Mervyn Oliver Haisman (15 March 1928 – 29 October 2010) was a British

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

of film and television. Prior to this career he worked as an actor and managed a theatre company as well as working in insurance.

Biography

Haisman was born in 1928 in London. An early television credit was an episode of

Dr. Finlay's Casebook ''Dr. Finlay's Casebook'' is a television drama series that was produced and broadcast by the BBC from 1962 until 1971. Based on A. J. Cronin's 1935 novella ''Country Doctor'', the storylines centred on a general medical practice in the fiction ...

(1967) called ''The Forgotten Enemy''. At about the same time he formed a writing partnership with

Henry Lincoln Henry Soskin (12 February 1930 – 23 February 2022), better known as Henry Lincoln, was a British author, television presenter, scriptwriter, and actor. He co-wrote three ''Doctor Who'' multi-part serials in the 1960s, and — starting in th ...

, and together they were the authors of three 1960s ''

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 ...

'' stories during the

Patrick Troughton Patrick George Troughton (; 25 March 1920 – 28 March 1987) was an English actor. He became best known for his roles in television, most notably starring as the Second Doctor, second incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the lo ...

years: ''

The Abominable Snowmen ''The Abominable Snowmen'' is the mostly missing second serial of the fifth season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which originally aired in six weekly parts from 30 September to 4 November 1967. In this se ...

'', ''

The Web of Fear ''The Web of Fear'' is the partly missing fifth serial of the fifth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', first broadcast in six weekly parts from 3 February to 9 March 1968. The serial is set on the London Und ...

'' and ''

The Dominators ''The Dominators'' is the first serial of the sixth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which originally aired in five weekly parts from 10 August to 7 September 1968. The Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) a ...

''. The latter script was their last contribution to the programme and, after disagreements with the production office, it was cut by an episode and credited to the pseudonym Norman Ashby. Haisman and Lincoln also worked together on episodes of ''

Emergency Ward 10 ''Emergency Ward 10'' is a British medical soap opera series shown on ITV between 1957 and 1967. It is considered to be one of British television's first major soap operas. Overview The series was made by the ITV contractor ATV and set in ...

'', but their writing partnership ended in the mid 1970s. Haisman also wrote for many British television shows including ''

The Onedin Line ''The Onedin Line'' is a BBC television drama series that ran from 1971 to 1980. The series was created by Cyril Abraham. The series is set in Liverpool from 1860 to 1886 and covers the rise of a fictional shipping company, the Onedin Line, nam ...

'' (on which he also worked as script editor), ''

Howards' Way ''Howards' Way'' is a television drama series produced by BBC Birmingham and transmitted on BBC1 between 1 September 1985 and 25 November 1990. The series deals with the personal and professional lives of the wealthy yachting and business com ...

'', and ''Swallows and Amazons Forever!''; and on the horror movie '' Curse of the Crimson Altar'', also known as ''The Crimson Cult'' (1968), again with Henry Lincoln. Haisman provided script for the popular BBC series '' Jane'' (1982), starring

Glynis Barber Glynis Barber (born Glynis van der Riet; 25 October 1955) is a South African born British actress. She is known for her portrayals of Sgt. Harriet Makepeace in the British police drama ''Dempsey and Makepeace'', Glenda Mitchell in ''EastEnders ...

as the wartime comic strip pin up. He was to also write the second series ''Jane in the Desert'' (1984). The success of the TV series lead to Haisman writing for the movie ''

Jane and the Lost City ''Jane and the Lost City'' is a 1987 UK film, based on the British newspaper strip '' Jane'' by Norman Pett. An adventure comedy set during World War II, the film was directed by Terry Marcel, and stars Kirsten Hughes in the title role, Sam Jone ...

'' (1987), this time featuring Kirsten Hughes in the lead role.

Death

Although Haisman died at the end of October 2010, his death was not reported by media until 9 December. He died in Valencia, Spain.

References

External links

*
Obituary
in The Guardian by

Anthony Hayward Anthony Hayward (born 26 October 1959) is a British journalist and author. He is a regular contributor to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Daily Telegraph'', and has written more than 20 books about television and film. The subjects of justice and ce ...

1928 births 2010 deaths 20th-century English male writers British science fiction writers English television writers English screenwriters English male screenwriters British male television writers Writers of Doctor Who novels {{UK-screenwriter-stub