For 'Doctor Who' executive producer, there's no time like the present
Under Russell T. Davies, the popularity of the British time-traveling show has soared. But just because Davies grew up adoring 'Doctor Who' doesn't mean he wants feedback from fans of the show.
CARDIFF, WALES — IT was a damp and windy afternoon in Cardiff, and Russell T. Davies had a cold. Also, he had been crying. He had just watched the latest cut of a new "Doctor Who" episode, and one scene really moved him. "I'm going to look really stupid," he later admitted to worrying. "But it was so beautiful, I was bloody crying."
Davies has had a long-founded emotional investment in "Doctor Who," Britain's beloved science-fiction series about a mysterious time-traveler and his companions. A veteran TV writer who honed his skills in children's programming and soap operas, Davies grew up watching and adoring "Doctor Who" -- it began airing in 1963, the same year he was born. Characters from his breakout dramatic series, "Queer as Folk" (1999), about gay men living in Manchester, inherited Davies' earnest affections, sometimes using obsessive knowledge of "Doctor Who" to gauge potential partners' romantic compatibility. (This approach does, in one episode, backfire miserably.)
In 2003, the BBC approached Davies to revamp "Doctor Who," and under his leadership, the show's success has ballooned. It survived what could have been a massive blow when after the first season it lost its lead, Christopher Eccleston. He was succeeded by David Tennant, who has since become a high-profile star here; he will play Hamlet for the Royal Shakespeare Company later this year. An audience of 13.31 million watched "The 2007 Doctor Who Christmas Special" (with guest star Kylie Minogue) -- a lot of people for a small country.
Licensed "Doctor Who" merchandise crowds the shelves at Boots and Borders. Eight-year-old boys in gray flannel school uniforms huddle at bus stops furtively trafficking in the show's trading cards. "Doctor Who" appears -- at least to a displaced foreigner -- to be the most visible of Britain's current pop culture commodities. Having been sold to 40 territories worldwide, it is also among its most exportable; in the U.S., it airs on BBC America and the Sci Fi Channel.
Even Davies sometimes finds it overwhelming. "Put the 'Doctor Who' stuff away!" is how he said he sometimes feels. "It's weird, isn't it? You see that logo everywhere." He paused for a moment, and continued. "It's the time of our lives."
