Classic Doctor Who

[Satan's Onion]

I didn't want to make this a part of the New Doctor Who thread because (a) arguably the classic series and New Who are two rather different shows and (2) it's a bitch trying to search for new Who discussion through posts about a bunch of other Doctors' adventures.

But I did want to make a post to see if anyone else is interested in the classic series of Doctor Who. I've been lucky enough to get a box full of VHS tapes with every Doctor Who story on them from the beginning of Jon Pertwee's tenure to the movie with Paul McGann (with the single exception of "The Talons of Weng-Chiang"). Does anyone else like the old Who? Has anyone else here seen any classic Who? Has anyone else seen any classic Who with a Doctor other than Tom Baker =P ?

[Regulus Tera]

Yes. So far I've watched City of Death, Pyramids of Mars, Logopolis, The Five Doctors, The Talons of Weng-Chiang, The Deadly Assassin, and currently I'm enjoying The Curse of Fenric. I also watched the first episode of Castrovalva, but I could not stand the pacing. For god's sake, I had to force myself to go all the way through Logopolis, and that was mainly because I wanted to know how did the Fourth Doctor regenerate (which, quite frankly, was a serious disappointment). I also found this was a major problem with Pyramids of Mars, and the only reason I sticked with that one was because of insomnia.

Maybe I was born in a generation where everything is fast as a Weeping Angel, but some issues with the script were so blatantly obvious: the Doctor spends all of the first episode trying to find the Zero Room! Which is in his TARDIS! Admittedly, he was suffering post-regeneration trauma, but from a viewer's point of view I had to turn off the telly at that point due to boredom.

However, I love the classic series. Its imagination is outstanding, and it also lets me appreciate how the new series lends homage to the classics. Production values aside, I can see why this telly icon was brought back after stagnation.

[Satan's Onion]

I'm working my way through the lot, from the beginning--I'm still in the midst of the Pertwee-era material, but that's very fine by me (I have I think "Day of the Daleks" on right now, even as I type). He really does make an excellent Doctor, and I've never minded cheap or cheap-looking special effects (I also got twenty-three episodes of The Avengers along with the Doctor Who). I can only imagine how much better this stuff can get. I even like the original theme music over the New Who mix, much as I know they're basically the same.

[mauve]

I love the Tom Baker era of Doctor Who. I got the Key to Time series on DVD for Christmas, and it is terrific. Campy terrific. The kind where you aren't sure whether the story is awesome because the Doctor is so great, or because the monsters are so goofy and in some cases poorly constructed, which makes it all the more hilarious. Some (okay, many) of the plots are equally goofy, yet still manage to keep you very interested.

I really haven't seen anything older than the Tom Baker episodes, but they look equally campy and awesome. Classic Doctor Who is quality entertainment.

[BitVyper]

I like the first Doctor just for how much of an ass he can be. He just totally ignores people half the time, because whatever the hell they're talking about is clearly so far beneath his intellect that it's not worth hearing. He has some great lines too: "So these are my replacements; a dandy and a clown."

I like the third Doctor too. Venusian Akido indeed.

Edit: I love how the first Doctor just keeps shooting that one girl down when they get paired up in The Five Doctors.

[Satan's Onion]

Originally Posted by BitVyper

I like the third Doctor too. Venusian Akido indeed.

Hear, hear!

Oh, and this is several different kinds of awesome. For me, at any rate. I really dig the Doctor Who theme.

[Ryanderman]

My dad is getting all the old Doctor Who from the library (our county library system has everything) and plans to eventually watch the whole series. Since Tom Baker is his favorite (big surprise), we mostly get those episodes, but I've seen a few with some other doctors. I don't remeber who off hand. We just watched The Horns of Nimon last night.

[Satan's Onion]

Originally Posted by Ryanderman

(our county library system has everything)

Lucky you. I have to keep asking my library to get stuff.

By the way, "The Horns of Nimon"= seventeenth season, Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker).

This information brought to you by the front part of my Doctor Who Programme Guide, the only part of it worth a damn because pages are inexplicably missing at random from the part of the book with individual episode recaps.

[Ryanderman]

I've been trying to remember which non Tom Baker episodes I've seen. I've seen several, but the only ones I can remember (and was able to look up to see which doctor) were The Daleks and The Arkwith the first doctor, Day of the Daleks with the third doctor, and Battlefield with the seventh doctor.

[Satan's Onion]

Will this help? It's the episode guide at Outpost Gallifrey, which is a fairly compendious Doctor Who site.

By the way--BitVyper, this line:

Originally Posted by the first Doctor

"So these are my replacements; a dandy and a clown."

is from "The Three Doctors"--I'm rewatching it because for some reason it's on two tapes. The First Doctor doesn't have a kind word for anybody, really, least of all the Second Doctor. It's mildly astonishing how the First Doctor has the brass ones to snarl at himself for being an idiot.

Also, I've noticed that while the first Doctor takes absolutely no-one seriously, the Second Doctor is taken seriously by absolutely no-one. (The Brigadier, at any rate, has made something of a sport of shooting him down.) I'm guessing it's because of the recorder thing.