New Doctor Who

[Bert Thung]

(mild spoilers)

Q MAGAZINE

The Man Who
Meet the all-new Timelord. Now with added rock'n'roll

Doctor Who
BBC1, time and date TBC
**** Q Recommends

HERE'S A PROMISE: as soon as the spooky electronic theme tune strikes up and the swirly new title sequence kicks off, with the Tardis spinning merrily around in space like it's never been away, you are guaranteed to experience both the thrill of nostalgia and a shiver of genuine excitement. After a nine-year hiatus - Paul McGann played the lead in a forgettable special in 1996 - the much-hyped return of rickety sci-fí classic Doctor Who lives up to all expectations: it's every bit as good as its mid-'70s heyday. Furthermore, this time around you don't have to be a geek to enjoy it.

The inestimable Christopher Eccleston plays the ninth Doctor, reinterpreting the character as a fairly normal kind of bloke - albeit one who's able to talk to monsters in their native tongues - replete with trendy leather jacket and wry sense of humour. But the biggest surprise of the show is Billie Piper's performance as the Doctor's "assistant" Rose Tyler. Not only does Piper prove she can hold her own in the company of esteemed actors, but her feisty cockney character shows real depth. Importantly, Rose's relationship with the Doctor is as an equal, rather than just being there to whimper when the aliens show up.

The series begins in present-day London with Rose and the Doctor meeting after Rose's boyfriend (Noel Clarke) starts exhibiting some very strange behaviour. Within minutes you notice something unusual about the show: the special effects are indeed special. Gone are the cardboard sets and naff-looking monsters of old, this time you see London landmarks come under thrilling alien attack, as convincing and exciting as anything shown before in a British TV series.

Much of the credit for this triumphant regeneration goes to writer Russell T Davies. The creator of excellent TV dramas like Queer As Folk and The Second Coming, Davies is both the chief writer and executive producer of this 13-part series of 45-minute episodes. Which means there's a high degree of quality control throughout; the slick, sharp dialogue in particular standing out. Throw in some memorable new characters (Cassandra, "the last human", is a wonderfully creepy and funny creation) and Doctor Who is no longer the domain solely of sci-fi spods, this is must-see TV for everyone. BOYD HILTON

[Des Nilsen]

I read that yesterday and grinned like a bastard. Sounds good dunnit!

:D

-

[skibz]

Ooh, can't wait for this. I just hope they've not changed the theme tune too much...

[Ghost of Troubled Joe]

Sounds marvellous. I can barely contain my excitement- only a very few weeks to go...

[smufflebob]

please be good... please be good... i don't think i can take another McGannish horrorshow

[dan dirty ape]

I've seen a few bits and pieces of it. I work in the library at a post-production place that's been doing some work on it and it does look promising from what little I've seen.

In the same sense that Sam Raimi made the best superhero film in ages with 'Spiderman 2' partly because he's an obvious Spidey fan and it would have been a personal slight to himself to fuck things up, Russell T Davies (a guy who I'm told wrote a published Dr Who novelisation at some ridiculously precocious age, so he knows what he's doing) seems to be the man for the job. The stuff I've seen has a tangible Dr Who feel to it, if you know what I mean.

And there's Cybermen.

[Darrell]

I'm really looking forward to the new series and have every confidence it'll be great, but for Christ's sake don't give anything Boyd Hilton says more exposure that is already has!

[Bert Thung]

Dan, can you give us any details about what you've seen?

I never knew anything about Cybermen.

[Munday's Chylde]

Furthermore, this time around you don't have to be a geek to enjoy it.

Phew!

[dan dirty ape]

Dan, can you give us any details about what you've seen?

I never knew anything about Cybermen.

Only a couple of scenes, one with Eccleston and Piper being held prisoner (?) by some tall lizard-looking aliens in a big hall with huge facial emblems on the walls, which looked a bit like something off the set of 'Caligula'. Eccleston gives the bossman alien a bit of Tom Baker-style backchat. The cybermen I only know about because I logged in a camera rushes tape the other day that said 'Cyberman P.O.V' on it. The transmission date is coming up and there's still apparantley quite a lot of work to be done on it. It's bound to be worked on this week, so I'll try and linger around the machine room and catch some more.

[VegaLA]

That review brought a tear to my eye. Not sure if that was the emotional impact or the fact I have NO IDEA when i'll get to see it on TV !!

[morgs]

I am SO looking forward to this - and if they can hold it back for when I get back from the States in mid-April I will be very grateful!  Never mind.  It could be so good!

[Ambient Sheep]

I am SO looking forward to this - and if they can hold it back for when I get back from the States in mid-April I will be very grateful!  Never mind.  It could be so good!

It's Easter Saturday, innit?  (March 26th?  not sure)

[morgs]

Yeah, that's what I had heard... And I fly out to Oregon on the 21st... Nightmare!  After waiting all this time I am not even around to see th return!

[Clerk]

Autons, daleks and cybermen in the first series ,thing is will they bring in a new master as well at some stage.

[Des Nilsen]

I am SO looking forward to this - and if they can hold it back for when I get back from the States in mid-April I will be very grateful!  Never mind.  It could be so good!

It's Easter Saturday, innit?  (March 26th?  not sure)

That date does seem to be the big day. A recent memo sent out by the BBC (and leaked onto the net) gives that as the start date, with 7pm being the preferred time of transmission.

Also, the press launch is apparently taking place on the 8th March in a hotel near the Millennium Centre in Cardiff. Two trailers will begin showing from either the 5th or the 8th, as will billboard posters.

-

[DonkeyRhubarb]

Autons, daleks and cybermen in the first series ,thing is will they bring in a new master as well at some stage.

Yes! The Master. A quintessential pantomime villain, who would play him though? Surely not Ricky Gervais?

[nixon]

Yes! The Master. A quintessential pantomime villain, who would play him though? Surely not Ricky Gervais?

Ohh.. that would be wonderful wouldn't it?

[Emergency Lalla Ward Ten]

Doctor Who is no longer the domain solely of sci-fi spods, this is must-see TV for everyone.

Making it absolutely clear that *he's* not a sci-fi spod. Not him, oh no.

The 'anorak' associations with DW are quite recent aren't they? In the 70s, everyone used to watch it and there was no real stigma (from what I can tell from the period documentaries on the DVD extras anyway).

[Jemble Fred]

Autons, daleks and cybermen in the first series ,thing is will they bring in a new master as well at some stage.

Yes! The Master. A quintessential pantomime villain, who would play him though? Surely not Ricky Gervais?

Jeremy Irons? – he's not too big for a flashy new series like this.

[Pinball]

I get really tired about "anorak" comments. Whenever an "expert" (shurely ex is a has-been and spurt is a drip under pressure? ;-)  ) discusses the mainstream usage of the Net nowadays, he says something like "it's not just geeks who use it now, it's normal people". Fucking hell! Just because most people are thick as shit doesn't mean brighter people should have to be denigrated, just to make the dullards happier. Fuck them. You also see this at work. Anything complicated - like some twat who can't get a video projector to work with a laptop - and it's a job for the "techies" (a suitably demeaning term has naturally evolved). I've even seen technically minded people not offer to help because of the stigma attached.

I, like many others here, have always been highly interested in technology, and always will be, but I'm not a nerdy feeble geek stereotype. Society should celebrate its elite, not fuck them in the ass. The "geeks" create the future and run the present. Let's hear it for "anoraks"!!

Anyway, it's just blatant marketing spin to increase audience. Let's just hope it doesn't portend dumbing down of the series...

[lankinpark]

The 'anorak' associations with DW are quite recent aren't they? In the 70s, everyone used to watch it and there was no real stigma (from what I can tell from the period documentaries on the DVD extras anyway).

It seems to only be among a certain generation as well. People I was at school with (I was seven when it was cancelled) tended to regard it with the same fondness as Transformers or the A-Team - something that fascinated them as a kid, and that they'd like to see again for nostalgia reasons. I wore a Dalek T-shirt on non-uniform day once, and nobody took the piss out of it.

For anyone much younger, I'd imagine it's seen as something of a legend - after all, there's a ludicrous amount of fuss being made about the new series and the old one's constantly referenced on TV, in magazines and by the man on the street.

[Z/Sb]

After a nine-year hiatus - Paul McGann played the lead in a forgettable special in 1996 - the much-hyped return of rickety sci-fí classic Doctor Who lives up to all expectations: it's every bit as good as its mid-'70s heyday. Furthermore, this time around you don't have to be a geek to enjoy it.

Tossers. Typical gobshite spouting from these magazine hacks. Doesn't matter who/what the subject is: Doctor Who, Bowie, the Beatles - they always seem to say the wrong thing to me. Thankfully I stopped buying and reading overpriced & over-opinionated music magazines 5 years ago. The net changed all that with these forums!

[the hum]

Oooh, Cybermen huh?  Hadn't heard that before.  They anticipation is killing me now more than ever.  Hard to think that it's now nearly a year and a half since it was announced the show was returning, where on earth did I find the patience to wait that long.

[The Man With Brass Eyes]

will they bring in a new master?

Darren Brown.  LOL.


.....

[Bert Thung]

Let's just hope it doesn't portend dumbing down of the series

It's got one of the country's leading dramatists in charge, so I would hope not.

[chav]

The whole "anorak" construct is a child of the late 80s anyway, so it's no wonder that people weren't painted that way in the 70s.

[Bert Thung]

I don't remember hearing that phrase till the nineties.

[weekender]

If anyone's interested, a rip of the first episode of the new series can be found wandering around the internet.

Assuming it's genuine, that is.

[Clerk]

Think I will wait another three weeks rather than hunt the rogue episode down after all waited years for it to be back on telly.