Pick me some RTD (maybe Classic) Who to watch!

[Candlelight]

My gripe with 42 was I thought it was gonna be a realtime story, which the show's running time matching how the episode was going (as in a stab at Kiefer's "24").

Unfortunately by the end of the first major scene they had dropped to 34 minutes left and that idea went out the window.

Then a spacesuit started chasing people and it just got silly.

 

[Cutter John]

The kittens talked? Musta missed that. And Brannigan was fun, but the actor playing him is very familiar from his other roles so it was a bit distracting.

If you listen carefully, the little g&w one with the blue ribbon says 'mama' a couple of times.

And I guess thats an advantage of being a non-brit viewer. No preconcieved notions about most of the guest actors.

What was the Troughton callback? The Macras?

Yeah. I was being cautious in case it was a spoiler.

 

[Count Zero]

Well, you're hard to please, Rowan Sjet.

I sort of liked 42, but it was nothing special, that's true.

 

[Sci]

For Series Three, Four, and the Specials, I'd recommend:

Series Three:

• "The Runaway Bride" (2006 Christmas special)
• "Smith and Jones"
• "The Shakespeare Code"
• "Gridlock"
• "Human Nature"
• "The Family of Blood"
• "Blink"
• "Utopia"
• "The Sound of Drums"
• "Last of the Time Lords"

Series Four:

• "Partners in Crime"
• "Planet of the Ood"
• "The Sontaran Stratagem"
• "The Poison Sky"
• "Silence in the Library"
• "Forest of the Dead"
• "Midnight"
• "Turn Left"
• "The Stolen Earth"
• "Journey's End"

Specials:

• "Planet of the Dead" (only the last ten minutes)
• "The Waters of Mars"
• "The End of Time, Part One"
• "The End of Time, Part Two"

 

[Rowan Sjet]

Ah, now Fires of Pompeii I like. Great story, and a great showcase for Donna and the Doc.

 

[Sci]

Ah, now Fires of Pompeii I like. Great story, and a great showcase for Donna and the Doc.

I liked "The Fires of Pompeii," but I was trying to hit only the ones I considered essential, mostly on the basis of quality. Really, Series Four doesn't have any truly bad episodes apart from "The Doctor's Daughter" -- even "The Unicorn and the Wasp" is very fun -- but I was hitting the ones I considered the best.

 

[HappyDayRiot]

Ah, now Fires of Pompeii I like. Great story, and a great showcase for Donna and the Doc.

Hurrah!

 

[Rowan Sjet]

Planet of the Ood. Odd that an episode set on an ice planet inhabited by squid people can seem so similar to a movie set on a tropical planet inhabited by blue cat people. I know, I know, this came out before Avatar did, but at least that had some interesting and entertaining visuals to go with it. This was just fairly generic "Fern Gully" type fair. Doesn't help that I was pretty meh on the characterisations of the "DoctorDonna" this time around around, though I'm not exactly sure why yet. EDIT: Though I did love Donna going back for a coat, signposted as it was.

Question: I caught the teaser of the Sontaran Stratagem when it first aired and found it to be cheesy and dumb. Caught the end of the ep recently and thought pretty much the same. Would any of you say it's still worth watching?

 

[Starkers]

I liked the Sontaran 2 parter myself (despite having Martha in it) but I know not everyone did.

 

[Count Zero]

Well, I liked it, too, especially the cliffhanger and the solution to that scene. But yeah, I'm probably not critical enough to have any credentials here.

 

[HappyDayRiot]

I also like the Sontarans episodes despite Martha being utterly dreadful in them. Sontarans are just such great fun, impossible not to love those warcrazed potatoes.

 

[Logopolis]

For me, the best of the RTD era was Waters of Mars. Well written, performed, good sci-fi writing in regard to manipulation of timelines and the most haunting, brooding ending ever to a Doctor Who episode. Best of all, you can watch it on its own without being conscious of continuity as it stands independetly as its own serial. Simply a classic. If you have a blu-ray player, get it in HD just to add to it. If this episode fails you, then I can also recommend from the revival era:

- Father's Day

- Blink

- Midnight

- Human Nature/Family of Blood (2 Parter)

- Turn Left (some reliance on the background of his companion but you should be able to get enough out of the episode)

- Amy's Choice


There's a lot of other episodes I enjoy from this era but these (for me) are the flawless 5 out of 5 episodes that the show should be remembered for.

 

[Rowan Sjet]

I haven't enjoyed what I've seen of Waters of Mars, but out of that list I've seen all but Turn Left and enjoyed those episodes a great deal. So that last one is definitely going on my list.

 

[Logopolis]

Report in once you've seen it

 

[Rowan Sjet]

Well, half way through and it's feeling a bit too self-indulgent for me to enjoy. And oh dear, the episode has just been godwin'd.

EDIT: Yeah, wasn't too fond of Turn Left. RTD definitely had his head up his own ass while writing it.

EDIT2: Alright, time for some more Classic Who. Tom Baker and The Seeds of Doom, here I come!

 

[Starkers]

I dislike Turn Left for much the same reasons. Not very orginal and trying to create a harsh, dark and gritty future world based on a giant spaceship Titanic crashing into London and the Adipose killing loads of Americans is just silly. The two strands do not mesh well togeather.

 

[Rowan Sjet]

Weee! Just about finished Part 3 of Seeds of Doom and I'm loving Tom Baker's Doctor. Sarah Jane is pretty fantastic too, loved her chiming in on "the house that Jack built" among other things. The plot is fairly good for it's time as well.

I was thinking of moving on to a Hartnell after this, maybe even Unearthly Child, but I'm tempted to stick with Number 4 for a bit more now.

 

[Rowan Sjet]

(Is seven hours a long enough time to justify a double post? I think so)

Yeah, I thought that was pretty good though it dragged towards the end. I think the serial would have worked better had it been 4, maybe 5 parts instead of 6. Sarah Jane had a few off moments as well but otherwise remained awesome as did the Doctor. I like that the Doctor offering his companions trips to sunny locales isn't a recent invention.

I also like this version of the Theme tune, but I worry it may drive me a bit doolally if I listen to it again too much, it's very odd/haunting/weird/mad.

 

[Captain Pike]

Glad to see that you enjoyed it.

If you do watch some Hartnell, I recommend The Aztecs and The Dalek Invasion of Earth.

 

[Rowan Sjet]

I think, contrary to my earlier comments, that I will move onto one of those Hartnell serials, cheers.

Also, I was just reading through the thread and noticed I said I preferred Family of Blood to Human Nature, but it's actually the other way around. Just thought I'd clear that up.