Dr. Who suggestions

Stravo · Post by **Stravo** » 2003-06-17 12:34pm

I was bored the other night and saw the Dr. Who movie on Sci Fi and liked it, and remembered fond memories of catching Dr. Who on PBS as a young child and having NO CLUE what the plots were about but loving Dr. Who's outfit. Now I am a member of Netflix and kind of want to do a Dr. Who training program to be brought up to speed on the series. What DVD series should I start with, it seems that the Dr. WHo DVD's are divided into particular story archs, if anyone knows what the hell I'm talking about, please give me short list of the must have DVD series I should see and in what order?

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-06-17 12:37pm

This wasn't the Paul McGann TV movie one was it?

Please don't let another human be infected by that wretched excuse for celluloid drama...

SyntaxVorlon · Post by **SyntaxVorlon** » 2003-06-17 01:01pm

Tom Baker if you don't mind starting in the middle.
He was the quintessential doctor.

Stravo · Post by **Stravo** » 2003-06-17 01:06pm

SyntaxVorlon wrote:Tom Baker if you don't mind starting in the middle.
He was the quintessential doctor.

Was he around in the mid 70's because that was the DR. that I remmeber seeing on PBS. I liked him, very goofy looking but also smart as a whip and had charisma

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2003-06-17 01:13pm

Stravo wrote:
SyntaxVorlon wrote:Tom Baker if you don't mind starting in the middle.
He was the quintessential doctor.
Was he around in the mid 70's because that was the DR. that I remmeber seeing on PBS. I liked him, very goofy looking but also smart as a whip and had charisma

I believe so...he was the one most associated with being Dr. Who.

The scarfed one.

Stravo · Post by **Stravo** » 2003-06-17 01:14pm

Ghost Rider wrote:
Stravo wrote:
SyntaxVorlon wrote:Tom Baker if you don't mind starting in the middle.
He was the quintessential doctor.
Was he around in the mid 70's because that was the DR. that I remmeber seeing on PBS. I liked him, very goofy looking but also smart as a whip and had charisma
I believe so...he was the one most associated with being Dr. Who.

The scarfed one.

The scarf THAT'S him....I LOVED That scarf.

Post by **NecronLord** » 2003-06-17 04:21pm

You realise it ran for over thirty seasons? Doing a complete primer would take you forever and a day. Esp considering some asshole in the BBC in the 70s decided to burn some of the only copies of the older ones.

They are indeed devided into stories covering several episodes (IIRC the record is 14) The entire series isn't available on DVD (Hell the entire series isn't available on VHS) I would reccomend Rememberance of the Daleks for one (that was during the reign of the seventh doctor, whom you have just seen).

Then I would reccomend you getting me some screenshots of the imperial dalek mothership exterior, and a nice big one of the bridge, for my developing Dalek Tech site.

Stravo · Post by **Stravo** » 2003-06-17 04:30pm

I knew it was long runing but not THAT long running. How about sort of the greatest hits which I assume are included among the DVD collection? IS there any rhyme or reason to the stories or are they all self contained in the sense that if I rent a certain storyline it won't refer back to another or that one is needed to understand the other?

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-06-17 04:37pm

Stravo wrote:I knew it was long runing but not THAT long running. How about sort of the greatest hits which I assume are included among the DVD collection? IS there any rhyme or reason to the stories or are they all self contained in the sense that if I rent a certain storyline it won't refer back to another or that one is needed to understand the other?

It's the longest running sci-fi series ever, it's still running now as they're planning a new series and silverscreen film.

ZShade · Post by **ZShade** » 2003-06-17 04:40pm

26 seasons, with seven Doctors = lots of stories. There are certain stories which refer back to previous ones. Season 16, for instance, dealt with the Key to Time. Most are self contained, though enemies may pop back up from previous episodes.

The 4th Doctor (Tom Baker) episodes are good, as are the 7th Doctor (Sylvester McCoy). Really, all of the Doctors have good episodes, which one you like is a matter of taste. I'm not sure what's been released on DVD, though.

ZShade · Post by **ZShade** » 2003-06-17 04:44pm

Admiral Valdemar wrote:It's the longest running sci-fi series ever, it's still running now as they're planning a new series and silverscreen film.

That's been in the planning stages for years, though. At the moment, the only new material is in the form of the BBC novels and audio stories (a lot of which are pretty good, incidently. Paul McGann really is a pretty fair Doctor).

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-06-17 04:47pm

ZShade wrote:
Admiral Valdemar wrote:It's the longest running sci-fi series ever, it's still running now as they're planning a new series and silverscreen film.
That's been in the planning stages for years, though. At the moment, the only new material is in the form of the BBC novels and audio stories (a lot of which are pretty good, incidently. Paul McGann really is a pretty fair Doctor).

The Americanised TV movie sucked donkey balls though, ugh.

I remember watching older repeats on a Friday night with my family at around 1900.

Stravo · Post by **Stravo** » 2003-06-17 04:51pm

This is a list of the DVDs available on Netflix, any guidance would be appreciated

The Ark in Space
The Pirate Planet
Androids of Tara
Armageddon Factor
Stones of Blood
Remembrance of Daleks
Ribos Operation
Caves of Androzoni
Power of Kroll
Robots of Death
Tomb of the Cybermen
The Five Doctors
Spearhead from Space
Aztecs
Resurection of Daleks
Vengeance on Varos
Carnival of Monsters

ZShade · Post by **ZShade** » 2003-06-17 04:54pm

Admiral Valdemar wrote:The Americanised TV movie sucked donkey balls though, ugh.

I remember watching older repeats on a Friday night with my family at around 1900.

Yeah, the Fox TV movie was a letdown, and defintely delayed any return of Doctor Who to episodic format. If it had worked, BBC was going to relaunch the series with Paul McGann in the lead. Maybe if they finally start a new series, Rowan Atkinson will take over as the 9th Doctor, like in 'The Curse of Fatal Death.'

Jawawithagun · Post by **Jawawithagun** » 2003-06-17 04:58pm

Start with "Remembrance of the Daleks"

for what's available look here: http://www.thewhoshop.com/

Post by **NecronLord** » 2003-06-17 05:00pm

Stravo wrote:I knew it was long runing but not THAT long running. How about sort of the greatest hits which I assume are included among the DVD collection? IS there any rhyme or reason to the stories or are they all self contained in the sense that if I rent a certain storyline it won't refer back to another or that one is needed to understand the other?

None of them need to have seen the previous eps, but it helps. Eg Rememberance of the Daleks refers back to Ressurection Revalation destiny and genesis. (which, with the exception of genesis, aren't nearly as good) and there are unexplained gaps in this storyline, which is excusable, it is about time travel...

ZShade · Post by **ZShade** » 2003-06-17 05:14pm

The Ark in Space - Tom Baker's first season, and his second episode. Enjoyable to watch, and the Fourth Doctor has a great line on humanity at one point.

Ribos Operation
The Pirate Planet
Stones of Blood
Androids of Tara
Power of Kroll
Armageddon Factor - That's Season 16, the Key to Time. While each one can be watched seperately, it's better to watch them all. More fun with Tom Baker

Remembrance of Daleks - Hmm, the Seventh Doctor in full form. Sylvester McCoy is one of the darker Doctors, especially if you take the novel line into account. While you don't really have to know the Doctor's history with Davros and the Daleks, it'll make it more enjoyable. Especially the Dalek and the staircase scene.

Caves of Androzoni - Fifth Doctor's final outing. Been a while since I watched this one, actually. Peter Davison is a cheerfully innocent Doctor, though.

Robots of Death - Tom Baker again.

You really can't go wrong with his stuff.

Tomb of the Cybermen - Second Doctor, and it's in black and white. Some of the special effects are horrid, but it's a good story.

The Five Doctors - I love the Five Doctors, but unless you've watched a lot of the previous stories, you're going to get lost with all of the references to the past.

Spearhead from Space - The beginning of the Third Doctor's era. James Bond had an impact on his time, as the Doctor assists UNIT in dealing with various menaces to Earth, using neat gadgets, and facing off against his archenemy, the Master.

Aztecs - First Doctor, and like a lot of William Hartnell stories, it's a historical, dealing with, surprise surprise, the Aztecs.

Resurection of Daleks - Fifth Doctor, doing his turn against the Daleks. Every Doctor's faced off against the Daleks at one point or another, and they're all good episodes. I personally recommend Genesis of the Daleks myself, a Fourth Doctor episode, though you may have to find it on VHS.

Vengeance on Varos - I feel bad for Colin Baker. I think most of the Sixth Doctor stuff sucked, and it wasn't really his fault. Even the costume was selected for him.

Carnival of Monsters - Third Doctor. . . . I don't remember much about this one.

Stravo · Post by **Stravo** » 2003-06-17 05:17pm

Is there a good website that sort of explains what the Doctor is? I know from the SciFi movie which I kind of enjoyed and everyone else here lambasted he has 13 lives and such.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-06-17 05:47pm

Stravo wrote:Is there a good website that sort of explains what the Doctor is? I know from the SciFi movie which I kind of enjoyed and everyone else here lambasted he has 13 lives and such.

A good starter would be here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/doctorwho/index.shtml

I had a website saved which had the technical specs of the TARDIS the Doctor used (Type-41 was it?) but I lost it on my old PC.

ZShade · Post by **ZShade** » 2003-06-17 05:55pm

Honestly, I can't really think of any good Who websites for beginners.

Here's a basic rundown. The Doctor is a Timelord, the elite of the planet Gallifrey. The Timelords consider themselves to be the masters of Time, and keep an eye on the universe to make sure no one screws up the timestream. Their primary vehicles are the TARDISes (Time And Relative Dimensions In Space), which are larger on the inside than on the outside. Beyond that, they try to avoid interfering with the cosmos, but if the Time Lords consider something to be a significant threat to the universe, they will attempt to erase it from time. All Timelords regenerate into a new body upon death, up to 12 times, for a total of 13 lives. After that, a Timelord is basically out of luck.

The Doctor is a renegade, who stole his TARDIS, and travels the universe, almost always with companions, seeking to right wrongs, overthrow evil, and generally make sure good wins out in the end. Since leaving his homeworld, he's been forced to regenerate 7 times, and is now over a thousand years old. He has a fondness for the planet Earth, and most of his companions are humans, from various time periods.

ZShade · Post by **ZShade** » 2003-06-17 05:56pm

Admiral Valdemar wrote:I had a website saved which had the technical specs of the TARDIS the Doctor used (Type-41 was it?) but I lost it on my old PC.

Type-40, actually.

A machine with personality.

Parallax · Post by **Parallax** » 2003-06-17 08:19pm

The best Doctors were the first (William Hartnell) and the seventh (Sylvestor McCoy).
Hartnell had an outstanding image as the incredibly smart but grumpy grandfather type figure; and for its day some of the episodes were done in a most impressive manner.

McCoy, OTOH, started off badly trying to make Dr Who into something of a comedy. When they realised that approach really wasn't working, they injected a lot more mystery into the character of the Doctor and made him a lot more devious and enigmatic.

The worst Doctor? Most likely the sixth (Colin Baker); production values were never lower and most of the scripts were, all in all, pretty bad.

The Fox Movie really was horrid and I like to pretend it was never made at all.

Patrick Degan · Post by **Patrick Degan** » 2003-06-17 08:39pm

I'd say start with Tom Baker's episodes. They are the least mired down by 20+ years of continuity and you get to see the series at its essence. Also, good as William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton were, the earlier stories do suffer from very cheap production values and a more juvenile sensibility (albeit not anywehere near as moronic as American "family hour" programming of the 70s). But part of Doctor Who's strength over nearly thirty years was that it steadily grew up along with its audience.

Tom Baker's era actually encompassed four different production styles, but its also the period which had the Gothic-themed adventures which are still counted among the best in the canon and weren't matched until Sylvester McCoy's last season (particularly "The Curse Of Fenric").

Definitely start with the Scarved One and work your way from there. But you'll discover the wonderful qualities of the other Doctors in time.

Parallax · Post by **Parallax** » 2003-06-17 09:07pm

The Ark in Space - 4th Doctor. Not bad but there's a lot better out there.

The Pirate Planet - 4th Doctor. I think it's part of the Key to Time series. The Doctor, Romana, and K-9 land on a planet that travels around space raiding places.

Androids of Tara - 4th Doctor. Another part of the Key to Time; not bad but again there's better. Features the Doctor saying "Would you mind not standing on my chest? My hat's on fire."

Remembrance of Daleks - 7th Doctor. Pretty good story where the Daleks are taken care of once and for all; and you get to see just how devious the 7th Doctor could be.

Caves of Androzoni - 5th Doctor's last adventure. Not too bad at all though the writing could have done with a polish. The Doctor's sacrifice was well done.

Power of Kroll - 4th Doctor. Another part of the Key To Time wherein the Doctor and Romana basically fight a giant squid thing.

Tomb of the Cybermen - 2nd Doctor and quite a good story. The effects were actually pretty good for its time and the character interactiosn (including betrayals) are well done.

The Five Doctors - Quintessential Dr Who story featuring the first five doctors in one way or another (Hartnell had died by this point so they used a reasonable replacement actor and Tom Baker was unavailable so they used scenes from 'Shada'). Excellent story.

Carnival of Monsters - 3rd Doctor. The TARDIS lands on a passenger ship where things keep happening again and again and again. It gets weirder from there. Entertaining story.

A while back I did a brief over view of the TARDIS craft; it's far from complete (lost interest in continuing it plus I haven't seen many episodes in a long time) but it may prove helpful (If anyone wants to make any corrections/spots any errors then please tell me).
http://members.datafast.net.au/parallax/exam004.html

Adrian Tullberg · Post by **Adrian Tullberg** » 2003-06-19 07:34am

http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sps/begin.html

http://www.gallifreyone.com/links.htm

http://www.gallifreyone.com/

Hope these help ...