SC thoughts on DR WHO

[mishawakaskirt]

I'm looking for your thoughts on Dr WHO.
And the recent bombshell within the new series of DR WHO.

Dr Who to say the least is a world wide cultural scifi icon
50 plus years of DR WHO first aired in November 63 ran till 1989. Then was off air until 2005 when the series was picked back up.

Share your thoughts on Dr Who fellow Whovians.

Ill start. I started watching reruns in 93 on our local public broadcasting station. While I have not seen every episode, I have seen episodes with every Dr in the classic series. About 2000 they pulled it off the reruns. I was excited to see the series was being picked back up in 2005. From the relaunch I watched very regularly till mid 2007 season when the PC people had to ruin the show for me. Since 07 I have maby seen 6 episodes. I saw the 12 25 2017 episode which was actually pretty good till the very end.

Your thoughts?

[john62]

I am afraid I am much into tradition, Dr Who should be male, a female is just not right.

John

[Sinned]

Having been a keen science fiction aficionado and fan of Dr Who since the very first episodes I stopped watching Dr Who many years ago and looking at the list, probably after the eighth Dr. I don't remember the ninth. I have not seen any of the modern incantations and I agree that the Dr should be male. If they want a female Dr then they should bring in a different Time Lord character. I shan't be watching any new episodes. The producers just seem to have gone off the rails somehow.

[Big and Bashful]

I will have a look when the new Doctor starts airing, my personal favourite Doctor was David Tennant with Christopher Ecclescake coming a close second. Tom Baker was excellent but even as a kid I didn't like K-9. I thought Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi were OK, in some ways Matt had better stories than some of the David Tennant stuff, however David Tenant brought a serious and darker side to the character which I loved.
I can see why Peter Capaldi decided to stop early, I thought the stories and the co-stars had taken a big drop in standards, (I miss Jenna Coleman!).
As far as I am concerned, the juries out, why can't regeneration change the sex? OK, changing the Master was a bad move, however John Simm change the Master a lot and I think he was the best I remember of the Master, with the insanity bringing new life to the character.

[crfriend]

I've seen none of the Dr. Who episodes that followed Peter Davison's portrayal of the Doctor, so I can't really comment cogently on how the series is now. I'm not sure that I'd be overly bent by having the part played by a woman -- for one, the Doctor isn't human, and two, if the being can recreate then who's to say that shape-shifting isn't entirely appropriate. Too, shape-shifting from one "sex" (do Time Lords cone in one, two, three, or more sexes?) to another, I believe, has already been done with the Master, so there is some precedent.

I have, however, seen a fair bit of the earlier episodes, and admit a bit of a fondness for John Pertwee's doctor and Peter Davison's. Tom Baker's rendition, though, is what's mainly remembered in the US.

[moonshadow]

I don't even really know who or what Dr. Who is...?

I think it's some kind of a TV show. But I admit, I've never actually seen it. I had never even heard if it until about a year ago.

[john62]

Don't know Dr Who, how is that possible, one of the very early science fiction series and one of the longest running ones from the BBC.

John

[moonshadow]

Don't know Dr Who, how is that possible, one of the very early science fiction series and one of the longest running ones from the BBC.

John

I dunno.... What can I say.... I live under a rock.

[Daryl]

I'm not sure that I'd be overly bent by having the part played by a woman -- for one, the Doctor isn't human, and two, if the being can recreate then who's to say that shape-shifting isn't entirely appropriate. Too, shape-shifting from one "sex" (do Time Lords cone in one, two, three, or more sexes?) to another, I believe, has already been done with the Master, so there is some precedent.
I have, however, seen a fair bit of the earlier episodes, and admit a bit of a fondness for John Pertwee's doctor and Peter Davison's. Tom Baker's rendition, though, is what's mainly remembered in the US.

Yep, that's what I figure about the Doctor's sex, as well. It was always available as a possibility and it had to be only a matter of time before he'd come back as she. I don't think it's a PC move at all from the plot perspective though it may be seen as a PC move from a marketing perspective if it is apt to make the series less popular. There's taking an artistic gamble then there's making a bad marketing move knowingly in service of an ideology. The latter would be PC, and disappointing to me if the numbers were too bad (eg. if they knew they'd lose 25% of the audience because of it).

I still have a copy of the Whovian Times and a Dr. Who mood button, swag sent to me for donating to PBS to keep the series coming. Both MOH and I have been longtime fans, going back to the earliest episodes. I think it would be safe to say that Pertwee, Baker and Eccleston and Tennant have been favs for us, especially Baker. We didn't keep track from Tennant on as we don't have cable TV and it's been too hard to follow by other means.

The Daleks and the Tardis are probably the chief must-know popular-culture references coming from that series, and I feel pity for youngins who don't have the experience to get them (I'm looking at you M). It'd be like not being able to use references to wormholes, parallel dimensions, teleportation, or alien abduction in conversation...brrrr!

[stevelous]

As a lad Jon Pertwee was the Doctor and he was my 'childhood' Doctor. Later on I found Sylvester Mccoy a good representation of the Doctor. Not too keen on later Doctors but others like them.

With the trend in assistants becoming more 'able' it was only time before a female was cast in the role and I hope that the portrayal will live up to the early Doctors, time will tell. I think the lady assistants were chosen well but their characters were written in a way that made them seem venerable, exceptions being Leela (louise Jameson) Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen), Jo Grant (Katy Manning) .Romana (Mary Tamm and Lalla Ward) and Ace (Sophie Aldred). All to often the others were 'damsels in distress' waiting for to be rescued.

[trainspotter48]

My personal favourite Doctor was the first one (played by William Hartnell).
The other thing that made a strong impression on me at the time was a school classroom scene where the girl who was his companion (sorry, I can't remember either the character or actress name at this distance) was asked to define the three dimensions (normally taken as height, width, depth), and responded by pointing out that there were two other dimensions (time and space).
Now as this was the 1960s, these were fairly far thinking thoughts at the time.

I must admit that I started to lose interest (or grow out of it) as the series ran on through multiple 'regenerations' of the Doctor.

Now take care or [metallic voice on] YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED!!

[kingfish]

I grew up watching John Pertwee, Tom Baker, and Peter Davidson playing the doctor. Unfortunately, WGBH (the local pbs station) didn't really carry the series past that. The restart, being on BBC America, brought it back to my TV and I've either immediately liked or grown to like all the doctors as they got into their roles.

Their bringing the master back using Michelle Gomez, could be thought of the prototype to prove that doing a gender change would be acceptable by the audience. And judging by the reaction on the social media regarding it, and the sustaining of its rating(s), they figured it would be a good risk.

It will be interesting to see how she fares should she wander into the Victorian era. Of course with the likes of Vastra, Jenny, and Strax running around London at that time and a back story there open for filling in, there may be a good tale or two there.

Now to see if she goes with primarily male companion(s), and this immensely long wait to she how she gets out of that freefall of a cliffhanger we're left with. I heard the next episode won't air 'till next autumn.

[Grok]

I started watching a few years ago. I actually have little familiarity with the early Doctors.

The show is very imaginative, and exceptionally versatile.

[pelmut]

I can remember watching the first episode.

[john62]

Wow !