Doctor Who

[Arrow]

So, a couple of episodes make it some of the best stuff on TV?

Just out of curiosity, do you guys watch any good TV? XD Admittedly I watch more non-fiction than anything else which cannot really be compared.

Is it not mostly a case that it's the best sci-fi/fantasy on tv? Because, that isn't hard. I think calling it some of the best stuff on TV is a tad ridiculous, even when you remove all the high-budget US stuff that it has no hope in hell of contending with...

[The Conductor]

Doctor Who has a timeless quality I think; My Gramps watched and loved the Hartnell-Troughton years, my Dad watched and loved the Pertwee-Baker years and now I love the McGann-Tennat years. It's hard to describe but alot of the episodes have a sort of booming heart racing quality and others have a kind of quiet brilliance about them, and most have that kind of delicious cheeseyness and it damn well knows it.

[Frobman]

Just out of curiosity, do you guys watch any good TV? XD Admittedly I watch more non-fiction than anything else which cannot really be compared.

Funny enough, I think good television is a rare thing now. Heh.

But for me, it's one of the better stuff on TV, no matter what can seem stupid to the casual public. Some well written characters, plots, events, and there're always something that reels me in, to be engaged with all that.

Other stuff on TV like most soaps, talk shows or reality TV are never that interesting from what I saw, which might mean why I like more fiction series like Doctor Who, Star Trek, Red Dwarf, the odd sitcoms, cartoons and all that. But that's just me! My taste in stuff is never shared with the vast majority.

[Patticus]

So, a couple of episodes make it some of the best stuff on TV?

No. What I meant was that when Doctor Who's writing and acting come together and shine, those episodes (Human Nature/Family Of Blood, Girl In The Fireplace, Blink, Impossible Planet/Satan Pit and The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances to name but a few) easily rival anything else of a very high standard on television; The Wire, Battlestar Galactica et al. That doesn't mean that all of the various seasons of the show are of that standard, because they're so blatantly not, but those few episodes to me are worth enduring a season of pap for. Televisual diamonds in the rough.

And if you know who the good writers are, if you so wish you can simply ignore the show until the dates of the episodes they wrote come up.

[TheGerkuman]

To be fair, since about half was written by RTD and his close compatriots, and the other half by Moffat and Co, it's less diamonds in the rough and more like eating a box of licorish allsorts. XD

[Leon K Fox]

Am I the only person who thinks Doctor Who is awful?

I feel left out. Am I missing something? Like, I figure you probably have to look past the appaulingly low budget and bad acting and fans are awear of it's faults but it has charm somewhere. But seriously, what is the appeal?

The wonderful storylines, great acting on the main characters, how the Doctor's character can change so much but stay the same at the same time (both in apperance and personality) the awesome monsters such as The Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans etc (this all applies to both the classic and modern series)

so yes, there is plenty of appeal.

Just out of curiosity, do you guys watch any good TV? XD Admittedly I watch more non-fiction than anything else which cannot really be compared.

Is it not mostly a case that it's the best sci-fi/fantasy on tv? Because, that isn't hard. I think calling it some of the best stuff on TV is a tad ridiculous, even when you remove all the high-budget US stuff that it has no hope in hell of contending with...

Would it kill you to be a little bit more objective, seriously? What you define as "good TV" is not what everyone else considers to be as such :/ I think most sci fi tv shows suck but I adore Doctor Who for example.

Also, a show's budget does not = quality, never has and never will, the same goes for the movies, video games etc.

eugh....statements like this aggravate me beyond words

Edited August 13, 2009 by Leon K Fox

[Arrow]

Don't be aggravated that I disagree with you! Everyone else was mature and nice about it.

Someone said Dr Who was one of the best things on TV. That was hardly objective, not that I think it matters, but don't jump on my back about it. Especially when I went on to make it more objective, if you go look, because I brought up comparisons. I started that I felt Dr Who lacks sensibility, good acting and acceptable special effects. I can't say much for the story line because it's hard to watch enough to work it out, given it's off putting flaws. (Speaking of which, this is why I don't understand the logic Ashurbanipal brought up on the end of the previous page. How do you get INTO the show to start with if it's mostly poop?)

I think I was particularly nice about the way I asked what appeal the show has. No, budget does not equal quality, but the high budget US dramas around at the moment are extraordinarily good. The audience is expecting higher and higher quality special effects, art direction, photography, etc. Film qualities standards are now not uncommon on our tv screens. Saying that, like I said before, I feel a bit left out because Dr Who is so popular and I just can't work out why! I can only assume it's because it's rare to find such a high quality sci fi on tv these days. Where as, medical dramas for example, there are a few good ones, many bad ones and a couple of extraordinary ones. (House<3)

I find it difficult to take Dr Who seriously due to it's very poor budgeting. I am sure I could make better costumes and special effects! ...But I suspect that is perhaps part of it's charm with some individuals. I ackowledged this previously also.

Anyway, I'll leave you lot be.

Edited August 13, 2009 by Arrow

[Patticus]

Someone said Dr Who was one of the best things on TV.

At its best, it is. At its best. Not all the time, or even half the time.

[Leon K Fox]

It was the fact that you said "do you guys watch any good tv?" in the way you did, as if your idea of "good tv" was fact, but whatever.

[JezMM]

The reason people love Doctor Who is the same reason people love theatre even though cinemas and movies exist now. Same reason some people still listen to records, despite many golden oldies being avaliable in high quality mp3 formats for download.

Just because there is better, the lesser stuff can still have a charm to them, a timeless quality, and Doctor Who works off that to the very limit.

As for your question, how does one get into it? I'm not really sure. I was never a fan of Doctor Who before Series 1 of the modern version started. The first ep was very meh, so was the second. On and on these "meh" episodes went (except the third, I <3 Dickens).

...Yet I was still watching them. Call it some kind of sixth sense, but I could tell the show had potential, and boy was I rewarded for sticking with it. In fact, it wasn't until episode 6 that the show really hooked me.

A lot of people who got into the modern series though started with David Tennant's appearence. That series got a much bigger budget, and the christmas special was watched by tons of people.

Also, Doctor Who is VERY British. I'm not a very patriotic person, but hell if I don't feel proud to be from the UK when I watch it for some reason.

Edited August 14, 2009 by JezMM

[Gabz Girl]

Am I the only person who thinks Doctor Who is awful?

I feel left out. Am I missing something? Like, I figure you probably have to look past the appaulingly low budget and bad acting and fans are awear of it's faults but it has charm somewhere. But seriously, what is the appeal?

Have you seen Eastenders by any chance?

Not that I mind your opinion or anything but...just wondering. =3

Doctor Who >>>>>>> Eastenders ANY DAY.

[Sean]

Well, I got around to watching the first episode of series 1 finally.

It was a bit campy and borderline goofy, but I really quite enjoyed it. I'm neither a TV nor sci-fi buff, but so far, it seems that I'll be following this for a bit to see where it is heading.

I'm also really liking the ninth doctor's personality and acting - I'll be sad to see Eccleston leave after only one season. Can't really come up with much of an opinion about Rose yet, though.

[Arrow]

Have you seen Eastenders by any chance?

Not that I mind your opinion or anything but...just wondering. =3

Doctor Who >>>>>>> Eastenders ANY DAY.

I'd actually say Eastenders, despite being awful, is better than Dr Who. XD

The reason people love Doctor Who is the same reason people love theatre even though cinemas and movies exist now. Same reason some people still listen to records, despite many golden oldies being avaliable in high quality mp3 formats for download.

Just because there is better, the lesser stuff can still have a charm to them, a timeless quality, and Doctor Who works off that to the very limit.

I think this is a bad comparison as Theatre is an entirely different experiance to film, as it is an interactive, live performance where all the affects are physically real. Theatre is an art form in itself.

As for people who still buy records, they will claim they are better quality (becausetheyarestupid), but it's still a bad comparison.

A better comparison would be that people still play very basic games like, I dunno, Tetris or Pacman over modern fancy ones.

Edited August 14, 2009 by Arrow

[JezMM]

I think this is a bad comparison as Theatre is an entirely different experiance to film, as it is an interactive, live performance where all the affects are physically real. Theatre is an art form in itself.

As for people who still buy records, they will claim they are better quality (becausetheyarestupid), but it's still a bad comparison.

A better comparison would be that people still play very basic games like, I dunno, Tetris or Pacman over modern fancy ones.

Aha, I agree then actually.

I guess on that policy, Doctor Who for TV would be kind of like Mega Man 9 (or any faithful continuation of an old series) with N64 quality graphics rather than 360 quality graphics.

[EuroMIX]

I'm also really liking the ninth doctor's personality and acting - I'll be sad to see Eccleston leave after only one season. Can't really come up with much of an opinion about Rose yet, though.

Eccleston is indeed quite awesome, I personally prefer him to Tennant a bit. The first episode 'Rose' and the second 'The End Of The World' form a loose two parter. Rose introduces the Doctor and his time travelling world well and in a comfortable and relevant setting, TEOTW then let's us leave this comfort zone and see the world beyond ours, experiencing what could be out there through the eyes of Rose who is overwhelmed.

[TheGerkuman]

They're awesome in different ways, as far as I'm concerned. But then, I liked all the doctors. XD

[Sean]

I can't really judge, since Eccleston is the only doctor so far I'm familiar with. I watched a few more episodes, but I'm really enjoying the stories, and especially the personality of the ninth doctor, so it makes me wish that I could see more of him beyond the first season I am watching.

Rose is starting to grow on me, I expected her to be an annoying tag-along, but she's not really turning out to be that.

[TitanFifty]

Keep sticking til eventually you watch The Empty Child

Trust me, that episode (and its sequal) is one of the finest things I've seen on TV

[The Conductor]

GO TO YOUR ROOM!

EDIT: Rather than make a new post.

I was watching Scream of the Shalka the other day and I think it is odd in that it has the kind of...feel of the old series yet the pacing of the new.

It is an excelent place for a person to cross over from the new to old series or old to new (despite not being cannon unless you buy into my theory above).

Edited August 14, 2009 by The Conductor

[Sean]

The Conductor, can you please put more effort into your post than that? That just looks like a spammy message to me. Thanks.

[The Conductor]

"Well, perfect to look at, maybe. And it was, it was beautiful. They used to call it the Shining World of the Seven Systems. And on the continent of Wild Endeavour, in the mountains of Solace and Solitude, there stood the Citadel of the Time Lords."

~The Doctor

Gallifrey was a planet located in the Mutters Spiral of the constellation of Kasterborous. The planet exists in its own

[Gabz Girl]

Thanks for that...interesting article about Gallifrey, The Conductor. ^ ^;

I'd actually say Eastenders, despite being awful, is better than Dr Who. XD

*turns into stone* I-I can't believe it..!

What about Torchwood? Ever seen that? =P

Maybe we should make a Torchwood topic too! That is, if anyone here even watches Torchwood and thinks it's better than Dr Who.

Me? From what I heard it sounds very obnoxious and trying too hard to be adult. But then I see previews and I think it looks quite cool. O.O Huh, maybe I should just give it a look someday...

[JezMM]

Thanks for that...interesting article about Gallifrey, The Conductor. ^ ^;

*turns into stone* I-I can't believe it..!

What about Torchwood? Ever seen that? =P

Maybe we should make a Torchwood topic too! That is, if anyone here even watches Torchwood and thinks it's better than Dr Who.

Me? From what I heard it sounds very obnoxious and trying too hard to be adult. But then I see previews and I think it looks quite cool. O.O Huh, maybe I should just give it a look someday...

When Torchwood is bad, it's really bad. Putrid, horrible.

But when it's good, it's REALLY good. Similar to Doctor Who, but Torchwood's worse is much worse than Doctor Who's.

The recent series "Children Of The Earth" was fantastic until Russel T Davies did his standard "stupid happy ending magic" (seriously,

why did the soldiers just stop attacking, and Gwen start praising the kids when from their point of view, all they knew had happened was the kids stopping and screaming for a bit?

).

Admittidly he didn't go overboard with it like he often does with Doctor Who, but still.

[Sean]

Ha ha! Simon Pegg actually showed up in an episode of Doctor Who. Fantastic!

I've come across my first annoyance for the series: those tag-alongs that the doctor ends up giving a lift throughout his travels. I'm happy that they ditched Adam after only two episodes, though I'll have to see more of Jack to see whether my initial annoyance of him is justified or not.

[Frobman]

Ha ha! Simon Pegg actually showed up in an episode of Doctor Who. Fantastic!

I've come across my first annoyance for the series: those tag-alongs that the doctor ends up giving a lift throughout his travels. I'm happy that they ditched Adam after only two episodes, though I'll have to see more of Jack to see whether my initial annoyance of him is justified or not.

He was also the first companion to be ditched and for only one episode, mostly to show what would the Doctor do if one companion did something selfish and bad. And Captain Jack will only stay till the end of the season, anyways. So it's not too long, either. (And Simon Pegg was awesome there!)