Online Doctor Who Documentary

mikey writes "There's an online documentary called Planet of the Doctor about the influence of Doctor Who. It's put out by the CBC and it's got some decent interviews with original producers, writers, and cast as well as fans and others. So far, it's been very entertaining and informative. They've got four episodes out with another couple to come. If you're a Doctor Who fan (or even a generic Sci-Fi fan) it's worth checking out."

Comments

I've never seen Dr. Who

[kingofalaska]

I thought it might be something else, but when I got to the site all I got were Volkswagon ads.

Am I alone in being turned off by excessive commercialism? For example, the latest Star Wars offering may be entertaining, but with all the tie-ins, from Pepsi to fast foods to Saturday morning cereal advertisements aimed at children, to my formerly-favorite candy M&M's (for which I almost went to jail over once-don't ask), coupled with all the astroturfing...well the stench of desperation is turning my appetite off. And that's just one example.

I'm ready for a revolution. Tear it all down and start fresh, or at least, let the writing and acting stand on its own.

KOA

Re:I've never seen Dr. Who

[zakezuke]

Am I alone in being turned off by excessive commercialism?

Part of the reason I enjoyed Doctor Who in the first place was it was produced by the BBC, non-commercial television, and shown in America on PBS, non-commercial television. To answer your question you are not the only one turned off by seeing VW every time you see a CBC Who reference.

If you are trully interested in the subject see http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/
No commercials, no Volkswagons.

Spoiler for 'Dalek' from new series

[meringuoid]

Why is the current Doctor *needy* and petty with an apparent infatuation with a 19 year old?

Possibly because the Time Lords have been exterminated. It seems that there was a Time War in which both the Time Lords and the Daleks were wiped out; the Doctor claims that this was his doing.

For eight whole lives the Doctor was the superior being, a Time Lord from Gallifrey, impressing the hell out of the lesser humans - but he never needed them. Now, though, there's no home to go to, no Gallifrey, no Time Lords, just him and the TARDIS. No wonder he's clingy with Rose: he's got nobody else now.

Re:IGNORE PARENT

[jd]

Oh, and a few other points. Pirate copies were also made by TV studios, which is why we have copies of some of the rarer stories. And any copy kept by a TV station after broadcast was considered illicit, which means that the recovered Tomb of the Cybermen was an illegal copy at that time.

Secondly, yes we DO have off-air recordings on DVD. Some of the grainier recordings used in recovered stories (I think Invasion may have been one of these) were fan recordings, which is why they are of such low quality. Good quality recordings are used where they exist, but they don't always exist.

And, to answer another troll, yes the BBC should damn well have been saved from its mistakes. First, the BBC is owned by the British Public, and the British Public wanted (and wants) those stories. Those who pay the piper call the tune.

We aren't talking about some namby-pamby private corp that can do what it likes in its own private dungeon. The BBC is public property, and answers to it.

Re:New series lacks charm

[Fross]

So why go to early 21st century London so often?

because this is where the series is grounded - it's where rose comes from, and it's where the viewer comes from. this isn't about pure escapism, it's about relating these outlandish situations to things people can understand.

having said that, it does sound like it's dumbed-down - it isn't. and the later episodes do go off galavanting around other times for a lot longer - in fact, around the double-episode in the middle of the series, it's quite a shock to go back to the 21st century.

the return to our time is also about continuity - without it, it would simply be "rose and the doctor and different things every week" - i for one feel the series gains from these extra characters, it helps flesh out the protagonists. some recurring other characters (no spoilers!) also help.

while i was one of the other many kids terrified by daleks and cybermen in the late 70s, looking back on them there is no denying the original series are crap. the laughable special effects aside, the plots are tenuous and the dialogue at times abysmal. these are all areas i think the new series has pulled away from and improved. it HAS kept the quirkiness of the doctor particularly well, it's going to be sad to see christopher ecclestone leave after just one series. it does, however, maintain the slightly patronising plot-explaination within almost every episode, where perhaps it could have been a little more subtle. but maybe they thought they'd alienate the american audience by doing that ;)

if you guys are only a few episodes in... KEEP WITH IT. the first few set the scene and illustrate the changes, and are a bit samey. they do improve, though, and start getting awesome around episode 6.