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I assure you, no one on these boards will hold it against you if the old series is not to your taste. I think when you grew up with it and had your imagination seized, it is much easier to forgive the production values of the time. My niece, who loved Sarah Jane in the new series, watched the showing of “The Hand of Fear” on BBC4 after Elizabeth Sladens death. She watched it all and had a bit of a moment at the end (it’s the story in which Sarah Jane left), but I wouldn’t suggest it ignited the desire to see much more (although she enjoyed Robots of Death and The Five Doctors).
If you want to dip in more and are interested in the stories there is another option. Virtually all the older series were novelised. They aren’t great literature, but even the worst is a cracking short retelling of the story. They are at their best when the script writer writes his own book and takes the opportunity to expand on the story, or play with the narrative possibilities. They are out of print, but second hand bookshops or stalls can be your friend. In Barnsley market, a stall sells them for 50p each, which is an absolute steal. If you see a Doctor Who story with the Target icon in the corner – it’s a televised story.
I’ve put this one up to give you an idea of the look, but also I think we are seeing a familiar hat in tonight’s episode.As I’ve been talking about Peter Davison, this is an extract from “Castrovalva” by Christopher Bidmead.
There is an official time lord strategy you are taught even as a small child: in circumstances of near defeat you take stock of the forces acting on your behalf, your assets, and then separately assess the forces working against you, your liabilities. This leads directly to the next stage: devising a logical plan that will increase the former and diminish the latter. This dictum had often struck the Doctor as typically Gallifreyan – that is to say arid, abstract and artificial. The only really stimulating thing about defeat, death and disaster is that all the rule books go out of the window, and you are permitted to improvise under the purest inspiration of all – blind panic.
As it’s May – it really has to be Peter Davison month. So, any thoughts on this chap?
An Audience Survey report on his first year can be found here. It was a period of change, with The Doctor consigned to the doldrums of weekday showings rather than the magical realm of Saturday.
The report shows that:
“Peter Davison appears to have been accepted as the new Doctor. Although there were a number of unfavourable comparisons with certain predecessors (notably Jon Pertwee) and a couple of suggestions that he should stick to being a vet, the majority of those reporting clearly feel that he has got to grips with the part and now fits in rather well.”
