Doctor Who: "I've finally run out of corridor...there's a life summed up."

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Which non-Power of the Daleks story would you like to see an episode found from? This poll is closed.
Marco Polo	36	20.69%
The Myth Makers	10	5.75%
The Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Eve	45	25.86%
The Savages	2	1.15%
The Smugglers	2	1.15%
The Highlanders	45	25.86%
The Macra Terror	21	12.07%
Fury from the Deep	13	7.47%
Total:	174 votes

[Edit Poll (moderators only)]

MrL_JaKiri: Sep 23, 2003; A bracing glass of carrot juice!

We commend Russell Tovey to the Voyage of the Damned.

The damned good looking!

_{Russell T Davies commanded I tell this joke in my review}

# ? Jun 1, 2016 20:39

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# ? Jun 7, 2024 17:33

CobiWann: Oct 21, 2009; Have fun!

I thought it was Voyage of the Damned United.

# ? Jun 1, 2016 23:57

TinTower: Apr 21, 2010; You don't have to 8e a good person to 8e a hero.

CobiWann posted:

I thought it was Voyage of the Damned United.

Nah, that's just League One.

# ? Jun 2, 2016 05:06

Rhyno: Mar 22, 2003; Can't post for 10 years!

MrL_JaKiri posted:

We commend Russell Tovey to the Voyage of the Damned.

The damned good looking!

_{Russell T Davies commanded I tell this joke in my review}

This is my favorite post in the thread.

# ? Jun 2, 2016 06:23

Jerusalem: May 20, 2004; Would you be my new best friends?

Rhyno posted:

This is my favorite post in the thread.

Cyberman: Everyone you knew or loved on Gallifrey is dead.
Doctor: These things happen. :shrug:

# ? Jun 2, 2016 07:51

Davros1: Jul 19, 2007; You've got to admit, you are kind of implausible

Bafflegab, the company that makes The Scarifyers, is coming out with a new audio, starring the man himself, as himself, Tom Baker!

It's set at Tom's funeral.

http://www.bafflegab.co.uk/detail-baker.asp

# ? Jun 2, 2016 13:06

DoctorWhat: Nov 18, 2011; A little privacy, please?

Oh jeez, Tom knows something we don't.

# ? Jun 2, 2016 13:11

jivjov: Sep 13, 2007; But how does it taste? Yummy!; Dinosaur Gum

DoctorWhat posted:

Oh jeez, Tom knows something we don't.

Yeah...either he's having a bit of morbid fun at our expense or he really does think/know that he is not long for this world

# ? Jun 2, 2016 13:18

Jerusalem: May 20, 2004; Would you be my new best friends?

Sounds like ol' Tom is having the time of his life to me :shobon:

# ? Jun 2, 2016 13:27

CobiWann: Oct 21, 2009; Have fun!

I just tell myself this - Tom Baker and Philip Hinchcliffe outlived Mary Whitehouse.

# ? Jun 2, 2016 15:37

Big Mean Jerk: Jan 27, 2009; Well, of course I know him.
He's me.

Davros1 posted:

Bafflegab, the company that makes The Scarifyers, is coming out with a new audio, starring the man himself, as himself, Tom Baker!

It's set at Tom's funeral.

http://www.bafflegab.co.uk/detail-baker.asp

I DON'T LIKE THIS ONE BIT

# ? Jun 2, 2016 18:14

Zaroff: Nov 10, 2009; Nothing in the world can stop me now!

Hasn't Tom always been like this though? I seem to remember years ago him saying he has his tombstone as a coffee table or something...

# ? Jun 3, 2016 05:45

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

Zaroff posted:

Hasn't Tom always been like this though? I seem to remember years ago him saying he has his tombstone as a coffee table or something...

I just assume that Death steers clear of Tom Baker at this point, because he's not quite sure what Tom will do if he tries to claim him...

# ? Jun 3, 2016 07:27

Wheat Loaf: Feb 13, 2012; by FactsAreUseless

Tom was Death once... in the remake of MediEvil they did on the PSP.

# ? Jun 3, 2016 08:06

The_Doctor: Mar 29, 2007; "The entire history of this incarnation is one of temporal orbits, retcons, paradoxes, parallel time lines, reiterations, and divergences. How anyone can make head or tail of all this chaos, I don't know."

Drink him under the table.

"What if.." started Tom, thoughtfully.
YES? asked Death. The robed skeleton turned from the open doorway, and was a little perturbed to see that the man hadn't automatically followed him.
"Well, I couldn't help but wonder. You know, if this is it. The end, as it were. What happens next, eh?"
Death tapped the wooden handle of his scythe with a couple of long, slender digits. WHATEVER HAPPENS, HAPPENS. THAT'S UP TO YOU. COME. He turned back and started to walk again.
"But there's no guarantee I'll end up somewhere I like, is there?" said Tom to the empty room. Death realised from the volume of the man's voice that he hadn't moved an inch, and walked back to the threshold. "I think what we should do before we go anywhere untoward, is stock up on a little courage. Of the liquid variety. Wouldn't you say?" Tom grinned widely at Death.

# ? Jun 3, 2016 08:29

CobiWann: Oct 21, 2009; Have fun!

Did someone say Baker?

https://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/happy-doctor-who-birthday---colin-baker

# ? Jun 3, 2016 11:52

Box of Bunnies: Apr 3, 2012; by Pragmatica

CobiWann posted:

Did someone say Baker?

https://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/happy-doctor-who-birthday---colin-baker

I only have The Wrong Doctors from this lot. I thought I had Legend of the Cybermen as well, but after checking my account it's actually the later Six/Jamie/Cybermen story, Last of the Cybermen, that I have instead.

Tempted to just grab the lot. I'm always keen for more C. Bakes and Fraze together, am interested in seeing (hearing) Mel get the Big Finish rehabilitation treatment, and then just throwing the last few on because you can never have enough Colin Baker.

# ? Jun 3, 2016 12:04

CobiWann: Oct 21, 2009; Have fun!

Box of Bunnies posted:

I only have The Wrong Doctors from this lot. I thought I had Legend of the Cybermen as well, but after checking my account it's actually the later Six/Jamie/Cybermen story, Last of the Cybermen, that I have instead.

Tempted to just grab the lot. I'm always keen for more C. Bakes and Fraze together, am interested in seeing (hearing) Mel get the Big Finish rehabilitation treatment, and then just throwing the last few on because you can never have enough Colin Baker.

I can safely say Mel is much more tolerable and actually quite enjoyable with Big Finish. It helps that in all the audios I've heard with her, we only get the "Mel Scream" once and that's during Thicker Than Water when the bad guy throws her down a lift shaft.

# ? Jun 3, 2016 14:11

Davros1: Jul 19, 2007; You've got to admit, you are kind of implausible

They're all good selections, except Antidote to Oblivion.

# ? Jun 3, 2016 14:29

Jerusalem: May 20, 2004; Would you be my new best friends?

Zaroff posted:

Hasn't Tom always been like this though? I seem to remember years ago him saying he has his tombstone as a coffee table or something...

Yeah, as long as I've been able to read/listen to interviews about Tom, he's always come across as rather cheekily morbid.

CobiWann posted:

Did someone say Baker?

https://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/happy-doctor-who-birthday---colin-baker

Niiiiice. More for the stockpile :getin:

# ? Jun 4, 2016 01:50

Issaries: Sep 15, 2008; "At the end of the day
We are all human beings
My father once told me that
The world has no borders"

My pile needs more balancing. Lot of Five left, with a dash of Six and Seven. Not a single Eight nor Four left.

# ? Jun 4, 2016 07:05

CobiWann: Oct 21, 2009; Have fun!

So John Barrowman (good naturedly) groped my wife (who was dressed as Speedy) at AwesomeCon and my stepdaughter (dressed as Felicity) hit him with her purse...

# ? Jun 4, 2016 22:25

Jerusalem: May 20, 2004; Would you be my new best friends?

Did he explain to her it was all right because he thought it was his daughter he was groping? :crossarms:

# ? Jun 5, 2016 01:34

CobiWann: Oct 21, 2009; Have fun!

Jerusalem posted:

Did he explain to her it was all right because he thought it was his daughter he was groping?

My wife didn't mind.

# ? Jun 5, 2016 03:11

Jerusalem: May 20, 2004; Would you be my new best friends?

Short Synopsis: A slightly mad old man invites his family around for Christmas Dinner to meet the hot young lady he's living with now.

Long Synopsis: The Doctor attempts to make up for Lucie Miller's terrible last Christmas AND do some family bonding at the same time with his granddaughter and great-grandson. As problems keep cropping up the Doctor is determined to ignore them in pursuit of a perfect Christmas... as well as make a play for a new companion.

What's Good:

The monster. The creature makes its presence felt early in the story but the writer - Marc Platt - does a very good job of only giving (audio) glimpses of it, short descriptions or signs of its passing. Even when it finally arrives, we're still as in the dark about what it is as the characters themselves, and get to go along for the ride as they slowly figure out what it is and how it is doing what it is doing. This unfolds logically and sensibly, taking a fantastical creature and applying reasoning to it (within the internal logic of the Doctor Who universe at least) so that it not only seems "realistic" but is understandable as a thing that the Doctor would have no prior knowledge of without feeling forced. It is introduced, explained and dealt with in a way that holds together within the framework of the story being told.
The Holding Area. The Doctor has invited his granddaughter Susan onboard the TARDIS for Christmas Dinner and has prepared a very special gift for her (and is chuffed with the socks she got him, because nobody ever thinks to buy socks for him - much to Lucie's chagrin, as her unopened present to him is also socks!). It's quite a heartwarming moment but also indicative of the Doctor's perhaps unhealthy inability to let things go - he has maintained her room in stasis since she left, exactly as it was when she traveled with him. She is touched, but things take a slightly more unsettling bent when Susan, Alex and Lucie end up in the Holding Area where the TARDIS maintains this stasis and they discover he has done the same with EVERY prior companion's room - from Ian, Barbara and Susan all the way up to the recently departed Tamsin. To make matters worse, he's also got a new room set up in there, one marked with Alex's name. It's a neat look at the good and bad sides of the Doctor and his obsessions - on the one hand it's so sweet that he remembers/honors every former companion, but on the other it feels unhealthy and somewhat detached, and the fact he's already set up a room for Alex who he barely knows is quite troubling (especially in conjunction with some of his other actions throughout the story).
The Doctor's pigheadedness. The Doctor is known for being open-minded, so it stands out quite clearly in this story where he feels particularly locked down to a particular way of thinking/acting. He is so determined that things are going to be a certain way that he refuses to accept or deal with anything that runs contrary to that. He won't tell Lucie the nature of his relationship to Susan and Alex because he wants it to be a surprise, he insists that Alex wants to explore and adventure, that he has telepathy, that he is essentially just like himself. He shuts down discussion of the odd things happening in the TARDIS because he wants a cosy Christmas dinner so just pretends the problems aren't there, going so far as to lock one room down into stasis so he can "deal with it later". He openly admits as much to Lucie later, saying he is fully aware of all the problems but is just refusing to pay them any heed, even if it potentially means his own prophesized death will the result. Even when he is in a life-or-death situation he insists on trying to telepathically connect with Alex to solve the problem, and when he can only reach Susan instead of relaying instructions through he he insists she "pass him over" to Alex because he can't accept the fact that Alex is almost entirely human and has none of the special abilities that himself or Susan do. At one point he admits that he is acting illogically and foolishly and angrily blames it on the TARDIS intruder, only to have it quite sweetly explained that this isn't due to some external force but because it's Christmas and people get this way at Christmas - especially when they're trying to make everything "perfect" and reality isn't falling into line.
The "First" Christmas story. There is a rather lovely interlude where the Doctor recounts the story of the time Leonardo DaVinci begged to be taken to the "first" Christmas so he could do a more "true" rendition of the Adoration. Religious events like this are a very difficult thing to write for without feeling awkward, insulting or offensive but this is handled about as well as is possible. The Doctor tells the story of how he tracked down the most likely date (December 25th being a pre-existing ritual date co-opted by Christianity) and then he and Leonadro traveled through Bethleham looking for an Inn with a manger. How they finally found it, and as they approached closer and closer Leonardo became more and more nervous until finally he snapped and insisted he could go no further. The Doctor is cut off before he can say whether Leonardo feared seeing Christ or (far worse for him) seeing nothing, thus neatly avoiding coming down one way or the other in favor of a particular religion. It's a nice little humanizing story that also manages to avoid being offensive or insulting, handling the subject far better than the aborted story the 10th Doctor tells in Planet of the Dead.
What do you get an 18 year old boy for Christmas? The Doctor asks this question early in the story and Lucie sarcastically notes that he probably doesn't want an answer. What Alex eventually gets is probably the dream of most 18-year-old boys though, even if that connection goes unremarked upon. It got a good laugh out of me at least - What do you get an 18 year old boy for Christmas? A pretty blonde to travel around Europe with is probably high on the list of most people's answers.

What's Not:

The Follow-up to An Earthly Child. That special story showcased a world struggling to rebuild in the wake of The Dalek Invasion of Earth, a world of xenophobia, fear of technology, with disparate political elements trying to take advantage for their own political gain. It was a story that featured a less than optimal outcome for the Doctor's relationship with Alex, one that seemed more to favor the xenophobic elements of the society than Susan's own well-intentioned desires for expansion and an embrace of alien cultures. It also dropped the bombshell of revealing Susan and Alex's own extra-terrestrial origins. But almost all of that is just ignored or glossed over in this story. It's only been six months, but apparently earth is already quickly progressing and has made contact with other intergalactic species (with some prompting on the other end of things by the Doctor), and apparently not a single person (including the violent anarchist groups) have cared at all about Susan and Alex's status. Alex has gone from sullen and unable to deal with the revelations about his mother and Great-Grandfather to a standard mother/son relationship and a mildly bemused reaction to the Doctor as a person. Also he's out of nowhere become passionate about architecture, primarily because it suited the story for him to have this kind of interest.
Jake/Alex. Just like in that previous story, Jake McGann's performance feels flat in anything that involves a strong emotional reaction (positive or negative) beyond bemused snarkiness. The character of Alex is such a blank slate that it is difficult to really get a sense of how he should act/react in particular situations, outside of being sullen and immature which - while a reasonable approximation of a teenager - doesn't exactly make for compelling listening. Lucie is established, and even if Susan had never been seen before by listeners in her original television run the writer is at least familiar with the character AND Carole Ann Ford can draw on her prior experience in the role to inform her performance. Alex briefly appears as a secondary character in a short one-off special and then again in this story, but he's too big a character to really work with so little foundation. You need a reason beyond,"He's the kid of an established character" to care about him or buy the Doctor's interest in him.
The abrupt ending. While the "monster" is dealt with in a logical and satisfying fashion, once that main threat is ended the story wraps up abruptly, but it does so with some pretty massive shake-ups of the established status quo that feel like they needed more room to breathe. The revelations of Alex's genetic make-up and the Doctor's acceptance of his "limitations", the goodbye to Susan, the decision Lucie comes to, the relationship between two of the characters.... it feels like half a story worth of material jammed into the space of a couple of minutes and then suddenly it's all over. The result is unsatisfying, which is disappointing because the actual resolution of the main threat was handled so well.

Final Thoughts:

Relative Dimensions is a solid story that does some things very well but is unsatisfying in others. As a follow-up to the special that introduced the character of Alex, it essentially negates much of what happened in that story. The more interesting familial aspects of the story, the Doctor's obsession, Alex's place in the universe, Susan dealing with her feelings on her departure from the TARDIS etc, don't really get the resolution they deserve. But on the other hand, the central threat of the story is handled expertly, with the resolution well telegraphed, the pacing nailed down just right, and each of the four central characters is put into a position to have a real impact on resolving the threat. There is good chemistry between McGann and Ford, Ford and Smith, and though I've criticized his flatness, in the moments where Alex is just being an ordinary teenager the chemistry between him and the other characters works too. It's just that the story kind of asks for more emotional resonance than it deserves, tries to give depth to a still shallow character that the listeners don't have any real reason to care about, and it wraps things up far too abruptly character wise considering how much it changes up the status quo for the Eighth Doctor Adventures. It is a nice island in the midst of the overall season arc of this fourth season of the EDAs though, it feels like the Christmas Special it is - something fun and enjoyable to listen to that mostly stands apart from the stories around it, to be enjoyed in its own right.

# ? Jun 5, 2016 05:28

Tim Burns Effect: Apr 1, 2011

So I was poking around on Audible the other day after noticing I had a few free credits, and it turns out they have quite a few audiobooks read by Doctor Who actors, both classic and new. Would anybody else in this thread be interested in a masterpost of said audiobooks or is that another one of those things nobody cares about but me

# ? Jun 6, 2016 22:22

Jerusalem: May 20, 2004; Would you be my new best friends?

Are they audiobooks of old Doctor Who stories, or "just" audiobooks on a variety of subjects that happen to have Who actors narrating them?

More importantly, does India Fisher read anything? Because I could listen to her read pretty much anything :allears:

# ? Jun 6, 2016 23:01

Tim Burns Effect: Apr 1, 2011

Jerusalem posted:

Are they audiobooks of old Doctor Who stories, or "just" audiobooks on a variety of subjects that happen to have Who actors narrating them?

More importantly, does India Fisher read anything? Because I could listen to her read pretty much anything

Both actually, there are quite a few of the TV series novelizations read by Tom Baker. Also Christopher Benjamin reads The Talons of Weng Chiang :allears:

. I was referring to non-DW audiobooks though.

Also there's a whole series of short kids books read by India Fisher called Spy Dog.

# ? Jun 7, 2016 00:31

Jerusalem: May 20, 2004; Would you be my new best friends?

Well okay.... maybe not anything.... :sweatdrop:

# ? Jun 7, 2016 01:40

TL: Jan 16, 2006; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world; Fallen Rib

I used to have a Tenth Doctor audiobook read by David Tennant featuring him doing an amazing impression of Mickey. It always made me laugh.

# ? Jun 7, 2016 04:13

Astroman: Apr 8, 2001

http://www.denofgeek.com/uk/tv/doctor-who/41162/paul-mcgann-on-doctor-who-it-feels-like-it-ain-t-quite-over

quote:

Still holding your breath for more Paul McGann live-action Doctor Who? So is he, by the sounds of it...
It�s that time of year again when someone asks Paul McGann - star of the 1996 Doctor Who TV movie and the much-adored 2013 short The Night Of The Doctor - if he thinks he�ll ever play the Eighth Doctor in the live-action realm again. This time, the honour of asking fell to Doctor Who Magazine.

�We�ve all got a shelf life�, McGann admitted, before adding �It�s not going to go on forever. I�m in the slightly unusual position, even from McCoy and Colin Baker in that, with the Eighth [Doctor], it feels like there�s still a bit of potential. It feels like it ain�t quite over� Often we�re subject to rumours, and rumours are only ever rumours. But because I came back to do the Doctor, it was all the proof these fans needed that there�s still life in this thing.�

�I�m not that different. It�s only 20 years since we made the pilot�, he added. �And I�m younger than Capaldi, not by much, but I am. What am I doing?! I�m not trying to talk myself into a job!�

Upon being asked asked about the fan petitions for an Eighth Doctor spin-off series, McGann said this: �I don�t think I�ve ever said this, but I�ll say it now� part of me wouldn�t mind at all.�

�The material would have to work, like The Night Of The Doctor worked. That was clever and in-keeping. It would be pointless to come back and do something just for the sake of doing it. First and foremost, it would have to be a good acting job, to merit it. It�ll probably never happen, of course! It�s always probably never going to happen! But certainly if it did, I would��

I also finally got around to getting the 10th Doctor audios! I've only just listened to Technophobia, but so far so good! A fairly straightforward story, but a very clever(and frightening) concept, and it's great to hear David and Catherine back together again. As soon as the theme hit I was thinking OH MY GOD, IT'S THE 10TH DOCTOR ON BIG FINISH THIS IS REAL HOLY poo poo! :dance:

It was a moment I had always wanted since I started listening to Big FInish, but I was never absolutely sure would happen (though as I suspected, from the Nick Briggs anecdote in the Behind The Scenes, David Tennant was sure years ago and very eager to get on with it!)

# ? Jun 7, 2016 04:30

Jerusalem: May 20, 2004; Would you be my new best friends?

Moffat should pit Gatiss and Chibnall against each other by creating an 8th Doctor Adventure TV series showrun by Gatiss to run in the off-season when the 12th Doctor isn't on :colbert:

# ? Jun 7, 2016 04:33

Astroman: Apr 8, 2001

Jerusalem posted:

Moffat should pit Gatiss and Chibnall against each other by creating an 8th Doctor Adventure TV series showrun by Gatiss to run in the off-season when the 12th Doctor isn't on

So Fear the Walking 8th Doctor then?

# ? Jun 7, 2016 04:41

Jerusalem: May 20, 2004; Would you be my new best friends?

Astroman posted:

So Fear the Walking 8th Doctor then?

Well, I've heard that's a pretty terrible show, so hopefully not quite the same!

# ? Jun 7, 2016 04:43

Edward Mass: Sep 14, 2011; 𝅘𝅥𝅮 I wanna go home with the armadillo
Good country music from Amarillo and Abilene
Friendliest people and the prettiest women you've ever seen𝅘𝅥𝅮

I don't think anyone nice should Fear the Walking 8th Doctor.

# ? Jun 7, 2016 04:53

Box of Bunnies: Apr 3, 2012; by Pragmatica

Astroman posted:

So Fear the Walking 8th Doctor then?

A show that promises to be about the Eighth Doctor but then timeskips past the interesting part of its premise and is just Ninth Doctor reruns? :v:

# ? Jun 7, 2016 04:54

The_Doctor: Mar 29, 2007; "The entire history of this incarnation is one of temporal orbits, retcons, paradoxes, parallel time lines, reiterations, and divergences. How anyone can make head or tail of all this chaos, I don't know."

Astroman posted:

So Fear the Walking 8th Doctor then?

Please. Agent Doctor.

# ? Jun 7, 2016 09:15

CobiWann: Oct 21, 2009; Have fun!

The_Doctor posted:

Please. Agent Doctor.

Pinky and the Doctor.

# ? Jun 7, 2016 09:57

Sieje: Jun 29, 2004; My doctor says that I have a malformed public-duty gland and a natural deficiency in moral fibre and that I am therefore excused from saving universes.

The_Doctor posted:

Please. Agent Doctor.

I now want Haley Atwell playing the Zeroth Doctor set in post WWII fighting communist Cybermen and Nazi Daleks as she works to create Unit.

# ? Jun 7, 2016 11:58

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# ? Jun 7, 2024 17:33

Jerusalem: May 20, 2004; Would you be my new best friends?

CobiWann posted:

Pinky and the Doctor.

♪ It's Solon and the Brain, Solon and the Brain! One is a genius, the other's.... a brain! ♪

# ? Jun 7, 2016 11:59

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > TV IV > Doctor Who: "I've finally run out of corridor...there's a life summed up."

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