AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE FOR NEW DOCTOR WHO STAGE SPECTACULAR
Among their group, 50 are international and they too hope to snuff out what they refer to as modern-day quackery. The group has written a letter to all of Australia's university vice-chancellors asking them to: "Reverse the trend which sees government-funded tertiary institutions offering courses in the health care sciences that are not underpinned by convincing scientific evidence." The questionable courses include homeopathy, iridology, reflexology, Chinese herbal medicine, chiropractic, naturopathy, and aromatherapy, some of which are taught at 18 of 39 Australian universities. "A university is supposed to be a bastion of good science, but their reputation is let down by teaching something like homeopathy," said John Dwyer, a founding member of FSM and emeritus professor of medicine at the University of New South Wales. But in Australia, just like in the United States, alternative medicine is a billion-dollar industry. Even though the country has a decent health care system -- a publication from the Commonwealth Fund looked at seven countries and Australia's health care system was ranked third, while the U.S. was ranked last -- the interest in natural health seems to be booming. According to data from the National Herbalists Association of Australia (NHAA), 70 percent of Australians use complementary medicine. The movement carries momentum of a similar campaign in the U.K., where it is no longer possible to receive degrees in alternative medicine from publicly funded universities. Medicare, Australia's government health care agency, doesn't provide rebates for alternative treatments, except for chiropractic and osteopath treatment in specific circumstances. But most of the country's private insurers, who are FSM's next target, do. "People are voting with their wallets. Why would they pay for the treatments if they aren't effective?" said Stephen Eddey, the director of nutritional medicine at the Australian Traditional Medicine Society.In January, two months after the 50th-anniversary episode of the world's most enduring sci-fi series goes to air, Melbourne will play host to what is being dubbed the world premiere of the latest Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular. It's not the first time the Symphonic Spectacular has travelled to Australian shores - in 2012, the show had nine Australian dates, including seven nights at the Opera House - but following a 50th-anniversary Proms concert in London last month, the 2014 incarnation seems likely to deliver on the bigger and better claims. Two Melbourne concerts with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and one Brisbane show, with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, have been announced. Composer Murray Gold says the 2014 spectacular will borrow from the Proms program. "Because Doctor Who is an ongoing show, we like to play music from the most recent episodes," he says. Peter Capaldi, seen in TV's The Thick of It and The Hour, is considered a frontrunner for the role. Gold, who occasionally plays piano during the performances, has been Doctor Who musical director since 2005, when the series was relaunched for the first time in 15 years. Writer Russell T Davies (Queer as Folk) was charged with garnering interest among a new generation of viewers who were more likely to be spending time on the internet than in front of the TV, and Gold's score had to match the melodrama of the new scripts. "The music became very grand, eventually it became fully orchestral, a kind of filmic soundtrack, and each of the characters developed their own story in musical terms," Gold says. I Am the Doctor, the theme he wrote for Smith as the latest Doctor, is a personal favourite. "I write music for drama. The success or failure of it is how much it encapsulates a moment in the show, or how much it encapsulates the character, and I thought that did a pretty good job," he says. "Sometimes I'll hear it on the train, because someone might have it as their ringtone, and that makes me smile." Smith hosted the Doctor Who Proms last month, and while the presence of some of the show's monsters, including the Daleks and Cybermen and the more recent, super-sinister Silence,has been confirmed at next year's Australian Spectacular, it's unsure if we'll be graced with special guests. Former Doctor David Tennant made a popular appearance here last year, but Gold says even he was surprised by the cameo of the Doctor's first screen companion, played by Carole Ann Ford, now 73, at the Proms this year. The Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular will be held at Plenary Hall, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, on January 31 and February 1. Rating: 3 out of 5 stars Browse movies
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