What Are You Doing Here?

October 4, 2008 9:44 AM

What Are You Doing Here?

In case you're wondering, Scott Grey was for many years the writer of the comic strips in Doctor Who Magazine. At least I assume it's the same one.

And I'm sure someone said it in the US TV movie.

Yes, it counts.

posted by feelinglistless (33 comments total)

What am I doing here.
posted by Zambrano at 9:58 AM on October 4, 2008

I see what they're doing here.
posted by patrick rhett at 10:13 AM on October 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

Man I love the Doctor, but make it stop.
posted by nola at 10:20 AM on October 4, 2008

What am I doing here?
posted by Elmore at 10:33 AM on October 4, 2008

Now that we're all here... eggy bread!
posted by xorry at 10:36 AM on October 4, 2008

@ Zambrano

Wondering why you lost the game the other night?

Planning for another long off season?

Packing your golf clubs?

Not playing baseball?
posted by zerobyproxy at 10:50 AM on October 4, 2008

My favorite: "What are you doing here? Augghhh!" (Gets zapped.)
posted by Faze at 10:57 AM on October 4, 2008

I've got a bad feeling about this.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 10:58 AM on October 4, 2008 [4 favorites]

Y'know...it's cute for a little while. But after the first 3 hours, it really gets annoying.
posted by Thorzdad at 11:02 AM on October 4, 2008

Not "what", Who!
posted by blue_beetle at 11:15 AM on October 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Lovely accents dear chap, and I must concur it could have been more conscise... Actually, would make for a proper piece of sonic art if there was some apparent organisation apart from the timeline... good material to mix into weird ass electronic music though... thanks!
posted by yoHighness at 11:38 AM on October 4, 2008

Eggy weggs? I would smash 'em.
posted by Elmore at 11:41 AM on October 4, 2008

*sigh*

I'm gettin' too old for this shit.
posted by Greg Nog at 11:55 AM on October 4, 2008

But you have to love sheer geekiness of the commitment. To quote: "The original (which went to the end of Eccleston) took seven months to make - Six to watch all the episodes and one to edit it together."

That's longer than some marriages...
posted by feelinglistless at 12:13 PM on October 4, 2008

(1) Nothing.

(2) What does it LOOK like I'm doing here?

(3) It'd take too long to explain.

(3a) Nothing you'd understand.

(3b) You don't really want to know.

(4) Trying to get this thing to work.

(5) Just looking for clues.

(6) Waiting for you.

(7) I've always been here.

(8) That's for me to know and for you to find out!

(9) What we do every night; try to take over the world!

(9a) I must've taken a wrong turn at Albuquerque.

(9b) Living La Vida Loca.

(10) I'm planting a thermonuclear plot device.

(MF11) Waiting for mathowie/jessamyn/cortex to delete this.

(MF12) Waiting for mathowie/jessamyn/cortex/languagehat/Mutant/loquacious/somebodyelsewhoseusernamehasslippedmymind to explain this.
posted by wendell at 12:20 PM on October 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I'm not here to make friends.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 12:37 PM on October 4, 2008

What are you doing here?
posted by Chuffy at 12:42 PM on October 4, 2008

Is this the queue for the number 54 bus to Stockton?
posted by fcummins at 12:58 PM on October 4, 2008

I've said the words "Jiminy Jillikers!" so many times they've lost all meaning!
posted by Johnny Assay at 1:00 PM on October 4, 2008

"What are you doing here?" is a simple and effective way for writers to set up exposition. This is notable when you are working in a genre like sci-fi because its quite easy to confuse the audience when you return from a commercial break or have way too much set-up going on. When a character is asking "What are you doing here?", they are really setting up another character to respond and let the audience catch up with the story so far.

(I was a script-doctor on a big budget monster movie a few years ago and the original story was so convoluted and ridiculous that the only way for me to make things clear without drifting away from the writer/director's original vision was to have characters frequently ask "What's going on?" Apparently I overused this phrase and several quick witted film critics responded with "I'd like to know what's going on also". Ouch. )
posted by cazoo at 1:02 PM on October 4, 2008 [4 favorites]

I'm waiting for the man.
posted by daniel_charms at 1:20 PM on October 4, 2008

Here comes your man.
posted by Dumsnill at 1:28 PM on October 4, 2008

I thought this was going to be some deep existential video that probes into my very essence and makes me contemplate reality.

Hooray Dr. Who!
posted by hellojed at 1:55 PM on October 4, 2008

Other examples of 'supercuts'.
posted by flatluigi at 2:06 PM on October 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

First, who's on?
posted by Ron Thanagar at 2:29 PM on October 4, 2008

Would you like a Jelly Baby?
posted by furtive at 3:42 PM on October 4, 2008

Oh, fantastic. I never realized that the bit of lip-reading through the window in "Partners in Crime" was a nod to a (probably well-recognized internally) well-worn device.
posted by dhartung at 4:57 PM on October 4, 2008

(MF12) Waiting for mathowie/jessamyn/cortex/languagehat/Mutant/loquacious/somebodyelsewhoseusernamehasslippedmymind to explain this.

Don't look at me. I have no idea what the hell I'm doing here, much less some guy with a fancy screwdriver and a dimensionally improbable call box. Last thing I remember I was floating through time and space without a care in the world, dining on starlight and space goats or something.

Next thing I know I'm in some tiny, naked shivering little body shitting my pants and puking on myself. Here. On this tiny little dirty planet. With you fuckers. Granted the body grew up and mostly stopped shitting itself and some moments here and there were pretty good even if they did involve rubbing various oddly shaped dirty bits about on, in or near someone else's dirty bits but if anything I'm more confused than you are as to what it's all about.

Frankly, it's all confusing enough without some so-called "Time Lord" mucking about with Eddy or whoever in the space-time continuum and generally popping in and out of future histories, yesterdays tomorrows and past presents. What are you doing here, indeed! Why are you wearing that awful scarf?
posted by loquacious at 6:27 PM on October 4, 2008

Interesting. All those clips of the same phrase again and again made for a good apples to apples comparison of the acting styles of the various Doctors. Poor Jon Pertwee, so under rated.
posted by adamt at 7:50 PM on October 4, 2008

That was a great clip compilation. It's nice to know that the Doctor has a solid track record of being found in places where he is not supposed to be for 45 years.
posted by JDC8 at 11:19 PM on October 4, 2008

Scott is a good friend of mine. And I still say that it would have been much better if all the "What are you doing here?" had been dubbed by a mutual "friend" of ours.
posted by ninthart at 2:09 PM on October 5, 2008

Cute! Too bad there wasn't more Troughton.
posted by droplet at 12:51 PM on October 6, 2008

Too bad there wasn't more Troughton.

Great, you just set off my "They wiped the tapes? WHY WOULD THEY DO THAT?" internal whine again. Eh, I was overdue.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 1:36 PM on October 6, 2008