What is this Dr. who anyway?

[Detor]

This Dr. who thing seems very huge.

Dear friends, i really got to understand this tv series. So some of you please inform me shortly what's going on in this show. We don't have this show in my country and i am really out of clue.

I recently watched one of the episedoes and it was not good at all. The mayor of U.K. was a creature of some sort and the visual effects was way off worse than the ones in other sci-fi series. So why there are lots of people enjoying this. I couldn't find out.

I give a lot of importance to your thoughts and i'm lookin forward to your answers about this.

 

[tinpusher]

Dr. Who, briefly explained, follows the adventures of a man, his companion, and his time machine through space and time. His goal, protect the innocent and those that can not protect themselves. This sci-fi show, unlike so many others, relies on it's story to carry it NOT it's special effects though if you thought the effect were bad in the show that you watched you should see some of the original episodes. There you will be treated to the worst possible special effects that a tiny budget can buy. That being said I fail to understand why you care if you didnt enjoy it.

[coolcat13]

yea this is the most awesome sci fi going . it has been around since 1963 but has been on hiatus since 89 until its revival this year and oh yea there was a movie in 96 too.

 

The quick what you need to know guide about Dr Who

 

He is an alien from the planet Galifrey .he stumbles on to plots to conquer the world,galaxy,etc at every stop. He travels with apprentices ussually but not always Earthlings .His Time and space travel machine is called the TARDIS = time and relative dimensions in space .his main enemies include but are not limited too :

Sontarans,Daleks,Cybermen,The Black Guardian,The Master ,etc the prior list are enemies that he has faced no fewer than 5 times .

The meat and potatoes of the show is the arrogance that the Dr displays in the face of eminent death and destruction . This was never better on display than with the Tom Baker and Jon Pertwee Drs . Oh yea by the way he regenerates rather than dies ... although he is quite capable of dying as well

[BorisP]

It is old people that like it. When we watched it, the effects were not so bad as they are compared to today's movies.

 

Also, the series was more personality driven than special effects driven. I am a fan of Tom Baker. I like him as a person and I would like to emulate the ease with which he talks people into anything. He is a special man.

 

Many of the shows included real actors. Today, there are no actors. The people in movies are the same people they are in real life. Directors look for a real life person to fulfill a specific role. In Dr Who, the had actors. People who were one way in real life, then could become someone totally different in their acting roles.

 

It is hard to pick my favorite characters because so many of the actors had real skill. I think my favorite is the female Eldred in Hand of Fear. She had a presence and a way of talking that was so believably a superior alien that I remember it clearly to this day. It didn't matter her costume cost $10 to make. She was so good I forgot the visuals and my mind envisioned her as a real alien really acting alien.

 

If you like good special effects, Dr Who is not going to appeal to you. If you like to see skilled actors and intelligent people in well written stories, then you might like Dr Who. Tom Baker anyways. The other Doctors I never developed a personal affinity for.

 

Tom Baker is magic. One of those people you run into once in a lifetime. Except he was in a TV series for 6 or 7 years. People don't comprehend what a privilege it is to see a man with his abilities on a weekly basis for that amount of time. People pay hundreds of dollars a month to visit people like Tom Baker for spiritual enlightment. We all got it for free on our TV.

 

Watch Tom Baker. Don't just look at him. Watch his ever move. Study his speech. Dissect the methods he uses to disarm the bad guys. Become conversant in body language so you can fully understand his methods. Listen to language, foreign and different dialects of your language so you can learn how he uses language to control people. You will become better than most other people on Earth if you can emulate him.

[Detor]

That being said I fail to understand why you care if you didnt enjoy it.

Because it seems to me that a lot of people here really do enjoy the show and i give a lot of importance to the ideas of those on this forum.That is why. ;) And i really don't have anybody else to ask about it.

There comes the next question than, which season i should start from in order to understand and get into it since it had a very long history to follow.

[sardion2000]

Start with Jon Pertwee then Tom Baker and the effects have been far far worse in the past ;)

 

The Acting and Character development is what this show is all about not wizz-bang special effects that detract from so many other potentially great shows/movies. There is a reason why this is the longest running Sci Fi series, 27 seasons are now in the history books with 2 more to come(for sure and hopfully many more after that with David Tennet) and its more popular now then ever before :) Of course if you think that Special Effects makes the series then stay away, as there was really only one episode where the effects were amazing and that was 27x02 - The End of the World.

[StitchInTime]

It is old people that like it.

Who are you calling old? ;)

 

Huh? :thinking:

 

I know of fans as young as four years old, and at least one as young as sixteen, who hangs out on my favourite Who forum: tombaker.tv/forum quite frequently. :) And, there are many others on that forum in their early to mid-twenties. For those of us who love it, it's cross-generational. That's one of the things I like about it. :D

[CthulhuSpawn]

I agree with MadMartha; new viewers will probably be pulled in most easily by the new series, even though I grew up with Tom Baker and he will always be my favorite. :D

 

With that in mind, I've recently begun to download and watch all the existing Hartnell episodes (the very first Doctor, Detor) that I never got much of a chance to see. Despite the occasional flub due to his age, he was a fantastic actor and all of the later Doctors owe something to William Hartnell. So to those who don't mind old-school special effects, I would also recommend trying to get in on the ground floor and watching the pilot story, "An Unearthly Child" (aka, "The Tribe of Gum and 100, 000 BC). Although the poor storyline was immediately overshadowed by the introduction of the Daleks in the following story, the pilot sets up the entire mood and backstory of the series for years to come. Ask about the Daleks, Detor, and we'll tell...

[gathererhade]

Even though we often rubbish the effects in the old series, for the most part they were the best money couldn't buy. A lot of the work arounds were very inventive - and frankly no worse than Star Trek: TOS's effects.

And re CSO/Chroma Key (whatever you want to call it) it was state of the art at the time (at least until Star Wars came along, anyway.

My understanding is that when 2001: A Space Oddesy was being filmed, the special effects people couldn't work out a convincing way to make people appear truly weightless in space. Then they saw Dalek Masterplan & saw it had been done. They went to the BBC SFX people who told them how they did it...

And the rest is SFX Oscar :-)

[cthulhu69]

When you watch Doctor Who, remember that it was originally designed as a serial, such as Dark Shadows. The stores are long, complex, rich in character development. Pay attention to each character in the show, their accent, their personality. Watch how they interact with the world and ESPECIALLY how the Doctor interacts with them.

 

Note the Doctor's force of personality, how easily he wins most people over. See how refreshing it is for somebody to win the day without shooting the "enemy."

 

Most of the shows have a subtle moral or social message as well, a "what if" philosophy that still works very well today. Hidden meanings are everywhere, and sometimes you need to understand British society (even politics) to appreciate them.

 

Remember that the special effects you're watching in the old episodes are from the 60s and 70s. And remember that the show was always made on a shoestring budget, just barely making it every week. Most of the money was sunk into paying BBC Union actors and designing lavish sets. Also, the special effects, the sets, the "melodrama" of Doctor Who is also indicative of Britain's rich Theater background. Most of these actors had a rich live theater career as well as TV.

 

The new Doctor Who is good for a modern audience with a short attention span. But still...PAY ATTENTION! You can miss alot just by looking way for 10 seconds while you grab your soda. The old Doctor Who requires real attention to detail on your part.

 

If all that fails, don't feel bad. I know lots of folks who just can't understand Doctor Who, or aren't willing to put forth the mental energy. Watch what you enjoy and live a happy, entertained, fulfilling life!:)

 

Many regards to all,

Cthulhu

 

[bbbb]

It seems popular to have been remade so many times over 40 years.

[madjo]

remade? how do you mean?

[DrFrag]

I recently watched one of the episedoes and it was not good at all. The mayor of U.K. was a creature of some sort and the visual effects was way off worse than the ones in other sci-fi series. So why there are lots of people enjoying this. I couldn't find out.

You saw what was, in my opinion, the worst Dr Who episode ever made. :stare:

 

I recommend watching some of the earlier colour episodes. Tom Baker was good.

 

It seems popular to have been remade so many times over 40 years.

It wasn't actually remade, it's one long continuing story. No plot recycling. The lead actor changes because Dr Who regenerates into another form when he "dies". Since he's a time traveller, in a few episodes he's even met his former self.

[roach]

I recently watched one of the episedoes and it was not good at all. The mayor of U.K. was a creature of some sort and the visual effects was way off worse than the ones in other sci-fi series. So why there are lots of people enjoying this. I couldn't find out.

You saw what was, in my opinion, the worst Dr Who episode ever made. :stare:

 

Well, it was probably the eopisode in the series that needed most of a backstory -- I can understand how someone who hasn't seen Aliens of London / Worrld War III would be confused.

 

However, when you do have that background, I think you'll find it a very psychological episode. not much in flashy effects, but looking very deep into the questions of 'can you deliver someone into a death sentence', 'how serious do you take responsibility for your own actions' etc.

 

Personally, while it had a lot in the 'oooh' effects department, I didn't care too much for The end of the World. I thought that one was mostly fluff...

 

 

[taq22]

What country are you in? I am a "hardcore" fan of Doctor Who, but I didn't really think much of this new series. You should watch some of the old one. I recommend Genesis of the Daleks, The Deadly Assassin, Trial of a Timelord and most of all season 16 - The Key To Time series. That said, I also recommend you listen to some if not all of the Big Finish adventures if you like listening to stuff like that, they're great.