"Doctor Who," He's Back and it's About Time!

[imoldfashioned]

Okay... this blows me away... you liked Peter Davidson's last episode? ..

LOL--yes, I really do like Caves! Kind of a dark story, I liked the villian and I tend to like the stories when the Doctor dies (as opposed to the first stories after regeneration, which seem to reflect the choppiness of a new actor taking over an unformed role). In my opinion Davison suffered from lousy companions-I think Nyssa was the only one I really liked. I actually cheered at the end of Earthshock and Peri so wasn't worth the Doctor's sacrifice.

It would be so cool if Davision made an appearance! I saw him in something recently and I barely recognized him, but it has been 23 years since he left the show.

That does indeed suck about Tennant, although I'd love to see him on stage. He got good notices for Look Back in Anger.

 

[Starius]

LOL--yes, I really do like Caves! Kind of a dark story, I liked the villian and I tend to like the stories when the Doctor dies (as opposed to the first stories after regeneration, which seem to reflect the choppiness of a new actor taking over an unformed role). In my opinion Davison suffered from lousy companions-I think Nyssa was the only one I really liked. I actually cheered at the end of Earthshock and Peri so wasn't worth the Doctor's sacrifice.

It would be so cool if Davision made an appearance! I saw him in something recently and I barely recognized him, but it has been 23 years since he left the show.

That does indeed suck about Tennant, although I'd love to see him on stage. He got good notices for Look Back in Anger.

YOU CHEERED AT THE DEATH OF ADRIC?!?!
You cold hearted woman!!
Who are you, The Rani?

That was a compelling and dramatic piece of Doctor Who history right there, and far more emotionally dramatic than the "demise" of Rose in my opinion. Rose's demise was over hyped and I was rather put off about the misleading direction they were taking leading up to it, making you think she was going to die... but with Adric, that was a real blow out of nowhere. And the ending credits in silence, with the shot of his broken star? How can you not be moved by that?

I agree though, a lot of the doctors first incarnation episodes get pretty old quick. I'm soooo tired of seeing his wonky effects of regeneration sickness as the result of traumatic regenerations. Peter Davidson's first ep was one of the worst in that regard. David Tennant's was almost as bad. Even Paul McGann suffered from that. At least McCoy's was used as a interest plot device, and believe it or not, I kinda like Colin Baker's initial moments where he was almost psychopathic.

I also agree with you about Nyssa, I liked her a lot. (I have her autograph from a Doctor Who trading card set) And her first story, now that I think of it, is one of my favs. The Master taking her father's body for his own was one of the best Master plans ever, though I wish they would have done more with that in subsequent encounters with the Master.... I mean, he's walking around in her father's body. Surely that would bring up a lot of emotion.

 

[VegasMike]

Well, on the plus side of things, even though Series 5 is being delayed for a year, we WILL still get 3 new Doctor stories with David Tennant that year, he did promise that much.

 

[Starius]

Well, on the plus side of things, even though Series 5 is being delayed for a year, we WILL still get 3 new Doctor stories with David Tennant that year, he did promise that much.

Yeah, thats true.
Oh well, guess we don't have to worry much about it for now. It's still 3 months and 16 days until the next Doctor Who Christmas special... not that I'm counting or anything...

 

[VegasMike]

I'm just glad I'm getting all this classic Who to watch, cause I'm gonna be all caught up in not time. I just finished Series 2, and it was quite sad and depressing and makes me want ice cream. The whole Dalek's vs. Cybermen thing was AWESOME though.

 

[Starius]

I'm just glad I'm getting all this classic Who to watch, cause I'm gonna be all caught up in not time. I just finished Series 2, and it was quite sad and depressing and makes me want ice cream. The whole Dalek's vs. Cybermen thing was AWESOME though.

Yeah, Daleks vs Cybermen is a Who fan's dream come true. Can't believe it was never done before.

How much classic who are you getting? Make sure you get Spearheads from Space. First story of 3rd Doctor Jon Pertwee, and first appearance of the Autons. Way more scary back then than in Rose! (At least I remember them being way more scary in Spearheads from Space.)

 

[Edward]

So cool that you met Sophie Aldred Edward! Hard to believe she's tiny--she looks like she'd be tall, but isn't that what they always say about folks on tv? She wrote a book about her time on Who but I've not read it yet. Have you and, if so, is it any good?

No, I've not seen it myself. She was really sweet in person. I was there with a now long-exgirlfriend who back then was pretty tiny herself. I think she was all of five foot three and noticeable taller than Ms Aldred; Sophie was probably also something crazy like a UK size 6 (AFAIK, a UK 6 = something like a US2; I know a UK 4 is a size 0). She didn't look emaciated at all- she was in proportion to her height (I regret not having a camera that day now), which may have given the impression that she was much taller than actuality. It's also possible that the show was deliberately shot in such a way as to make her appear taller.

That does indeed suck about Tennant, although I'd love to see him on stage. He got good notices for Look Back in Anger.

Ooohhhhh, but it's so much better than that: he's going to be working with the Royal Shakespeare company. So far it has been confirmed that he will be playing the lead in Hamlet - I'm very excited about that, and I'll certainly be headed to Stratford to see it.

 

[VegasMike]

Yeah, Daleks vs Cybermen is a Who fan's dream come true. Can't believe it was never done before.

How much classic who are you getting? Make sure you get Spearheads from Space. First story of 3rd Doctor Jon Pertwee, and first appearance of the Autons. Way more scary back then than in Rose! (At least I remember them being way more scary in Spearheads from Space.)

Just got Spearheads From Space from Netflix

And Edward - You are so freakin' lucky to get to see the Royal Shakespeare Company..I'd love to be able to see them perform live.

 

[imoldfashioned]

Ooohhhhh, but it's so much better than that: he's going to be working with the Royal Shakespeare company. So far it has been confirmed that he will be playing the lead in Hamlet - I'm very excited about that, and I'll certainly be headed to Stratford to see it.

Thanks for more details about the lovely Sophie. And Hamlet!

From a fansite:

"July 24th thru November 15th 2008 sees Tennant in Hamlet alongside
Patrick Stewart playing Claudius. Fans of the new series will also be
excited to note that from October 2nd thru November 15th 2008 Tennant
will be playing Berowne in Love's Labour's Lost. Love's Labour's Lost
was a major plot point in Series 3 episode, The Shakespeare Code."

That tears it; I'm going to the UK next year. I would love to see Tennant do Hamlet while I'm there.

 

[Edward]

Thanks for more details about the lovely Sophie. And Hamlet!

From a fansite:

"July 24th thru November 15th 2008 sees Tennant in Hamlet alongside
Patrick Stewart playing Claudius. Fans of the new series will also be
excited to note that from October 2nd thru November 15th 2008 Tennant
will be playing Berowne in Love's Labour's Lost. Love's Labour's Lost
was a major plot point in Series 3 episode, The Shakespeare Code."

That tears it; I'm going to the UK next year. I would love to see Tennant do Hamlet while I'm there.

Tennant AND Stewart on stage together? I think i just had an accident in the region of my underwear...

 

[imoldfashioned]

Tennant AND Stewart on stage together? I think i just had an accident in the region of my underwear...

lol I know, it's a great cast isn't it? I wonder which women will be in this version?

So, let's see, if I'm in the UK between October 2nd and November 15th next year I could see both plays...

 

[Rob]

All told, I've been pretty happy with the first three seasons of the new series. While I think RTD brings a lot to the show in the form of passion, an overall guiding hand and even the odd good script, however, I really wish he'd let more people have a go and hadn't tried to stamp himself across quite so many episodes. Because, while he has his moments, it's generally the stories he DIDN'T write, that I have liked the best. Steven Moffatt, meanwhile, is god

 

[Starius]

All told, I've been pretty happy with the first three seasons of the new series. While I think RTD brings a lot to the show in the form of passion, an overall guiding hand and even the odd good script, however, I really wish he'd let more people have a go and hadn't tried to stamp himself across quite so many episodes. Because, while he has his moments, it's generally the stories he DIDN'T write, that I have liked the best. Steven Moffatt, meanwhile, is god

I agree 100%

I'd like to see some more writers who have done Big Finish stories come over to the TV series!

 

[Hemingway Jones]

"Blink" is on SciFi tonight at 8PM. So for all of those who have not seen it, I highly recommend it!

 

[Starius]

I sent the episode "Blink" to a friend of mine quite some time ago. He's never watched ANY Doctor Who before and has had no interest in it at all. He finally got around to watching it the other day and he enjoyed it quite a bit. And since he did enjoy Moffat's Jekyll miniseries as well, I'm sending him other Moffat Doctor Who episodes from 2005 - 2006. Could possibly be the hook to get him into the current Doctor Who series.

 

[Rob]

Blink is both a good and bad episode to show to new viewers... good, because it'll probably rope them in... bad, because it's not a typical Doctor Who story. Heck, having said that, showing anyone something from the first three new seasons is kind of weird if they ever get an interest to go back and watch the classic series and come back shouting, "What the heck was that?!?"

 

[imoldfashioned]

Wow--just saw Blink for the first time. I think this one has rocketed to the number one slot on my favorite episodes list. It's true it's not a typical Doctor Who but thematically it was perfect. I don't usually get freaked out by television shows but this season of Doctor Who is doing it quite a bit.

I looked up Steven Moffat and every episode he's written has been outstanding (I was shocked to learn he wrote Coupling--talk about a different genre!). Apparently he's writing a two-part story for series four using "the one idea which he has wanted to". That's very intriguing, wonder what it is? I'm sure, with his track record, it'll be great.

Also, is the Jekyll miniseries he wrote available on DVD? I've got a multi-region player so I could get it from the UK if necessary.

 

[Starius]

Wow--just saw Blink for the first time. I think this one has rocketed to the number one slot on my favorite episodes list. It's true it's not a typical Doctor Who but thematically it was perfect. I don't usually get freaked out by television shows but this season of Doctor Who is doing it quite a bit.

I looked up Steven Moffat and every episode he's written has been outstanding (I was shocked to learn he wrote Coupling--talk about a different genre!). Apparently he's writing a two-part story for series four using "the one idea which he has wanted to". That's very intriguing, wonder what it is? I'm sure, with his track record, it'll be great.

Also, is the Jekyll miniseries he wrote available on DVD? I've got a multi-region player so I could get it from the UK if necessary.

Yep, Jekyll is available for DVD even here in the US. (Well, available in just a few days.)
It just recently aired on BBC America too, I think.

 

[imoldfashioned]

Mille grazie Starius! Netflix has it too.

 

[Rob]

And this is why I said Steven Moffatt is god, earlier in the thread