More Media Round-Up

The build-up to tonight's series finale of Doctor Who has continued unabated across the BBC and other British media sources during Saturday.

2005 Doctor Who Mastermind winner Karen Davies and Doctor Who Adventures editor Moray Laing appeared on BBC One's "Breakfast" news programme this morning, to discuss their thoughts on the finale. Throughout the programme, this feature was trailed with a sequence of clips showing all ten Doctors. Over on BBC Radio 2, Tim Smith was taking text message and e-mail suggestions from listeners on who should be the next Doctor during his early morning show. Various names were suggested, such as comedian Billy Connolly, and many listeners also contacted Smith to correct him after he erroneously gave out the episode's start time as five forty. The BBC News website (pictured) has made the excitement surrounding the finale the top story in their entertainment news section.

Journalist Andrew Billen asks if "time has finally run out for coolest man on TV" in The Times. Elsewhere in the same paper, long-time Doctor Who supporter Caitlin Moran ponders the speculation surrounding who the next Doctor might be. The same newspaper's TV previewer, David Chater, complains bitterly about not having been given a preview disc for the episode: "If the Daleks have conquered Earth, the Tardis has been destroyed and the Doctor is immobilised, the last thing anyone wants is news leaking out in the press. Think of the effect on public morale." The Times have also spotlighted a feature from their archives, a 1975 article reporting how Doctor Who has been blamed for an epidemic of spider fears among children.

The Daily Mirror has an interview with Russell T Davies, where he comments on how few people have seen tonight's epispde: "The Controller of BBC1 has not even seen it, or the Head of Drama, because it's been locked away. But I have seen it about 15 times." Even the Mirror's sports section gets in on the act, running the odds on possible contenders for the role of the Eleventh Doctor on their betting page.

In The Independent, Deborah Orr comments that: "It's OK to be scared by Doctor Who, though. Or lately, simply in awe of him." The Daily Telegraph have brought together all their recent Doctor Who content into a special mini-site, and their print edition features Davros on the cover of their TV listings supplement. The South Wales Echo looks at the curious practice of fans calling the Doctor's mobile phone number, as displayed in last Saturday's episode.


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