Michael Imison (pronounced EYE-miss-on) (born in Hoylake, Merseyside[1] on 9 February 1935[2]) directed the Doctor Who television story The Ark. The Ark was Dodo Chaplet's first full story as a companion, so Imison was therefore partially responsible for casting Jackie Lane. (DCOM: Riverside Story)
Imison was heavily responsible for the visual style of the Monoids. In fact, it was his idea to call them Monoids, as the script merely referred to them as "the reptiles". He later said he had hoped that the BBC would be able to market the Monoids as they had done the Daleks. (INFO: The Ark)
Imison's contract with the BBC was not renewed during the recording of "The Bomb", which effectively meant that he was fired as he recorded the last episode of The Ark. He wasn't even told of this decision face-to-face; he was simply handed a note before entering the studio gallery at the start of recording. (DOC: Riverside Story)
After recording of The Ark was completed, Imison kept the model of the giant Monoid statue as a souvenir. (Doctor Who The Handbook: The First Doctor)
"The Bomb" was the last episode of television Imison ever directed. Immediately after its recording, he became a script editor in the BBC's Plays Department, working on the science fiction series Out of the Unknown. However, Gerald Savory, the executive whom Imison believed had ended his directing career, followed him there — virtually ensuring that his career advancement prospects would be limited. Imison left the BBC and became an agent, first for actors and then literary, for the bulk of his thereon remaining career. (DCOM, INFO: "The Bomb")
