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

"Or some mention/lack of mention/mistaken info about the fiancee." ... unlikely because the clone has all her thoughts.

"In reply to Bright blue earlier about the cheesy effects of the early Doc in Earthshock, it probably looked great at the time. It's just now we're so used to better effects. Like the way no-one saw the strings in Bill & Ben or whatever at the time, coz of picture quality."

For sure the effects weren't great, but I can accept that because that was the era and the limits of technology.

I was actually more impressed by the overall production values of today. I doubt you'd ever see the wall of a set wobble. (Having said that there was the "Button Moon" tardis moment). But otherwise everything is so well done. Great dialogue and sound, great camera angles, it's hard to find a flaw.

Yes it is hard to find a flaw in today's Dr Who. Irronically you have hit on the very reason that the Who of old was perhaps more exciting. Today everything SciFi must have top notch computer generated stuff, etc as everyone else is using it. The problem is that there is so many effects in films in general it is expected and the novelty wears off. In the old days there were less special effects so had more impact. Sure the new Cybermen are more perfect and walk better, etc, but they aren't half as scarey!
Matrix is a prime example as something inovative when it came out, now even a Bollywood movie has a copycat type of thing so the newness of the first Matrix has sadly gone..

Yeah, and in 20 years time, what'll we think of today's effects? They'll probably look as dodgey in the future as the tin-foil Cybermen look now.

Anfd I wonder if Martha'll be able to block or change the memories that the clone receives. Didn't they need her alive to preserve the memory transfer or something. Maybe while she's asleep she'll have some dream about the Doc and the clone'll pick up and think it's him she's engaged to.

"In reply to Bright blue earlier about the cheesy effects of the early Doc in Earthshock, it probably looked great at the time. It's just now we're so used to better effects. Like the way no-one saw the strings in Bill & Ben or whatever at the time, coz of picture quality."

They didn't look great, really. The BBC were notorious for holding-back on budgets for shows that needed much more money even if (like Who) they were extremely popular. It's not just the times: shows like "Doctor Who" and "Blake's 7" really were made on budgets too small for the type of shows they were. It's only in the last fifteen years or so that the beeb has started budgeting shows to the extent that their commercial rivals do.

"Yeah, and in 20 years time, what'll we think of today's effects? They'll probably look as dodgey in the future as the tin-foil Cybermen look now."

They'll look dated but they'll still look good "for the time". If you watch old episodes of "Star Trek" the FX often look dated (especially in the original show) but you can tell they were putting up a reasonable budget. You can't really say the same for some old Who episodes where it's all been shot on videotape and there's so much use of horrible Chromakey and the like.

Well it's probably a bit of both, surely? I know when I look back at stuff I watched as a kid, the effects can look sooooo bad now, but we never really noticed at the time.

IF DT is replaced as Dr. Who. who should the new Dr. be???

i would like to see Sean Pertwee take up the mantle

Don't like the idea of DT leaving just yet. Couldn't bear it!!!

but there is talk

and if there is talk there must be talk of a replacement WHO???

There's been talk for ages!! He's said it himself that he's signed a contract for some special episodes in 2009 and they haven't brought it to him for after either way.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_7150000/newsid_7151200/7151279.stm?bw=bb&mp=wm&news=1&nol_storyid=7151279&bbcws=1

Would've been good to see Paul McGann do more stories. Liked him in the film.

Someone told me the other day they'd heard Eddie Izzard was being considered. Now I just adore him, as a stand-up comedian he's hilarious and he's not been bad in the few things I've seen him acting in. But I just can't picture him as the Doctor.

Deb

He's not a very good actor, though, and "Izzard as the Doctor" rumours have been floating about since before the show was re-launched and they've never gone anywhere.

It would make Tom Baker seem rather conservatively dressed.

That was a great "Bash 'em up, smash 'em up" episode and Martha being back distracted from THAT woman a little which was good. Am I imagining it or was there a milli second image of Rose on one of the monitors?
I liked the flames circling the world burning off the nasty gasses as like that sort of thing in SciFi.

I forgot to add that although the monsters faces are really well done, scarey they are not, infact I call them Sultanas as about as scarey as a bit of dried fruit! They are just too short too to be scarey.

"Are you my mummy?" and mention of The Brigadier

The second I heard "Are you my mummy?" - I have NO idea what happened next, the whole family was in stitches!

Some of the one liners are fantastic - in the Dr Who Confidential on BBC3 just after, there was a repeat of the line from an earlier series - "it's like Stephen Hawkins meets the Speaking Clock"

They also showed the Sontarans from earlier episodes - seeing some of the old ones really brings it home how incredible the prosthetics are these days!

I thought I must have been imagining it but the image was there.

I loved this episode! And I find with each episode I see less of "The Cathering Tate Show".

I laughed out loud at "Are you my mummy" Brilliant!

And a proper exciting ending too - leaving me on the edge of my seat for next week.

Deb

Bloody hell SS, what does Catherine Tate have to do?
Another solid performance from Tate - there's none of the "comedy" shouting that I feared she'd bring to every episode. Freema was good, as always. I did like that little scene when all three sat in that teleport tube after whingy yank kid sacrificed himself.
Tennant's finally coming into his own as The Doctor too, I think. In his first series, he played it like a cross between CE and his own version of Casanova, but he's been getting better since Billie left. I think he's now getting better with each episode.