Not one, but two. First, a special offer from the BBC Doctor Who Shop. And a special holiday event at the Universal Orlando Resort, featuring Dr. Seuss’s Grinch and the Whos of Whoville.
The Doctor Who Adult Onesies. The on-line ad from the BBC Doctor Who Official Shop:
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One Xmas pattern, one strictly Doctor Who (the blue post box), but both deeply silly. A note on the garment and then, for those who aren’t Dr. Who-savvy, some basic stuff on the tv show (if you are Dr. Who-savvy, skip ahead to the Dr. Seuss stuff.
The garment: the onesie started as an infant bodysuit. From NOAD2:
an infant’s one-piece close-fitting lightweight garment, usually having sleeves but leaving the legs uncovered and fastening with snaps at the crotch.
But then it got extended to adult use. From Wikipedia:
Onesie … is a commonly used word for loose-fitting casual jumpsuits for adults, made of knit cotton (as used in sweatshirts), fleece, or chenille. They are mostly intended as loungewear or sleepwear, but have gained significant popularity as stylish street fashion.
Quick overview on Doctor Who:
Doctor Who is a British science-fiction television programme produced by the BBC from 1963 to the present day. The programme depicts the adventures of the Doctor, a Time Lord — a time-travelling humanoid alien. He explores the universe in his TARDIS, a sentient time-travelling space ship. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. Along with a succession of companions, the Doctor faces a variety of foes while working to save civilisations, help ordinary people, and right wrongs.
The show is a significant part of British popular culture, and elsewhere it has become a cult television favourite. The show has influenced generations of British television professionals, many of whom grew up watching the series. The programme originally ran from 1963 to 1989. After an unsuccessful attempt to revive regular production in 1996 with a backdoor pilot in the form of a television film, the programme was relaunched in 2005 by Russell T Davies who was showrunner and head writer for the first five years of its revival, produced in-house by BBC Wales in Cardiff. The first series of the 21st century, featuring Christopher Eccleston in the title role, was produced by the BBC.
… Twelve actors have headlined the series as the Doctor. The transition from one actor to another, and the differing approach to the role that they bring, is written into the plot of the show as regeneration into a new incarnation, a life process of Time Lords through which the character of the Doctor takes on a new body and, to some extent, new personality, which occurs after sustaining injury which would be fatal to most other species. While each actor’s portrayal differs, they are all intended to be aspects of the same character, and form part of the same storyline. The time-travelling nature of the plot means that on occasion, story arcs have involved different Doctors meeting each other.
On this blog, a posting about the evil Daleks, here
The Whos of Whoville. Another use of Who-liday, from a site on “Holidays at Universal Orlando® Resort: The Grinchmas™ Who-liday Spectacular”:
You won’t want to miss a live retelling of Dr. Seuss’s classic holiday tale starring The Grinch™, and featuring music recorded by Mannheim Steamroller. See characters come to brilliant life both onstage and off, as Whos from Who-ville stroll through Seuss Landing™, ready to say hello and spread good cheer.
Earlier postings on Theodor Seuss Geisel (“Dr. Seuss”): 4/26/13, on Bartholomew and the Oobleck; 5/6/14, a parody of The Cat in the Hat; 10/22/14, on Green Eggs and Ham.
On to the Whos of Whoville:
Whoville is a fictional town created by author Theodor Seuss Geisel, under the name Dr. Seuss. Whoville appeared in the books Horton Hears a Who! and How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (Wikipedia link)
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Horton Hears a Who! is a children’s book written and illustrated by Theodor Seuss Geisel under the name Dr. Seuss and published in 1954 by Random House. It is the second Dr. Seuss book to feature Horton the Elephant, the first being Horton Hatches the Egg. The Whos would later make a reappearance in How the Grinch Stole Christmas!.
… Horton Hears a Who! was adapted into a half-hour animated TV special by MGM Animation/Visual Arts in 1970, directed by Chuck Jones (who also directed the television version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas), produced by Theodor Geisel, and with narration by Hans Conried, who also voiced Horton. (Wikipedia link)
And the Grinch:
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is a children’s story by Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel written in rhymed verse with illustrations by the author. It was published as a book by Random House in 1957, and at approximately the same time in an issue of Redbook. The book criticizes the commercialization of Christmas. [There’s a certain irony here, given the commercial success of the Grinch as a symbol of Christmastime.]
… Chuck Jones famously adapted the story as an animated special in 1966, featuring narration by Boris Karloff, who also provided the Grinch’s voice, and songs with lyrics written by Geisel himself, set to music composed by Albert Hague, many of which were sung by Thurl Ravenscroft. (Wikipedia link)
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It does look like neither the BBC Shop nor the Universal Orlando Resort has tried to register Who-liday.
