I should have finished my script yesterday, but the goddamn sinusitis completely knocked me out. Luckily, used a winning combination of Sudafed, Mucinex, Advil, and sitting on the couch next to a humidifier to prevent this thing from developing into something really nasty, like a Moose Bite.
The best thing about being a geek who makes a living writing about geek stuff is that I get to do the things I love and not feel like I’m goofing off. So even though I was sitting on the couch watching Genesis of the Daleks for the entire afternoon, I felt like I was being productive.
I am aware that it’s a gaping hole in my geek cred, and I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve never watched much Dr. Who. I mean, I’d seen a little bit here and there, but certainly not enough to tell you which Doctor I liked the most, or why the Timelords are cool — in fact, I still can’t — but when I got about halfway through this DVD, I said, out loud, “Where have you been all my life?”
While I don’t think I would have liked Dr. Who as much as I liked The Prisoner when I was a teen (the time I was most likely to have discovered it, because my friend Guy had a knack for introducing me to awesome British television) I’m thrilled that I chose to seriously begin my travels with the Doctor at this time and in this way. Once I get these writing deadlines behind me, I think I’ll go back to Robot, which is the first appearance of Tom Baker as the Doctor, and make my way forward a bit.
Questions for Dr. Who fans:
- What do you call yourselves? Whosiers? Timsies? Time-ers?
- I’m sure a series that ran for decades has uneven stories, but did I serendipitously fall into Dr. Who’s Best of Both Worlds? Because I loved just about every single frame of Genesis of the Daleks.
- Does Dr. Who — which appears to me on one viewing to be awesome in the 70s — suffer the same fate in the 80s as so many things that were awesome in the 70s? (Boston, Grateful Dead, Aerosmith, Rolling Stones, Jefferson Starship — oh, I’m sorry, I mean Starship — I’m looking in your direction.)
- Do Dr. Who fans have blood feuds about their favorite Doctors the way Trekkies do about their favorite captains? I imagine they must, because if there’s one thing all geeks have in common it’s our ability to take something we love and turn it into something to argue about with other people who love it, right?
I’m about 85% of normal today, and not cranky at all, which is quite nice. I’m looking forward to finishing my script, because there’s a bottle of 14 year Oban in it for me when I do.
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1) Whovians.
2) Yes. Tho’ there are several excellent arcs during Tom Baker’s run.
3) Yes. Fifth-Seventh Doctors are all very much personal taste issues.
4) Yes.
Whovians was the old school term – dunno if it still applies, since I’ve been a fan since the early eighties when it first arrived in the US.
Yes, Genesis and Tom Baker was pretty good in terms of quality. The new series is pretty great too. Early Tom Baker is a little weak. Don’t forget that Douglas Adams was script editor for part of the Baker era.
It went into a decline during the Colin Baker / Sylvester McCoy era because the BBC was trying to kill it.
Yes, everyone argues about their favorite Dcotor. It is usually their first Doctor..
Also feuds about the best monsters come up – Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans, etc. As well as best companion clashes…
Cheers,
Dr E.
Wil, I’m not sure on the naming. I know when the media writes about Doctor Who fans, they call them “Whovians”, but that sounds more Seussian to me. I think DWASes (Doctor Who Appreciate Society)…Dwazzes sounds better.
As far as arguing over the Doctor, absolutely. I remember the huge arguements that broke out when Tom Baker left and Peter Davison took over. “That guy from All Creatures is now the Doctor?” Yikes. Then they screamed when Colin Baker took over, because he played Cmdr. Maxil in “Arc of Infinity”. I always liked John Pertwee a bit, but in my mind, the Doctor will always have a curly ‘fro and a 20’ scarf.
Also, first post! Woot!
By all means, enjoy the grazing through The Doctor’s history, but truly the new episodes (with Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor and David Tennant as the Tenth) are amazingly wonderful.
Happy New Year With Less Congestion,
Bob Portnell, Sparks, NV
“Whovian” is kind of old, but special, like an old jacket…but Doctor Who is so mainstream over in Britain, I wonder if they feel the need to identify as much as Trekkies.
And don’t discuss your favorite doctor with anyone you think might be armed.
1) “Doctor Who fan” is, I think, the most common. Whovians is something created by one of the fan clubs, and it sounds stupid.
2) Yes, Genesis of the Daleks is one of the best all-time stories, rather like Best of Both Worlds. But there are plenty of other good ones.
3) Yes. Most of the fifth Doctor was pretty decent, but then it degenerated into a mess. Skip ahead to the new stuff, is my advice to you.
4) Not quite at the level of Kirk-Picard blood feud, but yes.
Personally, I recommend most of the Tom Baker stuff (though the 16th season, a.k.a. the Key to Time, is weak and the 17th season is not good at all), most of the Davison stuff, and the first few seasons of Pertwee if you want to get into the older stuff.
I also highly recommend the new series. Start with the first season with Eccleston, and give it about 4-5 episodes to grab you.
Probably because he was my first I always had fond memories of Tom Baker as the best Doctor. Eccleston was also very cool.
Whovians? That’s pitiful, what about Whooters?
The theme tune is my favourite jingle from any tv show. It’s superb.
Hi Wil,
The Key to Time is a great Tom Baker story arc. It’s a long one too. Baker was my favorite Doctor.
The new series really is wonderful, but I’d spend some time watching the older series first. Get a feel for each of the Doctors. You don’t have to watch every episode. Just get to know them a little. Netflix has a lot of older episodes that you can watch online.
The major reason I’d recommend that anyone new to the series get to know the older Doctors before watching the current stuff is because you will really appreciate what they are doing with the series now. It is different, but the same from the older incarnations. It’s difficult to describe. Although, I’m certain you would enjoy the newer series right now; you’ll really appreciate it (and what the writer’s have achieved) if you have some history. Also there are a lot of really great payoffs if you’re familiar with the past storylines (you don’t need them to enjoy it, but everything means so much more if you understand some of the origin stuff).
Eccleston was a great Doctor. He was eccentric and everything you’d want a Doctor to be. Tennant is a good Doctor, but Tennant’s Doctor is really getting the really great writing and story arcs that they had just begun to set up during Eccleston’s tenure.
Okay, I’ve deviated too much from your original post… so, I’ll stop. Enjoy the show.
I recently discovered Dr Who due to the new series and have been wondering some of the same questions.
I’ll be watching this comment thread to get recommendations on which of the old series to rent.
The thing about Doctor Who is that it’s able to keep up with the times and stay fresh, which keeps it from falling into traps that other shows can’t seem to avoid.
I’m glad you’re feeling better, Wil. Get well soon.
Dr Who was a staple of my childhood, and the new series have just been activating all kinds of great memories for me. Glad to hear you are discovering it. The aforementioned Key to Time arc is a great introduction (especially the Stones of Blood). I am in the Tom Baker camp but I just love the entire concept of the show. Happy discoveries.
1. I’ve heard Whovians quite a bit, but I’d agree with Chris, I think its a fan club creation.
2. Tom Baker, Tom Baker, Tom Baker. I loved the Key to Time series. I also loved The Five Doctors, which I believe is a Peter Davidson series.
3. Yeah, I’d say after Tom Baker and a few Peter Davidson series, the next ones I liked were really the new ones with Eccleston.
4. I guess so, but no need to fight, anyone who is sound of mind and body picks Tom Baker. 😉
I would definitely recommend watching the older series before the newer ones, as you will be able to pick out the connections to the older series (the reappearance of Sarah Jane Smith and K9 comes to mind).
Enjoy Doctor Who Wil – for the record, the TARDIS and the Doctor are infinitely cool!
When I got into the Doctor, also in the early 80’s Whovian was the term. No clue what the new generation calls themselves (get off of my lawn!).
I’ve always liked Pertwee as well as Baker, and not had much interest in the others. I would add that in addition to some of the early Baker episodes being weak, in the latter part of his run (an exhausting one, no doubt) he started phoning it in too. But in his prime, he’s my fave.
Wil, I’m so glad you’ve discovered Doctor Who. It’s been my favorite sci-fi for a long time.
I agree with the idea of getting a feel for each of the Doctors. I’d recommend the following episodes (for which, by the laws of the Internet, I shall surely be flamed):
I think the episodes above give a good overview of at least some of the mythology of the show, as well as being good romps in their own right. I also tried to pick stories that show how Doctor Who has utilized a variety of genres to great effect. Lastly, it’s not necessary to watch them in order. Please enjoy!
I agree with a lot of the recomendations above. Getting a taste of the old Doctors will make you appreciate the new series more.
I also believe that among the hard core fans it is a faux pas to shorten the word Doctor into Dr. It isn’t so much a title as the name of the character.
Anyway, enjoy experiencing for the first time, the wonderful world of the longest running science fiction series in history.
Eccleston was awesome. Refreshing. Tennant’s doing a great job too. The new series is really good.
I was in a Dr. Who club in high school. I always liked the term “Whovians” myself. Dr. Who did unfortunately go downhill in the 80’s, and I really don’t follow it anymore. Definitely peaked in the 70’s.
I wonder if the “best” doctor is your first doctor? I have a soft spot for the 80s episodes with Peter Davison, as they were on when I was small. (Therefore I loved the Children in Need special, filling in the gap between the end of the last series and the start of the Christmas special, with Peter Davison and the wonderful David Tennant: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn_NDKNlUa8)
@Ellen Fluharty – Doctor Who is definitely mainstream in the UK, with 13.8 million watching this year’s Christmas Day episode (just under a quarter of the population). I’ve heard Whovian being used, but really only to describe conventions etc when it was off the air in the 90s. The current series is very mainstream, so I think people would just say “I love Doctor Who”, rather than “I’m a Whovian”
I’m a Doctor Who-fan rarity in that I really like Colin Baker, but that was more based on meeting him at a convention than his actual turn as the Doctor. With those I agree that the audio dramas are better, because he was the victim of an active attempt to kill the show with bad writing (and his outfit was totally not his fault!) He had a vision for the Doctor that he wasn’t allowed to complete, but it would have been fantastic if he had.
My faves beyond that are Eccleston, the other Baker and Troughton. I wouldn’t overlook Patrick Troughton.
The moment that had me with Doctor Who was right in the first episode. The teachers have found their way to the call box and are looking around going OMGWTFBBQ and the Doctor is trying to explain things. He says “It’s not quite clear, is it? I can see by your face that you’re not quite certain; you don’t understand.” Then, just when you’re getting set up for a pedantic technobabble explanation, he laughs and says “I knew you wouldn’t. Never mind!” And turns away to mess with the TARDIS console. To me that was the defining moment – that’s what made me fall in love with the Doctor. (There’s a clip of it on the BBC site http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/unearthlychild/ – “Just an Illusion”)
Your questions have all been answered above, so I give you a homework assignment as a new admirer of the Doctor. Tom Baker has never lent his voice to the Simpsons, but they’ve drawn him Waldo-like into countless episodes. Good rule of thumb: if CBG is in the episode, Baker is probably in the background somewhere. How many Tom Bakers can you find?
Since the Whovians have already weighed in to answer your questions, it would be redundant to answer.
But I will note that I think you started with the right Doctor to get hooked.
Tom Baker has a lot more accessibility as the Doctor than most of the others… and as the first Doctor so many of us Americans were exposed to, he tends to hold a dear spot in our hearts.
He was my favorite doctor until David Tennant took over the role. I have to admit that I’m now enchanted by DT’s version.
God, I feel old all over again. I first saw Doctor Who when the first episode was broadcast in 1963.
I rather like “Whovians” as a fan name, but my mind keeps wanting to go to “Whoovers” because I’m perverse.
As people have noted, the entire series is extremely variable — partly because of writing, partly because the production was done with five bob and goodwill for most of the run. Also, what constitutes the great and what represents the suck varies from fan to fan.
Basically, though, surviving Hartnell is generally good, with the MAJOR exception of “The Gunfighters.” Pat Troughton’s era had some good stories, of which “The Krotons” wasn’t one, finishing with the huge “The War Games,” which established the Time Lords and Gallifrey once and for all.
Pertwee had some wonderful elements — using the Brigadier and UNIT fully, for example, and introducing Sarah Jane Smith (I did have a soft spot for Jo, however; she was cute and sexy and unfortunately dense.)
Tom Baker went from high to low to high, depending on the producer and the writer, and the rule of thumb seems to be that if it has Lalla Ward in it, the episode’s likely to be lame (it didn’t help that Baker was shagging her throughout.) Davison went from high to low over a period of time.
By this point John Nathan-Turner was well involved, which didn’t help, as he was a pretty naff bloke when it came to the production end.
Colin Baker’s run can be pretty much avoided — see the Big Finish audio plays for much better. “Trial Of A Timelord” was horrible, and introduced shrieky little Mel. Mel remained with the show through the first bit of McCoy’s run — she was phased out in “Dragonfire” and replaced by Ace, although it was a couple more stories until McCoy’s Doctor suddenly turned interesting — that was when the Cartmell Plan took effect, and the doctor became “more than just a Timelord.”
Unortunatwly that’s when the Beeb killed the show dead. The Cartmell Plan played out in the Virgin New Adventures books, expanding quite impressively — one of those books was turned into the Tenth Doctor story “Human Nature/Family Of Blood” that ran this past season. Another book, Lungbarrow, is the original version of “Ghost Light,” a McCoy story.
The 1996 TV movie was a failed rebirth attempt, notable mainly for great TARDIS interior design. The subsequent novels were much better, although skipping the first dozen or so of them is a good idea, as there wasn’t as clear an idea on what they wanted to do with the line when the BBC Books crew first took over. The Big Finish audio dramas are interesting.
The Ninth and Tenth Doctor series are a forward from the old series, although a lot of people think that Russell Davies has lost the essence of Who while getting a larger budget and flashy toys. I mostly like it — RTD has some issues when it comes to story and his twitches, and there’s way too much Dalek involvement for my taste — and it can be great fun to watch.
1. Whovians is a popular term, although some fans dislike it immensely.
2. Yes, you lucked upon one of the best Who serials of all time. If you like Dalek serials, their first serial in 1963, “The Daleks”, and its 1964 follow-up, “The Dalek Invasion of Earth”, are both excellent examples of British science fiction television of that vintage, plus have the wonderful William Hartnell as the First Doctor.
3. There was certainly a decline in the 1980s under producer John Nathan-Turner, and the final serial aired before cancelation, “Survival”, was painful in its awfulness.
4. Not only do we have blood feuds about our favorite Doctors, sometimes we even have blood feuds about our favorite showrunners!
The newsgroup rec.arts.drwho had a long and bloody feud between the Jon Pertwee and the Sylvester McCoy fans for an inexplicably long time. Ahhh, fans…
1, As far as I knew we Dr Who fans called ourselves “British”. (It was utterly inescapable growing up in Britain. Saturday tea-time was Dr Who. Everyone joked about Daleks and the TARDIS and losing those references was one of the most jarring things about moving to the US! Or am I just a huge geek?).
2 and 3, The Tom Baker years featured some great and popular stories along with the uneven gift of Douglas Adams as script editor, which explains much of the love. Don’t neglect the other doctors though. The first doctor is hard to get into at this remove, but worth a look. Troughton is a great doctor with good companions. Pertwee was everyone’s favourite when I was growing up, the youngest in the family, and the stories are more serious and sci fi than a lot of the Tom Baker ones. I loved Peter Davidson as the doctor, and Sylvester McCoy too, although their stories were hobbled by the Powers That Be, who fretted about the body count. Poor Colin Baker got a raw deal with TV politics and annoying assitants. New Who has no such restrictions and if you’re not watching it, you’re missing some of the best TV out there (except with too much soppy stuff. And I’m a girl!). Especially look out for episodes by Steven Moffat – spiritual child of Douglas Adams!
From the older ones, anything written by Robert Holmes is awesome and worth watching.
4, Blood feuds? Possibly among the US converts but as for the rest of us, as I said, we’re British. Most people love their first doctor the best: the one they remember from when they were still young enough that, no matter how bad the special effects, Dr Who scared the pants off you.
Glad you’re coming over to the Who-niverse.
PS The Who convention scene seems even more warm and fuzzy than the Trek one.
Like you need more comments, but I can’t resist. It’s My Fandom.
Whovians is a fairly popular term, although I usually see the Old Who fans apply it to themselves more than the new.
Yes, you did. Genesis of the Daleks usually wins for favorite episode. Another one that sees the top of the polls is Pyramids of Mars and the Key to Time series. All are Tom Baker serials, but most of the other Doctors have wonderful serials to offer as well.
In general, I think the old series was at its prime for the Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, and Peter Davison, if I’m not counting the new series. The older stuff can be good, as can the newer stuff, but they’d really worked it out by Pertwee and really started running out of ideas and funding by Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy.
Doctor Who fans argue about everything. We argue over which Doctor is best, which results in battles between people who are fans of the old and the new, not to mention squabbles in those groups of fans. Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant have very adamant fans who don’t care for the other, for example. We fight over which companion is best. We fight over whether Russell T. Davies ruined Doctor Who.
We pretty much just love to fight.
Oh, and do check out the new show. It’s different, but it’s very, very fun. Plus, if you liked Sarah Jane Smith, the female companion from Genesis of the Daleks, she’s in an episode (‘School Reunion’) and even got her own spinoff that’s not too bad.
PS Try to get hold of extras and documentaries about Tom Baker’s later years where everyone (Tom Baker included) talks about what a tyrannical jerk he was. It’s a hoot and Baker is one hoopy frood, you know?
1. I’ve heard “Whovians” used, but I’ve always just called myself a Doctor Who fan, ever since I was young. I was into Doctor Who before i was into Star Trek (though both shows played very different roles in my life).
2. There are good stories and bad stories, and Genesis does happen to be one of the better ones. As a general rule, the bad stories aren’t being released on DVD (or if they are, it’s as part of a seasonal box-set). I’d say Genesis is probably the best Dalek story of all, but there are plenty of good stories without any of the star villains (Daleks, Cybermen, Ice Warriors, Sontarans etc.)
3. The early Tom Baker era is generally regarded as the Golden Age of Doctor Who, but the other years are not devoid of quality. ‘tangentier’s’ list, above, covers some excellent stories but I’d also recommend “Seeds of Death”, “The Invasion”, “Spearhead from Space”, and “Survival”.
4. Fans love to argue about their favourite Doctor, but I’ve never seen it turn into abuse. In general, we’re pretty good at respecting other opinions when it comes to our favourite Doctors – simply because there are so many of them (my favourites are Patrick Troughton and Peter Davison). The blood feuds begin, however, when it comes to classic series verses new.
Welcome aboard!
Since you like the Daleks and Dr. Who and that you are an “old” Star Trek actor then I can only recommend the old BBC SciFi series called “Blake’s 7”
It was created by Terry Nation the guy who created the Daleks. And I have a secret wish that Ron Moore would pick it up to do a remake just like he did with BS:G
Sadly the best way to find “Blake’s 7” in USA is by using BitTorrent 🙁
Didn’t put a wikipedia link here due to too many spoilers 🙂
Dude, go watch “City of Death” right now. It was co-written (under a pen name) by Douglas “The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” Adams. Over one weekend. While drunk.
Seriously. Unmissable.
I’ve been a Doctor Who fan since the mid eighties, when I moved to Glendale, California, and there were re-runs on a local PBS channel (as well as Blake’s 7). I caught it at the from the first Pertwee episode through Colin Baker.
My wife, daughter, and I are all fans of the new series. I particularly enjoyed the episode “Blink” this last series.
I’m a fairly new Doctor Who fan, my first Doctor was played by Eccleston. Tho now I prefer Tennant. Fortunately I have a friend who is well-versed in Doctor Who history. Now if we can just get our schedules coordinated so he can teach me!
I fell in love with the episode Empty Child. It is among the best TV has ever offered. Not just best Doctor Who, not just best Sci- Fi, but best TV.
Since I am more familiar with the new series, I recommend from Eccleston and Tennant:
Father’s Day
Empty Child/The Doctor Dances
School Reunion
The Girl in the Fireplace
Love & Monsters
Fear Her
Shakespeare Code (excellent for fans of Doctor Who, Shakespeare and Harry Potter – fun HP references plus for those who don’t know, Tennant played Barty Crouch, Jr. is the HP4 movie)
Blink
Utopia
“blink” is not just the best single standalone episode of dr who i’ve ever seen, it is one of the SINGLE BEST EPISODES OF ANYTHING i’ve ever seen on television. it’s creepy as all hell.
Tom Baker is generally considered the best, having won just about every poll. Although David Tennant did win one recently.
If you only check out a few “new who” make them the ones written by Stephen Moffat. For the last three years his episodes are always the best of the season (Empty Child Two Parter, The Girl In The Fireplace & Blink)
Check this out. http://www.gallifreyone.com/news.php
Scroll down to “Classic Cybermen On Demand”.
It’s a good way to catch up on the classic stuff. I’m glad to see it coming back.
I always got the impression that if you’re British your favorite Doctor is most likely to be Pertwee, and if you’re American it’s going to be Tom Baker. That’s just my unscientific observation. 🙂
Since I’m a Yank my favorite Doctor is, of course, Tom Baker … when our local PBS station started showing “Doctor Who” in the early ’80s, he was the one. I was in junior high at the time and “Doctor Who” was required viewing on Saturday nights, and on the following Monday at school there would be much discussion thereof. When I got to high school, one of my friends even ordered an Official Doctor Who Scarf Kit and knit her own 20′ scarf. It was awesome. 🙂
I haven’t had a chance to watch any of the new series, though … I’m a slacker!
You have, by chance, started your Who adventures with the all-time best story ever. Well done.
Others have said more than I could so suffice to say, being of a similar generation to me, start with Robot, continue chronologically to Logopolis, then start exploring past Doctors as did we who were born in the 70s, while continuing through Peter Davison’s era.
If you want to be really cool, watch ‘All Creatures Great and Small’ as you get to around Destiny of the Daleks…
Long time lurker, first time commenter. I just want to say that I now love you even more–in a purely platonic way that our spouses should by no means worry about! 😀
One of the highlights of my life was receiving a kiss on the cheek from Jon Pertwee (Doctor #3) during a convention. (Another highlight was writing WFS a check for $250, but that’s another story.)
* We are Whovians, and proud of it! That’s what my public television station told me starting in 1978.
* Genesis of the Daleks is indeed one of the truly classic serials of Doctor Who. There are others as good, but not many. You’ll notice the Doctor’s hesitation in killing the organic part of the Daleks… it’s a fascinating contrast to Eccleston’s and Tennant’s Doctors’ attitudes toward the Daleks, but no more of that as you seem not to have watched those seasons yet, unlike many who are discovering classic Who after devouring the new stuff and wanting more.
* Opinions are gonna vary on the 80s thing. I’m going to say that only the Colin Baker seasons (1984, 85, 86) had that disease.
* Oh yes. Favorite Doctors, favorite companions, favorite actor playing the Master, all of that.
In my opinion, Tom Baker’s seasons reward watching every single story far more than any other season until Eccleston’s arrival. (Eccleston is my new favorite Doctor–it was always Baker until now.)
I’ve got a theory that script editor Robert Holmes is what I really liked about that period. He was in charge for most of Tom Baker’s first four seasons, and out of all that there are only 6 or 10 episodes I consider you might as well skip, and hey, at that point why not go for completeness (especially for his first season, which is one continuous storyline).
So yeah, start with Robot and keep going!
Seconding the recommendation of Blake’s 7, which was my favorite sci fi series until Babylon 5. (Doctor Who is somehow in its own category that they are not measured against.) It’s available on Region 2 DVD, but don’t Google for information about the series or you’ll be exposed to the major, infamous “Luke, I am your father” spoiler of the series.
(For some reason I’ve again had to switch from FF to IE to post this.)
1. Yes, Whovians is the name, but I’ve never, ever referred to myself as that. Honestly, I fucking hate that kind of name, just as I tend to view the term “Trekkie” as derogatory, not complimentary.
2. There are loads of uneven Doctor Who serials, due to changing producers & the inevitability of having run for 20+ years. For example, Genesis of the Daleks is brilliant, as is a serial from earlier in that season, The Ark in Space, but the first episode of that season, Robot is, as I recall, pretty weak. (In fact, I find a lot of Tom Baker’s later episodes to be pretty weak overall.) My personal favorites are:
* William Hartnell’s The Daleks and The Aztecs;
* Patrick Troughton’s Tomb of the Cybermen (Troughton’s one of my favorite Doctors);
* Jon Pertwee’s Inferno and The Green Death;
* Tom Baker’s Pyramids of Mars, The Robots of Death, Warrior’s Gate and The Keeper of Traken;
* Peter Davison’s Kinda and Snakedance (sadly, neither are available on DVD yet) and The Caves of Androzani;
* Colin Baker’s Revelation of the Daleks;
* Sylvester McCoy’s Remembrance of the Daleks and The Greatest Show in the Galaxy.
I’m also a huge fan of the new series. I think Christopher Eccleston was good, but David Tennant is absolutely brilliant. He plays the Doctor with such enthusiasm! Tennant’s episode The Girl in the Fireplace is, in my opinion, the pinnacle of the show. It has everything that makes a good Doctor Who story and everything that makes excellent television.
3. The ’80s…yeah. I mean, I fell in love with the show when Peter Davison was the Doctor, and in many ways he’s still my favorite. But now I find a lot of faults with the show at the time. John Nathan-Turner became the executive producer of the show for Tom Baker’s last season (up until the show was cancelled), and he had a very strong vision of the show–as vision which to me now seems to be “being popular is more important than being good.” He made the Doctor’s outfit more “costume-y,” tried to appeal to American and Australian fans by putting in American and Australian companions, and generally making the show flashier and more shallow. The ’80s run of the show doesn’t suck across the board (the 3rd Doctor episodes are as cheesily rooted in the ’70s as the Peter Davison/Colin Baker/Sylvester McCoy episodes are rooted in the ’80s), but I do think you have to ignore the bad and focus on the good more than you really should have to.
4. Blood feuds? I dunno. I have met a lot of Americans who claim Tom Baker is their favorite Doctor and consider him the icon of the role (to the point of assuming any outfit of the Doctor’s has to include a long scarf), which drives me up the wall. I like Tom Baker, especially his first few seasons, but you get just as good (and many times better) serials in the other Doctors’ tenures. I’ve never actually gotten into an argument with anyone about this, but I do think DW fans have very personal reasons for why a particular Doctor is their favorite. (And for the record, I think Ben Sisko is the best commanding officer in any Star Trek show. So there!)
Sorry to go on at length about this, but…well, I’m a huge Doctor Who geek.
Generally, “Whovians” works as a name, much in the same way as “Trekkies” or “Trekkers” does.
“Genesis of the Daleks” was indeed particularly brilliant, and a good way to introduce yourself to the series. While starting with “Robot” might work (and has worked for others), with the benefit of hindsight, I would recommend starting from the very beginning, with William Hartnell as the Doctor and the first episode “An Unearthly Child”. Parts 2, 3, and 4 of that story are nothing to rave about, but that first episode, along with “The Daleks” (all 7 parts), will show you exactly why a show that was originally slated to air for 13 weeks ran for 26 seasons, survived the TV-movie (which actually I liked, but YMMV), and is now about to air a fourth season of a reboot (Doctor Who: The Next Generation?) which is as popular as ever, if not moreso.
Each Doctor has something to recommend him, so watch with an open mind.
And yes, I think “Blake’s 7” would also please. As noted by Claudia, good luck finding it unless you order from the UK and have a Region 2 (or regionless) DVD player.
I am a very new Whovian. After having a number of friends geeking out over Christopher Eccleston being on Heroes, I decided to check out the new episodes of Who. Netflix is responsible for my most recent obsession. While Eccleston was great, I have totally fallen for David Tennant as the Doctor.
Daleks in Manhattan and the episode after that in the 3rd season of the most recent ones was FANTASTIC!
Both a Doctor and a Master has been on Heroes.
KTHXBYE
This is my perspective as a 30-something British male. I watched it as a child…
a) nothing, as far as I know.
b) it’s very uneven whichever period you pick, thanks to fluctuating budgets and interests. If you find a Doctor you like though, you can’t really go wrong.
c) very much depends on your point of view. I know people who go crazy for Sylvester McCoy. Similarly, the ‘revival’ is lost on me. Ecclestone and Tennant have been identically dire in my opinion.
d) it can get like that. Personally, I like both Bakers, and Peter Davison. So it’s allowed to like more than one!
Our entire household was shot by a Christmas flu (thanks to having a kindergartener who’s exposed to such new and wonderful germs,) so we’ve been couch sitters as well… but not quite so productive.
While couch jocky-ing today, we happen to catch almost all 3534534 hours of VH1’s Child Stars countdown. I mention this because I saw you on there.
I poked my husband repeatedly in his aching ribs and told him, “See! I’m not the only geek who still follows Wil’s blog! He even mentioned it on VH1!” (Because now I’m getting my cred from VH1… sigh…)
Dr Who has been with me probably my whole life (Tom Baker IS my Doctor) and I am proud to say that I have converted my son into a fan (third generation Whovian – David Tennant is his Doctor).
The new stuff is amazing especally because of the special effects they can now do. (And just wait to see what they have coming – the Christmas Ep was really good this year!)
Once you are caught up on the “New Who” you have got to also check out Toarchwood. Its a nice crossover but for more of an adult audience.
I love that I can share Dr Who with my children the same way my Dad did with me. Even better, we spend time discussing the episodes and my oldest is only 10 years old!
For information on the new disks, and HOW those new disks came about head over to:
http://www.restoration-team.co.uk/
Good Stuff over there.
GcB
Ohh, yes. Wonderful, wonderful Doctor Who. Being a young ‘un, and an American, my first Doctor was the Ninth, Christopher Eccleston, who started off the new series. It is true that you will probably always consider your “first” Doctor as the best–there’s a shirt on ThinkGeek that says “You never forget your first Doctor” which is fantastically true. David Tennant, the Tenth and current Doctor, is absolutely brilliant as well. The thing about the new series that’s so great is that all the cast and crew were raised on Doctor Who, and the LOVE they have for it is apparent in all their material.
I’ve only seen bits and pieces of Classic Who, but I have to recommend the audios. (Especially those with Paul McGann, the Eighth Doctor.) There’s just SO MUCH, since it’s the longest-running sci-fi series in history; it can be a bit overwhelming.
For the classic series, you MUST see Tom Baker’s “City of Death.” It was written by Douglas Adams. That’s really all I think I need to say. And as long as we’re talking about Tom Baker, the Key to Time series (the entire sixteenth season, I believe) is fantastic, and has another Adams-penned ep.
The new series has brilliant writing (even if Russell T. Davies goes a wee bit mad sometimes); anything written by Stephen Moffat is utterly fantastic and should be watched repeatedly. The spinoff, Torchwood, should be watched only if you’ve finished season 2 of the new series. Torchwood is Doctor Who’s big grown-up brother with lots of guns and sex and blood. It’s fantastic.
(Who fans get really rabid over the companions, actually. Not so much the Doctors, in my experience, since it’s generally considered that all Doctors have their good and bad moments. Favorite companion fights can end friendships. Mmhmm. These are trufax.)
Jelly baby?
1. I never had a name for myself as a DW fan.
2. I don’t remember any bad episodes but there is a pretty heavy nostalgia filter in place.
3. I watched DW in the early 80’s. I haven’t really visited the old episodes in a while. The new episodes seem just as awesome to me.
4. I think Tom Baker is the large favorite. Jon Pertwee is probably my second favorite. There are not many surviving episodes of the first Doctor. PBS quit showing DW during the Peter Davidson years and I quit watching. I saw isolated episodes years later with the later Doctors but I didn’t get back into the show.
I love the new series.