Poll: Doctor Who isn't very good (My opinion) DO you think it is?

[Sylocat]

Um, it's a show about a man traveling through space and time in a 1950s Police Box and fighting aliens, and the radiation-proof glass is what you had a scientific problem with? It's a show that you watch for the characters and the adventure, not the science (oh, and nothing in that show is less realistic than Star Trek).

Seriously, though, it's a great show. Yes, some episodes are bad, but if a TV show is only as good as its worst episode, well, then no TV show ever made is good. The Steven Moffat episodes are some of the best things to ever happen on any TV show in history (and he's taking over as showrunner... to which I say "yes yes yes yes YES!"), and most of the others are great too. Yes, there are sometimes problems with continuity and logic, but there is a surprisingly deep philosophy running through the show (read Jacob's recaps [http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/show/doctor-who/recaps.php] if you don't believe me), and it's a damn good time as well.

 

[Undo]

Never knew of it until a few months ago. Can't believe it's been around for decades. The older ones seem rather silly but I did like the newer seasons. And spin-offs like Torchwood.

 

[Erja_Perttu]

Doctor Who is a tv programme on British television that is generally on BBC ONE

After watching the last two seasons of Doctor Who and honestly hating every bloody minute of that tripe. I ask to you fellow escapistians. Do you like Doctor Who!

I personally (and this is just personally) Hate Doctor Who with a passion, it makes no sense and the characters and effects are so poorly done its just upsetting.

Also i believe its very popular and want to find out why..

I think the first problem you've got there is that you don't seem willng to watch the series with a complete suspension of disbelief.

Disregarding the multiple glaring plot holes and inconsistencies; like say anything related to the Doctor's past, this is a series about a sometimes immortal guy who travels in space and time, and you're questioning about how radiation can go through/around glass suddenly? I think you've missed the word fiction when you've seen it called Science Fiction.

I personally feel the more obvious point would be how he survived that exact same thing in series three and yet got killed in the special by it. But you know, that's just me.

To be honest, I have mixed feeling about Doctor Who. Whilst I have watched every episode in the last five series', the quality is like a rollercoaster and the writing goes for brilliant (eg anything by Stephen Moffat) to lame beyond belief (eg the RTD episodes) I watch it because I love Sci-Fi, and the occasional diamond in the rough is fantastic.

Whether you're willing to slog through the trash to find the treasure is where most people split off I think.

I'm hopeful for the next series myself, as all the episodes people have mentioned as being good are written by the same guy, Stephen Moffat, who will be becoming the main writer. That should be good.

 

[CloudKiller]

Now that Steven "Captain of a tanker full of Nightmare fuel" Moffet is in charge I can see no reason why the next series isn't going to be the best yet. Granted Matt Smith is no David Tennant, but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for his first few episodes.

 

[Kron_the_mad wants to be deleted]

a lot of people seem to be under the mistaken belief that doctor who is relatively new, it started in 1963 and has had over 30 seasons

 

[DarkPanda XIII]

That was something I always sort of thought when I watched Doctor Who: Never take it 100% seriously. It was a fun series that had alot of weird stuff happen all around and it had a weird guy handling the series like he was juggling kittens.

I mean, really, the only serious, actual serious moment was the end of each season, mostly due to the fact that they wanted to change suddenly and abruptly to another female standpoint. It's like a James Bond for the odd Sci-fi.

 

[Ironic]

Doctor Who is a tv programme on British television that is generally on BBC ONE

After watching the last two seasons of Doctor Who and honestly hating every bloody minute of that tripe. I ask to you fellow escapistians. Do you like Doctor Who!

I personally (and this is just personally) Hate Doctor Who with a passion, it makes no sense and the characters and effects are so poorly done its just upsetting.

For instance.. In the on New Years Eve this person got stuck in a chamber that was about to flood with radiation. Firstly the barrier between him and the outside world was glass and as we know Gammar Radiation works on an electromagnetic wavelength and can only be stopped by high density materials.. like a lot of lead. They tried to explain how this was special glass that doesnt allow radiation to permiate.. okey ill dig...

They zoom into the person in the glass container and you can clearly see that between the door is a very wide GAP, quite noticeable.. so why have the radiation proof glass?

Im probebly just not very good at having an imagination but this isnt really trying.. Also its let down by bad acting and ... Well Catherine Tate... for god sake ...

Also i believe its very popular and want to find out why..

You hate it yet you watched two whole seasons? I don't watch Dr. Who either, because of the reasons you mentioned above, actually. I am a self-proclaimed stickler for details, effects aand blah blah blah, but I DID watch the last two episodes, just to give it another chance, and found that it was, in my opinion well written. Unless you suspend disbelief, I don't know how you enjoy anything fictional. Constantly pointing out flaws in current science and logic errors will ruin stories, and ruin the flow of the plot.

Anyway, rant over. It's probably well liked (in the UK anyway) because it's;

a) A drama
b) Not too heavy as to be inaccessible i.e. See most sci-fi oriented tv programs, the mass audience is scared away by too much "nerd-speak" (to put it bluntly), whereas with Dr. Who, its a nostalgic and slightly cheesy joke.
c) The last generation's nostalgia of Dr.Who passes on to this generation. Theres enough action for the kids, enough Dr for the adults.
d)The theme tune is VERY recognisable. Good theme = lots of audience.

 

[Doctor_Fruitbat]

I notice that everyone is quoting Steven Moffat episodes as their favourites (The Empty Child, Blink, Silence in the Library). Given that he is taking over as executive producer, it's fair to say that the next series is going to be really very good indeed. The trailer showed a different style of acting, direction and even make-up (compare the realistically-skinned reptiles to the godawful ones from End of Time).

A lot of the series hasn't been stellar, but there have been some standout moments, especially Tennant's regeneration. It was beautifully scored, masterfully acted, perfectly paced and the build up throughout the episode, especially the way he explodes at Wilf for sealing his fate, was handled very well. After all the build up it was easily one of the best bits of television I've ever seen.

And Matt Smith looks pretty great too.

 

[Terramax]

To me Dr Who, like Star Wars, is enjoyed these days in a kitch kind of way. I'm not a fan of kitch hence not a fan of Dr Who (or Star Wars).

 

[Snork Maiden]

It's fairly entertaining I guess, but to me it seems they improved all the special effects while keeping the camp ass story lines and cheese - I love the old Dr Who because as one big terrible package it works. I don't feel the new ones are much better written, yet since it has the trappings of quality it comes across as shit.

 

[Lonely Swordsman]

I saw some episodes. Not too impressed. Just another SciFi show. Not the best, not the worst. Just kinda there.

 

[Phototoxin]

I did think that radation glass thing was a bit iffy meself but its a kids program FFS who actually cares?

 

[mariosuperlative]

Well Season One was frankly spectacular. Christopher Eccleston played the part brilliantly and the plots were great. The Christmas Special was also very good.

Season Two was even better. David Tennant outclassed Eccleston easily and proved to be an excellent doctor. There were some brilliant stand-out episodes: Doomsday is probably one of, if not the, best things Russel T. Davies has ever written.

Season Three reached brilliant heights. The first 6 episodes weren't too great, and neither was the finale, but some of it was pure gold. 42, The Family of Blood two-parter and Don't Blink (OMG, Don't Blink) were simply excellent. But then the finale came...and it had a stupid Jesus Doctor ending that made no sense. However I'll admit John Simm played the part of The Master admirably.

Then with Season Four, Russel T. Davies was starting to show his figurative age (and the other writers weren't exactly churning out excellent episodes either). Catherine Tate was a horrible choice for a companion-she was okay in the majority of the episodes, but RTD obviously saw her differently to the other writers. He basically made sure she was as annoying as is humanly possible. None of the episodes were particularly good, even Steven Moffart's failed to reach the heights of his previous episodes. Midnight, however, was an episode which showed (for a tiny while) that RTD is able to come up with magnificent episodes. But after the glory of that came the worst Doctor Who episodes since Syllvester McCoy.

I feel the finale's utter craposity needs a new paragraph. Rose's return was just WHAT THE HELL? It should all have been wrapped up in Doomsday, but RTD had to act like a childish fanboy and bring back every damn character into one big happy bundle of fun (fun as in balls). The Daleks are good enemies, yes, but why can't the "big baddies" be more like weeping angels? Terrifying, mysterious and more than simply "HA YOU DIE NOW" monsters. The second part was dreadful. THE WHOLE UNIVERSE IS ABOUT TO END! WE'RE ALL DOOMED! "Nah", says Donna. "I can tinker with these plugs here and save the day. There we go, all done." The ending was kind of sad I suppose, but I could never accept Donna as a long-time companion so I was kind of glad to see her go.

The desert special was just meh, and the Mars special was pretty nice. But lets get to the one everyone's talkin' bout-the Christmas/New Year special of doom! Well it is my opinion that the first part was horrible. Didn't make any sense (what's with RTD's sudden Ood obsession anyway?), the whole SUPER HUNGRY LASER SHOOTING JUMPY MASTER OF DEATH thing was ridiculous and everyone becoming The Master just sucked.

The second part was better, though. We learned that "OH NOES SIX BILLION MASTERS" wasn't the main theme and that it was all more complex than that. However it still had many plotholes, didn't make for great viewing and the whole time lord thing was just weird. However I did love the scene where The Doctor continously tried to fire the gun. That was tense, dramatic and powerful, something that is nowadays a sadly rare sight in Doctor Who. Also a fantastic part was the "knocking four times". That was a disturbing moment, and it was kind of sad and odd to discover it was Wilf. The "ENTER DA RADIATON CHAMBER" thing was stupid, though. The last fifteen minutes of "save everybody dang it" wasn't great, but I liked the regeneration scene. Matt Smith and Steven Moffart look like they can make a good pair, and we'll just have to wait and see what the future of Doctor Who holds. Now free of RTD's hand of death, who knows what the big DW could accomplish?

 

[lolmynamewastaken]

its an allegory for the human condition!

 

[LWS666]

so long as you take the "science" with a pinch of salt (like where you mentioned a peice of glass blocking radiation) it's good.

 

[trelloskilos]

I enjoy Dr. Who. What does surprise me is that people are still willing to slag it off based on very little evidence.

I'm not saying people are not entitled to an opinion, but given the choice, even if I didn't like Dr. Who, I'd give it kudos for just being a normal sci-fi TV show that appeals to a broad range of viewers, rather than the usual glut of reality TV shows (Celebrity Big Bro, Come Dancing, X-Factor, I'm a Fucking Celebrity, and all the other tosh!!).

Several of the episodes have been hit & miss. Where Russell T Davies has been the writer, the result is a formulaic load of panto, relying primarily on nostalgia (Daleks, Cybermen or some really old enemy that only a few Dr. Who nerds would ever remember). Where Steven Moffat has been the writer, the result has been some of the most gripping, innovative and entertaning sci-fi I can remember!

Character-wise, I guess it does demand a bit of knowledge & introduction to the other players...a bit like Star Trek. So far the Nu-Who Doctors have both been brilliant. So have the assistants...and I do include Catherine Tate. She may have been annoying, but I thought that was the whole point of her character. If anything, my least favourite was Rose, who just seemed like a gutsy bit of eye-candy.

Fair enough with regard to the Daleks. I can't see what's so scary about a pimped up bin on roller skates with a plunger and a funny voice, so when RTD announced that the next episode was going to be....*gasp* Daleks, I failed to spontneously ejaculate despite the fact that the next day, the newspapers were filled with this amazing revelation.

Bottom line, it is a great series, that still retains a lot of originality, humour and versatility despite several decades. I'm sure that now RTD has gone and Steve Moffat is running the show, the next series will be awesome, even if the new doctor, and the new assistant are crap.

Bottom bottom line, fair enough, you have an opinion, but if you don't like something, then switch off & watch something else.

 

[Macgyvercas]

I think Doctor Who is amazing. Oh and OP, make sure you're not too loud or you'll summon the Escapist's number one Doctor Who fan: The_Root_of_All_Evil

 

[SnipErlite]

I like Tennant, and Doctor Who has had some amazing moments (Are you my mummy, weeping angles and the like). New Doctor? Ehh not sure yet.

Alright so some of the plots are just a bit too far along the "well that's a bit stupid" scale but that's what Who is about.

Also I don't really mind but some people here will get upset if you refer to them as anything but Escapists. Officially that's what members of the Escapist refer to themselves as.