End of an era?
- Publication: Total TV Guide
- Date: 2005-06-18
- Author:
- Page: 5
- Language: English
As the newly regenerated sci-fi show comes to the end of its first series, we talk to its creator Russell T Davies about Dalekmania and the new Doctor...
Russell T Davies is a very happy man. As the driving force behind BBC1's most long-awaited comeback. there was a lot resting on his shoulders. But Doctor Who has given cynics little to crow about.
'No one expected it to be a hit, did they?' laughs the 41-year-old Davies. 'But it's great. Though it took me until episode seven for me to think "Oh, we really are working.
With healthy ratings, Doctor Who is no longer the preserve of pasty-faced computer geeks. 'I really hope it has generated a new breed of fan that will take it back to what it was,' says Davies. 'Because when I watched it as a child, it was loved by everyone.'
Part of the new show's success has been trading on this nostalgia factor. So we've had Daleks (and according to Davies there will be 'hundreds and hundreds of the them' in this week's finale), sonic screwdrivers and UNIT. while next year's series will see the return of silver humanoids the Cybermen.
But Davies has also offered something fresh and relevant to modern audiences, with several stories taking place in the present day. *I think people are more inclined to run away from weird things like purple beaches,' he says.
This week's episode will, however, be a cataclysmic battle through time and space.
'But there will be laughter as well as tears,' says Davies. think it's crucial to have some laughter.'
Of course, the question on everyone's lips is when will Christopher Eccleston, who 'sensationally quit' after one series, regenerate into new boy David Tennant, star of Davies' recent hit drama Casanova?
'Let's just say the end of this series leads very nicely into the Christmas special,' says Davies.
As for the casting of Tennant, Davies says that although he's only just started the scripts, he has a clear idea of the new Time Lord.
- David will be livelier and a lot more verbal,' he says. But he's also incredibly funny and I'm hoping to get that across.'
SERIES FINALE
DOCTOR WHO BBC1 SATURDAY
Caption: You will obey: Rose (Billie Piper) and a dreaded Dalek
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- APA 6th ed.: (2005-06-18). End of an era?. Total TV Guide p. 5.
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- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=End of an era? | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/End_of_an_era%3F | work=Total TV Guide | pages=5 | date=2005-06-18 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=15 April 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=End of an era? | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/End_of_an_era%3F | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=15 April 2025}}</ref>
