Classic Who day by day

[OmahaStar]

I am thinking about watching each of the (released) stories, one episode per day, and then doing a recap or review of that individual episode, then maybe an overall story recap after the 4, or 6, or however many episodes in that particular story.

At first, I thought about doing this just on my livejournal, but now I'm wondering if anyone else would be interested in joining?

It's in the early stages now, and probably won't start this week. For those who would like to do this but don't have the dvds, a lot of the episodes are on youtube.

Counting movies as one part, but 45 minute episodes as two episodes (sorry, Six), and including the modern series as well, there are over 400 episodes released at this point, with more on their way all the time, so this could easily last more than a year.

Anyone else up to the challenge?

 

[Captain Pike]

After I finish work, do battle with peak-hour traffic, come home, cook dinner and eat it I only have about a 2 hour slot to unwind before bed, and I like to spend a fair bit of that playing video games. I just don't have the time, but if I did, I'd be up for it.

What I have been doing lately though is putting on the DVD's and listening to the commentaries while I do other things. I started at Pertwee's last released DVD, The Time Warrior, which seemed as good as any place to start, partly because Sarah Jane is one of my favourite companions and it was her first story. I've listened to them all in order and am up to The Attack of the Cybermen so far.

It's been interesting listening to the chemistry between the different actors and production people. Lis Sladen is protective and defensive of both John and Tom in different ways. She and Louise will often play down Tom's bawdy jokes or make no comment, whereas Mary Tamm is just as naughty as Baker. You can tell Lalla was unimpressed with Christopher Bidmead et al taking the fun out of the show and trying to make it hard sci-fi, and she clearly has a complex love-hate view of Tom. Some of the Davison/Fielding commentaries are hilarious, particularly when they pick on Matthew Waterhouse for having a hangover in Castrovalva.

Anyway I digress. Watching all the DVD's is a good idea, but wait a couple of years and they will all be out anyway (didn't they say they wanted them all out by 2010 or so?) and hopefully by then my lifestyle will have changed to something a little less hectic. Either that or I will have tired of video games.

 

[OmahaStar]

Here is my schedule for August:

17 - An Unearthly Child 1
18 - An Unearthly Child 2
19 - An Unearthly Child 3
20 - An Unearthly Child 4 (and story recap)
21 - The Daleks 1
22 - The Daleks 2
23 - Off / Sunday
24 - The Daleks 3
25 - The Daleks 4
26 - The Daleks 5
27 - The Daleks 6
28 - The Daleks 7 (and story recap)
29 - Edge of Destruction 1
30 - Off / Sunday
31 - Edge of Destruction 2 (and story recap)

 

[OmahaStar]

Project: Who day one - An Unearthly Child, episode 1

An Unearthly Child, episode 1
Writers - Anthony Coburn and C. E. Webber
Director - Waris Hussein

Susan Foreman is a strange child. That's what her teachers think. At times, she seems to possess knowledge far beyond that of her teachers. At other times, she doesn't seem to understand basic things at all.

One of those teachers is a busybody named Barbara. She talks another teacher, Ian, into finding out why Susan is so weird. Ian readily agrees, and they arrive at the home address provided by the school's office. It is a junkyard, with I. M. Foreman written outside.

Inside they go, where they meet a curious old man who, they discover, is Susan's grandfather. Ian, taking the tough guy routine to an absurd level, tries to bully the old man into letting him inside the Tardis. The old man just laughs.

But they push their way inside anyway. It's bigger on the inside than outside. Ian, a pompous quack, again tries to bully the old man - we know him as the first Doctor. Again, the Doctor laughs him off, which just infuriates him.

Ian starts randomly pressing buttons on the control, and they disappear into the past.

* * *

I have fond memories of Ian and Barbara, but based on just this episode, I can't fathom why. It's been ages since I've watched any stories with these two, and I'm finding it hard to like them. Ian's an ass, and Barbara .. Oh, gosh. I have this image of her watching her neighbor and screaming "Abnah! Abnah!" straight out of Bewitched.

William Hartnell as the Doctor is aloof and mysterious, perhaps even a little dangerous. I think that even if I didn't know the series already, and was watching this as a brand new (to me) series, I would be fascinated by this actor and character.

And then there is Susan. Now, unfortunately, in later stories, I remember her degenerating into just a typical screaming teenager with nothing special about her. But here? Here, she's as alien as can be. While listening to music, she dances along in a fascinating, alien sort of way, as though her bone structure was something other than Human. She is also aloof, and watches those around her through ancient eyes.

She has seen the universe, and it brings her joy.

I could go on, but the simple fact is, I love this show, and it's an excellent introduction to the basics - the Doctor, his ship, and the concept of this character traveling through time and space.

And I also find it amusing that the Doctor's alternate name of "John Smith" gets a name drop here, though it's the name of the musician Susan is listening to.

The audio and video are pretty decent, considering this was filmed over 45 years ago. It's almost like watching it live.

One episode down, eight hundred seventy to go.

 

[Orac]

I liked the first episode of An Unearthly Child a lot, (I rate it 4 thumbs up ) the rest of the story is a bit meh though.

Did you also watch the alternate cut of the first episode on the DVD? I think they reshot some of Hartnell's scenes, in an attempt to make him more likeable and not so suspicious..

 

[DWF]

The early stories do feel like a live action show but it was pretty filmed in real time since it took about 70 minutes to film an ep. and I kind of liked that early quality of the series.

 

[OmahaStar]

I liked the first episode of An Unearthly Child a lot, (I rate it 4 thumbs up ) the rest of the story is a bit meh though.

Did you also watch the alternate cut of the first episode on the DVD? I think they reshot some of Hartnell's scenes, in an attempt to make him more likeable and not so suspicious..

They did reshoot it. The original version is 40 minutes long, the aired version is about 23 minutes. You're right about the attempt to make him more likable, but they lost a lot with the new version, mostly from Susan. There's about two minutes of her acting alien here, in the original, there's way more, and we get deeper into her character.

I'm glad we get both versions on the dvd, so we can compare and contrast.

Also, this does pretty much shoot down the idea that Star Trek was the first series to get a second version of its pilot filmed.

 

[FalTorPan]

Also, this does pretty much shoot down the idea that Star Trek was the first series to get a second version of its pilot filmed.

Not really, since Trek's two pilots had altogether different stories.

 

[OmahaStar]

Also, this does pretty much shoot down the idea that Star Trek was the first series to get a second version of its pilot filmed.

Not really, since Trek's two pilots had altogether different stories.

 

[Garth Rockett]

I have fond memories of Ian and Barbara, but based on just this episode, I can't fathom why.

I'm a big fan of Ian and Barbara myself, but thinking back on the first episode I definitely can see how they wouldn't have given a good impression based on the first episode alone. See if your fond memories of them start returning after The Daleks or Edge of Destruction, as I think the characters developed nicely by the end of those stories.

The last story I watched with them was The Web Planet about a month ago, and I thought they were both brilliant there.

 

[OmahaStar]

Doctor Who - An Unearthly Child, episode 2 - "The Cave of Skulls"
Writer - Anthony Coburn
Director - Waris Hussein

The Tardis has landed roughly 12,000 years earlier than when Ian and Barbara came from. They are in the caveman era. It is a time of cold, as the sun goes into hiding behind the ... well, clouds, or dust, or something.

There is a tribe of cavemen. Their leader, a firemaker, has died, taking the secret to making fire with him. When one of the cavemen sees the Doctor light up a pipe, he kidnaps the Doctor to force him to give up the secret of making fire.

Soon enough, his companions are also kidnapped, helpless to free the Doctor or themselves. The Doctor is given a command - make fire or die.

* * *

Well that was quick. Susan (referred to here as Suzie) has already degenerated into a stereotypical scream queen. I think there were at least three times in this episode where all she did was scream. It gets old. Very quickly.

Barbara falls into Uhura-ness with her "I'm frightened" dialogue, contributing exactly nothing to this episode.

As for Ian, well, this whole thing is his fault. Were it not for his button-pushing, the ship never would have left London. Even when shown that outside, they have moved, he refuses to believe it. As Londo once said, "Arrogance and stupidity all in the same package. How efficient of you." That sums up Ian so far.

Both Susan and the Doctor make comments about the Tardis not changing its appearance. Even now, in 2009, it's still a blue phone box. Now we know. It's Ian's fault.

Nowhere near as good as the first episode (which itself isn't as good as the original, nearly double-length pilot), this leaves a LOT to be desired.

Only one bit of fun here -

Ian: "Just open the doors, Doctor Foreman."
The Doctor: "Doctor who?"

 

[ElScoob]

It's been a couple years since I watched it, so I speak under correction... insofar as Ian did any button-pushing at all, he didn't really do anything significant. I seem to recall that he went to the console in an attempt to find the door control, touched a live circuit, and got knocked on his ass by the shock. It was the Doctor who initiated their flight, presumably on the pretext that Ian and Barbara couldn't be permitted to run around London telling everyone about the TARDIS. Susan, who felt they could be trusted, was trying to get the Doctor to let them go; she was distracted by I&B for a moment, and as soon as her back was turned the Doctor jumped for the console (insofar as Billy Hartnell could do much 'jumping') and got the ship underway.

--g

 

[Demonland]

Great recaps. I look forward to more and reliving the journey through another's eyes.

I love classic Classic Who!

 

[Phillip Culley]

They did reshoot it. The original version is 40 minutes long, the aired version is about 23 minutes.

Not really - although the compiled footage of the pilot episode is about 40 minutes, in reality it consists of one take of the first half of the episode (up to when Ian and Barbara force their way into the TARDIS), and then two takes of the remainder of the episode (as well as an aborted take where Barbara trips, and they stop).

What would have been the actual edited episode would be around the standard 25-26 minute length of a 60's episode.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

I have fond memories of Ian and Barbara, but based on just this episode, I can't fathom why.

I'm a big fan of Ian and Barbara myself, but thinking back on the first episode I definitely can see how they wouldn't have given a good impression based on the first episode alone. See if your fond memories of them start returning after The Daleks or Edge of Destruction, as I think the characters developed nicely by the end of those stories.

The last story I watched with them was The Web Planet about a month ago, and I thought they were both brilliant there.

I initially hated both Ian and Barbara (and I never liked Susan, except maybe in An Unearthy Child), but I agree that in the later stories, they do get better. Barbara especially shines in The Aztecs. In the end, Ian has become one of my favorite companions (and it's a pity William Russell was too busy for The Mawdryn Undead). I don't like Barbara quite as much but she and Ian make an excellent pair.

 

[Stevil2001]

Anyone who can hate Ian and Barbara after seeing The Romans does not deserve to live.

 

[OmahaStar]

Anyone who can hate Ian and Barbara after seeing The Romans does not deserve to live.

Let's see .... Romans is scheduled 9/15 through 9/18. Let's hope something good happens to them. (and it'll be my first time seeing Rescue/Romans, so I'm looking forward to it)

If I may ask, what is it about that story specifically that makes you like those two characters?

 

[OmahaStar]

An Unearthly Child, episode 3 - The Forest of Fear
Written by Anthony Coburn
Directed by Waris Hussein

The old woman helps the Doctor and his companions to escape their prison, only to be attacked and left for dead by the son of the former firemaker. There is an awful lot of running through forests, then the son returns to the tribe and blames his rival for the old woman's death. The rest of the tribe reach the Doctor just as he gets in sight of the Tardis.

* * *

An awful lot of running, an awful lot of filler. The name of the game is "stretch" and that's all they do here. It's just filler. When the story is watched as a whole, it's not as noticeable, but on its own, it fails.

The entire episode could be cut and nothing would be missed. And I'm half tempted to keep a running tally of how many times Susan screams. So far, it's already too many. Once again, Ian is useless.

Three episodes down, eight hundred sixty-eight to go.

One more day of this, I really hope the next story improves. If not, I have Friday to look forward to. The Daleks is one I remember as being an excellent story.

 

[Captain Pike]

Is that the episode where they fake the running by just having our heroes run up and down on the spot while bits of trees are whizzed by them every now and then?

Man that looked hokey, I can't believe someone in the production actually thought that would fool anyone..

 

[DWF]

Is that the episode where they fake the running by just having our heroes run up and down on the spot while bits of trees are whizzed by them every now and then?

Man that looked hokey, I can't believe someone in the production actually thought that would fool anyone..

It was well and truely a kid's show back then and I don't think the little ones thought about things like that.