Doctor Who

People have occasionally said to me, "Okkervil, you like all that there sci-fi stuff, you must be a Doctor Who fan?". I then have to remind them it's because I do like sci-fi that I don't like Doctor Who! True, there are a few strong classic old episodes, and I didn't mind Ecclestone. But by-and-large the writing has always been shit, the support casting dubious, the concepts shaky and the production values amateur drama club.

I've only really seen the third, fourth and fifth doctors, and I've seen nothing at all from the 21st century. For me the pinnacle of this children's program was "City of Death" (1979), with Tom Baker (the best doctor), Lalla Ward (the second Romana and the best companion) and John Cleese (in a humorous cameo), and written by Douglas Adams: exquisite, absolutely exquisite.

Obviously not as strong as the 2005 revival, but if you're a fan of the new series, it's worth checking out. Unfortunately due to missing stories it can be difficult to get a complete picture, although there are audio versions out there with production stills, or animated reconstructions. Not as strong production or acting wise, but there are some good doctors included here that you wouldn't want to miss out on. Long series, but it's mostly a fun time.

As the longest running sci TV series Doctor Who has is bad stories but they are far outnumbered by the good.

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[Watched 27 episodes] I've only watched at the moment the first arcs (until Keys of Marinus, not even a 4% of the series) and certainly didn't find any good reason to continue. I like the first one (An Unearthly Child), but the rest... I've always thought about watching just the most important arcs but didn't find the courage yet. I like the concept, the idea, but was horribly made. But of course, bearing in mind how many episodes I've watched (27 out of 695), take it with a pinch of salt.

A show that changed, again and again, is hard to rank. But I'm putting it high because the sheer density of wonderful mad ideas is something that's hard to beat. So many fascinating stories, so many characters, so many good performances - colorful and thoughtful and utterly weird. So many episodes that were bad except for the really good and amazing parts, the parts that made them immortal despite their flaws. I love it still.

Even as child this was garbage, can totally understand why the McCoy run got it cancelled. The tele-movies were much better than this.

The new incarnation is undoubtedly entertaining, as was the Tom Baker series, but the rest of it is at times nearly unwatchable in its cheesiness and poor writing, thus lowering the score.

At its best Doctor Who is one of the scariest, most thrilling adventures ever put on the small screen. I feel though at this present time it needs a change in direction as it's hit a period of stagnation in my opinion.