Friday
(1)In these times of EU corruption, Blair government corruption, and generally just Prodeus Romanus, the ancient latin God of Corruption, having a whale of a time all over the place, I thought today I might have a day off from being Disgusted, of Henley-on-Thames. After all, it is Friday. That, and I'm on holiday next week, though only, I may hasten to add, stripping off bathroom wallpaper, organising children's birthday parties, and wandering down to Henley library to re-invigorate my audio book collection. (Hey, I've paid the poll tax. I may as well get my money's worth!) And just to lighten my mood even further, and to set the stall out on what is going to be a great weekend ahead, I saw this headline this morning in the Daily Torygraph:
Doctor Who ready to come out of the Tardis for Saturday TV series
Fantastic news! After having spent one of the most memorable moments of my childhood cowering in total abject fear literally half-behind the sofa at the sight of that Sea Devil, as it strode out from the surf, it's about time too.
Doctor Who will be back in 2005, and I for one can't wait. Let's just hope the new scriptwriters can find room for Tom Baker to play some senior Time Lord, or other, maybe even a portly grey-haired version of The Master? Though I must warn these scriptwriters, in advance: if the first series isn't about the Daleks, or the Cybermen, or some kind of evil giant arachnid, then there'll be trouble. And not the kind of trouble you have when the plumbing goes wrong, but serious Davros-style trouble. Indeed, the fate of the Universe may hang on it.
Photo: D. Amon, all rights reserved
I suppose the daleks have overcome their major weakness by now.
Staircases.
Eamon
Posted by Eamon Brennan at September 26, 2003 12:17 PM
The Daleks overcame that weakness some time ago as detailed on the BBC Cult Site. Some form of anti-gravity I believe.
Posted by Duncan at September 26, 2003 12:38 PM
Andy, I hope it warms your cold, evil limey heart* that the highlight of my childhood day back in the early 80's was finishing The Muppet Show and Wild, Wild World of Animals and knowing that Dr. Who was on next. And, ironically, this was all on PBS (WGBH out of Boston). Man, I loved that show. Almost twenty years after Star Trek and the effects still sucked, but it had that ability to scare the shit out of me and I appreciated that. Exterminate! Exterminate!
* I'm just kidding
Posted by Alfred E. Neuman at September 26, 2003 01:49 PM
After years of rumours, i hope this is true this time.
Next question is who do you think should play him.
I'd personally love to see Stephen Fry take it on.
Posted by Rich at September 26, 2003 02:09 PM
McGann! He'll be fine, especially if the ugly bits from the TV movie are ignored or papered over. But I'd like to see him have a decent run as the eighth Doctor.
Posted by nobody important at September 26, 2003 02:26 PM
Rich writes:
I'd personally love to see Stephen Fry take it on.
Arrggghhh!!! Ye Gods, the millionaire arch-socialist? And line his pockets with even more filthy license payers' lucre?
No, no, no (as Margaret Thatcher once said, about closed shops). I was thinking more Ian McKellen, Alan Rickman, or Anthony Hopkins, if they're prepared to forgive getting non-Hollywood rates, for the kudos, or if we're down to cheap Brits, most of the cast of the Fast Show could do it, (Suits you, Doctor), I suppose Richard E. Grant if they get desperate, but most of all, they've got to get some serious assistants in there, Nicola Bryant as Peri springs to mind:
Posted by Andy Duncan at September 26, 2003 02:35 PM
So Stephen Fry can't do it because he's a multi-millionaire arch-socialist but McKellen et al are just fine, eh?
Personally, I think they could do a lot worse than dusting off some of the scripts from the Troughton (1966-9) era and refilming them. The vast majority of the originals were wiped in an attempt to save money on videotape in the early 1970s.
Something worth remembering the next time a BBC apparatchik brings up the sacking of Baghdad Museum.
Posted by Patrick Crozier at September 26, 2003 03:11 PM
Patrick Crozier writes:
So Stephen Fry can't do it because he's a multi-millionaire arch-socialist but McKellen et al are just fine, eh?
Absolutely, because it's Friday, I'm about to go on Holiday, and I don't ever recall Ian Mckellen appearing in New Labour party political broadcasts pushing the Reverend Tony or telling people they're stupid for daring to want to privatise the BBC (though he may think this! :-)
Posted by Andy Duncan at September 26, 2003 03:23 PM
I was hoping that they'd get Joss Whedon to do it, but this is still great news. The ultimate Tory anarchist is back...
Posted by Iain Murray at September 26, 2003 04:57 PM
re Mr Fry: shouldn't that read "arch socialist" rather than "arch-socialist"? (Likeable nonetheless.)
Posted by Guy Herbert at September 26, 2003 07:56 PM
