Yoo-Hoo, Monsters!

British television is not all kings,
queens and high-flown drama


From TV Guide, June 10-16, 1972


What with the critical successes scored by The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Elizabeth R and other BBC series imported to the colonies, Hollywood has been pushed far out of the creative limelight. After Me and the Chimp, what have they got to brag about? But read on, lest you get the impression that all BBC series are great drama. We have acquired a synopsis of an episode of the BBC's Doctor Who series. It goes like this: "Doctor Who and Jo Grant ... visit the Master, now living in Napoleonic exile in a luxourious prison on a small island. ... Then Jo and the Doctor learn that a number of ships have vanished [you'll find Who--or Whom--at the top of the screen, having a bit of a nip between scenes] insists on visiting a near-by naval base, where a charred lifeboat, found after one of the wrecks, has been taken for investigation. When Captain Hart [kneeling, with Who and Jo Grant] ... refuses to listen to the Doctor's theories, the Doctor insists on visiting the near-by oil rig, the scene of mysterious happenings. On the rig, Jo and the Doctor are attacked by a Sea Devil, a strange, manlike lizard [who also happens to wear a dress] ... The creatures have been in hibernation until accidentally revived," Who says, "by the oil rig. Meanwhile, the Master gets into the naval base, where he steals top-secret electronic equipment ... [and] constructs a calling device to summon a Sea Devil. [That's the Master, evilly yodeling up Sea Devils. The wretch.] ... Meanwhile, Captain Hart has dispatched a submarine to investigate the sea bed near the oil rig. The submarine vanishes, captured by the Sea Devil. The Doctor and Jo ..."--but why go on? If you can hold out till fall, you may get to see Doctor Who in your own area. It's being syndicated now--and the word is that it's selling like Sea Devils.



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