elisi | Snow Day #3!

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Snow Day #3!

First of all the Happiest of Birthdays to

lostakasha! May your day be fabulous and the coming year full of turnips! :)

***

As the subject line says, this is our third snow day. The girls' school decided to just shut for the week, which is understandable (and I am grateful that I don't have to drag them through the snow every morning), but it means that my Life of Childfree Bliss lasted for precisely one day... Still, it is *beautiful* out there, with the sun shining brightly on all the snow. Not that this is impressing the girls: 'It's cold! We've played in the snow for days! We're not going outside again!' *headdesk* (I could probably cope if they'd just be QUIET! *tries not to go spare*)

Oh and the iMac's *definitely* dead, which makes me very, very sad. :(

***

By the way - in case anyone missed it - I posted the final part of The Problem with Boxing Day.

In other Who-related 'news', I (thanks to

kerkevik!) watched the very first episode of DW - 'An Unearthly Child'. For anyone curious, you can find it here:

Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2czi2HltlQ

Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYEW6Px33wo

Part 3:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nd0hxTKbwVo

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An Unearthly Child is fascinating in that it not only shows a completely different pacing (common for tv those days) but also that at this point Ian and Barbara were intended as the central characters, the hero and heroine, with the Doctor as the somewhat ambiguous trickster figure enabling their journey. And everyone's characterisations are still wobbly. I'd never recommend it as an introduction to Old Who, or even the First Doctor and his TARDIS team - The Aztecs is ideal for that, because by then, the characterisations were all worked out, everyone, especially Barbara, shines, and we get our very first Companion/Doctor moral dilemma argument about changing history (between Barbara and the Doctor), the pacing is more agreeable to our tv watching, and for an added bonus, we get the One equivalent of Girl in the Fireplace with him and Aztec lady Cameca.

However, as a bit of tv history, An Unearthly Child is important. And it's the only bit which explains the title of the show *g* (Ian: "Exposoition question blah blah, Dr. Foreman?" The Doctor: "Doctor Who?").

It's about 40 degrees (4c I think) here, and the sun is shining. Seattle seems to be the only place I know of this morning with good weather though-- my sister's kids are home from school due to the cold. Today's high there is projected to be -11f/-25c. Gah. That's how God tells you he was kidding; he never really intended people to live in the midwest! And I guess you actually can't let them play outside; they'll literally freeze. Gah!!

I watched that first episode a couple years ago when I was just getting into DW. I quickly decided "interesting" and instead sought out 4 & 5!

An Unearthly Child is fascinating in that it not only shows a completely different pacing (common for tv those days)
It's wonderful! 25 minutes, and it's all exposition (nearly). I like stuff that takes its time. :)

but also that at this point Ian and Barbara were intended as the central characters, the hero and heroine, with the Doctor as the somewhat ambiguous trickster figure enabling their journey.
Watching it, it struck me that RTD copied this approach at the beginning of the new show (as well as Torchwood)- use someone ordinary as a gateway to the unknown. (And I remember being *extremely* impatient during both 'Rose' and 'Everything Changes'... But then those were *new* shows I didn't know anything about.)

I'd never recommend it as an introduction to Old Who, or even the First Doctor and his TARDIS team
Oh but I *always* want to watch/read things in their proper order, that's just how I work! :) Looking forward to 'The Aztecs' though - it definitely rings a bell.

Also, from a purely personal POV I found 'An Unearthly Child' fascinating, since I'm writing my own AU about a Timelord child growing up on Earth (latest story here if you're curious. They all work as stand-alones.) - not that there's a lot of parallels with Susan as such, but to have a child that brilliant (and observe the Doctor as a parental figure) is so much my thing that I'm going to have to go seek out all the rest as soon as I have some spare time!

However, as a bit of tv history, An Unearthly Child is important. And it's the only bit which explains the title of the show *g*
LOL!

Edited 2010-01-07 21:53 (UTC)

And I guess you actually can't let them play outside; they'll literally freeze. Gah!!
Yikes! That does put things in perspective...

I watched that first episode a couple years ago when I was just getting into DW. I quickly decided "interesting" and instead sought out 4 & 5!
Hee! I am *such* a completist, I'll probably end up watching them *all* in the proper order...

Good luck on surviving snow day number 4! (I'm assuming that there will be no school on Friday either.) We've had one snow day so far and I was not pleased. She needs to get out of the house and I need her to get out of the house. :D

I have to admit that I have never seen any of One or Two. Most of Three, Four, Five, and some Six was the extent of my DW watching as a child. Though I do have The Aztecs sitting on my netflix right now. It's just a matter of getting around to it I guess. (I'm also not someone who needs things in proper order so I'm okay with jumping into the middle.)

Good luck on surviving snow day number 4! (I'm assuming that there will be no school on Friday either.)
So far it's going pretty well. The two eldest have played happily (and mostly quietly) all morning, so I'm crossing my fingers!

We've had one snow day so far and I was not pleased. She needs to get out of the house and I need her to get out of the house. :D
I know the feeling!

I have to admit that I have never seen any of One or Two.
Well so far I've only seen that *one* ep...

Most of Three, Four, Five, and some Six was the extent of my DW watching as a child.
Not only did I grown up without a TV, I also grew up in the wrong country...

Though I do have The Aztecs sitting on my netflix right now. It's just a matter of getting around to it I guess.
I hope you enjoy! (And I just today discovered these Hartnell photos. Mmmmm, Doctor...)

I also have just re-read The Naming of Things, which I presume you've read? It's *ridiculous* how perfect that fic is.

Which reminds me: I've enjoyed your Alexander stories very, very much, especially the Boxing Day one. Here is a nice collection of funny moments of the First Doctor's era. Which btw also show the progression in character development, if you compare Barbara and Ian in the excerpt from the first serial to Barbara and Ian in The Romans (you'll recognize the later excerpts when you see them *g*). These bits are unspoilery, btw, just brief and delightful moments:

Which reminds me: I've enjoyed your Alexander stories very, very much, especially the Boxing Day one.
OMG really? *is thrilled to bits* The Boxing Day one took me by surprise, to be honest. But it proved the perfect excuse to touch upon a lot of issues that I knew I wanted to address - like the Doctor's parenting and the change in Alex pre- and post-Schism. (The only problem with the 'verse is how utterly incompatible it now is with canon. At some point I'll do a 'return of Davros' story, but otherwise I can't really use anything from the show. Which is a shame, because CoE especially would have been brilliant to re-write. Ah well, it's not like I haven't got *entirely* too many plotbunnies anyway. And thank you for taking an interest, it really means an awful lot!)

Here is a nice collection of funny moments of the First Doctor's era.
Oooh, shiny! Must go start making tea, but will have a look once things are bubbling away. Thank you! :)

Oh, but I'd love to see this universe's version of CoE. Because the 456 coming to Earth is not dependent on anything that happened in DW post Sound of Drums; it's dependent on something that has already happened in the 1960s. So basically the second visit should happen in your timeline as well.

How everyone reacts is of course dependent on whether CoE is a fixed point type of event or not. There is also the problem in terms of story suspense that if the Doctor has his TARDIS available and it isn't a fixed point, he could and would deal with the 456. (Not with the politicians.) Which would cut a fascinating story short. If it is a fixed point, something that has to happen a la Pompeii or Waters of Mars, then things get really tricky. On the one hand, the most practical if very cold thing would be for both Time Lords to get Alex and Lucy and leave shortly before, not to come back until after. On the other end of the extreme, there is the Doctor in Time Lord Victorious mode (in which case he'd not only deal with the 456 but with the politicians as well while he was at it), but it takes a lot of breakage until he gets to that point in WoM, and these things did not happen in your timeline. My guess is that it would be something in the middle, i.e. he would let it happen as it has to play out but would try to substitute another method for taking out the 456 at Day 5 so Jack doesn't have to kill his own grandson. Whether or not he'd succeed with that is another question.

As for the Master, his basic attitude towards other alien invaders is "team up with and use first, discover am over my head and ally with Doctor temporarily to get rid of same later", but having a child of his own at stake would of course change that. I could see him going for either the "let's get the hell out of here" or "why not take over the planet ourselves to show them how to properly deal with the 456?" solution.

And on a different note, because one can't watch it often enough:

Oh I LOVE all your thoughts!!! *does a happy dance*

It would really, really help if they'd tell us *why* the Doctor wasn't there in CoE - fixed event or maybe the 456 cut communications? Because as you point out the Timelords' actions depend on this a fair bit. *is frustrated*

My main reason for not doing a 'my version of' is because I'd have to change so MUCH of the story - both the Hub, and Ianto, are intact 20 years later, so I'd have to change an awful, awful lot of plot... Unless I do it as a straight AU [from the AU! *headdesk*]

Actually the problem is that I've known exactly how it'd play out ever since I watched CoE, but characterwise I can't make it work with what comes later - unless I mindwipe them all, and that seems a little drastic. *sigh*

And on a different note, because one can't watch it often enough:
True. *re-watches* :)

(Good grief it's taken me almost an hour to write this! Stupid interfering RL!)

Hiya,

so glad you watched and enjoyed :-)

On Who-related news. Today's Sunday Mail has a Doctor Who poster-cum-calendar-organiser thing advertised. Judging by the picture I saw on the front page it features a moprhed pic of David Tennant with whoever the new guy is (and can I just say, I thought Peter Davison was too young to be the Doctor when he took over from Tom Baker, but this guy looks like a student teacher! On his first day too!).

Anyway, as you'll probably have greater access to Who fans who might be interested themselves, and might be able to buy a copy for you (it's £1.20, I think), I thought I'd drop you a line in the hope that you'll be able to sort out getting one.

Hoe you get this in time :-)

Still under Willow & Tara's spell,
Ray.

Sorry about the late response - saw this yesterday but was busy...

so glad you watched and enjoyed :-)
'Twas great. And there's lots more so I'll probably watch a bunch more when I have the time. :)

On Who-related news. Today's Sunday Mail has a Doctor Who poster-cum-calendar-organiser thing advertised.
Thanks for the heads up, but I'm honestly not very into all the paraphernalia, so I've given it a miss. But it was kind of you to tell me.

and can I just say, I thought Peter Davison was too young to be the Doctor when he took over from Tom Baker, but this guy looks like a student teacher! On his first day too!.
Well I know that they were aiming to get someone older than David Tennant, so Matt Smith (that's his name) must have impressed them! Which makes me hopeful... *crosses fingers*

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Snow Day #3!

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