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The new Doctor Who

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jockosjungle
Member
#11 · Posted: 23 Apr 2005 21:16
The conclusion of the UFO Crash two parter was really good, the series is going from strengh to strengh.

I can hardly wait for next weeks episode, what a teaser just seeing the dalek at the end all chained up

Rik
jock123
Moderator
#12 · Posted: 23 Apr 2005 22:39
I thought it was very good too - it constantly managed to avoid the obvious path, and had some interesting twists and turns (I’m not going to say what they are, in case people haven’t seen it yet!).

“Dalek” looks like it could be the best one yet!

Oh, and you can actually get to the U.N.I.T. website!
tintinuk
Moderator Emeritus
#13 · Posted: 24 Apr 2005 09:37
Wow ! The U.N.I.T. website looks brilliant ! I like the disclaimer (!) :

"This is a fictional website created for the new series of Doctor Who. It has nothing to do with the real United Nations. We apologise for any inconvenience caused if you thought this was a real website dedicated to fighting off alien invasions. Aliens do not exist. We certainly don't work for them. If you would like to learn more about Doctor Who please click here."
jockosjungle
Member
#14 · Posted: 24 Apr 2005 15:12
Aliens do not exist.

That's a bit of a blow for many Dr Who fans who I imagine do believe in aliens

Rik
jock123
Moderator
#15 · Posted: 25 Apr 2005 12:47
jockosjungle
That's a bit of a blow for many Dr Who fans who I imagine do believe in aliens
Don’t worry -it’s a cover up! That’s only what they want you to think! Don’t fall for the propaganda!
Pelaphus
Member
#16 · Posted: 5 Jun 2005 10:30
So far "they've" blocked the new Doctor from the USA (for some bewildering reason, the Sci-Fi channel PASSED on it; there seems to be some suspense as to whether it will show up on BBC America) ... so I thought, well, yes, fair play and scruples, but this IS "Doctor Who", so via methods I shall not name, I've been keeping up as well ... and I have to say, I'm ASTONISHED it hasn't found a berth here yet. Eccleston is far from my favorite Doctor (though I'm enjoying him quite a bit), though I think the concept itself has never been in better hands. At its best, "classic" WHO was always fun and entertaining and even sometimes provocative -- but how often was it actually MOVING? What an excellent re-interpretation for the new millennium!

One question ... I stopped keeping up with the Big Finish audios a while back ... and I know that the BBC agreed to let the Paul McGann adventures be considered "official cannon" ... so: that business about the Doctor now being the last of the Time Lords, after a battle with the Daleks that destroyed Gallifrey ... does anyone know if that was dramatized for audio? Or is that an entirely new wrinkle devised by Russel T. Davis for (possible) expansion later?
jock123
Moderator
#17 · Posted: 5 Jun 2005 14:46
I don’t actually think there has ever been a real agreement by the BBC that the Big Finish audios, or their own original novels, or the comic strip are precisely “canon” - they are merely official product; in fact Russell T. Davis has been at great pains to point out that the BBC are forbidden under their charter to require viewers to purchase anything in order to be able to follow the series, to the point that they had to delay one of the ongoing series of books featuring old Doctors, for fear that people might think they should buy it to get up to speed on the new series. He also was actively seeking to make the new series as stand-alone, new-viewer-friendly as possible, so he has kept the back-story to what you are being told as the weeks go by.

So don’t worry: the series will unfold in due course! And anyone who saw the preview of next week’s episode knows we are in for a real treat!!!
jockosjungle
Member
#18 · Posted: 5 Jun 2005 15:52
I think the whole thing with the Doctor being the last time lord will play out in the new series.

But RTD did say that this series is meant to stand alone with no real Dr Who history needed to enjoy the series, hence no regeneration, etc.

Rik
Pelaphus
Member
#19 · Posted: 5 Jun 2005 15:56
<<I don't actually think there has ever been a real agreement by the BBC that the Big Finish audios, or their own original novels, or the comic strip are precisely 'canon'>>

I wish I could remember where I read it, Jock (though I kindasorta think it had to be the Big Finish website, and I imagine, if so, that it's still posted there -- as Casey Stengel used to say, "You could look it up"), but there WAS an actual agreement (I remember reading the news item several times, precisely because it was so unusual). It was specifically limited to the Paul McGann (8th Doctor) audio stories (not the books), I assume on the premise that Doctor #8 would otherwise have no official mythos (save the TV movie) and since McGann would not again play him onscreen, it did no harm to fill the gap.

OH, also, I'm pretty certain that Big Finish got this okay from the Beeb some time before there was any consequential movement to revive the series on television -- indeed, I think rumors were being squelched -- so the approval was also tendered in a different environment. (Another thing I know from experience. Oftentimes, if there are no active future production plans for a franchise, a decision like this will be in the hands of some marketing guy [or gal], who will [for the sake of example] get a letter of request from Big Finish and reply, in essence, "Yeah, sure, why not?" This wouldn't be a big deal contract thing; it would essentially be a good natured rubber stamp approval when nothing else is at stake. The license has already been granted, and if no one else is guarding the flame, "canon" authenticity is but a nicety.)

In any circumstance, though, I don't see where letting the McGann audios stand as "canon" contradicts the BBC charter: new viewers needn't buy those to follow the new series, any more than they need buy DVDs of Doctors 1 through 7. As you say, the Ninth Doctor stands alone, and brilliantly.

I was just wondering if Mr. Davis was acknowledging a previous story ... or if the destruction of Gallifrey at the hands of the Daleks was his own backstory invention. Works either way, but I know I'D buy the prior story (if it exists) just to better appreciate the thread. ;-)
jock123
Moderator
#20 · Posted: 5 Jun 2005 18:01
I think you’ll find that the Big Finish agreement is just to produce sanctioned material - not that they are making “official” stories. I don’t think even Big Finish have ever said otherwise, although they made a play for their McGann stories to be his “seasons”...

Even the BBC themselves don’t treat their books as such, and they even made the Richard E. Grant web-story with him as the “Ninth Doctor”, and then overturned it almost immediately by the appointment of Chris E. as the Ninth (TV) Doctor. My experience as a long-term fan (since the Sixties) is that if it hasn’t been part of the TV series, then it isn’t canon.

That’s why the fans tie themselves in knots over things like the “Jim’ll Fix It” Sontaran sketch with Colin Baker, the Children In Need “Dimensions in Time” thing, and the Comic Relief “Curse of Fatal Death” where they used up all the available regenerations… ;-)

Addendum: Here is a useful FAQ which might help those who are wondering what Pelaphus and I are wittering on about…

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