It's a hit in Britain and with Sutton

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• Publication: Lansing State Journal
• Date: 1987-06-25
• Author: Mike Hughes
• Page: 6C
• Language: English

Dr. Who?

It's a hit in Britain and with Sutton

She has settled into the gentle life of the British gentry.

Sarah Sutton sometimes gets acting work, which she's been doing since she was 8. More often, she sticks with the quiet pleasures of being a doctor's wife.

But then there are days like today, when things get un-quiet again. "It does tend to remind me that I've been a part of TV history," she said.

Sutton will be in Michigan State University's Communications Building, answering questions about her two years as Nyssa on TV's "Dr. Who." She'll be onstage at 3:30 and 7:30 p.m., but the event will continue from 2-9 p.m.; tickets are $7.50, $4 for students with ID and free for kids 5 and under.

Parked alongside the building is a trailer filled with Who exhibits. Inside the building, there will be Who souvenirs and Who videos and a mingling of Who buffs —some of them dressed like Who.

"It can look pretty strange on a 90-degree day," said Bruce Squire, who's been driving the Who-mobile for six months. "You'll see people showing up in overcoats and floppy hats and 27-foot scarves."

All of that will leave normal Americans with questions: Who are these Who buffs, and what are they doing here?

"Dr. Who" is an enduring science-fiction show. "It's been going for 24 years in London," Sutton said, "so it's something that's part of the culture."

British sci-fi, of course, isn't like anything around here. Laser blasts are rare, but verbal wit is commonplace. "('Dr. Who') relies a lot on humor and wit ... It's part of the joke that some of the effects are iffy, at best. If you want special effects, watch 'Star Wars XV.'"

Seven actors hake played the lead role. The local showings — 2 p.m. Sundays on Channel 23 — have just started episodes with Peter Davison, the youngest and cutest Who; they were filmed four years ago, with two more Whos following.

More — many more — people have played his female assistants. That's how Sutton got involved, six years ago.

She was 19, playing 17-year-old Nyssa. The character was descended from nobility on another planet; she was also a bioelectronic engineer, a cybernetics expert, a math whiz and "a little bit snooty."

Sutton got the job, which involved some cheery miscasting. This whiz was played by someone who barely passed her high school test. "I got 'ungraded,' which is the worst you can get. I'm just terrible at math."

She proved that during the interview Wednesday, needing help to compute how many Who episodes she made. (It was 44.) Nyssa would have been shocked.

"I didn't have a clue as to what I was saying, most of the time. You just have to say it with conviction."

Sutton worked on the final two episodes that featured Tom Baker, a seven-year Who, and then spent two years opposite Davison.

Beneath the whimsical exterior, she says, the show was organized. Scripts were on time and filming was calm — but busy. "The studios closed at 10 at night, and often we were pushing it right up to the deadline."

She kept that up for two years before her character — like countless other Who assistants — was dropped. That was (our years ago, and her career's been sluggish ever since.

That may be because of typecasting or simply because she wasn't looking very hard. Her life changed when she met a doctor at a party.

They had nothing In common — she hates hospitals, he'd never seen a film studio — and they fell in love instantly. Since their marriage, Sutton has slowed her pace. "I'm not as career-oriented now. I guess having a roof over my head has something to do with it."

But she'd love to do scattered work in America and she makes occasional trips here for the Who tours.

"Dr. Who" has become a late-blooming hit on PBS stations, so its American distributor is financing the tour. "We get all types," said Squire. "It ranges from kids who are 7 or 8 to grandparents."

The exhibit involves a Who car (a replica of a 1903 British Roadster body on top of a '53 Ford chassis) and assorted displays. None of this means anything to non-buffs, but Who fans apparently are satisfied. Crowds range from 200 or so to a semi-mob of 1,100 last weekend in Cincinatti.

Then came the trip here, which Sutton saw as sort of a summer adventure. "How many times would I get a chance to ride in a truck from Cincinnati to Lansing? I even honeymooned at a Who convention. If it weren't for this, I'd never be able to have a honeymoon in San Francisco."

Caption: Sarah Sutton sits in the "Dr. Who" car at Michigan State University, where the display is set up near the Communications Building. She plays Nyssa in the British science-fiction show.

Spelling correction: Cincinnati

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.: Hughes, Mike (1987-06-25). It's a hit in Britain and with Sutton. Lansing State Journal p. 6C.
• MLA 7th ed.: Hughes, Mike. "It's a hit in Britain and with Sutton." Lansing State Journal [add city] 1987-06-25, 6C. Print.
• Chicago 15th ed.: Hughes, Mike. "It's a hit in Britain and with Sutton." Lansing State Journal, edition, sec., 1987-06-25
• Turabian: Hughes, Mike. "It's a hit in Britain and with Sutton." Lansing State Journal, 1987-06-25, section, 6C edition.
• Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=It's a hit in Britain and with Sutton | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/It%27s_a_hit_in_Britain_and_with_Sutton | work=Lansing State Journal | pages=6C | date=1987-06-25 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=28 April 2025 }}</ref>
• Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=It's a hit in Britain and with Sutton | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/It%27s_a_hit_in_Britain_and_with_Sutton | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=28 April 2025}}</ref>