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A newbie speaks!!
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I just read an interesting debate on another thread where a fan of the nu-who was accused of not being a fan - truth is i am scared of the old series - I don't know where to start and I have been warned off going straight to the 60s show from the new shows - i vaguely remember Sylvester McCoy and Ace from the 80s but I was pretty young - now I'm obsessed with Who (yes, the tenth doctor makes me swoon, I admit) but I don't know if i could call myself a real fan, and I don't know where to start when delving into the big world of Who!
Any advice/thoughts/comments??
Any advice/thoughts/comments??
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First of all, welcome to the forum!
Second, take no notice of the "you're not a true fan if....." brigade, that's just utter nonsense, you can have as much passion for the series after watching 1 episode than you can have watching it since it started in 1963. There is no such thing as a "true fan" in their sense of the word, there are just fans that own more stuff than other fans.
I remember watching some of the Tom Baker years when I was a child, but I really don't remember much of it, but I'm taking part in the rewatch almost as a new viewer. If you make allowances for the age of the episodes then I'm sure you would enjoy the earlier stories. But if you want to ease into it I am sure others with better knowledge of the older stories will give you hints on what to watch. Some of it you will like and some of it you won't, but that's true of anything in life.
and thanks for the very warm welcome!!:)
Someone might have more knowledge than me, but there are some novels online. And I hope you are referring to Colin Baker:D.
Tom Baker is a god. Anyone who tells you otherwise is evil and should not be trusted.
Have a nice time with the Doctors.
If you ever read someone saying what fans are or aren't supposed to have seen or know, they are talking out of their hats. They can be safely disregarded.
Welcome to the forum.
Probably best to start by enjoying a few Toms. Colin can be an acquired taste
I have come to the opinion that Colin's best TV performance is Dimensions in Time, which nobody should ever have to watch.
If Tom Baker's the thing then coming from the modern programme you'll probably find City of Death the most enjoyable first thing.
Don't do it because of perceived snobbishness though. The idea that you must know and like all periods of the programme to be a 'real fan' is patently absurd.
It's a very good story, and might be a good start.
OP, I'm definitely joking about Colin Baker (I love him). He is an acquired taste, and maybe not the right Doctor to start your classic Who adventure. The right Tom Baker story is definitely a good way to start.
Welcome OP
Completely agree.
From the feedback on here, it would seem the 'not a true fan' nonsense, is simply that, nonsense
Enjoy:D
You get a DVD of a complete story and a magazine with lots of facts. You can browse the list and order up an episode or two.
Second hand DVDs will probably be cheaper though.
The other route is to buy the box set of Dalek/Cyberman stories etc. Quite a good way to see the best of each villain and you will get different Doctors.
Don't forget the two films from the 60s, they have a budget (although they aren't canon). A young Bernard Cribbins has a part in one of them and they are very entertaining.
It doesn't take much reading to find out what the fan favourites are and I personally find it quite easy to ignore the dodgy effects of the older episodes.
For a first-timer, City of Death is a good start. I'd say Pyramids of Mars or Robots of Death could be a decent follow-up choice.
And of course, if you are a Virgin TV customer, they have a selection of classic DW stories available currently.
http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1661143
Perhaps watch season 12, The Key to Time, The Black Guardian trilogy, and Trial of a Time Lord in story order.
I am waiting for 01/01/2013 so I can start referencing the "teenies"
That's it, spoil my theory.
But still with those storylines, there really isn't a whole lot you need to know from story to story. It's not like it's a huge jigsaw the viewer has to gradually piece together, it's more just a theme to keep in mind.
And to be honest, does anyone really understand Trial of a Time Lord? It's so uneven that watching it from any point wouldn't be any different from watching it from the start. lol
Since the last two episodes are linked to the first four you do really need to watch it from the beginning to get some idea what the story is all about. I think if you don't and watch it out of sequence you do lose track of what's happening a lot of the time.
The Key To Time Season allows a lot more flexibility but I still would prefer to watch it in some sort of order.
As for the OP, I agree with some of the other posts about working backwards or watching some of Tom Baker's stories from Hinchcliffe's time. However, I'd recommend that once you are familiar with all The Doctor and styles you do watch everything in sequence at a later date to get the feeling of all the era's and the various changes that took place. Watching Classic Who doesn't have to be a scary experience as long as you are sensible in what you watch and I agree diving into the Hartnell stuff of the back of the New Series is not such a good move.
The Smith / Moffat era really got me hooked on the show and back into it in a big way and I resolved to watch every single episode made.
Sure, it's intimidating at first, so a little research beforehand helps. Use the episode guide from Wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Doctor_Who_serials This will give you a very basic idea of the structure you're delaing with (ie which Doctors lasted for which season etc).
I don;t think it's a good idea to just start at the beginning and keep going. I began by doing that but soon found the idea flawed for these reasons:
As I drew near to the end of the Hartnell era i began to realize that there would be nothing left to see. Your favourite era could be gone and it can then be all downhill from there.
Likewise, if I got bored with an era or bogged down by it or found I didn't enjoy it as much I would nonetheless have to trawl through it all to ge tto later stuff. That sort of thing will kill your enthusiasm for a project like this.
SO I think it's best to do a little research, as I suggested above, find good jump on points and then skip around a bit. Watch a series of one Doctor, or a run with a particular companion and then move to another.
The thing to bear in mind with Doctor Who is that despite that huge history the continuity is very light so you really won't miss much by watching them out of order. in fact, just dipping into it with random stories isn't that bad a way of doing it. and certainly, don't be intimidated by it.
My reccomendations for good jump on points (most of them from my personal project of watching them all) are:
William Hartnell: first series, obviously. Most episodes are surviving.
Troughton: Tomb of the Cybermen (first complete story) or 'The Dominators' (first of a run of complete stories in the third season)
Pertwee: His first season, beginning with 'Spearhead from Space'. You really want to get the introduction to UNIT and how the Doctor works with them. Alternatively, you could start with his fifth and final season, beginning with 'The Time Warrior', which introduces Sarah Jane. You could then watch through to the Tom Baker era in an unbroken run.
Baker: One option is as mentioned above. Or, if you'd rather get into Baker straight away, 'The Face of Evil' is a good place to start, with the introduction of Leela.
Davison is tricky because there's no clear 'clean slate' type periods for him, except for 'Caves of androzani', his very last story. Probably best to start at the beginning therefore, although that continues on very directly from Tom Baker's final season.
Colin Baker: There's only two series so start at the beginning.
McCoy: Jump in with the introduction of Ace (Dragonfire).
One good episode to wacth early on is 'The Deadly Assassin', because it is very standalone, has no companion, introduces the world of the time lords and is a very good story.
Firstly, I can't call you yummydutchmayo all the time, so I'll just call you yummy.
Secondly, is Dutch mayo yummier than English? If so, where can I get some?
Thirdly, I agree with sovietusername (see, he's another one - I'll have to call him soviet) that the TV Movie is worth a watch.
Fourthly, avoid Trial of a Tome lord at all costs until you have watched everyhing else.
Fifthly - of course you are a fan if you watch and (usually) enjoy DW. I am baffled as to why some people think you have to watch "classic" stuff to be a "real" fan. Watch what you like if you like it - if you don't like it, don't bother with it. There isn't a test to pass!
Sixthly. if the Tenth Doctor makes you swoon, then you obviously have impeccable taste.