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Post by Jaspal Cheema on May 7, 2014 5:59:32 GMT
You spoke too soon!  There's a joker in every pack  Seriously though, I know some other people like that story, and that's their prerogative, but the whole story gives me a headache  I've actually never got past the first opening minutes of episode 1!There was a trend in the 60's for science fantasy television to have whole episodes transplanted into a western setting,as if to show that the programme was really only cowboys against cowboys,traditional narratives played out amongst the stars with science and technology replacing the horse and Winchester-the Prisoner has one,Star Trek has one,Joe 90 has one.It just doesn't work with Dr Who and visually it's rather boring. |
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Post by Patrick Coles on May 7, 2014 7:59:32 GMT
much as I like The Prisoner (and that episode does at least put it's own scenario over into a Western setting thus makes sense) 'Living in Harmony' isn't a fav episode of mine (the ending is a bit odd) - while Star Trek's 'Spectre of The Gun' I find to be just stereotypical 'cowboys' (odd when you think that Roddenberry, D.C.Fontana, Gene L.Coon, Frieberger etc all worked on the classic TV Westerns !)
Star Trek: TNG also went west later....(and played 'Robin Hood' too)
to me the problem is that these episodes are very 'stereotypical' and never seem convincing - the Dr.Who one has the annoying Lynda Barron singing...and Peter Purves reciting the 'Ballad of the Last Chance saloon' (Peter loathed doing that !), indeed that along with his silly dancing scene in 'Celestial Toymaker' made poor Steven Taylor (& Peter) look a right pillock...!!!
For me 'The Dalek Master Plan' wins it by miles - credit to the largely overlooked & disregarded producer John Wiles for getting that epic tale together so well, if for nothing else Wiles deserves his place in the show's 'Space Museum of Fame' for achieving that
- second I'd put 'The War Machines' (anticipating Troughton, Pertwee & occasionally later Doctors eras & thus pointing the way ahead) with 'The Massacre' and 'Galaxy Four' coming after
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Post by dougp on May 7, 2014 16:04:15 GMT
Well, it's a new month! New Poll! My Vote goes towards 024. So does mine but it is another tough choice..... |
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Post by Matthew Kurth on May 8, 2014 2:40:14 GMT
I have to vote for DMP as well. Not only for the sheer epic scale, but for the fact that Donald Tosh was able to harmonize scripts by both Terry Nation and Dennis Spooner so that the whole thing hangs together while sprawling across so much of space and time. Plus excellent performances from Nick Courtney and Jean Marsh, plus Peter Butterworth and William Hartnell putting in a quirky but in command performance -- to me this may be the pinnacle of his Doctor.
Grudgingly I put War Machines in second place. I agree with what others have said: Ian Stewart Black delivers a prototype for the future, let down only by the use of "Doctor Who is required" and the criminal way it drops Dodo mid-story, regardless of the realities of her contract not covering all four episodes.
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Post by Matthew Kurth on May 8, 2014 2:43:53 GMT
Even some of the stories that might be considered weaker, such as "The Ark" are actually quite good in their own right. I find The Ark kind of boring and as difficult to sit through as The Gunfighters. As much as all the Western tropes make me cringe, at least Gunfighters was funny when it tried to be. |
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Post by andyeves on May 8, 2014 11:28:15 GMT
... and the criminal way it drops Dodo mid-story, regardless of the realities of her contract not covering all four episodes. Following on from that albeit slightly OT, is there anywhere online that lists why each of the companions left the series in real life? ... in particular whether they left out of choice or were simply let go, and in either case the reason for this decision? Thanks |
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Post by Matthew Kurth on May 8, 2014 13:19:25 GMT
Following on from that albeit slightly OT, is there anywhere online that lists why each of the companions left the series in real life? ... in particular whether they left out of choice or were simply let go, and in either case the reason for this decision I don't know of any resource which lays it out cut and dried companion by companion, but if you go to A Brief History of Time (Travel) and select the companion's last story there's usually a blurb about them and what happened to the actor/actress afterward. To get the full story though you have to step through every story the companion was in, as each story write-up often includes information on contract negotiations and grievances which came up during the time that serial was in production. |
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Post by andyeves on May 8, 2014 16:22:25 GMT
Following on from that albeit slightly OT, is there anywhere online that lists why each of the companions left the series in real life? ... in particular whether they left out of choice or were simply let go, and in either case the reason for this decision I don't know of any resource which lays it out cut and dried companion by companion, but if you go to A Brief History of Time (Travel) and select the companion's last story there's usually a blurb about them and what happened to the actor/actress afterward. To get the full story though you have to step through every story the companion was in, as each story write-up often includes information on contract negotiations and grievances which came up during the time that serial was in production. Excellent! Thanks for that. A wealth of behind-the-scenes info that will keep me going for hours |
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Post by Matthew Kurth on May 9, 2014 12:49:17 GMT
Excellent! Thanks for that. A wealth of behind-the-scenes info that will keep me going for hours You're welcome! I don't know of another site which does nearly as good a job of contextualizing each episode within the development of the series and the various recording blocks. |
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Post by Simon Jailler on May 9, 2014 14:03:12 GMT
I don't know of any resource which lays it out cut and dried companion by companion, but if you go to A Brief History of Time (Travel) and select the companion's last story there's usually a blurb about them and what happened to the actor/actress afterward. To get the full story though you have to step through every story the companion was in, as each story write-up often includes information on contract negotiations and grievances which came up during the time that serial was in production. Excellent! Thanks for that. A wealth of behind-the-scenes info that will keep me going for hours I'd like to hear the full story regarding Jackie Lane and Dodo one day. Jackie seemed to get a harsh deal and Ben and Polly's departure also seemed a bit abrupt. |
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Post by Michael D. Kimpton on May 11, 2014 17:49:20 GMT
I always enjoyed The Gunfighters. I felt the comedy was on the same scale as The Myth Makers. I guess that today's audiences just can't get around the British actors playing cowboys, or the ballard song. Understandable, but it feels so different and unexpected that I find it to be a very unique piece, and that it all works very well in the end. On the other hand, if you were to ask me if I would have preferred they kept Myth Makers rather than this, I'd have to say yes, Myth Makers would be the one I'd prefer, but I'm happy with both, and I think Donald Cotton did just as good a job with Gunfighters as he did with Myth Makers.
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Post by eddie evans on May 12, 2014 18:27:57 GMT
I watched galaxy four and i enjoyed it a lot but this was after watching the gunfighter(the worst doctor who story ever)
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Post by Matthew Kurth on May 12, 2014 23:55:04 GMT
I watched galaxy four and i enjoyed it a lot but this was after watching the gunfighter(the worst doctor who story ever) Seriously? Gunfighters is worse than Time and the Rani? Twin Dilemma? Time-Flight? |
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Post by eddie evans on May 13, 2014 7:10:10 GMT
yes
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Post by Richard Marple on May 13, 2014 12:08:28 GMT
There are a few Dr Who stories that seem to be regarded as either very good or bad, The Gunfighters is one, & Ghostlight is another to produce stong opinions either way.
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