Ant's Doctor Who blog

[Anthony Williams]

hello all,

I started re-watching Doctor Who from the very beginning today. As a result, I've started blogging my opinions on it all, which may (but probably won't) be of interest. See what I think here!

I hope you all enjoy

Ant x

[shada pavlova]

I tried doing that once. I got as far as Planet of Giants, then I forgot about it.

Shows how committed I can be.

[Anthony Williams]

Oh, I've done it before - around seven years ago, but I felt that it's time I did it again! And this time, I'm actually thinking about it all (and blogging my opinions)

Ant x

[SiHart]

It's more fun to find out where the show finished and work backwards.

Si xx

[Wayne]

Ant,
A few years ago a young guy started a really good message board that you can use for this sort of thing. It's ideal for talking about Dr.Who especially!

Here's the address:

http://planetskaro.org.uk/forums/index.php

[SiHart]

@ Wayne!

Si xx

[Rob McCow]

I'll enjoy reading that, Ant. Good luck with the odessey!

[Dirk Gently]

Any chance you could do a parallel thead/copy here, Ant?

[Wayne]

Any chance you could do a parallel thead/copy here, Ant?

That's probably a 'no' then.

[Dirk Gently]

Lazy students!

[Anthony Williams]

Any chance you could do a parallel thead/copy here, Ant?

ok

[Anthony Williams]

1.1: An Unearthly Child
originally posted at: http://thereareworldsoutthere.blogsp...hly-child.html

If one were to suggest to a focus group today that one was going to write a TV series which featured an old man who traveled through time and space in a Police Box with his granddaughter, in the first story of which, he kidnapped two teachers and took them back to the Neolithic period where they were forced to make fire for cavemen, then that focus group would undoubtedly laugh in your face.

Yet, this was the humble beginnings of a series that was to run for twenty-six years on its original run, spawn a TV Movie in 1996 and have a revival in the 2000s with four highly successful series, and two spin-off series. Sounds ridiculous, does it not?

Yet, it is the simplicity of this first serial that gives it its charm. The first episode is so wonderfully mysterious - who is this strange girl who no-one can figure out, and why does she live in a junkyard? On top of it all, who is this strange old man, whom she called "Grandfather"? Indeed, this one episode makes up for the rest of the serial, in which nothing really happens that couldn't be done in a single episode of the new series.

At this point, this was a series without any of the mythology that fandom (and indeed, Joe Public) has come to know and love. There are no Daleks (they come along in the next serial), there is no mention of the Doctor being an alien who can regenerate and (for the modern viewers), there is no Time War. Indeed, rather than being an attractive thirty-something man, the Doctor himself is old, and has somewhat dubious moral qualities - at one point in the story, he grabs a sharp stone with the implied intent of killing an injured caveman. William Harntell was absolutely fantastic in the role from day one, giving the Doctor a truly alien personality. Unlike later incarnations, it's clear that he doesn't want companions, other than the one family member who he travels with. He acts selfishly, with only his own self-interests at heart.

When Doctor Who first started, it was given thirteen weeks to prove itself. It wasn't until the following serial, The Daleks, when it really took off, but An Unearthly Child (or, as it's sometimes referred to, 100,000BC) is the story where it all started, establishing such mainstays of the story, such as the Doctor and the TARDIS and all its wonderful concepts. What a different world we would all live in without it!

[Anthony Williams]

1.2: The Daleks
originally posted at: http://thereareworldsoutthere.blogsp...12-daleks.html

In 1978, the first serial featuring the Daleks was on a pile of film cans waiting to be incinerated. Whether or not they had been incinerated would have made little difference to the popularity of everyone's favourite pepperpots, as they had already ingrained themselves on the public consciousness.

Yet one cannot help wonder why the Daleks had become so popular. When one looks at them, they look absolutely absurd. And yet, these are the creatures that had many a child hiding behind the sofa whilst they were on (my own mother included, watching this first serial back in 1963, aged 5!). Little did anyone at the time realise that these would become the creatures that would conquer the Earth (twice) and fight a fierce Time War against the Time Lords.

Instead, their beginnings were somewhat more humble. A one-off monster, who were seemingly wiped out at the end of this serial. What was it that was so magical about them that they ended up returning time and time again? The popularity garnered even by the end of this serial ensured that the BBC would ask writer Terry Nation to pen a sequel.

Certainly, this serial is the first true classic of Doctor Who. At a mammoth seven parts, it introduces the Daleks through a spectacularly creepy first episode. Who could ever forget that ending with the Dalek plunger approaching Barbara meanacingly? The odyssey through the jungle and the Dalek city to save the day. The race to save Ian, the race to save the Thals. It's all directed with such superb tension.

Its spralling length allows the characters to be further established and developed. The Doctor is shown to be extremely stubborn and selfish, and this act of stubborness ensures that the entire TARDIS crew is put in mortal danger - both from the radiation of the planet, and from the Daleks themselves. William Hartnell is just absolutely brilliant in his portrayal, once again. Despite these faults, the first Doctor still comes across with great charm and still manages to make me wish that he was my grandfather! Ian and Barbara are undoubtedly show as very much being "in it together", brought close together by their species and time period, whilst Susan remains as hysterical as ever (okay, so maybe not quite so much character development in Susan!)

On top of all the tension, action and character building, the story also presents the audience with some interesting moral lessons. The Daleks are undoubtedly a parallel to the Nazis with their notions of racial supremity and their final solution, whilst the Thals are pacifists, who if it weren't for the TARDIS crew, would perish at the hands of the Daleks. This serial teaches us that although one should not resort to violence out of fear and irrationality, sometimes it is necessary to do so in order to survive.

The Daleks is a true Doctor Who classic, and I, for one, am glad that it was saved from the scrap-heap!

[Pip Madeley]

If one were to suggest to a focus group today that one was going to write a TV series which featured an old man who traveled through time and space in a Police Box with his granddaughter, in the first story of which, he kidnapped two teachers and took them back to the Neolithic period where they were forced to make fire for cavemen, then that focus group would undoubtedly laugh in your face.

One would then get ones butler to slap one in the face with his "lunch".

Good reviews Ant, one would like more!

[WhiteCrow]

I started re-watching Doctor Who from the very beginning today. As a result, I've started blogging my opinions on it all, which may (but probably won't) be of interest. See what I think here!

I hope you all enjoy

Ant x

You know what I think "bloody lazy student", get a job!!!



I actually remember my first proper watching of Hartnells Daleks was on a Wednesday afternoon as part of a Who Marathon, when I should have been Rugby training instead. So I became a Who fan over the next Laurence Dallaglio. Life stinks.

[WhiteCrow]

If one were to suggest to a focus group today that one was going to write a TV series which featured an old man who traveled through time and space in a Police Box with his granddaughter, in the first story of which, he kidnapped two teachers and took them back to the Neolithic period where they were forced to make fire for cavemen, then that focus group would undoubtedly laugh in your face.

You know reading that, I'm thinking "Time Lord"??? I think it's more "The Pikeys of Time and Space".

Staring Wilfrid Brambell as Doctor Who ...

[Pip Madeley]

"Make fire, yer horrible little bleeder!"

[Wayne]

Yay! Spot on reviews, Ant.

[Wayne]

"Make fire, yer horrible little bleeder!"

[Pip Madeley]

"Alright, I'll take you to Bognor!"

[Anthony Williams]

1.3: The Edge of Destruction
originally posted at: http://thereareworldsoutthere.blogsp...struction.html

Over the last few series of the Russell T. Davies-helmed Doctor Who, we have become quiet used to the idea of Doctor-lite serials, and there's even been a Companion-lite serial. However, the Edge of Destruction is something unique in the history of Doctor Who - a story featuring only the TARDIS crew, set entirely inside the TARDIS. It is no wonder that one of the titles often banded around for this serial is Inside the Spaceship. Indeed, since almost all the Hartnell episodes had individual titles, fans have often had to come up with names for various serials. For example, An Unearthly Child has often been referred to as 100,000BC. However, I tend to go on the serial titles that have been favoured by the BBC on their VHS and DVD releases.

There's something magical about the TARDIS. As a small child, I craved seeing extra rooms of the TARDIS. The last episode of The Invasion of Time was an absolute delight, as were the first episodes of both Logopolis and Castrovalva. Unfortunately, the excitement of The Edge of Destruction hinges entirely on that for me.

This story had the opportunity to be really quite brilliant. It could have been a fantastic character piece, where we learn a lot more about the characters that we have slowly got to know over the last eleven episodes - a little more about their history, for example. However, instead the writer, David Whittaker, decides to subvert the characters and send them spiralling into the realms of paranoia. This in itself is not necessarily a bad thing, giving moments that are both tense and quite unnerving (such as Susan going mental with a pair of scissors, or the Doctor's insistance that they throw Ian and Barbara off the ship). In such a way, it is possible to draw parallels between The Edge of Destruction and the recent serial Midnight - the main difference is that the former is actually quite good, whilst the latter is rather poor.

The story was written as a filler to get the series to the end of its original thirteen episode count, written in two days with the intention of being a cheap story (indeed, the equivalent to the "Doctor-Lite" stories of today). Indeed, it was this story that Verity Lambert (the then producer) used to demonstrate to her superiors at the BBC that Doctor Who would not be too expensive a commitment for the corporation. As a budget-saver that was written hastily, it's not too bad. It certainly isn't the worst serial that was ever made in the name of Doctor Who.

[Anthony Williams]

1.4: Marco Polo
originally posted at: http://thereareworldsoutthere.blogsp...arco-polo.html

Marco Polo is a somewhat strange story to me. To some, it is one of the greatest stories ever. Why do I find it so strange? Well, firstly it's because of the opinion of a few who suggest that it's amazing, whilst they have never actually seen it - for the reason that they cannot, as the serial itself is missing from the BBC archives, and thus one must either listen to the soundtrack (as I have done), or watch a reconstruction. As such, one cannot entirely judge the production values. Certainly, based on the telesnaps and colour photographs that we have of the serial, the visuals do indeed look amazing, but I personally don't think that it is possible to judge this entirely from telesnaps.

The story itself is full to the brim with charm, and is the first real "character piece" in Doctor Who. The TARDIS crew get to meet and build friendships with people, and the sheer length of the serial (seven episodes) does genuinely give the impression that the TARDIS crew have genuinely been travelling for weeks. The politics involving Marco Polo, Tegana, Kublai Khan etc. helps to make the serial into one of the most complex pieces in the early history of Docto Who. The real beauty of the story is the friendships built between Susan & Ping Cho and Ian & Marco Polo, with both friendships really giving an insight into the characters of both Susan and Ian, more than anything else.

Yet, despite all of this, I cannot help but feel that the story just drags on and on. Both its biggest plus-point and its biggest flaw are the same thing! Although its seven-episode length gives the afforementioned impression of a long journey, I've always found myself getting bored during this serial. Yes, it has its charm through its use of costumes and sets. Ye, the character development in it is superb. Yes, Tegana makes a fantastic villain, and yes, William Hartnell is simply superb in it, but I just cannot help but feel that the story is never quite as good as many fans would suggest that it is.

[shada pavlova]

Y'know, the 30-minute version on the DVD of The Edge of Destruction has nothing on the original.

[Si Hunt]

It would have been a treat week-on-week though which, lest we forget, was how it was made to be viewed. Each episode is full of poetic dialogue, rich costumes and dramatic incident. What more would you want?

The story stands out as an oddity in the first season, as it's entirely absent when most of the rest of the season is intact. This is because all stories aside from "Marco Polo" and "The Reign of Terror" were returned as Arabian prints by the mid seventies, suggesting that we have Arabia alone to thank for us having any of Season 1 at all, bar "An Unearthly Child" which was in the BBC Film Library. I don't know whether Arabia simply never bought "Marco Polo", or whether they had it and didn't return it.

Si.

[SiHart]

I think the last three episodes of the first story are often unfairly dismissed. What we've got is an exploration of a group of people thrown together in extraordinary cirumstances, trying to survive when they're facing a tribe they can't reason with. "Fear makes companions of us all" is the key quote from these episodes, as we begin to see them rely on the various strengths the characters have just to survive and escape from this place.
It's directed with such verve and fluidity too. It puts alot of other stories from this period (and indeed several others from the show's history) to shame.

Oh and Marco Polo is great, even on audio. The dialogue and performances really carry the story.

Si xx