[watching] Doctor Who

Is The Star Beast like from way way back? Or the 14th as Tenant reprise?

I officially grew up with David Tenant though Tom Baker was occasionally watched in childhood at friends houses recordings, of if luckily shown on family telly, since it was in a country with low access.
 
The Star Beast was one of the first comic strips from the early Doctor Who Weekly magazine in 1980 and featured the 4th Doctor. It's not the first time that a revived era story has been based on something from the Expanded Whoniverse. The story Dalek (2005) was based on the Big Finish audio Jubilee and the TV story Human Nature (2007) was based on the book of the same name, published in the 1990s.

Tennant is playing the 14th Doctor, a new incarnation of the Doctor, and not the 10th Doctor. In Day of the Doctor, The Curator, who is meant to be an incarnation of the Doctor from the far future, told the 11th Doctor he will return to some familiar faces.

My first memories were of Season 18, Tom Baker's final series as the Doctor in 1981. However, I will probably bet there are members of the Tavern who can go back even further than that.
 
Doctor Who Broadcast Dates and Times:

The Star Beast: Saturday 25th November at 18:30 BBC1. The first anniversary special.

Doctor Who Unleased: Saturday 25th November at 19:30 BBC3. Go behind the scenes of The Star Beast.

Reading the preview for Wild Blue Yonder in the DWM:

It seems the episode will tie in with the Timeless Child and Flux story arc.
 
I'm currently rewatching Jodie's era. I highly rate Series 11, as it feels to me much closer in tone to the classic era than any of the previous series of the revived era. It felt like it harked back to Season 19 and that Jodie's Doctor was a kin to the 5th Doctor. What's more, it feels like a breath of fresh air after what I felt was a stagnant period during the latter Moffat years. There are so many great episodes for me to choose from in this series such as The Woman Who Fell to Earth, The Ghost Monument, It Takes You Away, and Resolution are such great stories. I even rate the finale The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos quite highly. For me, the best episode has to be Rosa, because behind the theme of the alien time traveller, there is the true story of how one woman stood against racial segregation in the US. Such a powerful and moving moment in history. No wonder episode won its well deserved BAFTA.
 
I’ve just been looking through the list of episodes on iPlayer and it was a huge dose of nostalgia. Series 17 - Destiny of the Daleks is a story that really sticks in my mind; I think I’ll have to rewatch that one at least.

The length of the series and the number of episodes allowed for stories is very impressive by modern standards - most stories are 4-7 eps long by the look of things. Much more room for letting the story grow.
 
You've got to remember that back in the 60s, 70s and 80s, Doctor Who was being serialised, with weekly 25 minute episodes over 26 weeks. The reason being that was quite the norm for programmes to have longer runs. Shorter seasons are a more modern concept.
 
Nathan said:
You've got to remember that back in the 60s, 70s and 80s, Doctor Who was being serialised, with weekly 25 minute episodes over 26 weeks. The reason being that was quite the norm for programmes to have longer runs. Shorter seasons are a more modern concept.
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For sure, though some of the early series seemed more like 40 eps!

Presumably the higher cost per episode for the production values modern audiences require are a big factor here.
 
I believe Season One way back in 1963 had 42 episodes. Doctor Who was cheap television, with a budget for a children's show. It's budget was actually £2,000 per episode, equivalent to £35,000 in today's money. Considering upon its return it had a budget of £10 million for Series One in 2005, which was spread out over 13 episodes, back in 1963 it was a shoestring of a budget.

I know that RTD was recently talking about an increase in budget, mainly because of the Disney+ deal. However, bear in mind that we're only getting 4 specials this year and an 8 episode run with a Christmas special next year, it seems we're getting less bang for our buck.
 
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Updated Doctor Who Broadcast Dates and Times:

The Star Beast: Saturday 25th November at 18:30 BBC One. The first anniversary special.

Doctor Who Unleased: Saturday 25th November at 19:30 BBC Three. Go behind the scenes of The Star Beast.

The Star Beast (Repeat): Sunday 26th November at 20:00 on BBC Three.

Wild Blue Yonder: Saturday 2nd December at 18:30 BBC One. The second anniversary special.

Doctor Who Unleased: Saturday 2nd December at 19:30 BBC Three. Go behind the scenes of Wild Blue Yonder.

Wild Blue Yonder (Repeat): Sunday 3rd December at 20:00 on BBC Three.
 
We've dived in at the Third Doctor, as I have only vague memories of them and Lara has never seen any (and I'm saving #4 for later,...)

One thing that did strike me is the parallels between some of the old stories and the Nu Who stories. In 'Doctor Who and the Silurians' (1970), the introductory set-up - a mining endeavour unearthing some aliens - is almost identical to the intro in 'The Hungry Earth' during Matt Smith's run. Similarly, the motif of the possessed space suits with limited communication capabilities, is very reminiscent of the Vashta Nerada in Nu Who. Not identifical but similar motif.

Its also been a lot of fun spotting 70s TV icons in the supporting cast - Fulton MacKay, Geoffrey Palmer and Roland Allen (who played David Hunter in Crossroads - a big part of my Mam's TV diet!), so far.

We're also wondering if and when Dr Who develops regional accents, as everyone appears to be speaking in RP!
 
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