My earlier post on television science fiction largely concentrated on the early years. By the time Doctor Who was available to American audiences I was out of school, had a fulltime job, and (as I’ve mentioned before) was routinely working sixty or seventy hour weeks.
Some time in the early to mid 1970s my local PBS station,WTTW, began broadcasting Doctor Who more or less in the original episode format at 6:00pm in the evening. When I first tried watching it (my recollection is that it was an episode of The Deadly Assassin) I came in in the middle of a lengthy ceremonial sequence with a newsreader doing color commentary in hushed tones. The next day WTTW accidentally re-ran the same episode. When I tuned in and saw the same, dreary ceremonial sequence I concluded that Brits have a higher tolerance for pomp and circumstance than I do and gave up.
A few months later WTTW began editing three or four episodes together, showing the program in a late night time slot, I gave Doctor Who another try, and I got hooked. I watched it faithfully even obsessively until the original show ceased production. I haven’t been able to get into the 21st century version. I may give it another try.
Like most Brit Doctor Who fans, the Doctor I love the most is the one I started watching. In my case that’s Tom Baker, the Fourth Doctor. By the time that I started watching Doctor Who I had worn greatcoats for over a decade, a friend (my business partner’s wife) knit a full length Doctor Who scarf for me, and I must have cut quite a figure.
However, I watched every episode that WTTW showed from the William Hartnell First Doctor to the end of production. I was truly sad to see The Doctor go even though it was clear that the show had run out of steam. Heretically, (although my heart belongs to Tom Baker) I think that Jon Pertwee, the Third Doctor, was probably the best. It’s possible that Patrick Troughton, the Second Doctor, was even better. It’s certainly the case that the Troughton years set the stage for the development of the series to come. I wish that more of the Troughton episodes survived so I could make a reasonable judgment. Unfortunately, most of his episodes seem to have been taped over by the thrifty BBC.
In my view Doctor Who was graced with excellent acting, even by bit players (which is what you might expect from the people who invented modern theater), decent direction, good writing, and absolutely execrable production values. The show must be fun (or surreal) for Brits more familiar with the landscape than I am, figuring out where individual sequences were shot.
I could not begin to pick a favorite. They all have their distinct, and British, personalities. I have found some of the companions to be a bit annoying. It is too soon to decide about the current Dr Who. The previous one was just average and was hurt, I believe, by trying to tie in the Torchwood series. The one before that, George Tenant (?) was quite good, but was more of the “strong” Dr Who figure rather than the whimsical or vulnerable type, but the story lines were quite solid I believe. Overall, I would agree strongly with the comment about good acting and I would also vote for pretty good writing. The cheesy special effects and costumes just made it more endearing.
I think Netflix has most of the originals. We have a number of them courtesy of a relative.
Steve
You and I have some similar views of the matter, though I missed the Hartnell and Troughton episodes. I did the convention thing, too, but have to agree that towards the end (especially with Colin Baker and Sylvester mcCoy) the series lost its way.
But if you get BBC America, the current episodes are broadcast. Overall they are good, though I’m not sure about the story-arc that Matt Smith’s Doctor is currently involved in. Still, it compares favorably to what we remember from our youth.
By the way, I rather liked David Tennant in the role — have not seen enough of Christopher Eccleston to decide what I think of his season as the Doctor.
Who! Who!…………Who! Who!….Who! Who!……..Who! Who!………….Pleased to meet you, hope you guessed my game!……….Oh, wait, wrong song, wrong venue……….
A while back, I caught Tom Baker on some Masterpiece Mystery thing. I was struck by how old his is; then I was struck by how old I am; then I felt even older.
Something about a chick in leather with Janus Thorns …
(Writing and production values in recent years have been amazing. It’s risen above the past generations.)
It just struck me that another great sci fi protagonist, in another series, shares the same name.