| The following article is written from an Out of Universe perspective. |
The Name's Shakespeare, William Shakespeare was the seventh story in Season 39 of Doctor Who. It was written by Russell T Davies, directed by Joe Ahearne and featured Richard E. Grant as the Doctor and Anna Hope as Sandra Armstrong.
This story is notable for being a clip show episode featuring abridged retellings of stories from each of the past nine Doctors.
Synopsis
The Doctor completes work on a play script that depicts his life and features many of his past associates in unintentionally offensive ways. Sandra realises that the Doctor may be going a little too far and decides to alter the novel based upon information she can find using the Doctor’s old Space-Time Visualiser.
Plot
To be added.
Cast
Original Cast from An Unearthly Child
- The Doctor - William Hartnell
- Ian Chesterton - William Russell
- Barbara Wright - Jaqueline Hill
- Susan Foreman - Carole Ann Ford
Original Cast from The Tomb of the Cybermen
- The Doctor - Patrick Troughton
- Jamie McCrimmon - Frazer Hines
- Victoria Waterfield - Deborah Watling
- Toberman - Roy Stewart
- Professor Parry - Aubery Richards
- John Viner - Cyril Shaps
- Kaftan - Shirley Cookin
- Captain Hopper - George Roubicek
- Eric Kleig - George Pastell
- Cyber Controller - Michael Kilgarriff
Original Cast from The Green Death
- The Doctor - Jon Pertwee
- Jo Grant - Katy Manning
- Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart - Nicholas Courtney
- Sergeant Benton - John Levine
- Captain Mike Yates - Richard Franklin
- Cliff Jones - Stewart Bevan
- Stevens - Jerome Wills
- Voice of BOSS - John Dearth
Original Cast from The Talons of Weng-Chiang
- The Doctor - Tom Baker
- Leela - Louise Jameson
- Weng-Chiang - Michael Spice
- Mr Sin - Deep Roy
- Jago - Christopher Benjamin
- Professor Litefoot - Trevor Baxter
Original Cast from Planet of Fire
- The Doctor - Peter Davison
- Turlough - Mark Strickson
- Peri Brown - Nicola Bryant
- Timanov - Peter Wyngarde
- The Master - Anthony Ainley
- Sorasta - Barbara Shelley
- Voice of Kamelion - Gerald Flood
- Malkon - Edward Highmore
Original Cast from Timelash
- The Doctor - Colin Baker
- Peri Brown - Nicola Bryant
- The Board - Robert Ashby
- Tekker - Paul Darrow
- Mykros - Eric Deacon
- Vena - Jeanne Crowley
- Herbert - David Chandler
- Android - Dean Hollingsworth
Original Cast from Survival
- The Doctor - Sylvester McCoy
- Ace - Sophie Aldred
- The Master - Anthony Ainley
- Paterson - Julian Wells
- Karra - Lisa Bowerman
- Midge - Will Barton
- Shreela - Sakuntala Ramanee
- Derek - David John
Original Cast from Nightshade
- The Doctor - Richard Griffiths
- Katie Tollinger - Julia Sawalha
- Henrick - John Banks
- To be added.
Original Cast from Don't Blink
- The Doctor - Michael French
- Sammy Thompson - Laurie Holden
- To be added.
Crew
- Created by Sydney Newman, Donald Wilson and C.E. Webber
- Executive Producer - David Renwick
- Director of Photography - Ernie Vincze
- Production Designer - Jon Bunker
- Visual Effects - The Mill
- Make-Up Designer - Davy Jones
- Casting Director - Andy Pryor
- Music - Murray Gold
- Costume Designer - Lucinda Wright
- Edited by - Mike Jones
- Special Effects - Bryan Stanislas
Memorable Quotes
To be added.
Background Information
Development
- As the fortieth anniversary of Doctor Who was fast approaching, producer Bill Shapter suggested an episode in Season 39 should delve into the past and how the Doctor reflected on his life through his previous incarnations. The idea was for fans to prepare for Season 40 and the fortieth-anniversary special, which would see the return of Doctors 4-9 alongside 10 and would especially benefit newer viewers on the history of the programme.
Pre-Production
- Initially, the plans were for the Doctor to plan a playscript going into his life in more subtle detail and sharing it across the galaxy. Unfortunately, the budget for the opening story, No Sky in Space, went heavily overbudget with the sets for Exotract 42 which meant that the budget for other stories were affected. As this story was the cheapest to make due to it only taking place in the TARDIS with limited special effects, the solution was to use excerpts from previous stories, one from each incarnation.
Production
- To be added.
Post-Production
- To be added.
Reaction
- This episode received a 7-Day Viewing Figure from BARB of 8.16m viewers. It ranked at 19th over the week.
- The story received negative reviews, being considered a lazy clip show with a lack of adventure and main plot. It went on to be considered one of the worst Doctor Who stories in the show's history. Some praise included Grant and Hope's performances and Ahearne's directing.
Story Notes
- The stories that were featured in the story for the first nine incarnations included: An Unearthly Child (part 1 only), The Tomb of the Cybermen, The Green Death, The Talons of Weng-Chiang, Planet of Fire, Timelash, Survival, Nightshade and Don't Blink.
Continuity
- The device that The Doctor and Sandra used to watch The Doctor's past adventures was first seen in The Chase.
Home Video Releases
To be added.