Series 7 of Doctor Who commissioned
By
ArcticFahx,
Posted on: 2011-06-10 02:19 in Comic and Hero-Villain Culture
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There is a tendency for people to play (or be told to play) their Doctor as the Anti-Previous-Doctor to set the character apart as a new era in the show. It's the easiesy way to tell the audience, "we're making some changes here to keep the entertainment value going, but don't worry, he's still the same guy."|
Originally Posted by Mega_Jamie
My trouble with Smith is that most versions of the Doctor have had their own personality, their own spin.
The step between Ecclestons Doctor and Tennant's one was quite noticable, you have the warrior and the pacifist, you have level headed and off the wall. I look at Smith and theres, well, he seems as off the wall as Tennant, childish and immature morseo, but overall, more like he acting his version of Tennant's Doctor, rather than his own Doctor. I think the whole series wouldd have been better had Smith's Doctor been mature and "old beyond his years" given his young looks. Also, Smith is ugly, Tennant was not... |
The Second Doc is wild and insane compared to the First, The Third is witty, urbane and an "action hero" Dandy compared to the Second's Clown ("These are my replacements? A Dandy and a Clown?"). The Fourth was quite mad compared to the Third's very level headed approach. The Fifth was a bit milquetoast and bland compared to the Fourth's wild bohemian, the Sixth was intenst and possibly psychotic compared to the Fifth's blandness and the Seventh was brooding and comedic (ye,s strange combo) compared to the Sixth's intensity. I skip the 8th because he has so little screentime. The Tenth was "rakish" and a "fated philosopher" compared to the Ninth's brooding "Wounded Warrior" persona and the Eleventh is "silly and immature" compared to Tennant's more nuanced and pensive performance.
It's a good bet that "play the opposite" type idea will continue until the show leaves the air again.
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Bah, it's your own fault that you Brits label everything wrong. Braces you wear on your teeth to keep them straight and what you're thinking of we call garters over here.
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Originally Posted by Dante
BRACES man, braces! That difference between US and UK language has now provoked images in my head I did not want!
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The 8th seemed like a "romantic" (as in the movement, not that he liked romance).
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Originally Posted by Redbone
I skip the 8th because he has so little screentime.
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If you go by the Audios (many of which are extremely good) then he was sort of a fusion betweew Tom Baker and Peter Davison with a touch of William Hartnel's "crochety old man" tossed in at times. He had a "bohemian" attitude modulated by the Davison "calm."
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Originally Posted by Zikar
The 8th seemed like a "romantic" (as in the movement, not that he liked romance).
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I'll agree about Davison, bland as far as Doctors go, but some great stuff in his era|
Originally Posted by JKCarrier
Davison was awfully bland, but I have to admit his era had some great stories. Colin Baker was probably my least favorite, but it's hard to blame him with all the behind-the-scenes shenanigans that were going on at the time. I pretty much like all the others, with 3 and 4 being special favorites. Smith is great so far.
It's a subtle distinction, but I think Smith plays the Doctor's manic, childlike side much more genuinely. When Tennant was being goofy, it always felt like a put-on...as if he were deliberately playing the fool to distract his opponents or hide his true feelings (cf. Tom Baker). With Smith, it feels like that giddy quality is just the way he is (as someone else pointed out, very Troughton-like). I wouldn't call him ugly, but I'd say his slightly unconventional looks are a point in his favor. A "pretty" Doctor just feels wrong to me. He's supposed to be an oddball, visually as well as in personality. |
Colin Baker I hated, granted it may have been the writing/directing/production
I think Smith displays elements of both 2 and 7.
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Colin Baker was told to play the character that way, against his better instincts and complained about it bitterly for years on the convention circuit to anyone who would even think of listening. To see how HE wanted to play it, you have to get either the Big Finish audios or track down The Stranger (DW knockoff). Baker's take is much better than what we got on DW from him.
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Originally Posted by Wooden_Replica
I'll agree about Davison, bland as far as Doctors go, but some great stuff in his era
Colin Baker I hated, granted it may have been the writing/directing/production I think Smith displays elements of both 2 and 7. |
Yeah, Colin was a poor victim of writing and direction. And the way they just canned him afterwards was completely disrespectful. That was a dark time for Dr. Who.
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spot on. One of the comments I made when Matt Smith was first announced, was that I hoped he'd be able to pull off an old soul in a young body. I think he's handled that pretty well, particularly in the more pensive moments.|
Originally Posted by Zikar
Actually, he's basing a lot of his quirks off of the Second Doctor, Troughton. If you ever watch the Second Doctor you'll notice quite a few similarities, including some of the costume, like suspenders and bow tie. The cosmic hobo, the clown, the trickster.
That's funny, because that's what I get from Smith, and in fact one of THE major reasons I like him so much, he's playing an old man, the way he talks and walks and the way he looks at people all tell me this guy is old. |
I've actually seen bits of several previous doctors in his version. Zikar mentioned the Second Doctor. Eleven has outbursts that remind me of the Fourth Doctor, such as that time his companions were under the control platform and he leaned over irritably and complained that he was doing something spectacular and there were none to watch.
And then there's the Seventh Doctor, the chess master, the dark master strategist. Did not "A Good Man Goes To War" just scream that 11 is the new 7?
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Actually, while SlyDoctor was a chess player, the way he was written showed the First Doctor was the real Chess Master and that Doctor7 was merely making the final checkmate after centuries of letting everything fall into place properly. The First Doc was hte one who started most of his grand schemes with the Seventh being the one with the fortitude and will to actually checkmate the baddies.|
Originally Posted by Rodoan
And then there's the Seventh Doctor, the chess master, the dark master strategist. Did not "A Good Man Goes To War" just scream that 11 is the new 7?
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And 11 cannot hold a candle to Doctor 7's planning and scheming.
I have only watched since the newer series (9th Doctor and on), but I have been very tempted to go and watch the older series, except I've heard they can be quite a bit, I dunno, campy? Of the newer Doctors, my list goes 10th, 11th, 9th.
Eccleston was very solemn and serious, and he never really had time to gain my favor before Tennant stepped in.
David Tennant is my absolute favorite Doctor thusfar. He can be quite silly, and he loves to have fun, but you can tell that he's putting up a front a lot of the time, which isn't a bad thing. Tennant was very profound, a philosopher perhaps. The laughing philosopher.
Matt Smith is winning me over slowly but surely. Alot of him reminds me of Tennant's silliness, but it's different, its not a front, it's the way he is.
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The problem is, Doctor Who is old.|
Originally Posted by Shadowclone
I have only watched since the newer series (9th Doctor and on), but I have been very tempted to go and watch the older series, except I've heard they can be quite a bit, I dunno, campy?
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If you're willing to look past it's old 1960's TV style then you will find some real gems in there.
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And let's not forget that it is a vastly different story-telling style than the current series. Stories are long and at times intricate, lasting several episodes (and in some cases most, if not all, of a series). The pacing is much slower, with time taken to lay out what's happening and goign to happen, reliance on pauses ot build tension, and "cliffhanger cuts" being very common inside episodes. The old series, compared to today, is a different country.
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Originally Posted by Zikar
The problem is, Doctor Who is old.
If you're willing to look past it's old 1960's TV style then you will find some real gems in there. |
The Second Doctor with his companions Jamie McCrimmon and Zoe Herriot remind me of Matt Smith's Doctor and his companions Amelia Pond and Rory Williams.
With the Second Doctor, Jamie McCrimmon provided the brute physical muscle that the Doctor lacked; and Zoe Herriot was a scientific genuis whose formidable intellectual prowess was such that she managed to annoy and infuriate the Second Doctor.
The Second Doctor came across as a bit of a right nut-job. But often used the perception that he was a bumbling and befuddled Time Lord to outfox his enemies; showing that beneath the clownish exterior was a master schemer, manipulator and trickster.
Matt Smith's Doctor seems to follow in the same sort of mold, although I can't see him playing a tin whistle and Amy and Rory aren't like Jamie and Zoe (barring the Scottish connection).
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I would describe it sort of like watching the Original Star Trek vs. watching episodes from some of the new Star Trek Series, but still good stuff
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Originally Posted by Zikar
The problem is, Doctor Who is old.
If you're willing to look past it's old 1960's TV style then you will find some real gems in there. |
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The Trek to Trek metaphor for the old show vs the new series is prety apt. I have a friend who uses it when introducing people to both runs and it has the advantage of also expressing your feelings about the new eras quite well. In his case he uses DS9 for the 9th Doc, TNG for the 10th, Voyager for the 1st series of the 11th and Enterprise for the current series. Needless to say he's less than happy with Moff/Smith Doctor Who, but the analogy does work instantly getting that across plus how dfferent the eras are from each other and the original series.
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Originally Posted by Wooden_Replica
I would describe it sort of like watching the Original Star Trek vs. watching episodes from some of the new Star Trek Series, but still good stuff
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Absolutely. It's no coincidence that Baker was Tennant's favorite Doctor as a child.|
Originally Posted by JKCarrier
When Tennant was being goofy, it always felt like a put-on...as if he were deliberately playing the fool to distract his opponents or hide his true feelings (cf. Tom Baker). With Smith, it feels like that giddy quality is just the way he is (as someone else pointed out, very Troughton-like).
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Meanwhile, the unfortunate news that Series 7 "won't be a full series of Doctor Who in 2012, but a special run for the anniversary in 2013" has broken on Twitter.
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I think the primary factor there is the fact that the Olympics will be in London that year, so it shouldn't be a suprise, or be considered as a vote of no confidence by the BBC brass. Also, Tennant's year off season, really wasn't that far off from a full season. Could you imagine for a bit if they announced it was renewed for 2013 but with the same length as an American network series( for example Law and Order averaged around 23 episodes per season)
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Originally Posted by TrueGentleman
Absolutely. It's no coincidence that Baker was Tennant's favorite Doctor as a child.
Meanwhile, the unfortunate news that Series 7 "won't be a full series of Doctor Who in 2012, but a special run for the anniversary in 2013" has broken on Twitter. |
So, I was right then, it's all to do with the 2013 50th anniversary 
From the info I'm reading, it's looking like Season 7 will be 14 episodes, but spread over 2012 and 2013, probably 7 in each year with an Xmas special in the middle, leading us up to the anniversary run in 2013.
Whilst I don't like the idea that there will be a large gap for our favourite Timelord, I'm stoked about a big anniversary thing coming as well
We built this city on Rock and Roll!
I doubt that's Series 7 then, Series 7 is going to be 14 episodes (13 plus Christmas). According to Moff and other sources. So I'll guess they'll be doing a 6.5 like they did with Tennant.
Considering they said this was going to be the plan (two or three series, break with specials for a year etc) I don't find this surprising. It's a good way to save money while also keeping Doctor Who fresh in people's minds.
Still, not getting a full series is always a shame. 
[Edit: Ah, and yes, the Olympics too.]
As for classic Doctor Who, I've actually starting buying all the DVDs and watching them again, just got around to Pertwee's first story.
When I was younger they used to show omnibuses of Doctor Who, but I don't think they ever showed the 1st and 2nd Doctors, so it was nice finally to get to see all of Hartnell and Troughton's (that still exist) stories. I do have a new appreciation for the Second Doctor and I'm doubly sad so much of his stories no longer exist.
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This is probably because, as you said, most of them no longer exist |
Originally Posted by Zikar
When I was younger they used to show omnibuses of Doctor Who, but I don't think they ever showed the 1st and 2nd Doctors, so it was nice finally to get to see all of Hartnell and Troughton's (that still exist) stories.
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There's a great page on Wikipedia about it here, shows exactly how many episodes are missing and how many of the storylines got ruined as a result of the BBC junking years back.
It's practically criminal, really
We built this city on Rock and Roll!
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And that list is a good bit shorter than it was in the 70s, 80s and 90s. A lot of missing material turned up in quick succession in the late 90s with some great finds happening one right after the other for years (the Aussies were real packrats when it came to TV shows apparently), including prints that weren't standards (for instance, black and white prints of colour eps and B&W prints of B&W eps that actualy had color correction information on the stock, meaning the eps could be "colourized" digitally to what was actually filmed even though there was no intention of it being in color).|
Originally Posted by Coin
This is probably because, as you said, most of them no longer exist
There's a great page on Wikipedia about it here, shows exactly how many episodes are missing and how many of the storylines got ruined as a result of the BBC junking years back. It's practically criminal, really |
A lot of audio tracks also survived in one form or another along with still images, leading to the telesnap projects, which "reconstruct" missing stories and episodes (I prefer the name "Telesnap Reconstructions" to the original "enhanced radio drama" idea). There is currently a CGI project using the audio tracks to reconstruct other missing eps as full motion "close to realistic" CGI eps but it's a very slow and expensive project run entirely by fans on donations.
Unfortunately, the sudden finds of episodes and episode related material dropped to a trickle and then ceased completely. There is a very good chance we won't find any more than we already have without a lot of luck. Sadly, the original stock used for copies is degrading very quickly now and even if we do find more, the quality will be seriously degraded, possibly to the point where it's nothing but slag.
These days we're luck to have things like the Doctor Who Drive, which is a set of external hard drives duct tapes together ocntaining every episode and reconstruction, special, confidential, DVD extra, soundtrack, audio and ebook, among other things in the hands of dedicated fans. It will be very hard to "lose" the eps again with as widely dispersed copies are now in several formats (including some expensive "downgrades" from DVD to 35mm film stock).
Also, the Restoration team are fantastic.
http://www.restoration-team.co.uk/
Although the site's no longer updated, they have a lot of details on what they did to restore episodes and where certain things were found.
Additionally, the DVDs that are produced by 2|Entertain have great documentaries.
I seriously think that the classic Who DVDs are some of the best products around.
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Not to nitpick, but you're only half right on this one. |
Originally Posted by TrueGentleman
Absolutely. It's no coincidence that Baker was Tennant's favorite Doctor as a child.
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http://www.craveonline.com/tv/interv...lks-doctor-who
And in Timecrash, he specifically says "You were my doctor" when addressing Peter Davison, so... I'm guessing that it's a bit more Davison than Baker.
I'm not saying, I'm just saying...
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Interesting interview. Nonetheless, since Baker's performance inspired Tennant to take up an acting career as a boy (and a long floppy scarf as a sartorial statement), the edge goes to the Fourth Doctor.|
Originally Posted by Mindscythe
Not to nitpick, but you're only half right on this one.
http://www.craveonline.com/tv/interv...lks-doctor-who |
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| And in Timecrash, he specifically says "You were my doctor" when addressing Peter Davison, so... I'm guessing that it's a bit more Davison than Baker. |
Goodbye may seem forever
Farewell is like the end
But in my heart's the memory
And there you'll always be
-- The Fox and the Hound