The Classic Doctor Who Thread (1963 to 1989/1996)

[By Jove its holmes]

Fact of the Day: Tom Baker was the first DW series lead who wasn’t a veteran of the Second World War. He had the mercy of a late birth.

Topic

[Professor Flibble]

I’m equally happy with Matt Berry as the Doctor or the Monk. Though admittedly, he’d probably be better suited to the Monk in the long run.

[tombow]

for me it’s a coin toss between David Walliams and Alexander Armstrong

[Dave]

for me it’s a coin toss between David Walliams and Alexander Armstrong

That’s an unfair way to decide it when one of them has much more experience of being a tosser.

[Unrumble]

If we were casting anybody from The IT Crowd, Matt Berry as The Meddling Monk was a slam dunk, and it nearly happened too.

[Professor Flibble]

I’d cast Johnny Vegas as the Monk. I can genuinely see it. 

[Technopeasant]

Does Matt Smith count? He wasn’t hugely well-known before he was cast.

I’ll allow it, even if being the youngest ever actor makes it a bit of a cop out 

[Professor Flibble]

[Ian Symes]

It’s easy to forget that while Tennant wasn’t a complete unknown when he was first cast, he was not quite a household name. He was up-and-coming at most, his biggest pre-Who role was Casanova, which was only a couple of months before he was announced as the Doctor.

[Professor Flibble]

Oh and here’s the full picture because I’m quite happy with it. TARDIS is by Aidan Wilkinson

[Technopeasant]

It’s easy to forget that while Tennant wasn’t a complete unknown when he was first cast, he was not quite a household name. He was up-and-coming at most, his biggest pre-Who role was Casanova, which was only a couple of months before he was announced as the Doctor.

Most of them do tend to be mid-tier yeah. What is more surprising is how many names reoccurred from the 1996 casting list.

[Doomitron]

I’ve seen it a few times but not sure if its just fancasting leaking into it, is it true Chris Barrie was being considered for NuWho in place of Eccleston? I can completely see 1996, that was probably around the peak of his fame, but in 2005? Would have been a very poor choice.

[Ben Saunders]

I can’t find a solid source on it but it does say so on his IMDB trivia page, that he was considered for 1996 and 2005. Google AI says he was considered before Tennant as well but there’s no source for that.

[Ben Saunders]

Attack of the Cybermen is quite good, at least episode one is. They’ve yet to get into the attempted continuity porn outside of landing in Totters Lane, a spaceship on the dark side of the moon, Telos, “moon base” and the Cyber Fat Controller, which is all pretty incidental, tertiary stuff really. The Cybermen are pretty easily dispatched by conventional firearms, though, and the cliffhanger is a little dodgily staged. Temporal grace fails once again, even though they addressed it previously in the Davison era and so are now aware of the discontinuity. Still, “nobody’s perfect”.

[Doomitron]

I’m a staunch Attack of the Cybermen defender. Great fun.

[Warbodog]

[Rushy]

I’m very nostalgic for Attack. It and Dalek Invasion of Earth were the first Dr Who DVDs I ever bought as a kid. I had no idea what reputation these stories have, I just wanted to dip my toes into classic Who. Luckily, they were both pretty cool. 

[tombow]

John Higg’s book says Liam Cunningham, Anthony Head and Robert Lindsay were favourites for the 8th Doctor role along with McGann. What about Steve Coogan? He’d have made a good classic Doctor in the 2000s imo.

As for Chris Barrie he was in the Tomb Raider films (as the butler) around then, so he may have caught someone’s eye I suppose?

[Dave]

Anthony Head could have been good, glad that they managed to include him either way though – he did well in a villain role.

[Rushy]

Paul Darrow said on the Timelash commentary that he wanted to play the Master. I’m heartbroken. He would have been the best, and it wouldn’t even be close. 

[Asclepius]

I thought Alan Davies was a pretty good choice for the Doctor, he’s underrated as an actor in my book.

If he met a bad guy or a monster he would defeat them by biting their ears off. As he is prone to do to homeless people.

[tombow]

Mike Tyson as The Master

[Ben Saunders]

this stance is crazy

[Technopeasant]

Just don’t think about what he could possibly be sitting on.

[Ben Saunders]

I wonder just how many times this type of comment is made in the show. I’ve only noted Web of Fear, Attack of the Cybermen and Vengeance on Varos, but obviously it happens all the time. Twice in as many episodes is a little egregious, though.

[Rushy]

According to Nicola Bryant (on the Attack of the Cybermen commentary), they intentionally made it a running gag for Peri

[paintings]

I wonder just how many times this type of comment is made in the show.

The earliest appearance I know of is in “The Space Museum” (1965). I took it to be the sort of thing they slipped in once per Doctor, until they went overboard in the Colin Baker era.

[Ben Saunders]

The Space Museum is fascinating, because Robert Shearman talks about it like it’s a self-aware parody of Doctor Who, with how formulaic it is, the oppressed vs. oppressor stuff, the Moroks (Morons) and the Xerons (Zeros), how everything is old and everyone is bored etc. But it’s only season 2, and the show hasn’t been on long enough to over-do the things it’s supposedly parodying. It might just actually be shit. (Although I like it very much!)

>A Times Educational Supplement article in May 1965 described the serial as “enormously contrived”, adding that the series “has run out of imagination”.

It’s only season 2! Give them a break!

[Rushy]

 It’s only season 2! Give them a break!

In fairness, the seasons were gargantuan in length back then. I mean, look at season 3. That’s at least three eras in one year. 

[Professor Flibble]

It’s only season 2! Give them a break!

In fairness, the seasons were gargantuan in length back then. I mean, look at season 3. That’s at least three eras in one year. 

It’s mental to me Vicki and Ben and Polly are in the same season.

[Professor Flibble]

The Space Museum is fascinating, because Robert Shearman talks about it like it’s a self-aware parody of Doctor Who, with how formulaic it is, the oppressed vs. oppressor stuff, the Moroks (Morons) and the Xerons (Zeros), how everything is old and everyone is bored etc. But it’s only season 2, and the show hasn’t been on long enough to over-do the things it’s supposedly parodying. It might just actually be shit. (Although I like it very much!) 

I’ve always unironically liked it. Drags a bit around the middle but it’s got some great ideas, and I’d also say every cliffhanger is great, and not just the first one cause that’s the one everyone goes on about.

[Ben Saunders]

Another recurring bit from the Saward era seems to be aliens not understanding handshakes. I’m sure they did this in Attack of the Cybermen or The Twin Dilemma too.

[tombow]

The Space Museum is fascinating, because Robert Shearman talks about it like it’s a self-aware parody of Doctor Who, with how formulaic it is, the oppressed vs. oppressor stuff, the Moroks (Morons) and the Xerons (Zeros), how everything is old and everyone is bored etc. But it’s only season 2, and the show hasn’t been on long enough to over-do the things it’s supposedly parodying.

I haven’t seen it, but maybe it was just being meta about sci fi and fantasy in general?

[tombow]

so about my theory of Chris Barrie’s Tomb Raider role possibly having put him in line for the role of the Doctor. I can imagine the Chris of this 2003 clip convincingly playing the Ninth Doctor.

[Unrumble]

[Ben Saunders]

I had to clip this moment from Mark of the Rani where The Master seems to genuinely find the description of the TARDIS as “a coffin” amusing, such a naturalistic bit of performance from Anthony Ainley, it made me laugh

[Warbodog]

[Dave]

I had to clip this moment from Mark of the Rani where The Master seems to genuinely find the description of the TARDIS as “a coffin” amusing, such a naturalistic bit of performance from Anthony Ainley, it made me laugh

A bit Mark Heap-esque.

[Ben Saunders]

Attack of the Cybermen – pretty good

Vengeance on Varos – very good

Mark of the Rani – good? Strange. The supercilious dialogue can at times be inapposite. But it’s quite funny. I like “what do you two do in there? — argue, mainly”.

I haven’t been keeping count, but Colin Baker continues to do Peter Davison’s thing where he points in one direction/makes a decision to go one way and then goes the other. Lots of flipping coins to decide what to do, as well.

[sleepey]

Is that the one where the Master calls the Doctor a crack-brained freak

[Doomitron]

My favorite part of Mark of the Rani is the Master posing as a scarecrow and then discarding the disguise to come down to the town for zero reason, he was just vibing.

[Rushy]

I haven’t been keeping count, but Colin Baker continues to do Peter Davison’s thing where he points in one direction/makes a decision to go one way and then goes the other. Lots of flipping coins to decide what to do, as well.

Iirc Colin said that he tried to include something from each Doctor. 

[Ben Saunders]

Is that the one where the Master calls the Doctor a crack-brained freak

Yes, it is.

My favorite part of Mark of the Rani is the Master posing as a scarecrow and then discarding the disguise to come down to the town for zero reason, he was just vibing.

He’s having a lot of fun in that serial. This is how he chooses to introduce himself to the Rani.

[Professor Flibble]

I haven’t been keeping count, but Colin Baker continues to do Peter Davison’s thing where he points in one direction/makes a decision to go one way and then goes the other. Lots of flipping coins to decide what to do, as well.

Iirc Colin said that he tried to include something from each Doctor. 

He also puts his hands in his trouser pockets like Davison did.

[Ben Saunders]

big fan of screens like these

[Ben Saunders]

The Two Doctors? More like The Two Knockers.

[Doomitron]

One of Rushy’s favorites I presume.

[Rushy]

One of Rushy’s favorites I presume.

[Ben Saunders]

The second Doctor is really quite racist in his views on Androgums and his description of Jamie’s accent as a “mongrel dialect.”Whoever did the subtitles on this one was having a great time.I wonder how dangerous all this climbing scaffolding and falling onto wires stuff actually was.

[Rushy]

The second Doctor is really quite racist in his views on Androgums and his description of Jamie’s accent as a “mongrel dialect.”

He gets an immediate comeuppance for the latter, at least. 

But yeah, the Androgums are weird. They seem to be borderline feral, but are also restrained and trusted enough to get employment at a (presumably) civilised and advanced space station? They recognise Time Lords as a superior species while considering humans mere cattle, which might imply they are at least more advanced technologically than Earth?

The Two Doctors is an odd case where I feel Holmes was too restrained in some areas (forcing the Sontarans and Seville into it), but also far too unrestrained in others. 

[Professor Flibble]

One of Rushy’s favorites I presume.

Hey, I like them too!

[Author]

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