Doctor Who by Quicksand

OTHER SCIENCE FICTION SERIES

Doctor Who

POSTED BY: QUICKSAND
UPDATED: Monday, January 29, 2007 07:20
SHORT URL:
VIEWED: 11039
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Monday, December 18, 2006 2:44 PM

There's another thread in general discussion, but now I'm perusing the "Other Science Fiction Series" listing, and don't even see a Doctor Who thread.

I think I'm kind of offended.

And I'm not even British.

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Monday, December 18, 2006 5:02 PM

RMMC

Sure there are...they've just fallen off the top and have hit the archives.

I think there have even been some for Torchwood.

I just haven't been participating as I'm behind in watching them. My source is CBC and they're on Holiday break for it until mid-January.

And where did they decide to make the break? Right in the middle of a two-parter. (The Impossible Planet and The Satan Pit.)

GAHHH!!!!!!!

*whimper*

edit

Ah, here we are.

Doctor Who:
http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=8&t=24335
http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=8&t=24341
http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=8&t=24496
http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=8&t=19841

Torchwood: http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=8&t=25318
http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=8&t=24891
http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=8&t=24791

And K9!:
http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=8&t=24164

Just so you know it's not under-represented.

*******
RMMC

When we're down, don't frown. Come join the camp-out at serenitymovie.org.

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Monday, December 18, 2006 9:14 PM

SINGATE

What do you mean break? They just showed both parts on consecutive weeks and have since aired two more episodes on the sci-fi channel. You will really enjoy the conclusion of that two parter. The episodes since then I could take or leave.

I like the change of pace since Tennett has taken over, although I would be lying if I said I never miss Mr. Eccleston. Really enjoying the series so far, can't wait for season three.

Edit: whoops I just noticed the part about you watching on CBC. Guess I should have read more carefully before I responded.

_________________________________________________

We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far.

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Tuesday, December 19, 2006 8:56 AM

REDLAVA

I will admit that I like Eccleston more than Tennett. Something about 2nd season is just doesn't seem right to me. It can't be accredited to the switch in main characters completely. The writing just doesn't seem the same either.

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Tuesday, December 19, 2006 5:33 PM

RMMC

Quote:
Originally posted by singate:
What do you mean break? They just showed both parts on consecutive weeks and have since aired two more episodes on the sci-fi channel. You will really enjoy the conclusion of that two parter. The episodes since then I could take or leave.

Edit: whoops I just noticed the part about you watching on CBC. Guess I should have read more carefully before I responded.

That's okay. :) I'll confuse you a bit more, now.

I live in the US.

(Bordertowns is fun!

) So, while I live in the US....I don't have cable as I basically think Comcast should be taken out and shot.

However a friend of mine watches and is checking to see if she still has that ep on a tape so i don't go up the blind.

Quote:
Originally posted by singate:
I like the change of pace since Tennett has taken over, although I would be lying if I said I never miss Mr. Eccleston. Really enjoying the series so far, can't wait for season three.

Same here. Tennant is rather maniacal, but not necessarily in a bad way. having been an old time DW fan, I'm pretty flexable about changing cast, but I would have liked more than one season with Eccleston. Then again I'd have liked to have seen more seasons with Sylvester McCoy, too.

*******
RMMC

When we're down, don't frown. Come join the camp-out at serenitymovie.org.

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Tuesday, December 19, 2006 5:45 PM

BLUEEYEDBRIGADIER

Quote:
Originally posted by RMMC:
Sure there are...they've just fallen off the top and have hit the archives.

I think there have even been some for Torchwood.

I just haven't been participating as I'm behind in watching them. My source is CBC and they're on Holiday break for it until mid-January.

And where did they decide to make the break? Right in the middle of a two-parter. (The Impossible Planet and The Satan Pit.)

GAHHH!!!!!!!

*whimper*

edit

Ah, here we are.

Doctor Who:
http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=8&t=24335
http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=8&t=24341
http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=8&t=24496
http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=8&t=19841

Torchwood: http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=8&t=25318
http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=8&t=24891
http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=8&t=24791

And K9!:
http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=8&t=24164

Just so you know it's not under-represented.
*******
RMMC

As a Canuck, I too am subject to CBC's viewing schedule...officially

Unofficially, I downloaded the entire second season of Doctor Who off BitLord, so I can avoid that nasty bit of programming called winter break

And it's Tennant...well, officially it's "McDonald" but there was a "David McDonald" already on the books for Equity (UK version of the Screen Actors' Guild or the Canadian version, ACTRA)

I personally have loved both Eccleston and Tennant, but for different reasons. Eccleston's performance seemed to harken back to the First Doctor, with his darkness and precariously balanced patience for "stupid apes." Tennant reminds me of Troughton and Baker, in that both were playful and random but were capable of suddenly switching on the gravitas and anger

Literature has shown us some of humanity's greatest achievements; history, some of our greatest failures -- Alun Lewis

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Tuesday, December 19, 2006 6:42 PM

QUICKSAND

They both bring their own "thing" to the role... and we must assume it's what the producers want, so hopefully it is THEY who are being faithful to the original series. I've been reading up on DW history, and it's so spotty anyway... but any new info is always fascinating.

The thing about the Doctor, and why I posted-- the show has no "created by" credit (this is all explained on IMDb)... every episode is simply "Title" (by So-and-So). Each episode is the DW vision according to that writer.

Douglas Adams even wrote a few episodes back in the late 1960's. Steven Moffat (of the british comedy "Coupling") wrote a couple of Season 2 episodes.

Personally, I think Joss's style would be perfect for this sort of thing, and really, he could knock one out in an afternoon.

Make some calls, Joss. Your adoring public demands it.

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Saturday, December 23, 2006 6:29 AM

LESATHER

Actually, the Douglas Adams stories were written in the late 1970's, not the 60's. And Steven Moffat wrote a two-parter in series one and a single episode in series two of the new show.

I agree that this is a series Joss could write a really good episode for, completely in line with the type of material his fans would love.

I also think it would be great if they got Neil Gaiman to write an episode. His story "Day of the Dead" was one of the more interesting episodes of Babylon 5's fifth season.

"Jayne is a girl's name" - River

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Saturday, December 23, 2006 5:16 PM

QUICKSAND

True, true... my bad. I knew Moffat had written 3 episodes total, but for some reason didn't think any of them were for the Eccleston shows. I'm just working my way through Season 1, now (after having watched most of Season 2 as it was broadcast in the States).

Good point, with the Gaiman... any British writer would be an excellent target. Or director. The possibilities are limitless....

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Saturday, December 23, 2006 7:27 PM

JLIN13

ive stopped watching the show for quite a while, what happened to the old doctor who?

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Sunday, December 24, 2006 7:29 AM

CYBERSNARK

He regenerated. Eccleston was the Ninth Doctor, keeping it in the same continuity. The "new" series isn't so much a reboot as a long-awaited continuation.

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We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.

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Sunday, December 24, 2006 9:50 AM

SAB39

For those watching on the CBC schedule who are behind the US this may be a mild spoiler, but only ever-so-slightly because it's clear pretty early in the ep in question.

Anyone else think it was just a little bit weird that the guy in Love and Monsters was in love with Moaning Myrtle?

(I know a lot of people didn't like that episode, I did though. Call me weird...)

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Sunday, December 24, 2006 11:53 AM

REGINAROADIE

I thought that episode was both weird and interesting. It was kind of cool to see an episode of a sci-fi show from a fan perspective, since that's basically what the ep is, a love letter to the fans. It would be like an ep of FIREFLY where we see someone from the core hearing about the crew of Serenity and their adventures and loving them so much that he or she goes on a quest to find them, and get comedically involved in the criminal underworld of the 'verse and then Serenity shows up like in the last five minutes.

But the ending was a bit weird, seeing her ending up as a face in a stone tile. I mean, what kind of life is that to lead? It's like those quadrapalegics, where their basically a head on a stick. In those cases, then yes to euthanasia (although that's a bit of a tangent I'm not willing to get into at this moment. Sorry about that.)

That's one thing that no one mentions when it comes to who. Everyones ready to heap accolades onto LOST and BATTLESTAR GALACTICA for being all dark and elaborate and all that, but I'm more of a fan of DOCTOR WHO because it can be as dark and deep as those shows (Dalek, Father's Day, the three two parters of the second season), but still be able to find humor in those situations. And yet because of that humor and that "Britishness" (which as a Canadian is the dumbest thing ever, since I think what people think are British I think is universal), it's considered a lesser series. IMHO, I'd prefer a DOCTOR WHO marathon over a GALACTICA marathon.

As per which Doctor I prefer, I have to admit that Tennant has grown on me. He has that manic energy to him that Eccleson didn't have for some reason, which gives him that much of an edge.

And no, I havn't watched TORCHWOOD yet. Been downloading all the eps and plan on watching them in one fall swoop.

**************************************************
"Wait a minute, you're not Santa! You're not even robots!! How dare you lie in front of Jesus!!!"

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Sunday, December 24, 2006 12:00 PM

RADARRESE

Thought I would jump in with my less than 2 cent's worth.

Chris Eccleston is/was my "first" doctor. I am still bemoaning his departure. I personally think that Tennant's doctor is a geek -- much to my daughter's dismay (at least we have something to yell at each other from across the room!).

I agree that the "tone" of the series changed, due, in part, that Russell T. Davies stopped contributing as many storylines as he did in the first season. My feeling is that if an episode is written by Russell T. Davies, then I will like it!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RadarRese

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Sunday, December 24, 2006 9:01 PM

LESATHER

I disagree about Russell T. Davies. While I think he has had a great vision in bringing back the series and crafting it to suit a 21st century audience, personally I believe the best episodes so far were NOT written by him and I tend to be disappointed in those which are. It is sort of like George Lucas - great vision/scope, but please dear god, allow someone else to write the words!

"Jayne is a girl's name" - River

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Monday, December 25, 2006 1:16 PM

FANTY

Hey, anyone know when runaway bride is coming on? In the third week of january or what? I hated that cliffhanger...

.................................................
"Mal, how can you always tell?"
"Fanty's prettier."

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Monday, December 25, 2006 1:18 PM

FIZZIX

Tennant looks like this geeky little rat-like kid at our school... But I love him. I was a bit obsessed with Ec... yeah, Mr.-I-can't-bother-spelling-your-name-since-you-agreed-to-exist-for-only-one-ep. Anti spoiler here, but, um, I cried at the end of Series two. I couldn't even properly cry for WASH, and I cried.

/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\
May not be smart, and it may not please you, but you're definitely gonna see what I have to say.

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Tuesday, December 26, 2006 8:11 AM

FINN MAC CUMHAL

I was practically in love with the first season (9th Doctor) of Doctor Who. Being a big scifi fan, people are often surprised to discover that I’ve never really watched much of the older Doctor Who series, but apart from the paucity of these episodes on American TV, I could never really get into them when I was young. Part of the reason was the Britishness of the show, but that’s usually a low hanging barrier. The first few times that you watch a British show, it just seems stupid, but then, like picking up a dialect, the more you watch it the more you begin to understand the nuances and the intelligence of the show. But entertainment television is very competitive and very much a trivial pastime, despite its popularity, and few people are going to take the time to understand a show’s cultural vernacular when there are lots of shows that require much less thought.

The third problem is that Americans have always been used to relatively elaborate and expensive props and visual images on tv and movies. And this is why American tv and movies have always been in a category by themselves. Even in Europe today, American movies are not referred too as “foreign films,” they are “American films.” And although European films (and even Eastern films) are catching up or have caught up, the fact remains that many Americans never accepted a “police box” as a low budget alternative to a space-time ship, not when they could watch Captain Kirk and the Starship Enterprise.

The fourth reason, and perhaps the strongest reason for some, is the length of the show. It’s hard to come into a serial show half way through the season and understand what’s going on, much less a few seasons into the show. It’s practically impossible to come into a show in the 14th season, when there have been multiple cast changes, to even begin understanding what’s going on, particularly when you have to overcome a cultural and linguistic dialect. Ironically, the strength of the story may actually compound this problem, as it is more difficult to catch up with a deeply involved and complex storyline then with one suffering from a diminutive and substandard plot.

These are rather superficial, but nonetheless important reason why I and many other Americans never really got involved in the whole Doctor Who thing. So I was really interested in seeing these new series. Even though many Brits view it as being a continuation of the older series, it was treated as a completely new beginning, I imagine, to bring in many potential Doctor Who fans who simply don’t have the time to sit and watch 26 years of reruns.

It certainly got my attention and I’ve not missed an episode since. It’s become one of my favorite shows. That’s not to say that I don’t have some problems with it. There does seem to be some British quirks to it that I don’t really get. The whole interaction between the Doctor and Rose in the second season just seems hard to swallow sometimes. I want to smack them for acting like 12 year old girls. The change from Eccleston to Tennant was hard on me. I suppose I may still be suffering from side-effect of the Coy and Vance thing, but I don’t like my main characters to change actors on me. And I really liked Eccleston as the Doctor, and while many people have assured me that Tennant is as good or better, he’s not. He’s not even close. That’s not to say that Tennant was bad. His lighthearted personally coupled with a babbling stream of consciousness brings a psychopathic façade to the doctor that seems out of character sometimes; on the other hand it suggests a depth of complexity that may actually be in tune with a hyperintelligent extraterrestrial personality. I warmed up to him eventually, but he was never able to bring the depth of passion and gravity to the character that Eccleston did.

In any event, I suppose all Doctor Who fans have their favorite Doctors and I’m just glad to join the myriad of Brits who have probably spent hours contemplating the various personality and character developments of the various respective Doctors.

Nihil est incertius vulgo, nihil obscurius voluntate hominum, nihil fallacius ratione tota comitiorum.

Nothing is more unpredictable than the mob, nothing more obscure than public opinion, nothing more deceptive than the whole political system.

-- Cicero

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Tuesday, December 26, 2006 10:53 AM

JAKE7

I liked both the recent Doctors. Tom Baker will always be my favorite, as he's the one playing the Doctor when I started watching (I watched the Tom Baker-Peter Davidson years -- I couldn't stand the Colin Baker version). I was really happy with the way C.E. (sorry, I don't know how to spell the last name, so I'm reducing the poor guy to initials) portrayed the doctor. To me, he was very reminiscent of the Tom Baker version.

I was upset when I found he'd left and we were going to have a new doctor, but I found that I like David Tennet. As someone else said earlier, I did want to cry at the end of season/series 2.

Can't wait for season 3!

--------------
MAL: Everybody's makin' a fuss.
***********
"They just float out there, sending out raver breeding parties..."

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Tuesday, December 26, 2006 10:56 AM

DESKTOPHIPPIE

So who saw the Christmas episode? I enjoyed it. It was a heck of a lot better than I thought it would be! Lots of silliness, but still really good.

Then again, I'm one of those nutcases who really likes David Tennant.

Graphics available at www.desktophippie.com
Blog available at http://desktophippie.blogspot.com

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Tuesday, December 26, 2006 10:58 AM

JAKE7

When was it on? Was it played in the US?

--------------
MAL: Everybody's makin' a fuss.
***********
"They just float out there, sending out raver breeding parties..."

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Tuesday, December 26, 2006 2:43 PM

FIZZIX

Quote:
Originally posted by DesktopHippie:
So who saw the Christmas episode? I enjoyed it. It was a heck of a lot better than I thought it would be! Lots of silliness, but still really good.

Then again, I'm one of those nutcases who really likes David Tennant.

Graphics available at www.desktophippie.com
Blog available at http://desktophippie.blogspot.com

Do we mean in Britain, or the 2005 X-mas one which aired on Sci-fi channel again this year at 3pm Eastern?

/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\
May not be smart, and it may not please you, but you're definitely gonna see what I have to say.

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Tuesday, December 26, 2006 6:17 PM

RMMC

As DTH is in Ireland, she means the 2006 Christmas ep. If you're on this side of the pond, you haven't.

Nice to see new DW fen. I naver had a problem with the show's "Britishness" as I kinda grew up watching The Avengers and Monty Python to name a few shows. Actually it's one of the tings I like most about the show, even when it was things I had to ask someone else to explain the cultural reference. The old series wasn't as rift with them as the new one is, but I'm fine with it either way.

The changing of the Doctors was not originally intended. William Hartnell, who was of advanced age when the show started, called it quits after three years as he could no longer keep up with the rigors of filming a weekly series. The "regeneration" was kind of a last hope for the Beeb to keep the series going or else it would have died then.

For the new fen, here's a run down of Doctors:

William Hartnell*#
Pactrick Troughton*
Jon Pertwee*
Tom Baker
Peter Davidson
Colin Baker
Sylvester McCoy
Paul McGann
Christopher Eccleston
David Tennant

* These actors are sadly no longer with us.
# In the 1983 episode the Five Doctors, actor Richard Hurndall played the first Doctor as Mr. Hartnell had passed away in 1975. Sadly, Mr. Hurndall has also since passed away.)

I was goinna say more, but my brain's since fuzzed out. :(

*******
RMMC

When we're down, don't frown. Come join the camp-out at serenitymovie.org.

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Friday, December 29, 2006 10:24 AM

FIZZIX

About the 2006 X-mas... do we know if Sci-fi America's picking this up?

*Hides under the couch just in case anyone spoiler-if-ies it for us American fan peoples.*

/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\
May not be smart, and it may not please you, but you're definitely gonna see what I have to say.

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Friday, December 29, 2006 12:43 PM

LESATHER

US Sci-Fi channel just announced last week that they will be airing season three this coming summer. Since "Christmas Invasion" was included in the season two package, it is reasonable to assume "Runaway Bride" will be included with season three.

"Jayne is a girl's name" - River

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Sunday, December 31, 2006 9:04 AM

FIZZIX

*rejoycing at the news*

/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\
May not be smart, and it may not please you, but you're definitely gonna see what I have to say.

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Saturday, January 27, 2007 11:32 AM

SIRI

I went searching for a Dr. Who thread. I was a fan of the old Dr. Who series. Since I don't have cable I didn't watch it when it returned. I've been renting via Netflex and just finished Season 1 with Eccleston who I really like. Sounds as if he won't be around too long. I'm looking forward to watching the rest of the series. It sounds as it will be good. I found Eccleston's interview at the end of Season 1 quite interesting regarding the show, sets, etc.

Guess I'll be taking a bit of a break from Firefly but still plan to watch Serenity again while waiting for my next disc.

Siri

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Saturday, January 27, 2007 4:24 PM

BLUEEYEDBRIGADIER

Quote:
Originally posted by Finn mac Cumhal:
These are rather superficial, but nonetheless important reason why I and many other Americans never really got involved in the whole Doctor Who thing. So I was really interested in seeing these new series. Even though many Brits view it as being a continuation of the older series, it was treated as a completely new beginning, I imagine, to bring in many potential Doctor Who fans who simply don’t have the time to sit and watch 26 years of reruns.

Gonna be kinda hard to have a really good marathon of Doctor Who, since a) the serialized nature of the program 'till the 2005 reboot makes for showing specific episodes mighty difficult; and b) the BBC had a bit of spring cleaning of his archive vaults in the 1970s that meant a good chunk of the episodes for the first two Doctors are gone

BEB

Literature has shown us some of humanity's greatest achievements; history, some of our greatest failures -- Alun Lewis

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Monday, January 29, 2007 7:20 AM

DBERRIFF

Dr Who went through a really bad patch before it got taken off air and the resurrection has exceeded our family's expectations - by a country mile.

I thought Billie Piper would be a disaster as Rose (perhaps you have to know a bit about her background as a mediocre pop star). I eat humble pie - she turned out to be excellent and a really important part of it all. Perhaps she held it together through the 2 Doctors. She is turning out to be a fine young actress and has appeared in other excellent TV productions since.

Torchwood was a spin-off because Dr Who was to a large extent made in Cardiff and it was a sort of reward for the city and the production team. At least you get to hear a few Welsh accents in Torchwood although the occasionally sloppy production had no qualms about having a Cardiff local with an English accent. Anyway, I thought Torchwood was quite promising to start with then it lost its way with some of the characters suffering wild personality swings from week to week. I mostly lost interest after that.

I thought the Christmas Special Dr Who was just silly and I lost interest. But then I have never really 'got' Catherine Tate ...

Damn it, Firefly is just so good it is hard to settle to some of this other stuff.

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