The time of their lives
- Publication: West Lancashire Evening Gazette
- Date: 1987-12-16
- Author: Sandro Monetti
- Page: 8
- Language: English
Dr Who's companions know what's what
ONCE a month in a room above Blackpool's Strand restaurant, some rather interesting characters gather to celebrate their obsession.
They are the Blackpool Time Travellers, bitten by the bug of "Dr Who" as children and whose affection for the good Doctor has never waned.
From all points of the Fylde and beyond, they come for the meetings of the appreciation society.
At these, nobody thinks them "wacko" or "big kids", they can speak to people on the same level on such fascinating topics as sonic screwdrivers, the key to time and reversing the polarity of the neutron flow.
Art form
The meetings regularly attract 50 to 60 people, nearly all male. Doctor devotees are drawn from a wide age range the youngest is aged 15 and the oldest 41 with careers as diverse as traffic wardens and actors.
One of the organisers, 16-year-old Gary Gillatt, said, "People have a mistaken idea about what being a "Dr Who" fan is all about. We don't base our lives around the programme, we like to meet to appreciate an art form. Something about the programme and the character draws us to it, it's like Sherlock Holmes, the all-knowing figure who is always going to win."
If you think all the Time Travellers do at these gatherings is sit passively in front of television sets watching reruns you would be wrong. Yes, videos of popular episodes from the past are a feature of the meetings but so much more goes on.
The fans can demonstrate their vast knowledge of the programme in a "Dr Who Mastermind" quiz. Lights are dimmed as the contestant takes his place in the hotseat and attempts to answer posers such as "In the 1963 episode 'An Unearthly Child', who composed the incidental music?"
Pleasure
That is followed by a debate on the merits of the last televised story.
At Saturday's meeting they were joined by actor Richard Franklin who played Captain Mike Yates of the United Nations Intelligence Task Force (UNIT) in the series.
He gave his time for free to answer questions and sign autographs and said, "I love being with fan groups. Being in 'Dr Who' was great fun and it was nice to bring people a lot of pleasure."
The group has been going for two years and although it has no formal membership system, there is a core of around 50 who always attend meetings.
A group magazine called "Tower" -the title comes not from Blackpool's but Time Lord Rassilon's-is written by some of the group and sold for 70 pence at meetings.
Blackpool Time Travellers also have a charity role to perform. They often don their sci-fi fancy dress costumes and spend a day somewhere in the North West collecting for a good cause or taking part in a carnival parade.
Anyone wanting to join the happy band of Time Travellers should simply turn up at the Strand at the next meeting on January 2 from 2pm. A swelling group of followers would be just what the Doctor ordered.
Caption: Sea monster Sean Payne attracts the attentions of fellow members of Blackpool Time Travellers. From left, Dave Foster, Antony Taylor, Hilton Fitzsimmon, Lee Evans, Robert Dunn, Steven Berry (organiser).
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.: Monetti, Sandro (1987-12-16). The time of their lives. West Lancashire Evening Gazette p. 8.
- MLA 7th ed.: Monetti, Sandro. "The time of their lives." West Lancashire Evening Gazette [add city] 1987-12-16, 8. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: Monetti, Sandro. "The time of their lives." West Lancashire Evening Gazette, edition, sec., 1987-12-16
- Turabian: Monetti, Sandro. "The time of their lives." West Lancashire Evening Gazette, 1987-12-16, section, 8 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=The time of their lives | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/The_time_of_their_lives | work=West Lancashire Evening Gazette | pages=8 | date=1987-12-16 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=16 April 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=The time of their lives | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/The_time_of_their_lives | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=16 April 2025}}</ref>
