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Underground > Film, TV & Theatre >

Doctor Who: Season 2 UK

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Shiny: Well Over Thirty

16:18 / 27.04.06

So other than Gatiss obviously are there and other writers or specific books that would be particularly worth looking out for in the New Adventures series? I've largely resisted going out of my way to find them on the assumption that they probably wouldn't be all that good, but I'm quite prepared to revise that opinion on the word of people here. Also if the Valyard situation was ever addressed in any book the uber-geek part of me would probably quite happily pick up that book if it's even slightly better than complete shite.

That 'something extra' does sound every bit as much of a shockingly bad idea as the half-human business and I'm glad it was never made explicit. Interesting how the stories produced by people with such a silly idea in their heads turned out to be anything but awful for many of us.

With regards to the time war thing I like to think that the attempted use of time travel based weapons of mass destruction to genocide the Daleks was probably the key event that kicked the war off, especially given the parallels with what’s been hinted happened at the end the war - it would just be a nicely symmetrical as far as I'm concerned.

16:28 / 27.04.06

That was actually how Ghost Light started out, as 'Lungbarrow', but was turned down because it was felt to ruin the mystery of who is the doctor, so Mark Gatiss turned it into 'Ghost Light' instead.

Marc Platt (to be pedantic), who also wrote a brilliant origin of the Cybermen thing called Spare Parts. He's getting a fee for the upcoming Cybermen story this season so maybe it nicked some ideas from that in the same way Dalek spun ideas from Jubilee.

We know he refers to classic back story as he mentioned that the Timelords started the timewar with the Daleks in Genesis of the Daleks.

Not to mention Autons, Daleks, Cybermen, UNIT and the return of Sarah Jane and K9.

The 'something extra' and the mystery about the Doctor circa the late Eighties was, supposedly, that the Doctor was God, come down to check his creation.

Not exactly. This was the personal theory of Kevin Clarke, who wrote Silver Nemesis. But that was nothing to do with the production team, who didn't subscribe to it.

16:38 / 27.04.06

other than Gatiss obviously are there and other writers or specific books that would be particularly worth looking out for in the New Adventures series?

Most of the books were locked into arcs, so they might be difficult to get into. A few of the new series writers did some:

RTD
Paul Cornell
Mark Gatiss
Matt Jones

The RTD book (Damaged Goods) is excellent. Gatiss' stuff is variable; Nightshade is probably the best of the bunch, which is a riff on Quatermass in a way. Jones' book was a bit bland from what I remember and personally I find the Cornell stuff to be embarrassing junior high poetry material these days.

Some of the McCoy writers did a few:

Andrew Cartmel
Marc Platt
Ben Aaronovitch

These are generally solid - Cartmel does a stand alone trilogy for the New Adventures and also did a terrific book called Atom Bomb Blues for the BBC line. Platt's stuff tends toward the convoluted. Aaronovitch (like Cartmel) comes the closest to "real" novels; in particular check out his The Also People.

Our Lady Has Left the Building

07:04 / 28.04.06

Although his Transit was shockingly awful, including the chapter where the Doctor gets completely bladdered in order to celebrate the Universe's birthday.

The first four books which make up the Timewyrm series aren't too bad, well the first one is, the third one is a bit dull but the second one has Nazis and is written by Terence Dicks and is rip-roaring fun in an old-school Who stylee. The fourth one which wraps it all up is pretty interesting too, touching on the Doctor's morality and ethics, and involving a sentient church and schoolboy astronauts. It's just a shame that after this book almost every book put the Doctor and companiosn through the emotional wringer for five hundred pages to no clear effect. Of the next three (in a loose 'The TARDIS is breaking down' trilogy) the first one involving ancient Gallifrey and time misbehaving itself is the best, the second one (Doctor Who does bad cyberpunk) is awful and I can't even remember the third.

About seven or eight books later there's a series of five books based around the Doctor's personal history being altered, the first one is where the Silurians have taken over the world and there another one involving Aztecs.

09:21 / 28.04.06

Huh?? Transit = best Who evah! Well, if you're into postcolonial retconning, that is. The cyberpunkishness and general nastiness wears after a wihle, I'll admit.

11:18 / 28.04.06

Transit is also the one where he gets laid, as I recall. It was quite fun but very far out of canon. I liked the one with the Hoothi where Ace finally had enough of the Doctor's dicking around and left in a huff. Why didn't I keep those books? They're worth a fortune now.

11:36 / 28.04.06

aw man, i thought the activity in this thread meant there was proper who telly news. this, chaps and esses, is threadrot. books forum would be better wouldn't it?

so anyway, tomorrow: giles versus the doctor! fucking bring it on!!!

12:48 / 28.04.06

So worried about K9 I might die.

13:18 / 28.04.06

K9 will be fine, at least, fine enough to star in his own spin off animated series on Jetix... And I am not joking about this...

Our Lady Has Left the Building

14:24 / 28.04.06

I'm interested that Anthony Stuart Head is apparently playing a Head Master and not THE Master... Must be one of those Chinese Whispers things going on.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

16:09 / 28.04.06

I was assuming that "Head/Master" was another not-so-subtle bit of meta wordplay, like Torchwood.

On the subject of the books, not read many of them but when I was a kid my sister's boyfriend used to do a Who zine with Paul Cornell called Antonine Killer, and he now also writes some of the novels (Martin Day)- not read any of his novels, but the short stories they put in the zine were fucking ace.

Shiny: Well Over Thirty

18:09 / 28.04.06

I just hope that whether Head is the Master or not that they don't kill or reform him at the end of the episode. We could do with some new recurring villains of a higher calibre than Cassandra or the Slyveen, and Head's more than capable of providing that whoever he happens to be playing.

Kali, Queen of Kitteh

18:41 / 28.04.06

I can't picture Anthony Stewart Head as a villain. I keep seeing the tweed jacket, the tomes of books, and the Sunnydale High library.

If I were to see this episode, I'd only think: "Giles, what are you doing, man????"

Shiny: Well Over Thirty

18:57 / 28.04.06

I don't know I think the Giles of the last few series of Buffy, especially the last episode of series 5 could have a been a very scary man if evil. However he looks like he's going to be far nastier than just an evil Giles in the admittedly minimal showing of him we got of him in preview for the new episode. Looks like he's doing just the right balancing act between genuinely nasty, and over the top Eeeeevil that a really great Doctor Who villain ought to be able to show. Also last series I thought Simon Pegg, despite being an incredible comedy actor was going to be shit as a villian by virtue of being far to likeable and he turned out to be the most impressively nasty character in the whole series.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

19:54 / 28.04.06

Well yes... they are, one would hope, "actors", after all.

20:45 / 28.04.06

The last time I saw Anthony Head on television, I believe, was in an episode of the first season of Spooks, in which he played a slightly impressive double-agent in an anarchist organisation.

The episode was notable for a) using Canary Wharf tube, which was impressive to me at the time, and b) hey hey, mild spoilers, technically, maybe that Head hangs himself with a belt at the end, in a rather sad, slightly touching way.

So, I have hopes for his appearance tomorrow, and it would be nice, yes, to see him become a relatively recurring character. I'm intrigued to see if they'll go down the recurring motif / leitmotif method this season, or whether the face of Boe (Bode? Bhode? Blode?) will simply top-and-tail the ten episodes as if to say "Ah-ha! You thought he was the Good Wolf? Shame on you!"

Anyway, time will tell.

11:55 / 29.04.06

Anthony Stuart Head is apparently playing a Head Master and not THE Master...

I had not heard this rumour. If ASH is the Master then there will be too much joy in the universe for the universe to be able to sustain it and the Rapture will sweep us all away.

Even though I only ever saw K9 on Queer as Folk, I too may die, Tom.

12:51 / 29.04.06

Personally I don't think Head ever quite surpassed his performance in the Nescafe Gold Blend adverts... If we see him drinking a cup of superior instant coffee while romancing some eligable young lady, then I'll be happy...

13:49 / 29.04.06

I had not heard this rumour. If ASH is the Master then there will be too much joy in the universe for the universe to be able to sustain it and the Rapture will sweep us all away.

I feel not dissimilarly. The Master is the best.

That is to say, STRONG TRUTH.

15:56 / 29.04.06

Also, it will save me trying to explain the Master to my inconveniently Australian gf.

16:21 / 29.04.06

Funny thing is, I don't think I ever saw The Master (wotta fuckin awesome monicker, btw) on telly ever. Have very, very vague memories of snippets of the pre-McCoy Docs (Davison, Baker) and I don't recall Doc 7 ever matching up with him. Sea Devils, yeah, brr.

It's all from the (Terrance Dicks was my pref.) books, iirc. Loved all that body parasite guff. Totally setting myself for disappointment if it's just an evil headmaster tonight, I guess.

16:25 / 29.04.06

Apparently he was in it, but maybe I'd been bad and sent to bed that night.

Kali, Queen of Kitteh

16:33 / 29.04.06

Just saw the episode about Rose's father last night. Very touching, and oddly, the Doctor being less snarky than usual. Maybe I read it somewhere on this thread, but her dad makes an appearance again, doesn't he?

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

17:20 / 29.04.06

Dear God... eleven minutes to go, and puppy's woken up. I have three spare cables in case she decides to try last week's trick again, though...

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

17:21 / 29.04.06

The episode about Rose's father made me cry. Mind you, everything makes me cry these days, but that one really did.

Kali, Queen of Kitteh

17:33 / 29.04.06

Stoatie, I was suppressing a few tears myself. I mean, if in Rose's situation, I would've done the same thing. Space-time continuum be damned!

Hey, is the Empty Child episode going to make me cry?

Our Lady Has Left the Building

17:47 / 29.04.06

Oh, this is wonderful!

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

18:08 / 29.04.06

Kali, the Empty Child will make you hide behind your sofa.

The one that's just been on WILL make you cry.

That was ace.

Our Lady Has Left the Building

18:09 / 29.04.06

Ladies and gentlemen, we have the theme for the season I think. "You can spend the rest of your life with me, but I can't spend the rest of my life with you".

"Bad dog."
"Affirmative!"

miss wonderstarr

18:09 / 29.04.06

I had to come on here rather than talk about it irl, because my throat's gone all funny. That was really powerful.

Our Lady Has Left the Building

18:11 / 29.04.06

Yeah, that was this season's 'Fathers Day' I feel...

18:12 / 29.04.06

nothing intelligent to say about that episode at all except
YES YES F'KIN YES
sob
YES
sob
sob
YES
sob
sob YES
sob

that was grand

Kali, Queen of Kitteh

18:12 / 29.04.06

Dammit, now I want to see the current episode that will make me cry.

I already know when the Doctor reincarnates I WILL cry.

18:15 / 29.04.06

Oh, whoa, cry and then some! Sarah jane, walking away from the TARDIS one last time - unbearable. Well done RTD. Big grown up emotional resonance bubbling up through the splendid hokum.

Not for nothing did she aver, earlier, I've seen things you wouldn't believe... That episode was up there at Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion level.

paranoidwriter waves hello

18:15 / 29.04.06

Best one of this series, so far.

K9 was ace, and IMHO they handled the whole "Why does he look so disco?" thing quite well - a difficult task to pull off. I wander what the kids of today thought of him? Also, was it me, or were K9 lazer amazingly and brilliantly retro? i.e. the special effect used.

BTW, I can just about remember Sarah Jane Smith; so can anyone explain what the Doctor meant when he said, "They all died"? Has this been explained previously in the Doctor Who canon, or is this a clue/reference to more revelations about The Last Great Time War and the Doctor's guilt, etc? (please feel free to PM me if this is threadrot)

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