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   Sunday, September 28, 2003

MY GEEK HEART BEATS FASTER

The BBC announced this week that, after a 14-year hiatus, a new series of Doctor Who will premiere in 2005, possibly starring Richard E. Grant and written by Queer as Folk creator Russell Davies. I remember watching QAF with Bryce and Gord and being teased by them when Vince secretly, late at night, pops a tape into his VCR. The shot reveals that, with no one around, he's not watching porn but Doctor Who. "It's you!" Bryce and Gord cackled while I, with teeth gritted, had to admit they were right.

But I loved Vince, and we both love Doctor Who -- wittier than Star Trek, more British than Buffy, and cheaper than Battlestar Galactica. Yes, everyone makes fun of its bargain-basement special effects (and deservedly so), but no other sci-fi show tried harder to surprise, amuse and terrify its family audience on a weekly basis. Besides, it ran for 26 years (though at least five of those were indeed crap)!

The late Douglas Adams said that the secret to writing for Doctor Who was "to keep it smart enough for children to enjoy but simple enough for adults to understand." Good luck, Russell, there's a new generation of kids out there who need someone to fight the monsters, and we older generation who'd like to cheer him on.

Labels: back in the day, Doctor Who, TV