For various reasons, the “Firefly” game last night didn’t come off, so we ended up with myself, Doyce, and Stan sitting in the basement watching the Doctor Who –
The Complete First Series DVD set I’d brought over.
(Okay, I never want to write a sentence that geeky again …)
Pretty fun going through the first disc. Doyce, who was new to the franchise, seemed to be entertained, and Stan, an old Who hand, whooped and laughed frequently.
It’s always a bit odd for me watching something I really like with someone new to it. Inevitably, if it’s live TV, it’s the Very Worst Episode Ever of the show in question. But even if not, I find myself being immediately hypercritical of every flaw, glitch, or questionable moment, and overly-apologetic in defense of Why The Hell I Like This Crap.
Fortunately, Margie (who I’ve done that the most with) is patient enough to put up with my questionable tastes until they invade her brain and take her over (or she figures out a way to politely let me know that, yes, it’s fine if I want to watch Geeky Show XYZ on TV, but she’ll be, ah, off in another room. Reading. With ear plugs).
And, to that end, having gone through the whole set — with Margie, I’ll note — and having enjoyed it very much, allow me to present:
The Rules of Watching the Doctor Who (Series 1) DVD Set
- Be ready to hop to the menu or skip to the next track as soon as the credits start to role. The BBC put the “next episode” trailers immediately, and not only are they odd in tone, but they all to often include massive spoilers.
- Do not listen to any of the commentary tracks until you’ve finished the set. Spoilers abound. (That said, the majority of the commentary tracks are quite fun to listen to.)
- The first episode of the series is, as mentioned, the weakest. Some nice moments, but excessively silly in places, and the series oughtn’t be judged based just on it. Be warned, especially if you (or the viewer) is new to Doctor Who. (Stick through the second ep, “The End of the World” — if they’re not hooked by then, it just isn’t meant to be.)
Good stuff. I envy Doyce (and Stan’s next in the queue) watching them for the first time.
“(Okay, I never want to write a sentence that geeky again …)”
Yeah, but you will. It’s all part of that diverse tapestry we call “America”.
(Okay, I never want to write a sentence that schmaltzy again …)
Yeah, I know, but I managed to get gaming, two different cult favorite TV shows, DVDs, and guys sitting in the basement, all into one sentence. And with an Amazon link no less.
That has to have broken some sort of personal record. 🙂
I got to see disc one last night.
Wonderful stuff. I nearly forgive the BBC for the last series Doctors, though I did enjoy the TV movie one.
I never saw any of the later series Doctors. I enjoyed the TV movie when it came out, but it’s been a while since I watched it.