Classic Doctor Who: An American's Guide
April 10, 2017 1:46 AM   Subscribe

 
It's not terrible, but neither is it terribly accurate. The article mixes up a couple of Patrick Troughton serials: the War Chief is not the Second Doctor's doppelgänger played by Troughton.
posted by rikschell at 4:56 AM on April 10, 2017


That would be Salamander in the serial Enemy of the World.
posted by rikschell at 4:57 AM on April 10, 2017 [3 favorites]


I'm so glad this is streaming in the US again. I've been getting deeper into the classic Doctors through the Big Finish audio dramas, and I've been anxious to see more of the originals.

I'm happy to have a starting point for the 6th Doctor's TV adventures. He is so good in the audio dramas, but his demeanor in the early TV episodes is incredibly grating.
posted by He Is Only The Imposter at 5:27 AM on April 10, 2017


Coming up this August 17th, the crew at RiffTrax will be doing a live riffing on 1983's Doctor Who 20th Anniversary Special The Five Doctors, broadcast to movie theaters through Fathom Events (with an encore rebroadcast on August 24th).
posted by radwolf76 at 5:45 AM on April 10, 2017 [4 favorites]


Yow would need actual timelord assistance to binge through all these.
posted by sammyo at 5:50 AM on April 10, 2017 [4 favorites]


Y'know how more and more shows are designed to be binge watched? These are the opposite of that.
posted by He Is Only The Imposter at 6:05 AM on April 10, 2017 [9 favorites]


Exactly, these shows were designed to be viewed once, with the expectation that the viewer would forget much of the story from one week to the next.
posted by plastic_animals at 6:17 AM on April 10, 2017 [6 favorites]


Au contraire, fellow MeFites. These were designed to be watched 5 episodes at a time on your local PBS station starting at 10:30 on a Saturday night, right after Jack Horkheimer's Star Talk.
posted by Big Al 8000 at 6:24 AM on April 10, 2017 [50 favorites]


Here I was hoping the "essential adventures" for One and Two would be missing episodes, just to screw with people.

That'd be more of a Douglas Adams* bit, though.

*They do (of course) have City of Death listed!
posted by leotrotsky at 6:25 AM on April 10, 2017 [1 favorite]


You know how I was all "Fuck off CBS, I'm not paying that much a month just to watch one show even if it's a show I like?"

Well. Hmm...
posted by Artw at 6:27 AM on April 10, 2017 [1 favorite]


BritBox also has "The Sandbaggers" which is worth checking out, if you need more justification.
posted by He Is Only The Imposter at 6:29 AM on April 10, 2017 [5 favorites]


Oh fuck yes. I'd say forget about Who until you've watched that, even.
posted by Artw at 6:31 AM on April 10, 2017 [2 favorites]


Au contraire, fellow MeFites. These were designed to be watched 5 episodes at a time on your local PBS station starting at 10:30 on a Saturday night, right after Jack Horkheimer's Star Talk.

Preferably on a black and white set in one's grandparents' attic because the rabbit ears antenna won't pick up Jersey PBS downstairs.
posted by delfin at 6:44 AM on April 10, 2017 [7 favorites]


BritBox also has "The Sandbaggers"

Also Red Dwarf.
posted by radwolf76 at 6:45 AM on April 10, 2017


It would have been nice had there been an "inessential" episode linked with each Doctor, because let's be honest. There are plenty of times where one's faith in the show gets tested, though one should be warned that these "inessential" episodes aren't indicative of the Doctor as a whole. Still, a newbie should be wary of: "Invasion of the Dinosaurs" with Three; "Horns Of Nimon" with Four; too many with Five and Six; the regeneration from Six to Seven...
posted by stannate at 6:49 AM on April 10, 2017 [5 favorites]


stannate: And Seven's first season (with maybe an exception for Dragonfire as not great but not totally inessential). The two seasons after that were pretty good though.
posted by Slogby at 7:19 AM on April 10, 2017 [1 favorite]


whaaaaat "Horns of Nimon" is GREAT what are you talking about??? Romana is kickass and the villain is one of the all-time greatest scenery chewers in the history of television.

"My DREAMS of CONquest!"

I'm with them for the One and Two picks (though I also would suggest "The Aztecs" or "The Mind Robber") but I'd have picked differently for Three-- "Carnival of Monsters," maybe? "City of Death" is an unimpeachable choice, at least.

but I also dearly love "Castrovalva" and haaaaate "Caves of Androzani" so I might not be on the same page as these people. tbh I'd pick "Enlightenment" or "Black Orchid" as a good Five example, too. I have no opinions on Six because he and Peri both annoy the shit out of me. "Remembrance of the Daleks" is fantastic but so is "Curse of Fenric." Actually I really like a lot of Seven-- "Delta and the Bannerman" is weird and fun, and I love everything with Ace except for "Ghost Light" because "Ghost Light" makes no goddamn sense.
posted by nonasuch at 7:43 AM on April 10, 2017 [2 favorites]


I was all excited by this, then I clicked on BritBox and got "not available in your country". Damn.
posted by fimbulvetr at 7:46 AM on April 10, 2017


Earthshock is the best Davison episode and we all know why.
posted by delfin at 8:06 AM on April 10, 2017 [5 favorites]


These are the opposite of that.


I rewatched them all over the course of a period of 2 and half years. Personally I think that's just about perfect. I'd also recommend one of 2 things, first up watch them as you read through a guidebook like the About Time series (which I recommend with caveats) or Tardis Eruditarium as I think it is important to have a understanding of the cultural context of the episodes especially for the old ones. Second, watch with a companion whether in IRL, in book for like Running Through Corridors or in blog form like the delightful Adventures with Wife in Space. I also would take breaks either with Target novels (some expand from the original episodes and are written by the people who wrote the episodes), Big Finish audio or with related shows (either written by Who writers from the various eras or shows that were directly up against Who at the time).
posted by Ashwagandha at 8:09 AM on April 10, 2017 [3 favorites]


No "Tomb of the Cybermen" for Two? I protest.
posted by praemunire at 8:18 AM on April 10, 2017 [2 favorites]


Earthshock is the best Davison episode and we all know why.

Man, when your character is so disliked they have to nuke the planet to get rid of him.
posted by Artw at 8:36 AM on April 10, 2017 [1 favorite]


Androzani was a bit trite with the Phantom of the Opera retelling, but it managed to do that well and make you forget it. Davison was amazing when he became desperate and had nothing to lose, and the episode managed to keep from being a base-under-siege story thanks to the androzani major/minor split. It was the first really good script they gave to Davison, and it's a shame he never got more.

Earthshock was amazing in that it kept the pace going throughout. Each episode seemed to have a different locale, almost, and the whole thing really felt like 1980s sci-fi in a way the show had been reluctant to try.

Black Orchid was cute, but always struck me as a cheap Christie-esque set-piece to let the space-kids be adorable among the costumes. Something something hunchback of Notre Dame? I forget.

The Sandbaggers is great, if only because I used to work in that neighbourhood.
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 9:15 AM on April 10, 2017 [2 favorites]


Au contraire, fellow MeFites. These were designed to be watched 5 episodes at a time on your local PBS station starting at 10:30 on a Saturday night, right after Jack Horkheimer's Star Talk.

When I watched, it was Jack Horkheimer: Star Hustler.
posted by blakewest at 9:42 AM on April 10, 2017 [6 favorites]


Before PBS got its Public hands on Doctor Who, a UHF station in L.A. desperate for content (they had a block of B&W sitcoms afternoons in 1980) ran individual episodes of the 3rd and 4th Doctors Monday thru Friday at 7PM, opposite the highly-rated reruns of Original Star Trek... to me, it was the best possible introduction to the Time Lord.
posted by oneswellfoop at 10:09 AM on April 10, 2017


As much as I like Davison, I could never quite watch his episodes without thinking "Tristan Farnon in Space," with a certain amount of accompanying mental disconcert.
posted by Wolfdog at 10:31 AM on April 10, 2017 [4 favorites]


The linked article also provides an excellent sample of Classic Who fandom with a fusillade of comments about how the author is stupid and wrong and clearly knows nothing about Doctor Who.
posted by lefty lucky cat at 10:56 AM on April 10, 2017 [5 favorites]


My essential picks, for what they're worth:

One--I'd skip "An Unearthly Child" and go directly to "The Daleks."
Two--Honestly, I've seen so few episodes from him, I need to pass.
Three--Hard to pick one, but my short list would be "Silurians," "Inferno," "Sea Devils," "Curse of Peladon," and his last episode, "Planet of the Spiders."
Four--Also hard to pick one. Short list wouldn't be very short, tbh: "Ark In Space," "Genesis of the Daleks," "Brain of Morbius," "Deadly Assassin," "Talons of Weng-Chiang," "Horror of Fang Rock," half of Key to Time (1, 2, 4), "City of Death," "Warriors' Gate," and "Logopolis."
Five--Hard to argue against "Androzani," but if you want to sidestep that one, you've got the "Kinda"/"Snakedance" pairing, "Frontios," and even "Planet Of Fire."
Six--Thin gruel here, but I'll go with "Vengeance on Varos" because sometimes I'm in a mood for really dark dystopia.
Seven--Apart from the Dalek episode, either "Happiness Patrol" or "Greatest Show in the Galaxy." Or just any episode with Ace (though as mentioned, you may need to watch "Ghost Light" a few times to make sense of it).
posted by stannate at 12:28 PM on April 10, 2017 [4 favorites]


I could never quite watch his episodes without thinking "Tristan Farnon in Space," with a certain amount of accompanying mental disconcert.

If I correctly observed my mother's reactions, for some viewers, this was a feature, not a bug.
posted by praemunire at 12:34 PM on April 10, 2017


you may need to watch "Ghost Light" a few times to make sense of it

I tried, but I still don't understand how the guy in the Ziggy Stardust makeup relates to the Neanderthal butler or the bad grammar Miss Havisham lady or why Ace and her friend dress up in tuxedos for a bit, although that part I don't mind because they were clearly having a lot of fun.
posted by nonasuch at 12:39 PM on April 10, 2017 [2 favorites]


There is a quite interesting plot buried inside The Invasion of the Dinosaurs but the pacing is right off . I think everyone involved assumed that the special effects would keep the audience entertained for minutes at a time while nothing else was happening.

Unfortunately they ended up with dinosaurs so bad that even the illustration on the cover of the novelization looks awful.

10 out of 10 for effort though, there are an impressive number of effects shots for a 1974 TV show.
posted by AndrewStephens at 2:30 PM on April 10, 2017 [1 favorite]


I've seen "Ghost Light" a bunch of times (I had it on VHS back when that was the surest way to have access to Doctor Who), and it's still pretty nonsensical. But that's part of the joy of Who, really: it's something you can simultaneously take seriously and not seriously at all.

"Snakedance" (and "Kinda") is kind of ridiculous but also fun to watch a young Martin Clunes chew some scenery. ...And I may use "find the still point" as a mantra when I'm stressed out, so I guess there's that.
posted by smirkette at 2:58 PM on April 10, 2017


A really good list of episodes can be culled from A.V. Club's Doctor Who Primer. I usually point people new to Doctor Who to that article.
posted by kmartino at 3:13 PM on April 10, 2017 [1 favorite]


Jon Pertwee's Doctor was such a baller. Love that guy--despite having grown up on Tom Baker, #3 is MY Doctor. Someday I will be amazing enough to wear an opera cape to work.
posted by orrnyereg at 6:35 PM on April 10, 2017 [2 favorites]


There's a lot of late who that just depends on saying "Entropy" a bunch of times and hoping everyone knows how smart and significant that is.
posted by Artw at 6:39 PM on April 10, 2017


Doctor Who is why I know what entropy is.
posted by Horkus at 6:42 PM on April 10, 2017 [1 favorite]


Invasion of the Dinosaurs: I think with better editing, this would have been a solid 4-part story instead of 6. It also would have helped if this story weren't in Pertwee's last season, as he was openly bored with being the Doctor at this point in his run, and his chemistry with Sarah Jane Smith was rather minimal. But you are right; the effects were supposed to carry the episode and they fell flat. Not even the Whomobile could save it.
posted by stannate at 6:54 AM on April 11, 2017


As a kid, around 1975, I enjoyed Tom Baker battling the Giant Robots. While they stomped around, crushing tiny humans and objects, they had an endearing childlike quality. One of the most misunderstood Who baddies, in my opinion.
posted by sirchutney at 11:36 AM on April 11, 2017 [1 favorite]


A fine debut for Tom Baker, indeed, but the real showstealer for that episode was Professor Kettlewell's hair.
posted by delfin at 4:31 PM on April 11, 2017 [1 favorite]


Robot was pretty much the height of bad CSO effects.
posted by Artw at 4:43 PM on April 11, 2017


Isn't Robot the one where Sarah Jane gets turned into a barbie doll?
posted by gamera at 11:31 PM on April 11, 2017


I love Classic Who so much~!!! *flails* I was shocked how much I adored 5 coming back to it without my intense 4 adoration - he's really charming. Nissa remains high as one of my favorite companions. There's a great 2 episode where they go into a world made up of stories - it's really delightful.
posted by Deoridhe at 12:14 AM on April 12, 2017 [1 favorite]




Not having everything having to be the BIGGEST EVENT EVER would do a lot, but modern TV doesn't work like that.
posted by Artw at 9:24 AM on April 12, 2017 [1 favorite]


I'd like to amend my drive-by snark: I really enjoyed Robot despite and because of the goofy effects and I love Classic Who deeply. In fact, the person I used to regularly watch Dr. Who with on PBS ended up marrying me.
posted by gamera at 10:25 AM on April 12, 2017


I'm kind of looking forwards to not giving a shit about the Chibnal episodes.
posted by Artw at 11:27 AM on April 12, 2017 [1 favorite]


I'm looking forward to being incoherently angry at Chibnall for just not getting it right enough.
posted by Ashwagandha at 12:18 PM on April 12, 2017 [2 favorites]


I'm looking forward to the elevation of the Moffat era once Chibnall gets a couple episodes under his belt.
posted by stannate at 1:46 PM on April 12, 2017 [4 favorites]


I'm looking forward to being incoherently angry at Chibnall for just not getting it right enough.

I just can't be bothered, you know? I'm not expecting much and hate-watching is for idiots, so I'll probably just check in if I hear anything is particularly good but other than that off it goes on it's merry way.
posted by Artw at 2:03 PM on April 12, 2017 [1 favorite]


I was joking about being incoherently angry. While I can't say that I'm all that excited about his upcoming tenure, Chibnall would have to be exceptionally terrible for me to quit the show... For better or worse Doctor Who is really the only constant as far as TV goes that I have, very little else comes close. So I stick with it. And for me the lowest points in the series were very early on in RTD's era, so Moffat has never been an impediment to watching the show as it seems to be for a lot of the people here. I could use a break from MURRAY GOLD though.
posted by Ashwagandha at 3:35 PM on April 12, 2017 [1 favorite]


Same here.
It would take a lot to put me off who.
I'm not expecting much from Chibnall, but you never know.
Moffatt wrote great episodes when RTD was showrunner, but got a bit carried away with himself when he was showrunner. Maybe Chibnall will be the other way round?
....
I just went and checked what episodes he wrote, and I kinda take it back.
I thought he wrote Fear Her, which he did not.
He wrote 42, The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood double parter, Dinosaurs on a Spaceship and the Power of Three.
All of these are pretty good episodes. Though he did write Cyberwoman for torchwood which is just the worst.

I could do with less MURRAY GOLD also. For Sure! Or just tone it down a bit guy. Not every scene needs to be dripping in triumphalist, epic music scores whilst characters whisper inaudibly underneath.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 2:06 AM on April 13, 2017


He was the Torchwood show runner, wasn't he? To probably repeat myself, I tend to see his work as a script with a post-it stuck to it that says "Will this do?". But maybe that's what the general audience (and in particular the BBC) want at the moment. I mean, it won't be terrible, but it will be generally OK, and that's probably worse. If you see what I mean.

Let's see who he chooses as The Doctor. At this point, I don't mind who it is (although I do, for the first time in my life, have a fantasy pick), as long as they're going to bring the kind of energy that the previous actors have. My worry is that he'll just choose someone who'll read the lines without having that sort of intensity.

Oddly, I've never had any problem at all with the music. Perhaps that comes from knowing too many people who yearn wistfully for the days when it was performed by atonal woodwind and untuned oscillator.
posted by Grangousier at 2:41 AM on April 13, 2017 [2 favorites]


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