Johnny Benton's Wilderness Years: The First Professional Spinoff - "Wartime"

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A Producer's Frustration Becomes the First Professional Spinoff

In 1988, Keith Barnfather—a producer known for his decades-long "Myth Makers" interview series—had an idea. He wanted to film a third Doctor/Sarah Jane story with John Pertwee and Elizabeth Sladen to prove that high-quality, professional Doctor Who content could be produced independently. He pitched the concept to the BBC, but John Nathan Turner shot it down, claiming the budget would "tarnish the legacy of Doctor Who" and look "cheap and tatty." So Barnfather pivoted. He approached the creators of UNIT and the Brigadier for permission to use Benton and the military organization instead. With BBC blessing, Wartime became the first professionally produced, BBC-authorized independent Doctor Who spinoff—a distinction that makes it canon in a way fan productions cannot be.

The Budget, The Cast, The Ambitious Story

Shot for just £5,000 (roughly £14,000 in today's money) in Shropshire, Wartime is a 30-minute psychological thriller about Benton confronting ghosts from his past. The crew—including Michael Wisher (the original Davros), John Levine, and Nicholas Briggs—largely worked for expenses only. The production is wholly filmed on location with no studio interiors and proudly proclaims this fact in its credits. The music comes from Mark Ayers, who would soon become the incidental music composer for the McCoy era. But there's a mystery: the original 1988 release may not have included the opening voiceover from Nicholas Courtney. A later 1990s re-release added enhanced video and possibly added Courtney's introduction—or so goes one account.

An Actor Stretched Beyond His Range

John Levine hadn't played Benton since 1976's "The Android Invasion." Wartime reunites him with the character, but asks him to do something Benton was never asked to do in the televised series: carry a dramatic, psychologically complex story. Over his two decades away, Levine had worked primarily in stage productions. The acting here is uneven—there are moments where genuine effort is visible, but the dialogue often feels hamfisted, and some of Levine's delivery struggles under the weight of the emotional material. The hosts debate whether this was a mistake or whether it explains the story's structure: perhaps Levine himself worked with the writers to create something that would finally let him show dramatic range.

Two Stories That Never Quite Merge

The narrative splits between two distinct threads: nuclear material is being transported, and the vehicle breaks down in the exact area where Benton grew up. While waiting for repairs, he confronts manifestations of his past—his father, his brother, guilt from a childhood tragedy. But these two storylines remain largely separate. The hosts wonder: was this the intended story, or are we seeing a compromise between what should have been a straightforward political thriller and what became a psychological character piece? The ambient storytelling choices reinforce the surreal nature of the past sequences—including an eerie slow-motion effect applied to the driver's scenes, complete with an unsettling sound design that hints at alien interference without ever confirming it.

The Foreboding English Countryside

Both hosts find themselves returning to a running theme in British television and film: why is the English countryside always so ominous? There's something about location filming in rural England that transforms familiar landscapes into places of dread. Wartime's Shropshire location captures this perfectly, with genuinely beautiful cinematography serving scenes of mounting psychological unease.

A Question of Canonicity and Intention

The novelization by Stephen James Walker sets the story in 1990, which raises questions about whether Benton left his post-Doctor Who car lot business to return to UNIT, or whether the Brigadier emerged from retirement. The "unit dating controversy" gains an unwanted new entry with this one authorized production. Additionally, there's no indication the filmmakers intended this as a pilot for a series. It stands alone—a one-off experiment to prove that independent BBC-sanctioned Doctor Who content was possible.

What This Inspired

Wartime's success (however modest) helped establish the foundation for what would come later: Real Time (the production company) would go on to create "The Stranger" videos, while others in the film community would be emboldened to approach the BBC. The true legacy may be the confidence it gave to fan producers and independent creators, eventually contributing to the ecosystem that would allow Big Finish to eventually dominate Doctor Who audio production.

The Mystery of Benton's Emotional Maturity

One persistent question: are the apparitions real, supernatural manifestations, or purely psychological? Is this a story set in the Doctor Who universe where strange things genuinely happen, or is this pure character introspection? The ambiguity remains unresolved—which fits the story's intent, but also leaves the viewer uncertain about what universe they're actually in. In a show where the protagonist has fought Daleks and Cybermen, how much can we trust that anything he experiences is purely in his mind?

• Release Date: January 20, 1988 (on VHS)
• Timing: Between Seasons 24 and 25 of Doctor Who
• Budget: £5,000 (~£14,000 today)
• Runtime: Approximately 30 minutes
• Producers/Writers: Keith Barnfather (producer/director), Andy Lane and Helen Sterling (writers)
• Notable Cast: John Levine (Benton), Michael Wisher (Benton's father), Nicholas Courtney (voiceover—possibly added later), Nicholas Briggs (soldier)
• Music: Mark Ayers (pre-McCoy era composition)
• Shooting Location: Shropshire, England (entirely on location)
• Status: First BBC-authorized independent professional Doctor Who spinoff
• Novelization: By Stephen James Walker, set in 1990

• Why John Nathan Turner rejected the original Petwee/Sladen concept
• The logistics of producing professional-grade content on a £5,000 budget
• Whether Levine was the right actor for this particular story
• The disconnect between the two narrative threads (thriller vs. psychological drama)
• Whether the supernatural elements are real or imagined
• The mystery of Nicholas Courtney's involvement and when it occurred
• How Wartime influenced future Doctor Who spinoff productions
• The visual language of the English countryside as a character itself
• Whether Benton's characterization here aligns with his televised persona
• What the novelization reveals that the video doesn't explain

Monday (Patreon Feed): Patreon Exclusive number referenced in episode (music, Memory TARDIS, three comic stories from three different authors—including one from Grant Morrison).

Friday (Patreon Early) / Wednesday (Main Feed): "Remembrance of the Daleks" (four-parter)—the 25th Anniversary story. Guest Alan J. Porter joins the discussion.

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