Who & Me (Unabridged) [Audio Download]

Barry Letts does a very good job of most things he attempts, and autobiography is no exception. The CD deals with how he became a television director, writer, and producer, and his experiences with the Doctor Who actors Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee (Tom Baker is left to the second volume, which covers his later years). It would be good to hear some inforjmation about how he became an actor, and to have some background information about his childhood, however Letts wrongly assumes that the listener will only be interested in his Doctor Who related stories. This is the only way in which this release is misjudged; for example in one section he is defensive about including information about Buddhism, justifying it on the basis that it is central to the character of the Third Doctor. I suspect this may be a bit of handy revisionism, but Letts should be aware that the Doctor Who fans will most likely be interested in Buddhism BECAUSE of his contribution to the series, and will generally be interested in anything he has to say. Thankfully, the anecdotes are generally fresh and not well-worn convention favourites, but he does take time to explain how Pertwee would embellish stories to make himself the hero, and compares one of Pertwee's convention tales to the event as Letts remembered it.

Letts proves himself to have a remarkable memory, and this not only helps correct some aspects of Doctor Who mis-remembered by others, but also gives a valuable insight into the early days of post-war television.

Letts comes across as lucid, interesting, kindly, and conscientious, appearing to have been a thoughtful producer and a reliable narrator. Unless Terrance Dicks brings out a rival volume, this has to be the definitive first-hand account of the Pertwee years. Oh and Barry, if you're reading this, please tell us more about yourself! We're as much interested in "you" as we are "Who"!

Briefly for the newer fans, Barry Letts was producer of all but 1 of Jon Pertwee's stories, cast Tom Baker, producing his 1st story and directing a later one. He also directed several Pertwees and a Pat Troughton story, plus co-wrote some TV Who scripts (notable The Daemons)and wrote the 2 stories for the 90's revival of Who on radio and written Who novels.
"Who and Me" is a biography of his career but beyond just Dr Who, as he explains at the start. He talks about his career as an actor on stage, in film and on television. His reminiscences of the days of live television drama are the best bit of this early section. He paints a picture of a time which for all its faults provided an andrenaline rush rarely equalled since. Although there is a lot of pre-who material it's still peppered with Who references such as a theatrical connection to William Hartnell and his friendship with fellow TV actor Patrick Troughton.
He tells us why he changed career to become a director and the part Who creator Sydney Newman played in this.
His memories of directing Troughton tale "Enemy of the World" are very detailed and he is immensely self critical. Naturally once we move on to how he ended up, with some reluctance, producing Dr Who we are offered details memories of the 1st 2 years of Jon Pertwee's time. This section gives a sense of what the producer's job actually was at that time better than a technical book could.
Although it's largely chronological, he jumps a little when one thing links to something in the future e.g. recalling Jon Pertwee's concerns about the prominence of Roger Delgado's Master on the Radio Times Cover, he goes on to explain how a similar problem was avoided for The 3 Doctors.
Similarly an absorbing discussion on how problematic it is to explore time travel leads to why Barry hated the Paul McGann film.

The major plus of Who and Me is that Barry puts some flesh on the bones of the slightly mythologised or idealised images we have of Jon Pertwee and Patrick Troughton. Don't worry there are no tabloid revelations here just an attempt to show they were real people. Troughton for instance did not suffer fools gladly and was not easily persuaded to go with an idea he felt was wrong, but could be filled with enthusiam once he was on side.
Pertwee had enormous self doubt and could be a little manipulative but always was the 1st to welcome & include guest stars coming in as part of the company. Also the 2 clashed a bit during "The 3 Doctors"
As with his contributions to the DVD range, Barry speaks with the voice of an old friend who's popped round for tea and a chat. That's why I can't bring myself to refer to him as Letts, it seems too impolite!
If you have enjoyed the stories that he worked on then I'm sure that you will enjoy this too, especially if the early days of TV interest you.
My only complaint is that as he ends with the Daemons, we are left waiting for volume 2. Come on BBC Audio, don't keep us waiting!

Since the recent sad announcement of the passing of Barry Letts, I've been giving this 3 CD collection another listen, and what an excellent treat it is to hear the man himself telling the story of his life in such an avuncular and enjoyable manner. As Producer, Barry Letts oversaw 5 rather excellent years of DOCTOR WHO in the first half of the 1970s, but this is so much more than a dry "behind the scenes" piece and the many fond memories Mr Letts shares of his colleagues (including actors Jon Pertwee, Patrick Troughton, Katy Manning and Roger Delgado as well has the early days of his working relationship with his Script Editor Terrance Dicks) shows truly what a friendly and committed bunch they were, dedicated to producing the best TV programme that they possibly could, sometimes under the most difficult of circumstances. There's precious little in the way of scandal to be found here - the odd minor criticism of his star and the odd row with his boss - which is as it should be. Barry comes across as having been a true gent and for him to have "spilled the beans" would have been unseemly.

This memoir takes you from his early experiences as a jobbing actor, through his career changes at the BBC in the 1960s and onward through the first half of his period as DOCTOR WHO producer, ending this volume with his memories of co-writing and the troubled production of THE DAEMONS, with the promise of more to come. Sadly those stories will now remain untold and volume 2 will never appear, so this memoir will remain incomplete, although some of the tantalising glimpses that are mentioned have been covered in his thoughtful commentaries and appearances in the documentaries contained in the DOCTOR WHO DVD range.

If I have one (very minor) quibble, it is the occasional sting of "comedy" music to underscore an amusing anecdote which can be a little jarring at times, but it does help to break up the chapters, and, because he was a trained actor, Mr Letts reads the material very well and is a joy to listen to.

If you've ever been interested in finding out more about one of the earlier eras of the television phenomenon that was and is DOCTOR WHO, you could do far worse than sit yourself down with these CDs. They are an absolute joy.