Posted April 10, 20205 yr Doctor Who originally aired between 1963-1989 as well as returning for one TV movie in 1996. It seemed like any return to our TV screens was completely off the table until it was announced in 2003 that it would be back, led by writer Russell T Davies! He oversaw the show and was heavily involved in the writing process for it's entire 2000s run before leaving the show, with a final episode airing on New Year's Day 2010. It had run for 4 series and 8 specials. This period was when the show reached possibly the highest highs it had ever achieved! It exploded onto our screens and into our shops with the range of merchandising rivalling that of big Hollywood movie franchises such as Harry Potter & Star Wars. Can we just appreciate this from Toys R Us <3 <3 It was heaven!! The success was heavily down to a huge revamp of the show. It extended episodes to 45 minutes, largely having self-contained stories aside from an occasional two parter. It removed the Time Lords in order to remove the need to know the mythology of the show and just focus on a mad man in a box. There was also a huge focus on the companion who was now the centre of the story, each having families that would appear throughout the series. It staged the comeback of the main memorable villains, such as the Daleks, Cyberman and the Master, in order to keep momentum and not reveal all their cards at once. They also introduced a number of new striking monsters such as the Slitheen, Ood and the Weeping Angels. Interestingly, one call back it did use from the original run was returning companion Sarah Jane Smith and her robot dog K9 but it didn't alienate new viewers. The return introduced, for the first time, two successful spin-off series Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures. During this decade, Torchwood had two 13 episode series as well as the best drama series known to man 'Children of Earth'. The Sarah Jane Adventures had 3 series and a special. Doctors Christopher Eccleston David Tennant Companions Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman) Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) Recurring/Memorable Characters Jackie Tyler Mickey Smith Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North Pete Tyler Sarah Jane Smith K9 Francine Jones Tish Jones Astrid Sylvia Noble Wilfred Mott Lady Christina de Souza Adelaide Brooke
April 10, 20205 yr I loved this era so much! My favourite DW time for sure! It’s weird I never got in to 10 and Rose. I loved Rose with 9 and 10 with Donna! Though series 3 was probably my favourite, that Master twist *.*
April 10, 20205 yr Author it literally is the most incredible era of the show for me and it brings back so many memories! I used to count down the days/hours until each new episode and it was just an amazing escape into this whole new world each week! also, going back to merchandising, can we just at this being the best selling toy of 2006 omg: i also got the Doctor Who Adventures magazine which had loads of posters in it and so my room was FLOODED with these crappy paper posters. AND i each magazine came with a free gift so my room was also flooded with all the crap stationary aka a ruler with a doctor who logo sticker or a slitheen sticker on it. amazing, i had so many pencils and pens and NOTEBOOKS <3
April 10, 20205 yr Can we talk about how BLOWN AWAY we were when the dalek turned up at the end of Army Of Ghosts? My favourite DW cliffhanger EVER!
April 10, 20205 yr Author Can we talk about how BLOWN AWAY we were when the dalek turned up at the end of Army Of Ghosts? My favourite DW cliffhanger EVER! Yes! I never saw it coming at all, although I didn't know WHAT would be in the sphere but it also gave us Daleks v Cyberman (even if it wasn't much of a battle/the focus of the episode). I remember all the hype about how Rose would leave and whether she would die or not. At the start of the finale she says 'this is the story of how I died'. It may have been sneaky but I think the emotional ending more than made up for it. Billie is incredible in those scenes particularly with the 'TAKE ME BACKKK' </3. It also has had a revival for me this year, once when it could be used when we leaved the EU 'take me back, take me back!!' and of course 10 & Rose being the OGs of social distancing.
April 10, 20205 yr The first series I watched was the one with Donna so there aren't too many memories I can share sadly! I remember the first episode I ever watched was the one with the Adipose and the crazy woman turning people into these little creatures and I was just like 'what on Earth is happening' :lol: David Tennant is definitely the best Doctor out of the ones I've seen though!
April 10, 20205 yr Author Donna is unrivalled as a companion! It feels odd then that her series say Martha returning for 5 eps and Rose returning for 3 and everyone else in the finale. She truly still outshined
April 10, 20205 yr Honestly, I don't think an era of Doctor Who will ever be so fondly remembered as this one! (I'm a MASSIVE fan of Moffat's era, but you can't deny that RTD's had everything going for it). The warmth, spirit and just general ability to keep everybody entertained even when the episodes weren't amazing :kink: shows just how well-crafted it all was. Outside of the show, you had all of the merchandise, the magazines, the extras, Doctor Who Confidential (R.I.P), successful spin-offs that people grew to love as much as the main show, the list goes on.
April 10, 20205 yr Author omg Doctor Who Confidential!! It really made you warm to the cast more as you got to know them. It’s outside this era but I loved Matt, Karen & Arthur together - they got on so well! I love love seeing thoughts behind things and how everything is made. Although the amount of times they showed an explosion going off, it was a bit much! These days we just get jigsaw puzzles tasks in terms of extra content :(
April 10, 20205 yr Can we talk about how BLOWN AWAY we were when the dalek turned up at the end of Army Of Ghosts? My favourite DW cliffhanger EVER! Quite. I wasn't reading spoilers at the time so I was just SHOCKED in a very good way. Obvs nothing but love for this era, I sometimes think he kind of had it easier in a way as it had been away for so long, but at the same time, the writing, suspense, lore and monsters were just so much better and they hold up really well. What I would give for a tenth of the tension that made up the likes of Blink, Impossible Planet, Human Nature, Silence in the Library, Midnight etc. to be in current episodes!
April 10, 20205 yr I got the Doctor Who Adventures magazine for a few years as well! Unfortunately as it switched to Matt Smith my interest began to dwindle...
April 10, 20205 yr Author We also got given two special full length animations! The Infinite Quest This starred the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones as they set off on an adventure through space to find the datachips to unlock The Infinite, a huge spaceship that can grant people their heart's desire. However, the evil Baltazar is also searching for the ship. This was first shown on Totally Doctor Who! wMpYpHzAvpY Dreamland This saw the Tenth Doctor visit 1950s America and Area 51 before the Eleventh did! It also starred David Tenant's now wife (and Peter Davison's daughter) Georgia Tenant. JpAuRqhTqkc and... BONUS Scream of the Shalka After materialising in the village of Lannet in Lancashire, the Doctor, along with local barmaid Alison and her boyfriend Joe, find themselves up against an underground alien force called the Shalka, who, as part of their preparation for an all-out invasion of Earth, are stripping away the ozone layer from the planet. jV7Vwqy-vb0 This was released in 2003 before the revival was announced! It starred Richard E Grant as the Doctor (later the Great Intelligence) and Sophie Okonedo as the companion (later Liz 10) as well as, some foreshadowing, Derek Jacobi as the Master!! Plans for further animations were dropped due to the revival. ------------ these are all fun but none are particularly memorable/amazing. the animation style is probably best in The Infinite Quest. The one in Dreamland visually looks the best....until they start moving so stiffly!
April 10, 20205 yr The growth in Harriet Jones though. Honestly, it's little things like (being able to weave such a small detail like that through all four RTD series) every monster or person knowing who Harriet Jones is that made the RTD era so special. It's very much lacking in the episodes we see today.
April 10, 20205 yr I don't know how many times I've rewatched Series 1-4 tbh I don't think DW will ever top that run. Even so far as the Matt Smith era I just can't rewatch it all again without inevitably skipping a good 1/3 of the episodes (and that's before I get to Clara lol). Peter Capaldi was a huge win for the show especially in his later series - but even then series 10 was still nothing on series 2/4 :wub: Series 4 is amazing all the way through. It has an actual story arc through the WHOLE series that doesn't just throw random bits of information at you with no explanation at all :') Series 2 did a great job too but the stakes weren't as high I thought in universe. Edited April 10, 20205 yr by Infludexton*
April 10, 20205 yr Author Clara wasn’t a character for Series 7 but I did enjoy her in the other two series. She’s not up there with the best companions though and I do agree she did become completely dominant. She went from 0-100 :lol: Actually, I see that re Series 7 but she had more characterisation than Ruan & Yaz in Series 11
April 10, 20205 yr Clara wasn’t a character for Series 7 but I did enjoy her in the other two series. She’s not up there with the best companions though and I do agree she did become completely dominant. She went from 0-100 :lol: Actually, I see that re Series 7 but she had more characterisation than Ruan & Yaz in Series 11 only series 11? she had more characterisation in Asylum alone than they've had in both :kink:
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