Let's Do Time Lord Again
- Publication: Daily Record
- Date: 1996-05-03
- Author: Aidan Smith
- Page: 40
- Language: English
AIDAN SMITH meets the Doc's devotees who just can't wait for the return of their super-galactic hero
SCOTLAND'S sci-fi groupies are preparing to enter a new dimension ...
The Lord of the time travellers, Dr Who, is back.
And the super-galactic hero will fill a seven-year void with a bang up-to-date movie adventure.
Since the telly show was axed, fans have gazed far into the galaxy in the hope of glimpsing the man who, a hundred times over, saved them from the Daleks.
In their darkest days, they've wondered whether they had seen the last of their hero.
But the long wait will finally be aver when Paul McGann becomes the latest incarnation of the TV Time Lord for a f3.5 million, feature-length adventure.
Released on video on May 15 before a screening on BBC1, the film boasts super-duper special effects and - shock! horror! - snagging.
As the Record revealed last week, McGann is seen snagging his gorgeous Girl Friday, Daphne Ashbrook, in the comeback film.
Devotees of the Doc appreciate the need for the Time Lord to engage in a bit of tonsil hockey to win over anew audience.
HE is, after all, 700-odd years old - and ratings when the series was axed had slumped to 4.5 million.
Bank worker Amanda Murray, 22, secretary of the Lothian branch of the Dr Who Appreciation Society, said: "It's been tough these past few years with no new adventures to talk about."
But she doesn't want to see her hero being distracted by trifles like sex and love when there is so much time-travelling to be done.
To emphasise their point, the Society members chant the last lines uttered by Dr Who (then played by Sylvester McCoy): "There are worlds out there where the skies are burning, where the seas are sleeping and the rivers dream."
Colin Young remembers that episode well ... and has been mourning the disappearance of the famous Time Lord since
As a boy he used to pop a pan on his head and shout "Ex-ter-minute!" like those metal megalomaniacs, the Daleks.
Now a 28-year-old chef, Colin, of Dalkeith, shares his life with his collection of 85 model Daleks. Oh, and he also has a wife.
He said: "My missus thinks I'm mad but she knew what she was getting into when she married me.
"I've been dotty about Dr Who since the age of three when I first saw him on my auntie's colour telly. For my birthday, she gave me a yellow bump 'n' go Dalek. I've been collecting them since.
"I also have 750 Dr Who books, 30 records - including the single Ern Going To Spend My Christmas With A Dalek - and 3,000 photographs."
Colin is a regular at society meetings which bring together fans who now have jobs, mortgages and kids of their own.
This week's meeting at Edinburgh's Claremont Bar clashed with a satellite soccer match, and the Doc's disciples had to watch a video of the vintage 70s adventure, The Hand Of Fear, with the sound turned down.
IT didn't matter, because they know the story off by heart. Anyway, with a new Dr Who yarn on the way, nothing was going to spoil their night.
Raymond MacFadyen, 27, from Uddingston, Lanarkshire, likes to distance himself from the society, claiming members are "a bit introverted and intense".
Raymond is the proud owner of a home-made Dalek and can't wait for the Doctor's timely return.
It promises to be a spectacular comeback, according to Gary Gillett of the Doctor Who Magazine, who visited the set of the movie in Vancouver.
Gary said: "This Doctor is an action hero. But the basic appeal for people who have grown up with him is the same.
"As kids, they loved the fact he was anti-establishment, an adult who didn't behave like their parents and owned a spaceship. "Now, as adults themselves, they're going to love that even more."
THE TARDIS TEMPTRESSES
SCOTTISH pipers, school teachers, sexpots in bearskin bikinis ... they've all travelled through time with Doctor Who.
Peter Purves, later of Blue Peter and Crufts, was an early male assistant, with a chin which didn't crumble in a crisis.
But the first girls, such as Jean Marsh (Sara) and Deborah Watling (Victoria), were hired just to look pretty and petrified.
Frazer Hines, who went on to Emmerdale, played the kilted Jamie, and Nicholas Courtney was the Brigadier, who uttered the immortal line: "That chap with the wings, five rounds, quick, fire, sergeant!" Kate Manning, as Jo, sexed things up in the '70s before Louise Jameson, pictured left, as Leela, and Mary Tammm (Romana) struck blows for emancipation and equality.
Nicola Bryant was the Brit who played American assistant Peri, she of the spray-on tops. And who can forget Bonnie Langford as Mel?
Spelling correction: Katy Manning
Captions:
DALEK DOTTY ... Colin Young is a devoted disciple of Doctor Who
NEW DOC ON THE BLOCK ... Paul McGann is the latest time traveller
TIME TONIC ... Raymond MacFady Dalek and K9 just can't wait until the Doctor
A TIMELESS SEX APPEAL
The new Dr Who gets a snog at last. How do past does rate as sex symbols?
WILLIAM HARTNELL Dr Who from 1963-66
White-haired, grandfather figure who scared as many small kids as the Daleks did.
Snog Rating 1/5
PATRICK TROUGHTON 1966-70
A Chaplinesque, checked-trousered cosmic clown. Played recorder.
Snog Rating 2/5
JON PERTWEE 1970-74
A dandy who was handy at karate, this brilliant boffin only had eyes for Bessie, his yellow vintage car.
Snog Rating 2/5
TOM BAKER 1974-82
Madcap who munched Jelly Babies in times of danger. Went through eight assistants, including the luscious Leela.
Snog Rating 4/5
PETER DAVISON 1982-3
Sensitive cricket-lover. Good with animals, but not big, bug-eyed ones.
Snog Rating 4/5
COLIN BAKER 1984-87
Chubby, curly-headed, arrogant. Worst of all, he used to shout at pouting Peri
Snog Rating 3/5
SYLVESTER McCoy 1987-89
The man with the question mark umbrella which had fans asking: Why was he ever allowed to become a Doctor?
Snog rating 1/5
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.: Smith, Aidan (1996-05-03). Let's Do Time Lord Again. Daily Record p. 40.
- MLA 7th ed.: Smith, Aidan. "Let's Do Time Lord Again." Daily Record [add city] 1996-05-03, 40. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: Smith, Aidan. "Let's Do Time Lord Again." Daily Record, edition, sec., 1996-05-03
- Turabian: Smith, Aidan. "Let's Do Time Lord Again." Daily Record, 1996-05-03, section, 40 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Let's Do Time Lord Again | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Let%27s_Do_Time_Lord_Again | work=Daily Record | pages=40 | date=1996-05-03 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=23 May 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Let's Do Time Lord Again | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Let%27s_Do_Time_Lord_Again | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=23 May 2025}}</ref>
