The Register reported that people in the Netherlands should beware of interdimensional attack. "Yup, it looks like the Daleks are poised to exploit this rift in the space/time continuum.", writes Lester Haines. Its bad enough that we have to worry about attacks from other countries, without having to deal with attacks from other (fictional) dimensions.
Posts archived in Doctor Who
Some people have complained that there are only thirteen episodes per season in the new series of Doctor Who. Howver, given what the series has tended to do in the past, it is not too far off the mark. The original series of Doctor Who was shown as multi-part serials with 22.5 minute segments. If you edit together all the episodes of a typical four-part serial, you get a fairly consistent 1:30 run length. At any rate… after the Troughton era, seasons were usually 26 episodes long. As Season 22 amply demonstrated, a season of the equivalent 45 minute episodes is only 13 episodes long. Of course, nothing comes close to the black-and-white era of the series, which ran the show almost every week. Here is a history of the series, and the number of episodes per season. (For purposes of illustration, I've listed "The Five Doctors" as four episodes, and listed the numbers for Season 22 as if it had 22.5-minute episodes. Equivalent number of 45-minute episodes shown in parenthesis.)
Season 1 – 42 (21) Season 2 – 39 (19.5) Season 3 – 45 (22.5) Season 4 – 43 (21.5) Season 5 – 40 (20) Season 6 – 44 (22) Season 7 – 25 (12.5) Season 8 – 25 (12.5) Season 9 – 26 (13) Season 10 – 26 (13) Season 11 – 26 (13) Season 12 – 20 (10) Season 13 – 26 (13) Season 14 – 26 (13) Season 15 – 26 (13) Season 16 – 26 (13) Season 17 – 26 (13) (20/10 aired) Season 18 – 28 (14) Season 19 – 26 (13) Season 20 – 26 (13) Season 21 – 26 (13) Season 22 – 26 (13) Season 23 – 14 (7) Season 24 – 14 (7) Season 25 – 14 (7) Season 26 – 14 (7)
New Series: Season 1: 13 45-minute episodes Season 2: 13 45-minute episodes, plus a 45-minute Christmas special (14 eps total)
It had to happen eventually. The page that started it all, Alex's Doctor Who Page, has finally been retired. That doesn't mean that I'm no longer a Doctor Who fan, or that I won't keep you updated on the exciting Doctor Who news. The truth is, I originally set up Alex's Doctor Who Page to provide information to viewers in Northeast Indiana. Years ago, the local PBS station, WFWA TV-39, showed Doctor Who every Saturday at 10PM. Then, in order to accomodate the growing British comedy audience, they moved it to 12AM. Finally, citing a lack of viewer interest, Doctor Who was removed from WFWA's line-up. "Just not enough viewer support," said WFWA's programming director. Of course, the bloody phones were ringing off the hook that night at WFWA…
For many years after that, there wasn't very much encouraging Doctor Who news. Declining book sales and newer, "sexier" sci-fi programs like Farscape and Buffy the Vampire Slayer drew away most of the interest. But then, just recently, Russell T. Davies ressurected the show, and viewers around the world will see the first new episode of Doctor Who in over fifteen years this March.
Why am I discontinuing the site? Well, first of all, the content of the old page was very out of date. Secondly, I'm moving everything into sections in PolarBlog, so individual pages will end up getting axed. While this does mean the death of this "historic" site, its legacy will live on as one of the many sections of my PolarBlog site. (Which you are looking at right now, incidentally.)
So, what is a despairing Doctor Who fan to do? Well, visit one of the many other Doctor Who sites on the Internet! I would have never said this years ago, but nowadays the first stop on your tour should be the Official BBC Doctor Who Page. They have program histories, news, and a few games for your enjoyment. The next stop on your journey through the swirling vortex should be Gallifrey One, the famed Doctor Who news page. If that isn't enough, why not visit the classic Doctor Who Homepage at Nitro 9, run by the lovely Siobahn Morgan?
Other sites of interest include Big Finish Productions, producers of the new Doctor Who and Benny audio dramas. If detailed show history is what you're after, check out Doctor Who: A Brief History of Time Travel. You want photos? Steven Hill has them at the Doctor Who Image Archive. Finally, you can find out all about those classic moments at the Doctor Who Bloopers List.
Still not enough? Well, you can still visit Serendipidy? or AngloFantasia. How about voting in the Gallifrey Elections, or taking a look at Shag's Doctor Who Page?
Last, but not least, is my good friend Blofeld's Cat. His wonderful site dedicated to The Persuaders will surprise you. Yes, there IS a Doctor Who connection!
Build high for happiness!
Making good on the 40th anniversary of Doctor Who, the BBC has commisioned a new Doctor Who series! Doctor Who will finally be returning to television screens everywhere!!! The new producer, Russell T. Davies, says this about the new Doctor: "As an alien, he is the most human you could wish to meet. He is so marvellously human, a scientist, an artist, passionate, funny, emotional." That sounds like our good Doctor! Finally, after thirteen years, we will have our hero around to save us from "the satanic powers of the night."
According to the Doctor Who News Page, the new series will run for thirteen episodes, running at 45-minutes apiece (similar to Colin Baker's Season Twenty-Two). There is no word yet as to who will play the Doctor, but I'm putting my vote in for Richard E. Grant. (If you haven't seen him play the Doctor in "The Curse of Fatal Death", then I heartily recommend buying it today!)