After 50 years of creaky sets and floppy hair, it's time Doctor Who died
No image available. However there is a transcription available.
Do you have an image? Email us: whovian@cuttingsarchive.org
- Publication: The Mail on Sunday
- Date: 2013-11-17
- Author: Tim Fanning
- Page:
- Language: English
MY VIEW
Aside from a brief period when I was about eight - and spent the entire duration of the show cowering behind the sofa - I have never really got Doctor Who. I think it may be the Doctor's tweedy fashion sense that puts me off. The current Doctor Who (Matt Smith) has the air of a brilliant Oxbridge undergraduate who got lost on the way to the University Challenge studio. He may be a Time Lord, who travels through time and space battling aliens and saving civilisations, but he hasn't managed to change his wardrobe since the 1950s.
The first Doctor Who I recall seeing on screen was Peter Davison. Before taking over from Tom Baker as the Doctor, he was best known for appearing on the twee vets-out-of-their-depth show All Creatures Great And Small. As the Doctor, he wore a cricket sweater and the kind of trousers you wear at Eton or Harrow to remind you you're one of the elite (they're also worn by Charlie Chaplin and the groom at a posh wedding). Davison's Doctor Who wouldn't have looked out of place among the old codgers at Lord's Cricket Ground. As for the Daleks… A bunch of French tourists on Segways would look scarier.
In Britain, Doctor Who is a national treasure to rival Wimbledon, Cheryl Cole and Come Dine With Me. The BBC has been marking 50 years since the clunky sci-fi show made its debut in the kind of fashion generally reserved for the death of a monarch. This week is also the 50th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, but you'd be hard put to tell which was the more significant event if you have been watching the BBC. Already we've had explorations of the science behind the show, worthy debate about who was the best Doctor and endless reruns of 'vintage' episodes. Over the coming days we're being treated to a BBC drama about the creation of the show and a high-brow special about the Doctor's cultural legacy.
Cardboard sets, creaky dialogue, floppy hair and rubbish special effects, that's the Doctor Who I know and hate. All of which has me reaching slowly for the remote and murmuring under my breath, 'exterminate, exterminate, exterminate'.
Disclaimer: These citations are created on-the-fly using primitive parsing techniques. You should double-check all citations. Send feedback to whovian@cuttingsarchive.org
- APA 6th ed.: Fanning, Tim (2013-11-17). After 50 years of creaky sets and floppy hair, it's time Doctor Who died. The Mail on Sunday .
- MLA 7th ed.: Fanning, Tim. "After 50 years of creaky sets and floppy hair, it's time Doctor Who died." The Mail on Sunday [add city] 2013-11-17. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: Fanning, Tim. "After 50 years of creaky sets and floppy hair, it's time Doctor Who died." The Mail on Sunday, edition, sec., 2013-11-17
- Turabian: Fanning, Tim. "After 50 years of creaky sets and floppy hair, it's time Doctor Who died." The Mail on Sunday, 2013-11-17, section, edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=After 50 years of creaky sets and floppy hair, it's time Doctor Who died | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/After_50_years_of_creaky_sets_and_floppy_hair,_it%27s_time_Doctor_Who_died | work=The Mail on Sunday | pages= | date=2013-11-17 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=19 April 2024 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=After 50 years of creaky sets and floppy hair, it's time Doctor Who died | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/After_50_years_of_creaky_sets_and_floppy_hair,_it%27s_time_Doctor_Who_died | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=19 April 2024}}</ref>
