Dr Who

ooooh, is it? Thanks, I will have to look that up :0) He wrote some episodes of Dr Who, too, didn't he?

Great stuff. Think they done a decent job of it. Episode 3 is being written by Mark Gatiss, from the league of gentlemen, should be good.

This should please fans of the late Douglas Adams as well as Dr Who fans. [%sig%]

gosh, Smiley, THANKYOU

I was pleased - it will probably go well with the Americans but it wasn't so obviously packaged for their market as the Mc Gann effort. I recorded it as I was busy doing something else so I only got a flavour of it - but I couldn't figure out how the mannakins suddenly had inbuilt blasters... perhaps when I've watched it properly.

I was just about to start a thread on this :0) Marley woke up in the middle (I hope this doesn't become a habit, will be more suspenseful than the plot...) I think Christopher Eccleston is GREAT, the best one since Tom Baker, maybe even John Pertwee. The wheelie bin was a great idea, they always look om,inous, don't they? HOWEVER, I liked the cliffhangers at the end of each episode, hope they aren't always going to be self contained stories now. And, Dr Who used to signify the beginning of Autumn, we'd buy our first crumpets for the first episode each year... change, change is it worth buying a telly licence just for Dr Who?

Only a pleasure, Fey :)

Curses! foiled again by those sly 3 party Canadian agencies... dont let any moms from south park get ahold of this or all hell will break loose!

Id love to see Dr Who regenerated... Cheesy and sometimes somnolescent as it was, it had great imagination and an awesome track! Too bad I cant get tv stations without selling my first born

It was magnificent. I've just watched it on video as we went out earlier but I was gob smacked that they'd been able to keep the old cheesiness, the truly scary images for kids (shops with living murderous mannequins - oo er) and yet was still funny, witty and sharp for us old folks.

it was corny. it was weird. it was funny. it was insane. just perfect doctor who. now i'd like to see doctor who take on the monsters of royston vasey.

Billie Piper.

I think wasshisname from the league of gentlemen is in an episode. I liked it a lot, it had a sort of bloody minded silliness I adored and Billie was good too. The Autons are an old enemy (Pertwee I think, but am far from sure) and originally had guns, it probably wasn't explained then either.

Yes, you're right Dan it was Pertwee. I vaguely remember Autons - so not just shop mannequins brought to life but old enemies.

Ya know, this show has been on over here off and on since I can remember. A lot of people liked it but myself, I never found it the least bit interesting. But then again, I've never been a big science-fiction lover for the most part. Maybe War of the Worlds, that was pretty good. Star Trek has been run into the ground. Can't think of anything else off the top of my head though. Oh, maybe X-Files, I've watched that a few times.

i really enjoyed it, it had enough of the old dr who stylie without the wobbly sets, good baddies, great special effects, which take getting used to , the doc was good, i need to see more of him before i can see if he out dr whos pertwee and baker

Interesting background on the Autons here [%sig%]

I thought it was rather good - Billie much better than I expected, there were some bits that actually made me jump; Ecclestone was marvellous and the modern flourishes work (of course the doctor would be the subject of nutty internet conspiracy theories, and of course he'd be a tourist in time, front-seat for all the most exciting events in history). I have to say that I'm a balanced fan of Dr Who - there were some brilliant episodes and some god-awful ones (any featuring Colin Baker or McCoy and the last few years when Tom Baker overstayed his welcome). Comparing this episode as a relaunch to the Star Wars prequels, I thought the BBC had done a much better job probably on a ten-thousandth of the budget.

I only caught the end of the latest episode (the spiders one) and the only song I heard was bloody britney spears! I'm sorry but it's not good enough in places. Lines like "But Jane, you're made of wood!" will never make it out of 'crap' and into 'cheesily cool' for me. [am I? well thanks for telling me doc!] the spiders were scary but have been done to death and painting people blue has to be out of the question in the year 2005 even if it Is in keeping with a low budget pholosophy. So we see the end of the world and an entire raft of bad aliens this week... next week? oh an old woman in 1860 had a face that lights up. well it should be revitting. [and yes, I know that it's a bit tongue in cheek and meant to be in keeping with the original philosophy but the originals looked poor because they were working to the best they could afford, this series isn't]

He's chucked it in already! Next please.

RD- it's a British institution - we all hid behind the sofa when it was on and then ran around pretending to be daleks - it's just one of those weird things that happens in small countries.

'it's just one of those weird things that happens in small countries.' Yes like casting Billie Piper...wot is she 25 going on twelve? Heffalump!!

I was never a Dr Who fan but Eccleston was brilliant in 'Our Friends In The North'.

radio, its a kids programme...

I'd like to see Gary Oldman (I know thay'd never get him) as the new Dr. failing that how about Simon Callow? He's mildly eccentric can do crazy quite well, hold's the attention and has a certain maturity that I felt C.E lacked to be honest. I may be trying to recreate a Tom Bakeresque character but he was my fav dr.

Peter O'Toole would be the bollocks.

Simon Callow????? Good (time) lord, NO!

You're talking about the Science Fiction show, right? Bad sets, bad acting, it's been around since at least the early 70's?

I didn't see the first, but saw the second and it was FABULOUS. It had everything I like in TV... it was funny, it was thought provoking (it WAS!), it had funny looking characters, it had Christopher Ecclestone (How cool is that big grin thing he does all the time?), it had special effects that were not to clever or too rubbish. It was great. Good Sci-fi makes you think about stuff in your own time and world. Doctor Who does that (good ole Russell T)... that character that was all skin was hilarious, as was the jukebox playing Tainted Love. And the Britney thing wasn't bad actually, it was a play on the way we look at history, thinking we really know the facts. They called it 'a traditional ballad' which made me laugh... I bet there's loads of stuff people go on about that is actualy misplace in history. I guess you could say I liked it.

oooooooo much longer than that RD , nearly as old and grey as you matey.

60's. And kids dont mind about bad sets... the imagination is fired and thats the best thing about it.

To be pedantic - there has been the odd film.

I thought Alan Davies would be good, but apparently he already turned it down or they turned him down or something. John Fortune or John Bird might be quite good

(and as far as the top award for bad acting goes, i think you'll find blake 7 snatches the first prize trophy from dr who by a million miles - or light years)

I said "at least" the early-70's. It was on Public Television (may still be.) We were all hooked on Star Trek at the time (1st series in the 60's) All the kids thought it was a kids show then, real men watched Star Trek and Gilligan's Island.

Rowan Atkinson would be my choice.

Oh, and "The Avengers". I was in love with Emma Peel (or was is Peal?)

Emma Peel.

Don't think she ever did though.

I didn't liked the original as it was strangely sterile and pompous and never compared with the excitement of American blockbuster sci-fi (and the music scared me) but I watched it last night and thought it was refreshing. Kids will watch it and it'll stir their imaginations. All you had to do was switch over to ITV and see the life sapping, suicide inducing brutal inanity of Ant & Dec to realise it was a welcome thing. Well acted, imaginative, knowing and funny. Can't go wrong really. [%sig%]

I watched the first episode again and I still couldn't figure out why I was convinced that Rose was heading to a suprise party - even though I knew she wasn't (something to do with the soundtrack I suspect). Occasionally reminding me of a blonde Alyssa Milano - I thought someone from the Beeb must have said "Flash your teeth, Billie." but a quick search of the 'net leaves me unable to find a photo of her with her lips closed so perhaps it's just how she is.

Esther Rantzen would be my choice ....not for Dr who but for being a bloody good Ken Dodd lookalikey.

I worked with a guy 15 years ago who had photos of Esther Rantzen all around his work place. He said she was his fantasy woman! I reckon he'd been watching too much 'Twilight Zone'.

"If you're an alien, why do you sound like you come from the north?" "Lots of planets have a north." Wonderful. I knew it was something to get excited about when I found out the script boss is Russell T Davies and then almost wet myself when I found out it was big Chris as the Doctor. Russell T Davies has a good track record in stuff like this. not only has he written some top adult drama, he also cut his teeth on some kids programmes that were Doctor Who in all but name (Does anyone remember Dark Season?) I was soooooooo excited. And still am.

Eating too much vegemite by the sounds of it.

I can hardly wait for this to show up over here so I can have something else not to watch on television.

I really liked it - but I wish they'd played a Billie Piper song instead of the Brittney one - just a bit more tongue in cheek nonsense. Keep 'em coming.

I thought it was fab- I agree Christopher Eccleston is a wonderful actor - I thought he and Billie got it right. My friend Yasmin Bannerman is appearing in next week's episode as the character Jabe - look out for her!

Great wasnt it Mark? Although my love of it i starting to pall somewhat, what with it being half term and the kids at home all week watching the dvd of the episode over and over again... Radio, I think you have got your point across that you think it beneath you.. some of us really love it though.

Liana, I've been nice to you, lets keep it that way. I'm allowed to talk too.