The Doctor Who primer

Discussion in 'Doctor Who' started by V\'ger, Jan 28, 2006.

  1. Daniel_Fullard

    Daniel_Fullard Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I wouldnt worry too much about watching them in any sort of order or framework. The only ones Id say you must watch it order are Trail of a Timelord Season, Key To Time Season and Season 1 of the new run.
     
  2. V\'ger

    V\'ger Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    A bit more on Sarah Jane Smith and K-9, in preparation for "School Reunion".


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    Sarah Jane meets the Doctor (Page from Shillpages)

    Sarah Jane first met the Doctor in his Third incarnation when she was an undercover reporter in "The Time Warrior". She found herself unexpectedly transported to medieval times, and initially suspected the Doctor was behind the mischeif. However, she grew to trust him and joined him in the fight against the Sontaran Linx and his adversaries.
    Eventually upon the return to present-day Earth, she started to hang around with UNIT and the Doctor. With the third Doctor she fought Dinosaurs, Daleks, and Ice Warriors. On an adventure on Metebellis Three, the Doctor was forced to regenerate and became the fourth Doctor.

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    The Third Doctor regenerates


    With the Fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane's trips in the TARDIS became far more frequent (She also travelled for a time with UNIT doctor Harry Sullivan). She encountered Sontarans and Daleks again, and met enemies such as the Wirrn, Cybermen, Sutekh, Krynoids, and the Zygons.

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    Sarah Jane and the Fourth Doctor



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    Eventually, after being posessed by the being Eldrad (In the Hand Of Fear) Sarah Jane had a minor tantrum and packed her bags-but she didn't mean it. However, the Doctor received a summons from Gallifrey, and Sarah couldn't come along...so he had to leave her behind. Unfortunately, he left her in the wrong place.


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    However, the Doctor didn't forget Sarah Jane. He built her a new K-9 unit, based on the Doctor's previous two models which served as companions. The K-9 helped her solve a mystery involving a cult.

    A few years later, Sarah Jane, despite K-9's warning, was sucked into a time scoop and deposited into the Death zone on Gallifrey, where she teamed up with the Third Doctor once again. She also met the Master for the first time during this adventure and once again confronted the Cybermen. She also met the Doctor's other incarnations, but was somewhat confused and didn't really have a proper reunion with the Fifth Doctor. She later was returned to her own time.


    In the years that followed, K-9 fell into disrepair and Sarah Jane continued her investigations. A few WHO books and audios continue her adventures, however their canonicity remains in dispute (Especially her adventures with the Seventh Doctor in the DWM comic strips and Bullet time).

    It's been thirty years since the Doctor dropped her off, and she's about to have a unique "School reunion"...
     
  3. Krell

    Krell Ensign Newbie

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    you guys are all talking about noobies, well heres one right here. Although I've known about Doctor Who for most of my life, I never watched it until it came to the Sci-Fi channel Last year, and I'm hooked. I think Sci-Fi should run the older series. I had no Idea it was so Old wow Is there a series thats been around longer?
     
  4. Steve Roby

    Steve Roby Rear Admiral Premium Member

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    There are TV series that have been around longer than Doctor Who, but not SF series. Coronation Street, the British soap opera (not much at all like American soap operas, FWIW), has been on the air regularly since late 1960.
     
  5. 23skidoo

    23skidoo Admiral Admiral

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    ^ There is actually an ongoing "difference of opinion" at the Wikipedia article on Doctor Who, with some claiming that Twilight Zone has been around longer, but there were only about 10 seasons of Twilight Zone produced between the late 1950s and 2003, whereas Doctor Who ran for 26 seasons more or less uninterrupted between 1963 and 1989 alone.

    Cheers

    Alex
     
  6. Krell

    Krell Ensign Newbie

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    Well I meant Sci-Fi series
     
  7. TremblingBluStar

    TremblingBluStar Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I meant to ask this in a new thread, but this seems like a better place. I've only watched a few early episodes of season 1 of the new show on Scifi, and caught a new episode of season 2 last week.

    Okay. Why was the actor for The Doctor changed after only one season? And why did they replace him, an actor who I really enjoyed, with a virtual clone of Martin Short that I personally can't stand???

    I'd like to get back into the show, but honestly I really don't like this new guy! :mad:
     
  8. DWF

    DWF Admiral Admiral

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    There's no official for Eccelston's departure and I think Tennant will grow on you.
     
  9. V\'ger

    V\'ger Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    David Tennant has done a lot of WHO work in the past, although not for the TV show. He was one of the actors in the audio dramas introduced during the show's "Wilderness" years. Tennant's performance is somewhat more traditional than the somewhat 'sad' Doctor Eccleston potrayed, although each Doctor is unique.

    Doctor Who has never had a stable cast. Doctor actors usually stay for a few years and then depart (There have been ten so far). The longest running-and perhaps most popular-is Tom Baker, who inspired a lot of Tennant's performance. Sort of like the James Bond actors, in a sense. This has been going on since the mid '60s, and the companions/supporting actors leave at an even more rapid rate, although some last longer than Doctors do (Rose being one, and Sarah Jane was around longer than Colin Baker was)

    How it works is something called regeneration, which is explained earlier in the thread.
     
  10. AutoAdmin

    AutoAdmin Machine of Death Administrator

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    :devil:

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  11. TerriO

    TerriO Writer-type human Premium Member

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    The Master is going to get you for that, DB.
     
  12. AutoAdmin

    AutoAdmin Machine of Death Administrator

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    Yeah, Crusher Disciple is not going to let that slide. :(
     
  13. TremblingBluStar

    TremblingBluStar Vice Admiral Admiral

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    See! I honstly can't tell the difference! :lol:
     
  14. V\'ger

    V\'ger Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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  15. Tomalak

    Tomalak Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Forget Sarah, Jamie was in more episodes than anyone except for the first four Doctors.
     
  16. V\'ger

    V\'ger Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    David Tennant, like Eccleston before him, also did work for Russel T. Davies (Who's producer) before then.
     
  17. Mr. Laser Beam

    Mr. Laser Beam Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Here's another newbie question. Is it 'official' that the Time War is what caused the 8th Doctor's regeneration? I know it's likely, but is it definite?
     
  18. Brendan Moody

    Brendan Moody Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Nope. It's never been definitely stated when the Time War took place vis-a-vis the Doctor's regeneration.
     
  19. Smiley

    Smiley Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Is there a relatively affordable way to get Doctor Who DVDs in the US?
     
  20. Brendan Moody

    Brendan Moody Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I'm not quite sure what you're asking. With the exception of the 1996 tv-movie, which probably won't be released here due to complicated rights issues, every classic Doctor Who story that is released in the UK is eventually available in R1 as well, usually with a lag of less than a year. Availability in retail locations can be spotty, especially lately, but Amazon.com and other online companies always sell them. The MSRP is $25 for a single-disc release, $35 for a two-disc story, and $50 for a three-disc box set, but many retailers discount them, and the MSRP also drops eventually. dvdpricesearch.com is a good place to check for releases that fit your definition of relatively cheap.

    The new series boxsets are also being released here, after each season completes its run on Sci-Fi. They retail for a steep $100.