Doctor Who on Craig Ferguson's show

There have been some sightings of a Dalek in L.A. in November.

So was the Doctor seen by many.

How could I have missed all of this when nearly a month has passed? It goes to show that you can miss a lot when you don’t even have cable TV.

I know, I know, the Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson isn’t a science fiction show. It has nothing to do with space operas or monsters in metal casings. But Ferguson is an admitted Doctor Who geek... making his confessions on national TV as being a kid growing up with the British Icon.

Well, Ferguson is Scottish so it would make sense that he knows everything about the Doctor Who series. In fact, he is the Doctor’s biggest fan after all the time and effort he invested getting Matt Smith on board. The leading Who actor is filming in the United States… Utah to be more specific. It’s a nice place with the sprawling, jagged rocks stretching like a parched landscape. Smith himself is getting a little piece of Americana during his stay here.

He’s been invited to be a guest on Ferguson’s show on Nov. 16.

I missed the show entirely. Probably a lot of other people did too.

Most people in the United States wouldn’t even know who Smith is. They wouldn’t even know what Doctor Who is. But there is a definite audience for the series here in the States.

It's not hard to see that Ferguson is the biggest fan because he created, wrote and sang a huge production number of the Doctor Who theme song at the very beginning of his episode.

Writing the entire song displays his incredible knowledge of the long British institution that began in 1963 and reached huge popular peaks during the Tom Baker period. Now the series is going through another golden age with Matt Smith behind the time traveling myth.

But there are some great lines in the song. One of my favorite bits is the fact that he wrote the line that it takes “intellect over brute force” to solve the problems. This is brilliant. It's the very gist of Doctor Who. That’s what I’ve been saying to people all the time… the Doctor prefers to use non-violence without resorting to guns.

Ferguson understands Doctor Who completely and uses comedy to deliver his message. It was a line that was repeated two more times to show how important it was to use one’s smarts against violence.

I like Craig Ferguson before. But I like him even more now. He’s awesome.

He plays up the production number with a dance troupe and plenty of interesting sight gags including the steely frame of the Dalek sitting in the background. It seemed ready to blast anyone who might digress from the song.

The entire introduction was filmed and ready to be broadcast. But it was one of the network folks who came to Ferguson just minutes before the broadcast to let him know that his beginning portion could not be used due to copyright issues.

Copyrights.

It’s too bad.

But thankfully we have youtube to see it. You can check out the “lost footage” of the Ferguson song and skit on Doctor Who if you type in “Craig Ferguson cold open.” Standing for cold opening that was unused for television. We are still able to view this amazing bit of comedy. And a brilliant homage to the old Doctor Who science fiction show that’s changed its style through the years.

There’s a nice reference to “geek” and “nerds.” And geeks are now the new audience for the twenty-first century. Comic book movies abound is just proof enough that such things have a huge viewership. Ferguson explains the Doctor Who series well within the three minutes of the song. It was reported that Ferguson was upset when the cold opening couldn’t be aired.

The rest of the late, Late Show was aired however. And the United States was treated to seeing what an interesting actor Smith is.

Matt Smith was equally as good in the show. They gave him a pretty good segment and he also even appeared in the cold opening that was not used. But every ounce of his enthusiasm for the Doctor WHo role is right there. You can see he still enjoys the part. He likes the creativity of the role and the challenges one makes through the time traveling series.

It’s nice to see the banter between Smith and Ferguson as if they are old friends. But it is also how they talk about the Doctor Who series like it’s an everyday thing while some people in the audience are mystified by it. But it is a cultural icon in United Kingdom. The comradeship felt between the actor and talk show host can be felt by the viewers. Doctor Who becomes part of their everyday conversation.

I also liked how they spoke of “old” Doctor Who which many people such as myself-who grew up with the show when it was shown on PBS from the early eighties-can understand. Their comments flood my thoughts with the old days and it’s great to see how other people apart from myself are able to reminiscence on it. Smith enjoys acting for the American episodes that will be slated for the early part of the series this year.

If you watch very closely to the trailer for the upcoming series, you can see the Doctor in the American setting getting his cowboy hat shot off after he said, “I like suspenders. Suspenders are cool.” It seems to be a running gag with the character River Song shooting off his hat now and then. She shot off his fez last season. But the eleventh Doctor is determined to wear a hat yet.

So who’s next on the Late, Late show?

It’s unfortunate that not another person was able to come aboard from the Doctor Who crew such as Karen Gillan or writer Stephen Moffat. But it would be a treat to see them in an American talk show like this. It makes a great opportunity while viewing the TV to bring Doctor Who right to your very living room.

Craig Ferguson is definitely a sap for Doctor Who. So am I. And there are a lot of other people who appreciates the show. It’ll be always a welcome surprise for Ferguson to bring on new guests. Who will it be next time? Who knows?