Looking ahead: BBC's DOCTOR WHO 2005

TELEVISION Specific Shows
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Doctor Who is a strange genre property. It’s been around forever, but has never really broken out beyond the UK. The show tends to draw either devotion or revulsion, and little in-between. I’m not a huge fan. I watched the show in the 70’s during the illustrious Tom Baker years. After that, the Doctors became less and less interesting to me, and in the late 80’s when the show was finally cancelled; I frankly couldn’t have cared less.

But I always found the premise and intriguing one, rife with possibilities. I’m sure it’s impossible for some people to look past the low-budget trapping of the show, but its “cheapness” belied some interesting concepts and stories.

Now, less than a month away from the broadcast of the first new Doctor Who in over 15 years, I thought I’d open up a thread about the show, both past and upcoming. I’m interested to see what people’s impressions of the show are, and whether it can connect with audiences today.

The new series stars Christopher Eccleston (SHALLOW GRAVE, 28 DAYS LATER) as Doctor Who, with Billie Piper (THE CANTERBURY TALES) as his assistant Rose. The show is executive produced by Russell T. Davies (QUEER AS FOLK, THE SECOND COMING).

Some quick links:

BBC OFFICIAL SITE

OUTPOST GALLIFREY- NEW SERIES NEWS PAGE

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As much as people may hate to admit it, the Fox Dr. Who travesty is canon, so there was an episode in the last 15 years.

I love Eccleston (have ever since Shallow Grave), and love his take on the Doctor (not that I’ve seen footage, just interviews). It’s going to be different…in a good way.

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I’m still a bit unsure about Eccleston. The same with Bale as Batman really, he has the chops, there’s just something I really can’t put my finger on that unsettles me.

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MM. You are correct, I forgot about the TVM. I’ve never seen it, so that probably has something to do with it. Eccleston is an interesting choice for the Doctor, and certainly not one I could have imagined. Reports are though that he plays it quirky, in that very “Doctorish” kind of way.

My personal beefs with the 80’s Doctors is that they seemed to turn into a characture of the Doctor, what with all the questionmark accented attire and all. Some people have complained bitterly about Eccleston’s wardrobe. That it isn’t “quirky” enough. To my thinking, this is just the first Doctor who has chosen a wardrobe from “our” time. The wardrobes for all the various incarnations of the Doctor have come from some time period, just not the one in which it was filmed. Though Eccleston’s Doctor will look right at home in the here and now, he’ll be just as eccentrically dressed for any other time period, or on any other planet for that matter.

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I’m interested to hear the reactions once the series starts anew.

I am one of the die hard fans,I loved the Baker years and I’ve seen a little of the Troughton years and a handful of Hartnell.Pertwee was ok,I eventually got used to Davison,didn’t care at all for Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy didn’t have much of a chance because the series was dead when he got it.

They certainly can’t film it and stage it like they used to.It has to(and I expect it will)fit in today’s television market.I’m assuming it’s shot on film?

Hopefully they aren’t worried about making it a kid’s program and they can give it a good kick in the pants in every way.Otherwise it’s a waste.Could it be any worse than the Fox debacle.

Eric Roberts,you are no Master.

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Though the BBC is still mum on exactly when the first episode will air, and no American distributor has yet been announced, Canada of all places gets the first official airdate announcement. Starting April 5th, CBC will begin airing the new series Tuesday nights at 8pm, just over a week after the supposed UK premier on March 26th. This is good new for us Cannuks, and for any American’s who live close to the border…

The show is being shot on digital cameras, then “film looked”. Don’t be worried, this is standard proceedure for most BBC productions nowadays (and a good deal of US productions). The end result is pretty indistinguishable from film for TV’s sake.

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SciFi passes on the latest Dr. Who:

With the new incarnation of the classic British sci-fi series “Doctor Who” soon set to air, the first few media reviews have started coming in although taste for the show may be divided across the Atlantic.

According to Gallifrey One, popular UK music magazine Q Magazine has published a glowing review of the new series in its latest issue, the reviewer praising series writer and executive producer Russell T Davies for the “triumphant regeneration” of Doctor Who (the series rather than the person) and for “the slick, sharp dialogue”. He ends by saying that "Doctor Who is no longer the domain solely of sci-fi spods, this is must-see TV for everyone.

The word over in the US however isn’t so peachy. IGN Filmforce reports that major cable broadcaster The Sci-Fi Channel are NOT in negotiations for the new series with their sources saying “Sci Fi Channel has already had a chance at the new series and passed after viewing some of the completed episodes. Some of the executives at the network found the series somewhat lacking and didn’t think it would fit into the network’s schedule.”

The Sci-Fi Network is coming off one of its most successful few months yet with both its “Stargate” shows and its reinvented “Battlestar Galactica” doing strong numbers for cable and are being guaranteed for at least one more season each. On top of that the network has many specials, mini-series and new shows in active development. Many expected “Who” to be broadcast in the Q2 2005 window on Sci-Fi, when the aforementioned series are on hiatus.

Whereas US sci-fi shows with their bigger budgets have crossed overseas quite successfully, the reverse isn’t true it seems with shows like “Doctor Who”, “Red Dwarf” and “Blake’s 7” being cult international mega-hits that never really took off in the US despite earning loyal followings. Even with better writing than many rival US sci-fi shows, the production values with rickety sets and limited and somewhat hokey effects make them hard to digest for certain audiences.

All’s not lost though. The UK gets the show starting March 26th, Canada will have the broadcasts from April 5th and the US might still get a showing later this year on the Universal HD channel. The show will also be carried on Prime in New Zealand (no Aussie broadcaster yet announced).

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fat Dragon Eric Roberts,you are no Master.

The sad thing is that he could have been, but was told to overplay it. If you’ve ever seen Eric Roberts in something like “The Immortals” or “Final Analysis,” he would have have been perfect if he hadn’t have played it over the top.

"“Sci Fi Channel has already had a chance at the new series and passed after viewing some of the completed episodes. Some of the executives at the network found the series somewhat lacking and didn’t think it would fit into the network’s schedule.”

Thank you, I needed a good laugh.

…series somewhat lacking…um…sure…play Skeleton Man again, or Stargate Atlantis…

I’d lay odds that that’s doubletalk for “they wanted to charge us too much to air it.”

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Q Magazine? Give me a fucking break.

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Masked Muppet I’d lay odds that that’s doubletalk for “they wanted to charge us too much to air it.”

Probably. The article claims that the Beeb was insisting on bundling rerun rights to the extant series into the deal for the new episodes, which would be an understandable obstacle (at the very least, they should consider throwing in the Colin Baker years for free).

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New Dr Who leaked onto internet

An episode of the new series of sci-fi drama Doctor Who has been leaked onto the internet.
A 45-minute episode, called Rose, has appeared three weeks before the series is expected to begin on BBC One.

Rose is the name of the character played by pop singer Billie Piper, who will be the assistant to the Doctor, played by Christopher Eccleston.

It is unclear how it came to be on the web and whether it is the final cut. The BBC was unavailable for comment.

The episode - which appears to be the series’ first instalment - begins with the Doctor and Rose being chased by Autons, shop mannequins that have come to life.

The series is hotly anticipated by fans, who have remained avid followers since the last series ended in 1989.

It has since been resurrected for a one-off TV movie and as animated online adventures. In 2003, it was voted the show people would most like to see back on TV.

It also has been revealed that Eccleston, who appeared in Shallow Grave and Cracker, e-mailed writer and executive producer Russell T Davies to ask for the role.

“He e-mailed me and said if we were looking for a Doctor Who, he’d be interested,” Mr Davies told Radio Times magazine.

“It was gobsmacking because you think he’s going to be doing Hamlet all the time,” he said. “Which, come to think of it, he was.”

The first two episodes were written by the time Eccleston was cast, Mr Davies said.

“So I’d established a template for what I wanted, which fitted Chris perfectly. That was a happy accident - we both wanted to strip it down, make it more down-to-earth.”

Julie Gardner, head of drama at BBC Wales, which has made the series, told the magazine: "We got to Chris fast.

“Russell and I had both worked with him before - he was one of the first people who was mentioned.”

Eccleston will be the ninth Time Lord to take to the Tardis when the show returns.

Eccleston has also starred in TV dramas Our Friends in the North, Hearts and Minds and Linda Green as well as films such as The Others and Gone in Sixty Seconds.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertain...io/4326005.stm

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Warren Ellis seems to like it.

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i downloaded a copy of it and watched it tonight. i liked it. it doesn’t take itself to seriously, which is what i loved about the original show. it’s funny and has the cheesey eye-rolling effects. it’s everything that the best years of Doctor Who had going for it. i think Ellis is a bit harsh that it’s too English , but i think he’s just tweaking Amersicans with that statement and,if it is, it’ll change once they get out of London.

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Another review for you.

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Liked it (the new episode).. though I hope they press forward with the to-be-continued endings that always had me climbing the walls when the theme music kicked in and the credits flashed on with the old show. Also will be nice to see how far they take other-worldly storylines, as I’ve always enjoyed the shows most when they manage to somehow create alien atmosphere and tension through such limited means.

Not sure if I like completely how Eccleston is playing the Doctor though… he seemed to never really portray any feeling of danger at all (which is fine, depending on the plot) but he seemed literally giddy the entire time. Pretty much all the Doctor (those of any merit, anyways) have had some level of seriousness to them that helped sell high-stake situations. But one episode is probably not enough I guess, to form any concrete opinions.

As a side note, I’m presently scanning through p2p and collecting as much old Who as I can, and enjoying every moment of it again

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Ok, I’ve never gotten into the whole “download shows off the internet” thing, but since it’s obvious this is not coming to the states anytime soon, any pointers for how to see this? (I promise, Mr. Lawyer, that I’ll watch it with commercials if it ever airs over here…)

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You can see pics here.

[http://www.horrorchannel.com/forums/…9…;highlight=](Account Suspended)

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So, nobody willin’ t’help a girl out, here? I have no clue how to go about being able to see this before my hair turns grey.

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Masked Muppet So, nobody willin’ t’help a girl out, here? I have no clue how to go about being able to see this before my hair turns grey.

Well, there’s always the daring and risky world of bootlegs! Outside of having British friends willing to tape/burn it as soon as it airs (a long and venerable tradition for the American Who fan), the series will be airing in Canada starting April 5, and eBay and alt.video.tape-trading will have copies up almost as soon as the episode airs…

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I have the ability to rip it to a PDi file once it airs, but I always have real problems with getting any real big files onto the net, aside from something like an IM transfer.