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Post by The Thinker on Sept 1, 2006 5:47:09 GMT -5
:: Thinks of the famous Dalek and stairs scene from the end of Part One ::
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Post by Mark Senior on Oct 1, 2006 13:25:24 GMT -5
I seem to write this a lot these days but: a lot of you guys weren't watching DW (or even alive) during its original run. Back in 1987 it was a show in serious decline, if not always artistically then definitely in the affections of the viewing public. I agree that SM's first season was not specifically written for him but he also went into it, I'm sure, knowing that his career had a lot more longevity than the show. If anything his portrayal of the Doctor had a lot more to do with the audience perception of SM the children's comedy actor (and a good one too) which is probably where he thought he was going back to when his stint as the Doctor was over. Undoubtedly the stories got better circa 88-89 and SM began to shift towards a more complex response to them. I think the last series was a consistent return to form in all aspects, but particularly it felt like SM actually believed in the show itself and wasn't using it as a shop window for his talents. That last bit sounds harsh but for most of the eighties DW was a patient on life support nervously looking at the plug
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Post by quatermass on Oct 21, 2006 13:54:17 GMT -5
Too true it was in seious decline - JN-T's never ending reign of mediocrity ensured we had to endure woeful C-list "celebrity" casting (Ken Dodd, Bonnie Langford, Leee John - for the love of...) , amatuerish production values, Colin Baker and - the final decisive nail - Sylvester McCoy
McCoy was, and I can't stress this strongly enough, an unfunny joke: stumble-bumming about and rrrrruining any dialogue. He couldn't do "serious" or "rightous anger" or any other bare-minimum Doctor requirement, and wasn't a convincing eccentric - in short; a talentless kiddy entertainer out of his depth, who's only success was in making my toes curl with rageful embarassment.
I'd been watching Who since 1974 and McCoy's tenure on the show was the only period when, if asked, I might seriously have denied liking, or even knowing of it!!!
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Edd
Recruit
Posts: 4
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Post by Edd on Nov 22, 2006 8:04:17 GMT -5
Sylvester McCoy has always been my Doctor. My earliest memory is of Ace rising from Lake Vortigen with Excalibur in 'Battlefield'. My parents taped Eps 3 + 4 of 'Remembrance of the Daleks' which I watched non-stop. When I discovered that there wer other Doctors before him, I was shocked, as McCoy was my Doctor! Admittedly, there are some really nuts stories during his tenure, but that's not his fault is it? He acted really well against some frankly rubbish scripts (What was the production team thinking when they hired Pip & Jane Baker?) and some appalling acting (*cough* Bonnie Langford *cough*!). But McCoy maintained his ability to play an amazing Doctor, and I will always think so, no matter what!
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Post by Eryx on Nov 29, 2006 7:35:20 GMT -5
Too true it was in seious decline - JN-T's never ending reign of mediocrity ensured we had to endure woeful C-list "celebrity" casting (Ken Dodd, Bonnie Langford, Leee John - for the love of...) , amatuerish production values, Colin Baker and - the final decisive nail - Sylvester McCoy McCoy was, and I can't stress this strongly enough, an unfunny joke: stumble-bumming about and rrrrruining any dialogue. He couldn't do "serious" or "rightous anger" or any other bare-minimum Doctor requirement, and wasn't a convincing eccentric - in short; a talentless kiddy entertainer out of his depth, who's only success was in making my toes curl with rageful embarassment. The c-list casting, I can give you to an extent. But McCoy was not that bad. It was the story writing that messed up his time as the Doctor. There were only a few honestly decent stories for him to play to.
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Post by The Thinker on Nov 29, 2006 10:23:02 GMT -5
Sylvester McCoy- The Desent to rubbish Stories (In my opinion):Best: Remembrance of the Daleks The Greatest Show in the Galaxy The Happiness Patrol Survival The Curse of Fenric Delta and The Bannermen Ghost Light Battlefield Dragonfire Silver Nemesis Time and the Rani Worst: Paradise Towers Well, that's what I think.
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Post by Eryx on Nov 30, 2006 7:48:23 GMT -5
Silver Nemesis deserves to be a lot higher up than that.
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Post by The Thinker on Nov 30, 2006 10:55:57 GMT -5
Silver Nemesis deserves to be a lot higher up than that. ::Whistles innocently::
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chapel
UNIT Member
^New Av coming as soon as myfilestash.com is sorted^
Posts: 88
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Post by chapel on Dec 21, 2006 10:41:42 GMT -5
I don`t know how people can knock SM, he had some decent stories, some of which showed a darker side of the doctor or at least less clownish. It`s hard to explain but when I was into star trek I bought the voyager videos. Some of the episodes were good or must watch for want of a better word. They`d have the Borg or something big happen and some were filler episodes where nothing happens and you felt like if you hadn`t watched it you would have missed nothing. McCoy had a lot of must watch episodes, silver nemesis cybermen and hints at doctors origin , Rememberence more hints and the daleks come a cropper , Battlefield the return of the Brigadier and Bessie , Dragonsfire was controversal for the melting villain. Mind you , you`d have to limbo dance under the bar after it`d been lowered by Paradise Towers. Richard Briars as a Villain
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Post by The Thinker on Dec 21, 2006 10:45:17 GMT -5
Dragonsfire was controversal for the melting villain. *coughindianajonesandtheraidersofthelostarkcough* I've seen that bit, not so bad really. But when one come's into contact with my dad's cooking anything will look pleasant.
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Post by The Valeyard on Mar 19, 2007 12:06:46 GMT -5
I think Sylvester McCoy reversed the decline Colin Baker put the series in. His era really took off when the dumped the deadweight Mel and went to Ace. I really enjoyed the Doctor and Ace together. I think the stories also improved quite a bit. I never understood why some people dislike him. In any case, he is most definitely underrated.
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Post by Nytik on Apr 3, 2007 16:46:04 GMT -5
Sylvester McCoy- The Desent to rubbish Stories (In my opinion):Best: Remembrance of the Daleks The Greatest Show in the Galaxy The Happiness Patrol Survival The Curse of Fenric Delta and The Bannermen Ghost Light Battlefield Dragonfire Silver Nemesis Time and the Rani Worst: Paradise Towers Well, that's what I think. Ah yes, glad to see the Daleks at the top of your list. Like they should be.
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Post by The Valeyard on Apr 13, 2007 0:26:29 GMT -5
I think Sylvester McCoy will always be underrated. The show was canceled before we could get a true idea of his Doctor. He should have been the 7th Doctor until his regeneration.
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