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{{article | publication = Toronto Star | file = | px = | height = | width = | date = 1987-07-05 | author = | pages = C2 | language = English | type = | description = | categories = | moreTitles = | morePublications = | moreDates = | text = BELLINGHAM, Wash. (CP) - For almost 25 years, British television viewers have been tracking the adventures of a cranky, 900-year-old character called the Doctor. Conceived by Canadian Sydney Newman, the Dr. Who series has become the longest-running science fiction program in TV history. First broadcast in Nov., 1963, Dr. Who is now seen by 110 million viewers in more than 50 countries. In the United States alone, more than 1,000 fan clubs have sprung up. "Wherever (Dr. Who) goes he encounters wrongs that need righting," says Colin Baker, the sixth of the seven actors to take on the role. "(He's) kind of an inter-galactic Sir Galahad." At a recent Dr. Who convention at the University of Western Washington in Bellingham, more than 1,100 people from as far away as British Columbia and California paid $9 (US) to see Baker, who spent almost eight hours signing autographs. Newman, the man who produced the first Hockey Night In Canada broadcasts, created the classic TV series The Avengers and served as president of the National Film Board of Canada, was in charge of drama production at the BBC in the early '60s. He needed a program to bridge the gap between the early evening news package and the late-night sports show. Aliens and robots The Toronto-born Newman, now 69 and retired in England, wanted an educational program that would take youngsters on a fantasy tour through history. What evolved was Dr. Who, complete with aliens, robots and an assortment of evil, squishy things. Although Newman was no fan of bug-eyed monsters and science fiction, he realized he had a hit after the second show. The longest-running and most popular Doctor was Tom Baker (no relation to Colin) who left the series after seven years because he felt he was absorbing too much of the character. The Doctor is a renegade from Galiffrey, a planet inhabited by Time Lords. Usually travelling with an attractive female companion, the doctor moves through time and space in his Tardis, a machine with a huge interior despite its phone-booth dimensions on the outside. The program has relied more on imagination than glitzy, sophisticated special effects. Violence is kept to a minimum, but usually involves assorted non-humans such as the dreaded Daleks, a group of biological robots that look like giant thimbles studded with lasers. The Daleks have a vocabulary that is generally limited to shrill metallic shrieks of "Exterminate! Exterminate!" The tall, slightly pudgy Colin Baker, who sports a curly blond mop of hair, gave up a law career 20 years ago to become an actor. He was recently fired in a dispute with the new head of the BBC, and there is a new Dr. Who in the form of actor Sylvester McCoy. Baker, on his U.S. tour, was swamped by fans wanting photos and autographs. It was all "very good for the ego," Baker said in an interview. Dr. Who products He said British followers generally don't belong to fan clubs, but "over here they all seem to go to conventions and they all absolutely love the show." Ron Katz, the man who started the Dr. Who Fan Club of America, first saw the program in 1981. The 42-year-old former men's clothier now distributes a line of more than 100 Dr. Who products, from T-shirts to tote bags. Baker predicts the Time Lords' days may be numbered. But ever faithful, Katz remains optimistic. "They've been threatening the show since its second season." GRAPHIC: 2 Photos William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker and Peter Davison in group photo, photo Colin Baker }}

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