I don't think Tallulah was meant to be Bankhead; TB had already been famous for over a decade by that point, and the showgirl made perfect sense as someone idolising and trying to emulate her. And given it's only a fortnight since 'The Shakespeare Code', you can hardly complain about a lack of gay agenda as applied to historical figures!
I take your point as regards villains' return, but while there are obviously a wealth of similarities between Who and superheroes, I think the differences are important too. One of those being that while the big superheroes are owned by gangster publishers, Who belongs to the BBC. I may not always agree with the decisions Who's stewards make, but they have all seemed to be people who genuinely care about the programme, whereas at Marvel or DC business imperatives will usually take precedence over creators who are ultimately seen as replaceable. As such, there's a freedom to permanently change the status quo in Who which there isn't with superheroes; I know Captain America is coming back sooner or later, but I'd be very surprised if Gallifrey ever returns.
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Date: 2007-04-23 08:03 pm (UTC)I take your point as regards villains' return, but while there are obviously a wealth of similarities between Who and superheroes, I think the differences are important too. One of those being that while the big superheroes are owned by gangster publishers, Who belongs to the BBC. I may not always agree with the decisions Who's stewards make, but they have all seemed to be people who genuinely care about the programme, whereas at Marvel or DC business imperatives will usually take precedence over creators who are ultimately seen as replaceable. As such, there's a freedom to permanently change the status quo in Who which there isn't with superheroes; I know Captain America is coming back sooner or later, but I'd be very surprised if Gallifrey ever returns.