'Anyone for a jelly baby ? ' - Doctor Who discussion thread.

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  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,999
    I have only just found out that Stephen Thorne has passed away.



    RIP
  • Fire_and_Ice_ReturnsFire_and_Ice_Returns I am trying to get away from this mountan!
    Posts: 25,361

  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,999
    2019 B&M 5.5" figure wave officially unveiled:

  • Posts: 6,017
    Which Doctor into which Hogwarts House ?

  • Fire_and_Ice_ReturnsFire_and_Ice_Returns I am trying to get away from this mountan!
    Posts: 25,361
    David Tennant confirms he'd be on board with Doctor Who return

    https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a28643845/doctor-who-david-tennant-return-possibility/
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,999
    A heads up, the B&M figures have started to trickle through. Just got back from my local B&M Home store, they had all but the TARDIS, Two Doctros, and the Harry Sullivan/Sontaran sets in. They had roughly 5 of each figure, except for the War Doctor, where there was only one on the shelf. I grabbed both 7th Doctor figures (the ones I wanted most), as well as the 8th & War Doctors. Pretty good start to the day, that.
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,999
    As expected, scalpers are out in force:

    file.php?id=607
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,999
  • Posts: 6,017
    True. Terrance Dicks's influence on the series, during its best period, can't be denied. He'll be missed by all of us Whovians.
  • Fire_and_Ice_ReturnsFire_and_Ice_Returns I am trying to get away from this mountan!
    edited September 2019 Posts: 25,361
    R. I. P. Terrance one of the very best involved with DW, Pertwee was one of my favourite era's
  • Posts: 19,339
    R. I. P. Terrance one of the very best involved with DW, Pertwee was one of my favourite era's

    Indeed he was,shocking news !!

    RIP Terrance,and thanks for all those scary Saturday late afternoons with John Pertwee's Doctor !
  • Fire_and_Ice_ReturnsFire_and_Ice_Returns I am trying to get away from this mountan!
    edited September 2019 Posts: 25,361

    Season 26 was decent, I need to get this for the extras
  • Posts: 6,017
    Indeed, the McCoy era was a return for greatness in the show. Especially when Ace came along. And I love the reference to The Sarah Jane Adventures in this trailer. Too bad I already have all the (available) episodes on DVD, because if not, I would have been tempted to buy that set (and the others).
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,999
    I have the DVDs. But as McCoy is my favourite Doctor, and series 26 is my favourite series, I am seriously considering buying that. If McCoy had stepped through the door, I would have had a nerd meltdown. :))
  • Fire_and_Ice_ReturnsFire_and_Ice_Returns I am trying to get away from this mountan!
    Posts: 25,361
    I am all for improved picture and sound quality and new documentarys
  • edited September 2019 Posts: 12,837
    Gerard wrote: »

    I've genuinely never been bothered about the cybermen to be honest. Know they're an iconic villain from the old ones so of course they were always going to return but most of the time they just come across as dull robots imo, and I feel like Peter Capaldi's last finale used them pretty much perfectly anyway, so it seems a bit soon to be bringing them back again. I would have rather the Weeping Angels, don't think we've seen them since Matt Smith have we?

    But then to be fair I also think that there was no need to bring the Daleks back again after Christopher Eccleston's series so my opinion probably doesn't mean that much.
  • Posts: 12,526
    Sadly the show has lost its appeal for me long ago.
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,999
    Things started going downhill for me, during Capaldi's run. And while the Cybermen are my favourite monster, I don't like the modern Cybermen.

    "Delete! Delete! Delete! Delete!"

    [-(
  • edited September 2019 Posts: 12,837
    Capaldi I struggled to warm to for his first few episodes but by the end I thought he was great. I think that era really picked up once Missy was introduced and Series 10 especially was just brilliant imo.
    RogueAgent wrote: »
    Sadly the show has lost its appeal for me long ago.

    I wasn't keen on the last series myself, and I know that the popular opinion has been to blame the writing, which has been crap (I really missed Steven Moffat), but I really don't think Jodie is very good either. Can't speak for the old ones but all the other modern doctors got bad scripts and all of them managed to elevate them. Jodie is just so one note imo. It's as if she watched a Youtube video of Tennant and Smith's wackiest moments and thought that'll do. I know it's a kids show but the reason it was such success when it came back because they cast an actor with real pedigree who took it really seriously, which along with the great writing helped make it something everyone could enjoy. Now I feel like I'm watching a kids TV presenter. I genuinely felt too old to be watching it which even at its worst isn't something that I felt watching any of the other series.
  • Fire_and_Ice_ReturnsFire_and_Ice_Returns I am trying to get away from this mountan!
    edited September 2019 Posts: 25,361
    The last series was the worst in the history of the show, though I have stuck with DW through the decades. Alas my expectations whilst Chibnall is running the show are very low, though he won't be there for long according to previous reports.

    The Cybermen have had there good moments, Tomb of the Cybermen is one of my favourite episodes and there brief appearance in The Pandorica Opens was superb. Cybermen always work better for me when presented as sinister, World Enough and Time was also an excellent episode featuring the Cybermen
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,999
    Don't get me wrong, I liked Capaldi, but it was the show around him that went downhill. Flatline was my favourite, and I liked the eco one too (the title eludes me right now). It has only gotten worse since Jodie took over. She might be a good dramatic actress, but she is so miscast as the Doctor.
    Also, while Hartnell isn't my favourite Doctor, I... I am trying not to use the word hate, but the way they wrote the 1st Doctor in Twice Upon A Time, showed an alarming lack of knowledge of Hartnell's Doctor. Rather than sit down and you know, watch a Hartnell story, the writer chose to project their idea of the 1960's attitude onto the Doctor.
  • Alas my expectations whilst Chibnall is running the show are very low, though he won't be there for long according to previous reports.

    That's good news but then again, who would be replacing him? I think the problem is this: Moffat taking over from Russell T Davies made perfect sense because he'd ran shows before and he wrote all the best episodes. But when he was leaving his replacement was a less obvious choice because Moffat was still writing all the best episodes (he's just by far the best writer the show has had imo). There wasn't really an heir apparent and I still don't think there is. They could just get someone who's created a hit show before and hope for the best, but they did that with Chibnall and it backfired.

    I think Mark Gattiss is the only really obvious choice but even then his Doctor Who episodes have been nowhere near as good as Moffat's (I also thought it was his episodes that dragged the last couple of series of Sherlock down too, Moffat's were still generally pretty great). So I really don't know.

    I think the show could probably do with another rest to be honest. It's been on for years now anyway, it's bound to feel tired/played out. Maybe give it a few years off before a big relaunch for the next anniversary.
  • Posts: 12,526
    Have to be honest and say I do not feel like I am missing out with this new Dr Who. Sad really as it was a show I dearly like to watch.
  • Fire_and_Ice_ReturnsFire_and_Ice_Returns I am trying to get away from this mountan!
    edited September 2019 Posts: 25,361
    Alas my expectations whilst Chibnall is running the show are very low, though he won't be there for long according to previous reports.

    That's good news but then again, who would be replacing him? I think the problem is this: Moffat taking over from Russell T Davies made perfect sense because he'd ran shows before and he wrote all the best episodes. But when he was leaving his replacement was a less obvious choice because Moffat was still writing all the best episodes (he's just by far the best writer the show has had imo). There wasn't really an heir apparent and I still don't think there is. They could just get someone who's created a hit show before and hope for the best, but they did that with Chibnall and it backfired.

    I think Mark Gattiss is the only really obvious choice but even then his Doctor Who episodes have been nowhere near as good as Moffat's (I also thought it was his episodes that dragged the last couple of series of Sherlock down too, Moffat's were still generally pretty great). So I really don't know.

    I think the show could probably do with another rest to be honest. It's been on for years now anyway, it's bound to feel tired/played out. Maybe give it a few years off before a big relaunch for the next anniversary.

    Admittedly there is not an obvious choice to take over from Chibnall though who ever it is surely cant me worse. I agree regarding Gattiss his writing is not that great though he is better than Chibnall, I did like aspects of the much maligned Victory of the Daleks
  • Alas my expectations whilst Chibnall is running the show are very low, though he won't be there for long according to previous reports.

    That's good news but then again, who would be replacing him? I think the problem is this: Moffat taking over from Russell T Davies made perfect sense because he'd ran shows before and he wrote all the best episodes. But when he was leaving his replacement was a less obvious choice because Moffat was still writing all the best episodes (he's just by far the best writer the show has had imo). There wasn't really an heir apparent and I still don't think there is. They could just get someone who's created a hit show before and hope for the best, but they did that with Chibnall and it backfired.

    I think Mark Gattiss is the only really obvious choice but even then his Doctor Who episodes have been nowhere near as good as Moffat's (I also thought it was his episodes that dragged the last couple of series of Sherlock down too, Moffat's were still generally pretty great). So I really don't know.

    I think the show could probably do with another rest to be honest. It's been on for years now anyway, it's bound to feel tired/played out. Maybe give it a few years off before a big relaunch for the next anniversary.

    Admittedly there is not an obvious choice to take over from Chibnall though who ever it is surely cant me worse. I agree regarding Gattiss his writing is not that great though he is better than Chibnall, I did like aspects of the much maligned Victory of the Daleks

    Just googled it to refresh my memory of which ones he wrote and to be fair he has had some good ones but he's also written some very forgettable ones that had completely slipped my mind. Very hit and miss imo. He's obviously very talented but I don't think it's a coincidence that his biggest successes (Sherlock, League of Gentlemen) were both written with other people.

    Actually there's a thought. What about all three of the League of Gentlemen taking over. Gattiss has experience with the show and with running a show as big as it and the other two have been doing brilliant with Inside Number 9. Imagine a series of Doctor Who as clever and inventive as that.

    I want a Moffat and Gattis written Bond film first though. I bet they'd both love to do it and would blow Purvis and Wade out the water.
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    edited September 2019 Posts: 13,999
    It would be a shame if the show went away again. Only 12 series in, in terms of the classic era, that would only go as far as Tom's first series! But after the fecal covered mess of series 11, maybe a break is the only way to go. I don't know if a regeneration both in front of, and behind the camera, would be enough. The current mindset of the PaedBC doesn't help either.
  • edited September 2019 Posts: 12,837
    It would be a shame if the show went away again. Only 12 series in, in terms of the classic era, that would only go as far as Tom's first series! But after the fecal covered mess of series 11, maybe a break is the only way to go. I don't know if a regeneration both in front of, and behind the camera, would be enough. The current mindset of the PaedBC doesn't help either.

    TV has changed a lot since those days though and I just think that the format seems a bit tired. 11 series is a lot, and there's only so many times that a new doctor/TARDIS/companion can revitalise things before even that just becomes too regular an occurence. Obviously there's going to be certain groups (kids, fans) that always watch it no matter what. I can't see it ever being cancelled because of low ratings. But if they really want to recapture the Tennant era high of it seeming like everyone in the country watches it then I think a rest would be the way to go. Jodie's debut got massive ratings but once the novelty of having a woman wore off it dropped back down again. And even though it was a pretty crap series I don't think the quality is the reason for that drop because it has on the whole been pretty well recieved. Plus, the late Capaldi era was probably the most solid the show has been in terms of quality imo and got very good critic reviews but got the lowest ratings of the show. I think ratings are lower simply because it's been going on for so long. The interest, apart from kids and proper fans, isn't there like it used to be. Resting it for a few years would make it seem like a new and exciting thing again when it's inevitably bought back.

    Honestly I think they should have put it on hiatus after Capaldi. The Doctor Falls was so good that it easily could have served as an ending. Should have ended it just as he starts to regenerate before coming back in a few years with an Eccleston esque (introduce them fully formed and reintroduce people to the show, no running around in the last guy's clothes) introduction for the new actor imo.
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,999
    TV has changed a lot since those days though and I just think that the format seems a bit tired. 11 series is a lot, and there's only so many times that a new doctor/TARDIS/companion can revitalise things before even that just becomes too regular an occurence. Obviously there's going to be certain groups (kids, fans) that always watch it no matter what. I can't see it ever being cancelled because of low ratings. But if they really want to recapture the Tennant era high of it seeming like everyone in the country watches it then I think a rest would be the way to go. Jodie's debut got massive ratings but once the novelty of having a woman wore off it dropped back down again. And even though it was a pretty crap series I don't think the quality is the reason for that drop because it has on the whole been pretty well recieved. Plus, the late Capaldi era was probably the most solid the show has been in terms of quality imo and got very good critic reviews but got the lowest ratings of the show. I think ratings are lower simply because it's been going on for so long. The interest, apart from kids and proper fans, isn't there like it used to be. Resting it for a few years would make it seem like a new and exciting thing again when it's inevitably bought back.

    But if the show keeps running out of energy to the point where it needs to go away, wouldn't that point to a larger problem? Think of a car. You are low on petrol, so you pull into a petrol station and fill up. You look on the dashboard, and the gauge shows full. You pay and drive off. A few minutes down the road, and the tank is now down to a quarter, already. That's not good.

    If it does go away, at least there is Big Finish. I have my regular fix of McCoy, so i'm sorted anyway.
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