ccm@ut-ngp.UUCP (Charlotte Carl-Mitchell) (02/21/84)
Hello from Austin! There are quite a few Doctor Who fans here,
and we've formed a branch (or "tardis") of the New Orleans-
based club, The Companions of Doctor Who (hereafter CODW)
We call our branch Who's Who In Austin (hereafter WWIA).
So far we've gotten no flack for having a name similar to the
more famous Who's Who organizations, such as: Who's Who In Show Biz,
In Politics, In the Ritzier Half Of Town--Where You Don't Live,
Naturally, etc....
We've been getting the T. Baker 7-season reruns via PBS (KLRU)
for over a year now,and they are gearing up for their spring
fund drive WWIA always mans the phones). This time they plan to
air two whole shows PLUS The Five Doctors!
Our members are very active in conventions around Texas as well
as beyond, and we collect as many Who novels, magazines, fan-
zines, and other Who related items as possible, so we are very up on
current info on past history or characters, or actors in the
show. We couldn't help noticing that we could be of help in many
cases in answering many of the questions you have entered in
Doctor Who Net. Thus, follows answers to all those questions
we CAN answer that have appeared since we began "tuning in"
early in January.
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1. To the person who wanted to know about the filk set to THESE
ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS, if the version you're looking
for began with the words:
"Masters and monsters and Daleks and Krotons"
and has a line about
"Blue police boxes with a light that flashes---"
well, it's in the #7 (Spring) issue of Time Log, the official
'zine of the Companions of Doctor Who, on page 41. But there's no
line about
"grubby white bags full of bright-colored candy"
in that one. If you CAN find the version that does, we'd love
to see it. Time Log has lots of good filks, by the way.
2. The correct spellings are Adric and Dalek.
3. The original scarf's colors were purple, camel, bronze, mustard,
rust, and green, and Time Log #6 (Winter) has the pattern on
page 49. The scarf "should not be sold", says the BBC.
T. Baker's last season scarf was not "wine", exactly, but
deep red TRIMMED with purple, and the purple stripes "faded"
into light red.
4. B. Dalton and Book Stop have by FAR the cheapest Doctor
Who novels (and Target is a British company, by the way, not
American, as someone thought) at $2.50 or less. These are the
British versions, as well, which do not convert ginger beer to
ginger ale, or jelly babies to jelly beans as the American
versions do.
5. That's the Pirate Planet, not Planet Pirates---and it was
written by Douglas Adams, who penned Hitch-Hiker's Guide to
the Galaxy and its sequels, Restaurant at the End of the
Universe, and Life, the Universe and Everything. You won't see
it in print soon, if ever, as the author has some sort of legal
hold on the rights to it, and refuses to let the novel be
printed. Don't know WHY though.
6. To Walt Barnes: Terror of the Zygons, and Sarah Jane.
7. To Mary Anne Espenshade: Austin Books is Austin's only
"specialty" SF shop, but Doctor Who is all over town.
8. VERY good sources of history on the show, info on the
actors, and anything Who related are: Fantasy Empire (mag),
BBC TV Doctor Who Technical Manual, Doctor Who Monthlies
(published by the British division of Marvel Comics), and the
Radio Times, if you can find it!
9. To find memorabilia, try writing the BBC (address later
in this message), or the Companions of Doctor Who Shopping
Guide . Specialty stores often order things for one, as well.
10. Fanzines. Check out DATAZINE. They list all or most all
Doctor Who zines with brief descriptions of each. SASE:
DATAZINE , PO BOX 19413, DENVER, CO 80219.
11. A lot of us here actually LIKE Adric (now, now, there's
room for all kinds of tastes). As for who is who's favorite
companion, there are as many faves here as there are fans
or companions, but generally speaking, men seem to prefer
Lalla Ward (Romana 2), and women like the first Romana
(Mary Tamm). GENERALLY. But everybody loves Leela and
Sarah...and the Brigadier!
12. To Binayak Banerjee: Recommend that you obtain back issues
of POCKET NOTES, printed independently by a member of WWIA,
Cl. Crouch. PNs is currently running a series designed to
help newcomers such as yourself catch up on the show, which,
inevitably for anything that's been going on for 20 years, is
a complicated subject. If you can't get back issues, PNs is
coming out "soon" with a compendium of volume one (12 issues),
under the umbrella title: A YEAR OF NOTES FROM THE DOCTOR'S
POCKETS. For pricing info and other questions, SASE: POCKET
NOTES, 9902 Plover, Austin, TX 78753, or call (eves 'til
10:30 Central Standard Time) (512) 836-9190. PNs is a small
(12 pages, 5 & 1/2 by 8 & 1/2 inches) monthly newszine NOT
connected to the CODW.
13. Baby Daleks DO exist, but they're rare. Ask the BBC or
local SF store to help you locate them--but be prepared to
lay out some BIG bux for even one ($50.00 or more). They
are neat. They roll about and shout, 'YOU WILL OBEY!", and,
'EXTERMINATE!!" There are K9s, too.
14. The new Doctor, Colin Baker, is 40, loves SF, cats, and
will wear a nearly indescribably weird outfit with a cut
similar to Davisons, but with all sorts of wild colors and
patterns...stripes, paislieys, plaids and checks...you
name it! And he'll be shod in "fuschia brogans with
green spats". Argh. He wore it at OMNICON, where he report-
edly charmed and wowed the fans. One even said words to the
effect that he might be able to wipe the previous Doctors
off the map. Time will tell... He played Maxil on a Dav-
ison episode, ARC OF INFINITY, which is a precedent. He's
also played in a couple of Masterpiece Theatre productions
(despite what some people who's name shall remain unprinted
--we don't use that sort of language 'round these parts--
say, we fans DO watch that series!!). He is, according to the
BBC, going to play the part of the Doctor with "a more acid
wit". In real life, Colin is said to have a very sharp wit
of his own, as well as being a nice guy.
15. Also at OMNICON, John Nathan-Turner "put a feeler out"
to the fans in one panel session to see what the reaction
might be to "getting rid of the police box". His answer
was a resounding, "NO!!!" Still, if the idea horrifies you,
it wouldn't hurt to write the BBC and tell them so. Mark
your envelope "air mail", poke two international reply coupons
in, and you might get an answer. Address it to: BBC-TV, Doctor
Who---Television Centre, Wood Lane, London W12 7RJ England.
Mail that comes to the BBC gets delivered THAT DAY to the
person on the set (address it to J N-T personally, and it
will be sent to him, but if you'd rather, go over his head).
16. To Chuck Jones: There's a fan club for Tom Baker run by
one Linda Mallory, and it has a quarterly newsletter (AMONG
FRIENDS), a badge, and a really good candid color glossy of
Mr. B. (8 X 10 inches). All this for only $10.00 per year,
and Mr. B. himself approved the club, and actually reads
the newsletter. He is TRUELY one of the NICEST people you'd
ever want to meet--not a phony at ALL--and actually deserves
(unlike so many "stars") the admiration fans heap on him.
He is well known for going out of his way to please his fans,
ans he really loves to meet them! SASE: The Friends of Tom
Baker, 5549 N. Lakewood Ave., Chicago IL 60640.
17. The Companions of Doctor Who is $6.00 per year to join,
and that gets you a monthly newsletter (The Unpaid Scientific
Advisor, or, U.S.A., for short...), a matrix ident card, a
certificate for joining (suitable for framing), current
info from England (and all the Doctors are now or have been
members of CODW), legal rights to use the DW logo, a discount
on the (aproximately) quarterly club zine--TIME LOG (voted best
DW fanzine once)--and, well, companionship. There IS strength
in numbers, and that comes in handy when trying to convince
your local broadcasting source to keep the show on the air
(or get it on!). You should also be aware that part of
the money given to the CODW goes directly to the BBC to support
the DW show. CODW is growing fast, and may already have a
"Tardis" "materialized" near you. SASE: The membership
Co-Ordinator, c/o Companions of Doctor Who, Box 56764,
New Orleans LA 70156-6764.
18. For those of you looking for pre-Baker videos, you might
TRY asking Carlotta Barnes (via CODW--we don't have her
address handy) for same. Or perhaps Charlie Duval, president
of Companions, might have another source you could tap. It's
true that the BBC has taped over many of the old episodes,
but they have recently found quite a number of "lost" ones
by closing their eyes to the "legalities" involved, and
getting COPIES of (ahem) "borrowed" dups from fans who are
willing to step forward and share their wealth... Really.
No questios asked. And not long ago, a "lost" episode of
a Pertwee episode was found in an abandoned old church! So,
don't give up hope--they may YET complete the archives!
19. On the subject of "who's" faces those were in BRAIN OF
MORBIUS, they were Morbius's--not the Doctor's. The Doctor,
later on in the show(not that episode, a later story), SAYS
how many incarnations he's experienced, and it isn't enough
to have more faces than his (at the time of Morbius) four.
20. The TARDIS can re-arrange AND actually redecorate itself!
How's that for convenience? Well, maybe not...it might make
getting up in the middle of the night and finding the
kitchen difficult.....
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Hope all this stuff helps! Til next Time...WWIA