Last Classic Who Story you watched

[Aldo]

Just finished 'Battlefield.' It was nice seeing Bessie again. The Brigadier was great too, and the episode was really fun. It felt like between the end of Season 25 and the beginning of Season 26 a lot of things changed behind the camera, cause this felt like a better filmed show than the past McCoy serials. I suppose it was too little too late since this would end up being the final season for the original series.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

The Time Monster. I had forgoten a lot of this story as I thought a lot more of the action was set on Atlantis rather than back on Earth.

For the record Atlantis is on Earth.

Oh, really? [yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VI9p-rqHe4[/yt]

Yeah, like most of the Seventh Doctor stories it starts out a little silly (the "rap" of the Ring Master was particularly cringe worthy way to open the episode).

IIRC, wasn't the Ringmaster the same guy that played Frost in Aliens?

 

[Aldo]

Oh wow that's neat, I never knew that (and yes, I just looked him up so that is confirmation that it's the same actor ).

 

[Volpone]

Heh. The guy who's playing Aquaman was in Atlantis.

 

[Aldo]

I watched the Fourth Doctor Story: "Destiny of the Daleks."

It was my introduction to Romana (unless you count the briefest of scenes from 'The Five Doctors). It was also my first non-McCoy serial in quite some time. Now I have seen some of the Fourth Doctor before, but this was a welcome return. After spending so much time with McCoy, it's nice to watch the show when it actually getting a decent sized budget from the BBC. This story really blows away most of what they did with the Seventh Doctor.

As a Dalek story I found it really fun, and intriguing. The liesuresly pace threw me off at first, but by the time the Daleks showed up and captured Romana I was hooked. I was really pulled in by the story, and I loved seeing Davros again, I never get tired of seeing him.

I still intend to finish off McCoy's run, so I may watch 'Ghost Light' next, but part of me wants to explore some more of the early serials. I still haven't really watched anything from the Second or Third Doctors (again, outside of 'The Five Doctors).

 

[Volpone]

Around "Space Colony" 3rd Doctor to "Horror of Fang Rock" 4th Doctor is my Golden Age. I'm sorely cheated on #2, so there you go.

"The Chase" tonight. So we're getting ready to say goodbye to Ian and Barbara. I didn't remember the comedy being so painfully hokey last time around. The American accents on the roof of the Empire State Building were bad. The light tone is all around off for a Dalek story. I gotta say the Peking carnival haunted house is awesome when you're in on the joke. I totally bought into the Doc's theory that they're in the realm of Dreams until the giveaway. Watching it a second time, when they step on the second step of the stairway and it triggers the bats or walking down they other stairs "wakes up" the Frankenstein monster, is hilarious now that I'm inside on the joke.

 

[Turtletrekker]

"Planet of the Daleks" and "The Talons of Wen Chiang".

I enjoyed them both, but am generally not fond of six part arcs. Right around the end of episode four of both arcs I was thinking to myself that I was ready for these stories to be over.

However, I finally got to meet the oft-mentioned Jago and Litefoot, which was a treat. Do the Big Finish J&L adventures use the same actors?

 

[Mr Soak]

However, I finally got to meet the oft-mentioned Jago and Litefoot, which was a treat. Do the Big Finish J&L adventures use the same actors?

Indeed they do. And aside from Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter, Conrad Asquith reprises Quick from Talons.

 

[Volpone]

Just started "War Machines" on the weekday rotation of RetroTV, so we're moving into the handful of Troughton serials they carry. Due to (I assume) licensing issues, they skip a frustrating number of stories. We miss Susan leaving, and if seems like every other serial after Vicki comes on board gets skipped. Once Ian and Barbara leave the Hartnell run wraps up quite quickly. Then I think they've got maybe 3 Troughton stories and they skip "Spearhead from Space" and move right on to the second Pertwee serial.

Meanwhile the Saturday rotation is just getting to the second Tom Baker season, working on "The Android Invasion."

 

[Ithekro]

Lots of incomplete series in the First and Second Doctor eras.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

The War Machine is funny, those bumbling metal balls...

Here you go

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wutJT6Gjy0o[/yt]

 

[DarthPipes]

The War Machines and their deadly smoke! Ah, the limits of a 60s budget...

Still, I liked Ben and Polly's respective debuts.

 

[Ithekro]

Doctor Who is required.

 

[diankra]

The War Machines had to kill people on location (film). So they had the guns of the film Daleks.

 

[Volpone]

I was all set to denigrate the army guns not working as stupid. I mean maybe it saved on blanks and technically simplified shooting, but it made no sense to me. A gun is a mechanical device that houses an explosive propellant. Pulling the trigger releases a spring-loaded hammer to impact a pressure sensitive small explosive charge that ignites a larger explosive charge that pushes a chunk of metal down the barrel. It made no sense how the war machine could make guns stop working.

Then I considered if it emitted some kind of powerful magnetic field that caused ferrous metals to fuse in place in relation to each other... I mean, that's completely silly, but it is at least a fig leaf of plausibility.

Just don't ask me why the guns didn't just fly out of their hands and stick to the war machine.

I mean, apart from that being really expensive and hard to do convincingly.

 

[Ithekro]

I mean, apart from that being really expensive and hard to do convincingly.

Doesn't that just mean "The BBC"?

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

I mean, apart from that being really expensive and hard to do convincingly.

Doesn't that just mean "The BBC"?

And quarries

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

I watched the Fourth Doctor Story: "Destiny of the Daleks."

It was my introduction to Romana (unless you count the briefest of scenes from 'The Five Doctors). It was also my first non-McCoy serial in quite some time. Now I have seen some of the Fourth Doctor before, but this was a welcome return. After spending so much time with McCoy, it's nice to watch the show when it actually getting a decent sized budget from the BBC. This story really blows away most of what they did with the Seventh Doctor.

As a Dalek story I found it really fun, and intriguing. The liesuresly pace threw me off at first, but by the time the Daleks showed up and captured Romana I was hooked. I was really pulled in by the story, and I loved seeing Davros again, I never get tired of seeing him.

I still intend to finish off McCoy's run, so I may watch 'Ghost Light' next, but part of me wants to explore some more of the early serials. I still haven't really watched anything from the Second or Third Doctors (again, outside of 'The Five Doctors).

Personally, "Destiny of the Daleks" is my least favorite Tom Baker story. I don't like the design of the Movellans. The Dalek props seem to be in very poor repair. The actor who plays Davros isn't very good. But I think what really kills it for me is the opening scenes with Romana's regeneration. They really lack energy and suck the life out of both Romana & the remainder of the serial. However, I do love Romana's pink riff on the Doctor's costume. I keep hoping I can get a woman to cosplay that outfit some day. (I knew a woman who was a big Whovian and had a nice resemblance to Lalla Ward. Unfortunately, I could never talk her into it. There were a lot of things I couldn't talk her into. )

You should definitely try some Troughton & Pertwee. Troughton is my favorite of the classic Doctors. And while Pertwee may technically be "too normal" to be the Doctor, he makes up for it with industrial grade levels of pure charm. If I may make a suggestion, try "The Three Doctors." It's got some of the best work from both of them.

"The Chase" tonight. So we're getting ready to say goodbye to Ian and Barbara. I didn't remember the comedy being so painfully hokey last time around. The American accents on the roof of the Empire State Building were bad.

Yeah. Although, I give major props to Peter Purves for making the character so different that I didn't even realize that the Alabama hillbilly in Part 3 was the same actor as Steven Taylor in Part 6. I watched that story 3 times and didn't figure it out until they mentioned it on the DVD bonus features.

Once Ian and Barbara leave the Hartnell run wraps up quite quickly.

In fairness, only 4 of Hartnell's post-Ian & Barbara stories still exist in their entirety: "The Time Meddler," "The Ark," "The Gunfighters," & "The War Machines."

I was all set to denigrate the army guns not working as stupid. I mean maybe it saved on blanks and technically simplified shooting, but it made no sense to me. A gun is a mechanical device that houses an explosive propellant. Pulling the trigger releases a spring-loaded hammer to impact a pressure sensitive small explosive charge that ignites a larger explosive charge that pushes a chunk of metal down the barrel. It made no sense how the war machine could make guns stop working.

Then I considered if it emitted some kind of powerful magnetic field that caused ferrous metals to fuse in place in relation to each other... I mean, that's completely silly, but it is at least a fig leaf of plausibility.

Just don't ask me why the guns didn't just fly out of their hands and stick to the war machine.

I mean, apart from that being really expensive and hard to do convincingly.

Of course, then there was the bit in "The Sontaran Stratagem"/"The Poison Sky" where the Sontarans emitted a signal that caused the copper bullets to expand and jam in the guns, preventing them from firing.

 

[Volpone]

Again, I need a "like" button. Interesting points all round. I caught that the hillbilly was Steven the second time I watched it. At least I thought that was the case, but wasn't sure until now.

I like the expanding bullet idea. Only on thinking about it, that wouldn't prevent the trigger and firing pin from working so the only way it would work is if the signal was used before anyone had chambered a round. Otherwise you'd get a lot of exploding guns with the first shots. I need to watch me some nuWho.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

Just on guns Dr Who is the only show I know of where if you do get shot with a gun you die but there is zero blood