I'm not disagreeing that there should be "available" hereoes/role models of all genders. I disagree that most people feel they "have to" identify with one of their own gender.
I don't disagree that in order to be able to identify with somebody you have to be of the same gender. What I was saying is that in a world where generally a male lead is portrayed as a heroic, physically strong 'kick-ass', for want of a better description, archetype it was nice to have a male figure such as the Doctor to identify with that was different from the norm and appealed to both boys and girls. Harry Potter would be a similar figure I suppose that appeals to both boys and girls but again doesn't fit the typical archetype male action hero figure.
Sidney Newman, who has as much of a claim as anyone to being the creator of "Doctor Who" wanted the Doctor to become female in the 1980s.
Some things just make you shudder........... Bee Gees star Barry Gibb reveals he and wife had romp in Doctor Who's TARDIS (msn.com)
So wrapping up Peter Davidson's season 1 on blu-ray and I had some thoughts... I always placed Peter towards the bottom of the Doctor list but I've had to re-evaluate that. First thing is I don't think I took note of how adorable he was. I was just starting my Who journey around when he started and I was much more into Hartnell and Pertwee and just didn't notice the young guy. Second I think he's a good Doctor stuck with some bad stories. Castrovalva is just so slow and terrible...which probably put me off him right away. But then you get three decent stories (well, parts of Kinda are good) in a row followed by the waste of time, Black Orchid. Earthshock is still shocking, but it could have been done in three instead of four parts. But then we come to Time-Flight, which may be the worst of the Original Who's I can think of. I don't think we'll see something this bad until Matt Smith takes over the TARDIS. So we get not one, but two terrible Master stories to kick off Peter's first year. Yikes...
I agree that Davison was not a bad Doctor. In fact I am of the school that says all the Doctors were fine in their way. They were let down by bad scripts, bad production and direction but that happens regularly even with the best actors and actresses. I believe the Arc of Infinity series shows Davison at his best. I think Colin Baker's Doctor suffered the most from bad scripts and direction.
I would rather viewers have characters with issues that they could identify with, rather than characters created to match target demographics. -someone managing a family in poverty -someone dealing with a loss of life -someone who deals with disadvantaged citizens -someone who feels like an alien in the world These are more relevant character traits for rich storytelling, than injecting the issues into a suit that looks like a viewer type.
From Hartnell to McGann, the Virgin New Adventures, and the Big Finish Audios - count me in. Everything from 2005 on screen onward - I'll pass. Happy for you to enjoy them, though (sincerely). To me it just isn't the same character/show anymore.
There’s no Matt Smith—maybe not even any modern Who—that I would rank anywhere near as bad as “Time-Flight.” But my bottom of the barrel for Doctor Who—of any era—is “The Gunfighters,” just behind “The Trial of a Time Lord.” (Had it survived, I suspect “The Feast of Steven” might be the single worst episode, though.)
I remember learning Peter Davison was to be the new Doctor Who and thinking he was totally wrong for it. Luckily, in watching it I found it worked out in that he was having problems early in his regeneration that to me explained that something had gone quite wrong. By Caves Of Androzani I totally bought he was The Doctor, but it definitely took time and you had to overlook crude marionette snakes and two blokes in a pantomime 'Myrka' costume. I thought Colin Baker was great casting in contrast and pretty much hated that entire 'era'! Mind you the companions were easily my two least favorites ever. The final two seasons of Sylvester McCoy had won me back though. Sir Barry in the Tardis back in 1970 is a cute story to me!
Delia Derbyshire: The Myths and the Legendary Tapes Arena BBC Docudrama portrait of Delia Derbyshire, the electronic sound pioneer behind the Doctor Who theme tune, that explores the idea that this extraordinary composer herself lived outside of time and space. BBC Four - Arena, Delia Derbyshire: The Myths and the Legendary Tapes
^ This is an excellent show so far (12:00 in)! I'm thinking about Erik Satie and how Delia had to get the maths exact for her compositions to come together, and I've read and heard radio docs on her before.
Big fan ! Started watching back in the Troughton days and am still watching to this day. Really like Jodie but feel most of her stories are a bit tepid. Felt the same with Matt. Thought he was probably the best modern Doctor but so many of his stories left me cold. I still watch though Favourite Doctor = Jon.
I first became familiar with The Doctor back in the late 70's/early 80's, can't remember for sure since it was SO long ago. But the Dr. I'm most familiar with/seen the most episodes of, is Tom Baker (not sure, without looking it up, which Dr. [2nd,3rd, 4th or whatever] he was). And if I not mistaken, didn't he have the longest run as The Dr.? If I'm remembering correctly, I was in Jr. High (7th/8th grade) & PBS where I lived played Doctor Who pretty regularly, but I'm wanting to say I only ever saw Baker as the Dr. back then. I didn't come to know, until much later that others had played The Dr. I'd LOVE to get the ENTIRE catalogue of Doctor Who on DVD or BluRay! I've managed to pick up random Dr. videos, here & there. I was even able to buy a copy of the 1st couple of episodes, with the 1st Doctor, William Hartnell, & when I bought it, I read online that allot of his time as The Dr. had been lost or destroyed by the BBC, or something. So I don't really have allot of experience with too many of the other Drs. But of the newest Drs. I have seen episodes from/of, I did like David Tenant & Matt Smith, but haven't seen nearly as many of their episodes as when Baker played him, but as I've already said, I'd LOVE to have ALL episodes of EVERY Doctor incarnation!!!
We got Tom Baker in Canada, I don't know if they ever played Jon Pertwee here until later, but I know Australia got him while he was actually still the current Doctor. So my first exposure was Tom, but I like the three earlier Doctors as much (didn't care for Peter Cushing in the films so much though) that I have most of their available stories. Peter Davison was the first regeneration I saw and I got to like him okay though it took awhile to win me over and the excuse that something had gone wrong in this regeneration. Something went even more wrong in the next regeneration!
Yes, Tom, the fourth Doctor had the longest run of the original series. Unfortunately, you are right about there being quite a lot of missing Hartnell stories. Troughton as well, which particularly bugs me as one of those, Evil of The Daleks, was my earliest memory of the show, and I would love to see it again. There are rumours that its next to be animated which although not ideal, is better than nothing.
Evil Of The Daleks has long topped my list as the story I'd most like to see turn up complete (ala Tomb Of The Cybermen)... gothic science fiction!
Like most American's I was introduced to Doctor Who in the Tom Baker years. Later the PBS stations showed some Jon Pertwee episodes. I remember when new seasons were available about 9-12 months after they were shown in the UK. I paid yearly dues to be a member of two Doctor Who fan clubs in the early/mid 1980's. I saw some extras on youtube talking about the early Tom Baker years and how the production values gave episodes like "Genesis of the Daleks" and "Ark in Space" a very dark, forboding look. The special effects weren't great but I think they got a lot out of a small budget. I remember watching the 25th aniversary episode "The Five Doctors" and have a vague recollection that it was actually shown in North America before it was shown in the UK (by only a couple of hours). Is that possible? I also agree that Peter Davison was a huge change that people had a difficult time getting used to. There was some really poor episodes but "Earthshock" for me was Doctor Who at it's finest. I'd love to go back and revisit that...
Yep. It debuted in the US on over 100 public television stations on the actual anniversary, November 23, 1983 (which was the 20th anniversary, not the 25th). The BBC chose to hold it for two days so it could air as part of the Children in Need telethon on November 25.