Okay, so I decided that we mght as well start a thread because who doesn't LOVE Doctor Who?!

And I DO! But some of the doctors were total FAIL. I like one, but don't know what his name is. And what's with his "companion"? Sort of reminds me of Micheal Jackson (sp?). They are always young girls, and they are just "friends", but he cares a lot about them...yea?
And I just remembered, one of them turned out to be his DAUGHTER by the mysterious wife River (or was River the daughter? The Doctor is strange like that.)

I beg to differ... and as evidence I present exhibit A:

He has only one daughter that we know of (Jenny, technically a clone of him and with timelord genetics, and she only appeared in one episode) and a granddaughter (Susan).

River is his wife (not many can say they've known their wife from her birth, let alone held her when she was a baby), while Amy was his former companion (and River's mom/the Doctor's mother-in-law).

Time travel - it screws with your head, even with some 700 years of experience XD

As for companions, yes it's mostly female ones. He has had some male regular companions, too (and I'm not talking about Jack or Mickey, although I'm pretty sure Jack would not have minded having the Doctor as a regular companion, especially judging by the way they keep comparing equipment, and the way Jack kept trying to hit on him at times... ).

K-9 (Mark I and II, throughout 4's seasons, while III was given to Sarah Jane as a gift in the only episode of K-9 and company. The Doctor gave version VI to Sarah Jane after III blew up to save their lives) is pretty much the only non-humanoid recurring companion (not counting aliens that look very much like humans, and counting only the TV-series).

Simba: and THAT is the Dr that I hate!

I just got into this show thanks to Netflix. I've only been watching the new ones and only a few episodes at that, but I am already infatuated with Ten.

You like Doctor Who but you hate Tom Baker? I think you just broke the time space continuum

Magic And Pancakes, who isn't?

(I'm not in the "wanna marry him!" gang, but he is one of the very best doctors).

I don't like Ten. He started out okay, but things really went downhill after Rose left and things got horrible by those four specials. Incidentally, I didn't have a problem with Rose until Ten started whining about her. Seriously, One has less of a reaction to dropping off Susan and Three has less angst when the woman he loves gets married than Ten does for Rose. And by the specials, he's put into god-mode. Like when angels carry him up a long shaft and punch into a control room so that he can do a job that the operator already in the room should be able to pull off much better than he should.

David Tennant is still hot (I know some guys who would go gay for him. Or Captain Jack. And he's also hot as a woman) and a good actor, though. I think the problem lies more in the writers than the actor, who does a pretty good job with horrible scripts and an excellent job with the good ones. Because when you have writers who make pigmen serve the Daleks and think you can transfer DNA through gamma rays running through the Empire State Building, have a spaceship powered by love - through the Olympic torch... - , and a woman who is reduced to being a face on a stone slab yet still has a sex life, there's really not that much you can do to elevate the work. Tennant still manages to do something with it. I'd say he's one of the biggest reasons the good episodes are so good, besides a decent script. But other than those good ones and a few good moments, Ten annoys me most of the time.

What are everyone's thoughts on the recent announcement of Peter Capaldi as Matt Smith's successor? I'm wondering if with a noticeably older actor in the role they may be intending to move away from the trend of having companions with a romantic/semi-romantic connection to the Doctor, perhaps bringing it closer to the old series in the process. Which I'd personally see as a welcome change- there's only so many times you can use that premise in a row before it gets stale, and a wiser, more mature Doctor would be very different to the occasionally manchild-ish 11th.

I'm afraid I need a menu. I remember some Dr faces, but none of the NAMES (sort of like old boyfriends). And the guy with the Harpo hair? Being a brilliant, brave, flippant, TIME friggin LORD? Prancing around and shaking his shag? NOT NOT NOT!

For reference, an article showing all the previous Doctors along with the names of the actors who played them can be found here.

(The only missing one there is the recently-cast 12th Doctor. Here's the new actor)

Thanks; so this is MY opinion: although I have not seen ALL the doctors, I like Christopher (for his looks), David, and Matt. Patric looks like another of the 3 stooges.
The new one? Well he has the weak English jaw, but he has a wise (and wise-cracking) look. Could be good.

I just finished watching "Rise Of They Cybermen" and "Age Of Steel" and holy crap. It seriously creeped me out. A lot. Ever since I was a kid I've been unnerved by robots, especially the ones that have somewhat human forms. I'm still scared of the Terminator T-800 models sans skin. Humans turned into emotionless killing machines? Ugh.

Don't get me wrong, I loved it, but it was disturbing. For me at least. Which is probably why I loved it.

I'm a little conflicted, really. I love the choice of Peter Capaldi, and I would like them to dump the romance story, although in fairness Amy was much less soppy over the Doctor than, say, Rose or Martha (who was awesome). But I also kind of want them to go for a romance storyline, just to prove that "old" (ha!) leads can have love stories on TV.

(Some monster/alien blahblah. I put it in a spoiler, in case people haven't seen all the newer episodes yet)



I've watched some seasons with #4 now, and started some episodes with #6, and none of the aliens so far are particularly creepy. Probably becuse they all look like people in really bad costumes/masks/makeup, and because the effects of the late 70s/early 80s were quite awful. They couldn't even get the faces to move right with makeup/masks on. Not that I expected more, but I think you just had to be from that time period to be properly scared. Nowadays we're used to much more realistic effects, so that takes some of the excitement and scariness out of the earlier episodes. Plus, the old episodes weren't exactly fast-paced. 3-6x22 minutes with a lot of standing around and talking, especially in the first part of each, where they spend way too long setting up the setting of the story. The "trouble" they get into isn't much of trouble, either. Getting loosely tied up to a tree trunk, lots of falling down, and getting knocked down seems to be the norm. So is shooting fights where the opponents tend to fall down before they're even hit, and they couldn't even hit a door if they stood three feet away...

If there's one thing I love the most about the new show, it's how brilliantly they've done the monsters and aliens. The masks and makeup look amazing, and you kinda get the feeling it's an actual alien. The acting is much better, too. The earlier episodes have a too theatrical feeling about them, as if they're on a stage saying their lines in order (probably a thing of the 70s/80s, like "the screaming girl in trouble she could easily get out of on her own" -thing). #6 is one of the worst, and can't even say a simple line without making it into a theatre play. #8 wasn't too bad, although he too had a slightly theatrical feel about him (but it kinda fit him). I saw a little of #1's episodes, too - but it's been a while and they kinda got a little tedious. Can't remember if I finished them or not.

I've seen snippets of the rest, but not enough to make up an opinion.

Anyway, I guess you had to be a child/teenager/adult of the times to be extremely enthusiastic about the older episodes. I wasn't (didn't even hear of DW until some 3 years ago, and was introduced to #9 as the first one). Some of the hardcore fans tend to have the opinion tat you can't be a true fan if you haven't seen all (or at least most) of the seasons. But I kinda disagree with that. While it's technically the same show, the upgrade when the 2005+ episodes started was just what the show needed, and changed it in such a way that it dragged in a whole lot of new viewers, both old and young. I don't think reruns of the old episodes could have done the same...

Oh, I wasn't implying older leads can't be involved in love stories, not at all. Peter Capaldi is only middle-aged anyway- I only meant that he's significantly older than Matt Smith, who was noticeably young for an actor playing the Doctor. I just wondered if casting an actor a couple of decades older than the current one might imply they're intending to hold off on the companion romance idea this time due to the fact that if they were to keep the current supporting cast around there'd suddenly be a visible age gap of about 30 years between the Doctor and his companion, which might make a romance between them look off-putting or strange to some sections of the audience.

(Not the entire audience, though. Plenty of people wouldn't be bothered by that. Hell, I'm pretty sure some people would quite like it. I'm just trying to adopt the mindset of a TV producer worrying about potential audience reactions here)

Overall, I do like the idea of Peter Capaldi as the Doctor- I'm sure he'll do brilliantly. I'm still kind of sad that Christopher Eccleston was only in the role for one season, though, even after all these years.

I got a little tired of the love stories after a while. The Doctor and Rose in particular, but also Martha's "I'm here, I'm here! Why don't you see me? I'm in love with you!" thing also got a bit old. Probably one of the reasons I like Donna best out of the new ones. It was kinda refreshing with a woman who only wanted an adventure rather than a love affair (and I loved the running "oh, we're not engaged/married/together in any way but being traveling friends" gag.) Even River was a bit refreshing, because she wasn't the kinda woman who was just a lovesick puppy that couldn't have him. Plus, I love their running gags, as if they're an old married couple all the way from they first meetings (on both sides) and they use it for what it's worth.

It will probably be nice with an older Doctor. Haven't seen Capaldi in much, except for the Doctor Who and Torchwood roles, so he's kinda new to me, but he played god for both roles he was in.

Agreed. Even though he was only in it for one season he was still one of the best doctors. I think he revitalised the series, and hopefully the next doctor will do the same.

I'm still on the Tennant years. I just finished Partners In Crime with the Adipose and I think I'm going to like Donna as his new companion. I thought she was annoying in Runaway Bride, but she grew on me in this episode.

Anyway, I stumbled upon this little gem on YouTube:



I freaking died.

I agree with the bad writing, but even then he's not annoying. He has his own personality and personality is always very important every regeneration. The writing does get full-idiot in the specials though. I mean, one made him look like Jesus and I quite watching one because they did some crazy crap to the Master and made him some kind of...flying thing or whatever. I'm going on memory of that flying-Master episode so I could be very wrong in remembering him flying and pouncing, but whatever happened in that episode was just way too weird. I remember it was a christmas special I think. I don't even know.

Oh hey, a Doctor Who thread!

I have to admit, I've actually been way more excited about the nine missing Troughton episodes showing up after 45 years than the 50th anniversary special, but then Web Of Fear was always my number one most wanted and I'm dreading the return of Rose. Having more Two, Victoria and Jamie back is much more exciting!

I am WAY WAY WAY more into Classic Who, but I will admit I'm all caught up on the current run of things. I really adored Nine and Ten. Eleven . . . I like him, but he just feels . . . wrong? And I think it's time for him to go. His personality was not that fleshed out and I just do not like Moffat's sexist writing. This is not the 70's. You can't just pull that shit anymore.

I think Capaldi will be BRILLIANT in the role. I don't want a romance storyline. More of a grandfatherly one? Ooh, yes. Indeed. I can see him being very . . . hard to warm up to, sarcastic, and abrasive. A bit like Five, but less annoying than Five and a lot more heartwarming and fatherly. Either way, his outfit (from what I've seen) looks not too outlandish, and I'm just very excited for his run to commence.

Ahh, I love love love Eleven, but then Matt was heavily inspired by Troughton, who is my favourite. I'll miss him, but I have high hopes for Capaldi. Torn on the romance thing though. A big part of me wants to shout "YES, get rid of it, I was bored of it six years ago already," but another, indignant part of me is like "why can't an older-looking Doctor have a love-life too? That's so ageist!"
Anyway, Watch are having Doctor Who weekends up until the anniversary, which is awesome. Five yesterday and Six today, yay!

I have to say, the lack of understanding of the show within this thread makes me want to tear my hair out.

First of all, River is not related to the Doctor. She's a Timelord, but she's a human timelord, not a gallifreyan one. She's the daughter of his companions Amy and Rory. She's a timelord, because she was carried to term mostly in the vortex, and because the Silence modified her genetically.

I know it's just a show, but I hate misinformation about anything.

Also, I'm quite glad they got an older actor for the role. I kind of want another Pertwee-like Doctor, which I feel would be fitting after the Troughton-esque Smith. Although, I know it ultimately comes down to the writers and Capaldi himself how the next Doctor would be portrayed. A lot of people assume he's going to be a Dark Doctor, so it would be kind of funny if he plays the role similar to Tom Baker, simply because no one would expect it with Capaldi's Filmography.