When the BBC killed Doctor Who in 1989, its international audience shed a tear. Rumors of a new series have abounded ever since, but in the meantime, the Doctor has been skillfully revived by dedicated fans.
It started with semiprofessional video releases: works in the Doctor Who tradition using actors from the original TV show. Anyone can recognize these characters, but in order to avoid infringing on BBC copyright, no one ever says their names.
The lead, for example, is always referred to as the mysterious "Stranger."
Now, the BBC has licensed not the Doctor Who characters, but some of his well-known adversaries - the Sontarans. The result is Shakedown, a 60-minute sell-through thriller made for about US$40,000 by a production team and actors culled largely from the world of Doctor Who. (Didn't any of them get jobs when the series folded?)
The costumes and effects are great, but in every other department, the video suffers. The plot's got more holes than a party pack of Lifesavers, the dialog is leaden (the producers were doubtless too scared to alter a word of the script written by Doctor Who's Terrance Dicks), the cast gets killed in order of acting ability (even the ones left at the end suck), and the Sontaran second in command appears to be voiced by the same guy who does Krusty the Clown on The Simpsons.
All in all, a perfect re-creation of everything that Doctor Who ever was. Brilliant.
Shakedown - Return of the Sontarans: US$24.95 + $2.50 postage and handling. DreamWatch Media: PO Box 268358, Chicago, Illinois, 60626. On the Web at www.pavilion.co.uk/UniversalFlavour/DreamWatch/intro4.htm.
STREET CRED
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Doc Who Take Two
