#1 26-11-19 05:46:33

_redbird_

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Registered: 22-04-16

Posts: 388

Doctor Who fans - raise your hands please

Surely I'm not incorrect or alone in stating that Doctor Who is the greatest show to ever have existed. I love this show so much that I cry when I talk about it, even if I'm not mentioning a sad moment. I love this show so much that I think about it every single day. I love this show so much that my heart skips a beat when I think about it (especially if those thoughts involve Peter Capaldi or Jon Pertwee). I love this show so much that I threw up every day from nerves for an entire week before meeting three of the cast members. I love this show so much that if it ever got cancelled again I would be devastated more than is probably appropriate.

I'm so excited for season 12 that I was obsessively checking the BBC instagram every hour until they aired the trailer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkEB0ysv7sM

Miriam_R

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Registered: 22-01-18

Posts: 96

Re: Doctor Who fans - raise your hands please

You make my heart hurt from joy Red bird. You are too wholesome for words. I love you

_redbird_

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Registered: 22-04-16

Posts: 388

Re: Doctor Who fans - raise your hands please

Awwww Miriam fuck I love you! My heart skipped a beat when I saw you'd commented because I immediately thought of all the conversations we could be having about it. But instead you were just saying super nice things to me...

It's so difficult to find like-minded Whovians that can see the merit in old AND new Who, and after Star Wars it's probably the most toxic fan base there is. I can't even join the Melbourne Doctor Who fan group, as they're a tad on the elitist side. "Oh I'm sorry, you haven't absorbed literally every possible form of Doctor Who media available? TOURIST!!"

viva

pretty pretty princess

Registered: 14-05-10

Posts: 4,113

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Re: Doctor Who fans - raise your hands please

I never who'd because it just seems too big to even wrap my head around! I wouldn't ever have star trek'd either for the same reason, but my boyfriend held my hand and led me straight to Picard, and I never looked back <3

_redbird_

Member

Registered: 22-04-16

Posts: 388

Re: Doctor Who fans - raise your hands please

That's completely fair, and I felt the same way about DW when I first decided to tackle the classic series. I got my partner into new Who and when I wanted to see the old series we looked up the best way to do it, and almost everything we found just suggested buying the available DVDs and watching the Who Recons, the latter of which are fan made animated videos on Youtube that use the surviving audio from the missing episodes of the first two Doctors. Thankfully the BBC is commissioning animators to make recreations of the episodes but progress is slllllooowwwww and they haven't even gotten through half of the missing episodes yet. I will eventually get into the Big Finish audio series, but I've still not even finished the third Doctor's run yet.

But yeah, I'm not going to pretend it was easy watching the Who recons, as the animation is pretty awful and it can be difficult to tell what's happening quite often and I found myself having to look up an episode synopsis so I could properly work out what I just saw. Also the show suffered from pacing issues a LOT, and stories that could easily just go for 3 or 4 episodes would drag on to 8-10. Due to the time period in which it was released, there's the occasional cringe-inducing racist and/or sexist portrayal of characters, however these are a lot less frequent than I was expecting and it was actually quite progressive for its time, with some really excellent female characters frequently featuring.

People bag out the new series by saying that it's too political and preachy but it was always like that. I've seen episodes that have very unsubtly commented on the Vietnam war, the environment, the women's movement, apartheid, religion, and genocide to name a few. It's handled really well for the mostpart, and I've been so impressed with that element of the show.

If you want to get into it, I suggest starting with the new series, or if the first episode feels like too much ham and camp (and just a bit too early 2000'sey) I highly recommend the episode "Dalek" which is the 6th episode of Series 1. Christopher Eccleston is particularly incredible here and its a great example and introduction of all that Doctor Who is about. Another good jumping off point is "Vincent and the Doctor" from Series 5, episode 10 which is just an insanely beautiful bit of television and I don't think you even need to have seen Doctor Who before to enjoy it.

perfectlysexy

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Registered: 05-06-18

Posts: 47

Re: Doctor Who fans - raise your hands please

I think you have the right advice redbird. I have found that when someone feels overwhelmed by a show with a lot of material and a fan base the solution is... curation. I have curated Star Trek TNG, Star Trek DS9, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I think the key is to put together a list of episodes that best exemplifies the feel of the show. If someone falls in love with it they can always go back and watch it all. But they will never fall in love with it if they never see it...

And I'm not raising my hand. I've seen some DW episodes I've liked but I haven't chosen to dive in.

_redbird_

Member

Registered: 22-04-16

Posts: 388

Re: Doctor Who fans - raise your hands please

I think you have the right advice redbird. I have found that when someone feels overwhelmed by a show with a lot of material and a fan base the solution is... curation. I have curated Star Trek TNG, Star Trek DS9, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I think the key is to put together a list of episodes that best exemplifies the feel of the show. If someone falls in love with it they can always go back and watch it all. But they will never fall in love with it if they never see it...

And I'm not raising my hand. I've seen some DW episodes I've liked but I haven't chosen to dive in.

Ooh yes Star Trek is much the same! There's just so much of it. My best friend growing up was obsessed with Star Trek so I got to see episodes she'd show me, and while I enjoyed the classic series I found that Next Gen was my jam. One day I'll watch all of the Star Treks, but I'm determined to watch all of classic Who before I start any other shows (binging trash shows on Netflix doesn't count).

Have you read the Buffy comics? I love that they continued the series via book, although I've only read season 8 and half of 9. Gotta get onto that too! Gah, so much sci-fi to get through...it's a good thing I rarely leave the house.

viva

pretty pretty princess

Registered: 14-05-10

Posts: 4,113

Website

Re: Doctor Who fans - raise your hands please

I have all the buffy comics (or did as of like 3 years ago, maybe theres more now) if you want to borrow!

I want the avatar the last airbender comics.. ultranerd.

Miriam_R

Member

Registered: 22-01-18

Posts: 96

Re: Doctor Who fans - raise your hands please

Oooh Buffy is on Stan now, and I am gonna binge that hard haha
And yes Viva! I really want the Avatar the last airbender comics too! And Legend of Korra Comics, because who doesnt love some cute girl girl romance in a fantasy world *sigh*

viva

pretty pretty princess

Registered: 14-05-10

Posts: 4,113

Website

Re: Doctor Who fans - raise your hands please

I know! just one big sweet barely there reveal at the end of the whole series... we want a KISS.

Howland

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Registered: 19-03-15

Posts: 259

Re: Doctor Who fans - raise your hands please

My first encounter with Doctor Who was the film Doctor Who and the Daleks, which I really, really did not like, especially the Daleks, who were boring and predictable (“Ex-ter-min-ate! Ex-ter-min-ate!” … yeah, real subtle there, guys). Plus they looked like overgrown salt shakers. So, not a Doctor Who fan at first.

But then when the new series came out, with Christopher Eccleston, whom I like, I eventually gave it a try. And it was good! So I watched the rest of them, up through season 7. (I know there are more now, but I haven’t gotten to them yet.) My favorite seasons are 5 through the first half of 7: that is, the Matt Smith/Amy Pond ones. The arcs are compelling and some episodes were quite moving – and Amy is hella cute. (I don’t know if anyone watches Marvel-universe movies, but it’s pretty funny seeing sweet Karen Gillan play a killer cyborg in a perpetual cold fury.)

I still feel that way about the Daleks though. The Weeping Angels are another story – now that’s creepy!