Invasion of the 'Whovians'

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• Publication: El Paso Herald-Post
• Date: 1987-11-20
• Author:
• Page: 3
• Language: English

PBS's 'Dr. Who' to bring Celebration and Tour to UT El Paso

When a popular television actor tires of playing his role, producers have few options.

They can risk the wrath of devoted fans by killing a beloved character, or they can hire another actor who might not be as popular as the original.

The producers of "Dr. Who" found a solution to the problem: They do both.

"Since the Doctor is an alien, he can change appearance whenever he gets old or dies or the actor gets tired of playing him," explained "Whovian" Michael Mitchell.

A "Whovian" is a "Dr. Who" fan.

Doctor No. 3, Jon Pertwee, is traveling across the country with the Dr. Who Celebration and Tour which will be at UT El Paso this weekend.

El Paso is one of only a handful of cities the tour will visit, said Lisa Lem, promotions manager at KCOS-TV, Channel 13, sponosor of the event.

She said the tour decided to stop here because "the fan club is just phenomenal."

After 24 years on the air, the program still inspires wild devotion among those who follow it.

In a telephone interview, Pertwee explained the show's success.

"It has a lot of heart; it has a lot of love and affection; it has a lot of humanity. 'Dr. Who' has a charm of its own.

"It's escapist entertainment. It does get you out of the kitchen sink."

He added, "Science fiction will always attract a cult following."

Pertwee is not one of the millions of "Who" devotees; he said he has only seen the show a few times.

"I'm not a science fiction buff," he said.

When he left "Dr. Who" in 1975 after five years as the title character, Pertwee began work on "Worzel Gummidge," a series based on an English fairy tale about a scarecrow which comes to life.

The program debuted opposite "Dr. Who."

"It knocked 'Dr. Who' right off the face of the Earth, which was rather embarassing for me, having just left "Dr. Who."

The program still is running, and, like "Dr. Who," is phenomenally popular worldwide ... except in the United States

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.: (1987-11-20). Invasion of the 'Whovians'. El Paso Herald-Post p. 3.
• MLA 7th ed.: "Invasion of the 'Whovians'." El Paso Herald-Post [add city] 1987-11-20, 3. Print.
• Chicago 15th ed.: "Invasion of the 'Whovians'." El Paso Herald-Post, edition, sec., 1987-11-20
• Turabian: "Invasion of the 'Whovians'." El Paso Herald-Post, 1987-11-20, section, 3 edition.
• Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Invasion of the 'Whovians' | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Invasion_of_the_%27Whovians%27 | work=El Paso Herald-Post | pages=3 | date=1987-11-20 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=10 May 2025 }}</ref>
• Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Invasion of the 'Whovians' | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Invasion_of_the_%27Whovians%27 | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=10 May 2025}}</ref>