Last Classic Who Story you watched

[Christopher]

I thought "Castrovalva" was cool because I recognized Bidmead's nods to Douglas R. Hofstadter's remarkable book Gödel, Escher, Bach, in all the playing around with recursion as well as the Escher references (including the title). I noted some conceptual influence in "Logopolis" too.

 

[Mr Awe]

I was planning on reading the Fourth Doctor, Romana II, K9 novel Festival of Death soon, and I wanted to watch at least one story arc with those characters in the same era of the show. Do you guys have any recommendations? The only two I've seen are City of Death and I think I watched The Leisure Hive a while back.

I don't know anything about the novels, but as for TV episodes with those characters. The quintessential one from that era is City of Death. Although it doesn't feature K9. Truly a classic of the Classic Series and epitome of the Graham Williams era. You won't be able to top that one in that era!

 

[Mr Awe]

I watched Four to Doomsday on the official classic who channel on youtube the other day. I had not seen it since taping it as a rerun on PBS back in the day. Pretty good.

I didn't have much memory of it - my memories of watching Davison's era via reruns on PBS don't stand out much. (I vividly remember the Myrka and Caves of Androzani, though!) I think I was partly mad that Tom Baker left, and I didn't like Nyssa/Tegan/Adric as companions. Oh, and young me didn't like Castrovalva at all, so I wasn't very excited to watch more of Davison's stuff immediately after that rerun aired.

I've always enjoyed Four to Doomsday. I don't think it rates highly with fans but I like it. They have to explore and figure out what's going on more than usual.

I didn't like Castrovalva when I first saw but do appreciate it more now.

 

[jaime]

I've always enjoyed Four to Doomsday. I don't think it rates highly with fans but I like it. They have to explore and figure out what's going on more than usual.

I didn't like Castrovalva when I first saw but do appreciate it more now.

Bidmead was going all in on quasi hard-sf or sf-concepts. It’s more apparent when you’re reading the novels perhaps, but it was about the last time Who was *that* into the science aspect. Chris is also a nice bloke, and went on to work in computer journalism.

 

[diankra]

Bidmead was going all in on quasi hard-sf or sf-concepts. It’s more apparent when you’re reading the novels perhaps, but it was about the last time Who was *that* into the science aspect. Chris is also a nice bloke, and went on to work in computer journalism.

In the 1990s I was on a computer bulletin board, having an ongoing row with the woman who'd run the Save Radio 4 Long Wave campaign, but now thought moving the shipping forecast for The Late Book would kill sailors. After a while I got exhausted and asked others if they could fill in, not realising who cbidmead, cpriest and tpratchett were.

 

[Mr Awe]

Bidmead was going all in on quasi hard-sf or sf-concepts. It’s more apparent when you’re reading the novels perhaps, but it was about the last time Who was *that* into the science aspect. Chris is also a nice bloke, and went on to work in computer journalism.

Agreed. I'm definitely aware of that aspect. I remember interviews with JNT talking about that aspect as well. Great to hear he was a nice guy!

 

[jaime]

Agreed. I'm definitely aware of that aspect. I remember interviews with JNT talking about that aspect as well. Great to hear he was a nice guy!

I ended up chatting to him on Twitter a fair bit, back when I actually used it, and honestly, it was basically like chatting to a bloke in the pub. Like a minor celeb or something, you said ello cos you recognised them, but then you’re just chatting. I can’t imagine that working with many writers tbh.

 

[jaime]

In the 1990s I was on a computer bulletin board, having an ongoing row with the woman who'd run the Save Radio 4 Long Wave campaign, but now thought moving the shipping forecast for The Late Book would kill sailors. After a while I got exhausted and asked others if they could fill in, not realising who cbidmead, cpriest and tpratchett were.

That’s a collection lol. Must have been fun.

 

[diankra]

That’s a collection lol. Must have been fun.

Already knew Terry , as he'd carshared with my dad during late 70s rail strikes when they were both at the CEGB ("Oh, you're Mike Brown's son. Ears should have been a giveaway."). But the Chrises were new.

 

[jaime]

Already knew Terry , as he'd carshared with my dad during late 70s rail strikes when they were both at the CEGB ("Oh, you're Mike Brown's son. Ears should have been a giveaway."). But the Chrises were new.

If there’s one regret from when I was pottering around the edges of the SF Scene through hanging around with mates at the Fantasy Centre (miss that place) and going to the odd signing or reading, it’s that I didn’t make it to a Terry signing, but did to a Gaiman one. I have had brief interactions with Rihanna via Twitter, and she’s pretty cool.

The whole thing is so much bigger now, but also smaller and more… closed. I fell into chatting with people I didn’t know were writers or publishers, just by basically spending all day in one much loved bookshop. I can’t see that happening again. (Here with the trek writers, and somewhat on Twitter notwithstanding — and the old Jade Pagoda. Justin Richards was alright particularly, that Mail list was a lot like hanging around the shop.) Ironic, as since then I’ve actually got more into writing. (Though technically I was having cigarettes in the FC when I was studying the stuff.)

 

[diankra]

If there’s one regret from when I was pottering around the edges of the SF Scene through hanging around with mates at the Fantasy Centre (miss that place) and going to the odd signing or reading, it’s that I didn’t make it to a Terry signing, but did to a Gaiman one. I have had brief interactions with Rihanna via Twitter, and she’s pretty cool.

The whole thing is so much bigger now, but also smaller and more… closed. I fell into chatting with people I didn’t know were writers or publishers, just by basically spending all day in one much loved bookshop. I can’t see that happening again. (Here with the trek writers, and somewhat on Twitter notwithstanding — and the old Jade Pagoda. Justin Richards was alright particularly, that Mail list was a lot like hanging around the shop.) Ironic, as since then I’ve actually got more into writing. (Though technically I was having cigarettes in the FC when I was studying the stuff.)

First properly met Terry at the bar at Picocon when I was about 19. A year later it became embarrassing that I was drinking with him but hadn't read any of his books, so I did. Somewhere upstairs is a copy of Good Omens signed by him and Neil ("The Devil made us write it" "But he makes us do the publicity".)

 

[diankra]

Fantasy Centre? Was that the one near the National Gallery in London?

 

[jaime]

Fantasy Centre? Was that the one near the National Gallery in London?

Holloway Road. I was at the closing down party. Wish I’d stayed in contact with folk from that.

 

[diankra]

Holloway Road. I was at the closing down party. Wish I’d stayed in contact with folk from that.

Oh yes. Think that's where I got the book of Kneale scripts (Ferret Fantasy? Yelllow dust cover with very70s magnetic lettering). Now I think back the Leicester Square one was Fantasy Inn, I think. There was also another one at World's End in Chelsea, and of course House of the Dragon (?) in Barnes.

 

[JD]

I don't know anything about the novels, but as for TV episodes with those characters. The quintessential one from that era is City of Death. Although it doesn't feature K9. Truly a classic of the Classic Series and epitome of the Graham Williams era. You won't be able to top that one in that era!

I've already seen City of Death, and Leisure Hive is the only other story arc I've seen from that era.

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

The obvious answer, of course, is Shada.

 

[VDCNI]

Bidmead likes to claim he was into hard science but the stories he oversaw are no more science based than any other Who.

One of the highlights of the classic Who dvd range is the commentary on Logopolis as Janet Fielding and Tom Baker make it clear how unimpressed they are with him and his gigantic ego.

 

[Christopher]

Bidmead likes to claim he was into hard science but the stories he oversaw are no more science based than any other Who.

What Bidmead drew from Hofstadter's book was less about physical science and more about concepts such as recursion, logical paradoxes, emergent systems, and the like. Godel, Escher, Bach is in many ways a philosophy book rather than just a science book, though it's largely an exploration of how neural networks are organized and the nature of consciousness and awareness.

Anyway, letting science inform fiction doesn't necessarily equal the fiction being scientifically accurate. After all, it is fiction. Sometimes it's enough just to take an idea from science and play with its ramifications in a fantasy context. The anime Godzilla: Singular Point is a good example -- it's basically a fantasy about physically impossible giant monsters, but its story is rooted in some very complex and well-grounded scientific, technological, and philosophical concepts. The "hardness" of science fiction is a continuum, after all, and real science can just be one ingredient in the recipe of a story.

 

[jaime]

Bidmead likes to claim he was into hard science but the stories he oversaw are no more science based than any other Who.

One of the highlights of the classic Who dvd range is the commentary on Logopolis as Janet Fielding and Tom Baker make it clear how unimpressed they are with him and his gigantic ego.

That must have been something, those two aren’t exactly shrinking violets. (I should really try the commentary at some point)

Though they are much more science based than a chunk of Who, especially put next to the Douglas Adam’s era we were coming from, and the somewhat (much) bleaker Saward Era to come. Cartmel was more New Wave, when he took over.

 

[VDCNI]

Nothing Bidmead worked on is more scientifically accurate or was a better exploration of scientific ideas than Douglas Adams.