Killing off Dr. Who Beeb mistake!
- Publication: Evening Herald
- Date: 1992-02-11
- Author: Sharon Black
- Page: 21
- Language: English
'They gave falling ratings as the reason as the reason - but I'm sure Wogan was worse off'
THE man who brought us freaky Dr. Who in the '70s has a bone to pick with the Beeb he just can't understand why they ditched the cult sci-fi series.
Stephen Gallagher, who was among Star Trek and Dr. Who fans who thronged Trinity's hallowed halls for a sci-fi convention last weekend, says the decision didn't make sense.
"I certainly find it a bit odd. The Beeb gave falling ratings as the reason, but I'm sure Wogan was further down in the ratings and that was always on during peak times."
Novel ideas
"I'm always being asked by Dr. Who fans to come along to Who conventions. Working on that series was one of my earliest professional jobs, but people still associate me with it."
He adds: "It was an odd experience which never really worked the way I wanted. I grew up watching Dr. Who, but I found I wasn't that free to do what I wanted. That was very frustrating."
Probably best known as a scriptwriter for the series, Stephen has concentrated since 1980 on his own writing - mainly novels.
His first novel Chimera was adapted by ITV last year. He is currently working on screenplays for two other novels, Rain and Valley of Lights.
Ambitious
Stephen got the idea for Chimera when he was writing for Dr Who in the '70s. "There was a science corporation in the US which predicted that by the year 2025 there'd be routine production of sub-humans under laboratory conditions."
Adds Stephen: "What tends to happen when such predictions are made is that they usually happen a lot faster. So by writing Chimera, and later [?]screened, I was introducing bigger arguments about science and what it's doing. The actual subject didn't matter that I was exposing people's deep-seated anxieties about [?]
He has just finished his latest book Nightmare With An Angel, which he admits is his "most ambitious project to date."
Due for publication in July, it focuses [?] the length of anything I've done to date, and included trips to East Germany to research it. But I'm the father of a five year old daughter, and it's got rid of all my devils, I'm very pleased with it," he [?]
Caption: THE WHO MEN: Colin Baker, who was the sixth Dr. Who, and (left) writer Stephen Gallagher who launched his career on the series
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.: Black, Sharon (1992-02-11). Killing off Dr. Who Beeb mistake!. Evening Herald p. 21.
- MLA 7th ed.: Black, Sharon. "Killing off Dr. Who Beeb mistake!." Evening Herald [add city] 1992-02-11, 21. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: Black, Sharon. "Killing off Dr. Who Beeb mistake!." Evening Herald, edition, sec., 1992-02-11
- Turabian: Black, Sharon. "Killing off Dr. Who Beeb mistake!." Evening Herald, 1992-02-11, section, 21 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Killing off Dr. Who Beeb mistake! | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Killing_off_Dr._Who_Beeb_mistake! | work=Evening Herald | pages=21 | date=1992-02-11 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=5 December 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Killing off Dr. Who Beeb mistake! | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Killing_off_Dr._Who_Beeb_mistake! | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=5 December 2025}}</ref>
