The Greatest Show In The Galaxy

In deference to our esteemed colleague John Drake, it's about time we had a serious thread about the greatest tv show ever. No not Corrie, or Strictly but Dr Who. Mr Drake is a fan, and so am I 

There's tons to discuss,  controversy abound particularly at present and some great YouTube channels to watch. Questions like is Chris Chibnall destroying the show, who is the best Doctor,  New Who or Classic, which is best. Let's start with youtuber Nathaniel on the difference between old and new and then we have his take on the controversial Timeless Children fiasco.

Three young ladies all new Who fans, never seen classic Who started watching classic from the very first Hartnell episode and filmed their reactions for YouTube.  So there's a vid for every episode. Marie Claire is my favourite of the three, she is up to Seeds Of Doom, but here I've picked a vid at random , and Time Warrior episode 1 below.  She gets loads of views of her vids,  and anyone with a YouTube account  can post comments. 

Here Marie Claire, totally cracks up with emotion at the end of Troughton. 

Sesskasays is coming to the end ofTroughton's run. Here is her Enemy of the World first two episodes reaction. 

Also must mention Medusa Cascade,  the third lady going through Who, she is up to City of Death, her vids are for YouTube watching only.  All three I recommend for any Whovians.

Wingy media, from RL country here with his favourites from Classic Who .

Can't not mention City Of Death, here two brothers watch. They have completed the entire classic series,  and now doing Blake's 7, they have one vid for each complete Who story.

More Timeless Children reaction. 

This is a great review of Timelash, which as any Who fans know isn't the best. Here it's slaughtered and honestly I think most fans would agree with the sentiments discussed here. Poor Colin Baker,  he really did get a rough time.

Deleted post. 

One of the most bizarre stories in Classic Who is Ghost Light, the last one made.  Complicated, challenging, a cross between science fiction and Upstairs Downstairs. 

The primordial soup/ dinner scene. Marvellous,  Light turns Inspector McKenzie into soup, " The Cream of Scotland Yard"

1 hour ago, HawkMan said:

One of the most bizarre stories in Classic Who is Ghost Light, the last one made.  Complicated, challenging, a cross between science fiction and Upstairs Downstairs. 

The primordial soup/ dinner scene. Marvellous,  Light turns Inspector McKenzie into soup, " The Cream of Scotland Yard"

 

Ace: The best of the companions, of any era.

Yes, Ace is pretty cool, certainly a welcome relief after Mel, poor Bonny Langford.  But Sarah Jane, Jo Grant and Jamie for me. Just watched Fury From The Deep animation   that story was my very first watch of the show , back in '68 I think , pity it was wiped, but at least we have some version of it. 

Oh Mummy - Sutekh after starring in Pyramids of Mars had other acting roles as Sutekh, playing himself. 

liked dr who with eccleston tennant and smith when it came back - after that it went rubbish - the weekly pc lesson with the shocking acting woman dr is unwatchable

4 hours ago, graveyard johnny said:

liked dr who with eccleston tennant and smith when it came back - after that it went rubbish - the weekly pc lesson with the shocking acting woman dr is unwatchable

To be honest I find a lot of NuWho unwatchable,  however I do like the Doctors,  especially Capaldi,  though Whittaker is sort of scattily Docterish, the whole gender change is nonsense. 

Youtuber Wingy gives his personal views on the Doctors.

Here Wingy gives a quick summing up of the Tom Baker era, whilst playing Tom. Very funny,  but only if you get the jokes, which means for real Whovians only probably. 

On 22/10/2020 at 17:07, graveyard johnny said:

liked dr who with eccleston tennant and smith when it came back - after that it went rubbish - the weekly pc lesson with the shocking acting woman dr is unwatchable

How easily triggered are you.

Deary me. I guess you hated Dr Who in the '70s when it overtly promoted EEC membership and regularly endorsed rather radical forms of environmentalism.

30 minutes ago, M j M said:

How easily triggered are you.

Deary me. I guess you hated Dr Who in the '70s when it overtly promoted EEC membership and regularly endorsed rather radical forms of environmentalism.

I assume you mean Curse of Peladon and The Green Death,  also Monster of Peladon  the miners strike . Yes it had an agenda, but it wasn't really preachy, and the agenda was woven into the story expertly.  Today you almost expect Jodie Whittaker to turn to the camera and say ," remember viewers take care of the planet, god bless "

I've only just noticed this thread!

I could wax lyrical about any and all eras on this show. I love it unconditionally. The great stuff, the good stuff, the average stuff, the daft stuff, the wobbly stuff, I would (and do) happily watch it over and over for pure enjoyment.

Although I already own all the DVDs and Blurays, I'm finding it a real pleasure to dip in and out of the classic series on Britbox now, as it is much easier than faffing about changing discs, and I can pick any story that fits whatever mood I'm in at the time.

During the darker days of the lockdown, I indulged in the Tom Baker 'Golden Era', which never disappoints, reliving my 1970s childhood, and then caught up with loads of old Jon Pertwee stuff, which almost felt like new episodes to me as it is so long since I'd watched them properly, all the way through.

More recently, I've been watching a lot of Peter Davison stories, particularly those that aren't rated very highly by fans, such as Arc of Infinity, Warriors of the Deep and Terminus. They all have their faults, the worst is that some of them are a bit dull, but each and every one has something to commend it. They were all written and created by talented people, with huge imaginations, working on miserly budgets.

It genuinely baffles me why people get so upset about certain aspects of the show they don't happen to like at any given time.

For me, once you accept the premise that an alien who can regenerate into different bodies, and can travel through time and space in a spaceship that is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside and that looks like a telephone box from 1960s Britain, the rest is just nitpicking.

I am in awe of the imaginations of those who keep coming up with new stories and new concepts after 57 years, and not just on television either, but the breathtaking scope of the Big Finish audio adventures too, where even minor supporting characters can take on a life of their own. Take a listen to the Jago & Litefoot series as an example. Pure joy.

For those who say the show is too preachy these days, rewatching old episodes would make you realise it has always been like that, and there are a gazillion examples littered throughout its history.  

For those fifty-odd year old blokes who don't like Jodie Whittaker, sorry, but it's not about you anymore. Take a look at this, and if your heart doesn't melt, you don't really have one...

At last we have a version of Fury From The Deep, not the original that the Beeb kindly junked,  but an animated version. Fury was my first ever Who story I saw as a kid.  After years of just having the audio, these visuals are ok, but if only we could have the original back. Sigh.

Marie Claire sure gets very emotional when The Doctor regenerates. It's very brave of her to post these reactions, I'm full of aadmiration.Recommended YouTube channel for any Who fans. 

The story of Shada.

Made in 1979, or rather not made, only half completed due to a BBC technicians strike. Lost and consigned to history as an unfinished story. Revived on VHS with Tom Baker narrating the missing bits, and finally recently completed using animation to cover the missing segments,  and using the still alive cast to record the soundtrack. A typical Douglas Adams story, inventive,  confusing and a bit weird,  but eminently satisfying. 

On 26/10/2020 at 21:03, HawkMan said:

At last we have a version of Fury From The Deep, not the original that the Beeb kindly junked,  but an animated version. Fury was my first ever Who story I saw as a kid.  After years of just having the audio, these visuals are ok, but if only we could have the original back. Sigh.

 

 

It took me a while to get into these animated restorations of lost episodes, but the most recent batch, including Fury from the Deep and The Faceless Ones, have been excellent. I watched the colour versions which was an added bonus.

I'm in the midst of giving Power of the Daleks another go after forking out for the special edition version.

You're right though, it does leave me wanting to see the original versions more than ever. I would love to see Patrick Troughton's debut, as it looked at the time.

Maybe they are 'out there' somewhere, who knows. I never thought I'd get to see Web of Fear or Enemy of the World, and then they miraculously showed up!

1 hour ago, John Drake said:

It took me a while to get into these animated restorations of lost episodes, but the most recent batch, including Fury from the Deep and The Faceless Ones, have been excellent. I watched the colour versions which was an added bonus.

I'm in the midst of giving Power of the Daleks another go after forking out for the special edition version.

You're right though, it does leave me wanting to see the original versions more than ever. I would love to see Patrick Troughton's debut, as it looked at the time.

Maybe they are 'out there' somewhere, who knows. I never thought I'd get to see Web of Fear or Enemy of the World, and then they miraculously showed up!

Next up hopefully will be Evil if the Daleks,  please,  or Abominable Snowman. Mentioned this earlier,  but if you're not following Marie Claire on YouTube,  you really should.  A vid for every episode.  It's such a joy seeing a young person enjoying classic Who. Her latest video below. 

I'm slowly going through the latest season of Who, series 12, and yes I do know what's going to happen in the finale,  and I'm dreading watching it. Meanwhile I just watched Praxeus, a 50 minute lecture on the peril of plastic pollution.  Here's a really funny review of this episode by Youtuber Dr Az. His review certainly more enjoyable than the episode itself.  Beware : swearing abounds. 

So then, favourite Doctors?

I probably haven't watched enough Who of all eras to do this properly but what's the internet for if not uninformed but very strongly held opinions.

Here's mine ranked. I've excluded non-series long Doctors such as the War Doctor and yes the 8th Doctor.

1. Tom Baker - Still the greatest

2. Peter Capaldi - I loved him, perhaps especially because I'd stopped watching during the Smith era and he drew me back in

3. Jon Pertwee - Legendary

4. Peter Davison - My Doctor

5. Christopher Eccleston - Lots of planets have a north

6. Sylvester McCoy - McCoy + Bonnie Langford - worst of Who. McCoy + Sophie Aldred - some of the best of Who

7. David Tennant  - Not as good as Eccleston

8. Patrick Troughton - A bit meh I thought but I know others think different

9. William Hartnell - The original but not the best

10. Jodie Whittaker - I don't hate her but weak scripts aren't helping

11. Colin Baker - Hard to separate actor from role but making the Doctor a complete d**k didn't work

12. Matt Smith - Lacking gravitas, annoying on so many levels