Earthshock, Arc of Infinity and Snakedance (Fifth Doctor). Three excellent serials. Adric was too much the whiner in Earthshock but the writer made good use of his character and gave him an interesting death. I was glad to see Omega again in Arc of Infinity but Stephen Thorne's performance in The Three Doctors was better that Ian Collier's. The Mara are an interesting villian that I wouldn't mind seeing again on modern Who. That said, while they get some good development in Snakedance, Kinda was a better story.
Thanks - I think Raspy's some of the best characterisation I've done, and all as historically accurate as possible in 1998
My criteria for rating television shows are pretty simple. After I've watched it, do I feel like I wasted my time? Arc of Infinity kept my attention and therefore it was excellent. Omega is an interesting character, one I'd like to see more of in modern Who. That said, I can understand why others wouldn't like it all that much. It drags here and there and the ending doesn't make much sense.
That's right, although I think it's the term "historical" that makes it so hard to even consider producing one of them these days, because it sounds like such a dull proposition. The old "historicals" were actually adventure stories, and that's what the current Who producer should think about if they ever intend to revive the format.
Watched a couple recently, Found Battlefield to be good but not great, but can appreciate the main characters. And also Survival, which I thought was better. I choose to watch those 2 as the other 2 epi's of S26 I have seen already recently. And now watching Remembrance of the Daleks for the nth time.
Survival's a terrific little story and Rona Munro brings a distinctive style that still works within the series, which isn't always the case with 'name' writers (not that she was a name at the time, just starting out on what's been a distinguished stage writing career). She still like the show and comments on it in interviews (doesn't like the Doctor getting all kissy), so it'd be interesting to get her to do another story.
The Dalek Invasion Of Earth... We don't have The Sensorites, Reign Of Terror or Planet of Giants on DVD, and the VHS tapes are at my dad's house in Scotland... so we just skipped to this in the from-the-start rewatch. Dr Who's first quarry, Susan's departure, iconic Dalek stuff (albeit with rubbish voices for some reason)... So much fun. And this time we watched it as the original version, not with the new CG effects. Still cool.
I watched Reign Of Terror for the first time. A pretty good episode despite all of the production troubles I learned about watching the DvD extras.
It says something about the strength of that first season that something as fun as The Reign of Terror would still come in 6th or 7th (out of 8th) on my season poll list.
Just finished watching Enlightenment, I do love that story (and not just because of Tegan in that dress) It's ideas far exceed its budget but I don't think that's a bad thing, and however ropey the effects the notion of sailing ships in space is an image that's stayed with me ever since. Unfortunately it does lose its way a little. The first couple of episodes are wonderful though, and Striker and Mariner are decidedly creepy and very alien. Unfortunately we then see Captain Wrack arrive and things go downhill (if only a little) Even though she's hamming it up, Kinda Barron can at least act. Her first mate though....jesus! I know he was a pop star but that's no excuse. Definitely a candidate for worst Who actor ever methinks...
Watched the Galaxy 4 recovered episode and official reconstruction. They did a very nice job on the reconstruction, and oh what a thrill to see a Hartnell episode I've never seen before!
I just finished Robot. I don't have a lot of Doctor Who experience (while the show has always seemed like something I'd really like, it hasn't been something thats been very avaliable to me) but I really enjoyed this serial. Before this, the only Dr. who I've seen is the first 5 episodes with the 9th doctor. I really enjoyed those, so I went looking online and decided to try out some classic Dr. who. I decided on the fourth doctor, and watched his first serial. It was really good. Sure, the effects were kind of goofy, but wasn't a problem (using an obviously toy tank for a real one was probably the only time I thought that the effect was so stupid they might as well have not tried it). I'll be watching more of his stuff, probably going chronologically for awhile (The next stuff I'm watching will be The Ark in Space, The Sontaran Experiment, Genesis of the Daleks, etc.).
Don't skip any episodes Just kidding. 99% of Classic Who is standalone, so, if you see stories that don't appeal to you, feel free to skip them. Some may disagree about which stories you should or shouldn't skip, but, there isn't an arc to worry about missing pieces (Though if you do watch a story, be sure to watch all the episodes in that story. 4th Doctor, most of his stories are 4 episodes, Genesis of the Daleks and 4 other stories are 6 episodes and Sontaran Experiment is 2 episodes)
Yeah, believe me, I won't be skipping any episodes with Dr. Who . I may not watch every single serial (I think the fourth Doctor was around for 7 years, which would mean a lot of serials just for him) but I get how the older Dr. who format works (and the newer stuff, although it seems a lot less serialized from an episode perspective, with more one off episodes that just happen to be about double the length of the old stuff). I haven't looked too far ahead, but all the upcoming fourth doctor stuff looks great, and I'll probably work my way through his stuff for awhile.
Nu Doctor Who, yea, episodes are mostly stand alones, though there are hints throughout the season leading up to the Finale. S1 of the NuWho, it's very minor, but, it does get a little more involved as you go through Tennant's tenure, and quite a bit heavier arc-ness once you hit Moffat as Showrunner and Smith as Doctor
Watching Inferno. A lot of Who stories broadcast before my youth ended up in the school library, Inferno's front cover stuck in my mind most.
Face of Evil. It starts with a very odd bit to camera with the doctor. I haven't watched this in a very long time. Leela is a big change from Sarah Jane, I don't remember there being an outcry at her outfits back when this was first on but I guess there must have been. I'm just watching the Louise Jameson Doctor Who story documentary. She says she insisted on the flap at the back. The original costume must have been very drafts.
Up to McCoy on my Classic Who rewatch, and just watched Time and The Rani yesterday, and for the first time I finally saw why Faroon looks so familiar. I've seen the serial numerous times and knew she looked familiar, especially in the eyes, but, I caught Wanda Ventham's name in the credits this time, and it finally made sense why she looked so familar