Last Classic Who Story you watched

[DWF]

Timelash is the first 6th Doctor story that I'd describe as solidly "meh". It's story didn't keep my attention, it felt slow at times, and it didn't feel like anything more than a bland, average story at best. It wasn't outright horrible, but it wasn't very good and it was very forgettable. Its the first 6th Doctor story that I didn't get any real enjoyment from watching, although I've seen worse stories. Next up is Revelation of the Daleks.

Ya know, I had forgotten so many folks don't like Timelash.

I've always enjoyed it, but, maybe that's down to Paul Darrow (Avon is just so awesome in Blake's 7, I can't help but enjoy Timelash)

Paul Darrow was better in The Silurians IMO, in Timelash he was more than alittle OTT. But then in the commentary Paul Darrow said he was only being so OTT to get back at Colin Baker for his OOT appearance on Blake's 7.

 

[Starkers]

And Colin was quite OTT in Blakes 7!

 

[Sindatur]

I finished Invasion of Time, last night.

I think it would've provided an extra layer of interesting dynamic, if Rodan had actually been Romana, rather than Romana being a previously unknown Time Lady to The Doctor in The Key To Time

 

[kirk55555]

Revelation of the Daleks wasn't very good. It was cool to see Davros, and Daleks fighting each other, but I just couldn't get in to this story. When it comes to Dalek stories I'm fairly easy to please (I even think Daleks in Manhattan is ok) but I didn't like this. The DJ was especially annoying, but he got what was coming to him. This wasn't as bad as Timelash, but it definitely wasn't good. Next up is The Mysterious Planet, the first part of Trial of a Timelord.

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

For once, I agree with you. So many parts to dislike - the annoying staff, that ugly woman who couldn't act, the plot, the utterly pointless DJ... The Doctor is almost incidental to the story, which is just terrible. One of the worst serials, IMO (though Destiny of the Daleks was slightly worse).

Maybe you want to look after Big Finish's Lost Stories before you go on. They've adapted the stories that Colin Baker would've done in his second season, had the show not been cancelled (sorry, "rested for 18 months") after this serial.

 

[kirk55555]

The audio stories aren't available to me, although I'd listen to them if I could.

The Mysterious Planet, aka Trial of a Timelord Parts 1-4, was ok, but just ok. It had several irritating parts, like the queen of the free people and the servants of the robot. I'm also not a huge fan of the "simple people hate technology because the gods say so" thing, especially when its not done particularly well. Also, the two criminals were also annoying. Still, it had some good parts. I actually liked the robot's design, and the overall plot was ok. It wasn't a bad story, its just annoying sometimes.

The court scenes were ok and kept my attention, but they did cement an opinion for me. Basically, the Timelords were probably the most uncaring, corrupt civilization (just as bad as any of the bad guys) long before the Time War made people consider them as bad if not worse than the Daleks. Seriously, we never see these guys unless its something really screwed up with them, and they're not even putting The Doctor on trial this time for breaking Time Laws. They're charging him basically with having compassion (meaning not an emotionless moron like your average Timelord) or, to put it in Star Trek terms, breaking a Timelord "prime directive". I'm 90% sure this whole trial is to cover up some really bad thing the Timelords did, using The Doctor as a scapegoat.

This isn't anything against the Trial of a Timelord story. I'm still interested to watch more and see what happens in the trial. Its just that, sometimes, I wonder why The Doctor would even want to save Galifrey in the new series. The Timelords don't seem to deserve anything but scorn from anyone, especially one of the few good ones they've tried to kill at least twice. I still find them interesting, but they are definitely not a group that is highly concerned with compassion or morality. Next up is Mindwarp.

 

[Sindatur]

What do you mean the Audio stories aren't available to you? you go to www.bigfinish.com, and it works just like Amazon.com, you purchase Disks or purchase download.

At least the first 50 in the main line are only $2.99 for a download, and they are 4 x 25 minute episodes. Many audios, or course, are more expensive, there is some really awesome in those first 50. Now, if you can't afford them, that's understandable, but, saying you don't have access to them doesn't make sense, and sounds like you just don't understand how BigFinish works.

As far as Paul Darrow being over the top in Timelash, heh, I'm a big fan of Bette Davis and Joan Crawford (as well as Sisko on DS9 and Brian Blessed on anything), so, OTT, never bothered me

 

[kirk55555]

What do you mean the Audio stories aren't available to you? you go to www.bigfinish.com, and it works just like Amazon.com, you purchase Disks or purchase download.

At least the first 50 in the main line are only $2.99 for a download, and they are 4 x 25 minute episodes. Many audios, or course, are more expensive, there is some really awesome in those first 50. Now, if you can't afford them, that's understandable, but, saying you don't have access to them doesn't make sense, and sounds like you just don't understand how BigFinish works.

Unless they take money orders or have gift cards, I can't get them. I have no way to pay for online stuff in any other way. Amazon has readily available gift cards, and the one or two other places I've ordered things like comics from accepted money orders. I don't have, and definitely never will have, a credit card or anyway of using paypal, so I can't get anything like the downloads. There are some sixth doctor audios avaliable from Amazon on CD (only a few, its not a great selection), but they're over $25 and I can't think of any single story I'd pay that much for, much less an audio story. So, most of the Sixth Doctor audios are completely unavailable to me, and the few that aren't are way too expensive.

 

[Sindatur]

What do you mean the Audio stories aren't available to you? you go to www.bigfinish.com, and it works just like Amazon.com, you purchase Disks or purchase download.

At least the first 50 in the main line are only $2.99 for a download, and they are 4 x 25 minute episodes. Many audios, or course, are more expensive, there is some really awesome in those first 50. Now, if you can't afford them, that's understandable, but, saying you don't have access to them doesn't make sense, and sounds like you just don't understand how BigFinish works.

Unless they take money orders or have gift cards, I can't get them. I have no way to pay for online stuff in any other way. Amazon has readily available gift cards, and the one or two other places I've ordered things like comics from accepted money orders. I don't have, and definitely never will have, a credit card or anyway of using paypal, so I can't get anything like the downloads. There are some sixth doctor audios avaliable from Amazon on CD (only a few, its not a great selection), but they're over $25 and I can't think of any single story I'd pay that much for, much less an audio story. So, most of the Sixth Doctor audios are completely unavailable to me, and the few that aren't are way too expensive.

OH, OK, sorry, it's a very rare person these days who doesn't have a Bank Account, so, it's not a natural consideration to think of (You don't need a Credit Card or Paypal, just a bank account).

 

[kirk55555]

Its fine. I don't want to go into it, but I get very little money, very irregularly, and definitely don't have a bank account. I'd definitely be interested in listening to some Doctor Who audios, but its very unlikely that I'll ever get the opportunity

 

[Joel_Kirk]

The last Doctor Who story I watched was 'Resurrection' of the Daleks. I'm planning to watch 'Revelation of the Daleks' soon.

 

[Starkers]

I've just started the Ice Warriors and will report back once I finish it...

 

[kirk55555]

Mindwarp (Trial of a Timelord parts 5-8) was bad. The story wasn't good and didn't really hold my attention, the villains were annoying, and there wasn't even The Doctor to put in a good performance, because he spent most of the time brainwashed/pretending to be brainwashed (I really can't figure out if it was real or not, although I guessed real because he messed with Peri when no one could see them, for all I know it was still an act). The ending was just bad, but it does help support my idea that at the very least the leaders of the Timelords have been evil long before the Time War made that fact general knowledge to other species.

Terror of the Vervoids (Trial of a Timelord parts 9-12) was just boring. The new companion, Mel, was annoying, the court scenes were annoying, and the story didn't keep my attention. At least The Doctor had some good scenes. The "genocide" charge was complete BS. This is really becoming the horribly written TNG/VOY era Prime Directive turned up to 11 at this point. The timelords just don't care if everyone everywhere dies, as long as no Timelord is trying to help or hinder anyone. Of course its probably just them trying to keep covering up something they did more than actually caring that The Doctor "interferes" with people, but either way it makes the court scenes more irritating. I still like the 6th Doctor, but Trial of a Timelord is not very good.I wish we'd gotten more stories with the 6th that were normal Doctor Who stuff, but honestly at this point I'm about ready for Trial of a Timelord to end and to go on to the 7th Doctor. Hopefully The Ultimate Foe at least ends the story in an interesting way.

 

[kirk55555]

The Ultimate Foe was ok. All of the plots were revealed quickly, and it had interesting moments. I'd say its biggest problem was the annoying bits with The Valeyard using fake clerks to delay the Doctor. I also thought that making Peri survive, married to a man that as far as I remember she thought was just a brutish barbarian and had no real connection with, was stupid. But, I'm pretty sure it wasn't the original intent, and I think her being dead would have been better. I didn't like them hinting that The Valeyard survived, but it doesn't seemed to have been mentioned in the TV show again, and I doubt we'll see him return in Modern Doctor Who. Overall, this was an ok ending to a bad, overly long story.

So, I've completed my first classic Doctor. I liked Colin Baker as the Doctor. The 6th Doctor had some personality problems, but that didn't make him bad. I liked how he was, and he was different from the other Doctors I've seen. Even with the goofy costume, i thought he was good and he deserved better writers and more stories. I liked Peri as a companion. I was never really bothered by her arguing with The Doctor, although it was nice that it was toned down a bit for the Trial of a Timelord season. Mel was annoying, and I'm hoping she doesn't stick around with the 7th for too long. My favorite Sixth Doctor serial was probably Attack of the Cybermen, with The Two Doctors being a close second. My least favorite story was probably Mindwarp. Next up will be Time and The Rani, and the introduction of the 7th Doctor.

 

[Sindatur]

A Shame you were so dissatisfied with Trial Of A Timelord. I really enjoy it for the Political Machinations, and then to finally find out, this time, it's not The Timelords who are such pricks, but, rather, "a version" of The Doctor himself, in an attempt to steal his earlier lives for himself (Timey-Wimey). I enjoyed The Valleyard, The Inquisitor (The Judge who gets named The Inquisitor in The Gallifrey Adventures Audio Stories) and I really enjoyed Sabalon Glitz.

Mel, is actually my least favorite Companion ever. Fortunately, she's only in 14 of the 42 episodes in Sylvester McCoy's run (Her replacement is in the last 3 of those and the remaining 28 episodes). I've gotten more used to Mel after several rewatches, so, she doesn't bother me nearly as bad as she used to. I like 2 of the 4 stories in McCoy's first Series, but, you won't find many fans who have much good to say about any of those 4. McCoy's run is quite different in his second and third Series, so, if you dislike his First Series don't give up, you may like his second and third Series.

 

[kirk55555]

A Shame you were so dissatisfied with Trial Of A Timelord. I really enjoy it for the Political Machinations, and then to finally find out, this time, it's not The Timelords who are such pricks, but, rather, "a version" of The Doctor himself, in an attempt to steal his earlier lives for himself (Timey-Wimey). I enjoyed The Valleyard, The Inquisitor (The Judge who gets named The Inquisitor in The Gallifrey Adventures Audio Stories) and I really enjoyed Sabalon Glitz.

The Timelord High Council still killed a bunch of people on Earth when they moved it, and tried to cover it up by trying to kill the Doctor. The Valeyard didn't do any of that, he just took advantage of the situation. In the end, the Timelord High Council were the real villains in Trial of a Timelord, the Valeyard was just an evil entity the High Council was using for their purposes. As for the story in general, I think it suffered by having horrible stories inside the framing device. The Mysterious Planet, Mindwarp, and Terror of the Vervoids were horrible to mediocre adventures wrapped up in an ok framing device. If the adventures being used as evidence were any good, it would have helped Trial of a Timelord a lot.

Mel, is actually my least favorite Companion ever. Fortunately, she's only in 14 of the 42 episodes in Sylvester McCoy's run (Her replacement is in the last 3 of those and the remaining 28 episodes). I've gotten more used to Mel after several rewatches, so, she doesn't bother me nearly as bad as she used to. I like 2 of the 4 stories in McCoy's first Series, but, you won't find many fans who have much good to say about any of those 4. McCoy's run is quite different in his second and third Series, so, if you dislike his First Series don't give up, you may like his second and third Series.

Well, I'm a crazy guy who thought that The Twin Dilemma was watchable and a bit entertaining, so I'll give the 7th Doctor's first season the benefit of the doubt. I don't plan on just giving up after one season, especially since I've heard good things about later episodes, and the 7th Doctor's second companion, Ace.

 

[DWF]

Earthshock one of all time favorites a great action/adventure storyline and a wonderful return of the Cybermen. Plus Adric's death was a great addition to the storyline, it was the first companion's death since Katrina's in The Dalek Master Plan and Sarah Kingdom's as well, but Adric's death meant that travelling with the Doctor isn't safe. Of course few people liked Adric or Matthew Waterhouse so his death didn't quite have the impact I'm sure it was meant to.

 

[Timewalker]

One of the worst serials, IMO (though Destiny of the Daleks was slightly worse).

What didn't you like about Destiny of the Daleks? I thought it was a pretty good story, besides introducing my favorite Companion (Romana II).

I also thought that making Peri survive, married to a man that as far as I remember she thought was just a brutish barbarian and had no real connection with, was stupid. But, I'm pretty sure it wasn't the original intent, and I think her being dead would have been better.

I have to agree that it would have been a more effective story if they'd just killed Peri off and been done. But when you get to marry a warlord played by Brian Blessed, that's different.

Mel was annoying, and I'm hoping she doesn't stick around with the 7th for too long.

Invest in earplugs. Seriously. Fingernails on a blackboard is almost better to listen to.

That said, I loved Paradise Towers. Yes, Mel was in that, but she spends the entire story obsessing about a swimming pool, while the Doctor gets all the interesting stuff (unless you want to count evading little old ladies who are into cannibalism).

Earthshock one of all time favorites a great action/adventure storyline and a wonderful return of the Cybermen. Plus Adric's death was a great addition to the storyline, it was the first companion's death since Katrina's in The Dalek Master Plan and Sarah Kingdom's as well, but Adric's death meant that travelling with the Doctor isn't safe. Of course few people liked Adric or Matthew Waterhouse so his death didn't quite have the impact I'm sure it was meant to.

Adric was one of my favorite characters, and I thought his death was well-handled. Many fans have nothing but contempt for the character, but think of it this way: If Adric hadn't gone back to figure out the last computations, the human race would never have existed. Adric's actions and last encounter with the Cyberman put the freighter back in time - exactly on schedule to crash into Earth and kill the dinosaurs.

And unlike Star Trek, there are actual consequences from this. Even after death, Adric is still very much a presence in the TARDIS and in the minds of the Doctor, Tegan, and Nyssa.

 

[Captaindemotion]

I remember being an occasional watcher of DW at the time and I liked Adric fine. I found his death quite shocking and saddening (but I was only about 10 or 11, admittedly).

 

[Starkers]

^Ditto. I have a friend who's still traumatised by the death of Adric!

My view of Adric seems to be constantly shifting. Back in the day I had no problem with him, but later I came to realise what a terrible actor he is, that said the last few times I've watched Adric episodes I've found the character more interesting than I gave him credit for. He's a git, and not above siding with the bad guys, or at least being taken in by the bad guys, which is a refreshing take for a companion.

He's probably my least favourite companion of the Baker/Davison era but I don't hate him nearly as much as I used to.