The *Doctor*

[mercalia]

She looks a bit butch? I bet they will butch her up. Shame. Would have been nice to see flower pots and wall paper in the Tardis

of course no one here has said the unfortunate consequences? no more nubile female companions unless they also want to go down the gay road will all be beefcakes as it would be inproper to have those thoughts for Who herself?

[meic]

no more nubile female companions

I reckon that she should have Aiden Turner as her companion, with plenty of opportunities for him to end up shirtless. That might improve ratings.

[Vorpal]

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.

+1

[[XAP]Bob]

Also - Dr Who has set up the whole female regeneration thing rather a while ago with Master/Missy...

[661-Pete]

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

Not quite what I said, I simply said I haven't watched it. Maybe if I change my mind and look in on one of the new episodes, I might take to it .

My puzzlement is more, wondering how on earth I got so hooked on the early broadcasts. But I was a teen, and susceptible - I suppose.

[Si]

Just like the modern series the originals had some real dross mixed in with it, its just that we tend to remeber the better ones more. Not seen a hartnel or trouton (sp) episode that i thought any good. Im sure that at the time they seemed good compared to what else was on, but they dont do it for me. On the other hand pertwee and baker (T) had some good stuff. Davidson....a bit dodgy, baker(c) aweful, mccoy....great doc but burdened with some rubbish stories to start (eg bertie basset as the candy man). Ymmv

Eccelson and tennet...some great stories - really exploring what coxuld be done with the idea of dr who -
and good docs, smith...got a bit self indulgent, capaldi.....probably a good doc but truly boring stories.

As for a female doc....cant work out why people are getting so het up...its just a tv programme.

[661-Pete]

Further to my comment about female Daleks, I did a bit of googling. Apparently there have been 18 Dalek voice-actors, starting of course with the late, and peerless, Peter Hawkins - and not one of them has been female. I suppose that's understandable, bearing in mind the general timbre of a Dalek voice - though you can thank the Ring Modulator for most of that! But it would be interesting to give a woman the role. Would they have to change the carrier frequency?

Another thing. I suppose it was the first appearance of the Daleks, and their voices (and of course unforgettable catch-phrase), that finally won me over to the idea that everyone on Doctor Who was going to speak English, get used to it! When the cavemen first appeared, going through their lines in impeccable English, I recall thinking ruefully: "This ain't right! They should be going, grunt grunt grunt". But the Daleks couldn't have spoken gobbledegook. How would us kids have ever been able to yell out "Exterminate!" in the playground - or on the bus*?

*As per a scene in An Adventure In Space And Time.

[mercalia]

I think the next doctor should be a triangle alien?

what I hated and I mean hated was the melodramatic music that used to herald "I am the Doctor ( quiver in fear )" the saviour of Humanity, once again. One thing the old series had in its favour was that it just got on with the stories without any pretensions, now THE DOCTOR is some kind of mythical demi god that is mentioned in ancient scrolls or artifacts - makes me want to puke

[NUKe]

I am a big fan New or old. I watched the old ,from Patrick Troughtons days . I've never missed one since Christopher Eclstone best doctor overall in my opinion. took over . My favourite old doctor was Tom Baker . It got a bit naff with Colin Baker largely because the BBC started cutting budgets. Best assistant was Katherine Tate. Loved Capaldi, but the last season was a bit weak,apart from the last couple of episodes.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,

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

Not quite what I said, I simply said I haven't watched it. Maybe if I change my mind and look in on one of the new episodes, I might take to it .

My puzzlement is more, wondering how on earth I got so hooked on the early broadcasts. But I was a teen, and susceptible - I suppose.

I guess you are a little older than me .....scared the life out of me and my twin Hidding behind the sofa...............but was anything else aired at the time, no just the one channel and that part time IIRC

[[XAP]Bob]

They don't all speak English - the Tardis translation circuits are generally active.

Of course that doesn't help with high gallifreyan...

[honesty]

The doctor, the character not the show, is a mcguffin. They are there to get the plot moving along past improbable/impossible situations. The show is about the companion and has been since the start of the modern Who (whilst I watched old who avidly as a kid I can't really remember them well enough to make the same statement about them). The doctor is a supporting role...

And Nardole is the best companion for quite a while

[Audax67]

Of course, the Sun and the Mail on Sunday had to go and publish pictures of her naked.*

I'm glad they never did that with William Hartnell.

*according to the Graun

[661-Pete]

The doctor, the character not the show, is a mcguffin.

Well, that's an interesting concept! Not sure if it was true of the early (Hartnell/Troughton) days. Last night I watched through one of the early episodes (Dailymotion is a better bet than Youtube) - The Edge Of Destruction - which has the distinction of being filmed entirely within the Tardis, and without 'aliens' (they were a bit low on budget at that time). So the story depends entirely on the acting prowess of the four principals.

It struck me that Hartnell's Doctor was very far from being a god-like figure, a 'saviour of mankind' or anything of that sort - as the modern Doctor is sometimes represented. Instead he comes across as an irascible old geezer, and a bumbling incompetent at that. But the plot wouldn't be there without his 'interference', his accusations thrown at his travelling companions.

Another thing one notices about that episode, is that Hartnell's tendency to stumble over his lines is already apparent - and not all his fluffs were edited out (editing videotape in those days was never seam-free). Perhaps his later ill-health - and possibly the demon drink - were already getting the better of him. Sad.

Perhaps the Doctors since Tom Baker have been the Mcguffins. I can't really answer for them.

Whatever happened to Torchwood (an anagram of "Doctor Who" of course) by the way? That was a cut above any of the Doctors....

[honesty]

The doctor, the character not the show, is a mcguffin.

Well, that's an interesting concept! Not sure if it was true of the early (Hartnell/Troughton) days. Last night I watched through one of the early episodes (Dailymotion is a better bet than Youtube) - The Edge Of Destruction - which has the distinction of being filmed entirely within the Tardis, and without 'aliens' (they were a bit low on budget at that time). So the story depends entirely on the acting prowess of the four principals.

It struck me that Hartnell's Doctor was very far from being a god-like figure, a 'saviour of mankind' or anything of that sort - as the modern Doctor is sometimes represented. Instead he comes across as an irascible old geezer, and a bumbling incompetent at that. But the plot wouldn't be there without his 'interference', his accusations thrown at his travelling companions.

Another thing one notices about that episode, is that Hartnell's tendency to stumble over his lines is already apparent - and not all his fluffs were edited out (editing videotape in those days was never seam-free). Perhaps his later ill-health - and possibly the demon drink - were already getting the better of him. Sad.

Perhaps the Doctors since Tom Baker have been the Mcguffins. I can't really answer for them.

Whatever happened to Torchwood (an anagram of "Doctor Who" of course) by the way? That was a cut above any of the Doctors....

What I remember from my childhood (davidson to McCoy) the doctor was a much more fallible figure, but definitely the modern Who seems to fit with what I said earlier.

You know, I never noticed Torchwood was an anagram for Doctor Who. Thats bad. Anyway, not sure what happened to it, other than it seemed to suffer from the same "end of the world, every time" story problems that Who has as well.