The Snowmen Grading and Discussion Thread

[Count Zero]

If you don't mind the wobbly sets of early Who, purple shouldn't be a problem.

 

[DalekJim]

I'd say audiences today would respond more to The Beatles in The Chase than Shane Ward in Fear Her.

I'm fairly certain that contemporary audiences don't think that purple dates Doctor Who quite as much as black and white.

I'd say the opposite. That a black and white colour scheme will never look garish in a way that blue and purple will.

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

I'd say the opposite. That a black and white colour scheme will never look garish in a way that blue and purple will.

Yet black and white is anathema to modern audiences, and modern black and white movies are extremely rare.

 

[Count Zero]

I'd say audiences today would respond more to The Beatles in The Chase than Shane Ward in Fear Her.

Probably, but that's luck. If the serial had included a clip of Gerry and the Pacemakers instead people wouldn't be very impressed.

 

[DalekJim]

Yet black and white is anathema to modern audiences, and modern black and white movies are extremely rare.

I am the modern audience. I'm in my early 20s. To me New Earth looks hideous whereas the first episode of An Unearthly Child looks timeless .

 

[Count Zero]

I am the modern audience.

So are most of us here, I would reckon.

To me New Earth looks hideous whereas the first episode of An Unearthly Child looks timeless .

As they say, there's no accounting for taste. I like both but to me, early Who looks quite dated which is ok because it is old and it's ok for shows and films to look the time they were made in.

 

[Lonemagpie]

I'd say 2006 Tennant Who has dated far worse than 1963 Hartnell Who.

How so?

It's a garish mess on a visual level and the constant pop culture references stand out as very dated. Shane Ward!? Nobody even knows who he is any more.

I didn't know who he was then! Still don't,,,

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Yet black and white is anathema to modern audiences, and modern black and white movies are extremely rare.

I am the modern audience. I'm in my early 20s. To me New Earth looks hideous whereas the first episode of An Unearthly Child looks timeless .

What about the second, third, and fourth episodes of An Unearthly Child?

I do like how Susan got confused because she thought British currency was decimal and then remarked that it hasn't changed yet. It was fortuitous that it did indeed change. I suspect there was a lot of talk back then to give them hints that they should make that reference.

 

[Mr Light]

I wish I had seen these Second Doctor episodes, that's really cool how they set up the bad guy in those!

 

[Count Zero]

There isn't that much to see, unfortunately. Only one or two episodes of each serial still exist. It's a shame because I really would have loved to see more of the Tibetan monastery in The Abominable Snowmen. And also of the young Lethbridge Stewart in The Web of Fear, naturally.

 

[DalekJim]

Worth checking out the recons for both stories. Shame all my favourite Troughton serials have gone. Evil of the Daleks is incredible, my favourite Dalek story along with Remembrance.

 

[VDCNI]

I'm not on about the effects. I'm on about the production design, direction, cinematography et al. The Sontaran 2-parter in S4 is a total assault on the eyes. So much purple .

Seriously S4 is barely different for all those things than Who is currently - the sixties stuff is very different. British TV was still shot as if it was theatre being filmed at that point.

It's my favourite era of Who but it looks like a different world in terms of pacing, direction etc - some of the direction is clumsy (Richard Martin) to a point which would never be allowed these days then you have crew members popping up in shot.

It's a shame but the vast majority of people struggle to watch it because it is such a different visual experience - even many Who fans won't go near the sixties stuff.