Dr Who, the lone ranger of the time warps, is to get a new female assistant in his newest series.
But she will be nothing like the seven former female aides who have helped the good doctor in his fight against evil in the long-running British television series.
The new assistant is time-lady Romana played by dark-haired Mary Tamm. She will be Dr Who's equal, despite being a relative newcomer to time travel, and have as much say as the doctor in how the baddies should be dispatched.
It will be a dramatic change in the series and mark the arrival of women's liberation in the world of time warps.
Since Dr Who arrived on television 12 years ago, his assistants have moved through the stages of being a frightened. wide-eyed teenager to a dolly bird scientist, bright journalist and extra-terrestrial animal women.
But at no stage has she been allowed to meet the doctor on equal terms — until now.
In the new series, which has Dr Who embarking on perhaps the most important mission of his star-stepping career, the doctor is provided with an assistant recently graduated from the Time Lord Academy.
Their mission is to gather the six scattered segments of the key to time.
Watching with interest will be the seven previous Dr Who girls, who admit that, despite being shown as dumb females in the show, the series gave a dramatic boost to their professional careers.
Even the very first of the girls, Carole Ann Ford, who played the doctor's 15-year-old grand-daughter and spent most of her time screaming, claims she is still recognised in the street by Dr Who fans.
Tom Baker, who plays the doctor, has worked with three different girls since taking over the series, and says he has enjoyed costarring with all three.
Disclaimer: These citations are created on-the-fly using primitive parsing techniques. You should double-check all citations. Send feedback to whovian@cuttingsarchive.org
