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| + | [[File:1987-07-30 Argus Leader.jpg|600px|thumb|right|Argus Leader, July 30]] | ||
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| publication = Argus Leader | | publication = Argus Leader | ||
A British police call box that travels through time and space will land in Sioux Falls Thursday when The Doctor Who Celebration and Tour sets up shop at the Western Mall.
The malfunctioning Tardis that takes its hero, Doctor Who, to fight humanoids and monsters throughout the universe will be only one of the Who paraphernalia on display during the show that will be open from 3 to 9 p.m. The traveling show, housed in a 48-foot exhibition trailer includes some of the show's most famous monsters, a handful of villains and K-9, the robot dog. It includes videos about how the 24-year-old science fiction television show is made. Janet Fielding, who played Australian Air stewardess, Tegan, will host question-and-answer sessions.
The British Broadcasting Corp. created Doctor Who after Americans discovered Buck Rogers but before they found Star Trek. It premiered in the United States in 1977 and is the longest running science fiction show in television history. The show is carried locally at 5 p.m. Saturdays on South Dakota Public Television, which is sponsoring the local stop.
Program manager Al Kirts says the appeal of Doctor Who is hard to describe. "When it was created, it was to be a children's show," he says. To the surprise of the BBC and everyone else, the show transcended demographics and has continued for almost a quarter of a century.
Part of the popularity may stem from the dearth of science fiction shows on television, Kirts says. Max Headroom is the closest, and it's not really science fiction.
Doctor Who is a time traveler, a good guy with a machine that takes him to the past, present and future across the universe. If he's killed, he can regenerate in a new physical form, a trait that's been convenient as actors change, Kirts says. "It's still the same guy, he just looks different."
Kirts says he's watched about a dozen episodes. He calls them endearing but not great drama.
Doctor Who airs weekly on 180 Public Broadcasting System stations. It has a worldwide audience of 110 million in 60 countries.
Tickets for Saturday's show are $6 for adults, $5 for children, free for children younger than 5. SDPTV members will pay $5 for admission.
Caption: Janet Fielding Member of Doctor Who cast
Disclaimer: These citations are created on-the-fly using primitive parsing techniques. You should double-check all citations. Send feedback to whovian@cuttingsarchive.org
