Doctor Who started its new season yesterday night in the UK. David Tennant made a decent if slightly shouty Doctor - he seems to be enjoying it more than Chris Ecclestone. And then there was everyone's favourite talking tea-towel, Lady Cassandra! Anyone see it?

Being imprisoned in the USA, I've only seen the Eccleston Doctor so far - I like the acting (and humor and slightly different approach).  It is good that the Doctor has finally transcended the completely 'Geek chique' and added some emotion beyond.  The scenarios are slightly more refreshing. There is an obvious sub-drama to do with 'the time war' that ended the Timelords and Daleks, which adds another reason to persist in viewing.

So, being completely naive about this new Doctor incarnation, how is he compared to the previous (or others)?

When you say "Lady Cassandra", you mean the elastic flap of skin with eyes and mouth claiming to be the last 'human'?  Did she/he somehow survive to resurface yet again?

Does anyone find it interesting that the Doctor has never transformed into a female? ;)

Robert

Yep, my little boy and I rushed home from watching Ice Age 2 at the flicks to make sure we caught it all.

I thought Tennant acquitted himself pretty well. I did like Ecclestone a lot. And my little boy... well, you never forget your first doctor, do you? Tennant has a lot to live up to, in his eyes.

Doctor Who Confidential on BBC3 afterwards was interesting, too. And next week's episode looks like a hide-behind-the-sofa job if ever I saw one :biggrin:

I like David Tennant as an actor, and I thought  he did a good job as The Doctor.  The strength of the scripts seems to have been maintained too, and I can't wait to see the episode writen by Stephen Fry .  One tiny moan...The Doctor's accent.  Bits of David Tennant's native Scottish keep creeping though.  I'd much rather they'd just had a Scottish Doctor and left it at that.  I'm sure they could have had some fun with the explanation.

I think David Tennant did a pretty good job,  chris Ecclestone was an hard act to follow.  Think it could be another good series, and I beleve we're getting the cybermen this time which could be fun.

Tennant was good. He reminds me of Ed Tudor-Pole, who was once being considered for the part.  Tennant's take on the Doctor is different from Ecclestone's (as it should be) but still very enjoyable.

Can't wait to see the new Cybermen.

I found it all rather cringe-makingly self-indulgent, like so much from the BBC nowadays.

Must be my age. ;-)

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Quote - Doctor Who started its new season yesterday night in the UK. David Tennant made a decent if slightly shouty Doctor - he seems to be enjoying it more than Chris Ecclestone. And then there was everyone's favourite talking tea-towel, Lady Cassandra! Anyone see it?

I'm not even familiar with the "old" Doctor.  I'm assuming you are talking abouta  TV Show....what's it about?

Quote - > Quote - Doctor Who started its new season yesterday night in the UK. David Tennant made a decent if slightly shouty Doctor - he seems to be enjoying it more than Chris Ecclestone. And then there was everyone's favourite talking tea-towel, Lady Cassandra! Anyone see it?

I'm not even familiar with the "old" Doctor.  I'm assuming you are talking abouta  TV Show....what's it about?

The Doctor is a time traveller who gets into all kinds of scrapes.  The show started in the early 1960s in the UK.  His time machine is called a TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension In Space) and has the property of being much bigger on the inside than the outside.

His main adversaries are the Daleks - a hideously mutated race who travel around in mechanical combat units which look like giant pepper pots.  Other notable opponents are the Cybermen, which are humanoid in shape but mainly mechanical.

I loved the show when I was a kid but as time went by it got cheesier and I left it behind.  The new version is much, much better than the original.

Bring Back Tom Baker, he's still the best 'Doctor' ever.

Quote -
I loved the show when I was a kid but as time went by it got cheesier and I left it behind.  The new version is much, much better than the original.

Cheesier?

Do the mice know about this?:blink:

Quote -
Does anyone find it interesting that the Doctor has never transformed into a female? ;)

Robert

well. the Doctor changing Regenerating into a female body would be the same as you Robert having the sex change operation ;)

why would a male of the Gallifreyian Speices change into a Female......?  ;)

Attached Link: Doctor Who Season 28 episode guide

Brief history: Doctor Who started in November 1963... Nov 23th, to be exact, but hardly anyone watched the first episode. (Can anyone guess why? Hint: there was a major event that occurred the previous day.) The show was broadcast on the BBC for the 25 season, which ended in 1989, with the seventh Doctor. There was a Doctor Who movie on FOX in 1996 (which is considered the "26th season"). And the new series (season 27) started in 2005 and has now started it's 28th season.   The Doctor can "regenerate" when his body is near death. Because of thise, there have been 10 actors who played the lead role (not counting the movie versions), including Christopher Eccleston (from "28 Days Later") and the most famous, Tom Baker (the 4th Doctor, with the long scarf). In most cases, there has been a "regeneration" episode where the previous actor morphs into the new actor. The exceptions to this have been the 6th-to-7th Doctor (6th Doctor Colin Baker refused to come back for the brief appearance) and the introduction of the 9th Doctor (Christopher Eccelston and the start of the 2005 series). The latest "regeneration" epsiode was last year's, "The Christmas Invasion" when we were introduced to actor David Tennant.   The Doctor travels in a TARDIS, which is trans-dimensional (meaning the inside is larger than the outside). When the first Doctor landed in London in the 1960's, the TARDIS took the shape of blue police box to blend in with the surroundings. Even though British police haven't used police boxes since the 1960's, the Doctor's TARDIS kept this shape. This was explained in a humorus scene in the first episode of the 2005 series: Rose asks what a "Police Box" is and the Doctor says that the TARDIS is in disguise.   In the original series, there are plenty of others like the Doctor, called "Time Lords". The Doctor even went to his home planet (Gallifrey) on a few occassions. Two of the Doctor's Time Lord nemesis include The Master and The Rani, though it's not clear if they were killed during the "time war" with the Daleks. (I would be willing to bet that the Master eventually returns in the new series.)   In the 1996 FOX movie, the Master was executed by the Daleks and the Doctor was supposed to take the remains back to Gallifrey. But, the TARDIS crashed on Earth and the Master took over a human body (actor Eric Roberts). It was never explained why the Daleks executed the Master or why the Daleks would let the Doctor take the Master's remains.   The original Doctor Who series never really took off on US television, except on "Public Broadcast Stations". (These stations are funded by the government and viewers and don't rely on advertisers or ratings to determine what shows they run.) My parents live in Maryland and the Annapolis PBS station still shows the old episodes- from the first Doctor to the seventh. However, the Sci-Fi channel is now showing the 2005 series.   --John

I've seen about 2/3rds of Tom Baker's episodes and I do like him a lot. But I think Tennant makes for a great updated doctor. Eccleston was good, but I think Tennant is better.

Nearly as good as William Hartnell (showing MY age :biggrin:).

I saw it too, I've been waiting in anticipation of it's return & I wasn't disappointed.

I think  David Tennant makes a great Doctor (& really cute too), but i do miss the sarcasm of Chris Ecclestone. He really made me laugh.

Was an interesting episode yesterday, can't wait for more... & my son is tuned in to watch too, he loves it.

To be honest, I hated it when I was a kid, but I love it now... how tastes change huh :)

(One need satisfied, Now bring back LOST... Pleease ;-) )

Huggs

Ailsa

Ok, throwing my towel into the ring for a moment... :)

One of the things I love about the new Doctor Who is something it's kept... its cross-generational appeal. Last night, I had to promise my 5-year-old daughter that I would video the first episode of this new series, so that she could watch it later. Ok, so she lives with a guy who creates horror make-up as a hobby and as (part of) his living, so maybe she's not an average kid... but it's still good to know that it's something a whole family can sit down and enjoy together.

As to Messire Tennant in the leading role... I liked him. In fact, i said as much to my beloved about five minutes in to the new series. I (sadly) missed the Christmas Invasion, so this was my frst proper chance at seeing him in action, and within five minutes, I was hooked. He's a lot more open anf reidnly, and a lot less condescending and egocentric, than Eccleston's Doctor (these aren't faults of the actor, mind: I liked these traits in Eccleston's Doctor!). What impresses me is that, all through the decades, I don't think we'vve really had a repeat character as a doctor's incarnation... Hartnell's partiarchal grandfather, Troughton's galactic hobo, Pertwee's man of action, (Tom) Baker's pure eccentricity, Davidson's cricketer, (Colin) Baker's arrogance, McCoy's mystic, McGann's innocent.. and now Eccleston's saviour of mankind, and Tennant's... charming rogue? Time will tell.

And for those complaining, the Doctor DID one turn into a woman... although not in any of the canon episodes. There as a Comic Relief Special called Doctor Who and the Case of the Fatal Death, and starred (as the Doctor)... Rowan Atkinson, Richard E Grant, Jim Broadbent, Hugh Grant, and... Joanna Lumley.

jonthecelt

Oh, and Ailsa? just to assuage you... saw a trailer last night on C4 (was watching Derren Brown's The Heist - INCREDBLE vewing!), and Lost Season 2 is coming soon (that's couple of weeks, soon, not DAZ Studio, soon.  )... so fear not.

jonthecelt

I've never really watched Dr. Who...I saw a couple of early versions...probsably in the 70s, maybe 80s, and it did seem pretty cheesy to me, so never went back.

Perhaps the newer ones would be better.

Speaking of LOST and most TV series now...it would be great if they would run them in order instead of showing 2-3 episodes then off for weeks showing reruns or nothing...then back again..its all broken up and loses somewhat its linearity and cohesiveness, although Lost is pretty easy to get absorbed into again.

jonthecelt, I've heard of these 'Doctor Who spoofs' with Mr. Black...Bean... er Atkinson.  I'd give a thumb to see those!  Where is Baldric? ;)

Well, there are very few female Timelords.  I think that I remember two: Romana and someone on Gallifrey (been quite a while).  Of course, when the Doctor was on Gallifrey on occassion, there were incidental female Gallifreyans, but none in prominent roles.

I've seen the entire Tom Baker, Davidson, and Pertwee series, most of Hartnell, Troughton, and the Colin Baker.  Not so much of McCoy.  Watched the McGann tele-movie.

One has to get over the 'cheesy' factor of the older productions to appreciate the sci-fi, comedic, and sometimes even brain-teaser aspects of the show.

Robert

There was a female Time Lord in the very first episode... Susan, the Doctor's 'grand-daughter'...

jonthecelt

And the Rani, was also a time lord - a renegade female one at that.

Loved it as a kid and still love it now. Or as the Daleks would say " WATCH DR WHO! YOU WILL OBEY, OBEY, OBEY!" Image above has Gold Robot from Vanishing Point (cool model). Textured in Poser 5 (Love those nodes)

Forgot about Susan - was she a Timelord or just Gallifreyan? :)

Who is the Rani?  Don't remember at all.  Which Doctor or episodes?

I haven't seen some of these episodes for decades! (yeah, I'm old).

Thanks,
Robert

I love the show so far. It really seems to have some commentary to the characters. The DOctor himslef seems more of a vehicle. This show seems to be really more about the episode characters and the Doctor is there for backstory and continuity.

None of this I mind. I think it is great. I am SO SICK TO DEATH of seeing rehrashed, recycled, redone everything. The show seems fresh.

It was Kennedy's assasination, since no-one else picked up on that (the pre-emption..;) There were actually 2 Romanas..I liked the Blond one (I think that's #2) better, but that's me..;) I only caught in with 1 of the Baker ones (the one with the scarf and jelly babies..whatever those are..;), and the cricket-outfit one after that..;) Oh, and that movie done it 2000..;) The last episode seen on this side of the water is the last Dalek getting killed..I think they're in competition with Star Trek for the longest- running series (though with cancellations and hiati [is that a real word?..;] it would be hard to tell..;)

Well, I guess it's payback for all the year-behind times that we'd get an episode of something, and the foreign market had to wait.

byAnton, what?  You've tired of CSI: SVU, CSI: MIU, CSI: ABC, CSI: XYZ, CSI........ ;)

What I find more pitiful is the kidnapping of UK shows to be done in the US - The Office or Fawlty Towers for instance.  How could anyone hope to match the calculated lunacy of John Cleese?

That's the thing about the new Doctor Who that I also find refreshing.  Not only is more 'modernized', but the scope of change is in several good directions without making it unrecognizable to ardent fans.  So far, my favorite scene was in the first Eccleston episode when he's starting up the TARDIS with the pump-action and what-not - hilarious, but just about right (super-mega technology, but the Doctor would have jury-rigged the poor thing, you know?)  The quirks are great (Ole' Bessie and frills or 'Jelly Babies, anyone?' and 'the scarf').

I need to get back to work and stop reminiscing.

Quote - It was Kennedy's assasination, since no-one else picked up on that (the pre-emption..;) There were actually 2 Romanas..I liked the Blond one (I think that's #2) better, but that's me..;) I only caught in with 1 of the Baker ones (the one with the scarf and jelly babies..whatever those are..;), and the cricket-outfit one after that..;) Oh, and that movie done it 2000..;) The last episode seen on this side of the water is the last Dalek getting killed..I think they're in competition with Star Trek for the longest- running series (though with cancellations and hiati [is that a real word?..;] it would be hard to tell..;)

Well, I guess it's payback for all the year-behind times that we'd get an episode of something, and the foreign market had to wait.

Doctor Who by far blows  any other science fiction series out of the water for longest run including star trek.

Who had a shorter hiatus between McCoy and Eccleston (not counting McGann) than Trek did between Shatner and Stewart... so could arguably claim more episodes...

and of course, while the Doctor changes, it's the same series... as opposed to Anton's favourite serial rehash (TNG, DS9, Voyger, Enterprise)...

Can you tell I loved - and still love - the good Doctor?

jonthecelt

Alright now that you've got me crying... Only saw episode 6 (Dalek) on Friday (US SciFi channel). I'll probably have to wait a year before I see the new Doctor. I'm almost sorry since I really like Mr. Eccleton's Doctor, his attitude reminds me a bit of Tom Baker, sarcastic and smug at the same time, without the quirkiness. Funny to see a Doctor who isn't very eccentric but I guess that's a sign of the times.

The special effect have been fantastic so far, not in the league of say Battlestar Galactica or SG-1 but then again the stories seem to make up for it sme how... Can't really say why...

I hope this, Doctor Tennant, last for a while, after all he only has 2 regenerations left!

mike

Yeah, that's kinda my worry, too... although I'm listening to the commentary for the new episode right now (available from the BBC website) and Tennant seems very happy in his role... they're filming the last episode of the series as they record the commentary for the first, and ther'e no sense of TEnnant being jaded or anything.

As to the effects... the Beeb can NEVER hope to compete with the budgets thrown about by big American companies (most of whome are owned buy film studios with more money than sense anyway!), so they've always focused on story over visuals... that's not to say that these new episodes aren't a WORLD above the original stuff in terms of the special fx, cos they are... but they're going to take some time to get to a level equal to Farscape, for example, or BSG.

jonthecelt

This is officially my favorite sci fi alien of all time.. the last human being from "End of the World" So much plastic surgery that he/she/it is now flat. lol

My favorite lines are "Darling you should consider a little something. You are awefully three dimensional." and "Moisturize Me!!! Moisturize ME!!!

 

Just freak'in brilliant.

Quote - ...but they're going to take some time to get to a level equal to Farscape, for example, or BSG.

Funnily enough, those are two shows that I think utterly and profoundly dwarf the new Doctor Who in terms of concept and writing (forget special effects and other production values).

As a long standing Doctor Who fan (that remembers the Patrick Troughton years from first showing), I find the new version to be too derivative of the old (and now, of itself!) to be interesting. I guess I've moved on somewhat.

But I'm glad that so many are enjoying it and that it is being introduced to a new generation. I sincerely hope it can move on from its past -  the basic notion of 'time traveller at large' has serious potential to be at the cutting edge of science fiction. So many opportunities...

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The basic notion, perhaps, but I'm not sure you could really push it to the boundaries and still have it recognisably Doctor Who.

I'm a huge sci-fi fan... my all-time list of faves runs something along the lines of Farscape, BSG, Firefly, Lost, and Babylon 5... Doctor Who is close up there, although it's a completely different scale and type of show. In fact, I'm not sure I even judge it on the same merits as I do the others... British TV cannot make a series on the same scale or budget as American series (fewer episodes per season, less money per episode, etc.), so is it really fair to measure them by the same stick?

jonthecelt

PS. Oh, and Anton... if you like the Lady Cassandra... you'll love the first ep of the season 2/season28 (depending on whether you count from the beginning of the 'new' doctor', or from the very beginning...)

Quote - British TV cannot make a series on the same scale or budget as American series (fewer episodes per season, less money per episode, etc.), so is it really fair to measure them by the same stick?

Yes, especially since I specifically excluded production values.

For perspective, compare the Doctor Who (or Blake's Seven) that was contemporary with "Galactica 1980" (shudder).

Moving on to now, the production values of Doctor Who are almost really good. The visual effects in the latest episode were terrific. Yet can you honestly say that the show has the weight of the current Battlestar Galactica remake or the imagination of the much lamented Farscape?

I still hurt that Farscape ended so abruptly and incompletely. I wait with glee and nervous anticipation for Tuesday (BSG). I have other plans next Saturday...

.

Quote - and of course, while the Doctor changes (Bodies), it's the same series & character... /quote]

;)
thats the reason why there will not be a female doctor.

the doctor is male. changes the body yes, but not the man himself. each doctor is still the chrochety old man we first saw....

Anyone seen the viewing figures yet? Last year, the BBC wiped the floor with ITV, but this year the ITV programming struck back with a Harry Potter movie.

In fairness, the Beeb chose to start Doctor Who on Easter Weekend... ITV almost always fills its scheduling with family movies throughout that time, so it's not too shocking... It will be interesting to see where the viewers chose to point their sets, though... and of course, there's always the option of watching one while recording the other...

I fel your pain about Farscape, PJF, although the miniseries 'The Peacekeeper Wars' did something to alleviate my suffering.

Personally, I wouldn't want Doctor Who to have the gravitas of the new BSG (I had managed to excise 1980 from my memory... thanks for bringing it crashing back to the foreground!! ). I'm not ure it would work if it had the same 'out there' feel of Farscape, either. Or the laconic, western feel of Firefly. Or the epic story arc of Babylon 5. That sorts of thing is purely aesthetic, and each series is different. I'm not sure you could put BSG and Farscape together as a comparison on that basis either, other than to say that neither has the long-standing traditions in place that Doctor Who has... here's always a flip-side to everything...

jonthecelt

There is a lot to be said for a nice clean episode than starts and ends one viewing. EPic story archs are a bit over used these days.

Ok, showing my geekiness and my age.

Does anyone else think that Whoopi Goldberg's *"*Guinan" character from Star Trek TNG as well as the Borg were both rip-offs from Dr. Who? I mean the Borg remind me of the Cybermen (conceptually, at least) Guinan is long lived if not immortal and sensitive to shifts in time. "Q" was afraid of her, and she says that the Borg destroyed her world. (I seem to recall the Dr. saying that it was an attack by the Cybermen that destroyed their original world and caused Rassilon to create the Time Lords in the first place)  Last but not least, who else but a Time Lord would wear a costume as stupid looking as the one Guinan wears?

Here's a thought...Guinan, daughter of Rassilon?

SMT

I love the new BSG too.  I think one of the difficulties Dr Who as when competing with programmes like this is that it as always tried to be a programme that apeals to kids as well as adults, quite a tricky balance to get right.  I think the new BSG is more of an adult  programme now and a lot darker.

It's good to hear so many people enjoyed the latest episode. I was a big Who fan as a lad.

On the Borg/Guinan thing... Purely a coincidence, I'm sure, but long before Darth Vader arrived, there was a Who character called the Ice Warrior, a great tall man in armour and a cloak and helmet, with rasping breath, who stomped around giving orders! (1960's) Not to mention The Matrix, a virtual-reality world created by the Timelords, where you could die or heal according to whether or not you accepted the reality. (1970's)

Maybe these ideas just float out into spacetime and get picked up by the big studios...!

I should think the Borh have to be a deliberate homage to the Cybemen - the using others to swell their ranks thing, the half-machine thing, the cylindrical creation/conversion pod thing, there was a Voyager episode with a scuttling round the floor gadget very like the nasty helper in an old Cyberman episode, using the other half of cyborg for their name... al they needed was a vulnerability to gold and it would be an open-and-shut case.

Guinan is actually named after 'Texas Guinan', a famous bartender back in the early 20th (late 19th?) century..I think you're going to find that anything that's been on decades will be sure to wring almost any variation out of their stuff..

Actually since several people worked on both 'Bucakroo Banzia' and 'STNG/DS9/VOY'.. there's usually more ties to that (there's a 'Whorfin' class starship, for example..;) than other stuff. The only other thing I've caught is a tribute to 2001, in First contact; the modules they use to detach the saucer are 'AE35' units..;)

 

Quote - Anyone seen the viewing figures yet? Last year, the BBC wiped the floor with ITV, but this year the ITV programming struck back with a Harry Potter movie.

Apparently viewing figures were somewhere in the region of 8.3 million, not bad up against the Potter movie :o)

I LOVED Chris Eccleston, he lured me back to Doctor Who, which I haven't watched since the days of Peter Davidson. I was gutted to find out he was only doing the one series, but I've been pleasantly surprised at how I've warmed to David Tennant.

Still miss the godawful old cardboard sets and cheesey acting of the early eighties though, mind you I liked Blake's 7 too, much to my shame :biggrin:

Channel 244 on the sci-fi channel at 9 PM EST.

Yeah- thats just it- it's the storys that've made the series. Unique!

Nothing wrong with Blake's 7, DarkStarBurning... again, once you get past the budget constraints, then the series itself was incredible - plot, characterisation, the lot. And the final episode has yet to be beaten by ANY long-running series, from whatever country.

Meanwhile, back to Doctor Who...

I think the BBC has finally decided not to overstrectch itself on things like this, and the children's TV series (a lot of the more recent ones, such as Shoebox Zoo, have had better effects and bigger budget by creating them in combination with another company, such as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation). It means they're not trying to create a multi-million dollar CG effect on a budget of 10,000 pounds - instead they either try and find a more subtle workaround to suggest the effect, or they simply work on a ten thousand pound shot.

jonthecelt

Why on earth would you be ashamed of Blake's Seven? I'd love to see the Sci-Fi channel add it along with Red Dwarf to it's daytime rerun lineups! Check out my 3D Animations for a funny Kerr Avon sound clip that I used in a Poser animation:

http://briefcase.yahoo.com/threedscifi

Attached Link: Vanishing Point Doctor Who Free Stuff

You think Lady Cassandra is freaking brilliant? Then go pick up the Poser version from Vanishing Point (for free, of course). And pick up the Dalek also.   Anyway... there are a few female Time Lords that have been named: Romana (the Doctor's companion for a few seasons), The Rani (a villian), and the Judge (from the 6th Doctor's "Trial of a Time Lord" storyline).   Who, exactly was Susan? She called the Doctor "grandfather", but there has never been any mention of the Doctor's wife or kids. And was the first Doctor really the "first Doctor"? We just assumed that the first actor was the first incarnation of the Doctor. Who knows if he regenerated before then. (That's all we need- a Doctor Who "prequel" like "Star Wars: Episode I" or "Enterprise".)   And whatever happened to Sarah Jane Smith and K-9? They get their own spin-off (called "K-9 and Company") and they're never heard from again. ;)   --John

Actually, you'll get to hear from them very soon... in about two weeks, actually... that is, if you have access to BBC... :)

It is generally accepted that the Hartnell doctor was the first incarnation, even though it's never been stated outright... certainly, he can't be any more than the third, otherwise the Doctor would have run out of regenerations by now. And I can't see Russell T Davies doing anything so crass as prequel stuff during his stint as producer on the show... of course, what happens if/when he passes the baton on, is anyone's guess...

jonthecelt

never saw Blake's 7, but read Transcripts of it on The Logbook, which has synopses of every. Dr. Who. Episode. Ever. Made...and they call me dedicated..;)