41-464: Elizabeth "Liz" Shaw is a fictional character played by Caroline John in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spin-offs. A civilian member of UNIT , an international organisation that defends Earth from alien threats, she was the companion of the Third Doctor for the 1970 season. Liz appeared in 4 stories (25 episodes). Liz Shaw first appears in
82-470: A bridge between the Doctor's world and the more grounded UNIT. She has also been described as more mature and equal to the Doctor than previous companions. Following John's death in 2012, then current Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat described Liz as "not just a sidekick but a scientist in her own right" and an example of his sentiment that "the Doctor's companions should never be his assistants – they're
123-516: A daughter, Daisy Ashford, and sons Ben and Tom. Ashford, also an actor, has portrayed her mother's Doctor Who character, Liz Shaw, in audio dramas for Big Finish Production. John died on 5 June 2012 from cancer. The Diary of River Song River Song is an audio play series from Big Finish Productions based on the character of the same name who appears in the British television series Doctor Who played by Alex Kingston , who reprises
164-511: A fourth and fifth series to be released in 2018 and 2019 respectively. The fourth series features an encounter with the Fourth Doctor ; whilst the fifth series features encounters with multiple versions of The Master . Big Finish subsequently renewed The Diary of River Song in October 2018, for a further two more series (the sixth and seventh) to be released in 2019 and 2020. In August 2020,
205-561: A mystery at her college. Caroline John's daughter Daisy reprises her mother's role as Liz in The Third Doctor Adventures- Volume Five: Primord , where Liz is infected by samples of Stahlman's gas and psychologically corrupted to try and infect all of humanity with the gas, nearly infecting the Doctor until he is able to pass on instructions to the Brigadier and Jo about how they might be able to help him resist
246-611: A non-speaking, background role in the film Love Actually . Her career in the theatre included appearances in His Majesty (1992), Silas Marner (1998), The Master Builder (1999), Death of a Salesman (2001), Happy Birthday Dear Alice (2002), and Dona Rosita (2004). In June 1970, John married actor Geoffrey Beevers , who later appeared in Doctor Who as The Master , in The Keeper of Traken (1981). The couple had three children:
287-549: A recurring character across the fifth , sixth and seventh series of the programme, during which her true identity is revealed as Melody Pond, daughter to the Eleventh Doctor 's companions Amy Pond and Rory Williams , and the Doctor's future wife. River Song's last TV appearance would come in the 2015 Christmas special " The Husbands of River Song " alongside the Twelfth Doctor . In the first boxset story, The Rulers of
328-417: A regular story teller on Woman's Hour . Various BBC radio productions covered in these strands were Thérèse with Vivien Merchant , Jane Eyre with Patrick Allen , How To Get Away With Murder , The Concert , New Grub Street with Robert Powell , Observations on a Jesting Man , Mr. Campion's Falcon , An Infinity of Changes and Jane Austen 's Lady Susan amongst many others. John played
369-591: Is named Dr. Elizabeth Shaw; Dr. Nicolas Pillai, a lecturer from the University of Warwick 's Film and Television Studies department, argues that this is a reference to the Doctor Who character, as Scott used to work for the BBC as a designer. However, this is entirely speculation and neither Scott nor the scriptwriters of Prometheus have ever officially stated the name was intentionally used as such. Caroline John Caroline Frances John (19 September 1940 – 5 June 2012)
410-702: Is still part of UNIT fighting against the Silurians in a world where the Doctor died before defeating the reptiles. According to the 1997 Virgin New Adventures novel Eternity Weeps by Jim Mortimore , Liz dies in 2003, the victim of an extraterrestrial terraforming virus contracted while she was part of a UNIT team investigating an alien artefact on the Moon , despite the efforts of the Seventh Doctor and his current companion Chris Cwej to save her. The part of Liz Shaw
451-765: The Central School of Speech and Drama , she worked in theatre and toured with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre Company . She appeared in Juno and the Paycock in a 1966 production directed by Laurence Olivier , King Lear , Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead , The Merchant of Venice and as Hero in Franco Zeffirelli 's production of Much Ado About Nothing . John played
SECTION 10
#1732905922643492-534: The 20th Anniversary television movie " The Five Doctors " (1983), and as Liz herself in the 1993 charity special Dimensions in Time . John also played Liz Shaw in a series of straight-to-video stories produced by BBV under the umbrella title of P.R.O.B.E. , in which the character works with a paranormal investigation organisation not unlike UNIT, called the "Preternatural Research Bureau". John later returned as Liz appearing in five Big Finish audio stories narrated by
533-596: The Brigadier that all the Doctor really needed was someone to pass him his test tubes and tell him how brilliant he was. Liz's life after leaving UNIT is not explored in the series. In the Seventh Doctor serial Battlefield (1989), the Doctor gives Ace a fake ID with the name Elizabeth Shaw. Additionally, in the 2010 The Sarah Jane Adventures story Death of the Doctor Colonel Tia Karim mentions that "Miss Shaw can't get back from Moonbase until Sunday." Caroline John appeared as an illusory image of Liz in
574-509: The Doctor and UNIT. After The Blue Tooth she played Liz in four more Companion Chronicle audio plays; Binary , The Sentinels of the New Dawn and Shadow of the Past . Her final audio play, The Last Post , which she recorded on 26 January 2012, was released after her death. After leaving Doctor Who and the birth of her first child, John appeared in the BBC drama series The Doctors playing
615-411: The Doctor's technobabble . Shaw and the Doctor discussed things on a more equitable level of intelligence, and the Doctor respected and rarely patronised her. During her final story, Inferno , John also played the part of Section Leader Elizabeth Shaw, an alter ego of her regular character that the Doctor encounters in an alternative time stream. John reprised the role of Shaw, albeit as a phantom, in
656-657: The Missing Adventures novel The Eye of the Giant (1996) and the Past Doctor Adventures novel The Devil Goblins from Neptune (1997). Scales of Injustice directly acknowledges that Liz left UNIT because she felt surplus to requirements with the Doctor around and wanted to focus more on scientific research, the Doctor assuring her that he understood her reasons and regretted that they hadn't been able to spend more time together as friends. Liz eventually does travel in
697-478: The Silurians for Doctor Who: The Television Companion , David J. Howe and Stephen James Walker were positive towards Liz, who they said was "very good foil, far removed from the naïve young companions of the past". Radio Times writer Mark Braxton wrote that, despite her short appearance, "Liz established herself thanks to her brilliant mind, a succession of crazy outfits and Caroline John's consummate professionalism as an actress". Braxton also felt that "she
738-637: The TARDIS with the Third Doctor and Jo Grant in the Past Doctor Adventures novel The Wages of Sin (1999), which takes place after the Doctor regains his freedom, with the Doctor's attempt to take her to witness the Tunguska Event accidentally resulting in them becoming caught up in the truth about the death of Grigori Rasputin . A parallel version of her appears in the novel Blood Heat where she
779-841: The Universe , River cross paths with the Eighth Doctor , a still younger incarnation. She would appear again alongside the Eighth Doctor in the Doom Coalition series. The second series of The Diary of River Song features encounters with both the Sixth and Seventh Doctors . The third series, announced September 2017, features an encounter with the Fifth Doctor with Frances Barber reprising her role of Madame Kovarian . Announced in October 2017, Big Finish confirmed that River Song would return for
820-470: The actress herself, John had taken the dramatic step of having herself photographed in a bikini and sent the picture around to BBC producers. The photo ended up on Bryant's desk. After appearing in the 25 episodes that made up the four stories of the seventh season, John left the programme because she was pregnant with her first child, and new producer Barry Letts had already decided against renewing her contract. Letts and script editor Terrance Dicks viewed
861-716: The anniversary episode " The Five Doctors ", and also appeared in the special episode Dimensions in Time (1993), part of the BBC 's annual Children in Need appeal. In the 1990s she appeared in a series of straight-to-video releases including The Stranger : Breach of the Peace , and as Liz Shaw in the P.R.O.B.E. stories written by Mark Gatiss and featuring numerous actors from the history of Doctor Who – including Jon Pertwee , Peter Davison , Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy . In these stories made by
SECTION 20
#1732905922643902-524: The audio play Dust Breeding and the TV adaptation of the political thriller A Very British Coup , although they did not appear on screen together. John appeared in several episodes of Casualty as recurring character Edith Hewlett. In 1995, she appeared as Janet Young in the BBC drama adaptation of Joanna Trollope 's The Choir . Other minor TV appearances included EastEnders , It Might Be You , Silent Witness and Dangerfield . John also appeared in
943-412: The character as unsuccessful, feeling that she did not fill the companion's role of asking the Doctor for exposition and acting as an audience surrogate . In 1978, John expressed mixed feelings about her role as Liz, saying, "I was excited at first to be a brainy girl, but all the directors wanted really was a sexy piece. It was such an effort looking glamorous on cold clay-pits and rubbish dumps. I enjoyed
984-538: The character in the audio series. Originally announced in 2015 as The Diary of River Song , the audio series is one of the first from Big Finish Productions to prominently feature elements from the revived era of Doctor Who (2005–). The character of River Song was introduced in the fourth series episode " Silence in the Library " (2008) with the Tenth Doctor as a mysterious figure from his future. She later became
1025-485: The character: The Blue Tooth (2007), Shadow of the Past (2010), The Sentinels of the New Dawn (2011), Binary (2012), and The Last Post (2012). The latter introduces Rowana Cooper as Liz's mother, Emily, and the planned sequel was not finished due to John's death in June 2012, although Cooper reappears as Emily Shaw in the audio "The Cloisters of Terror" when she assists the Fourth Doctor and Leela in investigating
1066-405: The first serial of the seventh season (1970), Spearhead from Space , having been drafted from the University of Cambridge by Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart as a scientific advisor to UNIT. She is a brilliant scientist, an expert on meteorites , with degrees in medicine , physics and a dozen other subjects. Her extensive training is still pale in comparison to the Doctor's own knowledge of
1107-580: The following August. In April 2024, Big Finish announced a sequel series featuring River Song with Kingston reprising the role titled The Death and Life of River Song , which depicts River's post-mortem adventures as a data ghost, as first seen in " The Name of the Doctor " (2013). The series began in August 2024. With the announcement, Big Finish retroactively renamed the entire audio series to simply River Song , with The Diary of River Song and The Death and Life of River Song serving as individual series within
1148-531: The mutation long enough to find a cure. Daisy reprises the role again in Series 9 of The Diary of River Song , where Liz is put out to be relegated to assistant to UNIT's new temporary scientific advisor, River Song - the Doctor's future wife- while the Doctor is otherwise engaged. The 1996 Virgin Missing Adventures novel The Scales of Injustice by Gary Russell also explores the events surrounding Liz's resignation from UNIT. Liz additionally appears with UNIT in
1189-454: The people who keep him on his toes". Christopher Bahn of The A.V. Club described Liz as a "missed opportunity" because she had such a short time as an assistant and it seemed to him that "the producers didn't really know what to do with a strong, smart female character". Bahn also commented that Liz's "cynicism and skepticism was a good quality for a scientist, but also a sometimes offputting character tic". In an analysis of Doctor Who and
1230-464: The production company BBV , a pipe-smoking Shaw works as an investigator (for the P.R.O.B.E. organisation); John is seen opposite Linda Lusardi in the former model's first acting role. John later appeared in two Big Finish Productions ' audio dramas based on Doctor Who ; Dust Breeding (2001), although playing a character other than Liz Shaw, and The Blue Tooth (2007) where, as Liz, she recounts in narrative form an adventure she once had with
1271-761: The recurring role of Marilyn Lane for four episodes in 1971. In 1972, she appeared in the one-off BBC1 drama for the Omnibus strand, Actor, I said starring Barry Foster and Martin Jarvis , just a few weeks before appearing in the Z-Cars episode Operation Ascalon . For the next several years, John became a regular performer in BBC Radio dramas, which included appearances in Radio 4 series Afternoon Theatre , Five Morning Plays , The Monday Play , Saturday Night Theatre , Story Time and being
Liz Shaw - Misplaced Pages Continue
1312-939: The role of Laura Lyons in the BBC adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes story The Hound of the Baskervilles , opposite Tom Baker . The four part adventure was produced by Barry Letts . She returned to radio for Radio 3's Light in Distant Rooms . In 1987, John appeared in the BBC2 drama series A Dorothy L. Sayers Mystery: Gaudy Night as Miss Burrows. She also appeared in the BBC's adaptation of John le Carré 's A Perfect Spy as Dorothy Pym. Throughout January 1988, John and her husband Geoffrey Beevers appeared in BBC Radio 4's Poetry Please . John and Beevers appeared together in an episode of Agatha Christie's Poirot titled "Problem at Sea" as Mr and Mrs Tolliver. They both had roles in
1353-402: The role of the Doctor's companion in 1970 opposite Jon Pertwee 's Third Doctor . John was recommended to then Doctor Who producer Peter Bryant by another BBC producer, James Cellan Jones , who sent Bryant and his associate Derrick Sherwin photographs of her. Unlike most of the preceding and subsequent female companions of the Doctor, Shaw was a brilliant scientist and understood much of
1394-511: The series but found it restricting after a while." John continued to appear at fan conventions from the 1990s onwards. John particularly enjoyed her role as the " totalitarian " version of Liz seen in the alternate universe in Inferno , disliking when she had to change to the normal Liz. Liz has been seen as more of an assistant than a traditional companion because she never travelled on the TARDIS. Unlike other "co-conspirator" companions, Liz serves as
1435-581: The series was confirmed as renewed for its eighth series. Big Finish Productions revealed in July 2021 a ninth series, uniting River with the Third Doctor , UNIT and Liz Shaw , would debut in October 2021. A tenth series was revealed by Big Finish in March 2022 to debut in July 2022. An eleventh series, announced in August 2022, debuted in January 2023; whilst a twelfth and final series was announced in June 2023 for release
1476-474: The so-called Ambassadors of Death and the Inferno project, where the Doctor also encountered Section Leader Elizabeth Shaw, an alternative version of the scientist in a parallel universe. She eventually resigns from UNIT and returns to Cambridge; there was no "farewell scene" on screen for Liz, with her departure simply being announced by the Brigadier at the beginning of Terror of the Autons . She reportedly told
1517-522: The universe and scientific principles far beyond those of Earth. Sceptical at first of UNIT's ambit to defend against alien invasion , Shaw changes her mind when she encounters the newly regenerated Doctor and becomes involved in defeating the plans of the Nestene Consciousness and its animated plastic Autons . Liz continues to work with the Doctor and UNIT through encounters with the Silurians ,
1558-496: Was "so snarky she's annoying". Will Salmon of the magazine listed Liz's departure as one of the worst in the series since she just "[vanished] between seasons". DVD Talk 's John Sinnott felt that John could come across as "a bit stiff" and did not have much chemistry with Pertwee, most likely due to their personal relationship. In 2010, readers of Radio Times voted Liz the 27th best companion, out of 48 options. In Ridley Scott 's 2012 film Prometheus , Noomi Rapace 's character
1599-504: Was an English actress. She played classical roles on the stage as well as several television roles. She is best known for playing Elizabeth "Liz" Shaw in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who John was the third of eight children born to Vera ( née Winckworth), an actress and singer, and Alexander John, a theatre director. She was educated at St. Joseph's Convent School, Crackley Hall in Kenilworth . After training at
1640-411: Was given to Caroline John , who was recommended to the outgoing production team of Peter Bryant and Derrick Sherwin by James Cellan Jones . Although John had been working regularly on the stage (including for the National Theatre Company under Laurence Olivier ), she was frustrated that she had not gained any TV roles. According to several DVD releases in the Doctor Who series and interviews with
1681-463: Was too caring to be cold" and despite not having the "companionly affection" later seen with Jo Grant and Sarah Jane Smith , they had an "innate respect" for each other. Braxton's colleague Patrick Mulkern, while calling John a "gifted actress", criticised the way Liz was "severely styled" in her first appearance. SFX 's Ian Berriman also criticised Liz in Spearhead from Space , writing that she