Main Menu

Tip jar

If you like CaB and wish to support it, you can use PayPal or KoFi. Thank you, and I hope you continue to enjoy the site - Neil.

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Support CaB

Recent

Members
Stats
  • Total Posts: 5,559,182
  • Total Topics: 106,348
  • Online Today: 719
  • Online Ever: 3,311
  • (July 08, 2021, 03:14:41 AM)
Users Online
Welcome to Cook'd and Bomb'd. Please login or sign up.

March 29, 2024, 04:37:38 AM

Login with username, password and session length

Old Doctor Who - Part 3

Started by Ambient Sheep, October 21, 2016, 05:20:01 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Thomas

On a Troughton trip at the moment. Finally watching his farewell, The War Games. I often anticipate something of a slog with some of these sprawling ten-parters, but it's off to a great start. The first episode's cliffhanger is quite shocking for a family show.

In the opening to part two,
Spoiler alert
as he realises that he hasn't been shot
[close]
, he makes an expression similar to this one:



A conscious callback, possibly? I know Smith watched some old Troughton episodes as homework.

Troughton is a marvellous Doctor, perhaps one of my favourites now. Great companions in his era, too (though Jamie is given markedly more to do than Victoria, who was seemingly employed mainly to squeal and trip over).

Alberon

For a ten part story it moves at a fair clip and there isn't much of the time wasting runaround you often saw in six parters.

daf

Quote from: Thomas on May 10, 2020, 08:03:57 PM
On a Troughton trip at the moment. Finally watching his farewell, The War Games. I often anticipate something of a slog with some of these sprawling ten-parters, but it's off to a great start.

I think it's his best one - and there's not an ounce of fat on it!

Quote from: Thomas on May 10, 2020, 08:03:57 PM
Troughton is a marvellous Doctor, perhaps one of my favourites now.

Pretty sure that he becomes everyone's favourite Doctor once they see him in action - magical stuff!

purlieu

It's almost the archetypical story in that there's a lot of 'run around, get captured, escape, get recaptured', only it hides it really well by just having tons of intrigue going on and moving at a hell of a pace. Superb story.

Oh and yes, Troughton's basically the best.

Jerzy Bondov

I really struggle to think of a companion I like more than Jamie. Named my son after him[nb]my wife doesn't know this[/nb]. I think Doctor Who 2/Jamie/Zoe is my favourite team. Or Doctor Who 4/Sarah-Jane, depending on my mood.

Quote from: Thomas on May 10, 2020, 08:03:57 PM
On a Troughton trip at the moment. Finally watching his farewell, The War Games. I often anticipate something of a slog with some of these sprawling ten-parters, but it's off to a great start. The first episode's cliffhanger is quite shocking for a family show.

In the opening to part two,
Spoiler alert
as he realises that he hasn't been shot
[close]
, he makes an expression similar to this one:



A conscious callback, possibly? I know Smith watched some old Troughton episodes as homework.

Troughton is a marvellous Doctor, perhaps one of my favourites now. Great companions in his era, too (though Jamie is given markedly more to do than Victoria, who was seemingly employed mainly to squeal and trip over).

The only issue with Episode 1 is that they reveal the high tech communications device way too early. Just the later hypnosis scene would be enough to sell that something is wrong.

Replies From View

Quote from: Thomas on May 10, 2020, 08:03:57 PM
Troughton is a marvellous Doctor, perhaps one of my favourites now. Great companions in his era, too (though Jamie is given markedly more to do than Victoria, who was seemingly employed mainly to squeal and trip over).

Do you mean Zoe?

Zoe was a great companion when she was given the right material.  She was often written as brilliantly intelligent (see 'The Invasion' for example) and it was frustrating when her potential was ignored in order to have a helpless squealer in a story.

It's a shame because on the right days, Doctor Who was quite progressive in its characterisation of women.  But wherever you go in its history, there has been an overriding sense with everyone involved that previous eras had only ever used female companions to give the Doctor someone to save.  Caroline John, Elisabeth Sladen and Louise Jameson said it of the 1960s companions, Mary Tamm has explicitly said that she wanted her Romana to be progressive in comparison to Sarah Jane Smith whom she singled out as an example of a typical helpless squealer.  And so it has gone on.

It's true to an extent due to a lot of writers not making the most of considerable potential, but horribly misleading, considering how many stories need to be overlooked to miss how great these companions could be.

Thomas

#2917
Quote from: Replies From View on May 11, 2020, 10:26:30 AM
Do you mean Zoe?

Zoe was a great companion when she was given the right material.  She was often written as brilliantly intelligent (see 'The Invasion' for example) and it was frustrating when her potential was ignored in order to have a helpless squealer in a story.

No, I do mean Victoria - I was watching The Enemy of the World and The Web of Fear last week, and I was disappointed that her main job was to say 'Doctor?' in a worried way. Zoe, as you say, is great at times, getting stuck into the plot with her own initiatives. Like Jerzy, I love the combo of Zoe and Jamie. I also like the solid world-building in this era, with recurring friends like Professor Travers and the gradual development of UNIT, leading nicely into the Third Doctor's stint. Quite a lot of care taken to make supporting characters seem real and lived. Strikingly modern in some of its sensibilities.

Interesting to have two companions from different times, too, and neither from contemporary Earth. It doesn't necessarily preclude the audience from having an 'in' or a 'surrogate' once the format has been going for a while. I think RTD was right to use contemporary Earthlings, and Moffat in his first series, but after 2011 we could have seen a companion or two from elsewhen.1

[1] EDIT: Just remembered that Nardole qualifies, and he was great.

Replies From View

Ah, sorry.  I thought you were still talking about The War Games.

Yes, I agree with all of that.

Deanjam

Oddly this came up on my Twitter today.


Replies From View

Trought-weet.  Trough-tweet.



Hmm.  If these compound word things aren't a natural fit it's not the law to force them.

mjwilson

William Harttweet
Patrick Troughtweet
Jon Pertweet (this one actually works)
Tweet Baker
Peter Tweetison
Colin Baker (I just gave up, sorry)
Sylvester McTweet
Paul McTweet
John Tweet
Christopher Ecclestweet
David Tentweet
Matt Smith (gave up again)
Peter Capaldtweet
Jodie Whittatweet
Jo Martweet

Malcy

Quote from: mjwilson on May 11, 2020, 05:59:34 PM
William Harttweet
Patrick Troughtweet
Jon Pertweet (this one actually works)
Tweet Baker
Peter Tweetison
Colin Baker (I just gave up, sorry)
Sylvester McTweet
Paul McTweet
John Tweet
Christopher Ecclestweet
David Tentweet
Matt Smith (gave up again)
Peter Capaldtweet
Jodie Whittatweet
Jo Martweet


Colin Tweeter & Matt Tweet?

What's the competition?


daf

Quote from: weekender on May 11, 2020, 07:29:16 PM
Who the fuck is Colin Tweeter?

Straight man to Barry Woofer in the comedy duo
Spoiler alert
Colin & Barry
[close]

Attila

Quote from: Jerzy Bondov on May 11, 2020, 09:33:36 AM
I really struggle to think of a companion I like more than Jamie. Named my son after him[nb]my wife doesn't know this[/nb]. I think Doctor Who 2/Jamie/Zoe is my favourite team. Or Doctor Who 4/Sarah-Jane, depending on my mood.

I named a pair of my sheep (back when I had a sheepfarm) after Jamie and Zoe. A few years back I had to opportunity to tell this to Wendy Padbury. She was most amused, especially when I told her the sheep were brother and sister.

weekender

Can anyone help settle an argument please?

The question is "When did the Daleks first appear in Doctor Who?".

One party is arguing that it was 21 December 1963 as that's when the first episode of The Daleks was broadcast.  The other smug arrogant twat of a party is trying to argue that it was 28 December 1963 because you didn't actually see a Dalek in the first episode, only a view through their eyepiece of Barbara being scared as the cliffhanger, and a Dalek wasn't actually shown onscreen until the second episode.

Thoughts?

Deanjam

Well, I watched this yesterday so can answer. While it is a POV shot you also see the plunger arm, which is an actual view of a Dalek. So, part one is correct.


Replies From View

It depends entirely whether "a Dalek" means "an entire Dalek" doesn't it?  Nobody is incorrect about it; the answer just revolves around that pedantry.

weekender

Oh, so you're not committing to an answer?

Replies From View

Quote from: weekender on May 13, 2020, 07:10:33 PM
Oh, so you're not committing to an answer?

I'd say a plunger of a Dalek is shown in the first episode as a cliffhanger and an entire Dalek (actually several of them) is first seen in the second episode.

I mean it's just the stating of that fact, really.


If your friend doesn't appreciate that the first-person perspective of the Dalek includes the plunger in shot then they may change their view based on that.  Otherwise there's nothing to argue over.

mjwilson

Just say December 1963 and then everyone can live in peace.

purlieu

purlieu's Blu-Ray Adventures
The Three Doctors

So, having finally started on the Blu-Rays - I only have seven unwatched boxsets so far - I thought I'd give a few thoughts. The picture quality upgrade is subtle but effective. Just having a better digital transfer is nice, even if it's not full HD, as it all looks very crisp now, even on a not-too-big TV.
Really enjoyed watching this story again. Troughton and Pertwee are magnificent together on screen and it's hard to tire of them. The Brig's exaggerated ignorance lets the story down a little, as well as my own niggle about there being a warden with a rifle on a nature reserve, but otherwise it's a wonderful tale, and a rare occasion where showing Gallifrey is effective.

A decent bunch of extras, none of which I'd seen before. The Making Of documentary was fairly lightweight in comparison with some I've seen, running to around 20 minutes, but it's always nice to see the original cast and crew talking about the show, and spend some time trying to work out what Terrance Dicks is saying. Behind the Sofa is going to be an interesting one this season, as seeing John Levene, Katy Manning and Richard Franklin together is really lovely, but the three new series writers are pretty tedious so far, lots of laughing at the monsters and making pretty uninteresting comments. Looking for Lennie, Toby Hadoke's exploration into the life of little-known director Lennie Mayne, wasn't something I was particularly bothered about initially, but it turned out to be a really lovely programme with some genuinely touching moments. The sort of thing no other show would get as an extra these days - especially given that this is The Three Doctors's third release on optical disc - and a really lovely addition to the set. The additional short bits - the rare theme recording, Blue Peter, continuity, etc. - were a nice way to fill a quarter of an hour with some curios.

So yes, a very enjoyable set. First episode of Carnival of Monsters tomorrow.

Norton Canes

Quote from: purlieu on May 13, 2020, 10:10:46 PM
Looking for Lennie, Toby Hadoke's exploration into the life of little-known director Lennie Mayne, wasn't something I was particularly bothered about initially, but it turned out to be a really lovely programme with some genuinely touching moments

I'm sure you've already seen it, but his poignant 'Looking for Peter' (R. Newman, the writer) on the Sensorites DVD is about the best extra on the entire range.

Quote from: purlieu on May 13, 2020, 10:10:46 PM
First episode of Carnival of Monsters tomorrow

Best Pertwee by a mile, love it. 

purlieu

Quote from: Norton Canes on May 13, 2020, 10:38:37 PM
I'm sure you've already seen it, but his poignant 'Looking for Peter' (R. Newman, the writer) on the Sensorites DVD is about the best extra on the entire range.
No, I've only seen a handful of the extras, actually. Been meaning to watch them all for ages but never got around to it, so going through the BluRays seems a good time.

notjosh

Quote from: mjwilson on May 13, 2020, 07:58:46 PM
Just say December 1963 and then everyone can live in peace.

What a dalek, what a night.

purlieu

purlieu's Blu-Ray Adventures
Carnival of Monsters
One of the highlights of the Pertwee era for sure, and a typically great story from Robert Holmes. Several plot strands going on, from a time loop mystery to some frankly Brexit-esque satire. The drashigs are fantastic monsters and one of Holmes's best comedy double acts in Vorg and Shirma. A joy to revisit.

A bit lighter on extras this one, which surprised me given that it was one of the stories that received an expanded DVD reissue. The making-of documentary is fairly light in comparison with many I've seen. Behind the Sofa fares better, with the original cast side being lovely again, and the new writers seeming to enjoy this one a lot more than The Three Doctors. No other notable extras to speak of, just the usual studio footage and continuity (including an announcer pronouncing Pertwee P'twee). The three minute CSO test sequence was an intriguing curio, mind you. I've not watched the alternate edits of the two episodes, as that's possibly a bit of Carnival of Monsters-overload for one week. I'll probably look at those whenever I go through the commentaries and info texts in the future.

Time for some Delgado fun now.

JamesTC

The DVD Special Editions were not always done for the extras, sometimes it was done for the picture quality. Carnival, Axos and Inferno were all re-released on the basis of improved picture quality.

Norton Canes

Quote from: purlieu on May 20, 2020, 11:20:15 PM
The three minute CSO test sequence was an intriguing curio

Is that the one with Barry Letts and the enigmatic Margo? Brilliant.

purlieu

Quote from: JamesTC on May 21, 2020, 06:06:21 PM
The DVD Special Editions were not always done for the extras, sometimes it was done for the picture quality. Carnival, Axos and Inferno were all re-released on the basis of improved picture quality.
Thanks for that, makes more sense now!

Quote from: Norton Canes on May 21, 2020, 07:54:07 PM
Is that the one with Barry Letts and the enigmatic Margo? Brilliant.
Yup. I was expecting some test footage as opposed to a wonderfully strange in-house demonstration video.