Editing Geoffrey Sax

{{real world}}
{{Infobox Person
| image      = Geoffrey Sax.jpg
| role       = 
| job title  = [[Director (crew)|Director]]
| birth date = 
| death date = 
| aka        = 
| story      = [[TV]]: ''[[Doctor Who (TV story)|Doctor Who]]''
| time       = 1996
| non dwu    = ''Spitting Image'', ''The New Statesman'', ''Bergerac'', ''Lovejoy'', ''Clocking Off'', ''Othello'', ''Tipping the Velvet'', ''White Noise'', ''Christopher and His Kind'', ''Blandings'', ''Endeavour'', ''Victoria''
| imdb       = 0768249
}}
'''Geoffrey Sax''' is a [[BAFTA]]-winning [[Director (crew)|director]] who helmed [[Doctor Who (TV story)|the 1996 ''Doctor Who'' telemovie]] starring [[Paul McGann]]. Active as a director since 1979, his long career has afforded him the opportunity to work with some of the most significant figures in ''[[Doctor Who]]'' — and [[British]] televisual — history.

== Youthful humour ==
Sax' early career was dominated by work in comedy. One of his first jobs was to direct the [[Rowan Atkinson]] short ''Canned Laughter'' in 1979. That same year, he directed {{wi|Cannon and Ball|Cannon & Ball}} with the famous, eponymous British light entertainers. He moved on to the somewhat experimental comedy {{wi|End of Part One}}, which garnered him two [[BAFTA]] nominations. Around the same time, he directed the television adaptation of [[Jim Broadbent]]'s two-man play, ''Messiah''. He directed a few episodes of the seminal satire {{wi|Spitting Image}}.

== Getting serious ==
In 1986 came his first feature-length movie, ''The Disputation'' with {{w|Christopher Lee}}. His next major series, however, was {{wi|The New Statesman}}, starring [[Patrick Troughton]]'s son, [[Michael Troughton|Michael]]. This was a career highlight. He directed all episodes of the first two series, won a BAFTA for them, then handed it over to [[Graeme Harper]], who finished out the run.

Around this time, roughly 1989-1991, Sax worked on one of the highest-profile shows of the day, writer [[Robert Banks Stewart]]'s extremely popular ''[[Bergerac]]'', which included guest-starring roles for [[George Baker]], [[Jack Galloway]] and [[Louise Jameson]].

During the early part of the 1990s, he also helmed a couple of [[serial]]s. The first to broadcast was {{wi|Sleepers (TV series)|Sleepers}}, written by ''[[Meglos (TV story)|Meglos]]'' scribes [[Andrew McCulloch]] and [[John Flanagan]]. The dramedy set in the ''glasnost''-era Soviet Union was [[executive producer|executive produced]] by [[Verity Lambert]] and starred [[Nigel Havers]] and [[Michael Gough]]. This was swiftly followed by the 1992 serial ''Framed'', starring [[Timothy Dalton]], [[Timothy West]] and [[David Morrissey]].

During these opening years of the decade, he had occasion to work with other high-profile British actors. In 1993, he directed [[Derek Jacobi]] in the television movie {{wi|Circle of Deceit (1993 film)|Circle of Deceit}}. He also did a few episodes of the popular {{wi|Lovejoy}} series, in which he directed {{w|John Gielgud}} and {{w|Donald Pleasance}}. His last gig prior to ''[[Doctor Who (TV story)|Doctor Who]]'' was the {{w|Tom Selleck}} theatrical release, ''Broken Trust''.

== A new Doctor ==
In the early 1990s, he worked for a time in [[America]], directing TV movies and miniseries for various networks there. His most noted production during this time was the 1996 movie ''[[Doctor Who (TV story)|Doctor Who]]''.

Uncredited, Sax provided the [[Dalek]] voices, later identified as the [[Dalek Prelature]], heard briefly in the film's prologue. ([[DCOM]]: ''[[Doctor Who (TV story)|Doctor Who]]'')

== After ''Doctor Who'' ==
Sax was approached by [[Julie Gardner]] to direct the [[Series 1 (Doctor Who)|first series]] of the TV revival of ''Doctor Who'', but wasn't available, which he has since regretted. He was also considered to direct one of the [[Eleventh Doctor]] Christmas specials, but was again unavailable. ([[DCOM]]: ''Myth Makers: Geoffrey Sax'')

As things turned out, ''Doctor Who'' was wedged between two {{w|Tom Selleck}} movies for Sax. The one before ''Doctor Who'' had been ''Broken Trust''. The one after was ''Ruby Jean and Joe'', also released in 1996. Whilst in [[North America]] he also took a stab at the [[Dracula]] myth with the ''Van Helsing Chronicles''. By 1998 he was back directing British television in the form of an Internet horror serial called {{wi|Killer Net}}.

In 2000, he directed a couple of episodes of the [[BAFTA]]-winning {{wi|Clocking Off}} — one of [[Murray Gold]]'s earliest television gigs. His two series 1 episodes gave him a chance to work with [[Christopher Eccleston]] and [[Sarah Lancashire]], not to mention the pre-{{wi|Life on Mars (TV series)|Life on Mars}} {{w|Philip Glenister}}.

He returned to direct Eccleston in the extremely well-regarded 2001 adaptation of {{wi|Othello (2001 TV film)|Othello}}. To ''Doctor Who'' fans, the production was interesting because of its fusion of staff from the 1996 movie and the 2005 revival that was yet to come. It was, after all, directed by Sax, co-produced by [[Julie Gardner]], co-[[executive producer|executive produced]] by [[Jo Wright]], cast by [[Andy Pryor]] and starred Eccleston and [[Bill Paterson]]. It earned Gardner and Sax a BAFTA nomination for best single drama. Though they didn't win, the film won BAFTAs in other categories. The production won several non-British awards, including a {{w|Peabody Award|Peabody}}, but Sax was not specifically named in those nominations, as he had been for the BAFTA nod.

In 2002, he directed the four-part [[serial]] ''Widows'' for North American television. The show starred American talents like {{w|Brooke Shields}}, {{w|Rosie Perez}} and {{w|Mercedes Ruehl}} — but it was based on a British drama from the 1980s that had originally been executive produced by [[Verity Lambert]].

Sax' next effort was almost as well-received as his ''Othello''. 2002's {{wi|Tipping the Velvet (TV series)|Tipping the Velvet}} garnered him awards at several international competitions. Although it re-united Sax with ''Othello'''s [[Keeley Hawes]] the biggest ''Doctor Who'' connection was that it co-starred [[Alexei Sayle]] and future guest stars [[Rachael Stirling]] and [[Hugh Bonneville]].

The telefilm {{wi|Margery and Gladys}} came next, and it would place him in the company of British television legends {{w|Penelope Keith}} and [[June Brown]] in the eponymous roles, as well as co-star [[Roger Lloyd Pack]].

Sax then moved back into the theatres for 2005's {{w|Michael Keaton}} thriller, {{wi|White Noise (film)|White Noise}}, which also featured [[Ian McNeice]]. In 2006, Sax added to his theatrical resume with {{wi|Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker}}. The film was to have started an {{w|Alex Rider (character)|Alex Rider}} franchise and had an all-star cast, which included [[Bill Nighy]], [[Sophie Okonedo]], [[Stephen Fry]], {{w|Ewan McGregor}} and others. However, it, like ''Doctor Who'' before it, utterly failed with American audiences. Embarrassingly, it didn't even take a million dollars in the US and didn't break even based on worldwide theatrical receipts.

Sax' next two projects weren't for several years, but both were critically well-received. 2010's limited theatrical release, {{wi|Frankie and Alice}}, won approval from several awards-granting bodies for both the picture itself and {{w|Halle Berry}}'s performance. Meanwhile, {{wi|Christopher and His Kind (film)|Christopher and His Kind}}, a BBC telefilm, satisfied critics from ''The Guardian'' and ''The Sunday Telegraph'' while giving Sax the opportunity to work with [[Matt Smith]] and [[Toby Jones]].

More recently, Sax has directed five episodes of the ITV historical drama series ''Victoria'' starring [[Jenna Coleman]].

== Awards ==
Sax shared a [[BAFTA]] for his work on the second series of {{wi|The New Statesman}}.

== External links ==
{{imdb name|id=0768249}}
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[[Category:Doctor Who directors]]
[[Category:Actors who have provided Dalek voices]]
[[Category:Doctor Who uncredited cast]]
[[Category:BAFTA award winners]]