Verity Lambert
Nov. 24th, 2007 01:52 pmVerity Lambert has died. For those who have never heard of her, she was original producer of Doctor Who, from back in the days when they had a tiny set, practically no budget, no cuts to takes allowed and women didn’t produce TV shows. But this little children’s TV show went on to become a great stable of not only television, but of popular culture.
She wasn’t the sole creator of Doctor Who. She didn’t come up with the initial concept, but she got the show on the air and fought for it when times got tough in the early years. And I’ve always imagined that Barbara Wright, who has to be one of the greatest female characters I’ve ever seen on television, an independent, brave, capable and mature woman who existed in the days before women's lib, was such in large parts due to Verity.
I think it’s important to remember that a show so overwhelmingly dominated by male producers, writers and a male star, in a genre overwhelmingly dominated by men, that Doctor Who owes its existence to the hard work of a twenty eight year old woman in her first ever job as a producer.
Verity Lambert, you were fantastic.
She wasn’t the sole creator of Doctor Who. She didn’t come up with the initial concept, but she got the show on the air and fought for it when times got tough in the early years. And I’ve always imagined that Barbara Wright, who has to be one of the greatest female characters I’ve ever seen on television, an independent, brave, capable and mature woman who existed in the days before women's lib, was such in large parts due to Verity.
I think it’s important to remember that a show so overwhelmingly dominated by male producers, writers and a male star, in a genre overwhelmingly dominated by men, that Doctor Who owes its existence to the hard work of a twenty eight year old woman in her first ever job as a producer.
Verity Lambert, you were fantastic.