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Post by sherlock on Apr 10, 2023 18:04:40 GMT
Well I have a working DVD player (and some free software from the Windows store, cos it turns out in the years since I last played DVDs on a laptop Windows removed Media Player’s ability to run DVDs…grrr), so my little 60th marathon can include TV now too.
Basics of what I’m doing is one “event” and one favourite for each Doctor, because that actually seems achievable. Event translates to multi-Doctor, or if there is none for that era just whatever the biggest lore defining story there is. I’m also doing this for expanded (and have already listened to The Beginning as the First Doctor’s expanded event story).
So, the First Doctor - Event: An Unearthly Child
“A thing that looks like a police box standing in a junkyard. It can move anywhere in time and space.”
And what bigger event was there in the early days that those very first steps. The first episode is always a joy; every line feels thought-out and Ian and Barbara arrive fully formed to lead the change. Hartnell’s Doctor starts as a charming figure, albeit at this point with a little menace underlying him. The ensuing caveman story, I’ve always liked. I do think there’s some nice ideas here and the caveman actors commit to it. The regulars begin to develop and it’s genuinely well done.
Honestly, just like Rose I can’t imagine a better start for the show. Sure sure, the Daleks are what really pushed the show into the limelight, but Unearthly’s foundations are rock solid.
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Post by bonehead on Apr 13, 2023 17:19:51 GMT
Sorry for any repetition but ... Flux: War of the Sontarans. Yes, again!
Positively one of the greatest (the greatest?) Sontaran stories ever told. A mighty take-over of the Earth, more impresive than any series finale - and it's only episode 2! Sontarans, for the last few years quite a jokey and appealing alien, now back to their brutal, unflinching selves, killing people again and again ("Your bodies will soften our steps!") - and we get to see it! Dan going into battle with the solemnly passed-on wok, leading to perhaps his best joke in the series. You know when you really like something and you can't understand why everyone else isn't as passionate as you? This is a good example of that. We have brief glimpses of The Mori, an appearance from the wonderfully creepy Swarm and Azure, but this is the Sontarans' show - and the masks are beautifully crafted and detailed; better than ever, I'd say. Death and destruction on a huge scale, rarely this well realised. A real treat.
And I only just discovered that the 'Priest Triangle' was voiced by Hardin from The Leisure Hive!
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Post by dasmaniac on Apr 14, 2023 5:40:39 GMT
Empress of Mars was great fun. Mark Gatiss combines his two favorite interests: Victorians and Ice Warriors. I appreciated the nod to Peladon. What better place suited for Ice Warriors? Though I'm curious to know how the different factions ended up getting along.
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Post by sherlock on Apr 24, 2023 21:14:56 GMT
60th marathon: First Doctor - Favourite: The Aztecs
“You failed to save a civilisation, but at least you helped one man.”
Its been a while since I last watched this one and what a pleasure to revisit it. A small scale historical which gives Barbara and the Doctor great material, plus a well characterised match of supporting characters. I think this is my favourite performance of Hartnell as the Doctor. Both utterly charming and strong willed when necessary, ultimately with his hearts in the right place. Ian also gets a good showing, even if it is mainly fighting. Susan is a little on the wayside, which is a shame.
Obviously it’s the argument over rewriting history that gets the attention, but to my mind it’s the above quote in the Doctor and Barbara’s reconciliation at the end that stood out. A nice note to end on which concedes that whilst the great tides of history are beyond their power to change, they can still make a difference.
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Post by jacobz40 on Apr 25, 2023 2:31:31 GMT
Finished Survival. Finally finished the classic series, including reconstructions and some animations. The only two serials I didn't get around to were Wheel In Space (I'll probably come back around to it at some point) and The Space Pirates (fat chance).
What an exhale moment. Been a years-long journey. My girlfriend accompanied me through most of the first 3 Docs (we still sometimes just yell "Old woman make fire! Za kill old woman!" at each other) and I continued mostly alone from Green Death onward. What a wild ride. What a weird show. Loved it!
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Post by dasmaniac on Apr 27, 2023 1:56:32 GMT
Finished the Season Two Blu-ray. Season Two has some ups and downs. Planet of Giants: an overlooked gem that has fairly good sets for its time. The B plot however is not the most interesting. The Dalek Invasion of Earth: I don't think this one is very good The Romans: An episode too long but otherwise quite fun. Terrific production design. The Rescue: It's definitely a story that exists The Crusade: Now this is a serious stinker. The Chase: The first and fifth episodes are not particularly good but otherwise I think this story gets a bad rap. It's very creative. The Time Meddler: It's a classic for a reason. I loved this story the first time I saw it and I still love it now. It's such a fun little story that dramatically expanded the world of Doctor Who. Would I be correct in suggesting that a plausible reason for The Monk's usage of the priest moniker is because throughout much of history, priests enjoyed high social status? To me it seems like an ideal position to assume if you're a time traveler.
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Post by sherlock on Apr 29, 2023 18:46:58 GMT
60th Marathon: Second Doctor - Favourite: The Enemy of the World
“People spend all their times making nice things and other people come along and break them.”
Oh I had difficulty picking a story for this slot, but wanted to give Enemy a revisit as I’ve only seen it once before and it has the biggest reputation rebound of any recovered story. And deservedly so; it’s well paced, has a brilliant twist and is just generally well done.
Really this is a bigger showcase of Troughton the actor, rather than his Doctor per say, but it serves him brilliantly. Though Evil and Tomb are often held up as the key examples of his Doctor having his own agenda, this story does portray him very intelligently. What seems like reticent and a surprising scepticism is more than vindicated, and you kind of wonder whether the reason the Doctor saw through this was because he recognised someone up to the same games he plays.
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Post by martinw8686 on May 1, 2023 15:49:34 GMT
I've injured my back and have been unable to move far from the sofa this bank holiday weekend, so to cheer myself up, I've indulged in a massive classic Doctor Who binge.
The Daemons Day of the Daleks The Sea Devils Brain of Morbius Horror of Fang Rock Remembrance of the Daleks
Lots of fun, though not sure my Wife's too pleased!
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Post by sherlock on May 2, 2023 9:06:21 GMT
60th marathon: Second Doctor - Event: The War Games
“Don't do it, Doctor. You can't! You know what will happen!”
I meant to split this story up but got some engrossed I spent all of yesterday evening watching it. No regrets.
Its an outstanding exercise in making an incredibly long story consistently interesting. Sure there’s occasional escape/capture loops, but always intercut with something interesting happening elsewhere. The War Chief and Security Chief’s feud is the most petty subplot in the show and it’s great.
Troughton emerges as the standout. From his glorious blustering into the British prison, to the ominously quiet response to the SIDRAT to his final resignation.
Having begun with the Doctor so selfish and afraid he stole away two innocents for the slightest chance they’d endanger his freedom, the 60s ends with him surrendering his freedom for the sake of thousands of humans.
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Post by aussiedoctorwhofan on May 7, 2023 9:02:33 GMT
Brought up on youtube all the classic era scenes from "Power Of The Daleks" and watched again with my boy. I think I got even more emotional watching Junior watch the scene when 5th Doctor and Tegan were talking and then Adric was mentioned. He is 7 next month, I was pretty much his exact age when 4th Doctor regenned to 5th on it's original tv air time run, and I got confused because he looked younger and blonde (LOLZ). He then looked at me and said "are you going to cry?" It's a long running joke as Mum is a tv/movie crier whenever something really sad happens .
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Post by martinw8686 on May 8, 2023 0:00:33 GMT
Claws of Axos - Bonkers and Brilliant 5/5.
This really shouldn't work with all it's generic elements cobled together but I just love it. Such fun.
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Post by sherlock on May 9, 2023 10:52:49 GMT
60th marathon: Third Doctor - Favourite: The Curse of Peladon
”Klokleda partha mennin kletch. Haroon, haroon, haroon. Klokleda sheena tirra nach. Haroon, haroon, haroon.”
Some of the best world-building to be found in Who, with a well developed antagonist in Hepesh (feels wrong to call him a villain, as the story goes to pains to give his reasons their due). Navigating this society gives the Third Doctor and Jo some lovely material.
Whilst it’s devoid of all the iconography and characters usually associated with Pertwee’s tenure, Curse to me is still a prime example of the era at its best and probably the Third Doctor story I’ve seen the most.
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Post by sherlock on May 20, 2023 17:19:29 GMT
60th marathon: Third Doctor - Event: The Three Doctors
“Quite a party.”
The multi-Doctor story that set the trend, and to be the honest the multi-Doctor scenes are really the only thing keep this lively. Omega has his moments (Thorne’s scream when he realises his non-existence is primal), but really it’s Troughton and Pertwee onscreen together that makes this story. The UNIT family sadly get rather little to work with, with Jo relegated to doing what the Doctors say and that’s it and the Brig and Benton doing little.
For the show’s first big indulgent party then, it’s a bit so-so. But worth it for every Troughton and Pertwee scene.
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Post by sherlock on May 30, 2023 17:24:48 GMT
60th marathon: Fourth Doctor - Event: Genesis of the Daleks
”Now we can begin.”
A well paced epic that proves Terry Nation with the right editors could produce an absolute belter. Davros’ debut is riveting, the high concept war with both sides steeped in brutality is well realised and the fresh-faced Fourth Doctor ably leads the charge, with Sarah and Harry on top form too. Only the weakness of some cliffhangers let’s it down (I still wish Episode 5 ended on “do I have the right” rather than the mutant strangulation).
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Post by sherlock on Jun 18, 2023 20:26:07 GMT
60th Marathon: Fourth Doctor - Favourite: The Pirate Planet
”Appreciate it!? Appreciate it!? What, you commit mass destruction and murder on a scale that's almost inconceivable and you ask me to appreciate it? Just because you happen to have made a brilliantly conceived toy out of the mummified remains of planets!”
Douglas Adams’ style is always a soft spot for me and his Who work is no exception. A irreverent and pacy story about high concept mass murder, with Tom Baker sinking his teeth into every word. The above speech being a particular example. Yes the resolution of the shrunk planets is a bit hand-wavy, but I honestly love every minute of it.
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Post by sherlock on Jul 5, 2023 18:23:32 GMT
60th Marathon: Fifth Doctor - Event: The Five Doctors
”It is reassuring to know that my future is in safe hands.”
Is it blasphemy to think this story isn’t all that good? It coasts on the novelty of throwing the Doctors together with old foes and companions aplenty and Borusa the twist villain. And to be honest it gets away with it. It’s a party after all, so the lack of substance and cliches are really part of the furniture.
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Post by The Brigadier on Jul 5, 2023 19:23:26 GMT
60th Marathon: Fifth Doctor - Event: The Five Doctors”It is reassuring to know that my future is in safe hands.”Is it blasphemy to think this story isn’t all that good? It coasts on the novelty of throwing the Doctors together with old foes and companions aplenty and Borusa the twist villain. And to be honest it gets away with it. It’s a party after all, so the lack of substance and cliches are really part of the furniture. Definitely not blasphemy. The plot is as thin as tissue paper and you're right - it was clear then as it is now that JNT and co threw just about EVERYTHING into the mix. But I hold onto The Five Doctors with a great deal of affection: it is after all the episode that opened a doorway in 1983 that hasn't really ever closed. To a time of the show I knew next to nothing about... ...which was pretty much everything prior to 1981! 😁
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shutupbanks
Castellan
There’s a horror movie called Alien? That’s really offensive. No wonder everyone keeps invading you.
Likes: 5,703
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Post by shutupbanks on Jul 5, 2023 23:42:57 GMT
60th Marathon: Fifth Doctor - Event: The Five Doctors”It is reassuring to know that my future is in safe hands.”Is it blasphemy to think this story isn’t all that good? It coasts on the novelty of throwing the Doctors together with old foes and companions aplenty and Borusa the twist villain. And to be honest it gets away with it. It’s a party after all, so the lack of substance and cliches are really part of the furniture. Absolutely not. I view it like I view the Christmas/New Year Specials of the revived era: as an adventure that can hold its own but is really just a piece of fun. I mean when you consider the number of “… of Rassilon”s we get throughout it, along with “No, not the mindprobe!”, the cattiness of the Doctors when arguing among themselves, and the Master trying to save the Doctor but then giving up because his reputation makes that too hard to actually do… it’s hard to take it too seriously. It tries to be a proper adventure, what with the Raston Cyber-massacre, the chessboard of doom that almost belongs on the silly side until the Cybermen get gunned down by it, as well as the twist that a character we know and respect is the villain and has become so because he is the most competent person in the room and wants to stay that way… Like most fans, I love it, but not because of the story.
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Post by nardole on Jul 6, 2023 2:10:11 GMT
I just wish there were more doctor interactions they're separated for most of the adventure.
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Post by thegreendeath on Jul 6, 2023 3:10:23 GMT
Been watching a Classic episode a day for the past eight days. Been a long time (decades) since I’ve seen most of Who outside my favorites so it’s really fun! Started off with “The Ribos Operation” which was just as good as I remembered. Good humor, great characters and a fun setting. Started watching it because I listened to the BF Ribos sequel and recalled the original being one I really liked back in the day.
Tonight just finished “Paradise Towers” which was not one I cared for before but I loved it this time. A strange blend of 2000AD, Dr Who and JG Ballard, with a great performance by the lead villain. Been so long since I’ve seen a McCoy. I’ve grown really fond of him due to the Virgin NAs and Big Finish, and now seeing his body language and physical comedy, I think I’m a bigger fan of his than ever before.
I think I’ll try to do one story with each classic Doctor for the 60th while I still have Britbox. Next up? Someone mentioned “Claws of Axos” above and I don’t really remember the episode so much as I do the Target novel and the still images from those DWM issues I poured over as a kid.
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