179 replies to this topic

[Mike]

48 years ago, the British public got to see Doctor Who for the first time ... and this is what the viewing public thought of it:

[garjones]

I did a wipedia trawl the other day after seeing Pik-Sen (Phaik Seng anglicised) Lim in an old Pertwee episode, The Mind of Evil from 1971.


She is from Penang, where I live, but went to act in the UK and ended up marrying Doctor Who scribe Don Houghton.

They had a daughter Sarah Houghton who appeared in The Sarah Jane Adventures.



I liked the family link. Not many shows (or a I suppose a franchise in this case as it was SJA) could make the same claims over such a long time period.

[Mike]

I would guess there's a few stories like that within Who - I suspect Georgia Moffet wins it hands down though, and can only be trumped if they manage to get their baby into a guest-starring slot.

(Actually, baby Moffet would be 2 and a half in November 2013 ... surely a guest spot could be arranged?)

[Dave Wallace]

(Actually, baby Moffet would be 2 and a half in November 2013 ... surely a guest spot could be arranged?)

Won't James Corden's baby be about the right age at that point...?

[Martin Smith]

Won't James Corden's baby be about the right age at that point...?

Well really it could be any age they need it to be.

[Dave Wallace]

True enough.

[garjones]

Moffat in the Radio Times:

For me, as a kid, when the afternoon got darker and there was a thrill of cold in the air, I knew that even though summer was over, the TARDIS was coming back! So yes, that’s part of the plan, that’s part of the reason for this little delay. But it’s not the whole story…
Very soon now, Doctor Who is going to enter production for the longest sustained period we’ve ever attempted, and the biggest and best and maddest time ever to be a fan of this wonderful old show is rumbling towards us… We needed a little more time to prepare for everything we’ve got planned. That, above all, is why we needed this little gap. Just be a tiny bit patient, and trust me, we’ll make it up to you. For full and comprehensive details of the spectacle to come, consult your fondest memories in a couple of years time.

He has made no secret of this from the off, if you follow his Twitter he hates the idea of spring/summer Doctor Who. Before the relaunch it never happened, with either an autumn or January start.

How much that may be coloured by issues of BBC budget cuts or producer movements I can't tell you but I do think this has been the desire of the show runner for a long time.

Edit for accuracy: that story was from Doctor Who Magazine and not the Radio Times.

[Dave Wallace]

That paragraph gives me the sense that Moffat's just trying to spin the delay into something that's actually been built-in intentionally to benefit the show. I'm not sure.

[garjones]

That paragraph gives me the sense that Moffat's just trying to spin the delay into something that's actually been built-in intentionally to benefit the show. I'm not sure.

Which I think is a fair point Dave. I think it's spin mixed with a real desire just because he's been saying it for years. He kind of indicates that anyway with the 'that's not the whole story.." bit. I think circumstances have lead them there, I think Moffat isn't unhappy about it.

As those of us that come from there know the UK has generally shitty summers so when there is a bit of sun to boast about nobody cares about TV and races to the beach or park or whatever. I have a good pal that has managed cinemas for 30 years and if you get a sunny day it doesn't matter how good the films are, it'll be dead.

[steveuk]

[Mike]

He has to be plotting his way up to the 50th Anniversary now ... I'm curious to see what he has in mind.

[Dave Wallace]

People are going to be crying out for a multi-Doctor special, surely. But (much as I had some problems with the overarching plotting in the most recent season) I think I'd like it better if he carried on with his own story plans, and made the climax to those storylines the big anniversary event.

[John Mosby]

Given the current age of the previous actors, I'd be more inclined for a story where CGI puts Matt Smith in previous stories - a la the DS9 ep 'Trails and Tribblations'

[Martin Smith]

Given the current age of the previous actors, I'd be more inclined for a story where CGI puts Matt Smith in previous stories - a la the DS9 ep 'Trails and Tribblations'

That would be especially cool for a black and white one.

[The Lorcan Nagle]

So the omen was on the other night, and it brought back my crazy cross-continuity idea. So get this:

Patrick Troughton's character in the Omen is The Doctor, having been sent to Earth to defeat the Antichrist. After he gets impaled, he manages to get off the spike, stumbles back to the TARDIS (hidden in the church grounds), and regenerates into Jon Pertwee.

[Dave Wallace]

Given the current age of the previous actors, I'd be more inclined for a story where CGI puts Matt Smith in previous stories - a la the DS9 ep 'Trails and Tribblations'

That might be quite fun, Although I don't see that McGann, Ecclestone and Tennant would be too old. Even McCoy could maybe work. Tom Baker is a bit scary now, though.

[garjones]

That might be quite fun, Although I don't see that McGann, Ecclestone and Tennant would be too old. Even McCoy could maybe work. Tom Baker is a bit scary now, though.

That's kind of the problem though. Ecclestone likely won't turn up, most of the rest are dead or too fat or too old (technically McCoy is but he always seemed old anyway even when he was on Vision On, so I agree could work).

So while it has been the traditional way to celebrate a Who anniversary I'm wary a multi-doctor episode may end up a bit of a damp squib, reuniting all the Doctors - umm apart from the 8 or so where it can't or won't work. In that case I'm more tempted by John's idea.

One place with some scope is actually visiting the Time War story, we never saw McGann regenerate so they don't even need to try and make him look as he did 15 years ago. The show isn't usually that interested in filling in continuity but it something continually referred to in the new show, even in the latest series with the "I killed all of them' line in Gaiman's episode.

[Rory Abel]

That's kind of the problem though. Ecclestone likely won't turn up, most of the rest are dead or too fat or too old (technically McCoy is but he always seemed old anyway even when he was on Vision On, so I agree could work).

So while it has been the traditional way to celebrate a Who anniversary I'm wary a multi-doctor episode may end up a bit of a damp squib, reuniting all the Doctors - umm apart from the 8 or so where it can't or won't work. In that case I'm more tempted by John's idea.

One place with some scope is actually visiting the Time War story, we never saw McGann regenerate so they don't even need to try and make him look as he did 15 years ago. The show isn't usually that interested in filling in continuity but it something continually referred to in the new show, even in the latest series with the "I killed all of them' line in Gaiman's episode.

At this point the scale of the time war has been made so large that any attempt to actually portray it is going to pale in comparison to what audiences have built up in their minds. I think going there is recipe for disaster. The only way they could make it work is if it's some small out of the portion of the war. Even then it's moment that probably wouldn't work as it would seem odd that the doctor has never mentioned that during one of the most crucial moments in his life he ran into a future version of himself.

Though on a tangent though; it might be interesting if "I" the doctor keeps referring to when he talks about killing all the daleks and timelords was in fact his future incarnation rather than #8.

[garjones]

At this point the scale of the time war has been made so large that any attempt to actually portray it is going to pale in comparison to what audiences have built up in their minds. I think going there is recipe for disaster. The only way they could make it work is if it's some small out of the portion of the war. Even then it's moment that probably wouldn't work as it would seem odd that the doctor has never mentioned that during one of the most crucial moments in his life he ran into a future version of himself.

Though on a tangent though; it might be interesting if "I" the doctor keeps referring to when he talks about killing all the daleks and timelords was in fact his future incarnation rather than #8.

I can see the scale could be an issue but not mentioning his future self was there isn't really. That's what he does all the time, hand out those vague snippets of what went on in the past, which is why I thought McGann could fit even though at face value you'd say it was Ecclestone's Doctor that was there.

[Dave Wallace]

Though on a tangent though; it might be interesting if "I" the doctor keeps referring to when he talks about killing all the daleks and timelords was in fact his future incarnation rather than #8.

I actually think that's a cracking idea. Maybe going a bit into Valeyard territory, but I think I'd prefer it if it was just a regular, well-meaning future-Doctor who is forced into it somehow. It could be even more dramatic for the current Doctor to be haunted by the past events because he knows that he's actually going to have to go and do it at some point in his own personal future.