View source for The galactic cardboard fantasy sets exterminated as a sexy new doctor materialises on our television screens time for fans old and new to find out who is who

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| publication = The Advertiser
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| date = 2005-05-14
| author = Simon Yeaman
| pages = 30
| language = English
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IT'S five billion years from now. The Sun is expanding and is only minutes from swallowing the Earth.

All manner of alien life has gathered on a nearby satellite station to "bid farewell to the cradle of civilisation" and Lady Cassandra, the last human being, is over 2000 years old.

She is vain and has had so much cosmetic surgery she has been reduced to a piece of skin stretched across a metal frame. "Michael Jackson," snipes Rose Tyler, companion to a Tardis-dwelling Time Lord who calls himself the Doctor. 

Sixteen years since it sank into a TV black hole, cult classic Doctor Who is about to regenerate on Australian screens.

Starring Christopher Eccleston (Cracker, The Others, The Second Coming ) as the 900-year-old Time Lord, and 22-year-old former pop star Billie Piper as his spirited companion, Rose, the new $24 million series has been a smash hit in its native UK, drawing 10 million viewers to its premiere and averaging 7.5 million.

Doctor Who was first shown in 1963 with William Hartnell as the Doctor. It ended in 1989, making it the longest-running sci-fi show in history (Paul McGann played the doc in a 1996 telemovie).

The new doctor has a short haircut, a northern accent, a distinct lack of social skills, an impish wit and an audacious sense of humour. "Would you mind not farting while I'm trying to save the world," he tells some flatulent British politicians.

Unlike his predecessors, this doctor holds a torch for his companion, Rose who swaps her department store job for time travel and inter-galactic adventures.

Series production designer Edward Thomas said there was definitely a chemistry between the Doctor and his sidekick.

"I think the Doctor all the way through the series allows her to have her boyfriends but, at the end of the day, he's so impressive he knows that she'll always come back to him," he said.

Gone are the creaky cardboard sets and comical special effects. The new Tardis has an organic interior, while the daleks will return midway through the 13-part series (flying daleks no less, and even a sobbing dalek that evokes sympathy). "This particular dalek is travelling alone. It will surprise people, definitely," said Thomas.

Salt-shaker monsters aside, the Who make-up department had a field day with some bizarre creations, including Lady Cassandra (a "bitchy trampoline") and Jabe - a super-evolved tree directly descended from an Earth rainforest.

Executive producer and life-long Who fan Russell T. Davies is best known for the controversial UK hit Queer As Folk, which inspired the US version. Davies has described the new series as funny, scary, fast-moving and adventurous.

"But above all, the new Doctor Who is fun," he said.

He also saw Who as the story of two people educating each other about different aspects of life. Piper, a chart-topping pop star as a teenager, had a cameo in Calcium Kid with Orlando Bloom, and starred in Canterbury Tales opposite James Nesbitt and Dennis Waterman. Her performance as the wife of a landlord in The Miller's Tale won her acclaim.

Doctor Who's return was met with largely gushing praise from the UK press. "Brilliant" said News of the World, while a Daily Star scribe said Eccleston was "definitely the sexiest of the docs" and possibly "the best".

Eccleston, however, feared being typecast - like fourth doctor Tom Baker - and will not make a second series. Scottish actor David Tennant will take over next year.

* Doctor Who will premiere on [[broadwcast:ABC|ABC-TV]] at 7.30pm on Saturday, May 21.

THE EVOLUTION

THE DOCTORS

* William Hartnell (1963-66)

* Patrick Troughton (1966-69)

* Jon Pertwee (1970-74)

* Tom Baker (1974-81)

* Peter Davison (1982-84)

* Colin Baker (1984-86)

* Sylvester McCoy (1986-89)

* Paul McGann

(1996 telemovie)

* Christopher Eccleston (2005)

* David Tennant (2006-)

COMPANIONS

The series' most popular female stars emanate from the Jon Pertwee/Tom Baker era.

Jo Grant (Kate Manning). Dalek-fearing blonde best remembered for screaming a lot and being pursued by monsters with jam jars for eyes and a sink plunger for a nose.

Sarah-Jane Smith (Elizabeth Sladen). Strong-willed and occasionally annoying, her partnership with Tom Baker provided Doctor Who's most successful season, in 1976.

Leela (Louise Jameson). The feisty tribeswoman of the Sevateem who cavorted around in skimpy outfits, adding an extra 1 million male viewers to the series in the UK.

Romana (Mary Tamm and Lalla Ward).

The Time Lady Romana joined the Doctor on his quest for the Key to Time before regenerating (cue Lalla Ward) for purely cosmetic reasons. Ward and Tom Baker were married for five months in 1981.

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