Kevin's Watch

Oops... it's school hols now, came back and realised exactly how lame I sounded. Sorry guys, that was written during exam block.

News update: We wont get the Christmas Invasion until late next year - same with series 2006.

Been watching the Colin Baker stories. Is there a good story during his era? He played a great Doctor, don't get me wrong (talented actor), but his stories are terrible. I miss the golden era of early Pertwee and early Baker.

I quite enjoyed The Mark of the Rani and the first two serials in Trial of a Timelord. Other than that, yeah, Colin Baker really suffered from lousy writing. The beginning of the end for the old Doctor Who.

The Mark of the Rani was suprisingly good. I am enjoying the Trial, as well.

Good to see you again, VF!

Unfortunately, the ending of Trial of a Timelord is a total and unmitigated cheat, and a clumsily-written cheat at that. It isn't even a funny cheat.

The trouble, of course, is that the first four episodes of Trial, and half of the two-episode concluding section, were written by Robert Holmes, the best writer ever to work for Doctor Who and, for my money, both the funniest and wittiest SF screenwriter of all time. (Sorry, Douglas Adams.) But before he finished the draft of those concluding episodes, he was found face down at the typewriter with his nose jammed between two keys, stone dead. The script was finished (oh, boy, was it ever finished!) by Pip and Jane Baker, who quickly established themselves as the worst writers ever to work for Doctor Who. They went on to do the truly awful Time and the Rani, which introduced Sylvester McCoy's lackluster Doctor with an interminable barrage of mangled aphorisms and truly awful puns, coupled with a storyline that would have been an insult to the intelligence in a children's Christmas panto.

So beware.

And yet The Mark of the Rani was Pip and Jane's work as well. Strange how they began with such promise and so quickly degenerated into pabulous dreck.

The ending for Trial was not that good. And a m assive contradiction for the Boatyard . . uhhh . .. the Valeyard. Yes, a shame about Robert Holmes. I think he was the best script writer for Who, though Mysterious Planet was not that good (not that he was given the chance to edit it).
Agreed with the comment about Pip & Jane. What a dreadful entrance to McCoy's era.
I thought McCoy's era get's good in season 26, but really it's Curse which saves it, as Battlefield was atrocious, Ghostlight too short, and Survival weak. Silver Nemesis is a strong contender for the worst Dr Who story.

Having missed all but one episode of Eccleston's tenure, I'll make an effort to see The Christmas Invasion tomorrow, with Mr Tennant.

Re-showing Trial in Aus - up to second part (Doctor presenting evidence, not the Brickyard). See what you mean - but we're loving the clothes and hair (definitely the 80s). In Aus, should be expecting Invasion maybe Feb as Rose last year screened in UK (or according to their newspapers, I keep my eye out for[and collect] clippings on DW) a couple of months before Rose hit Aussie screens with the destruction of the N.C.
Reviewed the Special Features DVD in box set of new series and noticed something. Rewound and confirmed - Eccleston says -

The Doctor believes he is the last of the Time Lords

He places a definite emphasis on believes. My bets are on the Master.

Hm, I missed Invasion anyway. Ah well.

K9_nettle_min wrote: My bets are on the Master.

I hope that they don't bring back the Master.

What's he up to now? It'll be something devious and overcomplicated. He'd get dizzy if he tried to walk in a straight line.

Ah, the good old days of staying up 'til 2AM on Sundays watching Doctor Who on PBS. Don't think there's a channel around here that currently plays it.

CovenantJr wrote:Hm, I missed Invasion anyway. Ah well.

Unbelievably, I also missed it. Hellfire!

Loremaster wrote: I hope that they don't bring back the Master.

I remember seeing just one episode with the Master. Don't know anything about him. (Among all the other things I don't know in regards to Dr. Who lore.)

I see the Christopher Eccleston Doctor Who is being released on Region 1 DVD in February.

<licks chops>

We can probably expect Invasion not long after. I myself screwed up the start time on the VCR (no TiVo for me, alas), so I didn't record it . . . and missed watching the first 30 minutes, too. But a friend made a low-grade recording and burned it to CD, so I'll get to sort of see it before the DVD comes out.

Matrixman, the real Master was the recurring villain when Jon Pertwee was the Doctor. The part was brilliantly played by Roger Delgado, though of course his nefarious schemes always had a corny, Snidely Whiplash quality to them. The later version of the Master, played by Anthony Ainley, was a pale shadow of the original. Look for almost any episode of Who dated 1971 or 1972, and you'll get the genuine article. Many of them are available on DVD.

New series on Sci-fi channel .... march 17th

ABC have bought the rights, but I do not know when they will broadcast it.

why o why have i never heard of doctor who? why??

Tazzman wrote:why o why have i never heard of doctor who? why??

Sheltered life?

UK import that began back in 1963. Here in the US, it was shown strictly on Public Broadcasting back in the 80's. Went off the air in 1989 - tv movie in 1996 - now back prime time in 2005. HUGE in Britain. Kind of a cultural icon.

Basically, the Doctor is an alien who battles evil throughout the universe. He travels in a craft called the TARDIS - (Time And Relative Dimensions In Space) - stuck in the shape of a 1950's public police box. This craft is dimensionally transcendent { bigger on the inside } and travels in both Time & Space, providing a playground encompassing all of the history - past, present, future - of the entire universe. He usually has a human companion(s) with him on these adventures.

Great fun actually. This new season is really good. Give it a go.

Oh... did I mention that he regenerates into another body/personality when near mortal injuries occur? Comes in handy for series longetivity.

link.... www.gallifreyone.com www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/