Worst/Best 1980s Director

Worst:
Ron Jones
Peter Moffatt
Pennant Roberts (He was actually decent in the seventies, but his attitude and output in the eighties stank.)

Best:
Ron Jones
Peter Grimwade
Graeme Harper

Honourable mentions to everybody else who directed DW in the eighties

Best:

Peter Grimwade
Mary Ridge
Matthew Robison
Graeme Harper
Andrew Morgan
Nicholas Mallet
Alan Wareing

Worst:

Peter Moffatt
Ron Jones

Best:
Graeme Harper
Alan Wearing
Paul Joyce (though I guess Harper contributed to Warrior’s Gate as well)
Peter Grimwade
Nicholas Mallet (his work on Mysterious Planet and Paradise Towers was a little uninspired, but he sky-rocketed with his superb direction for Fenric)
Andrew Morgan
Matthew Robinson (his work for Attack of the Cybermen is great, and though Resurrection is flawed in other ways, he does well there too)
Lovett Bickford (whatever your thoughts are on The Leisure Hive, it’s nicely directed, especially during the first 10 minutes).

Worst:
Ron Jones (Time-Flight and Mindwarp are largely very poorly helmed)
Peter Moffat (his staid direction would often drag down good stories such as Mawdryn Undead, The Five Doctors and The Two Doctors, although I’ll give him credit for making sure that Dicks’ script for State Of Decay wasn’t completely edited by Bidmead)
Pennant Roberts (Warriors of the Deep is notoriously badly directed)

Mary Ridge? She only directed Terminus

I'd include Fiona Cumming in the best category. I felt her stories had an understanding of the writer's voice, and a magic, a spirit and soul to them that often escaped the others of that era.

Strange thing about Peter Moffat is that his directing of State of Decay was actually very solid. Infact I'd seriously almost consider that one fit for cinematic presentation.

Sadly the rest of his works just seemed a bit dull, inattentive and grotty. The Five Doctors is probably the best of his other efforts but even that had its poorer executed moments, and moments where you really wish David Maloney had directed it instead.

Ron Jones kind of got visibly better at his craft as he went on, but his earliest efforts are just rotten.

Pennant Roberts' direction did suck, but then again it's not like even Kubrick could've salvaged the material he was given.

Best: Harper, Waring, Robinson. Andrew Morgan - Time and the Rani is shit but not because of the direction. The guy who directed Awakening too, for some reason his only story when he did a top job.
Mallett is a bit iffy - his work on Fenric is great but his others are bleh.

Is there a reason why you missed Grimwade,iank? Earthshock had some great directing

Mawdryn Undead would have benefitted from his steady hand

Yeah, Grimwade too. Forgot him.
Though Logopolis ain't too hot.

iank wrote:Yeah, Grimwade too. Forgot him.
Though Logopolis ain't too hot.

Yeah- Logopolis isn’t very well directed at all. Though I guess the budget for the season had also depleted by the final two stories as well. Tom Baker is renowned for stating how badly he thought his final story was shot (especially concerning the Radio Telescope scenes).

Bernard Marx wrote:

iank wrote:Yeah, Grimwade too. Forgot him.
Though Logopolis ain't too hot.

Yeah- Logopolis isn’t very well directed at all. Though I guess the budget for the season had also depleted by the final two stories as well. Tom Baker is renowned for stating how badly he thought his final story was shot (especially concerning the Radio Telescope scenes).

'Amazing' how the three companions/planks reach the relatively unbroken Doctor (having a lay down) at exactly the same time...and as for Tegan's blase 'reaction' to the non-dyed complete stranger sitting up before her...

Clayton Dickman wrote:

Bernard Marx wrote:

iank wrote:Yeah, Grimwade too. Forgot him.
Though Logopolis ain't too hot.

Yeah- Logopolis isn’t very well directed at all. Though I guess the budget for the season had also depleted by the final two stories as well. Tom Baker is renowned for stating how badly he thought his final story was shot (especially concerning the Radio Telescope scenes).

'Amazing' how the three companions/planks reach the relatively unbroken Doctor (having a lay down) at exactly the same time...and as for Tegan's blase 'reaction' to the non-dyed complete stranger sitting up before her...

Hello,

I love your DVD covers. The one for Kinda is a particular fav.

All the best xxx