Dr Who anyone?

[spiritdancer]

So? Any of you a fan of the Doctor? Of the New Doctor, meaning anything since 2005? Of Matt Smith?

What do you think of the series?

Of course I love it, because it's not a TV series. Look at the way stories are told. It's very different to anything I know. I'll explain later :)

[HockeyGod]

Oh yes spiritdancer...there are a TON of fans around here  ;D

I'm curious about your comment. When will you explain?  ;)

[spiritdancer]

Dr Who is essentially not a TV Series. It happens to be shown on TV, but since 2005 I'd rather compare it to a comic series. It's action-driven fast-paced, but apart from that, there are elements, that are used in fast succession on the show, that are not as prominent anywhere else.

- Death is not permanent.
Look at the ways of bringing back the Dalek. Again. And again. I love that. Much of the same goes for The Master or the Cybermen.

- Reconning
It's basically built into the show concept. If you're not happy with something that happened in the past? Change it. Find a way to change the continuity. I think that is not a failure, but that is awesome. I have no doubts, that sooner or later (maybe in another incarnation of the show), Galifrey will live and thrive again. The Doctor won't be the last of his kind anymore.

- In-Your-Face characters
Basically what the title says. Of course there are subtle undertones, but the gist of a character is very easy to catch. Archetypes and cliches are used and they are used well.

The whole storytelling is episodic, yet with a plot spanning over the whole season, done better than in most other shows - if those other shows possess such a plot at all. The whole format works like that of a comic. And that without the series comiing actually from a comic.

This most clear contrast to this should be Smallville, I think. Smallville should be like this. But even then it wouldn't be quite as much fun for me.

[elliedark]

I am a HUGE Doctor Who fan, and have been for a little whole now.  Eccleston was my first Doctor (you never forget :3) and I though he was fantastic! Then Tennant came along and did such an amazing job. He portrayed the Doctor perfectly and in such a memorable way that he will live on to become as Iconic as Baker because he IS the Baker of this generation. Tennant not only had the character, but you really got a feel for his emotions, and how powerful they were as a character. I cried at the end of The End of Time when he said "I don't want to go!" because I didn't want him to go either (not to mention Russel T. Davis departing). Then Matt Smith came along and I must say, he definitely makes for a good Doctor, though he still has half a season to go. Right now, I think he's brilliant, but it's still early to tell. As much as I loved Eccleston, I feel he didn't have enough time to develop as much as he could have and I really think he could have gone far, so let's hope Matt Smith gets that time. I think he has potential and a lot of it, but he still has to fill shoes of one of the best Doctors ever (at least in my opinion). Not to mention he'd better last because we're running out of Doctors, which makes me wonder what they're going to do when the time comes for the end of the 12th Doctor. ???

[spiritdancer]

Umm. Running out of Doctors? Care to explain that one?

I am not really sad with RTD's department. He was good, but look who's taken over: Steven Moffat! How can that be bad. He write some of the bestest ( ;) ) episodes ever! BESTEST I TELL YOU! Silence in the Library!

And Matt Smith ... well ... with every episode passing I am warming up more to him. It's just amazing what he can do. It's just not ... always as obvious and "open" as Tennant did things, but if you pay attention, it's nonetheless awesome.

[King_Furby]

Umm. Running out of Doctors? Care to explain that one?

Well it's said a timelord can only regenerate 12 times or something like that, can't remember but is matt is either 10th or 11th. i'm sure if the show lasts that long they will think of something. like the doctors dna is changed so he can regenerate more times.

[elliedark]

Umm. Running out of Doctors? Care to explain that one?

I am not really sad with RTD's department. He was good, but look who's taken over: Steven Moffat! How can that be bad. He write some of the bestest ( ;) ) episodes ever! BESTEST I TELL YOU! Silence in the Library!

And Matt Smith ... well ... with every episode passing I am warming up more to him. It's just amazing what he can do. It's just not ... always as obvious and "open" as Tennant did things, but if you pay attention, it's nonetheless awesome.

Oh, don't get me wrong. I'm glad Moffat took over because if anyone could fill RTD's shoes it's him (Blink anyone? :3). RTD has easily become my favorite writer for the show though, but I will admit that Moffat is definitely good and is doing a fantastic job!

I agree with Matt Smith. The more I watch, the more I am falling in love with him and he is defiantly up there with Tennant, but I still think Tennant has something that Smith is missing. However, that doesn't mean Smith is bad by any stretch of the word, and hopefully he'll stay on for awhile so we can really see how his portrayal advances because he has potential.

Well it's said a timelord can only regenerate 12 times or something like that, can't remember but is matt is either 10th or 11th. i'm sure if the show lasts that long they will think of something. like the doctors dna is changed so he can regenerate more times.

Matt Smith is the 11th incarnation of The Doctor meaning he has regenerated 10 times leaving 2 more. Since it is becoming more popular, they may very well extend him beyond 12 and I'm sure they will have a good reason for it. =D

[spiritdancer]

I am pretty sure, they can make even a bad reason into a good reason! The show is like that! There's a lot of Deus Ex Machina if you look at the episodes closely. Just whipping up an idea, instead of carefully trying to resolve a story, but in the case of The Doctor, that's okay. And why? Because it's always done brilliantly.

[Inkidu]

I am pretty sure, they can make even a bad reason into a good reason! The show is like that! There's a lot of Deus Ex Machina if you look at the episodes closely. Just whipping up an idea, instead of carefully trying to resolve a story, but in the case of The Doctor, that's okay. And why? Because it's always done brilliantly.

Well I'll say this right now:

Deus Ex Machina was made for science fiction. You cannot have a fantastic world where there's all these machines and aliens and new ways of thinking and not have some kind of God answer from some of the fantastical swag. Look at the TARDIS it's deus ex in a blue police box!

[spiritdancer]

Not the TARDIS per se, but how it's used often enough.

I don't have a problem with making things up on the fly, but if a believable explanation is given or hints are given as to what's happening okay. If you just produce stuff randomly? Usually that's not good. Especially in Scifi. But Dr. Who ... I don't really think it is Scifi. It's a fantasy or horror show in a scifi guise maybe. I'd call it Science Fantasy (like so many other shows deemed to be Scifi)

[Inkidu]

Please do not call Dr. Who sci-fantasy. Just don't. It's not just don't. *Twitch*

[spiritdancer]

Sorry, but it is. No. Not sorry. Actually most of the things I like are more in the realm of Science Fantasy, than anything else. Some do better in that regard than others - apart from the Doctor there is for example Riddick. I loved how that movie provided terms, designs and an action driven story reminiscent of a video game. When I saw it for the first time (and I didn't see Pitch Black before it), I actually thought it was a movie for a video game ^^

Back to the Doctor though: I was not too thrilled with the last episode "Cold Blood", the first part of this two-part episode was a lot better. The thing I really liked a lot about it, though, was the very end :D

[Caela]

Hehehe...I am so glad I found this thread! I love the Dr.! I started watching with Eccleston and I'm usually behind since I'm in the states, and worse than that I don't have cable so I have to either have friends record it for me or wait til it comes out on DVD. I usually opt for the latter so I can get the whole season from Netflix at once and do a marathon weekend. :D

I adored Tennant and am reserving judgment on Smith since I've been able to see one episode so far of his. I think he has a lot of potential and will be amazing once I stop trying to compare him to DT.

[spiritdancer]

Oh, I guess the comparison doesn't really matter. You just have to be able to accept change.
And wow, does the Doctor change. A lot.

Now, if only comics could go that way ...

[Caela]

lol...I'm sure I'll accept it once I really get to watch the new season. Right now though it's hard for me not to compare because I've only been able to watch the first episode so Smith hasn't really gotten the chance to stand on his own for me yet.

[GeekFury]

*Runs in waving my 11th Doctors Sonic Screwdriver toy.*

HUGE Doctor Who fan, I blame my mum showing me Tom Bakers run as Doctor Who on video when I was a kid.

*Puts on my Tom Baker Doctor Who Scarf and jumps in the TARDIS*

TALLY HO! Now where did I put my 3D glasses...

[DarklingAlice]

I'd call it Science Fantasy (like so many other shows deemed to be Scifi)

It is totally Science Fantasy! Or to quote a master in the field:

“Doctor Who has never pretended to be hard science fiction. At best Doctor Who is a fairytale, with fairytale logic about this wonderful man in this big blue box who at the beginning of every story lands somewhere where there is a problem…”

http://scifimafia.com/2010/05/neil-gaiman-plays-god-with-doctor-who

[Caela]

Hehehe...a Science Fairytale, I like that!

[RubySlippers]

The series went downhill after Tom Baker and the new series is a fraking abomination of the noblle lineage of the haory series the longest run of any sci-fi series in TV.

Come on this started with the TIME LORDS the masters of time and space losing to the Daleks which was stopped by The Doctor (Baker) working for the Celestial Intervention Agency - hello no contest.

And the source of the Time Lords Time Power was a black hole every real fan knows that from the real Dr Who series.

Add to that the episodes are to short I liked the MOVIE length version you could get into the plot and have real character development, the Doctor is into hanky panky now come on that is beneath consideration and there has to be a Time Lord left Romana in E-Space likely wasn't taken out she was not in N-Space unless the Daleks went over there just to kill her.

Overall save for the special effects it was so sad to watch.

And about the Doctors every FAN knows the Time Lords get TWELVE regenerations the Master managed that trick with the use of very powerful alien magic and taking over the body of a hostto get a THIRTEENTH. So technically he should be dying off soon for good unless they mess around with that to. (grrrrrrr)

[Callie Del Noire]

The series went downhill after Tom Baker and the new series is a fraking abomination of the noblle lineage of the haory series the longest run of any sci-fi series in TV.

Come on this started with the TIME LORDS the masters of time and space losing to the Daleks which was stopped by The Doctor (Baker) working for the Celestial Intervention Agency - hello no contest.

And the source of the Time Lords Time Power was a black hole every real fan knows that from the real Dr Who series.

Add to that the episodes are to short I liked the MOVIE length version you could get into the plot and have real character development, the Doctor is into hanky panky now come on that is beneath consideration and there has to be a Time Lord left Romana in E-Space likely wasn't taken out she was not in N-Space unless the Daleks went over there just to kill her.

Overall save for the special effects it was so sad to watch.

And about the Doctors every FAN knows the Time Lords get TWELVE regenerations the Master managed that trick with the use of very powerful alien magic and taking over the body of a hostto get a THIRTEENTH. So technically he should be dying off soon for good unless they mess around with that to. (grrrrrrr)

Don't be hating Ruby. :D

I remember Baker nearly killing the series when he tried to stall things out to keep his girl on the show.

It's not the OLD doctor, but it's not all bad. Just settle back and and smile, and remind yourself that it could be worse. The US deal could have gone thru and FOX would be making the Doctor now. (Of course they would have cancelled the show for a reality TV show sometime halfway thru the second season)

[Caela]

Don't be hating Ruby. :D

I remember Baker nearly killing the series when he tried to stall things out to keep his girl on the show.

It's not the OLD doctor, but it's not all bad. Just settle back and and smile, and remind yourself that it could be worse. The US deal could have gone thru and FOX would be making the Doctor now. (Of course they would have cancelled the show for a reality TV show sometime halfway thru the second season)

Ackkkkkk, the very idea of FOX producing the Doctor.....noooooooooooooo...and I live in the US! lol

[Callie Del Noire]

Ackkkkkk, the very idea of FOX producing the Doctor.....noooooooooooooo...and I live in the US! lol

They did a PILOT .. be afraid.. be VERY afraid. I saw it.. but it's in the 'Highlander 2' file. It NEVER REALLY happened.

[Caela]

They can make as many pilots as they long...so long as it never makes it to TV i'll call it good!

[Neroon]

OK, I'm probably showing my age here, but I can actually remember when police boxes existed outside of a television studio.  There was one by the clock tower on Lewisham high street when I was a kid and I can remember watching it very carefully whenever we went there shopping, in case the Doctor stepped out of it.  I imagine that admitting that the Doctor I was thinking about was the Patrick Troughton incarnation may well age me even more.

It has been said that your first Doctor is like your first love; you never forget and good though the others may be, thay have to do a great deal to eclipse the first.  Personally, I take that with a pinch of salt, as much fondness as I might have for the Troughton years, I have to say that there were better periods in the programme's history.

At it's best, Doctor Who managed to combine a genuine sense of peril with a sense of fun that appealed to children of all ages.  Hard SF it isn't and never has been; it was Poul Anderson who gave a  very good argument for considering anything involving time travel as fantasy and not SF, though I have to admit I haven't the faintest idea what that argument was.  All I remember was that it impressed me greatly when I read it.

For me, the real issue is whether the "New Who" holds true to the spirit of the old or not.  I'll leave debates of whether there's only one other incarnation left or not to the continuity nazis as, frankly, such things are beside the point.  From its earliest beginnings, the show made it up as it went along.  The whole reincarnation thing was a masterstroke of invention produced to conveniently explain changing Hartnell for Troughton.  Later, to explain the Master's decrepit appearance in The Deadly Assassin the idea of twelve incarnations was invented.  I see no reason why the programme should not just quietly ignore this or pull out one of the dei ex machinae of which the modern form of the show is so fond to explain this away.

If the idea of this raises your hackles, well remember that the daleks were utterly destroyed in their very first storyline and yet were able to return when children all over Britain took to wandering around school playgrounds with cardboard boxes on their heads grating in mechanical voices, "exterminate".  Likewise, the cybermen somehow found a way back from final death in their first adventure to return and then from a different home planet, from Telos, rather than Mondas.  The programme makers feel free to reinvent the history of the show as they need to to make it relevant and enjoyable to each generation and more power to them for doing so.  It was only during the dark ages of the eighties and early nineties, when the hierarchy at Auntie Beeb decreed that the show had to be lighter and less scary that it lost its way.

In the "New Who" the show has returned to it's roots.  It might have lost the multi-part format, it might have buggered with continuity and created all sorts of other issues with the possibility of hanky-panky in the Tardis (though admittedly, in my teenage years I would so readily have "done" Sarah Jane, Leela, Romana and one or two others and thought that the Doctor must have had superhuman self restraint not to have done the same) but in the end, it shares the same spirit as the original.  And for that, I am glad.

[spiritdancer]

And as fr the the continuity "problems" - and the fanboy wars fought over The Doctor, or rather the doctors, well ...
... as I said. It's not really a TV show. It's a comic. And that's the highest praise I can offer to any show. It's a comic, and because of that there are those "problems" and there are those fanboy (and fangirl) wars. It's awesome.

On a podcast (not a Dr. Who podcast. I don't listen to those, yet) I listen to the folks said: It's the best show on TV currently, rivaling the quality of The Twilight Zone. And for me, that is so, totally true!