Gaz-L posted:

I haven't listened to any of Gallifrey, but isn't Juliet Landau's version of Romana implied to be from the new series' era? Or did I misunderstand a blurb on some wiki that I may have read, or possibly just dreamt I did?

Detective No. 27 posted:

Would Mondasian and Cybus Cybermen be hostile toward each other? Everyone always mentions Spare Parts, but I also loved The Silver Turk. A small band of Cybermen raised hell in that one. I'd love to see the two kinds meet in a story.

I'm in the middle of Eyes of The Master, couple questions, but what stories do Liv and the Eminence come from originally?

CobiWann posted:

Oh, yes! I completely forgot about that, even though I've seen it enough times on Youtube!

X X X X X

Imagine that it’s a milestone anniversary for Doctor Who. For multiple decades, the show has been an ingrained part of British culture, to the extent that millions of Britons have an actor they consider “their” Doctor.
But, instead of a large, boisterous celebration that proudly proclaims the robust status of the franchise, the BBC instead produces a low-budget two-parter that barely clocks in at 15 minutes total. In order to make it to air, the show had to cross-over with a highly successful British soap opera. The production of the anniversary special was so intertwined with the soap opera, the BBC set up a phone line where fans of the soap opera could vote to determine which character from the show would save the Doctor from the machinations of the Rani, with all the proceeds going to charity.

And, let’s say that the first part of the serial was broadcast during an annual charity telethon, and the second part was broadcast during a popular variety show, but the host of the variety show asked that some time be trimmed off of the broadcast, and the BBC readily agreed, causing several key lines to hit the editing room floor and the serial to lose any sense of a complete and rational narrative.

That, my friends, was Dimensions in Time. Not so much as a celebration of the show’s 30th anniversary, at times it came off as the BBC’s way of saying “there, that should shut those bugger Who fans up” with the lack of proper funding and their willingness to shorten the story to fit the whims of a television host. Even with the cards stacked against them, the two episodes of Dimensions in Time scored some of the highest television ratings in the entire history of Doctor Who, showing the BBC that there still was a rabid, dedicated fanbase out there for the franchise.

And then, there was the 40th anniversary...where all the fans got was the release of a remix of the iconic theme by Orbital. Still, it’s a kick-rear end theme and one that's made its way onto a few Doctor Who DVD's as bonus material...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMMxOWUffEU

CobiWann posted:

Yes. Yes, it did!

Would you believe I've never seen it?

Cruel Rose posted:

God, I can just see Saxon paying a visit to Lazarus's lab, taking a look at his notes, then trying really, really hard not to laugh. ("This guy's gonna turn into a giant loving scorpion! I am so funding this.")

If I remember correctly, RTD mentions in the commentary that The Lazarus Experiment (and 42, incidentally) was handed in last minute and the whole thing was just sort of thrown together. Seeing as Lazarus's writer would later write The Doctor's Daughter, I can't help but get the impression he doesn't quite enjoy what he's doing. There's virtually no charm in his scripts.

thrawn527 posted:

One thing I've never really gotten about Bad Wolf: The first time, sure, she drank time energy, left the words as a reminder/warning, whatever. Fine. But what about at the end of Turn Left in season 4? Where did Bad Wolf come from that time? This Rose isn't the Time God or whatever. This is just Rose from a different dimension? Where did all the Bad Wolf words come from that time, including on the TARDIS?

McGann posted:

For anyone not paying attention to the 'news' section of Doctor Who Legacy, they released the 5th Doctor code today


And I have to say, had no idea Davison had such a huge package.

Sonance posted:

I'd wager that McCoy's presence in the TV movie is the main reason McGann's considered canon at all, more so than any other element in that episode. If our introduction to McGann had begun in media res, with the 8th Doctor already several years/decades/centuries into his incarnation, there would have been more justifiable reasons to just waive away his incarnation as either some Cushing-esque "alternate" Doctor or some vague "future" incarnation. Thankfully, Virgin & BBC Books pretty much cemented that canonicity by taking the events of the TV movie as gospel, and Big Finish after them. From that point on it would have been rather foolish for anyone to suggest McGann's Doctor wasn't canon.

Sydney Bottocks posted:

Not only that, but he clearly relished the idea of making the role his own. He basically wanted to beat Tom's record of 7 years on the show, and had things been different, I think he very well might have.

Cruel Rose posted:

CobiWann posted:

…I should have.

Ok, here’s an assignment for the thread. My fiancée is a high school English teacher and she actually uses Doctor Who in the classroom. She uses Blink to teach mood and the various “Bad Wolf” sightings to illustrate foreshadowing. As such, she lets me put up a little “Wall of Who” in the back with pictures of all twelve (now thirteen) Doctors. Just the Doctors, no companions (if I get asked “where’s Rose” by one of her students one more flipping time), usually BBC promo shots (or Big Finish for McGann).

So, over the next few days, I’m taking submissions. Pictures of each Doctor, Hartnell through Capaldi, that I can put up on her wall to teach high school kids there were, and always will be, Doctors besides Tennant and Smith. I'll print out the best ones and you can rest knowing you've done your bit to educate American students, since obviously no one else will...

Tim Burns Effect posted:

Only tangentially related to Doctor Who, but has anyone here listened to Big Finish's adaptation of "Treasure Island"? I haven't decided if I want to get it yet but the prospect of Tom Baker as Long John Silver is REALLY tempting.

Jerusalem posted:

You make good points, but at the heart of it my problem is that none of these moments or actions are earned - just like the Doctor gets his hand forced into that machine, we're rushed through this sudden arrival of a complete stranger who is supposedly meant to be immediately injected into the very heart of the life of the titular character. She's a non-entity, and thus I can't get invested in her character arc, while she's being treated as the most important person in the universe.

There are parallels to be made between this story and the Flesh 2-parter from season 6. Where that story works for me is in the confusion between the two groups, and the fact that the Doctor is a eager participant in proving the validity of his own insistence on their right to be treated as individuals. The Flesh-Doctor may be a new entity, but he at least has the benefit of the Doctor's full memories/personality, even if the moment he comes into existence he branches off into being his own unique person.

By contrast, Jenny is the product of another culture produced by the forced acquisition of the Doctor's genes. She jams her way into a very specific and vital role in his life without earning her place (the Flesh Doctor was complicit with the original in gaining Amy's trust and understanding of his validity), and she takes a very aggressive and patently absurd take on who and what he is that he simply sits and passively takes despite the fact she has zero basis for any of her claims ("you're obviously a soldier, that's obviously a weapon" etc).

There may be moments in the story that would be good with the right character in the right setting with the right build up, but in this story I simply don't feel that they're earned. The audience is just meant to accept Jenny's importance simply because she exists, as if that is good enough.

PoshAlligator posted:

I put forward that the longest serving companion is Handles. As in in-show time.

PoshAlligator posted:

Does anyone here ever write fan fiction, or is that considered too lame by the goon hive-mind?

I don't know if anyone here has seen this upcoming fan anthology but my fourth Doctor short story is one of the finalists for its slot. http://thetemporallogbook.wordpress.com/

I've never written fan fiction before this, so it's quite validating. Now I have a couple more ideas. Where would be the best place to post this stuff online? Just the old Fan Fiction Net? I found writing it an interesting experience.

Also, I'm getting together a little writing-based fan project with some friends. If anyone is interested in that sort of thing I might post about it here?