Should this be watched before or after..
..the 2005 series?
shareIt definitely comes before the 2005 series with Christopher Eccleston. But if you have no grounding in the Classic Series, then you can skip this movie as it it is an American Pilot/Reboot of the Classic series that went nowhere.
The first episode of 2005 series is a Pilot and Reboot of all that came before it. So while there are references to classic stuff, most of which are listed on the trivia pages here, the 2005 series is fairly self contained and standalone - unless it's not, but then they explain.
Dum Spiro Spero
Thanks!
shareDefinitely watch the 2005 series first, start with either Series 1, episode 1 'Rose' or Series 5, Episode 1 'The Eleventh Hour'.
The 2005 series isn't actually a reboot btw, it's a direct continuation of the Classic Series and this TV film, though it differs so much in style, production values and pace, many refer to it as a reboot, though the 2005 series was designed for new viewers and doesn't need any prior knowledge of the Classic Series (which is rarely referenced at first) to understand or enjoy.
The old series lasted for 26 seasons between 1963-89, each season normally consisted of 5-8 standalone serials, each serial was divided into 4-6 25 minute episodes (though there are exceptions-The War Games was a 10 parter for instance), after it was cancelled there were several attempts to reboot/continue it as either a film or TV show, which resulted in this 1996 TV film, which was designed as a backdoor pilot to continue the show in America.
Low ratings, and mixed critical reception meant the proposed American show wasn't picked up, various books, comics and audio adventures continued the franchise until The Show finally returned in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston starring as the Doctor. Each series of the 2005 version (generally) has 13 45-50 minute episodes, mainly one part episodes with the occasional 2-parter, each connected (sometimes loosely) to the series's story arc leading to a series finale, plus Christmas Specials after each series, and a few other special episodes which are 60-75 minutes long.
Paul McGann who portrayed the Doctor in this 1996 TV film made a second screen appearance some 17 years later in the Internet Minisode 'The Night Of The Doctor' (If you get this far with the 2005 version, DO NOT watch Night of the Doctor until AFTER you finish Season 7 as this minisode relies on detailed knowledge of the 2005 version, and contains numerous massive spoilers for the following episode 'The Day Of The Doctor' (the 50th Anniversary episode) though he has starred as the Doctor in close to a 100 (generally excellent) full cast audio dramas (radio plays basically) by Big Finish Productions.
Thanks a lot! Great info! :D
I have now watched all of 2005 series that is available in Norwegian Netflix. (Only up to season 7 .. )
I guess season 8 will come later. And 9 is still in production as I understand.
So... I have to wait for more.
But I am kind of hungry for more. ;)
Would this be a good time to start watching the original series from the beginning?
Thanks a lot for all that info, again! Really helps me make sense of this.
It is a sad thing that I did not find the original series first. ;)
Would this be a good time to start watching the original series from the beginning?
Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, CMG,[2] CBE,[3] DSO,[4] generally and affectionally referred to simply as the Brigadier, is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, created by writers Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln and played by Nicholas Courtney.[5] He is one of the founders of UNIT (United Nations Intelligence Taskforce, later Unified Intelligence Taskforce), an international organization that defends Earth from alien threats, and serves as commander of the British contingent. Presented at first as reticent to accept the continuing aid of the Doctor, over time the Brigadier became one of the Doctor's greatest friends and his principal ally in defending the Earth.
As one of the series' most prominent recurring characters over its fifty-year history, the Brigadier appeared in 23 stories during the original run of Doctor Who, first appearing in the 1968 serial The Web of Fear opposite Patrick Troughton. The character became a semi-regular on the series with the introduction of third Doctor Jon Pertwee in 1970's Spearhead from Space. His final appearance in the program was in 1989's Battlefield opposite Sylvester McCoy. Nearly 20 years later, the character returned in the spin-off programme The Sarah Jane Adventures in late 2008.[6] Following Courtney's death in 2011, however, the character was retired through a line of dialogue in the Doctor Who episode "The Wedding of River Song" as the Doctor is informed by telephone that his friend had died peacefully in his sleep. The 2012 episode "The Power of Three" officially introduces the Brigadier's daughter, Kate Stewart, as UNIT's scientific adviser; she was originally introduced in the unlicensed video spin-off Downtime in 1995, in which the Brigadier also appeared, and later played the same role in the fiftieth anniversary episode "The Day of the Doctor"
But I am kind of hungry for more
Thanks a lot for all the info! :D
I have a show on youtube where I answer questions like this. It's called movies for newbies. Every month I'll take a popular movie or tv-series and list, for new-comers, which episodes or movies in the series they should watch and leave out the ones they should skip. My first episode just so happened to be Doctor Who
~NW~
A friend at work talked me into watching the 2005 Doctor Who a few weeks back. I am just finishing year 4 and I absolutely love it. In answer to the OP's question, had I watched this film first (just saw it last night), I don't think I would have even given the series a chance. This movie stunk on ice.
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