NationStates Jolt Archive

SCI FI To Air New Doctor Who

SCI FI Channel announced Jan. 12 that it will air the first season of the BBC's hit SF series Doctor Who, starting in March. The 13 episodes, starring Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor and Billie Piper as Rose Tyler, will air as part of SCI FI Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

The series, from head writer and executive producer Russell T. Davies, ran originally in the United Kingdom last year and was one of the network's biggest hits ever. An update of the classic Doctor Who show, the series continues in the U.K. with an upcoming second season that will star David Tennant as the Doctor.

"The Doctor's made all sorts of journeys in time and space, but this is one of his most exciting yet!" Davies said in a statement. "I'm a huge fan of the SCI FI Channel, and I'm delighted that Doctor Who is appearing on a channel that supports and enhances the entire genre."

"With its rich history of imaginative storytelling, Doctor Who is a true sci-fi classic," Thomas P. Vitale, SCI FI's senior vice president, programming and original movies, said in a separate statement. "We're excited to add the show to our lineup."

Meanwhile, BBC Video announced that it has moved the proposed U.S. release date of the Doctor Who first-season DVD set to July 4 from its originally planned February launch.

A question to the NSers from the UK. Is this show as good as the original? Better? Worse?

Sci-Fi did pretty well with BSG, so Dr. Who can't be that bad.

Sci-Fi did pretty well with BSG, so Dr. Who can't be that bad.

True. In that case i shall be looking forward to seeing doctor who again.

Does this mean the release of the first season DVD has been rolled forward in Canada as well, I wonder?

That'd suck.

A question to the NSers from the UK. Is this show as good as the original? Better? Worse?

Different. Tending towards the better. Couple of clunkers of episodes though. Two outstanding episode to balance them out however.

Different. Tending towards the better. Couple of clunkers of episodes though. Two outstanding episode to balance them out however.

Which are you referring to? Fathers Day and The Doctor Dances?

Which are you referring to? Fathers Day and The Doctor Dances?

Dalek (despite it being a rewrite of Jubilee) and The Doctor Dances. Fathers Day was a nice solid self-contained episode, but didn't really go anywhere. The Empty Child is up there as well, despite the anachronistic tape recorder.

The clunkers: World War Three and Boom Town.

Dalek (despite it being a rewrite of Jubilee) and The Doctor Dances. Fathers Day was a nice solid self-contained episode, but didn't really go anywhere. The Empty Child is up there as well, despite the anachronistic tape recorder.

The clunkers: World War Three and Boom Town.

I really hated Parting of the Ways. It had such a crappy ending. And they're going to have to bring the daleks back for David Tennant. But they can't because Rose destroyed every one of them in all space and time. What ever will they do?

Nothing can compare to Tom Baker. Still, I'm excited to see new the Doctor Who.

I have the old PBS Doctor Who mug. The one when you put hot water in it the phone booth disappears.

A question to the NSers from the UK. Is this show as good as the original? Better? Worse?

As said: different. It lacks the whole cute "cardboard and wobbly walls" feel the original series had - but other than that the stories and acting are quite decent and the series still "feels" like Dr Who. Not like the new Battle Star galactica series in other words.

It's the first one with proper FX so it doesn't feel totally Dr. Who, but I still really enjoyed the whole series, so it's good.

A question to the NSers from the UK. Is this show as good as the original? Better? Worse?

I suppose it depends on what you consider the original. IIRC, Dr. Who didn't really become popular in the US until Tom Baker. There were three "doctors" before him and they are all good in their own way.

the new Dr is good, one poor epsiode (World War 3) but other than that it's good. I found the one with the mad american billionare and the dalek perticually good. (Can't reamber what it's called.)

the new Dr is good, one poor epsiode (World War 3) but other than that it's good. I found the one with the mad american billionare and the dalek perticually good. (Can't reamber what it's called.)

'Dalek' you mean? Sorry, I can't tell if you're joing or not.

Christopher Eccleston is pretty good. don't like him as much as Tom Baker or Sylvester McCoy. But I think David Tennant will be the best Doctor. He's absolutely hilarious. And he wears a brown pinstripe suit.

'Dalek' you mean? Sorry, I can't tell if you're joing or not.

Christopher Eccleston is pretty good. don't like him as much as Tom Baker or Sylvester McCoy. But I think David Tennant will be the best Doctor. He's absolutely hilarious. And he wears a brown pinstripe suit.
I liked Eccleston, and I did mean dalek.

A question to the NSers from the UK. Is this show as good as the original? Better? Worse?
There have been like 9 Dr Who's so are you really talking about the original?
Do you like the 3rd one better than the 7th?
Is the 8th your Favourite?
What do you think of K-9?
How about Rose?

There have been like 9 Dr Who's so are you really talking about the original?
Do you like the 3rd one better than the 7th?
Is the 8th your Favourite?
What do you think of K-9?
How about Rose?

I like rose. Only because she's a better singer than most modern artists.
There was this clip I downloaded. It has a guy on a train dressed as Tom Baker. He made one of the funnier comments I've heard. "Billie Piper. She's got a mouth you could hide a submarine in."

I like rose. Only because she's a better singer than most modern artists.
There was this clip I downloaded. It has a guy on a train dressed as Tom Baker. He made one of the funnier comments I've heard. "Billie Piper. She's got a mouth you could hide a submarine in."
You have a Submarine?
You sick sick sick little man.

Different. Tending towards the better. Couple of clunkers of episodes though. Two outstanding episode to balance them out however.
I'd go along with that. Dalek and The Empty Child were the standouts for me. The last couple of episodes were such a cop out, though.
How do people feel this version measures up to the Paul McGann television movie?

The best episodes were probably "Dalek" and "The Empty Child" / "The Doctor Dances". "Boom Town" was fairly good, despite featuring a Slitheen.

It's certainly different from the older episodes. Personally, I prefer the old ones, but that's probably due - at least in part - to nostalgia; I grew up watching Doctor Who :)

Christopher Ecclestone, once he finds his feet, is brilliant in the role. The special effects are fantastic - not exactly classic Who style, given all the dodgy effects and scenery we were once used to, but nonetheless damn cool to watch. One observation I made was that the episodes not written by Russell T. Davies (the show's creator) were superior to (most of) the ones he had scripted.

But all in all, a very good series. I'm not sure what David Tennant will bring in the next two series, but his performance in the Christmas special was pretty decent (for the little he actually had any lines, anyway), so fingers crossed. He'll have his work cut out to make such an impression as his predecessor, though.

How do people feel this version measures up to the Paul McGann television movie?Thought the script could have been a lot better, and that they could have given Sylvester McCoy more dignity in death. However, I thought Paul McGann had great potential to do the role justice, and am only sorry we never got to see him play The Doctor in any especially well-written scripts. Nonetheless, he's established himself as a credible and popular Doctor through the Big Finish audio productions, which is gratifying.

Nonetheless, he's established himself as a credible and popular Doctor through the Big Finish audio productions, which is gratifying.

Pity that they lost their way entirely after the first eighth Doctor BF 'season'.

It's also good to see that the Daleks are actually scary, as opposed to falling apart on set.

What I want to know is where the hell they plan to put all these shows because they only put shows on Friday nights and there is already 3 shows there, and they just added John Doe in replacement of Firefly.

As said: different. It lacks the whole cute "cardboard and wobbly walls" feel the original series had - but other than that the stories and acting are quite decent and the series still "feels" like Dr Who. Not like the new Battle Star galactica series in other words.


Great. I was hoping it wasn't a direct remake (same stories/scripts, etc). It's always good to keep old characters fresh especially Doctor Who.

It's certainly different from the older episodes. Personally, I prefer the old ones, but that's probably due - at least in part - to nostalgia; I grew up watching Doctor Who :)

Christopher Ecclestone, once he finds his feet, is brilliant in the role. The special effects are fantastic - not exactly classic Who style, given all the dodgy effects and scenery we were once used to, but nonetheless damn cool to watch. One observation I made was that the episodes not written by Russell T. Davies (the show's creator) were superior to (most of) the ones he had scripted.

But all in all, a very good series. I'm not sure what David Tennant will bring in the next two series, but his performance in the Christmas special was pretty decent (for the little he actually had any lines, anyway), so fingers crossed. He'll have his work cut out to make such an impression as his predecessor, though.
I'm with you on Davies: his best episode had Ecclestone defeating Simon Pegg (and a particularly crap CGI alien) by outgurning him, as I recall. His dialogue isn't bad, but he can't seem to introduce any tension or sense of menace into his plots.