Fred's name (DD a Dr. Who fan?)

[Kat]

[Kat]

[Sam]

Dr. Who... *tries HARD to remember* DD mentioned that name in a chat once. Someone asked her about the that Diar meets in HW. And she said to run a search on Dr. Who and Peter Davidson. I only remember that stuff bewcause I wrote it down.
But the reason Kit called Fred, Fred is because when he told them his name all Kit could understand was Fred in it so... that was what he was to be called.

~Sam (Hifun55) and Dog~
One by one the garden gnomes slowly steal my sanity.

[Kat]

[Quill]

Ms. Duane also mentions the 4th Doctor in one of her Trek books, though a little more obviously.

[Caledonian]

I believe it's in My Enemy, My Ally: someone is converting old 20th-century entertainment broadcasts to 3D hologram, and a scene with the TARDIS and the Doctor is described.

To be wise, learn foolishness. To be strong, learn weakness. To know joy, learn sorrow.

[Quill]

For a second nothing seemed to be happening on the stage. Then a peculiar grinding, wheezing sound began to fill the air. On the platform there slowly faded into existence a tall blue rectangular structure with doors in it, and a flashing white light on top, and what appeared to be the Anglish words POLICE PUBLIC CALL BOX blazoned on the front panel above the doors. There was a pause, during which the noise and the flashing lights both stopped. Then one of the box's doors opened. To Jim's mild astonishment, a hominid, quite Terran-looking, peered out and gazed around him with great interest; a curly-haired person in a burgundy jacket, with a floppy hat, a striped scarf of truly excessive length, and sharp bright eyes above a dazzling smile, ingenuous as a child's. "I beg your pardon," the man said merrily in a British-accented voice, apparently looking right at Jim, "but is this Heathrow?"

Brother, have you ever taken a wrong turn! was Jim's first thought.
-- Diane Duane, "Star Trek: My Enemy, My Ally"

[Kat]

[rae]

excuse me, but what is dr.who?

[Quill]

"Doctor Who" was a British BBC sci-fi TV series that ran, with the occasional hiatus, from 1963 to 1989 (the longest-running TV sci-fi series ever) using seven different actors to play the main character--a non-human who "regenerated" from time to time, changing appearance and personality each time. The Doctor had a vehicle known as a TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimensions In Space) that could travel through both time and space, but always resembled a police box because its chameleon circuit (cloaking device) was broken. He picked up various "Companions" and enemies over the years of the show, traveling to different times and places and having various adventures. The series was known for its innovation, its humor, and its really bad special effects. In 1996, Fox collaborated with the BBC to produce a TV movie that introduced the eighth Doctor, but unfortunately, a hoped-for rebirth of the series did not take place. However, I hear the BBC is finally starting it up again. It's considered a cultural icon by some Brits; there are fans in other areas, but fewer, since the series hasn't been shown with any consistency to my knowledge. In the U.S., it's generally found on obscure cable or public TV stations. There are also books, a spin-off TV series, a radio series, and a few older non-canon movies. I recommend it.

Links:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056751/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116118/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/doctorwho/

Trivia:

The series began, IIRC, the day after President Kennedy was assassinated and C.S. Lewis died.

Several episodes of the second Doctor are forever gone, since the BBC reused the master tapes.

The regeneration idea was allegedly born from the problem of William Hartnell, the first Doctor's age and illness; instead of cancelling the show, they decided to roll over into a new character, sort of.

The first actor to play the Doctor's arch-enemy, the Master, died in a car accident; several years later, he was replaced by another actor. When the second actor was made up, everyone was surprised (and some were chilled) to discover that he was a virtual double for the first actor.

[Kat]

[Caledonian]

I not be recalling this correctly, but I believe the origins of the Doctor's name was as follows:

"So, who are you exactly?"

"You can call me the Doctor."

"Yes, but Doctor who?"

"Yes, exactly."

To be wise, learn foolishness. To be strong, learn weakness. To know joy, learn sorrow.