I never got into Doctor Who, but I respect its devoted following, which treats every changing of the guard (and by “guard” I mean “doctor”) as a grand media event. Indeed, BBC America is pulling out all the stops for Saturday night's debut of Peter Capaldi in the title role–on both small and big screens in Orange County.
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The best way I can think of to describe Doctor Who to American audiences who have not seen it over its 127-year run (well, it seems as if it has been on for that long) is think Back to the Future meets Star Trek, only the Delorean is a police call box and Spock's ears are a British gentleman's stiff upper lip.
The BBC America portion of this weekend's programming (check your local listings) starts at 7:30 p.m. Saturday with Doctor Who superfan Chris Hardwick, who by now must host more television programs than Ryan Seacrest, hosting yet another: Doctor Who: Live Pre-Show.
That's followed at 8 p.m. with the new season (or series if you're British) of Doctor Who, whose first episode is feature length and titled “Deep Breath.” It's described as “a pulse-racing adventure through Victorian London.”
Afterward, at 11 p.m., Hardwick is back to host Doctor Who: After Who Live. The pre- and post-shows are to feature an array of guests and exclusive behind-the-scenes footage.
BBC America has teamed up with Fathom Events for the big-screen events, starting with “Deep Breath” being shown with 15 minutes of “cinema exclusive bonus content” at midnight Saturday in 12 cinemas across the U.S., including the theaters at Bella Terra in Huntington Beach.
If you can't squeeze in that night, the program is repeated at 7 and 9:30 p.m. Monday in theaters all over Orange County, including Bella Terra, Irvine Spectrum, Tustin Legacy and Regal Aliso Viejo. To find out if your favorite local theater is getting a visit from the doctor, visit www.FathomEvents.com, which is also where you can score tickets.
If you're a superfan like Hardwick, you probably already know about these:
Twitter: @BBCAMERICA @DoctorWho_BBCA #DoctorWho
Tumblr: http://DoctorWho.tumblr.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BBCAMERICA and https://www.facebook.com/DoctorWho
Site: http://www.BBCAmerica.com/Doctor-Who/
Email: mc****@oc******.com. Twitter: @MatthewTCoker. Follow OC Weekly on Twitter @ocweekly or on Facebook!
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.