Anoraks Assemble

Doomwatch was a British sci-fi TV series which ran between 1970 and 1972. It was created by Gerry Davis and Kit Pedler, who were both well known for their work on Dr. Who.

38 episodes were made over the course of three series, but only 24 survived, and one episode has never been broadcast.

The word Doomwatch referred to the “Department for the Observation and Measurement of Scientific Work”. It was overseen by Dr. Spencer Quist, played by John Paul, a man haunted by his guilt of working on the Manhattan Project. Joining him was Dr. John Ridge, played by Simon Oates, a man who would try to get his leg over anything with a pulse.

More about that in a second.

Series one also had Robert Powell as Toby Wren, whose unexpected death in the first series finale brought endless complaints to the BBC.

The show tackled topics such as toxic waste, noise pollution and unknown viruses. These are subjects which we are so used to talking about now, but 50 years ago it must have been unusual – and quite frightening – to see this subject matter playing out on national TV.

I think sometimes the best sci-fi writers have a gift for looking into the future and telling stories which need to be told, without perhaps realising just how important these topics are. Doomwatch was no exception, although Davis and Pedler left after series two and it is widely agreed that the show became more of a standard thriller type, and perhaps lost some of the environmental aspects which made it so unique.

The one negative, and to be fair it is a big ‘un, is the appalling sexism and general treatment of female characters. Dr. Ridge treats every woman as a potential conquest, which, through the eyes of someone living in the modern world, is toe-curling to say the least.

And yet, I do like the randy doctor. He makes me laugh a lot. So I find that the best way to deal with the sexism is just laugh it off and be thankful that society has changed for the better. It is not perfect by any means, but definitely better than it used to be.

Doomwatch is typical 1970s TV – slow moving, talky, dodgy effects – but I do not have a problem with that. At its best, it was an environmental thriller, introducing the viewer to topics which probably felt very alien, but, as we know today, are very real.

If I had been old enough to watch it at the time, I would have been quite concerned to think about what the future might hold.