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Post by number13 on Jan 19, 2021 21:55:52 GMT
The Enemy of the World
Is this the most 'Bond' story in the whole canon? Maybe topped by 'The Ambassadors of Death', but it has a great opening sequence, a page-turner of a plot with an array of excellent guest stars and Barry Letts' direction - and one of the best actors ever to play the villain in 'Doctor Who'!
But his best moment here is still as the Doctor and it's my favourite moment of the whole story, when he plays his (missing) recorder to convince Jamie and Victoria it's really him him. It's one of those bits of Patrick Troughton magic that I can't imagine any other Doctor doing so well (and no doubt worked out with Frazer Hines in rehearsal, a great duo) and shows what we were missing when only the soundtracks remained for most of this season.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2021 0:17:19 GMT
The Enemy of the World Is this the most 'Bond' story in the whole canon? Maybe topped by 'The Ambassadors of Death', but it has a great opening sequence, a page-turner of a plot with an array of excellent guest stars and Barry Letts' direction - and one of the best actors ever to play the villain in 'Doctor Who'! But his best moment here is still as the Doctor and it's my favourite moment of the whole story, when he plays his (missing) recorder to convince Jamie and Victoria it's really him him. It's one of those bits of Patrick Troughton magic that I can't imagine any other Doctor doing so well (and no doubt worked out with Frazer Hines in rehearsal, a great duo) and shows what we were missing when only the soundtracks remained for most of this season. Oh, wow, now that I think about it, we've actually kind of got squillions of these kinds of stories. Enemy's certainly up there ("What do you want to do? James Bond? The Man from UNCLE? The Avengers? Thunderbirds?" "Yes." ). How many Bondian stories do we actually have? Off the top of my head, there's The Enemy of the World, The Invasion, The Ambassadors of Death, The Seeds of Doom (helped by the fact that Robert Banks Stewart was almost screenwriter for an adaptation of Casino Royale), Spyfall (the first act is very similar to Live and Let Die)... That's not counting the spin-off titles. The Veiled Leopard is in the running... Trading Futures is more Our Man Doctor... There was that story from The Syndicate Master Plan. I'm certain there's more. Fun discovery: I stumbled across an image of writer David Whitaker from 1965. That's not Astrid Ferrier (played by Mary Peach), that's his wife, June Barry.
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Post by constonks on Jan 20, 2021 4:27:07 GMT
The Cave of Skulls to The Firemaker. While I've seen Episode 1 countless times, this is only the second time I've finished off the first serial. It obviously never reaches the heights of the opening (that's no secret) but it provides a simple plot for Ian and Barbara's first adventure while still being properly harrowing for them. No I didn't care if Kal or Za was leader. But I enjoyed Ian and Barbara trying to teach them kindness and the Doctor failing to understand why they'd bother.
Onto The Dead Planet now... I wonder what kind of people they might meet next...
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Post by number13 on Jan 20, 2021 23:12:23 GMT
The Enemy of the World Is this the most 'Bond' story in the whole canon? Maybe topped by 'The Ambassadors of Death', but it has a great opening sequence, a page-turner of a plot with an array of excellent guest stars and Barry Letts' direction - and one of the best actors ever to play the villain in 'Doctor Who'! But his best moment here is still as the Doctor and it's my favourite moment of the whole story, when he plays his (missing) recorder to convince Jamie and Victoria it's really him him. It's one of those bits of Patrick Troughton magic that I can't imagine any other Doctor doing so well (and no doubt worked out with Frazer Hines in rehearsal, a great duo) and shows what we were missing when only the soundtracks remained for most of this season. Oh, wow, now that I think about it, we've actually kind of got squillions of these kinds of stories. Enemy's certainly up there ("What do you want to do? James Bond? The Man from UNCLE? The Avengers? Thunderbirds?" "Yes." ). How many Bondian stories do we actually have? Off the top of my head, there's The Enemy of the World, The Invasion, The Ambassadors of Death, The Seeds of Doom (helped by the fact that Robert Banks Stewart was almost screenwriter for an adaptation of Casino Royale), Spyfall (the first act is very similar to Live and Let Die)... That's not counting the spin-off titles. The Veiled Leopard is in the running... Trading Futures is more Our Man Doctor... There was that story from The Syndicate Master Plan. I'm certain there's more. Fun discovery: I stumbled across an image of writer David Whitaker from 1965. That's not Astrid Ferrier (played by Mary Peach), that's his wife, June Barry. That's a very good list (and image.) Now, I excluded 'Spyfall' and 'Fever Island' from my list because they are deliberate Bond homages and for me, 'The Invasion' is more of the 'Quatermass' films meets 'Bodysnatchers' style because the alien presence is so key to the story. And I think 'The Veiled Leopard' really stems from those upmarket Riviera 'heist' movies of the 50s and 60s.
I'll definitely half-agree to 'The Seeds of Doom', was there ever a more 'Bond' villain than Harrison Chase? Even in the actual Bond canon! But if we're looking at the Doctor, then I think this one is more closely related to 70s 'tough cop' shows like 'The Sweeney' and 'The Professionals'. Slamming down random henchmen with a car door / chair / feet through skylight is definitely their style! And RBS wrote and produced lots of 70s TV crime drama of course. ( Without Krynoids. )
One close cousin of 'The Enemy of the World' I did think of is the Third Doctor lost story 'The Mega'. I enjoyed it a lot but it feels very odd for a 'Doctor Who' story with its emphasis on global politics and cross-Europe plot. Though considered alongside 'Enemy', maybe it wouldn't have been quite such an outlier.
(Fun trying to fit stories into sub-genres isn't it? )
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Post by Deleted on Jan 21, 2021 2:22:06 GMT
Oh, wow, now that I think about it, we've actually kind of got squillions of these kinds of stories. Enemy's certainly up there ("What do you want to do? James Bond? The Man from UNCLE? The Avengers? Thunderbirds?" "Yes." ). How many Bondian stories do we actually have? Off the top of my head, there's The Enemy of the World, The Invasion, The Ambassadors of Death, The Seeds of Doom (helped by the fact that Robert Banks Stewart was almost screenwriter for an adaptation of Casino Royale), Spyfall (the first act is very similar to Live and Let Die)... That's not counting the spin-off titles. The Veiled Leopard is in the running... Trading Futures is more Our Man Doctor... There was that story from The Syndicate Master Plan. I'm certain there's more. Fun discovery: I stumbled across an image of writer David Whitaker from 1965. That's not Astrid Ferrier (played by Mary Peach), that's his wife, June Barry. That's a very good list (and image.) Now, I excluded 'Spyfall' and 'Fever Island' from my list because they are deliberate Bond homages and for me, 'The Invasion' is more of the 'Quatermass' films meets 'Bodysnatchers' style because the alien presence is so key to the story. And I think 'The Veiled Leopard' really stems from those upmarket Riviera 'heist' movies of the 50s and 60s.
I'll definitely half-agree to 'The Seeds of Doom', was there ever a more 'Bond' villain than Harrison Chase? Even in the actual Bond canon! But if we're looking at the Doctor, then I think this one is more closely related to 70s 'tough cop' shows like 'The Sweeney' and 'The Professionals'. Slamming down random henchmen with a car door / chair / feet through skylight is definitely their style! And RBS wrote and produced lots of 70s TV crime drama of course. ( Without Krynoids. )
One close cousin of 'The Enemy of the World' I did think of is the Third Doctor lost story 'The Mega'. I enjoyed it a lot but it feels very odd for a 'Doctor Who' story with its emphasis on global politics and cross-Europe plot. Though considered alongside 'Enemy', maybe it wouldn't have been quite such an outlier.
(Fun trying to fit stories into sub-genres isn't it? ) Yeah, it is. Pastiche is always tricky. I tend to think of it as " of X" rather than " from X" for simplicity's sake as -- in the case of something like Bond -- we've got From Russia with Love, but we've also Moonraker. It's like vocal mimickry. There's the story itself, but then there's our idea of the story that has to be factored in, as well. I remember the voice actor for Obi-Wan Kenobi of The Clone Wars talking about how he injected a little Ringo Starr into his performance to better fit the audience's idea of Ewen McGregor's voice vs. the reality. It's all very, very interesting. I can see where you're coming from for The Invasion. I have a hard time pulling those tropes away from "The Cybernauts" in The Avengers. Vaughn's operation feels like Dr Armstrong's plans on a much grander scale, to me. I'll give you The Veiled Leopard, that's more in the vein of Cary Grant's To Catch a Thief, although... I do think more a few of those ideas entered the 007 mix in the same way North By Northwest eventually did. I'm thinking Robert Wagner in It Takes a Thief (and the urbane attitude of "the Cat" in the Grant film feels proto-Bond). (Damn, and here I was looking for the episode of The Sweeney where a copper's done in by a florist's bouquet through the squad car window. ) Yeah, the 70s action-crime shows are in full force for Seeds. I think it's the only time that a villain's got a phone call that the Doctor's put their assassin the hospital (Chase, for his part, looks rather embarrassed). But, it's got the jet-setting from Antarctica to England and the pulveriser feels like one of those archetypal death traps we don't often get to see. Well... Hear. I think The Mega is a story truer to what was going on off-screen for the Third Doctor than they were able to do on. It's funny going through some of the bits and pieces associated with the show during that period. On the front cover of something like Countdown, a trip to South Australia for Jon's Doctor would be accompanied by "The Persuaders! UFO! Captain Scarlet!" There was a definite stable of adventurers and defenders -- and the style of story they brought with them -- that associated with his time on television.
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melkur
Chancellery Guard
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Post by melkur on Jan 22, 2021 0:34:47 GMT
Over the past few evenings I've been watching 'The Invisible Enemy' (not a favourite, but I enjoyed it enough) and am currently watching 'Creature From The Pit' part 1 before bed.
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Post by polly on Jan 22, 2021 6:18:06 GMT
Ghost Light - I can see why this isn't for everyone but I think it's neat. Strange and unusual, right up my alley. Surprised this didn't get an extended edition on DVD. Seems like a prime candidate for it. Also, this outfit? Holy smoke. Why are you doing this to me, show? I already have a thing for Marlene Dietrich, this ain't even fair.
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Post by sherlock on Jan 22, 2021 11:47:40 GMT
Got up to Midnight in Series 4.
Is Midnight RTD’s best script for Who? I think it might be.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2021 12:01:18 GMT
Got up to Midnight in Series 4. Is Midnight RTD’s best script for Who? I think it might be. I absolutely agree. I remember it was the least hyped episode for the series, standalone, Donna-lite and not much was known about it. I found it intriguing and genuinely frightening. It could have been lifted from any Doctor's era, too. Terrific story. Just who are the real monsters?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2021 14:38:07 GMT
Got up to Midnight in Series 4. Is Midnight RTD’s best script for Who? I think it might be. I absolutely agree. I remember it was the least hyped episode for the series, standalone, Donna-lite and not much was known about it. I found it intriguing and genuinely frightening. It could have been lifted from any Doctor's era, too. Terrific story. Just who are the real monsters? Hmm, lets see. Bus breaks down. Passengers told to stay aboard. Fortunately, the Tour Guide keeps everyone occupied. Downbeat, they turn back. RTD knew how to put a spin on a bottle episode..
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Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on Jan 25, 2021 12:02:45 GMT
10th Doctor "School Reunion" is on tv right now. Those Doctor/SJS scenes still get me.. Still a better lovestory/better chemistry than "Twilight". "You can spend the rest of your life with me.. But I can't spend the rest of my life with you".
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Post by theillusiveman on Jan 25, 2021 12:26:59 GMT
10th Doctor "School Reunion" is on tv right now. Those Doctor/SJS scenes still get me.. Still a better lovestory/better chemistry than "Twilight". "You can spend the rest of your life with me.. But I can't spend the rest of my life with you". School reunion is a underrated classic The return of Sarah Jane smith and K9 Mickey Smith getting some good character development and properly becoming a companion The seeds of The 10th Doctors TLV personality begins Anthony Stewart head as the Main Villain A real solid 10th doctor story
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2021 13:47:30 GMT
Yesterday it was the first three Pearl Mackie ones
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Post by johnhurtdoctor on Jan 25, 2021 14:23:30 GMT
The Ribos Operation with Toby Hadoke's podcast commentary.
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Post by johnhurtdoctor on Jan 25, 2021 14:24:32 GMT
Yesterday it was the first three Pearl Mackie ones Yes but 'What "Who" Are You Watching TODAY?'
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2021 16:59:34 GMT
Remembrance of the Daleks.
I mean to say, I love Series 24, and I'll dish out a level stare to anyone who says different, but this first story of the following series is such a gargantuan leap forward it takes the breath away. You want half a dozen Daleks blown to pieces along with much of London? You want a space shuttle in a playground? It's all here, the real thing - no CGI here, kids. A killer cameo from Davros, just when you think that particular trick has been covered. Also - that great, gallumping, stained death-dealer The Special Weapons Dalek makes its first appearance! It's true to say the Daleks on location seem to wobble more on DVD than they did back in 1988, but who cares? This is a first rate story put together with obvious love and attention. What a way to celebrate (the first) 25 years
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Post by grinch on Jan 25, 2021 17:31:06 GMT
Remembrance of the Daleks.
I mean to say, I love Series 24, and I'll dish out a level stare to anyone who says different, but this first story of the following series is such a gargantuan leap forward it takes the breath away. You want half a dozen Daleks blown to pieces along with much of London? You want a space shuttle in a playground? It's all here, the real thing - no CGI here, kids. A killer cameo from Davros, just when you think that particular trick has been covered. Also - that great, gallumping, stained death-dealer The Special Weapons Dalek makes its first appearance! It's true to say the Daleks on location seem to wobble more on DVD than they did back in 1988, but who cares? This is a first rate story put together with obvious love and attention. What a way to celebrate (the first) 25 years Tis a masterpiece and a great final story for the Daleks in the classic series. Just unfortunate the Cybermen couldn’t get the same treatment.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2021 18:29:10 GMT
Yesterday it was the first three Pearl Mackie ones Yes but 'What "Who" Are You Watching TODAY?' The first three Pearl Mackie ones 😂😉
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2021 18:32:28 GMT
And now the fourth Pearl Mackie one 😂😂
Knock Knock
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Post by timegirl on Jan 25, 2021 18:35:15 GMT
And now the fourth Pearl Mackie one 😂😂 Knock Knock Are you doing a whole 12 era rewatch?😊
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