Who's On First
Dean
Thanks to the internet, I managed to catch the second episode of the new Dr. Who this morning. It was even better than the first episode.
It reminded me not just of why I had liked Dr. Who as a kid, but also why I grew to loathe it. I remember how near the end of Tom Baker's run a new producer called John Nathan-Turner came in and, really, he all but ruined the show. It grew steadily more pompous, self-important, preachy, and melodramatic, which continued through Peter Davison's time. Eventually Nathan-Turner left but by then I'd lost interest. From what I saw, they producers brought in new actors after that and tried to recapture the tongue-in-cheek wit and the light camp, but frankly it was terrible. They overdid it and, basically, the magic was lost.
It's a delicate balance, really. The show can't take itself too seriously or it just loses its charm because, honestly, the whole thing's a little daft. The whole time travel thing: it's been done, right? Doing it episode after episode, it's almost impossible for viewers not to lose interest if the show can't make them chuckle and say, "Okay, this is just fun, let's relax and enjoy."
But if it's all camp, that sucks too.
It was no surprise that the show was eventually cancelled. It wasn't so much the actors' fault as the production team simply seemed to have no idea what it was that had originally made Dr. Who fun and intresting for both adults and children. Or perhaps by the time they figured it out, it was too late.
This new show really does recapture that perfect blend of wit, camp, drama, and interesting ideas that made the old show show work so well. I can't believe the BBC hasn't found someone in the US who wants to show it over here.
Oh by the way, thanks to Paul Burgess, I found out recently that Christopher Eccleston (who's excellent, by the way) did quit the series after the first season, but not for the reasons the BBC originally said. The BBC has apologized for mischaracterizing his decision: he apparently never wanted to more than one season, and always made it clear that that was all he ever wanted to do.
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Did you mean: "he apparently never wanted to do more than one season, and always made it clear that that was all he ever wanted to do"?
I have to say, the only significant Dr. Who I ever saw was the Tom Baker era. Local PBS never showed anything else. And even with that, it was somewhat spotty airings on Saturday afternoons, when I often had other things to do. So I never saw it consistently. I know more Dr. Who from the novelizations and from the role-playing game than from the show itself.
So I have no idea what "made the old show show work so well." I don't have a solid basis for comparison.
In the old show as well as the books, yes, there was a limit of ten. However I seem to recall that there was something that happened near the end of Tom Baker's term that made it look like he got his regeneration limit reset somehow. Not recalling directly. It's either that or they'll just ignore it anyway....
You know, I had forgotten there was a Peter Cushing Dr. Who movie. I knew about that other one in the 1990s by some other British actor but I'd forgotten about the Cushing. Always sort of wanted to see that just because it looked interested and I always sort of liked Cushing...
But it's been many, many years since I've seen the show, so all this is quite foggy in my mind. I may well be mistaken.
It might be interesting if the next incarnation is the last, and the Doctor knows it. How would that affect him psychologically? Of course, that doesn't mean they couldn't find some way for him to regenerate after all, but THAT could always be his last -- he never knows if he has another one.
Also, I disagree with your assessment, sort of. John Nathan-Turner was excellent in his early years, in my opinion. His predecessor, Graham Williams, was a disaster. The show devolved into "The Tom Baker Show". The humor and camp got way out of control. John Nathan-Turner brought Doctor Who back to where it belonged. JNT's first four seasons comprise what I consider to be the 2nd Golden Age of Doctor Who, the first being Tom Baker's first three seasons under producer Phillip Hinchcliffe.
Co-inciding with the departure of Peter Davison and the arrival of Colin Baker, the show took a dramatic downturn in the quality of the writing. This was followed by a dramatic upturn in quality for the last two seasons of the show, but by then, it was too little too late.