Robert Sloman
Encyclopedia
Robert Sloman was born in Oldham
, Lancashire
, England
on 18 July 1926 and died aged 79 on 24 October 2005. He was an actor who later worked at The Sunday Times
circulation department for more than 20 years, becoming distribution manager; but is best known for his work as a writer for television.
In the early 1970s he made a significant contribution to the science fiction
programme Doctor Who
on the BBC
. Together with then producer
Barry Letts
, he wrote four stories for the Jon Pertwee
era on the programme: The Daemons (credited as Guy Leopold); The Time Monster
; The Green Death
; and Planet of the Spiders
, which was Pertwee's swan song. The first of these is often one of the most well regarded in the programme's history; while the others contained strong moral messages, especially the focus on pollution and globalisation in The Green Death. When The Green Death was released on DVD in 2004, Sloman contributed a feature on the writing of the story
Sloman had also planned to bring the Dalek
s back at the end of the third Pertwee season, Season 9, in a serial called The Daleks in London. This plan was dropped when the production staff realised that the show wouldn't have a hook for the start of the season to entice viewers, and Sloman's serial was allegedly shaping up to be too similar to The Dalek Invasion of Earth
. Instead, writer Louis Marks
was asked to alter his serial to include the Daleks – which became Day of the Daleks
.
Robert Sloman also co-wrote two plays in the West End
, both co-written with Laurence Dobie: The Golden Rivet, and The Tinker; the latter was later turned into a film, The Wild and the Willing
, in 1962.
Oldham
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, 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...
on 18 July 1926 and died aged 79 on 24 October 2005. He was an actor who later worked at The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times (UK)
The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper, distributed in the United Kingdom. The Sunday Times is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International, which is in turn owned by News Corporation. Times Newspapers also owns The Times, but the two papers were founded...
circulation department for more than 20 years, becoming distribution manager; but is best known for his work as a writer for television.
In the early 1970s he made a significant contribution to the 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...
programme 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...
on the 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...
. Together with then 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...
Barry Letts
Barry Letts
Barry Leopold Letts was a British actor, television director, writer and producer best known for his work on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, and for producing the BBC's Sunday Classic drama serials in the late 1970s and early 1980s...
, he wrote four stories for the Jon Pertwee
Jon Pertwee
John Devon Roland Pertwee , was an English actor. Pertwee is best known for his role in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, in which he played the third incarnation of the Doctor from 1970 to 1974, and as the title character in the series Worzel Gummidge...
era on the programme: The Daemons (credited as Guy Leopold); The Time Monster
The Time Monster
The Time Monster is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 20 May to 24 June 1972.- Synopsis :...
; The Green Death
The Green Death
The Green Death is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, first broadcast in six weekly parts from 19 May 1973 to 23 June 1973. It was the last to feature Katy Manning as companion Jo Grant in Doctor Who...
; and Planet of the Spiders
Planet of the Spiders
Planet of the Spiders is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from May 4 to June 8, 1974. It was Jon Pertwee's last serial as the Doctor and marks the first, uncredited appearance of Tom Baker in the role. It also marks...
, which was Pertwee's swan song. The first of these is often one of the most well regarded in the programme's history; while the others contained strong moral messages, especially the focus on pollution and globalisation in The Green Death. When The Green Death was released on DVD in 2004, Sloman contributed a feature on the writing of the story
Sloman had also planned to bring 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 back at the end of the third Pertwee season, Season 9, in a serial called The Daleks in London. This plan was dropped when the production staff realised that the show wouldn't have a hook for the start of the season to entice viewers, and Sloman's serial was allegedly shaping up to be too similar to The Dalek Invasion of Earth
The Dalek Invasion of Earth
The Dalek Invasion of Earth is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in six weekly parts from November 21 to December 26, 1964....
. Instead, writer Louis Marks
Louis Marks
Louis Frank Marks was a British script writer and producer mainly for the BBC. He attended the Balliol College, Oxford and graduated with a DPhil. He made the surprising choice to become a writer...
was asked to alter his serial to include the Daleks – which became Day of the Daleks
Day of the Daleks
Day of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 1 January to 22 January 1972.-Synopsis:...
.
Robert Sloman also co-wrote two plays in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
, both co-written with Laurence Dobie: The Golden Rivet, and The Tinker; the latter was later turned into a film, The Wild and the Willing
The Wild and the Willing
The Wild and the Willing is a 1962 British romantic drama film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Virginia Maskell, Paul Rogers, Ian McShane, Samantha Eggar and John Hurt. It marked the film debut of McShane, who later became famous for his television roles in Lovejoy and Deadwood...
, in 1962.