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Post by String on Apr 26, 2017 16:00:56 GMT -5
Good article (I really need to catch up on all things Frobrisher). I think you raise an interesting point about Sharon Davies though. I first encountered her in the Marvel US title in #3:  Like you mentioned, it took the TV show 20 years or more before giving him a black companion. But back then, her race didn't factor at all into how well I liked her character. In fact, it was almost a non-issue as I was more amazed by the notion he had someone different from the show. I may be wrong on this matter but I find it interesting to ponder that BBC executives may have had qualms about casting a black actor(actress) for such a role back then when the youth of their audience may not have even cared about such a detail. (Though it's odd, no black person yet let the white girl run around in the loin-cloth type outfit.) |
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Post by tingramretro on Apr 27, 2017 1:57:52 GMT -5
Good article (I really need to catch up on all things Frobrisher). I think you raise an interesting point about Sharon Davies though. I first encountered her in the Marvel US title in #3: Like you mentioned, it took the TV show 20 years or more before giving him a black companion. But back then, her race didn't factor at all into how well I liked her character. In fact, it was almost a non-issue as I was more amazed by the notion he had someone different from the show. I may be wrong on this matter but I find it interesting to ponder that BBC executives may have had qualms about casting a black actor(actress) for such a role back then when the youth of their audience may not have even cared about such a detail. (Though it's odd, no black person yet let the white girl run around in the loin-cloth type outfit.) The readers allmost certainy wouldn't have cared about such a detail-but the TV executives of the day, particularly on the BBC, belonged to a very different generation and were far from in touch with the younger members of their audience at the time. South London, where I grew up, was already pretty much a multicultural society by the early eighties, yet the BBC were still broadcasting shows like It Ain't Half Hot, Mum into that decade, and even The Black & White Minstrel Show ran until 1978! I suspect Leela, who was unashamedly included "for the dads", was very much inspired by Raquel Welch in One Million Years B.C. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2017 5:22:58 GMT -5
Good article (I really need to catch up on all things Frobrisher). I think you raise an interesting point about Sharon Davies though. I first encountered her in the Marvel US title in #3: Like you mentioned, it took the TV show 20 years or more before giving him a black companion. But back then, her race didn't factor at all into how well I liked her character. In fact, it was almost a non-issue as I was more amazed by the notion he had someone different from the show. I may be wrong on this matter but I find it interesting to ponder that BBC executives may have had qualms about casting a black actor(actress) for such a role back then when the youth of their audience may not have even cared about such a detail. (Though it's odd, no black person yet let the white girl run around in the loin-cloth type outfit.) The readers allmost certainy wouldn't have cared about such a detail-but the TV executives of the day, particularly on the BBC, belonged to a very different generation and were far from in tuch with the younger members of their audience at the time. Pretty much so. When Doctor Who Weekly started appearing over here the 4th Doctor comic strips with Sharon were just The Doctor and a non-TV companion in exciting adventures... things like colour or race didn't come on my radar. Sharon was black? So what! I'm just surprised that it took the bods at the BBC so long to give The Doctor a black companion. I still love those old Marvel UK Fourth Doctor strips though. I even bought the IDW Dave Gibbons Omnibus Collection a few years ago which collected them together; it's a large book, but it's brilliant. |
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Post by tingramretro on Apr 27, 2017 9:43:52 GMT -5
Dave Gibbons remains, for me, the definitive fourth Doctor artist. It's weird-the character he drew looks absolutely nothing like Tom Baker, but is somehow still instantly recognizable as the fourth Doctor...
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Post by junkmonkey on Apr 29, 2017 16:54:48 GMT -5
That all changed in 1971, though, when publishers Polystyle launched Countdown, a big, glossy. and correspondingly expensive title aimed at slightly older readers (the young readership of TV Comic probably wouldn't have had the pocket money to afford it) which had the interesting gimmick of numbering its pages in reverse order, so that each issue was an actual "countdown" to the last! Most of the new title's content was based on the characters created by Gerry Anderson, such as Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet, but it was evidently felt that the Doctor in his current incarnation would fit in better here than in his traditional home. And with his new, markedly less dumb, adventures now beautifully illustrated by the likes of Harry Lindfield, Frank Langford and Gerry Haylock, the Doctor's comics career entered its first real golden age!  ..And I was 12 years old and I bought it from issue one. I passed the complete run of Countdown and TV Action on to a friend when I was in my 20s in exchange for a couple of pints. A decision I have regretted a couple of times over the years as a particular image or story popped into my mind that I wanted to revisit. |
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Post by tingramretro on Apr 30, 2017 1:22:25 GMT -5
That all changed in 1971, though, when publishers Polystyle launched Countdown, a big, glossy. and correspondingly expensive title aimed at slightly older readers (the young readership of TV Comic probably wouldn't have had the pocket money to afford it) which had the interesting gimmick of numbering its pages in reverse order, so that each issue was an actual "countdown" to the last! Most of the new title's content was based on the characters created by Gerry Anderson, such as Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet, but it was evidently felt that the Doctor in his current incarnation would fit in better here than in his traditional home. And with his new, markedly less dumb, adventures now beautifully illustrated by the likes of Harry Lindfield, Frank Langford and Gerry Haylock, the Doctor's comics career entered its first real golden age! ..And I was 12 years old and I bought it from issue one. I passed the complete run of Countdown and TV Action on to a friend when I was in my 20s in exchange for a couple of pints. A decision I have regretted a couple of times over the years as a particular image or story popped into my mind that I wanted to revisit. Ah, the folly of youth...  |
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Post by junkmonkey on Apr 30, 2017 4:55:51 GMT -5
I do now have them all on CD in PDF and CBR format - but it's not the same. Prompted by this thread I went and read a couple last night.
One thing I did notice was how little advertising there was in them. Whole issues with only one page of advertisement. (Supermouses for two and a half 'new' pence!)
And articles - whole pages of text!
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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2017 11:33:19 GMT -5
Ran across this from Titan:  On the one hand, this handily falls within Titan's publishing venture. They acquired the DW license and have just run wild with it. The wallet may not like it but this seems like a bit of an unusual stretch though. On the other hand, I quite liked that Christmas special, the Ghost was a cool, clever examination of the classic Clark-Lois-Superman synergy. So I may check this out after all. Is this still digital only? I'd buy it, but I don't do digital, I need a physical copy. Late to the party, but I believe the term they use is "Digital First". As far as the stories themselves, I've enjoyed them so far through the first 5 "issues" I read. |
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