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From: @RUTGERS.ARPA:milne@uci-icse
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: Whoites or Trekies?
Message-ID: <459@topaz.ARPA>
Date: Thu, 31-Jan-85 02:46:10 EST
Article-I.D.: topaz.459
Posted: Thu Jan 31 02:46:10 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 7-Feb-85 02:28:03 EST
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From: Alastair Milne <milne@uci-icse>


>    As we were watching a Dr. Who episode last night, my friend wondered
>    aloud whether there were more Trekies or more Whoites, since Dr. Who
>    has been around for a longer span of time than Star Trek.  I told
>    him I'd post the question to this digest and see what people thought
>    of the difference in numbers between the fans of each of these
>    series.  As a more specific question, since Dr. Who is a BBC
>    produced series, can we assume that it has a greater following in
>    England than does Star Trek?

    Hard to say.  I *hope* there are more for Dr. Who (tells you where my 
    sympathies lie), but given the spread of commerical television ....
    I think you mean simply that "Dr. Who" is English.  I think it's actually
    made by one of ITV's (Independent TeleVision) divisions, Lionheart.  ITV
    is Britain's commercial network , though not nearly so commercial as the
    North American ones.

    Greater popularity in England?  I would expect so, but I don't know.  I do
    know that there was a paper that used Daleks as a metaphor for something 
    terrible (my mother saw the headline over somebody's shoulder), so I 
    assume the influence is widely spread.  (If you don't know what Daleks
    are, just ask the net, then open your mailbox wide).

>    Also, I asked a Who question some time ago which went something like
>    this "I've just seen my first Dr. Who episode and I have only one
>    question: how does she keep that hat on her head?", to which I
>    recieved a number of "'She' WHO?!?" replies.  I would like to
>    comment that while there are indeed a lot of women hanging around
>    the TARDIS, I have yet to see more than one with a hat balanced
>    precariously on her head.  (To those of you who responded "How about
>    a hat pin", thanks, and I'll shut up now...)

   The only one of the Doctor's varied companions I remember who perched a hat
   on the back of her head was Romana (more properly Romanadvaradnalunda
   (sp?)) in her second generation (she was another Time Lord, or Time Lady,
   as the Doctor always said).  The hat had a very narrow string that went
   under her chin, and was essentially invisible unless you were looking for
   it.  A later episode shows it hanging by the string from a peg.

   I suspect the episode you saw was "City of Death", since that is the only
   one I remember where she wore that hat.  It was shot on location in Paris,
   with lots of marvellous scenery.  That episode was also noteable for having
   both Catherine Schell and John Cleese (separately; Cleese had a very quick,
   but very funny cameo toward the end).  The TARDIS had landed in a Left
   Bank art gallery, where it was curiously at home.  NOTE: as I mentioned in
   a previous message, DON'T judge these shows by their names.  "City of
   Death" is actually very good.

				Alastair Milne

     "How about a quick stagger up the Champs Elysees, and a bite at Maxim's?"