PaulMcgann

An odd bit of 'Doctor Who' trivia surfaced this weekend, that comic legend Billy Connolly was nearly tapped to play the Eighth Doctor in the 1996 one-off TV movie. Paul McGann wound up with the role instead. Scottish paper the Daily Record reported that a 'Doctor Who' historian named Alex Westthorp learned that the BBC had him on a "short list" after seeing him opposite Dame Judi Dench in 'Mrs. Brown.'

Apparently, no one at the BBC told Connolly. When TV Squad spoke with The Big Yin Tuesday, he said he had only heard that morning about the possibility he'd be tapped for the role. "That never reached as far as me," he said. "As a matter of fact, my manager told me that this morning. He read it in the newspaper and was amazed. It didn't get as far as him. These were just discussions at BBC I think."

In case you ever think Fox might actually give a good series a break, Topless Robot reminds us of the Top 20 shows cancelled by Fox before their time. It's a decent list. Granted, I haven't watched a chunk of them but I've watched four of the top five in their entirety and own two of them on DVD.

There is only one show the author didn't mention that I wish made the list. The Doctor Who 1996 Television Movie starring Paul McGann initially aired on Fox, but never made it to series due to poor ratings. I can only hope that some day Fox and Universal will come to an agreement with the BBC and allow for a North American DVD release.

So what do you think of the list? Did the author get it right? Is there a Fox series that was not mentioned which should have been? Let us know in the comments.