[...] spite of its origins in Doctor Who, a series for all ages, Torchwood is intended to be a more adult show, and it shows in the tone, [...]

As to the Colin Baker info, I really appreciate the insight. I remember wondering why things seemed disjointed back when he had his run. Now I understand. Thanks for the comments.

“Trial” on tv fell apart at the end when author Robert Holmes had the misfortune to die before finishing anything other than a first draft outline. Script editor, Eric Sayward, wrote a finished script and then quit, refusing its use at the eleventh hour. All in all, a bit of a nightmare. But then that sums up much of Colin Baker’s run, unfortunately.

“The Trial of a Time Lord,” however, did introduce the character with the best name in sf tv history: Sabalom Glitz.

The idea of the Sixth Doctor was an interesting one; the idea of Trial of a Time Lord was also theoretically interesting. But the reality fell far short, and Trial in particular is an absolute mess – as I understand it, the final episodes had to be written at short notice by writers who didn’t actually know how it was all supposed to fit together, and not surprisingly the result was chaotic. Even the notoriously nerdy Doctor Who tie-in novels from the nineties had an official editorial policy of not going anywhere near Trial of a Time Lord because it was too much of a continuity nightmare even for them.

But objectively, the episodes are awful. (The Big Finish audio plays are better.)

I’d happily point you to an in-depth Ecclestone interview, John; but there aren’t any. I sort of doubt there ever will be. As far as he’s concerned he’s “been there, done that.”

And I have to say that, IMHO, the scripts on the second series haven’t quite matched the consistency of the first. Tennant is superb, though.

Hey, Colin Baker has his moments.

Well, the “Trial of a Timelord” season-long story is pretty good.

Once you get past the parts with Peri. And fast forward through any scene with Mel.

Which leaves you with, what, about a third of that whole season. Maybe. But that’s decent!

I would really love to hear or read an in-depth interview with Christopher Eccleston concerning his stint on Doctor Who, if anyone can point me to one.

Honestly, I’m not sure if I understand his motives. I mean, as a freelancer, there are certainly times when I wish I had more time for my own projects, but hey, when a great gig comes along, you go for the ride, because you just know that all good things come to an end eventually, and great gigs are rare.

Maybe it’s the parallels to my own life that make me so interested? Maybe I’m still shaking my head at David Duchovny for leaving x-files? :0)

Anyway, I was in the UK a few months back, and I read something about David Tennant saying that Doctor Who was so much fun that he couldn’t imagine leaving. I thought that was a dig at Eccleston, but who knows?

Both seasons are definitely enjoyable in their own ways.

Cheers, JOHN :0)

That’s pretty much correct; he wasn’t really ready for the grind of series television (IIRC he clashed with the director of “Rose” and “Aliens of London”)and was physically and mentally burned out by the end. He won’t even do the radio plays, which all the previous doctors have done- in fact, there’s a new McGann play coming out soon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63II5HNY3Ko&NR

In fairness, UK graphics generally tend to be a lot more subdued and minimal than American ones – a lot of US television looks absolutely histrionic to British eyes. Having seen Gordon Ramsay on British reality TV shows, I can barely stop laughing at the editing on Hell’s Kitchen.

For a much better example, and far more imaginative, example of UK channel branding, take a look at these efforts from Channel 4:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CVdllN67OQ

Mike, I have the first two Torchwood, but I haven’t had a chance to see them yet. And I don’t think I’ve ever seen any Colin Baker episodes. I only recently tried Sylvester McCoy.

So, are you watching Torchwood?