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New Animated Dr. Who Series

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the rockin-the-tardis dept.

smak writes "To celebrate the doctor's fourtieth anniversary, the BBC and Cosgrove Hall Films are webcasting a fully-animated adventure starring Richard E. Grant. You can watch the first episode of Scream of the Shalka and new episodes will be launched every Thursday. Enjoy." It requires Flash 4, but also looks pretty damn cool.

108 of 182 comments (clear)

  1. Showing Dr. Who by The+Munger · · Score: 4, Informative

    At the moment in Australia, we're enjoying Dr. Who weeknights at 6:00. The ABC (Our government run station), is showing them from the very first episodes. Great days for Australian 'Who' Geeks. It's great seeing the emergence of the Daleks and all your old fav's.

    --
    Refuse to make a statement in your sig!
    1. Re:Showing Dr. Who by martinX · · Score: 1

      I never got to see William Hartnell as Dr Who - Jon Pertwee was when I came into the series. I didn't miss much methinks. Things got a lot better in a few short years...

      --
      When they came for the communists, I said "He's next door. Take him away. Goddam commies."
    2. Re:Showing Dr. Who by kubrick · · Score: 1

      I'm really enjoying "The Dalek Invasion of Earth" -- probably the best so far in this run. It's a shame that there are some episodes from back then that weren't preserved, of course...

      --
      deus does not exist but if he does
    3. Re:Showing Dr. Who by Sabalon · · Score: 1

      The Chase, The Keys of Marinus, The Space Museum, The Web Planet - some great Hartnell stories there. I think you missed a lot.

      Though the Pertwee stuff was good as well...probably some of the best.

    4. Re:Showing Dr. Who by cranos · · Score: 1

      God yes, seeing the Daleks trundle around that old Welsh pit again brings back fond memories, and what is even better, is I can now introduce my five year old son to the wonders of $2.00 special effect supporting million dollar actors.

      The only thing I am waiting for is Tom, bring on Tom Baker!!!!

    5. Re:Showing Dr. Who by 1u3hr · · Score: 1
      I never got to see William Hartnell as Dr Who - Jon Pertwee was when I came into the series. I didn't miss much methinks.

      Between Hartnell and Pertwee was Patrick Troughton, probably my favourite, though this is from misty 30-year-old memories. I think a lot of episodes from his era were lost, so you won't see many unfortunately. The first two Doctors did a lot of historical stories, where Pertwee spent most of his stint "trapped" by the Timelords in the 1970s, fighting off alien invasions, which coincidentally mostly seemed to land in England.

    6. Re:Showing Dr. Who by mr+breakfast · · Score: 1

      Not just in England, but in one quarry in England. I mean, what were the odds of that?

    7. Re:Showing Dr. Who by zsau · · Score: 1

      Bastards! That clashes with the Simpsons! Can't the stations co-ordinate, instead of clashing? (And I've only got free-to-air, it's not like there's ten things on at once...)

      --
      Look out!
    8. Re:Showing Dr. Who by zakezuke · · Score: 1

      It's a bit diffrent in America as we don't have goverment owned stations. With the exception of the one staring Paul McGahn (FOX), Dr. Who was carried by our PBS (Public Broadcasting system), which is a publicly funded (comercial free) network. I can't honestly say every PBS station in America carried dr. who... the first time I saw it was when I was visiting relitives in Philly circa early 1980's, but clearly wasn't shown in Virginia.

      But here in Washington they are also showing the very first episodes as well.

      --
      There is no sanctuary. There is no sanctuary. SHUT UP! There is no shut up. There is no shut up.
    9. Re:Showing Dr. Who by timelorde · · Score: 2, Funny

      Not just in England, but in one quarry in England. I mean, what were the odds of that?

      Gee, Doctor, couldn't we cut out a lot of all this travelling about if we'd just move UNIT headquarters there?

      There, there, Jo. I've made a few improvements to Bessie, and we should be there in no time...

    10. Re:Showing Dr. Who by ddimas · · Score: 1

      I'm happy again! Can't wait for next Thursday.

    11. Re:Showing Dr. Who by HTH+NE1 · · Score: 1

      They still show it in Iowa, but Nebraska hasn't had any science fiction programming on their PBS stations for more than a decade, unless you count Queen LaBiblia and her computer 1Z2Z. They brand themselves as Nebraska Educational TeleVision (NETV), unlike Iowa Public TeleVision (IPTV).

      I donated to IPTV last year. Got a little Dalek Rolykins Christmas ornament.

      --
      Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
    12. Re:Showing Dr. Who by BLAMM! · · Score: 1

      Ah, IPTV and Friday Night Sci-Fi. I got my first viewing of the Hartnell years and Blake's 7 from them in the late 90's. Do they still have "Floating Old Guy" for a host?

    13. Re:Showing Dr. Who by computechnica · · Score: 1

      For all those fans who would like to see the Doctor on DVD, about 20 complete episodes are available on Netflix.
      I just put Doctor Who: The Dalek Invasion of Earth (2-Disc Series) (1964) in my rental Queue.

      --
      Science is the Real TRUTH!
  2. Flash 4? by clifgriffin · · Score: 3, Funny

    I hate it when a site thinks they are so big and cool and make you upgrade to the latest player.

    What? Flash 3 couldn't cut it. ARE THEY TOO GOOD FOR FLASH 3?! Geez.

    Blogzine
    Fortress of Insanity

    --
    clifgriffin > blog
  3. Which doctor is this? by jesse.k · · Score: 1

    It doesn't look like Paul McGann to me, is it a new incarnation?

    1. Re:Which doctor is this? by spagnitz · · Score: 2, Funny

      bella lugosi? http://www.dunwich.org/draculea/photos/album/9-dra cula/vtdrcblu.jpg.html

    2. Re:Which doctor is this? by Hadji · · Score: 1

      Apparently. Someone uses a reference to a cat using up it's nine lives, and he says something like, "Rather like me," which implies that he's the 9th.

      Only 4 more to go. Doc's gettin' old. :-( (12 regenerations = 13 doctors, as the first doesn't count as a regeneration, right?)

    3. Re:Which doctor is this? by Robotech_Master · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Richard E. Grant, rumored as the front-runner in the new Dr. Who series being developed by the producer of Queer as Folk. I wondered briefly whether his appearance in this meant he'd landed the role for certain, but a Dr. Who fan tells me that he'd been selected for this long before the new series was decided on.

      (Amusing trivia note: Grant actually already has played the Doctor in live-action...for about thirty seconds, in the Comic Relief charity benefit spoof episode The Curse of Fatal Death .)

      --
      Editor Emeritus and Senior Writer, TeleRead.org
    4. Re:Which doctor is this? by Malc · · Score: 1

      Excellent in Withnail and I

    5. Re:Which doctor is this? by Sabalon · · Score: 1

      Actually, we already saw the last Doctor (evil bastard) in Trial of a Timelord.

      Of course, one fully expects Gallifrey to give the Doctor a complete new set of regenerations for his service, blah blah blah if it ever comes to that.

      Personally I like the Curse of the Fatal Death where he goes through about 5 regenerations in a minute or two.

    6. Re:Which doctor is this? by Performer+Guy · · Score: 4, Informative

      Richard E. Grant is the new doctor. There is some resemblance and of course it is his voice.

      http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/doctorwho/shalka/inter vi ews/grant/

      The BBC's web site also says:

      "Scream of the Shalka
      Richard E Grant stars in the Ninth Doctor's debut adventure."

    7. Re:Which doctor is this? by jesse.k · · Score: 1

      but everyone played the Doctor in that: Hugh Grant, Rowan Atkinson, even Joanna Lumley.

      Come to think of it, it'd be kinda cool to have Joanna Lumley as the new Doctor.

    8. Re:Which doctor is this? by SubtleNuance · · Score: 1

      Withnail and I -- Terrific film, you beat me to the imdb link ;)

    9. Re:Which doctor is this? by DoubleEdd · · Score: 1

      No, the Valeyard was 'somewhere between the twelfth and thirteenth regenerations' or something like that.

  4. Moz by mbourgon · · Score: 1

    Anyone wanna give directions for Moz? I'm running a fairly current nightly, but the Flash installer doesn't seem to work. Any ideas?

    --
    "Sometimes a woman is a kind of religion, she can save your soul & set you free from all your sins" - Bad Examples
    1. Re:Moz by achurch · · Score: 1

      Depends. If you're on Linux, the Flash player seems to have weird shared library dependencies that always make it segfault on my system. Under Windows, the only problems I've had installing Flash are some weird interactions with Samba that make upgrades fail when installing to a network drive--uninstalling and reinstalling fixed it.

    2. Re:Moz by supradave · · Score: 1

      I'm running Linux and it worked just fine on Moz 1.6a. Make sure that libflashplayer.so is in the mozilla/plugins directory.

      If you are on Windows and Mozilla doesn't work, try the browser that comes with the OS. It works when there's a tight spot.

  5. 100 animated tacos.. by bobobobo · · Score: 3, Funny

    Should provide adequate sustinence for the Animated Dr Who marathon!

  6. Who's influence on the Matrix films... by devphil · · Score: 5, Interesting


    It occurred to me the other day that there was a 4th Doctor story ("Deadly Assassin") involving a computer-generated world called the Matrix. One sat down, put some gear on one's head, then appeared inside this world using a virtual body. If one's Matrix body dies, one's real self dies as well. The lone hero struggles against an enemy who can take advantage of the fact that the "laws" of physics, well, aren't.

    No bullet dodging, but given that the BBC's special effects budget was about the price of a cheeseburger, that should come as no surprise.

    --
    You cannot apply a technological solution to a sociological problem. (Edwards' Law)
    1. Re:Who's influence on the Matrix films... by NanoGator · · Score: 4, Informative

      There's also an episode called "Trial of a Time Lord", with Colin baker as the Doctor. The last chunk of it involves entering the 'Matrix'. It was a little different, though. In this ep, the Matrix was a repository of all Time Lord knowledge. Or something like that. Imagine the universe having a black box recording everything that happens, then having a Holodeck to walk into and witness events that occured. It was taken over and the laws of physics were messed up, etc.

      Though I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if this episode had significant influence on the Matrix movies, it'd be difficult to say it was more than simply inspired.

      --
      "Derp de derp."
    2. Re:Who's influence on the Matrix films... by Sabalon · · Score: 1

      I'll take the cheeseburger-priced effects combined with the decent story any day.

      My brain can forgive the cheesy fx, sets, etc... in favour of a plot.

      It can't forgive high-end fx that are just there to be there.

    3. Re:Who's influence on the Matrix films... by devphil · · Score: 1


      The Matrix (at least, the Amplified Panatropic Net) was also a knowledge repository in the previous stories. In fact, I think it's been mentioned in that role in every story set on Gallifrey, even if only a brief scene or two.

      --
      You cannot apply a technological solution to a sociological problem. (Edwards' Law)
    4. Re:Who's influence on the Matrix films... by doubleyou · · Score: 1

      Actually, I think it's more likely that The Matrix films were more directly influenced by William Gibson's fiction, which refers to the fully-emersive VR global communications net as The Matrix. Though arguably, Doctor Who did it first. *shrug* I'm just saying that the idea is far from new, not that you were saying it was...

    5. Re:Who's influence on the Matrix films... by devphil · · Score: 1


      Hear, hear!

      --
      You cannot apply a technological solution to a sociological problem. (Edwards' Law)
    6. Re:Who's influence on the Matrix films... by pyros · · Score: 1

      I just heard a lady on the radio yesterday morning, can't remember her name though, who is suing either studio, the Wachowski brothers, or both, for copyright infringement over the first Matrix movie. She wrote a book and a movie treatment a few years back, and was turned down because the tehcnology for the fx weren't there. She said the FBI was brought in to investigate the claims and concluded that every major character in the movie came straight out of her book. This would certainly explain the last two seemed to resort to such tripe, as the suit only mentions the first movie.

    7. Re:Who's influence on the Matrix films... by joak · · Score: 1

      The plot is much less original than that, of course. I remember a Ben Bova (I think) book from the '60s called "The Dueling Machine" with the same theme. I'd assume there are many long before that, too, though none spring to mind.

  7. The theme! by ThisIsFred · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I guess I'm way out of the loop. What have they done with the theme song? It's all... techno. BTW, does anyone know where I can legally get a Dr. Who theme as an MP3?

    --
    Fred

    "A fool and his freedom are soon parted"
    -RMS
    1. Re:The theme! by dswensen · · Score: 1

      You could always buy this and rip it...

    2. Re:The theme! by ThisIsFred · · Score: 1

      =D

      Thanks!

      --
      Fred

      "A fool and his freedom are soon parted"
      -RMS
    3. Re:The theme! by Chatmag · · Score: 2, Informative

      I found some as wav files, if that helps. Dr. Who Themes scroll down the list for the Dr. Who themes.

      --
      Pete Carr Owner Chatmag.com
    4. Re:The theme! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      There are a number of mixes/arrangmenets of the theme freely and legally available at whomix.mutagene.net. They aren't the original Delia Derbyshire version and none of them try to be, but I humbly suggest that they include some of the better remixes of theme made. Certainly better, for my money, than the mix used in Scream of the Shalka.

      Mind you, the BBC is releasing a Doctor Who remix album in 2004 featuring 808 State, the Orb, Lemon Jelly and a bunch of other artists. That might up the bar a bit.

    5. Re:The theme! by Bobulusman · · Score: 1

      I was just about to comment on this. Granted, I haven't seen a whole lot of episodes, but this thing sound like the some sort of "appeal to younger viewers" update thing. I'm used to #5 from that site linked in the adjacent post.

      --
      Cogito ergo sum in Slashdot.
    6. Re:The theme! by pix · · Score: 1

      Well can you see the title sequences here. I'm sure you could get the theme from them:

    7. Re:The theme! by Robotech_Master · · Score: 1

      Now, if you want to hear some truly bad Dr. Who music, try to find the mp3s that are floating around of the album of songs inspired by and performed by cast members of Dr. Who. Some of them, like "The Earthlings" or "Dance of the Daleks" are decent Ventures-style instrumental rock (that have, nonetheless, little to do musically with pieces from Dr. Who). There are three or four different versions of the Dr. Who theme, including one over which Jon Pertwee reads a poem. And then there are the songs where a cast member of Dr. Who (TV series or movies) sings, which range from odd to awful...and then there's the song "Christmas with a Dalek," which is just fricking weird.

      --
      Editor Emeritus and Senior Writer, TeleRead.org
  8. Wow by crumbz · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I love Dr. Who, but the first four minutes of episode 1, the Shambala or whatever, was really really bad. And not the good campy bad. Just not good. As in bad. Oh well, I guess it is back to my old video tapes of Dr. Who from PBS in the mid-80s. Now where is my BetaMax?

    1. Re:Wow by TomV · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Oh, I don't know. I thought the New Zealand meteorite scene was a little stiff, but basically a tributr to Spearhead From Space and the ubiquitous Pertwee-era yokels. Just one step up from Sam Seeley and the immortal Pigbin Josh.

      After that, things just got better. The new Doctor's first contact with humans in the pub was glorious, then he turned on the charm and kindness, and back at the house he was definitely back into the swing. What I think I loved most was the way Paul Cornell managed to recreate the atmosphere of 1970's Who.

    2. Re:Wow by GMFTatsujin · · Score: 1

      I have to agree. The animationg was less a celebration of the 40th anniversary and more a digging up of your grandmother's corpse and skullfucking it. On Easter. In front of your 5 year old daughter.

      Meanwhile, Big Finish has been pumping out some damn fine original radio drama material for years with Peter Davidson, Colin Baker, and Sylvester McCoy reprising their roles. Paul McGann has been involved too, and numerous companions come back as co-stars. Sir Derek Jacobi has even done a one-shot as the Doctor!

      The BBC is absolutely the wrong outfit to depend on for a reprisal of the Doctor we all know and love. BBC policies drove the original series into the ground in the first place!

      If we *must* have a new TV Doctor, can we get Phillip Hinchcliffe or one of that bunch to come back and produce it? Those middle years of Tom Baker's run were classic -- but for goodness sake, don't let John Nathan-Turner in on it.

    3. Re:Wow by GMFTatsujin · · Score: 1

      I stand corrected.

  9. Re:I wonder..... by QueenOfSwords · · Score: 1

    Wrong comment, please mod down. Arrgh.

    --
    -- INTX Grouch. http://www.midnightblue.net
  10. Techno Dr. Who by apoplectic · · Score: 2, Informative

    Or you could listen to "Doctor?" from Orbital's album "The Altogether" for the truly techno'ed version.

  11. Re:I heard about it... by bakes · · Score: 2, Funny

    I never watched them either - the theme music at the beginning was just too scary.

    The deep, repetitive da-na-na-nnn, da-na-na-nnn, ... and that whiney twangy thing just freaked me out and I had to change the channel.

    From what I've heard, the props were all so bad that the theme was actually the scariest part of the show. Maybe I should have hung around.

    --
    Ho! Haha! Guard! Turn! Parry! Dodge! Spin! Ha! Thrust!
  12. Seems good by Hi_2k · · Score: 1

    I just finished WTFA and I must say, I'm impressed. I've never seen Dr. Who before, but it seems to be an engaging and interesting Sci-Fi series. Maybe we're finaly starting to see the promised media on demand.

    --
    When life gives you crap, Make Crapade.
    Sluggy Freelance.
    1. Re:Seems good by The+Grassy+Knoll · · Score: 1

      If you've never seen Doctor Who before, don't start by watching this animation!

      Full appreciation can only be achieved by watching a classic Jon Pertwee era episode (say the Green Death one), from behind a cushion on the sofa. And by being six years old...

      .

      --
      They will never know the simple pleasure of a monkey knife fight
  13. Yep, you're right. by sethadam1 · · Score: 3, Informative

    There is no spoon.

  14. Why FLASH? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Why is all this crap done in Flash or Shockwave or whatever? Don't they realize that the majority of their viewers (geeks) don't have Flash installed because it's just some method for advertisers to make us all sick?

    Put the damn things out in mpg and I'll watch 'em!

    Hell, I'll even get out my scarf first!

    1. Re:Why FLASH? by BrynM · · Score: 1
      Don't they realize that the majority of their viewers (geeks) don't have Flash installed because it's just some method for advertisers to make us all sick?
      Maybe they do and they just got a bunch of us to re-enable Flash.
      --
      US Democracy:The best person for the job (among These pre-selected choices...)
    2. Re:Why FLASH? by bug-eyed+monster · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Ahh, young nerds today, so full of righteous energy, so not very resourceful. Flash isn't too bad, it has no DRM (yet), it has no spyware or adware, no need to banish it forever. Grasshopper, this is how you access the few Flash sites that are actually useful:

      You have one stripped-down browser to do safe surfing (I use Opera 5 with no JavaScript, no Flash, no nothing, nice and safe). You have one browser to do e-errands like banking, buying, whatever that requires JS (I use Mozilla). Then you have the plug-in browser, that you use as a last resort to browse sites with Flash, Java, etc (I use Netscape 4.5, it works well, believe me!)

      When it's time to visit homestarrunner, or watch Dr. Who, you simply fire up the old plug-in browser, have your fun, and shut it down quick, and nobody's the wiser.

      Oh and please, don't go telling me the world is screwed up, that one should be able to use just the one browser for everything. That world ended when the first marketing consultant was spawned.

    3. Re:Why FLASH? by hyrdra · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Because MPEG is expensive, both in bandwidth and server CPU. It can't be easily compressed further during transport (like Flash) and is terribly inefficient at simple animation like this series (at least not without a lot of optimization and tweaking). It's also resolution dependant meaning if they did offer it in MPG, it would be painful to watch, in a tiny 320x240 size.

      Flash is vector based graphics with some code to make it all move and some sound. It has the added benefit of being both animation studio and viewer of the final product, which makes it a perfect choice for animation like this, so much that there is a whole genre of (entertaining) flash mini-series out there on the 'net.

      Get off your righteous high arse, download Flash, disable it if you must, and enable it when you want to view things like this. Personally, Flash ads are offensive and annoying, but I find I can quickly ignore them -- filter them out, or turn them off within an instant when the need arises. Flash itself isn't bad, just like HTML itself isn't bad. That doesn't mean I am going to uninstall my web browser because I can't stand the latest X10 (HTML) ad.

      --


      "I'll just chip in a bit for RedHat: I actually have that installed on my university machine." - Linus, '95
    4. Re:Why FLASH? by Trejkaz · · Score: 1

      mplayer?

      --
      Karma: It's all a bunch of tree-huggin' hippy crap!
    5. Re:Why FLASH? by TomV · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It's done in Flash, oddly, for the very reason you've posited - to make it available to the widest possible audience, *given the quality they wanted for this production*. MPG would have been very portable, but to allow the smoothness and image quality at full-screen, the file sizes would have excluded those of us not on broadband. With Flash there's less need to compromise between the neds of the 56k audience and the ADSL audience. Remember, the target audience is not geeks but people interested in a new Doctor Who adventure. Which potentially encompasses everyone in Britain over the age of 20 (able to remember when it was an almost universally watched kingpin of the Saturday Night primetime TV lineup for 26 years).

      There are hints at the BBCi site that these animations may run at least until the new live-action series starts on BBC1 in 2005, and even beyond that.

    6. Re:Why FLASH? by cliveholloway · · Score: 1
      You might want to download MozillaFirebird, and then install the Flash Click-to-view plugin.

      A lifesaver!

      cLive ;-)

      --
      -- Trinity in high heels carrying a whip: The donimatrix - there is no spoonerism
    7. Re:Why FLASH? by penguin7of9 · · Score: 1

      Flash itself isn't bad, just like HTML itself isn't bad.

      The two are completely different. Flash is a proprietary, binary format under the control of a single company. HTML is an open, text-based standard being developed openly.

    8. Re:Why FLASH? by DLWormwood · · Score: 1
      That world ended when the first marketing consultant was spawned.

      And that world will never return because they keep coming back after you frag them...

      --
      Those who complain about affect & effect on /. should be disemvoweled
  15. Orbital by OS24Ever · · Score: 2, Informative

    Orbital on "The Altogether Now' has a song that is Doctor ? which is a nice techno version

    --

    As a rock-in-roll Physicist once said, No matter where you go, there you are.

  16. What if we never saw the 1st? by Click+0+Nett · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Would it ruin anything if one watched these new animated eps without seeing *any* of the original series?

    --

    Like eagles on pogo-sticks! -- Glottis

    1. Re:What if we never saw the 1st? by TomV · · Score: 3, Informative

      There is a scholl of doctor Who continuity which goes for in-depth exhaustive analysis of past stories. However, one of the core features of Doctor Who to date has been that it consists of multi-part stories (usually 4 or 6 parts but up to 12 occasionally), at the end of which the Doctor and his travelling companion depart for a new destination and the reset switch is thrown. Knowing that the setting of Shalka is somewhat reminiscent of the early 1970's TV stories adds a certain rich piquancy for the long term fan, but with a new Doctor (Richard E Grant) introduced somewhere in the middle of his life here, he arrives into a strange and dangerous situation and proceeds to investigate and make things better: that's all you need. Absolutely no prior knowledge *needed*.

      Go on, it's fab.

    2. Re:What if we never saw the 1st? by h4rm0ny · · Score: 1

      Not really. The only risk is that watching it will make you think Dr. Who is not as great as it is. This animated episode, though kind of fun, is not a patch on the TV series.

      Just so you know - this is the ninth Doctor. There all sort of the same person, and there all sort of not.

      Enjoy! But if you're not watching from behind the sofa by the end, then it's not proper Dr.Who.

      --

      Aide-toi, le Ciel t'aidera - Jeanne D'Arc.
  17. Done before with Douglas Adam's script by NaugaHunter · · Score: 4, Informative

    Here - all six episodes.

    I'd never really watched Dr. Who before, but I enjoyed this - probably because of Professor Chronotis and good ol' Adam's wit. I'll watch the newer ones when I get a chance, but I figured I'd point this out for those the Adam's fans that didn't see the link on the bbc page.

    (There's also another 6 episodes called 'Real Time', talking about the return of Cyber Men. Probably an inside Dr. Who thing - if you've never seen Dr. Who but are interested and are a Douglas Adam's fan his series is probably the best introduction.)

    --
    R: That voice. Where have I heard that voice before? B: In about 365 other episodes. But I don't know who it is either.
    1. Re:Done before with Douglas Adam's script by TomV · · Score: 1

      If you can get hold of a VHS tape of the story 'City Of Death' from series 17 (1979), it's another Adams-penned story (credited to 'David Agnew' as a series' script editor wasn't really supposed to submit scripts) which was completed (the original production of Shada was disrupted by strikes in 1979 and never broadcast) and which consistently comes top three in fan polls of favourite Who stories over the last two decades. It's just delicious. Sadly this isn't one of the DVDs released so far.

      Adams also wrote The Pirate Planet in season 16, but it's not a patch on City Of Death.

    2. Re:Done before with Douglas Adam's script by Kennric · · Score: 1

      Ha! Thank you for the link, I had forgotten the Dr. Chronitis/Cambridge/Dr Who/Douglas Adams link... I recently re-read Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, and had completely forgotten the Dr. Who background to the story.

      Everyone, go read Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency and Long Dark Teatime of the Soul. Quiz later.

  18. 9th Doctor by Chuck+Chunder · · Score: 2, Informative

    It says so on the webpage

    --
    Boffoonery - downloadable Comedy Benefit for Bletchley Park
  19. BBC owns the Net by Zeromous · · Score: 5, Interesting

    What can I say other than it seems to me the BBC has an amazing handle on the Internet, and how to use it to its fullest potential. It seems every week something prompts me to say out loud: "BBC Rules!".... ..In fact, so much more than any other pre-internet broadcaster I have seen. "Major Kudos", its nice to watch some Doctor for the first time in a long time.

    --
    ---Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A START
    1. Re:BBC owns the Net by the_womble · · Score: 1

      The reason is simple. They do not have to figure out how to make money from the internet. On top of this they have huge amounts of good content available from their broadcast channels.

      The British TV license (a lot less than a satellite of cable TV sub btw) pays for all this.

    2. Re:BBC owns the Net by Blue+Stone · · Score: 2, Interesting
      The BBC is using the internet in innovative, creative, positive ways, but that doesn't please some people.

      Rupert Murdoch of the UK's SKY, and the US's Fox is out to crush the BBC's website, along with others, strangely and disturbingly including the respected Left-Wing Guardian Newspaper. Here's one of their hatchet articles.

      These companies want to ruin it for everyone, to serve their own selfish interests.

      A recent review by the UK government took place. Let's hope they aren't swayed by these bodies, and leave the BBC's internet arm alone.

      I know that much of my license fee's value comes from the BBC website, their news, features [like this Dr.Who thing] and radio, rather than tv (of which I seem to watch less and less.) Any reduction in it's scope would be a Bad Thing(TM).

      --
      Corporation, n. An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility. - Ambrose Bierce
  20. Good Point though by Nazmun · · Score: 1

    It's great to see a new site not requiring us to use the latest and bloatedest software (what are we up to now? Flash 7?).

    --
    Hmmm... Pie...
    1. Re:Good Point though by Trejkaz · · Score: 1

      "Flash MX". Think of it like "Flash Must Xuck"

      --
      Karma: It's all a bunch of tree-huggin' hippy crap!
  21. I just looked at the pictures. :-) (n/t) by Hadji · · Score: 1

    (n/t)

  22. Re:I heard about it... by crabpeople · · Score: 3, Interesting

    its clearly the best show. you have a time traveller who goes around solving other peoples problems and dependning on which one you watch he has a different personality. but always he is knowledgeable and intelligent moreso than everyone else. he also frequently changes nice looking english hoes. might i add, also from all time periods.

    of course the 4th and 7th are most memerable to me. maybe the 2nd one was good too.

    Marshal: 'How can we have peace until we have the ultimate deterrent that will ensure a lasting peace?'
    Doctor: 'Tell me Marshal, if you had this ultimate deterrent, what would you do?'
    Marshal: 'Use it of course, make sure it works.'
    Doctor: 'Yes... You have a true military mind, Marshal.'
    Marshal: 'Thank you.'
    --
    k9 rocks the casbah too:

    Drax: 'Blimey, it's a dog! Who's a little tin dog, then?'
    K9: 'Your silliness is noted.'
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/doctorwho/episodeguide/a rmageddonfactor/quote.shtml

    also i have tonnes of pirate dr who. if anyone has a nice ftp or collection of torrents i would be happy to trade. :)

    --
    I'll just use my special getting high powers one more time...
  23. Re:Mods on crack! by ultranova · · Score: 1

    Because IE is inferior to Mozilla in terms of usability - no tabs, no popup blocking, no ability to allow scripts and only disable certain script actions - and stability - the longer it runs, the more problems it develops and the more likely it will hang (althought, to be fair, one cannot except a Windows program to keep running when the operating system itself crashes). I'm not even going to security...

    --

    Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.

  24. Many Episodes still missing? by benwaggoner · · Score: 1

    Back when I paid attention to Dr. Who in detail (late 80's), there were lots of missing episodes from the early years, especially the first two Doctors. The BBC had somehow lost all copies of them internally.

    Have all or at least some of these been found in the last ~15 years?

    --

    My video compression blog
    1. Re:Many Episodes still missing? by andy+landy · · Score: 2, Informative

      When I last heard, there were 110 episodes missing (This was 10 years ago)

      These are mostly Hartnell and Troughton episodes. During the Pertwee era (Colour) the BBC took black & white footage too, and although some colour footage is missing, all the black and white films remain. Additionally, the BBC still has audio recordings of everything.

      Since the BBC sold stories to other countries, occasionally, foreign copies are found (Sometimes in the vault of a crypt, somewhere in mid-eastern Europe), but it looks like it's slowing down.

      I did have a list of exactly which episodes were missing, if anyone's interested, I could probably dig it up.

      For those interested in the cause; as I recall, the BBC had two distinct branches, BBC Worldwide and BBC something-else. Each branch thought the other had the 'master copies' of the films, so junked theirs - they were stopped before all the Doctor Whos (or is that Doctors Who?) were destroyed, but of course, some didn't make it.

      --
      perl -e 'print "Just another Perl newbie\n";'
    2. Re:Many Episodes still missing? by hesiod · · Score: 1

      > before all the Doctor Whos (or is that Doctors Who?)

      It's "Dr. Who episodes." :)

  25. Re:I heard about it... by Artifex · · Score: 1

    Thanks, I needed a new signature.
    That just cracked me up.

    --
    Get off my launchpad!
  26. Saturday night live skit by t0qer · · Score: 2, Funny

    I remember this SNL skit about this copier that took a crappy show's script, and made it something better. Case in point on the script was the golden girls got turned into designing women.

    I think if Dr. Who went through the same machine, we would end up with a show starring Scott Bakula as this time traveler that went around solving peoples problems, K-9 would be replaced by ziggy, and Dean Cain would replace the Dr.s female sidekick.

  27. Animated...? I thought it was anyway by Solo-Malee · · Score: 1

    All those wobbly cardboard sets and rubber clad monsters, I guess it wasn't so hard to make an animated series using the sets that they used in the 'live action' version.

    --
    "If it's lost, it'll turn up. Things always do" "I love it when a plan comes together"
  28. A bit off-topic... by GwabbaWabba · · Score: 1

    Am I crazy or is the male bartender in the 2nd episode wearing a Bobbins/Scary-go-Round tshirt?

  29. Flash is really annoying. by blair1q · · Score: 1


    Here I sit with the finest computing gear $2K can buy and I can't FF or REW a video presentation?

    What a load of dingoes kidneys this is.

    This is no way to show a show.

  30. Legality by NiteHaqr · · Score: 1

    Is it illegal for me to post a link to a publically available file on someone's website if the link is not immediately obvious????

    For example, by using wget (and not even my "hacked" version that ignores robots.txt files) I can grab the source of a page and from there see where the links to, in this case, the SWF files for these are.

    So if I provide links to files that I can see in your browser with no restriction am I breaking the law?

    1. Re:Legality by TomV · · Score: 1

      Not at all. I see no problem with pointing out that episode 1 part one is at http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/doctorwho/shalka/one/fla sh/broadone.swf and that substiting 'broadtwo', 'broadthree', broadfour' into the URI will get the other files for episode one.

      However, I'm viewing it from the BBC site because I want them to see the hits to encourage them to do more web animations and so the bosses can see that the spend was worthwhile.

    2. Re:Legality by NiteHaqr · · Score: 1

      I agree with the previous post and that people should view on the site to encourage.

      However - in a same topic (legality) but different subject (Harry Potter), here are the links to the trailer. Dont see any point in going to the website for these really as they will keep churning them out as long as they make money.

      http://raincloud.warnerbros.com/harrypotter/us/m ed /azkaban/azk_tlr1_500.rpm
      http://pdl.warnerbros.c om/harrypotter/us/med/azkab an/azk_tlr1_500.wmv
      http://media.warnerbros.com/a ll/quicktime/need_qt4 .mov

  31. Re:I heard about it... by Marcus+Brody · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The deep, repetitive da-na-na-nnn, da-na-na-nnn, ...

    There is a story behind the music. It was written by Delia Derbyshire, who was working for the BBC Radiophonics workshop. She was an absolute pioneer in electronic music, who worked by physically cutting, pasting, splicing and stretching pieces of tape to creat some real groundbreaking noises.

    Her work was hugely influential on modern music - you can see her influence in The Beatles, and many fashionable young electronics gurus cite her (e.g Aphex Twin, Autechre).

    I guess this is one of the things that makes a cult program - all the stories and folklore that enshroud it.

  32. It's not bad, actually by ldm · · Score: 1

    I got to see the first half hour of this at Panopticon this year (the 1st & 2nd of November... this certainly took its time to hit slashdot!)... I'm not even a Dr Who fan and I found this to be pretty good... definitely entertaining. The story just draws you in...

    My GF is converting me to Who fandom. I am afraid.

    1. Re:It's not bad, actually by ldm · · Score: 1

      Well, what I saw was a solid half hour of this... which the audience certainly approved of. I don't know how many episodes it was...


      *** SPOILER ***



      *** No I'm not kidding ***



      ... but it ended with Alison & co driving a truck out, then Alison disappearing into lava.

      *** END SPOILER ***




      Going by the length, I would *guess* that we saw up to the end of episode 2. I just watched the first episode from the site... jeez, and I thought they left us hanging at the con!

  33. Re:Awful animation by squiggleslash · · Score: 1
    It's a shame more traditional cell animation is giving way to this paperdoll-style flash crap.
    As far as I'm aware, there never was a cell animated Doctor Who. Doctor Who was live action, and as far as I'm aware always was. Indeed, in some ways, using Flash and similar technologies is the most appropriate way of doing this - the original Doctor Who was famous for its low budget effects, likewise Flash is animation on a budget. The skills of the artist become absolutely critical, instead of the amount of cash in hand.
    They should just do a radio play and distribute it as Ogg Vorbis files.
    I think radio plays distributed over the Internet in Vorbis, MP3, or AAC formats would be a nice idea in general.
    --
    You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
  34. Daleks and Time Lords and Tardis oh my! by I-R-Baboon · · Score: 1

    I remember watching the black&white Dr. Who on PBS everytime I could. I found Tom Baker (Doctor #4) with Leela and K9 to be my favorite, but later Doctors where tolerable. This is true nostalgia restored at it's finest! No scarf or Jelly Bellies true, and a bit odd artwork but in true Dr. Who fashion the story hooks you deep and hard pulling you in.

    So...how long till DVD box sets!

    --
    -1 Overrated (Too many big words for me to comprehend)
  35. Neo,schmeo by mblase · · Score: 1

    . In this ep, the Matrix was a repository of all Time Lord knowledge.

    This sounds more like the Autobot Matrix of Leadership than Neo's Matrix. One probably shouldn't derive too much meaning from an obviously overused word.

    1. Re:Neo,schmeo by jd142 · · Score: 1

      No, in the one of the Tom Baker stories the Doctor and the Master both enter the Matrix and fight in the battleground of the mind. And if you die there, you die for real. (Sorry, couldn't resist all the cliches. Well, they're cliches now, but they weren't at the time.) The Master is defeated, but manages to escape at the last minute.

      It really is a virtual reality world in the story. The master controls the environment much more than Neo or Agent Smith does. We don't get to see superhuman battles, just surreal scene changes.

  36. Re:Flash 4? by dr_eaerth · · Score: 2, Informative

    If you happen to be on Windows, and you might not, Media Player Classic plays these. Just download the swf file and grab the slider and scroll to after the "Loading" screen.

  37. But why.. by adeyadey · · Score: 1

    ..have they got "Shaggy" from scooby-doo in the first part?

    Otherwise not too bad, maybe a bit thin in parts. Still cant beat Tom Baker..

    --
    "You lied to me! There is a Swansea!"
  38. Re:Flash 4?-Crawl before you can dial. by Abreu · · Score: 1

    I am on dialup and I can see it fine...

    --
    No sig for the moment.
  39. Meanwhile, the *REAL* Dr. Who 40th Anniversary... by acroyear · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ...can be found over at Big Finish productions, where for their 50th Doctor Who CD (nicely enough being released this month), they united pretty much every single actor who's played on their shows so far, including the last 4 doctors, most of their respective companions including their "new" companions they've added to keep some variety into the show, Nick Courtney as the Brig, John Leeson as K9, and a whole bunch of others, for a 3-CD story.

    There's a wonderful set of pictures from the recording sessions available. Yes, the various doctors are getting old, and only McGann could probably reprise his role on screen...but on the radio/audio, the voice and your memories and imagination make it all work.

    --
    "But remember, most lynch mobs aren't this nice." (H.Simpson)
    -- Joe
  40. Re:Meanwhile, the *REAL* Dr. Who 40th Anniversary. by athos-mn · · Score: 1

    Thanks for the plug - compared to much of what the BBC has put out lately on Doctor Who (Death Comes to Time, and those two unfortunte stories with Jon Pertwee), it's nice to know that there's a group that really has the spirit of Doctor Who in their stories and directing.

    And they even make Colin Baker look good!

  41. Re:Meanwhile, the *REAL* Dr. Who 40th Anniversary. by acroyear · · Score: 1

    as long as you don't actually have to *look* at him...damn, but he's gotten old recently...

    --
    "But remember, most lynch mobs aren't this nice." (H.Simpson)
    -- Joe
  42. Moo by Chacham · · Score: 1

    Again! THis nis *really* annoying.

    STOP PUTTING THE STORY IN THE TITLE!!!

    The story does not mention "Dr. Who" it just mentions "the doctor". Talk about bad journalism. Sheesh!

    --
    Have you read my journal today?
  43. Re:I heard about it... by doom · · Score: 1
    There is a story behind the music. It was written by Delia Derbyshire, who was working for the BBC Radiophonics workshop. She was an absolute pioneer in electronic music, who worked by physically cutting, pasting, splicing and stretching pieces of tape to creat some real groundbreaking noises.
    Well, Delia didn't really *write* it, there was a score written by Ron Granier. What she did do was to bring it to life, implementing it in electronic tones at a time long before synthesizers were common, long before people like Moog started creating ones that were accessible to musicians. You might call her the "arranger/producer", though of course that understates her contribution as well.

    It is true that it was a real crime that the BBC originally only credited Ron Granier for the theme, ignoring Derbyshire's huge contribution (supposedly Ron Granier didn't even recognize the theme when he heard her rendition of it)... but there's no need to go the other way and understate what Ron Granier did.

    (Ron Granier also did the superb theme for The Prisoner, by the way.)

  44. Re:I heard about it... by Marcus+Brody · · Score: 1

    Thanks for clearing that up.... I did know that, was just being sloppy!

    Anyhow, i allways much preffered the prisoner (as a series) to Dr Who!

  45. Re:Meanwhile, the *REAL* Dr. Who 40th Anniversary. by athos-mn · · Score: 1

    That would, of course, be the advantage to audio. :) I suppose they also had to wait this long to figure out a way to make his Doctor actually likeable.