DVD's - How Do You Watch Yours?

Hello Friends!

Ok, so I am getting close to starting my epic marathon of watching Who from the very beginning! In fact I now have every DVD release for Hartnell and Troughton...

It's both exciting and daunting!!!

Exciting, because (and I know many of you will find this bizarre) there is so much of this that I have never seen before!

Daunting because it is a lot to get through and I am aware some of it is quite slow paced!

I was looking for some tips though... I was wondering how you actually watch the DVD's with regards to the Commentaries and special features? I'm just thinking that watching a complete story then watching it all over again to listen to the commentary will mean I will still be on the 1st Doctor this time next year!

I suppose one way to do it is to forget the commentaries and then come back to them once I have watched everything! Oh and when I say everything my plan is to go right through until the TV Movie!

Also, what about the missing episodes? Should I read the Target book, or maybe watch the Recons? Or maybe just forget about them?

What would you do? Has anyone done this before?

The trouble with commentaries is they are great fun but they effectively "use up" a viewing of the story without appreciating it. If you watch it with the commentary on, it's a bit like talking over a film- and Doctor Who is a work of art, it can't be talked over! The whole idea is monstrous... unless it's as an alternative to the story, but then if you've just watched it why would you want to sit through it again?

I would advise leaving the commentaries on your initial viewing and appreciating each story for what it is. Perhaps, if you still have time, when you get to Troughton you could go back and do some of the Hartnell's with commentary tracks to break it up a bit?

Si.

We always did the commentaries first, as knowing the stories so we'll it seemed a good way of getting something new out of them. That worked for us quite nicely and on the whole the commentaries were good fun.

I always:

1. Read the blurb on the DVD sleave thingy.
2. Watch the story
3. Watch the special edition of the story (if applicable)
4. Watch the story with the commentary
5. Watch the special features

I am aware that I am watching each story more times than is healthy!
The only thing I don't bother with is the factual subtitle things. While they are interesting I can't listen and read at the same time!
I've still got a lot of stories to get on DVD; I just hope they don't all disappear one day!

Thanks for all the tips! I think I am going to leave the commentaries as a rule unless I am really impressed with who is giving it and leave them till I have got through this!

Isn't it a bit mad that I am getting stressed on embarking on something which should be such fun!

Still not sure what to do either about the missing stories... I think maybe I will just skip these and concentrate on getting through what is available...

I have been trying to work out why I have not seen so much Who and I think it is because when the VHS's started to get released I was not living at home and was working away in holiday camps or cruise ships and just was away from real life! I couldn't of afforded them to be honest even if I did have a tv or VHS player! I then did get some Videos of course but I was more keen on seeing my era again... I did once have a lovely partner who was also a Who fan and he had the complete Pertwee on video! I think he taped them off BSB or something.. and we watched all of that in order. That would have been around 1993!

There are still some complete Tom Baker stories I have never seen (I think) and most of the black and white stuff is all new to me!

Gosh I feel like I am confessing here! Please don't judge me!

Just food for thought, I'm about to go through the lot in order & I intend to watch all the existing stories first & then after Troughton is finished I'll pick up the 'orphaned' episodes before going through Pertwee.

What sort of pace are you planning on watching the series, Tim? I had given the idea some thought myself recently, but last time I tried it was great but things ground to a halt with The Sensorites and didn't really get going again. I just sort of lost the will to go on at that point, I suppose. Maybe it would be good if a few of us embarked on the journey at the same time...maybe encourage each other when we struggle through the bad times instead of just giving up...

Which gives me an idea for a new thread...we've done Time Team musical variations on here before, but have we ever, as a group, ever attempted a Doctor Who Time Team? From the start? Just as they did in DWM? I know that we've had the Season retrospectives, but have we ever watched the series from the start, together? Or is it just too big a task to embark on?

I do find it annoying when watching the documentaries on the DVDs and the emphasis is always on the new series with Eccleston showing his weathered features on the screen when I'm interested in the Doctor I'm currently invested in!
JB