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March 28, 2024, 08:27:48 PM

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Old Doctor Who - Part 4

Started by Ambient Sheep, June 04, 2020, 11:02:35 PM

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Malcy

I'm quite behind on the animations. Well I have the Evil Of The Daleks Blu-ray still unopened on the shelf and not got Galaxy 4 yet but think I've seen the rest that have been released. Is there still a fair bit to be animated?

I know the animation teams have said that historicals are a nightmare to do and would be last to be done but surely for the sake of completion there must be some sort of plan in motion to finish them? Was looking forward to finally 'seeing' The Highlanders eventually, same for TDMP.

Alberon

Of the 2nd Doctor there's just The Highlanders, The Underwater Menace, The Wheel in Space and The Space Pirates.

For the 1st Doctor there's Marco Polo, The Crusade, Mission to the Unknown, The Myth Makers, The Daleks Master Plan, The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve, The Celestial Toymaker, The Savages and The Smugglers.

JamesTC

Charles Norton (who was involved in many of the animations) has commented that in his view, the four stories that are really difficult if not impossible to do are Marco Polo (complexity/length), The Crusade (complexity), The Daleks' Master Plan (complexity/length) and The Highlanders (complexity). Tartan is incredibly difficult to animate, so much so that they decided to remove Troughton's tartan trousers when doing the special edition of The Power of the Daleks.

Mark Ayres has also commented that part of the motivation for the choices of stories they have animated up to now has been the quality of the surviving audio. It is fair to say that they have mostly covered the stories with the highest quality surviving audio.

The thinking with the Web animation was that it was all about the initial cost of setting it up, but then in theory could be cheaper to do and would also enable them to do some of the more complex stories that may have been near impossible with 2D animation. Perhaps through this method we might see The Underwater Menace and The Crusade animated, however I don't imagine the budget would cover more unless there was outside investment.

Alberon

Maybe we should switch to puppets for the remaining stories.

pigamus

What do BBC America get out of it? Is there much call for Bill Hartnell audios in Poughkeepsie?

JamesTC

Quote from: pigamus on January 12, 2022, 11:00:52 PMWhat do BBC America get out of it? Is there much call for Bill Hartnell audios in Poughkeepsie?

They air them. I think as omnibus editions. Must have done well to get this far.

I can't remember who it was who said it, but I recently heard it said in a podcast that the animations were commissioned by BBC America essentially to fill the gap between new series episodes. I wonder if the upcoming reboot means that BBC America just want to wait it out for the relaunch. Or maybe Bad Wolf Productions are shopping Doctor Who around to other networks in America.

Alberon

Good point, it could be Bad Wolf that has called a halt, at least for now, to the animations.

All the spin-offs could be going through as big a production shakeup as the main show.

Malcy

Quote from: Alberon on January 12, 2022, 10:48:32 PMOf the 2nd Doctor there's just The Highlanders, The Underwater Menace, The Wheel in Space and The Space Pirates.

For the 1st Doctor there's Marco Polo, The Crusade, Mission to the Unknown, The Myth Makers, The Daleks Master Plan, The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve, The Celestial Toymaker, The Savages and The Smugglers.

Thanks for that. More than i thought. I've always wanted to see The Celestial Toymaker. I had a Doctor Who annual in the 90's that was so full of colour pictures from the Hartnell/Troughton-era that I thought it had been broadcast in colour.

It was disappointing when i was older and learned that these things not only didn't exist anymore but weren't even in colour! Wish The Sea Devils hadn't been in colour. There was pics from that in the annual too and I used to cover them up as they absolutely terrified me. I wonder if i could find that annual now.

Here it is. Bold choice for the 8th Doctor back in 93(?)




Malcy

Quote from: JamesTC on January 12, 2022, 10:54:34 PMMark Ayres has also commented that part of the motivation for the choices of stories they have animated up to now has been the quality of the surviving audio. It is fair to say that they have mostly covered the stories with the highest quality surviving audio.

The audio is what it is and we are incredibly lucky to even have that. I wouldn't be massively bothered by not so great audio if we got  some sort of video to go with it.

I struggle with BF audios and find that the best way I can concentrate on them is to play solitaire on my iPad while listening. Having any kind of animation would keep my attention in a way that the audios and to an extent the recons don't.

Even Star Trek has recently used audio that I was surprised wasn't all that great in quality
Spoiler alert
by incorporating dialouge from TOS into Prodigy that sounded quite bad to the point that knowing they would have access to the best available surprised me.
[close]

The Giggling Bean

The most baffling thing about this to me is Galaxy 4. If it was known that the animations were going to end, why take the time, effort and cost to create Hartnell assets instead of completing Wheel in Space? There's already a cut down of episode 1, it has the Cybermen as a draw and the assets for the Doctor and Jamie already exist. It seems odd that the penultimate animation would be an obscure Hartnell story.

I'm hoping that there's been negotiations for an alternative funding source. It would be a shame to end it when the momentum was building.

I'm sure this will just be a delay and we'll get more in the future. I just wonder how long the wait will be.

Replies From View

Galaxy 4 may have been a (somewhat misguided and presumptuous) test for whether people are as keen to buy Hartnell stories as they are Troughton ones.

A lot of the fan sites were saying "buy Galaxy 4 to show that there is appetite for Daleks Master Plan" and things like this.

Maybe there were plans to continue but sales have been poor.  Anyone know?

Replies From View

I do find the absence of Wheel in Space quite aggrieving, to be honest.  It's the final remaining Cybermen story and its completion using animation (and a studio that already has those "assets" as they call them, rather than needing to start again from scratch) should be a no-brainer.

The Giggling Bean

Quote from: Replies From View on January 13, 2022, 12:22:29 PMI do find the absence of Wheel in Space quite aggrieving, to be honest.  It's the final remaining Cybermen story and its completion using animation (and a studio that already has those "assets" as they call them, rather than needing to start again from scratch) should be a no-brainer.

Exactly, as nice as it was to have Galaxy 4, I'm sure if it was put to a vote Wheel would have won. The fact that a cut down of episode 1 exists makes the missed opportunity sting a bit more.

Norton Canes

If for some unfathomable reason they want to continue producing these sub-Hanna-Barbera atrocities, can't they just crowdfund them?

Replies From View

Quote from: Norton Canes on January 13, 2022, 12:56:15 PMIf for some unfathomable reason they want to continue producing these sub-Hanna-Barbera atrocities, can't they just crowdfund them?

Or con Korea into doing them for free.

They could surely slip a few seconds here and there into batches of Simpsons episodes; the animators wouldn't even know it was happening until it was too late.

Replies From View

The Radio Times have reported on it, without being able to confirm it:  https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/doctor-who-animated-episodes-cancelled-newsupdate/

I've decided to convince myself that some missing episodes have recently been discovered and they're holding onto them - and doing no more animations in the meantime - until a 60th anniversary release.  THIS MINDSET WILL NOT END BADLY

Replies From View


JamesTC

Bet they find an already animated episode next. Nailed on for another Galaxy 4 episode.

Replies From View

Ah yeah that would be so awesome.

JamesTC

Season 22 set announced.

Featuring all the stories you remember such as Slipback, The Colin Baker Years and A Fix with Sontarans. It also includes a commentary with Gareth Jenkins.

But seriously, this is my favourite season, so I am really excited for this one.

Norton Canes

Nice to be able to watch some decent newly-made Doctor Who for a change. Nicola Bryant looks absolutely amazing.

Bad Ambassador

The surprise interview subject, as given away in the promotional video, is
Spoiler alert
Michael Grade.
[close]

Replies From View

'The Colin Baker Years' (his links from the VHS) are great nostalgia:  https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7yoesc


I'm glad that 'A Fix with Sontarans' hasn't been permanently erased from history, and that it has been given a commentary for context.

Gareth Jenkins, though.  Has the worst boy ever transmogrified into the worse man ever?  Bit disappointed that people will need to purchase this release to find out.

JamesTC

So Michael Grade, first question, why are you such a cunt?

Deanjam

Quote from: Norton Canes on January 20, 2022, 03:39:31 PMNicola Bryant looks absolutely amazing.

I find her even hotter now than before. Anyway, not a huge fan of this season, but I've pre-ordered it for the collection. And yes, that was a great trailer.

purlieu

New Targets!

The Eaters of Light
The Fires of Pompeii
The Zygon Invasion

The Stones of Blood and The Androids of Tara, based on audiobook versions by David Fisher rather than Uncle Terry's earlier versions.

Norton Canes

Need to catch up on a few of these. Eaters of Light potentially the pick of that lot. Didn't realise it was alternate versions of the KTT stories, could be interesting.

Replies From View

Love how their appearance in Target form transmogrifies them into Old Doctor Who.

Bad Ambassador

Forces TV has picked up the series for repeats, it appears, starting on Wednesday 16 February with Spearhead from Space. It looks like Who takes over the slot occupied by Blake's 7, and will air two episodes a day at breakfast, lunchtime and mid-evening.

https://www.tvzoneuk.com/post/drwho-classicforcestv

Norton Canes

Chap with the turban there, five rounds rapid!