Classic Who on BBC America

[Ar-Pharazon]

As much as I remember classic Who fondly, the pacing is sooooo slow now that I've seen the modern show.

Well, remember, these were meant to be watched in 25-minute installments. It seems slow-paced when you watch the whole serial in one go, because of the repetition and recaps and multiple inconclusive climaxes. But I imagine if you only saw one half-hour installment per week, the pace would feel better.

Personally I didn't find "Pyramids of Mars" to be slow-paced at all. It went along rather briskly compared to some, and the strong writing and character moments helped maintain interest.

I agree it was a very good episode, and you're right about the format in those days. It had been a long time since I watched any classic Who.

Having just watched the 1st through 4th Doctor specials, it was cool to have #4 drop the line about the dress being Victoria's. I've always liked those little nods to previous eras & people in the current series'.

 

[Redfern]

I found it interesting nothing, and I mean nothing was said about about the rest of the Fourth Doctor's companions, specifically Romana. I can understand holding off Adric, Nyssa and Tegan as they "belonged" more to Davison's tenure, but not to state anything about the one companion who could truly match or even exceed the Doctor's intelligence was a bit odd. Even if there are still ill feelings between Baker and Ward, they could have mentioned her first incarnation as played by Mary Tamm. Then again, if she were discussed and not Lalla, fans might have felt slighted, so maybe that's why the whole subject was avoided.

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[Mr Awe]

^ I was surprised by that too. The pre-show part seemed to just stop abruptly, like they ran out of time. Not a single mention of a rare Time Lord companion.

 

[Christopher]

^Well, they've only got a half-hour or so for each special. The previous few specials also focused on a couple of key companions and glossed over the rest.

 

[diankra]

Anyway I'm sick and tired of seeing Moffat (and seeing Skinner is weird after she just quit). Doesn't he have a life outside of Doctor Who. Why wasn't RTD interviewed? He's a bigger fan...

Eh? Russell never went to the Tavern, so far as I know, even before his time on the series. Steve used to turn up most months till he got the show runner job, even after he started writing for the show (and started getting pestered by people wanting to know if he'd ever become showrunner).

 

[publiusr]

Tom may not have wanted to talk about Lala--I think she married Richard Dawkins not too many years after.

I love Tennant and Smith, but to me Tom Baker will always be Dr. Who

 

[Turbo]

^ That's true, but Tom and Mary Tamm were pretty close by most accounts. Very strange that they didn't talk about that. I was wondering if they were planning to show two Fourth Doctor serials at one point and therefore have two separate docs.

 

[Redfern]

It would throw off the timing. As it stands, we will conclude with Smith at the end of November, on time for the 50th anniversy.

May...Davison
June...Colin
July...McCoy
August...McGann
September...Eccleston
October...Tennant
November...Smith

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[Christopher]

Gee, I wonder what story they'll show for McGann.

Come to think of it, for Eccleston and Tennant they'll have to be 2-parters, won't they?

 

[Redfern]

At least it'll be the right length, roughly 90 minutes without the commercials.

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Gee, I wonder what story they'll show for McGann.

Come to think of it, for Eccleston and Tennant they'll have to be 2-parters, won't they?

The nice thing is that the TV movie does not air very often so it will still be good to see.

 

[Klaus]

The Davison episode will be "Earthshock"...

http://press.bbcamerica.com/program.jsp?id=102366

 

[Mr Light]

Good! I've never seen Earthshock!

 

[Christopher]

Cool. Although of course the impact of the final episode's end-title sequence will be lost because they'll just fade out and run a network promo and retyped credits.

 

[Mr Light]

Watching "Pyramids of Mars" again... I really wish they'd bring back Sutekh in the modern series. They establish him as being an all powerful villain, and he's still sitting there at the end of the episode. And they showed the pyramid still being there in Sarah Jane Adventures. Now *that* would be a great villain for the anniversary special!

 

[Christopher]

^Yeah... it would be nice even just to have a name drop. The Doctor said he was the origin of the archetypal evil gods on countless planets, so why don't we ever hear about him? And it would've been good continuity-wise if they'd used him in place of the similar ultimate devil creature in "The Satan Pit."

 

[Procutus]

I've not seen 'Earthshock' either, so I'm definitely looking forward to this. I've really enjoyed these specials, it would be great if BBCA were to continue with them next year as well, but I know that's not likely.

 

[Redfern]

I've always enjoyed "Pyramids..." as it is a study in understatement. Think about it, what's the most dramatic physical action Gabriel Woolf perform while in costume? He rises from his chair and lowers his arms. Yet he "oozed" menace on a level rarely equaled in the series, classic or contemporary. Even then, he never "ranted" like Davros; he never "bellowed" like Omega. Most of the time, his tone was barely louder that a dulcet whisper. Yet one got the feeling he could have, with a simple gesture of his hand, swept away the combined forces of the TimeLords AND the Daleks.

All of which makes me all the more giddy about the upcoming release of a "follow up" figure set featuring the masked Sutekh (with illuminating eyes)! It'll also include the space/time vortex coffin and a Marcus Scarman figure! No, I don't know the release date.

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[C.E. Evans]

I remember seeing Earthshock as a kid and just sitting there in stunned silence, with the powerfully-done closing credits just driving it all the more home for me.

 

[Mr Awe]

Me too. Back then I didn't have spoilers so it was a complete surprise.