Doctor Who and Red Dwarf

Best shows ever! Well, maybe not the best, but certainly among the best. Just wanted to voice my appreciation. Long live the British!

Too bad there aren't any new Red Dwarf episodes around, but thanks to the new Doctor Who series, I'm all happy again. Occasionally watched some of the old ones on TV when I was a kid, didn't remember anything of it but the new series feels the same, which is great. So much fantastic weirdness!

And now I'm also appreciating Gallifrey and his avatar.

Does anybody want a jelly baby?

Did you watch the new Doctor Who on TV or on DVD?

The series is running in the US on BBCA. I love them and Torchwood. Think I liked the second version of The Doctor better.

I have all 3 series of the new Dr. Who and both Torchwoods. I've also seen most of the originals, from JP onwards. Haven't seen much of old Galley around here lately!!

Dr. Who is just so much fun. My wife had never gotten into them, but we were watching some and it was just awful and great on so many levels that she didn't get it at first, but watching me laugh she lightened up and has enjoyed them since.

Haven't been watching Dr. Who in ages, but I still pop out my Red Dwarf DVDs from time to time. Smeghead.

Love the new series of Dr Who (but I miss Rose ), less impressed with Torchwood.

And Red Dwarf is smegging awesome!

I watched red dwarf some time ago (never seen it before). It was great.

Rimmer (smirking): Come now Listy, you've dated worse

Lister (desperate): Only due to bad discotheque lighting!

Wonderful show. The Despair Squid, Rimmerworld, Mr Flibble … ah, such wonderful memories … hmm, perhaps it is time I watch my Red Dwarf collection again

Originally Posted by Gorath
Did you watch the new Doctor Who on TV or on DVD?

DVD. From what I know, the TV version is heavily censored over here if not to say mutilated.. and besides, I've given up on TV quite some time ago.

This is the first time I'm hearing of Torchwood (the series) though. Didn't know there was a spinoff. Interesting.

Originally Posted by fatBastard()
The Despair Squid, Rimmerworld, Mr Flibble … ah, such wonderful memories … hmm, perhaps it is time I watch my Red Dwarf collection again

There was a small "learning curve" however. I remember that in the first episodes I was slightly bored and then there was this annoying "cat". But oh, how the show grows on you once you get to know the characters a bit more. I had seen The Rimmer Song before and found it particularly unfunny, but once I had seen all episodes before that… oh boy, simply marvelous!

Both are brilliant. I recall wearing out VHS tapes watching them long ago.

If only the (new) Doctor's DVDs wernt so smeggin' expensive, they would sit next to the Dwarfers.

Originally Posted by Arhu
DVD. From what I know, the TV version is heavily censored over here if not to say mutilated..

That´s what I meant.

All great shows, but Battlestar Galactica starts again April 4th!!!

Originally Posted by Corwin
I have all 3 series of the new Dr. Who and both Torchwoods. I've also seen most of the originals, from JP onwards. Haven't seen much of old Galley around here lately!!

Hee.. I'm around! But the missus and I have, along with a few of our local friends, been sucked (back for some of us) into the maddening WoW. Plus, job changes have not left me with as much goofing off on the internet time.

Doctor Who is tremendous and yes, it's often at once terrible and brilliant, but more often than not just really, really good. It's been around so long it's had more than it's share of fall on it's face moments, but also has scaled to incredible heights of sci-fi storytelling.
It's really interesting to watch how the show changes over the decades.

I do enjoy the "classic" series more than the new ones, but I love the new ones all the same. It was the longer serial nature of the older series that I liked so much, where it'd take 4-6 30 minute episodes (sometimes more) to tell one story, rather than 45 minutes, or 90 for a special occasion. Though it's for that format that I like Tennant so much in the role, he completely captures the frentic pace so well, that shortened time frame becomes part of the character in a way, the quickly paced story telling is carried by that performance.

Anyhoo… yeah, Doctor Who is fantastic.

Present day and alternate history episodes are pretty strange, but due to their nature relatively familiar. I find that I like episodes better the further they reach into the future. They are so utterly bizarre and fascinating!

From those futuristic episodes, so far I particularly enjoyed "The End of the World" and "The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit" - a seemingly endless, dark abyss and a science station right next to a black hole, how cool is that? Reminded me a bit of the Stargate episode in which they found a black hole. There's something transcendental about those things. I love it.

I had a certain fondness for the episode with the several hundred year long traffic jam!! I've been in a few like that!!

I remember watching the first Dr. Who episodes with William Hartnell on BBC in N. Ireland must have been around 1965/6.

I still have to watch any episodes with the Daleks and /or Cybermen.

I still prefer the older Cybermen costumes, the Daleks have not changed much oner the years.

I've only see Red Dwarf Seasons 1 to 4. I should eventually pick up the sets on DVD.

I agree Tenant does a better job portraying the Doctor, the sets are pricey each season cost close to $110 in Canada.

Torchwood season 1 wasn't that good but the season 2 stories have been much more consistent.

Originally Posted by Corwin
I had a certain fondness for the episode with the several hundred year long traffic jam!! I've been in a few like that!!

Oh, yes! One should always travel with that episode in their backpack, on a mobile phone or such, in case one ends up in a traffic jam, to pass the time and get in a reminiscent mood.

"Twenty yards. We're having a good day!"

(For that matter, some friends of mine were stuck on a highway once, stormy with rain and fog so dense you couldn't see anything past a couple feet, so they turned up the volume and listened to the title theme of "Das Boot").

Originally Posted by Arhu
Present day and alternate history episodes are pretty strange, but due to their nature relatively familiar. I find that I like episodes better the further they reach into the future. They are so utterly bizarre and fascinating!

I think I tend to prefer the Earth-based stories from the original series the best, though there are plenty of amazing off-world episodes as well. But stuff like Curse Of Fenric, Horror At Fang Rock, Inferno and so on are some of my absolute favourites.
That said, with the new series I like the off-world stuff better.

From those futuristic episodes, so far I particularly enjoyed "The End of the World" and "The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit" - a seemingly endless, dark abyss and a science station right next to a black hole, how cool is that? Reminded me a bit of the Stargate episode in which they found a black hole. There's something transcendental about those things. I love it.

Impossible Planet/Satan Pit were excellent, particularly Impossible Planet.

Originally Posted by Corwin
I had a certain fondness for the episode with the several hundred year long traffic jam!! I've been in a few like that!!

Gridlock! Which also featured a bizarre return of the Macra (last, and originally, seen in the Troughton story "The Macra Terror"). That was the best part as it was a classic monster back plus it made for an unspoken subtext if you know the Macra Terror story.

Originally Posted by shaf
I remember watching the first Dr. Who episodes with William Hartnell on BBC in N. Ireland must have been around 1965/6.

I still have to watch any episodes with the Daleks and /or Cybermen.

I still prefer the older Cybermen costumes, the Daleks have not changed much oner the years.

The Hartnell stuff was wonderful. I loved the presentation and the stories. That was when the show had an intention of being a semi-educational production, hence a lot of Earth history episodes which contained a lot of historical fact.

I too like the old Cybermen best, they were far more sinister than the later incarnations. When they all spoke with the same metallic drone and had a sort of zombie-like appearance. The later Cybermen were just silly. The most recent ones are ok, though I don't care for the complete re-tooling of their origin story (something tells me though that much of the current timeline is some sort of alternate timeline caused by the Time War).

I agree Tenant does a better job portraying the Doctor, the sets are pricey each season cost close to $110 in Canada.

I don't think Tennant is better than any previous actors in the role, but he does have a great energy that fits the new format. And yeah, the sets are expensive as are all BBC DVDs. I'd love to have all of Doctor Who on DVD but that's a considerable expense.

Torchwood season 1 wasn't that good but the season 2 stories have been much more consistent.

I was seriously underwhelmed and disappointed with Torchwood. The writing is terrible, the acting sub-par, the plots tedious. Torchwood Captain Jack is totally different from Doctor Who Captain Jack, there's little character consistancy. Torchwood is overseen by the people responsible for some of the worst episodes of the recent season (Daleks In Manhatten 2 parter).