Doctor Who — Page 5

"The Christmas Shows have always been quite good, imho, and this gives me something to look forward to after all the hoopla."

I actually find the Christmas specials (and to a lesser extent the extended specials Tennant did as a sorta final miniseason), kinda disappointing--even when they do feature my fave Kylie Minogue :P They always seem to cram in WAY too much, so in one extended episode you get comedy, pathos (some new character seems to always die but it's hard to care when you just met them thirty minutes back), action, etc--stuff that usually is divided seperately to key episodes and stretched over a season, not shoe horned all into one episode.

I liked Christmas Invasion. David's first episode with an epic speech.

Hahahaa, ~FF~, that was a terrible episode to start with. Positively awful: Not in the sense of quality, but in the sense that it just isn't going to make sense to people with no context. Then again, I thought the same thing about "Day of the Moon," but I managed to make an avowed DW fan out of a friend even though I started her on that episode.

The Doctor does travel in that box. It's called the TARDIS and it can go anywhere in time and space, though the accuracy of its steering is questionable. :P The "gun" is actually a sonic screwdriver and technically isn't supposed to be a weapon. It's the most multi- of all multi-purpose tools. The Doctor himself is a hyper-intelligent thousand-year-old alien from a now-extinct race who's rather lonely and fond of Earthlings and therefore often takes them with him on his journeys around the universe. Does that cover it? :P

(Seriously, if you want to know anything else, just ask.)

As for starting points: The shortest path is to start at the beginning of the Moffat/Eleven era with "The Eleventh Hour." If you want to know where the modern incarnation of Who gets its tropes, however, and you feel like you can really sit down for a while, start with the Ninth Doctor - his first episode is "Rose." I could make a "best of/most essential" list from each season if you just want the highlights, but obviously it would be totally subjective and everyone on this thread would disagree with me. Heh.

Updated On: 12/26/12 at 01:05 AM

~FF~, The Doctor is a Time Lord (the previously-mentioned extinct race) and can travel in both space (from place to place) and time (forwards and backwards). While he is, technically, immortal, the flesh-and-blood body which he occupies is not. When his body is mortally injured, he is 're-incarnated' in a new body--which has allowed many actors to play the Doctor over the 33-year history of the show. Each "new" Doctor has a personality that is a blend of his essential self--smart, human-loving, adventurous, strongly anti-violent, etc.--and the quirks of his new incarnation. He doesn't 'take over' another living person, his life force creates a new body.

If you think you might enjoy 'Doctor Who', the best way to give it a chance is, as Eric & Plum have said, to start at one of episodes which introduce a new Doctor, as most of the story arcs and details you need to feel connected to the show are localized to each Doctor. There are definitely some over-arching arcs--his on-going relationship with the Dalleks (the murderous race of beings who destroyed the Time Lords) and many other species and planets--but you will begin to recognize these over time if you and the show "click".

And--if you **really** "click"--there are 30+ years of back episodes for you to watch!

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LOVE the new intro with it's classic Doctor Who feel......LOVE the new "desktop theme" of the TARDIS.....LOVE Clara. The episode was pretty good but I can't wait for the second half of the season to start.

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Oh man, I hate the new TARDIS interior so far. Is it all CGI or does it just look that way? However, the hilarious retro glimpse of Matt Smith's face in the new credits is awesome.

I think "goofy" is on the list of acceptable phrases to describe 'Doctor Who'--especially as played by Matt Smith. To a greater or lesser degree, all the incarnations of the Doctor in the re-boot (the seven years of "Doctor Who" since the show came back after a 16-year hiatus) have had a degree of the smart-aleck, fast-talking, Jester. Chris Eccleston--the ninth Doctor--was probably the darkest and 'edgiest' of the lot, and the "goof" factor has increased with each re-incarnation. The chatter that I have read in the 'Whoverse" indicates that the initial reaction to Matt Smith's performance was a widespread objection to an excess of whimsy. I find Smith incredibly charming, funny and endearing. I think that he took several episodes to find his footing and--having done so--has grown into the role, giving some amazingly powerful performances. You'll have your own opinions.

One of the great strengths/debilitating weaknesses of 'Doctor Who' is that there is no head writer and principal director of the series--every episode is its own creation. There is the all-important Executive Producer, who is credited with assembling the body of shows for which he was responsible, but each show has its own creative team. As you watch, you will begin to recognize the enormous variety of voices and styles. You are putting your toe in the water during the reign of E.P. Steven Moffat, who is either a Genius or the Man Who Destroyed Doctor Who (rarely anything in between) depending on whom you ask. I am firmly in the Genius camp. Under Moffat there has been a greater exploration of the emotional ties between the Doctor and his Companions, and the toll that relationship takes on the Doctor and Smith has shown great emotional range in his performances, in my opinion.

Another thing to remember (or disregard entirely) is that 'Doctor Who' is, in theory, a Children's television program. In the UK, it seems that programs are allowed the emotional/intellectual latitude and complexity to appeal to a wide audience demographic, but there is a national tradition of sitting down with the kids to watch The Doctor. Some of the whimsy you are responding to may derive from that element of the show.

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Oh--and, yes: The Doctor encountered a character played by the performer who played Clara in 'The Snowmen' in a previous episode (Season 7, episode 1 "Asylum of the Dalleks"). We saw her, but the Doctor did not--he was only able to speak with her, which he did so for the bulk of the episode. Oswin (her name in that episode) and Clara have essentially the same personality and the character's love of soufflees was a crucial plot point in understanding the entire episode. As is bound to happen in a show about a time-travelling Time Lord, the time-frame can get complicated--it was a previous episode, but it took place in the future.

Is she the same person? Another time-traveller? Another Time Lord? Is it just a series of remarkable co-incidences? You know as much as we do, ~FF~. Dive in and find out!

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Updated On: 12/27/12 at 01:52 AM

You're absolutely right, TF4.

I tried to verify that--IMDb, Slant, etc.--as I was typing, and I staked my claim on the fact that the episode opens with Amy & Rory in the here & now. But it's true that we don't know where (when) we went from there.


EDIT: And by "future", I meant relative to the time-frame of 'The Snowmen'. I recognize that even that assertion isn't provable, but that's what I meant...

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Updated On: 12/27/12 at 02:07 AM

I started watching Dr Who when Matt Smith took over as the doctor. I feel like that would be the best "recent" place for ~ff~ to start without having to go too far back. I really enjoy Matt Smith's doctor. "Bow ties are cool!"

Once I can afford Netflix again, I plan on finishing up the 9th doctor episodes and moving on to the 10th.

And of course I can't wait to see how things develop with Oswin!

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I started with the David Tennant/Russell T Davies era, went back and watched Eccleston, watched Torchwood, and then moved into the Smith/Moffat era. Tennant is my favorite, for what it's worth; he balances the "goofy" giddiness with an ability to shift to terrifying in a moment. There are also very deep explorations of his relationships with companions here as well, most notably Rose and Donna but also Jack and Martha. But I'm very fond of Smith as well. Really, you can't go wrong.

Also, you think Moffat is controversial? Try Davies post-Torchwood: Children of Earth. Fans hath no fury like a favorite storyline scorned :)

I really wish Davies would reclaim the helm. It just seems that since Moffat took over, Doctor Who has just become goofy. The Christmas episode was just okay. It had potential, but doesn't quite deliver. I had hoped changing the companion would've made a difference, but it doesn't look like that will matter either. There's just something about the Davies/Tennant and Davies/Eccleston era that was amazing and surprising. Moffat is a great writer, but the direction he's taken Who is lacking the edge the show used to have. I'll still watch, but the MoffatSmith era episodes feel more like "The Sarah Jane Adventures" than modern day Who.

edited to fix title of "The Sarah Jane Adventures" and put my slashes back in.

Updated On: 12/29/12 at 08:43 PM