Dr Who episodes!

Post by **spiderfrommars** » Tue Mar 15, 2005 1:41 pm

To get in the mood for the new series, I thought I'd rent out some classic episodes. Any reccomendations?

Pissin' Poonani · Post by **Pissin' Poonani** » Tue Mar 15, 2005 1:42 pm

Cliffy's got a thread in GD at the Archive, which is well into 3 pages now-should be a good starting point.

Jetfire · Post by **Jetfire** » Tue Mar 15, 2005 9:13 pm

I'm a huge Tom Baker fan which skews my loist so from the DVD's that are out (avodiding the black and white ones for the moment) and pointing out the best of the best in my list:

Pyramids of Mars (highly recomended)
The ark in space
Robots of death (Highly recomended)
Horror of fang Rock
The Talons of weng Chiang
Remembrance of the Daleks (Highley recomended)
Ghostlight (Highley recomended)
The caves of Androzarni (Highly recomended)
Spearhead from Space (Highly recomended)
The curse of fenric.

If I picked 3 then Andronzarni, Pyramids and Robots would top as the most must see.

Post by **spiderfrommars** » Tue Mar 15, 2005 10:03 pm

Cool... I've added Spearhead, Robots and Pyramids to my Blockbuster list.

I'm gonna hold back on Androzani for now, as I know thats the one Pete buys it, and I wanna see more of his episodes first (that episode seriously freaked me out when I was young - having never seen a regeneration before I thought the doc was dying).

Should be a nostalgic week ahead...

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Mar 15, 2005 11:13 pm

A Pete fan? Cool!

Then, again, considering your age...

My picks:

The Keeper of Traken, Logopolis & Castrovalva.

Watched in that order.

Or, failing that, just Logopolis.

Oh, and just to prepare you for possible disappointment with the new series:

The Movie!

Post by **spiderfrommars** » Wed Mar 16, 2005 9:25 am

Rebis wrote:A Pete fan? Cool!

Its all about the one you see first, innit?

Though seriously I think he did a fantastic job following the most popular Doc in a time of transition. I think people think the rot set in with Davison, but I disagree.

Rebis wrote: The Keeper of Traken, Logopolis & Castrovalva.

Good suggestions. I watched Logopolis a while back but I didn't really appreciate it (if I knew he was gonna regenerate at the end I would've paid more attention).

Legion · Post by **Legion** » Wed Mar 16, 2005 12:46 pm

Logopolis is perhaps one of my most favourate episodes, it just had an air of drama to it that i felt that a lot of the TomDoc period lacked. Keeper is a bit weaker, but is a good villian reintroduction episode. The first episode or two of Castrovalva are good too, but i felt it's ending let it down.

Androzani is another genuinely gripping episode (a pattern for re-gen stories? um, no not when you look at "Planet of the Spiders" and "Time and The Rani" *shudders at that last one*)

I quite rate "Dr.Who & The Silurians" too (depsite it's crap title), it is a bit long winded, but a very good story i think.

Jetfire's list is a good place to start... Ghostlight is ok, but not great IMHO, maybe if it had been a four parter and paced a little different...

Post by **spiderfrommars** » Wed Mar 16, 2005 1:23 pm

Why don't they sell the episodes in season box sets?

Guess they make more money this way.

Jetfire · Post by **Jetfire** » Fri Mar 18, 2005 6:43 pm

spiderfrommars wrote:Why don't they sell the episodes in season box sets?

Guess they make more money this way.

I believe the cleen up job done by the restoration crew is actually something they do in their spare time as fans. Naturally to keep the different Doctor fans happy they are trying to balance the DVD out goings with a different Doc each time.

However that leaves no time to do a whole series and keep fans of each Doc with a regular DVD.
The only box set, series 16-the key to time, was made due keeping Doctor Who in US shops as box stes are big overt there but don't produce huge sales over here.

I could be wrong about this though.

Legion · Post by **Legion** » Fri Mar 18, 2005 7:27 pm

Also definitely worth checking out are Seeds of Death and Tomb of the Cybermen. Both are Patrick Troughton stories are excellent (Tomb is better than Seeds though).

Jetfire wrote:I could be wrong about this though.

I think you're right.

Post by **spiderfrommars** » Sat Mar 19, 2005 12:59 am

I think I remember Tomb. Doesn't a Cyberman die and what looks like shaving foam squirts out of him?

My memory is good.

Weird though. IMO some of the McCoy eps look cheaper!

Post by **spiderfrommars** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 9:39 am

Well I've been going through some old eps and been having a great time....

Curse of Fenric was fantastic! My favourite bit was when the haemovores (?) started coming out of the sea. I thought "well this is Dr Who, we'll only get 3 or 4 extras" but they just kept coming!

Also inspired by Cliffy's thread and purchased lots of old vids of ebay.

Is it right that I'm starting to get quite obsessed with Nyssa?

Post by **Best First** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 11:31 am

once i have sorted my move out i am rocking straight onto som eof tyhis.

can you get it all from Blockbuster?

Post by **spiderfrommars** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 12:07 pm

Well my local Blockbuster doesn't have 'em, but some are available on www.blockbuster.co.uk. Problem is they're very much in demand at the mo.

Post by **Best First** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 12:13 pm

ah yes, i suppose they would be...

Bouncelot · Post by **Bouncelot** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 12:13 pm

Best First wrote:once i have sorted my move out i am rocking straight onto som eof tyhis.

can you get it all from Blockbuster?

Probably depends on the blockbuster store in question. It's the sort of thing they're less likely to be renting out, though.

If you want to buy, your cheapest bet for Who videos/DVDs is probably Amazon and play.com. both of whom sell significantly below retail price. Play don't charge for postage and packing on anything, either. With DVDs, Amazon are usually cheaper for the most recent releases, play for the less recent ones. Haven't checked video prices recently.

Jetfire · Post by **Jetfire** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 5:49 pm

Quick alert.

W.H Smith are seiing several Who DVD's for prices like £8.99 for Pyraminds of Mars, Adrozani and several other brill realises.

Bouncelot · Post by **Bouncelot** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 6:55 pm

Jetfire wrote:Quick alert.

W.H Smith are seiing several Who DVD's for prices like £8.99 for Pyraminds of Mars, Androzani and several other brill realises.

Oooh. That's cheaper than amazon or play.

Post by **spiderfrommars** » Mon Apr 18, 2005 12:17 am

Right! I may as well let you know how I'm getting on with these...

Spoilers obviously...

Spearhead from Space
Genuinely scary stuff! Enjoyed the build up, Pertwee was good, Autons are chilling villains, not dated badly at all.

The Deadly Assassin
Cool... especially enjoyed the duel in Part 3. Baker's the main man. The Castellan can't act tho. Can't hear what the Master's saying half the time. Did we need the alligator?

Robots of Death
All round great story. Really liked the design. Kept me guessing. Doc and Leela were great.

Horror of Fang Rock
Sorry... couldn't get past the rubbish green blob and the hammy supporting cast. Was a bit bored to be honest.

The Leisure Hive
This was interesting... good performances, good design. Fun last episode. Oh, and "Arrest the scarf then!" Heh.

Castrovalva
Loved seeing the intro to my favourite doctor. Thats probably why I preferred the first half. My Nyssa obsession also grows. Was that really Adric's nob I saw?

Arc of Infinity
Actually liked this, though the Timelords were a bit trigger happy. Ergon looked *****. The Amsterdam scenes in the first two parts seemed pointless. Liked the ending tho, when Omega got the doc's body.

Snakedance
Wasn't too bothered by this. Tegan didn't convince me, Martin Clunes embarrased himself a bit.

Five Doctors
Despite its flaws its always been a fave of mine, probably because of the slaughtering of the Cybermen, and coz it stars all those Doctors (well, 3). What a shame Tom wasn't in it properly. And I hate the way Borusa is the traitor.

Caves of Androzani
Amazing. Emotional too. Not even the crap monster could spoil it.

Vengeance on Varos
Bit dissapointed with this one. Never had a problem with Colin, but I just thought this was slightly dull, apart for the end to Part 1. I think the Doctor's probably not in this story enough.

Curse of Fenric
I thought this rocked. Even if the way McCoy's episodes are filmed make it look a bit like Eastenders. But with vampires of course.

More are on the way. Will be definitely purchasing my faves.

Bouncelot · Post by **Bouncelot** » Mon Apr 18, 2005 11:59 am

spiderfrommars wrote:Castrovalva
Loved seeing the intro to my favourite doctor. Thats probably why I preferred the first half. My Nyssa obsession also grows. Was that really Adric's nob I saw?

Well the story does involve Hadron energy...

IF you're looking to get some more Who, I'd highly recommend the other McCoy stories released on DVD - Remembrance of the Daleks is one of my faves and the cliffhanger to episode 1 was overdue by about 20 years. Ghost Light is an interesting one, as lots of people say they can't get their heads round the details of the plot, but it's full of great lines and brilliant atmosphere.

But then McCoy is my favourite Doctor (well, ignoring his first season of course), so of course I'm gonna recommend his era.

Post by **spiderfrommars** » Mon Apr 18, 2005 12:10 pm

Remembrance is on the To Do list, though its one I've seen a couple of times before.

I'm half way through Ghost Light and haven't the foggiest as to what is going on!

EDIT - edited last post, it was Snakedance not Kinda that I saw.

Jetfire · Post by **Jetfire** » Mon Apr 18, 2005 5:58 pm

Several times Ghost Light has been quoted as being understandable after the DVD commentary. I don't know (I can barley stand people talking over a good film-used to snap at flatmates all the time about it) as I've nevr heard it but approaching it as The Doctor walking in on a science experiment (look at the names of the aliens).
I still need to totally get my head around it if I was to do a propper explaination of the plot (I won't try) but thats part of it's brilliance. It might be my fav McCoy along with "Remembrance" and "Greatest Show" (Now that is a f##king scary Doctor Who).

Post by **spiderfrommars** » Mon Apr 18, 2005 9:35 pm

Finished Ghost Light. Can't say I liked it. Just seemed a bit too... busy for my tastes. Vampires, maids with guns, insect people, hunters, neanderthals, aliens, superbeings and more... all in a haunted house that isn't very scary.

Maybe 4 episodes would have been better? I thought the music was distracting too.

Will give it another chance tho, see if I can get my head round it.

Bouncelot · Post by **Bouncelot** » Mon Apr 18, 2005 10:24 pm

Ghost Lighe makes more sense after you've watched the deleted scenes, the DVD extras, and the commentary (possibly in that order). And, yes, most of the confusion is because the script was too long and had to be cut. You probably don't need the commentary, but the deleted scenes, the documentary, and the Q&A from a convention should fill in the important gaps.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Apr 18, 2005 11:14 pm

Reading Lungbarrow might help too.

Or just confuse things even more...

Legion · Post by **Legion** » Tue Apr 19, 2005 9:15 am

Fenric is probably my fave McCoy story, will be buying the DVD next month i think... Ghostlight is just plain confusing, maybe i'll get the DVD and see if it makes more sense, but my suspicions about it needing to be longer seem to have been backed up by what you've said...

Funny you should bring up Lungbarrow at this point, am three quarters of the way through it (websnapped it in the end as i couldn't find a reasonably priced real copy for love nor money)... which is a shame as my thirst for the NAs/PDAs and EDAs has really exploded of late but they all (well the decent ones) seem so hard to find.

Bouncelot · Post by **Bouncelot** » Tue Apr 19, 2005 11:12 am

Legion wrote:Fenric is probably my fave McCoy story, will be buying the DVD next month i think... Ghostlight is just plain confusing, maybe i'll get the DVD and see if it makes more sense, but my suspicions about it needing to be longer seem to have been backed up by what you've said...

Pretty much. If you've got the DVD, then the extras do explain most of what had to be cut for timing reasons.

Funny you should bring up Lungbarrow at this point, am three quarters of the way through it (websnapped it in the end as i couldn't find a reasonably priced real copy for love nor money)... which is a shame as my thirst for the NAs/PDAs and EDAs has really exploded of late but they all (well the decent ones) seem so hard to find.

I actually have quite a few spare NAs lying around (I was 9 books away from the complete set when a complete set turned up on ebay, and haven't got round to selling all the spare ones off yet). PM or e-mail me if you're interested in buying some of them.

Legion · Post by **Legion** » Tue Apr 19, 2005 10:16 pm

cool! i'll drop you a line next week (payday!) thanks!

Post by **spiderfrommars** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 5:49 pm

Bouncelot wrote:Ghost Lighe makes more sense after you've watched the deleted scenes, the DVD extras, and the commentary (possibly in that order).

Shouldn't really have to go through all that effort just to understand an episode surely?

I promise to give it another chance tho.

I've been at it again... here are the latest I've sat through:

The Tomb of the Cybermen
As fun as I remembered it, apart from a couple of very shoddy moments (I suppose if they cut the dummy and strings out of the DVD, there'd always be someone that would complain?) The b&w eps often have a great atmosphere, this is a good example. Hard to listen to the Cybermen without thinking of Stephen Hawking tho...

The Claws of Axos
Hardly gripping stuff, but had enough in it to keep me diverted. Had the feel of a 60s Trek episode to me. The bits in the first ep with the tramp on the bike reeked, but Pertwee's acting in the last ep was great. And I perked up when I saw Jo's knickers...

The Talon's of Weng-Chiang
Can't praise it enough... Baker mesmerising, Neela really shows how bland some of the later companions were, loved the two supporting gentlemen, some scary bits... 6 eps flew by like they were 4. I'm feeling charitable and won't mention the rat.

The Visitation
Bit plain I thought. Really felt there were too many companions (who all have the habit of not acting at all when they've not got lines). Why do they always insist on fully lit scenes with unconvincing monsters as well? And a thought.... historically did anyone die in the Great Fire of 1666? Wouldn't that make the Doctor liable?

The Twin Dilemma
Hadn't seen this one for 21 years... I'm no Colin detractor, and really enjoyed his performance here. I can see why he might be a turn off to others, but surely taking 4 eps for a regenerated doctor to settle into his new body is no new thing? Just done differently this time. Pretty much everything else about the episode sucked though.

Jetfire · Post by **Jetfire** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 7:26 pm

Talon's is considered Baker at his finest and a high point of the Baker era. Many point it to being Baker's best performance, I'd say specifically "Robots of death" part 1 would be his finest or "Seeds of Doom".
I slightly disagree with Talon's being the best story but it's an excellent story. Holmes wouldn't reach such heights until Caves of Androzarni again.