[Malachy]

ok ok, so in know this may make me out to be a geek but i totally love this show since it came back again 3 years ago, and this season is shaping up to be fantastic with The Master making a come back later in the season!

just wondering if anyone else out there shares my love for the show lol, afterall i think the rating showed 8.2 Million people watched the first episode 2 weeks ago!

[Mongoose]

The new series are bollocks. Total and utter crap.

[Dawn]

I used to watch doctor who in the 70s and do now, I enjoy the new series as much as I did the old ones.

Dawn

[Butters]

I hate to ever say anything bad about a show somebody likes because so much of television is down to taste and there really is no way to factually define what is good and what is bad but seriously, I'm absolutely shocked how anybody can find anything of worth in Dr. Who. Everything about it is catastrophically bad. It's the campest, cheesiest and silliest thing I have ever seen with acting that gives a whole new meaning to the words "****ing shite". Seriously, tonight's episodes had to do with Catpeople? And the less said about the Visual and Special FX the better. Honestly I've seen better effects in school videos. Probably the worst thing ever put on TV as far as I'm concerned.

[Thomas Anderson]

Well they'll never win awards for the acting, but it isn't that bad, and perhaps you've only ever seen the old series, but the effects in the recent ones are pretty good, considering it is a TV show and not a big-budget film. What other TV shows like this have you seen that have better SFX?

I never watched any of the old series, being too young really, but I've very much enjoyed the recent ones. I liked Christopher Eccleston, I like him as an actor anyway, but I think that David Tenant is much better, he just has that crazy look in his eyes and he can go from hyper to serious in an instant and make it work, I think he really makes the character.

[Butters]

Originally Posted by Thomas Anderson

Well they'll never win awards for the acting, but it isn't that bad, and perhaps you've only ever seen the old series, but the effects in the recent ones are pretty good, considering it is a TV show and not a big-budget film. What other TV shows like this have you seen that have better SFX?

I never watched any of the old series, being too young really, but I've very much enjoyed the recent ones. I liked Christopher Eccleston, I like him as an actor anyway, but I think that David Tenant is much better, he just has that crazy look in his eyes and he can go from hyper to serious in an instant and make it work, I think he really makes the character.

I don't know, I've watched a few episodes of the new series and I was struck by how terrible the acting was, bar Christopher Eccleston. He's a great actor. The others are so camp and Billie Piper was a joke and this new one is about as bad an actress as I've seen.

As for other shows with better SFX, any US series you want, in particular Stargate Atlantis. That's a cable US sci-fi series so obviously doesn't have LOST size budgets but the VisFX and SFX are literally second to none on television and are easily on a par with what you see in the movies (download episode 3x20 to see what I mean). Now granted it's a VERY different show but the difference in quality is enormous. Just out of curiosity, do you know what sort of budget an episode of Dr. Who has? I think an episode of Atlantis costs about $1.5-2 million an episode so it would be interesting to compare budgets.

As I said I don't like to bad mouth shows people like because so much of it is subjective but when I watch a show like Dr. Who I'm just struck by how cheap, how silly and how camp it all is. Maybe that's what it's suppose to be but whatever it is, I do say good on them because it's certainly very successful.

[Thomas Anderson]

Originally Posted by Butters

As for other shows with better SFX, any US series you want, in particular Stargate Atlantis. That's a cable US sci-fi series so obviously doesn't have LOST size budgets but the VisFX and SFX are literally second to none on television and are easily on a par with what you see in the movies (download episode 3x20 to see what I mean). Now granted it's a VERY different show but the difference in quality is enormous. Just out of curiosity, do you know what sort of budget an episode of Dr. Who has? I think an episode of Atlantis costs about $1.5-2 million an episode so it would be interesting to compare budgets.

Well if you compare it to the big American programmes of course they don't have the same sort of budget. They are made by the BBC, who generate money from license fees in a relatively small country, not advertising revenues in America, which is a much larger country (about 5x bigger, population-wise I think). Try to find any other UK show like it in terms of scale.

Have you tried watching the spinoff, Torchwood? That will be coming back for a second series later in the year, and though I like Doctor Who I think it is generally a more interesting programme.

[Butters]

Originally Posted by Thomas Anderson

Well if you compare it to the big American programmes of course they don't have the same sort of budget. They are made by the BBC, who generate money from license fees in a relatively small country, not advertising revenues in America, which is a much larger country (about 5x bigger, population-wise I think). Try to find any other UK show like it in terms of scale.

I know the BBC obviously doesn't have the sort of money that US networks have but since Doctor Who is such a successful show for them I thought they might plow a fair bit of their money into it. That's why I was wondering about budgets, I am genuinely interested in how much they have per episode. Still, even if they don't have a lot of money to work with, it doesn't change the fact that it does look very cheap, and yes compared to other British shows it may look good but in this day and age it is going to be compared to shows coming from the US and compared to them it's extremely lacking. But as I said, that just me and good on the people who love it.

Originally Posted by Thomas Anderson

Have you tried watching the spinoff, Torchwood? That will be coming back for a second series later in the year, and though I like Doctor Who I think it is generally a more interesting programme.

I've read good things about it but I've never seen it. It airs on BBC3 (doesn't it?) which I don't have, and I personally wouldn't be that interested in it to download it, but I would like to watch it if it was ever on tv just to get an idea of what it's like.

[Thomas Anderson]

I thought the CG in last nights one was good, all the cars and then the city at the end. Some in the other series did look a bit crap - generally just some of the aliens, otherwise I think it's been pretty good. Any effects company struggles with any kind of creature, even look at the big ones like ILM and WETA, they are good at it but still not perfect. All the CG backgrounds and city scapes and such in Doctor Who look fine I think. I hate seeing crap effects myself, but they aren't so bad in this to stop me watching it.

Torchwood used to be on BBC3 on Saturday nights but then BBC2 would show it on the following Wednesday I think.

[Butters]

Originally Posted by Thomas Anderson

I thought the CG in last nights one was good, all the cars and then the city at the end. Some in the other series did look a bit crap - generally just some of the aliens, otherwise I think it's been pretty good. Any effects company struggles with any kind of creature, even look at the big ones like ILM and WETA, they are good at it but still not perfect. All the CG backgrounds and city scapes and such in Doctor Who look fine I think. I hate seeing crap effects myself, but they aren't so bad in this to stop me watching it.

What turns me off more is the storytelling and acting, TBH.

Originally Posted by Thomas Anderson

Torchwood used to be on BBC3 on Saturday nights but then BBC2 would show it on the following Wednesday I think.

I'll certainly keep an eye out for it.