Sirki’s Summons – June 5: The Chronicler of Mars & a Time Lord’s Companion

Greetings from beyond the veil, O effendi.

Upon this day, last year, Prince Sirki summoned legendary Scribe of Science-Fiction, Ray Bradbury. Here’s a link to the column I wrote that day. Prior to that, I tweeted, “The stars of heaven are now burning 451 degrees hotter & Mars has become a little more barren today. Godspeed, Ray Bradbury.” with this graphic I made that day.

Also a year ago today, Prince Sirki sent the TARDIS out to call upon Caroline John, who played Liz Shaw. Liz was the first assistant to Jon Pertwee’s incarnation of the Doctor and quite different than the rest. She was almost as smart as the Doctor and he respected her as an intellectual and scientific equal. Before the second season (or series, as they say in England), a new hierarchy at the BBC and a new production team decided that she was TOO smart, and that the Doctor needed the standard assistant-who-gets-in-trouble/damsel-in-distress kind of companion, so her contract was not renewed. She did, however, reprise the role for brief cameos in THE FIVE DOCTORS and the DIMENSIONS IN TIME special – done for the British charity, Children In Need – as so many other companions did, and for BBC Radio audio plays.