All Aboard the Bandwagon!

For some time I have noticed the number of times that references to Doctor Who appear in quite unexpected books. It can be quite a good game to play if you happen to be in a bookshop with some time to kill.

I first noticed this phenomenon with The Kenneth Williams Diaries (ed. Hunter Davies, Harper Collins, 1993).  On Saturday 29 November 1975, Willams observed that ‘Dr Who gets more and more silly.’ Episode 2 of The Android Invasion was clearly not his cup of tea, but the idea that Kenneth Williams was a regular viewer of the programme takes a little getting used to. It is a huge shame he never appeared in it – he couldn’t have been any worse than Ken Dodd.

I have subsequently found references to Doctor Who in a number of showbusiness autobiographies by people who never appeared in the show. Aled Jones (Virgin Books, 2005), stakes a claim for his interest in the programme with a wealth of circumstantial detail. ‘The other programme that I never missed was Doctor Who. True to tradition, the moment the music started, I would dive behind our leather sofa, from where I would watch the whole episode. I was particularly frightened of the Daleks and would hide every time they came on screen. But, despite my fear, I still desperately wanted to watch it each week. One day when she was cleaning, Mam discovered that I had been nervously gnawing away at the back of the sofa and that her pride and joy now had teeth marks all the way along the top from one end to the other.’* 

Nigel Havers’s autobiography Playing with Fire (Headline Review, 2006) contains a photo which purports to show Nigel and his father watching the very first episode of Doctor Who. Given that in a Doctor Who Magazine interview Mr Havers claimed only ever to have watched the first episode prior to performing in one of the Big Finish audio adventures for BBC7 it shows rare foresight to have had a photograph taken of the occasion.  Cynics might however point out that the television screen is not visible in the photo.

References to Doctor Who are not confined to autobiographies, however. I recently read First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde (Hodder, 2007), set in an alternative reality Swindon, which contains a scene in which not only does the heroine’s brother come to collect a video of Remembrance of the Daleks, but there is a discussion about who was the best Doctor: ‘“It was Tom Baker,” said Joffy, ending the embarrassed silence. Miles made a noise that sounded like “conventionalist”, and Landen went off to fetch the tape.’

Now that Doctor Who is popular again (for the moment) these references are likely to increase.

All aboard the bandwagon!

May 2006: the Doctor impinges on my working life

3 May 2006

Am moving to new office at the entrance to our building.  Head of Department is concerned that I may get constant interruptions.  I suggest putting sign saying “Hazard: Radioactivity” on the door.  He counters by suggesting sign saying “Beware of the Doctor Who fan”.

Wonder whether mentioning Doctor Who under other interests in my profile in professional journal (‘Who does [redacted for professional reasons] think she is?”) was a good career move.

6 May 2006

Did I say I was overcome last week?  That was nothing to this week.  Steven Moffat strikes again.  Who else could have the Doctor jumping on horseback through a mirror to save the woman he loves?  And he even stole RTD’s ending from Casanova (well, almost).  My only quibble would be that the final shot which shows the name of the spaceship and the explanation of it all is easily missed by a casual viewer.  I had to explain it to our Academic Registrar afterwards.

8 May 2006

An inflatable Dalek, labelled ‘Departmental Administrators, for the use of’ arrived mysteriously outside the Head of Department’s office whilst we were having our weekly management meeting. He attended the remainder of the meeting as an observer.

 13 May 2006

And so from the sublime to the ridiculous. After the wonderful bittersweet ending of last week’s episode, we have some appalling ham acting from Roger Lloyd Pack. I love the idea of the zeppelins though – I wonder if RTD is a fan of Jasper Fforde? And full marks for playing The Lion Sleeps Tonight.

Am getting some interesting reactions to Derek the Dalek. My German colleagues have no idea what a Dalek is as they don’t have televisions.  The American ones are bemused, and the English ones amused. The Head of Department keeps patting him on the dome. (Don’t try this at home with a real Dalek).

Derek the Dalek

 

20 May 2006

Went to local library for talk by Gareth Roberts, who was promoting I am a Dalek.  There was us, assorted kids with parents (including a large proportion of girls) and a rather confused little boy in a spiderman outfit. There was a book-signing afterwards, and husband had brought along his copy of The English Way of Death.   Mr Roberts was a bit surprised at this blast from his past but signed it cheerfully enough. Husband then tactfully commented on the similarities with the work of E F Benson. Oh God!

Better this week than last. I was never really that keen on Cybermen to be honest, but I like the new design. It was quite a shock to see that Jackie (albeit an alternative Jackie) had been ‘upgraded’.

27 May 2006

Slightly disappointed with this week’s episode.  It was good, certainly better than the Cybermen episodes, but I have very high expectations of anything by Mark Gatiss. Maureen Lipman was perfectly cast as the Wire, though.

 

The trailer for next week looks awful.