Doctor Who 50th Anniversary (and general series discussion)

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Also, only Tennant and Eccleston still look as they did when they were the Doctor.

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I have that feeling too. What's interesting is that as of the end of the episode the Doctor and Clara are still in the Doctors time stream. It's entirely possible they remain there for whatever reason and that allows the 10th Doctor to make a plausible appearance. Either way the interview snippet suggests the two doctors get on well.

Relatively speaking for inter-Doctor relationships; it's a standing point of the EU that the other incarnations really don't like Seven.

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Wow, I really didn't expect that at all. I thought he had already signed on for Series 8. While I never really felt attached to him as I did David Tennant's Doctor, he was pretty good and did grow on me (particular this past season).

I take it that the Christmas episode will be the regeneration episode then? I wonder when we'll find out who the Twelfth Doctor will be.

Yes, the implication is a Christmas regeneration.

Didn't expect this, but his tenure is above average for a Doctor:
* Hartnell did just under three years before leaving due to health problems.
* Troughton chose to do only three.
* Pertwee left after five following the departure of Katy Manning, the death of Roger Delgado and a refusal of a pay increase
* Tom Baker felt he'd done everything after seven and the producers were getting a bit tired of him
* Davison took Troughton's advice to do three only.
* Colin Baker was basically sacked by the BBC.
* McCoy probably would have gone after four years had the show not been cancelled after his third season.
* Eccleston did one season.
* Tennant chose to go after four years.

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Trivia fans should note that Peter Capaldi is the second-oldest actor to play the Doctor.

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What are everybody's thoughts on the Doctor Who movie? I just watched it for the first time on BBC America.

Not brilliant - any series would have needed to improve considerably.

I felt it worth bumping as this thread as it's not every day nine missing episodes turn up at once...

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I felt it worth bumping as this thread as it's not every day nine missing episodes turn up at once...

Apparently, it's the biggest find since The Tomb of the Cybermen (which was an excellent serial) was found in 1991. I don't know how good these serials are, but it's great that they have been found. I really liked what I've seen of the Second Doctor, especially The Invasion.

Bigger than that - that was only four episodes. It's the biggest in three decades.

"The Web of Fear" had a strong rep, although "The Enemy of the World" was slightly weaker - but those who have seen the latter (#2 on UK iTunes - "Web" is #1) have enjoyed it considerably.

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Watch minisode. Now.

Did not see that coming.

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Eccleston was offered a role, but politely declined to appear in it - he's rather distanced himself from the show since he left it.

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Well, he quit the show after one series in part because of the poisonous atmosphere on set (in that respect, as in many others, New Who is much like Old Who), and afterwards there was a lot of vicious and misleading briefing to the media by certain persons. I do agree that it's a shame (he's a great actor and happens to be my personal favourite in the role), but it would have been awkward for all concerned.

Why exactly did this hostility emerge in the first place?

I am also convinced that Eccleston had the potential to be the best Doctor (though I can only speak for the new series), so it's quite depressing to think how much we may have lost because of that. Tennant did an amazing job too, though.

He chose to quit in January 2005, about six months into filming. The plan was to do a surprise regeneration to the point of filming a false ending for "The Parting of the Ways", but the plan leaked, the BBC confirmed it when journalists asked and then released an incorrect statement saying it was because of fears of typecasting.

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Almost every individual scene was pretty good (some better, actually), but it didn't hold together so brilliantly: scene followed scene because scene followed scene, rather than because of the plot (which is what gave it its rushed feeling). I think a certain element of 'last chance to use this idea' was at work. Hey, Christmassy specials are rarely exactly strong, so, eh...

The wig thing, the naked clothes etc were not needed. There were two themes; the Church (which I thought was a great idea) and the town. If they had book ended the two rather than jump from one to the other it would have worked better. I'm sure a fan will re-edit it.

Smith was wearing a wig anyway as was Gillan, they'd both shaved their heads for other roles before filming.