Last Classic Who Story you watched

[kirk55555]

Well, I would have liked seeing The Doctors together more, and of course Tom Baker would have been nice, but I still enjoyed it a lot. The Three Doctors is probably a bit better (especially since the 2nd and 3rd Doctor got a good amount of screen time together), and Day of the Doctor is probably the best multi-Doctor story, but I still thought The Five Doctors was very good.

 

[Volpone]

I'm kind of partial to it, but that is probably partly because I was a teenager when it aired and it was right in the middle of my diehard fandom. I did rent it around the late 1990s and thought it held up, but I haven't seen it in awhile. It is one of the ones that is carved out of the RetroTV schedule due to infernal viewing rights that seem to have exempted some of the great ones (another one that sorely pains me is "Pyramids of Mars." And of course "The War Games" and "Spearhead from Space" are both missing.)

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

See, you're all very apologetic to it because of nostalgia. But I didn't grow up with it (I didn't watch DW until recently, actually), so that lens is of no use to me.

 

[DWF]

See, you're all very apologetic to it because of nostalgia. But I didn't grow up with it (I didn't watch DW until recently, actually), so that lens is of no use to me.

Pretty much the point of an anniversary special is nostalgia, it's a classic quest story with each of the Doctors doing things fans were used to seeing. The second Dcotor in the underground, the third Doctor with the action scenes and the first Doctor going thogh the frond door. We got Cybermen, a Dalek, a Yeti, the Master and tons of companions.

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

And no interaction, no meaningful reward at the end. Its such a throwaway adventure that one could easily ignore in a viewing guide, and none would be the wiser.

I dislike several things about Day of the Doctor, and even Light at the End, but the reason I still love them is because they have character interactions. Its not just seeing Ten again, its Ten interacting with 11 and the Warrior, its 11 and 10 arguing about the Gallifrey genocide, it is about them changing the past and preventing Gallifrey's destruction - and similarly the latter about the various Doctor trying to prevent the Master's reality bomb from going off and erasing them from existence, forcing a rather insightful interaction between the Fourth and Eighth Doctors, etc.

So as you might have guessed, I'm a sucker for multi-Doctor stories. Time Crash is my favorite multi-Doctor scene, full stop, for that reason. None of that is present here. We don't even have the companion conversing about the adventures they'd had with the Doctor, instead opting for awkward silence and the like. Really, some very stilted writing by Dicks, who's totally wrong for this type of story, because he's great at plotting, but not so much as characterization (as I mentioned).

So, as mentioned, overrated fluff. Not bad, mind you - but not the classic its made out to be. Without Davison, Pertwee and Troughton, it'd be totally worthless.

 

[DWF]

And no interaction, no meaningful reward at the end. Its such a throwaway adventure that one could easily ignore in a viewing guide, and none would be the wiser.

I dislike several things about Day of the Doctor, and even Light at the End, but the reason I still love them is because they have character interactions. Its not just seeing Ten again, its Ten interacting with 11 and the Warrior, its 11 and 10 arguing about the Gallifrey genocide, it is about them changing the past and preventing Gallifrey's destruction - and similarly the latter about the various Doctor trying to prevent the Master's reality bomb from going off and erasing them from existence, forcing a rather insightful interaction between the Fourth and Eighth Doctors, etc.

So as you might have guessed, I'm a sucker for multi-Doctor stories. Time Crash is my favorite multi-Doctor scene, full stop, for that reason. None of that is present here. We don't even have the companion conversing about the adventures they'd had with the Doctor, instead opting for awkward silence and the like. Really, some very stilted writing by Dicks, who's totally wrong for this type of story, because he's great at plotting, but not so much as characterization (as I mentioned).

So, as mentioned, overrated fluff. Not bad, mind you - but not the classic its made out to be. Without Davison, Pertwee and Troughton, it'd be totally worthless.

Well yeah it'd be worthless it is called The Five Doctors and really it's better seeing the various Doctors in their own element than arguing with each other over the best way to do someting. In The Day Of The Doctor the three of them were put together and did less else but argue and it was up Clara to simply open the door.

The Day Of The Doctor was ultimately Moffat rewriting Doctor Who history instead of celebrating it. The addition of the War Doctor only copnfuses the Doctor's lives and it might've been nice seeing Tennant and Smith act alittle differently instead of twins. The first five Doctors were all different, Tennant and Smith were at times interchangable.

 

[kirk55555]

See, you're all very apologetic to it because of nostalgia. But I didn't grow up with it (I didn't watch DW until recently, actually), so that lens is of no use to me.

I didn't see it until 2013. I only got into Doctor Who in a big way a few months before its 50th anniversary, so it isn't nostalgia for me, I just like the story

So, as mentioned, overrated fluff. Not bad, mind you - but not the classic its made out to be. Without Davison, Pertwee and Troughton, it'd be totally worthless.

To you its overrated fluff, to others its an enjoyable story. Also, yes, without the three main characters, the story would be totally worthless. I would have thought that a multi Doctor story without Doctors would be pretty obviously worthless if it didn't star the Doctors Although, to be fair, the replacement 1st Doctor was very good. Not quite Hartnell, but no one could be Hartnell but the man him self. The replacement probably did the best job anyone could (although the guy from An Adenture in Time and Space seemed like he could have nailed it, too).

Anyway, on to what I've seen. I got the Doctor Who Revisited: 5-8 set yesterday, and I saw Earthshock for the first time. I went with the 4 part episode version, since I've read that the "feature length" version on the DVD (that puts the episodes together into one long video with no beginning and endings in the middle) has pretty bad video quality. The 4 episode version is just as good as you're going to get, though (its just taken from the Earthshock DVD itself).

The story was enjoyable, with the Cybermen being an interesting villain and the overall story done well. I'd never seen an episode with Adric, so its funny this was my first. He was a bit obnxious, but not terrible (I wasn't cheering for his final fate or anything). It was also my first episode with Nyssa, and honestly I think I like her better than Tegan, who I've seen before but never really made an impression.

I've long been spoilered to the ending, but it was done very well, and I like that it was literally pointless, sometimes people just go out without accomplishing much of anything. Playing the credits completely silently was a great touch, and really made the ending even more intense. Overall, this was a fine serial, although I haven't seen enough of the 5th Doctor's stuff to really rank it or anything.

 

[Mr Awe]

^ Pointless? But, he ended the dinosaurs in the cataclysm that allowed humans to evolve.

 

[kirk55555]

^ Pointless? But, he ended the dinosaurs in the cataclysm that allowed humans to evolve.

Yeah, but if he had left on the escape pod with the others, it would have happened anyway, right? At least, that's what I thought while watching it, unless the ship only time jumped to the dinosaur period after the others left?

 

[DWF]

^ Pointless? But, he ended the dinosaurs in the cataclysm that allowed humans to evolve.

Yeah, but if he had left on the escape pod with the others, it would have happened anyway, right? At least, that's what I thought while watching it, unless the ship only time jumped to the dinosaur period after the others left?

If that last cyberman hadn't had destroyed the keyboard it's possible Adric might've solved the third logic code. The silent credits was nice as was Adric holding his outsiders belt that got in his first story. The official DVD has a part five to the story, where Adric crashed to earth and survived only to stomped on by a dinosaur.

 

[Volpone]

Y'know...As I was walking The Dog tonight, it hit me, just how much "Seeds of Doom" is a straight-up Third Doctor story. I mean any wag will tell you how well "Robot" fits in as a Third Doctor story--UNIT, Mad Scientist, taking over the Earth... But smack-dab in the middle of the Hinchcliffe Horror Era, is a straight-up Pertwee story--UNIT sends The Doctor and his assistant to investigate a weird happening. No TARDIS. A madman and his very capable henchman. The Doctor engaging in swordplay, diving vehicles, beating up henchmen. A crooked politician. The Doc, explaining the problem and no one listening to him. It's really a classic Pertwee story.

And it is a testament to Tom Baker's skill that it's taken almost 40 years for me to realize this, because he really makes the material his own.

 

[kirk55555]

I just rewatched Remembrance of the Daleks on my Doctor Who Revisited: 5-8 DVD set. Its better than I remembered, probably because this time I wasn't super annoyed by the 7th Doctor going into the story. The only eye rolling part is when they tease the Cartmel Masterplan (when The Doctor slips up and implies he was one of the timelords working on the hand of Omega pre-Rassilon). Besides that, its a solid story. nothing mind blowing, but an enjoyable serial.

 

[DWF]

Y'know...As I was walking The Dog tonight, it hit me, just how much "Seeds of Doom" is a straight-up Third Doctor story. I mean any wag will tell you how well "Robot" fits in as a Third Doctor story--UNIT, Mad Scientist, taking over the Earth... But smack-dab in the middle of the Hinchcliffe Horror Era, is a straight-up Pertwee story--UNIT sends The Doctor and his assistant to investigate a weird happening. No TARDIS. A madman and his very capable henchman. The Doctor engaging in swordplay, diving vehicles, beating up henchmen. A crooked politician. The Doc, explaining the problem and no one listening to him. It's really a classic Pertwee story.

And it is a testament to Tom Baker's skill that it's taken almost 40 years for me to realize this, because he really makes the material his own.

It's a bit of a UNIT story but I can't see it as a Pertwee styled storyline. It's a Robert Holmes styled six parter in that it's a two parter connected to a four parter. Harrison Chase is something of a James Bond styled villain though complete with his own henchman. But the frist parts are a parody of sorts of The Thing From Another Planet, those kind of spoofs didn't exist in the Pertwee era.

 

[The Four Doctor]

DW writer Malcolm Hulke was right about the more extreme environmentalists. Soon or later, a group of them will decide to Eliminate the Human Parasites to Save Mother Earth.

Only difference between them and IOTD's Operation Golden Age will be the lack of a Time Scoop.

 

[diankra]

Y'know...As I was walking The Dog tonight, it hit me, just how much "Seeds of Doom" is a straight-up Third Doctor story. I mean any wag will tell you how well "Robot" fits in as a Third Doctor story--UNIT, Mad Scientist, taking over the Earth... But smack-dab in the middle of the Hinchcliffe Horror Era, is a straight-up Pertwee story--UNIT sends The Doctor and his assistant to investigate a weird happening. No TARDIS. A madman and his very capable henchman. The Doctor engaging in swordplay, diving vehicles, beating up henchmen. A crooked politician. The Doc, explaining the problem and no one listening to him. It's really a classic Pertwee story.

And it is a testament to Tom Baker's skill that it's taken almost 40 years for me to realize this, because he really makes the material his own.

Really, it's more Peel-era Avengers than 3rd Doctor. Tom's Doctor is very very Steed in this one. (Late 60s Steed, not the early ruthless one or the 70 gent).

 

[kirk55555]

I just rewatched Doctor Who: The Movie. I still think its a decent story, although it obviously has flaws. Eric Roberts is easily the worst incarnation of The Master. He's just really goofy. I know people say my favorite master (Anthony Ainley) was over the top, but I think Roberts goes even farther, especially at the end. Plus, his magic snake powers are bizarre. There's also the really stupid stuff in this movie, like a "half human" Doctor, but that's easily ignored. Having human eyes open the eye of harmony still confuses me, though. They could easily have said it just opened for the guy because, like the Master said, the TARDIS "liked" him. Having what (to the time lords) would be a random alien species be able to open the Eye is just bizarre. Overall, its a flawed but enjoyable story with a Doctor that deserved more screen time.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

I just rewatched Doctor Who: The Movie. I still think its a decent story, although it obviously has flaws. Eric Roberts is easily the worst incarnation of The Master. He's just really goofy. I know people say my favorite master (Anthony Ainley) was over the top, but I think Roberts goes even farther, especially at the end. Plus, his magic snake powers are bizarre. There's also the really stupid stuff in this movie, like a "half human" Doctor, but that's easily ignored. Having human eyes open the eye of harmony still confuses me, though. They could easily have said it just opened for the guy because, like the Master said, the TARDIS "liked" him. Having what (to the time lords) would be a random alien species be able to open the Eye is just bizarre. Overall, its a flawed but enjoyable story with a Doctor that deserved more screen time.

I don't mind the movie myself. I can't understand the hate it gets.

My only quibble was why did the Daleks put the Master on trial and not the Time Lords? Also "maximum extermination" was used so there should be nothing left but ash. How is he a snake like thing? There should be nothing but ash for the Doctor to take home. And why the hell is he carting his remains everywhere?

 

[Volpone]

The '96 movie was a worthwhile starting point for a new series. They do some things badly--the Doctor getting all lovey-dovey with his companion (which opens the way for early nuWho); the stuff mentioned above. But it does some stuff pretty well and it mostly feels like a Dr. Who story.

As a bit of trivia, Richard Hudolin built the TARDIS for this Who reboot. He also did the design work for the television version of Stargate and the reboot of Battlestar Galactica. Kind of a sci-fi hat trick of sorts.

 

[DarthPipes]

Y'know...As I was walking The Dog tonight, it hit me, just how much "Seeds of Doom" is a straight-up Third Doctor story. I mean any wag will tell you how well "Robot" fits in as a Third Doctor story--UNIT, Mad Scientist, taking over the Earth... But smack-dab in the middle of the Hinchcliffe Horror Era, is a straight-up Pertwee story--UNIT sends The Doctor and his assistant to investigate a weird happening. No TARDIS. A madman and his very capable henchman. The Doctor engaging in swordplay, diving vehicles, beating up henchmen. A crooked politician. The Doc, explaining the problem and no one listening to him. It's really a classic Pertwee story.

And it is a testament to Tom Baker's skill that it's taken almost 40 years for me to realize this, because he really makes the material his own.

I liked Scorby in Seeds of Doom, he was another great henchman from the Fourth Doctor era. Loved the Doctor constantly cracking jokes as his expense. I won't argue that it definitely feels like a Third Doctor era story.

Speaking of which, the most recent Third Doctor story I watched was "The Time Warrior" and I very much enjoyed. We get the debut of Sarah Jane along with the Sontarans and the first time the name Gallifrey is used. The only psuedo-historical of the Pertwee era. This was a great introduction to the Sontarans, establishing their personality and motivations well. Really entertaining group of villains, from Linx the Sontaran (who is really good) Irongron and his henchman Bloodaxe, who are all funny. One review noted that Linx and Irongron have a twisted version of the Doctor/Brigadier relationship and I would definitely agree with that. Add in Jeremy "Boba Fett" Bulloch as an archer and it's a fun story all around.

 

[kirk55555]

I just watched The Keeper of Traken. It was very, very boring. The Doctor, Adric, Nyssa, The Master and Tremas were ok, everyone else was boring or hilariously over the top. There were some painted eyelids pretending to be eyes, which is so low budget and garbage looking even a show with literally no budget would have been embarrassed. OVerall, outside of the end scenes with the Master and then The Master becoming Anthony Ainley, this was a very boring story. Hopefully Logopolis is better.