Christopher Hamilton Bidmead (born 18 January 1941) is a British writer and journalist. Bidmead trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA), later playing several roles on stage, television and radio. By the early 1970s he was scriptwriting for Thames Television, producing material for ''

Harriet's Back in Town ''Harriet's Back in Town'' is a 1972 British television series produced by Thames Television. The cast included Pauline Yates, William Russell, Edwin Richfield and Sally Bazely. The show featured a newly divorced woman (Harriet Preston, play ...

'' and ''Rooms''. Up until 1979, he was a journalist. He had contributed some articles to '' New Scientist''. In 1979, Robert Banks Stewart recommended him for the post of script editor on ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

''. Bidmead was primarily responsible for a "back to basics" approach for his yearlong tenure on ''Doctor Who'', attempting to curb the more playful and fantasy oriented approach of his predecessor Douglas Adams in favour of a more naturalistic and scientific style of presentation. Most noticeable in the more serious portrayal of Tom Baker's Doctor, this approach proved controversial and ratings suffered, although this has been attributed to the tough timeslot for Bidmead's season which saw the show competing against '' Buck Rogers in the 25th Century'' on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

. Very much a product of its time, Bidmead's writings for ''Doctor Who'' demonstrate an increasing awareness of computer technology, typified by his complex serial '' Logopolis'' which served to write out the Fourth Doctor. After a year as script editor he returned to freelance work. This included writing two more ''Doctor Who'' serials for Peter Davison's Doctor ('' Castrovalva'' and ''

Frontios ''Frontios'' is the third serial of the 21st season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts on BBC1 from 26 January to 3 February 1984. Set in the far future, the seri ...

'') as well as producing novelisations of all three of these ''Doctor Who'' stories. He has continued his career in computer journalism, writing regularly (as Chris Bidmead) for '' Personal Computer World'', '' PC Plus'' and other computer magazines, and specialising in Linux tools. Occasionally he has contributed more speculative or philosophical pieces for publications such as '' New Scientist'', and recently he has worked as a journalist producing material for '' Wired'' magazine. In August 2006, it was announced in ''

Doctor Who Magazine ''Doctor Who Magazine'' (abbreviated as ''DWM'') is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Launched in 1979 as ''Doctor Who Weekly'', the magazine became a monthly publication the followi ...

'' that Bidmead would be writing a ''Doctor Who'' audio play, ''

Renaissance of the Daleks ''Renaissance of the Daleks'' is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Plot The Doctor leaves Nyssa on Earth, not knowing that she's in Rhodes during the Crusad ...

'', for release through

Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on cult science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'', the ...

in March 2007. An audio play with that title was subsequently released, with a "From a Story By" credit for Bidmead. In recent years he has contributed voiceover commentaries and interviews for numerous DVD and Blu-ray releases of ''Doctor Who'' serials with which he was involved.

Proposed ''Doctor Who'' stories

The Hollows of Time

Submitted on 19 June 1984, it would see the Doctor losing some of his memories throughout time. He would adapt the story to

in June 2010.''A brief history of Doctor Who- The Lost Stories- Sullivan, Shannon''

Pinacotheca

Also known as "The Last Adventure", this four-part story, was submitted on 29 October 1986 as a ''Trial of a Timelord story''. The story would see the Doctor having been on trial by the Timelords, and investigating the planet Pinacotheca, that has a museum showing places and times in the universe .

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bidmead, Christopher H. 1941 births Alumni of RADA British television writers Living people English male journalists British male television writers People from Bolton