On a quasi-regular basis, a group of girlfriends get together to watch Doctor Who. We catch up on current episodes during a series' broadcast and watch Classic Who to get a feel for the extensive backstory. There's usually a fair bit of laughing, along with food and wine. We like to do it up right.
So who are we? Let me make introductions:
- MRFranklin (me): If you don't "know" me yet, go read Confession #1.
- jA : The youngest of our group (by nearly a generation), jA is someone I interested in the Doctor via Nu-Who. She'd never seen any Classic Who before we began WhoFest.
- jE : As the only one in the group to have watched Doctor Who growing up, jE has a unique perspective among us. However, having disliked Six, she quit watching in the '80s. Many of the Classic episodes (before and after her active watching days) are still new to her.
- jO : Though also of an age to have watched in her youth, jO didn't discover wonders of Doctor Who till I got her hooked on Nu-Who. She'd never seen any Classic Who before we began WhoFest.
First Thoughts on Four
The Invisible Enemy
(Story #93, 1977)
Viewed 23 Feb 2011
Doctor/Companion: Four, Leela
Stars: Tom Baker, Louise Jameson
Preceding Story: Horror of Fang Rock (Four, Leela)
Succeeding Story: Image of the Fendahl (Four, Leela)
Notable Aspects:
- First appearance of K9
on Gallifrey.Obviously, K9 was worth a few comments, too. From the first little cheer when he first came on screen to the "no - not K9!" when the Nucleus made contact, The Tin Dog was another hit. I know some fans hate him, but I've always found him cheerful and amusing, especially after having seen some DVD extras in which other actors talk about how John Leeson would crawl around on all fours on set during rehearsals. How can you not love someone who gets so thoroughly into the role?
As for the Doctor himself, the reception was generally warm. jA reminded me of my own initial reactions when she noted that he's "got quite a voice." I remember being quite familiar with only his image, and having taken quite a while to get accustomed to the voice that went with it. With the limited exposure to earlier Doctors, though, jO found Four the best of them so far (perhaps because he's younger). She found that though he comes across a bit more pompous, he's overall quite likable. I think he had such a huge effect on everyone who grew up watching him that it's unsurprising to see elements of him in later Doctors - especially Ten, as jA pointed out. For those thoroughly steeped in the RTD era, Four seems "more Doctor-ish."
Most of our fun for the night, as usual, was in finding the silliness and inconsistencies. For example, why does the eccentric scientist always have to have a German accent? We also loved the deli gloves they put on to do surgery, the fact that they missed the date of the first successful cloning experiment (quoted as being in 3922) by a couple thousand years, the Red Cross asteroid (didn't a space ship hit that a couple episodes ago? how is the shuttle still there?), the thought of isolating a "predator's instinct," and the cottonballs of death.
For sheer amusement, though, you just can't beat the Egsit and Sexshun signs. Clearly these were meant as clever mutations on current words, but the thought of a place specifically set aside for incubating one's young (egg-sit) was too funny for us to dismiss. It became all the more so when we realized the Egsit is clearly where you need to go after having been to the Sexshun (although on further reflection, perhaps the latter is where you go to avoid the former...).
It was a good introduction to Four, but given the length of his tenure, we needed to sample more before moving on to Five. For the next course, we decided to watch a classic.
City of Death
(Story #105, 1979)
Viewed 23 Mar 2011
Doctor/Companion: Four, Romana II
Stars: Tom Baker, Lalla Ward
Preceding Story: Destiny of the Daleks (Four, Romana)
Succeeding Story: The Creature from the Pit (Four, Romana)
Notable Aspects:
- Written under pseudonym by team including Douglas Adams
The usual snarky comments were a bit sparse this time, probably because we were just enjoying the flow of the narrative. We did, however, notice Romana's outfit (how can you not?); it's very Madeline
. jO also pointed out that the Jagaroth ship looked exactly like the alien ship from War of the Worlds. In between comments about whether they were headed to see some van Gogh (a la Series Fnarg) or how ridiculously long the scarf is here, we mostly just rolled with it and had great fun with a great story.General reactions:
- jA - "Tennant-ish," love the scarf
- jE - thumbs up on an old favorite
- jO - has a "certain air" about him; best "Classic" Doctor yet
- mrfranklin - I can't help but love him in City of Death
Verdict: Thumbs up
Looking ahead: The Visitation
The Time Warrior (Story #70, 1973-74)
Viewed 02 Feb 2011
Doctor/Companion: Three, Sarah Jane Smith
Stars: Jon Pertwee, Elisabeth Sladen
Preceding Story: The Green Death (Three, Jo Grant)
Succeeding Story: Invasion of the Dinosaurs (Three, Sarah Jane)
Notable Aspects:
- First appearance of Sarah Jane Smith
- First appearance of the Sontarans
- First mention of Doctor's home planet (Gallifrey) by name
Our viewing of this first episode of Three's last season was dominated by two things: his hair, and Monty Python and the Holy Grail. After the rather dizzying "new" opening credits (general consensus: thumbs down), it was a bare two scenes into Episode 1 that the Grail references began. When the amusingly-named Irongron finally managed to get his underlings to ride out to look for the "fallen star," the clopping coconuts made their appearance on the sofa. Linx, the first-ever Sontaran on Doctor Who, garnered not only an "oh, dear" but also a "none shall pass!"
Once the stage had been set in the Middle Ages, the story turned back to the modern day, to a site heavily guarded by UNIT in an effort to prevent further mysterious disappearances of visiting scientists, and Three walked through the door. Did we cheer the Doctor's first appearance, or wonder when we'd first see Sarah Jane? Nope. "Wow! Is that what his hair looked like before?!"
The hair - along with Holy Grail and Irongron's epithet for the lady of the neighboring castle ("narrow-hipped vixen!") - became an ongoing theme throughout the evening. Even comments on Linx's odd anatomy (e.g., "nice nozzle!" in reference to the probic vent at the back of his neck) didn't rank as high (though that may be in part due to the fact that somehow jO seems to have missed The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky).
Three's coiffure elicited comments when Linx hooked him up to his device ("Wow! Didn't mess up his hair, though!" "He's got a hair net. He keeps it up his sleeve.") and when the helm is removed after his attempt to fool Irongron by impersonating the robot ("It's perfect!"), while the Doctor's various subterfuges caused jE to observe, "I think his hips are rather narrow..." (Irongron: "you notice MY hips aren't narrow!")
The Holy Grail raised its head again when Irongron beset Lord Edward's castle. "I fart in your general direction!" shouted the dummies on ramparts before the Doctor's sulfur-grenades prompted the rabble to "run away!" We couldn't help but wonder a bit, though, when Sarah Jane asked, "was that some sort of gas?" and the Doctor reassured her with, "no, just a sort of stink bomb." What... stink bombs don't emit gas?
General reactions:
- jA found it very "old skool," and said she quite liked it. It seemed like a "ballet of fights."
- jE couldn't stop laughing about Irongron's posse having "never ... seen a finer swordsman!" (something which got a resounding pfffffffff! from all present)
- jO found it hard to believe Sarah Jane was really the same person, though we all admitted 33 years makes quite a difference for anybody.
- I was the only one who pumped her fists when Doctor described Linx as "nasty, brutish, and short!" Then again, I'm the only one soaking in it enough to know what a quotable quote that is.
Verdict: Thumbs up.
Looking ahead: The Invisible Enemy / K-9 and Company
