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Post by agentten on Jan 20, 2019 6:23:50 GMT
Each Doctor has had stories with elements of the horror genre, some of those stories could even be classified first and foremost as horror. Based on the characterization, style, and actor, which Doctor do you think is best suited for horror stories? What Who stories that utilize horror are the most effective, in your opinion?
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Post by tuigirl on Jan 20, 2019 8:53:30 GMT
Hmm. Looking at my collection and what I like best- Tom Bakers "horror" TV serials are among my favorites. Horror of Fang Rock and Ark in Space are simply amazing. They work really well with the Fourth Doctor, because when he gets serious, you know that there is trouble. I am not sure Horror of Fang Rock would have worked, or been so effective, with any of the other Doctors in it, the only other one I could picture there would be the late Big Finish 8th Doctor.
As for Big Finish- the horror episodes for the 7th Doctor are among my favorites. They are better than the 4th Doctor horror audio plays. I am not sue if it is the writing or Sylvester McCoys performance, but on audio, his horror stories work out the best. Night Thoughts is amazing, but also the recent Dread of Night.
The 8th Doctor gets a honourable mention here because his horror stories in Doom Coalition and Ravenous also were quite atmospheric and effective, but never quite catching up to Night Thoughts.
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Post by Timelord007 on Jan 20, 2019 9:38:12 GMT
Fourth & Seventh.
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Castellan
There’s a horror movie called Alien? That’s really offensive. No wonder everyone keeps invading you.
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Post by shutupbanks on Jan 20, 2019 10:12:52 GMT
I'd add 12 to this list as well: I think that a lot of stories in Capaldi's run are only a half-turn from horror anyway. The clockwork man from Deep Breath is full-on terror when you consider what he did to survive; Listen was quite suspenseful: the story of "future-Pink" could have been stretched out further into something even more terrifying. Dark Water/ Death In Heaven comes pre-loaded with a harrowing premise. And Capaldi's delivery/ acting suits the Hammer style of horror well: a middle-aged expert/ scientist/ sceptic comes up against the inexplicable armed only with his wits and experience and has to save lives while having his worldview challenged.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2019 12:22:26 GMT
Tom gets his fair share on telly but I'm not sure whether he's the most suited, or just that Holmes and Hinchcliffe preferred those types of stories. Tom when he wants to can nail that - there's a reason he was cast in an Amicus horror portmanteau - but often he undercuts the tension. Davison's more human persona means he's able to react in ways that other incarnations wouldn't always so he's quite good at selling the threat. McGann for similiar reasons. Both of those actors can convince me in a way that Sylvester, for one, never could despite his darker Doctor being seemingly ideal.
I think part of the problem is none can be truly horror figures because the next week they need to be in a sci-fi romp, a romantic classic or an out and out comedy so they can never go too far in one direction.
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Post by number13 on Jan 20, 2019 14:08:02 GMT
Agree with Timelord above - Fourth (TV and audio) and Seventh (audio). For me it's in the deep brooding darkness their voices can convey, as the Doctor considers the full horror of what he's uncovered and (at that point in the story) doesn't know how to defeat. 'Will you come into my parlour, said the spider to the fly...' (Shudders! )
And yes, they can also be the most light-hearted of Doctors, why not? When they've plumbed the depths of the darkest corners of the Universe, the sunlight sparkles brigher than ever by contrast!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2019 18:12:15 GMT
Well 6's jacket was pretty horrifying!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2019 18:17:35 GMT
Tom definitely Sylvester.I also enjoyed Matt given the right material he could really nail a horror.McGann also ravenous 2 proved it.But then again Colins Static story has even raised his profile in the horror stakes
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2019 20:41:46 GMT
Surprised nobody has suggested Peter Cushing. If they had made 'The Chase' as the third Dalek movie, the scenes at the House of Horrors theme park and the Mary Celeste could have been an opportunity to riff on his Hammer/Amicus credentials.
But, yes I agree that Tom & Sylvester get the best material in the role. Funnily enough Tom appeared in a 1973 Frankenstein TVM, whilst Sylvester appeared in the 1979 Dracula movie.
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Post by Sir Wearer of Hats on Jan 20, 2019 20:57:59 GMT
Horror benefits from actors who can increase the tension through their performances, Who Horror OTOH benefits from actors who decrease the tension but maintain the sense of danger (if you follow my drift). Whereas we don’t know if Peter Cushing is going to be killed by the bone sucking parasites, we know that the Doctor will be fine. Tombo in Horror Of Fang Rock for example, there’s tension and the Doctor lessens it, ironically, by spelling out the danger. Capaldi in Listen is the opposite, he spends most of the story looking for “the creature” but the moment he gets the chance to meet it he arbritary decides to not say “hello” in order to increase the tension that didn’t exist until that moment. We had a mystery we were solving alongside the Doctor, and then the Doctor decides to not solve the mystery because of “reasons”.
Who Horror can be truly scary, but a safe scary because we know the Doctor will win in the end. Therefore the best actors are the ones that make us feel safe. Tombo. Troughton. Whittaker.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2019 21:03:30 GMT
Surprised nobody has suggested Peter Cushing. If they had made 'The Chase' as the third Dalek movie, the scenes at the House of Horrors theme park and the Mary Celeste could have been an opportunity to riff on his Hammer/Amicus credentials. But, yes I agree that Tom & Sylvester get the best material in the role. Funnily enough Tom appeared in a 1973 Frankenstein TVM, whilst Sylvester appeared in the 1979 Dracula movie. Cushing absolutely would be suited, but not the Cushing Doctor since he is played so unlike anything else Cushing did outside of At The Earth's Core which is pretty much him doing the Who performance again. Roberta Tovey sells the horror of those two Dalek films better, for me. Though the Cushing of Brides Of Dracula, Dr Terror's House Of Horrors, Beyond The Grave etc? He'd be handy in a horror, for sure!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2019 21:33:30 GMT
Surprised nobody has suggested Peter Cushing. If they had made 'The Chase' as the third Dalek movie, the scenes at the House of Horrors theme park and the Mary Celeste could have been an opportunity to riff on his Hammer/Amicus credentials. A bit off-topic but imagine if The Master had been introduced on telly during the Hartnell era. Then we get a movie with Cushing's Doctor versus The Master, played by Christopher Lee!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2019 22:16:18 GMT
Surprised nobody has suggested Peter Cushing. If they had made 'The Chase' as the third Dalek movie, the scenes at the House of Horrors theme park and the Mary Celeste could have been an opportunity to riff on his Hammer/Amicus credentials. A bit off-topic but imagine if The Master had been introduced on telly during the Hartnell era. Then we get a movie with Cushing's Doctor versus The Master, played by Christopher Lee! In the spirit of both of these: And: Ain't fandom grand?
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Post by Sir Wearer of Hats on Jan 20, 2019 22:30:34 GMT
Someone (ahem ahem) once wrote reviews of the Cushing (and later Michael Rpipper!) Dr. Who films that never happened.
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Post by agentten on Jan 21, 2019 21:20:02 GMT
It may be because, as has been noted, Tom Baker got the lion's share of horror stories during the classic era, but I feel he's one of the best suited Doctors for horror. "Horror of Fang Rock" is a favorite of mine and "Talons", "Pyramids of Mars", and "State of Decay" all have effective horror elements, too. There's something about Baker speaking in his low, deep voice as the darkness and fog swirls around him that lends itself well to the creep factor of a number of his stories. That vibe has translated well into many of his Big Finish releases, too. I think Seven has had some of the best horror stories at Big Finish. "Master" and "Night Thoughts" are top flight horror stories for me, though I do think he's especially restrained in those stories, whether by script or direction, so that McCoy's playing only particular notes of his Doctor that suit the tone of the story. As for the new series, Capaldi had many effective horror stories like "Knock, Knock" and "Mummy on The Orient Express", with "Listen" being a real standout. Capaldi was built to play Van Helsing. Hopefully someone will make that happen some day.
One thing that's interesting to me is how versatile Who is. Even the Doctors I think of as the most comforting, for lack of a better word, have had quite frightening stories. "The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit" is a good example of a horror story that caught me off guard when it aired. Based on the tone of that season, I wasn't really expecting it, but it always unsettles me when I watch it. Likewise with "Blink", which is exhilarating survival horror, and "Silence in The Library/Forest of the Dead", which has a great monster and creates a number of horror images that have stuck with me for years.
Eight has had some rather effective dips into horror, too, "The Red Lady" and "The Chimes of Midnight" being among the all time great Who horror stories.
Even the Doctor that I think of as the most comforting presence, Three, has some great horror moments. The opening episode of "Death to The Daleks", with its powerless TARDIS stranded on a mysterious planet is a great one for generating chills. It's hard to imagine feeling frightened when Jon Pertwee is standing next to you, he's just such a reassuring presence to me, but "Inferno" and "The Daemons" both worked well for me by creating a sense of dread and uncertainty.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2019 3:05:05 GMT
It may be because, as has been noted, Tom Baker got the lion's share of horror stories during the classic era, but I feel he's one of the best suited Doctors for horror. "Horror of Fang Rock" is a favorite of mine and "Talons", "Pyramids of Mars", and "State of Decay" all have effective horror elements, too. There's something about Baker speaking in his low, deep voice as the darkness and fog swirls around him that lends itself well to the creep factor of a number of his stories. That vibe has translated well into many of his Big Finish releases, too. I think Seven has had some of the best horror stories at Big Finish. "Master" and "Night Thoughts" are top flight horror stories for me, though I do think he's especially restrained in those stories, whether by script or direction, so that McCoy's playing only particular notes of his Doctor that suit the tone of the story. As for the new series, Capaldi had many effective horror stories like "Knock, Knock" and "Mummy on The Orient Express", with "Listen" being a real standout. Capaldi was built to play Van Helsing. Hopefully someone will make that happen some day. One thing that's interesting to me is how versatile Who is. Even the Doctors I think of as the most comforting, for lack of a better word, have had quite frightening stories. "The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit" is a good example of a horror story that caught me off guard when it aired. Based on the tone of that season, I wasn't really expecting it, but it always unsettles me when I watch it. Likewise with "Blink", which is exhilarating survival horror, and "Silence in The Library/Forest of the Dead", which has a great monster and creates a number of horror images that have stuck with me for years. Eight has had some rather effective dips into horror, too, "The Red Lady" and "The Chimes of Midnight" being among the all time great Who horror stories. Even the Doctor that I think of as the most comforting presence, Three, has some great horror moments. The opening episode of "Death to The Daleks", with its powerless TARDIS stranded on a mysterious planet is a great one for generating chills. It's hard to imagine feeling frightened when Jon Pertwee is standing next to you, he's just such a reassuring presence to me, but "Inferno" and "The Daemons" both worked well for me by creating a sense of dread and uncertainty. I've been really struggling with this question actually, likely for that reason there. The Fifth Doctor, for instance, isn't someone who I typically associate with horror, but he's got the fantastically eerie Iterations of I under his belt. He's arguably the Doctor most frightening when he's possessed because it's so aggressively counter to his own character. There's something about Jon Pertwee's approach to realism which heightens the horrific moments of the Third Doctor's era too. He makes you believe that these things are dangerous. He draws you into it. The Tyrants of Logic is disturbing because he's not the Doctor you see being subverted. He'd rather die first, so adding to the fear of him being turned. For the Sixth Doctor... I can still remember the cliffhanger to Project: Twilight where Evelyn's being taken away and he's slamming his hand on the locked door calling her name. The biggest fear for him is existential, the idea that he'll one day become the Valeyard, but on a story-by-story basis, I think it's the idea that people aren't safe. He could just be that few minutes too late. His Doctor is less about the anticipation and more about the aftermath, the emotional, reactive component of horror. The Seventh Doctor is terrifying in his own right because his motives are, by far, the most alien. I guess, it's a question of what kind of horror. The Gothic obsession with sublimity (the grandiosity of a mountain peak)? The fear of being hunted (that slasher by the open window)? The existential creep of something truly dreadful (what if there is no way of stopping it)? The fear/terror of a Kafkaesque involuntary change (I have no mouth and I must scream)? The shattering of preconceived norms (it seemed such a nice town)? The normalisation of the horrific (calm down, calm down, calm down)? The abrupt knowledge of powerlessness or insignificance in events reshaping the nature of reality (cosmic horror)? Ol' fashioned shock horror? Gothic has a fairly strong presence in popular iterations of modern horror, so there's a lot that could draw focus from a story.
Someone (ahem ahem) once wrote reviews of the Cushing (and later Michael Rpipper!) Dr. Who films that never happened. Any chance at a link?
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Post by Hieronymus on Jan 22, 2019 4:01:20 GMT
I'll agree with 4th and 7th as the best suited, but I think 5th and 8th aren't too far behind. It would require the right script, but Spare Parts and Chimes of Midnight testify that both actors are capable in the genre.
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