Whovians join forces in El Paso get-together

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• Publication: El Paso Herald-Post
• Date: 1987-11-23
• Author: Torrence Poppa
• Page: B-1
• Language: English

'Dr. Who' junkies unite for out-of-this-world affair

Who planned to destroy the Daleks with a deadly virus and replace them with a new Dalek race subject to his will?

If you don't know it was the evil alien genius, Davros, you haven't been keeping up with the time-traveling adventures of Dr. Who on KCOS-TV, Channel 13.

And if you didn't know about all that, you might have missed the weekend convention of "Whovians" that came together at UT El Paso to bask in the lore of the popular British sci-fi television series that's been on the air for 24 years.

Essentially, Whovians are to the BBC program what "Trekkies" are to Star Trek — hardcore fans who say they would gladly ignore spouses, children and friends just to see reruns of favorite episodes.

"The characters are believable even though they are so unusual. I just thoroughly enjoy it even though the rest of my family doesn't," said Georgia Sinclair, the winner of a Dr. Who trivia contest Sunday.

About 450 of these unabashed sci-fi enthusiasts paid $7 each to hear British actor and comic Jon Pertwee talk about his five-year role as the galaxy-trotting "Doctor."

"I had a great time, a marvelous time" battling the universe-threatening aliens that populate the series, Pertwee told one group of about 150 at UTEP's Union Theater Sunday afternoon.

Pertwee came with some of his erstwhile enemies.

Outside the student union building was a trailerful of Dr. Who props. including the control room of the Tardus — a time-traveling spaceship disguised as a London police telephone box.

Then there were replicas of the evil Daleks, Cybermen, Silurians, Sontarrons and other out-of-this-world creatures.

The program has caught on in El Paso, where an estimated 2,000 households watch it every week, said Marianne Phinney, a member of the KCOS board of trustees. "For El Paso that's good," she said.

Viewers in El Paso, where the program has aired for the last and one-half years, are currently seeing 1976 Dr. Who episodes featuring Tom Baker, the fourth "regeneration" of the doctor.

British fans, meanwhile, are already viewing the exploits of the doctor's seventh regeneration.

"We will catch up late next fall," said Phinney.

Spelling corrections: Tardis, Sontarrans

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.: Poppa, Torrence (1987-11-23). Whovians join forces in El Paso get-together. El Paso Herald-Post p. B-1.
• MLA 7th ed.: Poppa, Torrence. "Whovians join forces in El Paso get-together." El Paso Herald-Post [add city] 1987-11-23, B-1. Print.
• Chicago 15th ed.: Poppa, Torrence. "Whovians join forces in El Paso get-together." El Paso Herald-Post, edition, sec., 1987-11-23
• Turabian: Poppa, Torrence. "Whovians join forces in El Paso get-together." El Paso Herald-Post, 1987-11-23, section, B-1 edition.
• Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Whovians join forces in El Paso get-together | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Whovians_join_forces_in_El_Paso_get-together | work=El Paso Herald-Post | pages=B-1 | date=1987-11-23 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=24 May 2025 }}</ref>
• Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Whovians join forces in El Paso get-together | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Whovians_join_forces_in_El_Paso_get-together | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=24 May 2025}}</ref>