Michael E. Briant

Michael E. Briant (born Michael Edwin Briant on 14 February 1942 in Bournemouth ) directed several Doctor Who television stories. He had earlier been the uncredited production assistant on three television stories featuring William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton.

Although he became unhappy with how it became a common plot device, he was the one who came up with the idea of the Doctor's sonic screwdriver, Victor Pemberton's script for Fury from the Deep being non descript about its design or properties. (DWM 277)

He was invited to a meeting to view the new Cybermen costumes for Revenge of the Cybermen and suggested the idea of them having inbuilt guns. This was incorporated into the design. (INFO: Revenge of the Cybermen)

Briant had originally been an actor, working under the stage name Michael Tennant as there was already a Michael Bryant registered with Equity. Having started using his own name as a director, Briant later added the initial "E" to avoid confusion with the aforementioned actor, after the pair apparently began receiving each other's mail.

He also provided several voices on the serials he directed. He provided the voice of the IMC console in Colony in Space (DWM 238), a DJ in The Sea Devils (DWM 192) and a Nerva Beacon console in Revenge of the Cybermen. (DWM 297)

He is married to Monique Briant, who had uncredited roles in several Doctor Who stories.

Outside of Doctor Who, he worked on the police procedural series Z-Cars and the first season of Blake's 7. He also directed a 1977 adaptation of Treasure Island that featured Patrick Troughton.

As production assistant

 * The Daleks' Master Plan (DWM 263)
 * The Power of the Daleks (DWM 263)
 * Fury from the Deep (DWM 263)

As director

 * Colony in Space (as Michael Briant)
 * The Sea Devils (as Michael Briant)
 * The Green Death (as Michael Briant)
 * Death to the Daleks
 * Revenge of the Cybermen
 * The Robots of Death

Documentaries

 * IMC Needs You!
 * Hello Sailor!
 * The One With the Maggots
 * Beneath the City of the Exxilons
 * The Tin Men and the Witch