Dr Who (David Tennant)
 

Sorry if this has already been covered (I did search), please redirect me Monsieur de Undertoad...

Do you have our new Dr Who in the States, or anywhere else yet? I've just watched a wonderfully whimsical episode featuring Peter Kay (may be unknown outside these isles) set to ELO. Can't think of a better example of the way this Dr Who is engaging new audiences.

I'm slightly biased I admit - I was always a fan of Dr Who and when it was resurrected with Christopher Ecclestone, Mark Gattiss - one of my heroes from The League of Gentlemen - wrote an episode, so I was hooked.

The quality of writing, the sets, the costumes and the special effects have all impressed me. And Billie Piper as the Dr's assistant adds an everyday presence to the sci-fi aspect. But most of all, David Tennant - the first man under 14 stone (14x 14lbs - in his case more like 10x 14lbs) I've ever fancied....! Whoosh. Glad I'm not 16 again. I bought a Dr Who action figure and promptly sent it to my best friend who has moved to Kenya and is therefore missing the series. I didn't want to start interacting with him...

So, any Dr Who fans out there?

oh yes, we're out here......

As someone who remembers the original with William Hartnell, I can only say that this invocation is the best ever,. Russel T Davies has raised the bar to unprecedented levels... tonight's story a case in point. Whilst I am sure it dissapointed a lot of the younger fans, with the Doctor confined to a bit-part, what a risk to take! Stunning TV, rates alongside The Prisoner for innovation.

and, for the first time., I would rate Dr. Who as a serious sci-fi programme.

Ecclestone just finished over here in the states. I'm looking forward to Tennant. I watched Ecclestone on Bittorrent, but now that it's on SciFi, I'm waiting so it's new to me when it's on TV.

We find out who the new Doctor is tonight at 17.35 (GMT)
Yay!

I'll come back and report.
If I remember :p

!!!!!!!

thats like
11:30 AM for me?
holy shit.

Matt Smith
That Face, Ruby in the Smoke, Party Animals

26 years old
Feel free to Google, I'll come back & do so myself but wanted to break the news asap

wasn't sure when they said 26 yrs old...wasn't sure when they first showed his face...but in interview i thought he showed a lot of promise. A little bit alien looking, and ancient eyes in a young face.

he's... possible. he might could do it. maaaaybe.
tennant will always be the Doctor to me, though.

We think such similar thoughts it's scary. I'm going to go and make a tinfoil hat now, if you experience any subsequent lack of intelligence, please call me immediately.
Never say never (okay, you didn't)
I thought Tom Baker would always be my Doctor. Then the Tennant came along. I'm open to all forms of Timelord disloyalty now.

I used to think my Doctor was Tom...then Peter came along and I liked him. Then Paul McGann took the role on and I adored him. I so wish he'd had a chance to play a series. Then I loved Chris and then David...and now I love them all :P

That's the beauty of the Doctor. He keeps changing but is always essentially the same. Something which becomes more apparent if you go back and watch the old doctors at work.

I was ready for Tennant to leave (I mean after this years tv movies). I think he's been the best of all of them. Better than Baker, or Davison. Better than McGann purely because McGann only got one outing. I think had he been given a series to do he'd have blown Who fans' minds. Part of the reason he was better than those who'd gone before him, was because he incorprated them all into his Doctor. Tennant's Doctor was the culmination of that character's life and learning. But...they've done everything with him. Tennant's Doctor has dealt with absolute isolation, love, loss, the destruction of his own people, the discovery of one other survivor and then his loss, an unexpected daughter and her loss. We've seen him high and low and every bit in between. We've even seen him helpless in the face of the mob (Midnight). It's time now for another actor to take it on. So that the character can deal with all those emotions and challenges again in a fresh way.

I've said it before but Peter Davison will always be Tristan Farnon to me. He can't be Dr Who because he's a bumbling little brother.

*chuckles* I loved that show!

I dated a guy once because he had a Tom Baker scarf. And curly brown hair.

I liked the series better when the special effects were worse.

The Doctor Rocks. Haven't seen the new one; they're still re-running David Tennant here. Which is okay by me.

"Now that takes me back. Or is it forward? That's the problem with time-travel. You can never tell."

One of my favorite quotes from any source -- and I've never seen a single episode.

I'm going to have to fix that someday.

—Harlan Ellison. "Introducing Doctor Who", published in Doctor Who and the Day of the Daleks and nine other Doctor Who novelizations. Los Angeles: Pinnacle Books, 1979.

FYI - PVPonline (a net comic) has begun a Dr. Who themed segment.

I fell in love with the good Doctor when Chris Eccleston played him, and only stuck around for season two because of Billie Piper. Once Rose was gone, I stopped watching.

I just started watching the Eccleston/Piper version... I'm on the 3rd episode. I'd always heard about Dr. Who but never watched it before.

Shoulda stuck around for Cathrine Tate. :D

Incidently, I'm not too sure what I think about the Doctor's 11th incarnation. Matt Smith better be good @ acting the part cuz he sure doesn't look the part. Too bad we gotta wait another year to see if he can wow us.

On a somewhat related note, a Red Nose Day special episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures will air March 13 on BBC 1, and season 3 will air this fall. I guess that means the Sci-Fi channel will get it next year. As for Torchwood - Children Of Earth, all I know is it'll be sometime this year, but I don't know when.

Torchwood! Torchwood! Torchwood!

give me some good Doctor/Capn Jack lovin! or at least Capn Jack/Ianto!

And I'll take Gwen & Tosh any day.

I hate that they killed off.....oh hang on. I'd best not continue that line, you guys are a series behind on torchwood right?

Actually, I did see the first two seasons on BBC America, but I forgot that ... died in ...

Oh don't - I swoon every time they have some cheeky man-love.

I watch Ianto and Captain Jack and I feel like I finally have some insight into why blokes find girl on girl sexy.

Seriously? I always think that when guys kiss it looks like they are eating each other's face. It's the least (visually) appealing of all getting-it-on situations.

I agree...except when it's Capn Jack

Well, whatever makes you happy is cool with me.

OMG. Just found out that MY Bond is appearing with MY Doctor!

It's not a commonly heard opinion, but Timothy Dalton was my James Bond.
Okay, I admit, I haven't seen Daniel Craig (who I always want to call Craig David in a Bo Selecta stylee). But hey - Dalton was Bond when my hormones woke up and said hello. Roger Moore was my childhood Bond, and that's not really the same thing.

Anyway, yes, ahem. Timothy Dalton, last seen being a fox as Sissy Slater ("what a gaylord") in Hot Fuzz appears in the last of David Tennant's Doctor Whos. Yum, yum, yum. As previously stated, I've been lucky enough to have two Doctors - a childhood Doctor and one I wanted to get jiggy with. Don't judge me on that - read back and Dani has had about five! Not necessarily the jiggy thing. But probably (slut)

Now I know John Barrowman is popping up at some point. So I really need Simon Pegg, Mark Gatiss and Steve Pemberton to make repeat performances, and I'm sure they could slip in Reece Shearsmith (given a little lube) as he's only tiny. Oh, and Gareth David-Lloyd of course - of course! And then you'd have all my favourites in one place. Do you think licking a TV screen too much would damage it?

ETA - forgot Bill Bailey.
Why the hell hasn't he been in Dr Who yet?
You'd think he'd be a shoo-in!
Ummmm. Ungrateful, aren't I?

*chuckles*

I just watched 'School reunion' from the first Tennant series (for about the fifth time) as it's on BBCIplayer currently. Then logged into the Cellar and the first thread on the list was this :P

Love that episode. The whole thing with Sarah Jane Smith and Rose was excellent.

@ Sundae: Dalton was my Bond too :P I was head over heels in love with him lol.

'My doctor' was probably a hedge between Tom Baker and Peter Davison, though my favourite of the old classic doctors was Colin Baker.

I gotta say though, much as I love David Tennant, he ties with Paul McGann for me now as favourite Doctor. Even though McGann only got to do the slightly dodgy tv movie in the late 90s, and never actually had a stint in the tv series, he's done loads of the Big Finish full-production audio plays. He's so good in those productions, and they are (on the whole) so well written and produced that he looms quite large amongst the fans. You can get away with so much on radio that you just can't do on tv. One play for instance (Scherzo) consists almost entirely of a dialogue between the Doctor and his companion Charley( widely thought to be the inspiration for Rose in terms of the kind of relationship she has with the doctor). Take out a couple of very obvious sci-fi elements (the sound creature and the setting) and it is just a very, very good play. It's beautifully played by McGann and India Fisher and is my favourite ever radioplay.

I'm hoovering up the Torchwood books/ radio plays/ CDs when I can hold of them at knockdown prices. They're not all that consitent, but at least being on a budget means I can't resent what I've paid for them.

I've fallen asleep to Gareth David-Lloyd about three times this week - no disrespect meant, it's a 2.5 hour recording and as usual I am having trouble sleeping. He relaxes me :)

You're more a Who fan than I am - I became a Torchwood girl. More sex and violence. Oh, and more John Barrowman. I have such a crush on the Captain. Which does NOT make me a fag-hag, because he's omni ;) My best buys by far have been The Unofficial Torchwood Guides (Series 1 and 2) by Stephen James Walker. I know he's done something similar for Who. They're so detailed, and just what a nerdette like me wanted to feed her head. Also, reading them keeps me sober - I can't read the small print and the footnotes if I've had a drink. Well worth the money secondhand - and probably even new.

I'm watching the San Diego Comic Con vids on YouTube at the mo.
Free, again stops me drinking, and I can have them loud enough to hear because Mum & Dad are housesitting. Yay! Three ticks!

Oh I love Torchwood. I love all the Who related stuff :P

If you enjoyed the Torchwood audio-plays you might enjoy the Big Finish Doctor stuff. Frankly the eighth Doctor plays are worth it just for McGann's voice :P I can send you a disc with a couple of you want:) I have many *grins* I could cherry pick you a good one.

Oh, Mark Gatiss has done a few Big Finish plays btw. He plays The Master in the one I am listening to currently. Pegg's in a couple too.

I knew Mark played the Master - he said his only regret was that it meant he would never be picked to play the Doctor :) Like they'd have a ginger Doctor...! This is a joke - I adore him.

Oh - yes please!
Send, send, send!

Oops, I still owe you for my Cellar mug & calendar - you can send when I finally pay you back!
I was going to do it this week - honest.
But then I found out the Barrowman was in La Cage Aux Folles, AND Mum would come with me, AND we could get opening night tickets.... and.... well. I'm 51% sure you will both understand and forgive me..


Got the soundtrack for £2 on Amazon. Not JB of course, just to familiarise myself with it (The Birdcage was only very loosely based on the musical). It's grand. I'm almost jealous of myself.

*laughs* I'd have been annoyed if you'd missed out on that to pay me back hon. There's no rush.

I'll have a root through the plays I have and try and cherry pick a couple of good ones.

I heard Barrowman's been casted into Desperate Housewives, but don't know if that's true.

I once had a Dr. Who mug that had the TARDIS on it--when you poured hot liquid in it, it disappeared.

*blinks* I want that mug!

to be clear, it was the TARDIS that disappeared--not the mug! The effect wore off after a few years. It was like this:

http://www.geocities.com/christoph_m...8CoffeeMug.htm

No sound effects though--that would have been cooler!

The coollest thing would be Tardis pants.
Far roomier on the inside than they appear (space-age pants)
Occasionally have not only the Doctor, but the Captain inside.
And make a fearsome racket when you come.

Okay, scrap the last one.

Just watched the last two episodes back to back.
Yes, I cried.
Lovely to see the Captain though. Looking so raddled :)

Roll on Eleven.
And Torchwood Four.

I thoroughly enjoyed the finale. And yes I was a little choked up on several occasions!

I didn;t watch part one on Christmas day 'cause I was at my bros. So I downloaded it from i-player...then cuoldn;t bring myself to watch it for days! During which time I read several very mixed reviews (avoided the spoiler-ridden ones) and my best friends J and J both said that the first part was 'pants'. J(f) said it had no real story to it, was just confused and she hated the Master in it blah blah blah. Nothing much really happened, and she hoped part two wold be better.

I knew at the time I'd probably enjoy it more than that because...well because I do generally :P But it meant when i sat down on 1st Jan to watch my download, a couple of hours prior to the finale being shown, that I had low expecations.

I loved it! I don;t understand all the negativity around part one. It had a very clear story. Several very clear story strands in fact. It was tightly paced and fast moving, but managed to get in several really emotional scenes (the ones between Wilf and the Doc nearly had me blubbing, especially the cafe scene). I honestly don;t know what it was that people were expecting to see that they were disappointed with it. Maybe it was just too hyped. Nothing could live up to that level of hype I guess.

The second part was brilliant. Really dark and when the four knocks came...having been so much a part of the build-up they were surprisingly unexpected.

Sat down today and rewatched part one wioth Mum, who hadn;t seen it. She was thrilled by it. She also nearly cried dring the cafe scene and likewise has no clue what J(f) was talking about when she said it had no real story to it.

I think Doctor Who, and especially the big seasonal episodes, have to be watched without cynicism. It's the only way they work.

I noticed in the reviews of this as with other big episodes, a lot of criticism of RTD. I think he's made the cardinal sin for this country of becoming mega succesful. Once that happens people take against you. Also a lot of criticisms over the jack scene. People see that as RTD's gay agenda (?) Which I just think is bizarre.

Of course some of the reviews were very warm and positive. One of them was by a chap who'd been watching it withhis seven year old son. As he was watching it he was thinking: what was all the hype about? This just isn;t very good. The bad guys aren't scary...the story line is unclear. Then he had an epiphany. It came in two parts; first when he realised that every time the master appeared on screen his son jumped and grabbed his arm. Second when the closing credits scrolled for part one and his son turned to him and said "That was the best christmas telly ever!"

That's the way to truly get Who: watch it with a 7 year old. I said that to J: he said yeah....a seven year old or you!

Anyway....that's it. The RTD/tennant era is over, and the Moffat/Smith era has begun. Good luck to them. I hope it continues to be as fresh and cynicism-free as it's been for the last 5 years.

I have that mug. They were quite popular at Science Fiction Conventions.

I just saw the finale on BBC and got all teary eyed, it was sad he didn't want to go.

I watched them back to back (more or less) but managed to avoid reviews. I'm glad, because it meant I could simply enjoy it without having half an eye on it having to prove itself.
I think Doctor Who, and especially the big seasonal episodes, have to be watched without cynicism. It's the only way they work.
That makes me really cross.
In Dr Who*, Captain Jack is a bisexual man with no angst or hang-ups. Thank God! How rare is it to see non-heterosexual people/ relationships without having "Issues" thrust upon you? Any soap with a gay character has to "do!" AIDs, coming out, homophobia etc etc etc.

*Yes, Jack has issues (lower case and no speech marks) in Torchwood. But they're nothing to do with where he likes to stick his cock.

Children should see everyday interaction between gay people. It happens. It's real. Okay, Jack was seen picking a man up in a bar rather than walking with a partner hand in hand through a park or reminding him to go to the library to pay an overdue fine. But that's Jack - why should his last appearance with the Ten go against character? I was glad to see Jack getting a little light relief - suggested rather than explicit because of the young audience - after all he's been through.

Sorry. I'm off my soapbox now.
It just makes me so mad.

People with opinions like that ruin it for the rest of us. I mean what hope is there now of getting a Torchwood episode in which we see explicit shots of Jack giving the new Doctor head? A shame I tell you.

Completely off topic (well - mostly) Mum shared the wisdom last night that John Barrowman and his partner Scott Gill will not stay together. Scott is apparently not flamboyant enough for John. The fact they've been together nearly two decades, have a civil partnership, dogs, shared family and property does not seem to matter. Hmmmmmmmm. Then again she was in Doom-Saying mode last night. And after all her predictions my hair hasn't fallen out yet, so I'm thinking she might not always be on the button.

I've just blown-up about this on the Big Finish Off-topic forum.

Someone said they'd be glad to see RTD go and are sick of him ramming his gay agenda down their throats (a rather unfortunate turn of phrase lol).

Two and a half hours of programme and there's a two minute scene in which two gay characters hook up. All as part of the loose ends tie-up in which Donna gets married, Rose runs off to greet the year in which she'll meet her love etc etc. Nobody is up in arms about the wedding scene saying it's pushing a heterosexual agenda. 5 series and two doctors and there's been 1 recurring 'gay' character and maybe 2 non-recurring gay characters. Nothing graphic has ever been shown. How is that pushing a gay agenda? basically, if the programme recognises the existence of gay people this is RTD's gay agenda. Fucking disgraceful.

I don't know why but I tend to expect better of Who fans. You need a certain kind of openness to get Who.

Funnily enough, on scouting the Torchwood forums, the fans are more upset that RTD showed Jack as over Ianto :)
Disregarding the fact that Jack has got over countless other people in his long life (Captain John anyone?) and there is no indication of the WHEN of the vignette...

In fact it was commented more than once that this was RTD's "fingers up" parting gesture to Torchwood fans. Snigger. I loved Ianto - his death made me cry and mourn for him. But even I'm not so delicate a flower as to still be in mourning six months later. Most of my friends have been ready for a relationship IN REAL LIFE in a shorter time.

You can't please everyone.
I guess that's why you have to force it down people's throats.... as the tyrant said to the bishop.

Fnaar fnarr!

What's strange here for me is finding out that we're getting Dr. Who relatively fresh, rather than months or years after the British Broadcasts.

Based on the last bits, I'm not sure if I'll take to the new guy. Too Manic. Or maybe I'll end up indifferent, like I was over Sylvester McCoy.

Oh, and I'm going to need to discuss spoilers and such ... good place for that?

I enjoyed the two episodes, but feel that there were some unanswered questions.

Do a spoiler warning if you're going to do spoilers:P

I never took to McCoy. But i think a lot of that was to do with the way the show itself was going. The BBC had taken against it, or rather the head of BBC had decided he hated DrWho. So despite the fact that it was one of its most saleable products, it got no input of cash. Basically, whatever a programme brought in, got thrown into a general pot, rather than acknowledged and fed back into tjhat programme. The very last episode in the 80s (when it was announced that it wuold be cancelled) beat Coronation Street and match of the day in ratings, but none of that mattered once the BBC Controller had decided it was time for it to go. Consequently the budget for Doctor Who got smaller and smaller during the 80s and the pressure from on high to make it 'funny' and more 'family oriented' was very strong: hence the bringing in of light entertainment stars like McCoy and Langford. TStrangely enough though, whilst the first McCoy series was very lightweight, the later stories of his tenure werre very dark in tone and his doctor a much darker doctor than had previously been seen. Something I really didn't see or appreciate at the time. It's onlyreally in the last few years during my rediscovery of Doctor Who that I've realised just how dark and manipulative McCoy's Doctor actually was.

I suspect that Smith will make a good Doctor. I didn't like that couple of minutes of him, after the regen sequence....but I never do like that bit. It's always a little bit wank imo. I've seen every regen, including the 15-20 seconds which is all that remains extant of the First Doc's final episode, and the only two new Docs I haven't completely hated were Colin Baker (6th Doc) and David tennant (10 Doc). Even Peter Davison (my Doctor!) was wank in the first few seconds after regen.

I've seen the preview clip of the next series and it looks good....except for that 'Geronimo' catchphrase....please please drop that *sends a prayer to Moffat*


@ Sperlock: yes there were a lot of unanswered questions. If there are any in particular, that you want answering, it's possible I may be able to help :P Some of them relate to Doctor Who mythology and I may be able to answer some (though not all).

FTR - I thought the Ten's first few seconds were wank. He seemed even more wide eyed than Christopher Manic Ecclestone. Adored him from the first full length of course - because he was tall and skinny and dangerous in a completely British way (probably because he's really a barbarian Scot).

I'm not against Smith. I'm precious enough about books, I don't need anything else cluttering up my enjoyment of the world. But even saying that, I admit he's on report.

Wolf - spoiler away! Selfishly, you can't spoil it for us :) But, no - as Dana advises, mark it as such for fellow Merkins.

Keryx likes Tom Baker as her favorite. I like David Tennant the only Dr. that I have seen start to finish. Who is your favorite Dr.?

I don't really have a favourite as such. They kind of cycle around between four or five of them. At any given point my favourite might be Colin Baker, Peter Davison, Paul McGann, Chris Eccleston or David Tennant. At a push I would probably say David Tennant is a constant. But i am very into the audio Doctor Who stories as well and Paul McGann is particularly wonderful in those.

My favourite scene from the whole of End of Time parts one and two. Probably one of the best scenes from the new era (to my mind). It's a gentle scene. But I found it disturbing to watch. The Doctor always knows what to do. He's always got an answer. He always has hope. But this is a Doctor facing the end and his lack of certainty, his lack of hope is unsettling to watch.

Mock up facebook page for The Doctor.
Made me laugh anyway.

Thanks for sharing that. It gave me a much needed laugh.

David as Davina in Rab C. Nesbitt :)

In case you were wondering about their alignment.

The Ten was never Chaotic Evil!
He was... Angst Fit maybe?

The more I see of Matt Smith, the more I like him. He was on Jonathan Ross last night (o/t - today the Express had a revolting article about Jane Goldsmith. It didn't even make sense, criticising her from two opposite points of view in one article - AND it was written by a woman - bleurgh) and Smith was totally charming. FTR I'm not a huge Ross fan, but I share many of his tastes and will certainly miss Friday Night With... You can't really be appalled by Death By Media when someone has made their living from it, but with Parky gone I can't help thinking we've lost pretty much our only decent interviewers. Oh sorry - there's Alan Titchmarsh I suppose!

Back to the Doctor.

I can't hold the fact Smith isn't Tennant against him. Well, not forever..
And anyway, I usually fall for quirky looking men, rather than handsome beasts (the name given to Diz when I was living above the pub, actually).

It's just tricky accepting a Timelord who to all appearances is younger than me.
Keep hoping Cap'n Jack will make his way back to the Doctor. In terms of years lived, Jack's actually older than the Doctor, and has now had some really sobering experiences. I'd like to see him take the younger Doctor in hand. Pun intended.

Here is our newb