I also disagree in that the earlier Dr. Who shows were boring or drawn out and worse than the current self contained shows. Really, I'm not sure how I'm going to like the "new" Who but I will give it a shot.
Seriously, I think the original shows had some of the best SCI-FI writing you will find anywhere and a lot of that appeal was the time they took to tell the story. They may not have had the budget to work with, but frankly I could care less about the effects. Some of the best around was from the middle of the 3rd Doctor all the way through the 4th Doctor (Tom Baker). A lot of the shows were 4-8 parts per show and were absolutly superb in the story telling.
What's missing today is the lack story telling and people wanting to be wowed every darn second or have lots of effects. That's not what impresses me nor is it what the original Who was about, they were story driven. Take for example the new Star Wars movies, I was bored beyond belief with all 3 chapters. Effects no longer wow me since you can now practically do anything you want. It's the story and character development I care most about now.
I only hope some writers will take a que from past Who and start to do story arc shows. That's when Who will shine and no, self contained shows don't cut it. It's not like American SCI-FI for the most part and that's what made the original shows so unique and worth watching. I will continue with the new ones just to see how things go and hope for the best since at least it's back on the air.
Keep watching you will a lot more impressed by this series than the last three Star Wars movies and just because there arent 4-6 episode stories does not mean they are not good. I grew up watching the show in the 80's (4th and 5th Doctors) and loved the story telling too I just think that the times have changed and you need to change with the times. These stories are successful and I think you will find this out if you give the show a chance. It starts a bit bumpy but they find their way fairly quickly.
Story telling techniques have changed to fit stories into 40 minute chunks, to pander to casual viewers and to cater to the ADD generation.
I like story telling. I like LOTR as a book. I like Dune as a book. I like knowing the detail and the setup behind the plot and characters motivations. I love the HP books and only tolerate the films because they are lacking in story telling IMO.
If the new series never moves past single episodic story telling then that will be sad.
Uh... No. As a whole, stories seem to have gotten much longer and more serial, especially for genre productions. The short story in print is much harder to find, films end on a set-up for sequels rather than being self-contained, and while there are a lot of procedurals on TV, few are static worlds any more.
From what I've read, the new Doctor Who isn't serial like the old one, but it's not Law & Order, either: It's cumulative, with hints and events throughout the series paying off at the end. Which, in general, is the way I tend to like it: A solid story with a beginning, middle, and end every week that fits into a larger story when you step back and view the series/season as a whole.
This is true. Stories may be self contained but plot details are carried over and you get more character development in this one season that I remember the old Doctor Who ever having.
I dont think anyone ever said they didnt have time for them. I think Russell wanted to make a show that was true to the old show while picking up the pace a bit. There's nothing wrong with that. You seem a bit peeved and you have not viewed all of the episodes yet. If after you have seen them all and still don't think the shorter stories are a good idea then I'll understand.
yes, this is the _first_ series of the new doctor who, the same one that aired in canada and the uk and is now on dvd in both.
and nextly, yes, they are primarily self-contained stories, but as a whole across the season, the stories do reference themselves leading up to the season finale. and there are lots of hints strewn throughout the backgrounds of many of the episodes for what's happening in the last one.
personally, i just hope that we here in north america get a chance to see the 'children in need' short that fits between the last episode of the first season and the christmas special. *sigh*
anyhow, stick with it. it isn't the storytelling style of the old classic doctor who, but it still works very well.
I'll watch all the episodes for sure. I really enjoyed the longer stories so I was just raising as a discussion point. I saw enough in the first 2 episodes to make it worth a season. If I hadn't I would propably stick at it any way given my childhood love of Dr Who anyway.
Do we know if the Christmas special will be available to us in the US or does it not affect continuity?
I think the Christmas Special will be part of Season 2 since it is not on the Box Set I just got. There was a 15 minute episode that you could get on the net too that bridged the gap between Series one and Series two also. I am guessing that will be on the Series two boxset. Anyone know what the ratings were for last friday's episodes? If they ratings are good Sci Fi will carry Series two as well.
Ah yes, but bear in mind there was also an interactive episode (lasting circa 15 minutes) that was shown on BBC digital for a couple of hours after the Christmas special. I was sad enough to play (and record) all the permutations of it.
So no, you could pick up any episode of the season (well, perhaps not Bad Wolf/The Parting of Ways) and watch comfortably, there's a very tangable reward for watching and paying attention for the whole season.
They mention something to that effect in the new series as well.Rose asks if they can just go back and stop the Daleks from destroying mankind and explains that they can not do that and the reasons why.
I've always found the regeneration episodes slow and plodding. They always need to do the same things (Doctor is unconcious, Doctor wakes up, makes fun of his appearance, he chooses an outfit, his companions don't know what's going on, he saves the world somehow without realizing it) so they've basically run out of ideas for them.