Sebastian J. Brook
23 November, 2010
I bet you'd thought I'd forgotten, didn't you? After 47 years, Doctor Who celebrates its 47th anniversary today. Who'd have thunk that way back in 1963, this TV show, which has become an institution, would be going strong all these years later?
Ok...so we had a little blip between 1989 and 1996....ok, and maybe another one between 1996 and 2005, but we got there in the end didn't we?
But maybe we forget that as fans, we all had a big part to play in the shows triumphant return. For it was all of us that kept the fire alive in those 'wilderness years'. All those polls and letter writing to the BBC, those fanzines and those fan-made audio adventures.
Then we have people like Nicholas Briggs and the Reeltime Pictures team, who helped take things that bit further with video productions that used some of the cast from Doctor Who, together with fans of the show. It's no surprise that some of those very same 'fans' went on to become successful producers, writers and editors.
And then we have Big Finish Productions, who helped raise that flame even higher with official audio productions. Headed by Jason Haigh-Ellery and Gary Russell, the company has been producing unique, original Doctor Who content for over 10 years.
Since Gary's departure, Nicholas Briggs took over the mantle as Executive producer, taking the company in a new, exciting direction that has seen the completion of missing seasons of Doctor Who, whilst dipping back into the series' past to bring back some truly classic monsters and characters.
As editor of a 'fan site' I myself have seen so much creativity, love and enthusiasm from our visitors over the past 14 years that we have been online. I've been blown away by your pictures, your fan fiction and your utter devotion to this show we all love.
So I raise a virtual glass to all of us, and to this show that brings us all together, and to the fabulous production team who are doing such a tremendous job taking Doctor Who to adventures new.
Cheers!
Seb. x
