In 1993 there was a low budget series called Airzone Solution. It was about pollution in the near future. It is notable for gathering 4 of the then 5 living Doctors as well as several Doctor Who co-stars. Long story short, the above video is the Sixth Doctor and Peri getting it on. I wasn't sure it was really them until I went to the wikipedia page and saw this picture. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Airzone_Solution
a good episode last night. Donna is turning out to be a great companion. she has enough of an attitude to cause trouble for the Doctor but not enough to make me hate her. I like the ancient setting, and they had a good moral qualm for the Doctor along with Donna showing a strong moral fiber.
Also, regarding the posters who complained above about too many Earth/London-based episodes in the current series I read it has to do with ratings and opinion polls.
No, it has a lot to do with the fact they dont want to build sets as bad as the old ones and dont have the budget to have too many new ones! Fuck that, they have forgotten one of the things most people loved about the original show, the piss poor sets and crappy costumes!
No, it has a lot to do with the fact they dont want to build sets as bad as the old ones and dont have the budget to have too many new ones! Fuck that, they have forgotten one of the things most people loved about the original show, the piss poor sets and crappy costumes!
do you really want them to try and make bad tv? should they aim for piss poor and crappy? the reason those old sets and costumes looked like they did was because of budget and the limitations of the time. But even then they were trying to make it look as good as possible.
And they still have budget limitations, hence the constant modern day England! Whats the point of having a machine that travels through time and space when you do neither?
They basically waste their whole effects budget on one or two episodes, then have to spend the rest of the time doing the modern day England stuff!
As for limitations of the time, you are completely wrong on that. TV shows and films being made at the same time proved the limitations were far higher than Doctor Who pushed. It was (and still is) purely budget related. BBC does not have the budget to have sets and costumes as good as its peers for a whole series. If they spread the budget out more, the sets and costumes would suffer, but they would still be better than the original shows!
If you want a guy to to stay in modern day England all the time, fighting aliens, why not just create a whole new series? A timelord who does not timetravel is like doing a Flash tv series and having him walk everywhere!
This last episode kicked ass! It was one of the best episodes I've seen a long while, and actually felt like old-school Who for me. Good stuff!
As for the current debate, it basically boils down to RTD & Co. not wanting to look bad, or for people to make fun of the work they're doing. They're scared to get too sci-fi for fear of disenfranchising the lowest common denominator demographic that watched it for the 'squee/soap/I wuv Wose' elements. I promise, if pure sci-fi was suddenly en vogue, RTD would be pumping out 13 episodes of non-stop space/time travel.
Still, hopefully whoever replaces him when he leaves will be daring enough to try an entire season that doesn't even go to Earth. I mean, if a determining criteria for your enjoyment of watching Doctor Who is to whether you can relate to the simplistic family/relationship problems, then you're simply watching the wrong show.
And, looks like next week we'll have an alien planet...
Just saw it. It was a good episode with a nice little nod to Hartnell's era. Hopefully, they'll follow more along the lines of this episode rather than the series opener.
whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules. It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness. This is true both in politics and on the internet."
When he was telling Donna why he can't save Pompeii, I was reminded of two previous instances. The first was Hartnell in The Aztecs where the Doctor tells Barbara that he can't change history. He knows because he's tried. The other was Baker in Genesis of the Daleks where he's debating whether he had the right to decide the fate of the Daleks even though they were evil.
And, please, tell me I'm not the only one who got the Rome burning reference.
whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules. It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness. This is true both in politics and on the internet."
I think that's what I really like about this episode. As kick ass as Blink and The Empty Child are, I understand that not every episode can be like them for that very reason; but, at the very least, they need to be as good as this one.
whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules. It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness. This is true both in politics and on the internet."
Yeah, it was TOTAL old-school Who. And, what a pleasant, mature breath of air not to have RTD come along at five minute intervals with a pop culture joke or reference.
Over on the OG Boards, some comparing how old-school this felt, and went into dialogging the argument between the Doctor and Donna about going back for the family:
Hartnell: "Come along, Miss Noble, come along, and don't dilly-dally! You barge in here, you invite yourself aboard my ship, and you want to tell me who should be shaved? Saved?? Mmmm?? Oh-ho! I think not, my dear, no, I think not. We must leave them all, unless you want to end up as a cinder revolving in Rome..."
Troughton: "Oh dear, oh dear dear. You want to know why we can't save them don't you... Well it's all frightfully complicated. Oh I do wish you wouldn't bother me with these questions Donna... Eh? Bring them into the ship? Well, I can't, I simply can't... oh... oh... well, since you put it like that..."
Pertwee: "But don't you see Donna? If I save these people I break one of the most important rules of all. Yes, there's free will, of course there is. But not for a Time Lord. We're bound by the laws of time - and I've always had the utmost respect for them. Well, nearly always... I remember, when I was young - I saw something beautiful, in a tiny little world - a place my guru never noticed. And one day, when danger loomed there, I saved that world. The wrong world, Donna. I saved it, but then its influence grew and grew. Its empire expanded, until that tiny beautiful thing was squashed. Destroyed through the very mercy I'd shown..."
Baker (Adams era): "You want me to barge in and save everyone? That's very noble Donna,but completely out of the question and inappropriate. I mean, if I lived at the base of a volcano and I'd waited 17 years for it to erupt, I'd be rather agitated if someone came along and disturbed my plans at the last possible moment by rescuing me.
Wouldn't you be agitated? I mean I'd be agitated.
Anyway, who am I to stop a perfectly good death? Especially ones executed with such style and on such a grandiose scale? Would you like a Jelly Baby? Go on. Have one of the purple ones."
Baker (other seasons): "Marvellous people, the Romans. Well - a shame about the slavery, of course. But the viaducts, the plumbing! Oh, the plumbing. Marvellous. You know, I met David Lynch once. 'Doctor,' he said to me, there's nothing more satisfying than the careful redistribution of water.' ........ What??? Me??? Not care about the victims? How dare you! We'll see who doesn't care, won't we K9! Yes....... [mumbling] That girl Donna doesn't have a clue. Me? Not care? Ha! [Aloud] Well come on then, Caecilius! What are you waiting for! Yes, all of you, bring the kids, bring the wife! We're heading for the hills, and DON"T touch the switches."
Davison: "Now then Donna, have a little faith. There's a perfectly reasonable explanation - if you'd just let me finish. Just like you to overlook the complicated, eh? Unless I can create a self-contained quantum metastatic-bubble for them to sit in, they'll simply wink out of existence as soon as we land. That wasn't the engines you heard, it was the meta-bubble porting in through the hysteretic modifier. No, I don't know what it means either, but it seems to work. Now - inside everyone, hurry along there Quintus, there's a good fellow... if I can just programme the bubble to fit your individual heat signatures... There! Four healthy happy walking talking time anomalies! [murmurs] Pity I forgot about this for Adric..."
McCoy: "Ace!!
Can't you see?!
NONE of them can be saved.
It was *I* who went back to the beginning of the earth's formation. Patiently, endlessly, running my fingers over a single spot on the still cooling crust. Knowing that I was creating the volcanic weak spot.
The spot over which, over the eons, Vesuvius would grow. Colliding, Erupting, Growing, Burning, Building throughout all geologic time! Until this VERY MOMENT when Pompeii is consumed. And then, discovered again. Uncovered again.
So that in the 29th century, I can defeat the Ogrons."
Originally Posted By: Friendly Neighborhood Ray-man
In 1993 there was a low budget series called Airzone Solution. It was about pollution in the near future. It is notable for gathering 4 of the then 5 living Doctors as well as several Doctor Who co-stars. Long story short, the above video is the Sixth Doctor and Peri getting it on. I wasn't sure it was really them until I went to the wikipedia page and saw this picture. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Airzone_Solution
I've actually watched one of those pseudo-Doctor-type shows. I think it was called "Zero Imperative" or something like that. It's been a long time. But, I do remember it had Jon Pertwee, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, and a couple of the companions all playing different characters. Pretty fun, in a fanboy sense...
Ok, so this series we will get to meet the Doctors supposed daughter who is played by Peter Davisons daughter! I'd do her!
Yeah, I heard about this. And, yes, she IS pretty hot...
She has a real sci-fi heritage! Her dad was Doctor Who, her mum was Trillion from the Hitchhikers tv show and her best friend at school was Colin Bakers daughter!
anyone know where i can watch some of the original series online? i watched Shada on youtube (Tom Baker is so great at his delivery that his narration made up for the missing scenes) and watched the first two episodes of Genesis of the Daleks before I realized the whole serial wasn't uploaded. anyone know of a good site that has older episodes? Especially Genesis of the Daleks, I'd like to finish that as it cut out at the point where Davros introduced the Dalek prototype and I'd like to see where it goes.
whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules. It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness. This is true both in politics and on the internet."
Originally Posted By: Friendly Neighborhood Ray-man
anyone know where i can watch some of the original series online? i watched Shada on youtube (Tom Baker is so great at his delivery that his narration made up for the missing scenes) and watched the first two episodes of Genesis of the Daleks before I realized the whole serial wasn't uploaded. anyone know of a good site that has older episodes? Especially Genesis of the Daleks, I'd like to finish that as it cut out at the point where Davros introduced the Dalek prototype and I'd like to see where it goes.
Genesis is one of my favorites. It's especially good to see how well Baker is doing in the character so early into his run. That's only his forth story in his run.
whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules. It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness. This is true both in politics and on the internet."
Genesis of the Daleks, along with Talons of Weng-Chiang, The Robots of Death, City of Death, and Caves of Androzani, is considered to be one of the best episodes in the history of the series. Possibly the best, depending on who you ask.
I think I would put Moffat's episodes in that line-up, as well. The Empty Child, Girl in the Fireplace, and Blink are all instant classics to me.
UNlike this last, weird, gross episode Planet of the Ood. Wasn't bad, but wasn't great. Just kind of...flat, really...
UNlike this last, weird, gross episode Planet of the Ood. Wasn't bad, but wasn't great. Just kind of...flat, really...
I liked it. It isn't the best since the relaunch, but I really can't find much against it. It kinda reminded me of Spearhead from Space as far as how much violence they put into it. I'm surprised they let the Ood transformation be shown the way they did. And look at it this way, next week you get proper Sontarians.
whomod said: I generally don't like it when people decide to play by the rules against people who don't play by the rules. It tends to put you immediately at a disadvantage and IMO is a sign of true weakness. This is true both in politics and on the internet."
I liked the Ood episode. I enjoyed them in the Satan Pit story and I thought they did a good job of explaining them this week. Donna is growing on me, she's smart and makes good observations (like the Ood having to be peaceful because they have their brain in their hands and can't risk fighting) and she also has a good moral center (or I guess "centre" since she's British) which helps push along the Doctor, and he seems like he needs someone to make him care about the little people instead of just fighting the monsters attacking them.
Originally Posted By: Friendly Neighborhood Ray-man
anyone know where i can watch some of the original series online? i watched Shada on youtube (Tom Baker is so great at his delivery that his narration made up for the missing scenes) and watched the first two episodes of Genesis of the Daleks before I realized the whole serial wasn't uploaded. anyone know of a good site that has older episodes? Especially Genesis of the Daleks, I'd like to finish that as it cut out at the point where Davros introduced the Dalek prototype and I'd like to see where it goes.
Genesis is one of my favorites. It's especially good to see how well Baker is doing in the character so early into his run. That's only his forth story in his run.
Baker has a good charm to him. I really enjoyed Shada and the others of his. Of the original series he and (a distant second) Mccoy are fun, fun enough to carry the cheesy sets and special effects. I wish I had been able to watch it as a kid but before the current series all I ever saw of Doctor Who was the unfortunate 1996 movie.
I'm not saying I didn't like the Ood episode. It just didn't strike the same, superior chord with me that Pompeii did, that's all. However, props to them for finally getting us to an actual alien planet.
And while the TVM was a bad plot and execution, the look of the thing worked for the mid-90's. Not to mention, Paul McGann is so good as The Doctor, and the TARDIS interior was gorgeous.
Speaking of Tom Baker, here's the ending excerpt from his autobiographical Who on Earth is Tom Baker? video:
