What TV series are you currently watching?

[ando]

Just wanted to pay respects to the late Norman Lear, who was a catalyst for providing American audiences in the 70s with edgier, often contemporary issue driven narratives in their situation comedy viewing. He had so many hit shows that you could easily create a channel with interesting daily lineups of his work alone.

That said, I'm revisiting the early episodes of Lear's produced, Good Times, on freevee. Archie Bunker (from All In The Family, another one of his greatest shows) is a bit much to deal with this early in the day. 

[Spotted Horses]

I noticed the British show Doctor Who getting some buzz and am somewhat curious I picked up a few relatively inexpensive releases, the complete Jodie Whitakker episodes on a DVD set, and the first series of Tom Baker episodes on a bluray disc set.

[Roy Bland]

[Karl Henning]

I noticed the British show Doctor Who getting some buzz and am somewhat curious I picked up a few relatively inexpensive releases, the complete Jodie Whitakker episodes on a DVD set, and the first series of Tom Baker episodes on a bluray disc set.

I've just found it on Tubi TV. This could be quite the rabbit hole....

[steve ridgway]

Doctor Who has a long history and many different actors playing the lead part, some may appeal more than others. I particularly enjoyed the revival from 2005 with Christopher Eccleston but gradually lost interest after that.

[DavidW]

Doctor Who has a long history and many different actors playing the lead part, some may appeal more than others. I particularly enjoyed the revival from 2005 with Christopher Eccleston but gradually lost interest after that.

I watched Eccleston and the Tennant years, but I stopped watching in the Matthew Smith era.  It wasn't actually the actor, the writing just became so over the top I couldn't stand it.  There was no longer an attempt at coherent narrative.  If anything goes without sound internal logic, it is not really compelling.

For classic Who: Tom Baker and Peter Davison are my favorites.

[DavidW]

I've just found it on Tubi TV. This could be quite the rabbit hole....

I recommend City of Death from the Tom Baker era.  It is a clever, witty story about Mona Lisa fakes that was co-written by Douglas Adams and has a cameo by John Cleese.

[Karl Henning]

Doctor Who has a long history and many different actors playing the lead part, some may appeal more than others. I particularly enjoyed the revival from 2005 with Christopher Eccleston but gradually lost interest after that.

I'm curious to start from the beginning. One day, when I was still a mere slip of a boy, I chanced on Doctor Who, but it didn't grab me that day. Much later, my brother introduced me to some (much later) episodes which were superb.

[Spotted Horses]

Doctor Who has a long history and many different actors playing the lead part, some may appeal more than others. I particularly enjoyed the revival from 2005 with Christopher Eccleston but gradually lost interest after that.

I don't aim to be completist in any sense, just to get an impression. I stumbled on a review of the various "doctors" and these two struck me as interesting.

[DavidW]

I'm curious to start from the beginning. One day, when I was still a mere slip of a boy, I chanced on Doctor Who, but it didn't grab me that day. Much later, my brother introduced me to some (much later) episodes which were superb.

When I was a kid I bought a Doctor Who book in a used bookstore in Berkeley.  My Father warned me that I might not follow it, I ignored him... and he was right.  I had no idea what was going on because I had never seen Doctor Who before! I just thought the book cover was cool.

[DavidW]

Okay found it and funny I think I watched the episode it novelized now as well!  But I shouldn't blame myself, the reviews on goodreads suggests that it was strangely hard to follow and the doctor was out of character.

[drogulus]

    I'll start Planet Earth III tonight.

[drogulus]

I watched Eccleston and the Tennant years, but I stopped watching in the Matthew Smith era.  It wasn't actually the actor, the writing just became so over the top I couldn't stand it.  There was no longer an attempt at coherent narrative.  If anything goes without sound internal logic, it is not really compelling.

For classic Who: Tom Baker and Peter Davison are my favorites.

     Leela is my favorite companion. I can't think why. 

   

     

[Karl Henning]

I don't aim to be completist in any sense, just to get an impression. I stumbled on a review of the various "doctors" and these two struck me as interesting.

I endorse your approach.

[Karl Henning]

When I was a kid I bought a Doctor Who book in a used bookstore in Berkeley.  My Father warned me that I might not follow it, I ignored him... and he was right.  I had no idea what was going on because I had never seen Doctor Who before! I just thought the book cover was cool.

Yes, I was probably good old-fashioned confused.

[Karl Henning]

Okay found it and funny I think I watched the episode it novelized now as well!  But I shouldn't blame myself, the reviews on goodreads suggests that it was strangely hard to follow and the doctor was out of character.

Fun factoid from Wikipedia:

Doctor Who first appeared on the BBC Television Service at 17:16:20 GMT on 23 November 1963; this was eighty seconds later than the scheduled programme time, because of announcements concerning the previous day's assassination of John F. Kennedy. It was to be a regular weekly programme, each episode 25 minutes of transmission length.

[Karl Henning]

I don't aim to be completist in any sense, just to get an impression. I stumbled on a review of the various "doctors" and these two struck me as interesting.

I was interested to start from the beginning, and the first show has that rough kinoscope look. Will I continue straight through? Unknown.

[Spotted Horses]

I was interested to start from the beginning, and the first show has that rough kinoscope look. Will I continue straight through? Unknown.

I'd also be interested to see the very first episodes. I've read somewhere that the complete series is not available, the BBC had a policy of recycling tape and/or poor archival practices and some seasons are lost.

[Karl Henning]

I'd also be interested to see the very first episodes. I've read somewhere that the complete series is not available, the BBC had a policy of recycling tape and/or poor archival practices and some seasons are lost.

That doesn't surprise me. It's very fortunate that the Pythons managed to save the tapes of the Flying Circus.

[JBS]

There are several linked series in classic Dr Who: the ones most fleshed out is the Search for the Key to Time in the Tom Baker years and Trial of a Time Lord which was Colin Baker's final season as the Doctor.
Although it doesn't have an official name, the concluding stories of Tom Baker's tenure and the opening series of Peter Davison's tenure are one long arc in which each story flows directly from the one which precedes it.

There are several stories, especially in the Tom Baker era, which are modelled on classic stories: Frankenstein and Prisoner of Zenda, for instance, and another is a more generic vampire story.

While much of the earlier tapes were destroyed, scripts and some audio recordings survived for several.  Some of them have been released as animated films, with the animation recreating the lost visuals.