The Doctor Who thread


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Chris "Darque Edge" Brosnahan wrote this for the mainpage a few months back, so he's obviously into the show. And he's tried to get me into it (specifically, the new one), but I just can't seem to find the time to watch the episodes.

(Welcome to the boards, by the way.)

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The continuity scares me. Normally it doesn't -- I mean, I read comics -- but it does in this case.
The continuity should scare you. The show is built around the concept of a time traveller who states he can't interfere with the natural evolution of things, but each and every episode violates that philosophy. "Chaotic" doesn't begin to describe the possible outcome--and that's just based on the televised episodes. Throw in the radio dramas, comics, and novels, and you've got something which can only charitably be called "a total mess". As a long-time fan, Doctor Who continuity scares the bejesus out of me, when I think about it.

But the beauty of the new show is that while it doesn't go out of its way to dispute any of the old continuity, it doesn't draw your attention to it, either. It's specifically designed to start with Episode One ("Rose") and be able to make entire sense out of everything going on. At the end of the day, the reason the show's survived for the 40-odd years that it has is because it has an entirely simple concept at its core, which can be reinterpreted anew by each passing generation. If you really try to make sense of the continuity, in toto. you will be driven mad. Take each episode as it comes, however, and you'll have a helluva good time.

Just remember that, by definition, a show about a meddling time traveller can't really have true continuity, and you'll be fine. Go down the path of these people who attempt to build a timeline of events for a time traveller, and you'll end up hating the show.

If nothing else, you've gotta watch it for the curiosity factor alone. At the time it was cancelled it was the longest-runnng science fiction show anywhere in the world. By a long, long measure. But it was also held up as the exemplar of all that was cheap and shoddy about TV sci-fi. Now, it's winning the British equivalent of Emmies for its quality. As a writer, you've gotta watch it to see how a very old, but dubiously-regarded show, was suddenly translated into must-see TV.

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When you're watching, bear in mind that there are a couple of mis-steps in the first episode - the belching bin is cringeworthy. It's a reintroduction to the character, rather than a great story in its own right. The second episode is a big step up, and the third episode is spectacularly good.

You know Chris Eccleston, the guy playing The Doctor, right? He's in one of your favourite films after all, Yoda...

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