The Doctor Who Thread

[technoblue]

17 minutes ago, F-ZeroOne said:

I saw some of either "Kinda" or "Snakedance" on broadcast, which just goes to show how much of a withered ancient I am becoming. 😃I don't remember very much about them (the Fifth Doctor series that I recall the most is "Earthshock", see below for why... [1]) other than the snake, the mechanical... explorer thing and some "dream" sequences.

[1] Leaving aside the ending, this is a serial where agents of the Cybermen melt humans into tiny bubbling pools of goo. In a cave. Now imagine that you've watched that, and then go on a school trip to a series of caves, which proudly advertise their association with "Doctor Who" and Cybermen... [2] 

[2] The Fourth, and "Revenge of the Cybermen", but this is what childhood nightmares are made of...

Oh no. LoL!

Yeah, I can see how all that might charge a young and active imagination. IIRC, the pools of goo kept getting checked by the censors?

The Baker-era cybermats were creepy, slithery metal things. Different from the Troughton-era ones and those from the new show.

I remember ‘Earthshock’ vividly because of that ending. The silent credit roll. I think that was the first time I remember seeing a member of the main cast die. Say what you want about Davison’s companions, but it left quite the impression on me. 

[F-ZeroOne]

Yeah, even at the time when I was a bit young to fully understand (and also really had no idea who Adric was, other than "that kid who follows the Doctor around") it made an impression. Though I'd already been introduced to the idea that TV show characters weren't immortal by the death of "Star Fleet"s (aka "X-Bomber") Dr. Ben (spoiler!), though thats a whole other tale of childhood scarring for life...  🙂 [1]

I vaguely recall hearing that the bubbles-of-goo were controversial, though only much later. There was plenty of TV at the time that was just plain horrific; just a school friends description of one show I wasn't allowed to watch (a near forgotten BBC series called "The Nightmare Man") gave me nightmares for weeks...!

[1] Though at some point around this time I did see Tom Baker regenerate into Peter Davison, I'm not sure that counts as a "death"...

Edited July 16, 2023 by F-ZeroOne

[F-ZeroOne]

Theres a new trailer out for the three specials coming in November. Theres quite a few, um, happenings that could be considered spoilers so if you'd rather wait...

 

[Roy Focker]

I haven't watched much Who in years. Didn't that version of the Doctor die like 3 or 4 Doctors ago.

[F-ZeroOne]

Has something to do with the fact that a certain Russell T. Davies is back as showrunner... 😀

Edited September 24, 2023 by F-ZeroOne

[F-ZeroOne]

 "I don't want to go!"

"We know, David, we can't bloody stop you coming back!" 

Edited September 24, 2023 by F-ZeroOne

[Hikuro]

30 minutes ago, Roy Focker said:

I haven't watched much Who in years. Didn't that version of the Doctor die like 3 or 4 Doctors ago.

Yeah there's a pretty long and drawn out explanation as to why Tennant came back....it's hinted by Tom Baker who played "The Curator" that the Doctor might find himself running into past faces in his future but only the favorites. Now the series isn't a stranger to bringing back aged actors into previous roles and what not so it was left kind of ambiguous to that statement.
Now why the 14th Doctor regenerated back to the 11th being Tennant is not very clear...but it was implied that the 15th doctor only in appearance is the 11th but will be very different than the one we all knew and loved back in that era. 

 

[Dynaman]

4 hours ago, Hikuro said:

Now why the 14th Doctor regenerated back to the 11th being Tennant is not very clear...but it was implied that the 15th doctor only in appearance is the 11th but will be very different than the one we all knew and loved back in that era. 

 

I read that too but, the snippets we see of him in the trailers he acts pretty much the same.  Maybe he changed catchphrases to Geronimo...

[azrael]

4 hours ago, Hikuro said:

Yeah there's a pretty long and drawn out explanation as to why Tennant came back....it's hinted by Tom Baker who played "The Curator" that the Doctor might find himself running into past faces in his future but only the favorites. Now the series isn't a stranger to bringing back aged actors into previous roles and what not so it was left kind of ambiguous to that statement.
Now why the 14th Doctor regenerated back to the 11th being Tennant is not very clear...but it was implied that the 15th doctor only in appearance is the 11th but will be very different than the one we all knew and loved back in that era.

We also know the Doctor can control the regeneration process...at least at a sub-conscious level (see the 12th Doctor).

[F-ZeroOne]

From 1st November, in the UK at least (presumably on Disney + in other territories?), all [1] of "Doctor Who" - classic, modern, "Torchwood", "Sarah Jane" etc - will be available on BBC iPlayer. Now you too can discover if "The Tomb of the Cybermen" is the greatest achievement in the whole of human history! 😉

[1] Well, most of it - I'm not sure about the Richard E. Grant web episodes or "The Curse of Fatal Death"...

Edited October 11, 2023 by F-ZeroOne

[Dynaman]

1 hour ago, F-ZeroOne said:

 Now you too can discover if "The Tomb of the Cybermen" is the greatest achievement in the whole of human history! 😉
 

I still can't figure out if people are joking when they say that...  They seem to say it so earnestly and the serial itself is so very very bad.  I still remember thinking "where did that giant block and tackle come from"?  It took me a good long while to figure out it was just a special Effects prop to make it look like the Cyberman was holding a character up - normally there is some kind of effort to hide things like that...

[F-ZeroOne]

I'm not an expert on the history of "Who", but IIRC part of it comes from some of the episodes having been lost for a long time before being rediscovered. I think it was one of those where over the years when parts of it were missing, it gained a reputation as a legendary lost classic.

To be fair, given broadcast standards at the time of showing, the block and tackle may not have stood out as much. A bit like how in the Hartnell era, one of the TARDIS walls is very obviously a canvas screen.

[Old_Nash_II]

https://www.facebook.com/reel/167438049695939
new intro theme

[Dynaman]

It is amazing to see how a little kids educational program turned into THE powerhouse Science Fiction show in the UK.

[F-ZeroOne]

Its a slightly similar curve to the original "Star Trek" - long seen as a bit dated, cheesy, and with a fan-base consisting entirely of nerdy geeks (or was it geeky nerds?). But the geeky nerds (or was it nerdy geeks?) that grew up watching the shows are now the people making the shows, and they have the benefit of fifty-odd years of advancements in TV production to call on. And both shows were always more than their tin foil spaceships and styrofoam boulders anyway (or in "Doctor Who"s case, real boulders in a quarry somewhere).  

Edited October 14, 2023 by F-ZeroOne

[azrael]

16 hours ago, Old_Nash_II said:

https://www.facebook.com/reel/167438049695939
new intro theme

Has some of the same notes as 9th/10th Doctor's intro themes, especially with the drum set.

[Sanity is Optional]

Just wondering if any of the Who fans here are aware of, or what you guys think of the Dr. Who Magic: The Gathering release that just happened on Friday?

I've heard the theming and such were pretty on-point, but I'm more into it from the card side than the Who side.

[Big s]

4 hours ago, Sanity is Optional said:

Just wondering if any of the Who fans here are aware of, or what you guys think of the Dr. Who Magic: The Gathering release that just happened on Friday?

I've heard the theming and such were pretty on-point, but I'm more into it from the card side than the Who side.

Magic the Gathering seems like it’s trying to be the new Monopoly with them adding new franchises into their game. I think they had Bob Ross, Lord of the Rings and now this. Not sure what others there have been. 
Personally I’ve never played the game, but had many friends that were heavily into it before the Pokémon craze

[F-ZeroOne]

So the whole of "Doctor Who" coming to BBCs iPlayer... except the first four episodes (commonly known as "An Unearthly Child"), due to a licencing issue with theson of these episodes writer, who - and I think this all I can safely say here - seems to have a bit of an axe to grind with the BBC. Linked article has more details:

https://gizmodo.com/doctor-who-an-unearthly-child-streaming-stef-coburn-1850933733

Edited October 18, 2023 by F-ZeroOne

[Dangard Ace]

BBC found all the footage from all the episodes?  

[F-ZeroOne]

Okay, to be more accurate, all of "Doctor Who" currently available - I'm not sure if that includes the ice lolly [1] comic books and the like from back in the day... 😉

[1] Those of you on the other side of the pond - popsicles.

[Swann]

For me Tom and Patrick were the best doctors.

[F-ZeroOne]

Like many I suspect, I tend to divide "my" Doctors into the "classics" and the "new"; Matt Smith is my favourite "new" Doctor (with Peter Capaldi a good second; I felt he was one of the best actors ever to land the gig but not as well served by the stories as Smith was). Of the classics - well, my memories of them are very hazy. I barely remember Tom Baker at the time - most of what I know of his run is from much later rebroadcasts; Peter Davidson was technically "my" classic Doctor but due to my age at the time the one I have the most coherent memories of is Sylvester McCoy. Again, though, despite not even being born during his run recent showings have given me an appreciation for Jon Pertwee (who in my childhood I mostly knew as sentient scarecrow "Worzel Gummidge", and now I think of it, maybe some cross-media memory from a past incarnation is the reason why the Tenth Doctor chose a certain punishment for one of the Family of Blood... 😅). 

Edited October 20, 2023 by F-ZeroOne

[pengbuzz]

Tom Baker was "The Doctor" when I was growing up; never really warmed up to any of the other classic Doctors. Of the new ones, I liked all of them except for Jodie Whittaker (her take on the Doctor seemed a bit "off" to me). At first I didn't like Peter Capaldi, but he ended up growing on me (especially after his Zygon Inversion speech). Matt Smith's first speech to the Atraxi was awesome, and I loved Chris Eccleston's take when he first encountered "Cassandra" in the episode "The End of the World".

Some of my favorite moments:

Tom Baker:

 

Christopher Eccleston:

David Tennant:

 

Matt Smith:

 

Peter Capaldi:

 

Edited October 21, 2023 by pengbuzz

[F-ZeroOne]

Yes, Eccleston was pretty... well, fantastic. 😅Possibly because he only got the one season maybe he tends to get a little overlooked. My favourite, if obvious, Eccleston:

 

[F-ZeroOne]

Whittaker is clearly a good actress, but I felt she had the same issue as Capaldi did at first - they didn't have a handle on her incarnation. Unlike him, though, I don't think they ever really resolved that issue until the very end of her run (its notable that I can choose "defining moments" for most of the Doctors but can't think of one immediately for Whittakers Doctor).

Couple honourable mentions - John Hurt and Paul McGann, who only had a short go at it but really made an impression, and although I'm not the type of person that buys audio dramas and the like, by all accounts Colin Baker has absolutely redeemed the Sixth Doctor over the years through that medium.

Edited October 22, 2023 by F-ZeroOne

[pengbuzz]

4 hours ago, F-ZeroOne said:

Whittaker is clearly a good actress, but I felt she had the same issue as Capaldi did at first - they didn't have a handle on her incarnation. Unlike him, though, I don't think they ever really resolved that issue until the very end of her run (its notable that I can choose "defining moments" for most of the Doctors but can't think of one immediately for Whittakers Doctor).

Couple honourable mentions - John Hurt and Paul McGann, who only had a short go at it but really made an impression, and although I'm not the type of person that buys audio dramas and the like, by all accounts Colin Baker has absolutely redeemed the Sixth Doctor over the years through that medium.

I'd love for them to bring Paul McGann back for a proper run!

[sh9000]

 

[F-ZeroOne]

Classic "Who" was often accused of having bargain basement production, but for that trailer it looks like they hired a real Mickey Mouse outfit to make it... 😉

[F-ZeroOne]

“One day I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back… “ Well, he never said which and for whom… (iPlayer only sadly, AFAIK):

https://www.doctorwho.tv/news-and-features/welcome-to-the-whoniverse-and-tales-of-the-tardis

 

[F-ZeroOne]

Wow, the "Tales of the TARDIS" are much longer than I thought they would be, even the shortest is about 90 minutes long! I haven't had a chance to watch more than a few minutes of each, and to be honest I'm not sure I'm going to able to fit them in for at least a good while (though much of the content is going to be made up from the "classic" episodes") but just the first few minutes of each are... thats not a tear, I'm allergic to... er... giant robot toys. Yes. That must be it.

Also, its being speculated that after the November specials, the 15th Doctors run will represent a "soft" reboot of the series. Exactly what this means for continuity is unclear, though I personally have my doubts a fan as big as RTD is going to completely let go of everything that came before. Presumably Disney want something more "marketable" without a lot of "baggage". Hmm. That sounds like another Disney-owned property that has a similar issue, something about space wizards with... lazer swords? 😉 Maybe all the Mickey dollars might mean we'll finally see that long-held dream of SFX concept artists everywhere, walking Daleks...

[F-ZeroOne]

Oh, there have also been a couple programmes popping up on various BBC sub-channels relating to "Who". Theres footage of the 60th anniversary performance of various music from the show and "Talking TARDIS", hosted by David Tennant, which is mostly archive footage of various interviews with the Doctors from the classic series. If you have access to iPlayer and ever wanted to see the Third Doctor disassemble a caravan, Peter Davison and Patrick Troughton using each other as a cushion or a very bemused local watch the Fourth Doctor and a couple of Cybermen walk into a pub, nows your chance...  the highlight is probably very rare footage of Sylvester McCoys audition for the role, which he pretty much nails from the moment he walks in.

Edited November 2, 2023 by F-ZeroOne

[Dangard Ace]

19 hours ago, F-ZeroOne said:

Wow, the "Tales of the TARDIS" are much longer than I thought they would be, even the shortest is about 90 minutes long! I haven't had a chance to watch more than a few minutes of each, and to be honest I'm not sure I'm going to able to fit them in for at least a good while (though much of the content is going to be made up from the "classic" episodes") but just the first few minutes of each are... thats not a tear, I'm allergic to... er... giant robot toys. Yes. That must be it.

 

Ooo  More DW content.  I'm in.

 

Quote

Also, its being speculated that after the November specials, the 15th Doctors run will represent a "soft" reboot of the series. Exactly what this means for continuity is unclear, though I personally have my doubts a fan as big as RTD is going to completely let go of everything that came before. Presumably Disney want something more "marketable" without a lot of "baggage". Hmm. That sounds like another Disney-owned property that has a similar issue, something about space wizards with... lazer swords? 😉 Maybe all the Mickey dollars might mean we'll finally see that long-held dream of SFX concept artists everywhere, walking Daleks...

 

So....Cybermen that "Exterminate!" instead of assimilate?  I'm also tempted to photoshop some showgirl legs onto a Dalek.  😁

Did not know the House of M was buying DW.  I'd love to see a Cyberman with robot Mickeys head on it.   That'd be hilarious.    But seriously this news that Disney had DW might make me renew my D+ subscription.    Might.  

 

 

 

[F-ZeroOne]

Well, the Doctor has already had a Mickey as a companion... 😉Just to be clear, currently things like "Tales of the TARDIS" are only available on the BBCs iPlayer. Its unclear whether or not they will be made available if or when the series comes to Disney + in other territories.

Dalek "Walker Tanks" were one of those concepts that seemed to come up every time there was talk of a new "Who" show during its "hiatus". Various concept art would pop up from time to time.

[F-ZeroOne]

Christmas Specials are back and will mark the debut of Ncuti Gatwa:

https://gizmodo.com/doctor-who-christmas-special-2023-date-streaming-disney-1850995557