Time Warp: Doctor Who’s U.S. Web Presence Could Use a Check-Up

Do you need a Doctor? If so, I’d suggest heading across the pond, because his online presence here is a little skimpy.

I’m talking of course about “Doctor Who,” the BBC’s time lord who has gone through 10 different incarnations since his debut in 1963.

The newest version of the good Doctor’s adventures debuted in 2005, with state of the art special effects that is a far cry from the more low budget episodes of the past.

I decided to look at the official Web sites for the networks carrying the show both here and in the U.K., to see if they were full of thrills – or in need of a tune up from the Doctor’s sonic screwdriver.

My first stop was naturally the BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho), where I was treated with animated images of creepy scarecrow monsters from an episode yet to air here in the U.S., accompanied by sounds of church bells and children faintly singing.

The site was robust, to say the least. It was great fun, both for children and adults, which makes sense as the show aims to be one the whole family can enjoy.

New games are offered for what seems like every episode. Trying to say spoiler free, I avoided the challenges based on the third season that hasn’t aired in the U.S. yet, and try a game based on the season two episode “School Day.” It turns out to be an aptitude test to get into Deffry Vale School. Anthony Stewart Head, who played the evil headmaster in the episode, invites me to take the test, sounding way scarier than he ever did as Giles on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” I’m instructed to match a series of four cryptic symbols in order, and score a measly two out of seven.

The also has loads of news and video, ranging from episode previews to songs from a “Doctor Who” concert held in Cardiff last year. There’s also a fun looking “Comic Maker,” which I can’t use because of international rights restrictions.

Maybe, I think, the Sci Fi Channel (http://www.scifi.com/doctorwho) will have the feature, since that network has first run rights to the show in the U.S.

Sadly, no. In general, compared to the BBC space, the Sci Fi pages for the show are uninspiring, offering only a small smattering of video, an episode guide, some photos and little else. Nothing plugs the new season set to begin in July, other than a link to a BBC news story about the new companion who will join the Doctor in his travels.

Ah, perhaps the Beeb saved all the good content for its U.S. sibling BBC America (http://www.bbcamerica.com/content/123/index.jsp), which runs the episodes after Sci Fi in the states.

Wrong. BBCA has only shown the first series of the new show’s run, and there’s nary a mention of when the second series will begin. There’s a quiz, but otherwise the content is as sparse as Sci Fi’s offering.

What about PBS, which has run the Doctor’s adventures off and on for years? The national site had nothing, and looks at the sites of a few local PBS stations only resulted in links to online shops to buy DVD collections.

The Doctor can travel through time and space in the TARDIS. Surely some decent content can cross the ocean by the Internet.

In desperation, I look north to our friends in Canada. The CBC (http://www.cbc.ca/doctorwho) must have something.

It turns out they do, but not much, other than a short blurb about the third season starting June 18 and a link to a fan site, the Canadian Doctor Who Information Network (http://www.dwin.org/), which has a fairly lively blog and looks like a good unofficial resource in the vein of Outpost Gallifrey (http://www.gallifreyone.com), considered to be the Web’s premier “Doctor Who” site. (Yes, I’m a geek. I know these things.)

Bottom line? If you need to know a programming schedule, stick with the networks. But if you’re looking for more, take your TARDIS off-road.