Who’s reading things into the new Who thing?

Sorry... who?

Only the Radio Times.

Yes, they seem to have worked themselves into a small frenzy following the unveiling of the new Doctor Who logo, which dematerialised last week.

The logo got it’s own mini-trailer, and comes in a fetching shade of orangey/gold. Very smart, and distinctly different to any of the previous outings – and why shouldn’t it be? New writers, new companions and a new Doc at the controls of the TARDIS. Oh, and there’s something else... Doctor Who is now female for the first time, and will be played by the talented Jodie Whittaker.

Putting the frothy-mouthed debate over if that’s right or not (it’s right!) to one side, the reason for the Radio Times getting all excited is that the logo possibly contains a clever reference to the Doctor’s latest regeneration re-gendering. If you take the last two letters and turn the logo 90 degrees (and use a fair amount of imagination), you get... the Venus symbol! Kind of. Apparently.

The RT gang slightly spoil this by then pondering if the logo also contains a bunch of other cryptic stuff, but hey – it’s great if they’re right. Especially as BBC Worldwide’s Executive Creative Director says “The Doctor Who logo and insignia are the quintessential signifier for the brand”.

There’s the new Doctor’s first adventure right there – try and understand what alien language the smug exec is talking in. I can translate it for you without any need for a sonic screwdriver. They’re actually trying to say “it’s a nice logo – hope you like it”.

Would anyone like a jelly baby?

This post first appeared as the third piece in my column/page in The Mail and the News & Star, on the 2nd of March 2018.

Loving the new logo myself, and like everything I've heard about possible new directions and style for the show - much to look forward to!

Here's that mini-trailer...

(CD A-Z: Within Temptation's "Enter".)

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