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So, a friend got me hooked on Doctor Who...Follow

#1 Mar 21 2011 at 10:58 PM Rating: Good
We watched the first two episodes from the most recent season (and yes, I'm already hooked from just that), so I still haven't seen anything before that. I know the basics about the show as a whole, and a couple of the more well-known enemies, but to be quite honest, I don't have the time to go back and watch previous seasons. For those of you who are avid fans, what do I need to know to fully appreciate the rest of the show without having to watch countless hours of previous episodes?
#2 Mar 22 2011 at 12:28 PM Rating: Good
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You can mostly figure things out as you go. There are really only a few things you'll want to know before hand.

1 - General stuff about The Doctor and Time Lords in general. Regeneration, the TARDIS, etc. Just so you won't be confused as hell when he pulls seemingly random plot devices out of his ***. (not that he doesn't do that every episode anyway...)

2 - Daleks. Look them up.
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#3 Mar 22 2011 at 12:43 PM Rating: Good
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Karlina wrote:
You can mostly figure things out as you go. There are really only a few things you'll want to know before hand.

1 - General stuff about The Doctor and Time Lords in general. Regeneration, the TARDIS, etc. Just so you won't be confused as hell when he pulls seemingly random plot devices out of his ***. (not that he doesn't do that every episode anyway...)

2 - Daleks. Look them up.


3 - Stop where you're at and restart with the David Tennant series.

4 -
Screenshot


Edited, Mar 22nd 2011 2:44pm by Shaowstrike
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#4 Mar 22 2011 at 2:32 PM Rating: Excellent
1 - my friend filled me in on some general stuff, like the regeneration thing and about TARDIS, but I am curious about the history/backstory of the Timelords. How did they all die, why is he the only one left? I caught little hints and snippets from the episodes I watched, but I was wondering if this has been explicitly explained before, or if it's one of those mysteries that they hint at a lot but never actually reveal the details. Is there anything else that you think is really important for me to know? (It may be that my friend filled me in on everything already, but I want to make sure my bases are covered.)

2 - I read up on the main enemies from the wiki page, including the Daleks. Is that complete enough?

3 - I know I really should start with David Tennant (or even the guy before him who didn't last long?), but like I said, I really just don't have time for that. I was hoping to finish this season before the new episodes start up in a month. Would it be okay to watch the most recent season now and go back and watch the other ones when I have time, or would that be pointless?
#5 Mar 22 2011 at 3:33 PM Rating: Good
Daimakaicho, Eater of Souls wrote:
1 - my friend filled me in on some general stuff, like the regeneration thing and about TARDIS, but I am curious about the history/backstory of the Timelords. How did they all die, why is he the only one left? I caught little hints and snippets from the episodes I watched, but I was wondering if this has been explicitly explained before, or if it's one of those mysteries that they hint at a lot but never actually reveal the details. Is there anything else that you think is really important for me to know? (It may be that my friend filled me in on everything already, but I want to make sure my bases are covered.)

2 - I read up on the main enemies from the wiki page, including the Daleks. Is that complete enough?

3 - I know I really should start with David Tennant (or even the guy before him who didn't last long?), but like I said, I really just don't have time for that. I was hoping to finish this season before the new episodes start up in a month. Would it be okay to watch the most recent season now and go back and watch the other ones when I have time, or would that be pointless?


Well, if you watch the final season with Tennant, you do get info on the Timelords and what happened to them. Or just skip to the last two episodes I suppose, but it's a pretty good season too imo.

I suppose the only thing that's in the season you're going to watch with Smith that has a connection with a couple of older episodes would be the character of River Song, played by Alex Kingston.

She's been in a couple of episodes, hinting at the Doctor that something's going to happen that is going to change his life forever. Quite strong words, given the Doctor's history.

There's really not that much to say about the series that you need to know, if you already know about the whole regeneration thing and know some of his old enemies like the Daleks (legendary, although even they do get boring to be honest) or the Cybermen. And that's just because they turn up again from time to time.

A lot of episodes are fairly stand alone ones, often with a couple of hints regarding the season's main finale and allowing for "character growth". So, it's not too silly to watch the latest season now, to prepare for the new one and then view a couple of older seasons, just try not to watch the seasons all in reverse as that would be fairly absurd.
#6 Mar 22 2011 at 4:00 PM Rating: Good
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My introduction to Dr. Who was Ecclestons Doctor. I loved it, so it got me hooked. I've watched them since.

As for River Song, she hints that something will happen to the Doctor that will change his life, and says she is in prison for killing the "Greatest man she ever knew". Not saying it's true, but it's hinting that she in fact kills the Doctor at some point in the future.
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#7 Mar 22 2011 at 11:43 PM Rating: Decent
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You don`t need to watch anything from before 2005. It would just be way too time consuming to do so.


Start over with the first episode of the 2005 series, otherwise, just use wikipedia, although that`s not as fun.

You should check out the spin-off, Torchwood too. It`s pretty good.
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I've always read Driftwood as the straight man in varus' double act. It helps if you read all of his posts in the voice of Droopy Dog.
#8 Mar 24 2011 at 7:30 PM Rating: Excellent
I'm a classic Who fan and haven't had an opportunity to watch much of the newer series, but here's what I remember:

- The show originally started as a cool way to teach history. The first doctor's first companions were younger and it was meant to be a children's show.
- Each reincarnation of the doctor has a different personality. People develop strong attachments to specific doctors, and consider their favorite to be the "real" doctor. I'm a fan of #7, Tom Baker, and he was probably the most general favorite until David Tennant came along.
- He had a @#%^ing awesome robot dog named K-9 who was smarter than the TARDIS
- He avoided relationships with his companions until the Tennant season. However, some of his previous companions left him to go off and get married, like Leela (who married another Time Lord, no less....) Oh hey, here's a nice rundown of his pretty ladyfriends who always gave him the just friends speech.
- The original series was very low budget and they often re-used sets from other shows and movies. Even after it got its own budget, they kept the campy charm.
- The Doctor is not supposed to meet himself, but he's done it several points in time anyway.
- Doctor Who was the first television show recorded partially on magnetic tape, not on film. The directors used this for artistic effect in some episodes, indicating inside the TARDIS versus outside, for example.

When I was seven, my mother pulled me out of school to visit a traveling Doctor Who exhibit that had come into town. She simply told the school that I was going to see the Doctor. My mom was awesome and let me stay up until 1AM on Saturday nights to watch the show on BBC with her.

Edited, Mar 24th 2011 9:46pm by catwho
#9 Mar 24 2011 at 8:31 PM Rating: Good
catwho wrote:
- He avoided relationships with his companions until the Tennant season. However, some of his previous companions left him to go off and get married, like Leela (who married another Time Lord, no less....) Oh hey, here's a nice rundown of his pretty ladyfriends who always gave him the just friends speech.

This is one thing that I am very curious about. This most recent season, there has been (what seems to me) some rather strong sexual tension between the Doctor and Amy, especially after they (rather shockingly) got rid of Rory. But it seems to me that as long as the doctor has been around, and with the number of companions he's been through, the writers wouldn't allow him to have a romantic relationship with any of them, as they'd just end up leaving one way or another. I still have 3 episodes to go, so we'll see what happens, but I'm kind of a romantic, so I don't like having all this hinting going on if nothing can ever come of it.
#10 Mar 24 2011 at 10:05 PM Rating: Excellent
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Tom baker is DR. Who. Respect the scarf!
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#11 Mar 24 2011 at 10:26 PM Rating: Decent
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Daimakaicho, Eater of Souls wrote:
catwho wrote:
- He avoided relationships with his companions until the Tennant season. However, some of his previous companions left him to go off and get married, like Leela (who married another Time Lord, no less....) Oh hey, here's a nice rundown of his pretty ladyfriends who always gave him the just friends speech.

This is one thing that I am very curious about. This most recent season, there has been (what seems to me) some rather strong sexual tension between the Doctor and Amy, especially after they (rather shockingly) got rid of Rory. But it seems to me that as long as the doctor has been around, and with the number of companions he's been through, the writers wouldn't allow him to have a romantic relationship with any of them, as they'd just end up leaving one way or another. I still have 3 episodes to go, so we'll see what happens, but I'm kind of a romantic, so I don't like having all this hinting going on if nothing can ever come of it.


Prepare to be disappointed.
#12 Mar 24 2011 at 11:52 PM Rating: Good
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catwho wrote:
Oh hey, here's a nice rundown of his pretty ladyfriends who always gave him the just friends speech.

Personally I like this list.
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#13 Mar 25 2011 at 12:04 AM Rating: Good
Tenant's a great actor, but his seasons are generally quite weak script wise - Russel T Davies just has this massive ******** over Tenant which is frankly a little disturbing to watch.
#14 Mar 25 2011 at 3:16 AM Rating: Decent
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Quote:
Tenant's a great actor, but his seasons are generally quite weak script wise - Russel T Davies just has this massive ******** over Tenant which is frankly a little disturbing to watch.


I actually find most of Russel T Davies' episodes to be the better ones, in fact, I'd argue that his tend to be the best episodes. The season finales, the last four specials, and Midnight might be the best episodes of the revived series.
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I've always read Driftwood as the straight man in varus' double act. It helps if you read all of his posts in the voice of Droopy Dog.
#15 Mar 25 2011 at 2:37 PM Rating: Decent
When does it start back up?
#16 Mar 25 2011 at 2:40 PM Rating: Good
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Seven episodes will be shown starting April 23, then it's a two month break until it starts again in September.
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#17 Mar 25 2011 at 3:36 PM Rating: Good
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catwho wrote:
I'm a classic Who fan and haven't had an opportunity to watch much of the newer series, but here's what I remember:

- The show originally started as a cool way to teach history. The first doctor's first companions were younger and it was meant to be a children's show.
- Each reincarnation of the doctor has a different personality. People develop strong attachments to specific doctors, and consider their favorite to be the "real" doctor. I'm a fan of #7, Tom Baker, and he was probably the most general favorite until David Tennant came along.
- He had a @#%^ing awesome robot dog named K-9 who was smarter than the TARDIS
- He avoided relationships with his companions until the Tennant season. However, some of his previous companions left him to go off and get married, like Leela (who married another Time Lord, no less....) Oh hey, here's a nice rundown of his pretty ladyfriends who always gave him the just friends speech.
- The original series was very low budget and they often re-used sets from other shows and movies. Even after it got its own budget, they kept the campy charm.
- The Doctor is not supposed to meet himself, but he's done it several points in time anyway.
- Doctor Who was the first television show recorded partially on magnetic tape, not on film. The directors used this for artistic effect in some episodes, indicating inside the TARDIS versus outside, for example.

When I was seven, my mother pulled me out of school to visit a traveling Doctor Who exhibit that had come into town. She simply told the school that I was going to see the Doctor. My mom was awesome and let me stay up until 1AM on Saturday nights to watch the show on BBC with her.

Edited, Mar 24th 2011 9:46pm by catwho

Many people tend to find their first one, their favorite. I preferred Eccleston, that is until I saw Matt Smith.

Roger Moore was the first Bond I saw, so for me he's my favorite.
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#18 Mar 25 2011 at 8:43 PM Rating: Excellent
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I just found this and yes I had to share it. Now shut up and Smiley: lol.

Screenshot
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#19 Mar 25 2011 at 8:48 PM Rating: Decent
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I'm afraid I can't laugh at that. I have no idea who that chick is or why she is apparently chanting "Friday".
#20 Mar 25 2011 at 8:56 PM Rating: Good
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Turin wrote:
I'm afraid I can't laugh at that. I have no idea who that chick is or why she is apparently chanting "Friday".


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Edited, Mar 25th 2011 10:57pm by Shaowstrike
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#21 Mar 26 2011 at 5:21 AM Rating: Decent
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I think The Master likely would have killed himself if he had that in his head instead of drums.
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Eske wrote:
I've always read Driftwood as the straight man in varus' double act. It helps if you read all of his posts in the voice of Droopy Dog.
#22 Mar 26 2011 at 5:35 AM Rating: Good
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THe mASteR wOUld nOT APprOVE.
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#23 Mar 26 2011 at 9:18 AM Rating: Decent
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What are you supposed to be, a Cardian?
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#24 Mar 26 2011 at 9:32 AM Rating: Good
Worst. Title. Ever!
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Cardians have those Star shapes mixed in their speak.
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#25 Mar 26 2011 at 10:21 AM Rating: Good
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TirithRR the Eccentric wrote:
Cardians have those Star shapes mixed in their speak.


Yeah, but I thought he didn't want to spend the time entering in the unicode for each one.
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#26 Mar 27 2011 at 1:53 AM Rating: Good
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You textuate Torgo's speech pattern from Manos: Hands of Fate. Smiley: mad
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