I actually have to say that I thought last night's episode to be the weakest of the three so far, despite the great story and great special effects ... in some ways there seems to be a seam running through each of the episodes in that Rose finds a young female to which she in some ways emancipates. Interesting but at the moment, it just seems repetitious.
Callow was fab ... and it was an interesting scrip delving into Dickens' later life anxieties. Don't ask me whether it was fictitious or not. I have no idea.
They are certainly playing on the doctor's 'callous' streak. The battle between Rose's humanity and the doctor's practicality will be intriguing as the series progresses.
So there we go. Not my favourite of the three by far, but I can't really pinpoint why ...
FelixLeiter ♀Staffordshire or a pubPosts: 1,286MI6 Agent
I'm back. Yes last night's episode was rather dissappionting compared to the other 2. But anyway...
Meeting Dickens was rather interesting and then the fact that next week he dies.
Felix's favourite line is still here!
No3
"What about me? I've seen World War 5 and I'm going to die in a dungeon!"
Next week's episode looks interesting. I discovered that my mate watches the show so we've talked about it. The BBC thing was a nice touch and now I'm wondering why on Earth a UFO has come to London.
I do agree that the episodes are a bit short, but there's other shows on. Anyway, the older episodes weren't even that long so it's not all bad.
I don't watch TV often, just for films, Coronation Street and of course Doctor Who!
Oh that the Bond team could learn from Who the new series...
Plenty of humour to entertain and divert, and if that's the case, who cares it it's strictly relevent blah blah blah... It's a laugh, with a bit of food for thought thrown in.
And every Who episode is a direct hit. You have the Hitchhiker's guide futuristic one, the Victorian ghost story, the destruction of London next up. Great stuff, it's what you expect but with knobs on.
But with Bond of late it's all a mish mash of missed opportunities. GE - the end of the Cold War, but with sci-fi thrown in at the end, TND - media wars, but it's just not convincing and there's no real theme to speak of there. TWINE - er, a daughter's revenge? Oil? DAD - Lord knows. There's no plan to speak of.
I definitely don't buy the fact that the Doctor isn't who he says he is. How to alienate a huge chunk, if not all of the audience, in one swift go - "Hey, we've been character building for the last 13 episodes just to build up to the fact it's all a huge lie!!". Nah, that would be suicide. I'm buying into the Bad Wolf theory explained further on in this post, for the time being.
But now for some facts...!
Doctor Who is heading Down Under. ABC have confirmed that they are the latest network to take on the rights to the series and will debut the series in mid-May.
BBC Prime, widely available throughout mainland Europe, the Middle East and north Africa, has also confirmed it's intention to broadcast the new series of Doctor Who. However, it is unlikely to do so before the series ends in the United Kingdom. The wait continues in the US, however.
Meanwhile the series has begun in Canada to rave reviews and proved a huge success for CBC, pulling in just under 1m viewers, which compared to 9m in the UK, sounds few, but given the much smaller population and general viewing figures in Canada, is a significant number and far outweighed CBC's expectations.
For the past three weeks, Doctor Who has been the third most watched programme in the UK, behind Coronation Street and Eastenders. ITV1 rivals Ant & Dec are at number 20 on the list. Viewing figures for The Unquiet Dead were up on last week at 8.3m, peaking at 8.7m. The first episode, Rose, holds the third highest viewing figures for a non-soap so far this year, beaten only by the New Year episode of The Vicar Of Dibley and Comic Relief.
DVD releases in the UK:
Vol 1 (Eps 1 - 3) May 16th
Vol 2 (Eps 4 - 7) June 13th
Vol 3 (Eps 8 -10) Aug 1st
Vol 4 (Eps 11 - 13) Sep 5th
Box Set: November 21st - note this is the only release that will contain extras. The individual releases are episodes only, nothing more.
Oh, and look away now if you don't want to read a couple of spoilers...
****SPOILER****
The British troops that the Doctor is seen running with in the trailer for Aliens Of London are apparently under the control of UNIT. UNIT of course was first featured in the Jon Pertwee Years. The MI6 building at Vauxhall Cross is thought to feature as the TARDIS lands just outside it.
The Doctor takes Rose back in time to meet her now dead father and her younger self in Father's Day. The rumour is that his death is caused indirectly by the "older" Rose, and the Doctor refuses to go back in time to stop it from happening. This has led to speculation in some quarters that "the Bad Wolf" is actually Rose herself, borrowing from the Little Red Riding Hood tale of the Wolf dressed up as a loved one and bringing death to the family. Hence the fact that the servant girl Gwyneth looking at what Rose has seen in the future mentioned the Bad Wolf, i.e. something or someone Rose has already met.
Dalek, was billed as *THE* Dalek episode of the series, when the Doctor and Rose encounter a single specimen, thought to be the last of it's kind. However, it now transpires that the Daleks feature in the last episode of the series The Parting Of The Ways, to be more specific more destructive "Battle Daleks", and an army of them. Rumours abound that the Daleks have in fact caused (and triumphed in) the Time War that has been referred to, and that the series will end with an uncertain future for the Doctor and with Rose at the helm of the TARDIS on her own. Obviously it would all fall in well with "Is there going to be a second series?", but now we know that when Rose does manage to track the Doctor down, he's not quite the man she was expecting...
Quoting FROSTY:
Also, there are CONSTANT references to: "The War" , which The Doctor fought in,
apparently, "The War", was one where the DALEKS basically destroyed most Worlds.
Is does strike me as rather suspicious, that The Doctor is the ONLY survivor of Gallifrey?
This seems to indicate that the Daleks destroyed Gallifrey. And judging by the Doctor's emotional state in the series so far, I would suggest that the destruction of Gallifrey was a very recent event for him, probably only a couple of months or so before he met Rose. The emotional scars are still deep and this would explain why he has not yet gone back in time to try and save Gallifrey and change the outcome of the war.
Have you noticed how moody the Doctor has been, especially when he talks to Rose? It's pure speculation, off course. And I can't wait to see how it is all resolved.
Hello all im new here i stumbled apon this site while looking for "Hustle the con is on"s funky music lolz.. cudnt find it but i cudnt help noticing this Dr Who thread me being a fan.
Im only 17 so i havent seen as much Dr who classic episodes as most of you but i owned a Dr who film "The 5 Doctors" and i watched it alot when i was younger.
Also seen older films that were shown on tv now and then like the Dalek invasion of earth.
And inthe 90's they showed quite a few episodes with the Doctor with the car "bessie" i forgot the actor's name but i watched alot of them episodes.
I loved the Five Doctor's , the triangle scared me and at that age i didnt know why the doctor's were being sucked away with their faces in the triangle until now lol.
I think these new episodes are great with Christopher eccelston and Billie piper.
The second episode is my fave so far the first was ok and the third not as good.
Looking forward to the fourth one "looks more exiting".
I was wondering though how somthing so stupidly made as a Dalek could invade planets and beat the doctors and invade earth?.Alls you have to do ( based on the dalek invasion film ) is spin them around and push them and they blow up haha.
I need educating on Dr who by some of you more experienced Fans, did the Daleks ever fight the cyber men? would be interesting haha.
FelixLeiter ♀Staffordshire or a pubPosts: 1,286MI6 Agent
WOW! This all seems very interesting and 4 days seems to have been a while! If episode 4 is call WORLD WAR III, then that could be quite an interesting episode!
Also I am delighted that the episodes are coming out on DVD! I'm going to buy them the day they come out. I can't wait till November! That's far too long! I'll get each one as they come out. And then I'll get the box set anyway!
The BBC has withdrawn advice about Doctor Who being too frightening for under-eights to watch.
A statement on the BBC's complaints website on Wednesday saying the show was not for children under eight had been "a mistake", said a spokesman.
Monsters in the early evening show "may be scary" but content was "carefully considered" for all of the pre-watershed audience, he added.
"We leave it to parents' discretion to ultimately decide."
The original statement said the series "had never been intended for the youngest of children".
"We would suggest that only children aged eight and above should watch with their parents," it went on.
The advice followed 91 complaints from viewers about the third episode in the new series, starring Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper.
The Unquiet Dead, written by The League of Gentlemen's Mark Gatiss, featured corpses being possessed by alien spirits and coming back to life in an undertaker's parlour.
Set in 1869, the episode saw Charles Dickens, played by guest star Simon Callow, team up with the Doctor to fight the undead after a zombie appeared at his theatre performance.
Scenes included a grandson being strangled by his zombie grandmother, a mob of walking dead cornering the Doctor and his sidekick Rose and a seance with spectres.
The corporation had not meant to advise against younger children watching the series, the BBC spokesman added.
"The programme sets out to balance the right amount of humour, drama and suspense in each episode," he went on.
Comedy and bravery had been incorporated to create "the right context" for the ghost story, he said, adding that the BBC would be vigilant about the balance in each week's episode.
Followed by readers' comments and opinions, to which you can add your own
Interesting news, Frosty--jeeze, if only EON could act this quickly and cast the new Bond! Anyway, here's the news, straight from the BBC:
Tennant to take over the Tardis
The new Doctor Who has been officially named as David Tennant, the star of BBC period drama Casanova.
Tennant, 33, will become the 10th Time Lord when filming starts on the new series in Cardiff this summer.
He is taking over from Christopher Eccleston, who announced he was quitting last month after only one series as the Doctor.
Tennant, who will star alongside Billie Piper, said he was "delighted, excited and honoured".
Other actors who had been linked with the time-travelling role included Bill Nighy, Eddie Izzard, Richard E Grant, David Thewlis and Alan Davies.
"I grew up loving Doctor Who and it has been a lifelong dream to get my very own Tardis," said Tennant.
"Taking over from Chris is a daunting prospect - he has done a fantastic job of reinventing the Doctor for a new generation and is a very tough act to follow."
"I'm also really looking forward to working with Billie Piper who is so great as Rose."
He also said he was "chuffed to bits" to be working again with executive producer Russell T Davies, who also wrote Casanova.
Tennant, from Bathgate, West Lothian, has also starred in BBC shows Blackpool and He Knew He Was Right, and the Stephen Fry movie Bright Young Things.
He also voiced a role in the 2003 internet episode of Doctor Who, Scream of the Shalka.
Davies said he had already started writing Tennant's first adventure on board the Tardis.
"Regeneration is a huge part of the programme's mythology, and I'm delighted that new, young viewers can now have the complete Doctor Who experience, as they witness their hero change his face!"
He said Christopher Eccleston has reinvented the role of Doctor Who so that it appealed to the best actors in the land.
Julie Gardner, BBC Head of Drama, Wales added: "Christopher Eccleston has given an exceptional performance as the ninth Doctor.
"David Tennant is a great actor who will build on the excellent work already done by Christopher in establishing Doctor Who for a new generation."
A new 13-part adventure and Christmas special will start filming later in 2005.
Eccleston or Tennant. . .will I ever get to see the Doctor in America? Sigh. . .
This is fantastic news!! Don't get me wrong, Eccleston's fantastic in the role and I'm thoroughly enjoying every bit of this series, but he's going and we can't stop him so in my opinion we've got the best person to follow his foot steps. Great actor, will be a great Doctor. But what would the answer have been if Rose's question to Eccleston's Doctor was reworded for him..."If you are alien, how comes you sound like you're from Scotland?"
Quoting Moonraker 5:
But what would the answer have been if Rose's question to Eccleston's Doctor was reworded for him..."If you are alien, how comes you sound like you're from Scotland?"
Only a Scot could answer that one. Or an alien.
Anyway, news of the new doctor, wonderful! I'm not familiar with Tenant but if the rest regard him as an inspired choice that's the best news we could possibly hear. Long may this Doctor reign and bring on the syndication! We'd like to check out Eccleston some time.
Tonights episode Aliens of London maintained the high standard that has been set in the series so far. The Alien spaceship's doomed flight across London was visually very impressive to watch. The emphasis on humour in this series is high, and possibly warped. Aliens that fart? "Excuse me, do you mind not farting while I am saving the world?" "Would you rather silent but deadly?"
It was nice to see the return of UNIT, it brought back some good memories from the past. Jon Pertwee was my first Doctor and UNIT played an important role during his tenure.
Finally, on the official announcement of David Tennant as the next Doctor Who. I cannot comment regarding his ability as an actor or his suitability for the role because I have never seen him act. However, I wish him every success.
One thing I forgot to mention in my previous post.
This was the first episode where there has been a "cliffhanger" ending. However, some of the gloss was taken off it because the next thing you see is a trailer for the next episode World War III. I would prefer that they do not show trailers at the end of each episode. I will just have to cover my eyes and ears from now on.
FelixLeiter ♀Staffordshire or a pubPosts: 1,286MI6 Agent
edited April 2005
I tried my best here not to mention any spoilers but I'm putting POSSIBLE SPOILERS anyway.
That episode totally rocked!!!!!!!!!!!!
My brother decided to watch it with me this week. I wish he hadn't.
"Who's that?"
"What's that?"
"Why's that happening?"
"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!" )
He enjoyed it anyway and is watching it next week. And now him and I (as well as probably everyone else!) are wondering how the Doctor will get out of this fix he's got himself into. I'm betting that Rose will just run and burst into the room the Doctor's in...and then something'll happen! As for Rose's mom, she'll probably slide under the guy's legs and run or maybe Mickey will come in? Who knows?
END OF POSSIBLE SPOILERS
Did anyone watch that thing afterwards on BBC THREE? They were talking about the Doctor's past compainions and things. While I was watching some of the past clips and future clips there, I noticed two people. The first person I noticed was the person who plays Gale Platt in Coronation Street, who looked far younger. And I also noticed for a future episode, the guy who used to play Todd. It was an interesting programme anyway.
Felix's favourite line is still here. This time it's more funny I thought than last week's.
Guy with loud speaker:
"Put your hands above your heads,"
The Doctor:
"Take me to your leader!"
) ) )
Anyway, certainly looking forward to next week, as always, and nice to here about David Tennant.
Another brilliant episode, but this one was far closer to the "classic" series in terms of it's OTT monsters than anything in the last 3. The Slitheen are very outlandish in their appearance, and their disguises of taking on a human "skin" suit (and farting lots) is only something that Doctor Who could get away with, particularly with a the Dr Evil-style lines a couple of them had.
The highlight of the episode was Rose popping home to see her mum after being gone 12 hours ) After Rose's mum drops her cup of tea and stands open-jawed after we see all the "MISSING" posters, the Doctor bursts in and announces "Er, slight mistake, it's 12 months, not 12 hours. You've been gone a whole year" )
The pig running down the corridor in a suit reminiscent of the Muppet's "Pigs In Space" was a classic point too
FelixLeiter ♀Staffordshire or a pubPosts: 1,286MI6 Agent
Yes. I'd forgotten about that part with the pig. And the Doctor's reaction when the guy shot it was interesting as well.
Yes, when I saw the pig running down the corridor my natural instinct was to laugh at it and mock, "that's supposed to be an alien?" When the soldier opened fire my mood changed completely and I felt some shock, and then a little sympathy with the Doctor's anger.
Later on, when the Doctor explained about the pig being turned into a "mermaid"/"joke"/"fake", I felt rather sorry for it.
Very cleverly written and performed, me thinks. Just another reason why this new series has been such a success.
Aliens of London scored a preliminary viewer rating of 6.98 million overnight, with a 33.9% share, peaking at one point at 7.53 million in the last fifteen minutes. The "Ant and Dec" show beat it slightly with a 7.12 million (35.5%) share (peaking at 7.8 million in the last fifteen minutes.) It is important to note that "Ant and Dec" broadcast its season finale last night, and also that the BBC has tapered back it's publicity for "Doctor Who" over the past week. Final viewing figures will be out within a week.
You know, for anyone just stumbling across that, there's no actual indication that it's a fake on the first look..! The New York - Geneva - Hong Kong - Essex is obviously a give away but you have to look a bit harder for that. No BBC logo, no reference to Doctor Who...nada. Especially with a '.org.uk' address, which generally indicates a non-commercial or non-profit organisation. To all intents and purposes, there's nothing to link it with TV at all.
Quoting Moonraker 5:
You know, for anyone just stumbling across that, there's no actual indication that it's a fake on the first look..! The New York - Geneva - Hong Kong - Essex is obviously a give away but you have to look a bit harder for that. No BBC logo, no reference to Doctor Who...nada. Especially with a '.org.uk' address, which generally indicates a non-commercial or non-profit organisation. To all intents and purposes, there's nothing to link it with TV at all.
Very true, Moonraker 5. I was expecting a nostalgia trip as UNIT featured strongly during Jon Pertwee's tenure and he was my first (and favourite) Doctor. Therefore, it was something of a surprise that there was no reference to Doctor Who.
The majority of visitor's to the UNIT website with no knowledge of Doctor Who are more likely to believe it's genuine, IMO.
Well, other than the trailer for next weeks FANTASTIC looking episode (and the first time I've heard 'EXTERMINATE!' in a looooong time), another great episode and, to be perfectly honest, an improvement on last week. Beneath the campy-looking but deadly Slitheen malarky, there was some real character building here from the four main characters of the Doctor, Rose, Mickey and Jackie - certainly in terms of the Doctor and Rose's relationship.
Some VERY good one liners and some cracking political satire:
'PM/Slitheen' "They have weapons of mass destruction capable of being deployed in 45 seconds"
Doctor "They're lying"
Harriet Jones "No one will believe them"
Rose "Well, they did before..."
And the whole idea of the British government lying to the UN to start a war - classic!!
Oh, and the "My mother's cooking" "Great, put her on a low boil and let her simmer" )
Top stuff...already on the edge of my seat for the new fearsome looking Dalek - and what's with the small clip of the Doctor stripped from the waist up pleading for his life??
Wasn't overly impressed with today's episode, actually. I thought the comedy wasn't used too well myself, but it did have it's moment, and Billie Piper is still doing great!
Next week is the one I, and I'm sure many others have been waiting for! "EXTERMINATE!"
FelixLeiter ♀Staffordshire or a pubPosts: 1,286MI6 Agent
Didn't really think last episode was that great but it wasn't all that bad.
I wasn't even born when the old episdes were on, so I don't know anything at all about the Daleks.
I looked on the internet though and am hoping to buy some old episodes on DVD. I know they're different to the ones on now, but I still want to see them. I've been watching that doctor confidential thing on BBC3 and saw some interesting clips, of which I'd like to see the whole episode.
They're ones of the 5th doctor and in one he's talking to this guy and saying that he'll blow both of them up, because he's already going to die. Then in another he's got this girl leaning over him and says "Is this death?".
By looking up stuff I think they're both from 'The Caves of Androzani' or something like that.
I've also decided that I'm going to get up before 7am on weekends, so that I can watch the old episodes for 2 hours on UKGold. Then I'll go back to sleep. But I might change my mind and just tape them, then go back to bed!
Quoting Moonraker 5:
... - and what's with the small clip of the Doctor stripped from the waist up pleading for his life??
Now that looks interesting! Like I said I've no idea about the Daleks, but my dad's said stuff and they sound interesting.
Felix's favourite line is back!
I'm not sure if this is word perfect as I am posting 2 days later
Doctor: Er, well, if you're going to exterminate some one and, er, back them up against a wall, er, don't do it next to a lift!
*runs inside lift*
The new series of Doctor Who has seen Christopher Eccleston fight living dummies, restless spirits and aliens disguised as MPs, but he has yet to face his mortal enemies The Daleks.
That will be rectified in a forthcoming episode entitled simply Dalek, in which the Time Lord finds that one of the metal killing machines has been collected by an unsuspecting billionaire.
Voted the most evil Doctor Who villains of all time, the Daleks and their desire to "exterminate!" seem an integral part of the sci-fi series.
But their return was almost ruled out completely by a lengthy dispute between the BBC and the estate of late Dalek creator Terry Nation.
After the estate accused the corporation of trying to "ruin the brand of the Daleks" by wrestling control of their image, the dispute was resolved last August.
As episode director Joe Ahearne explained, the Dalek confronted by the Doctor and Rose (Billie Piper) is a monster for a new generation.
"The Daleks of the 1960s and 1970s would not make the grade today," he says. "They would be seen as comical rather than frightening. We couldn't have that."
Stairs have not been a problem for Daleks since 1988, when they first levitated towards Sylvester McCoy in Rememberance of the Daleks.
The new Dalek can also spin its torso independently of his head, so creeping up from behind is no longer an option. It's trademark "sink plunger" attachment also reveals a terrifying new function.
"We have taken all the perceived weaknesses of the Dalek and made them deadly," says Mike Tucker, the BBC model unit's miniature effects supervisor.
While Tucker operated the Dalek's head by remote control, Nicholas Briggs provided its chilling metallic voice and Barnaby Edwards sat inside its shell.
"You would be amazed at the number of people who wanted to get inside the Dalek," says Edwards, who also operated a Dalek in 1993 BBC documentary 30 Years in the Tardis.
"Sit on a swivel chair, put a dustbin on your head and you've got the same effect."
The new Dalek is brought to life by a combination of physical models and computer-generated effects, with most of its movement made by remote control - to Edwards' relief. "Moving a Dalek is like trying to operate a fully-laden shopping trolley from the inside," he says.
Edwards spent stints of up to four hours inside the Dalek body, watching the rest of the cast through an envelope-shaped gap.
"I was inside the Dalek for as many shots as possible, so Chris had someone to play off rather than just talking to an empty shell," he said.
The Dalek's voice was originally made by the now-defunct BBC Radiophonic Workshop, but Briggs creates it by talking into a box device called a ring modulator.
"Roughly a third of the lines in the episode are either spoken by the Dalek or Rose," says Briggs. "It never shuts up!"
Usually presented as part of a legion, the Dalek appears alone in the episode which enables it to interact more extensively with the other characters.
"A dustbin in itself is not scary, it's the performance behind it," adds Briggs. "In rehearsals we found ourselves talking about the Dalek's motivation!"
Former Coronation Street star Bruno Langley appears in the episode as Adam, who helps the Doctor and his companion deal with the revitalised Dalek.
"It was great to appear in such an important episode," he says. "My character gets on very well with Rose, which of course makes the Doctor jealous."
The 22-year-old says he can now understand why actor Ewan McGregor found it difficult to act alone on the Star Wars movie sets, where characters were added by computer afterwards.
"It made it much easier for us to have the Dalek physically there in front of us," Langley says. "But there were a lot of shots which had to be re-done because the Dalek got stuck in a doorway."
The cast and crew remained tight-lipped about how soon the Daleks would return to further terrorise the Doctor.
Tucker would only say ominously: "You will never get rid of the Daleks."
Doctor Who: Dalek is on BBC One on Saturday 30 April at 1900 BST.
FelixLeiter ♀Staffordshire or a pubPosts: 1,286MI6 Agent
Wooohoooooooooooo!!!!!
I've been on the website just watching the clips from the old episodes. I started from the very first ones and am working my way up. I am now near the end of the ones of the 2nd doctor. Itried going on before I came to ajb today but there was something wrong. I never thought I'd enjoy something that was black in white, but now I do.
Sounds like an interesting episode. . .though I wonder how this "collector" missed the fact there's a living, breathing creature inside the pepper pot? As any Whovian worth his salt (apologies for all the table condiments references--I don't know where they've come from) will tell you, the Dalek is an organic being; the metal shell is a combined vehicle/life support system/weapon.
Any word on whether or not the Cybermen will return? I've always had a soft spot for them. Maybe it's the tinfoil pajamas they wear. . .
Vox clamantis in deserto
FelixLeiter ♀Staffordshire or a pubPosts: 1,286MI6 Agent
edited April 2005
EDIT: I hope nobody read what I previously put - I just had a look, and I don't think it meant on the TV!
Comments
Callow was fab ... and it was an interesting scrip delving into Dickens' later life anxieties. Don't ask me whether it was fictitious or not. I have no idea.
They are certainly playing on the doctor's 'callous' streak. The battle between Rose's humanity and the doctor's practicality will be intriguing as the series progresses.
So there we go. Not my favourite of the three by far, but I can't really pinpoint why ...
Meeting Dickens was rather interesting and then the fact that next week he dies.
Felix's favourite line is still here!
No3
"What about me? I've seen World War 5 and I'm going to die in a dungeon!"
Next week's episode looks interesting. I discovered that my mate watches the show so we've talked about it. The BBC thing was a nice touch and now I'm wondering why on Earth a UFO has come to London.
I do agree that the episodes are a bit short, but there's other shows on. Anyway, the older episodes weren't even that long so it's not all bad.
I don't watch TV often, just for films, Coronation Street and of course Doctor Who!
Plenty of humour to entertain and divert, and if that's the case, who cares it it's strictly relevent blah blah blah... It's a laugh, with a bit of food for thought thrown in.
And every Who episode is a direct hit. You have the Hitchhiker's guide futuristic one, the Victorian ghost story, the destruction of London next up. Great stuff, it's what you expect but with knobs on.
But with Bond of late it's all a mish mash of missed opportunities. GE - the end of the Cold War, but with sci-fi thrown in at the end, TND - media wars, but it's just not convincing and there's no real theme to speak of there. TWINE - er, a daughter's revenge? Oil? DAD - Lord knows. There's no plan to speak of.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
But now for some facts...!
Doctor Who is heading Down Under. ABC have confirmed that they are the latest network to take on the rights to the series and will debut the series in mid-May.
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,12770528%255E1702,00.html
BBC Prime, widely available throughout mainland Europe, the Middle East and north Africa, has also confirmed it's intention to broadcast the new series of Doctor Who. However, it is unlikely to do so before the series ends in the United Kingdom. The wait continues in the US, however.
Meanwhile the series has begun in Canada to rave reviews and proved a huge success for CBC, pulling in just under 1m viewers, which compared to 9m in the UK, sounds few, but given the much smaller population and general viewing figures in Canada, is a significant number and far outweighed CBC's expectations.
For the past three weeks, Doctor Who has been the third most watched programme in the UK, behind Coronation Street and Eastenders. ITV1 rivals Ant & Dec are at number 20 on the list. Viewing figures for The Unquiet Dead were up on last week at 8.3m, peaking at 8.7m. The first episode, Rose, holds the third highest viewing figures for a non-soap so far this year, beaten only by the New Year episode of The Vicar Of Dibley and Comic Relief.
DVD releases in the UK:
Vol 1 (Eps 1 - 3) May 16th
Vol 2 (Eps 4 - 7) June 13th
Vol 3 (Eps 8 -10) Aug 1st
Vol 4 (Eps 11 - 13) Sep 5th
Box Set: November 21st - note this is the only release that will contain extras. The individual releases are episodes only, nothing more.
Oh, and look away now if you don't want to read a couple of spoilers...
****SPOILER****
The British troops that the Doctor is seen running with in the trailer for Aliens Of London are apparently under the control of UNIT. UNIT of course was first featured in the Jon Pertwee Years. The MI6 building at Vauxhall Cross is thought to feature as the TARDIS lands just outside it.
The Doctor takes Rose back in time to meet her now dead father and her younger self in Father's Day. The rumour is that his death is caused indirectly by the "older" Rose, and the Doctor refuses to go back in time to stop it from happening. This has led to speculation in some quarters that "the Bad Wolf" is actually Rose herself, borrowing from the Little Red Riding Hood tale of the Wolf dressed up as a loved one and bringing death to the family. Hence the fact that the servant girl Gwyneth looking at what Rose has seen in the future mentioned the Bad Wolf, i.e. something or someone Rose has already met.
Dalek, was billed as *THE* Dalek episode of the series, when the Doctor and Rose encounter a single specimen, thought to be the last of it's kind. However, it now transpires that the Daleks feature in the last episode of the series The Parting Of The Ways, to be more specific more destructive "Battle Daleks", and an army of them. Rumours abound that the Daleks have in fact caused (and triumphed in) the Time War that has been referred to, and that the series will end with an uncertain future for the Doctor and with Rose at the helm of the TARDIS on her own. Obviously it would all fall in well with "Is there going to be a second series?", but now we know that when Rose does manage to track the Doctor down, he's not quite the man she was expecting...
This seems to indicate that the Daleks destroyed Gallifrey. And judging by the Doctor's emotional state in the series so far, I would suggest that the destruction of Gallifrey was a very recent event for him, probably only a couple of months or so before he met Rose. The emotional scars are still deep and this would explain why he has not yet gone back in time to try and save Gallifrey and change the outcome of the war.
Have you noticed how moody the Doctor has been, especially when he talks to Rose? It's pure speculation, off course. And I can't wait to see how it is all resolved.
Im only 17 so i havent seen as much Dr who classic episodes as most of you but i owned a Dr who film "The 5 Doctors" and i watched it alot when i was younger.
Also seen older films that were shown on tv now and then like the Dalek invasion of earth.
And inthe 90's they showed quite a few episodes with the Doctor with the car "bessie" i forgot the actor's name but i watched alot of them episodes.
I loved the Five Doctor's , the triangle scared me and at that age i didnt know why the doctor's were being sucked away with their faces in the triangle until now lol.
I think these new episodes are great with Christopher eccelston and Billie piper.
The second episode is my fave so far the first was ok and the third not as good.
Looking forward to the fourth one "looks more exiting".
I was wondering though how somthing so stupidly made as a Dalek could invade planets and beat the doctors and invade earth?.Alls you have to do ( based on the dalek invasion film ) is spin them around and push them and they blow up haha.
I need educating on Dr who by some of you more experienced Fans, did the Daleks ever fight the cyber men? would be interesting haha.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/
Also I am delighted that the episodes are coming out on DVD!
I visited the site a short while ago and came across these.
You can test your knowledge of Doctor Who and try one of the quizzes at this link.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/doctorwho/quiz/index.shtml
How about a game of trumps, Doctor Who style?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/doctorwho/quiz/trumps/index.shtml
Or, how about a game of Tardis Tennis? Elvis "The King" v Winston Churchill, or maybe John Lennon v William Shakespeare. The choice is your's. Make sure that you read the instructions carefully.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/us_open_2003/tardis_tennis/default.stm
Have fun.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/4443901.stm
BBC stands by 'scary' Doctor Who
The BBC has withdrawn advice about Doctor Who being too frightening for under-eights to watch.
A statement on the BBC's complaints website on Wednesday saying the show was not for children under eight had been "a mistake", said a spokesman.
Monsters in the early evening show "may be scary" but content was "carefully considered" for all of the pre-watershed audience, he added.
"We leave it to parents' discretion to ultimately decide."
The original statement said the series "had never been intended for the youngest of children".
"We would suggest that only children aged eight and above should watch with their parents," it went on.
The advice followed 91 complaints from viewers about the third episode in the new series, starring Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper.
The Unquiet Dead, written by The League of Gentlemen's Mark Gatiss, featured corpses being possessed by alien spirits and coming back to life in an undertaker's parlour.
Set in 1869, the episode saw Charles Dickens, played by guest star Simon Callow, team up with the Doctor to fight the undead after a zombie appeared at his theatre performance.
Scenes included a grandson being strangled by his zombie grandmother, a mob of walking dead cornering the Doctor and his sidekick Rose and a seance with spectres.
The corporation had not meant to advise against younger children watching the series, the BBC spokesman added.
"The programme sets out to balance the right amount of humour, drama and suspense in each episode," he went on.
Comedy and bravery had been incorporated to create "the right context" for the ghost story, he said, adding that the BBC would be vigilant about the balance in each week's episode.
Followed by readers' comments and opinions, to which you can add your own
Tennant to take over the Tardis
The new Doctor Who has been officially named as David Tennant, the star of BBC period drama Casanova.
Tennant, 33, will become the 10th Time Lord when filming starts on the new series in Cardiff this summer.
He is taking over from Christopher Eccleston, who announced he was quitting last month after only one series as the Doctor.
Tennant, who will star alongside Billie Piper, said he was "delighted, excited and honoured".
Other actors who had been linked with the time-travelling role included Bill Nighy, Eddie Izzard, Richard E Grant, David Thewlis and Alan Davies.
"I grew up loving Doctor Who and it has been a lifelong dream to get my very own Tardis," said Tennant.
"Taking over from Chris is a daunting prospect - he has done a fantastic job of reinventing the Doctor for a new generation and is a very tough act to follow."
"I'm also really looking forward to working with Billie Piper who is so great as Rose."
He also said he was "chuffed to bits" to be working again with executive producer Russell T Davies, who also wrote Casanova.
Tennant, from Bathgate, West Lothian, has also starred in BBC shows Blackpool and He Knew He Was Right, and the Stephen Fry movie Bright Young Things.
He also voiced a role in the 2003 internet episode of Doctor Who, Scream of the Shalka.
Davies said he had already started writing Tennant's first adventure on board the Tardis.
"Regeneration is a huge part of the programme's mythology, and I'm delighted that new, young viewers can now have the complete Doctor Who experience, as they witness their hero change his face!"
He said Christopher Eccleston has reinvented the role of Doctor Who so that it appealed to the best actors in the land.
Julie Gardner, BBC Head of Drama, Wales added: "Christopher Eccleston has given an exceptional performance as the ninth Doctor.
"David Tennant is a great actor who will build on the excellent work already done by Christopher in establishing Doctor Who for a new generation."
A new 13-part adventure and Christmas special will start filming later in 2005.
Eccleston or Tennant. . .will I ever get to see the Doctor in America? Sigh. . .
Anyway, news of the new doctor, wonderful! I'm not familiar with Tenant but if the rest regard him as an inspired choice that's the best news we could possibly hear. Long may this Doctor reign and bring on the syndication! We'd like to check out Eccleston some time.
It was nice to see the return of UNIT, it brought back some good memories from the past. Jon Pertwee was my first Doctor and UNIT played an important role during his tenure.
Finally, on the official announcement of David Tennant as the next Doctor Who. I cannot comment regarding his ability as an actor or his suitability for the role because I have never seen him act. However, I wish him every success.
This was the first episode where there has been a "cliffhanger" ending. However, some of the gloss was taken off it because the next thing you see is a trailer for the next episode World War III. I would prefer that they do not show trailers at the end of each episode. I will just have to cover my eyes and ears from now on.
That episode totally rocked!!!!!!!!!!!!
My brother decided to watch it with me this week. I wish he hadn't.
"Who's that?"
"What's that?"
"Why's that happening?"
"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!"
He enjoyed it anyway and is watching it next week. And now him and I (as well as probably everyone else!) are wondering how the Doctor will get out of this fix he's got himself into. I'm betting that Rose will just run and burst into the room the Doctor's in...and then something'll happen!
END OF POSSIBLE SPOILERS
Did anyone watch that thing afterwards on BBC THREE? They were talking about the Doctor's past compainions and things. While I was watching some of the past clips and future clips there, I noticed two people. The first person I noticed was the person who plays Gale Platt in Coronation Street, who looked far younger. And I also noticed for a future episode, the guy who used to play Todd. It was an interesting programme anyway.
Felix's favourite line is still here. This time it's more funny I thought than last week's.
Guy with loud speaker:
"Put your hands above your heads,"
The Doctor:
"Take me to your leader!"
Anyway, certainly looking forward to next week, as always, and nice to here about David Tennant.
The highlight of the episode was Rose popping home to see her mum after being gone 12 hours
The pig running down the corridor in a suit reminiscent of the Muppet's "Pigs In Space" was a classic point too
Later on, when the Doctor explained about the pig being turned into a "mermaid"/"joke"/"fake", I felt rather sorry for it.
Very cleverly written and performed, me thinks. Just another reason why this new series has been such a success.
http://www.gallifreyone.com/newstv.php
Aliens of London scored a preliminary viewer rating of 6.98 million overnight, with a 33.9% share, peaking at one point at 7.53 million in the last fifteen minutes. The "Ant and Dec" show beat it slightly with a 7.12 million (35.5%) share (peaking at 7.8 million in the last fifteen minutes.) It is important to note that "Ant and Dec" broadcast its season finale last night, and also that the BBC has tapered back it's publicity for "Doctor Who" over the past week. Final viewing figures will be out within a week.
http://www.unit.org.uk/
Who (or what) is the Bad Wolf? All may (or may not) be revealed as the BBC has registered the website below.
http://www.badwolf.co.uk/
Very true, Moonraker 5. I was expecting a nostalgia trip as UNIT featured strongly during Jon Pertwee's tenure and he was my first (and favourite) Doctor. Therefore, it was something of a surprise that there was no reference to Doctor Who.
The majority of visitor's to the UNIT website with no knowledge of Doctor Who are more likely to believe it's genuine, IMO.
Some VERY good one liners and some cracking political satire:
'PM/Slitheen' "They have weapons of mass destruction capable of being deployed in 45 seconds"
Doctor "They're lying"
Harriet Jones "No one will believe them"
Rose "Well, they did before..."
And the whole idea of the British government lying to the UN to start a war - classic!!
Oh, and the "My mother's cooking" "Great, put her on a low boil and let her simmer"
Top stuff...already on the edge of my seat for the new fearsome looking Dalek - and what's with the small clip of the Doctor stripped from the waist up pleading for his life??
Next week is the one I, and I'm sure many others have been waiting for! "EXTERMINATE!"
I wasn't even born when the old episdes were on, so I don't know anything at all about the Daleks.
I looked on the internet though and am hoping to buy some old episodes on DVD. I know they're different to the ones on now, but I still want to see them. I've been watching that doctor confidential thing on BBC3 and saw some interesting clips, of which I'd like to see the whole episode.
They're ones of the 5th doctor and in one he's talking to this guy and saying that he'll blow both of them up, because he's already going to die. Then in another he's got this girl leaning over him and says "Is this death?".
By looking up stuff I think they're both from 'The Caves of Androzani' or something like that.
I've also decided that I'm going to get up before 7am on weekends, so that I can watch the old episodes for 2 hours on UKGold. Then I'll go back to sleep. But I might change my mind and just tape them, then go back to bed!
Now that looks interesting!
Felix's favourite line is back!
I'm not sure if this is word perfect as I am posting 2 days later
Doctor: Er, well, if you're going to exterminate some one and, er, back them up against a wall, er, don't do it next to a lift!
*runs inside lift*
By Tom Bishop
BBC News entertainment reporter
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/4469761.stm
The new series of Doctor Who has seen Christopher Eccleston fight living dummies, restless spirits and aliens disguised as MPs, but he has yet to face his mortal enemies The Daleks.
That will be rectified in a forthcoming episode entitled simply Dalek, in which the Time Lord finds that one of the metal killing machines has been collected by an unsuspecting billionaire.
Voted the most evil Doctor Who villains of all time, the Daleks and their desire to "exterminate!" seem an integral part of the sci-fi series.
But their return was almost ruled out completely by a lengthy dispute between the BBC and the estate of late Dalek creator Terry Nation.
After the estate accused the corporation of trying to "ruin the brand of the Daleks" by wrestling control of their image, the dispute was resolved last August.
As episode director Joe Ahearne explained, the Dalek confronted by the Doctor and Rose (Billie Piper) is a monster for a new generation.
"The Daleks of the 1960s and 1970s would not make the grade today," he says. "They would be seen as comical rather than frightening. We couldn't have that."
Stairs have not been a problem for Daleks since 1988, when they first levitated towards Sylvester McCoy in Rememberance of the Daleks.
The new Dalek can also spin its torso independently of his head, so creeping up from behind is no longer an option. It's trademark "sink plunger" attachment also reveals a terrifying new function.
"We have taken all the perceived weaknesses of the Dalek and made them deadly," says Mike Tucker, the BBC model unit's miniature effects supervisor.
While Tucker operated the Dalek's head by remote control, Nicholas Briggs provided its chilling metallic voice and Barnaby Edwards sat inside its shell.
"You would be amazed at the number of people who wanted to get inside the Dalek," says Edwards, who also operated a Dalek in 1993 BBC documentary 30 Years in the Tardis.
"Sit on a swivel chair, put a dustbin on your head and you've got the same effect."
The new Dalek is brought to life by a combination of physical models and computer-generated effects, with most of its movement made by remote control - to Edwards' relief. "Moving a Dalek is like trying to operate a fully-laden shopping trolley from the inside," he says.
Edwards spent stints of up to four hours inside the Dalek body, watching the rest of the cast through an envelope-shaped gap.
"I was inside the Dalek for as many shots as possible, so Chris had someone to play off rather than just talking to an empty shell," he said.
The Dalek's voice was originally made by the now-defunct BBC Radiophonic Workshop, but Briggs creates it by talking into a box device called a ring modulator.
"Roughly a third of the lines in the episode are either spoken by the Dalek or Rose," says Briggs. "It never shuts up!"
Usually presented as part of a legion, the Dalek appears alone in the episode which enables it to interact more extensively with the other characters.
"A dustbin in itself is not scary, it's the performance behind it," adds Briggs. "In rehearsals we found ourselves talking about the Dalek's motivation!"
Former Coronation Street star Bruno Langley appears in the episode as Adam, who helps the Doctor and his companion deal with the revitalised Dalek.
"It was great to appear in such an important episode," he says. "My character gets on very well with Rose, which of course makes the Doctor jealous."
The 22-year-old says he can now understand why actor Ewan McGregor found it difficult to act alone on the Star Wars movie sets, where characters were added by computer afterwards.
"It made it much easier for us to have the Dalek physically there in front of us," Langley says. "But there were a lot of shots which had to be re-done because the Dalek got stuck in a doorway."
The cast and crew remained tight-lipped about how soon the Daleks would return to further terrorise the Doctor.
Tucker would only say ominously: "You will never get rid of the Daleks."
Doctor Who: Dalek is on BBC One on Saturday 30 April at 1900 BST.
I've been on the website just watching the clips from the old episodes. I started from the very first ones and am working my way up. I am now near the end of the ones of the 2nd doctor. Itried going on before I came to ajb today but there was something wrong. I never thought I'd enjoy something that was black in white, but now I do.
Any word on whether or not the Cybermen will return? I've always had a soft spot for them. Maybe it's the tinfoil pajamas they wear. . .