Doctor Who

It is now wonder this show has run for as long as it has. I'm reviewing the classic series only, although why it's split into two I've never fathomed out. Seven actors held the mantle of being the Doctor, credit to William Hartnell, for being the hook, for gripping the initial viewers, and credit to Patrick Troughton for doing the unthinkable and taking over the lead role.

I love how each generation of my friends had a 'Doctor,' and how passionate they felt towards theirs. I grew up with Sylvester as mine, and sadly by then the show was in a huge decline and subsequently ended up being axed.

Purple patch of the show for me Series 13, Tom and Lis on supreme form, fantastic production values, and writing to match, the whole Gothic horror format worked amazingly well. Such a shame that the quality went out of the show during the late eighties for the most part, but there are definite hidden gems in there, Remembrance of the Daleks being a prime example.

I'm sure we all know parts of the series inside out, so doing a general review is quite difficult, all I can say is that I've loved this show since I was young and continue to do so.

Highlights, Caves of Androzani, Genesis of the Daleks, Pyramids of Mars, to name but a few.

Legendary 10/10.

I first found Doctor Who on the PBS network in the early eighties, with Tom Baker. Harry and Sarah must be his Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen, I thought. He was some eccentric scientist. At the end of his first adventure, "Robot", he, Harry and Sarah enter this blue cabinet, the strangest noise in the world is heard, and the cabinet disappears. Now the stumper was Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart's non-chalant reaction to the vanishing box. LIttle did I realize there was nearly twenty years history to what I was watching. I knew nothing about Time Lords, Gallifrey or what a Tardis was, let alone a walk-in police call box, something not found in America.

I missed Harry's departure and thought the actor must have just quit the show, but he did show up later. Then Elizabeth Sladen left and I had no idea what to expect. Gallifrey? What was Gallifrey? He has to go back and get Sarah.

The Gallifrean adventure was followed up with the introduction of Leela, the jungle girl. When she stormed into the tardis, I knew I was watching a show I could not begin to predict. K-9? Need I say more? I was destroyed when Leela left, and with Romanadveratrelunder's arrival I just sat back and went for the ride. When Lalla Ward (Romana II) left, I was a little more braced for what I was watching. So I thought. As Tegan, Nyssa and Adric watched, the Doctor saw all his old friends, then his old enemies. What did this mean?

Enter Peter Davison. I would learn that what I had just watched, five episodes a week, like a soap opera in a matter of eight months, was a twenty year old character. Tom Baker had already quit being the Doctor by the time I started watching it.

Davison's reign would be short and not as thrilling as Baker's. After Davison was Colin Baker, whose tenure was even shorter. Sylvester McCoy was an alleged attempt to get back to the second Doctor. In between waiting for new episodes, existing episodes from back to William Hartnell, the first doctor, and 'An Unearthly Child' would be shown. There would even be the movie to re-introduce the Doctor with Peter McGann taking over for Sylvester McCoy and Eric Roberts as the Master.

But today, it is Tom Baker's term that was so spectacular. The first three actors greatly set the pace for the character, but it took Baker to bring him to America. As Baker would say on the 25th anniversary, Doctor Who was fun, fun, fun.

And it was.

The sheer volume of Doctor Who episodes makes briefly commenting on all aspects of this wonderful show a challenge. However, I can make some recommendations for new viewers.

If the ONLY thing you want from science fiction is special effects, then Doctor Who is not for you. The quality of the effects are often admirable when the shoestring production budget considerations are factored in, but Doctor Who never really equaled the special effects of other shows. What Doctor Who does deliver is keen attention to character, dialogue, and plot. Doctor Who was always something more than its 1963 b&w kid's show origins suggest, and over the years it evolved into a program that could make some very clever, thought-provoking comments and observations while at the same time delivering a fun and suspenseful adventure.

Cliffhangers were what made me a fan from the beginning. Unfortunately, Doctor Who tends to be shown now in movie-style blocks. This dilutes those marvelous cliffhangers. Every episode of the show is about a half-hour, but most stories had at least 4 parts. At the end of each part, the Doctor or one of his many companions faces seemingly absolute, inescapable doom of some kind or another. I was lucky enough to first see Doctor Who on PBS, one half-hour episode per week-night. My friends and I had to wait a whole agonizing day to see the Doctor's clever escape or rescue. I don't know how the UK fans had the patience to wait a week. If you can, you should try to preserve the breaks too in order to get a real sense of the show, even if you just pause a few moments between parts.

One more thing to remember is that the Doctor is enigmatic. We still don't know everything there is to know about this renegade Time Lord. Part of the fun of the show is learning about the complex character and his history. But rest assured, his hearts are always in the right place.

So which episode should you start with? Every fan has a favorite Doctor and episode. I think you can't go wrong with "Remembrance of the Daleks" (1988). The 7th Doctor and Ace are a great team. Or try "City of Death" (1979), a terrific 4th Doctor and Romana story set in Paris. But ask around and check the web; other fans will send you in other directions. That's the most fun thing about discovering this show, there are so many directions to explore.

This series is just too huge to put into words. Classic Who has so many different styles and stories and protagonists. It's amazing concepts and different, iconic things.things that are just common knowledge in our culture today. Eight Doctors. Eight eras. There's just too much of it to put into words. Doctor Who is just part of British culture due to this fine, twenty six season long story of a time travelling alien.

Each Doctor's era is very different. They seem to have the same style as the Doctor. The Doctor ran the show, with the exception of the First Doctor (William Hartnell) to a degree, who let his companions take charge. Each Doctor had unique personalities, and the style and stories of Classic Who matched the Doctor they were assigned to.

The First Doctor was more of an adviser and let his companions take control, but he was still a crazy, lovable alien just like his other incarnations. The Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) is my favourite, he's very childish but intelligent and was grown up when he needed to be. The Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee) was the earthbound Doctor started off as arrogant and annoyed, but gradually became more loving. The Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) arguably made the show popular and is the most known Classic Doctor. He's also arguably the most childish and always had that huge smile.

The Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison) was the youngest Classic Doctor, but acted like the oldest at times. He's arguably the most unlucky Doctor as he just wants fun but death surrounds him. The Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) is arguably (yes, again) the most disliked Doctor due to his arrogance and choice of clothing (not his fault). He was very childish and serious most of the time. The Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) was the clown to start off with, but gradually got much darker and more manipulative but always remained childish. The Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann) was probably the most human Doctor, and seemed to be one of the most childish but had a hidden sadness and rage, leading into New Who.

The TARDIS is the Doctor's iconic time and space travelling machine. It has became so iconic in British culture that if a child sees an old police box, he'll/she'll probably shout "TARDIS!" and point. The Master is the Doctor's nemesis, his Moriarty, who can also regenerate when injured as they are both the aliens called Time Lords from Gallifrey. Daleks are another iconic thing in Britain now, try and find somebody who doesn't know what one is.

Of course, these are only brief descriptions and don't go into each era, which usually matches the Doctor at the time. The series is so massive that I could describe it for hours. So impressive. A small concept became such an iconic show. Possibly more famous than Robin Hood, another British achievement.

I gave this series a 9 for a reason, though. I believe the pacing is too slow. It's hard to pay attention much of the time as things take so long to happen. This was normal at the time of 1960s Doctor Who, but not the extent this series. As fun and interesting as it is, it can bore me to a very large extent. If only each story was cut in half, bar some of the better paces stories.

So a huge cultural thing, but the series itself has a number of problems. The concepts are so genius, though, that these can be forgiven. I just find the series hard to watch a lot of the time. I'll review New Who (2005-) separately.

Doctor Who was my childhood. This show was, and still is, awesome. Right from the start, it was set apart from sci-fi shows at the time. This show was originally intended to be educational. But all that changed one fateful day in 1963. Yes, that's right, I'm talking about... the Daleks.

These monsters were one of the few things from sci-fi that could illicit pure, unadulterated terror in me. Other monsters eventually cropped up over the years, like the Cybermen, Sontarans, Silurians, Sea Devils, the Master, the list goes on...

In short, there is a reason this show has spawned countless spin- offs, a TV movie, and has lasted for 50 years.

It is because it is a staple of British television. Even cancellation couldn't stop this gem.

After 16 years in development hell, barring the aforementioned movie, Doctor Who returned.