Doctor Who Rumormongering

[CalliArcale]

Updates:

Trailer for next week's (in Britain) episode, The Beast Below:
http://gallifreynewsbase.blogspot.com/2010/04/beast-below-trailer.html

Appreciation index for the series premier was 86, an unusually high rating for a premier episodes as the audiences aren't yet familiar with the principals. It was very popular in Scotland (perhaps because of the Scottish companion?), and more popular among women than men.
http://gallifreynewsbase.blogspot.com/2010/04/eleventh-hour-ai-and-repeat-ratings.html

One additional observation just occurred to me, after realizing that the show had been more liked by women. Historically, Dr Who has included eye candy for the fathers. (It's a family show; it's meant to have something for everyone in the family.) The vast majority of companions have been female; males have rarely traveled with the Doctor without there also being a female companion; and the female companions are typically young, attractive, and very often wear short shirts. (Extreme examples include Leela, in her "noble savage" leotard, and Peri, who was first seen wearing a bikini top and shorts.) Occasional eye candy was provided for the female viewers: Jamie McCrimmon always showed his knees (of course, that's because he was wearing a kilt), and of course there was the time Turlough stripped down to undies and a shirt to go rescue a drowning Peri. "The Eleventh Hour" made sure there was eye candy for both the ladies and the gents -- Amy Pond had her short skirt, of course, but there was also a scene which seemed directed squarely at the female audience.

It was good, though. I really really liked it.

 

[JonClarke]

That's great news Calli, I am really looking forward to it, even more thanks to you.

On the eye candy, Amy Pond is a bit young for me, which is why I will miss Donna. I really liked the idea of an older companion.

 

[pathfinder_01]

That's great news Calli, I am really looking forward to it, even more thanks to you.

On the eye candy, Amy Pond is a bit young for me, which is why I will miss Donna. I really liked the idea of an older companion.

Me too. I like smart more indepedant slightly combative ones like Barbra, Ace, Donna. Of course you can take the combativeness a bit too far like Romana II. However the lack of attractive male compaions on the show can be a bit disapointing......

 

[JonClarke]

Me too. I like smart more indepedant slightly combative ones like Barbra, Ace, Donna. Of course you can take the combativeness a bit too far like Romana II. However the lack of attractive male compaions on the show can be a bit disapointing......

I would love to see Romana come back from E-space.

 

[CalliArcale]

That's great news Calli, I am really looking forward to it, even more thanks to you.

On the eye candy, Amy Pond is a bit young for me, which is why I will miss Donna. I really liked the idea of an older companion.

Me too. I like smart more indepedant slightly combative ones like Barbra, Ace, Donna. Of course you can take the combativeness a bit too far like Romana II. However the lack of attractive male compaions on the show can be a bit disapointing......

I liked Donna too. In fact, I liked her right from the start, though many did not. I also prefer the combative companions. Tegan was another of my favorites.

The original companion mix was a good one for broad fan appeal -- a teenaged girl (Susan; well, being a Gallifreyan, she may actually have been older, since we don't know how quickly they mature; she was certainly the Gallifreyan equivalent of a teenager, though), an older woman (Barbara Wright) and an older man (Ian Chesterson). There was a reason for that mix, beyond sex appeal. The original idea was that Dr Who would be an educational program. Stories would alternate between a science fiction setting and a historical setting. The two schoolteachers would provide insights into their fields during these adventures, allowing the writers easy ways to slide a little education in: Barbara taught history, while Ian taught science.

Unfortunately, after Barbara and Ian left, it was a long time before they had more older companions. If memory serves, the next one (not counting single-story examples like Sara Kingdom) was Liz Shaw, a physicist who was the third Doctor's first companion. The next few companions were all adults, but young adults; the next older one we get to is Romana. It's just not very common to have older companions. This is partly because of the perpetual focus on children. They want someone young enough that the children can relate to them, but old enough that the parents aren't freaking out about all the danger some little kid is facing.

 

[CalliArcale]

I would love to see Romana come back from E-space.

There is a series of audio adventures featuring Romana, post-Warrior's Gate. She returns to Gallifrey and ultimately becomes President. I've never listened to them, but I probably should, because they sound very interesting. Lalla Ward provides the voice of Romana. The canonicity is questionable, of course, but I've heard rumor that Russell T Davies was treating them as canon even if they're not really. *shrugs* No real answer until such time as the BBC decides to reintroduce her.

The notion of Romana returning to Gallifrey and becoming President also featured in the New Adventures line of novels by Virgin Publishing, mostly in the book Lungbarrow.

 

[CalliArcale]

NEWS ITEMS:

Neil Gaiman talks about his reaction to the new series, and, more importantly, the reaction of his teenaged daughter and her gentleman callers. He also lets slip that his episode was originally meant to be near the end of this season; he's rewriting it to appear near the beginning of next season, and sounds quite enthused about it.
http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2010/04/how-to-mortify-your-daughter.html

This season won't be the usual 13 episodes, as Steven Moffatt put it. It'll be 13 episodes on TV -- and four interactive ones for your computer. They'll be available through the BBC website, and are being written to fit into the current season as full stories in their own right.
http://gallifreynewsbase.blogspot.com/2010/04/doctor-who-adventure-games.html

 

[pmn1]

Apparently young Amelia Pond is the real-life cousin of current Amy Pond....

 

[JonClarke]

I would love to see Romana come back from E-space.

There is a series of audio adventures featuring Romana, post-Warrior's Gate. She returns to Gallifrey and ultimately becomes President. I've never listened to them, but I probably should, because they sound very interesting. Lalla Ward provides the voice of Romana. The canonicity is questionable, of course, but I've heard rumor that Russell T Davies was treating them as canon even if they're not really. *shrugs* No real answer until such time as the BBC decides to reintroduce her.

The notion of Romana returning to Gallifrey and becoming President also featured in the New Adventures line of novels by Virgin Publishing, mostly in the book Lungbarrow.

Meh - that is almost fan fiction :lol:

 

[bdewoody]

Was watching BBC America last night and sae clips from the nes Dr. Who series. Heck I was just getting used to the last guy who had the job. Don't know if I will watch this version or not as this has never been high on my must see TV list.

 

[JonClarke]

Was watching BBC America last night and sae clips from the nes Dr. Who series. Heck I was just getting used to the last guy who had the job. Don't know if I will watch this version or not as this has never been high on my must see TV list.

Each to their own I guess. The good Dr is by far and away the best long running TV SF series in my book. Some of the stories were truly brilliant theatre. Blink, Midnight, Dalek. David Tennant was the best Dr yet, but given Calli's report I will look forward to the new one. Thirteen days to go!

 

[bdewoody]

I have never been a big fan of English drama or comedy. I'm not sure why. James Bond movies are my favorites and I especially liked the Hornblower series but I suspect that was because of my love for sailing vessels.

 

[CalliArcale]

The notion of Romana returning to Gallifrey and becoming President also featured in the New Adventures line of novels by Virgin Publishing, mostly in the book Lungbarrow.

Meh - that is almost fan fiction :lol:[/quote]

My sentiments precisely. Regarding Lungbarrow specifically, it has been *contradicted* by onscreen action in the new series (albeit mildly), which frankly pleased me -- I honestly could see why the episode had been rejected by John Nathan-Turner, and ultimately reworked into the delightfully creepy (but Gallifrey-less) story "Ghost Light". (Which was, interestingly, the last episode of the old series ever filmed.)

 

[CalliArcale]

"The Beast Below" got respectable ratings this weekend. And the BBC released the trailer for "Victory of the Daleks", the WWII-era Dalek adventure that really has me excited!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8BkpAwWg1k[/youtube]

In other news, Max Faulkner has passed away. He was a stuntman who appeared many times, both credited and uncredited, and also had a number of bit parts on the series. One of his larger roles was in "The Invasion of Time" as the leader of the Shabogans, a group of Gallifreyans who had renounced Time Lord ways and moved out of the Citadel to live in the wilds of outer Gallifrey as hunter-gatherers. He was 79.

 

[JonClarke]

I have never been a big fan of English drama or comedy. I'm not sure why. James Bond movies are my favorites and I especially liked the Hornblower series but I suspect that was because of my love for sailing vessels.

Like I said, each to their own. Most US TV drama and comedy is at best mildly entertaining for me. Scrubs I like, and Flashfoward interesting. The rest i can take of leave for the most part. Even the SF, except for the early Stargate.

But beware anyone who comes between me and The Bill or the good Dr. Foyles War too, when it was on.

BTW, if you liked Hornblower you might like the Sharpe series, about a soldier in the 95 Rifles from the same period. They are based on the books by Bernard Cornwall, Shaun Bean plays Sharpe.

 

[yevaud]

But beware anyone who comes between me and The Bill or the good Dr. Foyles War too, when it was on.

Wholeheartedly agreed.

 

[JonClarke]

Wholeheartedly agreed.

I did not know you got The Bill and Foyle's War in the US.

 

[yevaud]

We do. Being Boston, we have one of the three great Public Broadcasting systems, WGBH. They've been airing productions from the Beeb since I was a child.

Other than the obvious stuff, like the good Doctor, my all-time favorite had to be House of Cards trilogy.

 

[CalliArcale]

PBS has long been the purveyor of fine British programming in America. That and Nova. ;-) (Which is produced by WGBH, if memory serves. Boston is indeed a frontrunner in PBS.) Now that we have BBC America, it's not the only one.

--------------------

Some cool articles at Newsarama, covering the American tour the crew are doing to promote the BBC America launch of the series this weekend:

http://www.newsarama.com/tv/Doctor-Who- ... 00414.html
Mentions Neil Gaiman; Steven Moffatt reveals all that he will reveal about Gaiman’s episode: it will be on television, and will be in color.

http://www.newsarama.com/tv/Doctor-Who- ... 00415.html
This one has a few hints about the new season. For instance, there is a story arc this season too, and the seeds have already been laid right in the first episode – though apparently not overtly. I suspect it is *not* Prisoner Zero, nor the Atraxi, but something to do with that crack..... I need to watch it again!

 

[pmn1]

Ok, so it seems someone/thing is messing around with the timeline...

 

[JonClarke]

Ok, so it seems someone/thing is messing around with the timeline...

Care to expand on that?

It starts on local TV tonight. My dearly beloved last night arranged for some people to come round for dinner this evening. AAARRRGGGGHHHHHHH!

:shock: :shock: :shock: :x :x :x

 

[JasonChapman]

Ok, I usually do not like doing spoilers, unfair to those who have yet to see the latest episode but last nights episode: Multo coloured daleks, Multi coloured daleks come on! are you kidding me? Like I have said previoiusly this new guy has a tough act to follow, David Tennant was brilliant, but this new bloke, I don't know, and the new assistant can't quite get the hang of her either. And as for the spitfires in Space sorry but I know its science fiction but I draw the line at that.
Most science fiction has at least a tiny bit of science fact in it.

 

[CalliArcale]

I'm kinda curious to see what they do with that as well. I'm assuming there's alien tech involved in the spacefaring Spitfires, but we shall see.

Multi-colored Daleks, by the way, were first seen in the old 1960s movies starring Peter Cushing as the Doctor (though rumor has it that there were a few red Daleks back in the William Hartnell era as well, but as they were recording in black-and-white, you couldn't tell).

And in case you hadn't noticed, Doctor Who has a tendency towards *soft* science fiction, generally exploring the social issues more than the science/engineering ones. If you want hard science fiction with a similar emphasis on strong storytelling, I heartily recommend "Babylon 5", which also has one of the most compelling story arcs that I've ever seen. (You can get away with watching random episodes in Season 1, for the most part, but tread cautiously in later seasons, lest it become confusing or give you spoilers.)

 

[CalliArcale]

Sarah Jane Adventures news:

Season Four will soon begin production, and two exciting guest stars have been signed: Matt Smith, to play the 11th Doctor, and Katy Manning, to reprise her role as Jo Grant. Jo Grant was the companion who directly preceeded Sarah Jane Smith, working with Jon Pertwee (the 3rd Doctor) in the 1970s. Katy Manning has done some voice work as Jo Grant and a few DVD commentary tracks, but this will be the first time she has played Jo Grant on screen in 37 years. Reportedly, both Matt Smith and Katy Manning will be appearing in the same story, and it will be written by Russell T Davies.

 

[JasonChapman]

I'm kinda curious to see what they do with that as well. I'm assuming there's alien tech involved in the spacefaring Spitfires, but we shall see.

Multi-colored Daleks, by the way, were first seen in the old 1960s movies starring Peter Cushing as the Doctor (though rumor has it that there were a few red Daleks back in the William Hartnell era as well, but as they were recording in black-and-white, you couldn't tell).

And in case you hadn't noticed, Doctor Who has a tendency towards *soft* science fiction, generally exploring the social issues more than the science/engineering ones. If you want hard science fiction with a similar emphasis on strong storytelling, I heartily recommend "Babylon 5", which also has one of the most compelling story arcs that I've ever seen. (You can get away with watching random episodes in Season 1, for the most part, but tread cautiously in later seasons, lest it become confusing or give you spoilers.)

I have seen the Peter Cushing films, and yes the Daleks do seem to be designed on a very early model, but you thought the designers would have come up with a better idea than red blue yellow and black. There is nothing wrong with the current design of dalek, I though the episode with Chris Eccleson and the single dalek was brilliant.