Doctor Who *spoilers* [Archive] - Page 30 - Comic Book Resources Forums

Captain Jim

03-02-2009, 04:18 PM

I don't really like the consol room that much, but if they are going to redesign it then something along the lines of the McGann film would be nice.

There's also rumours in the redtops that Freema Agyeman will be the companion for the regeneration in the final special.

I remember an earlier announcement or rumor that she would be back for one of these specials. I think this would work out very nice. I can understand that they may want to wait on introducing the new ongoing companion until the new series begins, but there definitely needs to be someone there to observe the regeneration. Martha would be a great choice, and could continue a guest role at the beginning of the new series, until the new companion is introduced.

Joe no Sleep

03-04-2009, 02:30 PM

Latest issue of Doctor Who Mag reports that K9 will be in the new Sarah Jane series as a regular.

Yayyyy! :smile:

So that black hole is all patched up now, then?:biggrin:

I imagine Bob Baker and the folks from Dave Martin's estate felt generous, now that the K-9 spinoff is in production,finally . Plus the show has the same formula as the Sarah Jane Adventures. Since the show is co-produced by Jetix, I'm hoping it gets aired in the US on DisneyXD, which airs a lot of JetixEurope stuff lately. Or youtube.

Omac70

03-05-2009, 01:32 AM

Figured some of you might be interested in this...if not, no harm done.

The G5 forum is running a Doctor Who "World Cup" competition over the next year and a bit. Basically it's just a bit of fun where you get to vote for your favourite teams / stories - randomly thrown into groups of ten to fight it out amongst each other. By the middle of 2010 there'll be 32 teams left - out of the original 200 - and they'll be the ones who go through to the finals.

A full explanation is here (http://gallifrey5forum.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=2469).

Group 3 still has a few days left to run, and Group 4 has only just started. Everyone gets three votes in each.

You do unfortunately have to register before you can submit votes, but it's quick and painless and you won't be pestered beyond an e-mail every now and again telling you that a new group is up or an old one is due to close.

sneggz

03-07-2009, 01:29 PM

from http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/WMG/BeakmansWorldBeakman is a Time Lord
He has the eccentric personality down: green lab coat, Kramer-like hair, weird mannerisms, and an utter fixation on the phrase "Bada-bing, bada-bang, bada-boom!"
And that "Information Center?" It's a TARDIS. Where do you think he got all those Famous Dead Guys from?
He's had three four different companions: Josie, Liza, Phoebe, and Lester.
He is descended from the last Doctor, Mr. Wizard. The Master, also known as Bill Nye The Science Guy, would have you believe that he is The Doctor and Beakman is The Master.

Not news in the slightest, just thought it was pretty funny.

hayabusa

03-07-2009, 03:19 PM

from http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/WMG/BeakmansWorld

Not news in the slightest, just thought it was pretty funny.

You know, after reading that, a lot of it begins to make sense...

VincentClarkson

03-07-2009, 03:42 PM

This is the second special due for broadcast on Christmas Day. The final two special don't start filming until April/May, then series five starts filming in July.

So the timeline is...Easter, Christmas...and then two more? When do they air?

Really, they should do one at Easter, July/August, Christmas Day, and New Years Day, with series five debuting in spring 2010.

VincentClarkson

03-07-2009, 03:43 PM

For any interested Canadians...

The Space channel will be airing "The Next Doctor" Christmas special next week. I assume this means they have the rights to air all the new specials, so hopefully they will air the Easter one when it debuts in the UK.

king mob

03-08-2009, 07:36 AM

So the timeline is...Easter, Christmas...and then two more? When do they air?

Really, they should do one at Easter, July/August, Christmas Day, and New Years Day, with series five debuting in spring 2010.

Series five is being broadcast in spring 2010, and I do believe the plan was for at least one special to be shown over a bank holiday weekend after Easter, but the BBC want to milk Tennant and the regeneration for all they can. So that's why we've got a huge wait between Easter (which is a month away) and the Christmas special.

The last two special as just confirmed for an 'early 2010' broadcast which everyone assumes will be a Hogmanay/New Years' Day broadcast, though nothing is confirmed yet.

ChrisIII

03-11-2009, 09:55 AM

SlightlyMad

03-11-2009, 10:17 AM

Stressfactor

03-11-2009, 12:13 PM

No offense, I'm sure she's a wonderful actress but I was REALLY hoping the show would do something daring here. Yet another 19 year old blonde? Pfah.

How about a guy? How about someone older? How about a girl-guy team? How about an honest-to-goodness KID? Like someone say... 15? How about someone of Middle Eastern Decent? How about someone Asian? How about an alien-looking alien? How about something we really haven't seen before?

There's a number of things I'd love to see them do -- Grab someone from the past -- How about a Chinese-decent actress who could play someone from China's past? Say a girl saved during the Boxer Rebellion? Why not a Middle Eastern decent actor who could play a boy plucked from the heart of the Ottoman Empire? etc.

king mob

03-11-2009, 01:27 PM

Don't know if this has been mentioned here before, but I just read (http://www.darkhorizons.com/news/13478/-doctor-who-gets-a-girl-a-delay/) that Matt Smith's companion will be Hannah Murray who played Cassie in Seasons 1 & 2 of Skins (well worth watching, if you haven't already). Hannah was brilliant and gorgeous in Skins as well as showing real acting chops, so I really hope this is going to happen.

It's still only a rumour from the News of the World, & although she's a good actress (Skins really is the last good thing Channel 4 have done since Shameless became shite) ishe were cast it would be a bit like Hollyoaks has invaded Who. I'm not sure that taking who down that route is a good idea but lets see what actually happens.

Stressfactor

03-12-2009, 10:57 AM

Tony Lee on a "Doctor Who" ongoing comic from IDW.... YAY! Happy dance!

SlightlyMad

03-12-2009, 11:22 AM

It's still only a rumour from the News of the World, & although she's a good actress (Skins really is the last good thing Channel 4 have done since Shameless became shite) ishe were cast it would be a bit like Hollyoaks has invaded Who. I'm not sure that taking who down that route is a good idea but lets see what actually happens.

After enduring a season of Catherine Tate I'm willing to give anything a go!

king mob

03-12-2009, 01:54 PM

After enduring a season of Catherine Tate I'm willing to give anything a go!

I agree but turning Who into a sci-fi Hollyoaks is a piss poor idea.

Justin D.

03-13-2009, 12:29 AM

Stressfactor

03-13-2009, 08:40 AM

I would have loved to have seen all those things too. However, we don't know that they're not planning something like that for Hannah Murray's character. For all we know, she could be an alien or a girl from Victorian England or any number of different characters.Considering all the flak the show still gets for the character of Chang in "The Talons of Weng Chiang" I seriously doubt they'd be trying to make her Asian or Middle Eastern. Although, yes, you are right, she could end up being alien (and hopefully alien-looking at least a little bit for a change) or from the past.

But I'd still love to see them but a bit more ethnicity into the show -- particularly since Great Britian has a lot more history of such than the U.S. does.

ChrisIII

03-13-2009, 11:20 AM

Charles RB

03-13-2009, 12:00 PM

But I'd still love to see them but a bit more ethnicity into the show

They've been doing that quite a bit since 2005.

Stressfactor

03-13-2009, 12:06 PM

They could make her an alien and not do too much makeup, as it's been established-although mainly for budget reasons-that many of the Whoniverse's aliens (Including , of course, Time Lords) are identical to humans on the outside at least.I kind of figured that, in order to still do some Earth-based stories (particularly ones set in the past) any aliens could not look too alien but there are little things they could do which could then be "covered" for Earth-baes stories.... for example, ears are always popular (Spock and Kes from Star Trek Voyager), Also eyes -- some funky contact lenses could create alien eyes, etc.

king mob

03-14-2009, 08:10 AM

Last night's Comic Relief saw a special comedy special of the Sarah Jane Adventures and a two-minute preview of Planet of the Dead. Sadly I was down the pub trying to avoid Comic Relief and crazeeee people and forgot to record these bit, so this short clip on the BBC's site (http://www.bbc.co.uk/rednoseday/news/news_110309b.shtml)is all I've seen. I wouldn't expect Youtube to keep the clips up for long when they do eventually pop up online, but we can live and hope.

Stressfactor

03-14-2009, 02:14 PM

BBC clip not available in US. Crap! Off to YouTube....

SUPERECWFAN1

03-14-2009, 04:29 PM

Tony Lee on a "Doctor Who" ongoing comic from IDW.... YAY! Happy dance!

He did a great job with that Doctor Who : The Forgotten mini-series. So when does IDW kick this off ? I know a 1 shot is coming out in a few months but when does the new series come out ?

Stressfactor

03-14-2009, 04:43 PM

Article on the Tony Lee series here: http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=20400

Also, the one-shot by Leah Moore and John Reppion with Ben Templesmith on art is already out -- Doctor Who: The Whispering Gallery. Despite the fact that I do love Templesmith's art I'm not sure he was the best fit for Doctor Who here. All that aside, the story is AWESOME, really. It is very, very "Doctor Who-ish" -- enough that it really could be easily adapted as an episode of the series.

It looks like Lee's ongoing will start in June or July. Also, for those who feared that Doctor Who: The Forgotten had a whiff too much of fanwankery, Lee cops to it in the article but explains that, at the time, he thought that this would be his one chance at writing a Doctor Who comic and he wanted to put all this stuff in it because he didn't think he'd ever get the chance again. Now that he's going to be doing the ongoing he's promised to dial it back.

Joe no Sleep

03-18-2009, 11:39 AM

There's a picture of the new K-9 (presumabely for his own series, not Sarah Jane) at Gallifrey one. It's considerably different from the other updated K-9 pictures seen before-the blue/metallic color is back and he looks more like "Classic" k-9 but with some added touches.

Yep. BBC owns the traditional K9 design, but the new look is nice - it probably has a wider "acting" range :rolleyes:

If Terry Nation had created a "good" Dalek to fight the bad ones, then he would have had a better chance of selling a Dalek tv series, in my opinion.

Stressfactor

03-18-2009, 01:10 PM

Yep. BBC owns the traditional K9 design, but the new look is nice - it probably has a wider "acting" range :rolleyes:

If Terry Nation had created a "good" Dalek to fight the bad ones, then he would have had a better chance of selling a Dalek tv series, in my opinion.Actually, the focus of the series would have been on a brave band of humans who fought against the Daleks.

According to some, the characters of Sarah Kingdom and Brett Vyon and the group they belonged to, the "Space Security Service" were all originally created for the proposed TV series. The Space Security Service members would fight to protect the Earth against Dalek invasion. Sort of like the mini-series V that aired in America a few decades back. The aliens were the driving force behind the story (and the "V" of the title) but the band of human freedom fighters were the traditional "heroes" of the story.

If you listen to the audio for "The Daleks Master Plan" (sadly, all that's left of the story except for three episodes is the audio) you can get something of a sense for how the Dalek TV series might have worked.

Stressfactor

03-18-2009, 01:12 PM

By the way, DID find a (crappy) copy of the SJA skit for Red Noses Day over in Great Britain and it was cute -- very in keeping with the series in general -- a little sugar cookie for fans to have with their tea. Also........ K-9! YAY!

king mob

03-18-2009, 01:24 PM

If Terry Nation had created a "good" Dalek to fight the bad ones, then he would have had a better chance of selling a Dalek tv series, in my opinion.

In addition to what Stress has pointed out, Nation approved much of what went into the Dalek strips in TV Comic and TV21and one can get an idea that Nation wanted a big sweeping space adventure, which was way beyond the BBC, or any American channel's budget or inclination.

NDHorse

03-18-2009, 01:25 PM

When are they going to broadcast the specials from this year in the US?

Captain Jim

03-18-2009, 07:29 PM

When are they going to broadcast the specials from this year in the US?

No word on this to date. I'm starting to wonder if SciFi (or whatever they're calling themselves now) is going to wait until 2010 and show all of the specials immediately prior to their airing of Series Five.

And I'm not sure they're going to show Sarah Jane Adventures series two at all. :mad:

Stressfactor

03-18-2009, 09:43 PM

No word on this to date. I'm starting to wonder if SciFi (or whatever they're calling themselves now) is going to wait until 2010 and show all of the specials immediately prior to their airing of Series Five.

And I'm not sure they're going to show Sarah Jane Adventures series two at all. :mad:There's always BBC America.... Although no word on when they might show them either.

Knowing American TV and how much they hate to just throw specials around willy-nilly I have a feeling the good Captain here is right. BBC America or Sci-Fi (if they're still interested in synicating them) will likely show them in the weeks leading up to whenever they get series five. There is certainly precedent considering that American TV didn't air the "Voyage of the Damned" Christmas Special until just before they started airing series four. I think American TV sees it as a way of whetting fans' appetites before the main course arrives.

Stressfactor

03-18-2009, 09:45 PM

In addition to what Stress has pointed out, Nation approved much of what went into the Dalek strips in TV Comic and TV21and one can get an idea that Nation wanted a big sweeping space adventure, which was way beyond the BBC, or any American channel's budget or inclination.I also forgot about "The Dalek Cutaway" -- that one REALLY gives some idea of what Nation was cooking for in his Dalek series. It's also unusual for Doctor Who since it remains, to this day, the only Doctor Who story to NOT feature the Doctor nor any of the regular companions.

Once again, sadly, it only exists as an audio but it's an interesting little story if you ever give it a listen.

marshal99

03-18-2009, 11:07 PM

The Tennant tapes for the shooting of the planet of the dead
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgqO72PUJPw

Joe no Sleep

03-19-2009, 09:15 AM

There's always BBC America.... Although no word on when they might show them either.

Knowing American TV and how much they hate to just throw specials around willy-nilly I have a feeling the good Captain here is right. BBC America or Sci-Fi (if they're still interested in synicating them) will likely show them in the weeks leading up to whenever they get series five. There is certainly precedent considering that American TV didn't air the "Voyage of the Damned" Christmas Special until just before they started airing series four. I think American TV sees it as a way of whetting fans' appetites before the main course arrives.

I would've thought the new series would make a fine home on G4, where they show reruns of Heroes and Lost often, plus they also report news about the series in daily feed headlines. But it seems like Sci-Fi has a lock on it here.

Dark_Master

03-20-2009, 04:03 PM

is anyone else surprised that Turn Left has been nominated for a Hugo Award?
I mean, it wasn't a bad episode, but the only really good thing in the episode IMO was Tate's performance

And according to The Sun
in David Tennant's final story as the Doctor, he will be accompanied by Billie Piper as Rose, Freema Agyeman as Martha and Catherine Tate as Donna. According to the tabloid, the three companions will face off against John Simm, returning as the Master.
If it's true it'll be great to see more of the Simm Master and Martha (well, assuming that this time she does anything useful instead of just getting kidnapped halfway through the episode) but on the other hand it'll suck to see more of Rose and Donna because that'll probably kill any kind of drama both their exits had (specially Rose's)

Captain Jim

03-20-2009, 04:29 PM

according to The Sun

If it's true it'll be great to see more of the Simm Master and Martha (well, assuming that this time she does anything useful instead of just getting kidnapped halfway through the episode) but on the other hand it'll suck to see more of Rose and Donna because that'll probably kill any kind of drama both their exits had (specially Rose's)

If it's true, I suspect the three companions may be abducted from points in their past--for the very reason you mention.

Captain Jim

03-20-2009, 04:35 PM

I would've thought the new series would make a fine home on G4, where they show reruns of Heroes and Lost often, plus they also report news about the series in daily feed headlines. But it seems like Sci-Fi has a lock on it here.

SciFi has had the US license to date. I'm sure they'll want to continue with Doctor Who but, as I indicated, they may wait until 2010 to air the specials.

However, they breezed through the the first season of Sarah Jane in just a few weeks and didn't seem too excited about it at the time. I wonder if they have any intention of doing anymore with SJA. If not, I wish they'd make that known to BBC, so perhaps they could air it instead on BBC America.

On another note, has anyone heard if there will be a collected DVD set of all the Doctor Who specials between Series 4 and 5?

Cyke

03-20-2009, 04:50 PM

is anyone else surprised that Turn Left has been nominated for a Hugo Award?
I mean, it wasn't a bad episode, but the only really good thing in the episode IMO was Tate's performance

I liked the episode, and I agree Tate did a great job (does Donna have to cry in every episode?), but I think the biggest fault is that the story is so reliant on continuity and can't stand as its own tale, so it loses major points. I like how history is tied together and it was a rather inventive "What If," but if an episode requires a lot of knowledge about other episodes for the sake of its drama, then it doesn't quite reach the heights it wants to.

With that said, I thought Midnight was more deserving of the nomination.

Stressfactor

03-21-2009, 05:59 AM

With that said, I thought Midnight was more deserving of the nomination.
I agree. Out of the entire 4th series "Midnight" was really the cream of the crop. Although, I suppose it would be hard nominating it for a Hugo award since the story really wasn't that sci-fi at heart whereas "Turn Left" had time travel and alternate histories.

The other thing is that to really appreciate "Turn Left" one must have seen or at least be familiar with the last few years of Doctor Who whereas "Midnight" can be enjoyed by anyone who has never even seen a Doctor Who episode in their lives and I think THAT would make it better for a Hugo as well.

king mob

03-21-2009, 06:14 AM

is anyone else surprised that Turn Left has been nominated for a Hugo Award?
I mean, it wasn't a bad episode, but the only really good thing in the episode IMO was Tate's performance

And according to The Sun

If it's true it'll be great to see more of the Simm Master and Martha (well, assuming that this time she does anything useful instead of just getting kidnapped halfway through the episode) but on the other hand it'll suck to see more of Rose and Donna because that'll probably kill any kind of drama both their exits had (specially Rose's)

Ageyman has more or less confirmed she'll be around for the regeneration but the rest of the Sun story sounds like shite 'scooped' from the OG boards.

Charles RB

03-21-2009, 01:11 PM

According to some, the characters of Sarah Kingdom and Brett Vyon and the group they belonged to, the "Space Security Service" were all originally created for the proposed TV series.

The latest Doc Who Magazine covered the American Daleks proposal - it was going to have Sarah and the SSS, but this was after they'd been created in Who. He didn't give them a trial run in Dalek's Master Plan.

Though he did trial-run the concept and some of the characters in one of the 1960s Dalek Annuals.

And according to The Sun

Multiple returning companions against a big-name villain again after just one year?! (Luckily it's the Sun, so it must be balls)

Stressfactor

03-21-2009, 05:56 PM

The latest Doc Who Magazine covered the American Daleks proposal - it was going to have Sarah and the SSS, but this was after they'd been created in Who. He didn't give them a trial run in Dalek's Master Plan.

Though he did trial-run the concept and some of the characters in one of the 1960s Dalek Annuals. That would have been weird -- Sarah Kingdom, dead in England and alive in America.

ChrisIII

03-22-2009, 07:49 AM

photos from the finale (Warning spoilers!)

http://www.trekbbs.com/showthread.php?t=86254

Cyke

03-22-2009, 01:56 PM

I agree. Out of the entire 4th series "Midnight" was really the cream of the crop. Although, I suppose it would be hard nominating it for a Hugo award since the story really wasn't that sci-fi at heart whereas "Turn Left" had time travel and alternate histories.

Oh, the fact that it takes place on a space tank on another planet would be more than enough for most Hugo winners :)

The other thing is that to really appreciate "Turn Left" one must have seen or at least be familiar with the last few years of Doctor Who whereas "Midnight" can be enjoyed by anyone who has never even seen a Doctor Who episode in their lives and I think THAT would make it better for a Hugo as well.

Agreed. For that matter, Moffat's past wins for Who were the ones that were really accessible. Blink worked cuz the title character was written out! I love ingenuity like that :)

I'd actually argue that the episode was more "hard" sci-fi than much of Who anyway. It examined the human condition in a futuristic setting, after all, as opposed to relying on technobabble that sci-fantasy (and much of Who) to resolve anything.

Stressfactor

03-22-2009, 05:07 PM

photos from the finale (Warning spoilers!)

http://www.trekbbs.com/showthread.php?t=86254That's sweet that they pay tribute to both Verity Lambert and Sydney Newman.

ChrisIII

03-23-2009, 08:12 AM

Apparentally they're getting Stephen Hopkins to direct season five's first episode. A bit more high-profile than the usual (Euros Lyn, Graeme Harper)....

king mob

03-23-2009, 01:11 PM

photos from the finale (Warning spoilers!)

http://www.trekbbs.com/showthread.php?t=86254

Very nice move.

If anyone's in Glasgow then the Doctor Who exhibition is at Kelvingrove Art Gallery until next January. (http://www.list.co.uk/article/16664-doctor-who-space-oddity/) That link also suggests that Planet of the Dead is to be broadcast on Easter Sunday.

kingy

03-23-2009, 01:15 PM

I totally agree with 'Chrisll'

Ben Morgan

03-24-2009, 11:33 PM

I was re-watching the season 2 finale, and I forgot how awesome those Cyberman/Dalek arguments were. I'd watch an entire episode of just Cybermen and Daleks bantering with each other

Stony

03-25-2009, 12:18 AM

You got a strange concept of "bantering"...

Kirayoshi

03-25-2009, 09:38 PM

Doctor sighting on PBS!

I'm currently watching a production of King Lear on Great Performances(check local listings) starring Ian McKellan as the doomed king. I just recognized his Fool, played by Sylvester McCoy. He even plays spoons at one point!

Alan Lynch

03-26-2009, 08:35 AM

Very nice move.

If anyone's in Glasgow then the Doctor Who exhibition is at Kelvingrove Art Gallery until next January. (http://www.list.co.uk/article/16664-doctor-who-space-oddity/) That link also suggests that Planet of the Dead is to be broadcast on Easter Sunday.
I'm very excited. I do feel ever so geeky though, since I dragged my girlfriend to a seperate exhibition in Liverpool. On Valentine's Day. God bless that poor woman.

Dark_Master

03-26-2009, 08:18 PM

I found this in OG but don't quite get it
The BBC Press Office has confirmed that the Doctor Who special Planet of the Dead will air during the week beginning 11th April. Although the series is listed as "unplaced" in the main press release, it also briefly appeared on the page for Saturday's programmes. Final airdate and time slot will be confirmed when the listings are sent to magazines at the end of next week.April 11 is a Saturday (an odd day to start the week), so would that mean the special is going to air on the 11 or on the following Saturday? :confused:

king mob

03-27-2009, 02:24 AM

I found this in OG but don't quite get it
April 11 is a Saturday (an odd day to start the week), so would that mean the special is going to air on the 11 or on the following Saturday? :confused:

The Radio Times, the BBC's TV listing magazine, runs from a Saturday to a Friday and has done since it started way back in the 1930's, so the BBC still uses a Saturday to start a week off. The broadcast date is either the 11th or 12th depending on what BBC report you read.

king mob

03-28-2009, 06:04 AM

Some interesting snippets regarding the programme here. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_west/7964105.stm)

Charles RB

03-28-2009, 07:09 AM

His assistant looks set to remain firmly from the 21st Century however, as Julie Gardner explained why the Doctor never had an assistant from another place in time.

She explained the team had decided the assistant needed to "root"' the doctor and be a credible link between him and the audience

Bit of a crap explanation when Doctor Who has used the assistants as audience figures since 1963, and did ones who weren't from present-day Earth without the audience fleeing.

Cyke

03-28-2009, 12:32 PM

Bit of a crap explanation when Doctor Who has used the assistants as audience figures since 1963, and did ones who weren't from present-day Earth without the audience fleeing.

Capt. Jack is from the 50th Century and ran into our heroes a generation before ours. And he got his own show!

A crap explanation indeed.

Charles RB

03-28-2009, 12:54 PM

And Luke Smith in the Sarah Jane Adventures was genetically engineered by aliens, making him a super-genius detached from human society.

Ontir

03-28-2009, 01:11 PM

Capt. Jack is from the 50th Century and ran into our heroes a generation before ours. And he got his own show!

A crap explanation indeed.

How about Jamie and Zoey? He's from the past, she's from the future, and the series was great then. I've several friends who continue to rave about Leela, and what about the fan-love for Romana(s)?

There's no need to have a 21st century companion every time out. Rose made sense as the 1st in the new series, because she really did bring the audience into a world we'd not been to in many years, but the Whoniverse is firmly re-established now.

ChrisIII

03-28-2009, 02:30 PM

Troughton's era might be great in retrospect, but apparentally it wasn't as popular as Hartnell's and was actually fairly low in the ratings from what I've read (Well, at least in season six which was pretty much his weakest season-and the one with Zoe :( ). Pertwee, color, and the UNIT format pretty much 'saved' the show.

Cyke

03-28-2009, 03:05 PM

Pertwee, color, and the UNIT format pretty much 'saved' the show.

That wasn't really his point, though; for one thing, Jaime's still remembered as one of the creme de la creme of companions, to the point where he still gets a random reference in nuWho, despite ratings and being a non-contemporary companion.

But no one can argue that the world benefited from Pertwee.

drwho

03-28-2009, 07:20 PM

Pertwee will be always my favorite dr. I mean his presence his flamboyant dress that damn veunisan karate. So cool the guy was literally a 60 yr old version of james bond. I really loved him and his attempts at escaping were pretty funny. Of course it also helped that he had some hot companions, but i felt they were pretty likable ones. Also the master who can forget the master. wasnt his first appearance during the pertwee years? Also bessie. I dont think there is a single thing to say bad about the pertwee years.

Stressfactor

03-29-2009, 05:17 PM

Ummm You DO know that when Pertwee was the Doctor despite his white hair he was nowhere near 60 right?

DrDoom616

03-30-2009, 07:14 AM

I wonder if Romana is still alive and kicking somewhere?

ChrisIII

03-30-2009, 08:59 AM

That's a good question. TV series wise, she was in E-space, another universe that was closed off to our own along with the second K-9. Similar to Rose's fate. Brace yourself, this post is about to get a bit complicated :)

However, "Earthshock" (sort of) opened the possibility that you could go back to E-space, and the novels ran with this-"Blood Harvest" and "Goth Opera"-both of which dealt with the "State of Decay" vampires invading our Whoniverse-had Romana return to the original Whoniverse. Eventually she becomes Lady president of Gallifrey (and even hangs around with Leela-this is documented in the Gallifrey audio series, in which Lalla Ward reprised her role as Romana).

According to the Eigth Doctor novels, she regenerated again and became a less likeable character, and was apparentally killed off in Gallifrey's destruction in the books (Which was unrelated. However it is hinted in the last Eigth Doctor novel that the time lords can be ressurected along with Gallifrey, hence reconciling it with the new series-Gallifrey returns, only to get destroyed again during the time war).

As to whether this is all canon or not, Doctor Who has sort of a 'pick-and-choose' canon to it, and Russel T. Davies at least aknowledged Romana's presidency in one of his writeups on the time war in one of the new series books (The first new series annual, I believe).

Stressfactor

03-30-2009, 10:31 AM

Off-topic but..... I watched "Timelash" over the weekend. It's one of the few DW stories that I've not seen ANYTHING of -- not even part of the story. I know that a lot of fans consider it crap -- really bottom of the barrel BUT... I was reasonably surprised by this one. Admittedly, it's not the BEST story but it's fairly fun. The worst things about it are the special effects (Christmas tinsel and flashing lights... really? That's the best they could do?! And the Muppet Morlox are... silly. Just... silly) and that it does drag a bit. With a bit of re-write to tighten the plot and some more judicious editing it would have been acceptably breezy. For once Colin Baker seems to be having a good time and he's considerably less shouty and insulty.

And really, there are WORSE episodes. MUCH worse... "The Gunfighters" and "Time-Flight" come to mind. Particularly "Time-Flight" there's just NOTHING redeeming about "Time-Flight" and I actually usually LIKE the character of Tegan.

Charles RB

03-30-2009, 05:31 PM

Ummm You DO know that when Pertwee was the Doctor despite his white hair he was nowhere near 60 right?

In his 50s, wasn't he?

Stressfactor

03-30-2009, 05:36 PM

In his 50s, wasn't he?
51 when he started.

king mob

04-01-2009, 04:46 PM

Looks like Planet of the Dead is to be broadcast on 6.45 on the 11th April.
So a prime time Easter weekend showing up against an improved, if still a bit rubbish Primeval then.

Asmith

04-01-2009, 07:35 PM

Particularly "Time-Flight" there's just NOTHING redeeming about "Time-Flight" and I actually usually LIKE the character of Tegan.

I've never been able to stand Tegan - all that ceaseless whining! However I quite like Time-Flight. I thought the secondary pilot characters were written both engagingly and smart, to the point I would of liked to have seen that pair that fool about with the Tardis continue on for another story. Nyssa isn't entirely under-used. A very nice reveal of The Master half-way through the story which ramps-up the plot and side-steps episode three lag. And The Doctor shows some ingenuity, even if he only manages to salvage 'the day' if not quite saving it.

Are there better stories than Time-Flight? Yep. But it's still a rollicking little adventure.

Captain Jim

04-01-2009, 09:35 PM

This from the Doctor Who News Page:

According to this months issue of Doctor Who Magazine the title of the next in the series of specials will be revealed at the end of Planet of the Dead, along with a short trail. The second special, directed by Graham Harper features the Doctor plunged into a world of terror. It is expected to air in the autumn.

Stressfactor

04-01-2009, 09:43 PM

I've never been able to stand Tegan - all that ceaseless whining! However I quite like Time-Flight. I thought the secondary pilot characters were written both engagingly and smart, to the point I would of liked to have seen that pair that fool about with the Tardis continue on for another story. Nyssa isn't entirely under-used. A very nice reveal of The Master half-way through the story which ramps-up the plot and side-steps episode three lag. And The Doctor shows some ingenuity, even if he only manages to salvage 'the day' if not quite saving it.

Are there better stories than Time-Flight? Yep. But it's still a rollicking little adventure.I respect anyone's opinion -- one person's terrible is another person's fun (like I said, I see "Timelash" as a fun little story instead of the "lame shit" everyone accuses it of being)

But with "Time Flight" -- see, I saw the Concord pilots as being just too overly cute. No, Nyssa isn't entirely underused but some of her dialogue and scenes are just waaay too melodramatic (not her fault, the script's fault). The Master -- well, the costume/disguise really didn't make any sense to begin with then Ainley just hams it up afterwards and a lot of stuff isn't clearly explained leading to some gaping plot holes. Finally, there is the fact that too much of the story was studio bound and really, really LOOKED it. I don't quite know what it was but the earlier stuff that was shot on set but supposed to be an alien planet usually looked pretty okay. Hartnell era up to Tom Baker's second-to-last season actually manage some fairly spiffy alien landscapes on a soundstage (the Web Planet excluded) but something happened around Baker's last season and then into the Davison era where the soundstage stuff that was supposed to be an alien planet landscape just looked really, really stagey.

For example (and this is going to be heresy to some) I just groan watching the end of "Logopolis" because the Doctor's death is RUINED by Tom Baker lying on the wrinkly, bright green astroturf. Yuck.

king mob

04-02-2009, 01:05 PM

This from the Doctor Who News Page:

That's interesting if the BBC have moved one of the specials from Christmas/New Year to autumn as one of the reasons they apparently abandoned the idea of one of the specials being broadcast over the August bank holiday was that they were concerned that it wouldn't get the larger viewing figures as they would at Christmas.

Asmith

04-02-2009, 07:29 PM

I respect anyone's opinion -- one person's terrible is another person's fun (like I said, I see "Timelash" as a fun little story instead of the "lame shit" everyone accuses it of being)

But with "Time Flight" -- see, I saw the Concord pilots as being just too overly cute. No, Nyssa isn't entirely underused but some of her dialogue and scenes are just waaay too melodramatic (not her fault, the script's fault). The Master -- well, the costume/disguise really didn't make any sense to begin with then Ainley just hams it up afterwards and a lot of stuff isn't clearly explained leading to some gaping plot holes. Finally, there is the fact that too much of the story was studio bound and really, really LOOKED it. I don't quite know what it was but the earlier stuff that was shot on set but supposed to be an alien planet usually looked pretty okay. Hartnell era up to Tom Baker's second-to-last season actually manage some fairly spiffy alien landscapes on a soundstage (the Web Planet excluded) but something happened around Baker's last season and then into the Davison era where the soundstage stuff that was supposed to be an alien planet landscape just looked really, really stagey.

For example (and this is going to be heresy to some) I just groan watching the end of "Logopolis" because the Doctor's death is RUINED by Tom Baker lying on the wrinkly, bright green astroturf. Yuck.

Well we're in agreement on two things - Nyssa's atrociously melodramatic dialogue (though I find it bearable as it's almost a rarity for her to have any lines), and the seriously dodgey sound stage sets. I think the problem lies with the lighting. Everything is so over-lit that there aren't even any shadows. The lighting style they introduced near the end of the Baker run, moved the shoe-string budget sets (almost a Dr Who character in themselves) from creatively cheap to just cartoony looking.

I'll also join you in saying that Baker's death scene wasn't done any favours with that astro turf set. While maybe not entirely ruined, the set's dreadfulness was quite distracting from the drama. A little bit of 'natural style' lighting would of gone a long way.

Stressfactor

04-02-2009, 10:01 PM

By Jove I think you've got it! On why the soundstage stuff looked so godawful that is. This has been driving me crazy FOREVER -- I could never quite put my finger on WHY everything looked so bad and you've got it -- it was overlit!

Not only did it eliminate the shadows, like you mentioned but (and here's where my own epiphany comes in) -- IT RUINED THE ILLUSION OF DEPTH!!!!

Ha-ha-ha, this is GREAT! NOW I know why everything looked "stagey" -- because they washed out all the depth -- so it looked like all the actors were standing in front of backdrops!

Personally, I'm also going to blame the use of 80's colors in the background. A lot of the sets had soft, pastels in the background and those just don't lend themselves to a sense of depth as much as darker colors do.

Either way -- Thanks!

king mob

04-05-2009, 05:56 AM

The BBC's publicity machine for the Easter special has kicked into gear with Tennant and RTD popping up everywhere. This interview in The Times (http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article6022914.ece) is pretty representative of their actics. One thing definately confirmed by the BBC is that the next special has been brought forward to the autumn as mentioned previously, this will probably be August bank holiday weekend.

Reports from the filming of the last specials are coming thick & fast. Huge spoilers here. (http://www.denofgeek.com/television/229592/doctor_who_john_simm_returns.html)

RTD speaks about children's telly (http://www.bafta.org/learning/webcasts/russell-t-davies-in-conversation,708,BA.html) & it's wonderful to hear the man who almost single handedly dragged the concept of children's drama back into the mainstream still speak so passionately about something that few commissioning editors care about.

Here's the trailer for the new K9 series (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S0jOFRmAOc), yes, it is shite.

And here's the trailer for Planet of the Dead. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcPczdGWIB8)

Stressfactor

04-05-2009, 07:31 AM

That K-9 thing is.... Owwww my eyes! And what did they do -- rip off the villain costumes from the last dozen years of Power Rangers?

As for the rest... Bernard Cribbens? That is made of Win AND awesome!!!

Captain Jim

04-05-2009, 06:47 PM

The last of the specials are due to be broadcast over the Christmas period with the finale, featuring Tennant's regeneration into Matt Smith, airing on New Year's Day.

That's what I said ages ago, and I got shot down for it!

As for the return of the Master, I can't say I'm surprised. I had thought earlier that the series four finale took care of all the dangling plotlines--except this one.

Matt

04-05-2009, 06:52 PM

That K9 trailer ... yeesh. That looks terrible.

rick

04-05-2009, 06:57 PM

That's what I said ages ago, and I got shot down for it!

As for the return of the Master, I can't say I'm surprised. I had thought earlier that the series four finale took care of all the dangling plotlines--except this one.

Hey JIm.

I hate to be a pain, but do you have a link to that tidbit of information.

I've been off the web for most of the week and seem to have missed this completly.

I'd be greatly appreciative.

Tadhg

04-05-2009, 07:00 PM

Hey JIm.

I hate to be a pain, but do you have a link to that tidbit of information.

I've been off the web for most of the week and seem to have missed this completly.

I'd be greatly appreciative.

Here's a Sun article with potential spoilers about the last specials: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/article2329695.ece

rick

04-05-2009, 07:02 PM

Here's a Sun article with potential spoilers about the last specials: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/article2329695.ece

Many thanks.

king mob

04-06-2009, 01:24 AM

That's what I said ages ago, and I got shot down for it!

When the specials were first announced it was assumed they'd be shown over a few bank holiday weekends with the last being shown at Christmas/New Year. Then the BBC decided that the final three specials would be shown over Christmas and early January 2010.

Apparently last month RTD moaned at the BBC for having too long a gap between specials and they relented, which shows just how much clout Davies has within the BBC.

king mob

04-06-2009, 01:25 AM

king mob

04-06-2009, 01:27 AM

LordEd1976

04-06-2009, 09:02 AM

Here's a Sun article with potential spoilers about the last specials: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/article2329695.ece

hhhmmmmm.......................................... .

I wonder if they're planning something like what happened when Davison regenerated in Caves of Androzani

LordEd1976

04-06-2009, 09:03 AM

Here's a Sun article with potential spoilers about the last specials: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/article2329695.ece

I wonder if its not so much of a teamup/return as it is something like the ends of Logopolis and Caves of Androzani

king mob

04-06-2009, 12:49 PM

I wonder if its not so much of a teamup/return as it is something like the ends of Logopolis and Caves of Androzani

Apparently not as both actors have been on set for a few days.

Captain Jim

04-07-2009, 04:31 PM

Doctor Who executive producer Russell T Davies has confirmed that Bernard Cribbins will be returning to the series.

Speaking this morning on BBC Breakfast Davies said Cribbins would be the Doctor's companion in David Tennant's last two episodes, due to be shown at Christmas 2009.

Bernard Cribbins first played Wilfred Mott, Donna's Grandad, in the 2007 Christmas special and throughout Season 4. His return was expected after members of the Doctor Who Forum photographed Cribbins on the Doctor Who set. At the age of eighty, Cribbins becomes the oldest companion in Doctor Who history.

Also on the programme Davies confirmed that Saturdays special, Planet of the Dead was only completed late Monday night. He said he expected the next special to be shown "Novemberish".

There were rumors that he'd been seen on the set, but I was surprised to hear that he's been named as the companion in these specials. It's a good surprise, though an earlier rumor indicated that Martha Jones would be there for those episodes and I was kind of looking forward to seeing her again.

Stressfactor

04-07-2009, 06:34 PM

There were rumors that he'd been seen on the set, but I was surprised to hear that he's been named as the companion in these specials. It's a good surprise, though an earlier rumor indicated that Martha Jones would be there for those episodes and I was kind of looking forward to seeing her again.
Cribbens as an official companion? *stand up and applauds* If you could see my face I'm wearing a big smile right now. Cribbens stole every damn scene he was in for the Fourth Series and it was criminal that his character never even got a ride in the TARDIS.

Oh well done RTD! Also, YAY for breaking some sterotypes and having Cribbens now be the oldest Who companion.

king mob

04-08-2009, 01:20 AM

There were rumors that he'd been seen on the set, but I was surprised to hear that he's been named as the companion in these specials. It's a good surprise, though an earlier rumor indicated that Martha Jones would be there for those episodes and I was kind of looking forward to seeing her again.

Cribbins is a great choice and quite brave as i'm sure Davies has been pressurised to get Piper back for yet another appearance. Ageyman may still come back for a cameo, but she's apparently busy filming the next series of Law & Order UK.

ChrisIII

04-08-2009, 01:09 PM

A theory on the finale(SPOILERS!):

http://www.doctorwhoforum.com/showthread.php?t=223602

king mob

04-08-2009, 01:39 PM

A theory on the finale(SPOILERS!):

http://www.doctorwhoforum.com/showthread.php?t=223602

Expect that to be an 'exclusive' in The Sun tomorrow.

Stressfactor

04-08-2009, 01:58 PM

A theory on the finale(SPOILERS!):

http://www.doctorwhoforum.com/showthread.php?t=223602And for those of us who don't belong to the Doctor Who Forum.... care to copy and paste inside spoiler tags?*

*What? I love seeing people's crazy Doctor Who theories.

Dark_Master

04-08-2009, 05:07 PM

here you go :biggrin:
Seriously though, if his 'reincarnation' is associated with Donna, we can assume he uses the energy she has to initate a metacrisis (like a new Doctor grew out of the hand, a new Master grows out of the ring).

However, we know the Doctor clone in Pete's world is sort of human, will this also happen to the Master? Sure, he's got the Simm body, but he won't be able to regenerate and won't have the two-hearts and a regular lifespan etc. So we might see a return of sorts to the body-snatching Master, especially if the Simm body starts to decay.....(Like the Eric Roberts/"Bruce" Master)

Granted, it was assumed we'd get that anyway with the Ring possibly posessing someone else, but it's cool to give Simm one last appearence.the part about the Master going back to snatching bodies is interesting (if only because that way they could use the Master again and still leave the Doctor as the only living Time Lord)

LordEd1976

04-08-2009, 05:36 PM

the part about the Master going back to snatching bodies is interesting (if only because that way they could use the Master again and still leave the Doctor as the only living Time Lord)

thanks for posting that DM.

the only thing that statement got wrong is that the Master's body-snatching started waaaaayyyyyy back in the early 80s with "Keeper of Trakken". That's how we got the Ainley Master.

Stressfactor

04-09-2009, 07:56 AM

here you go :biggrin:
the part about the Master going back to snatching bodies is interesting (if only because that way they could use the Master again and still leave the Doctor as the only living Time Lord)
Danke.

The Master body snatching again? Weeellll it's been done. I'd far prefer it if the female hand which picked up the ring really DID turn out to be the Rani and she played a little genetic hopscotch to build the Master a new body... but WITHOUT the regenerations... all for a price, of course (because we all know the Rani wouldn't do ANYTHING out of the "goodness of her heart").

DrDoom616

04-09-2009, 08:59 AM

If the Master is body snatching again, it's probably gonna be Donna Noble's body that he snatches, and it is her hand we see at the end of series 3 picking up the master's ring.

Joe no Sleep

04-09-2009, 09:15 AM

That K-9 thing is.... Owwww my eyes! And what did they do -- rip off the villain costumes from the last dozen years of Power Rangers?

Maybe Big Bad Beetleborgs.
I liked it. Instead of a megazord, they summon a little doggy droid take down the giant monsters. Perfect!:biggrin:

Actually, I think this is the right format for a show where a robot dog is the star, and the supporting cast looks okay. I have no idea if it will air on DisneyXD in the US, but Disney does own a piece, I think.

Adrian Tullberg

04-09-2009, 07:55 PM

Danke.

The Master body snatching again? Weeellll it's been done. I'd far prefer it if the female hand which picked up the ring really DID turn out to be the Rani and she played a little genetic hopscotch to build the Master a new body... but WITHOUT the regenerations... all for a price, of course (because we all know the Rani wouldn't do ANYTHING out of the "goodness of her heart").

Sounds good in theory ...

... but ...

... I can't see introducing another Time Lord survivor without some significant build-up, and two specials just won't cut it ...

Captain Jim

04-09-2009, 08:24 PM

In the morning, Tennant appeared with Christian O'Connell on Absolute Radio's Breakfast Show. On O'Connell's show, Tennant confirmed that along with Bernard Cribbins, Catherine Tate will be appearing in his final two-part story, which is currently filming.

Really starting to get excited about this! :biggrin:

drwho

04-09-2009, 08:31 PM

king mob

04-10-2009, 08:23 AM

i just want donna to get her memories back because I found her to be one of the best companions. Also it would be a cool twist to keep bernard as a companion. Maybe have 2 or 3 companions when the new season starts.

That would swamp Matt Smith for series five and they've made this mistake when Davison became the Doctor. Smith needs to develop without the distraction of Russel Davies's companions clogging up the screen, plus Moffat has made it clear that he wants to stick to the Doctor and a companion formula.

There's an interesting interview with Michelle Ryan in today's Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/apr/10/michelle-ryan-doctor-who) which is part of the BBC's publicity onslaught for the Easter special.

king mob

04-11-2009, 12:57 PM

Well, Planet of the Dead was better than Red Dwarf but it wasn't as good as The Next Doctor & Michelle Ryan's accent was bloody annoying. Nice idea about the locust type aliens opening wormholes while they ravage worlds but it was all a bit slight, especially the UNIT scenes with an exceptionally annoying Lee Evans.

Some of the effects looked unfinished, the flying bus scenes looked rather dodgy & it all felt a wee bit rushed. However it was light fun for a chilled out Easter weekend & the foreshadowing for the regeneration was a nice, unexpected touch.

The next special is called The Waters of Mars & it looks rather more interesting.

thehod

04-11-2009, 01:51 PM

Well that was all rather enjoyable garbage. Not the best special ever, and not really enough in it to justify a special, probably just enough to warrent a decent episode.

Loved Lee Evans character, something bugged me about Michelle Ryan character, but I'm not sure what. Nice arse though.

The foreshadowing by Ellen Thomas's character (loved her too) was really intriguing though and sets up the next few specials nicely.

Roll on November.

Charles RB

04-11-2009, 01:59 PM

It's alright but Christina annoyed the fuck out of me, so I wish the Doctor hadn't let her go.

Actually, I'd ignore that bit if I liked her, but since I don't - the Doctor just helped a criminal espape, one who commits crimes for fun and the sort of crimes where she will at some point end up physically harming people to pull them off. What a twat!

(Plus fuck OFF with this "no more companions" thing, nobody's buying it)

Stressfactor

04-11-2009, 06:26 PM

It's alright but Christina annoyed the fuck out of me, so I wish the Doctor hadn't let her go.

Glad to know I'm not alone. Overall the story was okay -- I liked some of the off-hand comments like "Humans on a bis always blaming me" and the reference to the Tom Baker story "Robot" but yeah, it was a bit "meh".

And Michelle Ryan was sooooo flat! There was really NO chemistry between her and Tennant which made it all the worse when they kept tossing out those lines of dialogue about being "made for one another". Guh. The Doctor mentioning Donna just made it all the more noticeable because it called to mind Catherine Tate's performances as Donna which, no matter how bad you might think Tate was, were MILES (KILOMETERS) better than Ryan's.

Can we NEVER see her again.... PLEASE?

Charles RB

04-11-2009, 06:38 PM

I like Captain Mugumbo though, she was cool.

Stressfactor

04-11-2009, 08:22 PM

I like Captain Mugumbo though, she was cool.
Was NOT best pleased when they had her bascially turn on the Doctor in the middle of the episode then had her be all grateful and saluting and everything at the end. It was all very "talking out of both sides of their mouths" AND it turned her into a real hypocrite. They took what could have been a cool, kick ass character and ruined her all for the sake of a stupid moment of "dramatic tension" that felt forced and artificial anyway.

All I kept thinking as well was "They spent all kinds of money filming in Dubai for THIS? I mean, yeah, it was an okay episode but I'm not sure it really rated the Dubai filming. Not in the same way that "Fires of Pomeii" rated the Italian filming (of course they were also being able to film on standing sets which probably helped keep costs down) with a really strong story that was enhanced by the location filming. This was a weak story and the location filming really didn't do all that much to strengthen it.

drwho

04-11-2009, 10:43 PM

I actually loved this episode. I thought the whole bus thing was cool. I liked the explanation of the aliens and the worm hole. I also found the criminal companion pretty cool and resourceful. I thought there was chemistry with michelle ryan and david tennant.

Charles RB

04-12-2009, 06:17 AM

Was NOT best pleased when they had her bascially turn on the Doctor in the middle of the episode then had her be all grateful and saluting and everything at the end.

I quite liked that moment. She's just heard unknown hostiles could be about to pour through a wormhole, and the Doctor's not explaining anything beyond that - she doesn't know what's coming, how many, how dangerous. Her job and mandate demands she shuts down the wormhole rather than risk invasion.

If Paul Cornell was doing this, she so would've done it.

king mob

04-12-2009, 07:19 AM

(Plus fuck OFF with this "no more companions" thing, nobody's buying it)

It's annoying isn't it, I thought RTD might let the 'I'm so ronrey' shite go for this but he didn't.

king mob

04-12-2009, 07:22 AM

All I kept thinking as well was "They spent all kinds of money filming in Dubai for THIS? I mean, yeah, it was an okay episode but I'm not sure it really rated the Dubai filming. Not in the same way that "Fires of Pomeii" rated the Italian filming (of course they were also being able to film on standing sets which probably helped keep costs down) with a really strong story that was enhanced by the location filming. This was a weak story and the location filming really didn't do all that much to strengthen it.

Not to sound too Daily Mail about it, but it did seem like a waste of public funds. The entire thing could easily have been written so that they didn't need to film in Dubai as opposed to the Italian filming which added to the whole feel of Fires of Pompeii.

Stressfactor

04-12-2009, 08:28 AM

Stressfactor

04-12-2009, 08:32 AM

I quite liked that moment. She's just heard unknown hostiles could be about to pour through a wormhole, and the Doctor's not explaining anything beyond that - she doesn't know what's coming, how many, how dangerous. Her job and mandate demands she shuts down the wormhole rather than risk invasion.

If Paul Cornell was doing this, she so would've done it.
For me, I suppose it's just that it's not something the Brigadier would have done. Even back in the day when the Brig WAS a cold-hearted bastard ("Doctor Who and the Silurians" anyone?) he had enough faith in the Doctor and he did like the Doctor well enough that he would give him until the VERY LAST POSSIBLE SECOND to get out before going all explode-y on stuff.

For all that it seems every UNIT soldier is now given a brief on the Doctor and the Captain herself was in awe of him it seems she should have been willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

The scene would have been stronger had she shown a bit more conflict in herself. If she had seemed a bit reluctant to take this step but was doing so out of fear and uncertainty.

Cyke

04-12-2009, 10:18 AM

I'm just going to copy and paste what I wrote on another board:

I wouldn't define it as campy (okay, flying bus), but simply... meh. Just meh. I have a hard time believing that billions of creatures would move so fast that they would naturally create wormholes, but it takes them an hour to reach our heroes (does that mean if we give everyone on Earth a segue, we can travel to another planet?). However, I do like the design and the explanation given for the carnivorous creatures. Like the Weeping Angels and the Reapers, nuWho seems to do a consistently creative job of showing imaginative evolution.

Christina was a bit of fun, but she was cliche (did she HAVE to be an aristocrat? Echoes of Lara Croft). I do like how the episode pointed out how similar she and the Doctor were and that she was essentially a match for him. Someone (sadly, not me) made the excellent point that, narratively speaking, she really was no different than Jenny as the pretty but super-capable female; normally that wouldn't bother me, but with that point in hindsight, I'm now a bit disappointed that we saw her thieve in the prologue, to explain why she was so super-capable. If the episode started with her running from the police and just happens to catch the very same bus our Doctor was on, the mystery of why anyone would have an ax and a spade in her backpack would help the character so much.

Speaking of which: That was arguably the worst bunch of fictionalized security guards I have ever seen. Sure, security guards are almost always cannon fodder in film and TV, but this was just downright embarrassing even for cannon fodder standards.

UNIT was alright, but Magambo threatening Malcolm at gunpoint was a bit extreme. Yes, I realize that she is military and her orders are to be followed, but she seemed more bitter about being left out of the loop rather than being concerned about the safety of the world. One wouldn't get that impression had the gun not been drawn. Thus, it seemed like phony, shoehorned drama. "We have 15 minutes to kill! How can we add false tension?"

My problem with RTD scripts is how wildly inconsistent the scale is. A 20 foot hole growing to 4 miles and then 10 miles? This goes along with the planet-tractor, 5 million Cybermen across the world, people conveniently dismissing large scale invasions, and other outlandish concepts, in that the scale just doesn't seem to match what's going on screen. We could believe the Daleks were bombing continents because it happened where the action/plot wasn't happening. Heck, for that matter, did the bus really need to fly that high? Even with the simple things, there's less and less moderation anymore, with the defense being "Doctor Who has always been outlandish!" I would argue that it's been outlandish for good reason.

As for Lee Evans, he was good for the wow factor when he first came on (I avoided all spoilers as much as possible). Seeing him in a science role and very eccentrically so made me wonder how he would do as a Doctor himself (who else would name a unit of measurement after himself? Wonderful!), though the whole "I love you" part was a bit unbelievable, even for him.

In the past, I never really connected with the idea that Murray Gold's music was too much, in terms of use and composition. I thought he had always done fine work. In this episode however, the music did seem to blare almost inappropriately to the point of distraction. I'd get interested in dialogue, only to find that the music itself was getting in my way of understanding/enjoying the script. Time to tone it down.

All in all, not a bad episode, but not a good one either. I'd have to give this a borderline average ratin

Charles RB

04-12-2009, 11:36 AM

My problem with RTD scripts is how wildly inconsistent the scale is.

Yeah, that annoys me - especially when he wants to do large scale things but not the stuff that comes after (same with Angel S4; Los Angeles was thrown into chaos and slaughter to be followed with the entire city being supernaturally brainwashed, and for at least a month... and yet nothing seems different in S5).

Spike-X

04-13-2009, 02:17 AM

I quite enjoyed it, for the most part. There were bits I didn't love - RTD's usual inane, pandering "Ooh, aren't normal people just wonderful?" rubbish, although it was toned down a bit this time, and while there was minimal angst, what there was was a trifle forced, I thought - but for the most part it was good, fun Doctor Who.

It's wonderful to hear that Bernard Cribbins will be back for the Christmas Special(s). His character is fantastic, and if not for all the running ("really, ridiculous amounts of running"), I think he'd make a fine Companion.

Typo Lad

04-13-2009, 06:01 AM

Posting this before reading other comments, so if I go over old ground, forgive me.

Watched this last night with my 8-year-old. She was fascinated, particularly by Lady Christina. In fact, she asked "Will she be having more adventures?" It did kind of feel like a "pilot" moment. Imagine Lady Christina and The Doctor's Daughter teaming up - that'd be fun.

Also, knock four times? As in the sound of the drums? Or is that more 6

Fun little show.

king mob

04-13-2009, 07:00 AM

As an American it's not like MY money goes for this BUT my irritation was that I'm always hearing about how the show is strapped for cash -- not enough money to do this or that and then they go and waste what they had.

The desert scenes WERE nice I just don't see why they had to be filmed in Dubai. Surely there was someplace they could go to that would have been cheaper and just as effective.

There's nowhere in the UK that looks like that & filming on the beach at Clevedon wouldn't quite get the same effect. However it could have been written around to avoid it looking like spending money for the sheer hell of it.

king mob

04-13-2009, 07:10 AM

There's apparently going to be more animated episodes to supplent future DVD releases from 2Entertain. Nothing definate has been confirmed in terms of releases, but the obvious serials are The Ice Warriors and The Tenth Planet.

Considering that 2Entertain are releasing a lot of quality Who serials this year, (The Romans/Rescue was great, and Attack of the Cybermen helped me redeem Colin Baker's Doctor a bit. We've got Deadly Assassin, War Games, Planet of the Spiders, Frontier in Space/.Planet of the Daleks coming up in 2009) we probably won't see anything until 2010.

Stressfactor

04-13-2009, 08:17 AM

There's nowhere in the UK that looks like that & filming on the beach at Clevedon wouldn't quite get the same effect. However it could have been written around to avoid it looking like spending money for the sheer hell of it.
I know there's nothing like it in Great Britian but... They could have gone to the Tabernas Desert or Bardenas Reales in Spain or something, couldn't they and then CGI out any wide shots they needed.

Charles RB

04-13-2009, 09:02 AM

There's apparently going to be more animated episodes to supplent future DVD releases from 2Entertain.

Hurray! :smile:

Stressfactor

04-13-2009, 09:39 AM

"Ice Warriors" would seem a no-brainer. Especially since Cosgrove Hall already has the Doctor and Jamie models on file (I'm assuming they kept all of those computer files against future need).

I think I WOULD like to see the BBC do some top notch animation to put with the audio from the webcast "Shada". It's a good story and if you just listen to the audio and ignore the crappy web animation it's STILL a good story. It may have Paul McGann instead of Tom Baker but on the flip side it has John Leeson as the voice of K-9 as opposed to David Brierly.

Mac Danny

04-13-2009, 09:51 AM

Typo Lad

04-13-2009, 09:56 AM

Where did you see it? Was it aired in the US?
It was not. I was bad.

Charles RB

04-13-2009, 01:12 PM

And you don't look good in a leather jacket, so the Doctor is ANGRY.

Well, the Tenth. I can't see the First thru Fourth caring, they probably downloaded all the time.

Spike-X

04-13-2009, 01:14 PM

Imagine Lady Christina and The Doctor's Daughter teaming up - that'd be fun.

*gulp*

I'll be in my bunk...

Stressfactor

04-13-2009, 01:32 PM

And you don't look good in a leather jacket, so the Doctor is ANGRY.

Well, the Tenth. I can't see the First thru Fourth caring, they probably downloaded all the time.Time and Space Visualizer = futuristic version of YouTube. :biggrin:

God I'm a geek.

Gorthaur

04-13-2009, 03:58 PM

I quite enjoyed it, for the most part. There were bits I didn't love - RTD's usual inane, pandering "Ooh, aren't normal people just wonderful?" rubbish, although it was toned down a bit this timeWhat I dislike is RTD's tendency to pay all this lip service to how awesome them normal peeps are, only to then proceed to show them as either utterly useless or a hindrance when not bossed around by Time Lords and other aristocrats.

Charles RB

04-13-2009, 05:24 PM

Yes, that is a bit of a disconnect.

Also, Rose and Donna were meant to be such normal people... and both end up as superhuman entities, and Rose gets made into a dimension-hopping super-soldier. Normal people are great, that's why they hurriedly get made abnormal!

Spike-X

04-13-2009, 11:03 PM

What I dislike is RTD's tendency to pay all this lip service to how awesome them normal peeps are, only to then proceed to show them as either utterly useless or a hindrance when not bossed around by Time Lords and other aristocrats.
He does seem to be trying to have a bet each way there, doesn't he?

"Ordinary people are just wonderful, as long as they remember their place!"

Matt

04-14-2009, 02:58 AM

Planet of the Dead

It was so close to being a great yarn but somehow just didn't mesh together to form a really coherent tale.

The random psychic seemed out of place, almost glaring so somehow. Michelle Ryan was alright, certainly a nice bit of eye candy, but her character seemed to pinball from being quite bright to incredibly stupid.

The flying bus was simply silly and looked very fake. I am, however, quite glad UNIT came across as something resembling competent for once - I think it'd be the first time since the new series started.

Spike-X

04-14-2009, 03:03 AM

Adrian Tullberg

04-14-2009, 05:17 AM

It's wonderful to hear that Bernard Cribbins will be back for the Christmas Special(s). His character is fantastic, and if not for all the running ("really, ridiculous amounts of running"), I think he'd make a fine Companion.

That begs for something like this ...

Monster of the week is advancing with due speed down a corridor. The Doctor is motioning to Wilf.

Doctor: Now would be a good time to run.

Wilf: Run?

He reaches into his coat, withdrawing something.

Wilf: With my hips?

It's a twelve-gauge shotgun. Wilf pumps the action.

Wilf: Don't be daft.

Typo Lad

04-14-2009, 05:34 AM

Oh good, then the Doctor can go on a big rant about how much he HATES GUNS THEY ARE SO BAD!

Charles RB

04-14-2009, 06:48 AM

Oh good, then the Doctor can go on a big rant about how much he HATES GUNS THEY ARE SO BAD!

And yet he'd like the Brigadier around.

The guy that once saved the entire Earth with... a gun. That the Doctor got the silver bullets for. Er.

Charles RB

04-14-2009, 06:49 AM

The random psychic seemed out of place, almost glaring so somehow.

Yeah, that bugged me - there didn't seem to be a point to her being psychic, it's not used except to give Ominous Foreshadowing.

DrDoom616

04-14-2009, 07:16 AM

Planet of the dead was ok, not brilliant, but ok, The New Red Dwarf series outshined this episode by far, only 2 specials left and I have a feeling that David Tennant will be exiting quite early in the final special, why else would they bring in a new doctor soooooooooooo early.

Alan Lynch

04-14-2009, 09:00 AM

Also, knock four times? As in the sound of the drums? Or is that more 6

Fun little show.
That's how I read it, although the commentary track says that it absolutely doesn't mean what you think it means. considering the Master is literally all I can guess at, that might make me wrong. But time will tell.
Yes, that is a bit of a disconnect.

Also, Rose and Donna were meant to be such normal people... and both end up as superhuman entities, and Rose gets made into a dimension-hopping super-soldier. Normal people are great, that's why they hurriedly get made abnormal!
Not to mention Rose spending much of her time on the show bitching about how crap normal life is. Piss off, Rose.
Speaking of the bus, an interesting titbit from Confidential - the bus wasn't supposed to be wrecked. It got smashed by a shipping container on the ship it went to Dubai on (and I bet that crane operator got an arse-reaming!). Nothing they could do, so they wrote it into the story.

Then they had to very carefully duplicate the damage on the second bus they had back in the UK. Dunno why they didn't just get a crane in and smash that one with a shipping container as well.
Again from the commentary - with 9 days until the show aired much of the effects were unfinished. So those of us who think they looked a bit rushed, well, they were. All because the work done in advance anticipated a perfectly shiny bus.

I thought it was decent. Like others have said, not really enough for a special but it had enough fun ideas to keep it rattling along. And I do so enjoy foreshadowing. Michelle Ryan really is a bit crap though, isn't she?

Charles RB

04-14-2009, 09:23 AM

A bit more than a bit crap...

Alan Lynch

04-14-2009, 09:37 AM

A bit more than a bit crap...
Well she's pretty at least; that lets her off for some of it. I mean I'm being generous here.

ArtEvans

04-14-2009, 10:17 AM

Cyke

04-14-2009, 11:39 AM

I am, however, quite glad UNIT came across as something resembling competent for once - I think it'd be the first time since the new series started.

Hey, to be fair, tanks took out the Christmas Star, and Col. Mace and company tore the Sontarans a new one.

king mob

04-14-2009, 12:55 PM

What I dislike is RTD's tendency to pay all this lip service to how awesome them normal peeps are, only to then proceed to show them as either utterly useless or a hindrance when not bossed around by Time Lords and other aristocrats.

Whoever wrote the line 'this is why the aristocracy prevails, we're always prepared' needs shooting.

king mob

04-14-2009, 12:59 PM

Speaking of the bus, an interesting titbit from Confidential - the bus wasn't supposed to be wrecked. It got smashed by a shipping container on the ship it went to Dubai on (and I bet that crane operator got an arse-reaming!). Nothing they could do, so they wrote it into the story.

Then they had to very carefully duplicate the damage on the second bus they had back in the UK. Dunno why they didn't just get a crane in and smash that one with a shipping container as well.

Couple of glaring plotholes regarding the bus:

1/If UNIT had the Tardis why didn't they say sooner and throw it through the wormhole to the Doctor so he can get everyone home?

Or:

2/ Once the Doctor got in touch with UNIT, why didn't he ask for a huge fuck-off armoured car that he could come back to Earth in?

Of course this could have led to a shorter episode, or it could have been a lot better than a bloody flying bus.

king mob

04-14-2009, 01:01 PM

Yeah, that bugged me - there didn't seem to be a point to her being psychic, it's not used except to give Ominous Foreshadowing.

It's the only thing about the BBC drama stock passengers that I liked, even if it was a bit cliched.

king mob

04-14-2009, 01:12 PM

I liked this special quite a bit, moreso than the Christmas one. I have no idea who Michelle Ryan is, but she is a decent "special" companion, although not coming close to Kylie's Astrid. I happen to love RTD's writing so I don't get the criticisms heaped on him by old fans.

I love RTD's writing, I've said that he's one of the best writers of British telly drama with works of genius like Queer As Folk , Bob & Rose (best thing he's ever done) & The Second Coming. His enthusiaism for Who brought it back, made it respectable enough for an actor like Eccleston to even consider playing the Doctor, while the programme's success has shown that good children's/family drama can be done for a huge mainstream audience.

His problem is that he's a crap script editor & he needs someone to tell him that he's churning out rubbish at times, Planet of the Dead being a great example of the problems of New Who since series two. His best scripts are stories like Midnight (which PotD is a rehash of) & Utopia, which show his range of storytelling. Things like PotD show a lack of ideas & an urge to throw BIG THINGS into scripts without really thinking them through.

Gorthaur

04-14-2009, 01:13 PM

It's the only thing about the BBC drama stock passengers that I liked, even if it was a bit cliched.
I thought that was a nice little mislead. Made for a bit of tension with the supernatural horror fake-out before revealing the actual threat of mundane planet-hopping alien stingrays.

Charles RB

04-14-2009, 02:46 PM

Well she's pretty at least; that lets her off for some of it.

RTD's gay though, what was his excuse for letting her off?!

2/ Once the Doctor got in touch with UNIT, why didn't he ask for a huge fuck-off armoured car that he could come back to Earth in?

....gooooood question. I never thought of that, and now I can't not think about it.

Stressfactor

04-14-2009, 03:17 PM

....gooooood question. I never thought of that, and now I can't not think about it.Actually, that one's easy.

We saw the bus sank up to it's hips in the sand, right? Because it was LOOSE sand and there are no roads and the Doctor isn't likely to build one anytime soon so any "armored car" they sent through the wormhole would have gotten just as damn stuck as the bus.

For those ready to cry "Look at Iraq! They have cars over there!" Well, yes, but the cars only run where the sand has been packed and formed into roads.

If you're going to run on loose sand you need a tank or a half-track or a dune buggy type vehicle -- something with TREADS or else something lightweight with large tires. A dunebuggy is obviously not going to be tough enough to stand up to the wormhole and perhaps UNIT had a desert-equipped tank just sitting around but it's easy to assume that they DON'T have ready access to such a tank and that it would take hours to borrow one from the British military AND get it to the site of the wormhole.

HOWEVER, this DOESN'T excuse them from not catapulting the TARDIS through the wormhole.

Matt

04-14-2009, 03:55 PM

Or the Doctor could have used his sonic screwdriver, a battery and the TARDIS key to make the exterior dimensions form near him like in Father's Day >_>

Charles RB

04-14-2009, 04:37 PM

it's easy to assume that they DON'T have ready access to such a tank and that it would take hours to borrow one from the British military AND get it to the site of the wormhole.

Depends on how close the nearest tank is - the British army had some pretty dang near in The Runaway Bride.

Stressfactor

04-14-2009, 06:07 PM

Depends on how close the nearest tank is - the British army had some pretty dang near in The Runaway Bride.

There's also the question of how many people will fit in your average military tank. I know for some WW II tanks it was only three to five people.

Either way, UNIT not sending the Doctor a vehicle to replace the bus is excusable. Them NOT shoving the TARDIS through is not. Obviously they HAD the TARDIS (oh, and so GOOD of them to TELL the Doctor, "Oh, by the way, we've got your TARDIS here will that help?") and they could have just shoved it through by backing the military truck through the wormhole and having the driver wedge the gas pedal and jumping.

Spike-X

04-14-2009, 06:08 PM

I hope the new bloke isn't going to be allowed to pick his own wardrobe:

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2008-2/1297322/foo_cot_lord.jpg

Stressfactor

04-14-2009, 06:27 PM

Could be worse:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/gallery/sixthdoctor/images/340/11.jpg

Paul McEnery

04-14-2009, 08:08 PM

Couple of glaring plotholes regarding the bus:

1/If UNIT had the Tardis why didn't they say sooner and throw it through the wormhole to the Doctor so he can get everyone home?

Or:

2/ Once the Doctor got in touch with UNIT, why didn't he ask for a huge fuck-off armoured car that he could come back to Earth in?

Of course this could have led to a shorter episode, or it could have been a lot better than a bloody flying bus.

Because he wanted a flying bus?

Tactically, as a writer, you send the Doctor off up the sand dune to meet the fly people before they get through to UNIT on the scene. Also, you don't have them bring the bloody Tardis for the sake of a pat ending. Also also, sentimentally letting the girl go is entirely in character, especially since nicking the gold and having the nicking gear is what got them out of trouble -- in which case why not set the bloody bus down somewhere else? Oh wait, I know; so we can have the whiny scene about her implausibly not becoming a companion (as opposed to, say, some random girl on a reality TV show, or a waitress on a cruise, or a shop girl, or an unemployed office worker, or...

Thank God for Martha, or it'd look like chasing rough trade.

Spike-X

04-14-2009, 08:50 PM

http://images.icanhascheezburger.com/completestore/2008/11/17/128714036699446413.jpg

ArtEvans

04-14-2009, 09:23 PM

http://images.icanhascheezburger.com/completestore/2008/11/17/128714036699446413.jpg

Ok, I saw that Dylan picture in Mogo and told my friend it was Doctor Who, who promptly corrected me.

Cyke

04-15-2009, 01:17 AM

I hope the new bloke isn't going to be allowed to pick his own wardrobe:

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2008-2/1297322/foo_cot_lord.jpg

Frankly, he just needs to wear a collared shirt under the sweater. Add a tie or a unique neck accessory and he's the Hipster Doctor. (As opposed to Ten's Geek Chic look)

king mob

04-17-2009, 05:13 AM

My copy of Image of the Fendahl turned up early this morning & I've watched the first part of what is a cracking bit of Tom Baker Who. Yes, it's 'inspired' by Nigel Kneale but I've forgotten just how good the story is.

Next month is The Deadly Assassin, one of my favourite Who serials.

Charles RB

04-17-2009, 07:05 AM

Thank God for Martha, or it'd look like chasing rough trade.

I like this theory and will pretend it's canon.

king mob

04-19-2009, 05:46 AM

The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre points out the problems with Planet of the Dead. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZvbMA6xtjQ)

Spike-X

04-19-2009, 05:51 AM

The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre points out the problems with Planet of the Dead. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZvbMA6xtjQ)
Everyone's a critic.

Captain Jim

04-19-2009, 06:37 PM

Finally got around to watching PFTD a couple of nights ago. It was fine, and certainly welcome during this time of Who-drought, though I agree with others that it didn't seem as "special" as most of the Christmas specials.

I liked Michelle Ryan's character and wouldn't mind seeing her as a proper companion at some time in the future. (I'm sure they already have the next companion designed.) Her physical skills would make her valuable in certain situations and her "gray" morality could make her an interesting foil to the Doctor

Ontir

04-19-2009, 07:46 PM

I was standing in Borders yesterday, thumbing through Doctor Who Magazine, when I heard a familiar British voice. There at the comic rack was none other than "Mickey" himself, Noel Clarke (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0164929/)! We chatted for about 10 minutes. He couldn't tell me what he was working on, he was in town to work that stuff out, but he did say he's NOT going to Torchwood! I didn't ask about "Who." Really nice guy!

Matt

04-20-2009, 01:27 AM

Everyone's a critic.

Damn funny one in this case.

Typo Lad

04-20-2009, 05:53 AM

Stressfactor

04-20-2009, 07:01 AM

king mob

04-20-2009, 12:03 PM

Going on a "classic" bent for a moment.....

I watched "The Green Death" last night. It's actually one of the few stories that I'd never seen before either in part or in whole and, to be honest, having originally read a synopsis of the story, I really wasn't expecting much out of this.

It's THE classic Pertwee Who story for people of a certain age as everyone remembers the maggots, even though they never played as large a part as I remembered them playing when I saw it as a kid.

Boy was I wrong. For those stories that Jon Pertwee essentially did on autopilot THIS one made up for it. He was in unusually fine form here and turned in what I would argue was the BEST performance as the Doctor in all his years on the program.

The last episode where Pertwee realises he's lost Jo and he's got nobody really close left to him is tragic, but it allows Pertwee to give a lovely subtle performance. There's a lot of looks that Pertwee gives that suggests his relationship with Jo was much more than we'd ever suspected during the course of the programme.

At six episodes, though, it did seem a little sluggish in places. It probably could have been tightened up into at least a five parter and possibly four.

Probably, though it was the last attempt during Pertwee's run to do a 'serious' story, but a little trimming here and there would have made not too much difference really. It's just a cracking bit of Who.

king mob

04-20-2009, 12:05 PM

Cool.

Wiki says no Martha Jones in Torchwood either.

No, she's been busy filming Law & Order: UK. Though there's the chance she'll appear in one of the last two specials.

Stressfactor

04-20-2009, 12:31 PM

The last episode where Pertwee realises he's lost Jo and he's got nobody really close left to him is tragic, but it allows Pertwee to give a lovely subtle performance. There's a lot of looks that Pertwee gives that suggests his relationship with Jo was much more than we'd ever suspected during the course of the programme.

Not just looks. The Doctor at one point DELIBERATELY sabotages a romantic moment between Jo and Jones and there is that moment, in the beginning, where the Doctor offers Jo all of time and space and the WAY he says it sounds like it was more than just a jovial offer. There are also several moments where Pertwee's Doctor shows jealousy of Jones as he realizes that Jo is smitten. There are also several moments where the Doctor seems angry/arrogant in that he sees that he can no longer impress Jo and yet Jones, an ordinary human, can and Pertwee's performance delivers this GREAT sense of the Doctor's anger that is born out of his arrogance... the idea that he is smashing and how DARE some ordinary human pick another ordinary human over HIM?

In some ways this story is the Doctor at his least "alien" and most "human" as he experiences loneliness and loss.

king mob

04-20-2009, 12:45 PM

Not just looks. The Doctor at one point DELIBERATELY sabotages a romantic moment between Jo and Jones and there is that moment, in the beginning, where the Doctor offers Jo all of time and space and the WAY he says it sounds like it was more than just a jovial offer. There are also several moments where Pertwee's Doctor shows jealousy of Jones as he realizes that Jo is smitten.

I never felt convinced that Jo and this dodgy Welsh doctor would suddenly fall in love, it's one of the things that needed expanding in the story. But yes, there's lots of little touches from Pertwee that show how incredibly pissed off he is by someone who has become competition for the attention of Jo.

There are also several moments where the Doctor seems angry/arrogant in that he sees that he can no longer impress Jo and yet Jones, an ordinary human, can and Pertwee's performance delivers this GREAT sense of the Doctor's anger that is born out of his arrogance... the idea that he is smashing and how DARE some ordinary human pick another ordinary human over HIM?

The end really is great as it shows the Doctor as tragic and horribly arrogant at the same time, plus Pertwee's exit from the party is genius.

Tobias March

04-20-2009, 10:06 PM

Damn funny one in this case.

The discussion of the filming in Dubai alone.... :biggrin:

Charles RB

04-21-2009, 04:11 AM

The end really is great as it shows the Doctor as tragic and horribly arrogant at the same time, plus Pertwee's exit from the party is genius.

Personally I'd put that over the Doctor/Rose end of Doomsday and its sequel in Journey's End - everyone except the Doctor having a happy ending strikes me as more tragic, especially without Murray Gold overdoing it.

thehod

04-23-2009, 02:19 PM

Interesting casting news for series five, and the return of an enemy from the classic series...

Linky, linky (http://www.movieweb.com/news/NEJZiSKPl0ydNM)

DrDoom616

04-24-2009, 03:48 AM

Interesting casting news for series five, and the return of an enemy from the classic series...

Linky, linky (http://www.movieweb.com/news/NEJZiSKPl0ydNM)

For the benefit of people that are locked out from certain site, could you post the story and share which classic enemy is returning?

I'm hoping it's the Ice Warriors!

thehod

04-24-2009, 03:58 AM

For the benefit of people that are locked out from certain site, could you post the story and share which classic enemy is returning?

Certainly can...

Gillian Anderson, known to many as Agent Scully from The X-Files, is heading to a brand new science-fiction franchise, as she prepares to appear in Doctor Who. Anderson, according to a report from London's Daily Telegraph, will appear as The Rani, acting opposite Matt Smith's Doctor.

An insider for the show said of Anderson "Gillian obviously has a massive sci-fi following and it's felt that it would be a major coup to have her appear in Doctor Who." They continued saying, "The team behind the show are keen for the next Doctor to have lots of new enemies and Gillian would be a glamorous and impressive addition to the list. The Rani would be a perfect role for her as the character used to be regarded as one of the Doctor's most deadly opponents."

Rani originally was played by Kate O'Mara and faced off against the Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker), and was responsible for the Doctor's regeneration into the Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy). Rani is a renegade Time Lord (or Time Lady, as the case may be), who places the importance of her research over any other considerations, including the lives of innocent beings. She was originally created to be a recurring foil to The Doctor, in much the same way that The Master was, but she only appeared in two storylines before Doctor Who was taken off the air in the 1980s. When the Master re-appeared in the third season of the revived Doctor Who, showrunner Russel T. Davies joked that the hand which claimed the Master's ring was that of Rani. Davies said he had no plans to use that storyline himself, but said it was included for future production teams who wanted to bring either the Master or Rani back.

Anderson's Rani will face off against Smith's Doctor sometime in 2010, when the next full season of Doctor Who airs. However, that won't be the first chance Anderson has to encounter the Doctor - she'll be appearing on London stages in Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House acting opposite former Doctor Who, Christopher Eccelston.

Bear in mind I've not seen any of this on the Beeb and I having checked Outpost Galifrey yet (still don't feel clean after my last visit), so it could all be rumour at this point.

Stressfactor

04-24-2009, 07:10 AM

If true it could be interesting but, as you said, it's all pretty much rumor at this point so I'm not banking on anything.

Moffatt has said that he really doesn't want to use old villains. *If* he does resurrect the Rani I would think he would wait until the season finale to pull that one out so I'm not sure they would be locking in casting this early in the game. Seems more like someone's 'wishful thinking' rumor.

king mob

04-24-2009, 07:18 PM

Certainly can...

Bear in mind I've not seen any of this on the Beeb and I having checked Outpost Galifrey yet (still don't feel clean after my last visit), so it could all be rumour at this point.

The fact it's the Telegraph punting this sets my shite detector on overdrive.

SUPERECWFAN1

04-24-2009, 07:55 PM

Certainly can...

Bear in mind I've not seen any of this on the Beeb and I having checked Outpost Galifrey yet (still don't feel clean after my last visit), so it could all be rumour at this point.

That sounds awesome. I hope it happens. But you guys know if its bullshit or not since ya follow Who more than me.

king mob

04-26-2009, 05:38 AM

Stressfactor

04-28-2009, 07:27 AM

I picked up Attack of the CCybermen cheap in Fopp yesterday & watched it last night. This is one of the stories that made me hate Colin Baker at the time, not to mention putting me off watching Who.

My opinion has changed a bit over time as I now think it's watchable nonsense but Baker is terrible & like then, I can't really get past his performance or that bloody costume. Pity, it's a really good cast & a much better story than I remembered it being."Attack" is one of the really early stories, isn't it? I seem to recall it having some of the more blatant examples of Nicola Bryant's horrid American accent 'slipping'.

That's one of the things that always bugs me about the Colin Baker years. As an American hearing someone trying to do an American accent usually makes me cringe. To be fair, hearing some Americans attempting to do various British accents also makes me cringe. When it's done well and done right it can be flawless but there seem to be few actors either capable of this or willing to put in the hours of hard work to do it.

Spike-X

04-28-2009, 08:37 AM

And there has never been an American yet who could master the Australian accent.

king mob

04-28-2009, 12:27 PM

"Attack" is one of the really early stories, isn't it? I seem to recall it having some of the more blatant examples of Nicola Bryant's horrid American accent 'slipping'.

It's Baker's second story after the awful Twin Dilemma. Attack isn't great but it was a nicer waste of a tenner & a afternoon than I expected.

DrDoom616

04-29-2009, 08:25 AM

Yep, I agree that Colin Baker combined with that goddam awful costume killed Dr Who, after that the show never really recovered.

Stressfactor

04-29-2009, 08:57 AM

Cyke

04-29-2009, 10:18 AM

Stressfactor

04-29-2009, 11:03 AM

I don't listen to many Doctor Who audio books, but isn't Colin Baker considered one of the best Doctors in that medium? Correct me if I'm wrong, of course.I haven't listened to ALL of the Big Finish stuff so I won't say "best" but he IS quite good.

But then , Big Finish did it RIGHT.

A) They got script writers who could produce stuff that ranged from at least "solid" to "exceptional".

B) The writers created stronger companions. Maggie Staples, in particular, as Evelyn Smythe.

C) They got good actors to support the characters (see above)

D) They balanced the Doctor's character out.

The TV stuff from Baker's era was wrong-headed from the start. The writers seemed to think that a good way of creating more dramatic tension would be to have the Doctor and his companion be a bit less friendly. What was probably supposed to be "spunk" in Peri just came off as bitchiness (and being a woman and being familiar with being bitchy I'm allowed to say this) and attempts to emphasize the Doctor's arrogance instead made him an asshole. What humor they did give him seemed of the rather cruel variety -- which didn't sit well with TV audiences. Of course, here's where Baker, himself, lacked as well in that he, himself, didn't handle the cruel humor very well in that he delivered it at face value instead of trying to soften it.

What Big Finish did was let the character be arrogant but balance that out with some warmth, a bit more humor, some charm, and a genuine caring for his companions.

I've actually read the story for "The Nightmare Fair" and listened to the fan audio that was created from that script and I now think it a SHAME that the story was never produced. It was a Graham Williams script and I honestly believe that if the story had been made it COULD have signaled a turning point in the show. The Blackpool location was JUST silly enough to prove that the stories could take themselves not so seriously and, in addition, the script really calls for the Doctor to loosen up and display an impish, childish side to himself that Baker had, up to that point, not been allowed to do. I think if he had it would have gone far towards letting the audience warm up to the Doctor.

ChrisIII

05-03-2009, 07:51 PM

Paul McEnery

05-03-2009, 08:16 PM

And there has never been an American yet who could master the Australian accent.

What about Mel Gibson?

Stressfactor

05-03-2009, 08:22 PM

What about Mel Gibson?
Eh, he was raised in Australia and picked up the accent.

In fact, if you look at some of his early movies he had a bit of trouble completely shaking the accent.

Sort of like John Barrowman who was actually born in Great Britain but was raised in America and picked up the accent.

But as far as I'm concerned the Aussies can have Mel back now.

Spike-X

05-03-2009, 08:30 PM

You lot ruined him, you can keep him.

Tobias March

05-03-2009, 09:07 PM

You lot ruined him, you can keep him.

It's odd to think the Gibson clan fled America to set up their church elsewhere....they were like an inverted Mayflower, Antipodes-bound.

Spike-X

05-03-2009, 09:18 PM

It's odd to think the Gibson clan fled America to set up their church elsewhere....they were like an inverted Mayflower, Antipodes-bound.
Yeah.

"We like America, but it's just not God-crazy enough!"

king mob

05-04-2009, 05:21 AM

I won't completely blame Baker. I've heard the commentary track on the DVD's and I've listened to some of the audio stories and he really CAN pull off "Charming" while keeping the arrogance in check. Baker may not have been a "great" Doctor but he COULD have been a "good" Doctor if he had been given a bit more reign.

He possibly could but I stil think he was miscast.

And he, himself HATED the costume and he HATED the scripts with all the bickering between the Doctor and Peri.

True. He got stuck with a crap costume and a series of poor scripts, though Peri was popular for some very obvious reasons.

I think, far more than Colin Baker, the show was scuttled by JNT's micro-management and really bad scripts. And JNT's micro-managing includes that STUPID costume because HE was the one who wanted it, not Baker.

Indeed. Davison has said he wished he'd stayed for another year as if he did, he would have had the power to get rid of those bloody question marks from the Doctor's outfit, so we'd never had the horror of Colin Baker's costume.

Looking back on the history of the show, the BEST eras have been ones in which the production team let the actor playing the Doctor have a bit of leeway, only roping them in when it became necessary. Baker was hobbled from the start -- he wasn't allowed much leeway at all and the whole thing was stifiling.

He was allowed time to develop his Doctor but JNT wanted his idea for the Doctor as well as Eric Saward wanted his idea for the Doctor, plus various directors wanted their ideas for the Doctor and so we had a big mess during Baker's run.

king mob

05-04-2009, 05:32 AM

Another problem with Baker was that there was way too much continuity. While RTD does a lot of stuffing references to past episodes, they're pretty much all from his WHO and the last four years, so it's easy for audiences to catch up. However, ATTACK for instance references Tomb Of The Cybermen, which was nearly twenty years before it, and still lost at that point....

I noticed watching Attack of the Cybermen how crammed it was with continuity references, many of which would be lost to most of it's core audience at the time. The Totters Yard scene is only there as a big, huge nod to the hardcore fanboys and does nothing to push the story of.

The problem is the relationship between the production team (JNT and Saward) and Ian Levine. It's difficult to believe just who is telling the truth as to who really wrote Attack, but judging by the sheer number of past Who references it's a fair guess that Levine had a huge influence upon the script with Saward providing most of the bulk of the story.

Also, Sil aside (and even they kind of screwed him up in "Trial") there weren't a lot of decent original villains in the C.Baker era. While Tom Baker's first season also had some recurring bad guys, there was stronger writing (Especially with Genesis of the Daleks).

We can thank Robert Holmes for being an excellent script editor, which was the problem with Saward. He just wasn't an especially good script editor.

The other thing about Tom Baker's first year is that they cram in lots of returning villians, (Daleks, Sontarans, Cybermen) then after that you don't have a returning villian until the Master turns up in the Deadly Assassin some three years later.That's how strong the writing was, they were confident enough to run with new and different monsters each week and in the course of that create a new mythology for the programme. Colin Baker never got the scripts or the chance to do that.

It's one of the problems of Nu Who that RTD constantly reuses ideas after only four years, hopefully Moffatt feels it's time for the programme to develop onwards.

king mob

05-04-2009, 05:34 AM

Sort of like John Barrowman who was actually born in Great Britain but was raised in America and picked up the accent.

Barrowman seems to be developing this strange American/Scottish/English accent for whatever horrible primetime nonsense he's presenting this week.

Stressfactor

05-04-2009, 08:03 AM

though Peri was popular for some very obvious reasons.And JNT made sure those reasons were prominently displayed.

Bryant's also not been afraid to complain about her costuming on the DVD commentaries.

I particularly winced when she described how that metallic halter top she wore in "The Two Doctors" burned her skin when they were filming in Spain until she could get the wardrobe master to put a lining in it.

king mob

05-05-2009, 01:23 PM

And JNT made sure those reasons were prominently displayed.

I'll never forget Peri's first appearance in Planet of Fire as it was the first time Who had a huge clevage shot to introduce a companion.

Stressfactor

05-05-2009, 02:56 PM

I'll never forget Peri's first appearance in Planet of Fire as it was the first time Who had a huge clevage shot to introduce a companion.And what did the female viewership get? Turlough in a speedo *shudder* *ick*.

king mob

05-12-2009, 12:46 PM

The Deadly Assassin is out on DVD this week & it's as every much as great as I remember it. The making of documentary is very much worth watching as it's managing to deal with Mary Whitehouse's objections to the programme without the terrible revisionism about her we've seen recently.

Stressfactor

05-12-2009, 01:44 PM

"War Games" isn't even ON Borders' release list in the near future, nonetheless "The Deadly Assasin. Crap. It takes forever for this stuff to get released in America.

king mob

05-16-2009, 07:42 AM

The Sun has the interesting, if somewhat dubious, rumour that Timothy Dalton will be in Tennant's last episodes. Would love to see it but one must take The Sun's nonsense with a pinch of salt.

Matt Smith is in Cannes to promote a small British film. The BBC have done an interview with him there. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts_and_culture/8050713.stm) Filming for series five starts in Cardiff next month.

Tadhg

05-16-2009, 07:50 AM

"War Games" isn't even ON Borders' release list in the near future, nonetheless "The Deadly Assasin. Crap. It takes forever for this stuff to get released in America.

Deadly Assassin is released the first week of September in NA.

Charles RB

05-16-2009, 09:36 AM

Another problem with Baker was that there was way too much continuity.

Well so people say, but apart from Attack Of The Cybermen what else is there? Revelation Of The Daleks is a sequel to last year's Dalek story, The Two Doctors features a recurring villain and a popular past Doctor (who'd been shown as a past Doctor just two years before), Vengeance on Varos and Timelash are totally new (not that this helped Timelash), Mark of the Rani is about an evil female of a recurring villain last seen half a year ago.

Stressfactor

05-16-2009, 08:37 PM

Well so people say, but apart from Attack Of The Cybermen what else is there? Revelation Of The Daleks is a sequel to last year's Dalek story, The Two Doctors features a recurring villain and a popular past Doctor (who'd been shown as a past Doctor just two years before), Vengeance on Varos and Timelash are totally new (not that this helped Timelash), Mark of the Rani is about an evil female of a recurring villain last seen half a year ago.There were a lot of little things. One of the conceits of "Timelash" was that the Doctor had visited the planet in his Third incarnation and with Jo Grant as a companion. One of the alien freedom fighters wore a locket around her neck with Jo's picture in it which she said the Doctor had given to her grandfather (although this DOES beg the slightly creepy question of what the Doctor was doing giving away lockets with pictures of his companions in them to strange aliens). It was the point of the freedom fighters would not trust Peri until she could name the companion in the picture -- which then also implied that Peri had to have seen other pictures of Jo and the Doctor had to have mentioned her as well.

Also, at the end of the episode a laser weapon puts a hole in a wall and a portrait of the Third Doctor is revealed (These people must have had a real mad-on for Three).

Ontir

05-16-2009, 08:47 PM

Barrowman seems to be developing this strange American/Scottish/English accent for whatever horrible primetime nonsense he's presenting this week.

John Barrowman is actually from Scotland, and has a Scottish accent. He picked up an American accent so he wouldn't be bullied in school, but uses his natural Scottish accent with his family. He and his sister refer to it as "bi-dialectical." He and his partner have homes in London and Cardiff, and he is said to still have a place here in LA. You can find all of this by typing his name into youtube or checking his imdb page.

king mob

05-17-2009, 05:28 AM

There were a lot of little things. One of the conceits of "Timelash" was that the Doctor had visited the planet in his Third incarnation and with Jo Grant as a companion. One of the alien freedom fighters wore a locket around her neck with Jo's picture in it which she said the Doctor had given to her grandfather (although this DOES beg the slightly creepy question of what the Doctor was doing giving away lockets with pictures of his companions in them to strange aliens). It was the point of the freedom fighters would not trust Peri until she could name the companion in the picture -- which then also implied that Peri had to have seen other pictures of Jo and the Doctor had to have mentioned her as well.

Also, at the end of the episode a laser weapon puts a hole in a wall and a portrait of the Third Doctor is revealed (These people must have had a real mad-on for Three).

I think it's best if we all ignore Timelash and hope it'll go away.

king mob

05-17-2009, 05:31 AM

John Barrowman is actually from Scotland, and has a Scottish accent. He picked up an American accent so he wouldn't be bullied in school, but uses his natural Scottish accent with his family. He and his sister refer to it as "bi-dialectical." He and his partner have homes in London and Cardiff, and he is said to still have a place here in LA. You can find all of this by typing his name into youtube or checking his imdb page.

I know, I was referring to his horrible singing voice & his cheesy accent he uses whenever he's on some terrible BBC variety programme. Be glad you don't know anything about those programmes.

Ontir

05-17-2009, 08:25 AM

I know, I was referring to his horrible singing voice & his cheesy accent he uses whenever he's on some terrible BBC variety programme. Be glad you don't know anything about those programmes.

I like his singing voice (got his latest album for Christmas), and I've seen bits of his other shows. They weren't my cup of hemlock, but I can't say I thought he was bad in them.

Now on to the IMPORTANT stuff:

When is the next "Who" installment going out?!?
I'm in friggin' withdrawal here!

Spike-X

05-17-2009, 08:29 AM

Not for quite a while yet. Early November, or possibly Halloween.

Ontir

05-17-2009, 10:05 AM

Just saw Planet of the Dead.

Good stuff, and Ryan's "Lady Christina" was great fun. I hope she turns out to be the next "Donna Noble!"

Good to see Lee Evans, as well!

king mob

05-17-2009, 10:32 AM

I like his singing voice (got his latest album for Christmas), and I've seen bits of his other shows. They weren't my cup of hemlock, but I can't say I thought he was bad in them.

For some reason he's hugely popular with grannys and kids which is why he's seemingly constantly on the BBC.

Now on to the IMPORTANT stuff:

When is the next "Who" installment going out?!?
I'm in friggin' withdrawal here!

Waters of Mars seems to be going to broadcast on Halloween or Children in Need in November depending on what rumour you read.

Charles RB

05-17-2009, 11:12 AM

I think it's best if we all ignore Timelash and hope it'll go away.

"The monster from Timelash - well, other monster if you count the script."
- Doctor Who Mag

Stressfactor

05-18-2009, 07:45 AM

"The monster from Timelash - well, other monster if you count the script."
- Doctor Who MagActually, I don't think "Timelash" is all THAT bad.

Yes, the script could have been tightened up. There are a few too many competing ideas but many of the ideas that are there are interesting. There are also some plot holes which could have been plugged with a second round of editing and a little more time, patience and care.

The special effects are HORRID -- even by "Doctor Who" standards (and that's saying something). One of the biggest things that drags the story down is this fact -- the God-awful special effects.

On the plus side -- Nicola Bryant actually wears a costume that is reasonably practical for a change and Colin Baker's Doctor is somewhat less arrogant and shouty.

In other matters: I'd hope for "The Waters of Mars" for Halloween. It looks like a nice, creepy story and it would be fun to get a Halloween story.

In another note -- I kind of wish they would stop using the Cloister Bell sound effect in the previews for these specials. It kind of overuses the effect and I really love it when you just get the Cloister Bell out of the blue. It has more of that "Oh s$&*, we're in for it now!" factor when it's used sparingly.

Ontir

05-18-2009, 10:09 AM

Waters of Mars seems to be going to broadcast on Halloween or Children in Need in November depending on what rumour you read.

I actually hadn't seen Planet of the Dead until yesterday, and am surprised I missed all the discussion about it.

ChrisIII

05-18-2009, 01:44 PM

Ontir

05-18-2009, 02:24 PM

I think Jack Davenport would make a great "Master!"

Has Dalton been mentioned?

Actually, now that I think about it. I don't expect to see a lot of familiar characters in Moffatt's run, at least for the first year or so, unless they MUST be used.

Stressfactor

05-18-2009, 02:36 PM

. I wonder if Timothy Dalton will be the next Master? Sure, he's kind of an older actor (63) but so were Delgado(In his fifties) and Jacobi (69, although that was only one appearence). Plus it would be interesting to pit Smith against an older actor.Also, I think it works somewhat best when the Master is more obviously an opposite of the Doctor.

Simm's performance was great but when you make the Master crazy he loses something IMO.

I'd like to see a Master performance a little bit more like the character of David Xanatos from "Gargoyles" in that, even when he loses he seems to win at least on some level. The Delgado version of the Master comes closest to this -- many of the times he faced the Doctor he either got away in the end or else he managed to walk away with a little something -- even if it was just the knowledge that he had tricked the Doctor or pulled one over on him.

Ontir

05-18-2009, 03:38 PM

I think that the way they handled Simms "Master" made sense, especially with the Time War, but there's a loophole that could get the Master much closer to his original incarnation, and give him several regenerations to boot.

king mob

05-19-2009, 12:51 PM

Simm's performance was great but when you make the Master crazy he loses something IMO.

I loved the idea of a completely insane but brilliant Master who really didn't care. The first scenes in Last of the Time Lords featuring Simm's Master are really quite unsettling. All the stuff with the Doctor living in a doghouse and eating out a bowl is a bit too twisted for a Saturday teatime audience. Add some Scissor Sisters and spousal abuse to the scene and you've got a great portrayal of what a meglomaniac like the Master would actually do.

Pity it was all cocked up when Davies turned the Doctor into Jesus/Tinkerbell and it shat everything good before it up.

ChrisIII

05-25-2009, 06:39 AM

Anybody see the "Tonight's the Night" mini-episode/sketch?

Spike-X

05-25-2009, 08:45 AM

No, what is that?

Captain Jim

05-25-2009, 07:17 PM

Anybody see the "Tonight's the Night" mini-episode/sketch?

It was pretty cute. Check out youtube before it's deleted.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgg0Ul0aus4

ChrisIII

05-25-2009, 08:28 PM

Kind of like a more entertaining "In a fix with Sontarans".

Stressfactor

05-25-2009, 08:33 PM

First off: What the HELL is John Barrowman wearing?! It's like a sharkskin suit on steroids or something!

Second: Anyone else get a weird "Jim'll Fix It" flashback?

Dark_Master

05-26-2009, 04:29 PM

there's a couple of interesting news in OG today.
The first one is that the Tenth Doctor is going to show up in the next SJA series, which will be interesting to see at least to know how they are going to handle the Doctor's screen time so he doesn't end up being the main character instead of Sarah Jane.

The other one is that a new animated story is going to air later this year. This is somewhat less interesting because, story-wise, "The Infinite Quest" wasn't all that bad but it wasn't particularly good either.

Captain Jim

05-26-2009, 08:23 PM

The Xenos

05-27-2009, 02:32 AM

Stressfactor

05-27-2009, 07:38 AM

I agree with your assessment. Very much looking forward to seeing Tennant on SJA; much less excited about the animated episodes.

Speaking of SJA, I wonder if we'll ever get to see Series 2 in the US? I'd even settle for the DVD set, but I have a hunch they'll want someone to license it for broadcast before they go that route. Phooey, if SciFi doesn't want it, they should just air it on BBC America.It would really do well on one of the "kid centric" TV stations like Nickelodeon or Disney or Cartoon Network (yes, I know, SJA is live action which would seem to defeat the purpose of the name "Cartoon" Network but CN has done some live-action stuff in the past).

Or if Sci-Fi (pardon me, Sy-Fy) WOULD run it they should do so in the Saturday Morning time slot.

Spike-X

05-27-2009, 07:46 AM

I kinda feel that I need to brag that I help a friend putting together and painting a fullsized version of a certain blue box..

http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/1483/copyofdsc01156.th.jpg (http://img30.imageshack.us/my.php?image=copyofdsc01156.jpg)
Full sized?

Inside as well as outside?

Stressfactor

05-27-2009, 01:31 PM

Just wait until your friend asks you to build a full-scale model of the console room. I've seen people do this... although the easier, Old School version rather than the new one.

Although the wooden, steampunk-ish console room from the Tom Baker era would actually be kind of cool to see remade.

king mob

05-27-2009, 05:51 PM

there's a couple of interesting news in OG today.
The first one is that the Tenth Doctor is going to show up in the next SJA series, which will be interesting to see at least to know how they are going to handle the Doctor's screen time so he doesn't end up being the main character instead of Sarah Jane.

It's going to be a proper old-fashioned Doctor & companion story & will apparently be Tennant's last 'light' story before Waters of Mars. Series 3 of SJA will also see the Judoon return for a major plotline.

king mob

05-27-2009, 05:54 PM

Stressfactor

05-27-2009, 06:54 PM

It's going to be a proper old-fashioned Doctor & companion story & will apparently be Tennant's last 'light' story before Waters of Mars. Series 3 of SJA will also see the Judoon return for a major plotline.Wait -- so does this mean that the Doctor ep of the SJA will air BEFORE "Waters of Mars"? This would mean that the SJA series 3 would have to be filiming soon if it hasn't started already, right?

king mob

05-28-2009, 06:31 AM

Wait -- so does this mean that the Doctor ep of the SJA will air BEFORE "Waters of Mars"? This would mean that the SJA series 3 would have to be filiming soon if it hasn't started already, right?

SJA series 3 is being filmed now I believe, so it's going to be filmed after Tennant's final Who story. Of course if the rumours are true then he'll be back for a Doctor Who film.

Captain Jim

05-28-2009, 08:31 PM

Of course if the rumours are true then he'll be back for a Doctor Who film.

Say what? :eek:

Stressfactor

05-28-2009, 10:31 PM

Eh, they've been talking about a "Doctor Who" feature film for years. One of the biggest hurdles is making something that would appeal to not just a wide audience but also, possibly, to an international audience as well.

Plus, they've thrown out some stellar concepts (heavy sarcasm here) over the years. For example, there was the plan to have a movie in which "The Doctor" was going to be the son of the High Council President who, inspired by the legends of the previous Doctor decided to take off from Gallifrey and take on the name.

And for all their charm -- there's something just not quite right about the Peter Cushing Doctor Who movies -- and there was an example of trying to bring the Doctor to the big screen.

king mob

05-29-2009, 04:30 AM

Eh, they've been talking about a "Doctor Who" feature film for years. One of the biggest hurdles is making something that would appeal to not just a wide audience but also, possibly, to an international audience as well.

The BBC have been trying to punt a Who film for two or three years. RTD has said he has 'one last huge Who project in him', while one of Tennant's next projects is a 'big science fiction thing'. RTD's website did also list a Who film as one of his future projects for 2010, but that got removed when someone on OG spotted it.

Plus, they've thrown out some stellar concepts (heavy sarcasm here) over the years. For example, there was the plan to have a movie in which "The Doctor" was going to be the son of the High Council President who, inspired by the legends of the previous Doctor decided to take off from Gallifrey and take on the name.

The Tom Baker film came close. (http://www.cloisterbell.com/2006/09/doctor-who-meets-scratchman.html)

And for all their charm -- there's something just not quite right about the Peter Cushing Doctor Who movies -- and there was an example of trying to bring the Doctor to the big screen.

The Cushing films are great, especiall Dalek Invasion Earth, but they're really films designed to show off the Daleks.

Alan Lynch

05-29-2009, 05:45 AM

Say what? :eek:
They snuck out a bit in the Sarah Jane press release saying that work has started on a script. It'd be a decent way for Tennant to make the move to films at least so I can see him being tempted at least.

Whether the script or budget are good enough to make it worthwhile is another thing.

Stressfactor

05-29-2009, 05:51 AM

The Tom Baker film came close. (http://www.cloisterbell.com/2006/09/doctor-who-meets-scratchman.html)Bloody hell they want to bring back Billie Piper... AGAIN?!?!

COMPANIONS LEAVE PEOPLE!!! It's what they do, get over it!

I think I'll be glad when Moffett takes over and he can finally put an end to the stupid idea that so many people seem to have that the Doctor and Rose need to have a "happy ending".

I know a lot of people love the romance angle that has been in the show since the relaunch but THIS is exactly the problem with the idea. When you have a romance people start expecting a "and they lived happily ever after" for the two main characters and the Doctor will NEVER get a "happily ever after". If he did it would have to be the final episode... ever,

Alan Lynch

05-29-2009, 06:10 AM

Bloody hell they want to bring back Billie Piper... AGAIN?!?!

COMPANIONS LEAVE PEOPLE!!! It's what they do, get over it!

I think I'll be glad when Moffett takes over and he can finally put an end to the stupid idea that so many people seem to have that the Doctor and Rose need to have a "happy ending".

I know a lot of people love the romance angle that has been in the show since the relaunch but THIS is exactly the problem with the idea. When you have a romance people start expecting a "and they lived happily ever after" for the two main characters and the Doctor will NEVER get a "happily ever after". If he did it would have to be the final episode... ever,
I'd hoped that was the whole point of the lame "human Doctor" ending last season. Rose has her Doctor to be happy ever after, let people fanwank over that while the rest of us move on. Is there anything more to do with Rose at this point?

Ontir

05-29-2009, 06:15 AM

ChrisIII

05-29-2009, 06:16 AM

Spike-X

05-29-2009, 07:00 AM

Redhead...

Scottish...

*head explodes*

king mob

05-29-2009, 07:06 AM

New companion announced:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8073734.stm

Like Freema, (Although she's not the first-I think that goes to Ian Marter) she's had a previous WHO role. Nice to get a relative unknown as the companion.

I'm still getting a bit of a Hollyoaks vibe about Moffat's Who. Hopefully I'm being needlessly concerned.

Stressfactor

05-29-2009, 07:37 AM

Like Freema, (Although she's not the first-I think that goes to Ian Marter) she's had a previous WHO role. Nice to get a relative unknown as the companion.Nope. There was someone who pre-dated Ian Marter and I'm rather surprised that you of all people don't remember it....

Nicholas Courtney. Before he was ANY version of the Brigadier he played Brett Vyon in "The Daleks Master Plan".

Stressfactor

05-29-2009, 07:42 AM

I love "Rose." I don't think she needs to ever come back, unless it's from some point in the past, perhaps showing up w/Eccleston's "Doctor."

Of course, I'd have to see the ratings on "Rose" episodes. If her appearances equate to money, then you know she's coming back!That's the point. It's not really a slam against Billie Piper or her character on the show its just that the series moves on, it always has and it always will. It's not in Doctor Who's nature to keep the same characters around forever and ever and ever. In point of fact, for me that's part of the charm of the show -- that it's always changing up that it has the chance to reinvent itself and its characters at every turn. It keeps it from getting stale like every other show on TV and it's probably the biggest reason why its managed to exist for over 45 years.

Seeing a companion leave, watching the Doctor regenerate -- when those stories are done right they can be gut wrenchingly emotional and that's a wonderful thing. But once they're done it's time to move on and to look forward to what might be coming next.