The concept of regeneration has kept the Doctor Who legacy alive. New actors in the role of the Doctor breathe life into the series so it never becomes tired (in theory; I haven't watched enough Old Who to definitively say). Despite changing his face, stature (Troughton's "little fellow" to Tennant's 6-ish-foot frame), wardrobe (question mark motifs come and go; celery was a one-off), hair (regrettably not a ginger, yet), and even personality, the Doctor is still the Doctor: he is quirky and alien, brave and righteous, a little bit cocky, and always the smartest person in the room.
Having only watched RTD's New Who, "The Five Doctors" 1983 serial was a new experience, and it was tons of fun to watch.
I knew Sarah Jane from "School Reunion" and Tennant's swan song episodes; I knew Peter Davison's Doctor (Five) from "Time Crash" and the first twenty or so minutes of "The Caves of Androzani" serial that I never finished; I knew Doctors One (Hartnell replaced by Richard Hurndall in this special), Two, Three, and Four from the few snippets I'd seen in RTD-Season-One's Doctor Who Confidential episodes (also super fun, and all on YouTube!). It was interesting to identify idiosyncrasies and compare performances among the Doctors. I was disappointed Tom Baker (Four) was hardly in it -- explained by being "trapped in the time vortex" for all but a few minutes in the beginning -- because I'm a fan of the wacky, strange Doctor (I think, as opposed to a romantic like Eight?). And I like the scarf.
But the other four Doctors were absolutely wonderful. I particularly liked Two and Three. And I think Five is better looking than Ten; that's not blasphemous, is it? I didn't really enjoy the companions, though, and it may have been because the writing didn't give them much to do other than follow their Doctors around and fall down a lot. Sarah Jane was cute, and I kind of liked Turlough. I found Tegan annoying, but Wikipedia tells me she didn't want to be there in the first place, so I understand that.
Thoughts:
- I laughed the hardest at the "perfect killing machine" Three and Sarah encountered. I'll probably rewatch that part when I'm having a bad day.
- When Sarah Jane and Tegan introduced themselves, they said: "Tegan." "Sarah." Coincidence! One of my favorite bands.
- I don't like John Simm's Master, and I don't like Anthony Ainley's Master, either. Maybe I just don't like the character, and it doesn't have anything to do with the portrayal.
- Having both Cybermen and Daleks in one serial was unusual, wasn't it? RTD kind of made it feel like it happened all the time, but I don't think it actually did.
- I wonder what happened with the Doctor-as-President after this.
"You mean you're deliberately choosing to go on the run from your own people, in a raggedy old TARDIS?" - Tegan
"Why not? After all, that's how it all started." - the Fifth Doctor
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