Popular Culture Review Vol. 8, No. 2, August 1997 | Page 107

Doctor Who Fans

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that can be deciphered by anyone who cares to pay attention. MUM
videos also play with Doctor Who characters by placing them in
situations unrelated to the program itself, as when MUM's Doctor Six
finds herself in the world of The Prisoner. However, the context,
particularly of the earlier videos, relies heavily on knowledge of
Doctor Who and its situations and characters. Such scenes are
familiar to any moderately educated fan. The following cutting from
a dialogue from "Genesis of the Daleks" (1975), a Doctor Who
episode where the Doctor is given the means to kill all Daleks before
they can become the scourge of the universe, shows the Doctor's moral
dilemma. As the Doctor holds together two wires that will trigger
an explosive device, his companion, Sarah Jane Smith, begs him not
to hesitate.
The Doctor: Listen: if someone who knew the
future pointed out a child to you and told you that that
child would grow up totally evil, to be a ruthless
dictator who would destroy millions of lives, could you
then kill that child?
Sarah Jane Smith: We're talking about the
Daleks, the most evil creatures ever invented. You
must destroy them; you must complete your mission for
the Time Lords!
The Doctor:
Do I have the right? Simply
touch one wire against the other, and that's it. The
Daleks cease to exist. Hundreds of millions of people,
thousands of generations, could live without fear, in
peace, and never even know the world Dalek.
MUM parodies this scene in The Two Companions. Michael
"Mikey" Grade (then on staff at the BBC as Doctor Who's
comptroller) wants to axe Doctor Who. Doctor Four has to make a
decision. John Nathan-Turner hands her two wires and tells her that
if she intervenes. Doctor Who—indeed, all of television-w ill be
saved:
Doctor Four: Listen: if somebody who knew the
future pointed out a child to you, and told you that
child would grow up to be totally evil, to be a ruthless