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Friday, 29 January 2016

The 13 Faces of Doctor Who!

Happy Hiatus, everyone! Nah, not really, 2016 isn't Doctor in Distress territory with Doctor Who cancelled and hated by the BBC, series 10's just been delayed by 6 months or so, shifting back into the more comfortable territory of the Spring broadcast pattern that launched the show's 21st Century regeneration.
The show's future is in fact assured, with the BBC appointing a new showrunner in Chris Chibnall, confirmed to helm Series 11, and beyond, as the show undergoes one of the periodic backroom shakeups it's always thrived on.
In 1981, with a longer break than usual on the cards between seasons 18 and 19, producer John Nathan-Turner organised a season of repeats to be broadcast on BBC Two on consecutive evenings, beginning in November and leading up to the arrival of 5th Doctor Peter Davison in January 1982.

5 adventures were chosen from the first four Doctors; An Unearthly Child, The Krotons, Carnival of Monsters, The Three Doctors, and Logopolis - both to serve as a recap and prelude into Castrovalva, and also to justify the "five faces" tag, because it 
featured the first on-screen appearance of Peter Davison's  5th Doctor.




Deemed a success (and more importantly with 6 weeks of the summer schedule unexpectedly free), a 

second season of repeats, entitled "Doctor Who and the Monsters" was broadcast on BBC One the following year - though this time round, only the 3 Doctors-in-colour were represented, and in 50 minute compilation episodes, in 
The Curse of Peladon, Genesis of the Daleks and Earthshock. The episodes were billed as 

The Ice Warriors, 
The Daleks, and - you guessed it - 
The Cybermen in The Radio Times.


Fans of a certain age may also remember a stop-start sequence of repeats that ran between January 1992 and May 1993, with a story each for the then 7 Doctors, and a couple of bonuses for 3rd Doctor, Jon Pertwee in the shape of the recoloured The Daemons in November & December 1992 and Planet of the Daleks in November & December 1993, for the show's 30th Anniversary, and including the third episode broadcast on BBC One in Black and White!


More recently, the 50th Anniversary gave BBC America & Watch (in the UK) "The Doctors Revisited" which included:

...with some variations in the UK: Battlefield for the 7th Doctor, Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead for the 10th and The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People for the 11th.



But what Doctor Who stories would you pick if BBC2, BBC4 or just BBC iPlayer laid on a "Five Faces" style repeat season in 2016?
Never Cruel...‏ The 12 Faces?


No, sir, all thirteen!
Clockwork Squirrel ‏@YourUltimateFoe Rose, The Next Doctor, The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone, The Day of the Doctor and Heaven Sent.
Davad ‏@davadsteel Aztecs, Enemy, Green Death, Fang Rock, Earthshock, Varos, Rememberance, TV movie obvs...Bad Wolf/Parting, The Lodger, Day of the Doctor, Sleep No More. Plus a good documentary by Matthew Sweet or Mark Gattis.

Documentaries as well? Tsk, greedy! Lol.

Davad ‏@davadsteel Maybe just an episode of The One Show then...?

What have we done to deserve that? ;-P
Paul Cooke ‏@paulvcooke War Machines, Mind Robber, Daemons, Pyramids, Visitation, Varos, Battlefield, TVM, Empty/Dances, Utopia/Drums/Last.....Pandorica/Big Bang and Zygon/Zygon. Also add multi doctors plus An Unearthly Child (but not the Stone Age stuff)....
Dan Talks Doctor Who ‏@dantalksdrwho toughie! I think Dalek Invasion; Tomb; Daemons; Pyramids of Mars; Androzani; Vengeance on Varos and Remembrance then Movie (obvs!) Dalek; Waters of Mars; Flesh & Stone/Time of Angels; and Under Lake/Before Flood then include a few extra Dalek and Cybermen stories, but don't fanny around with BBC2. Trail it heavily as iplayer only.
Ed Watkinson ‏@CouncillorEd The Aztecs, The Invasion, The Daemons, City of Death, Kinda, Vengeance on Varos, The Happiness Patrol, TVM, Fathers Day Human Nature/Family of Blood, God Complex, Heaven Sent.
Adrian Last ‏@LeffeAt49DS Wish we could pick Marco and Power. If only!

Gordon Ridout ‏@GordonRidout Empty/Dances, Nature/Blood,Time/Flesh, Day of the Doctor, and Invasion/Inversion. All the same length (as in 1981).

Other Pete ‏@other_pete Meddler, Tomb, Autons, Image, Earthshock, Revelation, Survival, Empty/Dances, Silence/Forest, 11th Hr, Dark/Heaven. But... Don't do it, BBC! The 2017 relaunch needs to be fresh, the current #DrWho should be the definite article.

Phil Creighton ‏@phil_creighton my stories would be Unearthly, Romans, tomb, spearhead, ark, visitation, rani, remembrance, TV Movie.

Si Hodges ‏@SiHodges79 Aztecs, Tomb, Day/Daleks, Zygons, Earthshock, Mark, Remembrance, TVM, Empty, Stolen, Astronaut, Day/Doctor, Dark Water. I set myself some rules - only 4-parters, Historical Hartnell, UNIT Pertwee, most recognisable companion per Dr. ...as many Dalek, Cyberman, Master stories without feeling repetative.  Only regret not fitting in Delgado. Biggest stumbling block is probably the Aztecs - it's amazing but so slow and stylised for a modern audience :/

John Bensalhia ‏@JohnBensalhia Aztecs, Enemy, Mind Of Evil, Robots, Earthshock, Varos, Fenric, TV Movie, Empty Child, Library, Time of Angels, Zygon Inv!
Never Cruel... The Rescue, The Mind Robber, Terror of the Autons, Warrior's Gate, Caves of Androzani, Revelation of the Daleks, The Happiness Patrol, Telly Movie, Rose, Human Nature/Family of Blood, Amy's Choice, Mummy on the Orient Express. Ask me in 10 minutes and you'll probably get a massively different list... ;o)

 Yeah, I'm always the same! But for what it's worth...

I'd stick to 4-parters, or their equivalent length, and wouldn't be averse to omnibus (50 minute) episodes or even (at the risk of "butchering the classics") versions edited down to fit a 60 minute slot - no different in my eyes to the 70s repeats that cut down an old 6 parter to around 100 minutes, or the album version of Genesis of the Daleks that reduces the 6 part story to a mere 60 minutes!

The Romans

Made a rod for my own back here by eliminating 6 parters, didn't I? Because otherwise I'd've gone for The Dalek Invasion of Earth, which has some great atmosphere and a real thriller feel, as well as one of the highlights of the show's history in the First Doctor's farewell to his granddaughter, Susan.

But you know what, it'd be great to dispel the perception of Hartnell being a dithering and brusque authoritarian type unrecognisable next to yer modern Doctors. What nonsense, here we have him up to his eyeballs in comedic shenanigans while William Russell and Jackie Hill are at the height of their powers.


The Tomb of the Cybermen

Troughton on top twinkling form with proper Cybermen and a great, Claustrophobic set. 

Wibbly wobbly before Moffat; a great paradox story that makes sparing but clever use of the Daleks. It'd be nice for the recently tarted up DVD Special Edition to get an airing. 

The Three Doctors

Perhaps not the greatest story, but an important one and a joy from start to finish because the Troughton/Pertwee interplay alone is worth the price of admission. 

City of Death

Exquisite... absolutely exquisite.

The Five Doctors

Doctor Who's Greatest Hits, and as such essential. 

The Caves of Androzani

Peter Davison's finest script and performance, a memorable villain, great atmosphere and what is probably still the best regeneration in the show's history.

Revelation of the Daleks

Something really different for the Daleks, in truth perhaps more of a Davros story, and one in which the so called nasty 6th Doctor has shaken off his early wobbles and settled down into a gutsy, forthright adventurer.

The Curse of Fenric

A fine story on every level, and the scariest for a long, long time. Very tempting to go for undoubted colossus Remembrance of the Daleks, but here's a story that really deserves to be more widely known with a new audience.

The TV Movie

Pretty obvious what this is doing here, worth it just for how great McGann is. Quite literally, almost. 

Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways

A rousing send off and suitably epic finale for the 9th Doctor, here at his most rounded and steely. Series 1 firing on all cylinders and pulling out all the stops. Also includes a nice Frontier in Space reference.

Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead

Davey T at the height of his powers and a wonderfully imaginative story, setting and monster from Steven Moffat. Worth reappraising for the overlooked Doctor Moon scenes, in which Colin Salmon, the greatest Bond we never had, is fantastic.

The Eleventh Hour

Somewhat sadly, still Matt Smith's finest hour, arriving to annihilate any misgivings like so many sheds. A joy from start to finish, from the hyperactive arrival based on Winnie the Pooh (Tiggers don't like bad, bad beans) to the rooftop showdown with the Atraxi and the childlike wonder at the new TARDIS interior, this is something special. 

The Day of the Doctor (including The Night of the Doctor)

Probably Steven Moffat's finest achievement, the 50th Anniversary special we needed, even if it wasn't the one fans thought they wanted. (See also the 5ish Doctors!); but go on, treat us and tag on the never broadcast on TV masterpiece that is The Night of the Doctor to the beginning, before John Hurt effortlessly nails the part of the hitherto secret "War Doctor"! 

The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar

A rewatch of this masterful 2 parter, would, I think, surprise people. Free from the badly misjudged no-publicity season 9 non-launch, it's a story that delivers better as an omnibus than as 2 separate halves, I think. Peter Capaldi and Julian Bleach are astonishing here, and for a moment, just for a moment, you almost thought Moffat would be brave enough to let Davros actually die...

But yes, ask me again tomorrow and I'll probably pick completely different stories!

Eddie McGuigan ‏@Eddie_At_Skaro Just for fun... if Peter leaves with Steven, who would be your ideal Doctor No 13?

Blimey, now you're asking! Ideal as in dream choice or more realistic i.e. who *could* be on Chibnall's shortlist?

FWIW (nowt); actors I think aren't total pie-in-the-sky choices, that Chibnall should consider for 13th Doctor: David Dawson, Anuerin Bernard, Sacha Dawan, Ukweli Roach, Shazad Latif, Santiago Cabrera, Damien Molony (Based on the kind of Doctor it's being rumoured that the BBC would want to follow Capaldi, that is). 

Not blinkeredly stuck on any of these in particular, to be honest, just trying to think of the *type*, that isn't patent fantasy casting!  

I think you've got to look at someone bubbling under, rated by actors and directors but without designs on Hollywood/US parts that can be tied down for 4 years or so. i.e. on the Tennant/Smith career trajectory, with potential for wide, all ages, appeal. If they wanted a radical departure from bankable Tennant/Smith type, the showrunner wouldn't be safe-hands Chibnall.

I don't think they'll cast a woman. Everything about the Chibnall appointment is the Bbeeb scurrying for the safety of the Tennant zone, small 'C' conservative. I think they consider Season 9 was Who given a bloody nose in the ratings and they'll be too risk averse to go there.

 2017 UPDATE: Arf, arf, shows what I know! ;-P


TTFN! K.
Coming Soon... The Seeds of Death
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