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Dr. Who on Sci-Fi Channel in March
Karl J. Smith writes "Dr. Who will be airing on the Sci-Fi Channel in March The DVD release has been moved from February 14th to July 4th (although it's still Feb 14th in Canada).
Be sure to check out the hilarous announcement from the BBC."
Having Bittorrented the whole first series, I'm both delighted and annoyed I'll have to watch it all over again before catching new episodes. If you hvan't seen it yet, you're in for a TREAT!
(NOW is the Golden Age of Sci-Fi.)
"Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus."
Why is it that so rarely, and with US shows almost never, Sci-Fi can contain humour as well as the fantastic? Dr Who, paticularly this new series, has been a superb combination of both the "serious" science fiction combined with the humour of having HUMANS involved in it. This isn't the gag line humour of STNG but the actual real humour of decent TV programmes. The writing in Dr Who is brilliant, the pathos parts are strong, its got the science fantastic and both Rose and Dr Who (as well as Captain Jack) have top moments of both drama and humour.
Series 1 was superb, and Series 2 is shaping up to be even better.
Rose: "But you sound like you come from the North"
Dr: "Lots of planets have a North"
An Eye for an Eye will make the whole world blind - Gandhi
No. A scientist once proved that it was "impossible" for a bumblebee to fly. What he really proved is that if the bee's wings were stiff, then they wouldn't generate enough lift to keep it in the air. Therefore, it's wings must flex. Years later, films proved him right.
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This is series one with Eccleston(on SciFI). Series two is being made in Wales for release in 2006.
DVD of series one will be available 14Feb06. go to CBC Dr Who and follow links on right.
We teach them to take their patriotism at second-hand; to shout with the largest crowd without examining into the right or wrong of the matter--exactly as boys under monarchies are taught and have always been taught. We teach them to regard as traitors, and hold in aversion and contempt, such as do not shout with the crowd, and so here in our democracy we are cheering a thing which of all things is most foreign to it and out of place--the delivery of our political conscience into somebody else's keeping. This is patriotism on the Russian plan.
...is a word which always commemorates a robbery. There isn't a foot of land in the world which doesn't represent the ousting and re-ousting of a longline of successive "owners" who each in turn, as "patriots" with proud swelling hearts defended it against the next gang of "robbers" who came to steal it and did--and became swelling-hearted patriots in their turn.
- Mark Twain, a Biography
The soul and substance of what customarily ranks as patriotism is moral cowardice--and always has been.
- Mark Twain's Notebook
[Patriotism]
- Mark Twain's Notebook
We have a bastard Patriotism, a sarcasm, a burlesque; but we have no such thing as a public conscience. Politically we are just a joke.
- marginalia written in Clemens' copy of The Future in America; A Search After Realities by H. G. Wells
KFG
Eccleston lends his own interpretation to the role, as have all the performers before him, but the resulting character is unmistakably The Doctor. Further, his companion, Rose, is not a ditz (don't let the peroxided hair fool you), but a very capable and driven person in her own right.
They also bring back some old enemies, and they do it very well. You'd think after nearly 40 years, the whole Dalek thing would be worn out. You'd be wrong. With just the tiniest bit of imagination from the series creators, Daleks are damn threatening again. And they don't do it with an excess of outright brutality or graphic violence, just a single-minded, unstoppable efficiency.
About the only thing I don't like about the new series is the newly designed TARDIS. It's too unfamiliar.
Hopefully the SciFi network won't wreck the show by inserting endless commercial breaks. But if you're a Doctor Who fan and you haven't seen these shows yet, you won't be disappointed.
Schwab
Editor, A1-AAA AmeriCaptions
The estate of Terry Nation (the people who own the rights to the Daleks after Nation died in '97) demanded very little in the way of changes to the looks of the daleks. The BBC tried to get them to update the daleks for the 21st century but they wouldn't budge.
Hence why they still look like they do, HOWEVER.. there are a number of Dalek surprises in the new Dr. Who series, so don't be so quick to knock them. (over.. *cough* sorry)
The special effects as a whole on the Dr. Who series vary from okay to excellent.
Special mention should be made of the episodes "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances", which quite frankly are the best scifi episodes i've seen in years bar none, not only for the special effects but for the incredible writing and directing.
If you're familiar with the classic Doctor Who shoe will see enough similarity in the new Doctor Who to invoke fits of nostalgia.
The overall biggest change for me was he pacing of the stories is much, much faster, however, and it took a bit of getting used to. For me, I found the stories closest to old Doctor Who series were "The Unquiet Dead" and "The Christmas Invasion". Aside from the "Christmas Invasion", which is the last story in the 2005 season, the shows are a lot shorter, only 45 minutes.
Technobable is kept relatively low and the acting is first rate. The F/X are what you'd expect from a sci-fi television show today and are mostly first rate. Gone are the days of wobbly sets, but the actor-in-rubber-suit monsters still come and go. Some of the old monsters are back too -- Autons and Daleks.
The series pretty much focuses in on present-day Earth in England. The Doctor and Rose, his new companion, make jaunts to the past and future, but never leave the Earth far behind. There is a bit more "touchy-feely" type stuff than classic Doctor Who, but it thankfully doesn't reach the "soap opera" level.
All in all it was an enjoyable romp through the Whoniverse. It's about time someone in the USA picked up the series.
There's a worryingly comprehensive compilation of all the different theme tune versions which a friend linked me to the other day - the current version is the 'Murray Gold' set. It's a bit of a pastiche of previous iterations, but it's approximately a million times better than the 'Dominic Glynn' version. Ow!
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