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.

This should be considered rumor until officially confirmed by the BBC, but apparently the seven living actors to play the character of the Doctor in Doctor Who are set to all appear together in this year's Children in Need special on the BBC.

While I would absolutely love it if this could actually happen, I have to question the veracity of this claim. At least the Telegraph isn't the Sun or I'd dismiss it outright. Tom Baker has historically had a problem with attending reunions (he wasn't in "The Five Doctors", but he did participate in a 1993 special "Dimensions In Time").

This is being reported by the British "newspaper" The Sun, so I urge you to consider the source before going mad with anticipation. The Sun first reported that Catherine Tate, Bernard Cribbins and John Simm would revisit their roles as Donna, Wilf and The Master respectively in one of the upcoming Doctor Who specials slated for 2009. Later, it reported that Paul McGann would return as the Doctor in a flashback capacity.

I would love for any of that to happen. Particularly McGann's return. But, it's The Sun. They're made it standard operating procedure to publish unsubstantiated rumors from unnamed sources. Much as I wish these were true, I'm not going to hold my breath unless I hear it from some sort of official source. Preferably the BBC.

Still, considering that I'm mentioning the articles here and including links back to the originals, we can conclude that this method of cheap publicity works. Bravo to The Sun! Thanks for eventually disappointing millions of Doctor Who fans worldwide.