How do I get into Dr. Who?

[mitchb2]

I've never seen Dr. Who, but everyone keeps telling me I need to.
All I know about the show is that there have been many incarnations. Is that right?

What do I need to watch to get into it?

[IndyJones1023]

For the modern viewer, I'd suggest starting with the 2005 version.

[tai-pan]

Watch the season with Christopher Eccleston first. The first ep is called Rose but it's not the best episode. They get much better. If you don't like the show by the end of the season then there's probably no hope for you.

[IndyJones1023]

Watch the season with Christopher Eccleston first.
That's the 2005 version.

[tai-pan]

That's the 2005 version.
It takes some of us longer to type.

[IndyJones1023]

It takes some of us longer to type.
I just wanted mitchb2 to know they were one and the same version.

[TAsunder]

I agree with the above posters. that's basically what I did since I barely remembered anything from when I was a kid. I even tried getting back into the old stuff after the new stuff, but it just isn't very good. I think watching the new stuff + reading about old stuff online is the best combination.

[edc]

I'll be contrarian. If you are more interested in "Outer Limits" or "Twilight Zone" style twisty/bendy SF to the contemporary stuff, I'd start with the first episode, "An Unearthly Child." Almost all of Hartnell is definitely not for newcomers, but that first half hour is still magical, and gives you enough detail that you can go from there directly into T. Baker, Eccleston or Tennant.

[mitchb2]

Thanks. I wasn't sure if I needed to see the old show or not.
I'll go ahead and Netflix the new version.

I watched Torchwood last night and really liked it.

[bnbhoha]

I started to watch from 2005 season. My buddy was into the old doctor who. Basically, all you need to know is that the doctor is the last person of his race and he travels through time in the tardis which looks like a police box(kind of like a phone booth). Only thing I don't get is if he has this time machine thing, why can't he go back and save his people from whatever catastrophe happened. It takes a few shows getting used to and then you get hooked.

[tgmii]

I haven't been able to get excited about some of the old stuff... but if I do, luckily there are years and years available. The two modern doctors are good though. Torchwood is just as good.

I ended up watching "Dr Who and the Daleks" which pre-dates the series, and is very different (not a time lord, etc...) Interesting to watch though... Daleks still talk the same.

Tom

[Jon J]

You need to go way, way, way back if you want to seem some really hokey production values. ;)

[IndyJones1023]

You need to go way, way, way back if you want to seem some really hokey production values. ;)
Exactly. Nowadays, Trekkies can make better productions in their garages.

[edc]

I haven't been able to get excited about some of the old stuff... but if I do, luckily there are years and years available. The two modern doctors are good though. Torchwood is just as good.

I ended up watching "Dr Who and the Daleks" which pre-dates the series, and is very different (not a time lord, etc...) Interesting to watch though... Daleks still talk the same.

Tom

"Dr. Who and the Daleks" and its sequel (both starring Peter Cushing) were bastardized productions of television stories with all the intelligence and subtlety sucked right out. Nowadays we'd call it a "reimagining," despite the fact the series was still running strong.

[DougF]

Sit in the stall next to his and tap your foot.

[tai-pan]

Torchwood has its good and bad points.

[mitchb2]

Hasn't there only been one episode of Torchwood?
I thought it was brand new. Is it not?

[Langree]

Hasn't there only been one episode of Torchwood?
I thought it was brand new. Is it not?

It aired in the UK last year.

[Langree]

I like, and own every old series DVD that's been released.

They are hokey, but some of the stories are good and the foundation of the current shows is spread throughout.

But like others, if you're new to it, the 2005 stuff will interest you more.

[mportuesi]

Only thing I don't get is if he has this time machine thing, why can't he go back and save his people from whatever catastrophe happened. It takes a few shows getting used to and then you get hooked.

That's explained (in passing) in several episodes. Though the Doctor and his companions travel all throughout time, as a result of time travel they have their own personal timeline that stands independent of the universe's normal flow of time. The Doctor's own personal timeline can't cross over itself without dire consequences.

So if the Doctor is at one point in space/time, he can't return to that point in space/time again -- in his own timeline -- to change his own future events. There is an Eccleston episode where the Doctor (against his better judgment) does exactly that, to indulge Rose's wish to see her dead father in the past. The bad things which happen form the bulk of the episode.

Another episode in the "classic" Doctor Who where this limitation plays an important part is the Peter Davison epsiode where a companion - Adric - is killed by the Cybermen. The Doctor's other companions beg the Doctor to go back in time to prevent Adric's death, and the Doctor simply refuses to honor the request, leaving Adric for dead in his current timeline.

[jtown0620]

As everyone else stated start with Series one. If you have Netflix or Blockbuster online that is the best way to go. Forget the classic series for now. Though a true extension of its former self the new show has its own mythology and really doesn't need any prior knowledge going into it. Series three is released on Nov. 6th (on DVD) so if I was you I would just rent them online and enjoy them that way. The quality is better than Sci-Fi or BBCA and the episodes are shown in there entirety unlike the ones that air on the listed networks.

I think its the best show on TV and if your a sci-fi fan I'm sure you'll enjoy it!

[JimSpence]

Definitely watch some of the Tom Baker series.

[scottykempf]

Heresy. You must watch from Unearthly Child through Sylvester McCoy, then the new series. Even if you have to track down lost episodes, the unfinished Shada, etc. LOL

[Langree]

Heresy. You must watch from Unearthly Child through Sylvester McCoy, then the new series. Even if you have to track down lost episodes, the unfinished Shada, etc. LOL

nothing like catching up on 26 years of tv.

[scottykempf]

nothing like catching up on 26 years of tv.

You werent doing anything anyway, were you? :)

[MirclMax]

Heresy. You must watch from Unearthly Child through Sylvester McCoy, then the new series. Even if you have to track down lost episodes, the unfinished Shada, etc. LOL

I'm actually in the process of doing this .. (or will to the best of my ability as time permits) .. I could use some help though ... I can find episode guides and the like .. but Netflix doesn't necessarily identify which episodes are on a DVD ... does anyone have a list of which DVD's to get in standard human chronological order?

I'm currently going to be moving from "The Beginning" to "The Aztecs" ..


Note to all starting out ... at least on Netflix .. if you do "Doctor Who: The Beginning" (a 3 disc set) .. the first episodes are on Disc #3 .. so rent it as #3, #1, #2 .. You have been warned.

-MirclMax

[Langree]

Note to all starting out ... at least on Netflix .. if you do "Doctor Who: The Beginning" (a 3 disc set) .. the first episodes are on Disc #3 .. so rent it as #3, #1, #2 .. You have been warned.


?? I have The Beginning set, 3 disks, disc 1 is Unearthly Child, 2 is The Daleks, 3 is Edge of Destruction. Which is story order.

Unless Netflix has jumbled them up.

The best way to figure what's out there and proper order is to use an episode guide and Amazon, to see which DVD's are currently available in the US.

They are not being released in any logical order as they come out. The Key to Time season is the only full season out on DVD at this point.

[MirclMax]

?? I have The Beginning set, 3 disks, disc 1 is Unearthly Child, 2 is The Daleks, 3 is Edge of Destruction. Which is story order.

Unless Netflix has jumbled them up.


Yeah, I don't know who is to blame .. but you can even see it in the user comments on Netflix .. I have no idea .. but disc 3 has Unearthly Child on it (both versions).

Just thought it would be a good warning to anyone about to Netflix 'em.

[ScubaCat]

So, apparently I'm the only person who was a fan of the "old" Dr. Who that doesn't care for the new incarnation? I've tried. I really have. I currently have a dozen episodes of the new Who on my TiVo along with an active season pass, but I just can't get interested enough to watch them.

I made it all the way through a couple of episodes by sheer force of will. I specifically looked for and enjoyed the scene where the new Doctor ran into an old friend. But when I sit down to watch TV I never seem to want to watch those new shows. They just don't engage me like the old series did. Maybe there will be a new Doctor next time around that will draw me back in.

[cheesesteak]

You'd think that with all the worthless crap they air on weekly basis that SciFi could find an hour or two for some classic Doctor Who.

Everyone should see An Unearthly Child. It's the very first episode, it's pretty good and you get to link teh original ide to the current incarnation.

[Langree]

So, apparently I'm the only person who was a fan of the "old" Dr. Who that doesn't care for the new incarnation? I've tried. I really have. I currently have a dozen episodes of the new Who on my TiVo along with an active season pass, but I just can't get interested enough to watch them.

I made it all the way through a couple of episodes by sheer force of will. I specifically looked for and enjoyed the scene where the new Doctor ran into an old friend. But when I sit down to watch TV I never seem to want to watch those new shows. They just don't engage me like the old series did. Maybe there will be a new Doctor next time around that will draw me back in.

I watch the new shows and enjoy them, but the dvd sets are pricey, so I don't buy them. The classic dvds I get as they release.

[ebeckhusen]

So, apparently I'm the only person who was a fan of the "old" Dr. Who that doesn't care for the new incarnation? I've tried. I really have. I currently have a dozen episodes of the new Who on my TiVo along with an active season pass, but I just can't get interested enough to watch them.

I made it all the way through a couple of episodes by sheer force of will. I specifically looked for and enjoyed the scene where the new Doctor ran into an old friend. But when I sit down to watch TV I never seem to want to watch those new shows. They just don't engage me like the old series did. Maybe there will be a new Doctor next time around that will draw me back in.

I completely agree with you. I was a huge fan of the old series and was very excited when I heard the new series was coming to Sci-Fi. But, I just couldn't seem to get into them. I may try again, but for me the old episodes are the best.

[wmcbrine]

So, apparently I'm the only person who was a fan of the "old" Dr. Who that doesn't care for the new incarnation?I think the new show is OK, but definitely not as good as the best of the old show. (Of course, I have to qualify it like that -- the old show ran for sooooo long that it changed a lot over time.) I'm baffled by those who dis the old show.

I watched all the first season of the new show, but then I let the next season pile up on my Tivo. High point of the first season: The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances. It starts out looking like a crazy horror story, and ends up as solid science fiction. Very well done, and it would've fit well into the Tom Baker era. Low point of the first season: Bad Wolf. Oh how I hated it. I thought it cheapened the whole show, and undermined some of the previous episodes. I'm sorry, but "Big Brother" and "The Weakest Link" aren't going to be remembered 20 years from now, much less 200,000. Not much imagination there. This episode would've fit in with the worst of the Sylvester McCoy era. (BTW, not to dis him -- I liked Sylvester McCoy, just not any of the stories he was in.)

Anyway, I gave up on the idea of catching up with the second season, and decided to check out some random eps from the third. I saw "The Lazarus Experiment". Eh. Then I caught the end of "The Family of Blood". I was particularly struck by the bit where he trapped one of them in a mirror (in every mirror) -- it was beautiful, poetic, and utter rubbish. I mean, pure fantasy.

So, I reveal my bias: I want Doctor Who to be a science fiction show, not fantasy. I think the old show did that better, although it went way downhill toward the end.

[IndyJones1023]

I'm baffled by those who dis the old show.
I'm not. I caught a few Baker episodes in my youth. It's just that the effects haven't held up well over time. Hell, they didn't hold up well when they were made! With computer effects what they are today, I think a modern viewer would do well to start with the new version. If they like it enough, they can explore the old.

I'm sorry, but "Big Brother" and "The Weakest Link" aren't going to be remembered 20 years from now, much less 200,000. Not much imagination there.
You're not thinking about it with the modern audience in mind. If...

...the game shows were Blorgar's House of Cards and Mtgfkdu's Fantastic Hgoinofis of Inco6vlnio, the viewers wouldn't know WTF was going on. They keep it tongue in cheek by using shows we can relate to.

Then I caught the end of "The Family of Blood". I was particularly struck by the bit where he trapped one of them in a mirror (in every mirror) -- it was beautiful, poetic, and utter rubbish. I mean, pure fantasy.
Nothing in this show is pure sci fi, though, is it? It's all made up nonsensical whimsy. I loved the ending.

[mportuesi]

Nothing in this show is pure sci fi, though, is it? It's all made up nonsensical whimsy. I loved the ending.

I loved the ending too, and I'm willing to give the writers some dramatic license to pass off a bit of fantasy in a scifi setting.

The new series is really advancing Doctor Who by addressing parts of the Doctor's personality we've heretofore not really seen. Guilt, remorse, and love are all themes that have been explored and advanced with Eccleston and especially Tennant as The Doctor.


The ending of "Family of Blood", with the Doctor taking out cruel but poetic forms of retribution against the Family by imprisoning them in various ways, shows us a dark, vengeful side of the Doctor that we have rarely, if ever, seen in the Classic series.

Also, the whole exchange between the Doctor and the woman who loved him as a human exposes the real guilt and remorse the Doctor feels about the collateral damage he causes - both physical and emotional - with the people he encounters. He tries to address her hurt by inviting her to come with him as a companion, but he only makes matters worse. The Doctor has godlike powers, but he can't fix people's broken hearts.


I love both the old and the new series, but I really like what the new series is doing for the character of The Doctor.

[TAsunder]

The new series also is aware of its own campiness, unlike the old series, or at least the episodes I've seen recently.

[tirofiban]

What do I need to watch to get into it?

If you really want to get into Dr. Who you should watch the classic shows.

First watch Terminus where the Doctor's companion, Nyssa removes much of her clothing in that episode. :up:

If you find you like that episode, then start watching all of Leela's episodes (except the Talons of Weng-Chiang, because Leela wears clothes in that episode) . :D

Ok, watch the Talons of Weng-Chiang anyway, despite the fact Leela is fully dressed because it's a good story.

[jtown0620]

I love the classic series I just think for an expedited introduction the new series is the best way to go. Plus depending on your dvd provider it is hard to get most of the classic dvd's. I've been waiting forever for some of the Tom Baker eps. with Blockbuster online. I was thinking of switching but I love the in store trade thing.

[mitchb2]

Thanks, everyone. I just watched the first episode of the new series, and loved it.

[rhuntington3]

Thanks, everyone. I just watched the first episode of the new series, and loved it.

Cool! Glad to hear you like it! :up:

[busyba]

Blorgar's House of Cards and Mtgfkdu's Fantastic Hgoinofis of Inco6vlnio
I love those shows!!!!

[Alpinemaps]

So if the Doctor is at one point in space/time, he can't return to that point in space/time again -- in his own timeline -- to change his own future events. There is an Eccleston episode where the Doctor (against his better judgment) does exactly that, to indulge Rose's wish to see her dead father in the past. The bad things which happen form the bulk of the episode.

That's the episode called 'Father's Day'.

I had never watched Dr. Who *ever* in my life, and finally decided to try it last year. Father's Day was the first episode I ever watched. I was immediately hooked! I thought it was a fantastic story, and worked really well as a good sci-fi story. I didn't need to know anything about the characters, to really appreciate the episode.

From there, I picked up the entire first season, and have watched it faithfully ever since.

I still haven't seen any episodes before the 2005 series, though.

[ZikZak]

The new series also is aware of its own campiness, unlike the old series, or at least the episodes I've seen recently.

What??

Tom Baker, opening viewscreen to reveal bleak desert landscape once again... "Oh look! Rocks!!"

*closes viewscreen*

[scottykempf]

What??

Tom Baker, opening viewscreen to reveal bleak desert landscape once again... "Oh look! Rocks!!"

*closes viewscreen*

Nah, that was just another quarry. LOL

[mitchb2]

So, if I just started watching the new Dr. Who, when should I start watching Torchwood?
And should they be dovetailed, like Buffy/Angel?

[IndyJones1023]

Start Torchwood after the first season of Doctor Who. The main Torchwood character is introduced in S1. I don't think he's in subsequent seasons.

[Unbeliever]

Start Torchwood after the first season of Doctor Who. The main Torchwood character is introduced in S1. I don't think he's in subsequent seasons.

Capt. Jack Harkness is also in Season 3.

--Carlos V.

[IndyJones1023]

Capt. Jack Harkness is also in Season 3.

--Carlos V.
I haven't seen him yet.

[doom1701]

I'd love to see someone come up with a list of decent classic episodes. The new episodes have decent pacing and acting, but every episode of the old version that I've seen has some really pitiful acting and extremely slow pacing (to combine those two--one Tom Baker ep I saw had him and his two companions gasping for air in an old space station for over a minute--I get it already, they need air, so move on!). Maybe it's just the MTV mentality, but I have a really tough time watching older shows in which people just stare at each other for minutes on end.

[Sirius Black]

So Torchwood and Dr. Who (the new series) are directly linked to each other ala Buffy/Angel?

[Langree]

So Torchwood and Dr. Who (the new series) are directly linked to each other ala Buffy/Angel?

Same Whoniverse, and so far only Jack appears in both.

Torchwood is much more adult and there are no plans for any direct crossover episodes.

[Sirius Black]

I try to like Dr. Who. I remember watching it occasionally way back in, what I believe was the early 80s. Mostly it was my dad watching and not me but I do remember it was on. It wasn't Star Wars and that's all I remember.

I might have to give the new series a chance again. I've watched the first two episodes and wasn't really impressed. The first was with the manequins that were "alive", right? Seemed a bit hokey, if that's the right word. Perhaps that's intentional. It seems Torchwood is similar in this respect.

[Langree]

I try to like Dr. Who. I remember watching it occasionally way back in, what I believe was the early 80s. Mostly it was my dad watching and not me but I do remember it was on. It wasn't Star Wars and that's all I remember.

I might have to give the new series a chance again. I've watched the first two episodes and wasn't really impressed. The first was with the manequins that were "alive", right? Seemed a bit hokey, if that's the right word. Perhaps that's intentional. It seems Torchwood is similar in this respect.

The Autons were also used to introduce Jon Pertwee as the third Doctor.

[LoadStar]

Same Whoniverse, and so far only Jack appears in both.

Torchwood is much more adult and there are no plans for any direct crossover episodes.
I hope the spoiler police don't get me for this one... but a character being added for a recurring role this upcoming season will somewhat change this. That's all I'll say about that. (Hopefully that was vague enough.)

[robpickles]

Another show i can't get enough of.

I love it!

Rob :)

[CheezWiz]

Thanks. I wasn't sure if I needed to see the old show or not.
I'll go ahead and Netflix the new version.

I watched Torchwood last night and really liked it.


AAAHH!! Hold off on TW until you finish Season 2 of Who....

FYI, Seasons 1-3 of Who are on USENET and BT...

Proper order:
Who 2005 S1 & S2
Torchwood S1
Who 2005 S3

[CheezWiz]

I try to like Dr. Who. I remember watching it occasionally way back in, what I believe was the early 80s. Mostly it was my dad watching and not me but I do remember it was on. It wasn't Star Wars and that's all I remember.

I might have to give the new series a chance again. I've watched the first two episodes and wasn't really impressed. The first was with the manequins that were "alive", right? Seemed a bit hokey, if that's the right word. Perhaps that's intentional. It seems Torchwood is similar in this respect.


Naah, it is "Campy" Sci-fi.. And you have to have a taste for it already....

[jchilton]

I'd love to see someone come up with a list of decent classic episodes.

OK, I'll give that a shot. Here's my picks for the best 7 "classic" episodes. Clearly, Tom Baker and Sylvester McCoy were my favorites:

Warrior's Gate (Tom Baker, Season 18)
Logopolis (Tom Baker, Season 18)
Curse of Fenric (Sylvester McCoy, Season 26)
Battlefield (Sylvester McCoy, Season 26)
Pyramids of Mars (Tom Baker, Season 13)
Genesis of the Daleks (Tom Baker, Season 12)
Remembrance of the Daleks (Sylvester McCoy, Season 25)

Warrior's Gate tops my list, because it's not just great science fiction with innovative concepts and styles, but it's rather deep, exploring the morality of an enslaved race that was itself once slavers.

As for the new series, the best episodes have been "Human Nature"/"Family of Blood" from Series 3 (seriously, I submit to you that if the ending voice over about what the Doctor does to the family doesn't give you chills, you're not human--probably a Dalek or something), "Blink" also from Series 3, "The Girl in the Fireplace" from Series 2, and "The Empty Child"/"The Doctor Dances" from Series 1.

[doom1701]

I've watched Logopolis, and felt it was a perfect example of how the show is poorly paced. There is so much time spent walking around with little to no useful dialouge. Genesis of the Daleks is similar; while the dialog was much better, the pacing was still way off. For example, it seems like half of one of the episodes in that group was taken up with Sarah Jane climbing that big launch tower.

[mportuesi]

The "classic" Who series was presented in a different format, with one story being told in serial form over four, or typically five, shows. Some episodes ("The War Games" with Pat Troughton as the Doctor comes to mind) went on for ten shows. Each show generally ended with a cliffhanger for the next show.

So given that format, I would expect the pacing to be slower. That said, I prefer the format of the "new" Doctor Who, where stories are presented in 1 or 2 show sets.

[jchilton]

I've watched Logopolis, and felt it was a perfect example of how the show is poorly paced.

Hmmm...maybe I should it watch it again; it's been two decades since I've seen it. I think what I liked about it was how they took real scientific concepts (the way that particles behave in quantum physics, where the act of measurement or observation changes the particle's fundamental characteristics; entropy; the expansion of the Universe) and then took them to extremes: The Universe long ago passed the point of "heat death," and only the computations of the mathematicians of Logopolis, which have the power to alter reality, have kept things going by altering the flow of entropy in the Universe. It was an idea recycled by Carl Sagan in his novel "Contact."

Genesis of the Daleks I liked, because it presented the Doctor with such a great moral dilemma: Should he commit genocide? The Daleks are evil, after all. A classic Dalek story.

I don't recall a problem with pacing at the time, but then if you compare most of the dramas that the BBC cranked out in the '70s and '80s to today's stuff, yeah, there's probably a difference. I don't know if that's a bad thing. Sometimes, with the new Doctor Who, I think the pacing can be a bit too quick.

[doom1701]

The pacing thing is evident in a lot of shows from that time period (I've been watching old Mission Impossibles lately, and many of those episodes could have had 10+ minutes trimmed from them just because of unnecessarily long scenes of people just walking around). I think at the time it was used to build suspense, but I'd much rather see more of the story, or, in the case of older Who, trim an episode from the serial.

[jchilton]

That said, I prefer the format of the "new" Doctor Who, where stories are presented in 1 or 2 show sets.

Sometimes I think this (the 1-show sets) works against the new stories. In the "Golden Age" of Doctor Who, a single "story" would span 1.5 to 2 hours. You were telling movie-length stories, and could flesh out concepts and characters better than you can in a one-hour story. This is what, for me, set Doctor Who apart from Star Trek. (Didn't make it better or worse, just different.) You could tell more complicated stories. Did they always use this to their advantage? No, there were some stories filled out to length by having interminably long chases through corridors.

I'd prefer to see Doctor Who have more 2-show (1.5 hours, since each ep is 45 minutes long now) stories. "Human Nature"/"Family of Blood" and "Empty Child"/"Doctor Dances" are great examples. Sure, you could have condensed each down to 45 minutes, but the story wouldn't have been as deep, the suspense would have been lessened, and the pacing would have been too fast. I'd have liked to see "Blink" extended to two episodes so we could have learned more about the Weeping Angels--where did they come from? How do they feed? How did the Doctor and Martha deal with getting sent to the past initially?

Really, that's the only thing that bugs me about the new Who--I wish the stories were longer.

[Sirius Black]

Hmmm...maybe I should it watch it again; it's been two decades since I've seen it. I think what I liked about it was how they took real scientific concepts (the way that particles behave in quantum physics, where the act of measurement or observation changes the particle's fundamental characteristics; entropy; the expansion of the Universe) and then took them to extremes: The Universe long ago passed the point of "heat death," and only the computations of the mathematicians of Logopolis, which have the power to alter reality, have kept things going by altering the flow of entropy in the Universe. It was an idea recycled by Carl Sagan in his novel "Contact."

I've read the book. If the concept of Universe Entropy or observation of particles in quantum physics is in that book, I missed it completely.

[jchilton]

I've read the book. If the concept of Universe Entropy or observation of particles in quantum physics is in that book, I missed it completely.

The alien in Contact shows Ellie how they're creating new structures in the Galaxy, using wormholes to shuttle energy around, in order to stop things from "running down" due to entropy.

Not to imply that Sagan "stole" the idea from Doctor Who. The whole point of science fiction is to use science as a springboard, so it's not surprising if multiple authors end up using similar concepts. Doctor Who has scored a number of similar "firsts" over the years, from a liquid metal robot (Silver Nemesis) that predated Terminator 2 to a virtual reality world called The Matrix that one could enter into, but would die in real life if one died in The Matrix (The Deadly Assassin).

[Sirius Black]

The alien in Contact shows Ellie how they're creating new structures in the Galaxy, using wormholes to shuttle energy around, in order to stop things from "running down" due to entropy.

Much of the science in that book was way above my head. It was a good book and I remember the alien (and that the crew that took the trip each had a personal encounter) but that part slipped past me.

[Langree]

I've said before in threads about movies that for the most part today, people want fast paced ADHD story telling, to hell with character or plot developement, we want action. If something doesn't blow up in the first 5 minutes people tune out.

Not that that's a bad thing mind you, but sometimes slow, deliberate storytelling is nice.

[IndyJones1023]

I've said before in threads about movies that for the most part today, people want fast paced ADHD story telling, to hell with character or plot developement, we want action. If something doesn't blow up in the first 5 minutes people tune out.

Not that that's a bad thing mind you, but sometimes slow, deliberate storytelling is nice.
I wouldn't characterize it thusly.

However, I think I know what you mean. And I think the problem is that back in the early days of TV, they were still stuck in a stage play mentality. They put a camera on a tripod and everyone had to go act out in front of it. Nowadays, however, whether it's because of frenetic pacing or advanced in technology that allow more camera movement, we're used to more dynamic storytelling devices.

[cheesesteak]

If you find you like that episode, then start watching all of Leela's episodes (except the Talons of Weng-Chiang, because Leela wears clothes in that episode) . :D

Ok, watch the Talons of Weng-Chiang anyway, despite the fact Leela is fully dressed because it's a good story.
The Talons Of Weng-Chiang was the first Doctor Who episode I ever saw - way back somewhere around 1980.

[wmcbrine]

OK, I'll give that a shot. Here's my picks for the best 7 "classic" episodes. Clearly, Tom Baker and Sylvester McCoy were my favorites:

Warrior's Gate (Tom Baker, Season 18)
Logopolis (Tom Baker, Season 18)
Curse of Fenric (Sylvester McCoy, Season 26)
Battlefield (Sylvester McCoy, Season 26)
Pyramids of Mars (Tom Baker, Season 13)
Genesis of the Daleks (Tom Baker, Season 12)
Remembrance of the Daleks (Sylvester McCoy, Season 25)
I'm with you on the Baker episodes. Remembrance was OK. I can't really endorse the other two, although they had moments.

But my all-time favorite is "The Face of Evil" (Tom Baker, Season 14). My appreciation for it has only grown over the years.

[cal_s7]

You must Torrent the old stuff. You can find truly massive torrents that contain everything each doctor did. They range from 20-40GB per doctor. Be warned though. The first 2 doctors where mostly lost. The files contain allot of reconstructed shows. A bunch of still shots with the sound track running.

Some work great this way and others not so much.

Shada (a story arc only partially filmed) was a bit hard to follow. They showed the stuff they shot and then had one of the actors describing the missing scenes.

I discovered them last year when I realized all the Dalek stuff was being skipped over on BBC and went looking for torrents of the Dalek eps. Whats with that? Don't they have the rights for the Dalek stuff?

I just counted. I've got 8 more story arcs to go on the 2nd doctor and then I'll have seen everything from all doctors. I think I'll miss this old stuff when I'm done.

[waldingrl]

Crap. Caught an episode at teh gym yesterday and I kept working out just to see the end of the episode. Must. Catch. Up.

[Langree]

I discovered them last year when I realized all the Dalek stuff was being skipped over on BBC and went looking for torrents of the Dalek eps. Whats with that? Don't they have the rights for the Dalek stuff?


huh?

[cal_s7]

huh?

Daleks are the robot/organic guys with what look like plungers for one of there weapons. On the channel I was watching, every time an ep that featured them was to come on it was skipped from the rotation.

I have no idea why. So I hunted them down on Bit torrent and discovered you can get all the lost reconstructed stuff as well.

I was referencing the old shows. Not the new ones. On the Channel I was watching the old shows on, they kept skipping any eps that featured the Daleks.

[Langree]

Daleks are the robot/organic guys with what look like plungers for one of there weapons. On the channel I was watching, every time an ep that featured them was to come on it was skipped from the rotation.

I have no idea why. So I hunted them down on Bit torrent and discovered you can get all the lost reconstructed stuff as well.

I was referencing the old shows. Not the new ones. On the Channel I was watching the old shows on, they kept skipping any eps that featured the Daleks.

I know what Daleks are :) I was more confused by your statement that those episodes are being skipped. It was unclear that you meant the old series. I have in my DVD collection every Dalek story available thus far in the States.