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Recommend me some Old Doctor Who

Started by chocky909, May 01, 2010, 10:07:52 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

chocky909

I'm starting a new DW thread for good reasons. There seem to be lot of serious Who fans around here and the Old Who thread intrigues and scares me in equal measure. So maybe for people interested in exploring old Doctor Who this could be a useful starting point.

Obviously I could start from the beginning and in a way that's what I want to do but there's a hell of a lot out there and I'd much rather take in a few key episode or stories from each of the Doctors or series. Preferably ones that stand up well alone but also some of those that give us important information about the Doctor's character and history.

I'm old enough (just) to have caught some old Who when it was originally transmitted, watching all of McCoy's episodes which I absolutely loved. I tried to rewatch them all a few years ago after grabbing them online and they struggled to hold my attention. Randomly seen repeated episodes from BBC2 Sunday mornings years back usually confused the hell out of me seeming to me to always be part of long stories set on Earth involving Tom Baker running about with the Army and again, failed to grab my attention.

I also just recieved my cheapo "Trial Of A Time Lord" DVD set but researching it, it would seem maybe a bad place to start for a newbie so I was thinking of saving it for later. But it shows I'm keen to dip into the archives.

Anyway, back to point of thread: can people name a few key Doctor Who stories and episodes for each Doctor, compiling what could be seen as a sort of ultimate Best Of Doctor Who boxset, suitable for introducing Old Who virgins like me.

I will endeavour to watch them and report back in this thread, hopefully accompanied by a few like minded others.

I've not watched much new Who at all but went through a phase of devouring the old stuff. Patrick Troughton is prob my man. 'War Games' might be my favourite, I dunno if it's highly regarded or not, I just love the long-running stories you never get any more, reminds me of staying up late when I first got a telly in my room, burning through borrowed VHS tapes.

Dark Sky

My personal immediate "must watch"s.

There's obviously LOADS more which are brilliant, but I don't think you'll find many people arguing that all of these are absolutely worth watching.

These don't cover every aspect of Who by any means; they don't take into account every companion, every change in style for production team, or every keypoint of Who mythology.

However, they're all absolute prime examples of Who which stand up absolutely on their own, so if you were to get hold of ANY of these stories I'm sure you'd have a good time.  (My personal recommendation of a good one to start with might be Spearhead From Space or Pyramids of Mars!)

HARTNELL:

An Unearthly Child - episode one.  Just episode one.  The very first episode of Doctor Who, ever. 

The Daleks - second ever story, first ever Dalek story...  Superb and extremely well made sci-fi tale.

(You can get both stories in "The Beginnings" boxset)


TROUGHTON:

The Tomb of the Cybermen - superbly creepy and impressive Cyberman story

The Mind Robber - pure surrealism...the TARDIS team are lost in a Land of Fiction

PERTWEE:

Spearhead From Space - first Pertwee story, first colour story, first Auton story, and a rip roaringly brilliant story as well, setting up a new format for Doctor Who and securing its future.

The Daemons - not out on DVD yet but there's other ways to see this stuff.  Beautifully made creepy story, creepy village, creepy stone statues which come to life, and the Master.

T. BAKER:

Genesis of the Daleks - it's actually quite a dull and sometimes plodding six parter, but it's often considered the greatest Who story ever.  Tom Baker on fine form, Sarah Jane, and some brilliant cliffhangers.  Also the first appearance of Davros.

Pyramids of Mars - Doctor Who meets Egyptian mythology

The Deadly Assassin - a whodunnit conspiracy set on Gallifrey and in the surreal world of the Matrix

The City of Death - brilliant Douglas Adams romp through time, space, and Paris

DAVISON:

Earthshock - lots of Cybermen doing brilliant Cyberman things

The Five Doctors - brilliant celebratory story

The Caves of Androzani - voted best ever Who story recently

C. BAKER:

Vengeance on Varos - futuristic political satire on violence as entertainment

Revelation of the Daleks - twisted black comedy

McCOY:

Remembrance of the Daleks - my personal favourite Who story ever...  A tale of racism.  With lots of explosions.  And I mean LOTS of explosions.

The Curse of Fenric - World War 2 vampire story

Survival - Final ever Who story.  You can see the first hints towards the RTD version of the series which would come fifteen years later in this one.

MCGANN:

The TV Movie - Not much choice for McGann, but you should definitely see the most expensive episode of Who ever made. 

chocky909

#3
That's perfect. I think I'll get straight onto An Unearthly Child. I've been meaning to for ages anyway. And the first Dalek and Cybermen stories would seem pretty essential viewing. Anyway, if I get those under my belt it'll be interesting to see how keen I am to start devouring some of the later ones.

In the meantime, keep your suggestions coming. It'll be interesting to see if everyone can come to a consensus about any being perfect episodes and especially likely to grab a newcomer.

non capisco

An impecable list there from Dark Star. Of the ones he didn't mention I unreservedly recommend 'Inferno' from Pertwee's first season. It's a long seven-parter but the only Who story of that length to fully justify its running time. Don't want to give too much away of what it's about but there's an air of slow-burning panic and dread about it that's strikingly unique within that era of the show. All of Pertwee's first season is great but 'Inferno' and 'Spearhead From Space' are the jewels in the crown. If you're digging Moffat's recent 11th Doctor stories you should find a lot to enjoy in those. There's certainly plenty of fucked-up timey wimey stuff in the former, and Pertwee's debut story is a direct influence on 'The Eleventh Hour' and also shows you just how badly misused the Autons were in 'Rose'. ('The Terror Of The Autons' from the following year is also a pretty good sequel, and evidently gave a lot of kids the wiggins at the time, as I imagine the Weeping Angels are successfuly doing at the moment)

My favourite Tom Baker era story is 'The Seeds Of Doom', which successfully pulls off a stylistic shift over its episodes from an homage to 'The Thing' to something altogether weirder and more extravagant. Don't think that one's out on DVD yet though.

Of the ones already mentioned I wholeheartedly endorse Davison's final story 'The Caves Of Androzani' which after a good few years of poor old Pete getting saddled with a lot of middling-to-shite stories comes as something of a revelation. Everything here works perfectly, and the latter half of the story is a much more interesting take on a Doctor who knows his time is almost up than the end of 'The End Of Time', and it has not one but two of the best ever Doctor Who cliffhangers. I bloody love this story.

I also really like the Colin Baker 'Revelation Of The Daleks', one of the very few times aside from their early stories and 'Genesis' that the shrill tin bastards have been put to imaginative use. It's a jet-black, deeply unusual story and all the better for taking the strange risks that it does.

Bingo Fury

These have always felt to me like key stories:

The Daleks

The Aztecs - another early William Hartnell. What I think is great about this is that it could have been a stand-alone TV play with the premise "here is the kind of conundrum a time traveller might encounter".

The War Games - Troughton's swan-song and the most epic of the surviving black-and-white stories. A ten-part story that builds up to the introduction of the Time Lords into the Who mythology. Fab music plays every time someone puts on a pair of specs or a monocle.

The Caves Of Androzani - Davison's last and best story. A nasty and gritty tale, by Doctor Who standards, of corruption, mercenaries and ... well, drugs. Davison (not always the most impressive of Doctors) excels himself and bows out with dignity.

Genesis Of The Daleks - The Time War started here, and it was the Time Lords' bloody fault! Does drag a bit, and there are headscratching plot holes, but Michael Wisher's Davros (and his deputy, Nyder) is unforgettable and we're never allowed to forget how high the stakes are. Some of Tom Baker's finest moments here.

Doctor Who And The Silurians -
Inferno - Both from Pertwee's first season, when Doctor Who went all Quatermass and Doomwatchy. The most uncompromisingly grown-up the show ever got.

And of course, as you'll have been told a million times:
The Talons Of Weng-Chiang
City Of Death - both Tom Baker on top form, both marvelous fun.

weekender

Will try and chip in tomorrow with recommendations, but for now don't ignore this:

http://gallifreybase.com/forum/showthread.php?t=391


Bad Ambassador

Focussing on what's out on DVD:

The Dalek Invasion of Earth - As if we needed reminding that they're based on the Nazis, here they invading London using Blitzkrieg, with black marketeers, slave labour, zombies and a batshit plan to... well, I won't spoil it.

The Time Meddler - We meet another of the Doctor's people for the first time, a cheeky chappy with an eye for gadgets, hiding out in a Dark Ages monestary and played by Peter Butterworth. Possibly Hartnell best story, although it's amazing that no-one ever seems to mention the rape scene.

The War Machines - Terminator 3 in the style of Blow-Up.

The Tomb of the Cybermen - A standard plot at the time (bases under siege) gets turned on its head, as the Doctor and co, plus some archeologists, try to stop the Cybermen getting out. A mummy movie crossed with Forbidden Planet.

The Mind Robber - The Doctor and co wind up in a realm of pure imagination... or do they??? Gulliver, Rapunzel and the Minotaur, plus the woman off Between the Lines when she was little.

The War Games - It's four hours long, completely changed the premise of the series, and has the greatest villain performance I'ver ever seen. Brilliant.

Inferno - The inevitable parallel universe story, but grafted onto something that's already interesting: a project to drill through the Earth's crust, despite the Doctor's dire warnings. Stanley Kubrick once rang up director Douglas Camfield for advice, you know.

Genesis of the Daleks - Obviously.

The Talons of Weng-Chiang - Sherlock Holmes, Fu Manchu, Sexton Blake, the Phantom of the Opera, Jack the Ripper and every other bit of blood-soaked Victoriana you can think of, mixed together with a dash of sci-fi and one of the richest, funniest scripts the series ever had. Gorgeous.

Horror of Fang Rock - The Thing in an Edwardian lighthouse.

City of Death - Imagine a Pink Panther film written by Douglas Adams. Considering that Adams wrote a large part of this, it might not be that different. Julian Glover is a better Bond-type villain here than when he was an actual Bond villain.

Earthshock - Clearly, someone saw Alien and thought "We could do that." Well, you can't, but you're damn well going to try. Even if it falls to pieces towards the end, it's still superbly put together, and watching it blind on original transmission must have been jaw-dropping.

The Caves of Androzani - A real oddity in many ways. Hand-held cameras, fades, montages, a cast of morally ambiguous characters with no-one to truly root for but the Doctor and companion Peri. For once, they're in way over their heads, and just want to get out. A masterpiece.

The Curse of Fenric - World War II, early computers, Norse mythology, vampires and Evil from the Dawn of Time. A massively complex script rendered incoherent to fit the timeslot, this is the best story of the 80s. The DVD includes a special edition, reconstructing the story as a feature, and then finally everything just clicks. You won't believe me, but Nicholas Parsons's performance is astonishing.

Survival - The last regular story, rich in metaphorical detail and sharp ideas, as well as pointing towards what Russel T. Davies would do with the series. Anthony Ainley finally gets a handle on how to play the Master without slapping his thigh, and Hale and Pace turn up for a comedy scene that manages to perfectly compliment the story's mood.

Dark Sky

Quote from: chocky909 on May 01, 2010, 10:47:32 PM
That's perfect. I think I'll get straight onto An Unearthly Child. I've been meaning to for ages anyway. And the first Dalek and Cybermen stories would seem pretty essential viewing.

The first Cyberman story is Hartnell's final story, called "The Tenth Planet".  The final episode of it, part four, doesn't exist any more.  It was released on VHS with a telesnap reconstruction...  Jury's out at the moment as to how it's released on DVD.  It's a reasonably good story, but not an all-out classic, I don't think.

Quote from: non capisco on May 01, 2010, 10:58:19 PM
An impecable list there from Dark Star.

I choose to be delighted and insulted in equal measure.

QuoteOf the ones he didn't mention I unreservedly recommend 'Inferno' from Pertwee's first season.

Inferno is incredible!  What an amazing story!  I would recommend to chocky watches Spearhead first, though, if just to explain the UNIT setup.

QuoteMy favourite Tom Baker era story is 'The Seeds Of Doom', which successfully pulls off a stylistic shift over its episodes from an homage to 'The Thing' to something altogether weirder and more extravagant. Don't think that one's out on DVD yet though.

Oh love this one, too.  Can't wait for the DVD.

Quote from: Bingo Fury on May 01, 2010, 11:25:06 PM
The Aztecs - another early William Hartnell. What I think is great about this is that it could have been a stand-alone TV play with the premise "here is the kind of conundrum a time traveller might encounter".

Also, "The Romans"...  Two very different historicals from back when historicals wouldn't involve monsters or aliens or any science fiction really.  "The Aztecs" is a pretty serious story, whereas "The Romans" is a brilliant and at times very farcical comedy.  "The Time Meddler" changed Who's attitude towards historicals by introducing sci-fi elements into them.  That's another brilliant Hartnell one as well.

QuoteDoctor Who And The Silurians

Here's the first one I disagree with!  I think this is an appallingly tedious and dull seven parter.  It killed the 1999 Doctor Who repeat season and I dislike it with a passion.  I should rewatch it really.


You can probably see where people's ideas are overlapping the ones you should really go for :)

Bad Ambassador

Quote from: chocky909 on May 01, 2010, 10:47:32 PM
the first Dalek and Cybermen stories would seem pretty essential viewing.

The first Cyberman story, The Tenth Planet, isn't out on DVD yet as the last episode's missing.

Dark Sky

Quote from: chocky909 on May 01, 2010, 10:47:32 PM
That's perfect. I think I'll get straight onto An Unearthly Child. I've been meaning to for ages anyway. And the first Dalek and Cybermen stories would seem pretty essential viewing. Anyway, if I get those under my belt it'll be interesting to see how keen I am to start devouring some of the later ones.

But of course I will argue that as Doctor Who has changed style and tone so much over the past 47 years, just because you like / dislike a William Hartnell story has no real bearing as to whether you like/dislike a Tom Baker story.

Personally I like all Doctor Who because...well...it's Doctor Who, isn't it?  But I realise I'm in the minority when it comes to Doctor Who fans, who tend to only like a particular period of the programme.

non capisco

Quote from: Dark Sky on May 01, 2010, 11:44:43 PM
I choose to be delighted and insulted in equal measure.

Oops, my apologies Dark Sky.

Having thought about it I'd like to add 'Terror Of The Zygons' to my list of favourites but I think that's another one that's inexplicably still not out on DVD for some reason. You might snort at the 'Loch Ness Monster' effects these days but it's still a great story from arguably the most consistent season, Tom Baker's second. (I even like 'The Android Invasion' and its gaping narrative flaws. That deserted village is pretty unnerving, and there's the android Sarah Jane's face coming off. More to like in there than not, I'd say)





chocky909

Quote from: Dark Sky on May 01, 2010, 11:44:43 PM
The first Cyberman story is Hartnell's final story, called "The Tenth Planet".  The final episode of it, part four, doesn't exist any more.  It was released on VHS with a telesnap reconstruction...  Jury's out at the moment as to how it's released on DVD.  It's a reasonably good story, but not an all-out classic, I don't think.

Oh, I assumed the Troughton one you mentioned was the first Cyberman story. See this is what I need to know. I'd end up watching the Hartnell one and being disappointed.

Quote from: Dark Sky on May 02, 2010, 12:14:25 AM
But of course I will argue that as Doctor Who has changed style and tone so much over the past 47 years, just because you like / dislike a William Hartnell story has no real bearing as to whether you like/dislike a Tom Baker story.

Personally I like all Doctor Who because...well...it's Doctor Who, isn't it?  But I realise I'm in the minority when it comes to Doctor Who fans, who tend to only like a particular period of the programme.

I'm acutely aware of this and am determined to plough through and quickly get a taster of each of the Doctors and if I find some of the early stuff dull or hard work then at least I'll have experienced them. I'll probably then go back to my favourite periods once I've done my sampler.

On that note, is there a good documentary on the history of Doctor Who? Like a good 2 hours that might quickly run through everything and whet my appetite without going into too much geeky depth? I would be wary of spoilers in these things though as they often assume the viewer has seen the programmes in question.

chocky909

Quote from: Bad Ambassador on May 01, 2010, 11:43:42 PM
Focussing on what's out on DVD:

The Dalek Invasion of Earth - As if we needed reminding that they're based on the Nazis, here they invading London using Blitzkrieg, with black marketeers, slave labour, zombies and a batshit plan to... well, I won't spoil it.

The Time Meddler - We meet another of the Doctor's people for the first time, a cheeky chappy with an eye for gadgets, hiding out in a Dark Ages monestary and played by Peter Butterworth. Possibly Hartnell best story, although it's amazing that no-one ever seems to mention the rape scene.

The War Machines - Terminator 3 in the style of Blow-Up.

The Tomb of the Cybermen - A standard plot at the time (bases under siege) gets turned on its head, as the Doctor and co, plus some archeologists, try to stop the Cybermen getting out. A mummy movie crossed with Forbidden Planet.

The Mind Robber - The Doctor and co wind up in a realm of pure imagination... or do they??? Gulliver, Rapunzel and the Minotaur, plus the woman off Between the Lines when she was little.

The War Games - It's four hours long, completely changed the premise of the series, and has the greatest villain performance I'ver ever seen. Brilliant.

Inferno - The inevitable parallel universe story, but grafted onto something that's already interesting: a project to drill through the Earth's crust, despite the Doctor's dire warnings. Stanley Kubrick once rang up director Douglas Camfield for advice, you know.

Genesis of the Daleks - Obviously.

The Talons of Weng-Chiang - Sherlock Holmes, Fu Manchu, Sexton Blake, the Phantom of the Opera, Jack the Ripper and every other bit of blood-soaked Victoriana you can think of, mixed together with a dash of sci-fi and one of the richest, funniest scripts the series ever had. Gorgeous.

Horror of Fang Rock - The Thing in an Edwardian lighthouse.

City of Death - Imagine a Pink Panther film written by Douglas Adams. Considering that Adams wrote a large part of this, it might not be that different. Julian Glover is a better Bond-type villain here than when he was an actual Bond villain.

Earthshock - Clearly, someone saw Alien and thought "We could do that." Well, you can't, but you're damn well going to try. Even if it falls to pieces towards the end, it's still superbly put together, and watching it blind on original transmission must have been jaw-dropping.

The Caves of Androzani - A real oddity in many ways. Hand-held cameras, fades, montages, a cast of morally ambiguous characters with no-one to truly root for but the Doctor and companion Peri. For once, they're in way over their heads, and just want to get out. A masterpiece.

The Curse of Fenric - World War II, early computers, Norse mythology, vampires and Evil from the Dawn of Time. A massively complex script rendered incoherent to fit the timeslot, this is the best story of the 80s. The DVD includes a special edition, reconstructing the story as a feature, and then finally everything just clicks. You won't believe me, but Nicholas Parsons's performance is astonishing.

Survival - The last regular story, rich in metaphorical detail and sharp ideas, as well as pointing towards what Russel T. Davies would do with the series. Anthony Ainley finally gets a handle on how to play the Master without slapping his thigh, and Hale and Pace turn up for a comedy scene that manages to perfectly compliment the story's mood.

That's brilliant BA. Are those listed in chronological order?

lipsink

Yep, they are listed in chronological order. As are these ones:

The Mind Robber - the first episode of this is as if David Lynch has taken over Doctor Who.

The Ark in Space - nice bit of body horror with a claustropobic setting and with a central idea that I still find quite disturbing in spite of the cheap effects.

The Brain Of Morbius - quite Hammer Horror this one.

Robots of Death - a whodunnit that zips along at a fantastic pace.

The Caves of Androzani - possibly my favourite Old Who ever. Exciting stuff.

Vengence on Varos
- 80s satire.

The Happiness Patrol - More dark satire. Not out on DVD but it's all available to watch on daily motion.

Ambient Sheep

Pretty much all of the above are good recommendations: Pyramids of Mars is a particular favourite of mine (the last couple of minutes of Episode 1 in particular, gotta love
Spoiler alert
that thundering organ music and how it kicks in with the space-time tunnel appearing
[close]
*), and Inferno's pretty good as well.

I'm slightly surprised that The Three Doctors never gets a mention in these lists; it is, after all, the first multi-Doctor story.  I love it, but it never seems to get mentioned, so maybe that's just because I was the perfect age for it first time round and the idea of all three Doctors being in the same adventure being just impossibly exciting to an eight-year-old helps cover up its flaws when I see it again as an adult.


Quote from: chocky909 on May 02, 2010, 12:29:57 AMOn that note, is there a good documentary on the history of Doctor Who? Like a good 2 hours that might quickly run through everything and whet my appetite without going into too much geeky depth?

Hmmm.  "More Than 30 Years In The TARDIS", is a good watch, not sure how spoilerific it might be though.  Originally an hour-long BBC2 programme shown in 1993 without the "More Than", it was later released on VHS in 1994 under the extended title with about 30(?) minutes of extra material.  It's a long time since I've seen it though, and although I loved it I can't remember how much of it is celebratory rather than documentary.  Thanks for the inadvertent reminder though, I might run it past MissInformed's boys during the next school holidays as a good intro to the old series.

And if anyone knows where (or even if) it's possible to get hold of the "Even More Than..." version that was only shown at fan conventions due to copyright reasons, I'd love to find out.  :-)


*
Spoiler alert
I also vividly remember, at the very end of Episode 1, when the masked figure kills Namin by sizzling his shoulders, my older brother -- who'd obviously seen more Who than me -- said "Ah, it's the Ice Warriors, they're back!".  He was wrong, of course...
[close]

Dark Sky

Quote from: Ambient Sheep on May 02, 2010, 09:25:26 AM
I'm slightly surprised that The Three Doctors never gets a mention in these lists; it is, after all, the first multi-Doctor story.  I love it, but it never seems to get mentioned, so maybe that's just because I was the perfect age for it first time round and the idea of all three Doctors being in the same adventure being just impossibly exciting to an eight-year-old helps cover up its flaws when I see it again as an adult.

There is SO much to love in The Three Doctors simply because it's magical to see Troughton and Pertwee together.

The story is pretty bad, though.

I have a similar thing with The Five Doctors, which is one of the first stories I saw and I absolutely adore it, and yet in fandom it's kinda hated.

QuoteHmmm.  "More Than 30 Years In The TARDIS", is a good watch, not sure how spoilerific it might be though.

30 Years In The TARDIS turned me into a Doctor Who fan at the age of 9 back in 1993.  It *is* full of spoilerific clips but I never minded when I was little.  I still watch Classic Who I've never seen before and go, "ooh that tiny two second clip was in 30 Years!"

There was also a very good overall documentary made for Doctor Who Night in 1999, though I don't remember what it was called.

Jemble Fred

After hearing that recent DNA documentary on Radio (was it 2 or 4?), I've finally got round to watching City Of Death, thanks to Youtube, and am enjoying it, serial style, with one episode left to go.

Should the episodes be 25 minutes though, or has the uploader taken them from some dodgy satellite edit?

Phil_A

I don't think MTTYITT(m'tit?) really spoils that much, as most of the clips are shown out of context. Also, bear in mind it only covers up till the end of the original series, as even the McGann movie was a couple of years away at that point.

Once again, youtube delivers!
Doctor Who - More Than 30 Years in the TARDIS (1/9)


"Adventures In Time and Space"(the Dr Who Night documentary) is also nice, but it's rather more condensed, being only forty minutes long.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8641447526313476464#

Ambient Sheep

Quote from: Dark Sky on May 02, 2010, 10:17:35 AMThere is SO much to love in The Three Doctors simply because it's magical to see Troughton and Pertwee together.

Indeed.  Not to mention
Spoiler alert
"Cromer!"
[close]
.


Quote from: Dark Sky on May 02, 2010, 10:17:35 AMThe story is pretty bad, though.

That's the bit I can't quite see.  Yes, there's some pointless corridor-running shortly after they
Spoiler alert
arrive at their destination
[close]
, but wasn't it ever thus?  It also
Spoiler alert
introduces more timelord mythology, and deals with the intriguing concept of "I think, therefore I am" or to get more biblical "without faith, I am nothing"
[close]
.  I found that idea fascinating; introducing that kind of philosophical concept to children is quite an achievement.  Gotta love the Letts.

The most common criticism of it I see is that
Spoiler alert
the Gell Guards
[close]
looked shite, but again, by the standards of the time, they look good to me, and I can't understand the derision...but then again maybe that's just because they scared me quite enough when I was eight, thanks.

The ending
Spoiler alert
i.e. the bit with the recorder trapped in the TARDIS
[close]
, is a great solution as well.


Quote from: Dark Sky on May 02, 2010, 10:17:35 AMI have a similar thing with The Five Doctors, which is one of the first stories I saw and I absolutely adore it, and yet in fandom it's kinda hated.

Astonishingly, I've never seen it.  I missed it when it first went out, then when it came out on VHS lots of people complained because it was the special edition and not as broadcast, so I didn't bother, and I basically lost track of which version I should be buying.  I gather the DVD is now sorted and has both versions on it, or something, but I don't have the money to spend on it.


Quote from: Dark Sky on May 02, 2010, 10:17:35 AM30 Years In The TARDIS turned me into a Doctor Who fan at the age of 9 back in 1993.

:-)  It is a superb programme.  Obviously by that time, as a cynical 28-year-old who'd gradually given up on the show after Hinchcliffe left, my opinion of Who had got a bit jaded, but that one programme made me think "Fuck me, I'd forgotten Just How Good this show used to be", and from then on I was longing to have it back.


Quote from: Dark Sky on May 02, 2010, 10:17:35 AMThere was also a very good overall documentary made for Doctor Who Night in 1999, though I don't remember what it was called.

Same here, only I couldn't even remember if it was any good, so I didn't mention it.  I knew there had been a "straight" documentary though, as opposed to the joyous fan-celebration of "30 Years".

Fake EDIT: Wow, Phil_A delivers!!  :-)



Quote from: Jemble Fred on May 02, 2010, 11:01:59 AMShould the episodes be 25 minutes though, or has the uploader taken them from some dodgy satellite edit?

Yes and no, respectively.  Classic Who was always 25 minutes as a rule -- they tried out some longer episodes during Davison's reign, and no doubt someone will come along and tell me about some other exceptions, but yes, basically, 25 minutes a week.

weekender

Here's a couple of recommendations:

The Invasion

Not the most amazing story, but worth it for two major reasons:

1. It has a superbly creepy performance by Kevin Stoney as Tobias Vaughan
2. Two of the episodes are missing, so for the DVD release they got Cosgrove-Hall to animate the missing episodes (the audio still exists).  Worth it to see how they've approached the idea, even if you end up disliking the animation.

The Monster of Peladon

Often overlooked, I think this is a belter.  It's basically an out-and-out satire on the 70s miners' strikes.

The other recommendations are good as well, Inferno is probably my favourite Who serial of all time.

weekender

Quote from: Ambient Sheep on May 02, 2010, 11:17:08 AM
Classic Who was always 25 minutes as a rule -- they tried out some longer episodes during Davison's reign, and no doubt someone will come along and tell me about some other exceptions, but yes, basically, 25 minutes a week.

Resurrection of the Daleks (Davison) was broadcast as two 45-minute episodes, but was essentially a four-parter.

Colin Baker's era had most of the 45-minute episodes.  The first story, Twin Dilemma, was oddly broadcast at the end of Season 21, so that was four 25 minute episodes.

Season 22 had all 45 minute episodes (6 stories).  For Season 23 - Trial of a Timelord - they went back to 25 minute episodes again.

Jemble Fred

Quote from: Ambient Sheep on May 02, 2010, 11:17:08 AM
Yes and no, respectively.  Classic Who was always 25 minutes as a rule -- they tried out some longer episodes during Davison's reign, and no doubt someone will come along and tell me about some other exceptions, but yes, basically, 25 minutes a week.

Ah great, I was hoping that was the case.

I do hope the Doctor sorts out
Spoiler alert
this bloke with the green spaghetti head
[close]
.

Dark Sky

Quote from: Jemble Fred on May 02, 2010, 11:01:59 AM
Should the episodes be 25 minutes though, or has the uploader taken them from some dodgy satellite edit?

It's a 25 minute long programme!  Apart from series 22 which experimented with 45 minute episodes.  And possibly Resurrection of the Daleks.  And Episode fourteen of Trial of a Time Lord is five minutes longer.  But then I was rewatching The Leisure Hive last month and the episodes hover around the 20 minute mark.

And buy the DVD you criminal!  Those people spend so much time and love and care making the greatest television programme ever look as good as it possibly can look, with a whole wealth of informative, imaginative and exciting extras, yours for around a fiver, and you're watching blimmin' downloads?  Shame on you.

Quote from: Ambient Sheep on May 02, 2010, 11:17:08 AM
That's the bit I can't quite see.  Yes, there's some pointless corridor-running shortly after they
Spoiler alert
arrive at their destination
[close]
, but wasn't it ever thus?  It also
Spoiler alert
introduces more timelord mythology, and deals with the intriguing concept of "I think, therefore I am" or to get more biblical "without faith, I am nothing"
[close]
.  I found that idea fascinating; introducing that kind of philosophical concept to children is quite an achievement.  Gotta love the Letts.

To be honest I do quite like The Three Doctors, but I'd say it was more of a slightly bland story than an all out classic, although the gimmick of the three Doctors does put it on a pedestal.  Every time I watch it I do enjoy it more.  And it has a wonderful commentary on it with Katy Manning and Barry Letts imitating the Gel Guards by making weird little burbling noises...

Jemble Fred

#24
Quote from: Dark Sky on May 02, 2010, 12:09:58 PM
you're watching blimmin' downloads?  Shame on you.

Nope, uploads. There's loads of great episodes on Youtube. It's not really any different to catching repeats on sci-fi TV channels and the like.

I quite enjoy watching some Old Who, but I wouldn't be especially interested in owning any of it, and can't imagine I'd ever bother with DVD Extras. In the old days it's the kind of thing I'd have got out of the library on VHS for a rainy afternoon. But Bath library is rubbish.

I agree that if you want to own the DVD and see the Extras, you should buy it.

lipsink

Quote from: Phil_A on May 02, 2010, 11:06:15 AM
Once again, youtube delivers!
Doctor Who - More Than 30 Years in the TARDIS (1/9)

Cheers! What's the marks on Tom Baker's lips in that shouty clip? Did he have the clap?

non capisco

He was bitten on the lip by a dog, believe it or not. Throughout the 'Keys To Time' season there's the odd shot where he either looks like he's got a bad cold sore or they've done a botched make-up job on it.

biggytitbo

My faves from each Doctor would be:
Hartnell: The Romans and the Time meddler.
Troughton: The Invasion
Pertwee: Ambassadors of Death, The Green Death, Day of the Daleks, Invasion of the dinosaurs(actually great if you can overlook the hand puppets) and Terror of the Autons.
Tom Baker: Terror of the Zygons, Seeds of Doom, Face of Evil  (underrated) Image of the Fendahl, City of Death and Logopolis.
Peter Davison: Four to Doomsday(underrated), The Visitation, Black Orchid, Mawdyn Undead, Enlightenment, The Awakening and Caves of Androzani.
Col Baker: Revelation of the Daleks
McCoy: Remembrance of the Daleks and Curse of Fenric

Ray Le Otter

You're never going to get the same enjoyment watching on YouTube. However, if that's the way you're gonna do it, seek out the following...

Hartnell:
An Unearthly Child (First ep only as the remaining three are as dull as fuck)
The Daleks
The Aztecs
The War Machines

Troughton:
Everything is a joy as there's so little, but "The Invasion" & "The War Games" are top notch.

Pertwee:
Spearhead From Space (that'll set you up for the rest of his era)
The Claws Of Axos
Carnival Of Monsters
The Green Death

Baker - all Tom Baker stories have something to recommend but these are generally some of the best:
Genesis Of The Daleks
Pyramids Of Mars
Deadly Assassin
Horror of Fang Rock
The entire Key To Time season
City of Death
Warriors Gate
Logopolis

Davison:
Kinda
Earthshock
Enlightenment
Frontios
Caves of Androzani

Colin B
Revelation Of the Daleks

McCoy
Remembrance Of The Daleks
The Curse Of Fenric


Dark Sky

Quote from: Jemble Fred on May 02, 2010, 12:19:33 PM
Nope, uploads. There's loads of great episodes on Youtube. It's not really any different to catching repeats on sci-fi TV channels and the like.

Except illegal.  And terrible quality.  And I wasn't even referring to you anyway?

There are some legal Who episodes up on the 'net, though.

Quote from: lipsink on May 02, 2010, 12:34:59 PM
Cheers! What's the marks on Tom Baker's lips in that shouty clip? Did he have the clap?

Is it a series 16 clip?  If so, that's when he was attacked by a dog.  They try to explain it in a story by showing him bang his face on the console, which might have been effective if it's not noticable in a previous story which they filmed later but which was broadcast earlier.