Dr Who cannot come to the phone right now, please complain to Ofcom

Davey Winder
Monday, 07 July 2008 17:59

IT Industry - Strategy

Science fiction has no fury like a Doctor Who fan scorned, as the BBC discovered after more than 2,500 viewers tried without success to call the Doctor on his mobile phone to make sure he was OK...

According to the Daily Mail newspaper today, Doctor Who fans were left disappointed when they were unable to contact the Doctor himself for a cosy chat on his mobile phone.

The series finales, which aired over the weekend on the BBC, was watched by an audience of 9.8 million viewers, or some 47 percent of the total audience share in the UK at the time. At least 2,500 of them spotted that various people were attempting to contact the Doctor in the previous episode, which had a cliffhanger finish with Dr Who appearing to start regenerating.

Dr Who fans being Dr Who fans simply could not bear the suspense and, the Daily Mail says, followed the lead of various characters from the series including Sarah Jane Smith, Martha Jones and the entire Torchwood team in trying to contact him via his mobile phone.

The first mistake was the BBC showing that number quite clearly on the phone handsets being used by these characters. It was 07700 900461 if you are interested. The second mistake was underestimating the passion of Dr Who fans, caught up in the emotion surrounding the possible death of the David Tennant incarnation credited with helping propel the classic science fiction drama back to the very top of the BBC ratings.

The third mistake, some might argue, was not using a telephone number that linked to something. Be that something a recorded message from the Doctor saying he was a tad busy fighting Davros and the Daleks right now, or some kind of competition, or even a little marketing for the merchandise that follows the Doctor everywhere.

Instead, what callers got was a standard network message telling them they could not be connected.

The telephone number did not, shock horror, belong to the Time Lord himself but rather was a standard number reserved for use within the UK television industry. Ever wondered why everyone in The Simpsons has a number starting 555, or anyone in any fictional show or movie for that matter? Same thing, different number, for the US market.

What does Ofcom have to say about all this, and did the Dr defeat Davros? Find out on the next page...

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