Amph Doctor Who Discussion (Russell T. Davies returns)

Today I saw a shirt with a mummy and the words, "Are you my mummy?"

I almost asked if the person was a Doctor Who fan.

 

Ten days since the last post, so...

Young Amelia Pond will meet...Missy.

 

Swipe right to read the rest of the comic

 

Finished rewatching Flux again, and I enjoyed it better. But it still could have gone an extra two episodes to better resolve everything, instead of the rush in the end.
(I knew, Covid restrictions).

But they really messed up UNIT's history, especially the Brigadier. He was only a corporal in 1967? So, unless the Third Doctor era was supposed to take place in the late 70's or 80's, then that was an awfully quick promotion for the Brigadier in such a short period of time.

 

Flux was classic Chibnall. Brilliant setup, twists and questions along the way, and a poor denouement. Watch Broadchurch for an example.

 

My sisters came home for the weekend so we had one of our customary randomised Who weekends This time we got:

Planet of the Daleks (1973): Tropey, Terry Nation never being strong on originality, but strangely funny to watch. All the Thals were blandly identical, and the Daleks weren't too menacing, but it was pacey enough for six parts.
The Face of Evil (1976): A very solid slice of the Hinchcliffe era, Tom Baker's on fine form, the jungle sets are really nice, and mad computer Xoanon is a unique villain. It's the debut of Leela, one of the best companions ever, who will knife people casually and is played compellingly by Louise Jameson.
Shada (1980, as originally planned): A really excellent unfinished masterpiece, the semi-recent animation and new model effects make it surprisingly watchable. The side characters are all delightful, the Cambridge location filming is gorgeous to watch, and the villain, Skagra, is one of the show's best, over-the-top camp outfits combined with subtle menace and a blisteringly ambitious motive and plan. A tragedy that it was ever cancelled, but at least it's finally viewable.
The Time Meddler (1965): I'm not as a big a fan of the period of history chosen (Saxons and Vikings, 1066), but there's a lot to like. The Doctor, unusually for this era, spends most of his time alone away from his companions. Vicki has a strong role showing newcomer Steven the ropes, and the antagonist is a fun playful guy with such plans as 'blowing up Vikings with an atomic cannon just to see what happens'.

 

Up in storage, I've got an issue of "Doctor Who Magazine" with a UNIT timeline. It pretty much placed the Third Doctor's tenure with UNIT during the mid-late 70s, sticking with Sarah Jane's 1980 remark from "Pyramids of Mars". I don't remember the specific years, but it also moves "Mawdryn Undead" past the 1983 date mentioned.
But, considering how many times the course of history has been derailed and left that way on the show, everything is pretty much permanently vague on that subject.

 

Just rewatched Eve of the Daleks. For all my complaints about the Daleks being overused and all the complaints about Chibnall's tenure, the Dalek stories have been excellent.

 

There's an upcoming audio story where Jo is reunited with the Third Doctor. Presumably this is either shortly before or after she met the 11th Doctor.

 

The genesis for that change out of story is an interesting one.

In other news, Big Finish's 60th anniversary story Once And Future is sounding to have a rather epic cast:

https://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/once-and-future-guest-stars-announced

Includes David Warner's final performance as The Unbound Doctor.

 

I’m still a few season behind on his appearances, but David Warner’s Doctor is always an absolute delight. One of the best actors to take on the role.

 

I'm wondering - since they've successfully re-cast the First Doctor with David Bradley and can now use the character regularly, should the same be done with the Second & Third Doctor?
Or if actors have become too old/don't want to do it anymore (like Tom Baker), should they also be re-cast?

And who could play them?

 

You mean for TV?

Harder one to answer - Troughton might be able to but Treloar doesn't look like Pertwee. The advantage BF have on recasts is they only have to nail the voices.

 

But I think he said he doesn't want to, and I don't blame him. Maybe a one off cameo, but on a semi-regular basis?

 

Reece Shearsmith played Troughton in An Adventure in Space and Time when Bradley was first cast as Hartnell/First Doctor, could he not do it again?

There are plenty of actors out there who could do a great job with those parts, doesn't just have to be the sons of the original actors (though I'm sure Sean Pertwee would do a great job portraying his father)

 

Peter Capaldi already played Jon Pertwee

 

I think if an actor’s passed away you can go ahead and recast. I’m less fond of it when the actor is still alive and would prefer to sit out, feels too much like scabbing.

I was going to add “you should get some kind of permission from their next of kin” to that first sentence but can you imagine the nightmare of trying to unravel that for Patrick “What the **** is going on in that Personal Life section on Wikipedia?” Troughton?

 

Each Doctor and their main/overarching nemesis during their tenure:

The First Doctor: the Daleks
The Second Doctor: The Cybermen
The Third Doctor: The Master
The Fourth Doctor: Davros and the Master
The Fifth Doctor: The Master
The Sixth Doctor: The Master
The Seventh Doctor: *No real main/overarching enemy given the Doctor's biggest bads only each appeared once in his tenure*
The Eighth Doctor: The Master
The Ninth Doctor: The Daleks
The Tenth Doctor: The Daleks (Cult of Skaro) and the Master
The Eleventh Doctor: Madame Kovarian and the Silence
The Twelfth Doctor: Missy
The Thirteenth Doctor: The Master
The Fourteenth Doctor:

Spoiler

The Celestial Toymaker, it looks like.

The Fifteenth Doctor: obviously remains to be seen.

 

I’d put the Valeyard over the Master for Six, in both of his appearances he’s actually playing second fiddle to another baddie (The Rani and the Valeyard). By contrast the Valeyard is a secondary antagonist for most of Trial of a Time Lord, main antagonist for the finale, and has been retconned into being the cause of Six’s regeneration by Big Finish.

 

BAFTA ****** up by not including Bernard Cribbins in it's memorial segment last night.

 

I'd ask what they were thinking, but they clearly weren't.

Of course, they tried to justify his absence by saying "limited time."

 

Which is a bunch of bull.

 

They included people who died within the last couple of weeks, but they couldn't include him even though he died in July last year