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."