Doctor Who

[Heather Harrison]

The Kirk/Picard thread gave me the idea to start this one. Although I have enjoyed Star Trek in the past, I never felt that it could match the sheer variety, low-budget hokiness, and utter weirdness of Doctor Who. (I would imagine that I could easily start a holy war with this statement, but that should be done in another thread if desired.)

For those who have never encountered it, Doctor Who was a BBC television series that ran from 1963-1989, and spawned a few movies. And apparently, the series has been resurrected on the BBC recently, but I have not seen any sign of it in the U.S. (but I haven't looked really hard either). The basic story is of a weird, absented-minded scientist type, a Time Lord from another planet, who jumps around through space and time in a machine (the Tardis) which outwardly takes on the appearance of an antique police box. He is usually accompanied by attractive young female companions. The brilliant twist to the story, potentially allowing the series to go on forever, is the idea that the Doctor can regenerate - he will essentially die, but reappear in a different form (allowing a new actor who doesn't even have to look or act like the original to take over).

So getting back to the subject at hand, if you are a fan of the show, which of the numerous Doctors is your favorite, or is this a hard decision? Or do you hate this show, dismissing it as a low-budget, hokey piece of junk?

I am not obsessed with the show, but I do enjoy it and I have seen most of the episodes (and all of the 3rd through 7th Doctors) and the Fox TV movie from 1996. I hope the brand new series turns out to be worthwhile and is true to its origins.

Anyway, here is my opinion. I have liked all of the Doctors in the original series, but Jon Pertwee (the 3rd) has to be my favorite. That man has class (and he is quite good-looking - and this is from someone not normally attracted to men!) But I think some of the other Doctors had some of the best episodes, so this is a hard one to answer.

I haven't seen the Peter Cushing movies, but I have seen the Fox TV movie, starring Paul McGann. While it had its moments, I did not feel like it was completely true to the original - something seemed to be missing. Perhaps they tailored it somewhat to the American market. Taking the American TV market into account would likely ruin the series, so I hope they don't try that again.

Sorry for the long post, but one cannot talk about this show without a lot of words. I have barely scratched the surface.

Heather Harrison

[Swift]

The only British television serie that I remember watching was "Allo Allo", about a french café during World War II. (Listen very carefully, I shall say this only once. ;)) The funny thing is that in France nobody has ever heard of it.

Swift

[Geoff]

Ahh, yes Dr Who is on its way again. It hasnt made it to the TV again yet here in the BBC but they keep trailing it here in the UK.

Tom Baker is the original and best for me.

Allo and Allo was so appallingly badly acted that it would have offended the French anyway, so it is probably best they dont know of it!

Edit : I prefer the more hard edged Dr's (Troughton, Davidson) more than the comical jokers (particularly McCoy).

-Geoff

[Swift]

Of course I forgot "Keeping up appearances", "Benny Hill", "Blackadder", ...

[Heather Harrison]

I love "Allo Allo" even with the bad acting and stupid stories - that is what makes it funny.

"Keeping Up Appearances" and "Blackadder" are great too.

Benny Hill deserves special mention. He is fantastic. I have been buying any DVD of his shows that I can find.

Back to Dr. Who, Tom Baker is also high on my list of favorites. I love the variety of stories that took place during his long tenure.

Heather Harrison

[C.J.Woolf]

Tom Baker was my favorite, but it was hard picking him over Peter Davison. Davison's Doctor was the toughest of them all -- only he was hard-hearted enough to kill the Master.

Who was your favorite companion? Mine was Ace (with Sylvester McCoy); a rare female companion was wasn't a goddamn screamer, and she liked to blow things up. Sarah Jane Smith (with Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker) comes a close second.

[Star]

I saw a lot of Tom Baker episodes first, and after that I just couldn't accept any other doctor. So I had to vote for him.

Am I the only one who's knitted the scarf? :nerd:

[Helios]

Yeah I am clueless with the Dr Who , but I loved Allo Allo, it was freakin' awesome!

[kuranes]

I'm with Deep Sky. Tom Baker was the first, and will always be the "only", just as Connery is the only Bond. I will always remember K-9. Funny that the theme music resembled the Pink Floyd songs "Sheep" and "One of These Days."

K-1

[ohnoaninfp]

Never seen it.

[C.J.Woolf]

I finally watched some episodes with the tenth Doctor, David Tennant. I loved it! Tennant's Doctor is a total dork, but a likable one. It might turn out to be a temporary infatuation, but he is my new favorite Doctor. And his companion Rose kicks ass and takes charge. Mrs. Woolf was dubious about an explicit love relationship between the Doctor and a companion, but I liked how their love was so fierce. They were willing to die for one another.

I read some stuff about the revived Doctor Who and found that almost everyone who worked on it loved the old series. That love showed.

[Ivy]

I like David Tennant a lot, but I loved Christopher Eccleston. He was the first one in this new series, and he is the one to meet Rose (who I agree kicks ass). Have you seen any of the earlier ones with him, CJ?

David Tennant's Doctor has better chemistry with Rose, though. Although, there were some interesting layers with her and Eccleston's Doctor, where he was outwardly curmudgeonly and chaotic but you knew that on some level he was quite fond of her.

[C.J.Woolf]

I haven't seen Christopher Eccleston, but I'm thinking of buying the DVDs of both seasons.

[sandwich]

The only British television serie that I remember watching was "Allo Allo", about a french café during World War II. (Listen very carefully, I shall say this only once. ;)) The funny thing is that in France nobody has ever heard of it.

Swift

I've only seen a few episodes of that show, but I absolutely loved it!

I'm a new fan- have only seen about 2 1/2 of the latest seasons and a small handful of the older ones. It's all thanks to tv-links (http://www.tv-links.co.uk/listings/1/26), since I'm awful at actually catching shows on TV. That's also how I've seen most of The Office and a few other shows.

Guess I need to look into the 4th Doctor, then.

[Toonia]

:wub:

(see sig)

[Ghost-Girl]

My first episode of Doctor Who was Christopher Eccleston, and since then I've delved back into the classic series. I love it all, and each Doctor brings good stuff to the character, but my favorite is probably Davison. He was definitely a more hands-on doctor, but still had a lot of humor and humility about him. Poor guy, he was always being hit, or trapped or falling over.

As for companions, I do like the cute back and forth relationship between the Doctor and Tegan (http://forums.intpcentral.com/showpost.php?p=679491&postcount=20), but one of the most interesting companions has got to be Turlough...he had a lot more depth to his character than the others did at that point.

Hm, so yeah...I'm a Doctor Who geek. :grin:

[bluebell]

Tom Baker is THE Doctor Who. But David Tennant... had to pick him.

[Yorenec]

It might be because I didn't grow up with Baker as many of you probably did, instead having watched him through reruns and never really having that anticipation of waiting for the next episode to air.

I have to go with Tennant though, I think unconsciously quoting The Lion King in his first episode is what pushed me off the fence overall. I loved that part so much, along with his "no second chances" line to the Sycorax leader. He's also much harder and realizes there is no chance of peace with the Daleks and that they must be wiped out for the greater good.

[George_McFly]

I like the new series. The special effects are better than the old shows.

[EL84]

...The special effects are better than the old shows...

Ah, the old BBC special effects, neither special nor effective, but still something there that appeals to me.

[PiccoloNamek]

Fourth Doctor for sure, although Peter is pretty damn good, too.

The best Doctor Who opening theme is definitely this one, though: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GcqlZnoFJk

It's just so pretty to look at, and the theme music is very soft and mysterious.

[C.J.Woolf]

I like the new series. The special effects are better than the old shows.
True, but I liked the cheesiness of the old special effects, costumes, and scenery. If you can't make it good, make it cheesy, I say. One of my concerns going into the new series was that they would fall into the chasm between good and cheesy, but they made it to good.

[Rhu]

I wasn't crazy about the Eccleston Doctor at first, though that doesn't match my enduring hatred for #5, though I may have ended up liking him more (and watching more episodes) if it weren't for the creepy kid parade that #4 left him with.

Of the Doctor's three companions in the new series, I found Rose to be the least interesting. Also: they should have kept Jack cheery and upbeat. The renvisioning of his character on Torchwood sucked. I have no complaints about Martha, except that she walked off. :(