Doctor Who

[Made of Ghosts]

I'm reading The Writer's Tale at the moment, which is a collection of RTD's correspondence around the time he was writing Tennant's final seasons. It's a great book, the writing's really engaging and Davies himself is a charismatic and disarmingly honest narrator, but he's so inordinately pleased with his crappy scripts. He's completely unconcerned when they don't make sense, is really defensive of his practice of doing nothing for weeks and then writing them in a big rush at the end of the process, and generally just thinks he's the best thing ever. I'm not doubting the guy got some great character moments in there (and Moffat's recent efforts have really thrown RTD's strengths into sharp relief) but sometimes you're reading the book and you just want to shake him for being so goddamn pleased with himself.

This was exactly my experience. it's a terrific book and sometimes he seems genuinely wise and knowledgeable but there are other times when he needs a slap. Like when he thinks Last of the Time Lords is a masterpiece and tries to fix The End of Time by inexplicably chucking the Daleks in. And he forgives his plot holes and deus ex machinas far too easily. The best bit is when he's unhappy with the Rose/clone doc ending of Journey's End, and you're like YES OBVIOUSLY, then a few pages later he's all "oh I've rewritten a couple of lines, it's fine now".

[Space Gibbon]

It's interesting to see how Benjamin Cook persuades him out of some of those decisions. Maybe he should be writing Doctor Who, rather than Doctor Who Magazine.

[Harsin]

Trailer description from ComicCon. The Smith/Tennant parts already sound scarily obnoxious to me.

We just saw the first footage from Doctor Who's 50th anniversary here at Comic-Con. We expected hilarious banter between stars Matt Smith and David Tennant, and a haunting look at the forgotten Doctor John Hurt. But we got much, much more.

The trailer starts out on a haunting, dark note Matt Smith is walking in the TARDIS, while in voiceover he says, "I've had many faces. Many lives. I don't admit to all of them. There's one life I've tried very hard to forget." And we glimpse the Doctor talking to Clara about his greatest secret.

And then what looks like the Time War, between the Daleks and the Time Lords!

Seriously. Daleks blowing up, flames everywhere, everything going to Hell. And in the middle of all the carnage, John Hurt as the non-Doctor, looking resolute. "Great men are forged in fire," he says. And then something about being the man who lit the flames.

And then, we get Tennant and Smith. Tennant, in his TARDIS, yells "Allons-y," while Matt Smith, in his, yells "Geronimo!"

Rose pops up and warns that "the moment is coming." And John Hurt's non-Doctor says that he is ready for what's going to happen.

And then: the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors comparing their sonic screwdrivers, as Tennant looks possibly a bit jealous of Smith's screwdriver. And then a shot of both of them wearing clever glasses, while Smith wears his fez and they look delighted with their cool gear. And then a glimpse of Rose, looking excited.

Oh, and the TARDIS being airlifted down to Trafalgar Square with the Doctor hanging down from it.

Smith is in the TARDIS, when he says, "I remember this. I pretty much remember." And we see twinkly lights traveling across the Earth.

David Tennant and John Hurt are inside Matt Smith's TARDIS. "Oh, you've redecorated. I don't like it," Tennant says, channeling Patrick Troughton in "The Three Doctors."

A title appears: "This fall, the Doctor will face his darkest day: Himself."

And we see Zygons, plural. Busting out of a glass case. And then some more shots of Daleks blowing up and being torn apart and generally being Da-wrecked.

Inside the TARDIS, Tennant tells Smith, "For once, I would like to know where I'm going." Smith responds: "No, you really wouldn't."

And then, someone says, "I'm looking for the Doctor." And the camera pans around to show Hurt, Tennant and Smith, with the two Doctors trying not to look at their unacknowledged predecessor. Tennant shrugs and says, "Well, you've certainly come to the right place."

[kensei]

I think everyone can have a fairly accurate stab at how they'll play Tennant / Smith. Get over it.

Sounds ok, given the parameters of the anniversary. That one was never going to be four people and the Doctor in a bunker.

[Sprite Machine]

What did you think of the season as a whole Sprite? Personally I think it's the worst Tom Baker season so far, and the only season in his run without a single classic story. That's not to say it's not generally enjoyable, and Tom Baker continues to be watchable. But compare it to Horror of Fang Rock or Image of the Fendahl from only the previous season and it's barely recognisable as the same show. And it gets worse before it gets better.

Oh, I dunno, I don't think there's such a big drop in quality as you say. Certainly, the tone has changed and I agree there are no outright classics in season 16, but I did really enjoy The Pirate Planet and I quite like the humour that has been injected into the scripts.

But yeah, I agree that 14/15 have been the high points of my entire runthrough so far.

Thanks for the link to the trailer; is it safe to watch before I've finished this season?

---

Some delayed (and fairly brief) thoughts on the next three serials. As ever, see the blog pages for pictures:

Destiny of the Daleks

Just what did happen to Davros after the collapse of the Kaled city in 'Genesis of the Daleks'? While we're led to believe that history played itself out as normal - Daleks battled Thals, invaded the Earth, followed the Doctor through time and space, and got their city blown up - Destiny of the Daleks sees them returning to the ruins of their planet in search of their creator and master, who has been held in suspended animation for hundreds of years.

[Picture: Blow the cobwebs off, good as new.]

The futility of war is the main theme of this story, as the Daleks have reached a stalemate in a war with the robotic Movellans. They want to revive Davros in order to give them new programming that will win them the war, the twist being that two computerised minds cannot outthink one another, amusingly demonstrated by the Doctor doing paper/scissors/stone with one of the Movellans. As a theme, this works quite well, and there's a threat of planetary annihilation to add some suspense.

[Picture: Ever loyal to their master, the Daleks willingly blow themselves up without a thought for self-preservation.]

But, ultimately, it feels a bit wasted. Davros is brought back, but he's more of a liability than a threat, and he and the Doctor don't exchange enough good banter. The Movellans, who are made out to be an even bigger threat, have the most ridiculous weakness, falling over incapacitated when their "batteries" (which they keep within easy reach on their belts) are removed. Additionally, what should be quite a serious situation is punctuated by a few too many silly moments, worst of all being the introduction of the newly regenerated Romana, who changes her appearance as if she was choosing a new outfit - since when was regeneration such a casual occurrence?

[Picture: Romana chooses Princess Astra as her new appearance, and a pink variation of the Doctor's attire. The whole thing is handled rather too casually for my liking.]

So, is it good to see Davros back again? Not really. While the story had potential and interesting themes, it didn't really work for me. On the plus side, it leaves it open for more Davros appearances in future.

----

City of Death

The Doctor takes Romana on a school trip to Paris. No, not really, but that's what it looks like. As they actually went to Paris to film this one, there is an awful lot of on-location scenes, running around the city while jaunty music plays, presumably in an effort to get their money's worth! Well, that's fair enough, and the 1979 Parisian setting does lend a certain contemporary style to the proceedings.

[Picture: The Doctor, Romana and Duggan debate the merits of art before bidding farewell.]

It's fortunate that the Doctor and Romana decide to take a holiday then and there, because it's precisely the location where an ancient alien survivor is plotting to build a time-travel device to go back 400 million years and destroy all life on Earth in an attempt to stop himself from being fractured across time. It's a big idea, but it's woven into a very silly premise in which said alien is planning to steal the Mona Lisa and sell a load of copies, having convinced Leonardo Da Vinci to paint six duplicates. That doesn't really make sense, but it's just one of those things you have to go along with.

[Picture: The last of the Jagaroth race, Count Scarlioni's true appearance as Scaroth.]

It's a fairly breezy story in all, with temporary ally Inspector Duggan playing the amusing roles of confused outsider and convenient muscleman. While I can see that there is an element of silliness developing in Doctor Who, at the moment it is still within the comfortable realm of light humour, and in this case I think it's appropriate and effective. I found City of Death to be very enjoyable, with a good (if ridiculous) premise and an entertaining cast of characters. I'm still not sure about the new Romana, but the Doctor continues to be the star.

[Picture: A very amusing cameo appearance from John Cleese. I did laugh. Job done.]

----

The Creature from the Pit

While I wouldn't go as far as to call this the worst Doctor Who story ever, this is the silliest. The premise is perfectly sound, with an alien ambassador looking to trade metal for nourishing chlorophyll with a planet rich in vegetation, who gets mistaken for a monstrous invader and forced to live in an underground mine for years. The ruler, Lady Adrasta, wants a controlling monopoly on the metal market, which has led to a nation ruled by fear, and the creature in the pit used as punishment.

[Picture: A group of bandits plan to ransack the palace.]

There comes a point where light-hearted humour becomes daft silliness, and I think this story is that tipping point. For example, having been thrown into the pit, the Doctor, clinging on for dear life, finds the time to reach into his pockets and pull out a book on climbing Everest, discovers it's written in Tibetan, then pulls out another book for learning Tibetan. The whole sequence is played for laughs but it feels very silly. Then there's the creature's tentacle, sliding around the mines. I don't know if this was played for laughs as well or if it's just unintentionally hilarious, but the thing looks... unfortunately phallic. I nearly burst out laughing when it appeared. I couldn't take it seriously.

[Picture: I mean, COME ON!]

Then there's the wolfweeds, living balls of plant-stuff that roll around at the beat of a whip (huh?), K-9 being used as a talking raygun (lame), and a sequence where the creature encases a neutron star with metal (far-fetched). To top it off, it's not even a particularly interesting story; I was bored by it.

[Picture: K-9 features prominently in this story, having been absent for a while, but now with a different voice. I don't like the new voice very much - it's lost its quirky charm.]

[Davros sock drawer]

It's especialy interesting for me now that you're at this stage of Tom Baker's tenure, because this season happens to be my earliest memory of Doctor Who.

Thing is, because I was 5 years old in 1979, my memory of the stories is far different to how they appear to me now. In a way I wish I'd never re-watched these as an adult, because to the 5 year old me they were terrifying! Specifically:

• The Doctor trapped under a pillar in Destiny
• Scaroth's reveal in City of Death
• Jarinsky's death in City of Death
• The Doctor crushed by Erato in Creature from the Pit

Plus a couple from later in the season. These things all absolutely terrified me as a kid. And yet, as I now realise, it's all played with an incredibly light touch, bordering, as you say, on silliness.

This is due mainly to the introduction of Douglas Adams as script editor. Now I adore Douglas Adams, but clearly he always dealt with big sci-fi concepts using humour, and his approach to Doctor Who is no different. So you have Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy in-jokes galore (The Doctor reading Oolon Colluphid's book in Destiny for example), and a generally silly tone. Of course, at the same time you had Tom Baker feeling more and more like he owned the part, and wanting to cram as many jokes in as possible. And he is still a delight, especially the scene in which he first meets the Count and Countess Scarlioni, but...well, let's just say that the changes wrought from season 18 onwards are understandable.

All that said, I now find these stories rather watchable. Destiny not so much, because they had a far lesser actor portraying Davros and didn't bother to update the mask, and because it has what The Discontinuity Guide called a "tacky, inconsequential feel", but City of Death is a fan favourite and a joy from start to finish (helped in no small measure by the excellent Julian Glover), and Creature from the Pit is clearly nonsense but for some reason enjoyably so.

The remaining two stories from the season are tonally very similar, and are not favourites of mine. The 6th story, Shada, was nixed by a strike, although reconstructions exist. I've never seen it myself, are you planning to watch it?

PS, the new Romana. Generally I prefer this incarnation because the banter between the two leads is often more affectionate and natural. This is because they were shagging each other! Tom Baker married Lalla Ward in 1980, but the marriage didn't last. She is of course now married to Richard Dawkins, so she's married two of my heroes! But yes, the regeneration is remarkably silly. I suppose they couldn't think of a decent way to explain why she looks the same as a character from only the previous serial, but even so it makes it feel like a comedy pastiche.

PPS, John Leeson didn't want to play K9 that year for some reason. It's no big spoiler to say that he does return however.

PPPS, and no spoilers in that trailer really - even if you had watched it before Destiny of the Daleks. It's more of a comedy sketch anyway.

[Sprite Machine]

The 6th story, Shada, was nixed by a strike, although reconstructions exist. I've never seen it myself, are you planning to watch it?

I've found what looks like a reconstruction narrated by Tom Baker, in six parts. I'll probably watch it, yeah.

Thanks for the insightful info anyway, always a pleasure to get a bit of history. I wasn't even born in 1979!

[Davros sock drawer]

Now I feel old. I distinctly remember watching City of Death on holiday in Selsea Bill, although looking at the dates that may have been the repeat in August 1980.

It's amazing that you're only a season and a half away from finishing Tom Baker's run. Personally I think he ended on a real high so I'm interested to hear what you think of the next season.

[Sprite Machine]

Nightmare of Eden

(Blog has pictures)

Nightmare of Eden is an unusually complex story, centering around a smuggling operation in space, and a mystery of who is involved with it. Like all good mysteries, it's fun to see it unravel and the pieces fall into place, like the hidden monsters, the portal machine, the odd behaviour of the navigator, the mystery of the missing crewmember, and so on. Touching on themes of animal captivity, drug-trafficking and class discrimination, there's a lot crammed into four episodes.

[Picture: The Doctor's ability to assume authority in any situation is demonstrated perfectly in the first episode.]

For the most part, I found this to be quite enjoyable. It's a bit slow to get going, some of the characters grate and, let's be honest, the Mandrels look silly, but it has a lot going for it too and the production design is good for its time. Some of the Doctor's lines are fantastic including the one about his date of birth. Tom Baker delivers these so naturally and deadpan, it's great fun. He also blurts out the technobabble without breaking a sweat.

[Picture: The two ships separate from their matter-entwined state.]

Elsewhere, some of the comedy oversteps the line into silliness again, as per when the Doctor is being chased by the Mandrels in the Eden projection. K-9, too, is used as an all-too-convenient plot device or to save people with his handy ray-gun. And Romana... well, she continues to be a bit of a non-entity. Ever-helpful and capable, but lacking a defining characteristic. She's not bad, just a little bland.

[Picture: A mystery man protects Romana from the encroaching Mandrel.]

[Davros sock drawer]

"My arms! My legs! My everything!"

Yeah, not one of my favourites. Although again I loved the novelisation.

[Sprite Machine]

The Horns of Nimon

(Blog has pictures)

The Horns of Nimon is another space adventure with more unconvincing monsters. This time, however, it draws more than a little inspiration from Greek mythology, namely the story of Theseus and the Minotaur.

[Picture: A faulty Tardis requires an unorthadox boarding method.]

There's the horned beast itself, the Nimon (Minotaur), who resides inside a maze-like facility and receives sacrifices for him to eat. Even the characters and races have similar names, like Seth (Theseus) and the Anethans (Athenians), etcetera, and the Doctor even refers to the ship at the end being painted white. Yes, it's all very clever. Have a pat on the back.

[Picture: The horny beast itself, the Nimon.]

So unconvincing are the Nimons, that I was actually hoping they'd turn out to be people wearing oversized masks and it was all a trick. Well, it does turn out to all be a trick, but the monsters are quite real, an invasion of nomadic bull-like aliens who trick planets into giving them their energy sources and then suck them dry. It's not a bad story, and the plight of the Skonnon people is quite tragic, but it's all written with very broad strokes which robs it of interest. Their leader, Soldeed, has a great vocal presence, which makes his scenes theatrical and overblown, and that's fun to watch.

[Picture: Having never seen any of these episodes before, I was surprised to recognise the line "he says many things", until I realised it was sampled for a track on Cassette Boy's 'The Parker Tapes'. How cool!]

Set design has a considerable amount of fine detail, with cables and buttons everywhere. Plenty of pyro effects too, and another explosive finish to top it off. Horns of Simon (sorry) may not be all that great, but it does at least look fairly good. Some of the scenes have a creepy vibe to them as well, such as when we see the rows of suspended bodies, or the corpse that turns to dust. Otherwise, this was unremarkable. Not bad, not great, just okay.

[Davros sock drawer]

I feel like I'm stalking you posting after every update, but hey - I enjoy your posts and I usually have something I'm itching to say about each story. Where's Linkster though, that's what I'm wondering...

Anyway, the Horns of Nimon gave me some of my most vivid childhood nightmares. Hard to believe when you see the actual beast, but at age 5 they utterly convinced. So I had nightmares of being trapped in the maze with all the mummified bodies, and being chased by the Nimon.

Soldeed is a bit of joke with Doctor Who fans, so OTT is Graham Crowden's performance.

I think it's really quite a fun performance though.

Talking of samples, I had a Doom WAD pack back in the day which had one of the enemies saying "MY DREAMS OF CONQUESSSST!" when you killed it.

As far as the show's original run goes, you've now only got one more season of Tom Baker's run. Sniff! In my opinion it's one of the most interesting of his tenure though. New producer, a dramatic shift in tone, and at least a couple of classic stories. Some bum notes too, alas. One fairly major one actually. Some of the most memorable imagery in the show's history as well though, at least for this child of the 70's and 80's. There are certainly some things that gave me more nightmares!

Edit: Oh, and you get 7 x 4 parters in the final season, which is nice!

[Herbalizer]

So anyone heard Andrew Scott for next Dr Who? They are currently filming Da Vinci Demons in Neath and the crew also work on Dr Who and they have told my mate that Andrew Scott is the next Dr.

Anyway, probably total bollocks but I thought it would give us something to talk about.

[Harsin]

These are the audition scenes for the new Doctor (not spoilers as they've said they were written just for the auditions and not from scripts).

1. INT. TARDIS

The new Doctor is checking out the new body. Clara, watching. It’s been a few minutes, they’re both still adjusting.

Extract:

THE DOCTOR: Right then, eyesight. Not bad, bit blue. Ears – not pointy, right way up, more or less level. Face – well I’ve got one. Oh, no -French!

CLARA: French.

THE DOCTOR: I’ve deleted French! Plus all cookery skills, and the breast stroke. And hopping. Never mind hopping, who needs to hop. Ohh, the kidneys are interesting. Never had that before – interesting kidneys.

CLARA: Are you all right?

THE DOCTOR: I don’t know, do I look all right?

CLARA: I don’t know.

THE DOCTOR: How’s the face? Seems all right from the inside. Nice action, responsive. Bit less heft on the chin. How is it?

CLARA: It’s… okay.

THE DOCTOR: Okay?

CLARA: It’s a bit… you know.

THE DOCTOR: No I don’t, I haven’t seen it yet.

CLARA: Maybe it’s just new.

THE DOCTOR: Have you changed height?

CLARA: No.

2. INT. SPACE SHIP BRIDGE

The Doctor is facing down the Cyberleader, who stares balefully down from the screen. The bridge around the Doctor is burning, ruined.

Extract:

THE DOCTOR: Ah, Cyberleader, hello!

CYBERLEADER: Do you have a response, Doctor.

THE DOCTOR: Yes, I do. Definitely got a response. And here it is. Yes, your ears look big in that! Sorry, did I misunderstand the question?

CYBERLEADER: You will return the stolen cargo.

THE DOCTOR: Yeah, well, two points. One, I didn’t steal it. No, actually, I did steal it, I was just hoping if I said that I’d think of a really good excuse before the end of the sentence. Didn’t happen, never mind. Point two – well, point one, second attempt – that isn’t cargo. Those are human beings.

CYBERLEADER: They are primed for conversion.

THE DOCTOR: I’ve unprimed them.

CYBERLEADER: You will return the cargo.

THE DOCTOR: No, I won’t.

CYBERLEADER: Then the cargo will be taken.

THE DOCTOR: Not going to happen, and do you know what’s going to stop you?

CYBERLEADER: We will not be stopped. The Doctor raises a finger.

THE DOCTOR: Tell it to the finger. See this finger? See what I’m doing with this finger right now. The Doctor moves to the screen. Starts drawing a line across.

THE DOCTOR: I’m drawing a line between this ship and you. Between all these people and all your metal men. And this line, it’s a magic line

CYBERLEADER: Magic is not logical

THE DOCTOR: I know – isn’t it great? Because I’ll tell you what. All these people on this ship are now, officially, under the protection of the magic line. Now, I’ll be honest, these guys in here are a bit annoying. They keep having their own opinions, and sometimes they take turns talking instead of me, which is just boring for everyone. But facts are facts, they’re behind the magic line, and that’s the way it is now. And to be clear, so we all understand the deal here, if any of your handle-heads happens to cross the magic line, even by accident, do you know what will happen to you then?

CYBERLEADER: What will happen?

THE DOCTOR: Me

3. The Doctor and a little boy. They’re sitting in the little boy’s bedroom.

Extract:

THE DOCTOR:

Does everyone tell you it’s going to be all right?

LITTLE BOY: Yes.

THE DOCTOR: Do you believe them?

LITTLE BOY: No

THE DOCTOR: Good man. Tell me what happens when the lights go out.

LITTLE BOY: No.

THE DOCTOR: Because you’re scared? (Silence) Because you think I won’t believe you. Because you think I’ll tell you everything’s fine, when you know it isn’t, and leave you alone like all the other grown-ups?

LITTLE BOY:… yes.

THE DOCTOR: Look at me. Am I grown up?

LITTLE BOY: Yes.

THE DOCTOR: Good! You’re the very first person I’ve fooled. Look, what if I promise I won’t tell you it’s okay. What if I just listen, and then try my best to help, and never tell you that I know better. How about that?

LITTLE BOY: …okay.

THE DOCTOR: Okay. So. You turn the lights out -then what?

LITTLE BOY: The room… changes. In the dark.

THE DOCTOR: You mean the room is different when you can’t see it.

LITTLE BOY: Yes.

THE DOCTOR: Every time?

LITTLE BOY: Yes.

THE DOCTOR: Different how?

LITTLE BOY: It’s wet. When 1 touch the walls, they’re all wet.

THE DOCTOR: Like damp. Like water running

down them?

LITTLE BOY: No. Wet like a mouth.

[Sfan]

Try reading them as Ecclestone or Tennant.

[Davros sock drawer]

Is he the chap who played Moriarty? Hmmm, seems plausible but I can't say I'm keen.

[Hexx]

Matt Smith's given some hints on the Christmas special and his exit (including a returning character)

Even the link title is a spoiler

http://doctorwhotv.co.uk/eleven-on-a-return-trip-to-trenzalore-51987.htm

[Space Gibbon]

It sounds to me like he was talking from the point of someone watching the last season finale and in a general way about the style of writing, and not about the Christmas episode at all. At the Nerd HQ panel (was that linked on here? Just in case:

) Moffat said he was still only part-way through writing the scripts. It seems unlikely Matt would know the plot yet.

[El Pibe]

Matt Smith's given some hints on the Christmas special and his exit (including a returning character)

Even the link title is a spoiler

http://doctorwhotv.co.uk/eleven-on-a-return-trip-to-trenzalore-51987.htm

Surely fucking not. Jesus Christ.

[kensei]

These are the audition scenes for the new Doctor (not spoilers as they've said they were written just for the auditions and not from scripts).

They read very 11 to me, but maybe its just because I can't get Matt Smith out of my head. Would prefer a little bit of a different tone for 12.

[Sprite Machine]

Shada (Not Televised)

(Blog has pictures)

I wasn't sure whether to cover Shada, the cancelled sixth serial of season 17. Unlike the reconstructions from the sixties, Shada was never actually finished, and has to date never been aired on TV. However, rather than worry that it would make the events of the story irrelevant and not expected to exist within established continuity, instead I thought "well, why not?" and watched it anyway. Approximately 50%-60% of the serial was made, and an older Tom Baker narrates the events that occur inbetween.

[Picture: Romana, K-9 and Parsons are trapped in a prison cell - one of the few scenes aboard the ship that were finished.

Shada actually explores the Time Lords' history and lore. I have no idea if any of this is revisited in future stories, but Shada is the name of their prison planet, which was purposely hidden from official records by one of the former inmates, who went into hiding on Earth as a professor at Cambridge. When a maniac with a god complex goes looking for this professor and the prison planet, the Doctor and Romana get caught up in a plot to take control of every mind in the Universe!

[Picture: Skagra, looking for information on Earth.]

Due to the nature of TV production, the existing scenes are all from the same locations, so watching this now can lead to visual fatigue. As much fun as it is listening to Tom Baker talk, he does whizz through his descriptions of the missing scenes all too quickly. Some animation or artwork of these scenes would have helped to break up the repetition. Still, it's interesting to see where production stopped back then. There's a fair bit of outdoor location shooting, some interiors of the spaceship were shot, and the rest is from the professor's room (which it turns out is another Tardis). Sadly, there is very little existing footage of the villain, Skagra, or his monsters, the Krargs.

[Picture: So, apparently Doctor Who did the "invisible ship lands in the park" thing years before Star Trek IV (and later copied by Red Dwarf).]

While watching Shada is a frustratingly incomplete experience, overall I was glad to see it. It hasn't got the same level of silly humour as Douglas Adams' other episodes (although it does have some), but it still touches on some big concepts and has some fun with the universe and characters. This would have been a pretty good season finale.

[Hexx]

50th Anniversary to be Simulcast Worldwide UPDATE

UPDATE: BBC Worldwide has confirmed the special is being shown around the world at the same time. In a statement they said: “It’s always been our ambition to work with our broadcast partners so that international Doctor Who fans can enjoy the 50th-anniversary special at the same time as the UK. We’ll have more detailssoon about our very exciting global plans for November.”

Original story:

The 50th anniversary special is to be shown around the world at the same time, according to the Sun.

They claim this was an agreement made between broadcasters to avoid plot spoilers.

Details:

The 3D episode goes out here on

November 23 at 8pm on BBC1

, so fans in LA will watch at noon while it airs in Sydney at 6am the next day.

It has been sold to 200 countries and is expected to reach more than 100 million viewers, making it the biggest-ever global drama simulcast.

An insider said: “The 50th anniversary special is a massive deal for fans around the world who were petrified the secrets would leak online the moment it aired in Britain.”

[JohnC]

This would be a brilliant time to accidentally play the wrong tape. Preferably something controversial.

[AK Bell]

The book of Shada is pretty good. I read that recently.

Is the Flash animation still kicking around?

[Sprite Machine]

The Leisure Hive

(Blog has pictures)

Oh, hello 1980s! I saw you there, peeking around the corner. Nice of you to finally drop by. What's that you've got there? A wicked new spaced out title sequence with cool synthy music and electronic guitar riffs? How thoughtful! Come right this way, you'll fit in perfectly around here.

[Picture: The leisure complex, protected from the toxic atmosphere outside. The desolate image gels wonderfully with the soundtrack.]

Season 18 gets off to a terrific start, but how much of that is down to its fresh new audio-visual style? It's not just the synthy soundtrack (reminding me of Blade Runner), but improvements on direction, composition, camera movements and so on. The Leisure Hive is about as good looking as a studio-shot Doctor Who serial has ever looked so far. Wikipedia tell me the director was Lovett Bickford, but it also tells me he didn't direct any more after this. What a pity.

[Picture: Pangol admires his new army.]

The plot is as science-fictiony as it gets, hinging on the temporal properties of tachyons and the need to rejuvenate the dying Argolin race. There's a tragic history, a nuclear war, ongoing racial discomfort, a supposed 'monster' who turns out to be no such thing, a power struggle, a cloning machine, time-reversal and rapid aging. It's full of neat imagery - the Doctor being pulled limb from limb as part of a trick is as memorable a cliffhanger as they come, I'm sure - and his transformation into an elderly man is very well performed. The disguised Foamasi sub-plot was a bit 'Scooby-Doo ending', but I'll give it a pass. The 'silly' humour is mostly absent here. The tone is more serious, and I think it suits.

[Picture: An elderly Doctor talks to one of the Foamasi.]

The Black Guardian from two seasons back also gets name-dropped, and with the 'randomiser circuit' removed from the Tardis, the implication is that they'll be running into him again in future. Although I can't see that having a practical effect on the situations the Tardis finds itself in, if their adventures are as interesting as this one is, I'll be very happy with that.

[Picture: The Doctor falls apart. An enduring image!]

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to try to get that awesome new synthy theme tune out of my head. "Wooeeewooooo, dun-dun-dun-dun-dun..."

[Davros sock drawer]

Ah, I'm so glad you like the production changes. It's all thanks to John Nathan-Turner of course, who radically overhauled the show for the 80's - with mixed results for the next 9 years, as you'll see.

But what a start to his run as producer! The title music is really "my" Doctor Who theme, the one I remember from when I was old enough to choose to watch the show, rather than it just being on. It's so 80's with the Neon Tubing Logo and starfield, and all those synth-y electric guitar stabs. Love it. Takes me right back to the happiest days of my life. Sniff!

And yes, the Leisure Hive is remarkably directed. It feels quite like a feature film, with rapid jump cuts and so on. Some of it's a bit stretched out (the scenes of the shuttle landings spring to mind), but the overall effect is really classy. Some fancy new effects as well, such as the Tardis materializing while the camera moves. I think it was called Quantel or something, but it was basically early CGI. There'll be more of that in later stories.

The change to a less humourous tone was very deliberate, as it was felt that the clowning had gone too far in Season 17. I have to say I agree, and the fact that Season 18's was Tom's last lends it a suitably sombre air.

Loads of good stories to come this season Sprite, I think you'll enjoy it.

[Sprite Machine]

Some fancy new effects as well, such as the Tardis materializing while the camera moves.

I had to rewind that bit when it happened because I thought I'd imagined it.

EDIT: There's another shot where the camera moves in through one of the windows of the facility, as if passing through the glass. Very classy effect for a studio shot. (I rewound that, too. )

Edited July 30, 2013 by Sprite Machine

[Davros sock drawer]

The resolution on those effects is very blocky, but hey - it was pioneering stuff.

Incidentally, Lovett Bickford went so far over budget that JNT got hauled over the coals. That's why he was never asked back.

[Sprite Machine]

Aww, boo!

[Davros sock drawer]

Don't worry, there are still some very interesting directors to come in the season, one story in particular being extremely "arty".

Next one up is a bit of an anomaly though - a hangover from season 17's team I believe.