The 10th Doctor is no more

[wolfsfang]

I just watched David Tennant's final and very emotional episode as the Doctor and I have to say that the show won't be the same without him as he was my favourite incarnation of the time lord ever

[JonWes]

He was great. But I'm always excited to see what someone new will do with the role.

[BCI Guy]

I tend to have blinders towards the current generation of Doctor Who - I absolutely LOVE the great episodes and I still really enjoy the bad ones.

I thought Part 1 of this was by far the worst we've seen under Davies. It was disjointed, it was sloppy and he committed the cardinal sin - it was boring. I had very low hopes for Part 2.

But I kind of loved it. It still had a lot of Davies' flaws, but it really got me swept up in it. Even if the end was a little too "Return of the Kings".

I think its funny that after 4 years of Davies doing terrific penultimate episodes, only to have big let downs in the final, he totally reversed it this year.

Really looking forward to Moffat's run.

[nutnog]

Wait Tom Baker is no longer the Doctor?!?!

[JonWes]

But I kind of loved it. It still had a lot of Davies' flaws, but it really got me swept up in it. Even if the end was a little too "Return of the Kings".

I think its funny that after 4 years of Davies doing terrific penultimate episodes, only to have big let downs in the final, he totally reversed it this year.

Really looking forward to Moffat's run.

I agree about the ROTK bit. It felt VERY similar. Like that ending, I thought this went on a bit long... but I really enjoyed it despite that fact.

I agree Part 1 was pretty bad. I don't think it reached the low of some of the new series worst episodes (Fear Her) but it was unsatisfying and chaotic. I do think Part 2 helped make it make sense.

Now the big question...

Who was the woman in white?

[BCI Guy]

Who was the woman in white?

I'd guess his mother from the way that they looked at each other near the end.

[wolfsfang]

I do believe she was because, though never identified in the story, in the commentary for part two Julie Gardner refers to the woman as "The Doctor's mother

[Marvelous0ne]

Well I cheated I sneaked a peak at the final regeneration and the preview for the next series. I hope they do not have him saying "Geronimo" as his catch phrase like Eccelston would always use "Fantastic." Plus I hope he doesn't become the Emo-Doctor.

Now I just have to worry about what my mother will do! She'll be so upset. Wait! She already is by Tennant's departure. This will just make her sad even more since she thinks this new Doctor is ugly.

[He-Fan]

Chris here...

The episode was beautifully done - and, I was glad the Doctor didn't die a horrible, grizzly fate. However, I am still soooooo sad that David Tennant has left, I was never a major Who fan before he came on board and will always be "my" Doctor!

Take care...

[wolfsfang]

I hope they do not have him saying "Geronimo" as his catch phrase like Eccelston would always use "Fantastic."
.

Unfortunately at the end of Doctor Who Confidential it showed clips from the upcoming series and he said it again...so looks like it is

[He-Fan]

Chris here...

Unfortunately at the end of Doctor Who Confidential it showed clips from the upcoming series and he said it again...so looks like it is

It's also a caption on the BBC's official Doctor Who website, which is now very Matt Smith, 11th Doctor-heavy! I miss David Tennant already! :*(

Take care...

[banthafett]

I never watched these. They always looked interesting, but looking into it- I have no idea where to start.

?- Are all these doctors suppose to be the same guy? Also why do they change them so much? Ratings slips, then they change? Or is it actually part of the story?

austin

[wolfsfang]

yes they are all the same guy.

basically if the Doctor is fatally injured he is able to cheat death by going through a process called Regeneration which completely heals him but also gives him a new body and new personality as well

It was once established that all Time Lords could regenerate 12 times (giving them 13 lives) but it seems that was more a rule then a biological fact for the reasons they also taught a similar art to another alien race, The Master at one point refuses to regenerate and it was once said that without the rest of the time lords there may be no limit to how many times the Doctor can do it as there is nobody to enforce the 12 regenerations only law

[wyldman11]

The first doctor was going to leave the show, they didn't want to end the show so they created the idea of regeneration. Time lords have the ability to regenerate 12 times. The closest approximation to this is the trills from Star Trek, same base person but different personality etc.

About starting to watch there really isn't any great place to start, only bad times to start. Generally accepted times to start are the introductions of each of the Doctors. You don't have to watch the whole series to understand what is going on, the only potential exception to this is it might be a good idea to watch the full run of New Doctor Who.



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I haven't watched the last two episodes yet, it was a bit on the late side when I got my dvr recording the latest last night and I knew it being a two parter I was going to want to wait for the second before viewing the first.

[wolfsfang]

The last 2 episodes did answer one major question tho concerning James Bond

the reason he keeps changing appearance is because he is a time lord

[BCI Guy]

I never watched these. They always looked interesting, but looking into it- I have no idea where to start.

?- Are all these doctors suppose to be the same guy? Also why do they change them so much? Ratings slips, then they change? Or is it actually part of the story?

austin

I'd start with the Davies/Gardner stuff - essentially the return of Doctor Who from 2005. Its not a reboot or a remake. It is a continuation of the original show, but you don't need to have any knowledge of that to enjoy them. At worst, you might miss a few inside gags or call-backs, but its not needed to know anything going in.

So far there have been four 13 episode seasons, 3 Christmas Specials and the five specials that occurred during this past year. Season 5 will start in the spring.

If you really enjoy it, you may want to go back and look at some of the older shows, but I wouldn't start there. They can be great fun, but they are very dated and I'm not sure how they would hold up to someone that didn't essentially grow up with them.

What you have to remember about Doctor Who is its a kid's show. But it isn't written down to kids like most programming. Its designed for whole families to watch together and there will be things that go over kids heads, and things that will genuinely scare them.

Really its just fun.

[nutnog]

I'd start with the Davies/Gardner stuff - essentially the return of Doctor Who from 2005. Its not a reboot or a remake. It is a continuation of the original show, but you don't need to have any knowledge of that to enjoy them.

See I would have said start with the third doctor and go through maybe the sixth doctor. I guess that just shows that some fans lean more toward the old doctors and other fans lean more towards the newer doctors.

[wolfsfang]

well whichever Doctor you start with my favourites will always be (in this order)

David Tennant
Christopher Eccleston
Tom Baker
Jon Pertwee
and Paul McGann (ya I know he only made one real life appearance and some radio plays but I really liked his portrayal in the movie)

Not that the others were bad, they all had their moments, these are just my faves

[Vinto-Man]

I'm sad that David Tennant has gone and i will give Matt Smith a chance but he has huge shoes to fill. Loved Bernard Cribbins in the final two episodes and a shame he knocked 4 times.

[wolfsfang]

I'm sad that David Tennant has gone and i will give Matt Smith a chance but he has huge shoes to fill. Loved Bernard Cribbins in the final two episodes and a shame he knocked 4 times.

ya that was something I never saw coming. Funny that Bernard Cribbins helped the Doctor save the world in "Dalek's Invasion Earth 2150" and now he is responsible for the Doctors death / regeneration

I will also give Matt Smith a go and he may turn out to be a decent Doctor but I would have preferred James Nesbitt from Jekyll (which was also written by Stephen Moffat) or failing that John Simm. Yeah I know he played the Master but don't forget that Colin Baker played Commander Maxil who shot the Peter Davidson Doctor in Arc of Infinity...and then later replaced Peter as the new Doctor, so it would not be unheard of

[BCI Guy]

See I would have said start with the third doctor and go through maybe the sixth doctor. I guess that just shows that some fans lean more toward the old doctors and other fans lean more towards the newer doctors.

I think if you are coming to the show totally fresh, you have a better chance of liking it if you start with 2005.

I absolutely love Tom Baker's Doctor Who, but that's because I watched it every week as a kid. Watching them again now, I still love them, but I can see how they could be borderline unwatchable if you don't have them as part of your background.

Plus you're talking about 16 years and over 400 episodes. That's an awful lot of content. "New" Who is less than 60 to get caught up.

[He-Fan]

Chris here...

I think if you are coming to the show totally fresh, you have a better chance of liking it if you start with 2005.

I absolutely love Tom Baker's Doctor Who, but that's because I watched it every week as a kid. Watching them again now, I still love them, but I can see how they could be borderline unwatchable if you don't have them as part of your background.

Plus you're talking about 16 years and over 400 episodes. That's an awful lot of content. "New" Who is less than 60 to get caught up.

I agree completely with this assessment - if somebody wanted to jump onto Doctor Who with no previous exposure to it, I'd say go for the 2005 series onwards, just because it makes a very natural "jumping on" point and is a more up-to-date looking show. I'd never been a Doctor Who fan prior to seeing the new series, but not only did the new series get me hooked but it encouraged me to then look backwards at some of the classic series.

Take care...

[nutnog]

I think if you are coming to the show totally fresh, you have a better chance of liking it if you start with 2005.

I absolutely love Tom Baker's Doctor Who, but that's because I watched it every week as a kid. Watching them again now, I still love them, but I can see how they could be borderline unwatchable if you don't have them as part of your background.

Plus you're talking about 16 years and over 400 episodes. That's an awful lot of content. "New" Who is less than 60 to get caught up.

I agree. I just came from a background of starting with the classics. The 2005-Current series doesn't do anything for me but glad to see Who is still going on.

[Toymaker]

I enjoyed the specials and was very sad to see DT go, but will look forward to Matt Smith's, as I remember 4 years ago worrying about the next series after Christopher Eccleston left, so I'm sure it will be fine

[King Tycho]

Stephen Moffat's episodes have always been the best of the new series, so I'm very excited to see how things turn out under his tenure.