Last Classic Who Story you watched

[kirk55555]

I finished up 'Attack of the Cybermen.'

I really like the Sixth Doctor in this one much better. I don't mind his abrasive personality and find him to come off as extremely intelligent.

The story itself is really fun, with the first part feeling like mostly set up, which is how most Doctor Who two parters feel in new Who (it's also interesting that they briefly tried out the 45 minute episode format as it really feels like new Who in that regard). I find Peri to be a bit whiny though, which is interesting because I never found her like that with the Fifth Doctor. Also it's too bad the only other companion Six gets is Mel because I think he would have benefited from a better character to play off of.

Personally, I hate "Attack of the Cybermen." It's too gruesome, especially when the Cybermen crush the guy's hands. Also, the native aliens of Telos are just creepy with their plastic mustaches and all.

Attack of the Cybermen is my favorite serial of my favorite Doctor. Its a bit violent, but honestly bloody "crushed" hands are fairly tame by todays standards. Some people complain that the 6th Doctor shoots some cybermen, but the Third Doctor killed aliens with a gun, and the 5th Doctor used a gun at least once, too. Its not the most uplifting serial I suppose, but not ever story needs to be happy, upbeat, or end on a good note. Overall, I thought it was a well written, enjoyable story.

 

[Volpone]

Doing "Robots of Death" right now. I tend to forget that one when I'm listing my favorite serials, but it is right up there with "Pyramids of Mars" and "Talons of Weng Chiang."

 

[DarthPipes]

I really enjoyed "Robots of Death" too. Really good story and guest characters, along with some of the better set designs of Classic Who.

 

[kirk55555]

I just finished Castrovalva. It was very mediocre. Even with Anthony Ainley, I never really cared what's going on. I think too much time was spent with The Doctor being out of the action, and there wasn't a compelling enough story around his problems to make it interesting (The Christmas Invasion had a similar problem). Overall, it wasn't terrible, but its not a story I'd really care to watch again.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

OMG yes "Robots of Death" is pure awesome. One of the best stories of old Who..

 

[Redfern]

I will admit when I first saw "Robots of Death" sometime during 1983, I was totally baffled by the sand-miners' "outfits". The Art Deco/Chinese peasantry concept for the titular robots was fantastic, but those for the human crew...what the heck?! It was not until years later I understood it was all part of a cohesive philosophy. They were meant to be outlandishly decadent. It was to drive home the point that robots did so much of the menial tasks in their society that even the crew of a mining craft could afford to live in the lap of luxury and dress however "stylish" they wished without the concerns of practicality. I just feel embarrassed I was too clueless to "catch" that bit of social commentary the first time I watched it.

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

Of the period "Robots Of Death" also seemed the most adult story of the time.

 

[Sybok Was Wrong]

I was hooked in by "Robots of Death" on PBS & it got me instantly into "Doctor Who" with its funky-funky Art Deco/dated 70's sets; ludicrous costumes- particularly yhe headwear of the attractive lady; the color pallette, music every time they showed the sandcrawler; the wood Tardis control room; the killer robots with their red eyes, calm voices and silver slippers; and of course the interesting leads, Tom Baker and Louise Jameson.

Buying the "Special Edition" on DVD was a definite addition to the library!

 

[DarthPipes]

I just finished Castrovalva. It was very mediocre. Even with Anthony Ainley, I never really cared what's going on. I think too much time was spent with The Doctor being out of the action, and there wasn't a compelling enough story around his problems to make it interesting (The Christmas Invasion had a similar problem). Overall, it wasn't terrible, but its not a story I'd really care to watch again.

I agree about Castrolvalva. I have it long and boring, with a confusing plot that didn't make much sense. The new Doctor spends way too much time out of the the action.

Although Tennant spends the first half-hour largely relegated to the sidelines in The Christmas Invasion, he absolutely shines and saves the episode when he does appear.

 

[kirk55555]

I just finished Castrovalva. It was very mediocre. Even with Anthony Ainley, I never really cared what's going on. I think too much time was spent with The Doctor being out of the action, and there wasn't a compelling enough story around his problems to make it interesting (The Christmas Invasion had a similar problem). Overall, it wasn't terrible, but its not a story I'd really care to watch again.

I agree about Castrolvalva. I have it long and boring, with a confusing plot that didn't make much sense. The new Doctor spends way too much time out of the the action.

Although Tennant spends the first half-hour largely relegated to the sidelines in The Christmas Invasionk, he absolutely shines and saves the episode when he does appear.

Yeah, once Tennant appears he saves his debut episode, but it still left a big chunk of The christmas Invasion as a pretty boring experience. Much better than Castrovalva, but to be fair Castrovalva is longer, so it has more time to waste.

 

[Volpone]

To say something good about "Castrovalva," Davison does a decent job doing 1 & 2's mannerisms as he's trying to find the Zero Room. I think he does a bit of 3--reversing the polarity or something, but he just doesn't pull it off.

 

[kirk55555]

To say something good about "Castrovalva," Davison does a decent job doing 1 & 2's mannerisms as he's trying to find the Zero Room. I think he does a bit of 3--reversing the polarity or something, but he just doesn't pull it off.

Yeah, Davison does a good job, put it just goes on too long, and the stuff on Castrovalva is pretty weak.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

I will admit when I first saw "Robots of Death" sometime during 1983, I was totally baffled by the sand-miners' "outfits". The Art Deco/Chinese peasantry concept for the titular robots was fantastic, but those for the human crew...what the heck?!

I'm great with all of the design of that episode except for the crappy feet of the robots. Now, I realize that classic Doctor Who is not known for its high production values, but not only are the robot feet awful, but they keep showing needless close-ups of them. "The Robots of Death" was only the 2nd ever story that I ever saw, and the robots' feet was what really started to make me realize that this was a show with some major production value problems. This was the show that was going to make the original Star Trek look good.

I agree about Castrolvalva. I have it long and boring, with a confusing plot that didn't make much sense. The new Doctor spends way too much time out of the the action.

Although Tennant spends the first half-hour largely relegated to the sidelines in The Christmas Invasionk, he absolutely shines and saves the episode when he does appear.

Definitely agreed about "The Christmas Invasion." The last 20 minutes once the Doctor actually wakes up are stellar. Tennant makes a great first impression. But that does leave a very dismal first 40 minutes where we just get a lot of Rose whining about how the Doctor has abandoned her and that the Doctor will never wake up when we all of course know that he will.

As for "Castrovalva," I don't think it's that bad. The Doctor doesn't get a whole lot to do in that one but there are a lot of classic stories that are kind of light on the Doctor, especially Davison ones. There are many Davison stories where it seems like he's just an observer or a passenger on his own show. And I like the M.C. Escher aspect of the design of the city, particularly in the scenes where the townspeople start to realize the paradox of the portreve's house being in 3 different locations at the same time.

 

[DWF]

I will admit when I first saw "Robots of Death" sometime during 1983, I was totally baffled by the sand-miners' "outfits". The Art Deco/Chinese peasantry concept for the titular robots was fantastic, but those for the human crew...what the heck?!

I'm great with all of the design of that episode except for the crappy feet of the robots. Now, I realize that classic Doctor Who is not known for its high production values, but not only are the robot feet awful, but they keep showing needless close-ups of them. "The Robots of Death" was only the 2nd ever story that I ever saw, and the robots' feet was what really started to make me realize that this was a show with some major production value problems. This was the show that was going to make the original Star Trek look good.

There might two close ups of the feet and really it's to count the number of robots, to and keep the mystery of who their leader is.

 

[DWF]

Terror Of The Zygons, I not only saw it on DVD but caught some of it on BBCA Sunday morning. Since the Zygons are returning this season I saw it again and some it again. Strangely enough I zipped though the DVD this time,for the compalints about how slow the old series is I ran straight though all four parts. It's a good story and I loved teh organic look of the ship, it's funny how all the controls look like ears and I love how the Doctor set the ship's self destruct, the of Tennant destroying the Family's ship reminded me of that scene. Tom Baker was in fine form considering it's still techically his first season. I much perfere these Zygons to the ones in The Day Of The Doctor.

 

[DarthPipes]

It's sadly the last time we see the Fourth Doctor and the Brigadier together. Harry and Benton are back for The Android Invasion but are completely wasted in it.

 

[Volpone]

It's a shame they couldn't line up Courtney for "Seeds of Doom." After all the times the Doctor is second guessing the Brig's inclination to bring in an RAF airstrike, it would have been nice to see him actually grateful for it.

 

[Redfern]

Certainly the Zygons were one of the most ambitious designs the classic series ever attempted. Is it just my nostalgia influencing my perception, or was there "something" even creepier about the facial structure of the original costumes compared to the current prosthetic appliances? The "new" Zygons have more defined faces that seem to take away a bit of the "uncanny valley" effect that actually worked FOR them in the original story. There was something almost "fetal" about Broton and his shipmates.

Also, did "Day of the Doctor" do away with their fingertip suckers? I always liked that detail, an homage (either intentional or accidental) to the Martians in George Pal's version of "War of the Worlds".

I wonder if we'll see the "Scarrasan" (sp?) again? If so, how much will they alter it? A lot of fans laugh at it, but I think the design itself was fine. It just needed different lighting and recording techniques. Even recording the puppet head at a higher speed and then played at normal speed could have helped, giving it a sense of scale (no pun intended).

Anybody remember the "write up" TV Guide used to describe this story? "Dr. Who makes Zygons bygones!" I wish I had a scan of an old copy to prove that bit of zaniness.

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[The Four Doctor]

*laughs*

White supporters of Aboriginal rights - Tegan's colleagues according to the SJA - have been caught having fabricated a supposed "racist" historical document in order to bolster support for their cause.

Disgusting.

Enough horrific things happened to Australia's Aboriginal people without resorting to making stuff up.

 

[kirk55555]

It seems to have a bad reputation, but I thought that Warriors of the Deep was ok. I mean, it wasn't amazing or anything, but it was an entertaining serial, albeit one with lower quality sets/costumes than I'd expect even from the era. It was nice to see the Silurians and sea devils again, even if the costumes were a bit shoddy and the sea devils dressed like samurai for some reason. Overall its an entertaining, but admittedly not great, serial from the 5th Doctor's era, despite its flaws.