A Fan of a Certain Age

In January of 1969, I read a comic strip adaptation of Land of the Giants’ pilot episode. As a young boy, I was gripped by Irwin Allen’s space-age take on Gulliver’s Travels: diminutive Earthlings trapped in a world of giant proportions having to scale giant tables with grappling hooks made from safety pins and battling giant moggies with axes made from matchsticks. After that, I couldn’t wait to see the television series the comic was based on… unfortunately, I’d have to. The beginnings of my love-affair with Land of the Giants took a slightly circuitous route, but it developed into a life-long passion. This is my story. Maybe it’s yours too.

Reference books and DVD extras can tell you a lot about Doctor Who, giving you all the facts and figures, but what they can’t tell you was what it was like to be there at the time. This podcast is about the experience of being a fan back in the 1960s and sharing memories of that time.In this episode, Roo talks about his shock at finding out that there was a Doctor before Patrick Troughton, and how he went on to discover William Hartnell for himself...which wasn't at all easy in those days. Also, Roo's oldest friend, Steve Yarwood, talks about his own memories of growing up in the Hartnell era.

Back in 1969, my first encounter with Star Trek came in the form of a comic strip. Little did I know then that this American Sci-Fi series was going to have a profound effect on my life. This is my Star Trek story. Maybe it's yours too.(Note: A much shorter, abridged version of this podcast appeared as part of a Star Trek the Motion Picture retrospective on another podcast. This is the full version.)