Watching Doctor Who

As most of you know there have been ten different television-based incarnations of The Doctor (soon to be eleven). The original show ran from 1963-1989 (7 Doctors during that time), then there was an American-made film for television (loved the Doctor, thought that the film itself was not the best ever…), and then the new series that began in 2005. Now, I’m sure that you all know that the current series is designed rather like most American television shows, in that the episodes are about an hour in length (when you include advertisements). The Classic series wasn’t like that. One story could last up to twelve episodes (in the case of The Dalek Masterplan), with a cliff-hanger generally at the end of each one. Now, granted that the current series does include some two-parters, but it’s still not quite the same thing. So, I offer you a basis for comparison. (Yes, this would be another one of my lists. Oh, and for the record, I am not including multi-doctor episodes in the tally of any other than the reigning Doctor at the time.)

1. William Hartnell - 1963-1966
29 Stories/134 Episodes (25 minutes each)

2. Patrick Troughton - 1966-1969
21 Stories/119 Episodes (25 minutes each)

3. Jon Pertwee - 1970-1974
24 Stories/128 Episodes (now in color)

4. Tom Baker - 1974-1981
42 Stories/178 Episodes (if you include Shada)

5. Peter Davison - 1982-1984
20 Stories/69 Episodes

6. Colin Baker - 1984-1986
11 Stories/31 Episodes (45 minutes each after The Twin Dilemma, then back to 25 minutes each during Trial of a Time Lord)

7. Sylvester McCoy - 1987-1989 (and 1996 film)
12 Stories/42 Episodes (and the film)

8. Paul McGann - 1996 film
The American Film (and many audio adventures)

9. Christopher Eccleston - 2005
13 Episodes

10. David Tennant - 2006-2010?
39 Episodes, 4 Christmas Specials, 3 other specials…

11. Matt Smith - 2010-?

The Doctor, William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Doctor Who

Yes. That’s right. I’m the spokesmodel in this scenario. I thought that you all might be amused by this image. It’s hard to see, but right under the monitor is the Dalek that went to Gallifrey One with me. I’m directing your attention to the TARDIS hub on top of the computer…which is named TARDIS, for the record. On the desk, in front of the computer tower, are two sonic screwdrivers. One is never enough, you know. And is this my desk? Nope. It’s my husband’s. As you can see, he is also a fan.

And now, news:

According to The Sun, a Dalek was recently dredged from a pond. Or, at least, its head was. Either it was a discarded prop from the 1970s, it’s a clever invasion ploy from those wily pepper pots, or someone over at ITV was heard to utter the phrase “bring me the head of a Dalek.” You choose. I’ll bet it gave the fellow clearing the pond a start.

Apparently, the TARDIS interior is due for a makeover. The Telegraph is reporting that we can expect to see the most intricate and high-tech TARDIS interior yet when the Eleventh Doctor takes over. I wonder what Mr. Moffat has in store for us. Time to change the desktop theme?

If you are in a position to go to the Celtic Media Festival this year, you may want to clear your schedule. On Wednesday, 25 March 2009, starting at about 8pm, there will be a special panel presentation that offers a look behind the scenes of Doctor Who. Called “The Story of Doctor Who,” this special event will feature Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner, Edward Thomas, Euros Lyn, and Ian Grutchfield talking about the process of taking a story from a script to the screen. Sigh. Too bad I have to be at work that day. Anyone out there planning on going?

Dalek, Dalek, TARDIS, Celtic Media Festival, Doctor Who

(It turns out that I’ve been collecting odds and ends of news and coolness in my Firefox tags since before I left for Gallifrey One. So, here they are all gathered together for you.)

I’ve got two word for you all: TARDIS quilt! My Mum has gotten very into quilting since she’s retired, and in surfing around quilting sites she discovered this quilt. She has now added my request for a TARDIS quilt of my own to her growing queue. I rather think I will remain at the end for a while, but I don’t mind. I can wait, albeit impatiently.

There’s a rumour going around that Robert Mugabe, the President of Zimbabwe, might have some of the lost episodes of Doctor Who in his possession. Any Doctor Who fans out there in Zimbabwe who are willing to infiltrate the Presidential tape vault? Anyone?

In an interview on the official BBC Doctor Who site, Matt Smith admits to liking long coats and “rather dashing scarves.” Perhaps this will influence his outfit as the Doctor? He’s apparently deep in the thick of things now. I, for one, am dead curious to see what they come up with for both the costume and the character.

The first of the Doctor Who tenth Doctor special episodes, Planet of the Dead, is using Dubai, of all places, as one of its filming locations. I heard that they had trouble with one of their doubledecker buses in the process. In any case, for a tiny bit of information and five interesting photographs of filming (one of which is now my desktop background) go here.

And finally, I offer you a most amazing video as sent to me by Paul of Toybender.com (which I subsequently watched on Topless Robot.) Have you ever asked yourself what a Doctor Who Anime might look like? OtaKing77077 is working on the answer to that question. In the meantime, he offers the world a bit of the work in progress. Fans of the third Doctor may now rejoice.

Making a proper Doctor Who anime by OtaKing77077:

Doctor Who, Matt Smith, Planet of the Dead

Today I come bearing another few things that I encountered in my travels as I surfed about on the internet. Firstly, I bring you a link that dudewithak kindly pointed out to me. Have you ever wondered what kind of tea the Doctor would be? Well, if you have, you are apparently not alone. Adagio Teas allows you to design your own tea blends. (I actually made one there for my Nana a few years back.) One of the teas that you may now purchase from them is: Doctor’s Tenth Tea. It is a fine blend of black tea (Irish Breakfast, in fact), banana, and ginger. Jenn Moffat, who designed this tea, also created Noble Companion Tea, a blend of ginger, Christmas, and pomegranate. Now I have an urge to make a rose petal Earl Grey or something for Rose. For Martha, perhaps something spicy like a chai? What sort of tea would Jack be, I wonder. This is a line of thought that I feel The Doctor would approve of wholeheartedly.

Next, I have for you a scene from Billie Piper’s Secret Diary of a Call Girl…which includes Matt Smith. Yep, it’s pretty much what you’d think it is with a title like that. Just a bit more of the future Doctor’s work for you to see.

Matt Smith and Billie Piper in Secret Diary of a Call Girl:

And finally, I have another fan-made music video for you. This one is a bit slower that I usually like, but the song fully pulled me in. Darn you analeian. This is the second video you’ve made that has made me want to run out and buy the song you used. It’s Doctor/Rose-centric, for those of you that care, and the TARDIS has a rather major role.

Song : Blue Caravan - Vienna Teng, Video by analeian:

Adagio Teas, Doctor’s Tenth Tea, Matt Smith, Billie Piper, Secret Diary of a Call Girl, analeian

(Photo:Franks/WireImage - Matt Smith on Stage in 2006)

I have a lot of bits and bobs to share with you all this time around, so I’d better get to it. For example, did you know that when he was announced as the Eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith was nowhere to be found on WireImage (the Entertainment photo and video archive.) Now, suddenly, there are a slew of images of him from various stage performances (as you can see above.) I guess he’s on his way. I’m interested to see what will show up there as the year goes on.

In my online travels, I have run across another holiday-themed Dalek. Check it out. I obviously have to start thinking now about my Christmas decorations for 2009.

KTEH in San Jose, CA is holding a video contest! If you’re older than 13, can actually get to San Jose (do you know the way?), and are willing to make an entirely original video related to Doctor Who, you can enter. Personally, I’m hoping that I can enter something…after I visit a certain evil twin of mine in L.A. Anyone else out there entering?

Character Options is coming out with a new series of Doctor Who action figures called “Time Squad“:

The picture above is one of the sets that will be available on 16 February 2009 at Forbidden Planet and I imagine elsewhere also. Huge thanks to msauers and littleradge for letting me know about these action figures. May I just say, in a moment of girly-ness, that these toys are so cute? No? Well…they are. They’re only 2 inches tall. I’m so tempted to get them all and take them to work. They would give my desk a certain something, don’t you think?

And finally, I offer you a silly video. This is the trailer for Austin Powers: Goldmember redone with clips from the new series of Doctor Who. Thehellishgnome is obviously brilliant, as this works out a bit too well. Mind you, Mike Myers’ voice coming out of David Tennant’s mouth is a bit disturbing. Yeah, baby.

Matt Smith, Dalek, KTEH, video contest, Character Options, Time Squad, Austin Powers: Goldmember

By now you should all be aware that Matt Smith has been chosen as the Eleventh Doctor, beginning filming later this year and finally appearing on UK Television screens on Easter 2010. Or at least, that’s what we understand at this point. For all we know, he could appear in the Christmas special just to surprise us. Who can say?

In the meantime, I’m sure that you are all as curious as I am to see our future Doctor in action. One of the shows Mr. Smith has appeared in is The Ruby in the Smoke. As some of you may know, the star of said show was none other than Billie Piper! So, I went over to YouTube and did a bit of searching. And what did I find? A veritable cornucopia of clips from the show? Yes. The show in its entirety? No. Oh, well. You can always check to see if your local library has the DVD in stock if you wish to watch the whole thing.

The first two videos below contain pretty much all of the parts of The Ruby in the Smoke that contain Matt Smith. Take a look, and let me know what you think.

Matt Smith in Ruby in the Smoke - Part 1:

Matt Smith in Ruby in the Smoke - Part 2:

So, have you not had enough of Phillip Pullman’s The Ruby in the Smoke yet? Here are a series of clips (containing a great deal of Billie Piper) that I managed to track down. (I really need to get my own personal seamstress. Billie’s dresses are lovely in this TV movie.)

The Ruby in the Smoke, Clip 1:

Clip 2
Clip 3
Clip 4
Clip 5
Clip 6
Clip 7 (Matt Smith is in this one)
Clip 8 (A tiny bit of Matt Smith in this one.)

What’s the verdict?

Matt Smith, Ruby in the Smoke

Here we see the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theater with another Doctor Who-related video. This time around they’re attempting to sing the names of all eleven Doctors while standing in front of one of their “Edinburgh TARDISes.” (As seen in a couple of their previous videos.) They even throw in the Doctors from the Curse of Fatal Death, a spoof written by a certain Steven Moffat you may recall. Clever hand puppets, aren’t they? I’m quite amused by their stated reasoning for liking Matt Smith. Yes, a Doctor with two single syllable names certainly makes it easier to work said name into a song. What could they possibly come up with next? An ode to K-9? A marathon of Companion names? Personally, I can’t wait to find out.

Enjoy!

The 11 Doctor Whos Name Song:

Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theater, Doctor Who, Matt Smith

(Photo: BBC)

Matt Smith, currently 26 years of age, has been named the Eleventh Doctor. Reportedly, he will be starting his new job this summer, but will first appear on TV screens in the UK on Easter 2010 in the last special. Previously, he has appeared three different times with Billie Piper (Ruby in the Smoke, Shadow in the North, and Secret Diary of a Call Girl) and he will also be appearing in a show called Moses Jones. Word is that they didn’t set out to cast the youngest Doctor ever, but that was just how it turned out.

(Thank heavens the site came back up. Hello all!)

Want to see Mr. Smith in action? (Yes. A Doctor who really is Mr. Smith.) Check out this interview.

Extended Interview with Matt Smith:

Matt Smith, Eleventh Doctor

So the rumours are flying think and fast. Who will be the next Doctor? Here are a couple of the possible candidates:

David Morrissey (Photo by Jules Annan from WireImage)

He seems to be playing a version of The Doctor in the Doctor Who Christmas special called…The Next Doctor.

Paterson Joseph (Photo by JAB Promotions from WireImage)

Previously appearing on Doctor Who in the last two episodes of series one, playing a really annoying guy.

Today’s question is: Who do you think should be the next Doctor? As per usual, I offer you a few…suggestions apart from the two fellows above. I’m helpful like that.

1. Michael Praed (Yes, I watched Robin Hood at an impressionable age.)
2. Robert Pattinson (He’ll probably be too busy, but he said he’d be up for it.)
3. Jack Davenport (He was in Steven Moffat’s “Coupling.”)
4. Rufus Sewell (He would take the part someplace different. That’s for sure.)
5. Christopher Eccleston (Stranger things have happened, right? Hey. I can dream.)

And just to be random, I’m going to cast my vote for Eoin McCarthy to be the next Doctor. He’s a bit older than they’ve been aiming for, but I think he’d do a great job.

What do you all think?

Doctor Who, Eoin McCarthy