Doctor Who

[Cobblepot4Mayor]

I believe the Tenth Doctor and Rose may have their memories wiped in some way by the end. Just a nice clean way of rounding everything off and giving us an adventure we (or they) never knew they even had.

Perhaps so. The 10th Doctor wiped Donna's mind clean in Series 4, and it was a very specific wipe. Perhaps this could happen again via the 11th Doctor, though keeping the John Hurt Doctor content in his mind, as it is something he needs to know and guard.

I'm thinking this 10th Doctor could be from between The Runaway Bride and Smith and Jones? This explains the "allonsy!", costume choice and why he is travelling alone.

I actually think you may be mistaken here. Your theory works but my evidence is the look of Tennant's Tardis. They've tried to replicate it's dark green tone it had in the first two series. By the time of The Runaway Bride they had lit the set up with a bright, golden lighting system. So it's still possible it might be series 2 Tenth Doctor and Rose.

I really hope so as I love the idea of going right back to the earliest days of the Tenth Doctor again (my favourite period). It was so long ago it's become different enough to explore again. I wouldn't want the Tenth Doctor coming from towards the end of his time.

[BatmAngelus]

The BBC released this latest prequel minisode, The Night of the Doctor:

I'll wait for others to watch before commenting.   

[Silver Nemesis]

Other than that, I have to say that I don't find them to be all that memorable, mainly because I think the movies' TARDIS crew (or shall I say Tardis crew) pales in comparison to the TV crew.

The television crew were such well developed, well written and well acted characters, I suppose it's impossible to replicate that in a 90 minute movie. Still, I've always wondered what it might have been like if Cushing had played the Doctor as a darker and more serious character, similar to his awesome portrayal of J Van Helsing in the Hammer movies.

Anyway, sorry, I forgot we'd already discussed the films earlier in this thread. Memory like a sieve.

And as a matter of interest, are you familiar with the Quatermass series?

I've heard of it, but haven't looked into it yet.  You recommend?

I think you might enjoy it. It's a British science fiction series (all of the serials were remade as feature films by Hammer) about a British scientist combating alien threats. Some people see it as a precursor to Doctor Who; a sort of older brother, in the same way Twin Peaks is sometimes described as being an older brother of The X-Files.

It doesn't have as much action as Doctor Who and it skewers towards an older demographic. By modern standards, the original serials can seem a tad slow paced. But they're very well written by creator Nigel Kneale - who incidentally was invited to write for Doctor Who, but declined. The influence the show had on certain Doctor Who stories – most notably during the Pertwee era – is very obvious. And there are numerous references to Quatermass and the British Rocket Group in the Doctor Who novels. In fact they're both mentioned in Remembrance of the Daleks during one of the scenes in the cafe. So while I doubt Kneale himself would have approved (he hated Doctor Who), there is some evidence to suggest the two franchises might take place in the same universe.

If you're looking for an entry point into the series, I'd recommend the film of Quatermass and the Pit (1967) as a good place to start.

I know you're currently working your way through the Hartnell Doctor Who stories, and I don't want to distract you from that. I just thought I'd throw the recommendation out there. It's good, intelligent and well written British sci-fi. Most young people probably wouldn't appreciate it now, but I think you would.

[BatmAngelus]

Cool!  I'll check it out.

Still, I've always wondered what it might have been like if Cushing had played the Doctor as a darker and more serious character, similar to his awesome portrayal of J Van Helsing in the Hammer movies.

Same here. 

I also feel that the black-and-white look gives a strong sense of eeriness to everything in those episodes.  It's hard to feel the same way when you watch the scenes being replicated in brightly lit Technicolor in the Cushing films.

[gordonblu]

The BBC released this latest prequel minisode, The Night of the Doctor:

I'll wait for others to watch before commenting.   

LOVED IT!!!
I know some people who wish HE wasn't considered a canonical Doctor, but I find his outing influenced the new series immensely and am glad HE has been finally legitimized by Moffat and Company. Not surprised he has short hair here, he hated his wig.

[Silver Nemesis]

The BBC released this latest prequel minisode, The Night of the Doctor:

I'll wait for others to watch before commenting.   

Ok, I'll admit I watched that. But only because I inferred who was in it based on gordonblu's comment. I've never considered him to be apocryphal. Well, maybe I did a little at first, but I accepted him once I'd listened to his performance in Storm Warning. So it's nice to finally see him back after waiting for seventeen years. I was only 10 when I watched his debut in 1996, and now I've watched his swansong at the age of 28. Funny how time flies. It was cool that they bothered to reference characters from the audio dramas too. And it was also interesting to see the Sisterhood of Karn return from The Brain of Morbius. I didn't see that coming.

On the down side, I hated the suggestion that Time Lords can regenerate into a different sex. I understand this is a modern contrivance they've introduced in the new series to appeal to small minded politically correct people who think every white male character needs to be minoritised and turned into a woman for the sake of equality. But it completely goes against over forty years of pre-2005 canon.

Prior to the BBC Wales revival, it was established that if a Time Lord is born male, he remains male in his subsequent incarnations. Likewise a Time Lady – be she Romana, Flavia or any of the numerous female Gallifreyans featured in the novels and comics – will remain female throughout her thirteen lives. Hence the distinction between a 'Time Lord' and a 'Time Lady'. There was a lengthy article in an old issue of Doctor Who Magazine covering this very subject. But the new writers don't give a toss about honouring their predecessors' ideas. They'll reference them for the sake of fan service, but they won't honour them. It's things like this that remind me why I hate the new series so much.

Once again, I'd like to apologise to anyone who likes the new series. I don't like being the downer in this thread, but this franchise has been very dear to me from a very young age. I appreciate the fact that everyone on this site has displayed great tolerance towards my intolerance.

[Silver Nemesis]

Just a head's up. Starting tomorrow, BBC Radio 4 Extra will be broadcasting Doctor Who audio readings and dramas every evening for the next week. There's a full list of the scheduled programmes here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b009szrh/broadcasts/upcoming

For people outside the UK, you should be able to tune in using the iPlayer on the website.

[The Dark Knight]

On the down side, I hated the suggestion that Time Lords can regenerate into a different sex. I understand this is a modern contrivance they've introduced in the new series to appeal to small minded politically correct people who think every white male character needs to be minoritised and turned into a woman for the sake of equality. But it completely goes against over forty years of pre-2005 canon.

Prior to the BBC Wales revival, it was established that if a Time Lord is born male, he remains male in his subsequent incarnations. Likewise a Time Lady – be she Romana, Flavia or any of the numerous female Gallifreyans featured in the novels and comics – will remain female throughout her thirteen lives.

You are not alone. I don't want this to become a back and forth thing but in short, I am with you here 100 per cent. The whole 'man or woman' thing is just so, so annoying.

Once again, I'd like to apologise to anyone who likes the new series. I don't like being the downer in this thread, but this franchise has been very dear to me from a very young age. I appreciate the fact that everyone on this site has displayed great tolerance towards my intolerance.

No worries. I can become weird, argumentative etc about things too. I am a fan of the relaunch, though will gladly launch into aspects I have not liked. It's not all roses.

[Silver Nemesis]

You are not alone. I don't want this to become a back and forth thing but in short, I am with you here 100 per cent. The whole 'man or woman' thing is just so, so annoying.

It's very encouraging to know there are fans of the new series who also oppose the idea. With a little luck, the show writers will take notice and avoid going in that direction. Fingers crossed.

No worries. I can become weird, argumentative etc about things too. I am a fan of the relaunch, though will gladly launch into aspects I have not liked. It's not all roses.

Cheers, mate. I'd hate for my views on the new series to put anyone off discussing it on this site. This thread is here for both the old and new shows, after all. And I sincerely hope everyone enjoys the anniversary as much as possible, regardless of which era they're a fan of.

I was looking through the TV and radio guide earlier and there's an amazing amount of Doctor Who-related material being broadcast over the next week. I think a lot, if not all of it, should be available through BBC America too.

At 9 pm on Thursday on BBC 2 there's the ninety minute drama An Adventure in Space a Time depicting the show's inception and early years.

At 10 pm that same night, on BBC Radio 2, is The Blagger's Guide to Doctor Who. Immediately after this, at 10:30 pm, there's another thirty minute radio programme called Who is the Doctor?

On Friday evening, between 9:30 pm and 10:30 on BBC 2, there's Me, You and Doctor Who: A Culture Show Special.

There are also some things on BBC Three related to the new series, plus the ongoing BBC Radio 4 Extra programmes that are on every evening this week. I'd say this is easily the biggest anniversary celebration since the 30th.

The first audio reading is now up on the BBC Radio 4 Extra website – William Russell reading David Whitacker's 1964 novelisation of The Daleks. I've got a fourth edition copy of this book from 1980, and one thing that always struck me about it is the way it ignores the events of An Unearthly Child. Instead the early chapters portray a completely different version of how Ian and Barbara met the Doctor and Susan. The audio version is divided up into ten separate episodes, which admittedly is a bit long. But I'd recommend listening to at least the first two, if only to hear the alternate background story Whitacker gave to explain how the TARDIS crew met.

Tonight's audio programme is an original story featuring the Seventh Doctor called Protect and Survive. This one's new to me, so I can't comment on its quality yet.

I've now decided I am going to watch An Adventure in Time and Space on Thursday, largely due to the positive response from William Hartnell's granddaughter, Jessica Carney. Carney has appeared in several Doctor Who documentaries over the years and she wrote a biography of her grandfather titled Who's There? The Life and Career of William Hartnell. She's always been very protective of her grandfather's legacy, so her description of the new drama as "a wonderful tribute" lays to rest any chances of it being a hack job.

I think this may well prove to be the highlight of the anniversary.

[BatmAngelus]

Night of the Doctor's been online long enough that I can post about it:

Only a year and a half ago, I was at the Gallifrey One convention where fans kept asking if McGann would be willing to return, even if it was just a cameo to shoot his regeneration.  He said he would love to, as long as he didn't have to wear that damn wig again, but he hadn't been called by anyone at the BBC to do it.

I remembered thinking how unfortunate it was that we might never see him return.  I bought the Big Finish audio Zagreus at the convention, then ended up buying many more online.  Neverland.  The Chimes at Midnight.  The whole first season with him and Lucie Miller.  And his latest one, Dark Eyes. 

I listened to most of these while I was recovering from chemotherapy this year.  I was too weak to do much of anything but watch movies/TV or listen to these audios. So, for me, at that time, McGann was the voice of the Doctor.

I even tracked down an edition of the Doctor Who Magazine comic strip The Flood, which would've featured the McGann-into-Eccleston regeneration if Russell T. Davies and the BBC hadn't said no.  Earlier this year, I was naturally disappointed when McGann told people that he would not appear in the 50th Anniversary Special (and technically, he wasn't lying).  It felt like he was being punished, unfairly, for his association with the 1996 movie.

But it turns out I was wrong about that.  Flash forward to this week when Night of the Doctor hits the Internet- on McGann's birthday, no less (and the day my copy of The Light At The End just happened to come in through the mail)- and there he is, with a grand entrance!

The wig's gone, just like he wanted.  The costume's went through a suitable update.  A nice mix of the 1996 movie costume with the war-torn new costume on the Dark Eyes audio cover. 

Not to mention, the personality is dead-on with the characterization from the Big Finish audios, right down to the occasional mocking ("Keepers of the flame of utter boredom..") and his willingness to sacrifice himself over others, to the point of him dying because a would-be companion refused to be saved.  Of course, hearing him say all the Big Finish companions' names was another treat, since Charley, Lucie, and Molly were all companions I'd met and followed during my recovery.

This was far better than seeing him regenerate in a comic strip, as we could've gotten in 2005.  McGann got to return to the role in live action, 17 years later, and perform the end of the 8th Doctor- not in a brief cameo in another Doctor's episode, but in his own adventure.

The 8th Doctor- the only Doctor I've met in person, the one I followed so many times during chemo- got to return in this special 50th Anniversary year.

As someone attached to McGann's Doctor, I can't help but smile from ear to ear that they pulled this off, kept it secret, tied it into the current storyline, referenced his Big Finish work, and gave his character a fitting end.

All in less than 8 minutes  .

The first audio reading is now up on the BBC Radio 4 Extra website – William Russell reading David Whitacker's 1964 novelisation of The Daleks. I've got a fourth edition copy of this book from 1980, and one thing that always struck me about it is the way it ignores the events of An Unearthly Child. Instead the early chapters portray a completely different version of how Ian and Barbara met the Doctor and Susan. The audio version is divided up into ten separate episodes, which admittedly is a bit long. But I'd recommend listening to at least the first two, if only to hear the alternate background story Whitacker gave to explain how the TARDIS crew met.

Thank goodness for the iPlayer for us Americans.  I've listened to Chapter 1 so far.  It's certainly a darker way of bringing the crew together.

While I obviously wouldn't replace An Unearthly Child, I would've loved to have seen Hartnell appear from the shadows at one point, with an everlasting match in his hand.

I've now decided I am going to watch An Adventure in Time and Space on Thursday, largely due to the positive response from William Hartnell's granddaughter, Jessica Carney. Carney has appeared in several Doctor Who documentaries over the years and she wrote a biography of her grandfather titled Who's There? The Life and Career of William Hartnell. She's always been very protective of her grandfather's legacy, so her description of the new drama as "a wonderful tribute" lays to rest any chances of it being a hack job.

I just saw Carney in the DVD extra My Grandfather, The Doctor, which is attached to The Space Museum.  I'm glad to hear that she's happy with the portrayal of the events in An Adventure in Space and Time.