THE Tardis landed in Aberdeen last night, complete with one of the most popular actors to fill the role of Dr Who.
Jon Pertwee seems as ageless as the Doctor himself, and the character he created is as commanding on stage as on TV
This is just as well as the special effects take some living up to. Ant-like creatures and space mercenaries spin and fly across the stage and lasers create asteroid storms and time-tunnels.
But in the best traditions of "Dr Who", the old blends with the new, and the Doctor saves his companion Crystal from the Daleks with an old-fashioned but effective illusion.
As promised, it was a show for fans, and the plot brought in all the best baddies. But it wasn't just elements from the series which looked familiar - there were also touches of the Karate Kid, "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and the "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy".
The Tardis, too, behaved in its usual unpredictable fashion - although it was more un nerving when the scenery seemed occasionally to have got caught up in its erratic force field.
On the whole, the show translated well to the stage. although attempts to turn it into a semi-musical didn't work. But the continued appeal of Dr Who" rests on the fact that today's mistakes are likely to be made again tomorrow and technology is more likely to get you into trouble than out of it.
Despite the fantastic laser effects. It is this superbly human element in "Dr Who which "the ulimate adventure" stage show captures. A.D.
Disclaimer: These citations are created on-the-fly using primitive parsing techniques. You should double-check all citations. Send feedback to whovian@cuttingsarchive.org
