Also, in first brit-sci-fi-tv...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xez4o1ujOPI

To be fair, you could hardly blame Colin Baker for telling the BBC to shove off – refusing to make a transition story and regeneration scene – after the pretty appalling way he was treated.

Colin was still prepared to continue as the Doctor, even after being told that he…

To begin with Delia thought she had found her own private paradise where she could combine her interests in the theory and perception of sound; modes and tunings, and the communication of moods using purely electronic sources. Within a matter of…

After the Hartnell/Troughton regeneration they were pretty crap.

To be fair, you could hardly blame Colin Baker for telling the BBC to shove off – refusing to make a transition story and regeneration scene – after the pretty appalling way he was treated. Don't think you can fairly blame him…

all the regenerations:

After the Hartnell/Troughton regeneration they were pretty crap. Except the Goon Show moment in the Troughton/Pertwee regen. wooahooa

I haven't seen the latest regen so I was strong and stopped the vid so as not to spoil my fun. Going to watch the last Tennant episodes in…

haven't got the hang of embedding youtube in these postings.

Just post the URL, as is, for auto-embedding.

Blake's Seven, anyone?

Funny how they all turn up on each other's programmes – Colin Baker was near the bottom of my favourite Doctors but he's kinda great in this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfPkCqQmNnQ&feature=PlayList&p=3588D8370BF84FEE&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=15

apologies, haven't got the hang of embedding youtube in these postings.

Nice. You'll understand I'm sure Paul if some of us kind hate you just the littlest bit. :)

Read his blog. You might find that's an understatement. I know nothing, and I'm only pretending to be a Dr Who fan (I really am) compared to this.

and regularly work on the BBC Doctor Who DVDs as a 'production information subtitle' scriptwriter.

Well thanks for that, Paul. The BBC may set their price points to "gouge" but the classic Who releases on DVD are generally worth the overdraft abuse.

So what began as a childhood fascination with a television programme has now become my job.

Nice. You'll understand I'm sure Paul if some of us kind hate you just the littlest bit. :)

In the commentary to The Horror of Fang Rock, Louise Jameson [Leela] told an interesting story about their initially rather tense working relationship

I'll always remember Horror of Fang Rock for that time a Max Headroom wannabe butted in...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWdgAMYjYSs

Is it just me, or was British television run for a long time by some seriously kinky men?

You say that like it's a bad thing?

Moviedrome, it was called. He'd introduce each film with a 10-minute spiel of interesting facts and vignettes. Really turned me on to some cool shit.

Now, if I was running a television network that would be perfect, cheap-as-chips local content and a way to raise the cultural IQ of the…

Plus, it's set in post-apocalyptic Liverpool, which is quite hard to tell apart from pre-apocalyptic Liverpool.

yup.

Alex Cox

I have mad love for this guy since BBC2 gave him a late night slot on sundays back when I was a teenager, which he used to show weird leftfield cult…

Does anyone else remember Chris Eccleston playing Iago in the modern-day BBC retelling of Othello? Wow, he was scarily good.

If you get a chance, see the version of The Revenger's Tragedy that Alex Cox directed a few years ago. Eccleston is excellent as the doomed protagonist, and Eddie Izzard…

taking over the galaxy one abandoned quarry at a time

heh.

Ah, Sevalan, Sevalan, and your shiny boots of leather.

And those faabulous gowns. :) Girls, just because you're taking over the galaxy one abandoned quarry at a time there's no reason to let yourself go. Is it just me, or was British television run for a long time by some…

Reminds me too strongly of Anita McNaught, I'm afraid

And how is that a problem? :)

Sapphire and Steel wasn't "scary" but did something much more interesting — I borrowed the DVDs off a friend a while back, and while it looks awfully cheap and downright cheesy in patches there's still this ghastly sense of unease.

Hell yeah, the children home alone, the soldiers trapped at…

Reminds me too strongly of Anita McNaught,

Yes indeed.

I'm afraid.

Wait, what?

Please forgive if already posted but free Dr Who game downloads were worthy of mentioning I think.

Tim, you have made my daughter's day. Well, in a sort of "now desperately hanging out for June" kind of…

Ah, Sevalan, Sevalan, and your shiny boots of leather.

Strike, dear mistress, and cure my heart.

Reminds me too strongly of Anita McNaught, I'm afraid.

Blake's Seven, anyone?

Hear hear. I have very few fond memories of Doctor Who (though I certainly watched a fair bit of the original series), but Blake 7 was a revelation to me when I was about 9 or so.

Blake's Seven, anyone?

Ah, Sevalan, Sevalan, and your shiny boots of leather.

Strike, dear mistress, and cure my heart.

Okay, yeah, THAT was some scary, scary shit. That's the theme music that makes me feel kind of sick.

Sapphire and Steel wasn't "scary" but did something much more interesting — I borrowed the DVDs off a friend a while back, and while it looks awfully cheap and downright cheesy…

Oh that's wonderful! :-)

Oh, spare my blushes. But seriously, I think Tennant was absolutely right: The Doctor is (as Matt Smith put it) the best role in British television history, but you want to leave the room when people are still sad to see you go, and you're still…

Pertwee was my first, from behing the lounge furniture when I dared. Tom Baker was good, the transistion episodes 'Robot' got me in but with such a long run, homework to do, I…

I hardened up on Sapphire & Steel

Okay, yeah, THAT was some scary, scary shit. That's the theme music that makes me feel kind of sick.

Geek trivia moment: Peter Hammond, who wrote S&S, also wrote a couple of episodes of Torchwood, including the one with the carnies coming out of the…

There's a lot of PTSD (post-Tennant sulking disorder)

Oh that's wonderful! :-)

Much as it sounds like I'm a self-hating geek, there's going to be a clot of Whovians bitching about absolutely everything.

Uh-huh. While I try to totally avoid that kind of thing, I've seen a couple of people complain that Matt Smith is "doing Tennant". To which my response has…

Tom Baker's my doctor too, but I know I saw a lot of Pertwee. I have the feeling they were repeats during the Baker era.

Apparently a bunch of Dr Who fans are annoyed about the "sexing-up" of the show, as if other female companions spent their years wearing a habit.

Much as it sounds like I'm a self-hating geek, there's going to be a clot of Whovians bitching about absolutely everything. (My favourite: "The…

I suppose I should refrain from comparing him to one of the Cactus Lab boys...

Ooooohhh, snap!

As for Dr Who the 11th, I've watched the episode three times now. Googled, and there are entire threads dedicated to critiquing his choice of dress, the new theme & opening credits (FWIW I…

The 1960s as the golden age of women characters on telly? Might be something in that.

Something for the Pratchett fans: Ena Sharples = Granny Weatherwax?

Back to the SciFi, lates 60s/early 70s – Dr Who never really did it for me, but there was a great short series called…

And I was even more impressed after seeing Catherine Tate on Never Mind the Buzzcocks and wanting to kill her quite, quite dead.

I feel like this is an appropriate time to join in to say that the only reason I am now planning on watching the new-ish seasons of…

But whatever you do, don't ever watch the remake of 'gone in 60 seconds'. That will make you watch through your fingers with horror and fear. 'Christopher, Christopher....what have they done to you.....?"

I also know someone who hated The Girl in the Fireplace, because she loved Rose so much.

I resemble this remark, probably because I *was* an eighteen-year-old when I first watched DW, and Nine's season was the first season I watched. I always liked Rose and I always will. (Or…

well it just seems a little cheap and nasty!

Especially when they go off and become a call girl.

[ducks]

Donna not so much

You're kidding right. She was brilliant! SO nice to have a heroine who is just so damn ordinary.

Megan

but I've never loved Doctor Who

it's Ok. Everyone is allowed to be wrong, true friends still love you despite your faults :P.

I really, really did…

But Patrick Troughton was the Doctor who first really registered with me. It was while he was The Doctor that I spent my time peering out from behind the couch. I still have vivid memories of that horrible web…

well it just seems a little cheap and nasty!

Doctor Who, such a slut!

Use it or lose it, surely. Also, dressing Billy Idol like Adam Ant? Full of win.

:-) All so true!

At the risk of being unpopular, I really liked Rose! But the problem with having a Doctor-Companion romance is that when the companion leaves, and someone else hops on board,…

he'd start screaming and demand the folks buy a couch for him to hide behind.

Couch WIN, I believe.

"Don't mention that man, he stole my James..." :-)

Use it or lose it, surely. Also, dressing Billy Idol like Adam Ant? Full of win.

Glad to know I am not the only one who remembers Patrick Troughton.

Oh, I remember him too. Indeed he later went on to run Telecom, I believe.

I thought the first Doc I remembered was Pertwee but when I check the dates it must have been Troughton.

Around 69-70.…

Prime, I believe, so I hope so. Because if it's not "soon" I'm going to have to burn off a bunch more bandwidth.

It's definitely in Prime's 2010 lineup, but they've given no idea when it will screen.

(Re the Buffy thing, there's a lovely wee bit in The Writer's Tale where Russell Davies is having dinner with Kylie Minogue and James Marsters, and can't get over how James is even hotter in real life. Bless.)

Emma — that is very funny.

I saw a YouTube clip of…

Until in the early 80s I moved to the US and one of my co-workers…

(BTW, anyone know who has the New Zealand rights to 'Being Human' and if we're ever going to see it?)

Prime, I believe, so I hope so. Because if it's not "soon" I'm going to have to burn off a bunch more bandwidth. There's a show whose outline sounds utterly…

There wasn't one of the modern companions I actually disliked. I felt sorry for poor Martha, she just got totally shafted. She could have been interesting, but she just got to be Rose Again.

Oh I don't know about that – I rather liked the way Martha decided to stop…

Am I the only person who kind of likes Rose then?

No. I know lots of people hate her. I also know someone who hated The Girl in the Fireplace, because she loved Rose so much. (Again, Sophia Myles's breasts. What's not to love?)

There wasn't one of the modern…

I liked Donna too – stroppy, redhead, think we're done, really

Indeed – and wanting to avoid spoilage since the BBC seems to getting in touch with reality, and getting the new Doctor Who to air overseas with commendable dispatch, I'll just say that Amy Pond is shaping up to…

A friend once told me even earlier Doctor Who played on regional TV in New Zealand but I've never seen that confirmed anywhere.

This handy link tells you that it started on regional TV way back in September 1964. Christchurch seems to have got it for six weeks before anyone…

I've taught my girls how to hide behind the sofa.

I really, really did that. Web of Fear, it may have been.

Glad to know I am not the only one who remembers Patrick Troughton. The yetis were scary but the cybermen were the ones who terrified me the most.…

but the character was so whiny and annoying it made me wish Nissa, Tegan and Adric came back, heck maybe even Turlough

Wait a minute, what the hell was wrong with Nyssa?

I liked Donna too – stroppy, redhead, think we're done, really. And I was even more impressed after…

I so wanted a long long scarf, but Mum wouldn't let me

I did offer to knit someone one recently, so your dream doesn't have to die.

I've just found my winter project!

http://www.androgums.org/scarf.html

http://www.doctorwhoscarf.com/instructions.php

I know I know, but the character was so whiny and annoying it made me wish Nissa, Tegan and Adric came back, heck maybe even Turlough.

Oh, someone wants a fight... Donna was the first bloody companion in nu Who history who could be out late on a school night…

Donna not so much.
You're kidding. You weren't moved by the tragedy of a woman who saves the universe at the cost of forgetting it all, and once again becoming a nobody? You're a brute, sir.

I know I know, but the character was so whiny and annoying it made…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=137R2uvMHBg

I really, really did that. Web of Fear, it may have been.

We should start a club. Dr Who. Have couch, will hide behind it.

Donna not so much.

You're kidding. You weren't moved by the tragedy of a woman who saves the universe at the cost of forgetting it all, and once again becoming a nobody? You're a brute, sir.

I've taught my girls how to hide behind the sofa.

I really, really did that. Web of Fear, it may have been.

Just to go against the prevailing mood

Same (ducks). It's always been there in the background (Baker – Pertwee was Worzel) but the writing has often been clunky and the campy tone does nothing for me. I really maintain an interest more because I know others who love the show.…

He is one rather odd man but gotta love his work – wasn't he also in the Narnia TV series as a mudwiggle?

Yep, he was Puddleglum in the fantabulous BBC Narnia miniseries of The Silver Chair. I remember very vividly getting the video of that when I was four…

But hey, each to our own-

I realise I am about to get pounced upon, but I've never loved Doctor Who. I remember it vaguely from childhood, with John Pertwee, and the scarf. And hte Daleks. But I don't remember it ever being scared.

And I was recently…

Robyn? Does "Clean Peter Davison opening" mean that somewhere there is a Dirty Peter Davison opening?

Tom's coming!

Now there's a first: collaborative Dr Who slashfic on PAS.

BTW, my first Doctor – Tom Baker.
Therefore I am tickled by the Pop Bitch story that he is known to shout "Tom's coming!" at the point of orgasm.

only disappointed he didn't mention that in in otherwise odd autobiography – Who on Earth is Tom Baker?…

I feel left out. No Dottor Chi for us.

Yeah, me too. No Doktor Vem for us either. Even having watched it now and then with my own kids over the last few years, I'm afraid I just don't get it. I suspect you need to get hooked at an…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnUDjT1B4EA

The very first one is simple and yet surprisingly moving. The ones after that either exist as a showcase of the latest in special effects technology, or are kind of crappy low-tech ones where Doctor A lies down then Doctor B sits…

Right, there's another episode I'll be watching through my fingers.

I've taught my girls how to hide behind the sofa.

A friend of mine who's ten years my senior still thinks the first (William Hartnell) was the best, and it was scarier in black and white than colour.

Agree. And the original daleks were pretty scary too.

I don't know where that creepy little man came from...please tell me you can see him too?!

Yes, that freaked me too. I should've warned you.

The original Doctor Who series of the 60s, 70s…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTOW2iBkyPA

(I'll take Kabir Bedi over all your doctors. I don't care how much larger their digs look on the inside than on the outside.)

Impossible. To disagree, I mean. She's ablaze!

Oh, balls – you're just not trying. I've fallen in love with both Smith and Gillan for a number of reason. 1) The first bow is the kind of horrible writing challenge where actual perfomance can get lost in all the plot mechanics…

Robyn? Does "Clean Peter Davison opening" mean that somewhere there is a Dirty Peter Davison opening?

Tom's coming!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roACxMr4kBk

I'm pretty sure it was the first of the two pertwee sequences I remember being scared of (age around 5 or 7 ?)

OMG, the angels! Right, there's another episode I'll be watching through my fingers.

Nope. There's *two* episodes for the finger treatment – it's a two-parter I believe.

I agree with Emma. Tho' wasn't the rubber snake Davison?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinda_%28Doctor_Who%29

which seems to be a universally terrifying sound to children

Clearly because you don't want the plughole monster to get you if you're not out of the bath by the time all the water goes.

Duh.

Wow. That actually came out even worse than it sounded in my head.

Ian: yes, we are all naughty people with Friends in England. But Prime is promising it "soon", which is excellent.

Weeping…

I so wanted a long long scarf, but Mum wouldn't let me

I had the long scarf and got it caught in the front wheel of my tredlie

I hate it when she's proven right! :)

The credit music was amazing. It's like an electronic version of water sucking down a plughole, which seems to be a universally terrifying sound to children. I still haven't heard a satisfying explanation as to why that is.

Nice breakdown here, from about 5:20

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYUR5saA2I0

...but now I'm worried I've missed the
first episode of the New Doctor?
When did it…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECpe4rrUXX0

It's those '70s glam rock guitars, man.

I also remember a year or two before I was…

The credit music was amazing. It's like an electronic version of water sucking down a plughole, which seems to be a universally terrifying sound to children. I still haven't heard a satisfying explanation as to why that is.

Re: long scarves, I think…

Baker was awesome, but…

Therefore I am tickled by the Pop Bitch story that he is known to shout "Tom's coming!" at the point of orgasm.

The only thing that seemed to make a major impression on the kids was the sight of Weeping Angels in the series trailer at the end, which made even my fifteen year old boy spontaneously gasp.

I was sitting there, watching the upcoming highlights with glee, and suddenly, OMG, the…

You can figure out what screened when here.

Which explains my sporadic childhood viewing – 5.30 was the time my parents were usually but not quite always home and insisting on my not being in front of the TV.

You can figure out what screened when here.

Wow, thanks Philip. Once again, the obsessives of the internet come in well handy. I can now work out pretty much exactly when I started watching. That's kind of scary.

I've been loving the new series. Ecclestone was great, and was the most "alien" of the new Doctors IMO. I was immediately distressed when it leaked that he'd agreed to…

my cat
yes my cat

and Emma i am too with tom baker first then pertwee
so i can only assume that they discovered people were watching baker so brought the…

Bless you, Steven Moffat, you really know how to scare the crap out of children.

Apparently children all over the UK are now afraid of cracks in their wall.

After Davison, I stopped watching. Like everyone else.

Not helped by TVNZ changing timeslots (or something) around that time.

And that's pretty much been my impression: that Matt Smith's been blown off the small screen by Karen Gillan. Feel free to disagree.

Impossible. To disagree, I mean. She's ablaze!

Matt Smith's growing on me. I did like the kindness he managed to convey in the kitchen scene with young…

Also, your link needs fixing.

I was just doing that. Thanks.

I'd seen Neil Gaiman Tweet that, but it was kind of interesting to see how people who'd never seen any Dr Who before reacted. Everyone else is SO focused on what went before.

Also, your link needs fixing.