Who - the when and the why
- Publication: The Sun News-Pictorial
- Date: 1980-01-04
- Author:
- Page: 6
- Language: English
"DR WHO" needs no introductions to its followers, and even those who have never watched the show are used to seeing it regularly listed in the 6.30 time slot on Channel 2.
It is a fixture among our TV shows, and its devotees are just that, bound by no age limit or definition of the show — just devoted to "Dr Who."
There was a nurse who wouldn't willingly work late shift, however-hefty the penalties, because she would miss "Dr Who."
Even she couldn't define why she enjoyed the show, sitting there stony faced, with dinner guests wondering when she was going to get into the kitchen.
She wasn't a sci-fi freak, just a "Dr Who" freak, and she would tell you very seriously it was "just so funny."
Well, she has departed these shores, otherwise she would have been shocked, alarmed and concerned.
"Dr Who" is being shown out of its usual time slot just for one showing, because — and this she would laugh at — the censors said so. Tonight on 2- at 9.30, there is an hour-long episode, which is actually four edited into one by the B13C at the request of the ABC after censors wouldn't give it the normal G rating "Dr Who" carries.
A spokesman at the ABC says it got an A classification — meaning for adult, not general, exhibition — mainly because of the subject matter.
The "subject matter" is a mad scientist wanting the head of Dr Who to stick on a collection of butcher's rejects that he has sewn together as a suitable vehicle for the use of Morbius' brain.
Morbius is an arch criminal who has been executed and his ashes scattered throughout the nine corners of the universe — but due to mad scientist Solon. his brain lives in perfect condition in a tar while waiting for a suitable receptacle.
Dr Who's head is not all that good, considering he looks like a Carnaby St. reject, but Solon reckons it's just the thing for Morbius.
Dastardly schemes are hatched to separate Who's head and body, while the Sisters of Kam, the other inhibitants of the planet, are not all that keen on Who's survival either, so the whole thing gets a bit complex.
Thrown in for good measure is a lovely tongue-in-cheek (if you say otherwise, who am I to argue?) parody of Dr Frankenstein with the mad body-assembler, his idiot hunchback helper, complete with spooky lab.
One wonders whether Frankenstein or any of his innumerable offspring has ever been shown in the 6.30 time slot, or any general viewing Unit', for that matter.
The ABC spokesman shrugged off the rating philosophically. saying that maybe the mind-body problem worried the people who hand out the magic letters which dictate air time.
But the station has been plagued by "Dr Who" freaks asking what they had done with "The Brain of Morbius" — which was made in 19Th — and is apparently commonly known by these "Dr Who" freaks. So, NOT at the usual time slot — three hours later instead — this sought after gem will be shown.
I regard is as a Gothic, sci-fi send-up of Frankenstein. and for those tempted to tune in for the first time, be warned.
You'll either love it or hate it.
Caption: TOM BAKER as Dr Who ... owner head wanted by a mad scientist
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- APA 6th ed.: (1980-01-04). Who - the when and the why. The Sun News-Pictorial p. 6.
- MLA 7th ed.: "Who - the when and the why." The Sun News-Pictorial [add city] 1980-01-04, 6. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: "Who - the when and the why." The Sun News-Pictorial, edition, sec., 1980-01-04
- Turabian: "Who - the when and the why." The Sun News-Pictorial, 1980-01-04, section, 6 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Who - the when and the why | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Who_-_the_when_and_the_why | work=The Sun News-Pictorial | pages=6 | date=1980-01-04 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=24 March 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Who - the when and the why | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Who_-_the_when_and_the_why | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=24 March 2025}}</ref>
