Writing
Philip Martin
Born July 3, 1938 · Liverpool, England
Died December 13, 2020 · aged 82
Philip Martin (3 July 1938 – 13 December 2020) was an English television screenwriter. He created the BBC television drama series Gangsters in the 1970s and later wrote two television serials for Doctor Who during Colin Baker's tenure as the Sixth Doctor in the 1980s. His early work included regular series such as Z-Cars in the late 1960s/early 1970s, but his most famous work is the postmodern te…
Known For
Doctor Who: Mindwarp · 1986Doctor Who: Mindwarp
★ 7.71986
MovieScience FictionDrama
As the Doctor's trial continues, evidence is presented showing his most recent adventure, one where he faces an old adversary, Sil. As a scientist conducts his unethical experiments to prolong the life of Sil's boss Kiv, the Doctor's memories of the events begins to return and an unpleasant surprise awaits him.
The Remainder Man · 1982The Remainder Man
1982
MovieDramaTV Movie
Jack is obsessed with nuclear armageddon and takes his wife, Ellen, and their children into a fallout shelter in their garden to wait out the atomic bomb.
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner · 1962The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
★ 7.21962
MovieDrama
A rebellious youth, sentenced to a boy’s reformatory for robbing a bakery, rises through the ranks of the institution by impressing its Governor through his prowess as a long distance runner. He is encouraged to compete in an upcoming race, but faces ridicule from his peers.
Gangsters · 1975Gangsters
★ 9.01975
MovieCrimeDrama
Birmingham is a melting pot of races and every community has a stake in the city's underworld. When former SAS officer John Kline is released from prison after serving a sentence for murder, he becomes the unwilling catalyst in a gang war. Movie screened as part of Play of Today.
The Cult of Star Cops · 2006The Cult of Star Cops
★ 9.02006
MovieDocumentary
A look at the late-80s BBC series Star Cops, which followed the adventures of the International Space Police Force in the year 2027.
Doctor Who: Vengeance on Varos · 1985Doctor Who: Vengeance on Varos
★ 7.41985
MovieAdventureScience Fiction
When the TARDIS is in need of repairs, the Doctor and Peri are forced to land on Varos, a mining planet whose population is entertained and enslaved by a sadistic system of public torture and execution, and find themselves the latest unwilling subjects in this most extreme form of reality TV.
Sil and the Devil Seeds of Arodor · 2019Sil and the Devil Seeds of Arodor
★ 5.52019
MovieScience Fiction
An original drama from the world of BBCtv's Doctor Who, featuring Sil, the ruthless alien entrepreneur from planet Thoros Beta, played by Nabil Shaban. Sil is worried, very worried, which doesn't keep his reptilian skin in the best condition! Confined in a cold detention cell on the moon, awaiting a deportation hearing for trial on drugs offences on Earth, he faces a death sentence if the application is successful and he is found guilty. And his employers at the Universal Monetary Fund aren t pleased either. Not at all. As time runs out and friends desert him, Sil must use all of his devious, vile, underhanded, ruthless, and amoral business acumen to survive. Can he possibly slime his way out of this one?
The Making of The Trial of a Time Lord · 2008The Making of The Trial of a Time Lord
2008
MovieDocumentary
The Making of The Trial of a Time Lord was the umbrella title for a series of four 2|entertain documentaries. Each covered a different story within the larger fourteen-part serial The Trial of a Time Lord. An instalment of the series was found on each DVD of the The Trial of a Time Lord box set.
Movies
Doctor Who: Mindwarp · 1986Doctor Who: Mindwarp
★ 7.71986
MovieScience FictionDrama
As the Doctor's trial continues, evidence is presented showing his most recent adventure, one where he faces an old adversary, Sil. As a scientist conducts his unethical experiments to prolong the life of Sil's boss Kiv, the Doctor's memories of the events begins to return and an unpleasant surprise awaits him.
The Remainder Man · 1982The Remainder Man
1982
MovieDramaTV Movie
Jack is obsessed with nuclear armageddon and takes his wife, Ellen, and their children into a fallout shelter in their garden to wait out the atomic bomb.
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner · 1962The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
★ 7.21962
MovieDrama
A rebellious youth, sentenced to a boy’s reformatory for robbing a bakery, rises through the ranks of the institution by impressing its Governor through his prowess as a long distance runner. He is encouraged to compete in an upcoming race, but faces ridicule from his peers.
Gangsters · 1975Gangsters
★ 9.01975
MovieCrimeDrama
Birmingham is a melting pot of races and every community has a stake in the city's underworld. When former SAS officer John Kline is released from prison after serving a sentence for murder, he becomes the unwilling catalyst in a gang war. Movie screened as part of Play of Today.
The Cult of Star Cops · 2006The Cult of Star Cops
★ 9.02006
MovieDocumentary
A look at the late-80s BBC series Star Cops, which followed the adventures of the International Space Police Force in the year 2027.
Doctor Who: Vengeance on Varos · 1985Doctor Who: Vengeance on Varos
★ 7.41985
MovieAdventureScience Fiction
When the TARDIS is in need of repairs, the Doctor and Peri are forced to land on Varos, a mining planet whose population is entertained and enslaved by a sadistic system of public torture and execution, and find themselves the latest unwilling subjects in this most extreme form of reality TV.
Sil and the Devil Seeds of Arodor · 2019Sil and the Devil Seeds of Arodor
★ 5.52019
MovieScience Fiction
An original drama from the world of BBCtv's Doctor Who, featuring Sil, the ruthless alien entrepreneur from planet Thoros Beta, played by Nabil Shaban. Sil is worried, very worried, which doesn't keep his reptilian skin in the best condition! Confined in a cold detention cell on the moon, awaiting a deportation hearing for trial on drugs offences on Earth, he faces a death sentence if the application is successful and he is found guilty. And his employers at the Universal Monetary Fund aren t pleased either. Not at all. As time runs out and friends desert him, Sil must use all of his devious, vile, underhanded, ruthless, and amoral business acumen to survive. Can he possibly slime his way out of this one?
The Making of The Trial of a Time Lord · 2008The Making of The Trial of a Time Lord
2008
MovieDocumentary
The Making of The Trial of a Time Lord was the umbrella title for a series of four 2|entertain documentaries. Each covered a different story within the larger fourteen-part serial The Trial of a Time Lord. An instalment of the series was found on each DVD of the The Trial of a Time Lord box set.
The Unborn · 1980The Unborn
★ 8.01980
Movie
A physicist has apocalyptic visions of his unborn baby.
Trials and Tribulations · 2008Trials and Tribulations
2008
MovieDocumentaryTV Movie
A retrospective of Colin Baker's turbulent three-years as the Sixth Doctor in Doctor Who (1963), covering his casting, the 1985 hiatus, and his sacking on the orders of BBC One controller Michael Grade.
TV Shows
Doctor Who · 1963Doctor Who
★ 7.91963
SeriesDrama
The adventures of The Doctor, a time-traveling humanoid alien known as a Time Lord. He explores the universe in his TARDIS, a sentient time-traveling spaceship. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. Along with a succession of companions, The Doctor faces a variety of foes while working to save civilizations, help ordinary people, and right many wrongs.
Play for Today · 1970Play for Today
★ 6.61970
SeriesDrama
Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted. The individual episodes were between fifty and a hundred minutes in duration.
Z-Cars · 1962Z-Cars
★ 7.31962
SeriesDrama
Z-Cars or Z Cars is a British television drama series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, Merseyside. Produced by the BBC, it debuted in January 1962 and ran until September 1978.
Playhouse · 1974Playhouse
★ 7.01974
SeriesDrama
A one-hour anthology television series of one-off contemporary and classic dramas produced by the BBC.
The Bill · 1984The Bill
★ 6.81984
SeriesCrimeDrama
The daily lives of the men and women at Sun Hill Police Station as they fight crime on the streets of London. From bomb threats to armed robbery and drug raids to the routine demands of policing this ground-breaking series focuses as much on crime as it does on the personal lives of its characters.
Thirty-Minute Theatre · 1965Thirty-Minute Theatre
★ 4.21965
SeriesDrama
An anthology of short plays shown on BBC Television between 1965 and 1973, used in part at least as a training ground for new writers, on account of its short length, and which therefore attracted many writers who later became well known.
Hetty Wainthropp Investigates · 1996Hetty Wainthropp Investigates
★ 7.31996
SeriesDramaCrime
Instead of spending her golden years lying down, the indomitable Hetty Wainthropp found her calling late in life. Combining common sense, her husband, and her pocketbook, this senior sleuth takes on all the cases the police deem too minor.
Shoestring · 1979Shoestring
★ 7.71979
SeriesCrimeDrama
Shoestring is a BBC detective drana set in Bristol and starring Trevor Eve as private detective Eddie Shoestring, who operatee his own show on Radio West, the local radio station.
The programme ran between 30 September 1979 and 21 December 1980, in two series with 21 hour-long episodes. Eve opted not to return after two series, as he wanted to diversify into theatre, so the production team changed the setting to Jersey and created Bergerac, also following a detective returning to work after a bad period in his life.
Star Cops · 1987Star Cops
★ 6.41987
SeriesSci-Fi & FantasyCrime
Star Cops is a British science fiction TV series created by Chris Boucher, set in 2027 where the International Space Police Force (ISPF) maintains law and order in a newly colonized solar system, overseen by Commander Nathan Spring.
Known for its hard science fiction approach and realistic portrayal of space travel, the series was canceled after one season due to poor ratings and production issues. Retrospectively, it has been critically reappraised.
New Scotland Yard · 1972New Scotland Yard
★ 6.31972
SeriesCrimeDrama
New Scotland Yard is a police drama series produced by London Weekend Television for ITV from 1972 and 1974. It features the activities of two officers from the Criminal Investigations Department in the Metropolitan Police force headquarters at New Scotland Yard, as they dealt with the assorted villains of the day.
Tales of the Tardis · 2023Tales of the Tardis
★ 5.62023
SeriesSci-Fi & Fantasy
Classic Doctor Who duos are reunited as they board a very special TARDIS on a nostalgic voyage through space and time.
Virtual Murder · 1992Virtual Murder
★ 7.01992
SeriesMysteryComedy
Eccentric psychology professor Dr John Cornelius solves technologically-charged crimes with his partner Samantha Valentine, police contact Inspector Cadogan, and his HOD Professor Owen Griffiths.
Tandoori Nights · 1985Tandoori Nights
★ 6.31985
SeriesComedy
Tandoori Nights is a Channel 4 sitcom broadcast in two six-episode series from 1985 to 1987. The programme focuses on the rivalry between two Indian restaurants in East London: The Jewel in the Crown and The Far Pavilions.
Sil and the Devil Seeds of Arodor · 2019Sil and the Devil Seeds of Arodor
2019
SeriesSci-Fi & FantasyCrime
SIL is worried, very worried, which doesn't keep his reptilian skin in the best condition! Confined in a cold detention cell on the moon, awaiting a deportation hearing for trial on drugs offences on Earth, he faces a death sentence if the application is successful and he is found guilty.
And his employers at the Universal Monetary Fund aren't pleased either. Not at all.
As time runs out and friends desert him, SIL must use all of his devious, vile, underhanded, ruthless, and amoral business acumen to survive.
Can he possibly slime his way out of this one?
Gangsters · 1976Gangsters
★ 8.51976
SeriesDramaCrime
A pioneering show starring Maurice Colbourne as Birmingham gangster John Kline. The show was noted for its gritty true-life quality, and often graphic violence.