Who poll

[hummingbird]

courtesy of the grauniad – and some interesting answers
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/organgrinder/2008/oct/02/television.doctorwho

Do you think there’s a connection between favourite episodes/stories, and who people consider to be ‘their’ Doctor?

Topic

[Pete Part Three]

URL no work

[hummingbird]

Works OK for me.
Try http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/organgrinder

[Ian Symes]

Do you prefer the old series 1963 ? 1989? Or the revival 2005 revival?

What a pointless question. It’s the *same* show. It’s not a remake, or a re-telling of the same story, or anything like that – it’s literally the same programme.

[Pete Part Three]

Well, I don’t really know the show enough, prior to the RTD incarnation, to offer a particularly informed opinion. However, my favourite Doctor is David Tennant and my favourite episode is the, Tennant-sparse, Blink. Not sure what that proves though.

>Works OK for me.

And me as well now. Think it was down for a bit.

[James]

I don’t think it’s a conection, more there wasn’t anything else to judge by, well not in 73 when I watched it. If you look back and say I love Tom Baker in that particular episode, I wouldn’t say he was my favorite.

I think the love of a certain Doctor comes from the time you actually saw it as a child, or it did. It was if I grew up with John Devon Roland Pertwee, you followed his adventure, his life, and you wanted to live it yourself. That’s why he’s my favorite anyway.

[Andrew]

> What a pointless question. It?s the *same* show.

Indeed. They should make people rank by showrunner (or even ‘Doctor’) era.

Only, ah, then you’d have to know the show beyond ‘erm, old ‘ and ‘erm, new’. And where would the fun be in polling for an informed decision?

[hummingbird]

I think the love of a certain Doctor comes from the time you actually saw it as a child, or it did. It was if I grew up with John Devon Roland Pertwee, you followed his adventure, his life, and you wanted to live it yourself. That?s why he?s my favorite anyway.

I remember Pertwee, but I think I was a little too young to appreciate Who at the time – I was only four when he met his demise, and had nightmares for days afterwards, apparently. I think that’s where my arachnophobia stems from.
Tom Baker was my Doctor. He’s still the best IMO.

I loved Chris Eccleston’s Doctor, but that’s more because I think he’s sexy as fuck.
I don’t mind Tennant, although I hate the Tennant/Piper combination – just want to give ’em both a good slapping.

[James]

I agree, Tom Baker is probably the best, he had a huge amount of time to make the character his own, but as a favorite, personally, Jon had me totally fixed behind the sofa. (ijh)

[Tarka Dal]

What a pointless question. This is not a black and white issue.

[Jonathan Capps]

> This is not a black and white issue.

Regardless of what Colin Baker may think.

[Tanya Jones]

>I think that?s where my arachnophobia stems from.

I think Logopolis gave me my phobia of pylons! Who has a lot to answer for!

[Zombie Jim Undead]

I’m almost certain that Ghost Light gave me my phobia of unintelligible plots.

[Dave]

>I?m almost certain that Ghost Light gave me my phobia of unintelligible plots.

I understood Ghost Light perfectly when I was eight and unaware of fandom, but years later hearing people time and time again say it was complicated, convoluted or that you had to read the novel to understand it, made me doubt myself. When it came out on DVD I decided it was time to re-evaluate it and lo it was still easy to understand. It’s about evolution in its various forms, pure and simple.

I think Remembrance Of The Daleks gave me my phobia of racists.

[Zombie Jim Undead]

I didn’t fully understand Ghost Light until I watched the making-of on the DVD.

I think anyone could get that it was about the complexities of evolution and how an alien species would be hard-pressed to catalogue the life on a planet that it constantly changing…

…but how that fitted into the manor house, the fact that the ship beneath it had only recently appeared there, the fact that there had been a mutiny on board the ship, that the guy with the glasses was an alien who had assumed human form as a means of exploring the planet…that the “husks” were remnants of earlier unsuccessful attempts to do so…what the mental bloke with the gun is up to…

I defy anyone to understand that without explanation…which is a shame, cos it’s the little details that spoil a really clever story.

[Dave]

>I defy anyone to understand that without explanation?which is a shame, cos it?s the little details that spoil a really clever story.

Fair point, but I still wouldn’t go for unintelligible. It’s easier to understand than Mindwarp.

[pfm]

Daleks In Manhatten gave me a phobia of dodgy American accents.

[Ben Paddon]

Most of the accents in Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks weren’t bad, actually.

[ChrisM]

I read that as ‘Dalek’s accents were ok’ for some reason, heh, heh.

And the accents were terribly exaggerated. Not that they aren’t in some American films too, to be fair. (But then the actors probably don’t actually speak with that regional accent.) It kind of felt intentional though, like they were purposely camping it up for a smile. (Although it sometimes grated instead.)

That’s often the case with actors playing characters with other accents. They either slip into their own mid-sentence, or they go for the stereo type and over-exaggerate. That’s why US actors playing British roles often sound posh, like they’ve stepped out of a 40-50s war film. (Angelina Jolie just about got away with it since Lara Croft is an aristocrat.)

And why Hugh Laurie sounds terrible as an American.

Then there were those two English ‘potential slayers’ in the last Buffy series… 1 posh (they killed her off quickly) and one cockney. I actually thought the cockney was supposed to be Australian before another girl said contemptuously “It’s a British thing.”

Still Anthony Head got it right. Oh. Wait…

Summer Glau’s ‘little match girl’ monologue to Badger in Firefly was cute though. Few actually talk like that but you can see what she was going for with films like ‘My Fair Lady’ etc.

[Jonathan Capps]

> And why Hugh Laurie sounds terrible as an American.

You’re kidding, right?

[ChrisM]

>You?re kidding, right?

Nope. Ok, ‘Terrible’ is a bit strong, but it certainly sounds like an ‘Englishman putting on an American accent’, er, accent.

[Jonathan Capps]

The well worn story is that he managed to fool the show’s creator with it when he sent in his audition tape! I’d argue that he only sounds like that to you because you’re used to him with his normal accent.

[ChrisM]

The well worn story is that he managed to fool the show?s creator with it when he sent in his audition tape! I?d argue that he only sounds like that to you because you?re used to him with his normal accent.

Possibly.

On the other hand, if the show’s creator didn’t know of his origin and he came in speaking like that, he wouldn’t necessarily question it even if it wasn’t quite right. Some people do naturally have ‘quirky’ voices after all. So in that sense, my being in the know helps, but I still think it sounds fake.

I’ll admit my ‘terrible’ comment was an strong as sai. It’s certainly not on the level of the irish girl from Heroes season 2 (Peter’s love interest.) That really made me want to wince.

[Pete Part Three]

>irish girl from Heroes season 2

What happened to that character, anyway?

She just…fell off.

[ChrisM]

Heh, yeah. Got left in the future. I wonder how that works, if that future no longer exists.

[pfm]

One of the best British-person-does-American-accent-well examples is Jamie Bamber on Battlestar Galactica. He normally speaks with a fairly posh English accent but on Galactica you wouldn’t think for one second that he was a Brit. I also love Minnie Driver’s accent on The Riches (though Eddie Izzard’s is pretty much his own accent these days!).

[Jonathan Capps]

Idris Elba’s accent on The Wire is incredible. Faultless to the word. Dominic West does well, too, but he does falter every now and then.

[ChrisM]

One of the best British-person-does-American-accent-well examples is Jamie Bamber on Battlestar Galactica. He normally speaks with a fairly posh English accent but on Galactica you wouldn?t think for one second that he was a Brit.

Yes! I agree he is very good. I was quite surprised to find out he was English actually.

I’d kind of suggest James Marsters with his Spike accent too. I say ‘kind of’ as it’s certainly not the way most Londoners speak, but he succeeds with the punky thing he was attempting. All the more amusing when you consider William’s back-story.

[Jonathan Capps]

> I?d kind of suggest James Marsters with his Spike accent too. I say ?kind of? as it?s certainly not the way most Londoners speak, but he succeeds with the punky thing he was attempting. All the more amusing when you consider William?s back-story.

So, just to be clear, you hold James Marsters British accent over Hugh Laurie’s American one?

You’re absolutely mad.

[Andrew]

Just watching A Knight’s Tale again – at the time I totally took Alan Tudyk as English. Even now, knowing him as Wash/Sonny/Steve the Pirate/whatever, he’s still that quirky British character actor in my head.

[Phil]

I have never seen House so I can’t comment personally, but I know one man who watches the show every week and refuses to believe me when I tell him Hugh Laurie is British.

That is a true story. He’s obviously uncultured and, just as obviously, he does not use the internet. But, hey, the American accent managed to fool someone to the point that he won’t even consider the possibility of Hugh being British.

[ChrisM]

So, just to be clear, you hold James Marsters British accent over Hugh Laurie?s American one?

Are but Marster’s accent is intentionally stereotyped. (And there are some English people who do talk like that. Not mainstream granted.)

Laurie’s trying, but it sounds affected to me.

Weird thing is, when I hear Marster’s speak in his own accent, it sounds kind of English with a slight Texan twang to me rather than the drawl I’d expect. It makes me wonder if he was a method actor who actually took on his character’s accent traits.
It might just be imaginary on my part though, being so used to him speaking as Spike and havin’ mah own stereotahp of what a Texan sainds lahk an’ all. ;)

You?re absolutely mad.

I am not! My choir of singing potatoes can vouch for that.

That is a true story. He?s obviously uncultured and, just as obviously, he does not use the internet. But, hey, the American accent managed to fool someone to the point that he won?t even consider the possibility of Hugh being British.

Fair enough. Job jobbed.

[TheLeen]

Well, I’m probably not really qualified, but *I* thought Angelina Jolie’s accent in the Tomb Raider films was horrible.

But there are people who claim it sounded realistically British.

I have no idea, really.

> Just watching A Knight?s Tale again – at the time I totally took Alan Tudyk as English.

He’s not? Hah… oh.

As for House: never seen it in English and the accent stuff kind of gets lost in dubbing – so I had no idea Hugh Laurie plays an American. I’d just assumed his character was British…

One more thing, someone once told me how impressed he was with Christian Bale’s “British accent” in some movie. Apparently, he thought Mr Bale was American. Ha ha.

[Seb Patrick]

So, just to be clear, you hold James Marsters British accent over Hugh Laurie?s American one?

You?re absolutely mad.

This. Spike’s accent is awful. Exaggeration or no exaggeration. It’s better than Drusilla’s, and it’s miles better than Angel’s Oirish, but it’s still bloody awful.

[hummingbird]

FYI there’s classic Who (and some other lovelies) going delightfully cheap at play.com right now
http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/3-/217231/2-/Promo.html?ob=rating&cpage=1

[Squeaky Gibson]

thanks for the heads up, I knew if I waited long enought I could get Destiny of the Daleks and The Invasion of Time for ?6.99 each, now should I get The Time Warrior?

[Ben Paddon]

I can never remember if Play.com ship to the US or not.

Also: Hugh Laurie’s American accent is pretty bloody marvelous. I know people here in the States who still have no idea that he’s British.

[Author]

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