Doctor Who 2007, Episode 2: "The Shakespeare Code" (Spoilers Likely)

Mouseferatu said:

Cool, I'll definitely check that one out.

Incidentally, I must confess that I found the entire "Genesis of the Daleks" storyline a little slow and, dare I say it, boring at times. I liked a lot of it, don't get me wrong, and maybe it's just that I've grown too accustomed to modern notions of pacing (which have changed dramatically since the early 70s). But it just felt like a lot of it dragged.

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I second City of Death.

A lot (as in nearly all) of the classic Doctor Who's are slow. In some of them the Doctor doesn't turn up until halfway through the first episode.

My recommendations from the available DVDs (considering you want decent pacing):
Carnival of Monsters. Complex plot. Slow, but always with something going on.
Robots of Death.
Resurrection of the Daleks. People have mixed feelings about this. It's fast, confusing and (alledgedly, but I haven't counted) has a higher body count than Rambo. I like it, despite its faults.

Mouseferatu said:

Cool, I'll definitely check that one out.

Incidentally, I must confess that I found the entire "Genesis of the Daleks" storyline a little slow and, dare I say it, boring at times. I liked a lot of it, don't get me wrong, and maybe it's just that I've grown too accustomed to modern notions of pacing (which have changed dramatically since the early 70s). But it just felt like a lot of it dragged.

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Hello.

Actually, most of the 6 episodes from that time will probably make you think that. Those extra two episodes usually didn't add much and just dragged a few scenes out.

I would say early fourth doctor is good, but avoid the six episodes ones for now. Nearly any fifth doctor is good. For sixth, go with Trial of a Time Lord.

Nearly any of the seventh doctor is good. A few are more silly but most are good. However, it is a bit darker than usual.

Wow. Okay, that's probably not much help. I enjoy Dr Who as well, as you can tell. And I am not sure which are available on DVD. I also liked most of the third doctor and the sixth, who wasn't that popular.

I hope this helped in some way.

edg

Mouseferatu said:

Excellent. Then you can help me.

I need to know which of the old Doctor Who stories currently available on DVD are worth getting from Netflix, and which I can afford to give a miss. I've seen "Genesis of the Daleks," but that's the only Dr. Who storyline I've seen that didn't come from the new, modern incarnation.

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More information is required. What sort of stories do you like? What do you hate? The only Doctor Who I would absolutely not recommend is The Gunfighters -- perhaps the worst program in television history!


EDIT: From reading the above, I would add Image of the Fendahl, The Brain of Morbius, and The Green Death. The Invasion was finished with animation to complete the missing film footage (using the original soundtrack), and is interesting to compare with Rise of the Cybermen/Age of Steel. The second Doctor Who story ever, The Daleks, has a few D&D moments (going through caves, lake monster, jumping over a chasm), and is worth a look. The pacing of those original stories is, however, a lot slower than the current ones.

EDIT AGAIN: I might also add Survival and The Curse of Fenric, although the plot of that second one is convoluted enough that some find it difficult. BTW, Shakepeare comes up again in City of Death, where we learn that an earlier Doctor knew Shakespeare later in Shakespeare's life than when the 10th Doctor met him.

Mouseferatu said:

Cool, I'll definitely check that one out.

Incidentally, I must confess that I found the entire "Genesis of the Daleks" storyline a little slow and, dare I say it, boring at times. I liked a lot of it, don't get me wrong, and maybe it's just that I've grown too accustomed to modern notions of pacing (which have changed dramatically since the early 70s). But it just felt like a lot of it dragged.

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Finally! Someone who thinks the same way I do! I found Genesis of the Daleks a colossal bore as well! While it's interesting to see how the Daleks really came about, I dare say the execution left much to be desired. First off, there's the amount of useless filler that they put in to pad the thing out to 6 episodes. Ugh. Second, the dialogue is, forgive me for saying so, absolute crap. We're talking stuff that's on the same level as the Star Wars prequels. Third, these episodes lack the light touch and whimsiness that I come to associate with Tom Baker's Doctor. Here he's much too grim and a bit wishy washy for my taste. He's nothing like the dashing bohemian adventurer he would later become.

Sorry if I'm being a bit negative here, but Genesis left me dissapointed after watching it. It makes me wonder why fans rank it as one the greatest Doctor Who stories ever, when it's clearly not (in my view). The Daleks was a much better serial in my opinion.

Anyway, if you're worried about numb 70's pacing when watching City of Death, be at ease. The story moves along at a brisk pace despite some slow spots, and the dialogue is engaging and as I said, absolutely hilarious in some places. And it's only 4 episodes long.

Personally I liked the pacing of the earlier Doctors. I find the modern episodes way to rushed. give me 4-6 episode pacing any day.