Dr Who becomes Dr No
- Publication: The Independent
- Date: 1987-11-23
- Author: W Stephen Gilbert
- Page:
- Language: English
NEXT YEAR, if he lives that long, DOCTOR WHO will be 25 earth-years old. On this day 24 years ago, his first incarnation bowed in. His present, seventh body is provided by Sylvester McCoy and his latest adventure, Dragonfire by Ian Briggs, is the 150th. So, are celebrations in order? 'Fraid not. Producer John Nathan Turner, a man whose passion for his programme verges on the pathological, is widely reviled by fans for taking Dockeroo away from its tradition. As an agnostic in these matters, I speak as I find. McCoy is one of my favourite actors, but he's a brilliant gadfly and that's not what the doctor ordered. Because he lacks authority, the doe seems peripheral to the action. Nathan Turner needs to look for a player with presence and weight, perhaps literally (wouldn't Richard Griffiths be wonderful, if he'd do it? Or even Simon Callow?). But the tone is all wrong too. Like a Seventies Hollywood spoof of a Thirties Hollywood musical, it has become knowingly camp, larking with its own past rather than reverencing it. And finally its slot (7.35 BBC1) is all wrong. The authentic Saturday tea-time show, it's now run to mop up Coronation Street's younger viewers, a mere scheduling counter. Well, the new story draws far too much on Star Wars, with Tony Selby in the Harrison Ford part, But Patricia Quinn fright, with Edward Peel) bizarrely has almost exactly the same scene as she played in last week's Fortunes Of War.
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- APA 6th ed.: Gilbert, W Stephen (1987-11-23). Dr Who becomes Dr No. The Independent .
- MLA 7th ed.: Gilbert, W Stephen. "Dr Who becomes Dr No." The Independent [add city] 1987-11-23. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: Gilbert, W Stephen. "Dr Who becomes Dr No." The Independent, edition, sec., 1987-11-23
- Turabian: Gilbert, W Stephen. "Dr Who becomes Dr No." The Independent, 1987-11-23, section, edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Dr Who becomes Dr No | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Dr_Who_becomes_Dr_No | work=The Independent | pages= | date=1987-11-23 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=24 April 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Dr Who becomes Dr No | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Dr_Who_becomes_Dr_No | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=24 April 2025}}</ref>
