Dr Who Themes
July 21, 2010 2:29 PM   Subscribe

Every Dr Who Opening Theme Every Dr Who Theme from 1963 to the present. [SLYT]
posted by marienbad (93 comments total) 17 users marked this as a favorite
 
I have seen several mentions of Dr Who on the blue. For all you fans out there, enjoy 7 minutes of synthy goodness.
posted by marienbad at 2:30 PM on July 21, 2010


Doctor Who Theme - Orbital Titles Mix , though it needs more Matt Smith.
posted by Artw at 2:32 PM on July 21, 2010 [2 favorites]


Why in the world did there need to be more than one?
posted by Sys Rq at 2:34 PM on July 21, 2010


Also known as "Elsa hides behind couch, 1974 to present."
posted by Elsa at 2:35 PM on July 21, 2010 [11 favorites]


whomix - doctor who theme remixes - as seen previously.
posted by Artw at 2:39 PM on July 21, 2010




I was saddened that they weren't played simultaneously.
posted by joelf at 2:46 PM on July 21, 2010 [1 favorite]


Doctor Who on Holiday, one of my favorite mashups of all time.
posted by Sticherbeast at 2:49 PM on July 21, 2010 [3 favorites]


Even better would be a mixer where you could switch between the versions as the song plays. Can somebody make that?
posted by joelf at 2:49 PM on July 21, 2010


Whomix site mirror? (via). Also, this post could use a doctorwho tag.
posted by christopherious at 2:50 PM on July 21, 2010


"Also, this post could use a doctorwho tag."

it has one - drwho.
posted by marienbad at 2:52 PM on July 21, 2010


although, mods feel free to add doctorwho tag if you feel it would be useful.
posted by marienbad at 2:52 PM on July 21, 2010


done... (i didn't realise you could add further tags after posting)
posted by marienbad at 2:53 PM on July 21, 2010


Docteur Qui
posted by Artw at 2:58 PM on July 21, 2010 [5 favorites]


I was always excited when Dr. Who came on TV when I was a little kid (usually on PBS, late in the evening). I loved the theme song - creepy, scary, and compelling you to watch. As soon as the theme ended, though, and I started watching, I inevitably changed the channel. Ah well.
posted by not_on_display at 3:01 PM on July 21, 2010


I love how the theme and the logo change to reflect the times. There's a definite Star Wars influence at one point, and then there's the moment when it becomes pure Star Trek TNG kind of stuff. A fun retrospective. Thanks for posting!
posted by hippybear at 3:02 PM on July 21, 2010


*rave party glowsticks on*
posted by dabitch at 3:07 PM on July 21, 2010


That "beeeeooooowwwwwwww" bit at the start will always send chills down my spine.
posted by Diag at 3:08 PM on July 21, 2010 [1 favorite]


I wish they'd put the bassline back in the current one.
posted by Artw at 3:09 PM on July 21, 2010 [2 favorites]


"Also, this post could use a doctorwho tag."

it has one - drwho.


Being nitpicky... he never is "Dr. Who". He's always "Doctor Who". I know it's a silly thing, but it's actually not an honorific or a degree. It's what he goes by in the universe. "I'm the Doctor." I don't remember where I read that it is NEVER shortened, and my google-fu is failing me now, but I have a clear memory of coming across that factoid at some point.

posted by hippybear at 3:10 PM on July 21, 2010 [9 favorites]


I am sensing a concerted effort by several users of the site to Who up the front page of MetaFilter.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 3:13 PM on July 21, 2010 [8 favorites]


"Being nitpicky..."

fangurrls huh...

I liked Doctor Who in the olden days but after Eccleston I wasn't interested so much. God I miss Tom Baker as the Doctor.
posted by marienbad at 3:16 PM on July 21, 2010


Being nitpicky... he never is "Dr. Who". He's always "Doctor Who". I know it's a silly thing, but it's actually not an honorific or a degree. It's what he goes by in the universe.

Being extra-nitpicky: He actually doesn't go by "Doctor Who". It's just "the Doctor". The WOTAN computer called him "Doctor Who" in The War Machines, but this was an anomaly.
posted by maqsarian at 3:17 PM on July 21, 2010 [5 favorites]


It was Dr. Who in the Peter Cushing movies. But those films did all sorts of crazy things, like have multi-coloured Daleks and Bernard Cribbins.
posted by Gary at 3:21 PM on July 21, 2010 [2 favorites]


I am sensing a concerted effort by several users of the site to Who up the front page of MetaFilter.

TINDWC

(There is no Doctor Who Cabal)
posted by maqsarian at 3:28 PM on July 21, 2010


maqsarian: "I am sensing a concerted effort by several users of the site to Who up the front page of MetaFilter.

TINDWC

(There is no Doctor Who Cabal)
"

This is not the Time Lord you are looking for.
posted by MrLint at 3:39 PM on July 21, 2010


John Barrowman sings Doctor Who theme ... it's even worse than you can possibly imagine...
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 3:57 PM on July 21, 2010


I can imagine pretty bad.
posted by Artw at 3:58 PM on July 21, 2010


Not bad enough it seems.
posted by Artw at 3:59 PM on July 21, 2010 [5 favorites]


On the list of things I don't like about the new series, the revamped theme is at the top of the list.
posted by ZeusHumms at 4:05 PM on July 21, 2010


It is just me, or is the new series more about the Doctor himself, and less about the Villain Of The Week? I don't recall all this "OMG HE IS A TIME LORD AND HE IS SO WONDERFUL HIS LIFE IS SO ANGSTY AND SPECIAL" in the Pertwee/Baker/Davidson eras I watched in my youth. I mean, I like the new series, it just seems... different.
posted by The otter lady at 4:39 PM on July 21, 2010


Quiet! Is that the Cloister Bell? Looks like we're caught in some sort of time loop - I'll just go and give the artronic transducers a kick. Worst case scenario: we have to reverse the polarity of the neutron flow.
posted by Electric Dragon at 4:40 PM on July 21, 2010 [1 favorite]


Amusing thing: the Related Posts widget dug up the thread on Tennant's announcement he was quitting. Amongst the speculation about his replacement, the words "Matt Smith" do not appear.
posted by Electric Dragon at 4:43 PM on July 21, 2010


Even better would be a mixer where you could switch between the versions as the song plays. Can somebody make that?

Not quite this, but the Radiophonatron is fun to play with.
posted by maqsarian at 4:46 PM on July 21, 2010


OH GOD OH GOD THE FLYING LOGOS MAKE THEM STOP

I swear I expected to see a local newsroom pop up right there in the middle.

I dropped out at #4 to have a life but it's clear that there's some merit back in the series. Probably about the point where they quit jerking off all over the 3D systems and start getting back to thoughtful homage/extrapolation in the soundtrack.
posted by seanmpuckett at 4:46 PM on July 21, 2010


Just goes to show that there's nothing on god's great earth like a moog with a gated rhythm controller.
posted by koeselitz at 5:11 PM on July 21, 2010


Never fails to give me the chills to hear it. For the longest time, the sound of the TARDIS was my ringtone...
posted by Kitteh at 5:18 PM on July 21, 2010 [1 favorite]


I am sensing a concerted effort by several users of the site to WhoDoctor up the front page of MetaFilter.

Yeah, that's a FTFY, and it works on multiple levels.
posted by oneswellfoop at 5:26 PM on July 21, 2010 [3 favorites]


For the longest time, the sound of the TARDIS was my ringtone...

A couple of PCs back I hacked windows so the start up audio was the tardis taking off and the close down audio was the tardis landing*

*yes they are different**

**nerdcore 4 life
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 5:36 PM on July 21, 2010 [1 favorite]


The progression from introspective but humanitarian (the smiling human face of the Doctor shining through the psychedalia), to exploration of the far reaches of the universe, to the icon of a vanished England whirling out of control through infinite storms and fire can't be too encouraging to people like me who enjoy facile juxtapositions.
posted by fleacircus at 5:37 PM on July 21, 2010 [2 favorites]


A couple of PCs back I hacked windows so the start up audio was the tardis taking off and the close down audio was the tardis landing

It only makes that noise because the Doctor keeps leaving on the parking brake.
posted by hippybear at 5:49 PM on July 21, 2010 [9 favorites]


oddly enough i loaded the EXFM plug in for chrome, as mentioned in a different post, and the only thing that it has is a doctor who Mp3 because i was looking up the 9th doctor.
posted by djduckie at 6:10 PM on July 21, 2010


Don't other TARDISes make that noise, though? Did all renegade Time Lords fail their TARDIS license tests or something?
posted by bettafish at 6:27 PM on July 21, 2010


Don't other TARDISes make that noise, though? Did all renegade Time Lords fail their TARDIS license tests or something?

A hole in Doctor Who continuity? Well, I never.
posted by maqsarian at 6:35 PM on July 21, 2010 [8 favorites]


No, no, no. There is no hole in continuity. It's River Song that claims that it makes that noise because the Doctor leaves the parking brake on.

The answer is that River Song is simply lying. This makes sense, since River Song is lying about everything. And hopefully her character will soon disappear from the series forever.
posted by koeselitz at 6:55 PM on July 21, 2010 [2 favorites]


For the longest time, the sound of the TARDIS was my ringtone...

After my last attempt at a cool ringtone backfired majorly, I was leery of putting anything I liked as a notification tone. I finally decided to have the TARDIS as my "hey, you've got a text message!" tone and it's worked very well so far (though some people have asked me "why do you have dinosaurs as your tone?")

I only started watching the show with the Ninth Doctor*, so I have some catching up to do, but my favorite version of the theme is the first one of the Fourth Doctor.

*got all sigh-y and wistful when "Christopher Eccleston" swung out onto the screen....
posted by Lucinda at 7:04 PM on July 21, 2010


It's River Song that claims that it makes that noise because the Doctor leaves the parking brake on.

The answer is that River Song is simply lying.


Which works, except for that she flew the TARDIS without making that noise, and without the normal buffetting (because she knew how to turn on the stabilizer).

Not that I don't think RS is a lying liar... but in that instance, she did do something different...
posted by hippybear at 7:06 PM on July 21, 2010


koeselitz: "No, no, no. There is no hole in continuity. It's River Song that claims that it makes that noise because the Doctor leaves the parking brake on.

The answer is that River Song is simply lying. This makes sense, since River Song is lying about everything. And hopefully her character will soon disappear from the series forever.
"

I happen to like River. However, why do you think shes lying about everything?
posted by MrLint at 7:08 PM on July 21, 2010


I guess I don't think she's lying. She's just... well, she is a murderer, right? We'll see who she kills, I guess.

I have an ex-wife. I guess I just feel pre-emptively sorry for the Doctor that he apparently does, too. At least he can't remember why yet.
posted by koeselitz at 7:14 PM on July 21, 2010


This must be special Comic Con content on Metafilter
posted by joey! at 7:22 PM on July 21, 2010


I guess I don't think she's lying. She's just... well, she is a murderer, right? We'll see who she kills, I guess.

The Doctor. It would so be the perfect regeneration episode.
posted by Sticherbeast at 7:27 PM on July 21, 2010


Is it just me or does the newest one look like a speeded up colonoscopy?
posted by octothorpe at 7:44 PM on July 21, 2010 [1 favorite]


Dude, if your colon has lightning bolts in it, emergency room NOW.
posted by maqsarian at 7:51 PM on July 21, 2010 [5 favorites]


The KLF video has given me vivid false memories of Tom Baker sitting in the back of the Bluesmobile, with Jake and Elroy up front, as Daleks and Illinois State Police cruisers crash and collide in their wake, three men on a mission from Gallifrey...

"K9! We're putting the band back together!"

"How much for your Cybermen, we want to buy your Cybermen..."
posted by Slap*Happy at 8:38 PM on July 21, 2010 [1 favorite]


Double post be damned!

List of Dr. Who's in order of awesomeness:

1) Tom Baker
2) Patrick Troughton
3) Christopher Eccleston
4) David Tennant

It's almost a shame there weren't any other incarnations of The Doctor... that aren't vicious hallucinations and slanderous dreams implanted by The Master to attack the psychic integrity of his enemy.

The next incarnation of The Doctor must, and I repeat, must, be played by Jessica Hynes (née Stevenson), and her Companion must be played by Mark Heap.
posted by Slap*Happy at 8:58 PM on July 21, 2010 [1 favorite]


Heresy.

The two Doctors who will vie forever with each other for the slot of "greatest Doctor" are Four and Seven. The rest are very good, but Seven and Four stand above them. (Except maybe for One, who was also a very good one.)

And I think it's already clear that Matt Smith is better than David Tennant, but I expect to be in the minority on this. Also, the greatest companions are Ace, Donna and Leela, in that order.
posted by koeselitz at 9:14 PM on July 21, 2010


Never got into Ace as a companion. She always seemed fairly cheesy.

Seven is pretty fantastic, though. Never more awesome than in the title sequence - he'll wink at you all playful-like, but you just know that he's already figured out how to trick you into killing yourself. Just in case.
posted by Sticherbeast at 9:34 PM on July 21, 2010


The theme was never again as good as the first version, but the titles peaked with the late Jon Pertwee/early Tom Baker glowy tube version. Since I'm sure you all wanted to know my opinion of them.
posted by moss at 9:48 PM on July 21, 2010 [2 favorites]


Since I'm sure you all wanted to know my opinion of them.

Well, =I= did. Thanks for sharing it, and I mean that in a non-snarky manner. Getting inside of the heads of my fellow tool-using primates is one of the reasons I love MeFi.

Also, I agree with you, but that is incidental.
posted by Slap*Happy at 10:06 PM on July 21, 2010


Now that I've gotten into the audio series, Eight is very very rapidly becoming my favorite Doctor.

I really have a hard time ranking them though. I'll start doing it, and then be all "How can Three be so low?". So I'll bump him up, but then notice that Five has fallen, and I'll start thinking about why I like Five... and the process continues.

The theme music is easy. The original wins, hands down. Tennant's is the worst, followed by the Seventh Doctor's.
posted by painquale at 10:32 PM on July 21, 2010




Heh... from the related videos... have a jellybaby!
posted by Artw at 11:07 PM on July 21, 2010




It's River Song that claims that it makes that noise because the Doctor leaves the parking brake on.

I remember the Doctor making some whiny 'but I like that sound!' thus confirming it ...but they are both lying. In my universe, anyway.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 1:19 AM on July 22, 2010


Doctor Who - The Monster Years I'm sure there used to be a video someone had done with the same song but with all the classic monsters but the spoilsports took it down.

Rotersand - Exterminate Annihilate Destroy - Finding this led to a whole slew of cool German techno in the related vids

Doctor Who (Hardcore Remix) - this chavy version of the theme is so awful I actually like it
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 2:52 AM on July 22, 2010


For the longest time, the sound of the TARDIS was my ringtone...

My husband has one of the themes as his ringtone.

Now I'm going to spend a bunch of time watching all these videos. There goes the rest of my morning and my afternoon (in a great way).
posted by immlass at 8:34 AM on July 22, 2010


Heresy.

The two Doctors who will vie forever with each other for the slot of "greatest Doctor" are Four and Seven. The rest are very good, but Seven and Four stand above them. (Except maybe for One, who was also a very good one.)

And I think it's already clear that Matt Smith is better than David Tennant, but I expect to be in the minority on this. Also, the greatest companions are Ace, Donna and Leela, in that order.
posted by koeselitz at 11:14 PM on July 21 [+] [!]


Never got into Ace as a companion. She always seemed fairly cheesy.

Seven is pretty fantastic, though. Never more awesome than in the title sequence - he'll wink at you all playful-like, but you just know that he's already figured out how to trick you into killing yourself. Just in case.
posted by Sticherbeast at 11:34 PM on July 21 [+] [!]



I personally like Six because he was an arrogant ass, but had he lasted longer than three seasons, he would have worn out his act quicker than Ten (whom I really started to not like after the Tinkerbell Jesus moment with the Master, though having Donna as his companion really saved the show for me). Still, koeselitz and Sticherbeast have it right: Four for longevity and personality; Seven* for his ability to fight without really fighting. In an alternate universe, an evil Seven would be equal to, or worse than, the Master.

As for Matt Smith, he fully won me over with the Weeping Angels two-parter. Granted, I was so tired of David Tennant's act by the time of his departure, I would have accepted Bubbles from AbFab as the Doctor, so I was already predisposed to like Eleven. I hope that Matt stays around for a while, and that the rumors of his departure are as false as Karen Gillan says they are.

*Seven w/Ace as his companion, as that's when Seven started to get interesting. I've heard that Mel's character is much better in the audio programs than on TV, but jumpin' Jehosaphat, I could not stand her either with Six or Seven.
posted by stannate at 11:10 AM on July 22, 2010




"The two Doctors who will vie forever with each other for the slot of "greatest Doctor" are Four and Seven. "

Seven? Sylvester McCoy? Srsly? he was the reason it got canned, viewing figures plummeted. McCoy was awful, truly awful.

also, DeadRingers radio show: Doctor who calls the Fourth Doctor - i have no idea what the video for this is about, it has no relation to the audio. His replies are excellent.
posted by marienbad at 11:53 AM on July 22, 2010 [1 favorite]


I would have accepted Bubbles from AbFab as the Doctor

I know nothing about AbFab, but now I'm picturing Bubbles from The Wire as the Doctor, and it is awesome.
posted by maqsarian at 12:01 PM on July 22, 2010 [1 favorite]


Jane Horrocks as Bubbles in Ab Fab. Bubbles as the doctor? What an amazing/surreal idea.
posted by marienbad at 12:16 PM on July 22, 2010


I was thinking more Tilda Swinton or Tamsin Greig, though of course both would be good for a (non-River) Rani.
posted by Artw at 1:32 PM on July 22, 2010


Also, and this is of course blasphemy, but with another season like that Matt Smith might rise to being my favourite Doctor of all time. Not just of NuWho (though he's the best and most Who-like one obviously), but of classic Who too.

Like I say, blasphemy.
posted by Artw at 1:34 PM on July 22, 2010 [1 favorite]


If he wears a fez all next season, he wins easy.
posted by painquale at 3:19 PM on July 22, 2010


I know nothing about AbFab, but now I'm picturing Bubbles from The Wire as the Doctor, and it is awesome.

...and now I am too, and oh my God, this is amazing.
posted by moss at 7:22 PM on July 22, 2010


Favorite Doctor? Trite answer: All of them. And that includes the phenomenal performance by one Richard Hurndall as the First Doctor in the twentieth anniversary story, The Five Doctors.

Hurndall embodied the spirit of Bill Hartnell in a spellbinding way - at least to this eight-year old. On subsequent viewings - after going back and watching the video releases of Hartnell's era time after time after time - Hurndall's one-time turn as the Doctor gave me goosebumps. So cold, so distant, so alien.

The juxtaposition between His Archness the First and His Touchy-Feely the Fifth was fantastic, and - on a plot note - I still manage to laugh at the absurdity of the youngest Doctor of them all managing to browbeat his elders into listening to him, simply by virtue of him being first!

I admit, The Five Doctors wasn't a very good story, and Tegan grates worse than a Dalek's voicebox, but that doesn't detract from Hurndall's performance. So I plead to the Metafilter Who faithful: Don't forget about the Other First Doctor.
posted by Ridge at 8:42 PM on July 22, 2010 [1 favorite]


marienbad: “Seven? Sylvester McCoy? Srsly? he was the reason it got canned, viewing figures plummeted. McCoy was awful, truly awful.”

Huh? Nah, sometimes people say that, and it was kinda true for McCoy's first year, but that's mostly because they stuck Doctor Who opposite Coronation Street, an extremely popular show – and even then it did pretty well. And the next two seasons were actually much better, viewership-wise.

Frankly, amongst fans the consensus seems to be (someone may correct me if I'm wrong) that Colin Baker actually killed the show; this makes some sense as a theory. At least during McCoy's time they kept making episodes; they took a long year-and-a-half hiatus in the middle of Colin Baker's tenure, largely because he was so disliked by people within the BBC.

But really, neither of them was the reason the show got canned. Nor were the "viewing figures," which weren't honestly very scientific then anyway; those were still the days when studio chiefs ruled. The real reason Doctor Who got cancelled is because Michael Grade is a soulless demon from hell.
posted by koeselitz at 9:06 PM on July 22, 2010


Artw: “Also, and this is of course blasphemy, but with another season like that Matt Smith might rise to being my favourite Doctor of all time. Not just of NuWho (though he's the best and most Who-like one obviously), but of classic Who too. Like I say, blasphemy.”

Honestly, I'm right there with you. Matt Smith is just awesome as the Doctor. He's got all the energy and wit of Tom Baker, and I'd be happy if he did seven years, too.
posted by koeselitz at 9:09 PM on July 22, 2010


I haven't. Still, even to this day of intensely popular revival in Who-dom... the purest arechetype, the one everyone has fixated in their brain from birth as being, completely and truly, the Doctor, is Four.

Good lord, man, his autobiography is titled, "Who on Earth is Tom Baker."

Game set and match! Jelly-baby?
posted by Slap*Happy at 9:17 PM on July 22, 2010


Some of us like Matt Smith because he reminds us of Tom Baker. (Not having RTD as showrunner any more also helps a lot.)
posted by immlass at 7:32 AM on July 23, 2010


Baker is definatly there... but so is Patrick Troughton.
posted by Artw at 7:53 AM on July 23, 2010


Weird. Manic Street Preacher Nicky Wire Is Writing A Dr. Who Script

"The idea is centred around Dylan Thomas’ last days in New York. Of course it’s going to have a massive fucking monster in it too."

If true I'm hoping the monster is Dylan Thomas' trousers, which he never washed and which were apparently so filthy they could stand up by themselves.
posted by Artw at 10:52 AM on July 23, 2010


Dr Who and the Trousers of Terror
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 12:28 PM on July 23, 2010


Looks to me like Nicky Wire's method for writing a Dr Who script is much the same way as mine:

1) Select historical figure
2) Select location in which figure is known to have resided
3) Come up with monster or something [Note - fill details in later]
4) ???
5) Episode is screened. Profit!

(except that mine features Isaac Newton and is, like, totally awesome, and will be perfect just as soon as I get round to actually writing anything)
posted by Electric Dragon at 12:59 PM on July 23, 2010


I would simply have Isaac Newton transported to modern day Grantham for the look of horror on his face.
posted by Artw at 1:11 PM on July 23, 2010


Heh. I like what Gatiss says about his and Moffat's non-period Holmes story:

f you don't like our version," said Gatiss, "it's fine, because by the time it's finished there'll be another one along."
posted by Artw at 2:00 PM on July 23, 2010


Seven is pretty fantastic, though.

Yep, especially with that skin-tight suit and her Borg implants...

What? A Doctor Who thread? Never mind.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 10:13 PM on July 23, 2010


Get yer cybermen knock-offs out of here, trekkie.
posted by Artw at 7:15 AM on July 24, 2010


Speaking of Seven, I have to say that it is pretty fantastic; one of the best shows ever shown on television, in my opinion. And being written by the guy who invented Daleks, it couldn't help but be.

Also: anyone who makes a positive reference to a character from Voyager is definitively not a trekkie.
posted by koeselitz at 8:47 AM on July 24, 2010


Sky is bring it back, you know. I don't have much hope for it.
posted by Artw at 8:52 AM on July 24, 2010


Dance of the Daleks Radio 3 20:20
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 8:55 AM on July 24, 2010


Sky is bring it back, you know. I don't have much hope for it.

BLAKES JUNCTION 7
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 9:01 AM on July 24, 2010 [1 favorite]


Artw: “Sky is bring it back, you know. I don't have much hope for it.”

So they claim. Wasn't that two years ago? I've been praying that whole thing fell down the Bad Idea Hole.
posted by koeselitz at 2:57 PM on July 24, 2010


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