Look Who’s back (No spoilage? Pretty please with sugar on?)

[TheLeen]

I confess I haven’t see Dr Who. Ever. None of it, not even old episodes. I read it was on German telly briefly towards the end of the eighties, but somehow I missed that, busy with elementary school as I was.

Soooo, for some time now I’ve been visiting DVD rentals asking them for Who and never got any. Well. My boyfriend said, why don’t you complain to the channel that bought the rights for the new couple of series and never broadcast them? So I google them and what does the first link tell me?

Dr Who, from end of January, Saturdays, 5 PM. (It is now Saturday, 4.45 PM CET.) Eek!
http://www.space-view.de/news/13171058/2007/12/dr_who_ab_januar_2008_auf_pro7.html

But it starts next week :)

Dubbed version. But better than nothing, for a start. (Looked into buying some time ago, but it’s expensive.)

Soon I’ll be knowing what the fuck you lot are talking about.

Topic

[Andrew]

There is a thing with Who that it’s not, really, a Time Travel Show. The TARDIS is just a device to get you to a new situation – one there, you see events through. You don’t pull the old ‘go back to the start’ trick (otherwise you’d be doing it every week).

The show uses, as you’ve noted, a logic of ‘once a timeline is entered you can’t loop over it’. It’s gabble, but no more gabble than ANY set of time travel rules. (It’s an impossible thing, as such no one set of rules is especially more valid than another.) And yeah, it’s science-fantasy rather than sci-fi. Tanya’s spot-on.

It’s fascinating that things we have come to think of as normal, as part of Who’s own genre, are the things that niggle so far, In the same way that, I guess, a person new to Bond would find Q’s delivery of Gadgets That WILL Be Useful At A Key Moment hard to swallow.

Sounds like the dubbing and cutting isn’t helping. Especially bad because these are 7pm shows, and (mostly) PG on DVD.

[Dave]

>All but one of the six stories in the Key to Time series from 1978 were made up of six 25-minute episodes, and the last story was made up of eight

Season 16 was made up of five stories of 4 x 25 mins eps and the last story was 6 x 25 minute eps, but with the continuing storyline it’s arguably 25 weeks of cliffhangers, that’s almost a soap opera

[Dave]

I agree about the Next Time cliffhangers, although they annoy me at the best of times.

Years after the show first altered from 25 to 45 minute episodes, Colin Baker commented the what suffered was the cliffhanger, with the average story going from having three to only one, Aliens Of London returns to the 2 x 45 min format and has three simultaneous cliffhangers, which is the sort of thing multi-camera who would never have managed

[pfm]

> I think they?re going way over the top with the colour light effects – every five minutes, some face is tinted green (inside Tardis) or blue or purple or whatever

This is definitely toned down later on although returns when needed (e.g. Family of Blood). They did want lots of green in the Tardis to start with to make it seem more ‘alien’ but as the series goes on people already get that idea. It’s best to see the actors clearly.

[Seb Patrick]

Yeah, the TARDIS bits from Family of Blood are much closer to how I wish it had looked all along – there’s a great early publicity shot somewhere of Ecclescakes and Rose from when they were still lighting it quite brightly white, which to me served as a good link with the design from the original series…

[Tanya Jones]

By the way, the ’82-’86 Doctor Who Magazine Special (a review of the era through past DWM interviews), is a great read. Just about everybody gets slagged off by someone else! I’m enjoying it tremendously, especially the picture of Peter Davison on page 4. Rowr.

[Arlene Rimmer BSc SSc]

>…especially the picture of Peter Davison on page 4. Rowr.

scans plz

[Dave]

>?especially the picture of Peter Davison on page 4. Rowr.

>scans plz

http://www.sadgeezer.com/v/H-Hikers-Guide/B42.jpg.html

[TheLeen]

Due to poor viewer ratings, Pro7 will cancel Doctor Who after next Saturday’s episodes 1×05 and 1×06.

Is that good or bad news? It might just turn out to be good news after all – Pro7 said that they were looking for a new slot for Doctor Who, i.e. not Saturday afternoon. A later slot would mean that the episodes wouldn’t need so much cutting. Gotta hope they find an alternative time & place for the Doctor soon!

[Andrew]

“Due to poor viewer ratings”.

I’m starting to see why Dwarf never got shown in Germany…

[TheLeen]

Like many others I, while not being exactly enthusiastic, do think Who could have done well, if for

a) a slot past 7 pm and therefore without that nuisance of too many cuts and

b) the slightest, tiniest bit of promotion.

Doctor Who might move to German SciFi-Channel (which I don’t receive) and be broadcast there, uncut.

[Tanya Jones]

Crikey. But it hasn’t been on for very long! As you say, it probably would have done better without cuts and with some promotion. You couldn’t move for Who publicity when it re-launched here.

[TheLeen]

:\

Same happened to tv shows in Germany before, in many cases the very same tv channel was involved. Recent examples off the top of my head, Life on Mars (cancelled), Battlestar Galactica (cancelled), and also Alias back then and even Ally McBeal (both of which were moved to other slots or other channels even and then became f*ing HUGE).

It happens all the time, but instead of learning from it, they chuck out a shortened Who in a kiddie slot after no more than 7 days (!) of promotion (if you can call it that – they did show their trailer (which incidentially also contained a scene later cut from ep 3/4) but that was all. And all that after Who was slowly rotting away in some archive because (to quote the tv channel) “Germany was not ready yet for Doctor Who”. Uh, what?

Boo. Really, I mean it.

[Dave]

Now we’re all wondering what you’ll think of episode 6

[Seb Patrick]

Yeah, a tad annoying that they’re going to cut it off after (probably) THE BEST EPISODE OF SERIES ONE.

[pfm]

But they cut it before the worst.

[Dave]

The Long Game is my favourite episode of Series One

[Ben Paddon]

Series One is the only series of the lot so far that I think doesn’t have a single bad episode in it. Series Two has “Fear Her”, which is an interesting story but it moves forward at such a slow pace that I have no interest in watching it again. Series Three has “Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks” which is an interesting idea poorly executed. I can’t think of a single episode of Series One I wouldn’t watch again.

For some reason, Series Two’s “Love & Monsters” has grown on me. I think I would have enjoyed it more without Peter Kay.

[Andrew]

> Series One is the only series of the lot so far that I think doesn?t have a single bad episode in it.

I’d take Fear Her over The Long Game every time. Sorry. But no, not the New York Daleks Miss Whole Point story.

[Ian Symes]

Simon Pegg being an evil bastard > Huw Edwards being a fucking idiot.

[Seb Patrick]

Yeah, The Long Game is far better than Fear Her, because The Long Game isn’t THE WORST EPISODE OF DOCTOR WHO EVER EVER EVER.

[TheLeen]

Summary of the situation in Germany:

– Pro7 bought Who but kept postponing its release because “Germany was not ready yet”,
– Pro7 published Who without much of a warning, and basically without any promotion
– on a kid’s programmes/American sitcoms slot, before 7 pm
– and therefore, heavily cut
– and then after 2 weeks of seeing this not work, decided to cancel the show again

Well, there’s a petition out now, if you look very closely you can spot my name on the list too. If you’re a boy/girl scout and haven’t performed today’s good deed yet, sign it or something.

http://www.petitiononline.com/dw2008/petition.html

Ta.

[Arlene Rimmer BSc SSc]

Done (helpful as it may or probably won’t be =P ). Goodness knows I’m no fan of New Who, but you ought at least to get a chance to view the whole series to decide how you feel about it.

[TheLeen]

I say!

[Arlene Rimmer BSc SSc]

It’s just that I’m in the U.S., so I’m not sure the people to whom you’d present it would want my opinion ^_^’.

[TheLeen]

What the eye does not see, the heart does not grieve over. ;p

[Pete Part Three]

I’ll sign it if you stop renaming forum threads…

[Anonymous]

Signed, weil Doctor Who ist toll!

[TheLeen]

Episode 1×05 – World War Three (or… not)

The good:
– funny aliens (yes, I like family Slitheen)

The bad:
– too much time spent running through corridors, it was like watching Star Trek ;)
– maaaaajor plotholes…
– Buffalo??!!

The general:
– Good to know that you can do *anything* on the internet, including firing missiles !
– Good to know that aliens do explode when in contact with someting that’s toxic for them.

The episode was okay, a bit better (I thought) than the first part of the two, and with a lot of action.

Episode 1×06 – Dalek

The good:
– OMG A DALEK. (Actually, kind of cute, in an R2D2 way)
– The best episode so far – if only all episodes were like that
– Good setting, what with the museum and all that.
– Much emotion in The Doctor! Great!
– Good special effects
– The time war and all that, I really want to see that phenomenal battle now, maybe in a later episode, eh? Or in the old ones.
– Same for the metal dude’s head. He looked cute too.
– Heh, the first corridor scene was much like the one in Brazil.
– Heh, the next scene started much like The IT Crowd.
– General excitement here.

The bad:
– Okay, the virgin maiden’s innocent touch tames the beast, that isn’t exactly original.
– And many many many cuts again, because basically, you see no one die, but in the end everyone’s dead.

The general:
– And there was Vin saying, “can they climb stairs? It doesn’t look like it can climb stairs” …

I love it! I can’t believe this is the last episode EVER (here, right now)… because now for the first time, I want more, and not just because this is Doctor Who but because I really enjoyed those 45 (or so) minutes.

[Jonathan Capps]

German censorship is seriously fucking stupid, isn’t it?

[Phil]

I mentioned it once, but I think I got away with it.

[Seb Patrick]

I find it strange that it’s being cut for being too violent… it’s a family show, shown at 7pm on a Saturday here and with tonnes of toys and other aimed-at-children merchandise! There’s never anything particularly violent – even when the Dalek kills people you only see them go negative and fall to the ground!

Glad you enjoyed it, though – it really is one of the best eps of the new series, despite some of its flaws. You really should try and download the rest, or something…

[Ian Symes]

Marleen, this is the correct reaction to both Dalek and Daleks, and reading it brought a smile to my face.

[Dave]

>Buffalo??!!

Was ist Buffalo auf Deutsch?

[TheLeen]

The password in the German Doctor Who? Buffalo (two f, one l).

So I assumed that it was Buffalo, the location, and not buffalo, the animal (German: B?ffel). I suppose it doesn’t matter much if it’s the location or the animal if it’s just a password, and I appreciate it when they leave things like this mostly original.

[Andrew]

> Actually, kind of cute, in an R2D2 way

I don’t think I’ve ever met a woman who HASN’T espoused some version of this opinion!

Hasn’t this experiment become FASCINATING!

[ChrisM]

The Dalek’s voice always grates on my nerves when I hear it, which is fitting I suppose.

As for their design, whilst it is pretty simple and, well, a bit rubbish in some ways, it does kind of make sense doesn’t it? Mass created drones for a self proclaimed master race…

As long as their anti-gravity device works of course. Otherwise they’re easily escapable.

[TheLeen]

> I don?t think I?ve ever met a woman who HASN?T espoused some version of this opinion!

I think it’s the bunny ears. Lamp things.

[Seb Patrick]

>Hasn?t this experiment become FASCINATING!

I know – I often find myself, when watching things I love, wondering how someone completely unfamiliar with the background and cultural relevance would find it. I even do it with Match of the Day, sometimes. So it’s utterly brilliant to actually see someone experience it fresh, and talk about it. Marleen, I hope you’re able to continue with it at some point!

[TheLeen]

You people are very welcome to send me all your favourite DVDs. Haha :D

I’ll continue watching Who, of course, I just don’t know how soon. The DVDs are expensive and I’m not quite enough of a fan for that just yet.

[Ben Paddon]

Add them to your Amazon Wishlist, and then tell people about it so they can promptly not buy them for you.

[TheLeen]

Sod it, I just ordered the first series, TARDIS box too. Can’t wait!

[Ben Paddon]

Awesome. I don’t think you’ll regret it. The first series suffers a bit from pacing issues, but it’s the only series of the show that doesn’t have a single duff episode in it.

[Anonymous]

*cough* apart from Aliens of London, World War 3, The Long Game and Boom Town *cough*

[Andrew]

Hey, I LIKE Aliens of London! :-)

But the TARDIS box is a mistake. The glue dries up, bits fall off and the magnets don’t hold the door on because the cardboard starts to warp (appropriately enough). And – also appropriately – it’s a space-hog.

I wish I’d waited for the sleeker digipack.

[Seb Patrick]

Likewise. It looks lovely in digipack format, too.

But OH, WHY OH WHY are the series so expensive? I’m itching to get series three, but I doubt I’ll be able to afford it for a while. And given my ambivalence to approx. half of it, I’m not sure I’ll ever end up buying series two…

[TheLeen]

> But the TARDIS box is a mistake.

On first sight, yes

> The glue dries up, bits fall off and the magnets don?t hold the door on because the cardboard starts to warp (appropriately enough).

I was made aware of that by the seller, but he says he’s fixed it himself with glue and whatnot. He’s drwho.de’s site admin and has several thousand postings in that forum so I believe him. I hope he

> And – also appropriately – it?s a space-hog.

Yeah, I would have preferred the slim version for that particular reason, but no one’s been offering me that today for 25 euros including postage (18 quid or something). Also, I’m greedy and I want it, like, right now.

[Andrew]

> Also, I?m greedy and I want it, like, right now.

That I can understand. It’s how I got stuck with the thing in the first place.

> But OH, WHY OH WHY are the series so expensive?

2e really hang on to the top price in a way only one other company seems to – Disney. (Though from February 18th the Dwarf discs become awfully attractive…) Compared to American series sets, though, Who’s cost does seem OTT.

[Seb Patrick]

>Disney.

God, yes. I’ve never owned a Pixar film, despite loving nearly all of them, because I’ve never seen them cheaply (aside from second hand). And yes, when you consider that 2entertain want you to fork out ?70 for thirteen episodes of Who, when you can get 22 episodes of the average US series for half that, it is somewhat excessive.

[Danny Stephenson]

I’ve just bought Ratatouille (2-Disc) for ?14.97 plus Cars for ?5 so it’s not been too bad. Although i’m annoyed that there isn’t a 2-disc Cars DVD for the UK. I am now up to date with the Pixar stuff. Looking forward to “Wall-E”

Anyways, Yes….. Who…

Continue!

[Author]

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