Who's Doctor Who? (Globe)
- Publication: Globe
- Date: 1985-03-12
- Author:
- Page:
- Language: English
They all are -- and 100 million people are under their spell
AMERICA'S hottest new sci-fi hero is Doctor Who, that's who.
He's a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey, and here on Earth he has a cult following rivaling Star Trek's Mr. Spock.
Doctor Who battles the forces of evil weekly on TV and usually wins.
He shuttles back and forth through the centuries in a time machine called TARDIS, which, on the outside at least, looks like a British police call box.
Doctor Who was launched in 1963 as a science fiction serial on British TV. Today, more than 600 episodes later, the show runs on 112 stations in the United States alone, with an audience of some 9 1/2 million.
Not to mention fan clubs and conventions, where Whovians buy, sell and trade Doctor Who memorabilia.
And that's only a fraction of the more than 100 million fans in 52 countries who turn on to the Doctor's incredible adventures.
"It's a fun show, that's why it's so popular," says Ron Katz, president of the 30,000-member Doctor Who Fan Club, based in Denver, Colorado.
"There's nothing else like it on American television," he explains. "It's much better than Star Trek because it doesn't take itself so seriously."
Susan Howard, program director at WUFT-TV in Gainesville, Florida, says: "We get more letters on Doctor Who than any other show we put out."
The Doctor, who's been played by five actor over the years, even has fans among NASA's top brains.
"One guy wrote us saying he had worked on designing the first Voyager computer for NASA," says Katz. "We thought he was some kind of nut, but we found out he was for real.
"He said the show was the closest thing to scientific reality he'd ever seen."
Caption: WHO'S WHO? The current Doctor Who, young blond Peter Davidson, is surrounded by a who's who of Whos. From left: William Hartnell, the first Who, Tom Baker, Patrick Troughton and John Pertwee, who all played Who during the past 22 years
Spelling corrections: Peter Davison, Jon Pertwee
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- APA 6th ed.: (1985-03-12). Who's Doctor Who? (Globe). Globe .
- MLA 7th ed.: "Who's Doctor Who? (Globe)." Globe [add city] 1985-03-12. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: "Who's Doctor Who? (Globe)." Globe, edition, sec., 1985-03-12
- Turabian: "Who's Doctor Who? (Globe)." Globe, 1985-03-12, section, edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Who's Doctor Who? (Globe) | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Who%27s_Doctor_Who%3F_(Globe) | work=Globe | pages= | date=1985-03-12 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=24 March 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Who's Doctor Who? (Globe) | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Who%27s_Doctor_Who%3F_(Globe) | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=24 March 2025}}</ref>
