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Dr. Who
- Thread starter Martin
- Start date
Martin
Active Member
* Tries so hard not to point out Stewart's spelling mistake.
* Fails.
You should really try to get it as right as possible, Stewart.
On Doctor Who - I only saw the first episode, which I kind of liked. I forgot to tape the second one, and I gave up after that.
I don't know who this new feller is, either.
Cheers
* Fails.
You should really try to get it as right as possible, Stewart.
On Doctor Who - I only saw the first episode, which I kind of liked. I forgot to tape the second one, and I gave up after that.
I don't know who this new feller is, either.
Cheers
direstraits
Well-Known Member
I have no idea what Dr Who is. I've heard of him, but nothing beyond that. A show with a cult-like following i.e. Star Trek?
Can someone give me an overview in one sentence, please?
ds
Can someone give me an overview in one sentence, please?
ds
Øystein
Member
More or less eccentric bloke and nubile assistant travel through time and space to always, somehow, luckily end up in a situation that will END THE WORLD, but then they fix it, thank god; repeat.
I've never seen a full episode prior to this new season, but I have to admit that I find it to be quite entertaining. Television science fiction rarely strays from the Star Trek style of focusing on some space ship and its crew's voyages and perils, but this most certainly does.
I do wish I'd seen this as a ten year old though, as I'm sure it'd be wonderfully scary and fun. The second episode had some ludicrous old TV science fiction tropes that I can't decide whether are there as sardonic jokes or bad writing; probably a combination. I'm thinking particularly of the "oh, I see, a button will fix everything, but it's behind all these rather dangerous fans!" silliness towards the end. Galaxy Quest anyone?
Anyhoo, I'll follow this, at least I won't feel as guilty about it as I do over following the soap opera schlock that is "Lost".
I've never seen a full episode prior to this new season, but I have to admit that I find it to be quite entertaining. Television science fiction rarely strays from the Star Trek style of focusing on some space ship and its crew's voyages and perils, but this most certainly does.
I do wish I'd seen this as a ten year old though, as I'm sure it'd be wonderfully scary and fun. The second episode had some ludicrous old TV science fiction tropes that I can't decide whether are there as sardonic jokes or bad writing; probably a combination. I'm thinking particularly of the "oh, I see, a button will fix everything, but it's behind all these rather dangerous fans!" silliness towards the end. Galaxy Quest anyone?
Anyhoo, I'll follow this, at least I won't feel as guilty about it as I do over following the soap opera schlock that is "Lost".
Stewart
Active Member
Dr Who was a British sci-fi show that ran for 26 years and followed the adventures of a character known only as 'The Doctor' from the planet Gallifrey (being of a race known as Timelords') as he travelled around time and space. He travelled in a time and space ship known as the TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimensions In Space) which he had stolen from a museum on Gallifrey - it was supposed to be able to camouflage itself with whatever surroundings it found itself in but it was an antique and was more than a little broken. Hence it was stuck 'camouflaged' as a 1960s British police box. It had the unusual feature of being much bigger on the inside than on the outside.
So, stealing the TARDIS the Doctor headed off into some travels through time and space with his granddaughter, Susan (nice Gallifreyan name ) and immediately ended up landing into trouble on the planet Skaro where the Daleks, the nuclear leftovers of the Kaled people living within metallic shells. Anyway, they did some world saving stuff on Skaro and headed off to more adventures.
The format of the show was typically a 25 minute episode on a weekly basis and a number of weekly episodes making up a full story. The typical story length was four episodes although there were some smaller episodes, the first (An Unearthly Child being two episodes in length) and some more epic such as The Keys of Marinus or The Trial of a Timelord which spawned six and twelve episodes respectively.
After a few years in the role as the Doctor, William Hartnell decided to leave the show which left the creators with a casting problem. Who would replace Hartnell? SO, they came up with the 'shock' idea of regeneration that when the doctor dies his body is capable of regenerating into a completely new shape and personality. This trick ensured the show's continuation as years passed and different actors brought their own style to the character of the doctor - Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davidson, Colin Baker, and Sylvester McCoy.
As the Doctor went on his travels he usually brought companions with him - they would come and go as the stories dictated ensuring that we always had different people to follow and always ensuring the show's continuation. We usually had one or two companions although there was a season where three companions proved too much for the scriptwriters.
The reason the show was an interesting sci-fi proposition was that it was not hampered by the usual archetypes of spaceships, space, and new planets. Due to the TARDIS' nature we could get historical stories, modern day stories, and alternative dimension stories in addition to futuristic stories.
The show ended on the BBC in 1989 (when I was 10 ) when the head of the BBC decided he hated it. It went out with a bang - the final season of four episodes showing three of the best Doctor Who stories in a long time: Ghost Light, The Curse of Fenric, and Survival.
Years passed and there was much speculation as to whether it would ever return. Books sales, video sales, and other media sales continued to show there was a market in it.
In 1998 a one off movie was made in conjunction with the BBC, Universal Studios and Fox Television but it was a horrid attempt at the Doctor Who mythos. Paul McGann took on the role as the 8th Doctor when Sylvester McCoy died 20 minutes into the story. The American money involved had obviously got to the production which completely changed much of the stuff fans took for granted. The TARDIS was given an expensive makeover which just didn't work. The relationship between his travelling companions was breached to the point of romance - a no no! through every episode of the 26 year long TV series. It was critically panned too.
And that was it.
Until, we learned that the BBC intended to revive it for a modern audience with the intention of following in the now standard 45 minutes long episode as used in shows such as Star Trek: The Next Generation, Quantum Leap, and Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
Christopher Eccleston, gloomy actor incarnate, was chosen as the 9th Doctor and has made 13 episodes in the new 45 minute format. Interestingly, the new series is treading new ground in that it asks more questions of the companion than the Doctor himself, has a number of in-jokes for older fans, and has an ongoing theme from episode to episode that is yet to come to fruition. Ecclestone will make a 14th episode despite the fact that he has quit the role as he didn't want to be typecast.
David Tennant, a Russel T. Davies favourite, will become the 10th Doctor. Russel T. Davies is the main screenwriter behind the revival of Doctor Who.
So, stealing the TARDIS the Doctor headed off into some travels through time and space with his granddaughter, Susan (nice Gallifreyan name
) and immediately ended up landing into trouble on the planet Skaro where the Daleks, the nuclear leftovers of the Kaled people living within metallic shells. Anyway, they did some world saving stuff on Skaro and headed off to more adventures.The format of the show was typically a 25 minute episode on a weekly basis and a number of weekly episodes making up a full story. The typical story length was four episodes although there were some smaller episodes, the first (An Unearthly Child being two episodes in length) and some more epic such as The Keys of Marinus or The Trial of a Timelord which spawned six and twelve episodes respectively.
After a few years in the role as the Doctor, William Hartnell decided to leave the show which left the creators with a casting problem. Who would replace Hartnell? SO, they came up with the 'shock' idea of regeneration that when the doctor dies his body is capable of regenerating into a completely new shape and personality. This trick ensured the show's continuation as years passed and different actors brought their own style to the character of the doctor - Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davidson, Colin Baker, and Sylvester McCoy.
As the Doctor went on his travels he usually brought companions with him - they would come and go as the stories dictated ensuring that we always had different people to follow and always ensuring the show's continuation. We usually had one or two companions although there was a season where three companions proved too much for the scriptwriters.
The reason the show was an interesting sci-fi proposition was that it was not hampered by the usual archetypes of spaceships, space, and new planets. Due to the TARDIS' nature we could get historical stories, modern day stories, and alternative dimension stories in addition to futuristic stories.
The show ended on the BBC in 1989 (when I was 10
) when the head of the BBC decided he hated it. It went out with a bang - the final season of four episodes showing three of the best Doctor Who stories in a long time: Ghost Light, The Curse of Fenric, and Survival.Years passed and there was much speculation as to whether it would ever return. Books sales, video sales, and other media sales continued to show there was a market in it.
In 1998 a one off movie was made in conjunction with the BBC, Universal Studios and Fox Television but it was a horrid attempt at the Doctor Who mythos. Paul McGann took on the role as the 8th Doctor when Sylvester McCoy died 20 minutes into the story. The American money involved had obviously got to the production which completely changed much of the stuff fans took for granted. The TARDIS was given an expensive makeover which just didn't work. The relationship between his travelling companions was breached to the point of romance - a no no! through every episode of the 26 year long TV series. It was critically panned too.
And that was it.
Until, we learned that the BBC intended to revive it for a modern audience with the intention of following in the now standard 45 minutes long episode as used in shows such as Star Trek: The Next Generation, Quantum Leap, and Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
Christopher Eccleston, gloomy actor incarnate, was chosen as the 9th Doctor and has made 13 episodes in the new 45 minute format. Interestingly, the new series is treading new ground in that it asks more questions of the companion than the Doctor himself, has a number of in-jokes for older fans, and has an ongoing theme from episode to episode that is yet to come to fruition. Ecclestone will make a 14th episode despite the fact that he has quit the role as he didn't want to be typecast.
David Tennant, a Russel T. Davies favourite, will become the 10th Doctor. Russel T. Davies is the main screenwriter behind the revival of Doctor Who.
I'm really liking the new Dr Who
I do have to correct an inaccuracy's though. Christopher has not quit ( as wrongly reported by the BBC then picked up by everybody else ) because he didn't want to be typecast. He never signed up for another season. He actually said all along that he would only ever do one. The BBC has had to make a formal apology to him for reporting what they did.
I do have to correct an inaccuracy's though. Christopher has not quit ( as wrongly reported by the BBC then picked up by everybody else ) because he didn't want to be typecast. He never signed up for another season. He actually said all along that he would only ever do one. The BBC has had to make a formal apology to him for reporting what they did.