The Department of Measurement of Scientific Work aka Doomwatch was a BBC TV series of the early 1970s. It featured a group of scientists investigating various disasters of an ecological or scientific nature. The team was led by Nobel Prize winner Dr. Spenser Quist played by John Paul. Doomwatch sent Brigadier Alastair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart to America on an investigation in the Doctor Who audio adventure Minuet in Hell.
The DVD contains all the extant episodes but some can also be found on YouTube
Doomwatch is one of the very best science fiction television series ever produced. It may be somewhat slow paced for modern viewers more used to the flash and bang of the Star Wars generation but for the erudite SF fan this is unparalleled. Unfortunately many episodes are missing due to the short-sighted policy of the BBC to wipe the tapes of many of their shows during the 1970s. At least with Doctor Who we have Target novelizations, audio recordings and reconstructions to fill the gaps with shows like Doomwatch we must suffice with one paragraph summaries, to fans of the series this is just gutting. Many of the individual episodes are solid 10 out of 10. The episode dealing with an outbreak of rabies in an isolated village is memorable. The episode “Inquest” by Robert Holmes is very realistic with most of it taking place during a hearing on the outbreak. There was a science fiction explanation but the final conclusion turns out to be a simple case of smuggling of animals from the continent showing that nothing can be taken for granted in each episode. Most of the episodes do not have a climatic ending but just end with many questions remaining. Another great episode is when it is discovered a factory is slowly poisoning its work force. The question arises do you implement safety protocols which will shut down the factory and devastate the small town where it is located or do you absorb the health effects in future generations. Quist makes a speech about the cumulative effects of pollution in years to come that is very prescient when you compare it to climate change today. The third season has only three episodes surviving one of which “Sex and Violence” sees the subject of violent and sexual content being debated as to its effect on the youth. A subject the right wing today still has on their agenda. The documentary “The Cult of Doomwatch” completes the DVD. 10 out of 10.
John Paul as head of Doomwatch Dr. Spenser Quist
Simon Oates as Dr. John Ridge
Robert Powell as Tobias Wren
Joby Blanshard as Colin Bradley
Jean Trend as Dr. Fay Chantry
The role of women in the series was not the best at times but improved in later years
Many actors from Doctor Who appeared including The Second Doctor himself
There was a film of the series in 1972 (review here) and this dismal TV movie in 1999 a disappointing denouement to the series (review here)
