TIME LORD Dr Who has won an overwhelming victory against his most fearsome foe —- the cost-cutters of the BBC.
The daring Doctor and the space Machine Tardis will not, after all, be condemned to live in limbo at the back of : Corporation library shelf until the end of time.
For the masters of the all-powerful BBC empire have bowed to pressure from their outraged subjects and the Doctor will live to fight evil another day-- in 18 months' time, in fact.
The grand news for millions of Dr Who fans came from the Controller of BBC1 Michael Grade, who recently triggered angry protests by announcing that the top science fiction series was to be shelved to save money.
"Long-running TV series do get tired and it is because we want another 21 years of Dr Who that we have prescribed a good rest," he says in the latest edition of Radio Times, insisting that the programme has only been suspended, not cancelled.
He says: "The ratings for the current series have been disappointing and we need time to consider the reasons for this.
Rest
"We are looking to make some financial savings in the coming year and it seems that after 21 years a short rest would do the Doctor no harm at all."
He described the complaints at the dropping of the programme as "bordering on the hysterical."
In an unprecedented move earlier, BBC boss Bill Cotton phoned the Dr Who Appreciation Society and told them the programme will definitely be back in autumn 1986. Last night, Ian Levine, spokesman for the society, said.: "We would be delighted if the BBC could guarantee that if after 18 months they will run Dr Who for another 21 years."
Disclaimer: These citations are created on-the-fly using primitive parsing techniques. You should double-check all citations. Send feedback to whovian@cuttingsarchive.org
