How did you manage to see The Ark and Gunfighters? They aren't available on dvd yet.
Stories You've Watched Recently
- Thread starter Bones2
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How did you manage to see The Ark and Gunfighters? They aren't available on dvd yet.
its a secret
The Ark is on DVD, in the UK at least.
I finished The Time Monster today. All in all, an uneven and sadly incoherent story, but, boy, does it have some great moments!
It took some effort on my part to get over the nonsense history at the beginning, when it's nonchalantly proclaimed that historians believe Thera/Santorini to be Atlantis. I know how this misunderstanding has come about - the thesis is that the destruction of Thera by a volcanic eruption inspired the myth of Atlantis - but that really doesn't help. As this volcanic eruption happened during the era of the Minoan culture, they're thrown into the mix as well. I liked the set design and the costumes and that made up for the nonchalant handling of history a bit. However, we also get the Minotaur while we're at it.
I'm more willing to excuse the weird science here because it's about time and time travel and that's always esoteric.
The acting in general is great in this story, not just by the main characters. The character building was good, too. I especially liked the two scientists and the king of Atlantis. But the best thing was the interaction between Jo and the Doctor. There's just so much going on between them when the Doctor decides to step inside the Master's TARDIS to dissuade him from his plans, both of them knowing that he'll probably die.
The scene towards the end where the Doctor threatens the Master with annihilating both their TARDISes is great, both when the Master dares him to do it, knowing he won't because he can't bring himself to also kill Jo, despite her urging him on. In the end, Jo has to do it herself. I loved the scene that follows where the Doctor claims he was about to do it himself, anyway, then she skeptically asks, "Really?" and he has to admit, "No. Not really." This trait of the Doctor, his 'fatal weakness' according to the Master, is mirrored nicely in Parting of the Ways, I think.
Roger Delgado plays the Master excellently, once again. I felt this story gave us much of an insight into the motivation of the Master and his relationship with the Doctor. And although he acts in such a despicable way, Delgado plays him in such an amiable fashion I can almost sympathise with him. Of course, he also gets some great lines. ("You're mad. Paranoid." "Who isn't? I'm just more honest than most.")
All in all, a good serial, which could have been great if it had been a bit more coherent and if the ending hadn't felt so rushed. Whoever claims that the old series doesn't have a soul obviously hasn't seen much of it or the wrong serials.
It took some effort on my part to get over the nonsense history at the beginning, when it's nonchalantly proclaimed that historians believe Thera/Santorini to be Atlantis. I know how this misunderstanding has come about - the thesis is that the destruction of Thera by a volcanic eruption inspired the myth of Atlantis - but that really doesn't help. As this volcanic eruption happened during the era of the Minoan culture, they're thrown into the mix as well. I liked the set design and the costumes and that made up for the nonchalant handling of history a bit. However, we also get the Minotaur while we're at it.
I'm more willing to excuse the weird science here because it's about time and time travel and that's always esoteric.
The acting in general is great in this story, not just by the main characters. The character building was good, too. I especially liked the two scientists and the king of Atlantis. But the best thing was the interaction between Jo and the Doctor. There's just so much going on between them when the Doctor decides to step inside the Master's TARDIS to dissuade him from his plans, both of them knowing that he'll probably die.
The scene towards the end where the Doctor threatens the Master with annihilating both their TARDISes is great, both when the Master dares him to do it, knowing he won't because he can't bring himself to also kill Jo, despite her urging him on. In the end, Jo has to do it herself. I loved the scene that follows where the Doctor claims he was about to do it himself, anyway, then she skeptically asks, "Really?" and he has to admit, "No. Not really." This trait of the Doctor, his 'fatal weakness' according to the Master, is mirrored nicely in Parting of the Ways, I think.
Roger Delgado plays the Master excellently, once again. I felt this story gave us much of an insight into the motivation of the Master and his relationship with the Doctor. And although he acts in such a despicable way, Delgado plays him in such an amiable fashion I can almost sympathise with him. Of course, he also gets some great lines. ("You're mad. Paranoid." "Who isn't? I'm just more honest than most.")
All in all, a good serial, which could have been great if it had been a bit more coherent and if the ending hadn't felt so rushed. Whoever claims that the old series doesn't have a soul obviously hasn't seen much of it or the wrong serials.
Scream of the Shalka. I enjoyed it, quite different from what we've come to expect.
Time Lords still monkeying with him, sending him places. Strange seeing the master traveling with him as a companion (Was it simply a robot, or a robot containing the real Master?) Allison was really fun, the story was good, and it was fun seeing the Dr. so bitter about being bothered with the "assignment". Several lines dropped that reveal unknown background for him. The hair was just too weird though, LOL.
I think he would've made a good Dr. Was this meant to replace McGann, or after him?
From what I've read about the plots to the Dr. Who Unbound audios (I have the first 7, but, haven't been able to listen to them yet), this definitely belongs in that line, IMHO.
Time Lords still monkeying with him, sending him places. Strange seeing the master traveling with him as a companion (Was it simply a robot, or a robot containing the real Master?) Allison was really fun, the story was good, and it was fun seeing the Dr. so bitter about being bothered with the "assignment". Several lines dropped that reveal unknown background for him. The hair was just too weird though, LOL.
I think he would've made a good Dr. Was this meant to replace McGann, or after him?
From what I've read about the plots to the Dr. Who Unbound audios (I have the first 7, but, haven't been able to listen to them yet), this definitely belongs in that line, IMHO.
Once I have the time, I want to see 'The Krotons'...and that next episode with the Ice Warriors...
I think it's just to see Zoe in the pvc skirt and boots...
I haven't seen "The Krotons" but I listened to the audio reconstruction. (Why did they do an audio reconstruction of this, BTW? I didn't think this story was ever missing.) It's got Zoe's best line ever, "Of course he'll figure it out. The Doctor is almost as clever as I am."
"The Seeds of Death" is another one of my favorite Troughton's, 2nd only to "The Invasion." It does a good job of putting the Doctor in mortal jeopardy that he actually takes seriously, thus we take it seriously and the threat posed by these seeds feels far more real. There's also something about the harsh style of future Earth in this story that appeals to me, from the simple jump-cut effect for the T-Mat machine to the harsh, rapid monotone of the computer voice.
I've been getting my mother into the new series recently, though in very much the wrong order. Here's how we've tackled it so far:
"The Lodger"
"Vincent & the Doctor"
"The Eleventh Hour"
"The Vampires of Venice"
"Amy's Choice"
"Silence in the Library"
"Forest of the Dead"
"Blink"
"The Time of Angels"
Going backwards from Matt Smith episodes into "Silence in the Library"/"Forest of the Dead" elicited 2 reactions from me. First, I realized how sudden a gear shift it is going from Matt Smith's bumbling professor to David Tennant's loud showman. Second, I kinda started watching it from River Song's perspective. I kept kinda muttering to myself, "Come on, Doctor! It's River Song! Everyone know's who River Song is!"
Watching The Green Death as I type this and the villain was just revealed to be "...the computer." 
Oh, it must have been easy to be a TV writer back in the day.
Oh, it must have been easy to be a TV writer back in the day.Watching The Green Death as I type this and the villain was just revealed to be "...the computer."
I think you kind of missed the point, Boss was only a machine bent on taking over the planet, the real enemy is mankind for polluting the planet and making the giant maggots.
http://www.shannonsullivan.com/drwho/serials/ttt.html
Well worth re-watching.
The last one I watched was Spearhead from Space. The first episode is dismally boring. So little happens that it's a wonder anyone tuned in the next week. It picks up after that though, but it's not brilliant. Pert gives a performance very unlike the bored posh old chap persona he settles into a little later; in fact dafting around with his eyebrows is a bit Tennantish if anything. And apparently he regenerated himself a tattoo. The big plus is the idea of the Autons. Shop dummies coming to life is iconic enough that RTD nabbed it for bringing the show back, and is the biggest classic DW example of everyday things being scary that springs to mind - like what Moffat tried to do in each of his Tennant stories. Still, it's no actioner on the whole and is neither is it an example of the classic show at its best the way Silurians and Inferno would be later that season. Probably 3/5, but only just.
I continued through my meanderings of early Peter Davison yesterday with "Black Orchid," "Earthshock," "Time-Flight," & the 1st part of "Arc of Infinity."
"Black Orchid" is a fun little story, although the pacing is a lot more casual than you would expect for a 2-parter, particularly in Part 1. The Doctor plays cricket and there's a long dance party. Nyssa looks just like a rich girl in the 1930s but that plot twist has hardly any payoff. Still, in a refreshing change of pace, the story ends up not involving any aliens or supernatural monsters. I think this may be the last TV story ever to do so. In some ways, the simple revelation about the hidden secrets of a wealthy English family feels very much like an old Sherlock Holmes story ("The Blanched Soldier" in particular).
BTW, the bonus features includes a Blue Peter segment where they visit the costume shop that provided the period costumes for "Black Orchid." The Blue Peter hosts model a variety of costumes for the sequence, most notably a blink-and-you-miss-it shot of them dressed as General Zod & Ursa from Superman.
"Earthshock" seems to be when Peter Davison is finally hitting his stride as the Doctor. Plus, the Cybermen are awesome and look amazing. Adric is so insufferable that you kind of want him to die. Although, I'm kinda surprised that they're not able to go back and rescue him. I don't think it would be an unacceptable crossing over of their own time stream if they took the TARDIS back to the freighter just before it crashed and rescued Adric, since how do they know that they didn't?
BTW, Peter Davison is just about the only Doctor I've ever seen use guns. He shoots one of the Cybermen in the TARDIS several times at the end of "Earthshock" and he tip toes around with a handgun while searching for a Dalek in a London warehouse in "Resurrection of the Daleks." (The only other gun-toting Doctor moments I can recall are Christopher Ecclestion with his big ass gun chasing down the Dalek in "Dalek" and David Tennant quickly grabbing a gun once he realizes that the Time Lords are back in "The End of Time.")
"Time-Flight" isn't great but it moves along at a nice pace, particularly once you get past part 1. It's nice to see the Doctor on a UNIT related assignment, even if no UNIT personnell appear. Anthony Ainley's Master is always a welcome addition to any story. The guest stars seem fairly resourceful by Doctor Who standards, making their own plans rather than just waiting helplessly for the Doctor. I don't think 20th century humans have been this assertive around the Doctor since Ian & Barbara left. And it's just kinda fun seeing Tegan put to use her specialized skills as a flight attendant.
"Arc of Infinty" is taking a while to get going. Mostly, it's just weird to see Colin Baker on the show in a non-Doctor role.
"Black Orchid" is a fun little story, although the pacing is a lot more casual than you would expect for a 2-parter, particularly in Part 1. The Doctor plays cricket and there's a long dance party. Nyssa looks just like a rich girl in the 1930s but that plot twist has hardly any payoff. Still, in a refreshing change of pace, the story ends up not involving any aliens or supernatural monsters. I think this may be the last TV story ever to do so. In some ways, the simple revelation about the hidden secrets of a wealthy English family feels very much like an old Sherlock Holmes story ("The Blanched Soldier" in particular).
BTW, the bonus features includes a Blue Peter segment where they visit the costume shop that provided the period costumes for "Black Orchid." The Blue Peter hosts model a variety of costumes for the sequence, most notably a blink-and-you-miss-it shot of them dressed as General Zod & Ursa from Superman.
"Earthshock" seems to be when Peter Davison is finally hitting his stride as the Doctor. Plus, the Cybermen are awesome and look amazing. Adric is so insufferable that you kind of want him to die. Although, I'm kinda surprised that they're not able to go back and rescue him. I don't think it would be an unacceptable crossing over of their own time stream if they took the TARDIS back to the freighter just before it crashed and rescued Adric, since how do they know that they didn't?
BTW, Peter Davison is just about the only Doctor I've ever seen use guns. He shoots one of the Cybermen in the TARDIS several times at the end of "Earthshock" and he tip toes around with a handgun while searching for a Dalek in a London warehouse in "Resurrection of the Daleks." (The only other gun-toting Doctor moments I can recall are Christopher Ecclestion with his big ass gun chasing down the Dalek in "Dalek" and David Tennant quickly grabbing a gun once he realizes that the Time Lords are back in "The End of Time.")
"Time-Flight" isn't great but it moves along at a nice pace, particularly once you get past part 1. It's nice to see the Doctor on a UNIT related assignment, even if no UNIT personnell appear. Anthony Ainley's Master is always a welcome addition to any story. The guest stars seem fairly resourceful by Doctor Who standards, making their own plans rather than just waiting helplessly for the Doctor. I don't think 20th century humans have been this assertive around the Doctor since Ian & Barbara left. And it's just kinda fun seeing Tegan put to use her specialized skills as a flight attendant.
"Arc of Infinty" is taking a while to get going. Mostly, it's just weird to see Colin Baker on the show in a non-Doctor role.
Black Orchid is nice, a lovely little change of pace, it's inoffensive and it's short and sometimes it's nice to just see our characters having a bit of fun, a bit of R&R, and yeah I wish the new series would toss in the odd story that didn't revolve around aliens.
The only other instance of a Doctor using a gun I can think of off the top of my head is 11 at the end of the Angels 2 parter.
Unless Nine borrowing Jack's sonic blaster counts.
I'm pretty sure other Doctor's have at some point, actually didn't the Doctor pick up a gun at the end of The Doctor's Daughter as well?
The only other instance of a Doctor using a gun I can think of off the top of my head is 11 at the end of the Angels 2 parter.
Unless Nine borrowing Jack's sonic blaster counts.
I'm pretty sure other Doctor's have at some point, actually didn't the Doctor pick up a gun at the end of The Doctor's Daughter as well?
Yes, he did.
The third Doctor also used a gun in the story I just saw, Frontier In Space and he even shoots at some Ogrons with it.
The make-up work on this story is outstanding, finally some aliens that aren't completely hidden behind their rubber masks. It's Roger Delgado's last performance as the Master and he's great as usual. Under all the witty remarks and amiability the evilness shines through, especially in his conversation with Jo in the fifth and/or sixth episode.
We also get to hear the story of the Doctor's trial from his perspective. I loved his justifications ("I didn't steal the TARDIS, I only borrowed it. I fully intended to return it.") and how he thinks he won because he made the council look bad.
I really appreciated his attitude as a prisoner, too.
There are some cool weightlessness in space scenes but it would have been nice if they had lighted the last one in such a manner that we can't see the shadows of the strings the Doctor's hanging on on the ship.
All in all, a good story with a good premise and a shocking ending but it was a bit awkwardly paced at times. And I would have liked to see a resolution regarding the political prisoners on the moon. But this is only the first part of the story, so maybe there will be one.
The make-up work on this story is outstanding, finally some aliens that aren't completely hidden behind their rubber masks. It's Roger Delgado's last performance as the Master and he's great as usual. Under all the witty remarks and amiability the evilness shines through, especially in his conversation with Jo in the fifth and/or sixth episode.
We also get to hear the story of the Doctor's trial from his perspective. I loved his justifications ("I didn't steal the TARDIS, I only borrowed it. I fully intended to return it.") and how he thinks he won because he made the council look bad.
I really appreciated his attitude as a prisoner, too.
There are some cool weightlessness in space scenes but it would have been nice if they had lighted the last one in such a manner that we can't see the shadows of the strings the Doctor's hanging on on the ship.
All in all, a good story with a good premise and a shocking ending but it was a bit awkwardly paced at times. And I would have liked to see a resolution regarding the political prisoners on the moon. But this is only the first part of the story, so maybe there will be one.
just watched the Krotons, and the Seeds of Death!
Krotons:
Excellent episode! Great special effects, the Krotons could use an updated look, but they were still cool. Very weird and classic scifi in so many ways. It reminded me of a sweet episode of the classic Outer Limits or some such equivalent series. Very cool. I was delighted by the interaction between Jamie and Zoe, and for once, I felt like Zoe was more level headed..Jamie got on my nerves at times..the Kroton ship would have been cool to see what it eventually looked like..but overall, a great series!
The Seeds of Death was a lavish show, the special effects and the sets used were very elaborate, lots of lights, and controls, and so much going on for that day, it was stupendous! I should have liked to have seen the original Ice warriors episode first, but that is okay, you can still watch it and get the jist of who they are..this episode was also well done, and the T-mat system really relayed the problems of cheap and easy science, versus practical uses.. I liked that dichotomy..
overall, the Seeds of Death was a good episode, the rocket scenes are a bit laughable, but bearable..
as troughton goes, His series was definitely more violent, and certainly had more of the flavour of the outer limits with F-ed up deaths, and uncaring enemies..
I loved them both!
Krotons:
Excellent episode! Great special effects, the Krotons could use an updated look, but they were still cool. Very weird and classic scifi in so many ways. It reminded me of a sweet episode of the classic Outer Limits or some such equivalent series. Very cool. I was delighted by the interaction between Jamie and Zoe, and for once, I felt like Zoe was more level headed..Jamie got on my nerves at times..the Kroton ship would have been cool to see what it eventually looked like..but overall, a great series!
The Seeds of Death was a lavish show, the special effects and the sets used were very elaborate, lots of lights, and controls, and so much going on for that day, it was stupendous! I should have liked to have seen the original Ice warriors episode first, but that is okay, you can still watch it and get the jist of who they are..this episode was also well done, and the T-mat system really relayed the problems of cheap and easy science, versus practical uses.. I liked that dichotomy..
overall, the Seeds of Death was a good episode, the rocket scenes are a bit laughable, but bearable..
as troughton goes, His series was definitely more violent, and certainly had more of the flavour of the outer limits with F-ed up deaths, and uncaring enemies..
I loved them both!
I watched Mawdryn Undead over the weekend.
Outside of the Brig, there wasn't too much to like about it.
Outside of the Brig, there wasn't too much to like about it.
I've been on a bit of a Who kick recently. I finally picked up Lost in Time, and found myself yet again wishing more Troughton serials still existed. Watched Tomb of the Cybermen a week or so back; yesterday it was Genesis of the Daleks and now it's Spearhead From Space. I'll probably work through my Pertwee era disks now. 
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