Dr. Who, could someone explain the deal with it to me?

[MagicMouse]

Fun
Witty
Epic
Adventurous
Interesting
Sad
Deep
Cheesy

These are all words that I would use to describe the show.

 

[octafish]

Would you like a Jelly Baby? I like it because I have always liked the Doctor, ever since I was a wee tacker, Tom Baker is the Doctor to me but that is just because he is from my era (Oh and he had Leela as a companion). I just wish they would bring back the classic theme, I hate this new version.

 

[adamtm]

The main appeal of Dr.Who is that it keeps the golden-age feel of TV sci fi. You know, the Flash Gordon, Perry Rhodan, Raumpatroullie Orion. The 2005 series did give it a slight paintjob, but for the better.

I was horrified when i saw the new doctor promo-stills. I thought:

"Oh no! They -updated- the series into teen, gritty, emo drama!"

But i was wrong, everything is as usual.

If you never liked golden age TV sci-fi, or cant find the appeal in cheesy but epic and thought provoking plots, don't watch it.
Its not Battlestar Galactica or Babylon 5.

Dr.Who is like Charlies Chocolate Factory, crazy and sometimes creepy, but mostly a load of fun.

I appreciate it exactly for that. I have had enough "serious" Sci-Fi since neoBSG made the fad that everything needs to be shaky-cam and rusty.
I miss shows like Stargate Atlantis or Farscape that were just really good old fashioned fun!

 

[Cowabungaa]

it just has a big B-Movie feel to me. It's cheesy

There you go, that's the reason why. It's something different from the typical gritty stuff you get nowadays. Mostly it's just mad, ridiculous, adventurous fun.

I appreciate it exactly for that. I have had enough "serious" Sci-Fi since neoBSG made the fad that everything needs to be shaky-cam and rusty.
I miss shows like Stargate Atlantis or Farscape that were just really good old fashioned fun!

At least Battlestar did serious sci-fi justice, and hów, but when more shows started to copy the style...yeah. Take Stargate Universe for example. SG1 and Atlantis were, mostly, cheesy fun. Going all space-drama doesn't fit at all in the Stargate universe.

 

[Mr Pantomime]

LOL, I dont really watch it, but each episode I do is amazing

 

[TimeLord]

*arrives*

Everything everybody says above and more

There isn't anything like it.

A 900 year old time travelling alien genius with 2 hearts and can die 12 times, that flies around time and space picking up random humans as companions, then saving the earth and the universe umpteen million times!

Tell me something about that sentence that you don't like

 

[WolfThomas]

It's a show that can be enjoyed by everyone in the family at once, it has humour, suspense and action.

 

[ldwater]

Its a British thing that has alot of people blinded by nostalgia (and yes I am British)

The old toilet brush trash can look was from the 70s & 80s when it was first out and (at the time) looked good.

The whole 'changing face' thing is just a machanic they employ so that when an actor gets bored of being the Doctor they can replace him with another actor and not have to worry about cannon.

Personally I don't get it much either - just seems like another boring 'monster of the week' show.

 

[ImprovizoR]

I dont see why this show is as big as it is, could someone help me out?

From what i get, a guy that changes faces every season so the studio can save money goes through time to fight what looks like trash cans with egg beaters and a head cannon on it, i know its wrong but htats about all i got, so please help me out.

I only watched it because of that hot chick Billie Piper. But the show itself is pretty stupid to me. Sorry Dr.Who fans, this is just my humble opinion.

 

[YouShouldDeleteThisAccount]

I used to like it when I was younger, not so much anymore.

It's had many different writers over time, and the quality and style of the episodes show it. Some episodes are really good, sometimes there's things that are very funny.

Sometimes it's hyper-cliche and cheesy, and annoys me endlessly.

See the episode "Blink". Blink is good.

 

[adamtm]

it just has a big B-Movie feel to me. It's cheesy

There you go, that's the reason why. It's something different from the typical gritty stuff you get nowadays. Mostly it's just mad, ridiculous, adventurous fun.

I appreciate it exactly for that. I have had enough "serious" Sci-Fi since neoBSG made the fad that everything needs to be shaky-cam and rusty.
I miss shows like Stargate Atlantis or Farscape that were just really good old fashioned fun!

At least Battlestar did serious sci-fi justice, and hów, but when more shows started to copy the style...yeah. Take Stargate Universe for example. SG1 and Atlantis were, mostly, cheesy fun. Going all space-drama doesn't fit at all in the Stargate universe.

Agreed, BSG was slightly over the top with its grittieness at times but at least it made sense to be that way. SGU is total dung with overly dramatic acting and contrived "dangers". It really is Stargate 90210 (the episode Earth is a prime example).

I really like my sci-fi adventures to be about ADVENTURE and FUN. The more crazy and fun, the better. SGA had the best cast in history, i mean look at the chemistry between Sheppard and McKay at cons, they are not just actors, they are friends. Same with Jackson and Tealc.

Its just a blast to see actors enjoying themselves in a show, if you can really feel that they are having fun, the quality of their performance goes up by 831029380%

And certainly Dr.Who is no different, the actors dont phone in their scripts, they put everything into it, because its major entertainment.

Also, and this is another quality of Dr.Who, it can switch immediately from cheesy fun to SERIOUS DRAMA without loosing any of its momentum.
Examples of this are:
Voyage of the damned- Its all fun and games until you piss the doctor off ("I'm the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord. I'm from the planet Gallifrey in the Constellation of Kasterborous. I'm 903 years old and I'm the man who is gonna save your lives and all 6 billion people on the planet below. You got a problem with that?")

Waters of Mars: Great ending how he tries to change a fixed point in time and space and almost becomes as crazy as the Master. I found him genuinely creepy when he went on his little power-trip.

The Beast Below: Great reminder for us why The Doctor NEEDS a human companion, hes not infallible. Also him admitting to his mistake and realizing his need for a companion is prime character development.

 

[Quaxar]

Why don't you just watch it and see for yourself if you like the show? Start with the first 2005 episode ("Rose") and continue as normal. Much easier.

 

[electric discordian]

I dont see why this show is as big as it is, could someone help me out?

From what i get, a guy that changes faces every season so the studio can save money goes through time to fight what looks like trash cans with egg beaters and a head cannon on it, i know its wrong but htats about all i got, so please help me out.

I only watched it because of that hot chick Billie Piper. But the show itself is pretty stupid to me. Sorry Dr.Who fans, this is just my humble opinion.

But to be fair your Avatar is from the series with the worst ending in Television history! Even Space Above and Beyond which left on an unintentional cliffhanger did not end as badly! Don't get me wrong I love Lost I love Dr Who.

That may have come across as a bit trolly! As an answer to the topic, Dr Who is brilliant because it is a cultural phenomenon. It looks cheap because the BBC make it, be glad it still exists at all as they wanted to destroy it completely in the early nineties!

It may be a bit "campy" in places but I still put that down to RTD's influence, the original DR Who stuff was campy but it was not aware of it. The recent Doctors have been intentionally campy and post modern.

 

[PoliceBox63]

I dont see why this show is as big as it is, could someone help me out?

From what i get, a guy that changes faces every season so the studio can save money goes through time to fight what looks like trash cans with egg beaters and a head cannon on it, i know its wrong but htats about all i got, so please help me out.

How about you watch a few seasons and come back to us.

 

[AgentNein]

I dont see why this show is as big as it is, could someone help me out?

From what i get, a guy that changes faces every season so the studio can save money goes through time to fight what looks like trash cans with egg beaters and a head cannon on it, i know its wrong but htats about all i got, so please help me out.

No, you've summed up Doctor Who quite well. And it's still glorious.