On The Sofa (5)

[DrSmith @drsmith]

Hello everyone. I’m back from retirement and I would like to discuss something that’s been bothering me since a little bit after the 50th anniversary. I wanna talk about fans saying “Rose” is their favorite episode.

I see them saying “Rose” is the best because it brought back the series and that is their stand alone argument why. This bothers me slightly because well that isn’t much to go on when you’re talking about quality. Now I do like the episode but I wouldn’t say it’s the best because it’s not really Doctor Whoey. I mean they’re was an awesome return of the Auton’s from Pertwee’s premier episode (which is one of my favorite post-regeneration episode) but no Timey Whimey or Spacey Whacy travel, and I’m not saying their needs to be any of that to make a good episode. All the episode really does is tell us what The Doctor is all about (timey spacey stuff) Rose and the almighty number nine. Which don’t get me wrong, it does that well but I don’t feel an introduction episode should be a favorite in my opinion.

If you guys could  spread the light on me and make me a little less frustrated by those people that would  be appreciated.

 

[The Krynoid Man @thekrynoidman]

@phaseshift but Skeletor Master! But Lalla dressed as a school girl! But Skeletor Master! But Lalla dressed as a school girl! (wimpers) DON’T MAKE ME CHOOSE!!!!!!

[wolfweed @wolfweed]

Facts & figures…
Colin Baker was born 8 June 1943 and today celebrates his 71st birthday.
40 years ago today Tom Baker made his first Doctor Who appearance.

[Anonymous @]

Hi Guys,

Hoping someone can help me understand the episode “The Rings of Akhaten.” I’ll admit that I was kinda half paying attention when watching it, but I went back and also read the description/synopsis online, but I don’t quiet get it…

So what I don’t understand is how the leaf could contain all of the memories/possibilities/potential from the future. The description from wikipedia is that because it was the leaf that caused Clara’s parents to meet but Clara’s mother had died, it was full of this potential. Is there some kind of alternative timeline that I’ve missed?

If someone could also briefly explain why Clara is the impossible girl that would be great. I’m only on the episode “Cold War,” so I haven’t seen everything yet. But I know in the episode “The Bells of Saint John” the Doctor was already talking about about Clara in reference to the impossible girl, but I’m not sure if this was supposed to be the full explanation or if there’s more addressed when, I assume, they tell us about why the Doctor has seen Clara before as Oswin/a Dalek.

[Anonymous @]

Also, does anyone know of a good Doctor Who online live chatroom? Hopefully one with a really good community. I used to be on CoinChat a lot, but since it’s been down I’ve been looking for a sort of replacement.

[Anonymous @]

*Just realized that I had skipped the 2012 Christmas special with Clara,”The Snowmen.”

[DrSmith @drsmith]

@Rint Well in Season 7  Episode 1 Amy, The Doctor, and Rory are abducted by the daleks and they want him to destroy the dalek asylum. While on the asylum/planet they meet Oswin Oswald who helps them escape. Then in The Snowmen, The  Doctor is brought to the Victorian era to help a governess named Clara who looks exactly  like Oswin Oswald but they aren’t connected at all. Then in The Bells of St. John he finds another girl who looks like the other two but who only share parts of their names.

Oswin Oswald is from the asylum, Clara Oswin is from The Bells of St. John, and Clara is the governess in The Snowmen. So it is impossible she is in all places at once. Hope this helps.

 

[Juniperfish @juniperfish]

Flies onto the sofa, munches a couple of stray jammy-dodgers, accidentally sits on a piece of a Type 40 lego <ouch! and whoosh!> gets zapped forward in time <waves at everyone> <settles in for Capaldi’s, snarky and sweet? Doctor?>.

[Craig @craig Emperor]

@juniperfish Hey, glad you could pop in before zapping off. Us in the slow lane will catch up with you soon.

[PhaseShift @phaseshift Time Lord]

@juniperfish

You’re surely not going so swim in here, flash your scales, and leave are you? There’s nothing out there but fusballs I tells ye!

At least give us your levels of anticipation for Series 8! 😀

[Juniperfish @juniperfish]

@craig and @phaseshift Hello and well met again to you both, fellow time-travellers 🙂

The Forum is looking good! Sorry for fishy inactivity <hastily polishes barnacled scales> I got Absorbalof’d by work [yes, that bad :-)]. I have done some homework – a young lady called Foxes will be getting swept into the time vortex, apparently.  I had to look her up – a couple of lively songs on Youtube involving a) a food fight and b) being lost in a nightie at a vaguely 60s outfit-inspired party. Clearly, the TARDIS will do her good.

I’ll definitely be around more in the run up to the Day of Capalidi <strokes chin and heads to the speculation thread to catch up>.

First off, we’ve had “Allons-y” and “Geronimo” – will the reign of the wince-inducing catch-phrase continue? Or has the War Doctor’s “harrumph” put paid to that nonsense? I feel it should be “Wizard” for Capaldi.

xx J-fish

[Bluesqueakpip @bluesqueakpip]

@juniperfish – I think the War Doctor’s catch phrase was ‘Oh, for God’s sake!’ 😉

Hopefully we’re not having one, unless one develops organically (like Matt’s ‘come along Pond’). Nice to see you back.

[wolfweed @wolfweed]

[wolfweed @wolfweed]

http://merchandise.thedoctorwhosite.co.uk/police-box-bird-feeder/

http://www.shapeways.com/model/2063551/quot-the-silence-quot-head-from-doctor-who-guitar-pick.html?modelId=2063551&materialId=6

 

Tom Baker as a cat. Just coz!

[janetteB @janetteb]

Tom’s  Tom Baker cat is almost as scary as the merchandising. I have seen Tardis rubbish bins but I think the bird feeder is taking it rather too far.

cheers

Janette

 

[PhaseShift @phaseshift Time Lord]

It’s Friday, it’s half past three, after a long hot gruelling week. That must make it ….. a quarter to beer o’clock?!  Something like that anyway.

Unbelievably, as we approach the third episode of the Fourth Doctors City of Death, we need to turn out attention to the first full Doctor of the eighties, Peter Davison, and work out – just what will do the auteur who came up with The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot justice?

Last time we picked his swansong, Caves of Androzani, an untypical “Five” episode for many reasons. What now?

Here are some of the stories which I’ve collated from mentions in a “hey – could we cover?” way in the past, but if you prefer any other five story, let us know.

Story (Episodes)	Notes
Kinda (4)	Thrills! Spills! Gobby Australian! Nerys Hughes! The Doctor confronts the Dark places of the inside, with a dose of eastern philosophy thrown in.
The Visitation (4)	Thrills! Spills! Gobby Australian! An alien presence in the 17th century up to no good.
Earthshock (4)	Thrills! Spills! Attempts to surprise an audience abound in this story, which is possibly the equivalent of “Genesis of the Daleks” for Four, in that it’s the one most written about.
The Arc of Infinity (4)	Thrills! Spills! The return of a Gobby Australian who was a sucker for punishment! High Jinks on Gallifrey and possibly a timely reminder about a time when seeing a forthcoming Doctor in another role wouldn’t raise an eyebrow.
Enlightenment (4)	Thrills! Spills! Gobby Australian! Really odd ships! The close of “The Guardian Trilogy” sequence of stories.
The Awakening (2)	Thrills! Spills! Short! Gobby Australian! An ancient evil comes back to threaten a small village….and – the world!

It occurs to me from this that the Gobby Australian (Tegan) was possibly unique because her tenure was only one story short of the total of the Doctor she was most associated with.

Weird, after our conversations about comedy performers, I’ve only just remembered that Five saw the appearance of both of the first “Liver Birds” (a Carla Lane sitcom) with Nerys Hughes in Kinda and Polly James in The Awakening.

All input for the choice gratefully received. Remember – anything is up for grabs. We have a week to nominate, and the winner will be decided on the weekend for the last part of the City of Death.

[Anonymous @]

@phaseshift — and Rodney Bewes! Don’t forget Rodney Bewes.

I like all of those suggestions but think would avoid Earthshock for the same reasons I was reticent about Genesis — sheer familiarity. I’m tending towards The Visitation, with Kinda as a close second.

However, I think my favourite out of that lot is The Awakening but as a two-parter, it does seem like we’re short-changing Five somewhat. Unless we doubled it up with Black Orchid maybe?

[Bluesqueakpip @bluesqueakpip]

@phaseshift – Kinda is remarkable in that was one of the first stories to have undergone a serious academic analysis. Nowadays, that type of thing is ten a penny – what with Buffy Studies being an entire discipline – but back then the idea that anyone would study television seriously was a bit weird.

Well: unless you were learning to make the stuff, of course. 😉

Kinda is available as a DVD, but it comes with Snakedance whether you want it to or not. Considerably cheaper from the BBC shop, btw.

Despite this (or possibly because I know Kinda very well indeed), I’d agree with @jimthefish and go for The Visitation (also available from the BBC Shop in both normal and Special Editions); Kinda would be my second. The Visitation is huge fun, has a great performance by Michael Robbins and proves yet again that aliens are involved with every famous historical disaster on Earth. 😀

[PhaseShift @phaseshift Time Lord]

@jimthefish

and Rodney Bewes! Don’t forget Rodney Bewes.

Yeah – whatever happened to James Bolam? We need him in modern Who to complete the set of The Likely Lads! 😀

Not seeking to sway the vote, but I think the Earthshock point is well made. Sometimes familiarity breeds contempt. Earthshock was an immediate “classic”, but its surprises are pretty well known now. I think, just behind Earthshock, @bluesqueakpip highlights the problem with Kinda. While people laughed at it in droves at the time, (I winced at the “special effects”, but genuinely liked the story) it soon became a serious proposition for “study”. I can’t help but think I can’t add anything to what has already been discussed about it )on other fora). This doesn’t stop me from enjoying either story though, and if they get enough votes, I’m in, and I’ll try to inject the familiar with my usual idiocy.

The others are all less walked territory.

I like the suggestion about pairing Black Orchid and The Awakening to makes a four episode story, but wonder if we could take that further in the future, and put them together with the other (rare) 2x 25minute stories like Edge of Destruction & The Sontaran Experiment to look at story duration. These come closest to the modern episode length so, possibly, ask if there are significant differences? It may make an interesting BG retrospective against an AG retrospective consisting of “one-off” writers like Rob Shearman, for example.

Visitation is pure Fifth, complete with problems with the packed Tardis. And @bluesqueakpip is correct in that Michael Robbins as the fruity Richard Mace is a brilliant and memorable turn by a guest star.

[blenkinsopthebrave @blenkinsopthebrave]

@phaseshift
I second the excellent suggestion by @jimthefish that we pair up Black Orchid and The Awakening. It would do justice to the 5th, we could see that period with and without Adric, and it would be great to see how the show handled two-parters from that period. On a purely personal level, I haven’t seen either since they were first broadcast, and would love to get a double dose of Peter Davison.

[Bluesqueakpip @bluesqueakpip]

@blenkinsopthebrave

The only problem with pairing up Black Orchid and The Awakening is that they’re not on the same DVD. The Awakening, in fact, has been mysteriously combined with The Gunfighter.

[Anonymous @]

@phaseshift and @bluesqueakpip 7 @blenkinsopthebrave —

Just to echo all of the sentiments above. Kinda is great and a true classic and I’d be more than happy to look at it again but it is one of those that has been discussed quite a bit. (It would maybe have been nice to have done a ‘curate’s egg’ high-concept or or out-of-the-ordinary theme for all the Docs but I guess we’ve shot our bolt on that one now having done Ghost Light for Sylv.)

The Visitation is a rollicking story but Phase is right that it does have that too-many-companions syndrome, but then that’s going to be a problem with most of the Davison stories. But Richard Mace is great (and was I believe a prior creation of Eric Saward on radio). The Tereliptils are great too and I’ve always been slightly disappointed that we’ve never seen them again since. But I guess they are a bit on the generic old school baddie side.

Quite like the idea of looking at the two-parters actually. They do tend to be forgotten somewhat and as @phaseshift says, are roughly analogous to a single episode of Nu-Who. Besides which the two Davison stories I think are two of his finest. However, as @bluesqueakpip points out, they’re not on the same DVD, so that could be annoying for those who are buying the discs…

[blenkinsopthebrave @blenkinsopthebrave]

@phaseshift, @bluesqueakpip, @jimthefish

Should it really affect the decision if the two-parters are sold on different discs? I wouldn’t have thought that dvd sales was the primary rationale for these retrospectives, but rather it was to introduce or re-introduce to whoever is lurking on the site representative stories of past Doctors, and providing a forum to share their thoughts.

On that basis, screening these two-parters would be a great way of introducing or re-introducing Peter Davison’s Doctor.

[Anonymous @]

@blenkinsopthebrave — no, I don’t think it does really, especially as each episode is posted on the site anyway. I was just wary of precluding or making life difficult for anyone who prefers to watch the stories on DVD…

And meant to add to @phaseshift, I would totally love to see James Bolam in Who and can’t believe he hasn’t been lured into it at all over the years. One of my favourite telly actors, especially in the mighty Beiderbecke Affair. Although if anyone’s ever seen Stella Does Tricks, they’ll know he can be a truly creepy sod as well.

[Bluesqueakpip @bluesqueakpip]

@blenkinsopthebrave

I wouldn’t have thought that dvd sales was the primary rationale for these retrospectives

Even in these electronic times, not everyone has a broadband speed that can manage streaming a 24 minute video…

[Inhandable @inhandable]

Hey everyone!

Not sure if this is going to be the right place to post it on this forum. But i have been told that I look very much like Matt Smith. I have even impersonated him on a YouTube video and could really do with your input! I’d really appreciate it.

Hopefully the link will work!

Matt Smith Impression

[blenkinsopthebrave @blenkinsopthebrave]

@bluesqueakpip

But this reinforces my point, my friend! I would imagine that the legions of people starved of the opportunity of watching YouTube are hungry for more Doctor Who dvds, not less!

But seriously, Black Orchid and The Awakening would be a great Peter Davison treat.

But, as @phaseshift has reminded us, it is Friday afternoon (in Canada, finally) and almost “a quarter to beer o’clock”. The bar beckons.

[PhaseShift @phaseshift Time Lord]

@blenkinsopthebrave

I have a cool one slipping very nicely down the throat at the moment, so good luck on your own “beer o’clock” search.

Just on the episodes, I think we’ve tried to keep it as inclusive as possible for those who prefer to buy the DVDs as opposed to just accessing a digital feed. I think that’s why we’ve tried to highlight deals on DVDs wherever possible. For some people, like Stevethewhistle (when he’s available) – he doesn’t contribute to stories he does not have. I can understand the philosophy.

I think that’s why discussion of a watch list is so valuable and I welcome feedback. I’ve got virtually everything on DVD and VHS but there is such a variety of special editions, box-sets and others you can forget that other people may not have access to the same material.

For instance, one of HTPBDETs suggestions (which a few of us opposed) was to feature single episodes from multiple stories for the first and second Doctors. I didn’t think that was in the spirit of the review (which tended to focus on the story “warts’n’all”) and would have required a major investment for people who prefer to purchase the DVD.

Ultimately it’s a balance, but I think we always try to even out choices to stories that – on DVD – are available in deals/box-sets and Mid-price (about £5-6).

[TheImpossiblegirl @theimpossiblegirl]

Hi! I just joined this site. I wwas thrilled to discover it! I ma obsessed, and I mean obsessed with Dr Who. I have seen basicly every single episode in the revived series( except for a few specials) and I am addicted. Actually, when I first saw an episode,I didn’t like it at all! It creeper me out. but I watched a few more, and then I was hooked. I live in the US, but I can watch them cause we have all the episodes on my computer. I love the 11th,10th, and 5th Dr the best.

[PhaseShift @phaseshift Time Lord]

@theimpossiblegirl

Welcome to the site! Pick a soufflé, plonk yourself down, help yourself to a nourishing cup of tea.

If you are a fan of the Fifth Doctor, tell us your favourite story of his if you’re minded. We’re currently trying to decide on a good story to do a retrospective on him (see upthread), and all votes matter.

Cheers!

[PhaseShift @phaseshift Time Lord]

I’d just like to post a grateful thanks to the England football (as I believe it’s called) team!

Look lads. You did your best. You played your hearts out. You dreamed impossible dreams, and, in the end, fulfilled my own impossible dream.

You kept it short.

Congratulations.

[loudboyace @loudboyace]

Crazy theory here guys!

So I was thinking, after reading some threads, that maybe The Doctor’s name is… One of those words.

Now remember back to when The Doctor said “There are some words that can stop wars” or something like that.

MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, The Doctor’s name was used by (John Hurt) to STOP THE TIME WARS.

It’s just a theory- A Doctor Who theory 🙂

!!!

[The Krynoid Man @thekrynoidman]

@phaseshift Normally I would go for Earthshock but I think I’ll go for Kinda, because I’ve never seen it. I’ve not seen most of the stories on that list but I would like to see this one because I’ve heard it’s supposed to be a classic and also because I’m recording the sequel Snakedance on the Horror Channel next week.

BTW I’ve got a terrible fear of snakes, you couldn’t tell me if they use any real ones in either story could you?

[toinfinityandbepond @toinfinityandbepond]

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/tv-radio/karen-gillans-naked-selfie-helps-3746803

[ScaryB @scaryb]

I’m happy to leave the choice for the fifth to those who know him better. I like Kinda and would be happy to see it again but also intrigued by the Black Orchid/Awakening double bill, especially as I don’t know either

[Whisht @whisht]

@phaseshift (et al) – in terms of Davison episodes, I’ll happily go with the general opinion of people here.

However, as I must’ve missed it as a kid, I will now definitely be watching Kinda etc at some point soon!
Even if that’s not the one chosen, the way you guys have spoken about the ‘classics’ has made me want to watch them (possibly for the first time).

I may post reflections (though not spoilers) on the Faces thread or somewhere else appropriate.

In a way Phase, the tables you’ve been creating with episodes, would make a good resource for the “hi – I love the Doctor but where do I begin with the old stuff?” comments.
Not that I want to give you extra work to do!

🙂

[The Krynoid Man @thekrynoidman]

@toinfinityandbepond I thought she didn’t do nude scenes.

[Bluesqueakpip @bluesqueakpip]

@thekrynoidman – no, she did a nude scene for Not Another Happy Ending.

[janetteB @janetteb]

I don’t have a strong opinion about Davison stories either as I have not seen many of them. I do like the idea of discussing Black Orchid as it is rather an unconventional Who story.

@scaryb. I hope you are feeling better now.

Cheers

Janette

[Anonymous @]

Sorry to hear you’ve been under the weather, @scaryb. Hope you’re on the road to recovery.

[wolfweed @wolfweed]

Promo Poster 1984

[PhaseShift @phaseshift Time Lord]

As I collapse, wearily onto the sofa I find nominations stuck behind the cushions! Huzzah for Mr Davison!

@scaryb has been counted twice provisionally because I got the impression she was teetering on the fence, and if anyone wants to reappraise their votes/correct mistakes let me know.

VOTE DAVISON – VOTE FOR AN EPISODE FOR THE FIFTH!

Story (Episodes)	Notes
Kinda (4)	@thekrynoidman @whisht @scaryb (?)
The Visitation (4)	@bluesqueakpip @jimthefish
Earthshock (4)	Null points
The Arc of Infinity (4)	Null points
Enlightenment (4)	Null points
The Awakening (2) Black Orchid (2)	T@Blenkinsopthebrave @janetteb @scaryb(?)

@The KrynoidMan

How bad is your ophidophobia? Kinda should be fine – there is snake imagery, but it’s not particularly convincing. There is similar imagery in Snakedance, but that does feature a real snake belonging to a mystic character who performs the Snakedance of the title. Again, it’s pretty tame (both the snake and the scenes it’s in) – I know someone who isn’t keen on snakes and they were fine with it (but I don’t think they would describe themselves as phobic).

@whisht

In a way Phase, the tables you’ve been creating with episodes, would make a good resource for the “hi – I love the Doctor but where do I begin with the old stuff?” comments.
Not that I want to give you extra work to do!

Not at all. Actually that could be a good idea once we’ve finished this run of the retrospectives perhaps? Shove them onto a blog as what we’ve nominated and what has been covered. Ask people for their advice on where to start in comments, and we can update the list in the future. It would also be a good place to post requests for future episodes, etc.

It’s something we could easily link to for questions like that, and should be in time for when we get a bit more active around the new series.

[The Krynoid Man @thekrynoidman]

@phaseshift I’ve got it really bad but if it’s just a snake dance then I should be fine. I could handle a similar scene in the Bond film Live and Let Die with not much of a problem. The only kind of snake I can’t bear looking at is a Cobra but I doubt they would use one in this situation.

[Anonymous @]

Hi everyone. I’m new to this site and have been reading your posts much to my enjoyment. It’s nice to know there is plenty of whovians to talk to.

I started with doctor who in 2005 with Rose. I know EVERYTHING about modern Doctor Who. However I am trying to own all of the classic doctor who DVDs excluding the 20 missing story lines. I only own 10 but I can name most of the stories off the top of my head and most of the monsters. I’m quite fanatical.

So I was wondering if anyone could recommend what stories to get into first for classic who.

Thank you

[Anonymous @]

@phaseshift — probably better put me down for the Awakening/Black Orchid double. Guess it’s only fair since I’m the bugger that mooted it in the first place. I’ll still have The Visitation as my second choice though.

[The Krynoid Man @thekrynoidman]

@FosterFerris Here’s a few stories per Doctor that I recommend

First Doctor:
An Unearthly Child
The Dalek Invasion of Earth

Second Doctor:
Tomb of the Cybermen
The Mind Robber
The Invasion
The War Games

Third Doctor:
Spearhead from Space
The Silurians
Inferno
Terror of the Autons
Day of the Daleks
The Sea Devils
The Three Doctors
Carnival of Monsters
The Time Warrior

Fourth Doctor
Ark in Space
Genesis of the Daleks
Terror of the Zygons
Pyramids of Mars
Brain of Morbius
Seeds of Doom
The Deadly Assassin
The Robots of Death
The Talons of Weing Chiang
Horror of Fang Rock

Fifth Doctor:
The Visitation
Earthshock
The Five Doctors
The Caves of Androzani

Six Doctor:
Vengeance of Varos
Revelation of the Daleks

Seventh Doctor
Remembrance of the Daleks
Ghost Light
The Curse of Fenric

Eighth Doctor:
The TV Movie (obviously)

[Anonymous @]

Thanks Krynoid man.

I look forward to seeing those.

I should have said which stories I’ve watched.

<i>First Doctor</i>

An Unearthly Child

The Daleks

The Edge of Destruction

Second Doctor

The Tomb of the Cybermen

Third Doctor

The Three Doctors

Fourth Doctor

Genesis of the Daleks

Destiny of the Daleks

The Keeper of Traken

Logopolis

Fifth Doctor

Castrovalva

 

 

[ABXY @abxy]

Guys, just saw a teaser for season 8 on BBC before my mum’s soap started. I won’t say any more here for spoiler reasons, but watch it ASAP! It’s amazing! =D

[ABXY @abxy]

 

Here ’tis :3

[ScaryB @scaryb]

@phaseshift

Awakening/Black Orchid as 1st choice, Kinda for 2nd

And hi to @fosterferris aka TheCrackInTheWall and @abxy

23 Aug

Wooohoooooooo

[Author]

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