Dr. Ruehl: A man of letters (to the editor)

Dr. Franklin Ruehl, cable television cult hero, USA network character extraordinaire, nuclear physicist, and future host of Dr. Ruehl’s Dance Party, today sees his eighteenth letter published in the L.A. Times.

In today’s Calendar section, Dr. Ruehl, an esteemed sci fi authority on (among many other topics) sci fi movies and television series, sets the record straight on the classic BBC sci fi series, Doctor Who.

“I have never had any response to them, or been able to parlay them in any way to further my career,” says the Doctor. “But it is a nice ego trip.”

May the power of the cosmos be with you, Doctor! The letter follows:

SEVEN cheers for the original "Dr. Who" TV series! Silurians! Cybermen! Sontarans! Daleks! These are just a few of the intriguing alien entities that the seven original Doctors did battle with on the classic British TV series "Dr. Who." And they engaged in endless mind games with such nefarious foes as the Master, Davros, Morbius and the Rani.

Lewis Beale's emphasis on the series' "cheesy" special effects ["Sci-Fi Show With a Special Effect," March 19] unfairly denigrates a program that enraptured viewers week after week with one absorbing extraterrestrial encounter after another. It was a program that adroitly united the mystique of limitless time travel with the concept of unbridled space exploration.

Indeed, it proved that a sci-fi show, when written intelligently and abetted by solid acting, does not have to rely on multimillion-dollar special effects to captivate the imagination!

May the power of the cosmos be with you!

FRANKLIN RUEHL Glendale


Dr. Ruehl, Dr. Who & Dr. Smith