Pajiba

Paddy, Nicole, BWeaves....I do believe we were just insulted.

Yes, there's episodes which aren't part of the season arc and don't have to be viewed in a particular order (though the very end of "Turn Left" leads into the series climax and requires knowledge of the previous three years to be effective. It's a pretty intense thirty seconds or so).

Cindy, if you have Barrowman, can I have Tennant? PLEEEEEEEEEZE?????

Jay:

I was just about to comment that I now know what it feels like to be chopped liver. We've been raving about Doctor Who for how many years now, but he couldn't be bothered taking our recommendations?

Anyway, totally agree with "Father's Day" and "Girl in the Fireplace", but "The Doctor Dances" really needs to be on that list. The anguish of The Doctor and his love for Earth have never been better portrayed than in that episode.

So since we're loving British sci-fi these days, I renew my demand for a review of Being Human. Or will I just have to do it myself?

dammitjanet:

I just found an old gas mask (not WWII vintage, but close enough) at a rummage sale when I was home in August. My Halloween costume this year is The Empty Child.

dammitjanet:

I would be honoured to collaborate with you if permitted.

Also, Siddhartha, if you start where the new series starts, you can get by with absolutely no previous knowledge of Doctor Who. They kind of knew that it'd have to be part continuation and part series reboot since younger viewers might not have a clue about the show, so episode 1 of series 1 (with Christopher Eccleston) puts you right in the shoes of someone who has no clue about anything Doctor Who-related.

It only gets confusing if you start on Classic Doctor Who, since there's damn near 40 years of material to wade through there, and not all of it is quality. But if you start on the new series, they really do a good job of guiding you into the universe as a new viewer while throwing in-jokes and winks in for the old-school fans. I started watching Doctor Who when the new series came out, so I had absolutely no clue starting out either. I went backwards from there to classic Who, so NOW I know all the backstories, but not knowing them had absolutely no impact on my ability to enjoy new Who.

I grew up a mean girl. It took me 37 years to find the real me. You have turned me on to Buffy, Dr. Who, Firefly, Battlestar, and now Torchwood. I have always known something was missing from my life, thank you Pajiba for allowing me to find my inner dork.

Paddy, will you be my Pajiba-soul-mate? I'll be your Rose for Halloween!!

I second Nat. Blink scared the crap outta me, but Midnight is hands down my favorite stand-alone. It's such a terrifying view of human nature at it's absolute worst, and Tennant was fucking phenomenal, even more so then he usually is.

Finally!!! Another convert!

The more people we can turn on to Dr. Who, the more likely it is that it will be shown in America. I've been watching this series since 1964, and I've seen episodes that don't even exist anymore. Stupid BBC erased them.

If you want some fun, rent "Dr. Who, The Beginning" DVD's. The first episode introduces Susan Foreman and her grandfather and 2 of her teachers. It's not until several episodes in that you hear, "Dr. Foreman?" and the Doctor answers, "Dr. who?" Skip the second cave man story arc, and jump to the first Dalek story arc. The first time you see the Daleks, they are completely alien and terifying (even with a toilet plunger). You can see immediately why they were a hit.

There's also a wonderful short story arc where they're all stuck in the Tardis, and there's a piece of equipment that is malfunctioning, and the Doctor calls it "the fornicator." With the cost of video tape, they never reshot the scene or dubbed it over.

Now, on to the modern series.

Blink scared the crap out of me.

Sometimes the episodes that don't have the Doctor in them really shine because of the novelty of the different point of view.

I also liked the one with the absorbing monster, because it had a Dr. Who sighting club, which I thought was a cute twist.

My all time favorite episodes were the pair "The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances." The story itself was great and creepy, and of course, it introduced Captain Jack. It was fun to see dueling time travelers. "It's sonic, OK?" "Who looks at a screwdriver and thinks, hum, needs to be more sonic?" "Haven't you ever been bored?"

BWeaves:

Word on the Daleks! Children today are so used to CGI and lots of gore, it's impossible to explain how absolutely terrifying the Daleks were when we first saw them in our tender youth. My brother used to give all metal rubbish bins a wide berth just in case. To this day, that electronic voice saying "EX..TERMINATE" chills me to the core. I know I've posted this before but the reason the Whovian convention is called "Behind the Couch" is because so many of us were so afraid of the Daleks we watched the show literally from behind the couch so that the Daleks couldn't just reach through the screen and exterminate us.

PaddyDog: Yes, yes, yes.

They glided, they swiveled, they had magnets in their plungers so they could pick up stuff, they had pingpong balls with Christmas lights in them so you could tell which one was talking when they blinked on and off, they had camera irises in their eye stalks so they could focus on you the viewer, and when the companions first killed one, it had a slimy octopus looking glove thing in the dome. Every other alien had a head and two arms and two legs. Daleks were so different, you HAD to watch them from behind the couch.

Oh, and remember how "EXTERMINATE" would start off well-modulated and slow and then would get faster and faster and rise to a shrill shriek as they chased their prey?
"RE...SIS...TANCE IS FUTILE"

My recommendations:

If you want to go back and watch the "classic" series, start with Tom Baker's episodes and do them in order, as there are long story arcs. Then go on to Peter Davison's.

If you really liked those, go back to the beginning and watch the very first William Hartnell episode, followed by the first Dalek story arc. Then skip forward to the second Dalek Story Arc where the Dalek's invade London. The Astecs is a good example of the historical episodes from the first doctor.

Then follow those with anything you can find from Patrick Troughton (my favorite doctor). He made the regeneration thing work, and he set the tone for many of the doctor's to come. Besides, Jaime is damn cute in a kilt, and you're introduced to The Brig.

Jon Pertree is stuck on Earth and you don't see much of the TARDIS, but you do get lots of The Brig.

I'm not much of a fan of Colin Baker (who followed Peter Davison), or Sylvester McCoy. And the standalone movie with Paul McGann is a letdown.

I have to confess, when C. Eccleston's first Dalek episode came on, I was sitting in front of the TV with my eyes closed and my fingers crossed, chanting, "Please let there be a plunger, please let there be a plunger." I was so afraid they were going to "improve" the Daleks and remove the plunger. As a kid, you could run around the playground with a plunger under your arm yelling, "EXTERMINATE" and scare the crap out of your playmates.

As an Australian, I have been watching Doctor Who all my life, so it's nice to see you American types finally converting. I'd agree that the older series' were patchy, but there were also some gems in there - too many to mention.

As for Being Human - yes, review please.

Claire:

You hit it. I sat on the couch crying for about an hour after "Father's Day" and then had to go back and watch the bits I'd missed because my eyes were so blurry. My father died when I was 12 so that episode just gnawed at my heart. But then that's the hallmark of a great episode for me, one that actually gets to me, because almost nothing does these days.

Woo! I can't tell you how ridiculously happy this makes me. However, for the record, I agree only with Blink and Turn Left as choices for best eps.

I'd replace the other three with:

- Gridlock
- Partners in Crime (I just love Tennant and Tate in it, although I admit it's just a bit of silly fun)
- You know what? You're right. It's hard to choose non two-parters. I'll stick with Girl in the Fireplace unless something better occurs to me.

And my all time favourite, despite the fact that I like Tennant just slightly better, is The Doctor Dances two-parter.

Great... I guess I'll have to start watching Being Human.

I wanted a 10-yd. long multi-colored scarf all my life, along with a square robot dog.

I used to randomly use "EXTERMINATE" in conversations, and people who did NOT know gave me a wide berth. I pity them.

So, Paddy, will ya?

And, I LOVE ALL YOU PEOPLE!!!!! Where else can we go to geek out over the Doctor???

Greetings, Faithful Viewer!

Delurking for Who love:

I love Turn Left (though I don't love the "mystic Asian" angle), but I don't really consider it a stand-alone episode. It would be okay if you watched as your first episode, but it means so much more in context. And it's such a great ramp-up to the Stolen Planet/Journey's End finale.

I thought most of the good elements of 42 were cribbed from Impossible Planet/Satan Pit. I would substitute The Unicorn and The Wasp - Some great timey-wimey stuff, the whole 20s theme, and an appropriately silly monster. Plus, I love Donna when she's ever so plucky.

Are you fucking serious? You have to pick a day when I'm actually working, like, doing my job and shit, to post this?

That said, I'm thrilled you finally finished and loved it. Told you so.

Jay and Paddy, apparently we don't count for anything around here. Come play in my TARDIS.

Oh, and of course "Doomsday" is the best episode ever. Of course it is. I'm getting choked up just thinking about it. And bravo to putting "Turn Left" in the top five...it's not so much a part of the finale as a ramping up to it, and I would argue that it's really Donna's/Catherine's moment to shine.

(I would take out "42" and put in "Midnight." The ending is so...oooh, I just got chills.)

dammitjanet:

Of course I will. Thought it went without saying that I'm in.

Nicole:

Now you know how I felt when SLW chose days I was visiting clients to run an entire Children of the Earth discussion. I still haven't forgiven him.

Dear Dustin,
I love you dearly. I know, creepy, but when I saw the title of this SRL, I compiled a quick list in my head to see if they matched. They did, in substance, if not completely in order. You're basically my ideal person-who-writes-about-things-that-interest-me. That said, stay away from David Tennant and John Barrowman. They're mine.
xoxo

I'm glad you could decipher that comment Odnon, I just read it back, jeebus what a mess! Dalek was one of the best baddies resurrections and I agree, the Doctor's interaction added hugely to both characters. The Sontaran episode was little weak and I wasn't so taken with the Cybermen either. Given the times I suppose they had to go campy, but it was at the expense of a sense of threat. The older models were didn't seem so easy to run away from.

Anyway, in the spirit of modern Hollywood I'm rebooting my last comment and adding to it:
“As an old-school fan, I loved the Dalek reintroduction episode. As heretical as it is to say about an iconic Dr Who baddie, the Daleks always struck me as kinda stupid and largely unthreatening. For the first time in the history of the show, a Dalek story contained not only a palpable sense of threat ("they climb stairs!") but also pathos. It’s was surprising how loss and crushing isolation can tweak a sympathetic response towards even the most unsympathetic of villains. “

As for the others episodes, I’d throw in Midnight ahead of Turn Left. Like Blink, it used a brilliantly simple dramatic device that proved far more creepy and disturbing than anything millions of CGI dollars could muster. Agree with Blink - the adorable Sally Sparrow, “a big ball of timey wimey stuff” and of course those creepy-ass statues. I didn’t rate 42 so highly, it struck me as a condensed version of Danny Boyle's Sunshine with a slightly different brand of dumb science attached.

The series is in good hands, as evident in any of the Moffat episodes* (wiki it). Newcomers, Darth was was spot on- if you want to dip your toes in, go with a two parter. All of the old episodes were weekly 4 part serials and the cliffhanger is an essential ingredient. Recommendation: Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, Family of Blo… bugger it, they’re all good (with the possible exception of Daleks in Manhattan. Seriously dodgy accent work.)

*As someone mention earlier, if you like Moffat’s work, you have to watch Jeckyl, James Nesbit is truly magnificent. SLW, your assignment if you choose to accept it…

Fuckit, I’ve got work to do. Why do you drop these threads in when I have boring stuff piling up around me that has to be dealt with?

Squirrelgripper: nicely elucidated: "loss and crushing isolation"
That's where I really started to see that theme, not only in the Daleks, but in the Eccleston/Tennant Doctor as well. And it's what I came to love most about the series, and that came so heartbreakingly clear episodes like The Girl in the Fireplace. Fuck, I'm still weeping somewhere down inside me.

Blink is the first hour of television since the creepy assed incest/country bumpkin/WTF IS THIS X-Files episode (you know which one, your asshole slammed shut just thinking about it) to scare the ever living crap out of me. Three days later and I was still poking my head around the shower curtain to make sure no angel statues from hell were about to eat me in my own bathroom.
Posted by: ladydi at September 1, 2009 11:44 PM

OHMYGODYES!!!!!! THAT X-Files episode was the first hour of TV that ever had me going around checking all my doors and windows to make sure they were closed and locked (not that it would have made any difference to THEM!) and Blink still has me nervously checking every statue I see.

BTW, went home and was telling my kids about this posting and the comments.....they didn't need me to tell them what #1 was...they had it figured out. And, Paddy, my love, they think you are incredibly creepy and insane...which is why I love you!!!

And yes, I sent them both pictures of one of the angels on their phones...

"The thing is, if my friends embraced their inner nerds, they'd discover a whole new world of pretty. Doctor Who, Torchwood, Being Human...I don't understand why any heterosexual girl doesn't want to be in on that..."

YES - redfeathers! This is what I continually tell people... even if you don't love sci-fi (which I find impossible to believe)or brilliantly written shows, then just watch for the sheer amount of male hotness. Keep your sparkletards and bring forth Mitchell from Being Human - YUM.

Goodness, I guess I need to get on Being Human after all the love in this thread.

And way to get here eventually, Dustin.

Awesome to see all the Who love here! I know it's a two-parter, but the "Human Nature" episodes (where Tennant becomes a memory-wiped human at a 1913 boarding school) really deserve a place here, although perhaps they wouldn't have as much impact if you didn't already know what the Doctor was like as a Timelord.

What would be the best introductory episodes for old-school Doctor Who? I'd nominate two Tom Baker shows: "City of Death" (which had Douglas Adams as a writer) and "The Talons of Weng-Chiang".

I just stayed up late watching the first three episodes of Being Human, even though tomorrow is my first day back at work. Goddamn you, Pajiba. Goddamn you all to hell.

(And thanks.)