Watching Doctor Who

In my surfing around the internet, I have once again encountered something of interest. Remember the Bad Wolf story arc from Series one? (The one that has occasionally appeared elsewhere after that?) Well, here is a video that covers most of the references. If you want more information about this far reaching story arc, check out the Wikipedia Article. Apparently “Bad Wolf” was added to the re-done Second Doctor Story “The Invasion.”

Actually, the one that most interests me is the poster on the wall of the vehicle from Gridlock. In any case, please enjoy this visit to the department of Backstory.

Greetings! I have returned from my vacation. It was fun, if not as relaxing as it might have been. One highlight for me was locating a copy of Paul Cornell’s book, Human Nature for half of the cover price. I didn’t find the other book I was looking for, but that certainly made my day. By the way, I’ll try to have my review up on Wednesday, as I am bringing you your weekly video early. Now, as I previously promised, I bring you the 2007 Children in Need Doctor Who Special: Time Crash.

Enjoy the interaction between the Two Doctors, and join me in appreciating the skill of Steven Moffat and both actors. Not many folks could manage to fit that much story into eight minutes of air time.

But Wait! There’s more!

(more…)

Paul Cornell, Human Nature, Children in Need, Doctor Who, Time Crash, Steven Moffat

Well, as most of you know there have been ten different television-based incarnations of The Doctor. 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 of the best quality…), 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 they 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, that would be another one of my lists, then. 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-?
13 Episodes, 2 Christmas Specials…

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

So, my Mum has finally convinced me that there might be folks out there who read my blog, and yet feel that they need more information about the Doctor Who universe. So, to assist you with your quest for more information I offer The Beginner’s Guide to Doctor Who from the official website. It’s an informative flash presentation that covers everything from the TARDIS (short for Time And Relative Dimension In Space) to the Doctor Who Monsters (more popularly referred to as “Baddies“.) For those of you who would prefer the more personal touch, I will be periodically touching on various bits of Who history here. In the meantime, if you have any questions just let me know. I’ll try not to give you too much information in return.

The Beginner’s Guide to Doctor Who, TARDIS, Baddies

I have been reminded that today is the 43rd anniversary of the first showing of Doctor Who! (Thanks, Susangelique.) It began with An Unearthly Child on November 23, 1963. News coverage of President Kennedy’s assassination the previous day caused the first showing of Doctor Who to be pushed back by ten minutes. One week later, the BBC decided to replay the first episode for the folks who may have missed it. Happy Anniversary Doctor Who! If you have never seen the first episode of the classic series, why not check out some clips of it over on the BBC’s Classic Doctor Who website.

43rd anniversary, Doctor Who

Welcome to Watching Doctor Who! In this blog I will be discussing everything Doctor Who related, and yes, I mean everything. Classic series, new series, novels, toys, spin-offs, news, character discussions, theories, and even music will grace the posts in this blog. For the record, I will be reviewing the new episodes a day after they appear on the Sci Fi channel in the USA. I feel that this is sort of a median point for viewers, as the entire season will have already played in the UK at that point. Folks who are just starting out with the New Doctor Who on BBC America sometime this month will have access to the series on DVD if they wish to catch up. This is not to say that I may not make cryptic comments about episodes after they have appeared in the UK. I rather suspect that I may not be able to help myself. Who am I? My name is Elisa and I am a Doctor Who fanatic. Seriously. I have every available episode of the series, both classic and new. I have a bookcase dedicated to Doctor Who books. My husband has the Doctor Who theme set as my special ring tone on his cell phone. I can make a grown man’s eyes glaze over by launching into lengthy discussions of regeneration. (And I have. Sorry, Kevin.)

I first encountered Doctor Who in 1987 on a PBS station in Sacramento, CA after a friend spent our entire trip to Ashland, Oregon telling me about the show. Tom Baker was my first Doctor. I promptly dragged my whole family with me into Doctor Who fandom. Touch of Britain, a wonderful local British shop, became my Jelly Baby supplier. I started collecting the episode novelizations. I still have my “Time Lord�? t-shirt, and I’m pretty sure I was wearing it the night that the power went out during Adric’s swan song, “Earthshock.�? You could have heard the screams of “no!�? for blocks. I loved the classic series with its wanderer through time and space. Frankly, I wanted my own TARDIS. When I heard the news that they were bringing back Doctor Who I promptly began surfing the net for any and all news. It only took one episode for me to decide that I was fascinated by this new, darker Doctor. I think I’ve seen “Rose�? about one hundred times at this point. So, here I am two seasons later with my own Doctor Who blog. I can hardly believe my luck. Let the discussion begin!

Doctor Who, Sci Fi channel, BBC America, Jelly Baby, TARDIS, Rose