Doctor Who

[low_delta]

Cyn and I have been watching the DVD's of all the "new" Doctor Who. We started with season 1, Christopher Eccleston, and have just finished Season 5, Matt Smith's first season. We had been watching about one per year, but this year we managed to fit in two seasons. We got the sixth season DVD set, but I wanted to take a little break. That Doctor Who is just about the only time I sit in front of the TV. People say I should watch such-and-such a movie, but I don't have time. I'm not a Time Lord! Watching movies really isn't that high a priority.

So anyway, I brought the old VCR up from the basement, and dug through the boxes of videotapes. The first one started with an episode of The Young Ones, and then two Tom Baker shows. I wasn't sure what to expect from the old shows. I remember some episodes being pretty good, and some being pretty bad. Low production values all around, and generally not a lot of action or suspense. And of course this was a 35 year old TV show. I was pleasantly surprised. I mean, most of what I remembered was true, but these episodes weren't bad. It's a more powerful show now, but the modern Doctor is very true in ideals to the original. Humorous, nonviolent, superior, intelligent, solution-oriented.

I've got about a dozen tapes marked Doctor Who. A few are labeled with episode titles, so I found "The Five Doctors". I'm excited to see that. It also has four more Fifth Doctor episodes. I also found one with "The Talons of Weng Chiang". That was a good one, at the time. I wonder if it still is.

Comments

[penpusher.livejournal.com]

Hm. Does this mean you haven't seen these eps before or that you're revisiting them now?

The Doctor is one of the truly great television characters, and even moreso with the ability to regenerate, with various actors taking on the part.

What I'd like to know is what's up with Eccleston? He always said he liked his time as The Doctor, but he left in a bit of a frump and refuses to ever participate in any of these other special events and the like. It makes one think there is some other stuff that happened.

Will you be caught up in time for the 12th Doctor, Peter Capaldi?

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

The new series? We haven't seen them before. We don't have TV, so we won't be seeing the new eps as they come out.

I liked Eccleston. I think he's my favorite "new" Doctor, though I liked Tennant a lot. I was wondering about Eccleston too. See: http://badwilf.co.uk/?p=820

[penpusher.livejournal.com]

There is always BBC America since you don't have television, I might point out. There's also trivia quizzes and deleted material and interviews and a whole bunch of other stuff there.

I got a sense that there was something going on that he didn't like, and that's really a shame, since I think the show's tone was pretty interesting during Eccleston's tenure, and took a somewhat different direction when Tennant arrived.

I think the Capaldi era will come back towards the somewhat more serious element of the Doctor... and I can't really say why I think that since it might include a spoiler for you, so I'll shut up now! Oh, but then again, maybe the website would also? Surf carefully!

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

We don't really want to watch it on the computer, so unless there's a way to plug the computer into the TV, we'll have to continue with the DVD's.

I hope you're right about a more serious tone.

I glanced around the site a little bit, but... no spoilers!

[ravenfeather.livejournal.com]

I don't like all the screaming in the newer seasons. I have not gone back to watch the originals, the ones I watched on television, but when I used to hear the "new" doctor from my daughter's room, all I heard was a bunch of screaming girls that I don't remember from the "originals".

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

I haven't noticed screaming. The old series was rather quiet, being a low budget, soundstage thing.

[ravenfeather.livejournal.com]

I am really sensitive to certain sounds; crying babies and screaming adults are two that really get to me. PTSD don't you know. It could be my impression, but that is all I seemed to hear. I like quiet content.

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

I can see why you liked the old show so much. Very quiet. But I bet you weren't a fan of Sara Jane/Elizabeth Sladen - she was the screamer.

[ravenfeather.livejournal.com]

I had to look her up. I did not see Dr. Who in 1973 through 1976... We moved to Alaska in '72 and only had Armed Forces Television to watch, and they did not carry the show.

[mummm.livejournal.com]

I like them all. Also the movie that they made about the first doctor and the others involved in the making of Doctor Who is really interesting.

I don't know what is meant by "all the screaming". I have not seen anything like that.

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

I'd like to see that movie.

We got our first magazine last week. Thank you very much!

[mummm.livejournal.com]

I would imagine you could find it on BBC America. There are so many things that can be watched online. If you have Netflix they have tons of Doctor Who that will play instantly. I pull the movies in on my Nook.

[mcohenmn.livejournal.com]

Awesome. Talons is one of my favorite episodes. Horribly dated in some ways, but still it scared the heck out of me when I was little (as did The Horror of Fang Rock and The Hand of Fear).