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Well, they have more competition now... in the 80's they had all of two other channels to compete with, now they have hundreds.|
Originally Posted by Starsman
As for the spinoffs... what happened in BBC at 2006? It seems they jumped from wanting to kill the doctors in the late 80s to not only make a high budget (relatively speaking) show but also to make spinoffs?!
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Additionally, new management, that sort of stuff.
Also, Russell T. Davis was already an critically acclaimed writer for the BBC and he wanted to do Doctor Who next.
And then Doctor Who was so popular, he wanted to so Sarah Jane Adventures and Torchwood... and then THEY were popular.
Really, it's just that times and the BBC have changed really. For the better.
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It should have been on disc one of the season 2 set, tucked away in the extras section. If not, however, it's Youtube to the rescue!
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Originally Posted by Starsman
That was episode 1 of S2 in Netflix. Although already read there was a 7 minutes mini episode in between, got to see where I can catch that one up.
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Unfortunately Netflix streaming only shows the episodes and not the extras.
Unfortunately too, youtube is blocked at work so cant check it right now but will at home... may be able to see it on my iphone though.... tiny screen... oh well.
BTW, on these spinoffs, do the doctor ever shows on either of these two spinoffs?
Was also checking the wiki for "related series", what about K9 and "Totally Doctor Who"?
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Nope, he hasn't show on either... yet. He will be showing up on the current series of Sarah Jane Adventures.|
Originally Posted by Starsman
BTW, on these spinoffs, do the doctor ever shows on either of these two spinoffs?
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He's also referenced a few times in Torchwood and let's just say that he's very "handy" in the first season...
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| Was also checking the wiki for "related series", what about K9 and "Totally Doctor Who"? |
Totally Doctor Who is a behind the scenes sort of thing for kids.
And a new K9 TV show is starting up that's aimed at really young kids and has almost nothing related to Doctor Who other than K9 (you'll find out about him in S2 as well
)
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Not in Torchwood, since it's an adult program with swearing and nudity and sex (or at least it was originally, it's mellowed over the years), so Torchwood shows up in the parent program, the Doctor doesn't appear over there.|
Originally Posted by Starsman
BTW, on these spinoffs, do the doctor ever shows on either of these two spinoffs?
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In the Sarah Jane Adventures, the Doctor hasn't shown up. . . yet.
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Originally Posted by Starsman
Was also checking the wiki for "related series", what about K9 and "Totally Doctor Who"?
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There's Doctor Who Confidential, which is a Making Of documentary program that runs on BBC3 right after the parent program.
K9 hasn't aired yet, but the show takes the Doctor's robot dog companion and lands him with some kids in Australia (or at least the show is produced in Oz, I don't know if it's actually set there). There's also an episode of K9 and Company from back in the early eighties - which was kind of similar to the Sarah Jane Adventures - but it wasn't very good. Not in the slightest.
It's great to see you diving into Doctor Who with both feet, but to be honest my recommendation would have been to watch the modern episodes first, without worrying about the older ones. Yes, these are a continuation of the past, and yes they do some fantastic nods to the original (School Reunion is probably very near the best Who episode of all time). But by and large when it comes to cohesive storytelling and top notch acting, you won't beat the new episodes.
This is coming from someone who has been watching from 1980's and has seen almost everything it's possible to see.
You asked why they relaunched the series in 2006, and have been told it has a lot to do with Russell T Davies, but that doesn't really cover it. He brought a very modern take on both the stories and the overall design of how the series plays out, and that makes things far superior for folks who like that sort of thing.
You can watch Dr Who on two levels now. Camp Sci Fi fun level is well done, it's exciting, a bit cheesy. Or you can watch them like a piece of music. A symhony that builds and echoes on the same themes in different formats, until the end of each season is a crescendo that generally leaves you panting and wondering what the hell just happened to your brain. Keep that in mind as you watch. Don't look at repeated lines or ideas as lack of originality. They're a very conscious choice that harkens you back to what happened before and make you wonder how it will happen again and what it all means.
You like that the Doctor changes personalities, do yourself a favor while you're watching and look very carefully at how the Doctor changes and how the new is very much effected by what happened to the old. Doctor 9 is very wounded, guarded, and bitter because of the Time War. Being with Rose is very much a healing experience for him, yet that hard unbreakable core is very close to the surface for Doctor 10. 'What sort of a man am I?' is the question that echoes throughout that second season.
It's a lot of fun to watch when consciously choosing which level you want to see it from.
In the older episodes, there's a lot less cohesion and depth. There's still a lot to love and care about in the plots and characters, but it is nowhere near as well crafted.
"Null is as much an argument "for removing the cottage rule" as the moon being round is for buying tennis shoes." -Memphis Bill
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Except for the quality in programming. Aside from kids shows, PBS is ***.|
Originally Posted by Great_Beyond
In Yank terms, the BBC is pretty close to PBS. Itr's not exactly the same, but that's pretty close.
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BBC is as close to television perfection as you are going to get.
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Just for the heck of it, some fun with the 4th Doctor. 
There is an art, or, rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. --The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
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Bearing in mind shows like Big Brother and Strictly Come Dancing, that's a very, very depressing thought.
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Originally Posted by RaiderRich2001
BBC is as close to television perfection as you are going to get.
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What's wrong with Strictly?|
Originally Posted by Captain_Photon
Bearing in mind shows like Big Brother and Strictly Come Dancing, that's a very, very depressing thought.
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Also, I thought Big Brother was Channel 4?
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It's crap. The Stig said so! Some say that he's never wrong about this kind of thing.|
Originally Posted by Zikar
What's wrong with Strictly?
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| Also, I thought Big Brother was Channel 4? |
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I like Dragon's Den.|
Originally Posted by Captain_Photon
It's crap. The Stig said so! Some say that he's never wrong about this kind of thing.
You could be right; I'm not really in either network's broadcast area. Let's go with Dragons' Den then. Or EastEnders. There's plenty for BBC partisans to be embarrassed about, is all I'm saying. |
EastEnders... well, I hate soaps but it gets about equal viewership than Doctor Who
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I watched some Eastenders for a while - it was running on CBC out of canada right before Series 1 back in 2005. So my mom and I would get some take away and eat watching Eastenders while waiting for Who. It was interesting, seeing one episode out of 5 (Who was weekly, Eastenders was daily) - it made the show more, well, fun I guess.|
Originally Posted by Zikar
I like Dragon's Den.
EastEnders... well, I hate soaps but it gets about equal viewership than Doctor Who |
And then I got a chance to see the x-mas special last year since I was in Paris and decided to take the 25th off as a rest day from my two week holiday. So here I am in France, doing nothing but watching television. That's crazy! (But man did my feet need it!).
I never did find out if the estranged father ever hooked up with his cheating wife to find out if their baby was really his or his best friend's.
I remember my brother watching Doctor Who when I was a kid, but it didn't take for me at the time. I didn't have anything like a normal schedule that I kept at the time and so when I caught an episode it was always disjointed and I never knew who was who (or if the Doctor changed since last time, who was Who...) so it never really took. I had some mild interest in looking into it again when the new series started, but that didn't happen.
About a year ago I, like Starsman, stumbled across the new series Season 1 on Netflix and started looking into what this was all about. Like Starsman, I really enjoyed the Ninth Doctor and had a hard time adjusting to the Tenth, he grew on me during Season 3, but I still like Eccleston better. After finishing New Season 3, being somewhat of a completest, I started queuing up the original series, as much as I could find, in order. I'm just finishing the run of the First Doctor and I really enjoy Hartnell.
As far as recommendations (being somewhat of a Who Newbie myself, take them for what they're worth) I would definitely watch The Daleks for the first appearance of the classic enemies, although it isn't terribly well done, it is interesting to see the first conflict between the Doctor and the Daleks. I would also recommend The Dalek Invasion of Earth for a much better Dalek story.
Probably my favorite Hartnell story was The Time Meddler which is the first appearance of a Time Lord other than the Doctor. Apparently it got a poor reaction in its time because it doesn't explain itself right away and people had a hard time seeing modern (early 1960's) conveniences in the time of the Vikings and Saxons. Coming at it with a little bit of knowledge of the future of the series, I thoroughly enjoyed this story and the Doctor's plan to deal with his rival.
While The Aztecs was alright, I liked The Romans better. I agree that if you're looking for corners to cut, I'd definitely avoid The Web Planet.
Next week I start on the Second Doctor...
I'm personally planning to avoid the Sarah Jane Chronicles and Torchwood until I catch up with them again in the normal run of the story. They'll probably be on the Twelfth Doctor by the time I'm up to date...
Well, just finished season 2. If you have not done so by any chance then skip ahead because I WILL spoil things.
I am guessing that Billie Piper had to leave the show or something, but it crosses my mind that the other dimension where she got stuck... should there not be also a parallel version of the Doctor in that dimension?
Also, I thought I read somewhere that the doctor never falls in love with his companions (other than the 1995 movie many seem to intentionally ignore.) But he obviously falls for Rose... I know wiki are not necessarily dead accurate but that seems an odd thing...
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I'm not actually sure, I think she just decided to leave and focus on other things.|
Originally Posted by Starsman
I am guessing that Billie Piper had to leave the show or something
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| but it crosses my mind that the other dimension where she got stuck... should there not be also a parallel version of the Doctor in that dimension? |
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| Also, I thought I read somewhere that the doctor never falls in love with his companions (other than the 1995 movie many seem to intentionally ignore.) But he obviously falls for Rose... I know wiki are not necessarily dead accurate but that seems an odd thing... |
but no, the show has mainly stayed away from that aspect of the show. Even the 8th Doctor (the film one) only kissed the girl while generally euphoric.
But times have changed and, although at first sceptical, I think most of us feel it was time to explore that aspect of the Doctor and was handled well.
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That's what I mean, I love to see them strongly writing this stuff into the plot though, instead of doing a last minute character kill.|
Originally Posted by Zikar
I'm not actually sure, I think she just decided to leave and focus on other things.
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| I often got the impression that the Time Lords were a bit cross dimensional as well. No alternate Time Lords have ever been even alluded too... and if they did exist, in that or any dimension, then crossing dimensions would never have become "impossible" in the first place. |
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| But times have changed and, although at first sceptical, I think most of us feel it was time to explore that aspect of the Doctor and was handled well. |
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Actually, they came from "our" dimension, they went into the Void to escape the Time War, which sort of indicates that other dimensions may not have been safe. Then they re-entered into our dimension once it was all over.|
Originally Posted by Starsman
Well, the Daleks that came through were from that other dimenssion. They knew the Doctor (although did not recognize the face, it's a new face after all,) who himself thought it was impossible to go through dimensions unless there were ruptures in reality, and the Daleks also knew about the Time War where almost all Daleks died... darn I sound like a Doctor Who trekie....
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And now, my questions:
So far;
What's been your favourite episode?
What's been your least favourite episode?
Favourite monster/enemy?
Least favourite monster/enemy?
Any other comments on S1 and S2?
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Why would they be shocked to see a human that knew the name of their race, though? Daleks have been to earth before in the main dimension's history.|
Originally Posted by Zikar
Actually, they came from "our" dimension, they went into the Void to escape the Time War, which sort of indicates that other dimensions may not have been safe. Then they re-entered into our dimension once it was all over.
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What's been your favourite episode?
The End of the World for sure. I mean, wow, the guy does not just show off how he is going to travel in time, he goes for a shocker and tosses the end of the world at us!!! WOW. That's the episode that really hooked me. The plastic monster one was a bit silly (and unfortunatedly "stupid" enough to make my wife not want to even stare at the show again.)
The first Dalek episode was a very close second, I was hit by the nostalgia blast even if I had never seen a Dalek before that episode. I have no clue how they managed to make me feel that, perhaps because of how the doctor was terrified of them himself.
What's been your least favourite episode?
Hm..... I think there is a bit of a tie up, but most of the weak episodes I found were Season 2 (so far.)
The tie up goes to Love and Monsters and Fear Her. If I was forced to pick one, then Love and Monsters, but both were equally yawn generating. For a minute I though they were going to bring the devil back on her drawings, though, I thought for a second that the episode would be "saved", that's the only reason I may pick Love and Monsters as worse than Fear Her.
Favourite monster/enemy?
Ah... got to admit the Daleks have won my respect. Them aside... hmmm... I sort of liked the clockwork guys from The Girl in the Fire Place.
Least favourite monster/enemy?
I will ignore the monster from Love and Monsters because already listed the episode itself so lets see.... the Bat creatures from School Reunion.
Any other comments on S1 and S2?
S2 had way too many weak episodes and Torchwood ended being a bit anticlimactic in our dimension, ironically Torchwood from the other dimension was what I expected this dimension's Torchwood to be equipped like.
The prime minister never showed up again, I was expecting her to do a strong presence related to Torchwood. They built up a lot of backup on the group and in the end the group turned out to be just another bunch of stupid humans meddling with forces they don't understand.
I felt the first season had a more discrete link between episodes, so subtle you only get to link a couple with the TV station at the end and need to go back to see the phrase Bad Wolf everywhere. S2 was much more obvious all along everything had to do with Torchwood, perhaps why I was disappointed at how Torchwood turned at the end.
Oh and K9 was so corny it made me want to skip the scenes he showed up at.
Oh and started S3, although I sort of like the new Companion I think I will miss Rose.
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I am going to do bad things to you.|
Originally Posted by Starsman
Oh and K9 was so corny it made me want to skip the scenes he showed up at.
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Very VERY bad things.
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Well, what do you expect from a group set up to combat the Doctor? |
Originally Posted by Starsman
S2 had way too many weak episodes and Torchwood ended being a bit anticlimactic in our dimension, ironically Torchwood from the other dimension was what I expected this dimension's Torchwood to be equipped like.
The prime minister never showed up again, I was expecting her to do a strong presence related to Torchwood. They built up a lot of backup on the group and in the end the group turned out to be just another bunch of stupid humans meddling with forces they don't understand. |
I wish I could recommend watching Season 1 of Torchwood... but it was really bad... but it does set up some important things to know about Torchwood after the S2 finale.
Season 2 of Torchwood is much much better, some episodes reaching Doctor Who quality, but that takes place after S3 of Doctor Who.
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| Oh and K9 was so corny it made me want to skip the scenes he showed up at. |
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I'd also say that he had a thing for Jo. He may not have shown it outright, but look at his reaction at the end of Green Death when he leaves the party, with him looking far more crestfallen than he ever had with a companion.|
Originally Posted by Zikar
The only other instance I can name for sure was way back with the 1st Doctor, where he sort of fell for an old Aztec lady.
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Originally Posted by Starsman
The prime minister never showed up again, I was expecting her to do a strong presence related to Torchwood. They built up a lot of backup on the group and in the end the group turned out to be just another bunch of stupid humans meddling with forces they don't understand.
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Originally Posted by Zikar
I wish I could recommend watching Season 1 of Torchwood... but it was really bad... but it does set up some important things to know about Torchwood after the S2 finale.
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Oh, if you want to do the shows in order, season one of Torchwood would fit in between seasons 2 and 3 of who. Speciifily, the end of season one of Torchood leads directly into the Who episode Utopia.
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Originally Posted by Starsman
Oh and started S3, although I sort of like the new Companion I think I will miss Rose.
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?!|
Originally Posted by Great_Beyond
Perhaps he can get by with just watching bits of Torchwood. The first two episodes, Random Shoes and then from Captain Jack onwards to the end of the show? That should cover all the important bits, set up the premise nicely and still avoid the **** episodes like Countrycide.
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...
Well all in all, Torchwood is not up for streaming in Netflix so I'll have to find some onther way to watch it. Same goes for S4 of Doctor, and all of Sarah Jane. Perhaps if I can somehow meddle with proxi servers I may be able to stream it from the BBC site... are all seasons available for streaming in their site?
This money goes into running and supporting the entirety of the BBC, everything from Radio, to News, to Dramas and to Doctor Who. It also means that in the UK BBC channels have no advertising whatsoever.
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