Mawdryn Undead. It was... OK. I wish I were skilled enough to write an essay like a lot of people on this thread, but unfortunately all I can say is that it was... OK.
Last Classic Who Story you watched
- Thread starter Pindar
- Start date
I received my copy of the restored / animated version of Shada today. I enjoyed it much more than the Big Finish / Paul McGann version. The animation on the earlier version was so crude that I just couldn't follow the story. This was a significant Improvement. Not Douglas Adams' best script for the show, but it definitely had a very Adams-y feel to it.
Finally got around to watching the reconstructed "lost" episode, Shada.
Actually, it wasn't half-bad. I had almost forgotten how much "dead" time there was on classic Who--long shots of people walking from one building to another, endless repeating of exposition to remind people, since the stories were broken up into weekly blocks.
I SOOO love Tom Baker (in case you couldn't guess by my av), so it was a nice trip down memory lane, and I really got a kick out of the old professor and his Tardis that looked exactly like a room at Oxford.
Actually, it wasn't half-bad. I had almost forgotten how much "dead" time there was on classic Who--long shots of people walking from one building to another, endless repeating of exposition to remind people, since the stories were broken up into weekly blocks.
I SOOO love Tom Baker (in case you couldn't guess by my av), so it was a nice trip down memory lane, and I really got a kick out of the old professor and his Tardis that looked exactly like a room at Oxford.
I've been trying to watch Snakedance, but I don't think I'll be getting through it. I don't like or care about Tegan to begin with, and combine that with an obnoxious supporting cast for the story and its a really painful one to try to get through, even though I liked Kinda. I think I'll go back to the 3rd Doctor, since I'm getting close to finishing his era.
I have no recollection of ever watching snakedance, though I probably did. (I remember frontios gave me nightmares for years) I did read it.
On the other hand....loook....it’s Doc Martin in Doctor Who
iirc Snakedance was Martin Clune's first big role.
Paradise Towers, I got it for Christmas. A wonderful and much underrated black comedy. Tabby and Tilda are two of my favourite characters in the history of the franchise.
FYI-- there's currently a classic Who marathon streaming on Twitch.
Watched Image of the Fendahl the other day because there's a newTorchwood audio involving the Fendahl from Big Finish, and I figured a Fendahl refresher was in order. I also read the Black Archive book on the episode. I've got a lot of those books now, but I haven't read many, because I want to see the stories before reading the books about them.
What'd you think of them?
"The Dominators" - had a lot more action and peril in its 5 episodes than in all of series 11 combined. How can one of the classic era's most derided stories end up being more engaging than watching "the sonic screwdriver drinking game" every week?! But it's Troughton, the only one that might not hold up is "The Space Pirates", but it's not like its best episode of its six exists in the archives in order to get a better feel for. 
(Who knows, "The Enemy of the World" was similarly derided by many until it was returned whole. In full context, episode three doesn't seem as numbingly boring by comparison.)
(Who knows, "The Enemy of the World" was similarly derided by many until it was returned whole. In full context, episode three doesn't seem as numbingly boring by comparison.)
An online streaming platform owned by Viacom called Pluto TV has gained the rights to a variety of BBC content, including 200 episodes of classic Who from the Tom Baker, Davison, Pertwee and Hartnell eras. Sadly, no Troughton.
https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/pluto-tv-bbc-studios-classic-doctor-who-1203183188/amp/
https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/pluto-tv-bbc-studios-classic-doctor-who-1203183188/amp/
I just watched the first episode of Invasion of the Dinosaurs. Its ok so far, and I find the dinosaur "effects" amusing in a good way. The only big problem is the stuff with the evil Army general, and it all comes down to this:
I refuse to believe that an army officer, in 1974 England, is allowed to order his troops to massacre civilians who are looting mostly empty buildings. The cops in England don't even carry guns, but the army can just decide to murder people for grabbing stuff in empty stores? I'd believe that there were actually dinosaurs on set before I'd believe that this has any basis in reality. Also, aren't soldiers allowed to ignore illegal orders? That's what movies/TV would tell me could technically happen with US soldiers.
At the bare minimum, there has to be some international law against killing your own civilians with your army, right? I mean, at least with countries who are part of the UN (as opposed to places like North Korea)? I don't like it when The Doctor has to waste time fighting evil government officials anyway, but this particular case is really frustrating, and this was only episode one of six.
I think the dinosaur stuff in these episodes is going to remain amusing, and The Doctor and Sarah Jane will probably remain as good as usual, but this evil soldier stuff is going to drive me nuts.
I refuse to believe that an army officer, in 1974 England, is allowed to order his troops to massacre civilians who are looting mostly empty buildings. The cops in England don't even carry guns, but the army can just decide to murder people for grabbing stuff in empty stores? I'd believe that there were actually dinosaurs on set before I'd believe that this has any basis in reality. Also, aren't soldiers allowed to ignore illegal orders? That's what movies/TV would tell me could technically happen with US soldiers.
At the bare minimum, there has to be some international law against killing your own civilians with your army, right? I mean, at least with countries who are part of the UN (as opposed to places like North Korea)? I don't like it when The Doctor has to waste time fighting evil government officials anyway, but this particular case is really frustrating, and this was only episode one of six.
I think the dinosaur stuff in these episodes is going to remain amusing, and The Doctor and Sarah Jane will probably remain as good as usual, but this evil soldier stuff is going to drive me nuts.
For this November's selection, I'm going through the Dalek stories. Had the first three; next up is the Mission To The Unknown remake from a few weeks ago...
A few more episodes into Invasion of the Dinosaurs, and now Sarah has been captured and (apparently) sent to space, and Mike Yates is a traitor to UNIT, I guess? Its weird how the Dinosaur effects are actually one of the "stronger" parts of this story (outside of The Doctor and Sarah being good, as I'd expect even in not great stories).
A couple of episodes into Daleks' Masterplan - survivng episodes plus Loose Cannon.
Finished Invasion of the Dinosaurs. If it had been a 4 episode serial with all the "fake spaceship" and "The Doctor is being hunted by corrupt army people" scenes cut out, it would have been an entertaining, charmingly low budget creature episode. As it is, it was an over long, frustrating serial that I just didn't like.
Next up is Death to the Daleks, which I hope is good.
I only have three 3rd Doctor serials left to watch, then I'll have seen his whole era. I'm absolutely dreading The Monster of Peladon, since its got pretty mediocre reviews and I hated the first Peladon story, but DttD and Planet of The Spiders are both stories I'm pretty sure will be decent.
Next up is Death to the Daleks, which I hope is good.
I only have three 3rd Doctor serials left to watch, then I'll have seen his whole era. I'm absolutely dreading The Monster of Peladon, since its got pretty mediocre reviews and I hated the first Peladon story, but DttD and Planet of The Spiders are both stories I'm pretty sure will be decent.
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