Just what the doctor ordered! (Coventry Evening Telegraph)

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• Publication: Coventry Evening Telegraph
• Date: 1999-10-15
• Author: Barbara Argument
• Page: 21
• Language: English

GARRY HOLE can't wait to come face to face with some of the scariest sci-fi monsters from his childhood - and he's not alone.

He and 600 other Dr Who enthusiasts will meet up later this month at a Coventry convention dedicated to the vintage cult TV programme which has fascinated millions in 90 countries for almost 30 years.

And if 38 year-old Garry is threatened with extermination by a dastardly Dalek or a cold-hearted Cyberman, it will make his day.

He knows everything about the Time Lord and his travels through the Universe in a police box Tardis.

It's more than ten years since a new episode of Dr Who was produced by the BBC, but the legend lives on for fans like Garry, who lives in Wyken.

Cerebral palsy confines him to a wheelchair, but his imagination knows no bounds when the sci-fi fan's vast collection of videos takes him daily on a journey through time and space.

The highlight of his year comes later this month when Garry heads for the Dr Who convention in the van he calls his Whomobile.

He will join hundreds keen to meet an assortment of menacing creatures from the series, two of the six actors who brought Dr Who to life - Peter Davidson and Sylvester McCoy - and as a special treat, the terrifying big baddie himself, The Master.

"I've been an avid fan since 1968 when I was captivated by the Cybermen invading London," says Garry.

Dr Who writer Terry Nation, who created the Daleks, knew why the series was such an enduring success. "The answer is simple. Kids love to be frightened," he once said.

Garry has met several of the doctors and his favourite is the late Jon Pertwee who shook his hand at the Town and Country Festival at Stoneleigh.

"He was wonderful because there was such a crush I couldn't get near him and he made a point of coming over to talk to me. I thought he brought great presence to the part."

Coventry is rapidly becoming the sci-fi convention capital of the country with gatherings for Star Trek fans as well as the annual get-together for Dr Who fans which is on October 30 and 31 at the Leofric Hotel.

More than 75 books of doctor adventures have been published since the show was first screened in November, 1963. There are spin-off videos and fan clubs around the world.

Mark Pilkington, one of the organisers of the Coventry gatherings, says Jon Pertwee is his favourite doctor too.

"Dr Who did scare children, but the stories were always quite moral and the doctor never did any harm to people. He won through intelligence not venom."

GRAPHIC: OUT OF THIS WORLD: Garry Hole slings on the long, multi-coloured scarf made famous by Tom Baker and gathers some of the memorabilia spawned by the cult show over the years. Picture: JANE JORDAN; IS THERE A DOCTOR IN; THE HOUSE?: A Dalek prepares to "exterminate" and the five of the eight Dr; Who actors (from left) Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Jon Pertwee, Patrick; Troughton and Richard Hurndall. Hurndall stood in for William Hartnell, who played the first doctor, in a 1983 special

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• APA 6th ed.: Argument, Barbara (1999-10-15). Just what the doctor ordered! (Coventry Evening Telegraph). Coventry Evening Telegraph p. 21.
• MLA 7th ed.: Argument, Barbara. "Just what the doctor ordered! (Coventry Evening Telegraph)." Coventry Evening Telegraph [add city] 1999-10-15, 21. Print.
• Chicago 15th ed.: Argument, Barbara. "Just what the doctor ordered! (Coventry Evening Telegraph)." Coventry Evening Telegraph, edition, sec., 1999-10-15
• Turabian: Argument, Barbara. "Just what the doctor ordered! (Coventry Evening Telegraph)." Coventry Evening Telegraph, 1999-10-15, section, 21 edition.
• Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Just what the doctor ordered! (Coventry Evening Telegraph) | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Just_what_the_doctor_ordered!_(Coventry_Evening_Telegraph) | work=Coventry Evening Telegraph | pages=21 | date=1999-10-15 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=31 March 2025 }}</ref>
• Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Just what the doctor ordered! (Coventry Evening Telegraph) | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Just_what_the_doctor_ordered!_(Coventry_Evening_Telegraph) | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=31 March 2025}}</ref>