(first
published in Faze 1996)
By the time you're
reading this, the telemovie will be out and you'll all know what attendees of
Manopticon 4 know now (April 8th) and a lot more besides so it's going to be
difficult to convey exactly the significance of the event's happenings for Who fans. I'll therefore cop out by stealing
Gary Russell's on stage comments about the significance of certain dates which
become landmarks in the Doctor Who
calendar. By any standards then, April 7 1996 will figure quite highly in that
calendar as the moment when the new production became something more tangible
than magazine photos; if I'm getting rather excited then I make no apology.
This year has turned from being just another in the wait for a possible new
series into a helter skelter of developments and possibilities and touching
down amidst some hard, solid facts is even better. You'll shrug and think 'so
what' now you've seen the whole thing but it was quite a thrill to encounter
the project in what we might call its chrysalis stage.
