Claasic Who recommendations for a newbie

[Turtletrekker]

I had a Cybermen evening tonight, watching the contemporary "Rise of the Cybermen"/"The Age of Steel" and then the classic "The Tomb of the Cybermen".

"Tomb" was very exciting and I think that I like the 2nd Doctor very much. Wow. The Borg owe a lot to the Cybermen, don't they? (Tangent-- was the Dr. Who/Star Trek crossover comic worth picking up?)

"They shall never pass Toberman! The door is closed." Wow. Great stuff. Talk about your unexpected heroic sacrifices. Poor guy. I was getting to like him. I can't believe they just left the poor guy laying there!

So, has the site, the tomb, ever been revisted?

 

[DWF]

I had a Cybermen evening tonight, watching the contemporary "Rise of the Cybermen"/"The Age of Steel" and then the classic "The Tomb of the Cybermen".

"Tomb" was very exciting and I think that I like the 2nd Doctor very much. Wow. The Borg owe a lot to the Cybermen, don't they? (Tangent-- was the Dr. Who/Star Trek crossover comic worth picking up?)

"They shall never pass Toberman! The door is closed." Wow. Great stuff. Talk about your unexpected heroic sacrifices. Poor guy. I was getting to like him. I can't believe they just left the poor guy laying there!

So, has the site, the tomb, ever been revisted?

Yes in Attack Of The Cybermen they went back to Telos and we saw the tombs again.

 

[M.A.C.O.]

My favorite eras of classic Who are 3rd, 4th and 5th.


Spearhead From Space
Day of the Daleks
The Time Warrior

Pyramids of Mars
Genesis of The Daleks
Terror of the Zygons

Kinda + Snakedance
Earthshock
Resurrection of the Daleks

 

[Doctorwhovian]

The Tombs in AOTC don't really look anything like they did in TOTC though (We do see the whole exterior of the complex though, which was covered mostly by rock). We also meet Telos's natives. However in Nightmare in Silver and Time Of The Doctor we see new tombs which are somewhat similar (although without the "bubbles"). We see Frozen Cybermen in Age of Steel as well.

 

[Turtletrekker]

I've hit an unfortunate roadblock. My access to classic Who comes completely from three different (completely legal) on-line streaming sources--Netflix streaming, Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime Streaming. As all three have different selections (For example, among others-- "The Three Doctors" is only available on Amazon, "The Tomb of the Cybermen" and "The Two Doctors" on Hulu Plus, and "The Mind Robber" on Netflix), I figured I'd be able to find just about everything that is actually complete and out there.

Nope. Among others, "The Dalek Invasion of Earth" and "The Five Doctors" aren't in any of the above catalogs. Pity. Maybe a trip to the local library is in order.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I've always thought that Remeberance of the Daleks plays the most like nuWho of the classic era.

 

[Turtletrekker]

I watched "City of Death" last night, and enjoyed it, despite the production spending way too much time telling the audience, "Hey, look! we're shooting in Paris!" I look forward to re-visting the Fourth Doctor.

I was going to go with the highly recommended "The Caves of Androzani" for my initial Fifth Doctor story, until discovering that it was a regeneration story. I am going to go back and see what I can of the various regeneration stories, but I don't want my first story with any Doctor to be their last. I'll just have choose another.

One great thing about the Doctor, is that once you get used to the new face, there is absolutely no problem accepting any of these actor in the role. It's easy to just jump in and say, "Yup, that's the The Doctor and his Companion and the TARDIS, and away we go!"

 

[Doctorwhovian]

I'd recommend Earthshock. It's the best 80s Cybermen story, and made them popular again after not really showing up bar a cameo for the Pertwee years and a bad Tom Baker outing. Plus it has an ending that was, at the time, quite shocking and unexpected.

 

[Turtletrekker]

A couple of others have also recommended "Earthshock", and it's available from one of my streaming providers (Amazon Prime), so "Earthshock" it will be.

Interestingly, "The Caves of Androzani" is available from all three providers.

 

[sidious618]

The Caves of Androzani fucking rocks.

 

[diankra]

I had a Cybermen evening tonight, watching the contemporary "Rise of the Cybermen"/"The Age of Steel" and then the classic "The Tomb of the Cybermen".

"Tomb" was very exciting and I think that I like the 2nd Doctor very much. Wow. The Borg owe a lot to the Cybermen, don't they? (Tangent-- was the Dr. Who/Star Trek crossover comic worth picking up?)

"They shall never pass Toberman! The door is closed." Wow. Great stuff. Talk about your unexpected heroic sacrifices. Poor guy. I was getting to like him. I can't believe they just left the poor guy laying there!

So, has the site, the tomb, ever been revisted?

Yep, it is a bit odd/nasty that they just leave Toberman's body lying there. Tomb was missing until 1992, so I'd read - and loved - the book version long before then, and it's slightly more respectful. Parry at last makes sure his body is taken back to the ship.
So far as revisits go, Big Finish are about to release a story in which Fraser Hines and Bernard Holley reprise their roles as Jamie and Haydon. Given that Haydon dies at the end of part one, this is interesting and puzzling...
On side notes, one idea in the original script for Tomb which didn't come across clearly onscreen was that Toberman was deaf; a bit like LaForge in TNG he'd been fitted out with artificial ears, but as Kaftan had paid for this treatment he was effectively her slave until he'd worked off the debt; the explanation got cut in the script editing, so he can come across as a dumb brute in a somewhat racist manner, and the only screen reference (aside from the 'hearing aid' that he's wearing if you look out for it) to his augmentation is when the Cybermen say 'This one is powerful, we can use him,' As originally scripted it was a reference to Toberman already having cybernetic implants which they could 'hack', not just to him being a muscleman.
In a similar vein, The Three Doctors was originally written to have Hartnell appear 'in person' in episode four, so that despite his ill-health he could do one episode with Troughton and Pertwee. but when they realised quite how ill he was it was rewritten.

 

[kirk55555]

I was going to go with the highly recommended "The Caves of Androzani" for my initial Fifth Doctor story, until discovering that it was a regeneration story. I am going to go back and see what I can of the various regeneration stories, but I don't want my first story with any Doctor to be their last. I'll just have choose another.

Its funny because I think that The Caves of Androzani was either my first or second 5th Doctor story. I've only seen two 5th Doctor stories (The Caves of Androzani and The Five Doctors), but I liked them well enough. It is pretty easy to pick stories from any Doctor without needing to see their first appearance or anything, although I went through the 6/7th Doctor's episodes in order starting with the first 6th Doctor serial and I'm slowly going through the 3rd Doctor's run in order (with some 4th Doctor mixed in there, also in order but simultaneously with the 3rd instead of 3rd's run first and then the 4th).

Still, its probably a good idea to not have your first story with a Doctor to be his last. I probably would have waited on The Caves of Androzani, but I got a good deal on the DVD from Amazon so I just went for it.

 

[Turtletrekker]

OK, I watched "Earthshock" and "The Two Doctors".

I really enjoyed "Earthshock", even if the Cybermen didn't seem as menacing as I've seen them in the past. I was able to ease into Peter Davison's Doctor as easily as any of the rest. I was shocked at the fate of Adric. I kept expecting the Doctor, or even Adric himself, to pull some last minute rabbit out of the hat.

As for Colin Baker... well, the suit he wears in the role is so garish it almost hurts my eyes to look at it. Also, there was something about his performance as The Doctor that just seemed to rub me the wrong way. I'll give him another chance at another time, but so far, he is the only incarnation of the Doctor that I don't really care for.

Next up-- A Sylvester McCoy arc and the Paul McGann movie (which is available on in it's entirety on Youtube). This will be my first exposure to "The Master". (Any "Master" recommendations?)

After that, I plan to get back into NuWho for a bit, at least finishing Series 2, before revisting the classic Doctors some more.

 

[M.A.C.O.]

Master Recommendations from Classic Who

3rd Doctor
Terror of the Autons
The Time Monster

4th Doctor
The Deadly Assassins

5th Doctor
Planet of Fire

 

[NightJim]

The problem with Colin Baker is that the series was never that good to him. The Two Doctors is one of his better outings. However, Big Finish have done a lot to redeem the Sixth Doctor. Including a story about him switching to a different blue suit. I suggest their first ever audio, The Sirens of Time, gives him a good showing, as well as it being a crossover of 5, 6 and 7.

Other than that everyone has suggested the serials I would. Except for The Daleks, their first ever serial, and Hartnell's second. And Resurrection of the Daleks with Davison, but watch that after Genesis of the Daleks.

 

[Pindar]

the Paul McGann movie (which is available on in it's entirety on Youtube). This will be my first exposure to "The Master". (Any "Master" recommendations?)

Please don't let this colour your opinions on the Master in any way. Roberts is appalling in the TV movie.

I like all the Master stories, try The Daemons.

 

[Sindatur]

the Paul McGann movie (which is available on in it's entirety on Youtube). This will be my first exposure to "The Master". (Any "Master" recommendations?)

Please don't let this colour your opinions on the Master in any way. Roberts is appalling in the TV movie.

I like all the Master stories, try The Daemons.

Yea, Pertwee's entire Second Series, is great

Terror of the Autons
Mind of Evil
Claws of Axos
Colony in Space
The Daemons

 

[Doctorwhovian]

Yeah, Pertwee's second season (season 8 of classic Who) is pretty much the Master season, he appears in every story. "Autons" and "Daemons" are probably the best showcase of Delgado. Axos, although not a usually high regarded story, does have some really 70's weird special effects and is kind of creepy at points. "Colony" is the weak point of the season IMO, and Mind Of Evil's entertaining and one of the times Pertwee's era felt a bit like James Bond.


After that Delgado appears more sporadically in "The Sea Devils" "Time Monster" and "Frontier In Space". Unfortunately before he could be in the final Pertwee season he died in a car accident.


"Frontier In Space" is a fun WHO, although with a bit too many "Doctor and Jo get locked up" scenes. It leads into "Planet of the Daleks" but the stories are not quite that connected too much apart from the ending. The FX is a bit lacking but it has one of Doctor Who's better-realized aliens, The Draconians.


After that Peter Pratt and Geoffrey Beevers play a decaying master in the Tom Baker years (Who is out of his regenerations but still clinging to life, but he's pretty much a walking corpse). Ainley takes over in Keeper of Traaken. His Master is far campier and psychotic than Delgado's but still a pretty good villain in some of the stories such as Planet Of Fire and Survival.

Apart from that, wouldn't want spoil too much.

 

[diankra]

"Frontier In Space" is a fun WHO, although with a bit too many "Doctor and Jo get locked up" scenes. It leads into "Planet of the Daleks" but the stories are not quite that connected too much apart from the ending. The FX is a bit lacking but it has one of Doctor Who's better-realized aliens, The Draconians.

Frontier is an interesting one behind the scenes; for years there were rumours that the producer had wanted to have the Daleks and the Cybermen in the same story in the 10th anniversary season, but Terry Nation had vetoed the idea; then last year one of the anniversary books, The vault, included a design sketch from Frontier showing Cybermen, which finally confirmed it. Frontier was originally going to feature the Cybermen, the Master and finally the Daleks, all in one six-parter.

As the Master goes, Roger Delgado is pretty definitive: he can turn on a pin from charming to ruthlessly brutal (just killing an innocent bystander with his bare hands because he can't spare the time to hypnotise or trick him, yet at other times priding himself on finding more elegant and amusing solutions to problems).

 

[Turtletrekker]

Well, I lied!

After discovering that Boba Fett (aka actor Jeremy Bullock) appeared in a couple of old Who arcs, I decided that I had to check one out.

So I went with the third Doctor and "The Time Warrior" It was one I wanted to see anyway (It's the first ep with Sarah Jane, and as it was her re-introduction in NuWho that got me thinking of classic Who, it was one I wanted to catch). Turns out, it was also the first appearance of the Sontarans and the first time they used the name "Gallifrey" to describe the Doctor's home planet. And Boba Fett gets the kill shot. Was there ever any doubt?