Almost 50 years have gone by since Doctor Who was first broadcast in November1963, making for a total of nearly 800 episodes. Legendary science fiction, must-see Saturday night television, and a franchise of spin-offs and licensed media to satisfy both casual and obsessed fans, Doctor Who has become one of the most culturally and historically significant television shows of all time.
For proof, consider the tributes created by Babelcolour, a Doctor Who fan living in South London. Babelcolour’s YouTube videos, with almost 4 million views, celebrate every era of the show, from its black & white beginnings to its 2011 HD Christmas special. His latest creation pays tribute to the 48 years and 226 serials & episodes of Doctor Who, those who hid behind sofas those who watch on their iPad. The video has struck a chord: it’s been online for two weeks and has 144,000 views.
Babelcolour was kind enough to answer some questions I had about the effort that went into his epic tribute, and later what Doctor Who means to him. In this final segment, we discussed the man behind the video, how he started and why he chose the name “Babelcolour”.
Have you ever been contacted by the BBC (or a past/present Doctor Who actor) about your work?
Yes, a few times. I think it would be indiscrete of me to name names or go into details. But yes, I’ve been contacted by some actors. They have enjoyed the videos.
Of all the videos you’ve done - the tributes, the memorials, the music videos - which is your personal favourite? Why?
I really enjoy my ‘Doollaly Who’ video, because it’s so daft and so catchy. It hasn’t gone viral or done particularly well against some of my other videos, but I enjoy it the most. I’m going to make a sequel to it, which I’ll probably call ‘Doollaly Two’. As for why it tickles me the most, probably because I’ve never seen another video like it – just a tune running behind a random assortment of whistles and grunts and "Ahhhhhhs" and lots of peculiar faces. It’s as mad as a bag of frogs. I like that sort of thing!
What led you to create all these videos to begin with? Was there a spark that made you say, “I think this could be fun”?
That’s easy to pinpoint. Back in 2006, when I first joined Youtube, I saw a video by EmmaPeelPants, which was a tribute video to Jon Pertwee set to the song ‘Dandy’. I was really impressed and wanted to make my own Doctor tributes. That was my inspiration, so thank you emmapeelpants!
What was the most difficult one of your videos to make?
Definitely the Ten Doctors trilogy (ultimately a quadrilogy, when I find the time). That was a behemoth.
Why was that?
Massively intensive work without any industry software. I was doing all the effects and re-colourisations frame-by-frame. Each one took months. Part Three was probably 6 months work. Horrendous. Because they are so difficult, I’ve delayed working on the final instalment. It’s hard to embark on a project you know will take you half a year to complete and only get 70,000 hits in a year, when a video that might take me a fortnight to do can get 100,000 hits in a week.
What software do you use to create your videos?
I use Pinnacle Studio 9. It’s thoroughly basic and cheap, very limited in its effects and is a program often given away free with camcorders. But it’s user-friendly, I know it backwards and it serves its purpose for me. I’m not technically minded at all, so the simpler a program is, the better. I’m an eccentric old technophobe who doesn’t even have a mobile phone. A whizz-bang editing suite would be too much for me.
What was your first Doctor Who video under the “Babelcolour” name, and when was it?
My very first video was a Colin Baker Tribute back in 2006, which is still available on my channel, set to a heavily edited cut of ‘Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’.
And why the name “Babelcolour”?
I used to belong to a Doctor Who forum called Outpost Gallifrey, which was the principle Doctor Who forum on the internet. My username there was Babelfish – a means of translating all languages in The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy. Under that name, I began colourising black and white photographs from Doctor Who to post on the forum threads, which ultimately led to me establishing the Babelfish Colourisation Website.
Through that, I received a few work proposals, such as colourising telesnaps for the excellent magazine Nothing At The End Of The Lane and working on a colourised clip of The Daleks’ Master Plan, which appeared on the Genesis of the Daleks DVD.
Unfortunately, when joining YouTube the name Babelfish had already been taken and so, since I was known for colourisations, I called myself Babelcolour.
Last question, I promise: if you landed the role of playing the next Doctor, what would your costume be like?
Hmmmm. I’m an old school Doctor Who fan, so I wouldn’t be opting for a modern Eccleston look. I’d be more of a traditionalist in that regard. I think some old Edwardian hacking jacket, which is probably too similar to Matt Smith or Dr. Watson. I’m not a frock coat person, but I love the style of Edwardian couture. Maybe I’d leap foward a decade and go for a Jeeves/Poirot look. That’s rather suave!
The date for the 2012 series of Doctor Who is yet to be announced, but people like Babelcolour have given fans plenty to keep occupied until then. There’s no better way to end anything than by quoting someone else, so many, many thanks to Babelcolour for his time, his answers, and this beautiful message to the fans of Doctor Who:
“Doctor Who is a monumental part of my life, and has been since I was a little boy. If I can convey a fraction of the affection I have for the series in my videos, then I am happy. I want everyone to love it as much as I do!”
Michael Perera - The only rule in writing is honesty. If you're honest, the words will write themselves.
