First 'Doctor Who' Writer Honored. His Son Contests BBC's Rights to 'Unearthly Child' (bbc.com) 53
The BBC reports:
Doctor Who's first writer could finally be recognised 60 years after he helped launch the hugely-popular series. Anthony Coburn penned the first four episodes of the sci-fi drama in 1963 — a story called An Unearthly Child. But after his second story did not air, the writer has been seen as a minor figure among some Doctor Who fans.
However, a campaign to erect a memorial to Coburn in his home town of Herne Bay, Kent, is gathering pace a month ahead of the show's 60th anniversary.
A local elected councillor told the BBC they're working to find a location for the memorial.
The BBC writes that Coburn's episode — broadcast November 23, 1963 — "introduced the character of The Doctor, his three travelling companions, and his time and space machine, the TARDIS, stuck in the form of a British police box." Richard Bignell, a Doctor Who historian, believes Coburn played a significant role in sowing the seeds of the programme's success. He said: "Although the major elements that would go on to form the core of the series were devised within the BBC, as the scriptwriter for the first story, Coburn was the one who really put the flesh on the bones of the idea and how it would work dramatically. "Many opening episodes of a new television series can be very clunky as they attempt to land their audience with too much information about the characters, the setting and what's going to happen, but Coburn was very reserved in how much he revealed, preserving all the wonder and mystery."
In 2013, the Independent reported: Mr Coburn's son claims that the BBC has been in breach of copyright since his father's death in 1977. He has demanded that the corporation either stop using the Tardis in the show or pay his family for its every use since then. Stef Coburn claims that upon his father's death, any informal permission his father gave the BBC to use his work expired and the copyright of all of his ideas passed to his widow, Joan. Earlier this year she passed it on to him.
He said: "It is by no means my wish to deprive legions of Doctor Who fans (of whom I was never one) of any aspect of their favourite children's programme. The only ends I wish to accomplish, by whatever lawful means present themselves, involve bringing about the public recognition that should by rights always have been his due, of my father James Anthony Coburn's seminal contribution to Doctor Who, and proper lawful recompense to his surviving estate."
Today jd (Slashdot reader #1,658) notes that Stef Coburn apparently has a Twitter feed, where this week Stef claimed he'd cancelled the BBC's license to distribute his father's episodes after being offered what he complained was "a pittance" to relicense them.
In response to someone who asked "What do you actually gain from doing this though?" Stef Coburn replied: "Vengeance." But elsewhere Stef Coburn writes "There are OTHER as yet unfulfilled projects & aspirations of Tony's (of one of which, I was a significant part, in his final year), which I would like to see brought to fruition. If Doctor Who is my ONLY available leverage. So be it!"
Stef Coburn also announced plans to publish his father's "precursor draft-scripts (At least one very different backstory; sans 'Timelords') plus accompanying notes, for the story that became 'The Tribe of Gum'."
However, a campaign to erect a memorial to Coburn in his home town of Herne Bay, Kent, is gathering pace a month ahead of the show's 60th anniversary.
A local elected councillor told the BBC they're working to find a location for the memorial.
The BBC writes that Coburn's episode — broadcast November 23, 1963 — "introduced the character of The Doctor, his three travelling companions, and his time and space machine, the TARDIS, stuck in the form of a British police box." Richard Bignell, a Doctor Who historian, believes Coburn played a significant role in sowing the seeds of the programme's success. He said: "Although the major elements that would go on to form the core of the series were devised within the BBC, as the scriptwriter for the first story, Coburn was the one who really put the flesh on the bones of the idea and how it would work dramatically. "Many opening episodes of a new television series can be very clunky as they attempt to land their audience with too much information about the characters, the setting and what's going to happen, but Coburn was very reserved in how much he revealed, preserving all the wonder and mystery."
In 2013, the Independent reported: Mr Coburn's son claims that the BBC has been in breach of copyright since his father's death in 1977. He has demanded that the corporation either stop using the Tardis in the show or pay his family for its every use since then. Stef Coburn claims that upon his father's death, any informal permission his father gave the BBC to use his work expired and the copyright of all of his ideas passed to his widow, Joan. Earlier this year she passed it on to him.
He said: "It is by no means my wish to deprive legions of Doctor Who fans (of whom I was never one) of any aspect of their favourite children's programme. The only ends I wish to accomplish, by whatever lawful means present themselves, involve bringing about the public recognition that should by rights always have been his due, of my father James Anthony Coburn's seminal contribution to Doctor Who, and proper lawful recompense to his surviving estate."
Today jd (Slashdot reader #1,658) notes that Stef Coburn apparently has a Twitter feed, where this week Stef claimed he'd cancelled the BBC's license to distribute his father's episodes after being offered what he complained was "a pittance" to relicense them.
In response to someone who asked "What do you actually gain from doing this though?" Stef Coburn replied: "Vengeance." But elsewhere Stef Coburn writes "There are OTHER as yet unfulfilled projects & aspirations of Tony's (of one of which, I was a significant part, in his final year), which I would like to see brought to fruition. If Doctor Who is my ONLY available leverage. So be it!"
Stef Coburn also announced plans to publish his father's "precursor draft-scripts (At least one very different backstory; sans 'Timelords') plus accompanying notes, for the story that became 'The Tribe of Gum'."
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With you on that, what exactly did this snot-nosed git do to add to the Dr. Who story: Absolutely nothing. Yet he wants an income from it. In perpetuity FFS!
Taking advantage of fucked copyright law by chancer fuckers like this guy.
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Mr Coburn's son [said]: "It is by no means my wish to deprive legions of Doctor Who fans (of whom I was never one) of any aspect of their favourite children's programme"
He continued:
"Instead it is my wish to deprive the BBC of as much money as I can squeeze out of them. Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, money, money, money, money".
Re:Their feelings and claims are irrelevant. (Score:4, Interesting)
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I wouldn't mind copyright that can be inherited up until the point you become an adult - if a copyright holder dies while they have kids that are under 18 that otherwise face hardship. Anything beyond that is just ridiculous.
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Right... because it is best if the only eternal copyrights are held by corporations who can never die? That is what you meant, right?
Re:Their feelings and claims are irrelevant. (Score:4, Interesting)
This was the BBC, back in the day. Everyone was under contract. Everything done was "work for hire" -paid by the day/week. The studio retained all rights to everything. Writers, actors, directors, crew, etc. were all interchangeable and moved from show to show, part to part, job to job, jockeying for position and influence. If you did good, you got to come back and do it again -if not someone else would do it and you were out.
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Re: Their feelings and claims are irrelevant. (Score:1)
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Meh (Score:3)
On the one hand, if the original writer doesn't have a big enough pedestal, buy one for his tombstone.
On the other hand, the show's over a half century old and had varying levels of success over that time - if the writer of the first script never managed to successfully win a court case over the matter, it's long enough ago it should be ignored now. He had plenty of time and plenty of spotlight available to try.
And it's time to forget about DW for a few decades. The last time its ratings were this low, it was unofficially cancelled.
Re: Meh (Score:5, Insightful)
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Jodie Whitaker is a terrible actor and admitted she had not watched any previous episodes of the show. The woman who played the Fugitive Doctor was a million times better. Watch this exchange and tell me who you think is better. https://youtu.be/SlgP3uiVCys?s... [youtu.be] Not to mention the plots that have rewritten the show history over and over.
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And you've just found out what you're not allowed to say.
It doesn't matter that it's more or less an accurate description - the writers started with sexual politics on their agenda and then failed to follow through with actual writing - if you say it you're immediately branded a misogynist, homophobe, or whatever applies to the particular part of DW you are critiquing.
The Doctor was member of the nobility who rebelled against their cruel, hidebound ways and corruption. The Time Lords were so obviously a sc
Re: Meh (Score:2)
You've just said it. Have you been dragged off to the gulag now?
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The Unearthly Child almost got Dr. Who cancelled (Score:5, Interesting)
The Unearthly Child had ratings so low, that the plan was to cancel Doctor Who after the next story.
The next run featured the "Daleks" which were the most iconic Doctor Who monster ever. Doctor Who became the BBC's new hit show ...
Re:Work for hire (Score:5, Interesting)
Nation (Score:2)
Terry Nation was, IIRC, brought in as a contractor to write for Dr. Who. I don't think he ever worked for the BBC officially. Even Blake's 7 was contracted out to Nation to produce. Coburn was a staff writer for the BBC. The rules for whom owns what are different for contractors, in general.
Some Doctor Who pedantry (Score:5, Interesting)
"Tardis" or "The Ship". "The TARDIS" was not used until later. And since the time lords were not invented until six years later, everything back then was "sans 'Timelords'". Also, these things kept changing, there was an unaired pilot filmed in which Susan was born in the 49th century, which was changed to "another time, another world" when it was redone.
There was also not really any concept of "companions" back then, it was "his granddaughter, and the two protagonists they've kidnapped". Vicki is a kind of replacement granddaughter/young girl, it's probably not until Steven that the word "companion" becomes appropriate.
Re:Some Doctor Who pedantry (Score:5, Informative)
But Susan did explain that "Tardis" came from the initials "Time and Relative Dimension in Space". So TARDIS was pretty much there from the beginning.
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There was also not really any concept of "companions" back then, it was "his granddaughter, and the two protagonists they've kidnapped". Vicki is a kind of replacement granddaughter/young girl, it's probably not until Steven that the word "companion" becomes appropriate.
The best Companion, by far, was Morena Baccarin.
Did the BBC have his blessing? (Score:2)
Stef Coburn claims that upon his father's death, any informal permission his father gave the BBC to use his work expired
From this line in the summary, it sounds like his father was perfectly fine with everything as it was/is. Why does this asshat feel he's entitled to something his father did 14 years prior to his death? Did he get a Ouija board and ask his father after his death?
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Why does this asshat feel he's entitled to something his father did 14 years prior to his death?
Because of huge sums of money involved if he can hit this hail mary. It sounds like he doesn't give a shit what Doctor Who fans think about him, so why not take the shot?
(Note that I'm not endorsing that mentality, it's asshattery. But I certainly understand why he's doing it, and why others in his position might also take a shot at it even if deep down they know it's not right.)
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Why does this asshat feel he's entitled to something his father did 14 years prior to his death?
Because that's the way inheritance works.
When his father died, he inherited his father's intellectual property. Unless his father specifically put conditions in his will, he can do what he chooses, regardless of what his father wanted or didn't want.
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A better question would be what rights the BBC retained when they contracted Coburn to write the script(s).
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But it seems the father already gave permission.
In writing? Then he doesn't have a case.
An "informal agreement" that's not in writing? The lawyers have a saying: "A verbal agreement isn't worth the paper it's written on."
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By working as a staff writer for the BBC it's very clear how that works and has worked for many others. This is not exploring anything new or that needs to be rehashed.
Lawyers love to split hairs for money and demand explicit everything in writing; again for money... where it leads to a society of babbling bloated detail that goes on infinitely requiring more lawyers.... it is a social disease.... Judges are supposed to cut the crap with some reason and need more power to punish these lawyers. How about la
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By working as a staff writer for the BBC it's very clear how that works and has worked for many others.
You mean, like it has worked for Terry Nation, who invented the Daleks (in a Dr. Who script written for the BBC), and whose estate owns intellectual rights to them?
Permission (Score:5, Informative)
The author was a staff writer for the BBC. I'm not sure how the son thinks that the ideas the BBC paid his dad to write for the BBC somehow belongs to his dad.
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There seem to be two factors. Firstly, Stef blames the BBC for his father's death as he was working in a BBC project at the time. This is where the cries of vengeance likely fit in.
But also there's the money. He's demanding tens of millions from the BBC, on the basis that this is what celebrities are paid. That's a lot of money. Far more than the episode is likely worth in future sales, possibly more than the episode has ever made in sales. It's not a strong story.
I don't think he really cares what his fath
Reparations? (Score:2)
Dude wants reparations? The thing is, we don't know what his father is/was owed. We don't know if his dad had made those demands back then, BBC would have gone with someone else's story idea. Hmm, maybe that guy's descendants deserves reparations and inheritance too.
Great man has not so great child (Score:2)
Why of the world.
OMG hes nuts (Score:5, Interesting)
His twitter reposts is like a q-anon feed. Yeah.... I don't think bringing this kinda attention is gonna put him into the FO land.
Just get an unambiguous contract signed (Score:2)
Pay Anthony Coburn properly and all done. What is the point of having that blue box unless they use it ? Sheesh ....
Paid (Score:2)
They did pay him. He was a staff writer for the BBC. He was paid to write Dr. Who episodes.
It may be worth noting (Score:4, Interesting)
Stef Coburn is racist, sexist, a transphobe and an anti-vaxxer.
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That could all e true. Yet has nothing to do with his possible IP rights.
It is not worth noting in the context of this topic.
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Not relevant or important what old people believed... Everybody was racist a century ago...before the coined political term, it was tribalism. Old as humanity and the tribalism will continue until extinction (even if we evolve somehow... the replacements have to survive secretly to avoid not being stomped out as a threat. see Children of the Damned)
He just want vengeance (Score:1)
He spelled it. Someone who ask politely may have obtained he's due. But in this case it could be hard to argue since you start from hatred. What a pity this world place and time.
Whatever (Score:2)
This is about money. Iâ(TM)ve heard this overpoetic tripe before.
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How about suing the new writers for messing up the legacy of Doctor Who?
They are not leaving the mystery anymore and rehash all the old enemies padded with drama revealing more secrets and background; leaving less and less to be mysterious. Also, it's just good for people to not know all the gossip about a figure (real or fictional.)
I'd argue they've been Americanized because they adopted a lot of idiotic tropes from us...