doctor who, the character, not the show, was voted the number one science fiction character in a recent pole conducted by SFX (er, a magazine i've never read, and don't know about). this sad fact offers the reader the opinion that nothing worthwhile has been produced or done in the science fiction community since 1989 that can equal a gangly mop haired man in a bad coat, with an equally bad haircut, and some rather poor production values.

in a way, it explains why so much of the genre output in years has been so innocuous, since doctor who was a kids show. in fact, doctor or no doctor, the majority of genre work is either a kids show or aimed for teens. there is really no adult genre work out there than springs instantly to mind--well, actually, that's not true. a few movies, some books, but they too suffer from often being aimed for a teen audience, and being so bland that you could swab vegemite over it for a good little taste. but the majority of it is aimed for kids, and that, perhaps, is its greatest failing.

and certainly, in a unconnected way, the doctor is a nice symbol for that.