Comments on life and opinions of andrew rilstone: I think that in retrospect, everybody could see th...

I'm confused. Is this compared to the narrativ...

2012-01-11T17:37:46.740Z

I'm confused. Is this compared to the narrative excellence and well-put-togetherness that was the previous Christmas special?

Though my experience was rather different. I enjoyed this Christmas special. Nothing to write home about, but at least it wasn't so gratuitous about its time-travel deus-ex-machinae.

This may be one of the few times I appreciate having discovered the Doctor rather late in life.

That's another interpretation. The 2005+ Doct...

2012-01-10T19:36:51.373Z

That's another interpretation. The 2005+ Doctor Who is still living in Tom Baker's shadow and has remained a star vehicle, which all the post-2005 Doctors can only occasionally make work.

I would vote for Tom Baker as Tom Baker.

2012-01-10T19:26:43.329Z

I would vote for Tom Baker as Tom Baker.

So far we've got two votes for David Tennant a...

2012-01-10T06:38:21.773Z

So far we've got two votes for David Tennant as Tom Baker and one vote for Matt Smith as Tom Baker.

Andrew Stevens: Okay, so is Matt Smith the new...

2012-01-09T22:57:46.555Z
Andrew Stevens:

Okay, so is Matt Smith the new Tom Baker? I.e. this is a terrible story redeemed only because it has Matt Smith? Or is David Tennant Tom Baker? And this is a terrible story because Matt Smith can't save it the way David Tennant could have? I'm pretty sure you're trying to say one of those two things, probably the second one, but I'm not quite sure which.

It took it to mean that Matt Smith is the new Tom Baker and that 'The Doctor, the Wicker Chair and the Walnut' was the new 'Horns of Nimon'. This is mostly based on Mssr Rilstone's past praise of Matt Smith.

For me, the point to Tom Baker was that he was cha...

2012-01-08T19:21:19.900Z
For me, the point to Tom Baker was that he was charismatic enough to dominate proceedings as the central character, yet quirky enough to remain a totally inscrutable stranger.

No matter how long he played the character, you felt like you didn't have the slightest clue what he might be thinking. Troughton had done that before but Baker did it best.

"Okay, so is Matt Smith the new Tom Baker...

2012-01-08T17:12:00.493Z
"Okay, so is Matt Smith the new Tom Baker? I.e. this is a terrible story redeemed only because it has Matt Smith? Or is David Tennant Tom Baker? And this is a terrible story because Matt Smith can't save it the way David Tennant could have? I'm pretty sure you're trying to say one of those two things, probably the second one, but I'm not quite sure which."

Looking back into the nostalgic mists of my childhood, I think that New Who bacame much more star-focused during the Tennant years, which I suppose would make Christopher Ecclestone pre-Baker Who, David Tennant Tom Baker, and Matt Smith Doctor Who after Tom Baker left.

(Personally I don't think that David Tennant could have redeemed "The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe", and I think that the series was definitely in decline towards the end of his period as Doctor. Your mileage may vary, of course.)

For me, within the context of Andrew's post, M...

2012-01-08T01:09:58.794Z
For me, within the context of Andrew's post, Matt Smith is McCoy (and River Song is the accursed Cartmel Masterplan made flesh).

Okay, so is Matt Smith the new Tom Baker? I.e. th...

2012-01-07T18:19:17.320Z
Okay, so is Matt Smith the new Tom Baker? I.e. this is a terrible story redeemed only because it has Matt Smith? Or is David Tennant Tom Baker? And this is a terrible story because Matt Smith can't save it the way David Tennant could have? I'm pretty sure you're trying to say one of those two things, probably the second one, but I'm not quite sure which.

I do agree with you that it was Tom Baker who killed off classic Doctor Who for the reasons that you mention, though I think it's not entirely fair since the Davison era was trying to resurrect the pre-Tom Baker era (as indeed was Season 18), but failed.

Very good! Just recently I'd been trying mysel...

2012-01-07T05:54:36.139Z
Very good! Just recently I'd been trying myself to figure out why I felt differently about pre- and post- Tom Baker WHO.

Showed it to my brother, who is at least as much a WHO fan as I, and he also thought you hit the nail on the head with the idea that Baker changed the focus of the series to the actor-as-star ...

Please change the typeface. It's almost unread...

2012-01-07T01:49:31.039Z
Please change the typeface. It's almost unreadable online.