|  Doctor
Who Returns to TV!
Acclaimed Creator of Queer as Folk Brings DOCTOR
WHO Back to BBC One.
By Louis
Trapani
After
a very long hiatus spanning a decade and a half, the popular
British longest running science fiction series is about
to return to BBC television.
Award-winning
writer Russell T. Davies, creator of the original Queer
as Folk series
is spearheading the return of the beloved Doctor Who series
that is due to rematerialize back on television in 2005.
Doctor
Who originally debuted in November of 1963 and from
then on became a British and worldwide institution. The
series
ran longer
than any other in its genre.. when the long run was prematurely
put to a stop in 1989. It came back albeit only briefly
in 1996 in an "Americanized" TV-movie through
the joint efforts of FOX Television and the BBC which starred
Paul McGann (Withnail and I) and Eric Roberts (It's
My Party).
Even
though it may have been away from television for some time,
Doctor Who really never ended.. With countless
books, radio drama series, comics, etc. filling the gap,
the good Doctor continued
his journeys throughout time and space.
Also
filling the gap before the new series is launched will
be a new animated series on BBCi starring Richard E. Grant
as the Doctor. These new adventures are set to celebrate
the 40th anniversary of the show.
Doctor
Who is returning, and it's about time! For further details,
see the BBC press release below:
BBC
Press Release - 9/26/03
Doctor
Who returns to BBC ONE
Doctor
Who, one of the BBC's best-loved and most enduring characters,
is set to return to BBC ONE, it was confirmed
last night by Lorraine Heggessey, Controller of BBC ONE.
Heggessey
said that all rights issues regarding Doctor Who have
been resolved and that she has green-lit scripts
from
award-winning writer Russell T. Davies.
It
is far too early in the day to discuss possible storylines,
characters,
villains or who might play the Time Lord
- it is unlikely anything will be on screen for at
least two years.
Doctor
Who will be produced by BBC Wales in conjunction with Mal
Young, Controller of BBC Continuing
Series.
The
executive producers will be Mal Young, Russell T. Davies
and Julie Gardner, Head of Drama BBC Wales.
Russell
T. Davies's writing credits include Bob and Rose, Queer
as Folk, The
Second Coming, Touching
Evil (with
Paul Abbott) and The Grand.
Mal
Young says: "Doctor
Who is a much-loved, truly iconic piece of television
history. It's time to crank
up the TARDIS and find out what lies in store for The Doctor.
"We're
thrilled to have a writer of Russell's caliber to take
us on this journey. However, we're at the very first stages
of development and further details, including
casting, will
not be available for some time."
Writer
Russell T Davies, who grew up in Swansea
and lives in Manchester, says: "I grew up
watching Doctor Who, hiding behind the sofa
like so many others. Doctor Who is one of the
BBC's most exciting and original characters.
He's had a good rest and now it's time to bring
him back!
"The
new series will be fun, exciting, contemporary and scary.
Although I'm only in the early stages of
development, I'm aiming to write a full-blooded drama which
embraces the Doctor
Who heritage, at the same time as introducing
the character to a modern audience."
No
budget has been set for the new series; the number of episodes
and their duration
is under
discussion.
It will
be a family show, but no details are available
as to when it will be scheduled.
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