Doctor Who pays return visit to U.S.
- Publication: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
- Date: 2006-03-16
- Author: Sharon Eberson
- Page: W-33
- Language: English
If "Doctor Who" sparks a bit of recognition, you're probably recalling a cheesy British sci-fi series that ran on PBS stations in the 1960s. Travel through time to present day, and "Doctor Who" is back — and not just because this alien Time Lord, the last of his race, has the power to regenerate.
BBC execs thought they could update the series, take a giant leap in production values and regenerate ratings, and they were right.
Now in the second season of its latest incarnation — and already with a change in lead actors, from Christopher Eccleston in Season 1 to David Tennant in Season 2 — it's a smashing success in England. Starting Friday, Eccleston & Co. arrive on Sci-Fi Channel Fridays at 9 p.m. while the two "Stargate" series and "Battlestar Galactica" are in reruns.
In the first two episodes of Season 1, airing back-to-back tomorrow, the Doctor recruits a new traveling companion, the adventurous Rose Tyler (Billie Piper). The cheeky shop clerk is game for following an alien to the ends of the universe in his 1950s-era police box that's really a device for shifting back and forth through time. (The effect looks a lot like a wormhole from "Farscape," "Stargate SG-1" ... name your series that features a wormhole.)
This Doctor laughs at danger a little too readily for a guy who has experienced the end of his world, although the fact that he started life as a grandfatherly fellow in 1963 and he's fit and still flitting about in 2006 could be the reason. Some of the pop-culture humor and creatures owe a nod to "Farscape," but the camp level is high and can be mighty funny (take, for example, a huge dis of Michael Jackson, referenced as a creature that's just skin, eyes and mouth).
Eccleston is the ninth actor to play Doctor Who, which tells you something about the concept's staying power in the UK. Over here, sci-fi fans will recognize elements of "Farscape," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and other modern series with a penchant for fussing with the space-time continuum.
Caption: Billie Piper, left, and Christopher Eccleston star in "Doctor Who."
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- APA 6th ed.: Eberson, Sharon (2006-03-16). Doctor Who pays return visit to U.S.. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette p. W-33.
- MLA 7th ed.: Eberson, Sharon. "Doctor Who pays return visit to U.S.." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette [add city] 2006-03-16, W-33. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: Eberson, Sharon. "Doctor Who pays return visit to U.S.." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, edition, sec., 2006-03-16
- Turabian: Eberson, Sharon. "Doctor Who pays return visit to U.S.." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2006-03-16, section, W-33 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Doctor Who pays return visit to U.S. | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Doctor_Who_pays_return_visit_to_U.S. | work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | pages=W-33 | date=2006-03-16 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=24 March 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Doctor Who pays return visit to U.S. | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Doctor_Who_pays_return_visit_to_U.S. | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=24 March 2025}}</ref>
