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quasigeostrophyThe arrival of the DVDs for the Doctor Who story "City of Death" this week, and my getting a chance to watch some more of the seasons one and two DVD sets from the renewal of the series got me thinking about some things. I was first exposed to Doctor Who in the late 70s. It was toward the end of Tom Baker's run as the Fourth Doctor, but the local PBS station here started with his first story, "Robot" from 1974. My first reaction was, honestly, that I was not impressed. But, despite my own views about acquired tastes, something must have been there to keep me watching and Baker's portrayal, among other things, kept me there through the local syndicated run into Peter Davison's Fifth Doctor. At Purdue for the first time, several folks would gather in a dorm room or in the Union and watch WTTW out of Chicago show episodes that were more current, and I followed Colin Baker's #6 and the beginning of Sylvester McCoy's run as #7 before I lost access to the show.
I was quite the fan back in those days - I had as many of the Target novelisations as were available here in the U.S., I had a 17-foot multicolor scarf knitted for me by my aunt. Like an idiot, I think several years ago (may have been before getting married) I got rid of the Target books, but somewhere in the basement I still have the scarf (and I'm fairly certain it was high enough to escape our recent flood damage). Otherwise, with no one showing it here even in reruns and the BBC production having ceased, I let it go. I did watch the movie with Paul McGann, but despite liking McGann's portrayal of the Doctor, I wasn't impressed by much else. I saw when SciFi started carrying the first season of the renewed series a couple of years ago, but didn't get a chance to catch it at all. Only when Toni got us hooked on the reinvented Battlestar Galactica that was recently on Friday evenings preceded by the second series of Doctor Who did I start to watch it. I had seen all of season two with David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor before ordering the two series on DVD where I finally saw Christopher Eccleston as #9.
From the original run of the show, I have not seen any William Hartnell (#1) stories, just clips here and there. Same with Patrick Troughton (#2), except for his appearances in the specials The Five Doctors and The Two Doctors. Seems a likable incarnation, but I just haven't seen enough. I've not seen all of John Pertwee's (#3) stories, but I've seen a fair number of them, and I really like his portrayal, but Tom Baker still stands out at the top for me. Peter Davison was very good, IMHO. Colin Baker I really could have done without for the most part save a handful of stories, and I have only seen the first few Sylvester McCoy stories. I like what I have seen, but it's not enough to form a fair opinion.
As for the revival, having been exposed to David Tennant first, I like his portrayal very much. He brings a quirkiness to the part that I appreciate. When I went back and caught up on Christopher Eccleston's stories, I definitely could tell the difference - his portrayal was of a much more manic Doctor, and I think he did a wonderful job bringing the part back. I'm not sure David Tennant's Doctor would have gotten the show off to the bang-up start, but now that it's re-established, he can run with it better for longer, IMHO.
Other things I like about the revival: The entire feel of the show is much more frenetic. The pace seems so much quicker - if I had to find fault with anything in general about the original run of the show, it would have to be the comparatively slow pace. Even the addition of the dancing string triplets to the theme song arrangement seems to reflect this. I saw somewhere recently that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was even a fan of the new show and had requested DVDs of the episodes. Davies et al touch on things never hit upon in the original run, too, or at least in as much depth. Topics such as what happens in a companion's environment when he/she just up and disappears with the Doctor, could a companion and the Doctor fall in love (although in the cases of Sarah Jane Smith and Romana II, I think they got close), what happens to a companion after leaving the Doctor, and can a companion in some ways be just as capable if not more so of "saving the world" as the Doctor? And while characterizations have generally been strong in the show, nothing, IMHO, not even deaths of other well-liked characters, struck me as being as sad as Rose's separation from the Doctor at the end of "Doomsday". I don't cry much at TV (well, I didn't used to), and even having watched that ending a couple of times I still tear up. I still think they cast Billie Piper for her ability to cry. :-)
My favorite Doctor/Companion/Story:
From the original run, I'd have to say Tom Baker/Sarah Jane Smith/"City of Death". From the new run, I still prefer David Tennant just a bit. As for companions, so far there hasn't been much other than Rose for comparison. Captain Jack is awesome, but I've also had a chance to see him in Torchwood, so I'm not counting that. Favorite episodes are "The Girl in the Fireplace" and "The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances", and not just because Stephen Moffat wrote them and I'm a huge fan of the original Coupling. The man can write awesome stuff. Period. Watched his Comedy Relief "Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death" recently and it was pretty funny. As for "The Girl in the Fireplace", I noticed the character of Reinette seemed to be a potential companion, even before the Doctor's offer to bring her along. It would have made for some interesting dynamics with Rose, and some fun observations of her adjustments to a world outside of aristocratic 18th century France.
Anyway, that's enough blathering, I think.
I was quite the fan back in those days - I had as many of the Target novelisations as were available here in the U.S., I had a 17-foot multicolor scarf knitted for me by my aunt. Like an idiot, I think several years ago (may have been before getting married) I got rid of the Target books, but somewhere in the basement I still have the scarf (and I'm fairly certain it was high enough to escape our recent flood damage). Otherwise, with no one showing it here even in reruns and the BBC production having ceased, I let it go. I did watch the movie with Paul McGann, but despite liking McGann's portrayal of the Doctor, I wasn't impressed by much else. I saw when SciFi started carrying the first season of the renewed series a couple of years ago, but didn't get a chance to catch it at all. Only when Toni got us hooked on the reinvented Battlestar Galactica that was recently on Friday evenings preceded by the second series of Doctor Who did I start to watch it. I had seen all of season two with David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor before ordering the two series on DVD where I finally saw Christopher Eccleston as #9.
From the original run of the show, I have not seen any William Hartnell (#1) stories, just clips here and there. Same with Patrick Troughton (#2), except for his appearances in the specials The Five Doctors and The Two Doctors. Seems a likable incarnation, but I just haven't seen enough. I've not seen all of John Pertwee's (#3) stories, but I've seen a fair number of them, and I really like his portrayal, but Tom Baker still stands out at the top for me. Peter Davison was very good, IMHO. Colin Baker I really could have done without for the most part save a handful of stories, and I have only seen the first few Sylvester McCoy stories. I like what I have seen, but it's not enough to form a fair opinion.
As for the revival, having been exposed to David Tennant first, I like his portrayal very much. He brings a quirkiness to the part that I appreciate. When I went back and caught up on Christopher Eccleston's stories, I definitely could tell the difference - his portrayal was of a much more manic Doctor, and I think he did a wonderful job bringing the part back. I'm not sure David Tennant's Doctor would have gotten the show off to the bang-up start, but now that it's re-established, he can run with it better for longer, IMHO.
Other things I like about the revival: The entire feel of the show is much more frenetic. The pace seems so much quicker - if I had to find fault with anything in general about the original run of the show, it would have to be the comparatively slow pace. Even the addition of the dancing string triplets to the theme song arrangement seems to reflect this. I saw somewhere recently that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was even a fan of the new show and had requested DVDs of the episodes. Davies et al touch on things never hit upon in the original run, too, or at least in as much depth. Topics such as what happens in a companion's environment when he/she just up and disappears with the Doctor, could a companion and the Doctor fall in love (although in the cases of Sarah Jane Smith and Romana II, I think they got close), what happens to a companion after leaving the Doctor, and can a companion in some ways be just as capable if not more so of "saving the world" as the Doctor? And while characterizations have generally been strong in the show, nothing, IMHO, not even deaths of other well-liked characters, struck me as being as sad as Rose's separation from the Doctor at the end of "Doomsday". I don't cry much at TV (well, I didn't used to), and even having watched that ending a couple of times I still tear up. I still think they cast Billie Piper for her ability to cry. :-)
My favorite Doctor/Companion/Story:
From the original run, I'd have to say Tom Baker/Sarah Jane Smith/"City of Death". From the new run, I still prefer David Tennant just a bit. As for companions, so far there hasn't been much other than Rose for comparison. Captain Jack is awesome, but I've also had a chance to see him in Torchwood, so I'm not counting that. Favorite episodes are "The Girl in the Fireplace" and "The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances", and not just because Stephen Moffat wrote them and I'm a huge fan of the original Coupling. The man can write awesome stuff. Period. Watched his Comedy Relief "Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death" recently and it was pretty funny. As for "The Girl in the Fireplace", I noticed the character of Reinette seemed to be a potential companion, even before the Doctor's offer to bring her along. It would have made for some interesting dynamics with Rose, and some fun observations of her adjustments to a world outside of aristocratic 18th century France.
Anyway, that's enough blathering, I think.
