Editing C. E. Webber (section)

==''Doctor Who''==
Webber participated in many crucial early development meetings, and co-wrote the first format document for the series with [[Donald Wilson (writer and producer)|Donald Wilson]] and [[Sydney Newman]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/5LhY4XxFjdNj8PXmhBKg2dT/rex-tucker|title=BBC Two - An Adventure in Space and Time - Rex Tucker|work=BBC|accessdate=17 April 2021}}</ref> Webber and his scripts were ultimately not used as he was felt to not be capable of "writing down" to the level required of the programme. However, his draft script for the proposed first episode formed the basis of the broadcast first episode eventually written by [[Anthony Coburn]]. Webber received a co-writer's credit on internal BBC documentation for the episode, although not on screen.<ref>{{cite web |title=An Adventure in Space and Time - C.E. Webber |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/nSTS2ZqP6Q3b5P92Lzgyq8/c-e-webber |website=BBC |access-date=10 January 2024}}</ref>

Webber submitted a ''Doctor Who'' pilot entitled "Nothing at the end of the Lane", suggested in early May 1963 under the programme's developing format guide. The story would feature Biddy and her teachers, Lola and Cliff, who would encounter Biddy's grandfather, "Doctor Who", and his time machine.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}} "Nothing at the end of the Lane" was soon replaced by Webber's ''The Giants'', which would be a four-part serial to be directed by [[Rex Tucker]].{{citation needed|date=April 2021}} The story would feature Lola and Cliff in search of their student, Sue, and meet an old man in the fog. Calling him "Dr. Who", they find out that his home is a time machine disguised as a police telephone box. Unexpectedly, they are shrunken to an eighth of an inch in size. They then go to Cliff's laboratory and are menaced by a microscope lens, spiders, a student's compass, and caterpillars. Cliff manages to communicate with the students, and both return to Dr. Who's time machine.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}

In production, the names of the companions changed to Ian, Barbara and Susan, while the Doctor's name, "Dr. Who", would go unused.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}} ''The Giants'' was abandoned in June 1963 in favour of ''[[An Unearthly Child]]'',{{citation needed|date=April 2021}} because ''Doctor Who'' creator [[Sydney Newman]] disliked the idea of putting caterpillars and spiders as monsters in the story.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}