IT SORT OF came out of nowhere, years later, in an interview with the U.K. magazine Radio Times. After a successful reinvention of the Doctor Who franchise in 2005, star Christopher Eccleston rather mysteriously bowed out at the end of the first season. The official announcement cited a grueling production schedule and Eccleston’s fear of being typecast. The BBC later retracted its statement and admitted it hadn’t spoken to Eccleston before it was issued.

And that’s where things remained until Eccleston’s Radio Times interview this week in the run-up to his role in the upcoming BBC biopic Lennon Naked. He tells the magazine he left the successful series because, “I was open-minded but I decided after my experience on the first series that I didn’t want to do any more. I didn’t enjoy the environment and the culture that we, the cast and crew, had to work in.”

Eccleston doesn’t explain what he found so objectionable about the environment and the culture, just that he “wasn’t comfortable.” He continues, “I thought ‘If I stay in this job, I’m going to have to blind myself to certain things that I thought were wrong.’ And I think it’s more important to be your own man than be successful, so I left.”

The Code That Dare Not Speak Its Name

The environment? Certain things? That were wrong? All these sound like code words for Something That Dare Not Speak Its Name. Especially when you consider that the “culture” was set by the show’s executive producer at the time, Russell T. Davies, notorious for his very gay Queer as Folk and for introducing the most overt gay references in the formerly staid Doctor Who franchise.

While it’s certainly troubling that Eccleston may have had some issues with appearing on a show that had him kissing another guy, it’s more troubling that this is topic is still Too Shameful to Discuss Openly. And not just by him. The narrative in the media is that Eccleston is “finally” revealing why he left the show.

Except he really hasn’t. All his vague terms are very “wink and a nod” in nature, and the media coverage is reciprocating by dutifully quoting him without really challenging what’s behind the quotes. Nobody — including the media — wants to simply say, Russell T. Davies made Doctor Who too gay for Christopher Eccleston.

If that’s not what you meant, Mr. Eccleston, perhaps you should clarify? That’s what Radio Times, the BBC and everyone else who’s covering the hell out of this story should be asking. But they haven’t. No one’s calling him to account for his comments and what lies behind them. And that’s a failure of the media, not just Christopher Eccleston.

Next: Up to the Fans to Discuss the Real Issue »

The Star Trek: New Voyages episode, “World Enough and Time,” that I executive-produced was just nominated for a Hugo Award, one of science fiction’s greatest honors, joining some fine productions. The other nominees were all produced by large studios or networks in the United States and the United Kingdom.

“World Enough and Time,” written by Michael Reeves and Marc Scott Zicree, was nominated in the category Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form, alongside:

• Battlestar Galactica, “Razor,” (SciFi Channel/NBC-Universal). Only the televised version was nominated, not the DVD release, which features an extended version.
• Doctor Who, “Blink,” (BBC).
• Doctor Who, “Human Nature” and “Family of Blood,” (two-parter, BBC).
• Torchwood, “Captain Jack Harkness” (BBC).

My self-congratulations aside, two things are significant about the New Voyages (recently renamed Star Trek: Phase II) nomination: First is that this is the first time an Internet production has received a Hugo nomination; second, this is the first fan film that’s been nominated for a Hugo. This is on top of the recent Nebula Award nomination for this episode (which is solely for the script; the Hugo honors the actual production).

We’re in the middle of what I believe is a revolution in media — where non-Hollywood productions go toe-to-toe with more expensively produced studio films. The chokehold on quality exerted by needing to succeed in mass media (i.e., network television and theatrical release) may be nearing its end. Inexpensive, independent productions made with the high quality afforded by affordable technology stand an economic chance, freed from having to ‘win’ a TV ratings war or having to appeal to specific demographics at the cinemaplex.

Want to see what such a production looks like? You can watch “World Enough and Time” online, streaming, or find out where to download here.

And if you want to vote for the Hugo Award, you can learn how on the Hugo Awards Web site.

Besides, executive producing “World Enough and Time,” I also served as script supervisor. And I got to direct all the bridge scenes that you see in the episode. Dream Come True — Nerd Edition™.

About the Hugo Awards

SCIENCE FICTION’S MOST PRESTIGIOUS AWARD The Hugo Awards have been awarded annually since 1955. The Hugos are voted on by the thousands of members of the World Science Fiction Society and awarded in 15 categories.

About ‘World Enough and Time’

A Romulan weapons test goes awry and traps the Enterprise. Lt. Commander Sulu returns to find himself 30 years out of place and the key to saving the crew of the Enterprise as the precarious grasp on their own dimension begins to slip. Guest starring George Takei, who returns to the role of Hikaru Sulu. View now >>