Doctor Who, and friends, make a spectacle of themselves!
- Publication: Nottingham Weekly
- Date: 1993-11-20
- Author:
- Page: TV Post
- Language: English
DOCTOR WHO'S 30TH ANNIVERSARY
Who on earth has designs on the good Doctor now?
FRIDAY is a big night for the BBC, which marks much loved series Doctor Who's 30th year and the Children In Need fund-raising spectacular by fusing the two together. One of November 26's big crowd-pullers will be Doctor Who's 3-D adventures in EastEnderland. Our special double page feature turns the spotlight on them all.
As millions of devoted Doctor Who fans across the world gather to stage huge celebrations to mark the quintessentially British drama's 30th anniversary, Hollywood is waiting expectantly in the wings.
American movie man Steven Spielberg's company is locked in talks with the BBC about creating a coproduction new series of the show that has made such an impact wherever it has been screened.
And about time too, say the enthusiasts, who have been clamouring for the series' return ever since it was unceremoniously exterminated in December, 1989. They have flocked to regular Doctor Who conventions - the last major one sold out two months before doors opened - ever since, never doubting that one day the Doc would return to our screens.
Actually, five Doctors make a brief comeback this week in a BBC special, linking the 30th anniversary of the first show with the fund raising charity spectacular Children In Need.
Tom Baker, Colin Baker, Peter Davison, Jon Pertwee, Sylvester McCoy and a bevy of Doctor's assistants breeze into soapland for a 3-D mini series, starting Friday, November 26.
The story starts when the Doctors are trapped in a 20-year time loop by baddy Rani (Kate O'Mara). They, and the EastEnders are whizzed back and forth in time, trying to escape.
It's all wonderful news for Tardis followers, who are already enjoying the Friday night Dalek story re-runs. The BBC caps this with an anniversary documentary next week (the actual anniversary is on November 23). But the best news of all would be the announcement of a new series. "It will come back, it has to," beams Alexandra Looseley-Saul, actress and owner of the successful Doctor Who Shop in London. She opened up shop in 1984 after spotting the potential at a Doctor Who convention and, incidentally, met her husband-to-be when he walked in on her first day of trading.
"Like Coronation Street, Doctor Who is part of British folklore, whole generations have grown up with both of them," says fellow fan, Robin Pritchard.
He's right. Just about everyone you meet who's old enough to count has fond memories of the series. We all have our favourite Doctors - be it the long-scarfed Tom Baker, the frilly-shirted Jon Pertwee or Peter Davison with the stick of celery on his lapel - and we were all frightened by the baddies. In fact, it's a wonder those young then remember anything of the series, since we all seemed to have been cowering terrified behind the sofa!
"I was banned from watching it as a child, because I had nightmares of Cybermen coming up the stairs to get me," says Alexandra Looseley-Saul. "I remember being quite scared of the Daleks, but it was the Cybermen who really frightened me," says EastEnders actress Wendy Richards.
If he does get the go-ahead, goodness knows what Spielberg's lot have up their sleeves to test the new Doctor. One thing's for sure; with such a loyal following -110 million viewers have seen the series worldwide and flock to buy memorabilia, a quarter of a million even bought Doctor Who underpants! there will be a lot watching to find out.
EastEnders are Doctored!
EASTENDERS' stars had great fun whizzing through the years in the Doctor Who Children In Need special for Friday. The cast had to appear as they were in the 1970s and as they will be 20 years hence in the time-travelling mini series.
"Wendy and I had a real laugh playing younger versions of Pauline and Kathy," says Gillian Taylforth (Kathy Beale) pictured with Wendy Richards (Pauline Fowler). "You should have seen the gear we had to wear!
"But it was a shock to see how I might look in 20 years' time. In fact, with the clothes I was wearing, I looked more like Dot Cotton than anybody else!"
The EastEnders join five Doctors and a band of their assistants for the two parter which starts Friday (Nov 26) and finishes - with the ending chosen by telephone votes the following night.
My years as a Dalek big baddie ...!
HE put the wind up three Doctors, terrified a whole generation of growing viewers ...and actor Terry Molloy is dying to do it again!
Terry was Dalek leader Davros from 1983 until the series' demise, and he had a wonderful time as the shriveled baddie.
"The worst thing was having the mask done. I spent two and a half hours with straws stuck up my nose and plaster of Paris all over me, getting heavier and heavier," grimaces Terry, who you also know as Mike Tucker of radio serial The Archers.
"It was a job getting about too. You'd expect a computer-aided Dalek suit? It was a wooden box with castors, and you had to trundle about looking like you weren't powering it, carrying two car batteries to power the electrics!"
Should the series come back? "Absolutely! It has everything going for it. The Doctor is a sort of intergalactic Biggles who solved huge problems with a bit of cleverness and a piece of string."
And if the BBC project gets the go-ahead, Terry would jump at the chance of being Davros again. He grins: "Steven Spielberg phone (my) home!"
Additional keywords: Dimensions in Time
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- APA 6th ed.: (1993-11-20). Doctor Who, and friends, make a spectacle of themselves!. Nottingham Weekly p. TV Post.
- MLA 7th ed.: "Doctor Who, and friends, make a spectacle of themselves!." Nottingham Weekly [add city] 1993-11-20, TV Post. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: "Doctor Who, and friends, make a spectacle of themselves!." Nottingham Weekly, edition, sec., 1993-11-20
- Turabian: "Doctor Who, and friends, make a spectacle of themselves!." Nottingham Weekly, 1993-11-20, section, TV Post edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Doctor Who, and friends, make a spectacle of themselves! | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Doctor_Who,_and_friends,_make_a_spectacle_of_themselves! | work=Nottingham Weekly | pages=TV Post | date=1993-11-20 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=6 November 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Doctor Who, and friends, make a spectacle of themselves! | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Doctor_Who,_and_friends,_make_a_spectacle_of_themselves! | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=6 November 2025}}</ref>
