British character actor John Normington gave teatime audiences more than they bargained for as alien über-capitalist Morgus in the 1984 story The Caves Of Androzani. Reminiscent of Ian Richardson's Francis Urquhart from the UK House Of Cards (and predating it by several years), this scheming money man shared his thoughts on camera as his dastardly deeds progressed. The President-slaying villain opposed Peter Davison's Fifth Time Lord during his final adventure. The script, by Robert Holmes, was a grim combination of deadly diseases, Magma monsters and gun running. Little wonder the mild-mannered Gallifreyan decided to throw in the towel. According to director Graeme Harper the move to get Morgus hectoring the kiddiwinks owed more to accident than design, when Normington misunderstood an instruction on the studio floor. Harper kept it in though, and a Whovian legend was born.
I am a journalist and comedian who enjoys American movies of the 70s, Amicus horror compendiums, Doctor Who, Twin Peaks, Naomi Watts and sitting down. My short fiction has been published as part of the Iris Wildthyme range from Obverse Books.
