Doctor Who 2005-2006

[QuantumBalance]

Emotional. Entertaining. Enlightening.

torrent doctor who

[Outsider]

The Doctor is also on the Sci-Fi Channel now. The show is from England, though, and so the Sci-Fi Channel in the U.S. is one season behind.

So far I'd say the show is pretty good, mostly making all the right moves and mostly true to the original. I have a few problems, though. Number 1, the theme music has been pretty badly wussified. It used to be cooler. The whole credit sequence, in fact, just isn't right, with their lame-o cgi effects of the TARDIS spinning through space. Worse still is watching the show on network television. In the distant past it was always only on PBS in this country, which meant that it was shown sans commercials, as it should be (I'm told that in England, commercials are run more like they are on PBS here, which is to say, shows run their full length uninterrupted, and when the show is done there is a five or ten minute commercial block in-between shows). This is significant to me because the television viewing experience of watching Dr. Who was always very different from that of any other sci-fi show on American television - the show didn't have to build to some false cliff-hanger every five minutes to accomodate regular commercials interruptions, so the writing style was different too. Watching Dr. Who with commercial breaks is just so wrong... I guess thats not a problem if you're watching it via torrent, but I haven't yet gotten used to watching movies or televion on my PC yet, and I still prefer sitting on the couch in the den rather than a swivel-chair in at the computer desk.

Its become all touchy-feely post-modern too, with the Doctor having to deal with his companion's family and their concerns, which isn't necessarilly all bad. I mean, its an interesting developement, but its certainly a major departure from precedent. For over 25 years the Doctor's companions never used to worry about the consequences of leaving their ordinary lives behind without a word and then showing up again just as suddenly some random time later. There was a certain charm in that too, that very unrealistic approach to the lives of the companions. They used to be perfectly happy to leave their own lives behind while they joined in the Doctor's adventures through time and space. Now they join in the adventure but do not leave their own lives behind entirely. I don't know yet if I like it or not, but time will tell.

In any case, I'm glad the show is back. Eight years of no new episodes (not counting that unfortunate American-produced pilot episode with Paul McGann; I'm glad they didn't turn that into a series because it would have sucked) was a long break.

[Outsider]

Hmm,

Now that I've had a chance to think about it, I simply must recommend that you check out some of the classic episodes of the series' original run. I know, I know, you're probably thinking "the original series ran for about 25 years; how could I possibly know where to begin?" Not to worry, Quantum, I've been taught by the best. I would suggest starting with some episodes of the third doctor, stuff like "Monster of Peladon" and "Curse of Peladon" (the Doctor can trip a nut!), "The Time Warrior", and definitely "Inferno" (I named Hop-over swirling dragon-rake after that episode, but that name has never really caught on).

Now, everybody likes the fourth doctor, and there is good reason for this. He played The Doctor for the greatest length of time of anybody, and he had a certain charm to him. There were other notable reasons (namely, Leela, Romana, and K-9). Anyway, I might go with "The Ark In Space/The Sontaran Experiment", "The Invisible Enemy", "City of Death", "Genesis of the Daleks", "The Deadly Assassin", and "Invasion of Time". Of course, with as many episodes as he (Tom Baker) has to his credit, its impossible to pick a truly representative selection. Still, I like all those episodes just fine, and I'd watch them more-or-less in that order.

Lastly, I have to give strong recommendation to the seventh Doctor. Good seventh Doctor just had some of the best writing, particularly "The Curse of Fenric", but also worthy are "The Silver Nemesis", and "The Gods of Ragnorock". Be careful, though. I'd avoid "Dragon's Fire", "Paradise Towers", and especially "The Happiness Patrol" at all costs.

See ya space cowboy...

[dblthnk84]

Thanks for the recomendations. I think I'll start there, but I also think that I am going to want to watch ALL of the episodes eventually...
________
BMW xDrive

[BainbridgeShred]

Not to worry, Quantum, I've been taught by the best.

You have to have people teach you to watch TV?

[BainbridgeShred]

Not to worry, Quantum, I've been taught by the best.

You have to have people teach you to watch TV?

[QuantumBalance]

Haha, Dan's posts reminded me of when Dr. Who episodes end with a robot repeating the same thing over and over again. Please don't edit out the double post

[Jeremy]

(I named Hop-over swirling dragon-rake after that episode, but that name has never really caught on).

Or rather the move never caught on

I'm a big dr who fan. The thing that annoys me about the new series is that the dvd has "the entire first series" written on it. Lies.

[Colin]

FYI - In Britain, the word 'series' refers to what north american's (and apparantly Austrailians) would call a 'season'. You might have been making a joke about that, but what the hell, worst case is that the joke's on me.