The Doc
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« on: July 09, 2011, 11:23:17 pm » |
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The four time travellers are enjoying a rare holiday, staying at a villa not far from Rome in the year A.D. 64. The Doctor soon becomes restless and sets off to visit the city, taking Vicki with him. In their absence, Ian and Barbara are kidnapped by slave traders.
Having been mistaken for the famous lyre player Maximus Pettulian and asked to perform at the Emperor Nero's court, the Doctor has to devise ever more elaborate schemes to avoid revealing that in fact he cannot actually play the instrument.
Ian meanwhile becomes a galley slave, while Barbara is sold to Nero's slave buyer Tavius at an auction in Rome.The Romans was the fourth story in season two of Doctor Who. It was the first story to have its main plot portrayed as a comedial one. This serial used the same production team as The Rescue and so both were shot in one block of filming. This story saw the first use of stock footage for a cliffhanger; in this case, a lion. Part three, Conspiracy, was broadcast on the same day as Winston Churchill's funeral, explaining its dip in viewing figures. David Whitaker was, by this time, seeing stories with historical figures as a liability. Despite this, The Romans was intended as the third of three historical tales, following the Spanish Armada and the American Civil War. It appears to have been Verity Lambert was convinced him to script this story as a comedy. This was also the first time a major actor requested to be on Doctor Who. In this case, Derek Francis was given the role of Nero. The next story will be posted on July 16th
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Now and then, every once in a very long while, every day in a million days, when the wind stands fair and The Doctor comes to call, everybody lives.
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Peri-Peri
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Circular logic will only make you dizzy, Doctor
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« Reply #1 on: July 09, 2011, 11:44:33 pm » |
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Oh, I LOVE this!! We have been lucky with these so far. Which probably means we will get The Dominators, Paradise Towers and The Twin Dilemma all in a row
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It eats you, starting with your bottom
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poprockgeek
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« Reply #2 on: July 10, 2011, 09:59:13 am » |
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Cool. I'll pop it on my to-do list for this week
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"He is ever after only one thing: power. And also helmets with horns ... he's really into those."
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Peri-Peri
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Circular logic will only make you dizzy, Doctor
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« Reply #3 on: July 10, 2011, 12:20:29 pm » |
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I have given this story a four. I think its one of the stronger First Doctor stories and it was great to see them play with the formula a bit and try some comedy. I think 'romp' is probably the best way to describe this one. Its a great historical and has a little bit of a pantomime feel to it. The guy playing Nero is great and his scenes with Barbara in particular are great fun. The sets and costumes were brilliant and Barbara looked beautiful. Stories like this are a strong a case as any that a return to historicals could really work.
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It eats you, starting with your bottom
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Roranicus
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« Reply #4 on: July 10, 2011, 04:06:48 pm » |
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Cool, I look forward to this one. Will watch asap
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Oh my god Karen, you can't just ask someone why they're white!
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Vampyros Adric
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He is also vain, ego-centric and quite mad
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« Reply #5 on: July 10, 2011, 10:41:41 pm » |
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I really enjoyed this story. I think by this time, the different companions had each found their own roles within the show. I loved Hartnell's Doctor and he was really hitting his stride. I also agree that Nero was a star turn A four from me also
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Nyki
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« Reply #6 on: July 11, 2011, 11:59:56 am » |
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I gave this a four. It's great fun and generally well done, but a few historical weaknesses.
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Aneurin
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« Reply #7 on: July 11, 2011, 12:14:59 pm » |
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This one gets a four from me. It's an enjoyable story with lots to like, but I think some of the humour became a bit too slapstick at times and the humour didn't always work. It was enough to give it a three imo, but I left it at a four because I think they should be commended on trying something new rather than always following the old tried and tested formula
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Tardis-Console
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Say it. Everybody does!
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« Reply #8 on: July 11, 2011, 04:07:45 pm » |
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Oh cool I've never seen this one so I am looking forward to it
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My Series 6 Ratings (so far): TIA 10/10 | DOTM 10/10 | COTBS 8/10 | TDW 10/10 | TRF 9/10 | TAP 10/10 | AGMGTW 10/10 | LKH 8/10 | NT 4/10 | TGWW 10/10
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Roranicus
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« Reply #9 on: July 11, 2011, 09:26:00 pm » |
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A full and fantastic five from me. I loved it from beginning to end. Lots and lots of good points, but I shall go off to the other threads to discuss them
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Oh my god Karen, you can't just ask someone why they're white!
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poprockgeek
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I love things with historical settings so this would have had to be pretty bad for me not to like it. The costumes are gorgeous, as are the sets. On the whole it is amusing - though sometimes, as Aneurin says, the humour misses a bit - I wonder if this is due to the passage of time. The story though is good & quite well paced. I wouldn't mind there being more straight historicals like this one. Going with a 4.
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"He is ever after only one thing: power. And also helmets with horns ... he's really into those."
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Roranicus
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Had you seen this one before, PRG?
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Oh my god Karen, you can't just ask someone why they're white!
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poprockgeek
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No this was the first time for me. I'd only really seen a handful of classics before we started this.
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"He is ever after only one thing: power. And also helmets with horns ... he's really into those."
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Roranicus
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Oh right. I was just being nosey more than anything else I think you are right about the humour. It was probably more of its time and so doesn't feel so funny to us. When it worked though it was really good
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Oh my god Karen, you can't just ask someone why they're white!
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poprockgeek
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That's fine. My plan was to watch a lot this year, but then life got in the way. Happily this Infinite Quest is helping me out now Yeah when it worked it was very funny. I loved that a lot of it came from the Doctor too. Shows how far he develops from An Unearthly Child.
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"He is ever after only one thing: power. And also helmets with horns ... he's really into those."
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Roranicus
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Oh yea, definately. There is a lot of development with him which is great
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Oh my god Karen, you can't just ask someone why they're white!
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The Doc
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This one get's a five from me. It's one of my all time favourite First Doctor stories. I won't go on about everything that's right with it, because I don't think there is anything wrong with it. Really, really enjoy it every time.
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Now and then, every once in a very long while, every day in a million days, when the wind stands fair and The Doctor comes to call, everybody lives.
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TheDoctorDonna
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I gave this a 5 out of 5. This for me is as close to perfect a First Doctor story as there is and I love it from start to finish
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One! One word! Shake, milk-shake, milk! Milk! No? Not milk! Um, shake, shake, shake! Cocktail shake! What, d'you want a Harvey Wallbanger?
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Saber
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I went with a three for this, though in hindsight I wish I had given it a four. I love the story, I really do, but some of the humour misses for me. I am also not overly keen on the guy playing Nero. I think the character is wonderful, but the guy playing him got a bit too 'Carry On' with his performance. Everyone else stayed on the right side of funny, but for me he hammed it up a little too much. Other than all that though I love the story, and I do wish I had hit 4 instead of three
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Peri-Peri
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Circular logic will only make you dizzy, Doctor
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I liked Nero. I think he should have probably been played by someone younger, but I think having the older actor made it easier to play off the Doctor. His performace was ok though I thought
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It eats you, starting with your bottom
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