MINI and Doctor Who

<p>A little late to post Gabe! We missed out! I’m sure it’ll re-run though…</p>

<p>For those of us in the USA, this is available on the net as a torrent file. Not that I condone downloading copyrighted content or would do something as blatantly wrong as this, but if I did, I would search for Dr. Who on mininova.org, then look for “Parting of the ways” in the resulting list.</p>

<p>Gabe, I’m amazed you haven’t heard of Doctor Who! Add that to your list of All Things British. Might want to investigate this programme at the video store so you can remedy your deprived childhood. :-)</p>

<p>I do have some stills from the scenes described, so drop me a line if you’d like those. The scenes are not hard to find in the episode, however. The classic Mini has something of a starring role, with an extended appearance. The new MINI is a bit harder to spot, but it’s in the background as Rose’s boyfriend (Mickey) runs to meet her after the TARDIS lands.</p>

<p>Just to give you some idea of what an institution this programme is, Doctor Who first aired in 1963 and didn’t miss a season until 1989. Seven actors played the role of the Doctor during that time, including Peter Davison (who was the young vet in “All Creatures Great and Small”) and Tom Baker (lately in “Monarch of the Glen”). There was a 1996 TV movie (Doctor #8), and now this 2005 revival, produced by Russell T. Davies (U.K. “Queer As Folk”) and starring Christopher Eccleston (Doctor #9) and Billie Piper. Eccleston is a highly regarded dramatic actor, and Piper is a former U.K. Top 10 pop singer who can act. Davies’s prior work means that this 2005 series breaks some new ground. :-)</p>

<p>The Doctor can “regenerate,” a plot device that makes actor replacement straightforward. Normally the Doctor has a “companion” or two. In the 60s and 70s the average companion was young, female, frequently in a miniskirt, and prone to screaming at “aliens” (i.e. extras dressed in rubber suits) on mysterious “planets” (the same Surrey rock quarry set). One 1970s female companion’s outfit was a leather skin a la Tarzan, in fact. (Nothing wrong with that.) The special effects were…wobbly. 🙂 Body counts are high, particularly when the thoroughly evil (and cheap to build) Daleks show up. The Cybermen and Autons are other classic (and did I mention cheap?) alien villians.</p>

<p>The Doctor’s vehicle is called the TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimensions in Space), a machine which can travel through time and/or space. (Duh.) For reasons explained and re-explained in the series, the TARDIS looks like a late 1950s blue police call box. (Did I mention low budgets?) In 1963 this meant that the show was “educational children’s programming,” with visits to historic places and events, but nowadays BBC claims merely “family programming.” (“Watch with your children.” That’s probably due to the fact more people get killed in an average episode than in “Pulp Fiction.” :-))</p>

<p>The whole series has a marvelous sense of humor. For example, in 2005 Episode 1, Rose asks, “If you’re an alien, how come you sound like you’re from the North?” The Doctor replies, “Lots of planets have a north.”</p>

<p>In addition to the aforementioned Torrent method, undoubtedly a U.S. network will pick up this new series. PBS, the Sci-Fi Channel, and BBC America are the three most obvious potential outlets. Many lucky Americans living in northern states watched the CBC broadcasts. (Most U.S. cable systems near the border carry CBC, and over the air is possible in certain places.)</p>

<p>File under MOST classic TV science fiction/genre programming. I also like “Blakes 7” (a.k.a. Shakespearean Actors in Space) and “Red Dwarf.”</p>

<p>Oh Doctor Who! It brings back those late Sunday nights in highschool watching that guy with the 12 foot scarf save the world!</p>

<p>When I hear about the series’ revival I thought they should use the MINI. In the old series the 3rd doctor used 2 different cars; first, an antique convertible, then, a custom 3 wheel car made to look like and air cution vehicle.</p>

<p>A MINI would fit right into the new series–to bad it was just for one episode.</p>