Why, in their accumulated wisdom (and I suspect that Who fans tend to be more intelligent than the average human, either because brighter people are naturally drawn to the programme, or because getting your mind blown on a regular basis as a kid stimulates the little grey cells)...anyway, why the HELL haven't fans come up with a SINGLE decent Who-related joke? At least if
http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/s4/features/bulletins/adventure_091220
is anything to go by...?
Good grief, that was painful. What did we ever do to you?
Painful doesn't even BEGIN to describe it. And what's worse is that it's on the official site!!!
Oh, come on, guys, where's your Christmas spirit?! The Ood, The Bad and The Ugly joke made me smile, and I laughed out loud at the Darlick bread one!
Christmas spirit - bah, humbug!
Usually no one would be dancing around the room in more of tinsel-infested joy than me at the imminent Rebirth of Our Saviour, but as the git is due to go and DIE on me on New Year's Day, it kinda takes the edge off.
Here's another one for Emily.
Ah, bless!
Obviously they're wrong and it's Gridlock.
No, wait...City of Death.
Well, whatever it is I've certainly had many similar experiences of Not We beating a hasty retreat on the flimsiest of excuses...
Just thought I'd share RTG's words of wisdom about Being A Fan (2003):
'As the years blunder past, I meet more and more Doctor Who addicts in this industry...And I have come to tell you now: Doctor Who made us clever...I do meet Trekkers working in television. Making my coffee and driving me. Ha ha! Making my coffee and driving me! I liked that so much I said it again.'
Ah, but what does he say about people who are both?
Yes. Some of us manage to like more than one show.
Yep, there is more than Who out there.
Don't be silly.
Emily likes more than Who- she likes Torchwood and SJA as well...
She's been known to watch Blake's 7.
...and Buffy and Red Dwarf....
And obviously she watched Sherlock.
I suppose this should be in a new, Not Being a Fan thread...
Went into the publishing company where my brother works. One of his colleagues is One Of Us so of course we immediately got chatting. Gradually all the Not We fell silent, stopped work and started looking at us with peculiar expressions on their faces. (Well, except my brother whose head was buried in his arms for some reason.)
Eventually, one of the Not We said plaintively: 'I wish I loved something the way you love that programme. I don't. Not even my girlfriend.'
Awwww. Obviously you set him up with Series 1 right away.
Her, actually ;) And I tragically didn't have a copy of Season One about my person, though I DID leave most of the office looking thoughtful about watching A Good Man Goes To War...(Which might not be the best thing to start with, but what the hell...)
Partners in Crime is perfect, espcially with the cute adipose.
42 (just men in welding helmets). Voyage of the Damned (the Host aren't all that scary.) Unicorn and the Wasp (it's just a wasp). The Lodger. Curse of the Black Spot (well, maybe not that one).
Hard to find episodes without monsters that wouldn't bore a 5-yr-old.
How about The Empty Child and The Doctor dances? Everybody lives! And I'm sure he'll like Captain Jack a lot.
Are you kidding? That gas mask kid was the creepiest thing on Who ever! And how are you going to explain "dancing" to a 5-yr-old?
The Runaway Bride. The Eleventh Hour.
>Are you kidding? That gas mask kid was the creepiest thing on Who ever! And how are you going to
>explain "dancing" to a 5-yr-old?
You think so? Well, maybe, although it wasn't the gas mask zombies themselves I found scary, but the depiction of the transformation into a gas mask zombie. Mmmm, now that I think about it, you may be right. But I don't think you'd have to explain "dancing" to a five year old. As far as he's concerned, it would simply be people dancing, nothing more.
Ok then lets get back to the beginning, you can't go wrong with An Unearthly Child.
Moderator's Note: originally a separate 'Ask the Matrix: Am I Going Deaf?' thread:
I know the title of the thread seems misleading, but here's my thing:
Since the 10th Doctor regenerated, I'm having a devil of a time understanding what the Doctor is saying.
Is it me? Am I losing my hearing? Do I really have to turn on the subtitles to get the dialogue?
Or is the Doctor (and sometimes Amy, and oft times other characters) speaking so frelling fast that my poor American ears are never going to understand?
Pardon?
The do mumble sometimes and Amy's accent can be tough.
I definitely watch the DVDs/BRs with subtitles on.
But it's a deliberate thing done not only on Who but many other TV shows, the point being to make the viewer feel constantly a bit behind and trying to catch up.
Amy's Scottish accent is pretty mild so I don't usually have a problem with her - though my first viewing of Wedding was ruined, RUINED I TELL YOU, by me mishearing 'And get married' as 'I'm married.' Really took the fun out of what SHOULD have been a fabulously funny moment.
Matt I have less problem with than darling Tennant, who was always babbling nineteen to the dozen and using *shudders* FRENCH words in that crazy cockney accent of his. Still, there's always the Internet to tell you what they're actually saying and as you're gonna watch everything several dozen times ANYWAY, you might even pick it up yourself...eventually...
I am a native french speaker and I have no real difficulty understanding anyone on Who. It's probably because all english accents are more or less clear or confusing to my ear since I have not been raised listening to any specific one. However, when the Doctor or anyone else starts spewing out technobabble at a mile a minute, I do get quite confused and need to listen to the dialogue a few time before I figure out what's being said.
God, I wouldn't have guessed you're not a native English speaker (well, not from your words, anyway. The name is a bit of a give-away). What do you think of Who's portrayal of France? Insulted because the Doc can almost never be bothered to visit, even when he spends YEARS marooned next-door? Insulted because for decades all France had was its bloodiest periods - The Massacre and Reign of Terror? Or does City of Death wipe all that out in one fell swoop?
Don't forget the lifetime (human's) he spent in one of its fireplaces.
Actually, I'm from Canada, province of Québec, on the Atlantic side, what remains of the French colonial empire in the new world. That being said, the way France is depicted in the Whoniverse is no better or worse than I have seen elsewhere, and City of Death does go a long way toward redeeming the whole thing, that and Tennant Doctor saying "Allons-y" a lot. 
Same Tennant Doc also called France "another planet."
Don't forget the lifetime (human's) he spent in one of its fireplaces.
God, I DID totally forget that! I was vaguely thinking that Vincent might have been set in France, but embarrassingly Fireplace totally slipped my mind.
Actually, I'm from Canada, province of Québec
Oh, CANADA!
Does that actually...y'know...EXIST? In the Whoniverse, I mean.
Same Tennant Doc also called France "another planet."
Ooh, so he did! I've never quite understood why (as he was referring to the King, Queen and Mistress getting along well together, a situation that wasn't a million miles away from what was going on in the Eccy/Rose/Captain Jack TARDIS) but if he LITERALLY thinks of France as another planet (for whatever reason) that would certainly explain why he and Jo never took any day-trips to Calais.
Oh, CANADA!
Does that actually...y'know...EXIST? In the Whoniverse, I mean
Yes it does! In Torchwood, Children of Earth, Canada is refered to by name, along many other countries. I don't know if the Doctor ever went there though.
What I find more interesting is that the Whoniverse itself might not exist without Canada. Here's a little snippet of information I found on Wikipedia:
Doctor Who had an early Canadian connection. The series was conceived by Canadian expatriate Sydney Newman while he was the BBC's Head of Drama. The series may have been inspired by a short-lived segment (canceled because parents complained that it was "too frightening" for their children) on the Canadian version of Howdy Doody. It featured a surprisingly similar character, a puppet called Mr. X who travelled through time and space in his "Whatsis Box" teaching children about history. Newman oversaw this series while working as a programming head for the CBC. Newman maintained a guiding influence over Doctor Who until he left the BBC in 1967.
Yea Canada!
In Torchwood, Children of Earth, Canada is refered to by name
Oh, so it was! Colonel Mace moved there, didn't he. HE'S not exactly gonna make Canada more exciting...
Doctor Who had an early Canadian connection. The series was conceived by Canadian expatriate Sydney Newman while he was the BBC's Head of Drama.
We must indeed give thanks to the Gods of Ragnarok that Canada a) exists, and b) bored the hell out of Sydney Newman...
a puppet called Mr. X who travelled through time and space in his "Whatsis Box" teaching children about history.
A WHAT who travelled in a WHAT! BLASPHEMY!
The Fan Gene in DWM 328 is an...interesting article. Apparently on the Asperger's spectrum is 'eccentric normality' - 'repetitive behaviour, collecting, list-making and immersion in fictional worlds with clearly defined rules and boundaries'...
Oh.
Still, if we've all gotta redefine ourselves as Asperger's, at least we have the consolation of knowing that 'we were born to be fans...from birth we were predisposed to form obsessions like the one we have with Doctor Who. We can't help ourselves. It's our destiny.'
Watching repeats of Who is GOOD for our self-control and happiness levels:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/shortcuts/2012/aug/17/tv-repeats-good-for-you
Though of course the researchers didn't interview any Fans who'd been forced to watch the same stuff over and over and over again during The Sixteen Long And Barren Years Of Despair...
Gareth Roberts in DWM: 'There must be a point in the life of every fan - at least those who saw the original series on its original transmissions - when a pang of adolescent embarrassment hits you in the gullet for the first time while watching Doctor Who' - ah yes *nostalgic sigh* I remember it well. I tended to watch Who with friends who were a couple of years older than me, and I couldn't for the LIFE of me work out why they were waxing so sarcastic during my beloved Arc of Infinity. A couple of years later I caught MYSELF waxing equally sarcastic, though in my defence it WAS Timelash and the tinsel was the LEAST of my problems...
'There are many, many corking stories, a lot of fantastic writing and some unbeatable moments of shock and suspense. But the odd thing is...that's never what we, as fans, really want to watch or talk about. It's good, it's solid and it's worthy, so why would I ever want to watch The Masque of Mandragora ever again?' - Bloody HELL, I was WONDERING why it took me DECADES to rewatch Masque!
Moderator's Note: Moved from 'Original Series: Season One: The Reign of Terror':
Ugh! When are you actually going to LIKE a story for a change?? Seriously, I think you've grown out of this show, I can't remember the last time you wrote a glowing review for a classic story or a novel or an audio- the occasional new episode garners faint praise.
Looking at the Abridged Emily" board I note that "Ghostlight- for some inexplicable reason- is one of your favourites. Watch it again and comment....I just want to hear you be glowing in praise for something once in a while.
I think you've grown out of this show
Never.
Me n'Who are Till Death Us Do Part.
I can't remember the last time you wrote a glowing review for a classic story or a novel or an audio- the occasional new episode garners faint praise
I was raving about Silence in the Library a few days ago. There's aren't any new novels to review, and me and the audios have...never got on well. They used to produce a classic amidst all the dross about once a year, but is it MY fault they can't even be bothered to do THAT any more?
I note that "Ghostlight- for some inexplicable reason- is one of your favourites. Watch it again and comment....I just want to hear you be glowing in praise for something once in a while.
Ooh, good idea! I WAS planning on The Sensorites next, but...never mind.
Me n'Who are Till Death Us Do Part.
Well, maybe it's time for a divorce.
Rodney is right, Emily, you do seem to have lost your enthusiasm for Who.
As for the novels and audios, you clearly don't like them, so why bother with them. If you hate them as much as you seem to, just get rid of them and confine yourself to the show. That is really all that counts anyway, the novels and audios stopped being canon, if they ever were in the first place, when the cameras started rolling on Rose, eight years ago.
Just a suggestion.
Well, maybe it's time for a divorce.
I TRIED that during the Colin Baker era. Didn't work. I'm obviously VERY religious (where the Doctor's concerned, anyway) and marriage is a lifelong commitment. Especially when I have hopes that Moffat will get his act together and start making fourteen episodes of great Who a year ANY MINUTE NOW.
Rodney is right, Emily, you do seem to have lost your enthusiasm for Who.
Rodney was accusing me of having insufficient enthusiasm for Who during Season 1/27. About which I •••• near DIED of an overdose of rapturous glorious happiness.
And what have I said recently that suggested losing enthusiasm? It's not my imagination that Season 7b wasn't up to scratch. And I've always hated the books, audios, Reign of Terror, 42, etc. Sure, I enjoyed Stones of Blood less than expected, but to counterbalance THAT I had the bad taste to actually ENJOY Revenge of the Cybermen the other day.
As for the novels and audios, you clearly don't like them, so why bother with them. If you hate them as much as you seem to, just get rid of them and confine yourself to the show.
Too late. I'm a fanatical completist and that's that. I've started so I'll finish. I will, in the words of the Eleventh Doctor, give it 110%. I think I might actually have been able to cope with the thought of unlistened-to-audios and unread-books, but the thought of those empty Synopses on Nitcentral...unthinkable.
It's the Curse of Nitpicking.
You point out all the flaws you see in something and people think you hate it because all they're seeing is you posting flaws.
Heck, my favorite Who episode is still Genesis Of The Daleks and it probably has the most number of nits I've posted for any episode of Who. Meanwhile I hate The Curse Of Fenric, but it has much, much less nits posted by me.
Heck, my favorite Who episode is still Genesis Of The Daleks and it probably has the most number of nits I've posted for any episode of Who. Meanwhile I hate The Curse Of Fenric, but it has much, much less nits posted by me.
Exactly.
It's only the stuff you love that is *worth* watching enough to nitpick!
I think Emily needs to relax
Exactly.
It's only the stuff you love that is *worth* watching enough to nitpick!
Nice to see you here again, Jessica.
I think I might actually have been able to cope with the thought of unlistened-to-audios and unread-books, but the thought of those empty Synopses on Nitcentral...unthinkable.
I don't think many care about these anymore, Emily, since the New Series rendered them redundant.
Finally, Emily, if you must move posts around, can you post a notice where they originally where, telling us WHERE you moved them to. Thanks
I think Emily needs to relax
I can just FEEL the tensions of daily life just floating away...
I don't think many care about these anymore, Emily, since the New Series rendered them redundant.
I KNOW you're just being polite! I KNOW the whole of Nitcentral is clicking on Harvest of Time EVERY DAY, thinking 'Where the **** is that Synopsis, if the waste-of-space is too crippled to get herself to the library can she not just BUY the thing...')
Finally, Emily, if you must move posts around, can you post a notice where they originally where, telling us WHERE you moved them to.
Just think of it as an intelligence test. Like the City of the Exxilons. Alternatively, click on 'Last Day'.
I KNOW you're just being polite!
No, I'm being honest. The novels and audios once served a need, but that need has been filled by the New Series since 2005.
Besides, I've just seen you tear another novel to shreds. You hate them, so DON'T READ THEM! Donate them to your local library, give them away to a friend, grind them to mulch, etc. Why read something you clearly don't like.
Perhaps you should try another book, Emily, maybe one without the words "Doctor Who" on the cover.
Here's another suggestion, Emily.
It's no secret I'm a big Star Trek fan, but that doesn't mean I have to read each and every Trek novel out there (for one, I don't have that many years).
What I do is when I new Trek novel comes out, I give it a glance through. If it looks like something I'm going to like it, I buy it. If not, back on the shelf it goes.
Perhaps you should do the same with the Who novels.
The novels and audios once served a need, but that need has been filled by the New Series since 2005.
Yeah, cos there's just been SUCH an abundance of Who during the last couple of years...
Besides, I've just seen you tear another novel to shreds. You hate them, so DON'T READ THEM! Donate them to your local library, give them away to a friend, grind them to mulch, etc. Why read something you clearly don't like.
Well, if they're new books I don't KNOW I'm gonna hate 'em, do I? I might have a fair idea after glimpsing the author's name on the cover, but even David A McIntee or Christopher Bulis wrote the occasional mildly entertaining book.*
And if they're old books...I'm sorry, I'm under some sort of COMPULSION to drag every thread on Nitcentral into the 2010s by the Fiftieth Anniversary. Obviously I've been making hurculean attempts to do this without actually READING the things, but needs must when the Nimon drives. (I didn't read Highest Science for FUN. I read it cos it was the only NA left that none of us had had a bloody word to say about for years. And just seeing all sixty-one New Adventures bang up-to-date was worth all the hideous suffering.**)
You want me to avoid having to reread Fear Itself, Krillitane Storm, Darksmith Legacy, Sick Building, Wetworld, Beltempest, Demontage, Mad Dogs and Englishmen, Trading Futures, History 101, Dry Pilgrimage, Something in the Water, Pack Animals, Consequences, Citadel of Dreams, and Shellshock before November 23rd...? Feel VERY VERY free to SAY something about 'em. Cos that's the only way you'll stop me.
Perhaps you should try another book, Emily, maybe one without the words "Doctor Who" on the cover.
Aha! You mean a Torchwood novel or Benny NA!
What I do is when I new Trek novel comes out, I give it a glance through. If it looks like something I'm going to like it, I buy it. If not, back on the shelf it goes.
Perhaps you should do the same with the Who novels.
BURN THE BLASPHEMER!
*OK, in at least one of these cases I'm LYING.
**I'm lying again, obviously. I mean, I'm mad but I'm not THAT mad. It was TOTALLY not worth it.
Obviously I've been making hurculean attempts to do this without actually READING the things, but needs must when the Nimon drives. (I didn't read Highest Science for FUN. I read it cos it was the only NA left that none of us had had a bloody word to say about for years. And just seeing all sixty-one New Adventures bang up-to-date was worth all the hideous suffering.**)
Emily, take note. Most the novel discussions dried up around 2004-05. This was the exact time, more or less, we heard the show was going back into production. draw your own conclusions as to why this happened. I say it was because fans heard the show was coming back and abandoned the novels in droves.
You want me to avoid having to reread Fear Itself, Krillitane Storm, Darksmith Legacy, Sick Building, Wetworld, Beltempest, Demontage, Mad Dogs and Englishmen, Trading Futures, History 101, Dry Pilgrimage, Something in the Water, Pack Animals, Consequences, Citadel of Dreams, and Shellshock before November 23rd...? Feel VERY VERY free to SAY something about 'em. Cos that's the only way you'll stop me.
Since I have none of those novels, I can't really comment on them.
Aha! You mean a Torchwood novel or Benny NA!
No, I mean a novel that has NO connection to the Whoniverse in any way. I keep telling you that you need to expand your horizons in Sci-Fi and Fantasy. There is a wide selection out there, Emily, you should give it a try. Who knows, you might end up liking them.
Since I have none of those novels, I can't really comment on them.
OF COURSE you can! You read the existing comments and you comment on THEM. Most people currently having a riveting discussion about regeneration in the Highest Science thread have obviously had the commonsense not to go NEAR the actual BOOK. But nits picked about one novel very soon turn into debates about the whole Whoniverse, if anyone can be bothered.
No, I mean a novel that has NO connection to the Whoniverse in any way.
Oh! One of THOSE things. Sure, I've read plenty of 'em. They're fine, except for some weird reason they don't have the Doctor in them.
They're fine, except for some weird reason they don't have the Doctor in them.
But when one of them DOES make the effort of including the Doctor, like that crossover Star Trek-Doctor Who graphic novel for instance, then you accuse them of blasphemey, or something.
Nice to see you here again, Jessica
Thanks
There is a wide selection out there, Emily, you should give it a try. Who knows, you might end up liking them.
She has been spotted on the Blake's 7 boards in the past. I think one or two others as well, but I'm too lazy to do an Emily-search just now.
Hmmmmm, that is interesting, Jessica. You saw Emily in a non-Doctor Who area? Somebody better called Ripley's Believe It Or Not
Emily did indeed post in Blakes 7. I believe on the Kur Avon thread.
I'm not aware of any other posts by our Emily on any other boards though. (A different Emily posted on the Dark Angel board which might have confused some.)
I'm under some sort of COMPULSION to drag every thread on Nitcentral into the 2010s by the Fiftieth Anniversary.
So THAT'S why you've been posting in ancient threads, some of which haven't seen any activity since the 20th Century!
Emily - I'm under some sort of COMPULSION to drag every thread on Nitcentral into the 2010s by the Fiftieth Anniversary.
Sounds like a plot by the Silence. Watch the moon landing footage again Emily and have a blunt object handy when you turn around. ;-)
And a pen for if there is something there.
Well, folks, I'm going to admit something here. I'm a Doctor Who fan, no state secret there. However, when I was younger, my fandom was so rabid it might have put Emily to shame.
The landscape around my grandmother's cottage, located in the hills north of Ottawa were dotted with names like Nyssa Lake, Tegan Field, Mount Gharman, etc.
Of course, those names were only known to me and my friends
Tom Hanks admits to loving Doctor Who:
http://www.contactmusic.com/story/tom-hanks-admits-to-love-of-doctor-who_3987687
He thinks Pertwee had red hair?
Tom Baker to a radio interviewer who suggested that Doctor Who fans were not 'ordinary people':
'Doctor Who fans aren't ordinary people. Ordinary people grow tired, they grow disenchanted with the things they love. Doctor Who fans are superior. They never stop loving.'
Mr. Baker could be describing Emily
Comment of the day from Tim McCree right there folks.....
You're both too modest! Tom was talking about ALL of us!
If anyone tries to talk into wearing really fancy - and bulky and heavy - earrings to a dance, decline politely. I learned that lesson the hard way.
This may be a problem for Pat Butcher fans.
Is there a thread for fan films?
If not, can someone please start one?
Just click on the 'Start New Thread' button at the bottom of 'Ask the Matrix'.
I wonder how many fans (both ordinary and Big Name Fans) have chronic illnesses or disabilities?
Diabetes: Ian Levine, Tim McCree, and me.
Stroke: Ian Levine.
Fandom will never be worse than the time Torchwood fans hoped Russell T Davies' partner would die of cancer.
Or that time Torchwood fans hoped RTD would be the victim of a homophobic attack as punishment for killing Ianto.
Or that time Doctor Who fans said the death of Colin Baker's son was punishment for his work on Doctor Who.
You're a diabetic too, Judi?
Yep. Type 1.
That's extraordinarily bad luck.
Faction Paradox was created by a Type 1 diabetic, you can probably tell.
If the members of Nitcentral were characters in a musical:
Tim McCree: Liesl von Trapp
Emily Carter: Mary Poppins
Rodney Hvartin: Kermit the Frog
Kate Halprin: Anna from 'The King and I'
MARY ******* POPPINS?
Do I LOOK like I have nothing better to do with my life than LOOK AFTER KIDS?
Mind you, SPOILERS FOR DARK WATER/DEATH IN HEAVEN apparently Missy-floating-downwards-with-an-umbrella-in-a-graveyard was terribly Mary-Poppins-ish, so if you're REALLY comparing me to THE MASTER...that's OK, then.
Well at least you're not being compared to green felt puppet with Jim Henson's hand shoved up their arse....
Rodney - as green and gold are Australia's colours, I was thinking of the song "Its' Not Easy Being Green".
Yeah, I'd think Miss Piggy would be a better fit for Emily. Infatuated with one guy and if you disagree with her she'll karate chop you. ;-)
Of course if it were NitCentralians as Muppets I'd probably be Fozzy. :-(
I'm fairly sure that Emily would be the Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, if that didn't involve her actually having to come into contact with children.
Yeah, I'd think Miss Piggy would be a better fit for Emily. Infatuated with one guy and if you disagree with her she'll karate chop you.
Believe it or not, this is not the first time Emily has been compared to Miss Piggy...
I notice Tim McCree hasn't commented on me comparing him to Liesl von Trapp - he must like the idea of dancing around a gazebo in a dress and heels singing "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" ;)
Tim has been having trouble logging in... from an email he sent me....
" I just got a new computer. However, I find myself unable to post at Nitcentral because I am currently unable to remember exactly how my username and password were entered. I get an error message every time I try to post that includes this:
"You may revise your username and password using the form at the bottom of this page."
What form? I don't see any form."
click on "Register" in the other frame and set up a new account, Tim.
Now, by and large, fanfilms don't have a good reputation. Generally, they're made with a lot more enthusiasm than talent, the live action ones tend to feature fans of a narrow peer group, which gives the impression we've landed on pre-teen world, and they're generally shot in and around the family back yard and garage.
There have been exceptions of course. Usually one person projects, often animated, almost always short. Doing any kind of film, even a fan film, is a lot of hard work, doing it well is like rolling a boulder up a hill, and doing it for anything more than a short is like trying to roll that boulder while wearing roller skates.
That said, if you start poking around, you'll find some very good fan films - particularly in the last decade or so as fandom has broadened out, and as computers and video have made editing, lighting, and everything from effects to titles so much simpler and accessible.
Gareth Roberts in DWM (in 2000): 'The life of a Doctor Who fan can be quite lonely. It is a worse social stigma than many, and leads to other such stigmas being lumped on top of you, some of which are true and some of which aren't. It's also particularly painful when you go through that pubescent stage when you suddenly start seeing all the deep meaning in Doctor Who, which of course is there - but isn't really. Like when you're 13, trying desperately to justify that Doctor Who was once good because The Massacre had been on.' - Ah, bless. Times HAVE changed for the better.
And at least I've never stooped to defending Who by using The Massacre.
TARDIS Eruditorum, re the Longleat fiasco:
'[The BBC] assumed, not unreasonably given the available data, that Doctor Who fans were just British Star Trek Fans. They weren't. Star Trek had always been a cult show. But Doctor Who fandom was a motley of people who didn't fit smoothly into any existing fan category - who, as Tat Wood put it, always assumed they were normal right up until their liking of Doctor Who was used to mark them as culturally "other."' - Blimey, THAT'S true. Despite my mother's attempts to get me to 'grow out' of Who since I was about five (she'd read my brother The Sneatches every night for months without complaint, but when I chose Planet of the Daleks for my bedtime read, WELL...) I didn't realise I was OTHER till gleefully telling an acquaintance at college that me and a friend were off to watch The Talons of Weng-Chiang, and having said friend inform me that this just wasn't the sort of thing you TOLD people about.
Time, Unincorporated: 'The kids at my school who liked Doctor Who, who were really into it, were all smarter than the kids who weren't into it. (Although let's get one thing clear: everyone watched it. There was one kid in my class who didn't... and he was bullied for it... This was the one time when not being a Who fan marked you out as a social outcast. A golden, enlightened age.)' - *wistful sigh*
Yikes, I just won a copy of DWM#500 in the Gallifrey Base raffle!
First time I've won anything for ages, and I didn't even physically enter, just got automatically entered by making my annual subscription.
Well done you!
I gave up paying good money to Gallifrey Base a while back, I was sick to the back teeth of that heavy-handed moderation.
Ah, I've never experienced that, but then I tend to only hang out in the Active Television section and moan about terrible adverts!
Guess I've replace Rodney as The Nitpicker Central Resident Horror Of Fang Rock Expert
Should probably admit that I've written Fifth Doctor fanfic where Tim and Rodney are the companions...
Is Tim even in the action or is he teaching Nyssa about the birds and the bees?
Well it was better than facing Rodders against the Graham Williams era Fourth Doctor.
Please don't call me Rodders.
oh. OK.
I wouldn't mind being abducted by aliens.
Providing the alien doing the abducting was Nyssa
The latest BBC fan panel survey asks you to rate Doctor Who characters and monsters.
The companions listed are all those from the new series.
The monsters list includes some that appeared in both classic and new Who.
The villains list counts The Master (classic series) and The Master (new series) as two different characters for some reason.
The "favourite character" list is drawn from both the classic and new series and includes some rather random choices (eg Lytton).
No idea what they plan to use this information for...
Everybody should vote for Lytton and then see what happens!
Sadly you're only allowed to vote for three favourite characters, which include River Song (she didn't make it onto the Companions list, what's the MATTER with these people!) and our three Paternoster Gang heroes so I couldn't even vote for the Brig (though I was mightily curious about the possibility of seeing CyberBrig again) and I certainly wasn't gonna waste a vote on Lytton...
http://dwca.org.au/6-tips-for-getting-into-classic-doctor-who/
People pay over £80 just to get the right buttons for their Matt Smith Doctor jackets
Doctor Who Mastermind questions:
1 Which actor first appeared as the Fourth Doctor in December 1974 and went on to play the part for over six years?
2 What's the title of the adventure from 1970 in which small alien energy units land in Oxley Wood? It was the first one to feature Jon Pertwee as the Doctor.
3 Scaroth, also known as Count Scarlioni, is a character who appears in the story City of Death. He's the last remaining survivor of which alien race?
4 In The Daemons, what is the name of the village near which an archaeological dig takes place to open up an ancient burial mound?
5 In which fictional village in Wales is the closed coalmine that forms the location for much of the action of The Green Death?
6 At the end of Spearhead from Space, the Doctor apparently reveals his full name to Brigadier Lethbrdge-Stewart. What does he say it is?
7 In The Pyramids of Mars the alien Sutekh is released from imprisonment by the destruction of an alien artefact. What was it called?
8 In which city are the Doctor and his companion Romana relaxing in 1979 at the start of the story City of Death?
9 What giant creature do the Doctor and Leela encounter in the the London sewers when they investigate the death of the cabbie Joseph Buller in The Talons of Weng Chiang?
10 The journalist Sarah-Jane Smith first meets the Doctor at a research centre while she's posing as one of her own relatives. What's the relative's name?
11 In The Invisible Enemy, what's the name of the best friend and constant companion of Professor Marius?
12 Who makes a cameo appearance alongside Eleanor Bron, in City of Death, when they discuss the TARDIS located in a Paris museum as an art installation?
Pah! The Master would scorn to put her name to such basic infantile questions!
(Admittedly I forgot about the Eye of Horus and just thought 'Pyramid of Mars'.)
Is this a television show? I could easily see myself panicking under the lights and confidently answering #2 with The Auton Invasion.
Yeah it was the quiz show Mastermind. The contestant's chosen subject was Doctor Who in the 1970s.
Lest we forget, the first time Doctor Who was a specialist subject on Mastermind (in 1993) the contestant went on to win the series. (And the question setter was JN-T, who managed to get a fact wrong about one of his own stories!)
Ooh, which one?
Battlefield? Did the question say "which actress was killed during the making of this story?"
Ooh, which one?
The question was something like "Which is the only Doctor Who story to have had on-screen subtitles for foreign dialogue?" With the answer being 'The Mind of Evil'.
But while that had been true up until 1989, there was also been subtitled Russian dialogue in 'The Curse of Fenric'.
... all of which added up to the impression that JN-T knew more about the contents of the Doctor Who Quiz Books of the mid-1980s than he did about some of the programmes he'd actually made.
I drew a blank on 4, 5, and 7.
1 Which actor first appeared as the Fourth Doctor in December 1974 and went on to play the part for over six years?
Tom Baker
2 What's the title of the adventure from 1970 in which small alien energy units land in Oxley Wood? It was the first one to feature Jon Pertwee as the Doctor.
Spearhead From Space
3 Scaroth, also known as Count Scarlioni, is a character who appears in the story City of Death. He's the last remaining survivor of which alien race?
The Jagaroth
4 In The Daemons, what is the name of the village near which an archaeological dig takes place to open up an ancient burial mound?
Devil's End
5 In which fictional village in Wales is the closed coalmine that forms the location for much of the action of The Green Death?
Llanfairfach (yes, I looked it up this time, but I did it to make sure I spelled it right)
6 At the end of Spearhead from Space, the Doctor apparently reveals his full name to Brigadier Lethbrdge-Stewart. What does he say it is?
John Smith
7 In The Pyramids of Mars the alien Sutekh is released from imprisonment by the destruction of an alien artefact. What was it called?
The Eye Of Horus
8 In which city are the Doctor and his companion Romana relaxing in 1979 at the start of the story City of Death?
Paris
9 What giant creature do the Doctor and Leela encounter in the the London sewers when they investigate the death of the cabbie Joseph Buller in The Talons of Weng Chiang?
A rat
10 The journalist Sarah-Jane Smith first meets the Doctor at a research centre while she's posing as one of her own relatives. What's the relative's name?
Lavinia Smith
11 In The Invisible Enemy, what's the name of the best friend and constant companion of Professor Marius?
K9
12 Who makes a cameo appearance alongside Eleanor Bron, in City of Death, when they discuss the TARDIS located in a Paris museum as an art installation?
John Cleese
The great thing about Doctor Who Halloween costumes is that you are probably working with the same budget as the people who invented them.
Fair-enough Guardian article on how Doctor Who fans weren’t put on this Earth to enjoy Doctor Who.
Shortly afterwards, a rare peace broke out, with fans agreeing that McCoy’s later adventures were the finest the show had produced in years. Obviously, that’s when the BBC cancelled it.
What is that thing you say, bless?
Well, all fans of taste and discernment agree that Season Twenty-Six Of Blessed Memory was the best thing the universe could possibly have to offer, at least until Season Twenty-Seven Of Blessed Memory materialised to wipe the floor with it...
Well, I guess I have no "taste and discernment" as Season Twenty-Six was, IMO, far from the "best thing in the universe".
Yes or else it would'nt have been cancelled.
Unfortunately no one was watching to marvel at how brilliant it was...rather like Flux...
Yeah most people left by the Sixie era.
They should've got people who actually liked the show.
And they should let Sixie dress like the Ninth Doctor was dressed.
And not have an hiatus nor fire Colin. Actually I think Davison should've maybe stayed for a bit more.
If Davison stays for a bit more, Peri could be a transitional Companion and then Sixie is played by another actor and has other main companions.
If Davison still regenerates in Caves of Androzani, Peri stays for pretty much all of the Sixie era (perhaps with a male companion with her. Perhaps this time an alien that looks more alien than Adric\Nyssa\Turlough did, or someone from like the middle ages, or from the future but actually dressed futuristic since they now have the budget for it instead of 1960s sweaters) and then in the last Sixie serial, Peri leaves, Ace joins, and Sixie regenerates into Seven.
Maybe the Seventh Doctror would'nt be Sylvester McCoy either, maybe it would be someone a bit more known for more serius and less pantomimey acting, and I think it would be someone born around 1957. Maybe even straight up McGann or Capaldi. So you get like, an older brother little sister dinamic.
Then in 1990, Ace leaves, is replaced for a 18-22-year-oldish woman and a man that's about one year older than her. (Either one of them is from the future and the other from the past, or one of them is from either past or future Earth and the other is an alien) And the Doctor regenerates into the Eighth Doctor who is someone born around 1965.
1993 - Ninth Doctor, actor born around 1970 but played as the "team teenager". - Companion in her 30's, either future\past\alien (whatever was'nt used in the previous duo). Eventually she becomes a cyborg.
1996 - Tenth Doctor, actor born around 1956. This time a male companion in his early 20's from present day.
1999 - Eleventh Doctor, actor born around 1964. Has two female companions (30 year old and 18-20 year old) and a male companion (18-20 year old). One of them is from the future, one of them from the past, and one of them from another planet.
2002 - Twelfth Doctor, actor born around 1977. Has a 18-22-year-old female companion, and a teenage male companion. (Either one of them from the past and one of them from the future, or one of them is from another time period and the other from another planet.)
2005 - Thirteenth Doctor, actor born around 1981. Susan comes back and the Susan > 2nd Susan happens at the same time as 12 > 13. At the end the Doctor dies for good and Susan inherits the Doctor's mantle. It ends in 2008 but in 2018, an animated reboot gets made, with reboot versions of all Doctors and Companions.
As of 2021, the animated Second Doctor and Jamie have been introduced, with animated Victoria having just joined.
They should've got people who actually liked the show.
How true, how true...
And they should let Sixie dress like the Ninth Doctor was dressed.
How true, how true...
And not have an hiatus
How true, how true...
nor fire Colin
How - WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!
Actually I think Davison should've maybe stayed for a bit more.
Apparently, so did Davison once he'd met Peri but alas it was too late...
If Davison stays for a bit more, Peri could be a transitional Companion and then Sixie is played by another actor
I doubt it, once JNT had been bewitched by Colin's wedding-repartee I doubt anyone or anything could have swayed him.
Maybe the Seventh Doctror would'nt be Sylvester McCoy either, maybe it would be someone a bit more known for more serius and less pantomimey acting, and I think it would be someone born around 1957. Maybe even straight up McGann or Capaldi
OK, I'm not sure how I feel about that...still haven't worked out whether all the Doctors' faces are destined (Christmas on a Rational Planet's Eighth Man Bound game notwithstanding) and thinking of 'em occurring in the wrong order is simultaneously gut-wrenchingly wrong and timey-wimeyly RIGHT. (And then, just to confuse the issue, there's the fact the Curator PROMISED us some repeats...)
Companion in her 30's, either future\past\alien (whatever was'nt used in the previous duo). Eventually she becomes a cyborg.
Why would she become a cyborg? She'd only spend her existence being unfavourably compared to K9.
1999 - Eleventh Doctor, actor born around 1964. Has two female companions (30 year old and 18-20 year old) and a male companion (18-20 year old).
What the hell about JODIE!'s Fam makes you think three Companions are a remotely good idea in this day and age?
Also, a three-woman, one-man Team TARDIS feels a bit unbalanced. (I'm assuming YOU'RE not assuming that Eleven should be some sort of...MALE.)
At the end the Doctor dies for good and Susan inherits the Doctor's mantle
Over my dead body!
It ends in 2008 but in 2018, an animated reboot gets made, with reboot versions of all Doctors and Companions.
Over my rebooted/zombified dead body!
As of 2021, the animated Second Doctor and Jamie have been introduced, with animated Victoria having just joined.
Yeah, we've actually GOT that and guess what? Power, Faceless, Macra, and Fury aren't actually any bloody GOOD. (Admittedly I haven't been able to face WATCHING Fury yet but this in no way affects my confidence in this statement.)
Colin could have been good as the Doctor although perhaps a Nicola Bryant Doctor and Colin Baker Companion would perhaps even be better.
Maybe Davison or Nicola Bryant would have done the witty talk instead, causing JNT to keeping them and recast the other.
We would'nt have had Eccleston as 9th if it was'nt for RTD being the new showrunner. And it would be a different aged and dressed version of them with different personality and companions. About as different as our Sixie to a well-done Sixie dressed like Eccy.
Because we did'nt have any cyborg companion in Classic Who. We had about everything except cyborgs. Though technically Adam and Nardole are cyborgs. But in this version they never got introduced.
This 11th Doctor drops Companions to their home and thus the era format could be like this:
1st story:11\PastCompanion
2nd story:11\PastCompanion\FutureCompanion
3rd story:11\FutureCompanion
4th story:11\FutureCompanion\AlienCompanion
5th story:11\AlienCompanion
6th story:11\AlienCompanion\PastCompanion
7th story:11\AlienCompanion\PastCompanion\FutureCompanion.
It could be a two men\two women TARDIS team with a female Doctor. In this case the female companion is 20ish and the male companions are 30ish and 20ish respectively. Or it could be an all female team.
That's the same episodes but animated. I was thinking more of a reboot with different stories, adding overarching plotlines and NuWho-esque character development to Classic Who. But Companions still tend to join and leave in a similiar way. But return a lot and get back to their own times. So Victoria is a bit different than she is in Classic Who.