Doctor Who thread II: "I should have a hat like that." [SPOILERS]

[Androgeus]

The film will probably be so bad I'll have no choice but to love it.

[Thufir]

This is the most worrying line of the whole thing:
'It needs quite a radical transformation to take it into the bigger arena.'


No, Doctor Who does not need a radical transformation. Not by any stretch of the imagination.

Well, yes, it kind of does. Because TV and film are not the same medium, albeit they're rather similar. Doctor Who works very well in an episodic format, but would not work quite the same way in a film. For one thing, one of the big appeals of Doctor Who is that it can be always changing, as the Doctor travels through time and lands himself in as diverse a variety of situations as you can imagine (I think Curly said something about this at some point). And while the individual episodes are good and the Doctor is always the Doctor, one of the big things that really makes the show and gets across the character of the madman in a box flying through space and time on whimsy, never stopping, is the fact that everything changes from episode to episode. A film will have great difficulty doing that, as it can only tell one story. So, yes, they need to do something different if they want it to work.

[Eldan]

Hehe.

I can see it already.
Keanu Reeves as the Doctor! Megan Fox as his companion! Directed by Michael Bay! Everything explodes, forever!

[Fortuna]

Hehe.

I can see it already.
Keanu Reeves as the Doctor! Megan Fox as his companion! Directed by Michael Bay! Everything explodes, forever!

Speaking with Bill and Ted in my mind, that's only 3/4 awful. The other quarter makes up for it.

[Abrexa]

I'm looking for a new series to watch, so...

I heard of it, and it seems to be a good one, is it?

[Eldan]

It's a matter of taste. Many people love it, some people hate it, and in addition, the quality varies a lot from episode to episode, since authors, directors and actors change freely.

To remember:
There is not really a given setting, nor even always an ongoing story. Many episodes are set in a new location, a new time, a new setting, with new characters, other than between one and three recurring ones.

It is so soft, on the scale of Sci-Fi hardness that it's debatable whether it is still Sci-Fi anymore. Every monster you can think of has probably shown up at some place in the show. As have psychic powers and technology so advanced it might as well be called magic.

The back catalogue: this show has been around, with breaks, since the sixties. There's hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of episodes. I'd recommend starting with what fans call NuWho, the relaunch from 2005. Old special effects and slow pacing aren't for everyone.


At it's core, the show is a highly emotional adventure show. A slightly mad but brilliant (and loveable, really, at least in the newer incarnation) humanoid alien travels the universe in his time machine/space ship, visiting all the places that interest him or need his help. He usually takes a human or two along, mainly since showing the universe to someone else is more interesting than doing it alone, and since he wants someone to admire his brilliance.
He ends wars, saves children, battles monsters, stops catastrophes and goes sight-seeing. The show spans the entire emotional spectrum while doing it: crushingly sad, brilliantly euphoric, dark (though rarely, it is still a children's show as well). When it hits the high points, it does so better than pretty much anything. If it misses, it's still pretty good, most of the time. There are maybe two or three episodes over the new run that are really bad.

[Abrexa]

Ah. So, I should look for Season I, yes?

[Eldan]

They use the English terminology "Series", but yes. It's a good, fresh start. All new-actors, slightly cleaned-up universe, and since it starts at zero, you don't need to know anything about the setting, really. Just be a bit patient with the first episode (the one set on Earth), it takes a while to really know where it's going.

[Weezer]

Ah. So, I should look for Season I, yes?

Actually I would recommend starting with series 5 episode 1, the Eleventh Hour. The first series has a lot of problems with it that make it hard to get into, the writing is sub-par, the production values are extremely low and the supporting cast is pretty bad. That's not to say that season one isn't enjoyable, it is and has one of my favorite eposdes in it, however it doesn't do a good job at hooking new watchers.
In series 5 there is an entirely new cast, new writers and new production crew that makes the whole show a lot more approachable. Since there is a complete cast change they explain all of the important bits of the Doctor and the show, so it isn't confusing.
This is how I got my ex and my mom hooked on the show, seasons 5-6 followed by going back and watching 1-4.
It's kind of emblematic of the shows nature that you can jump in at series 5 and still have it work.

[zingbat]

Hehe.

I can see it already.
Keanu Reeves as the Doctor! Megan Fox as his companion! Directed by Michael Bay! Everything explodes, forever!

The Doctor fixes the Chameleon Circuit and the TARDIS becomes the most heavily-armed battleship the universe has ever seen! Cities explode! Planets explode! Stars explode! The TARDIS AI is voiced by Chris Rock! All the previous versions of the Doctor are mind-controlled by alien parasites! DOCTOR DEATH MATCH! THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE!!!

I have to stop now. I'm scaring myself.

[Dienekes]

The Doctor fixes the Chameleon Circuit and the TARDIS becomes the most heavily-armed battleship the universe has ever seen! Cities explode! Planets explode! Stars explode! The TARDIS AI is voiced by Chris Rock! All the previous versions of the Doctor are mind-controlled by alien parasites! DOCTOR DEATH MATCH! THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE!!!

I have to stop now. I'm scaring myself.

I'd watch this. Way I figure, if you're going to mess up, mess up big.

[Eldan]

Maybe they are casting Tennant for the movie! /Fanboy

[Kato]

The Doctor fixes the Chameleon Circuit and the TARDIS becomes the most heavily-armed battleship the universe has ever seen! Cities explode! Planets explode! Stars explode! The TARDIS AI is voiced by Chris Rock! All the previous versions of the Doctor are mind-controlled by alien parasites! DOCTOR DEATH MATCH! THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE!!!

I have to stop now. I'm scaring myself.

Chris Rock? Really? That's the best you can come up with for a TARDIS AI? I want some epic new Master to show up and set the universe ON FIRE! Though I couldn't decide on whom.

[Eldan]

Oh, sure. Samuel L. Jackson as the Master. Nicolas Cage as the Doctor. Neil Patrick Harris as Captain Jack.

[KillianHawkeye]

Oh, sure. Samuel L. Jackson as the Master. Nicolas Cage as the Doctor. Neil Patrick Harris as Captain Jack.

I would SO watch that!

[zingbat]

Chris Rock? Really? That's the best you can come up with for a TARDIS AI? I want some epic new Master to show up and set the universe ON FIRE! Though I couldn't decide on whom.

Well, if he's not available we're looking at Chris Tucker. You know, an eccentric Brit and his smart-mouthed African-American sidekick/explosion-making deathship kind of deal. There will be hilarious cultural clashes, as Doctor Who praises tea and the Queen, while the TARDIS is all "jive-talkin'" about the ghetto and such, and hitting on Doctor Who's girl, of course.

[Telonius]

Speaking with Bill and Ted in my mind, that's only 3/4 awful. The other quarter makes up for it.

George Carlin would have made an awesome Master...

[The_Admiral]

http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/The_Doctor%27s_Wife would like to disagree with your casting

[Eldan]

http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/The_Doctor%27s_Wife would like to disagree with your casting

That's old boring British TV Who.
This is new cool American Movie Who.

[Sunken Valley]

I return!

I recently found A Mary Sue test. I performed it on River and the Doctor. The Doctor got 69. River on the other hand, got an outrageous 89. A while ago, I accused River of being a sue. I was right.

Arguably this can be taken with a pinch of salt. River and the Doctor ticked a lot of boxes due to their race and time travelling. But still...

[Dienekes]

Well, I could talk about how putting trust in some random internet test to determine anything is a bit ridiculous. But I'm more curious on what you're adding in, I tired the test for the Doctor and got in the 90s.

[Eldan]

I got 148 for the Doctor.

Seriously, he ticks more than half the boxes.

I still love him.

[Weezer]

I got 99 for the doctor, I think my favorite question was:

"Does the character have an appearance unsuited to the time or place (e.g. perfect hair prior to the invention of shampoo, a woman wearing pants in 1805, etc.)?"

The Doctor has a wardrobe that is suited to no time or place.

[Eldan]

Some questions also depend on whether or not you consider some things canon.

I.e. "Is the character half-human, half-super race?"

[Androgeus]

Some questions also depend on whether or not you consider some things canon.

I.e. "Is the character half-human, half-super race?"

what movie with Paul Mcgann as the 8th Doctor, that definitely wasn't released in 1996 and didn't revel that the doctor was human?

[Gilphon]

Personally, I got 69 for River and 130 for The Doctor.

[Raddish]

I got 75 out of that for the Doctor. I don'tt hink it's that good as a guide really, I am not sure the scores are anywhere high enough to actually have a character that comes in as an anti-sue.

There is also the fact that the longer a character has existed for the more things on that list they are likely to add to their score.

[Sanguine]

I got 113 for the Doctor and something in the high 70s for River.

[Abrexa]

Actually I would recommend starting with series 5 episode 1, the Eleventh Hour. The first series has a lot of problems with it that make it hard to get into, the writing is sub-par, the production values are extremely low and the supporting cast is pretty bad. That's not to say that season one isn't enjoyable, it is and has one of my favorite eposdes in it, however it doesn't do a good job at hooking new watchers.
In series 5 there is an entirely new cast, new writers and new production crew that makes the whole show a lot more approachable. Since there is a complete cast change they explain all of the important bits of the Doctor and the show, so it isn't confusing.

I tried to search, butI got lost what is first season/series, what not, why some shops have only ninth season, what is recommended order of wiew, and why I can't find season five anywhere

[Eldan]

You have to search for "Series", not "Season". English shows call them Series.

See this is the list of everything Who-related. The show stopped in 1989, and wasn't resumed until 2005, which is where I recommended starting.

What you are looking for is either Series 1, or, if you want the newest Doctor and another minor restart of the show, Series 5. There are currently 6 series of the new show, and a few TV movies.