chuqui@nsc.UUCP (Chuq Von Rospach) (03/21/84)
In the last year or so that I have been watching the good Dr. I have had
the ability to see episodes from the latter part of Tom Baker's time (with
K-9 and Romana) and a good number of the Peter Davison episodes (with
Adrick, Teegan, and Nyssa). Currently, they are showing early episodes with
Sara Jane and Baker.
When it comes to picking a favorite doctor, I find it real hard to choose,
because both of the ones that I have seen are quite good at playing the
Doctor in their own way. Davison started very slowly, and it looked like it
took him a while to figure out what he wanted to character to look like.
Once he got going, he is quite good. One thing I didn't like as much about
Baker was his very flippant attitude. He didn't seem to care that the fate
of all reality was at stake because he knew he'd muddle through somehow.
Davison isn't nearly as sure of himself, and that makes things a lot more
interesting to me.
The key of the show to me isn't the doctor at all, though. It is the
assistants. Put a good assistant up against the doctor and you have a real
combination. There is nothing quite so funny/interesting as the interplay
between Romana and Baker unless it is K9 and Baker. Both were very good at
taking him down a notch when neccessary. Adrick, as abrasive as he was, was
also good for this, and I do miss him. Sara jane, Nyssa, and Teegan are all
screamers, great at getting in trouble, terrible at things like intelligent
thought. They might as well be cardboard cutouts, and the episodes they are
in are much less interesting because of it...
chuq
--
From behind the bar at Callahan's: Chuq Von Rospach
{fortune,menlo70}!nsc!chuqui (408) 733-2600 x242
If everyone marches to the beat of a different drummer,
why does mine have to use a bongo?barmar@mit-eddie.UUCP (Barry Margolin) (03/23/84)
My favorite companion is still Leela. She was so different. I haven't seen episodes with Romana. I have seen Baker with Sara Jane Smith (and for a while they had a male companion whose name I forget, but I never cared for him anyway). Lately I've seen some of the Davison episodes with Adrick (I got to see him blown up last week!), Nissa, and Teegan; I actually like Nissa, but I could do without Teegan and Adrick (I hope I have the names straight - I don't like the earth woman). Unfortunately, they seem to like to make the plots revolve around Adrick. Nissa is cute, sometimes intelligent, and plays off Davison pretty well. -- Barry Margolin ARPA: barmar@MIT-Multics UUCP: ..!genrad!mit-eddie!barmar
hutch@shark.UUCP (Stephen Hutchison) (03/27/84)
<Exterminate! Eggs Stir Marinade!> Nobody seems to like poor Tegan? I liked Tegan. She had the most realistic reaction of any of the Doctor's companions. She got sucked into the whole thing by accident, and the Master had shrunk her Aunt into a doll, and the Doctor caused her to lose her job, and her mind got all screwed up by the Maya, and she saw through Turlow at the very beginning. I liked her, almost as much as Leela. Leela was a primitive, and was real tough, but she was harder to identify with. Tegan was real easy to identify with. She was never really given a choice about being a companion until later. I also liked Adric, probably because he was the quintessential 14-year old brat. I was really upset when he got killed, because it was such a stupid way to die. I even like Turlow, even though he is a complete jerk, because he is such a sleaze that it is fascinating to see why and how he can screw things up next. Hutch