The Olympic ‘Doctor Who’ salute that almost was

2012 Olympic Games - Opening Ceremony — LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 28: The Olympic Stadium is illuminated during the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games on July 28, 2012 in London, England. Athletes, heads of state and dignitaries from around the world have gathered in the Olympic Stadium for the opening ceremony of the 30th Olympiad. London plays host to the 2012 Olympic Games which will see 26 sports contested by 10,500 athletes over 17 days of competition. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

By, Heather Maloney

Information and video has surfaced in the past 24 hours providing details on the “Doctor Who” video tribute that was planned for last Friday’s event. In the Danny Boyle’s amazing Olympic Opening Ceremonies last week the United Kingdom celebrated their heritage with the world. There was a salute to the transition between an agrarian society to the Industrial Revolution. The health care system was also celebrated. In pop culture there was homage to books, plays, movies and music. What about a salute to British television? Well, there was one in the works that had to be removed due to time constraints.

The original plan was to include a portion dedicated to British television. “Doctor Who” was going to be included, along with other iconic shows such as “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” and “Coronation Street”. A “Doctor Who” video was approved by BBC for the Opening Ceremonies which included a montage of all eleven doctors. According to Screen Rant, this can be seen on videos of the technical rehearsal which are currently on YouTube, the BBC iPlayer and at the Screen Rant site. The TARDIS sound was heard during the music montage during the event.

Many fans signed petitions to have David Tennant assigned as the final torchbearer. This was featured in a “Doctor Who” episode called “Fear Her”. Unfortunately that hope did not come to fruition. Matt Smith, the eleventh and current Doctor, was recently a torchbearer. He carried the torch through Cardiff in May.