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Difference between revisions of "Oh Lord, he's still stuck in the past"

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Latest revision as of 22:47, 28 May 2014

The Times coverage of series 1date
BBC canned HD deal for Doctor Who2005-03-01
Interview with Kate Orman: Dr Who Author2005-03-01
The Doctor will see you now ...2005-03-01
Alehouse Rock2005-03-01
For 25 years, Doctor Who's creaky charm captivated a nation2005-03-06
Elevate, exterminate: Daleks conquer stairs in new Doctor Who2005-03-06
The thrill of the chaise2005-03-06
What's Up Doc? (The Observer)2005-03-06
Quick! Behind the sofa!2005-03-07
Let's hope Time Lord Christopher Eccleston is happy with his performance2005-03-07
Exterbinate!2005-03-08
Net pirates steal preview of Doctor Who comeback2005-03-08
The Doctor faces his newest adversary ... the Canadians2005-03-09
Carry on Doctor (Time Out London)2005-03-09
Eccleston and Billie, just what the Doctor ordered2005-03-09
The good doctor2005-03-09
BBC hopes for a rescue by Doctor Who2005-03-09
Top of the docs2005-03-09
Billie plots return to pop2005-03-09
Doctor Who puts accent on a new look to old show2005-03-10
Doctor Who And A Scary £10m Gamble2005-03-10
Doctor Who Whodunit2005-03-10
Flying Daleks and Hollywood-style special effects as BBC aims to get families cowering behind sofas again with revival of TV series2005-03-10
Doctor Who leak previews future of broadcast content2005-03-10
Who's a bit camp2005-03-10
Dr Who save my life says Billie Piper2005-03-10
Who's who of monsters2005-03-10
See Who Jimmy2005-03-10
Why can't daleks go up stairs?2005-03-10
Forgotten timelord2005-03-11
Who's who?2005-03-12
Everyone has a favourite Doctor Who as a matter of accident of birth, not of taste2005-03-12
Carry On Doctor2005-03-13
Billie Bardot2005-03-13
Another dimension2005-03-14
Doctor Who's new assistant2005-03-14
Media Tarts2005-03-14
Tom Baker voted top Doctor2005-03-14
Just what the Doctor ordered (2005)2005-03-17
The Doctor goes space age2005-03-17
The Return of the Time Lord2005-03-18
Billie the kid2005-03-19
Who said what?2005-03-19
The A-Z of Doctor Who2005-03-19
It's properly scary and funny2005-03-19
What Makes Who Special2005-03-19
A tale of British boffins2005-03-19
Radio choice2005-03-19
I've Fallen for a Dalek2005-03-19
Who?2005-03-19
A Time Lord Timeline2005-03-19
Billie's big comeback?2005-03-19
My sweet Time Lord: Are Sixties Daleks worth anything?2005-03-20
The Doctor's Darlings2005-03-20
What's Up Doc?2005-03-20
Dr Who: talking about my generation2005-03-20
Doctor New (Sunday Life)2005-03-20
Who Dunnit Once ... but can cult sci-fi classic save BBC again?2005-03-21
I chased an actor dressed up as an alien pig on my first day ... it was bonkers2005-03-21
Carry on Doctor (The Guardian)2005-03-21
Rhodri Who? Minister mistaken for alien2005-03-21
Chris Eccleston and I have shared a lot2005-03-21
Billie and I have on-screen chemistry2005-03-21
I don't regret leaving The Street2005-03-21
Piper at the gates of dim2005-03-21
Doctor Who (2005)2005-03-22
Inside the Tardis2005-03-22
Who's the baddy!2005-03-22
Ex-singer is taking on aliens2005-03-22
Doctor Boo!2005-03-23
In short, I have a vanishingly small part in the new run of Doctor Who2005-03-23
The Who-Sual Suspects2005-03-23
Dr Who's Who2005-03-23
Doctor Who: funny he never married ...2005-03-24
Who's this in a dogs' home?2005-03-24
Looka-Yikes2005-03-24
A new Who does it2005-03-24
Who's That Girl (2005)2005-03-24
Timely return2005-03-24
Sexterminate! Sexterminate!2005-03-24
Time Lord's floozy - there's no future in that, Billie2005-03-24
The Great Doctor Who Quiz2005-03-25
Doc foe dies of old age2005-03-25
I fear future as the Timelord, admits Dr Who2005-03-25
The Whys and Whats of Who2005-03-26
Blonde Bombshell2005-03-26
Piper calls the tune2005-03-26
Mr TARDIS2005-03-26
Who's the daddy?2005-03-26
The effects2005-03-26
The creatures2005-03-26
Bring on those nightmares!2005-03-26
Oh, My Time Lord2005-03-26
Return of the Daleks2005-03-26
Doctor Who returns2005-03-26
It's about Time (The Northern Echo)2005-03-26
The sexiest Time Lord yet2005-03-26
Doctor Who arrives in modern times. And it works2005-03-26
Your handy cut-out guide to the greatest day on telly - ever2005-03-26
The BBC has no qualms about reviving old series2005-03-26
Best Regeneration2005-03-26
One of the scariest programmes (if you're eight years old)2005-03-26
Children can't say they've had a proper upbringing until they've spent a Saturday evening hiding behind the sofa with one eye on Doctor Who2005-03-26
A timely return for the Doctor2005-03-26
The prognosis for feminism is not good2005-03-26
That's the wonder of Who...2005-03-26
Dalektable!2005-03-26
Older time-travellers left on different planet2005-03-26
Heroes & Villains2005-03-26
The Who Was Who in Dr Who2005-03-26
Doctor faces a high-tech challenge2005-03-26
Watch This2005-03-26
Who dares..2005-03-26
He's no dummy2005-03-26
Doctor in the house!2005-03-26
Doctor in Love2005-03-26
Lording it2005-03-26
Who's the greatest!2005-03-26
The Doctor Will See You Now...2005-03-26
Corrie's Tricky Dicky is most chilling TV clip2005-03-26
Oh Lord, he's still stuck in the past2005-03-27
Your worst nightmare .. new Daleks that can go UPSTAIRS!2005-03-27
Who the man..new Doc is wheelie cool2005-03-27
Now All-Out Dalek War2005-03-27
Doc's grin and tonic2005-03-27
BBC cashes in as new Doctor hits the screens2005-03-27
Doctor prescribes a cure for Beeb's terminal misery2005-03-27
Can Doctor Who Dec Ant?2005-03-27
Just what the Doctor ordered2005-03-28
Who's the daddy as 10m find time to see the Doctor2005-03-28
Run for your life2005-03-28
Ten million welcome back the Doctor2005-03-28
Express Charts2005-03-28
Who's the daddy (The Sun)2005-03-28
Dr Who wins Saturday night TV ratings war2005-03-28
This Doctor is the right prescription2005-03-28
Jason Flemyng2005-03-29
The Right Medicine?2005-03-30
The Daleks Tried, The Cybermen Tried ... But It Finally Took A N.Wales Gardener To Destroy The Tardis2005-03-30
New Dr Who let down by same old cheesy effects2005-03-30
We'll Exterminate All the Other Toys2005-03-30
Prepare for an invasion of the Dr Who toys2005-03-30
Canadian TV worker fired for leaking Doctor Who2005-03-30
Graham Norton on Dr Who? That is scary2005-03-30
I quit as Dr Who2005-03-31
He saves the world and BBC, then Dr Who quits2005-03-31
Doctor Woo2005-03-31
Doctor Who Quits2005-03-31
Who better to win the battle2005-03-31
Dr Who star makes way for Casanova2005-03-31
Dr Who star says time's up2005-03-31
BBC's anger at the vanishing Doctor Who2005-04-01
Casanova actor seduces the Doctor Who casting agent2005-04-01
How Casanova made his next conquest a dalek2005-04-01
Greg's giggle2005-04-01
Who It All Again2005-04-01
I am not Spock: how some actors never manage to escape from their most famous characters2005-04-01
And the date of the election is ...2005-04-01
Who do you think you are?2005-04-01
Feeling like a completely new man2005-04-01
Is it all over for planet Earth?2005-04-01
I thought it was just me who was convinced that doctors are getting younger2005-04-01
Who's Who (2005)2005-04-01
Origin of species2005-04-02
Carry on, Doctor Who2005-04-02
The Doctor returns2005-04-02
Doctoring the results2005-04-02
Dr Who-Ha2005-04-02
Dr Who Website In Meltdown2005-04-02
Who's in a £50m Mess2005-04-02
The Hit Sci-Fi Series is Back2005-04-02
Are diehard fans ready for a modern Doctor Who?2005-04-02
Dr Who Told Beeb He'd Stay In Show2005-04-03
Mystery man returns2005-04-03
Who Cares If Time Lord Leaves Early?2005-04-04
Dr. Who wants to see you—again2005-04-04
Tree's a crowd2005-04-04
Dr Who viewers fall 2.6m2005-04-04
Forget the laughs, Doc, give us fear2005-04-04
Just look who's on the slide2005-04-04
Canada hears a Who2005-04-05
BBC says sorry to new Dr Who over typecasting claim2005-04-05
Who's back. And Who's looking vastly entertaining2005-04-05
Rose in kidnap2005-04-06
Doctor new2005-04-07
Doctor in tune with past2005-04-07
Meet the Next P.M. ... and he's full of hot air like Blair2005-04-07
Letters2005-04-09
Their mutual friend2005-04-09
Billie's new role as Chris backs an Idiot2005-04-10
Rose2005-04-11
Twisting the night away2005-04-11
The traveller in time2005-04-11
Who broke Big Ben?2005-04-13
Billie Pins Down Celeb Wrestlers2005-04-13
Dr Who too scary for young children2005-04-14
Doctor Who is too scary for children2005-04-14
Who-ray! the doctor is in2005-04-14
BBC climbs down over Doctor Who fear factor2005-04-15
Too frightening for parents?2005-04-15
Close encounters2005-04-15
Destroy Ant and Dec!2005-04-15
Killing time2005-04-16
Casanova regenerates into the new Doctor Who2005-04-16
Casanova's next conquest is the Tardis2005-04-16
David's the new Doc2005-04-16
Wild about the boy2005-04-16
Today's TV with Mike Ward2005-04-16
Casanova Will Be the New Dr Who2005-04-16
Political prisoners2005-04-16
She's out of this world2005-04-16
Alison Graham On... Who's The Doctor2005-04-16
Beam me up, scotty! There's klingons on the seafront2005-04-18
More outrage as Dr Who 'crucified'2005-04-18
Your View: Doctor Always Was A Thriller2005-04-19
Who's Afraid?2005-04-19
Doctor Who brought back to life in new series2005-04-19
Who knew Doctor Who revival would be so good?2005-04-19
Doctor Who gets 10th face2005-04-20
This is a wind up2005-04-20
A Famous Dram For The New Dr Who2005-04-22
The face of evil?2005-04-23
Fair and square2005-04-23
Nigel Andrew's View2005-04-23
World war2005-04-23
Flight Of The Dalek2005-04-24
Who's who in pop's Tardis2005-04-24
Dr Who in kilt Scot my vote2005-04-24
Dr Who's T-Rusted Sidekick2005-04-25
Dr Who gets political2005-04-25
Exterminate Chris!2005-04-25
Chris Eccleston explains why he left Dr Who2005-04-26
Shocker for Doc2005-04-26
Posh 'n Becks crisis--latest2005-04-26
I Wanted to Exterminate the Daleks2005-04-26
Doctor Feud2005-04-26
Daleks v Girls on Girls Action2005-04-27
Rovers' returns2005-04-29
Give the man a BAFTA2005-04-29
Tinpot dictator2005-04-30
Quickie...2005-04-30
Gwen Stefani must be a secret fan of Doctor Who2005-04-30
It's just out of this world!2005-04-30
From Gay to Geek2005-04-30
Exterminate! Exterminate!2005-04-30
Reader Rant2005-04-30
Keep us hanging on ...2005-04-30
Cheapskaaates2005-04-30
Doctor's deadliest enemy2005-04-30
Inventor of Daleks only earned £80!!!2005-04-30
Exterminate the Wrestlers2005-04-30
So, the story we've all been waiting for2005-04-30
This is what we've been waiting for2005-04-30
Be afraid, be very afraid... The Daleks are coming back to a living room near you!2005-04-30
Return of the Daleks!2005-04-30
D-aargh-lek's wimpy ending2005-05-01
Carry On, Doctor2005-05-01
The softer side of the sole remaining Dalek2005-05-02
Back behind the sofa — it's a Dalek2005-05-02
£2m sales for the man who makes Daleks2005-05-02
Dalek Roy Yearns To Obey Orders2005-05-02
Daleks exterminate wrestlers2005-05-03
Trust invaded by zombies, pigs and walking dummies2005-05-05
Wanted: One Time Lord, Tardis optional2005-05-06
The naked Dalek2005-05-07
Free Doctor Who and Friends CD inside today plus bonus Star Wars track2005-05-07
It takes three ...2005-05-07
Today's TV with Mike Ward (2005-05-07)2005-05-07
Dr Who's new enemy: Star Wars!2005-05-11
Unholy terror2005-05-14
The galactic cardboard fantasy sets exterminated as a sexy new doctor materialises on our television screens time for fans old and new to find out who is who2005-05-14
Doctor Phew!2005-05-14
A well-crafted machine2005-05-14
From Daleks To Dracula!2005-05-15
Let's not be beastly to Daleks2005-05-16
An absurd ruling takes the fun out of Doctor Who2005-05-16
Unsuitable for children2005-05-17
The censors ... will ... exterminate2005-05-17
The Daleks in my bedroom2005-05-18
Dr Who skull cracking is cut2005-05-18
Doctor treated2005-05-19
Legislate! Legislate!2005-05-19
Streaming for more?2005-05-19
Hamlet2005-05-19
Brits Still Enjoying 'Doctor Who' Antics2005-05-20
It helps to be a Time Lord2005-05-20
Dreams and Nightmares2005-05-21
A doctor so sexy it's scary2005-05-21
The timely Doctor Who saves family audience Daleks make a welcome return to the living room2005-05-21
Being true to Dr Who2005-05-22
Beeb exterminates Dr Who DVD plans2005-05-22
Billie: It's Ta-ta to the Tardis2005-05-23
Who's the daddy (The Stage)2005-05-26
Tranter promises more family drama on weekend2005-05-26
Who's a lucky devil2005-05-26
To be continued...2005-05-28
Just what the 'Doctor Who' ordered2005-05-28
Time Lord travelling again, this time to the stage2005-05-31
Time teamer2005-06-02
I'm Trapped in Crash Wreck ... Tape Dr Who!2005-06-02
The BBC have zapped new life into that most bizarre of geek entertainments, Dr. Who2005-06-02
Boom Town2005-06-03
What's next, Doc?2005-06-04
Death of the Doctor2005-06-04
Colin checks out Who wears what2005-06-04
Reality can be a killer2005-06-11
Geoffrey Toone2005-06-12
BBC advises Doctor Who fans to stay offline until the bitter end2005-06-14
Sought, located2005-06-15
The Doctor's fate is sealed with a first kiss — or two2005-06-16
Who Lets The Dog Out2005-06-18
They're back ... and this time it's war!2005-06-18
Doctor Ooooh!2005-06-18
Time up for Chris2005-06-18
Do catch the last in the current series of Dr Who2005-06-18
Doctor Who's greatest triumph - the return of TV for all the family2005-06-20
Local voices for local people2005-06-20
Silly Billie just lost the plot2005-06-22
Series 3 for Who2005-06-24
I'm prepared for my role as BBC Man, but how to fit Big Specs into the new Dr Who?2005-06-25
Awkward squad2005-06-27
Saturday night fever2005-06-27
Soundbites2005-07-01
Doctor who? (Idea)2005-07-01

2005-03-27 Sunday Times.jpg

[edit]

Are you sitting comfortably? In the early days of broadcasting, before you were born, Best Beloved, when the whole world was in 405 lines, took two minutes to warm up and vanished into a white dot at 11pm after a vicar had told you off, there were gaps -holes in the universe of home entertainment. To plug the holes, they put up a test card, and they made little films called interludes. These were like commercials, but without a product. Some time ago, I went on a charming and frankly bedroom-obsessive programme about them. I only really remembered the most famous, the potter's wheel -a shot of hands making a pot. It was strangely restful and pleasant. But they showed me others -a man ploughing with horses, kittens, the London to Brighton railway journey speeded up to just a couple of minutes. They were time bungees, hoicking me back to the hazy hindsight of childhood. I was filled with a retrospective feeling of euphoria and sentimental glee.

These insignificant movie madeleines were disproportionately intense. Seeing them again brought a lump to the throat, but at the time they made me sigh with tedium; they were interludes of boredom. They meant there was a technical hitch. Television used to have lots of technical hitches, and I realised that this is how golden ages emerge. It's the rewriting of cultural history. For a medium that is barely a generation old, television has a huge golden nostalgia.

For most of you, interludes will mean nothing, and if you saw one today it would still mean nothing. They are only personal time travel if you're over 50. Which brings me to Doctor Who (Saturday, BBC1). I vividly remember the first Doctor Who, William Hartnell, and the first episode. I remember where I was sitting, I remember what our first television looked like. The Doctor went back to visit cavemen, and I wrote a description of what I'd seen in a colouring book. I suppose that was my first television review. Doctor Who was hugely popular with people who are going to be 50 about now. Compared with most children's television, which was avuncular and improving or good, clean slapstick fun, Doctor Who was invigoratingly scary. But, like most things, it petered out into self-parody. Its very long-evity kept it Zimmering on, way beyond any entertainment values. Finally, Michael Grade put it out of our misery, and that should have been that. But time travel has a way of coming back at you.

The golden ageism associated with the Doctor is particularly virulent. What is it with sci-fi fans that they alone are incapable of moving on? They clutch at the past with a fantasy yearning in complete contradiction, you'd have thought, to the observations and lessons implicit in science fiction. Never mind: either way, they're in a world of their own, and the BBC has foolishly rebuilt it for them. The new Doctor Who has an impossible brief: to be in two places at once. It's been made at the insistence of an audience of ghosts, adults who wish to be reminded of childhood and a lot of real children who've never seen it before, have no idea what a police box is, but have grown up with Star Trek, Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings. So, how frightening do you think a Dalek's going to look to them?

The first episode introduced us to a new Doctor and his assistant. The best thing about it was Billie Piper, who was well cast as a modern, chavishly smart sidekick who runs well. Doctor Who's assistants all had to do a lot of running and sometimes falling over, so they had to be rescued.

Piper has a face that the small screen just wants to lick. Christopher Eccleston, though, is a less obvious piece of casting. He's an intense, naturalistic actor with a dangerous edge; being a pre-watershed alien with comedy bits really isn't playing to his strengths. Perhaps they thought that having done The Second Coming of Christ, he'd find the eighth incarnation of Doctor Who a doddle.

The actual drama reminded me of early Avengers rather than Doctor Who, but perhaps that's because it involved invigorated shop mannequins, which I remember Steed had to cope with as well. The authentic nostalgia lay in the crap special effects and hokey crowd scenes, where 10 had to make do for 1,000. The dialogue was mostly exclamatory, interspersed with unbelievable explanations of bits of plot and lots of running.

What killed off the original Doctor Who was jet lag. The rest of science fiction passed it by, and unfortunately it still hasn't caught up. The current incarnation of the Time Lord has barely moved, and the one thing the future can't afford to be is old fashioned.

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.: Gill, A A (2005-03-27). Oh Lord, he's still stuck in the past. The Sunday Times p. Culture p. 12.
  • MLA 7th ed.: Gill, A A. "Oh Lord, he's still stuck in the past." The Sunday Times [add city] 2005-03-27, Culture p. 12. Print.
  • Chicago 15th ed.: Gill, A A. "Oh Lord, he's still stuck in the past." The Sunday Times, edition, sec., 2005-03-27
  • Turabian: Gill, A A. "Oh Lord, he's still stuck in the past." The Sunday Times, 2005-03-27, section, Culture p. 12 edition.
  • Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Oh Lord, he's still stuck in the past | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Oh_Lord,_he%27s_still_stuck_in_the_past | work=The Sunday Times | pages=Culture p. 12 | date=2005-03-27 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=28 March 2024 }}</ref>
  • Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Oh Lord, he's still stuck in the past | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Oh_Lord,_he%27s_still_stuck_in_the_past | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=28 March 2024}}</ref>