Production Values

[Prydonian]

If I may poke my head in here and add a thought or two?

It is without saying that, generally speaking, with little or no reservation, that Tom's stories are far more original than much of what came after him, both in the original series and in the modern.

Having said that, I find that had Christopher Eccleston stayed on for a 2nd or 3rd series, his era could be quite good. As it is, it seems overpopulated with Slitheen, irritating boy genuises, flirting bisexual captains, and CGI Daleks. Well, I like the Daleks bit, but the rest seems overdone. David Tennant IS highly overrated, I feel, with lovestruck companions and episodes where he is seemingly at the recieving end (also a problem for the Doctor by the late 1980s) and too eager to offer mercy to the baddies. Plus the whole "Lonely God" story arc was overlong and rendered nearly redundant with the constant resurrections of the Daleks, the Master and even the Time Lords themselves and the revelations made with all their appearances. The Time War need not have happened at all.

Matt Smith? He is so far more like an old-school Doctor but has yet to prove himself as a keeper. But nothing these these last three can do can equal them to Tom and his remarkable run.


Just my thoughts for whatever they may be worth.

[metalheadjay]

Yeah, I tried my best to watch an episode from the modern series last night. I was so turned off by several aspects that I just gave up on it and changed the channel. Nobody comes close to Tom Baker and you don't get that intimate atmosphere of classic 1970's "Who". Don't forget the stories of substance with a deep moral message too. Like most movies and tv shows these days, the modern series is just totally forgettable and has little to no replay value at all. However, I just watched "Brain Of Morbius" for the hundredth time and I love it just as much as the first time I saw it when I was a young kid. Now THAT is what equates to being lasting quality.

Jay

[Prydonian]

I agree that overall, the modern series has done very little that comes close in any way to what the golden era of the classic series achieved. I am still in hopes that when it is over, the Matt Smith era will be a true return to that golden age of classics, albeit with a modern twist.


For the record, David Tennant started out as capable as anyone could ask as the Doctor but certain things kept getting in the way. He was smashing as the then-latest incarnation of my childhood friend, but the stories sometimes let him down. Still, he went out on somehwat of a high. My loyalties currently lie with Matt Smith.

[MCH]

I'm not prejudice, I like all Who.
MCH

[tch]

I'm with you MCH ( no relation): I like all 11 of them and will watch episodes from anywhen in the show's history.

Yeah, not every episode is gold, but for all the Meglos, Love and Monsters and/or Twin Dilemma's there is an Ark in Space, 11th hour and/or the Romans to balance it out.

[bcm77]

I think the modern production teams over compensate for the lack of budget and fancy special effects technology during the original run as now that's all the show is about....nearly every episode is a mad rush from one effects driven scene to the next with little attention paid to the character development and dialogue.

It's Doctor Who for the reality TV generation which has undoubtedly been the right approach as there's no way a four or six part serial format would work today given the lack of attention span with mainstream audiences but quality wise there's not a single story that comes remotely close to even the lesser stories of Tom's run let alone the best.

As far as the modern Doctors go I thought Christopher Eccleston had "it" but he was shoved into the background so that Billie Piper could become the focal point so he never really got a chance to shine.

I thought David Tennant was OK for the first couple of weeks but his character got very old, very quickly and I soon tired of the ridiculous amount of hype he got in the UK media and on the fansites to the point where I couldn't be in the same room if he was on the screen.

I've seen him in other things and think he's a good actor but as the Doctor he just wasn't my cup of tea although I'll acknowledge his popularity as being good for the franchise in general.

Matt Smith represented a last chance for the modern way of doing things to win me over and I think he's the most believeable of the modern Doctors when it comes to being "alien" but his stories were still the same old stuff and I've reached a point where I really have no intrest left in the modern show even though it was the starting point for my intrest in the franchise.

[tch]

Matt Smith works for me, as he is very old school. There's none of emotion baggage the RTD felt he had top smother Tennant with.
Smith's Doctor reminds me a lot of Troughton's. Plus, I like that Moffat has gone back to the crowded Tardis take on companions. Always prefer that to just the girl from now.

[MCH]

Greetings,

I wish that the people that say the new Who isn't as good as the old Who would give examples to back up their statements. Specific ones so that I might know what they are talking about because having seen the old ones and the new ones I don't see the problem. I can't figure out if it is just a "purist" point of view or if there really is as big a difference as the say.

MCH

[Prydonian]

Too much camp that would make even Douglas Adams gasp for one, MCH. In episodes such as the Slitheen ones, The Long Game, Love and Monsters, New Earth, School Reunion with too much romance being suggested in the Dr's relationship with his companions, The overrated Girl in the Fireplace, (too much romance on the part of the Doctor), Planet of the Dead with yet another female kissing the Doctor,The Next Doctor which was misleading and made redundant with the announcement of Matt Smith as the real 'next Doctor', The Lazarus Experiment with Martha's over-agressive mother,and in Last of the Time Lords, we get too much camp and other bad-ideas storytelling involving the Doctor's arch nemesis. The Master dancing across his flagship, all the innuendo between him and the Doctor, even going too far in other areas by suggesting he hit his own wife Lucy Saxon! Just to list the ones that bother me. No offense to anyone who likes these episodes!

[metalheadjay]

I think that we've already given plenty of reasons as to why modern Who isn't as good as classic Who. Why must we keep elaborating? Isn't it obvious? It surely is to me.

Jay