David Agnew
Encyclopedia
"David Agnew" was a particular kind of pen name
, employed exclusively on BBC television drama
programmes of the 1970s
. It was used only as a scriptwriting credit
.
appeals process, meaning that the quickest way for the project to continue under the BBC system was to offer a "false" writer. Sometimes, in fact, production staffs were directly ordered by BBC management to use the credit.
Unlike the similar "Allen Smithee" credit for film director
s, "Agnew" was not used in protest of the finished product. In fact, the original, freelance writer would have departed the project long before he or she could have objected to the episode as televised. Indeed, the actual writers of a "David Agnew script" — typically the producer
, director
and/or script editor
— would ideally liked to have received credit for their work, had BBC rules permitted it.
's script for the Play for Today
episode "Hell's Angel" was broadcast under the pseudonym. Read's work on the 1975 BBC2 Playhouse episode "Diane" was likewise credited to "David Agnew".
The pseudonym entered into use on Doctor Who
only after Read had become that show's script editor
. Famously, Read and producer Graham Williams
used the pen name hurriedly to assemble The Invasion of Time
in 1978. A year later the name concealed the joint work of Douglas Adams
, Williams and David Fisher
on City of Death
.
The name was also used for the episode "Blow Out" of Target. In this case, a two-hour script was pared down to one. Writer Roger Marshall
quit at the pre-production stage, leaving director Douglas Camfield
to, as Marshall said in an interview, "butcher" and "doctor" it.
to a certain degree. Many years later, "David Agnew" was used for a Doctor Who book, the short story anthology Short Trips and Sidesteps, in homage to the pseudonym's use on the television series. Agnew was also the subject of a The Elusive David Agnew mockumentary
directed by "Allen Smithee" on the DVD
release of The Invasion of Time
.
Pen name
A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
, employed exclusively on BBC television drama
BBC television drama
BBC television dramas have been produced and broadcast since even before the public service company had an officially established television broadcasting network in the United Kingdom...
programmes of the 1970s
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
. It was used only as a scriptwriting credit
Credit (creative arts)
In general, the term credit in the artistic or intellectual sense refers to an acknowledgement of those who contributed to a work, whether through ideas or in a more direct sense.-Credit in the arts:...
.
Conditions of use
When the original freelance scriptwriter was unable to accommodate fundamental changes requested by the production staff, and the production staff had to perform a major, last-minute rewrite themselves, conditions were ripe for the use of "David Agnew". BBC rules prevented the production staff from taking the screen credit without a time-consuming, bureaucraticBureaucracy
A bureaucracy is an organization of non-elected officials of a governmental or organization who implement the rules, laws, and functions of their institution, and are occasionally characterized by officialism and red tape.-Weberian bureaucracy:...
appeals process, meaning that the quickest way for the project to continue under the BBC system was to offer a "false" writer. Sometimes, in fact, production staffs were directly ordered by BBC management to use the credit.
Unlike the similar "Allen Smithee" credit for film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
s, "Agnew" was not used in protest of the finished product. In fact, the original, freelance writer would have departed the project long before he or she could have objected to the episode as televised. Indeed, the actual writers of a "David Agnew script" — typically the 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...
, director
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
and/or 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...
— would ideally liked to have received credit for their work, had BBC rules permitted it.
Examples
The name seems to date to 1971, when Anthony ReadAnthony Read
Anthony "Tony" Read is a British script editor, television writer and author. He was principally active in British television from the 1960s to the mid-1980s, although he occasionally contributed to televised productions until 1999. Starting in the 1980s, he launched a second career as a print...
's script for the Play for Today
Play for Today
Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted...
episode "Hell's Angel" was broadcast under the pseudonym. Read's work on the 1975 BBC2 Playhouse episode "Diane" was likewise credited to "David Agnew".
The pseudonym entered into use on 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...
only after Read had become that show's 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...
. Famously, Read and producer Graham Williams
Graham Williams
Graham Williams was a British television producer and script editor, whose best known work was on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who....
used the pen name hurriedly to assemble The Invasion of Time
The Invasion of Time
The Invasion of Time is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 4 February to 11 March 1978...
in 1978. A year later the name concealed the joint work of Douglas Adams
Douglas Adams
Douglas Noel Adams was an English writer and dramatist. He is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which started life in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before developing into a "trilogy" of five books that sold over 15 million copies in his lifetime, a television...
, Williams and David Fisher
David Fisher (writer)
David Fisher is a British professional writer for television. He was born in 1929.He wrote the scripts for four serials of Doctor Who. He first contributed The Stones of Blood and The Androids of Tara during that show's sixteenth season, and The Creature from the Pit for the seventeenth season...
on City of Death
City of Death
-Pre-production:Writer David Fisher had contributed two scripts to Doctor Whos sixteenth season – The Stones of Blood and The Androids of Tara – and was asked by producer Graham Williams for further story ideas...
.
The name was also used for the episode "Blow Out" of Target. In this case, a two-hour script was pared down to one. Writer Roger Marshall
Roger Marshall
Roger Marshall is an English Writer. Born during March 1934 in Leicester in the UK he was educated at Cambridge before embarking on a writing career that included The Avengers, The Sweeney, Public Eye, The Gentle Touch, The Professionals, Lovejoy and London's Burning as well as many other...
quit at the pre-production stage, leaving director Douglas Camfield
Douglas Camfield
Douglas Gaston Sydney Camfield was an accomplished director for television from the 1960s to the 1980s. His programme credits include Z-Cars, Paul Temple, Van der Valk, The Sweeney, Shoestring, The Professionals, Out of the Unknown, The Nightmare Man, the BBC dramatisation of Beau Geste and...
to, as Marshall said in an interview, "butcher" and "doctor" it.
Use outside of television
While the practice of using the pseudonym on television was exclusive to the BBC of the 1970s, it has worked its way into Doctor Who fandomFandom
Fandom is a term used to refer to a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of sympathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest...
to a certain degree. Many years later, "David Agnew" was used for a Doctor Who book, the short story anthology Short Trips and Sidesteps, in homage to the pseudonym's use on the television series. Agnew was also the subject of a The Elusive David Agnew mockumentary
Mockumentary
A mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...
directed by "Allen Smithee" on 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....
release of The Invasion of Time
The Invasion of Time
The Invasion of Time is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 4 February to 11 March 1978...
.