Dr. Who starts tomorrow!

[Benfea]

I can finally see what my British and Cannuck friends have been raving about!

Starting at 8PM tomorrow I'm gonna be a happy guy!

[Mojambo]

1. It's really good.

There are some misses (there always are) but overall it's great.

I can't wait to see it again.

[Anarcho-Socialist]

2. The first episode isn't that great, but it does improve drastically after

n/t

[Ravenseye]

9. I concur

Definately the first episode is the weakest. Definately needs to be seen, but not as good an epsiode as some of the later ones.

[Random_Australian]

3. In fact, the first episode is complete crap.

But yes, it does get better.... oooooh I s'pose I shant spoil things, but lets just say someone (not the doctor) shows up twice and are really, really impressive both times.

[Anarcho-Socialist]

12. Those who showed up twice were very very good indeed!

[Deja Q]

13. Depends in your point of view.

I know who you're talking about, nyah nyah nyah-nyah-nyah! :7

I won't spoil a syllable either... but, overall, it works great. A few problems due to poor writing (what else is new), but yeah... overall they were well handled!

[Strong Atheist]

4. Are we talking about the tv. series? It was ok.... in a very cheesy

"B" movie way...

[Random_Australian]

5. hmmf. Yes, we are.

If you're a cynic, it was cheesy. If you were after some melodrama, it was great. 1/2 the time.

[Strong Atheist]

6. 1/2 the time, Lol! My biggest problem was that the plots

were ALWAYS driven by someone in power being COMPLETELY unreasonable... If I wanted that kind of thing, I would watch the news about the White House... I mean come on, get some other plots!

[Random_Australian]

7. This may sound sillt, but too true, sort of...

Those who turned up twice were very reasonable, in their own special, cultural way.

[Deja Q]

11. Classic or New?

And, yeah, the new series is nothing but one long continual anti-* fest hidden underneath B-level drivel and lame soap opera. Though it's so ambiguous, he could be writing about the terrorists too. It's impossible to say.

There are nice set pieces to the new series' stories, but the stories themselves are typically worse than what any Classic era had. And I'll explain more into that as each week progresses.

[Strong Atheist]

16. Oh. I meant classic... I do not know about the "new" ones...

I just meant ALL problems came from some Idiot/martinet in power... couldn't they think of other ways to drive the plots?

[Benfea]

18. Where have you been?

Most people in power are completely unreasonable. Weren't you paying attention in history class?

:P

[tigereye]

19. good one!

:thumbsup:


but the Drs dealt with them all so well, and fie on the face of authority. That's why they are so cool!

[Ravenseye]

8. The new series is definately not B level

I agree with you. The old ones were guys wearing cardboard boxes running into set walls that jiggled while fireworks from a sparkler stuck out of the box did something very very bad to the universe. Sometimes it was quite hard to get past the low low low...low budget.

This new one though has a good budget and is defiantely A-list level quality Sci-Fi now. You still might not like it, but it's defiantley not B movie no more.

Oh but give it a chance past the first episode, I think they're airing two tonight. The first one is probably the weakest of this season overall and the reason it wasn't picked up in the U.S. till after the whole run was over. After that though it gets good.

[Deja Q]

10. It definitely IS. (no plot spoilers)

The new series has got its pluses, yes...

But it's got its problems. And B-level can also defined by story content rather than how much money someone wants to throw into it. It is B-level, rest assured. (But I am mentioning the series format; the overall feel of the stories. This is not the same as telling story events, but if you don't want to know the tone the new series exudes, read no futher.)



Probably moreso, the Classic series made far more serious use of sci-fi. The New series is fantasy genre combined with soap opera. Ala Buffy.

And I will be more than happy to expound on the episodes' after each episode is aired. :evilgrin:


And, yeah, the first story alone ("Rose") just about had me turned off for good. But the masses enjoyed it... which speaks volumes too. :evilgrin: (nice to see DUers didn't like it...)

[Ravenseye]

14. Wow I disagree. Let us duel to the dealth knave!

Well lets get the 'effects' out of the way first. One of the main complaints I hear from people about the older seasons was how cheesy they looked. Cardboard boxes and upturned garbage bins. Many people couldn't get past that and see the stories underneath. It's unfortunate because some of the older 60's and 70's Pertwee and Baker storys were just remarkably good. Still, when people refer to them as B-Level they generally mean the effects.

The new series certainly isn't blazing brand new trails in the realm of effects, and might even seem a step down from say BSG. Yet they're superior to most effects on television and more importantly don't get in the way of the story, for the most part. You're not wondering about what sort of bin or box they made something out of. They look to actually have a budget. This allows people to get past the effects and look at the stories themselves. Certainly not B-Level effects.

I assert that B-Movies are as such for both poor quality in their production, as well as story. So lets look at the stories as you suggest. It's hard without issuing spoilers, but I'll just say this. I liked this season better than any previous Dr.Who season. It felt short to me, and I think if anything that might be what sets it appart. It's a truncated season in some ways. 13 episodes or so? Everything got squished together. No more standing around in a dark hall for twenty minutes participating in very inexpensive exposition. What probably you enjoyed most about the old Who's I disliked. I could tell when they were just standing around and talking, or worse running hecticly down drab grey makeshift halls talking....Exposition expostion exposition. It may have been very interesting exposition, but it lacked in a certain punch.

If anything the new Who isn't a B-Level series, but instead changes it's tack a bit. Not being limited to a meager budget it allowed them to do more with the story besides talking, which honestly makes for more interesting television for most poeple. If I want exposition I'll read a book. As far as your describing it as a fantasy genre combined with soap opera ala buffy, I think that's rather harsh, though not off target. Just a little too strong. The soap opera elements are minimal in my opinion, compared to shows like Buffy.

Also it has perhaps my favorite of a certain type of event in who's history...as in the Barcelona moment to not really give anything away.

[tigereye]

21. but it was so great to see the character in action again!

although I do agree that the terrorist subtext is quite heavy handed.

And I think Eccleston did a great, if again, a shade too cynical, job.

[tigereye]

20. oh but that's why they were so much fun!

the new ones are great, but a little too high tech for those of us schooled on the old cheesy ones.

[Benfea]

17. It darned well better be!

Seeing as that's precisely what I enjoyed so much about the original series. ;)

[AllegroRondo]

15. I cant wait! Some great comments here so far.

I loved the classic series from Harnell all the way to Colin Baker (that was as far as my local TV station showed). Yes, the old ones had bad special effects, bad sound, bad editing. But the writing was, on the whole, superb. You could count on these guys to write some incredible stories.

I hope the new stuff keeps up the writing quality. I can easily look past bad effects and production if the stories are good.