Im 19 and grew up in the 1990's so my first contact with Doctor was with Paul McGann as The Doctor.

I knew about Doctor Who before though through my Dad who was born in 1960 and remembers pretty much all of the original series. He told me how brilliant it was and his favourite Doctor Patrick Troughton. My Mum told me about how my Grandad banned her from watching it because it scared her.

I loved the Paul McGann movie at the time and i have to say i thnk Paul Mcgann is an excellent Doctor, his audio's are brilliant. But through the movie and my Dad i got into it and got a slow drip of Doctor through my Dad.

I can say Peter Davison is my favourite Doctor. (The Caves Of Androzani, favourite episode of all time)

But anyway when i heard it was coming back i was very excited, i knew some people were scecptical, i remember Radio 2's Steve Wright being not sure about it returning.

I was just so happy when it came back and how it is a success.

Not going to lie, but I hated the idea of it. I thought why improve on perfection? Okay so maybe that's a little full-on, but my memories of Dr Who are so happy that I didn't want people thinking they can do better coming along and crapping all over its legacy.
I watched alot of CE, but I did lose interest for DT.
The stories seem to have more of a Buffy/X-Files feel to them than Dr Who. I do like those two shows so it isn't so bad, but it doesn't have that grand feel it used to have.
But things need to be modernised I suppose, and I guess nostalgia is a very powerful thing.

I'm now watching it again after a few years and enjoying it, but it will never compete with my treasured memories of old Dr Who, especially Tom Baker's time. It was just so effortless and charming.

I have wondered about why some people have been so negative about Poppycod, but on reading this post I can see why. Has to be the most bizarre, ridiculous, absurd, over the top and illogical post I have ever read.

Intially I was very skeptical. I had a few friends old DW fanatics and they had every episode (bar the lost ones) on tape.
I really didn't like the casting of Billie Piper and thought it would be an unmitigated disaster.
I've been eating humble pie ever since.
Even my brothers are getting back into it.

Actually this is.

Must say I admire the Troughton era a great deal and there's a lot to be said for the atmosphere of black and white Who. I'm going off topic though...

As a long time fan since 1973 I waited through all the false starts since cancellation. I remember the utter disappointment of the Dark Dimension being cut before it had got off the ground.

My first thoughts on learning the show was to return were very positive. Having enjoyed some of RTDs output, most notable Century Falls and Queer as Folk, I thought perhaps it was in good hands.

Eccelstone won me over immediately but from day one I really didn't like Billie Piper or the character of Rose. Whilst I enjoyed large chunks of season 1, the inclusion of gimmick characters and over reliance on Rose's family made me wonder if RTD is actually interested in the Doctor at all. The return of the Daleks was handled reasonably well in season one, and, Slitheen aside, the show was generally very good. Tennant started well, but as the stories became more and more ambitious and over the top, the show seemed to lose direction, becoming, for me, unrecognisable as the Doctor Who I have loved.

To me the nadir was very much the image of the Tardis towing the earth through space. Too ridiculous and absurd for words. Follow that with the very worst portrayal of the Master and shockingly bad use (and understanding) of the Time Lords and I was ready to walk.

The new series, however, has won me over anew. I thoroughly enjoy Smith's Doctor and find Amy to be a pleasing and potentially very good companion. The fact that episode 2 was a self contained mystery with a real solution, that did't rely on the Doctor saving the very universe itself, YET AGAIN, using nothing but the power of shouting and grinning, was very refreshing.

RTD is to be applauded for getting the show up and running, though had he refused someone else would have done the job, perhaps better, perhaps worse. However the conclusion that I have come to is that a fan of Doctor Who does not necessarily a good producer make. Likewise for writers .. I mean have you read fanfiction ?

I've been watching Who since 1975 but stopped watching halfway through McCoy's terrible tenure. Initially I hated the idea of Who coming back because it was rumoured that Eddie Izzard was going to be the new Doctor. Luckily this was just speculation!

I was pleased when Eccleston got the part and his performance was excellent IMO.

Shame - you left just as it was getting good.

Agree about The Dark Dimension, I was gutted when that was cancelled. Also agree about towing the Earth and the abysmal second New Who Master (Derek Jacobi was great) and Timelords. However, don't understand what you're saying about the current series in relation to the previous 4. In his first episode Matt Smith was saving the world, and there were plenty of self contained non Universe saving episodes in RTD's time - just to name a random few from the last couple of years - Unicorn, Daughter, Midnight, Planet of the Dead, Waters of Mars, etc, etc! And SM is just as much a fan as RTD!

After being without the show for so long I was really excited by it's return. I didn't know much about Ecclestone before he came to the role and I thought Billie Piper, whom I'd only known as a singer to that point, was a fascinating bit of casting. I was really surprised by how good the new show was. Wasn't so keen on Ecclestone as The Doctor, especially after he quit after one just Episode had been broadcast, but nonetheless it was a good first series.

I am so glad it isn't just me! Pretty much everything you've said here echoes my own feelings about the last few years and the current season. A definite return to form for the show.

A return to form from when exactly?? As with all eras of Doctor Who, RTD's tenure had good and bad episodes. (I would agree the Master ones, with the exception of Utopia, were amongst the worst.) The 2 episodes of the current series were nothing special compared to the previous 5 years, and weren't even as good as previous episodes the writer wrote in the era you so despise.

That, my friend, is a fantastic post....

My two children also fell in love with it without my influence and I get as much joy watching their reaction to it as I do of watching the show itself.

The usual suspects on here are an embarrassment to themselves and the show itself with their selfish, narrow minded views, but I take solace in the fact that they are in the tiny minority and the vast majority love the show, both new and old, for what it is, faults and all....

So how did you feel about the scene with Amy floating outside the Tardis with the Dr holding onto her leg, was that not absurd also?

We'll agree to differ then, as I thoroughly enjoyed them both, something I found very difficult with Tennant as the Doctor and nigh on impossible whenever Catherine Tate was present.

The Doctor had extended the air shell of the TARDIS to allow Amy to float outside unharmed, effectively a space walk without a suit. that isn't anywhere near as preposterous as the idea of actually towing a planet through space, which would cause incalculable devastation as the tides went haywire even if the entire planet didn't freeze over or burn up.

Wow, thanks for all the replies, some great reading there, and so many different views on its return.



So it was leaked before transmission?, new to me, is there a thread in the achives on here?


Very lucky indeed

Given that Im happy to accept that they're in a time machine that's disguised as a police phone box and hurtling through time and space, I find that quite acceptable also!

And a box that is infinitely bigger on the inside than the outside isn't equally preposterous?

I was very very excited. I'm 16 so obviously missed out on a lot but I've got a Doctor Who loving dad who went on and on about it and even built a life size Dalek, so I've sort of grown up with it even with it's absence. (I have to admit I haven't actually watched much classic Who, we could never find it.)
I couldn't believe my luck when it was brought back and now I'm obsessed with it and so much to do with it!

The earliest memories of watching Dr Who was in 1974 (Pertwee's last season) and watched it from then onwards, although I didn't bother watching much from Trial of the Timelord through the McCoy era. I was in my late teens by then, so probably thought it was uncool... I remember being excited (and ultimately disappointed) about the McGann film.

So when I heard Dr Who was coming back, I thought great, but I was ready to be disappointed again. Fortunately, Ecclestone nailed it. I thought the whole of the first new season was excellent and was disappointed when CE left.

Not at all - Tom Baker explained it all to Leela

That's my whole point clacker, how someone can criticise a single idea in Dr who as preposterous when the whole premise of the show is preposterous is highly amusing.

Been a fan all my life, I can't say I was enthusiastic about the return though. The 1996 movie left a bitter taste in my mouth, although I thought McGann was great everything else about it was atrocious.

Then I thoroughly enjoyed Eccleston's stint but wasn't a big fan of the Tennant era. Glad Matt Smith is here though as he has a very retro Doctor feel about him. The Beast Below was a bit of an iffy episode but it's early days yet.