Last Classic Who Story you watched

[kirk55555]

Underworld was an ok serial. The cave interiors were pretty lame, they seemed to be early green/blue screen or something similar. It just looked pretty bad, and it didn't help the average story to have unimpressive locations. The story kind of felt like a bit of a retread of The Face of Evil, and it was a bit bland compared to that story. The gold headed minions were kind of interesting looking, but that was the only thing interesting about the villains. I liked the idea of a culture that the Timelords accidentally screwed up, but it wasn't a big factor in the story unfortunately. Overall it wasn't a bad story, but it wasn't very memorable. Next up will be the serial I accidentally skipped over, The Sun Makers.

 

[Captain Dago]

Halfway through "The Krotons" and enjoying it. Troughton & Padbury had developed a similar relationship and comic timing to Troughton & Hines by this time. Lovely fun!

 

[kirk55555]

Before getting to The Sun Makers, I gave in and watched the last 7th Doctor story, Survival. It was ok. I didn't hate it, which makes it better than a lot of the 7th Doctor's stuff, but it wasn't great or anything. The Master was decent in it, although it isn't close to the best appearance I've seen. The cheetah people looked a bit goofy, and I don't think we ever learn why Ace and The Doctor don't become full cheetah people (does leaving the cheetah planet cure you? It didn't seem to help The Master or his pawn in the end).

Also, why was the cheetah planet blowing up when The Doctor/The Master were fighting? I must have missed the explanation, because I was really confused by that. Anyway, the serial had a few good things. Like I said, The Master was entertaining, and Ace was as good as she usually is. The Doctor didn't let his sociopath personality show very much, meaning that he was actually in one of his rare moods where I can tolerate him, and that was appreciated. The end speech was good, although it would have sounded better coming from any Doctor but the 7th. Overall, this wasn't a bad serial, but it was kind of a lame story for the show to go out on. Next up will be the 4th Doctor serial The Sun Makers.

 

[Mr Awe]

Well, regardless, Montalban was still not playing the character as a Indian/Sikh stereotype, so he still beats out Doctor Who.

Yep, have to agree with this. There simply is no comparison. Other than the name, he really could've come from anywhere and not change the character.

Mr Awe

 

[diankra]

Underworld was an ok serial. The cave interiors were pretty lame, they seemed to be early green/blue screen or something similar. It just looked pretty bad, and it didn't help the average story to have unimpressive locations. The story kind of felt like a bit of a retread of The Face of Evil, and it was a bit bland compared to that story. The gold headed minions were kind of interesting looking, but that was the only thing interesting about the villains. I liked the idea of a culture that the Timelords accidentally screwed up, but it wasn't a big factor in the story unfortunately. Overall it wasn't a bad story, but it wasn't very memorable. Next up will be the serial I accidentally skipped over, The Sun Makers.

Bluescreen work: yep, it is. The producer went on holiday and came back to find the designer had spent the entire budget on the spaceship set, leaving none for the caves (he maybe thought the BBC had some in store). They saved the day by doing it all as CSO.
On Survival : it's a Gaia thing - the planet becomes unstable when people fight. And the Doctor and the Master have been fighting for a loooooong time.

 

[kirk55555]

The Sun Makers wasn't great. It wasn't terrible, and it had a few good moments, but overall it was a bit annoying and felt like it went on too long. I'm guessing the writer must have been having a problem with tax collectors Next up for the 4th doctor is The Invasion of Time, but I might watch Inferno next.

 

[Pindar]

Arc of Infinity book ended with the BF Audio Omega.

Apart from the awful giant bird skeleton thing it's not bad. The big finish audio was better though.

 

[diankra]

The Sun Makers wasn't great. It wasn't terrible, and it had a few good moments, but overall it was a bit annoying and felt like it went on too long. I'm guessing the writer must have been having a problem with tax collectors Next up for the 4th doctor is The Invasion of Time, but I might watch Inferno next.

You guess exactly right: he'd had the VAT people do an inspection of his books just when he was looking for inspiration. There's a lot of tax-related jokes in it that might have flown over the heads of non-Brits: for instance, the exit via corridor P-45 refers to the British equivalent of the pink slip - the tax details slip you get when you leave your job is called a P45 in the UK.

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

Arc of Infinity book ended with the BF Audio Omega.

Apart from the awful giant bird skeleton thing it's not bad. The big finish audio was better though.

I love how Omega closes out the Omega trilogy consisted of The Three Doctors and Arc of Infinity, by taking all info from those stories and forming the ideal character piece for this antagonist. The twist, of course, as you know, was rather wonderful, wasn't it?

As for AoI... I never understood why it is so derided from fans. Sure, there are some predictable elements, Omega's mask is a vastly inferior design to the Three Doctors one, and the Chicken Monster is laughable, at best. But the story I didn't mind, and its certainly decent when Omega takes form. Its actually a good story, IMO, and a good season premiere at that, too.

Anyway, I just like the whole Omega trilogy, I guess. Here's how I'd rank them:

The Three Doctors - ****1/2
Arc of Infinity - ***1/2
Omega - *****

 

[Pindar]

I love how Omega closes out the Omega trilogy consisted of The Three Doctors and Arc of Infinity, by taking all info from those stories and forming the ideal character piece for this antagonist. The twist, of course, as you know, was rather wonderful, wasn't it?

As for AoI... I never understood why it is so derided from fans. Sure, there are some predictable elements, Omega's mask is a vastly inferior design to the Three Doctors one, and the Chicken Monster is laughable, at best. But the story I didn't mind, and its certainly decent when Omega takes form. Its actually a good story, IMO, and a good season premiere at that, too.

Anyway, I just like the whole Omega trilogy, I guess. Here's how I'd rank them:

The Three Doctors - ****1/2
Arc of Infinity - ***1/2
Omega - *****

I like Arc of Infinity apart from the chicken the I disliked most was the clumsy plot device of it being Tegan's cousin that was taken first.

I agree with your ranking of the trilogy. Having Baker and Davison together on the audio commentary is a nice bonus.

 

[kirk55555]

I just finished Inferno. It was a good story, although it could have been better with 4-5 episodes instead of 7. At 7 episodes it felt padded, but it was definitely enjoyable. Next up is Terror of the Autons (I think).

 

[diankra]

I just finished Inferno. It was a good story, although it could have been better with 4-5 episodes instead of 7. At 7 episodes it felt padded, but it was definitely enjoyable. Next up is Terror of the Autons (I think).

That's right: the debut of the Master!
Inferno is padded, in a sense... early on they realised the Mohole plotline would wear thin, and added in the mirror universe angle, so as to make two four-parters as a seven-parter.

 

[kirk55555]

I'm just not a fan of the 7 part stories. They always feel too padded. I'd say 6 is about the maximum number of episodes they can do for a story before it starts to feel too padded (although obviously some 4-6 part stories can feel padded, too).

I'm excited to get to the debut of The master. It will first time seeing Delgado, and since he's in so many serials in a row I'll be able to compare him to the other Masters.

 

[diankra]

The seven parters were mainly a budgetary choice, and the incoming producer drooped them. Though in many ways, Silurians is the first seven episodes of an ongoing UNIT vs reptiles series that gets suddenly cut short,and Inferno two four-parters crammed together. Ambassadors is a far more complex behind-the-scenes story, involving a six part Troughton story that was originally going to be in season six and at least one uncredited writer behind the later parts of the transmitted version.

 

[starsuperion]

Just watched the Three doctors.. Great episode and special! Love that one! I just don't understand, if they did the remastered version, for the five.. then why not redo the special effects in the Three?? I mean, the vid screen back at CIA command on Gallifrey, could have shown a better depiction of the Black Hole, and power transfer..It wouldn't be too much to work that into that serial, and in most pics of the Black Hole, it has it by itself as a picture with no need to have problems with actors being removed, and the sewer monster could use a bit of modifying too, just to make it seem more then a jumbled up Technicolor/inverse trick, some added explosions and some interesting effects around the TARDIS going to the antimatter realm, maybe a short lived glow effect..or something..maybe even a short lived glow effect around Joe and the Doctor when we seem them on Omega's world, as they wake up, and the antimatter stream smoke column, could use a glow effect or power indication of some kind.. maybe even something that looks like arton energy floating up from the floor. If they ever go and rerelease a special anniversary edition, I sure hope they tackle just those minor points, and really set that off, cause of most of the Specials from the classic , the Three Doctor's is by far my absolute favourite of all time! That deserves the best quality remastering money can buy, it is such a great classic story! Production was top notch, including a fully redesigned TARDIS interior console room, with aspects of the Original Hartnell, and true roundels, with no painted back drops! It was absolutely marvelous!

Just some minor Special effects work and it would truly be rather then Gold, BBC Plantinum!

 

[kirk55555]

Terror of the Autons was great. The Doctor was as good as always, and Jo seems like a decent companion so far. Delgado was very impressive in his debut as The Master. The only slight flaw was that there were a few very obviously fake shots of outdoor areas (and by that I mean some type of blue/green screen type shots that were pretty obvious). It wasn't a big deal, but it was noticeable. It was cool to see the Autons take on a bunch of different forms that weren't just human shaped. Overall, this was a very enjoyable story. Next up is The Mind of Evil.

 

[Captain Dago]

Just finished "Ambassadors of Death" and must agree with the comments above about 7-part stories. The odd thing is that with as much padding as this story contained, the ending nevertheless felt rushed. For instance, what the heck happened to the TV presenter in the last several minutes? At what point was the telecast cut off and how was that explained to the viewing public, supposedly worldwide?

Still, there were some enjoyable moments. The early 70s music and fashions (on Liz) are a hoot. And we see some nice budding friendship between the Doctor and the Brig.

 

[kirk55555]

The Mind of Evil was an enjoyable 3rd Doctor story. It felt a bit long at times, but it didn't drag the story down. The Master, Doctor, Brigadier and Jo all did a good job, as they usually do. The Master's plan was decent, if a bit weird. I was a bit confused about something with the prisoners, though. Is it normal for England to put their prisoners in decent looking clothes complete with a collared shirt and tie? I guess in England, even violent criminals in jail need to look presentable I also liked the nods to Inferno, the Daleks and the Cybermen when The Doctor was mentally attacked. Overall, this was a very good story.

The next 3rd Doctor serial is The Claws of Axos, but I'm going to take a slight detour and watch my second ever 1st Doctor serial, The Aztecs. I've wanted to watch a well received 1st Doctor serial for awhile, since my previous experience with him was watching the fairly lackluster An Unearthly Child. After The Aztecs, I do intend to return to the 3rd Doctor.

 

[Sindatur]

Cool new Avatar Kirk55555, though I do prefer the solid blue coat GOOGLE SEARCH

I don't mind the longer Pertwee stories, most of them, have alot of twists and turns, and end up in a different place then they started, so, it's like 2 stories (or more) in one Serial (Some of the Hartnell and Troughton are like that as well)

Mind of Evil, I really enjoyed, even in the Black and White version, which was all that was available for so many years, and being able to see it all in full color now, is awesome.

On Hartnell's Serial The Aztecs, it's one of my favorites of Hartnell's, though, there isn't any SciFi in it, really aside from travelling in the TARDIS. For the most part it is an Historical, so, your enjoyment could go either way. Dalek Invasion of Earth, (One of the Cushing Movies is more or less a remake of it) is likely going to be the Hartnell you will enjoy most, I think

 

[kirk55555]

Cool new Avatar Kirk55555, though I do prefer the solid blue coat GOOGLE SEARCH

I don't mind the longer Pertwee stories, most of them, have alot of twists and turns, and end up in a different place then they started, so, it's like 2 stories (or more) in one Serial (Some of the Hartnell and Troughton are like that as well)

Mind of Evil, I really enjoyed, even in the Black and White version, which was all that was available for so many years, and being able to see it all in full color now, is awesome.

On Hartnell's Serial The Aztecs, it's one of my favorites of Hartnell's, though, there isn't any SciFi in it, really aside from travelling in the TARDIS. For the most part it is an Historical, so, your enjoyment could go either way. Dalek Invasion of Earth, (One of the Cushing Movies is more or less a remake of it) is likely going to be the Hartnell you will enjoy most, I think

I know about the blue coat...I just don't like it as much. In fact, I can actually find a version of my avatar pic where the coat is Photoshopped into the blue version. But, I guess I've just grown fond of the 6th Doctor's coat. That doesn't say much about my sense of taste, I guess

I'm aware that The Aztecs is a historical. Its something that should be interesting to see, and I'm open to that kind of story if its interesting. I don't know if An Unearthly Child was supposed to be a historical (since it was basically just about cavemen) but I disliked that because it was boring and a bit annoying, not because we didn't see sci fi elements.

Dalek Invasion of Earth definitely sounds interesting. I just decided to add a bit of variety in my Doctor who watching (although I'm not tired of the 3rd Doctor by any means), and The Aztecs is (from what I could see) a well received four part 1st Doctor serial, which is why I chose it. I'm sure I'll get to Dalek Invasion of Earth and other 1st Doctor serials eventually.