Eric Pringle
Encyclopedia
Eric Pringle is a British
writer for radio
and television
. He has also written three novels for children.
He was one of the writers of the 1972 television series Pretenders, and of the 1974 series The Carnforth Practice.
In 1975, he was commissioned by then-Doctor Who
script editor
Robert Holmes
to pen a two-part serial entitled The Angurth for the programme's thirteenth season. This was eventually abandoned, but in 1981, Pringle was encouraged by his agent, former Who producer Peter Bryant
, to submit new material for the show. Pringle delivered two proposals for four-part stories to the production office in August, one called The Darkness (possibly featuring the Dalek
s) and another entitled War Game. Script editor Eric Saward
finally responded to Pringle, and in 1982, Pringle was asked to put together a scene breakdown for War Game.
By 1983, War Game had been rechristened The Awakening
(and may also have been called Poltergeist at some point). Saward and producer John Nathan-Turner
had also come to the realisation that the story did not merit four episodes, and so Pringle was asked to condense it down to fit the two-part slot for Season Twenty-One. Pringle concurred and performed the necessary rewrites by April. Saward was still not satisfied with Pringle's modifications; consequently, he elected to heavily rewrite The Awakening. Pringle was not particularly pleased with Saward's rewrites, believing they made the story confusing and rushed. The Awakening would be his only contribution to Doctor Who.
Much of Pringle's more recent work has been for the radio including an adaptations of The Wolves of Willoughby Chase
and J. B. Priestley
's The Good Companions
. His 2001 BBC Radio 4
play Hymus Paradisi about the life of composer Herbert Howells
won a Sony Award. That year also saw the publication of his children's novel Big George. This has been followed by two sequels Big George and the Seventh Knight and Big George and the Winter King. The Big George books are a retelling of the Saint George and the Dragon
myth with a science fiction
twist.
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...
writer for radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
. He has also written three novels for children.
He was one of the writers of the 1972 television series Pretenders, and of the 1974 series The Carnforth Practice.
In 1975, he was commissioned by then-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...
script editor
Script editor
A script editor is a member of the production team of scripted television programmes, usually dramas and comedies. The script editor has many responsibilities including finding new script writers, developing storyline and series ideas with writers, ensuring that scripts are suitable for production...
Robert Holmes
Robert Holmes (scriptwriter)
This entry is about the television scriptwriter. For other people with the same name, see Robert Holmes .Robert Colin Holmes was an English television scriptwriter, who for over twenty-five years contributed to some of the most popular programmes screened in the UK...
to pen a two-part serial entitled The Angurth for the programme's thirteenth season. This was eventually abandoned, but in 1981, Pringle was encouraged by his agent, former Who producer Peter Bryant
Peter Bryant
Peter Bryant was the fourth producer of the BBC science fiction programme Doctor Who. He was born in London....
, to submit new material for the show. Pringle delivered two proposals for four-part stories to the production office in August, one called The Darkness (possibly featuring the Dalek
Dalek
The Daleks are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Within the series, Daleks are cyborgs from the planet Skaro, created by the scientist Davros during the final years of a thousand-year war against the Thals...
s) and another entitled War Game. Script editor Eric Saward
Eric Saward
Eric Saward was born on 9 December 1944 and became a scriptwriter and script editor for the BBC, resigning from the latter post on the TV programme Doctor Who in 1986....
finally responded to Pringle, and in 1982, Pringle was asked to put together a scene breakdown for War Game.
By 1983, War Game had been rechristened The Awakening
The Awakening (Doctor Who)
The Awakening is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was originally broadcast in two parts on 19 and 20 January 1984.-Synopsis:...
(and may also have been called Poltergeist at some point). Saward and producer John Nathan-Turner
John Nathan-Turner
John Nathan-Turner was the ninth producer of the long-running BBC science fiction series Doctor Who, from 1980 until it was effectively cancelled in 1989...
had also come to the realisation that the story did not merit four episodes, and so Pringle was asked to condense it down to fit the two-part slot for Season Twenty-One. Pringle concurred and performed the necessary rewrites by April. Saward was still not satisfied with Pringle's modifications; consequently, he elected to heavily rewrite The Awakening. Pringle was not particularly pleased with Saward's rewrites, believing they made the story confusing and rushed. The Awakening would be his only contribution to Doctor Who.
Much of Pringle's more recent work has been for the radio including an adaptations of The Wolves of Willoughby Chase
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase is a children's novel by Joan Aiken, first published in 1963. Set in an alternate history of England, it tells of the adventures of cousins Bonnie and Sylvia and their friend Simon the goose-boy as they thwart the evil schemes of their governess Miss Slighcarp.The...
and J. B. Priestley
J. B. Priestley
John Boynton Priestley, OM , known as J. B. Priestley, was an English novelist, playwright and broadcaster. He published 26 novels, notably The Good Companions , as well as numerous dramas such as An Inspector Calls...
's The Good Companions
The Good Companions
The Good Companions is a novel by the English author J. B. Priestley.Written in 1929 , it focuses on the trials and tribulations of a concert party in England between World War I and World War II. It is arguably Priestley's most famous novel, and the work which established him as a national figure...
. His 2001 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...
play Hymus Paradisi about the life of composer Herbert Howells
Herbert Howells
Herbert Norman Howells CH was an English composer, organist, and teacher, most famous for his large output of Anglican church music.-Life:...
won a Sony Award. That year also saw the publication of his children's novel Big George. This has been followed by two sequels Big George and the Seventh Knight and Big George and the Winter King. The Big George books are a retelling of the Saint George and the Dragon
Saint George and the Dragon
The episode of Saint George and the Dragon appended to the hagiography of Saint George was Eastern in origin, brought back with the Crusaders and retold with the courtly appurtenances belonging to the genre of Romance...
myth with a 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...
twist.