The Night Of The Doctor

[Emperor-Tiberius]

Something I hadn't thought of - Ian Levine must be screaming his head off somewhere about the fact that the short references the Eighth Doctor's Big Finish companions, considering how he usually dismissed BF as "glorified fan fiction."

Has anyone even heard from Ian Levine since the recoveries of Enemy of the World and most of Web of Fear were announced?

On twitter, obviously. He's mellowed out, apparently, after the release of the missing stories, he was ecstatic about the minisode and wants The Lost Adventures from McGann. And no word about his leaked Shada, although I suspect he doesn't want to lose face by being the usual incredibly rude bully that he usually is in these situations (not UNrightly, to some extent).

And I posted a couple of his comments on the McGann-minisode-canonized-Big-Finish thing, but apparently none of you took interest:

"I still don't think they're proper Doctor Who."

"I am not remotely interested in Doctor Who as an audio only format. Never have been, never will be. But I adored the minisode.

As you can see, he's as stubborn as he'll ever be. But for a lifelong fan, he's rather choosy, to say the least.

 

[Sindatur]

And I posted a couple of his comments on the McGann-minisode-canonized-Big-Finish thing, but apparently none of you took interest:

"I still don't think they're proper Doctor Who."

"I am not remotely interested in Doctor Who as an audio only format. Never have been, never will be. But I adored the minisode.

As you can see, he's as stubborn as he'll ever be. But for a lifelong fan, he's rather choosy, to say the least.

Ah, I thought you were saying those were his old quotes, prior to the Minisode.

Very strange indeed, that he was ecstatic about the Minisode, and wants McGann Lost Adventures, but, would say that about the Audios?

He's certainly a different sort of chap, isn't he?

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

I wonder if the elixir thing officially explains the more violent regenerations we've seen in the new series.

 

[Lonemagpie]

I wonder if the elixir thing officially explains the more violent regenerations we've seen in the new series.

Wouldn't explain River or the Master regenerating that way. We've just always seen the Doctor regenerate after losing the ability to stand- in Destiny Of The Daleks, Romana regenerates upright, so does Azmael (abortively) in The Twin Dilemma.

I think it's intended that generally regenerations are upright affairs, but the Doctor has just so often gone too far before and been too injured before letting the process happen - something he hasn't done in the new series.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

^ Good point. I wasn't thinking about the other two.

 

[Tom]

In the audios who was McGann's last companion? If we assume Hurt being a warrior had no companions then Mcganns last companion could be the last one before Rose. Of course i would imagine that Mcgann may have other BF audios with new companions. but still, im curious.

 

[RoJoHen]

It would be cool if the Warrior's companion was someone like The Master.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

In the audios who was McGann's last companion? If we assume Hurt being a warrior had no companions then Mcganns last companion could be the last one before Rose. Of course i would imagine that Mcgann may have other BF audios with new companions. but still, im curious.

The latest that we know of is Molly O'Sullivan.

It would be cool if the Warrior's companion was someone like The Master.

So, the War Doctor is also Richard E. Grant's Doctor?

 

[Christopher]

I wonder if the elixir thing officially explains the more violent regenerations we've seen in the new series.

The depiction of regeneration hasn't been very consistent over the years. The first was represented by a bright light washing out Hartnell's face and fading to reveal Troughton's. The second wasn't shown at all. The third was a simple dissolve from Pertwee's face to Tom Baker's. The fourth had the Watcher and the Doctor merging through a video effect and then the unformed, chalky Watcher face going through a multi-stage dissolve into Davison's. The fifth had a video effect washing out Davison's face and then fading to reveal Colin Baker. The sixth was just a localized video color effect around the face (to hide the fact that it was McCoy in a curly wig) and then the wig and video effect fading to show McCoy. The seventh was a morphing effect supplemented by McCoy and McGann distorting their faces, and accompanied by electric discharges.

There's so much inconsistency in Who that trying to explain every stylistic change is just more trouble than it's worth. I just see them as differences of interpretation. The first, fifth, and sixth regenerations could be seen as less technically sophisticated efforts to show the same kind of regeneration we've seen in the new series, an eruption of blinding light. The electric discharges in the seventh could be treated as a similar effect. But the third and fourth took a different approach.

 

[Tom]

Im glad they are consistent with regenerations in the new series. I love the new effect.

 

[MacLeod]

As a veteran of a campaign that actually DID directly save a show that was going to be cancelled ("Chuck"), I have to say that petitions and letters aren't enough. You have to show the network that it's worth the investment. We did that by patronizing the show's sponsor, Subway, and writing thank you's to Subway and NBC for the show. Every day.

But Doctor Who doesn't have sponsors. So I guess there's the "Jericho" approach: flood the network with foodstuffs. What worked for them during that campaign was cans of nuts. What would work for Doctor Who? Huge amounts of jelly babies or jammy dodgers with "We want Paul McGann episodes!" notes tied to them?

I doubt that would work, as no doubt there was a compaing to save DW when it was put on banished to the firey depths of indefinate hiatus(aka cancelled) in 1989. But then again it was the show dear old Aunti Beeb couldn't kill (or at least certain members of that organisation)

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

They've been consistent so far. We don't know if Moffat will go for the same look - especially if the rumors are true about the Eleventh being the last body of the Doctor's life circle.

 

[ATimson]

Im glad they are consistent with regenerations in the new series. I love the new effect.

They're consistent... except when they're not. (The Master's was a rainbow instead of golden; McGann wasn't nearly as violent and eruptive.)

 

[Christopher]

Im glad they are consistent with regenerations in the new series. I love the new effect.

I've never cared for it. Regenerating while standing? That doesn't make any sense. He's supposed to be at death's door when he regenerates.

 

[Redfern]

Until we witnessed Jacobi regenerating into Simm, I assumed the "eruption" of "flaming vapor" was meant to represent Eccleston expelling the "Heart of the TARDIS" which he absorbed from Rose by kissing her and thus saving her life. Obviously, the Master's regeneration (and later River) "threw a spanner into the works" with that theory.

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[Iamnotspock]

Im glad they are consistent with regenerations in the new series. I love the new effect.

I've never cared for it. Regenerating while standing? That doesn't make any sense. He's supposed to be at death's door when he regenerates.

Especially Mels, when she'd collapsed after being shot in the gut by Adolf Hitler and they went to the trouble of having her struggle to her feet in order to regenerate.

 

[sttngfan1701d]

Im glad they are consistent with regenerations in the new series. I love the new effect.

I've never cared for it. Regenerating while standing? That doesn't make any sense. He's supposed to be at death's door when he regenerates.

Look at it another way. Regeneration energy repairs and restores. Quote from Ten: "Once I'd used the energy to repair myself, I didn't need to change."

So it stands to reason that the regeneration process starts restoring the Doctor immediately, repairing whatever damage is there. Allowing him to stand when it happens, as he's regained strength.

Makes sense to me if I look at it that way. And really, I prefer the standing regenerations anyway. I've seen the old ones on Youtube and the new ones are better....more dramatic.

 

[Pavonis]

Until we witnessed Jacobi regenerating into Simm, I assumed the "eruption" of "flaming vapor" was meant to represent Eccleston expelling the "Heart of the TARDIS" which he absorbed from Rose by kissing her and thus saving her life. Obviously, the Master's regeneration (and later River) "threw a spanner into the works" with that theory.

Sincerely,

Bill

I thought the same thing! It just seemed like the same "energy" effect of the Vortex. I was already well aware of the varieties of regeneration effects from the old DW. I just figured the effect was tied to the cause of "death", and would naturally look different every time. The standardization of the regeneration effect is nice, but there's no reason the Doctor should stand up every time. I guess we have a "regeneration pose" now.

 

[Christopher]

Look at it another way. Regeneration energy repairs and restores. Quote from Ten: "Once I'd used the energy to repair myself, I didn't need to change."

Which made no damn sense and was just a handwave to justify the fakeout regeneration scene. The change is the repair. The damaged cells are replaced by new cells, new organs, new everything.

So it stands to reason that the regeneration process starts restoring the Doctor immediately, repairing whatever damage is there. Allowing him to stand when it happens, as he's regained strength.

Except that in his past three regenerations (including the fakeout), he never sat down, never fell, never lost consciousness. He just walked around and chatted normally and then went foom. Which is not remotely consistent with being mortally injured and seconds from death.

 

[sttngfan1701d]

You're nitpicking. He's an alien. The process is wibbly-wobbly. Does it have to make sense? We don't know how his biology works. How much control he has over it. How the energy does what it does. There's room there to be creative.

Just go with it.