New to Who

[Nightowl1701]

I was surprised to find out that it's a kids show, doesn't seem like it from what I've watched.

Kids' shows aren't what they used to be. Back then, there was less of a tendency to talk down to kids or sugarcoat things. Violence was strictly restricted, of course, but a lot could be implied.

The movie kind of glosses over the one year between Verity Lambert's departure from the show and the decision to retire William Hartnell. Verity's replacement as producer, John Wiles, wanted to ditch the educational aspect and take the show in a dark, serious, adult sci-fi vein while Hartnell wanted to keep it as it was. The clashes that followed included one Companion (that Hartnell liked) essentially being fired on the set, two more being killed onscreen (a first for the show) and a historical episode set during a massacre that sees a potential Companion apparently killed because the Doctor wouldn't save her. The running feud with Wiles (who tried to get Hartnell fired, but the BBC wouldn't hear of it) plus the relentless pace of the show's shooting (which was virtually year-round back then) exacerbated Hartnell's health problems and helped lead to the downward spiral that Wiles's replacement, Innes Lloyd, found Hartnell in when he took over in mid-1966. (Wiles was in almost as rough a shape as Hartnell when he resigned, 'heading very rapidly for a nervous breakdown' as he put it.)

 

[Sparkle Fabulosa]

Wow. Drama, drama, drama.

I decided to forgo The Five Doctors because I just want to keep going. Just finished The Day Of The Doctor. I really liked it. So, the Doctor gets around... Queen Elizabeth, Marilyn Monroe, River Song... Anyone other wives?

I've definitely decided to go back and watch the David Tennant years after I finish 7. He's freaking hilarious! I think I'll really like him

Saving The Time Of The Doctor for tomorrow. Any prologues for that one?

 

[Turtletrekker]

I would actually recommend going all of the way back to Christopher Eccelston's one season before starting Tennant simply because, unlike Matt Smith who started fresh with a new companion and a new direction, Tennant inherited Eccelston's companion and supporting cast and relationships.

ETA: And don't worry-- if you like Smith and Tennant, I'd wager that you will enjoy Eccelston as well.

 

[Nightowl1701]

I decided to forgo The Five Doctors because I just want to keep going. Just finished The Day Of The Doctor. I really liked it. So, the Doctor gets around... Queen Elizabeth, Marilyn Monroe, River Song... Anyone other wives?

Other than the grandmother of Susan (his granddaughter and first Companion), who's apparently long dead by the time he steals the TARDIS and leaves Gallifrey? None that we know of. He did get engaged to an Aztec widow early in his first incarnation's adventures, but that was a pure accident and never made it down the aisle...

Saving The Time Of The Doctor for tomorrow. Any prologues for that one?

Nope. We're done with shorts from this point on.

And let me agree with Turtletrekker on your next choice of Doctor. It's become a common refrain among NuWho fans - "Don't skip Nine!"

 

[Sparkle Fabulosa]

Nine. Leather jacket guy. Seems cool. Okay Yesterday I was watching a bunch of WatchMojo lists and came across the Top Ten Doctors, so I got a feel for each of them. Nine was the one besides Ten that made my "give a try" list.

 

[Redfern]

Noting your pleasant surprise that DW's first producer was a woman, did you catch the bit in "An Adventure in Space and Time" about the series music? While penned by Ron Grainer, it was Delia Derbyshire who "arranged" the opening credits score and that music remained (more or less) unchanged for the fisrt 17 years of the classic series. Today we hear or read about musicians doing "samplings", that is, recording a distinctive sound and then modifying it, changing pitch and/or speed, usually through a digital keyboard or a computer. Well, Ms. Derbyshire did the same thing way back in 1962 or early 63! Except, she didn't have the kind of hardware we have now. It was all analog. She recorded sounds onto magnetic tape and then literally cut the tape into segments which she then spliced with other pieces! She would then play back the assembled lengths of audio tape, either faster, slower, some sections in reverse to create the otherworldly tones she wanted. Grainer had imagined his score played with conventional instruments, or at least a mixture (kinda' like the variations you've heard for the series revival) but when he heard Delia's creation, he was "floored"! In a good way, thankfully. He loved it!

Yes, Ms. Derbyshire was an incredible innovator and her contributions, not just for Doctor who, but music in general, should not be overlooked.

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[Sparkle Fabulosa]

Thanks for the info The BBC seemed more willing to let women take "the front seat", good on them!

I am going to (reluctantly) watch The Time Of The Doctor sometime today. Any advice?

 

[Turtletrekker]

Tissue.

 

[diankra]

As a side note, BBC Radio 4 Extra is repeating Blue Veils and Golden Sands, a radio docudrama about Delia Derbyshire, sometime this week. Tuesday I think, 11.15am/9.15pm/03.15am Uk time.

 

[Sparkle Fabulosa]

I felt a little underwhelmed. There were some parts I loved but as a whole I thought it could have been better.

Loved: The stuff with Handles, the phone call between the Doctor and Clara (I'm gonna miss him SO much!), meeting her family. Basically the first ten minutes. Also seeing Amelia/Amy was a very nice touch and his speech right before he changed.

I made it through the entire show with a dry face right until Peter Capaldi appeared on screen, then I lost it. And I might be completely biased but the kidneys line is SO something Eleven would say, so Twelve's entrance felt unoriginal to me.

Thoughts on Time Of The Doctor?

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

I felt a little underwhelmed. There were some parts I loved but as a whole I thought it could have been better.

Loved: The stuff with Handles, the phone call between the Doctor and Clara (I'm gonna miss him SO much!), meeting her family. Basically the first ten minutes. Also seeing Amelia/Amy was a very nice touch and his speech right before he changed.

I made it through the entire show with a dry face right until Peter Capaldi appeared on screen, then I lost it. And I might be completely biased but the kidneys line is SO something Eleven would say, so Twelve's entrance felt unoriginal to me.

Thoughts on Time Of The Doctor?

It gets better on rewatch.
Also remember that unhinged phone receiver Clara picked up when she went to the TARDIS at the end.

 

[Doctorwhovian]

The line about the kidneys-along with the Tardis going weird-is sort of a tradition-Tennant when he first appears notices he has new teeth (and later is upset he is not ginger). Smith also does a similar thing, except he notices he still has legs. They sort of did this a bit with Hurt, although it was a reference to an earlier joke in "rose" about Eccleston's large ears. The post regeneration Doctor is usually a bit unstable, Smith actually was one of the more active and coherent Doctors when he started, apart from the food bit.

 

[mythme]

All doctors act peculiar right after regeneration (some more than others - ahem #6). Loved the kidney's line when I first heard it - went from near tears to laughing in .2 seconds. I don't think it seems Smith-like. Sounds a little more like Tom Baker's variety of snark to me.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

Also new Doctors tend to channel their predecessors a bit post-regeneration. They settle into their respective personae after an episode or two once they are done "cooking".

 

[Ithekro]

So Janeway's Girl "Forward or Backward?" Forward to "Deep Breath" and just how long it takes the 12th Doctor and Clara to adjust. Or Backward to "Rose" and meet the post-war 9th Doctor with the big ears and his journey to accept himself via a blond girl named Rose Tylor? "Its your choice."

 

[Sparkle Fabulosa]

Also new Doctors tend to channel their predecessors a bit post-regeneration. They settle into their respective personae after an episode or two once they are done "cooking".

I never thought of that. Makes sense.

Ithekro, definitely backwards. I feel that if I were to continue with season 8 right now then all I'd be doing is comparing Twelve to Eleven, which wouldn't be fair. I do want to give him a chance though. But by going back I can kind of pretend like Eleven doesn't exist yet, because he doesn't. Then I think I'll be ready. However I'm not going to start season 1 for a few days. Just a few. Tomorrow I'm going to watch the Farewell Special anyways.

Btw, I know about Eleven's phone call to Clara. I even looked up the clip and yeah, still heartbreaking.

 

[NightJim]

I felt a little underwhelmed. There were some parts I loved but as a whole I thought it could have been better.

Loved: The stuff with Handles, the phone call between the Doctor and Clara (I'm gonna miss him SO much!), meeting her family. Basically the first ten minutes. Also seeing Amelia/Amy was a very nice touch and his speech right before he changed.

I made it through the entire show with a dry face right until Peter Capaldi appeared on screen, then I lost it. And I might be completely biased but the kidneys line is SO something Eleven would say, so Twelve's entrance felt unoriginal to me.

Thoughts on Time Of The Doctor?

That pretty much sums it up for me. Hard to tell someone who's enjoying the run so much that the 'finale' is going to suck. I think another 10-15 minutes would have improved it dramatically.

 

[Sparkle Fabulosa]

Seeing as I loved Day Of The Doctor, I wouldn't have minded Eleven's regeneration being a part of it. Maybe something along the lines of him becoming badly injured to the point of dying, and Clara makes her plea to the Timelords like in Time Of The Doctor.

 

[Skellington]

Thoughts on Time Of The Doctor?

A collection of great scenes and great ideas that don't mesh together too well as a story. It's as if Moffat couldn't quite figure how to end the Silence/Trenzalore arc and just threw everything into a festive episode where the rules of narrative are slightly looser than usual. The result, in my opinion, is a bunch of missed opportunities. The "Doctor stays in one place for centuries" concept could have been a long story arc in its own right, but now it's been done and we presumably won't see the impact of being severed from the TARDIS or being unable to lie (though I'd bet the Doctor rectified that latter one pretty quickly). As a kid I reckoned that the Doctor aged about 25 years for one of ours, and it would have been nice if Moffat had kept more or less to that scale instead of hopping forward in ever-increasing intervals. The purist in me was also slightly irked by the TARDIS and the Doctor not being temporally joined at the hip. And although Smith's last scene was wonderful and touching, I didn't like the abrupt transformation itself.

Not by any means the worst Christmas fare if you're in the right mood and perhaps mildly inebriated, but no A Christmas Carol.

 

[Nightowl1701]

If I remember right, Matt announced he was leaving either during or just after shooting Day of the Doctor in May 2013, leaving Moffat just three months to crunch what he figured would be at least one more year's worth of story into just one episode. And this while he was finishing work on Day and managing other aspects of the 50th anniversary celebration and trying to find Matt's replacement (whose insert shot into Day was literally last-minute). Under those circumstances, it's a wonder Time of the Doctor turned out any good at all.

And the abrupt transformation (no spoilers here for JG) was, I felt, both a deliberate inversion of viewer expectations and a bit of a snub on an earlier, far-more tear-jerking regeneration.