No time limit on success of Dr. Who
- Publication: Evening Press
- Date: 1979-09-25
- Author:
- Page: 4
- Language: English
ONE dark, windy night 16 years ago a thousand, and one children lay shivering in their beds waiting to be Ex-term-in-ate-ed. Dr. Who, the first of his. breed had finally, with much daring and bravado, captured a Dalek and, with spin-chilling deftness, whipped off the top of the mechanical, monotune monster.
What lay inside? What writing mass could possibly be the motivation of those dastardly creatures? Those thousand and. one children tuned, in to the same channel, at the same time the next day... but the BBC wasn't telling, and they were never to find out the answer.
Now those children -many with, doubtless, children of their own, are still addicts of the television: phenomenon called Dr. Who.
With an almost religious regularity they tune into watch the progressive adventures of the new Dr. Who: played by the tall and gangly ex-monk, Tom Baker, the fourth man to hold the title of Time Lord and to travel in his telephone box, otherwise known as the Tardis.
And it is the daughter of Lord and Lady Bangor, Lalla Ward., of "Duchess of Duke Street" fame, who plays the 11th doctor's assistant in the new series of the show, currently being shown in Britain.
VIVACIOUS
Lalla, blonde and beautiful, is not, however, every schoolboy's idea of the girl next door like the first Dr. Who assistants were. She is much more vivacious than that,
For, over the years, as those first children who so adored the doctors have grown up, so -subtly-has the show.
It was much simpler character portrayed by the first Dr. Who, William Hartnell, who reigned from 1963 to 1966 with his television grand-daughter Carole Ann Ford.
The second doctor to tangle wits with space monster, historical fiends and the Daleks. was the gaunt-looking Patrick Troughton who reigned from 1966 to 1970 and the third man to take control of the Tardis was the jolly Jon Pertwee from 1970 to 1974.
And, during all these changes of doctors and even more changes of assistants, the programme grew a little bit more sophisticated. As new generations came down from the nursery to tune in, the B.B.C. realised it had to continue to please its first generation of addicts.
The B.B.C. now estimates that almost half its British audience of 12 million is adult. They often correspond with a number of universities who have fan clubs. And, although the show is still created with children very much in mind, they have allowed for the mums, and especially dads, who tune in after a hard day's work.
FRIGHTENED
But the popular Tom Baker, who four years ago gave a fresh breath of life to the show, disagrees: "I have asked Mary Whitehouse to lunch to see how unfrightening I am, but she has declined to do so.
"What I know is that Dr. Who is moral and benevolent. He is not motivated by greed, avarice or sex."
The children, he says, enjoy being frightened just a little and if they have to hide behind the sofa, that's a healthy state of mind for them to be in...
Tom Baker has earned the occasional penny from the snow over the last few years. But far be it from Mr. Baker to flaunt his riches in public.
"I would never be seen rauccous in the streets; or smoking cigars or thriwing away large amounts of money in public.
I am very aware that the public no longer look at me as Tom Baker, but as Dr. Who."
Caption: GUESS WHO Yes, under that goatee it's "Dr. Who, Tom Baker
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.: (1979-09-25). No time limit on success of Dr. Who. Evening Press p. 4.
- MLA 7th ed.: "No time limit on success of Dr. Who." Evening Press [add city] 1979-09-25, 4. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: "No time limit on success of Dr. Who." Evening Press, edition, sec., 1979-09-25
- Turabian: "No time limit on success of Dr. Who." Evening Press, 1979-09-25, section, 4 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=No time limit on success of Dr. Who | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/No_time_limit_on_success_of_Dr._Who | work=Evening Press | pages=4 | date=1979-09-25 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=21 March 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=No time limit on success of Dr. Who | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/No_time_limit_on_success_of_Dr._Who | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=21 March 2025}}</ref>
