Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION The Anywhere Machine "Dr Who" celebrates 40 years of ....Time Travel

"Dr Who" celebrates 40 years at the end of this month !!!

we have a TV magazine in the UK called the "Radio Times" [ it's been published for years !!! hence the title !!! ]

they have a special celebration cover [ with 4 different ones, featuring a different Dr on each one !!! ]

and i've seen a new book celebrating the 40 years that looks really good !!!

i think there will be some TV specials to be aired also .... anything happening in the US ???

Matthew.

Not as far as I know, except the stuff we can get from the UK...

I assume the RT covers are Baker, Davison, Baker and McCoy?

Haven't seen much mention here in the US, either.

So which Doctors did get the covers?

yeah !! you're correct !! the others are no longer with us ....

Matthew.

i forgot to say that they are new photo's of the actors in the "Dr Who" role !!!

Matthew.

That's why I figured it was them; new pics rather than trodding out the old publicity photos from those no longer with us.

A friend of mine in my Dr. Who club was kind enough to order the "End of The Universe" collection from Amazon.ca. It came last Monday and since then I've been watching non-stop (well just about). At our latest meeting, we watched all 10 episodes of War Games. Whew!

Anyway, I've rambled on long enough...Happy 40th Anniversary Dr. Who, and here's to 40 more!

Ray "Party Man" Currie
Pres., Brethren of Time & Space
London, Ontario

I watched the Doctor Who weekend on UK Gold. Manuel was pretty fed up of it by Sunday.

It was quite interesting. I actually see Colin Bakers doctor in a new light.

This past week, Baywindows, one of the gay papers here in Boston, had an article about Dr. Who and the possible revival of the series.

Yes, I've heard that rumour, too. Some are saying that Eddie Izzard (stand up comedian, actor, and action/executive transvestite) is being considered up to play the good Doctor... But I believe the company owning the rights has denied this.

~^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^~
"Good evening, sir. Cake or Death?"

The Head of the BBC apparently said they just drew up the short list, so no ones been cast yet.

Here's some other quotes from producer Russell T. Davies: http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/art-main.html?2003-12/04/09.00.tv

Hi! I'm new here, and I LOVE the Legion (esp. Post-Boot, though I'm currently reading Pre-Boot for the first time.) Thought I'd make my first post here in this Doctor Who thread since it's my favorite show. If there are any of you who frequent the Outpost Gallifrey message board, my name is J.R. Loflin and I'm a moderator there (where I sign all my official moderating posts as "Moderator Lad")

Hmm, since I'm not a Moderator here though, I guess you guys can call me either Pex, JR, or Temporal Kid

So, um, yeah, to be vaguely on-topic here, did anyone here watch "The Scream of the Shalka" webcast and, if so, what did you think of it?

Actually, if I recall correctly, it was Tom Baker who suggested Eddie in an interview. That quote then got pumped up into "Eddie's the new Doctor" (gotta love the internet). Eddie has since refuted the rumor, though said while doing so that he'd really enjoy the part. If he's on the short list, that's probably how he got there.

Personally, I think he'd make a great new-millennium Doctor. In addition to being a very funny stand-up comic, he's done some really good dramatic acting too. Check out "Shadow of the Vampire" or "The Cat's Meow" to see him in action.

If they went with a non-Brit (though I hope they don't), I'd love to see Kevin Kline tackle the role...come to think of it, we saw him do just that in The Wild, Wild West movie, and I thought he was superb!

Eddie was great in Shadow of the Vampire and is probably my current favorite stand up comedian. Or should that be comedienne? I've never really been much of a Dr. Who fan mostly due to just not having the time to devote to really learn a character who has been around 40+ years but I'd support Eddie in the role if the fans wanted him to do it.

Learning Dr. Who history is no harder than figuring out Legion History.

To sum up 40+ years: "Dr. Who" is about an immortal called "The Doctor" who travels through time and gets in whacky adventures with a rotating cast of sidekicks.

Thanks guys.

Quis, it may not be for someone who has followed it but from my point of view its a lot like a newbie to the Legion trying to figure stuff out. The Legion's history is nothing for me to figure out but I've grown up with it.

Drake I know it can't be as simplistic as that. Aren't each of the different actors who played the Doctor actually explained instead of viewers supposedly just accepting that a different person is playing him? You know, the change isn't ignored like, say, the two different Darrins on Bewitched?

At least they were both Dicks.

True -- it's a quality posessed by all "Time Lords" (his race) -- they "regenerate" if they're severely injured and come back looking like another person, with varying personality differences but with the same memories (pretty much). It's a rough process though that usually leaves the Doctor disoriented for some time as he's being "reborn". I think Time Lords can regenerate 12(?) times.

Hmm. My PBS station just started showing Dr. Who again awhile back. I think they are up to the 1980's episodes. This week is part one of 'Black Orchid'. Maybe I'll try to catch it.

Yes 12 times for 13 Doctors, I believe is correct. There are sometimes oddities that crop up with regeneration but these are usually explained at the time, and there is some indication in the show that its possible to have more than 12 and that the Doctor himself has had more than twelve.

The Time Lords are from a planet called Galifrey, they tend not to involve themselves in matters of time [except in keeping other people from gaining time travel]. The Doctor is a rebel from his society, and stole a slightly broken time machine and can't control his path most of the time [although sometimes the Time Lords do for him.]

The Doctor has a granddaughter, but his family isn't really spoken of past the second Doctor's era.

The Doctor was stranded on Earth during his third incarnation and spent a fair amount of time as the advisor to a military group UNIT - United Nations Intelligence Taskforce - that investigated alien presences on earth. His arch nemesis at the time was another rogue Time Lord, "The Master" who also had stole a time machine and tended to try and get power or money through abusing time.

Black Orchid is a tale of the Fifth Doctor, a completely non-science fiction story that's also fairly short [being only two parts]. The Doctor's traveling companions for the story are ADRIC - a young boy from a planet [Alzarius] in another dimension [E-Space] who is incredibly smart, NYSSA - a young alien girl [from the planet Traken] who was orphaned during one of the Doctor's prior adventures and TEGAN an Australian woman who was on the way to starting a job as an Airline Hostess before getting involved with the Doctor's adventures.

Hope that helps.

It does Amentep. I probably will try and catch the two episodes and see how it goes. Who knows, maybe you Who fans will have another convert.

Let us know what you think, regardless of if you like it or not. I'll be curious to see what you like/dislike about it.

A two-parter seems like a great time to jump on -- some of the arcs can run a dozen or more episodes. I'm also particularly fond of this era of the show and his supporting cast at the time(though it's too bad you missed K-9 and Ramona).