The new series of Doctor Who starts this Saturday on the BBC.


Television

401 to 430 of 430 << first < prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | next > last >>

How many episodes left with Matt Smith? Two?

As a fan my favorites have been Sarah Jane,K-9 and all the characters associated with the 3rd-4th UNIT stories. I loved it when the DR helped out UNIT and when Harry or one of the soldiers got dragged into the adventure.

Sovereign Court RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8

LazarX wrote:
The Doctor's rebukes and criticisms about Humanity have impact when they're being said to a Sarah, an Amy, a Harry, a Brigadier. When they're said to another Timelord, it's just talking shop.

Heh, and now I have an idea on how to play a Golarion (non-forlorn) elf.

RPG Superstar 2015 Top 8

Matthew Morris wrote:
DeathQuaker wrote:
LazarX wrote:
Sarah Jane WAS the definitive Companion for the 4th Doctor,

According to whom? You? Russel T Davies' fanboyism? Does that kind of subjective nonsense get to dictate what shows up in what is supposed to be a documentary on the history of the series?

Just wanted to add, Neil Gamian for one ;-)

Seriously, Because of her long run, Lis Sladden is likely the Ur Companion. (And yes, we could picture her beating Daleks with a baseball bat.)

Now that said, I missed Romanna too. We don't know why they chose that route. Then again, we could easily have had an hour special on the Baker years. If we'd not lost Lis, I bet we would have.

I hope at some point the BBC makes a proper documentary of the series at length, rather than these minis BBC America's put out, in very limited format.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
DeathQuaker wrote:
Matthew Morris wrote:
DeathQuaker wrote:
LazarX wrote:
Sarah Jane WAS the definitive Companion for the 4th Doctor,

According to whom? You? Russel T Davies' fanboyism? Does that kind of subjective nonsense get to dictate what shows up in what is supposed to be a documentary on the history of the series?

Just wanted to add, Neil Gamian for one ;-)

Seriously, Because of her long run, Lis Sladden is likely the Ur Companion. (And yes, we could picture her beating Daleks with a baseball bat.)

Now that said, I missed Romanna too. We don't know why they chose that route. Then again, we could easily have had an hour special on the Baker years. If we'd not lost Lis, I bet we would have.

I hope at some point the BBC makes a proper documentary of the series at length, rather than these minis BBC America's put out, in very limited format.

BBC America is nothting more than the American output channel for the BBC.

RPG Superstar 2015 Top 8

LazarX wrote:
DeathQuaker wrote:
Matthew Morris wrote:
DeathQuaker wrote:
LazarX wrote:
Sarah Jane WAS the definitive Companion for the 4th Doctor,

According to whom? You? Russel T Davies' fanboyism? Does that kind of subjective nonsense get to dictate what shows up in what is supposed to be a documentary on the history of the series?

Just wanted to add, Neil Gamian for one ;-)

Seriously, Because of her long run, Lis Sladden is likely the Ur Companion. (And yes, we could picture her beating Daleks with a baseball bat.)

Now that said, I missed Romanna too. We don't know why they chose that route. Then again, we could easily have had an hour special on the Baker years. If we'd not lost Lis, I bet we would have.

I hope at some point the BBC makes a proper documentary of the series at length, rather than these minis BBC America's put out, in very limited format.
BBC America is nothting more than the American output channel for the BBC.

Not exactly. BBC America is owned by BBC Worldwide but operates independently (and is not funded by BBC Television License sales, but operates commercially like any other American corporate network). For example, it actually had to buy the license to show Doctor Who (and when Doctor Who the new series first came to the US in 2005-6, BBC America refused to buy it, feeling it wouldn't be viable in the American market; Sci-Fi was the original channel that showed NuWHo). It also produces some shows in-house; one of them is the Doctors Revisited, which is shown ONLY on BBC America -- not even people in the UK get to watch them officially (most people have by seeing fan uploads).


DeathQuaker wrote:

LazarX, your personal opinion and obvious dislike of Romana does not get to dictate the impact the character had on the show. If we are going to look at "fan favorites," while Sarah Jane usually tops polls of favorite companion (alongside Rose and Donna, usually), Romana is usually high on the list (for example, she's in the top 20 here. She is a popular and liked companion, sorry to inform you. But again, popularity should not be a factor in what gets included in a historical overview of the series.

In terms of general significance, Romana was the first and only companion who was a Time Lord (besides, possibly Susan, and many feel she was unlikely a graduate of the academy); that alone is very important. Through her,...

Awesome defence of Romana!

Lalla Ward's Romana is my personal favourite companion from the original series and one of my two all-time favourites (I can't quite decide who I prefer: Romana II or Donna). She was not lifeless and most definitely not passive. I haven't seen The Doctors Revisited specials, but I'm disappointed to learn that both Romanas are excluded.


Quote:
How many episodes left with Matt Smith? Two?

Two. The 20th Anniversary Special on 23 November and then the Christmas Special, most likely on Christmas Day. Smith will no longer be the Doctor by the end of this year, which is an odd thought.

They start filming the Christmas special imminently - Series 8 is due to start shooting 'in the summer' - so we may get the new Doctor's announcement fairly quickly.


Any thoughts on the 50th special and plot? I've heard rumors its 90 minutes.

My guess is its a race to stop John Hurt and hes the main bad guy in the episode but i have nothing to back it up but theory.There have been tidbits released by BBC on some cast members for episode and based on those i'm not sure where they are going with show.

I just hope with Smiths departure its not the last time we see Strax and other friends from old England.


The only rumor I've heard is that at least one of the alien menaces for the anniversay is the freakin' Zygons. If you can believe that. I mean, all due credit for leveraging a throwaway line from almost 40 years ago, but c'mon... the fetus-bananas with suction-cups and mushroom technology? For your 50th Anniversary???

Grand Lodge

It still makes me sad to think that we have only two more episodes with Matt Smith.

Back to "Favorite Companion" banter:

My wife absolutely loves Lalla Ward's 2nd Romana. I was more partial to Mary Tamm's haughty performance as 1st Romana. But from the older series, it is still Sarah Jane for me; and Donna with the NuWho as all time favorite companions.

Liberty's Edge

Personally, I really liked Lala Ward's Romana.

RPG Superstar 2015 Top 8

To the idea of Romana not being a good audience relational character -- while she wasn't the "audience stand in" character from the essence that she was was alien herself, Romana was, like many other Doctor Who companions, a naive young woman who had never explored the universe outside her very limited, in fact very isolated home. A lot of her early attitude is masking the fact that she really has no idea what's going on but is desperate to prove herself to the Doctor that she is a valuable assistant and traveling companion. These things I think many audience members can relate to, absolutely. Also, it's revealed eventually she's actually a bit of the fan of the Doctor's and has studied him at length, and had tried to cover up her fangirling with a bit of snark... but I think many of us can certainly relate to the fangirling too. :) Certainly she had more knowledge than some companions, but she was hardly the first--or last--highly knowledgeable, more-knowledgeable-than-the-average-audience-member character. It doesn't mean she can't be used as an exposition character, it just meant the exposition was written in a different way. Instead of "what is that, Doctor?" you have, "My goodness, Doctor, is that what I think it is?" "Yes, a purple vrombor, capable of poisoning whatever it touches with a deadly paralytic toxin." The exposition still happens, it's just recontexted.

For super-knowledgeable companions, we've also had Susan, Vicki, Zoe, Liz prior to Romana; one is Gallifreyan and two from the far future. Post Romana we have Adric, Nyssa, and I'd say probably River counts there too. Oh, and K-9.

For alien companions, we have Susan, Adric, Nyssa, and Turlough. Leela, while human, is also from another planet. Well, and K-9 and Kamelion aren't even alive.

I'd also note that characters like Jamie and Leela had notably LESS knowledge than a contemporary Westerner, which is sort of exotic in its own way. But they were still well liked as companions despite their unusual backgrounds as well.

Personally I'd like to see a few more companions with unusual backgrounds in NuWho. They don't all have to be hot chicks from contemporary Britain (Arthur Darvill, you hot chick you). I'd love to see a companion from the past or future, or another alien companion. You don't need to have someone who "resembles the audience" (after all, the audience is diverse enough you're going to fail somebody there anyway); any well written relatable character will do, and maybe a bit of a different history would help the writers get out of certain comfortable ruts.

If we're gonna list favorite companions, mine are Barbara, Donna, Tegan, Ace, and Leela. There are very few I totally dislike though. Most of them I quite enjoy.

Liberty's Edge

I liked Harry (Ian Marter), as well. I love(d) the way he always couldn't help but depress the wrong button, pull the wrong lever, and otherwise make the day much more interesting.

The Exchange RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16

I had actually been hoping for a bit there that Victorian Clara would have become the new companion. My heart sank at the end of the Christmas special when Contemporary Clara turned around in the graveyard.

RPG Superstar 2015 Top 8

Andrew Turner wrote:
I liked Harry (Ian Marter), as well. I love(d) the way he always couldn't help but depress the wrong button, pull the wrong lever, and otherwise make the day much more interesting.

Harry, yes! You know what, I think they skipped him too! Poor boy, I didn't even notice. :( (but I watch seasons 14-18 far more often than the ones prior) I'm sorry Harry!

He was a lovely guy, definitely deserved due props and recognition.

I always wished he and Sarah Jane had hooked up. That would outrage all the fanboys who wanted to marry Sarah Jane themselves though, I guess. ;)

Chris, I wasn't exactly disappointed in contemporary Clara, but I agree, they missed a tremendous opportunity by not making Victorian Clara the companion.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
DeathQuaker wrote:
the Tharils--also significant creatures in their own right in the Doctor Who universe for their time-warping capabilities.

Given that their activities are entirely within "E-Space", and that they only appeared as a one-off, that pretty much takes them out of the "significant race" list. And at least part of their problem falls under the Justified Karma trope, if I recall correctly. They were some pretty bad seeds in their background history.


The Zygons are probably among the show's most iconic one-off villains. They're DOCTOR WHO's resident race of shapeshifters, their costumes and make-up were YEARS ahead of every other WHO monster at the time and later on, and they used organic technology, which was also way ahead of its time.

For one-off alien races I think the only ones in the same league might be the Draconians, who also had brilliant make-up for the time period and were notable for not being 'all evil'.

Personally I think they need to introduce the Chelonians to the show. They've mentioned them several times and they are quite interesting aliens in the novels, being war-obssessed, semi-honourable humanoid tortoises. Not sure if they'd work on screen, and their battle schtick might have been taken over by the Sontarans.

Sovereign Court RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8

Shame we don't have the Rutans yet. Special Effects finally caught up to them.

RPG Superstar 2015 Top 8

Matthew Morris wrote:
Shame we don't have the Rutans yet. Special Effects finally caught up to them.

Oooh, good call. They could REALLY do something interesting with them -- plus as the Rutans were the major enemies of the Sontarans and the newer viewers are familiar with them, it's an easy tie in.

Past Who monsters I'd like to see... (that haven't been mentioned yet)...

The Tractators. Yeah, they were giant slugs, but they had some pretty interesting abilities, especially with the gravity manipulation, and I think modern special effects could do wonders with their design. As they were supposed to have conquered whole planets, they seem set up to introduce--hell, maybe even show up at the invasion of ancient Trion that Turlough was recalling via race memory.

Alpha Centauri and her race. Because it's awesome to have a weird creepy almost Lovecraftian (in concept more than execution) looking alien who turns out to be bubbly and squeaky voiced and just quite a nice lady. Another one who would probably be amazing with a contemporary redesign and SFX.

The Thals. They're not monsters, but it would be interesting to revisit the Daleks' original enemies again. Yeah, I know they're supposed to be completely wiped out, but so were the Daleks and the Time Lords.

From NuWho, I want to see Jabe's tree people again and the clockwork androids.

For worlds, I want to go back to Tara (from Androids of Tara). I really liked the way the society was set up there, there was really potential for future stories to be set in the same place.


In case anyone's interested, Bernard Cribbins was interviewed by Graham Norton in the last hour of Graham's radio show on Saturday. He spoke about the Who films and his experiences in new Who, amongst other things. Worth a listen!
Here's the link


DeathQuaker wrote:


For worlds, I want to go back to Tara (from Androids of Tara). I really liked the way the society was set up there, there was really potential for future stories to be set in the same place.

Absolutely agree. I'm working my way through the Key to Time saga and 'Tara' has to be the best of the lot...a great world ripe for revisiting (it's a shame Peter Jeffery isn't around to reprise his role, he was fantastic and a rounded character too).

Cheers
Mark

RPG Superstar 2015 Top 8

Mark Norfolk wrote:
DeathQuaker wrote:


For worlds, I want to go back to Tara (from Androids of Tara). I really liked the way the society was set up there, there was really potential for future stories to be set in the same place.

Absolutely agree. I'm working my way through the Key to Time saga and 'Tara' has to be the best of the lot...a great world ripe for revisiting (it's a shame Peter Jeffery isn't around to reprise his role, he was fantastic and a rounded character too).

Cheers
Mark

Or Mary Tamm for that matter... before she passed away I used to fantasize they'd bring her back to play the queen.


I think a nice touch at the end of the 50th anniversary episode would be to do an In Memorium piece like they do at the Oscars. Alphabetically go down the list of Doctor Who contributors, actors, effects people, writers, directors, etc. who've passed away but who helped make the show so great all these years.

RPG Superstar 2015 Top 8

FWIW I'm going to attempt at my own Doctor Who retrospective on my geek blog.

The rambling intro is here:

http://deathquaker.blogspot.com/2013/06/doctor-who-beginnings-of-retrospect ive.html

If I manage to update it, will do recaps/reviews of what I think are some key past episodes and discuss major elements in Doctor Who. Been rewatching some old eps to get started.

Scarab Sages

Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber; Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
DeathQuaker wrote:

FWIW I'm going to attempt at my own Doctor Who retrospective on my geek blog.

The rambling intro is here:

LINKED

If I manage to update it, will do recaps/reviews of what I think are some key past episodes and discuss major elements in Doctor Who. Been rewatching some old eps to get started.

RPG Superstar 2015 Top 8

Here's another one:

http://deathquaker.blogspot.com/2013/08/doctor-who-retrospective-first-doct or.html

I decided against reviews/recaps--there are huge amounts of those--and are more essays/analysis. At this rate I'll never get through all the Doctors by November but maybe I'll speed up. I should probably set deadlines...


Set pictures from AN ADVENTURE IN TIME AND SPACE.

This is a dramatisation of the series of events that led to the creation of DOCTOR WHO and the filming of the opening serial. It's currently planned that it will air on BBC-2 on Friday 22 November, a day before the anniversary.

Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer

Werthead wrote:

Set pictures from AN ADVENTURE IN TIME AND SPACE.

This is a dramatisation of the series of events that led to the creation of DOCTOR WHO and the filming of the opening serial. It's currently planned that it will air on BBC-2 on Friday 22 November, a day before the anniversary.

I believe I heard that BBC America will be airing it as well.


Extraordinarily detailed 50th anniversary trailer.

Screengrabs here.

No actual footage from THE DAY OF THE DOCTOR, but a lot of hints, clues and other things. Some other actors speak behind Matt Smith's words, there's a ton of old monsters, the words 'NO MORE' inexplicably appear, the exact timecode of the first episode airing also appears (fulfilling Moffat's promise that they'd make a nod to the highly obscure fact that the first episode aired 80 seconds late due to news coverage of the Kennedy assassination, at 17:16 rather than 17:15), all twelve Doctors show up and possibly Hurt (with his back to us as Ten appears). The pieces of the Key to Time and multiple sonic/laser screwdrivers also appear, and amongst companions Clara and Sarah Jane Smith get top billing (though Rose and Amy also very briefly appear).

The Exchange

Doctor who 50th Anniversary Trailer

401 to 430 of 430 << first < prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | next > last >>
Community / Forums / Gamer Life / Entertainment / Television / The new series of Doctor Who starts this Saturday on the BBC. All Messageboards

Want to post a reply? Sign in.
Recent threads in Television