The *Doctor*

[661-Pete]

Not only a regeneration, but even gone trans, reportedly.

Does anyone actually get all this hype? My interest waned, curled up and died, somewhere around the demise of the Tom Baker incarnation. Haven't watched it since.

How different it was in the early days! I remember being (almost literally) glued to the set come 5.15pm every Saturday - no behind-the-sofa stuff for me! I remember the tantrum I threw, when our creaky old B&W set blew a valve in mid-caveman-escapade, and I had to go Who-less until my Dad came up with a replacement valve (there were transistors around back then, but not in our clapped-out old set). I remember my refusals to go out and play at the critical times...

What was with it back then, for me? Looking back at those snippets of the original episodes that still survive on YouTube, they look incredibly tacky, with their primary-school-project sets and amazingly ham acting and direction.

Oh well, I suppose one's tastes change as one ages....

[Mick F]

Tom Baker.
Spot on.
Maybe William Hartnell too.
No-one else ever came close to them, and I lost interest when Dr Who was re-vamped, and another reason we don't have a telly any more.

[Spinners]

I've loved the reboot but do think it's running out of steam now.

[tatanab]

Do I remember correctly, all those years ago, that the series was a number of episodes like chapters in a book unlike the modern ones which are totally disconnected?

[[XAP]Bob]

Well mamy of us enjoy it.

Particularly enjoyed Matt Smith with Amy and Rory...
I'm not quite up to date with Series 10, but there are some interesting plots to deal with...

[661-Pete]

Do I remember correctly, all those years ago, that the series was a number of episodes like chapters in a book unlike the modern ones which are totally disconnected?

Yes. The very first episode (An Unearthly Child) was stand-alone, but then there was an escapade with cavemen which ran across three episodes, followed by the first Dalek encounter (seven episodes).

The title An Unearthly Child is often attributed to the first four episodes as a unit, but this is not strictly accurate. I believe the working title for the three cavemen episodes was 100000 BC.

See, I know nothing about present-day Doctoring, but I remember all that stuff!

[Tangled Metal]

Old doctor was rubbish, revamped one saved the character IMHO. Mind you I was too young for the older ones. Still remember being freaked out by this statute robot thing in.a garden that came to "life" to kill/attack ppl. Behind the sofa? I was in the other room shaking! Plus playing with my toys. I learnt to listen and see the intro with the music then off into another room to play. Trouble is my parents used to turn the volume up so I could hear the more exciting/scary moments including any assistant's scream. Deliberate I reckon.

More recently I watched them.until the drums, mostly, then turned off. Never been a doctor fan so any new version of doctor isn't going to bother me much.

[661-Pete]

All we need now, is the first female Dalek (or has that been done?). Come to think about it, how do Daleks get together and produce little Daleks (Daleklings)? I've missed a lot over the years, but I think I have a right to know!

[NUKe]

A female doctor.

[Mick F]

Do I remember correctly, all those years ago, that the series was a number of episodes like chapters in a book unlike the modern ones which are totally disconnected?

Yes. The very first episode (An Unearthly Child) was stand-alone, but then there was an escapade with cavemen which ran across three episodes, followed by the first Dalek encounter (seven episodes).

The title An Unearthly Child is often attributed to the first four episodes as a unit, but this is not strictly accurate. I believe the working title for the three cavemen episodes was 100000 BC.

See, I know nothing about present-day Doctoring, but I remember all that stuff!

Another little gem.
The first episode was shown on two consecutive Saturdays, before the second episode the Saturday after that.

..................... or it was with BBC Northwest.

[geocycle]

I liked Tom Baker. More recently Christopher Ecclestone was excellent and I also liked David Tennant. Lost interest after that as family grew up!

[661-Pete]

Another little gem.
The first episode was shown on two consecutive Saturdays, before the second episode the Saturday after that.

..................... or it was with BBC Northwest.

It was re-broadcast nationwide. And the second episode was aired immediately after the second airing of the first episode.

I recall the announcer saying, it was because a lot of kids had phoned in saying they'd missed the episode but were interested. The real reason was because of the JFK assassination the day before - as revealed in the admirable BBC drama-doc An Adventure In Space And Time (broadcast on the 50th anniversary - with David Bradley playing William Hartnell). Apparently Verity Lambert (producer) badgered Sydney Newman (Head of Drama) into re-broadcasting it, being sure that on that first Saturday most people's minds would have been elsewhere.

Another bit of information (one I didn't find out about until years later) was that the first episode was filmed twice - and both versions survive, snippets can be found on YouTube. There were significant differences between the two recordings: the first one (not aired at the time) had several errors, different costumes and some changes in the script.

[Vorpal]

Not only a regeneration, but even gone trans, reportedly.

I think it's 'gone trans'. I think it's meant to be perfectly normal for a Time Lord, and female incarnations have been hinted at in previous incarnations.

I like all of them. Doctor Who was great when I was a kid. I don't have as much appreciation for the older ones now, except as nostalgia, but I like the newer ones, and have several series on DVD.

I hope they don't make a big deal about the female aspects, or too much humour out of getting used to being a woman. Other than thos slight apprehensions about it, I'm really looking forward to it.

About time, I say

[iandriver]

Given the scale of the science fiction, deviation from reality, reincarnation, lives for centuries aspects of the Doctor, I find it amusing that gender is the bit that some people could find unbelievable.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
I am with 661-Pete & Mick F on this, you couldn't pay me to watch the modern dribble

Hi,
I am with 661-Pete & Mick F on this

Did I just say that