Doctor Who Pledge (March 22, 1987)
(precedes "The Time Monster," pt.2; available tape begins in mid-pledge)
Marty Robinson: --ibers, for $100. And you'll also get--
--both magazines, Chicagomagazine and Elevenmagazine for twelve months each. Very nice premium if you'd like to have it, and you can store all your Doctor Whomemoriabilia in it. Assuming, of course, that you have any. Okay, here's the new Doctor Who. Can-- we'll have to move in real close to get a shot of this, 'cause this is a copy, uh, taken from a newspaper, and not a great copy, but, uh, nevertheless, here it is. I think it's from the London Times. And if we can get in real close... Can you do that?
Woman: Put a piece of--
--paper behind it, too, Marty.
Robinson: There we go, we're getting in on it now. His name is Sylvester McCoy, and that's his... leading lady. And this guy is about, uh, maybe five foot six inches tall, or shorter. Just like Patrick Troughton was. And he wants to-- he wants to, uh... to be in the tradition of Patrick Troughton. Why-- why aren't the telephones ringing? You think, uh, I'm being too interesting, here? Am I? What happened to all the Doctor Whofans? Where are you?
Woman: I don't know...
Robinson: Are you out there? Is the transmitter on? Well, I won't make those important announcements, then.
Woman: We want to hear! We want to hear, Marty!
Robinson: Do you? Well, it's only for you here... nobody else, you can't hear this.
Woman: (laughing) Okay. Non-subscribers, you can't hear this.
Robinson: We have just purs-- purchased four additional episodes of Doctor number six, who is Colin Baker...
Woman: Great!
Robinson: The episodes are all part of the tale "Trials of the Time Lord" [sic]. The airdates are to be announced, but coming soon.
["Soon," as it happened, was more than 20 months later, since they waited for its proper place in the running order!]
Telephones... Come on, subscribers! This is your money we're using to buy these Doctor Whoepisodes! [number deleted] We have also purchased a Doctor Whospecial entitled Doctor Who's... Doctor Who Who's Who Special. (chuckles) That's--
(Woman laughs)
Robinson: The Doctor Who Who's Who Special. It is a one-hour documentary containing clips and interviews with all six Doctors. And the seventh Doctor, of course, we've mentioned, starting production in Great Britain on March 30th... uh, which is coming up very shortly. His name, as I told you, is Sylvester McCoy. We will be following their progress, and we have a projected North American release-- although we haven't made commitments yet --of January 1988.
[McCoy's first season premiered in Chicago on December 25, 1988, following "Trial." They wouldn't wait so long the next time, actually interrupting the next run of Pertwee to show Season 25 in March 1989.]
And if this is all the response we get, we will not be able to make the commitment. We want the new Doctor Whoepisodes. We ha-- already have the four I told you about, but the Sylvester McCoy episodes... we haven't made the commitment yet. We don't know about funding. You can make it happen with your call to [number deleted]. And if you're serious about this, then you'll do it now, and let us know your seriousness.
[...]
Woman: Doctor Whofans, if you're out there, and I know you are, because you have changed things at Channel 11 before. If you're out there and watching, call now and subscribe. Let us know, let the programming people know, that Doctor Whois a program you love to see. Last time when you hollered, it came back.
[I'm not sure what period she's talking about. Possibly it's the time from the end of the daily episodic broadcasts in November 1980 to the start of the weekly movie broadcasts in January 1981. The long hiatus from March 1977 to February 1980 seems like too long a time for this scenario.]
And we want to bring these, uh, interesting new programs that Marty mentioned to you, and we need your subscriber dollars to do it.
[...]
Robinson: Uh, Jodie Wallam-- or Wellam [sp?], of Rolling Meadows, wrote to me, and she said, uh, describing Sylvester McCoy, "He's a 43-year-old Scotsman who was born Patrick Kent-Smith. I don't think he should have changed his name. He is five-foot-six, with black, curly hair. Who knows what color it will be when John Nathan-Turner gets ahold of him." Well. And he's-- he's been in, uh, Pirates of Penzance, Starlight Express,and Cats,as well.
Woman: Oh!
Robinson: And now, he is Doctor Who.
[...]
We won't keep you here too much longer. We know you're waiting to see Part Two of "The Time Monster," but let me remind you about the premiums. The Doctor Whoduffel bag, a $100 subscription will bring you that. Plus both magazines, Chicagomagazine and Elevenmagazine for twelve months. However, the, uh... a hundred dollars is a lot of money, we understand that, and we know that we have-- w-- D-- Doctor Who...uh... fans and subscribers run the gamut. We have people who are in junior high, we have brain surgeons, hostage negotiators, all kinds of people watch Doctor Who. And, uh, some of the younger ones don't have that kind of money, a hundred dollars. So subscribe with $5, or $10, or whatever you feel you're able. To others of you who can afford a hundred, but it's a little difficult, you want to use your charge card, fine. Mastercard or Visa, you can spread the payments out. You can also use American Express. But get in touch with us, let us know who you are, so we can send the subscription information out to you.
[...]
All right, here's the new Doctor. The article reads, "An even zanier Doctor Who was promised today by unknown actor--" I'll bet he likes that "--unknown actor Sylvester McCoy, who takes over the role in the long-running TV series.
"'I don't want it to be slapstick, but I would like to see even more of that kind of dotty, zany humour that Patrick Troughton brought to the role,' the 43-year-old Sylvester, who takes over this autumn, in time for the show's 24th anniversary, said."
Woman: 24th anniversary!
Robinson: Is that right, 24th anniversary?
Woman: (overlapping) Wow! (then) Well, we're celebrating an anniversary here tonight, too, in a sense: 30 years of great programming...
[...]
Robinson: I neglected to mention, the chauvinist that I am...
Woman: Uh-oh!
Robinson: ...that there's another person in this picture, right?
Woman: Well, you've mentioned it before.
Robinson: Did I? Well...
Woman: You said "his leading lady."
Robinson: Yeah, uh, well, her name is Bonnie Langford, and she will play his assistant, Melanie. Hey, when d'you suppose they'll have a female Doctor? I don't know, they have female Time Lords?
Woman: That's a good idea.
Robinson: Oh, yes, they have female Time Lords, sure, sure... uh, Romanadvoratrelundar.
Woman: Yes.
Robinson: You remember her, don't you?
Woman: Yes, I do. Yes, I do.
Robinson: But, uh, maybe the next one. We'll see. And we will see, won't we?
Woman: Looking forward, always forward.
Robinson: We will see "The Time Lord," Part Two-- I mean, "The--" I beg your pardon --we will see "The Time Monster"--which involves a Time Lord --Part Two, right now. Thank you for your support, thank you for subscribing. Who knows when we'll get a chance to do this again? It's been fun, hasn't it?
[...]
