RA
DR WHO TO RETURN TO BBC
By Tony Jones, PA News
The classic sci-fi series Dr Who is set to make a return to the BBC, it has
emerged.
The time-travelling hero will be materialising on to a television - but not
for another two years.
The show's creators have said the series is in the early stages of development
and details of who will play the Time Lord will not be available for some time.
The new series will be written by Russell T Davies, creator of the Channel 4
drama Queer As Folk and the acclaimed ITV drama Second Coming.
The television writer, describing his love of the programme said: "I grew up
watching Dr Who and hiding behind the sofa like so many others.
"Dr Who is one of the BBC's most exciting and original characters. He's had a
rest and now it's time to bring him back.
"The new series will be fun, exciting, contemporary and scary.
"Although only in the early stages of development I'm aiming to write a
full-blooded drama which embraces the Dr Who heritage at the same time as
introducing the character to a modern audience."
Doctor Who is the world's longest running science-fiction series and was
screened from 1963 to 1989 with several actors playing the role over the
decades, including William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee and Tom
Baker.
Across television and film it chronicled the adventures of eight Doctors and
more than 30 companions against countless foes - human, alien and otherwise -
throughout time and space.
In 2001 Sylvester McCoy reprised his role as the seventh Dr Who in an audio
drama broadcast on the web.
Mal Young, the BBC's controller of continuing drama series and co-producer of
the new show, said: "Dr Who is a much-loved truly iconic piece of television
history.
"It's time to crank up the Tardis and find out what lies in store for the
Doctor.
"We're thrilled to have a writer of Russell's calibre to take us on this
journey.
"However we're a the very early stages of development and further details
including casting will not be available for some time."
end
260010 SEP 03
By Tony Jones, PA News
The classic sci-fi series Dr Who is set to make a return to the BBC, it has
emerged.
The time-travelling hero will be materialising on to a television - but not
for another two years.
The show's creators have said the series is in the early stages of development
and details of who will play the Time Lord will not be available for some time.
The new series will be written by Russell T Davies, creator of the Channel 4
drama Queer As Folk and the acclaimed ITV drama Second Coming.
The television writer, describing his love of the programme said: "I grew up
watching Dr Who and hiding behind the sofa like so many others.
"Dr Who is one of the BBC's most exciting and original characters. He's had a
rest and now it's time to bring him back.
"The new series will be fun, exciting, contemporary and scary.
"Although only in the early stages of development I'm aiming to write a
full-blooded drama which embraces the Dr Who heritage at the same time as
introducing the character to a modern audience."
Doctor Who is the world's longest running science-fiction series and was
screened from 1963 to 1989 with several actors playing the role over the
decades, including William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee and Tom
Baker.
Across television and film it chronicled the adventures of eight Doctors and
more than 30 companions against countless foes - human, alien and otherwise -
throughout time and space.
In 2001 Sylvester McCoy reprised his role as the seventh Dr Who in an audio
drama broadcast on the web.
Mal Young, the BBC's controller of continuing drama series and co-producer of
the new show, said: "Dr Who is a much-loved truly iconic piece of television
history.
"It's time to crank up the Tardis and find out what lies in store for the
Doctor.
"We're thrilled to have a writer of Russell's calibre to take us on this
journey.
"However we're a the very early stages of development and further details
including casting will not be available for some time."
end
260010 SEP 03
MA
Remember the gay daleks on the Victor Lewis Smith programme
More info in Media Guardian
Marcus
Founding member
andyrew posted:
Lorraine Heggessey has confirmed that Doctor Who is set to return to BBC One. It is to be penned by Queer As Folk writer Russell T Davies.
Discuss: Camp Daleks with 12 inch weapons and limp wristed Cybermen.
Discuss: Camp Daleks with 12 inch weapons and limp wristed Cybermen.
Remember the gay daleks on the Victor Lewis Smith programme
More info in Media Guardian
:-(
A former member
I see that article forgets to mention that the 8th Doctor Who was from a late 1990's TV Movie - what was his name again, McGann or something similar?
CW
The 1996 TV movie was intended to spawn a new UK-US coproduced series of Doctor Who with Paul McGann continuing in the role of the doctor - it was supposed to be so much more than just a one off and thus McGann is considered more of a canon doctor than Peter Cushing was.
Also, the 1996 movie came after 30 years of regenerations. If a new guy took on the role, a regeneration came to be expected - they couldn't just have Paul McGann take on the role without any explanation as to how he got there. And I'd hope they can get him in to do a regeneration sequence for the new series. In contrast, the original 60's movies were made when William Hartnell was still the doctor. At that time, the concept of the doctor regenerating didn't exist and as both films were one off remakes of existing TV stories anyway, there was no perceived need or wish to incorporate Peter Cushing's doctor into the canon of Doctor Who. Thus, he didn't get counted whilst Paul McGann did.
cwathen
Founding member
Quote:
I see that article forgets to mention that the 8th Doctor Who was from a late 1990's TV Movie - what was his name again, McGann or something similar?
The 1996 TV movie was intended to spawn a new UK-US coproduced series of Doctor Who with Paul McGann continuing in the role of the doctor - it was supposed to be so much more than just a one off and thus McGann is considered more of a canon doctor than Peter Cushing was.
Also, the 1996 movie came after 30 years of regenerations. If a new guy took on the role, a regeneration came to be expected - they couldn't just have Paul McGann take on the role without any explanation as to how he got there. And I'd hope they can get him in to do a regeneration sequence for the new series. In contrast, the original 60's movies were made when William Hartnell was still the doctor. At that time, the concept of the doctor regenerating didn't exist and as both films were one off remakes of existing TV stories anyway, there was no perceived need or wish to incorporate Peter Cushing's doctor into the canon of Doctor Who. Thus, he didn't get counted whilst Paul McGann did.
:-(
A former member
The new series will be produced by BBC Wales, Radio Wales proudly announced this morning on their 7am news bulletin (well Russell Davies is from Swansea). So lets just hope it lasts more than one series or does better than BBC Wales' other network productions 
. Anyone remember Lifeboat, Tiger Bay, Jack of Hearts 
. Anyone remember Lifeboat, Tiger Bay, Jack of Hearts
CO
I think you are getting confused with the period of Jon Pertwee and to a lesser extent Tom Baker.
From <http://www.museum.TV/archives/etv/D/htmlD/doctorwho/doctorwho.htm>
in the first episode, its central character, the Doctor is a mysterious ('Doctor Who?') and stealthy figure in the contemporary world of 1963, not even being seen for the first eleven and a half minutes, and then appearing as an ominous and shadowy person who irresponsibly "kidnaps" his granddaughter's schoolteachers in his time machine (the Tardis). This mystery was the hallmark of the series for its first three years (when William Hartnell played the lead), as was the anti-hero quality of the Doctor (in the first story he has to be restrained from killing a wounded and unarmed primitive).
The Doctor was deliberately constructed as a character against stereotype: a "cranky old man", yet also as vulnerable as a child; an anti-hero playing against the more obvious "physical" hero of the schoolteacher Ian
That does not sound too much like fun to me.
From <http://litefoot1969.bravepages.COM/sf/drwho/features/season01/story_b/part2.htm>
Searching for Barbara, the Doctor, Ian and Susan find a room packed with scientific instruments. A geiger counter reveals a high level of fall-out and the Doctor summises that at some point in the past a neutron bomb has been detonated. He confesses that he lied about the fluid link and wants to leave immediately.
So the Doctor was not averse to telling porkies.
Part of the original purpose of Dr Who was to be educational and teach a little about world history.
From <http://davidj.richardson.NAME/drwho/prose_article_historydrwho.html>
Sydney Newman knew exactly who he wanted as producer. Once he had been given the go-ahead, he recruited his former production assistant at ABC, Verity Lambert. He also chose David Whitaker as the script editor. Then, after telling them that he wanted around half of the stories "historical" (going into the Earth’s past to, for example, the Atzecs or the French Revolution) he left them to their own devices.
So I conclude that your assertion concering the original series is in error, and that the original recipe for the series was drama, tension, and education in contemporary settings.
JB posted:
It sounds like a fairly good summary of what the
original
series was supposed to be like...
I think you are getting confused with the period of Jon Pertwee and to a lesser extent Tom Baker.
From <http://www.museum.TV/archives/etv/D/htmlD/doctorwho/doctorwho.htm>
Quote:
in the first episode, its central character, the Doctor is a mysterious ('Doctor Who?') and stealthy figure in the contemporary world of 1963, not even being seen for the first eleven and a half minutes, and then appearing as an ominous and shadowy person who irresponsibly "kidnaps" his granddaughter's schoolteachers in his time machine (the Tardis). This mystery was the hallmark of the series for its first three years (when William Hartnell played the lead), as was the anti-hero quality of the Doctor (in the first story he has to be restrained from killing a wounded and unarmed primitive).
The Doctor was deliberately constructed as a character against stereotype: a "cranky old man", yet also as vulnerable as a child; an anti-hero playing against the more obvious "physical" hero of the schoolteacher Ian
That does not sound too much like fun to me.
From <http://litefoot1969.bravepages.COM/sf/drwho/features/season01/story_b/part2.htm>
Quote:
Searching for Barbara, the Doctor, Ian and Susan find a room packed with scientific instruments. A geiger counter reveals a high level of fall-out and the Doctor summises that at some point in the past a neutron bomb has been detonated. He confesses that he lied about the fluid link and wants to leave immediately.
So the Doctor was not averse to telling porkies.
Part of the original purpose of Dr Who was to be educational and teach a little about world history.
From <http://davidj.richardson.NAME/drwho/prose_article_historydrwho.html>
Quote:
Sydney Newman knew exactly who he wanted as producer. Once he had been given the go-ahead, he recruited his former production assistant at ABC, Verity Lambert. He also chose David Whitaker as the script editor. Then, after telling them that he wanted around half of the stories "historical" (going into the Earth’s past to, for example, the Atzecs or the French Revolution) he left them to their own devices.
So I conclude that your assertion concering the original series is in error, and that the original recipe for the series was drama, tension, and education in contemporary settings.
JB
Blah blah blah blah. For god's sake stop being so picky.
For as long as there are people like you who greet every bit of good news about the series with a "it won't be as good as the old days" then of course it's going to fail. Just cheer up for heaven's sake, it's the first full series for 14 years!!
Corin posted:
So I conclude that your assertion concering the
original
series is in error, and that the original recipe for the series was drama, tension, and education in contemporary settings.....
Blah blah blah blah. For god's sake stop being so picky.
For as long as there are people like you who greet every bit of good news about the series with a "it won't be as good as the old days" then of course it's going to fail. Just cheer up for heaven's sake, it's the first full series for 14 years!!