Doctor Who Is Back, and So Are Its Rabid Fans
- Publication: The New York Times
- Date: 2012-08-30
- Author: Steve Smith
- Page: C7
- Language: English
You might have anticipated a minor riot at the Ziegfeld Theater on West 54th Street in Manhattan, where BBC America screened the premiere episode from the forthcoming season of "Doctor Who" for a select audience of fans last weekend. BBC America mounted similar events in New York for previous seasons of this long-running science-fiction franchise, filling an East Village theater with fans who had queued for hours in hopes of being among the chosen few.
In keeping with the ever-expanding pull of "Doctor Who," which in July became the first British television series to be featured on the cover of Entertainment Weekly, BBC America opted for the Ziegfeld, Manhattan's largest single-screen theater. Advance tickets priced at 11 cents, in honor of the current 11th Doctor, played by Matt Smith, were teased on various Web sites this month, with sales touched off by a Twitter post on Aug. 16.
Minor pandemonium ensued. While many purchasers had no problem acquiring tickets on MovieTickets.com, which handles Internet sales for Ziegfeld screenings, the barrage of would-be buyers crashed the system. Users waited in limbo for long minutes before learning they had been shut out. Some reported seeing the credit-card details of strangers on their receipts.
Even after BBC America apologized, you half-expected pro test to manifest at the Ziegfeld with the cold efficiency of the Judoon, the mercenary police force introduced to "Doctor Who" viewers in 2007, such was the rage and indignation expressed on Twitter by some fans. Instead, an eager throng dotted with bow ties and fezzes, in honor of Mr. Smith's geek-chic Doctor, congregated with downright civil enthusiasm and scoured a BBC America pop-up shop in the Ziegfeld lobby.
As the screening time approached, the audience cheered explosively when Chris Hardwick, the comic who hosted the event, introduced the guests of honor: Mr. Smith; Karen Gillan, who portrays the Doctor's companion, Amy Pond; and Caroline Skinner, who became an executive producer for the show last year. (Mixing media, if not time-travel metaphors, Mr. Smith and Ms. Gillan had arrived at the Ziegfeld in a DeLorean sports car.)
That "Doctor Who" has outgrown its cult-classic status since its 2005 reboot has been increasingly evident, not least in post-broadcast sales. According to a BBC America spokeswoman the show was the most-downloaded series on iTunes in 2011, eclipsing favorites like "Mad Men" and "Glee." The devoted fandom of "Doctor Who" was evident in the delighted shrieks that greeted the sight of David Tennant, Mr. Smith's predecessor as the Doctor, and Burn Gorman, a star of the "Doctor Who" spinoff series "Torchwood," in a preview trailer for the BBC miniseries "Spies of Warsaw."
And it was surely a sign of the fidelity "Doctor Who," has inspired to learn while watching the premiere episode, "Asylum of the Daleks," that several substantial revelations had not leaked after previous screenings in London and Edinburgh.
True to its title, the episode brings back the Doctor's most durable and tenacious alien Foe. Actually, all of them: Steven Moffat, the show's head writer and an executive producer, reportedly rounded up every one of the pestilential pepper pots in existence for the episode.
Vast in ambition and cinematic in scope, the episode properly sets up what stands to be a tumultuous season: one that will see the departure of Ms. Gillan and Arthur Darvill (Amy Pond's husband, Rory Williams) during an episode filmed in New York City in April, and the arrival of Jenna-Louise Coleman, the Doctor's next companion, in this year's Christmas special.
A question-and-answer session after the screening yielded no further revelations, though it did prompt a daffy impromptu Lady Macbeth spin-and-dash enactment from. Ms. Gillan. Mostly the chat rewarded a theater full of devotees for their faith and perseverance, and then tasked them with the responsibility of keeping the show's secrets safe until the new season commences on BBC America on Saturday night.
Caption: A fan of the British series snaps a keepsake with Ms. Gillan
Caption: The actors Karen Gillan and Matt Smith, with a DeLorean, before a screening of 'Doctor Who" last weekend in Manhattan.
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.: Smith, Steve (2012-08-30). Doctor Who Is Back, and So Are Its Rabid Fans. The New York Times p. C7.
- MLA 7th ed.: Smith, Steve. "Doctor Who Is Back, and So Are Its Rabid Fans." The New York Times [add city] 2012-08-30, C7. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: Smith, Steve. "Doctor Who Is Back, and So Are Its Rabid Fans." The New York Times, edition, sec., 2012-08-30
- Turabian: Smith, Steve. "Doctor Who Is Back, and So Are Its Rabid Fans." The New York Times, 2012-08-30, section, C7 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Doctor Who Is Back, and So Are Its Rabid Fans | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Doctor_Who_Is_Back,_and_So_Are_Its_Rabid_Fans | work=The New York Times | pages=C7 | date=2012-08-30 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=23 March 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Doctor Who Is Back, and So Are Its Rabid Fans | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Doctor_Who_Is_Back,_and_So_Are_Its_Rabid_Fans | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=23 March 2025}}</ref>
