Scott Fredericks: A Remembrance

by Fiona Moore

Previously published in Celestial Toyroom issue 476/7

 

Every year the obituaries section on Kaldorcity.com gets longer and longer.

The latest addition to the list is a particularly sad one for me personally, as Scott Fredericks is inextricably tied up with my involvement in Doctor Who spinoffs, the DWAS, and fan activities more generally.

I met Scott in 2000 when we were recording the first Kaldor City CD, Occam’s Razor. I had never been a production manager before, but Scott went out of the way to make sure I had an easy time of it. He was a very skilful voice artist, and knew what was needed to make an audio-only production work successfully, no doubt due to his own experience as a radio director for RTE, the Irish public broadcasting service. He was also friendly, ensuring that I was included in all post-recording social activities and treating me as a fellow professional.

Scott would go on to appear in five out of six of the Kaldor City CDs, reprising his Blake’s 7 role as the charismatic and incisive psychostrategist Carnell (who had entered the Doctor Who universe via the initial Kaldor City story, Chris Boucher’s novel Corpse Marker). He would continue to be a joy to work with, coming over from his home in Ireland for the recordings and frequently staying with friends in London in order to help us keep within the constraints of our recording budget. Scott was also happy to be involved in fan activities, attending signings and conventions (including for the Doctor Who Appreciation Society) and giving an interview on his Doctor Who and Kaldor City work for Doctor Who Magazine.

Although Irish by birth, Scott was ethnically German (hence his blond blue-eyed rugged looks and tendency to get cast as Germans), and he and I shared a mutual interest in the German language, food and culture. Like the character he played, Scott was charming and fun to be around, but without Carnell’s edge of cynical manipulation and selfishness. Scott was a kind man who would go out of his way to help people.

After the main Kaldor City series finished, Scott kept in touch. He would always send a particularly wonderful Christmas card to me and Alan Stevens, and we would all talk on the phone at least a couple of times a year. Although Scott’s health was poor for the last few years of his life, he always downplayed his illness, focusing instead on discussing new projects and mutual friends.

When Alan, Jim Cooray Smith and I would talk about the possibilities of continuing or spinning off the Kaldor City series, the idea of including Scott was one which came up over and over. Indeed, it very nearly happened. Alan and I had for some time discussed producing a dramatized version of our Kaldor-set short story “Skulduggery”, about Carnell’s activities prior to the events of Death’s Head. Unfortunately, we were never able to make it happen. That unfinished project can now stand as a silent tribute to Scott’s acting skills: a drama which may never be made, due to the loss of a crucial voice.