The Dr Who thread

Matrixxx · Post by **Matrixxx** » Mon May 15, 2006 1:20 pm 0

The watcher ... hey I remember that, the white guy that watched Tom Baker drop off a sky dish - right ? I was so young at the time, and it never made any sense back then either. Maybe someone could enlighten me on that one. And, there was something about a pillar shaped tardis or something ? - all vague childhood memories now...

HGFB · Post by **HGFB** » Mon May 15, 2006 1:21 pm 0

Nothing so complicated. As far as the BBC is concerned Hartnell was number 1 and Tennant is number 10.

All that stuff you're remembering from The Brain of Morbius is just fanwank theory.

KlaxonCow · Post by **KlaxonCow** » Mon May 15, 2006 2:36 pm 0

Matrixxx wrote:The watcher ... hey I remember that

Yeah, I vaguely remember him.

I used to call him "the Michelin Man" because he was all white. Although, after Ghostbusters, I suppose he could have been "the Stay Puft Man" too.

They used him to "reset" things?

Well, then the Doctor has another 6 or 7 regenerations before they have to invent another reason.

(It must have been something subconscious that made me vaguely remember that William Hartnell might not have actually been number 1. Maybe I saw that episode where they showed that but just don't remember that I did.)

HGFB · Post by **HGFB** » Mon May 15, 2006 2:46 pm 0

The Watcher was used to reset nothing. It was just a part of the regeneration from the 4th to the 5th. Klaxoncow. Do yourself a favour and don't get your Who info from Matrix

This Doctor is doctor number 10.

Here you go

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_%28 ... enerations

In The Brain of Morbius (produced shortly before Assassin), it was implied through visual images displayed during a mental battle between the Doctor and Morbius that the Doctor had at least eight incarnations prior to the First Doctor. However, multiple dialogue references throughout the series (particularly in The Three Doctors and The Five Doctors) contradict this, as well as the fact that the Doctor has regenerated five times since Peter Davison. Explanations by fans have included theories that the images were of Morbius's previous incarnations or that they were false images induced by the Doctor. The Doctor Who novels have suggested that these may have been faces of the Other, a figure from Gallifrey's ancient past and the genetic predecessor of the Doctor (although being from the spin-off novels, the canonicity of this character is debatable).

KlaxonCow · Post by **KlaxonCow** » Mon May 15, 2006 3:11 pm 0

Matrixxx wrote:And, there was something about a pillar shaped tardis or something ? - all vague childhood memories now...

Yeah, my memory goes vague and unclear at about the same point too.

But I think I do remember what the pillar shaped TARDIS was about.

The TARDIS actually has a "Chameleon circuit" where it's supposed to disguise itself as something which isn't out of place with the surroundings where it lands.

Hence, it turned itself into a '50s police box for the first ever episode because that's where it landed: '50s Earth in the UK.

This is actually something they've not really stressed in the new series but the TARDIS always was a broken and tempremental device.

It got stuck as a police box from then on because the "Chameleon circuit" was busted.

It was either Tom Baker or Peter Davidson, though, where the Doctor actually bothered attempting to fix the broken circuit and restore his TARDIS's shape-changing abilities.

There were a few episodes where the TARDIS turned into a piano and other mad objects (he couldn't quite get it to work as intended but it was at least changing shape as it was always supposed to do) because of this.

But then I think the Doctor thought it was shite and turned it back to the police box disguise permanently. Just because he'd gotten used to the police box and preferred it.

If I remember correctly, the pillar-shaped TARDIS wasn't the Doctor's TARDIS but the Master's TARDIS. Because the Master had one too - what with being a Timelord and all that as well - but, of course, the disguise shape-changing ability is only broken on the Doctor's TARDIS. All the other TARDISes out there work just fine changing shape.

They've only marginally hinted at the fact - in an early Eccleston episode where he operated the TARDIS in the stupidest way imaginable and had to hit the console with a hammer (plus where Tennant tried to land in the 1970s but ended up in the 1870s: Although, it was never emphasised if the Doctor or the TARDIS fucked up there) - that the TARDIS is actually half-broken and very tempremental.

No, I'm not being "fanboy wank" here either. They don't have to do that and it's nothing to do with "Classic Who" (except that the idea came from that).

I just always liked the idea of this amazingly high tech time travelling device, which is actually fucked and doesn't work properly. It was just a nice humourous touch, which also was used a few times to explain things (the police box thing comes from that and it was also used as an excuse for why the Doctor ended up in random locations every week for a while: The TARDIS was fucked and the Doctor couldn't make the fucking thing land in the right time and place.

That's not because I'm interested in seeing "Classic Who" linked into the new series. No, couldn't give a shit. I just always thought it was a nice, funny touch. One of the most advanced machines in the universe and it keeps fucking crashing (it's almost like it was a prediction of Microsoft Windows, eh?).

HGFB · Post by **HGFB** » Mon May 15, 2006 3:15 pm 0

Guys. No need to stream through your hazy memories. Just wander over to wikipedia

As noted above, although the TARDIS is supposed to blend inconspicuously into whatever environment it turns up in, it invariably retains the shape of a police box (which it took when landing in 1963) because of a faulty chameleon circuit. The exact nature of the fault has never been specified. The circuit was first mentioned, but not given a technical name, in the second episode of the series, where the First Doctor and Susan noted it was malfunctioning. It was first termed the "camouflage unit" in The Time Meddler (1965). The name was changed to "chameleon circuit" in the Target Books novelisations of the serials, and this term eventually made its way on screen in Logopolis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tardis

Ollie · Post by **Ollie** » Mon May 15, 2006 3:19 pm 0

Just realised - although Mickey is now travelling with the Doctor and Rose, he still appeas to be running the "Who is Doctor Who" website from which he performs his old "tin dog" role. Bit of a continuity gaffe on the web front, there.

HGFB · Post by **HGFB** » Mon May 15, 2006 3:20 pm 0

The latest one is done by "Ricky"

and I'm sure that if Rose can phone home from anywhere in time and space Mickey can get himself some ADSL.

nik · Post by **nik** » Mon May 15, 2006 5:01 pm 0

HGFB wrote:The latest one is done by "Ricky" :) and I'm sure that if Rose can phone home from anywhere in time and space Mickey can get himself some ADSL. ;)

Check back -- they've converted all the previous ones to being done by Ricky too, and the colour scheme's been inverted...

Firefox · Post by **Firefox** » Mon May 15, 2006 5:23 pm 0

I've got my fingers crossed that next weekend Doctor Who will feature Metal Mickey.

c64audio · Post by **c64audio** » Mon May 15, 2006 5:46 pm 0

Firefox wrote:I've got my fingers crossed that next weekend Doctor Who will feature Metal Mickey.

Don't you mean Retal Ricky?

Chris

Wibble · Post by **Wibble** » Mon May 15, 2006 5:59 pm 0

Rectal Ricky?

Alarm · Post by **Alarm** » Mon May 15, 2006 6:06 pm 0

Rental Ricky?

HGFB · Post by **HGFB** » Mon May 15, 2006 7:03 pm 0

Let me just say that the Doctor Who sticker album is fine stuff. It's the only place you can get a rare foil Charles Dickens for starters

Firefox · Post by **Firefox** » Mon May 15, 2006 7:07 pm 0

HGFB wrote:Let me just say that the Doctor Who sticker album is fine stuff. It's the only place you can get a rare foil Charles Dickens for starters

The album that was in the Radio Times?