the first six series...
(their earlier radio sketch shows formed the basis for the show; Chris Barrie
Chris Barrie
Chris Barrie is a British actor. He first achieved success as a vocal impressionist, notably in the ITV sketch show Spitting Image...
starred in both those and Red Dwarf). This show went on to achieve global cult status.
However sometime between the airing of sixth series of Red Dwarf in 1993, and the writing of the seventh series in 1996, Rob Grant
Rob Grant
Robert Grant is a British comedy writer and television producer, who was born in Salford and studied Psychology at Liverpool University for two years....
ended his partnership with Naylor after revealing he was tired of it and that he intended to quit and pursue other projects. The pair announced their professional split and cited creative and professional differences, along with Grant's desire to move onto new shows.
With this split it appeared as though Red Dwarf was finished; other obstacles included the fact that Chris Barrie
Chris Barrie
Chris Barrie is a British actor. He first achieved success as a vocal impressionist, notably in the ITV sketch show Spitting Image...
was tied up starring in the Brittas Empire and the other star of Red Dwarf, Craig Charles
Craig Charles
Craig Joseph Charles is an English actor, stand-up comedian, author, poet, radio and television presenter, best known for playing Dave Lister in the British cult-favourite science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf...
, was in prison. However when Charles was exonerated and Barrie became available for a few episodes a seventh series finally went ahead. Doug Naylor went on to write the seventh and eighth series of Red Dwarf mostly on his own (70% of the series by his own estimate), but some episodes were co-written with such writers as Paul Alexander
Paul Alexander (British writer)
Paul Alexander is a British comedy writer. He has written or contributed to My Hero, Red Dwarf, The 10 Percenters, My Spy Family, Babes in the Wood, The Castle, Horrid Henry, Bedsitcom, Oggy and the Cockroaches and The Green Green Grass.-External links:...
and Kim Fuller
Kim Fuller
Kim Fuller is a British writer for film, radio and television. His brother Simon Fuller is Britain's most successful music manager as manager of Annie Lennox and The Spice Girls amongst others and creator of the Idol Series...
, and there was even an episode co-written with one of the cast members, Robert Llewellyn
Robert Llewellyn
Robert Llewellyn is an English actor, presenter, and writer. He is best known as the mechanoid Kryten in the hit sitcom Red Dwarf, and for his role as presenter of Scrapheap Challenge.-Early career:...
.
, Naylor and Grant Naylor Productions are primarily focused on the production of the DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
releases of Red Dwarf and the postulated and much-hoped-for movie.
In 2008 it was announced by Grant Naylor Productions that Red Dwarf would return to TV screens in the form of four half hour specials for the digital channel Dave. The episodes were broadcast over the Easter weekend, 2009, and comprising a three-part special (20 minutes each), Back to Earth
Red Dwarf: Back to Earth
Red Dwarf: Back to Earth is a three part TV miniseries continuation of the science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf, broadcast on the British television channel Dave between 10 April and 12 April 2009 and subsequently released on DVD on 15 June 2009 & on Blu-ray on 31 August 2009. It was the first...
, and a behind-the-scenes "Making of" Back to Earth. Naylor wrote the scripts for the three new episodes and also directed them. Back to Earth received record ratings for freeview channel Dave.
As of April 2011, Doug Naylor has been commissioned to write a new 6 episode series of Red Dwarf (working title Red Dwarf X). It is not yet known which characters, aside from the main 4, will return or whether it will resolve the cliffhanger at the end of series 8 or be a follow on or prequel to Back to Earth. The show starts filming in November 2011 with a probably 2012 release.
Personal life
Naylor is married with two sons, Richard and Matthew. He has a prosthetic leg due to a car accidentCar accident
A traffic collision, also known as a traffic accident, motor vehicle collision, motor vehicle accident, car accident, automobile accident, Road Traffic Collision or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other stationary obstruction,...
when he was a young boy.
Novels
- Red Dwarf (1989), with Rob GrantRob GrantRobert Grant is a British comedy writer and television producer, who was born in Salford and studied Psychology at Liverpool University for two years....
; published under the joint pseudonym Grant NaylorGrant NaylorGrant Naylor was the collective name used by writers Rob Grant and Doug Naylor for their collaborative work, particularly the television series Red Dwarf. Grant and Naylor themselves called this pseudonym a "gestalt entity" Grant Naylor was the collective name used by writers Rob Grant and Doug...
, and sometimes credited as Red Dwarf: Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers or just Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers. - Better Than LifeBetter Than LifeBetter Than Life is a science fiction comedy novel by Grant Naylor, the collective name for Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, co-creators and writers of the Red Dwarf television series, on which the novel is based...
(1990), with Rob GrantRob GrantRobert Grant is a British comedy writer and television producer, who was born in Salford and studied Psychology at Liverpool University for two years....
, published under the joint pseudonym Grant NaylorGrant NaylorGrant Naylor was the collective name used by writers Rob Grant and Doug Naylor for their collaborative work, particularly the television series Red Dwarf. Grant and Naylor themselves called this pseudonym a "gestalt entity" Grant Naylor was the collective name used by writers Rob Grant and Doug...
. - Last HumanLast HumanLast Human is the title of a 1995 science fiction comedy novel written by Doug Naylor. It is part of the Red Dwarf series of novels, based on the popular television show created by Naylor and his partner Rob Grant...
(1995), a sequel to Better Than LifeBetter Than LifeBetter Than Life is a science fiction comedy novel by Grant Naylor, the collective name for Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, co-creators and writers of the Red Dwarf television series, on which the novel is based...
.