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Although long cancelled, the BBC's international megahit Dr. Who follows the example of the original Star Trek in refusing to die. The show's quirky sense of humor and low budget production values attracts the sort of fan who is more interested in characters, ideas and performance than the whiz-bang special effects. In fact, many derive outright pleasure from seeing the zipper up the monster's spine. Participants of this list continue to discuss in detail each episode of the show's twenty-some year run as well its production and creative background, developmental history and seasonal quality fluctuations. All agree that some periods were brilliant and others pathetic, and most manage to keep the discussion generally civil as they dispute which periods were which. One deathless topic is the way The Doctor was portrayed by the various actors who held the role in the course of his eight incarnations. Also dissected in detail are the personalities of his parade of companions, the relative merits of scriptwriters, the contradictory background information that emerged over the years, the pleasures of introducing the next generation of fans to the show, the novelizations of stories from the series, and the eternal speculation on the possibility for the character’s return as a new series or in television movies. The fans on this list are as devoted as science fiction fans anywhere, but lack most of the self-righteous zealousness that appears in many Star Trek fan groups. Perhaps the more easy-going spirit is required for one to be devotee of a show where the elephant-sized giant rat is obviously a stuffed animal. -E.L.

Subject: television, science fiction

Geography: global

Format: mailing list

Language: English

Cost: no cost