BL> At the time, I always suspected the SCARF appeared *because* of
BL> colour.

RB> They tried to give the different Doctors their own
RB> characteristics, but I hadn't thought of that angle and it
RB> sounds like it could be right. After all, Daleks, Cybermen, Ice
RB> Warriors and the like tended not to go in for trendy colour
RB> schemes.

 ROFL!

BL> chase the colout burst which the TV stations were not allowed
BL> to transmit, even though all programs (incluuding Dr Who) were
BL> in colour at that time. that was when I first saw the ...
BL> SCARF.

RB> And thought to yourself, all that technology, and all they do
RB> with it is... THIS? ;-)

 I thought it was brilliant! It was better on the ABC. On the other
channels, the phase of the colour burst changed and all the faces went
green, every time they cut to a commercial. You'd push the button to
try again, and with four possibilities there was only one chance in
three of getting it right. You could sit there pushing the button (and
swearing), for a long time. It wasn't exactly hi-tech.

BL>> (but my heart belongs to Mrs Peel).

RB>> If you were in your twenties at the time, they would have a
RB>> certain appeal :-)

BL> You ought to be ashamed... that's awful!

RB> Oh, dear. It wasn't even intentional...

 Oh dear... you have a bad case of punorrhoea.

RB> Wasn't Greece in classical antiquity too hot for anyone to wear
RB> much? So, drag queens were, technically, impossible? ;-)

 It's hot here in Oz, and a technical impossibility doesn't seem
to slow the Gay Mardi Gras much.

 I'm reading Peter F. Hamilton's PANDORS'S STAR (nothing to do with
gays, etc) and gee, he's annoying! He's brilliant, but he spends so
much time introducing new characters I want to scream, "Get on with
it!" I can't stop reading it... but it's too episodic. There's no flow
to the story, but I read on, hoping... 

 SF seems to have gone back to Britain. There was a time when you
dominated, and now you have Hamilton and Alisdair (someone, I forget
the name) who both write solid SF while America is still in love with
elves and dragons, or so far out they might as well be eating magic
mushrooms (or perhaps they are).

Regards,
Bob
   

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