David Ralph Martin (1 January 1935 – 30 March 2007) was an English television and film writer. He was born in Handsworth,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, and attended

Handsworth Grammar School King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys, formerly and commonly Handsworth Grammar School, is a grammar school that admits boys from the age of eleven (as well as girls in the sixth form, since September 1997). The school was founded i ...

Doctor Who

David contributed numerous scripts for the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' television series between 1971 and 1979 including: * ''

The Claws of Axos ''The Claws of Axos'' is the third serial of the Doctor Who (season 8), eighth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC One, BBC1 from 13 March to 3 April 1971. ...

'' (1971) * ''

The Mutants ''The Mutants'' is the fourth serial of the ninth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 8 April to 13 May 1972. The serial is set on and high above the ...

'' (1972) * '' The Three Doctors'' (1973) * ''

The Sontaran Experiment ''The Sontaran Experiment'' is the third serial of the 12th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was originally broadcast on BBC1 on 22 February and 1 March 1975. The serial is set on Earth more than 10 ...

'' (1975) * '' The Hand of Fear'' (1976) * '' The Invisible Enemy'' (1977) * ''

Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...

'' (1978) * ''

The Armageddon Factor ''The Armageddon Factor'' is the sixth and final serial of the The Key to Time, 16th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC One, BBC1 from 20 January to 24 Febr ...

'' (1979) For all of these, Martin collaborated with Bob Baker. Together they were nicknamed "The Bristol Boys" by the ''Doctor Who'' production teams with whom they worked. Baker and Martin's most notable contributions to the ''Doctor Who''

mythos Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

were the robotic hound K-9 (created for ''The Invisible Enemy'') and the renegade

Time Lord The Time Lords are a fictional ancient race of extraterrestrial life, extraterrestrial people in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Time Lords are so named for their command of time travel technology and their Nonli ...

Omega Omega (, ; uppercase Ω, lowercase ω; Ancient Greek ὦ, later ὦ μέγα, Modern Greek ωμέγα) is the twenty-fourth and last letter in the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numerals, Greek numeric system/isopsephy (gematria), it has a value ...

(created for '' The Three Doctors'', ''Doctor Whos tenth anniversary story). They also worked together on the 1975 children's

science fantasy file:Warhammer40kcosplay.jpg, Cosplay of a character from the ''Warhammer 40,000'' tabletop game; one critic has characterized the game's setting as "action-oriented science-fantasy." Science fantasy is a hybrid genre within speculative fiction ...

television serial ''

Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the planetary surface, surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from ...

'' and '' Into the Labyrinth''. In 1986, he wrote the Doctor Who Make Your Own Adventure book '' Search for the Doctor''.

Death

At the beginning of 2007 Martin, a smoker, was diagnosed with

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

; he died of the disease in March.David Martin - Classic series writer passes away
(published and accessed 12 April 2007) He and his wife Celia (née Constanduros, born 1944),Bridport partner of TV chef Keith Floyd in shock at his sudden death
/ref> had two children, Leo and Thea; he also had a daughter, Anna, from his first marriage.

References

External links

*
Guardian obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Dave (Screenwriter) 1935 births 2007 deaths Deaths from lung cancer in England English science fiction writers English television writers Writers from Birmingham, West Midlands People from Handsworth, West Midlands English male television writers 20th-century English screenwriters