Doctor Who opinions

The Police Box sign is smaller and the telephone door is dark blue. It looks more like Pertwee and early Tom Baker. It looks as if the light may be different as well.
 
You know, the whole Mork inspired outfit would be tolerable, but the coat kills it for me. It's just a sack with ribbon trim. It would have been nice if they had stuck with a nicely tailored coat. I kind of agree with a post over on Gallifrey Base, that they dressed her a bit like a child. Overall, for me, it's too weird. But different from the 6th Doctor too weird, which at least is interesting and sort of a technical challenge from a cosplay standpoint.
 
Here's a cropped/enhanced image I've posted elsewhere:
Image2.jpg

Notes: Lamp looks new (has a weird thing on top) Top signs are back to the classic (police box) look; more compact, possible blue background. The bottom rail of each side is deeper (again like the original police boxes). We've got some detail on the corners (hard to judge yet) so, no longer just plain square posts like since 2005. The three steps under the top sign have returned for the first time since 1996. The Pull to Open sign is white on black and hinged on the opposite side. The windows may still be white, and now look like overlapping metal strips (note where they cross). The roof looks like it has three levels. Handle and lock have swapped positions.

All in all, there's a lot here that seems to be drawn from the original Metropolitan Boxes, which may have something to do with them working with the molds someone took of one of the last surviving boxes (who happens to work in the art department). I know they borrowed his window molds, at least.

The only new thing seems to be that detail at the bottom of each corner post - almost like a post cap.
 

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If they are making it look more like the actual boxes, I'd say that's pretty awesome.

I also hope the console room doesn't change, it's by far my favorite-- but it's been with two Doctors now (despite some minor redecorations), so it's probably due. I just hope it stays looking like a proper spaceship. I never liked the semi-organic, toys on the console, vibe that has been in the modern run up until the current set.

You know, the whole Mork inspired outfit would be tolerable, but the coat kills it for me. It's just a sack with ribbon trim. It would have been nice if they had stuck with a nicely tailored coat. I kind of agree with a post over on Gallifrey Base, that they dressed her a bit like a child. Overall, for me, it's too weird. But different from the 6th Doctor too weird, which at least is interesting and sort of a technical challenge from a cosplay standpoint.

In my book, after the 6th Doctor no one can really be critical of anything The Doctor wears. Unless the first female Doctor came out wearing something really trashy, anything would work. I was kind of hoping for a Romana/Diane Lane/ Lady Adventurer vibe like this:

assassins_creed_syndicate_concept_1_leak-600x351.png
 
If they are going to have nods to the originals, maybe they can do it on the interior too. Bonus: shot of an earlier TARDIS.

Adric_on_the_TARDIS.jpg
 
I think the switch of the handle on the telephone box and the colour swap (black text on white canvas > white text on black canvas) are supposed to visualize and emphasize the gender change of the Doctor.
 
I think the switch of the handle on the telephone box and the colour swap (black text on white canvas > white text on black canvas) are supposed to visualize and emphasize the gender change of the Doctor.

The Eighth Doctor: I love humans. Always seeing patterns in things that aren't there

Sorry, couldn't help myself.
 
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I've been a Doctor Who fan since I was a teenager (now 45). I grew up watching reruns of the program on my local PBS station. These consisted mostly of episodes featuring Doctors 3-7. My PBS station lost the ability to broadcast the program when the Sci-Fy channel began running the show. I didn't have cable television at the time so I was unable to continue watching. When the DVDs started being released, I started collecting those. About 6 or 8 months ago, I finally finished purchasing all of the DVDs. (The ones released to this point.)

Last week, I sat down to begin a massive marathon of watching all of the episodes in order. I must say, so far I've really been enjoying the Hartnell episodes! They have a certain charm to them that the current show seems to have lost. A real highlight for me so far is the Aztecs. It is a really good serial adventure. I plan on watching Planet of Gaints tonight when I get home. I really like the performance of William Russell and Jacqueline Hill as Ian/Barbara. Carole Ann Ford is good too, however I feel that she is under utilized as an actress. She simply seems to be there only to freak out whenever something bad happens. I didn't like Hartnell in the first adventure or two but he really settles down and becomes an awesome Doctor as the series progresses.

I'm really glad that I've started this journey now. Watching this program brings a wonderful feeling over me!
 
Hartnel gets a bad rap, but I think a lot of that is people judging his performance by modern standards. Some of his so-called 'flubs' where he gets words wrong, were actually written in the script, and other mistakes are due to the quick turn-around between rehearsal, shooting and transmission. Very often they'd be preparing the next episode to shoot while the previous one was on TV! Add in the fact that re-shoots were limited because of the cost/availability of film/tape and you understand why they were willing to let small errors go.
All said, though, there certainly are a lot of charming moments in the early episodes and anyone who is willing to allow for the slower pace and multi-part style of the early stories is in for a treat! Just wait till you get to Patrick Troughton! (also watch as many of the reconstructions as you can)
 
What i though was interesting about the first two doctors was that it was like watching the history of TV.

You could see basic stage setups with curtain backdrops because they hadn't adapted to shooting actual fully built sets or on site. You could seem them doing things you simply don't do anymore - because it was a new medium largely. I remember an episode where they're searching an office (i think) and they shuffle paper around digging through stuff a lot longer than they should - simply because they couldn't do it before. I enjoyed watching the entire thing grow up.
 
Another thing I like about the b/w Who: Because they were limited in studio space, and technical wizardry and makeup effects were in their infancy, they put more effort into writing alien cultures. Giving the places and people they met specific cultural/biological quirks and concepts was pretty effective for the day. As opposed to, say 90's/2000's sci-fi which often degenerated into "basically modern-day humans with bumpy foreheads". Or even a fair bit of modern Who which is: 1000, 10,000 or 1,000,000 years into the future humans look the same, talk the same (often use the same weapons) and all seem to shop at the Gap or TopShop
I hope Chibnal's Who shows us some alien ​aliens.
 
I've been a Doctor Who fan since I was a teenager (now 45). I grew up watching reruns of the program on my local PBS station. These consisted mostly of episodes featuring Doctors 3-7. My PBS station lost the ability to broadcast the program when the Sci-Fy channel began running the show. I didn't have cable television at the time so I was unable to continue watching. When the DVDs started being released, I started collecting those. About 6 or 8 months ago, I finally finished purchasing all of the DVDs. (The ones released to this point.)

Last week, I sat down to begin a massive marathon of watching all of the episodes in order. I must say, so far I've really been enjoying the Hartnell episodes! They have a certain charm to them that the current show seems to have lost. A real highlight for me so far is the Aztecs. It is a really good serial adventure. I plan on watching Planet of Gaints tonight when I get home. I really like the performance of William Russell and Jacqueline Hill as Ian/Barbara. Carole Ann Ford is good too, however I feel that she is under utilized as an actress. She simply seems to be there only to freak out whenever something bad happens. I didn't like Hartnell in the first adventure or two but he really settles down and becomes an awesome Doctor as the series progresses.

I'm really glad that I've started this journey now. Watching this program brings a wonderful feeling over me!

I did something similar after watching the 2005 season on Sci-Fi (pre-SyFy). Went allllllll the way back to the beginning, and watched in chronological order every episode that Netflix had available on disc or otherwise.

It's a really interesting journey, and if you can make it through the first couple of serials -- and if "The Gunfighters" doesn't turn you off for good -- you're in for some fantastic storytelling.

Another thing I like about the b/w Who: Because they were limited in studio space, and technical wizardry and makeup effects were in their infancy, they put more effort into writing alien cultures. Giving the places and people they met specific cultural/biological quirks and concepts was pretty effective for the day. As opposed to, say 90's/2000's sci-fi which often degenerated into "basically modern-day humans with bumpy foreheads". Or even a fair bit of modern Who which is: 1000, 10,000 or 1,000,000 years into the future humans look the same, talk the same (often use the same weapons) and all seem to shop at the Gap or TopShop
I hope Chibnal's Who shows us some alien ​aliens.

Yeah, the thing I really enjoy about the early stuff is that the core ideas for the stories are really interesting. Much like old school Trek, the sci-fi back then is pretty creative. And like you said, I think you kind of had to be because it was the only way to make the story interesting.

The old stuff is absolutely shot like a stage play, too. You'll notice things like the characters running through corridors, and learn that it was really just a 12' corridor where they'd just keep rearranging the wall pieces to look like different parts of a much larger corridor.

The Hartnell era, I think, also saw a lot more visitation to Earth's past. And the Doctor himself is....an unknown. Hell, the concept of "Time Lords" doesn't even show up until late in Troughton's era, and even then, it's not that fleshed out. The Doctor was really alien back at that point, even if he just looked like your grandfather.
 
....if "The Gunfighters" doesn't turn you off for good -- you're in for some fantastic storytelling.
Oy! The Gunfighters! :wacko
On my second major binge of classic who I just skipped all the 'Ballad of The Last Chance Saloon' bits. Honestly it's the only way to stay sane! :lol

Tho I imagine the very dodgy accents are even harder for American fans to sit through.
 
Oy! The Gunfighters! :wacko
On my second major binge of classic who I just skipped all the 'Ballad of The Last Chance Saloon' bits. Honestly it's the only way to stay sane! :lol

Tho I imagine the very dodgy accents are even harder for American fans to sit through.

Eh, I consider the dodgy American accents to be payback for all the godawful butchery of "English" accents by American actors for decades. Some do it pretty well, but most don't. I actually find bad English accents to be way more painful to hear than bad American accents. When it's a bad American accent, I almost think it's cute. Like, "Awww....bless you for trying." But bad English accents? Ugh. Just stop. Please. It's doubly irritating because they're usually butchering an RP accent, which you would think would be easy, but they can't even manage that.

Anyway, I digress. The song in that episode...even the story, really...is just painful to get through. But I figure they're just having fun playing dress-up and try to grin and bear it.

There's actually a bunch of episodes throughout the years that are pretty...weak. The Gunslingers, The King's Demons, etc. They're still interesting, though, from a production/show history standpoint, though, which is why I always enjoyed watching even the bad episodes with the info text from the DVDs.
 
Eh, I consider the dodgy American accents to be payback for all the godawful butchery of "English" accents by American actors for decades. Some do it pretty well, but most don't. I actually find bad English accents to be way more painful to hear than bad American accents. When it's a bad American accent, I almost think it's cute. Like, "Awww....bless you for trying." But bad English accents? Ugh. Just stop. Please. It's doubly irritating because they're usually butchering an RP accent, which you would think would be easy, but they can't even manage that.
Fair do, and you're right about some Americans being terrible at British accents. Then there's those that think they sound 'english' but weirdly end up sounding more Australian!
A lot of people don't realise we have more regional variation across the UK (which could fit into 90% of US states) than there is across most of the US. Dialect geeks like Alistair McGowan (the comedian/impersonator) can talk for ages about how vowels can shift from one village to another in Yorkshire or Lancashire.

But we're off topic so... let's blame all dodgy accents on the Tardis telepathic system messing with the voices. After all, she made Vincent Van Gogh (let's not get into the pronunciation of that! :D) sound Scottish!
 
Well what did you guys think of todays episode?

I loved the old TARDIS.....It would be amazing if the new Doctor would have a more retro feel to the 'ship'

A bit sentimental,....& too much PC rammed in

J
 
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