The classic Who odyssey begins..
- Thread starter cboath
- Start date
I'm right there with you. I started watching last year. I've made it to Season 15, mid-way through Tom Baker's run. I understand that when Douglas Adams becomes script editor, thanks to Mary Whitehouse's meddling, the series takes a real dip in quality, but right now it's really awesome in terms of story quality and subject matter.
Pertwee was my first Doctor thanks to PBS repeats in the Eighties. I don't know that I'd seen more than a handful of episodes, but I've made it through all of his run and it was rather enjoyable except perhaps for being largely earth bound.
This was probably my first real exposure to Tom Baker, though I've always heard he was the favorite.
Pertwee was my first Doctor thanks to PBS repeats in the Eighties. I don't know that I'd seen more than a handful of episodes, but I've made it through all of his run and it was rather enjoyable except perhaps for being largely earth bound.
This was probably my first real exposure to Tom Baker, though I've always heard he was the favorite.
cboath
Master Member
I've got 70 more disks or so before Tom Baker, but i'm looking forward to it.
I remember seeing a small portion of one of the baker episodes on PBS in the 90's, but aside from the phone box in a hallway I don't remember much - if i even remember that right.
I also watched the McGann movie on Fox during it's original airing, don't remember much other than I think Roger Daltry was in it. Of course, the original airing WAS in 1996, I can see why I don't remember much.
I remember seeing a small portion of one of the baker episodes on PBS in the 90's, but aside from the phone box in a hallway I don't remember much - if i even remember that right.
I also watched the McGann movie on Fox during it's original airing, don't remember much other than I think Roger Daltry was in it. Of course, the original airing WAS in 1996, I can see why I don't remember much.
Solo4114
Master Member
Yeah, it's a fun ride. After watching Eccleston's run, I went back and started from the very first Who stuff I could fine, and have tried to watch them straight through in chronological order.
A few bits of advice:
- Watch out for subsequent releases. Meglos in the Tom Baker era is coming soon, and I think there are still few other serials from the Tom Baker era and onward that are going to be hitting eventually. A good bet is to see what was released on VHS because you KNOW it'll eventually make its way to DVD. The Third Doctor's final outing in Planet of Spiders, for example, was out on VHS for years, and then only just came out (or will be coming out soon) on DVD. You can always go back and catch up, though.
- Watch the extras! Most of the time they're pretty good, especially the behind-the-scenes stuff. There are a few that are a bit crap, though. I'm sorry, but I don't buy that Magna Carta was the first modern exercise in representative government. They tried to make an argument about that in The King's Demons (which is an interesting failed attempt that pretty much typefies the worst impulses of the John Nathan Turner era. And trust me, you'll know what that means by the time you get there).
- Watch with the info text. It's fun, and actually has some funny moments. It's also pretty informative, much of the time. I was watching The Seeds of Death (early 4th Doctor adventure) thinking to myself "Man this is JUST like the plot of the Thing!" and about ten min later, the info-text subtitles explain that they purposely adapted the first two episodes of that serial from The Thing!
- As I mentioned, there are a few serials yet to appear. I think there are one or two Seventh Doctor runs, maybe one or two Fifth Doctor runs, and I think a few odds and ends of the Third and Fourth Doctor. Pretty much everything that could be salvaged from the First and Second Doctor has, I think, been translated to VHS or DVD. The First and Second Doctor eras are the ones missing the most (and unfortunately have some of the coolest episodes).
As far as general observations, in spite of the obvious budgetary issues that always plagued the series, I think that the First and Second Doctor eras had some of the most ambitious stories. It may also be that they're in B&W, but I tend to give them a bit more leeway than some of the "Oh look. ANOTHER gravel pit doubling as an alien planet" reactions I have to Third and Fourth Doctor stories.
Anyway, it's a great ride. Enjoy!
P.S. If I happen to be the guy who's hanging on to that one disc you're waiting on in your Netflix queue, my apologies in advance.
A few bits of advice:
- Watch out for subsequent releases. Meglos in the Tom Baker era is coming soon, and I think there are still few other serials from the Tom Baker era and onward that are going to be hitting eventually. A good bet is to see what was released on VHS because you KNOW it'll eventually make its way to DVD. The Third Doctor's final outing in Planet of Spiders, for example, was out on VHS for years, and then only just came out (or will be coming out soon) on DVD. You can always go back and catch up, though.
- Watch the extras! Most of the time they're pretty good, especially the behind-the-scenes stuff. There are a few that are a bit crap, though. I'm sorry, but I don't buy that Magna Carta was the first modern exercise in representative government. They tried to make an argument about that in The King's Demons (which is an interesting failed attempt that pretty much typefies the worst impulses of the John Nathan Turner era. And trust me, you'll know what that means by the time you get there).
- Watch with the info text. It's fun, and actually has some funny moments. It's also pretty informative, much of the time. I was watching The Seeds of Death (early 4th Doctor adventure) thinking to myself "Man this is JUST like the plot of the Thing!" and about ten min later, the info-text subtitles explain that they purposely adapted the first two episodes of that serial from The Thing!
- As I mentioned, there are a few serials yet to appear. I think there are one or two Seventh Doctor runs, maybe one or two Fifth Doctor runs, and I think a few odds and ends of the Third and Fourth Doctor. Pretty much everything that could be salvaged from the First and Second Doctor has, I think, been translated to VHS or DVD. The First and Second Doctor eras are the ones missing the most (and unfortunately have some of the coolest episodes).
As far as general observations, in spite of the obvious budgetary issues that always plagued the series, I think that the First and Second Doctor eras had some of the most ambitious stories. It may also be that they're in B&W, but I tend to give them a bit more leeway than some of the "Oh look. ANOTHER gravel pit doubling as an alien planet" reactions I have to Third and Fourth Doctor stories.
Anyway, it's a great ride. Enjoy!
P.S. If I happen to be the guy who's hanging on to that one disc you're waiting on in your Netflix queue, my apologies in advance.
Going Chronological Form Hartnell Through McGann sounds like a neat exercise and one I've never actually don. I've seen them all countless times and watched whole eras in order but never the whole run. I hear it's pretty interesting to see the evolution- not only of the show but of the concepts and the central character of the Doctor.
Regardless - All of the existing material (Bar one orphan episode from the Hartnell era) was released on VHS by 2003. If you can't find the DVD- then the VHS IS out there on ebay or Amazon marketplace for both UK and US formats.
However we are very close to having the entire run on DVD- lovingly restored looking even better than broadcast in many cases. it's the best way to watch the 60's stories. The extras are all generally good especially the documentaries, commentaries, trails and archive interview material. The odd foray into comedy segments and 'scripted' bits tends to impress less though I remember the Sutekh short being quite funny on Pyramid of Mars.
I've kept up on the DVD titles stateside (the UK is ahead of us but WB (the current distributor) is fastly catching up this year with 2 releases per month so they'll be in sych when the series wraps up on DVD by sometime in 2012 or at latest early 2013.
Stories NOT released to DVD (US R1) are:
The Sensorites
The Reign of Terror (coming soon with 2 missing eps animated)
Planet of Giants
The Gunfighters (due next month)
The Tenth Planet (part 4 needs reconstruction/animation)
The Ice Warriors (Eps 2 and 3 need reconstruction/Animation)
The Krotons (coming soon)
The Ambassadors of Death
The Mind of Evil
Colony in Space
The Daemons
Day of the Daleks (coming in the next month or two)
Invasion of the Dinosaurs
Death of the Daleks
Terror of the Zygons
The Android Invasion
The Face of Evil
The Sun Makers (coming in Sept)
Nightmare of Eden
Shada (incomplete)
The Awakening (due this month)
(All of Colin Baker's run is available)
Paradise Towers (due Sept)
Dragonfire
The Happiness Patrol
The Greatest Show in the Galaxy
(The Paul McGann TV Movie finally got a release back in Feb 2011)
There's some other oddities from the wilderness 90's era which will likely not see official release like Dimensions in Time, Downtime, Wartime, The Stranger series, the Mindgame set, the PROBE series, Shakedown etc- but these can still be found on VHS or bootleg DVD through fan circles.
Now the question is will we get season sets of classic Who on Blu Ray? or will the BBC even bother (seeing as Blu Ray will not improve the SD video quality much save for the portions shot on film stock perhaps) ?
Just bear in mind the time these were made in- check your brain back into that era and have fun with it. Tom Baker is my all time favorite but each period has something interesting about it.
Regardless - All of the existing material (Bar one orphan episode from the Hartnell era) was released on VHS by 2003. If you can't find the DVD- then the VHS IS out there on ebay or Amazon marketplace for both UK and US formats.
However we are very close to having the entire run on DVD- lovingly restored looking even better than broadcast in many cases. it's the best way to watch the 60's stories. The extras are all generally good especially the documentaries, commentaries, trails and archive interview material. The odd foray into comedy segments and 'scripted' bits tends to impress less though I remember the Sutekh short being quite funny on Pyramid of Mars.
I've kept up on the DVD titles stateside (the UK is ahead of us but WB (the current distributor) is fastly catching up this year with 2 releases per month so they'll be in sych when the series wraps up on DVD by sometime in 2012 or at latest early 2013.
Stories NOT released to DVD (US R1) are:
The Sensorites
The Reign of Terror (coming soon with 2 missing eps animated)
Planet of Giants
The Gunfighters (due next month)
The Tenth Planet (part 4 needs reconstruction/animation)
The Ice Warriors (Eps 2 and 3 need reconstruction/Animation)
The Krotons (coming soon)
The Ambassadors of Death
The Mind of Evil
Colony in Space
The Daemons
Day of the Daleks (coming in the next month or two)
Invasion of the Dinosaurs
Death of the Daleks
Terror of the Zygons
The Android Invasion
The Face of Evil
The Sun Makers (coming in Sept)
Nightmare of Eden
Shada (incomplete)
The Awakening (due this month)
(All of Colin Baker's run is available)
Paradise Towers (due Sept)
Dragonfire
The Happiness Patrol
The Greatest Show in the Galaxy
(The Paul McGann TV Movie finally got a release back in Feb 2011)
There's some other oddities from the wilderness 90's era which will likely not see official release like Dimensions in Time, Downtime, Wartime, The Stranger series, the Mindgame set, the PROBE series, Shakedown etc- but these can still be found on VHS or bootleg DVD through fan circles.
Now the question is will we get season sets of classic Who on Blu Ray? or will the BBC even bother (seeing as Blu Ray will not improve the SD video quality much save for the portions shot on film stock perhaps) ?
Just bear in mind the time these were made in- check your brain back into that era and have fun with it. Tom Baker is my all time favorite but each period has something interesting about it.
I just finished Masque of Mandragora. Cute bit in the beginning in the auxillary control room where the 'doc sees his 3rd doc shirt and Sarah plays the 2nd doc recorder. I saw all these dozens of times as a kid. So cool to revisit them. Been watching with my 2 year old who loves it. She loves learning monster names.
It's absolutely ridiculous how ahead of the curve this show was in the 70's.
It's absolutely ridiculous how ahead of the curve this show was in the 70's.
I did the marathon years ago. Got a few episodes into Hartnell and didn't think I'd make it until the Keys of Marinus (sp?) episode. LOVED it and was hooked after that.
Pertwee years were rough IMO. He was a good enough doctor but the "stuck on Earth" thing sucked.
My favourite to this day is Patrick Troughton. That man created the Doctor as we know him as far as I'm concerned!
Pertwee years were rough IMO. He was a good enough doctor but the "stuck on Earth" thing sucked.
My favourite to this day is Patrick Troughton. That man created the Doctor as we know him as far as I'm concerned!
Solo4114
Master Member
Wow, that's a LOT more stuff that hasn't been released than I thought! Good to know there's still more coming.
Are they actually restoring the serials like Tenth Planet and Ice Warriors with animation? I thought that was only possible with The Invasion because they had audio tracks they could use, but serials like Tenth Planet or Wheel in Space are missing pretty much everything from the episodes they don't have.I did the marathon years ago. Got a few episodes into Hartnell and didn't think I'd make it until the Keys of Marinus (sp?) episode. LOVED it and was hooked after that.
Pertwee years were rough IMO. He was a good enough doctor but the "stuck on Earth" thing sucked.
My favourite to this day is Patrick Troughton. That man created the Doctor as we know him as far as I'm concerned!
Yeah, the Hartnell series is tough at first, but don't let it discourage you! It definitely picks up. Also, I agree that the Troughton era was terrific. I tend to think of those stories as some of the most ambitious.
They have audio for ALL of the otherwise missing episodes, thanks to fans who recorded them to audio tape off the TV back in the day. Quality varies, of course, but some were meticulous enough to patch into their TV speaker wires in order to record a direct feed (rather than just a mike sitting next to the TV), and those have been good enough to aid in the restoration of several episodes.
Yeah they have the complete soundtracks to ALL of the missing stories- hence the audio releases and a lot of the great fan recons by fan groups like Loose Cannon. (so if VHS decks had been around back then we'd have off air copies of pretty much all the missing stories!)
All of the episodes get a restoration- especially the 60s ones which often require the VidFIRE technique to turn the film telecines into the original 'video look' for studio shot sequences.
The Reign of terror is coming with animated episodes fomr another company.
True the Invasion animated episodes were a bit of a fluke/experiment form a failed online project and the DVD sales didn't really warrent more animated episodes but clearly they found a place willing to do the work for the budget they're willing to spend. I imagine they'd HAVE to do Tenth Planet part 4 for historical value- and I would guess they'd be trying the same for the Ice Warriors.
Pertwee has the most unreleased stories on DVD but I suspect this is because his era is problematic with so many stories only existing in Black and White and needing recolorizing - and only so many have color NTSC off-air VHS recordings to use as a base. Although technology has come a long way since the VHS recolorings of the 90's - it's still expensive and I'm sure that's been the main holdup with The Daemons, Ambassadors, Invasion of the Dinosaurs, Mind of Evil etc.
Still they are catching up quick and 26 unreleased stories out of 137 (existing complete or mostly complete) classic stories ain't bad.
All of the episodes get a restoration- especially the 60s ones which often require the VidFIRE technique to turn the film telecines into the original 'video look' for studio shot sequences.
The Reign of terror is coming with animated episodes fomr another company.
True the Invasion animated episodes were a bit of a fluke/experiment form a failed online project and the DVD sales didn't really warrent more animated episodes but clearly they found a place willing to do the work for the budget they're willing to spend. I imagine they'd HAVE to do Tenth Planet part 4 for historical value- and I would guess they'd be trying the same for the Ice Warriors.
Pertwee has the most unreleased stories on DVD but I suspect this is because his era is problematic with so many stories only existing in Black and White and needing recolorizing - and only so many have color NTSC off-air VHS recordings to use as a base. Although technology has come a long way since the VHS recolorings of the 90's - it's still expensive and I'm sure that's been the main holdup with The Daemons, Ambassadors, Invasion of the Dinosaurs, Mind of Evil etc.
Still they are catching up quick and 26 unreleased stories out of 137 (existing complete or mostly complete) classic stories ain't bad.
cboath
Master Member
Just finished Marco Polo (disk 4/160) and wow! Even though the video is missing, the recreation from photos was great. Too bad that got lost, that looked to be an epic production. That budget had to have blown the first 3 combined out of the water. Supremely detailed sets and wardrove, just beatiful stuff.
As someone noted, it's not the type of Dr i'm used to, but it's be good so far. Just odd that Ian seems to be the one with most of the solutions compared to the doctor.
Gotta love playing backgammon with Kubai Khan
As someone noted, it's not the type of Dr i'm used to, but it's be good so far. Just odd that Ian seems to be the one with most of the solutions compared to the doctor.
Gotta love playing backgammon with Kubai Khan
Solo4114
Master Member
Yeah, the earlier stuff is actually a bit more balanced in terms of how solutions were reached. That gradually shifted over time to where the Doctor was very much the dominant figure. And for a VERY long time you had nothing but female companions to play the "damsel in distress" role, although not quite as bad as all that -- many of the 1970s/1980s female companions could also be proactive and capable of problem solving and real bravery. But hey, SOMEONE's gotta scream "DOCTOR!!!" while being menaced by a [Dalek/Cyberman/Ice Warrior/etc.], and it helps if you actually care who that is.
greatwazoo42
Master Member
How's this been going? Where are you with your viewings?
cboath
Master Member
I'm in to season 2 and still enjoying it, though i'm tempted to skip some of the lost one's Marco polo was very good, even with only photo's, but at 7 episodes long, that was a long one.
Been experimenting with ways to stream them to my TV so i don't have to watch at the computer. That, and i've had lots more to do lately has made it kind of hard to be at the speed i'd like to.
Been experimenting with ways to stream them to my TV so i don't have to watch at the computer. That, and i've had lots more to do lately has made it kind of hard to be at the speed i'd like to.
greatwazoo42
Master Member
At least you're sticking to it when you can. I'm glad you're enjoying it. I loved the organic feel of the old ones because it was short rehearsals, one take done.
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