Amph Doctor Who Discussion (Russell T. Davies returns)

I must admit, it's nice being part of a classic Who conversation where I understand what is going on

War Machines was the last one I saw. I'm waiting until the DVD release of Tenth Planet before continuing. Biggest problem with missing serials is that the companions change with no clue as to what happened! Fortunately there are some fantastic documentaries on the DVDs which help. There's a great one on the War Machines DVD with Tony Benn visiting the Post Office Tower, and another one talking about the filming locations. The DVDs are worth it just for the extras

And I don't care what anyone says, The Gunfighters is absolutely brilliant. Fun Fact. The person who played the barman was the voice of the Daleks, and can currently be heard as the voice of the Wise Old Elf in Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom

 

Let's get one thing straight. TV Licensing is not a subscription. A subscription implies that you have the ability to opt out of it. If you watch 'live' TV (live in the sense that it is not streamed), then you must have a TV License. Much in the same way that if you have a car/motorcycle on the road (barring the published exemptions) you must have a Vehicle License (Road Tax).

The money does not go directly to BBC either. It goes to the UK Government, who then pass along some of the funds to BBC to subsidise it's business. But that money is not enough to finance the business completely, hence the merchandise available for the popular shows, and the necessity for selling DVD/Blu Ray versions of the show.

For those people who feel it's acceptable to view the shows for free, I would like to say one thing. By doing this, you put a very real risk on the future of the shows you like so much. I've heard all the arguments before. But let's face it, if enough people do the things you condone, you can kiss the shows you love goodbye.

Rant over lol.

 

Am I the only one who absolutely fanboy'd at the sight of the Tenth Doctor inside the current era TARDIS?

But I got a massive sense of foreboding at seeing the Hurt Doctor operating the TARDIS console, though.

(And LOL at how the first pic looks like it says "SEX" on top, with all the Doctors posing together.)

 

Oh my ****ing god!!!! Just saw Moffat at the literature festival and they showed the trailer! It's frikking immense! Been asked not to reveal anything (surprise surprise) but lets just say that there's more than just Tennant and Smith. Massive thanks to Everton for getting the ticket!

 

More realistically, here's a photo I took at the talk. He does indeed, look a lot like his pictures.

 

Dammit dammit dammit dammit dammit dammit dammit dammit dammit dammit dammit dammit dammit dammit

 

J

I have no qualms with merchandising and DVDs and so on and so forth, it is necessary to raise funds for the continuation of programs, especially if you compare the quality of BBC and UK programs with that of other countries, UK TV license and so on is well worth the money.

But is it really too much to ask that these newly re-found episodes be diffused on the telly just once? Make a publicity stunt out of it and reach maybe a larger audience who might then actually go out and buy a DVD, is that really so far fetched?

On another note, the colour photos in the "creation of the daleks" documentary are absolutely wonderful!

 

I'm sure they will be. But you must remember that BBC has to be run as a business. Re-running these episodes on TV (and let's remember it is a re-run) before releasing them on DVD does not make good business sense, especially in this age of DVR, etc. what you will find is people will record the episodes and not buy the DVD. Of course this does not include hardcore fans and TV/Movie geeks (of which I fall helplessly into both categories). But from a potential sales point of view, it wouldn't make much sense.

On your other point, yes they are!

 

That's a fair point.

 

Sorry, double post, I hate doing that.

Apparently, Moffat has confirmed that the Doctor can only regenerate 12 times. He also said that we should all go back to our DVDs and recount exactly how many times he has actually regenerated...

 

Yup. I can confirm that. He said exactly that this afternoon.

EDIT: Moffat also said that we'd "all missed something", before stroking his chin conspiratorially.

He also said that he'd seen the first moments with Capaldi as The Doctor.

 

He said lots this afternoon. It was awesome

Best bit was when he said that anyone who preferred one doctor over another was not a true fan

 

I never counted Hartnell as a regeneration, always thought he was the original doctor and never really questioned that belief until John Hurt turned up, which means there is still one left (well two at this actual moment in time), if you take Mr Hurt out of the equation.

Oh well I'm not a true fan then....

That must have made a few people squirm though.

 

That was good, but not nearly as good as the bit when he said 'A Town Called Mercy' was a great episode.

 

I hate both you and Everton right now.

Nope, not the only one, I squeed mightily and loudly when I saw Tennant in that photo.

 

Juliet, sorry to burst your bubble, but they didn't really get to see the trailer...

 

My last words on this convoluted issue (as if, but I promise not to derail the thread any more. After this.):
The state broadcaster certainly shouldn't need to run as a business. Independence from commercial interests is something the BBC holds sacred - and millions of viewers would resent adverts, product placement and the kind of biased reporting and commentary that characterises commercial television. It's only tinkering from right wing capitalist friends of Rupert Murdoch that has forced it onto the fractured mess it's in.

BBC radio is funded through TV license taxation too, but we don't need a license to listen to radio, so it's (literally) free...

The state broadcaster runs repeats on Radio4Extra from pretty much every decade in the archive - including programs previously lost and recovered from ILLEGAL home recordings. (Just imagine if more criminals illegally copied broadcasts in the past, how awful it would be to have access to all that lost material.)

4Extra also play Doctor Who stories, including Big Finish originals, so I like them a lot. I love them right now; an example of a state broadcaster freely transmitting lost material AND Doctor Who is really really useful.

You could argue that 4extra mainly broadcasts BBC or BBC licensed material that's commercially available, which is probably true, but I bet you Big Finish are glad for the money and exposure it gives them (and it can't hurt their professional pride either). Same goes for all the other independent companies who provide content. I expect all shows the BBC repeat get a few extra CD sales from the exposure, just as the music played on Radio 1, 2 and 3 benefit from the tax funded airtime too, even though some awful criminals record music from the radio...

...It's called 'Home Taping'. It's an epidemic that is sure to destroy the music industry in the 1980s, mark my words.

Just claiming that piracy will result in the end of reality itself doesn't make it so. It can have neutral and positive effects for traditional media, as well as new media...

...Speaking of which, swapping floppy disks at school with your mates will DEFINITELY cause the complete destruction of the fledgling computer games industry by the end of the 1990s. Enjoy your Lemmings while you can.

The internet was a major factor in the resurgence of DW, and for the popularity of a lot of older and obscure cult shows and films out there (like Star Maidens, Space Patrol, and that weird one with the laser swords and asthmatic antagonist)). Piracy was at one time one of the biggest things on the internet, even rivalling porn and kittens. It was a major factor in the rise of the internet...
.
..Speaking of which, there's a new invention that I guarantee will utterly annihilate what's left of the music industry; it's called the "mp3". Take heed, all millionaire musicians will be bankrupt and destitute by the year 2000, after which no new music will ever be made again.

I think I've got all the mileage I can from that theme, but just in case:

Piracy is a folk demon, it's a way of criminalising behaviours, of selling copies of the Daily Mail, and keeping entertainment lawyers' coke stashes well stocked. Some aspects of piracy are pretty awful, such is life. Some not so bad, and the things that we're encouraged to fear the most are often seen as somewhat less of a problem in retrospect.

Anyway.

People who don't buy a DVD because they recorded the show (how do you know they were likely to buy the thing in the first place?) could easily be offset by those who will record the show while watching the show, while chatting on a forum about the show, about an article they read in a magazine dedicated to the show, who might even buy the show 3 or 4 times over to complete their collections. Both these imaginary people must sit on different ends of some sort of behavioural bell curve.

I don't think there are many sales lost to the paper tiger of piracy that aren't offset by the word of mouth publicity generated. I can't imagine how you could quantify 'lost sales' with anything approaching certainty anyway. Counting a download as a lost sale is as illogical as counting it as a guaranteed multiple sale, but it seems a well seeded torrent is often likely to be a well sold product...

From a capitalist perspective, piracy should be a positive economic motivator because it encourages publishers to deliver products at a cost affordable to mass markets, while giving entrepreneurial individuals the opportunity to exploit the out-priced markets, giving peasants and plebs a glimpse of a consumer lifestyle that they can aspire to. Even a giant monopoly will have a price competitor for a single dominant product. The ultimate price competition, in fact. It's enough to bring Thatcher to tears, such is the joyously liberating beauty of the concept.

I'm not sure how piracy and public service broadcasting got conflated. I suspect American political influence. I'm fighting on multiple fronts here. Time for a tactical withdrawal.

tl;dr:
Sarcastic self righteousness rant.

 

Random question and I apologize for not really adding to the topic at hand its just I have nothing to add to it or anything I just have random questions that pop into my head that I feel curious about. But I re-watched Blade Runner recently and it got me thinking what if Philip K. Dick who wrote Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? which Blade Runner was based on what if he wrote an episode of Doctor Who what do you think it would be like?

 

Everton wanted to say that Moffat announced that the special was going to be 2 episodes!

 

Been thinking about what could happen in a Sherlock/Who crossover (I REALLY think Moffat needs to do this for Comic Relief or Children in Need)

How about Sherlock ending up back in Victorian Times and meeting up with Conan Doyle who gets the idea for his books from him (paradox!). Plus you also get Vastra, Jenny, and Strax.

 

Ha! Not a bad idea.

 

Doctor Watson and Nurse Strax comparing war stories!

 

Huh, I haven't been a true fan since 1986. Which is weird, since I hadn't yet been born.

 

So apparently, Ben Wheatley is going to direct the first two episodes of Capaldi's run, which is kind of gloriously bonkers.