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{{article | publication = The Canberra Times | file = 1985-03-03 Canberra Times.jpg | px = 650 | height = | width = | date = 1985-03-03 | author = Joan Morris | pages = | language = English | type = | description = | categories = Hiatus | moreTitles = | morePublications = | moreDates = | text = 'Dr Who', Tardis exterminated I CAN think of no better way to begin this week's column than to quote the London cable that tells of the end of the 'Dr Who' series. Daleks, cybermen and ice warriors couldn't do it. But the BBC's new controller, Michael Grade, has. Dr Who and the Tardis have been exterminated. After 22 years of time- warping, the cult show is to be axed for 18 months because the BBC says it can't afford the production costs. It is causing an outcry among fans — there are 110 million of them in 54 countries. The man responsible for the demise of the famous time warper and his flying telephone box says the BBC can't afford the £ 100,000 ($ A153,000) it costs to produce each 50-minute episode. Actor Colin Baker, who plays the character, said he was "staggered and disappointed" by the decision. And 'Dr Who's' official historian, Peter Haining, predicts a huge international outcry to try to save the show. "I'm astounded that the BBC sees fit to axe its most popular product," he said. "The program is part of the British way of life, like cricket," Colin Baker said. The BBC says it will pour what it saves on overall production costs into new dramas. The present Dr Who series ends next month in Britain. Australians last saw 'Dr Who' as Peter Davison, so there is at least another series still to show here: the one starring Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant. Caption: The five doctors of the 'Dr Who' series over the past 22 years: Tom Baker, left, Dr No 4; Peter Davison, Dr No 5; Jon Pertwee, No 3; standing Patrick Troughton, No 2; and Richard Hurndall, who is standing in for the original Dr No 1, William Hartnell, who died in 1983 }}

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