Doctor Who branded 'ludicrous'...

Terry Pratchett, creator of some of the most fantastical works of the last decade, has criticised Doctor Who for having 'ludicrous' storylines. Although his own Discworld series includes a flat world balanced on the back of four elephants, perched on the back of a giant turtle, Pratchett says that 'Doctor Who's science is pixel thin' and that he would prefer it not be classified as sci-fi work.

Indeed, he believes that the series 'breaks most of the laws of narrative', relying instead on 'makeitupasyougalongeum'. His most stringent criticism is left for the most recent incarnations of the Doctor, who he believes to have turned the role 'into an amalgam of Mother Teresa, Jesus Christ and Tinkerbell'. Despite this however, Pratchett remains a firm fan of the show.

Doctor Who?...

It has been announced that next year will see the publication of a new Doctor Who novel. Michael Moorcock, a science fiction writer famed for the 'Elric of Melnibone' series, stated that he had been approached by BBC books to write a novel available for publication next Christmas. However, many fans have been critical, believing that, as someone not associated with the show, Moorcock's interpretation will not fit in with their own view ane perhaps is not a big enough name. Yet Moorcock is quick to counter this, declaring himself to have watched the show for years and saying; 'since the Tom Baker series, a lot of my ideas crept into the stories and so in many ways I'll be writing a story which already echoes my own work.' This announcement follows the airing of a second Doctor Who special this year, and so is likely to only increase the fanaticism that surrounds the series; which is set to introduce new Doctor Matt Smith next year.