Comments on: Doctor Who: The Complete Specials

By: Doctor Who to Film in the U.S. for First Time for Season Opener » DVDs Worth Watching

Sun, 10 Oct 2010 19:43:13 +0000

[...] BBC announced that season six of Doctor Who will film in the U.S. for the first time. [...]

By: William George

William George — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 10:34:47 +0000

I’m a Tom Baker generation Who fan.

But I really liked RTD’s era when the writing wasn’t *facepalm*-tastic, and the Doctor wasn’t a crying emo doofus.

I’ve heard that Smith’s Doctor will be more along the lines of the third Doctor: More behind-the-sofa stuff, more of a willingness to throw down on evil with some Venusian Aikido. I don’t think he’ll be driving a hovercar or wearing frills any time soon.

But it would awesome if he did.

By: Johanna

Johanna — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 13:50:59 +0000

Oh, THAT Moffat. I loved Coupling, too — now I’m back on board with the Doctor!

By: Mike Godwin

Mike Godwin — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 03:29:49 +0000

Moffat is great at everything he does, so there’s every reason to think he’ll be great running “Doctor Who”. (His series “Coupling” is one of the few series I own a complete run of.)

Smith did well in a very different role — but acting opposite Billie Piper — in the Philip Pullman adaptations for the BBC.

By: James Schee

James Schee — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:09:34 +0000

I’d been curious about Doctor Who in the past, went and got some old DVDs before the new series even started. It was okay, but never hit for me. I LOVED the first season of the new series, and was at first turned off by Tennant’s first appearance. (thought he looked like a goofy looking young David Copperfield)

Yet Tennant had so much talent and heart and so he worn me over very quickly and made me pretty much forget Eccleston.

I’m just glad that i didn’t have to decide for a while if i want to follow the new Doctor or not. (given that it’ll be months before we see it) Right now I’d have to say no, as he didn’t do anything for me.

Yet also that final special, it seemed like we said goodbye to more than just Tennant or Davies. It also seemed a goodbye to Rose, Martha and the rest of the characters from this era. Maybe I’m wrong there, but that’s what it felt like anyway.

By: Johanna

Johanna — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:02:03 +0000

Oh, what excellent points! I hadn’t thought much about that aspect of the changeover, but the episodes you list are some of my very favorite. I hope Moffat is able to carry that through a whole season. You’ve just made me excited to see it again! Thanks!

By: Thad

Thad — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:39:13 +0000

I don’t have much opinion one way or the other on Smith just yet (except, from a granfalloon perspective, that he and I were born the same month), but Moffat as showrunner? I couldn’t be happier. RTD had his moments (Midnight was a personal best IMO), but his emphasis on spectacle, his desire to throw stuff in without pausing to make it make any sense (my favorite example being in season 4, where Dalek Caan, the last of his race, decides his race must be destroyed — and so he goes back in time and saves several thousand of them), and his obsessive need to top himself every season made for many a train wreck. He was usually very good at creating a scenario and then absolutely ruining it in the last part — Utopia/Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords is a pretty good example. (I’d also argue Torchwood: Children of Earth — I absolutely loved the first four episodes, and then the fifth was just silly and maudlin.)

RTD’s finale was actually subtle by his standards — though let’s keep in mind that “subtle by his standards” still includes the Doctor jumping out of a spaceship with a gun and then crashing through a skylight.

…Moffat, by contrast: The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, The Girl in the Fireplace, Blink, Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead. I just listed all the best episodes of the series. Three of which won Hugos (and the fourth lost to Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, which there’s no shame in).

I don’t know if Smith’s going to be any good or not — and Tennant is one hell of a tough act to follow. But I’m pretty confident he’ll have some great scripts to work with.

By: John Steventon

John Steventon — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 22:53:50 +0000

I only saw the first two specials, and look forward to the others. Michelle Ryan’s character was great, and they do leave it open for her return, but I doubt the chemistry will be the same without Tennant in the role.

I would say “let’s wait and see and trust that the new guy will work out” because I certainly was against Tennant at the beginning, since I thought Eccleston could not be topped. However, with Davies out, it’s awhole new ballgame. Same with Torchwood. That show is supposed to come back, but after Children of Earth, I’m not sure I want to see it. That movie was brilliant, and so intense, but honestly, a bit too much for me.

Cheers, JOHN :0)
PS Red Dwarf returned as well last year. Yay!