Page 2 of 2
Re: Signed. Stamped. Approved.
Posted: July 30, 2008 • 5:00 am
by Fred Buer
Steven Moffat wrote some of the best ever Who episodes. Blink is probably my favorite one ever, also Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead is excellent stuff. Love it!
-Fred
Re: Signed. Stamped. Approved.
Posted: August 01, 2008 • 6:46 pm
by marinedalek
So is this the Doctor Who fan thread then?
I've been a fan practically since I was born, ('89) mostly Pertwee on VHS, then some Davison and Baker followed by Hartnell... now I'm a fan of it all.
Very much looking forward to seeing what Steven Moffat does with Doctor Who, just a bit peeved that we have to wait a whole year (minus the specials) to see series 5.... grrr
Re: Signed. Stamped. Approved.
Posted: August 02, 2008 • 7:58 am
by DrPaul
In the early years, the production budget for the Dr Who episodes were just a few hundred pounds per episode. Because of that small budget, the show relied much more on writing than on special effects. That was, in my opinion, the greatest strength of the show and what set it apart from all others.
In more recent years, the effects have gotten more sophisticated, and I worry that the writing has suffered for it. I agree with Sai that emotional entanglements with or between companions is a mistake. I also agree that a certain level of humor is essential for the show.
My favorite Doctor is Tom Baker, followed by Peter Davison. My favorite companions were K-9, Tegan and Adric. My favorite episode was Logopolis, followed by The Ribos Operation, both from the Tom Baker series. Of the recent episodes, I thought Blink was pretty cool.
There was a humorous line from one of the episodes that I try to use wheneve I can in real life. It goes something like:
K-9: The odds of surviving this crash (or whatever it was) are 62,453,921 against.
Doctor: What? Did you say 62,453,921 against?
K-9: Affirmative, Master.
Doctor: Why, that's amazing, K-9!
K-9: Master?
Doctor: Well, 62,453,921 is my lucky number!
I use a variation on this whenever the opportunity presents itself. You should see the reactions it gets. This kind of humor - not overtly funny or slapstick, but subtle, is just right.
Re: Signed. Stamped. Approved.
Posted: August 03, 2008 • 2:45 am
by Joel
Sai wrote:Thanks DRPaul, it was interesting to hear the other perspective. To each their own!
The stuff I didn't like about the newer series is mainly the emotional lovey dovey stuff regarding the Doctor and his companions having a romantic attraction to him. And also all the repeating melodramas of the companions families. Of course companions need to have a story too, but it felt like the companion drama became more important than the adventure and fantasy storylines at times. It started to feel a bit like a soap opera when it kept going back over that type of ground... and I've never really liked reality TV, I usually go for escapism and irreverent entertainment like fantasy and comedy. And yeah some of the more crude humour got a bit over done earlier on...
We all have our different preferences (like the seating discussion above!) and I didn't seem to get into Eccleston, sorry! Maybe he was just a bit too serious and dark for me. But he did wonders for getting the show into the mainstream again and it's just my personal preference as I know someone else who loved his portrayal.
But I guess I wouldn't like the series to become too serious again, I really appreciate humour in a show. I really like David Tennants lively character and the way the comic side was dealt with in recent episodes. I think they got some of the balance with humour down better recently, maybe because the companion is a comedian so it felt a bit more natural than some of the forced humour with earlier scenes/companions. I
I agree with much of this. It would be nice if they cut back on some of the "love story" elements, it does tend to get a bit familiar. I also love Tennant's performance, but at times he can be a little boombastic.
Re: Signed. Stamped. Approved.
Posted: August 03, 2008 • 1:22 pm
by Sai
Joel wrote:I also love Tennant's performance, but at times he can be a little boombastic.
Lol, boombastic is a fun word.
Now I've got an image of Tennant's doctor dancing and singing:
"She call me Mr. Boombastic say me fantastic..."
(you know I always kept hearing that in the song as "They call me mr boombastic, telethon tastic" lol... I don't know why).