• The Famiboards annual Halloween Event returns! Play spooky games and win spooky badges!! Check it out here!

TV Doctor Who ST | This Thread Is Bigger On The Inside

Huh. That's the first time I've heard about this, interesting.
IIRC, Gaiman's initial drafts of Nightmare in Silver included Beryl, the original Victorian Clara-equivalent. To say that Series 7 had a troubled production is an understatement.
 
Moffat really was juggling way too many different big projects at the time and series 7 really suffered due to it.
Always been curious about the alternate universe where Victorian Clara went with The Doctor rather than modern day Clara.
It would've improved series 7B a ton, but I'm not sure if her and 12 would've worked nearly as well.
Mostly due to Clara being an empty character that could be written in any way due to how empty she actually was initially.
 
Moffat really was juggling way too many different big projects at the time and series 7 really suffered due to it.
Always been curious about the alternate universe where Victorian Clara went with The Doctor rather than modern day Clara.
It would've improved series 7B a ton, but I'm not sure if her and 12 would've worked nearly as well.
Mostly due to Clara being an empty character that could be written in any way due to how empty she actually was initially.

I think Moffat and Coleman knew where they wanted to go with Clara, but Gatiss and Gaiman's (and presumably, Thompson's) scripts were first written with Beryll in mind, resulting in a generic companion. Neil Cross' two episodes were the only ones conceptualized after they decided to go with modern-day Clara, and they were the best in terms of Clara's character.

Moreover, the Impossible Girl arc was all about how the Doctor was wrong in treating Clara as a mystery instead of a person, which is a brilliant idea, but since we're seeing Clara from the Doctor's PoV, she doesn't really get room to shine. Moffat was also at the lowest with Series 7, with serviceable but not stellar episodes.
 
I did a search for strangely shaped phones, and the Siemens Xelibri 6 from 2003 reminds me of Ncuti's sonic screwdriver.
AG9pegG.jpg
 
Got my vinyl collection in of the first eight Ninth Doctor collections. I absolutely love to see it, even if I probably never end up actually spinning the discs since the downloads are so convenient. But the sale was great and, weirdly enough, the records were the cheapest option, so now I'm 24 records richer 😅

Some slight OCD going on with the spines not aligning due to a missing BBC logo (they include reprints, but I'm not throwing stuff away or opening just to swap stuff out) and the new Who logo being only on the eighth story. Really hate how they didn't at least finish the series before changing to the new logo.
 
Got my vinyl collection in of the first eight Ninth Doctor collections. I absolutely love to see it, even if I probably never end up actually spinning the discs since the downloads are so convenient. But the sale was great and, weirdly enough, the records were the cheapest option, so now I'm 24 records richer 😅

Some slight OCD going on with the spines not aligning due to a missing BBC logo (they include reprints, but I'm not throwing stuff away or opening just to swap stuff out) and the new Who logo being only on the eighth story. Really hate how they didn't at least finish the series before changing to the new logo.
The ever changing logo really is the bane of every fan looking for a consistent design in their collection. I'm thankful that at least the classic Blu-Ray boxes are allowed to keep the one they started with, even if it's the Chibnall logo :LOL:
 
Good heavens, if The Collection was changed, I genuinely would have gone insane. It already has under gone a BBFC and BBC logo change (though the BBC is barely noticeable), can you imagine how bad the final result would've been?!

Also, I genuinely love the Chibnall logo, sue me 😶
 
Well. Out of nowhere they announced the next classic Blu-Ray Set, it's gonna be Season 15:


Damn, Leela/Louise Jameson is the best. I always loved how she and the writers managed to avoid conflating "primitive" and "dumb", which is a mistake that happens too frequently in fiction. I wish she would come back to the show proper in some capacity in the future.

(also, this made me realise one unintended benefit of Big Finish being a thing: whenever these former companions and Doctors come back for any sort of appearance, the general reaction seems to be something along the lines of "Wow, it's like they never stopped playing the role!" and, well... a lot of them actually haven't!)
 
Honestly, it's still so much in the 'primitive' character that she uses a Dalek weapon to destroy the other Dalek. She rather used the weapon of the enemy she has defeated rather than one of the more advanced Gallifrey weapons.
 

Take it with a grain of salt, given it's The Mirror but they seem to be very sure about it. Details about the why are still scarce but there were already mumblings about Gibson being very difficult to work with. Although I have to wonder just how bad it could've been if the same production company worked with Barrowman for way longer :LOL:
 
0
I mean, this article alone is not worrying - Gibson left after a single series, but so did Martha and Donna. Classic RTD routine, and maybe that was the plan all along. Martha also did show up for a handful of episodes in the following series, just like Gibson, according to the report.

This article plus the older article about Gibson plus Gatwa allegedly being very close to Gibson and quitting after Series 2/15... Well, this is worrying, but the show did fine after the Series 1 debacle and Eccleston quitting...

We'll see. I hope RTD won't burn the bridges with Gatwa and Gibson as he did with Eccleston. Surely as good as he is as a writer and showrunner, the beginning of his Who productions are problematic, to say the least. Though in fairness, Moffat's Series 5 also was, and Chibnall's run has been chaotic from the beginning to the very end.
 
I watched some DW videos on YouTube, and the algorithm began to suggest some YouTubers' take on the recent Specials. Apparently, for some folks, the Specials might not have worked at all, and maybe they even destroyed Doctor Who.

These are some... very weird takes. I get not liking the episodes (though IMHO you should at least recognise a basic level of competence that we have not seen since Moffat left), but objectively, they have been a great success, and they ensure that the series had a future.

I guess I'll continue to stay away from the Doctor Who YouTube fandom.
 
Well, multiple people consider Doctor Who to be dead since Capaldi left. And while I personally disliked the Chibnall era and the specials were just enjoyable at best overall, disregarding them just feels weird when you consider how insane the ups and downs of Classic Who was, yet everyone seems to like even the worst seasons there.

Also, Season 22 of Classic Who is a goddamn masterpiece and anyone disagreeing is blatantly wrong!
 
0
A pity about Michael Jayston. A very fine actor that, like others during the Sixth Doctor era, did the best he could with some... uneven material. Not many actors could have delivered that "catharsis of spurious morality" line and still kinda make it work.
 
Continuing through the Troughton era, it's been interesting to see the different types of animated replacements produced. The one I'm currently on, Fury from the Deep, is the first I've seen where all of the episodes are animated. This seems to have given them a freer hand, since they're not trying to match appearances with other episodes. So it's widescreen, color, and the "sets" seem larger and more detailed than I expect the original had. But also, they seem to have taken this opportunity to (I'm presuming) add some more diversity to the future by "recasting" some of the non-speaking extra roles.
6dNl0Vi.jpeg
 
The animation for 'Fury of the Deep' is all kinds of whatever. I get that they want to release these to fill in the gaps and make some adjustments along the way. The added diversity is, yeah sure, nice for those that care (I'll be blunt, I don't care one way or another, it doesn't affect the episode). But the sets being this huge filled with complete dead space, the helicopter sequence being completely changed, the character designs having these weird proportions, the 4:3 presentation not being protected (so stuff constantly cuts off at the edges). I'm really not a fan of it, either fully commits to animating the episodes or do your own thing. It reeks of revisionism for the sake of revisionism rather than fill in the gap. Sure, 'The Macra Terror' had a few similar changes, but they also said throughout various steps of production that some changes were done because of limitations or to make things a bit more clear (rather than showing one Macra, show multiple when the characters actually mention multiple Macra). Here though? Yeah non of the changes feel like they needed to be there whatsoever and it's just... Off... I'm super happy that they've continued with the animations again, but I really hope that this one is a mostly one and done deal with how weird it feels.
A pity about Michael Jayston. A very fine actor that, like others during the Sixth Doctor era, did the best he could with some... uneven material. Not many actors could have delivered that "catharsis of spurious morality" line and still kinda make it work.
Honestly, of the entire season, he was probably by far the most compelling part of. Sure, some of the lines are clunky to say the least, but man, the guy is compelling in the role.
 
Last edited:
Continuing through the Troughton era, it's been interesting to see the different types of animated replacements produced. The one I'm currently on, Fury from the Deep, is the first I've seen where all of the episodes are animated. This seems to have given them a freer hand, since they're not trying to match appearances with other episodes. So it's widescreen, color, and the "sets" seem larger and more detailed than I expect the original had. But also, they seem to have taken this opportunity to (I'm presuming) add some more diversity to the future by "recasting" some of the non-speaking extra roles.
6dNl0Vi.jpeg
Lol at the Delgado Master "wanted" poster in the background. That's cute.
Honestly, of the entire season, he was probably by far the most compelling part of. Sure, some of the lines are clunky to say the least, but man, the guy is compelling in the role.
Indeed. As someone who has spent years wishing for the Valeyard to return to the TV show in some manner, his death has made me realize that I didn't really want the Valeyard back as much as I wanted Michael Jayston as the Valeyard back. Kinda like with the David Warner Unbound Doctor.
 
Lol at the Delgado Master "wanted" poster in the background. That's cute.
The other animations have similar easter eggs, on the one hand, I do like them, on the other... It's kind of distracting once you do notice it...

Indeed. As someone who has spent years wishing for the Valeyard to return to the TV show in some manner, his death has made me realize that I didn't really want the Valeyard back as much as I wanted Michael Jayston as the Valeyard back. Kinda like with the David Warner Unbound Doctor.
I really hope that Davies has the guts to produce an Unbound series. Genuinely love that range and it has some stellar ideas throughout. While 'Once and Future' is a hodgepodge of ideas, without a real reason why one story leads into another, Time Lord Immemorial having the Ninth Doctor and the Alternate Universe Doctor together was genuinely a blast to hear.
 
Continuing through the Second Doctor era, I'm enjoying Jamie as a companion. Being from the 18th century, he's ended up with a weird mix of familiarity with the incredible, like TARDIS operations, while maintaining incredulity at 20th century tech like hovercrafts.
 
0
More infos:


His episode is going to be shot by new-to-Who director Julie Anne Robinson (among others: Bridgerton), not sure if we already knew about her?

I wasn't crazy about any of the specials, but Moffat will get me there without question.
Same. I thought they were alright but nothing to really write home about.
I'm definitely looking forward to his return, I've always thought he was consistently good under RTD!
 
Really curious what the season will be like, the specials were all right, but Moffat writing a new episode is extremely exciting and I'm hopeful!
 
Some more oooold Doctor Who stuff. Something about Jamie I've wondered, was there any second thoughts or pushback to having one of the heroes occasionally talking about killing English soldiers? Or did they just figure hundreds of years was enough of a buffer.
Jamie said:
There wasn't a laser gun where I come from, yet us McCrimmons still dealt with the Redcoats right enough.

Also, my knowledge of the old series is far from encyclopedic (into season 6 now, have seen barely anything from later, decades ago), but I was searching for the oldest human companions and was pretty surprised how young everyone was. I know people like Donna, Graham, and Dan are the exceptions, but at least the list I looked at there didn't seem to be anyone canonically over 30. Though there were several actors in their 30s playing younger, and some people's ages were just left unknown.
 
Some more oooold Doctor Who stuff. Something about Jamie I've wondered, was there any second thoughts or pushback to having one of the heroes occasionally talking about killing English soldiers? Or did they just figure hundreds of years was enough of a buffer.
Don't think there was any 🤔
Although I think Jamie was originally meant to be a one-off, so maybe things just fell into place and nobody thought much about it? Also I don't recall him talking much about killing english soldiers anyway.
Also, my knowledge of the old series is far from encyclopedic (into season 6 now, have seen barely anything from later, decades ago), but I was searching for the oldest human companions and was pretty surprised how young everyone was. I know people like Donna, Graham, and Dan are the exceptions, but at least the list I looked at there didn't seem to be anyone canonically over 30. Though there were several actors in their 30s playing younger, and some people's ages were just left unknown.
Might be due to it mostly being a kid's show back then.
 
Don't think there was any 🤔
Although I think Jamie was originally meant to be a one-off, so maybe things just fell into place and nobody thought much about it? Also I don't recall him talking much about killing english soldiers anyway.
When I wrote that I was watching The Dominators, where he says to someone else something like "Where I come from we didn't have laser guns but we McCrimmons still showed the redcoats a thing or two!" Today I was watching part of the next serial The Mind Robber and was amused that upon seeing an imaginary redcoat Jamie's first instinct was to try and stab the guy.
 
0
Cross posting, but it's kind of a double thing. But I received my Doctor Who Season 15 Blu-ray boxset. What an absolutely wonderful set and I can't wait to dive deep into all the episodes! 🥰
 
After all this time since the announcement and a full episode, I just can not get used to Gatwa's Doctor design... That mustache is just absolutely killing me...
 
0
Watching the 60s show, one of the things that interests me is how much they had to work around very fixed production schedules, very different from even a US contemporary like the original Star Trek. Patrick Troughton scheduled for a holiday? Then make sure in episode 3 of that serial the Doctor is doing something off-screen. But I really love what they did in a pinch in The Mind Robber which I'm currently watching. Regular Jamie actor Frazer Hines apparently caught chicken pox, but needing Jamie for the week they just... got a replacement actor and wrote it into the story. The given explanation: the mysterious puzzle-giving antagonist gives the Doctor several sets of paper eyes, noses, mouths, and challenges him to recreate Jamie's face. But he screws up and tada! Jamie is different, at least for the next episode until given a chance to redo the puzzle. Frankly I think it was probably better and more succinctly explained than when Troughton took over from Hartnell.

 


Back
Top Bottom