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locker_monsterOw. Just sped through the last season of the Second Doctor over the last three days. Wow my head is spinning. 38 episodes roughly. Two's last serial "The War Games" was alone ten episodes. They really knew how to rock a story in those days. So two Classic Who Doctors, down, five more to go.
It's really sad how the majority of Two's run is lost to time. Only six serials are complete while the rest are incomplete or entirely lost. Still, I watched what I could and I'll probably try to read transcripts for the remainder. It'd be awesome if, one day in the near future, they found some of the missing episodes just sitting, I dunno, in a vault somewhere. I like to believe there are copies out there, just waiting to be discovered.
So I doubt I've seen half of Two's era, but I think I watched enough to get a feel for his run. I found that Two could be super goofy at times; I can see where his later incarnations (I'm looking at you Four and Ten) get it from. ;-) He had a thing for disguises, didn't he? But he could also be very serious when he needed to be. Actually, when the Doctor suddenly goes from goofy to serious, then you know you're in trouble. It's kind of weird how Two dressed, well, like a hobo. The slightly too large coat, the baggy trousers, the constantly askew collar of his shirt. It was like he wanted people to think he was just a clown. Or maybe he was just making a statement, that he doesn't want people to take him seriously because he really doesn't take himself seriously. It's at the end of "The War Games" where we see the Doctor is just a big ol' rebel.
Second Doctor era round-up:
-Companions: Two had only five regular Companions this time around over three seasons. Obviously Jamie is the stand-out here. He was there for all but one of Two's adventures. That's pretty impressive actually. But let's go in order in which the Companions appeared. Ben and Polly were carried over from One and while I managed to read the transcripts for a few of their adventures, they never really grew on me. They really didn't annoy me either; they were just there. I'm not sure why they failed to impress me. I think maybe it's because three is too many when it comes to Companions travelling with the Doctor. It was never planned from the start that Jamie would join the crew, so suddenly for Two's first season you have these three people running around with the Doctor and there was never enough to do for all of them. I get that Ben was an action-y sort of fellow who didn't like to stay in one place too long and Polly had an independent streak in her, but the poor girl ended up serving tea a lot of the time. I haven't read their departure serial yet, so I can't say I was sad to see them go. Jamie joined in the last historical serial the show did. I found it weird how he joined. He sort of just wanders in, though Ben and Polly do invite him on board. But they don't tell him, "Oh, once on board you probably won't see your home for a long time." Not that Jamie had much to go back to, I guess. And he did adapt nicely to life on the TARDIS. Everything was completely unfamiliar to him but he just rolled with it. I think Jamie saw himself as the Doctor's protector since the man was always getting himself into trouble. And it's super obvious Jamie and Two just worked together as characters. They both had a sense of humour that matched. Next was Victoria and she's important. Besides Jamie, she was the only other Companion from the past who travelled extensively with the Doctor. For a long time I thought she was just the one who screamed a lot, but it quickly came apparent that though she did scream a lot she wasn't completely useless in the middle of a crisis. People can get emotional sometimes, and Victoria falls into that category. But she really grew as a person while travelling with the Doctor and when she left she knew she wasn't the same person as before. I hadn't realized she ended up in the 1960s, about 100 years out of her own time period, so that leaves the door open for so many story ideas. Lastly, there was Zoe. I haven't read her introduction story yet, but I did see her departure story. I thought she would be annoying, being so smart, but thankfully the writers usually had her smarts as a hindrance rather than an asset. Zoe's so confident she knows everything that sometimes, she doesn't know anything. That usually got her into trouble, but she wouldn't have been a Doctor's Companion if she hadn't. :-)
Out of all the various Companion combinations, I think I liked Jamie and Zoe the best. It's been pointed out to me that it's the perfect combination. You have one past Companion to ask all the questions and a future Companion to help with all the science. Though, I think it's more than that. I got the feeling that Two was really fond of Zoe, like she was a student of his and he was her teacher. Zoe did sneak aboard the TARDIS to see the universe, which kind of echoes why the Doctor left Gallifrey. It's been noted that Zoe is the first Companion the Doctor kisses, though it is on the cheek and completely platonic. I dunno. I really can't explain it, but seeing Two with Jamie and Zoe is like watching a family almost.
Oh yes, can't forget about the Brig. He was introduced during Two's run. Actually, both he and UNIT were introduced, but they're really more of a Third Doctor era element, so I won't go on about them here.
-Enemies: Well, you had the usual repeat offenders, the Daleks and the Cybermen, but the Cybermen appeared four times while the Daleks only appeared two times, so the Cybermen win this round. The Cybermen got their major re-design in "The Invasion" that really shaped the designs that followed. I think out of the four stories, "The Invasion" has to be the best. It's a classic Two story, really. The Ice Warriors were also introduced and they're probably the last of the recurring villains that haven't been resurrected by new Who. They're really not that scary. They're just Martians in scaly suits and they have a lisp and if you raise the temperature they fall down. Actually, in one story, they tried to invade Earth through some of the colder cities on the planet and Ottawa was one of those places. That made me laugh. There really aren't any other stand-out villains. The Quarks were just sad. They were supposed to be a replace for the Daleks but it just didn't work. The Yeti appeared twice but I haven't read those transcripts yet. So yeah, nothing too overly exciting.
-Stories: As mentioned above, "The Highlanders" was the last historical serial. Bizarre story. The Doctor dresses up in drag at one point to escape some soldiers. But we do meet Jamie, so it has that going for it. So from that point on, all stories were either set in the future or on present day Earth. "The Invasion" was like a dry run for the Three's era, but it has to be my favourite Cybermen story out of the four. You don't even know the Cybermen are the villains until about midway. And I just love the animation they did for the missing episodes from the serial. It's a bit basic, but it looks awesome. They should animate all the missing episodes. It's not exactly the same as having the original episode, but it's a cool way to complete the story. Watching the animated episodes made me wish there was a Doctor Who cartoon.
And I couldn't go through this post without talking about "The War Games", Two's really long swan song. Unlike today, where regeneration is played up so much, the regeneration of the Doctor in this story just feels like an afterthought. It's not important to the main story as a whole. But the story is important. We get to meet the Doctor's people for the first time and it's the first time they're called Time Lords. It's interesting that the idea of the Time Lords is subtly seeded into the story. At one point Zoe comments that the Doctor is very familiar with the technology the aliens are using in their War Games and he's so quick to shrug it off. It's not until episode six that the name Time Lord is even mentioned. It's dropped in so carefully, too. You're left wondering just who are the Time Lords and why are they a thing to be feared? As you get towards the end of "The War Games", the truth is revealed. The Doctor is a Time Lord and if he asks for their help, they would know where he is and would have to punish him. It puts the Doctor in a very awkward position but it's a wonderful storytelling device. It's only in the last part where the Doctor returns to Gallifrey (unnamed at this point) and he's put on trial. His good-bye with Jamie and Zoe is such a sad moment. Neither of them want to leave him and they risked being hunted down by the Time Lords just to stay with him. And Donna isn't the only one who doesn't get the remember the Doctor. Awesome last story for Two.
I'm onto Three then. Seems sort of fitting. Barry Letts, one of the important producers during Three's era, just passed away so now is the right time to re-visit these stories. I've already seen ten serials from the Third Doctor's run so far, so it shouldn't take me too long. Though, I might want to re-watch the serials so they're in the right context. We'll see. I need to take a bit of a break though. These marathon sessions are giving me a headache.
It's really sad how the majority of Two's run is lost to time. Only six serials are complete while the rest are incomplete or entirely lost. Still, I watched what I could and I'll probably try to read transcripts for the remainder. It'd be awesome if, one day in the near future, they found some of the missing episodes just sitting, I dunno, in a vault somewhere. I like to believe there are copies out there, just waiting to be discovered.
So I doubt I've seen half of Two's era, but I think I watched enough to get a feel for his run. I found that Two could be super goofy at times; I can see where his later incarnations (I'm looking at you Four and Ten) get it from. ;-) He had a thing for disguises, didn't he? But he could also be very serious when he needed to be. Actually, when the Doctor suddenly goes from goofy to serious, then you know you're in trouble. It's kind of weird how Two dressed, well, like a hobo. The slightly too large coat, the baggy trousers, the constantly askew collar of his shirt. It was like he wanted people to think he was just a clown. Or maybe he was just making a statement, that he doesn't want people to take him seriously because he really doesn't take himself seriously. It's at the end of "The War Games" where we see the Doctor is just a big ol' rebel.
Second Doctor era round-up:
-Companions: Two had only five regular Companions this time around over three seasons. Obviously Jamie is the stand-out here. He was there for all but one of Two's adventures. That's pretty impressive actually. But let's go in order in which the Companions appeared. Ben and Polly were carried over from One and while I managed to read the transcripts for a few of their adventures, they never really grew on me. They really didn't annoy me either; they were just there. I'm not sure why they failed to impress me. I think maybe it's because three is too many when it comes to Companions travelling with the Doctor. It was never planned from the start that Jamie would join the crew, so suddenly for Two's first season you have these three people running around with the Doctor and there was never enough to do for all of them. I get that Ben was an action-y sort of fellow who didn't like to stay in one place too long and Polly had an independent streak in her, but the poor girl ended up serving tea a lot of the time. I haven't read their departure serial yet, so I can't say I was sad to see them go. Jamie joined in the last historical serial the show did. I found it weird how he joined. He sort of just wanders in, though Ben and Polly do invite him on board. But they don't tell him, "Oh, once on board you probably won't see your home for a long time." Not that Jamie had much to go back to, I guess. And he did adapt nicely to life on the TARDIS. Everything was completely unfamiliar to him but he just rolled with it. I think Jamie saw himself as the Doctor's protector since the man was always getting himself into trouble. And it's super obvious Jamie and Two just worked together as characters. They both had a sense of humour that matched. Next was Victoria and she's important. Besides Jamie, she was the only other Companion from the past who travelled extensively with the Doctor. For a long time I thought she was just the one who screamed a lot, but it quickly came apparent that though she did scream a lot she wasn't completely useless in the middle of a crisis. People can get emotional sometimes, and Victoria falls into that category. But she really grew as a person while travelling with the Doctor and when she left she knew she wasn't the same person as before. I hadn't realized she ended up in the 1960s, about 100 years out of her own time period, so that leaves the door open for so many story ideas. Lastly, there was Zoe. I haven't read her introduction story yet, but I did see her departure story. I thought she would be annoying, being so smart, but thankfully the writers usually had her smarts as a hindrance rather than an asset. Zoe's so confident she knows everything that sometimes, she doesn't know anything. That usually got her into trouble, but she wouldn't have been a Doctor's Companion if she hadn't. :-)
Out of all the various Companion combinations, I think I liked Jamie and Zoe the best. It's been pointed out to me that it's the perfect combination. You have one past Companion to ask all the questions and a future Companion to help with all the science. Though, I think it's more than that. I got the feeling that Two was really fond of Zoe, like she was a student of his and he was her teacher. Zoe did sneak aboard the TARDIS to see the universe, which kind of echoes why the Doctor left Gallifrey. It's been noted that Zoe is the first Companion the Doctor kisses, though it is on the cheek and completely platonic. I dunno. I really can't explain it, but seeing Two with Jamie and Zoe is like watching a family almost.
Oh yes, can't forget about the Brig. He was introduced during Two's run. Actually, both he and UNIT were introduced, but they're really more of a Third Doctor era element, so I won't go on about them here.
-Enemies: Well, you had the usual repeat offenders, the Daleks and the Cybermen, but the Cybermen appeared four times while the Daleks only appeared two times, so the Cybermen win this round. The Cybermen got their major re-design in "The Invasion" that really shaped the designs that followed. I think out of the four stories, "The Invasion" has to be the best. It's a classic Two story, really. The Ice Warriors were also introduced and they're probably the last of the recurring villains that haven't been resurrected by new Who. They're really not that scary. They're just Martians in scaly suits and they have a lisp and if you raise the temperature they fall down. Actually, in one story, they tried to invade Earth through some of the colder cities on the planet and Ottawa was one of those places. That made me laugh. There really aren't any other stand-out villains. The Quarks were just sad. They were supposed to be a replace for the Daleks but it just didn't work. The Yeti appeared twice but I haven't read those transcripts yet. So yeah, nothing too overly exciting.
-Stories: As mentioned above, "The Highlanders" was the last historical serial. Bizarre story. The Doctor dresses up in drag at one point to escape some soldiers. But we do meet Jamie, so it has that going for it. So from that point on, all stories were either set in the future or on present day Earth. "The Invasion" was like a dry run for the Three's era, but it has to be my favourite Cybermen story out of the four. You don't even know the Cybermen are the villains until about midway. And I just love the animation they did for the missing episodes from the serial. It's a bit basic, but it looks awesome. They should animate all the missing episodes. It's not exactly the same as having the original episode, but it's a cool way to complete the story. Watching the animated episodes made me wish there was a Doctor Who cartoon.
And I couldn't go through this post without talking about "The War Games", Two's really long swan song. Unlike today, where regeneration is played up so much, the regeneration of the Doctor in this story just feels like an afterthought. It's not important to the main story as a whole. But the story is important. We get to meet the Doctor's people for the first time and it's the first time they're called Time Lords. It's interesting that the idea of the Time Lords is subtly seeded into the story. At one point Zoe comments that the Doctor is very familiar with the technology the aliens are using in their War Games and he's so quick to shrug it off. It's not until episode six that the name Time Lord is even mentioned. It's dropped in so carefully, too. You're left wondering just who are the Time Lords and why are they a thing to be feared? As you get towards the end of "The War Games", the truth is revealed. The Doctor is a Time Lord and if he asks for their help, they would know where he is and would have to punish him. It puts the Doctor in a very awkward position but it's a wonderful storytelling device. It's only in the last part where the Doctor returns to Gallifrey (unnamed at this point) and he's put on trial. His good-bye with Jamie and Zoe is such a sad moment. Neither of them want to leave him and they risked being hunted down by the Time Lords just to stay with him. And Donna isn't the only one who doesn't get the remember the Doctor. Awesome last story for Two.
I'm onto Three then. Seems sort of fitting. Barry Letts, one of the important producers during Three's era, just passed away so now is the right time to re-visit these stories. I've already seen ten serials from the Third Doctor's run so far, so it shouldn't take me too long. Though, I might want to re-watch the serials so they're in the right context. We'll see. I need to take a bit of a break though. These marathon sessions are giving me a headache.
Tags:
- doctor who,
- tv,
- two
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Date: 2009-10-12 08:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-12 04:14 pm (UTC)I can see how moving away from historical stories did give Two's era a different feel, but all these future settings can get tiresome sometimes. I'm glad they eventually worked in stories that were set in the past; not strictly historical but a nice change of pace.