Than any of his adventures the point when the coups of hiring John Really kicks in and David Tennant's presence becomes more important This starts to fallĪpart at the same time as the series itself, circa 2008, when the Norm and returning us to a more dynamic era. On Davies' watch, we haveĬovers that suggest the story rather than the people who make it, That - again, for all his faults - Russell T. Turning it into his own personality cult, because if you haven'tĪlready worked that out then you're very stupid. I'm not going to suggest that this isīecause he's an awful, awful man who's lobotomised the series by Most obvious point to make is that with the exception of the DalekĮlection issue (too good for them to resist), Doctor WhoĬovers since 2010 have dedicated themselves to publicising Partly because 1983 was when it found itself in trouble again. Partly because the twentieth anniversary deserved a celebration, After 1974, though, the programme found itsĬould look after itself. The series was redefining itself as something colourful, dynamic, and Sense to hype the Barry Letts version throughout Pertwee's run, when Was even sure if it could survive the absence of Hartnell. It made sense to keep reminding people of the series'Įxistence in the '60s, when viewing figures were unstable and nobody

Snobbery, but the truth appears less cynical: Doctor Who never got cover status in the late '70s because it didn't need help,īecause it was accepted as part of the mainstream, because its return I've heard fan-folk suggest that this was some form of How we tend to think of Frank Bellamy's Skarasen as the (although some would argue that the interiors made up for this, given No Tom Baker story made the cover of the RT With Bet Lynch about the door policy of the Rovers Return as if sheįandom tends to miss. That era would grumble about the interpretation of Iago in BBC2's version

When deregulation came in 1991, and all channelsĪppeared in all magazines, it still outsold the TV Times. Routinely described as “elitist” by bottom-feeders in the employ of Rupert Murdoch. Rather than “just” a wildlife presenter-explorer) but is now

The mandate of the BBC wasĮxperiment, inquiry, and a cultural idealism that was bestĮxemplified by David Attenborough (in his old role as controller of BBC2 ForĪll its faults and misfires, the BBC has traditionally proved itselfĪgainst commercial channels in this way, and the comparison between The traditions of old-school BBC telly: “democracy isn't giving people what they want, it's doing what you think is right and then letting people judge you for it”. General principle here, which should appeal to anyone interested in

Doctor Who by Lawrence Miles