There’s an episode of the classic Doctor Who series called The Web Planet in which the Doctor and his companions fight an evil force called the Animus that has taken over the planet Vortis. After much derring-do and exploration of an alien environment, the Animus is defeated and the travellers take their leave of the planet.

There’s an episode of the new Doctor Who series called The Girl In The Fireplace that takes place largely in Versailles, in the court of Louis XV. After much derring-do and exploration of an historical environment, the evil is defeated and the Doctor takes his leave of 18th-century France.

This week, on a mailing list, one of my friends announced that The Web Planet was due to be released on DVD in North America this September. To which I replied, “But the news came out the same week that The Girl In The Fireplace aired, so nobody cares. With France like this, who needs the Animus?”

It’s quite possibly the worst pun I have ever come up with off the cuff, and Yahoo! apparently ate the message so that it never got out to the others on the list. Son of a bitch.