h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I'm a big fan of RTD, I think he's done wonders with with Dr Who and getting it back into the limelight as it is now, however I do sometimes get the feeling that he wants us to credit him with actually inventing the program.

The first sign of that is that the series is called series three instead of series twenty-whatever that it really is, but more disapointingly, the fact that with all of the opportunities that he gets, he so rarely ties anything he does with the classic series. He had the great opportunity last series to call the alternative Earth "Mondas" and therein tie-in the Cyberman story perfectly. Also with all of the travelling into history, he has met Shakespear before, so a reference to it would have been good, but that was another opportunity wasted!

Thoughts, feelings, comments?...

Well, he did mention the Eternals in The Shakespeare Code.

I don't think RTD is claiming to have invented the series and I actually think the amount of respect he's shown to the show's past is impressive without looking too fanboyish in the way all those references crammed-into the McGann movie were.

The new series is called "Series Three" because this is the third of a brand-new series of Who that carrys-on from the old series in story but isn't part of a production-continuation. The original run of "Who" was cancelled in 1989 and a sixteen-year wait means a brand new series. It's also worth comparing "Rose" with the opening episode of, for example, series twenty-six. This was not something that was simply picking-up where it had left from. It's a continuation but there's a lot that's happened since "Survival" and the 1996 telemovie and the Time War created an opportunity for a new slate and a new series. In the same way that the New Avengers wasn't just another series of The Avengers the new Who isn't just the next series in the original 1963-89 run.

I agree with you about the "reboot" of the Cybermen on the parallel earth, though. That was a terrible idea.

I´d imagine having something described as series 26 would probably put off a lot of people. Better start with smaller numbers.

True, I think that it is the child in me that would get a nostalgic kick out of references to the past!

No references to the past? I have to say, you're not paying attention. The difference is, we get none of that embarrassing info-dump that used to happen in the 1980s (Attack of the Cybermen is almost unwatchable because of the moronic cotinuity references being thrown together in place of decent plot). But there are so many references to the past that it's hard to see why you'd miss them.

For instance:

- Mention of Draconia in The Satan Pit [Frontier in Space]

- Venom Grubs in Boom Town, and the home of the Face of Boe being in the Isop Galaxy [The Web Planet]

- References to The Eternals [Enlightenment / possibly the Black & White Guardian and The Celestial Toymaker too]

- The way Cybermen upgrade to Cyberleader, explaining a continity blunder from The Five Doctors

- The fact that this 'first' meeting with Shakespeare needn't contradict any of the previously-mentioned ones

What's vital to remember here is that the show is getting about seven million viewers a week, only a few thousand of whom are hard-core fans who even know what Mondas is. If you alienate the millions to appease the thousands, you get Attack of the Cybermen, a story so bad it lost the series vital viewers (season began with nine million viewers, who started switching off to scary degress because what they were watching was rubbish to the casual viewer). Continuity should be invisible to the casual viewer, or at least not feel like they're being left behind if something's introduced.

Take this Saturday's episode, for example.

Actually, this is best continued once its aired, but you should see just how cleverly they weld the continuity of the past two years with the previous 26 seasons... oh my!

You smug'n Smij!

I really wish I didn't know. Bit difficult to avoid when someone just blurts it out to someone else who's standing next to ya though.

I really don't like spoilers, but I'm really looking forward to the reactions on Saturday night. Hahahaha.

er...ok!

Nice humble pie here, yum!