Doctor Who "World War Three" US PREMIERE Talkback (spoilers)

[Lord Dalek]

The Trip of a Lifetime

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Doctor Who Episode #165 "World War Three" Talkback

In the thrilling finale, The Doctor and Rose find themselves trapped in 10 Downing Street and at the mercy of the villanous Slitheen family. With all out nuclear war on the brink, the only hope may be from the most unlikliest of allies.

Cast: Cristopher Eccleston (Doctor Who), Billie Piper (Rose Tyler), Camille Coduri (Jackie Tyler), Noel Clarke (Mickey Smith)

Guest Stars: Corey Doabe (Spray Painter), Jack Tarlton, Lachele Carl (Reporters); Andrew Marr (Himself), Rupert Vansittart (General Asquith), David Verrey (Joseph Green), Penelope Wilton (Harriet Jones), Annette Badland (Margaret Blaine), Steven Speirs (Strickland); Elizabeth Fost, Paul Kasey, Alan Ruscoe (Slitheen); Morgan Hopkins (Sergeant Price).


COMMENTS?

[Duke]

The most unlikeliest of allies? You mean Paris Hilton?

Well, THAT'S convienent. Hurt one, hurt them all.

If they didn't have the faces of that alien baby from MiB, these Slitheens would actually be fearsome.

[Lord Dalek]

The most unlikeliest of allies? You mean Paris Hilton?Hey if she can play Mother Teressa... :p

[Undrave]

I dunno... Paris Hilton has always struck me as more of an evil alien in disguise type of character XD I'm sure she's not from Earth, too thin to be natural.

[Phantasm]

If they were going to throw humanity into something they wanted to make us believe was the scale of a Third World War, they should have at least had standing as the enemy something other than walking piece of farts.

The idea was good.The scale should have been grand and massive and the opposition worthy of the great and ominous claims made throughout the episode. It all just fell flat because the enemy was not worth the fear, the well done drama implemented throughout.

I am still baffled at the need of the sporadic fatring sounds...

The Doctor was as amusing as ever. I can't believe he won't be there for the second season.

And yes.

I want my very own Tardis.

[Temple Fugate]

Very cool. I liked the action in this one. Nothing really stuck out as awesome, but all around it was a good episode. I think the Doctor's desire to have Rose accompany him is a tad creepy, but what about this guy isn't?

The ending was really sweet. I liked the Doctor's skittish face as Rose told her mom they'd be back in ten seconds. You knew right then that they wouldn't be. Why did Rose assume he had fixed the TARDIS' accuracy problem? The final shot with her mother waiting ten seconds and Mickey staying put for a little longer was really great. Sets up the dangers ahead.

Doctor Who New Series One #5: "World War Three" - ****

Next up is the episode I've been waiting to see ever since Dalek started pimping a certain avatar around here...

[Undrave]

The thing is 'World War III' refers to what the Slytheen wanted to start more or less. It was all a huge deception.

The farting noises come from their body being compressed into the human body shape.

The Doctor can be so deliciously un-human.

We all know the Tardis is a temperamental machine with a serious lack of accuracy. Sometimes it just sends the Doctor somewhere as if it knew the Doctor HAD to be there to solve something... and knowing what is at the heart of the TARDIS I'm guessing that's how it work. That's probably how they ended up at the wrong time and place in 'Unquiet Dead'.

[Lord Dalek]

Well back in the good ol days it was implied that the Doctor didn't really know how to use the Tardis and most of his landings were blind luck. Durring the 70's he finally gained this knowledge but didn't care where he was going. One of my all time favorite Tom Baker lines is that he can control the ship "9 times out of 10". Then they added that dumb randomizer in '79 which didn't last.

Since this is allegedly a different Tardis from the original (a result of the Time War), the Doctor may have reverted back into his first unknowledgable scenario. Also this Tardis is not the most userfriendly thing in the world as we have seen.

IN OTHER NEWS: Lmao. *Caution, Spoilers* (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqO6xecXfqg&search=Doctor%20Who)

[Gatomon41]

I thought it was a fun and preety good episode. Although, there uis a problem with the Syteen plan: There isn't enough nules on Earth to make it entirely radioactive slag. Sure they'll kill alot of people, destroy civilzation, but there are barely enough nukes to even turn every city on earth into rubble.

Ah, the Doctor even in these modern times feels the same. Funny, sstays clam, universe-wise. I really love this guy.

I was put off by the allusions to the real world when the Syteens claimed aliens had "Weapions of Massive Destruction." Good Scifi should avoid putting proproganda into it's work.

The Syteens are cute but deadly, and at times humorus. Enjoyable Doctor Who villians.

They actaually mention UNIT, which is sweet. I hope they add more of the backsotry of Doctor Who in, maybe a sight of the Terran Empire or Galatic Federation one day?

Overall, I give it a 4 out of 5.

[Undrave]

:lol: that video is hilarious XD Too bad there's no scene in Doctor Who with a car spinning out upside down, that's an A-Team staple.

[James]

Since this is allegedly a different Tardis from the original (a result of the Time War), the Doctor may have reverted back into his first unknowledgable scenario. Also this Tardis is not the most userfriendly thing in the world as we have seen.][/URL]

Where did you hear that LD? I recall one of the designers wanting the TARDIS to look like it had been through the wars and had been customised over the years, but I've never heard it being a different one.

Not that would be a surprise. I recall in the New Adventures novels the TARDIS was swapped for a parallel version of the 3rd Doctor's era TARDIS for a little bit. Don't know why...

I personally see the TARDIS as simply being been through the wars. There is - if I can find it an interesting hypothetical timeline for the Doctor which estimates the length of each body based on fiction within series and in books. Unsurprisingly, McGann's is fairly long (he has had a lot of non TV material) so that's lots of time to improve on McCoy's rather accurate TARDIS handling.

Again, if the Time War was as big as implied, and without Gallifrey, it could be the TARDIS is no longer quite the girl she once was. Maybe time has and battle has worn her plasmic internal configuration so it actually needs physical customising rather than being able to be altered as like the exterior is meant to be.

All interesting stuff with, as far as I'm aware, no answers beyond the viewers imagination.

[The Guitar Slayer]

Like I said previously, this isn't my favorite episode arc for this season. However, I think part two is stronger than part one.

As for the TARDIS, my impression of it was that it had been through a war -- it'd been gutted and hastily reassembled. No time for a clean white interior or a Victorian sitting room from the movie -- get it running and get it to GO.

I remember first watching it and screaming "throw vinegar on them!" once they figured out they were calcium based. I saw the Slitheen costume while up at the Blackpool exhibition -- they are quite big, and despite the Gerber baby face, they're a bit disturbing.

The thing I always found interesting about this Who is that the Doctor is finally forced to deal with his companion's family and loved ones and what happens when someone disappears. I mean, before he just picked them up, ran them around the universe a few times, and then dropped them off, never to be seen again. I think they got the idea of a return to home from the last episode of Sylvester McCoy -- Ace returns to her old neighborhood where people are disappearing left and right. We don't see her mum at all, but she's likely still in town. What's her reaction when they meet again? Do they meet again (considering Ace hates her)? If the Seventh Doctor had continued, we may have seen that kind of confrontation, considering how well they developed Ace's character over the years.

[Temple Fugate]

Okay, now I'm confused about this Time War. Has it just happened recently? (Not recently in a chronological sense of course, but between the previous Doctor Who series and this one?) When it was first alluded to in episode 2 I figured the war happened as a part of the Doctor's origin story and occured before the very beginning of the franchise.

[The Guitar Slayer]

Okay, now I'm confused about this Time War. Has it just happened recently? (Not recently in a chronological sense of course, but between the previous Doctor Who series and this one?) When it was first alluded to in episode 2 I figured the war happened as a part of the Doctor's origin story and occured before the very beginning of the franchise.

There have been multiple time wars, but the big one, refered to as The Time War, happened right before this series. Apparently, Gallifrey was destroyed as a result, and the Doctor was "killed" and regenerated. As mentioned in the Rose/End of the World talkback, the Doctor caught sight of himself in this new body for the first time. This war finished right before this first series started, and though it's up for debate how long he's been regenerated, it's not that long.

[Lord Dalek]

Okay, now I'm confused about this Time War. Has it just happened recently? (Not recently in a chronological sense of course, but between the previous Doctor Who series and this one?) When it was first alluded to in episode 2 I figured the war happened as a part of the Doctor's origin story and occured before the very beginning of the franchise.Where the Time War is set remains unclear. RTD however has made some hints in the recent Doctor Who Annual (for newbies, that's a promotional book of stories and comic strips the BBC puts out every year; I myself own the 1980 and 78 ones) that some events from previous series (IE: Genesis of the Daleks) are the direct occurance of this war. Otherwise it's brand new to this series.

It is also important to note that this Time War is completely different from the as yet-unresolved one in the BBC's Eighth Doctor novels.

[James]

Where the Time War is set remains unclear. RTD however has made some hints in the recent Doctor Who Annual (for newbies, that's a promotional book of stories and comic strips the BBC puts out every year; I myself own the 1980 and 78 ones) that some events from previous series (IE: Genesis of the Daleks) are the direct occurance of this war. Otherwise it's brand new to this series.

Makes sense - worth grabbing the recently released Genesis Of The Daleks DVD - if you have a multi region DVD player. Good if slightly long Dalek story and I can see precisely why it would be relevant. I'll leave the spoilers for the DVD itself.


It is also important to note that this Time War is completely different from the as yet-unresolved one in the BBC's Eighth Doctor novels.

If RTD would ever agree to it, it would be great if he allowed the Time War to be serialised in Big Finish. I can't see them doing a McGann flashback in the show, so it would be nice if they could give it the attention it deserves in the audio range where McGann and the story could be given the room such an epic needs to breathe. Retrospectively, could be a great story to hear.

[Stewie]

There have been multiple time wars, but the big one, refered to as The Time War, happened right before this series. Apparently, Gallifrey was destroyed as a result, and the Doctor was "killed" and regenerated. As mentioned in the Rose/End of the World talkback, the Doctor caught sight of himself in this new body for the first time. This war finished right before this first series started, and though it's up for debate how long he's been regenerated, it's not that long.Ooooohhhh. So that's what's up.
All this time I was under the impression that The Time War was something that happened in the very beginning of the series. I could never grasp how this new series could fit in with the old stuff (of which I knew/know nothing but presume much). This changes everything.
So there were other Time Lords in existence during the previous series'?

[The Guitar Slayer]

Ooooohhhh. So that's what's up.
All this time I was under the impression that The Time War was something that happened in the very beginning of the series. I could never grasp how this new series could fit in with the old stuff (of which I knew/know nothing but presume much). This changes everything.
So there were other Time Lords in existence during the previous series'?

Gallifrey is the name of the Doctor's homeworld (hence the namesake of the Doctor Who Mecca of the "Outpost Gallifrey" (http://forums.toonzone.net/www.gallifreyone.com) website). Certain Gallifreyians (however you spell that) attend the Academy and become Time Lords and Time Ladies. A recurring theme in previous series is how the Doctor periodically pissed the head honchos off or nearly got shanghai'ed into being their president, one extreme or the other. One of his companions, Romana, was a Time Lady and later became President of Gallifrey. However, since the planet went boom, the Doctor is (suggested to be) the only one left.

***********

Ok, for all you devoted fans, I have a question. Is it impossible for the Doctor to go back in time in regards to Gallifrey? Not to cross his own timeline, but to go back to a time where there are other Time Lords...or is it because they do regulate time and space that they are removed from it?

The way I understand Gallifrey's place in the fabric of time and space is that it's somehow removed from everything else. It's not like earth where you can jump back in forth from 5 billion AD back to 2000 BC. Rather, its own timeline is linear; it's absolute. A week is a week and a day is a day. How do I explain it...

For Jackie and Mickey in the last ep, it was a year from the time that Rose disappeared. For Rose and the Doctor, it was only a week or two at most that they were gone for them, which is the time that Gallifrey and its time travelers run on. It's absolute, no arguments. You can hop from planet to planet across 5,000 years, but if it only takes six months your time, it only takes six months on Gallifrey. You can never go back in time or cross your own timeline in terms of Gallifrey. Otherwise, I think the Doctor would have schlepped it back in time by 2000 to 3000 years and hung out rather than be angsting over this situation.

[Undrave]

That's a possibility, but I think there's also the possibility that he probably doesn't want to go back and see people that will eventually die and prolong his angsting, plus he probably wouldn't be able to change anything.

[Lord Dalek]

The Time Lords were wiped from history, WIPED. Thanks to the Time War, they have never existed. The only proof of the race is the Doctor and he is now nothing more than a temporal anomaly. Now what I am really currious about is how the Time War has effected the Doctor's own personal history and what PD adventures have been altered by his involvement.

[James]

Ok, for all you devoted fans, I have a question. Is it impossible for the Doctor to go back in time in regards to Gallifrey? Not to cross his own timeline, but to go back to a time where there are other Time Lords...or is it because they do regulate time and space that they are removed from it?

The way I understand Gallifrey's place in the fabric of time and space is that it's somehow removed from everything else. It's not like earth where you can jump back in forth from 5 billion AD back to 2000 BC. Rather, its own timeline is linear; it's absolute. A week is a week and a day is a day. How do I explain it...


According to the books it IS possible to break the barrier and head into "old time". It is against Gallifreyian law and punishable. Gallifrey exists in the same space as the rest of the universe, it is just protected from being tamperable by time capsules. I think that's the general ethos.

In fact, according to the books, the Doctor has gone back in Gallifrey time.

**Spoilers about the Doctor's past based on novels written 1990 onwards.**


Lungbarrow tells of how the Doctor was taken back by the Hand Of Omega through the barrier to the time of Rassilon where he took the possible granddaughter of "The Other", who himself maybe an earlier incarnation of the Doctor (and thus explain why the Doctor has memories of being half human in the TV movie as the earlier incarnation - not regeneration - was born from an illegal pairing of human and gallifreyian). The child was Susan, the first companion of the Doctor, who recognized this Doctor as her Grandfather even though they had never met.. the rest is sort of more confusing history...

Do the books count as canon? Technically yes and no. Both Virgin's New Adventures and BBC books following range are considered as official as any supplement tie in can be. Certainly since the writers of the earlier range went onto BBC Books (and some to the audio adventures by Big Finish licensed by the BBC), there has been a certain canonicity within the ranges which relate to this historical idea. Certainly little to conflict with it. That said, there has been no reference in the new series which specifically relates to the books per se. But the books do neatly tie up the "half human" idea from the TV movie rather well without having to weaken the film or the show itself.

Does this TV series have the same standpoint? Who knows? Doctor Who has steadfast refused to delve too deep and whenever the books delve into the above ideas, it's unravelled new mysteries. Considering RTD wrote for the New Adventures, as did Mark Gatiss (Unquiet Dead) and Paul Cornell (upcoming episode Father's Day) is consider the grandfather of the book range so far as ideas and conceptual background goes, it seems likely they won't fight what they've previously been a part of constructing - even if it means they don't dig any deeper into that area. So as far as Gallifrey History goes, the spoiler above isn't contradicted and up to you whether you like.

The books put it better than I.

Oh and yes, as LD said, Gallifrey's barrier to it's past is fairly moot now since they are no more than an anomaly in time itself.

EDIT: Not ALL the background history is in the book Lungbarrow, but it's available to read at the BBC Doctor Who website as an ebook. READ it guys. It's a rare opportunity as the book's out of print and sells for around $60 on ebay at it's cheapest. It has lots of good stuff and well worth the time.

[Lord Dalek]

Oh yeah, deffinetly read Lungbarrow (http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/ebooks/lungbarrow/index.shtml), it's arguably Platt's best work (Spare Parts is almost as good but not quite, and Ghost Light is pretty bogged down in its own complexity).

[James]

Oh yeah, deffinetly read Lungbarrow (http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/ebooks/lungbarrow/index.shtml), it's arguably Platt's best work (Spare Parts is almost as good but not quite, and Ghost Light is pretty bogged down in its own complexity).

Yeah, Lungbarrow is the natural evolution of Ghost Light given space to breathe (rather than 70 minutes - still love GL though).

Need to buy Spare Parts. Thanks for reminding me on that LD.

Anyhow, yes, Lungbarrow, Dying Days, Human Nature and A Well Mannered War are all BBC ebooks any new series fan should try reading. They are a little more adult in tone than the old series and free. Go to it!

[Phantasm]

I have a question about the Doctor's relationship with Rose and without giving out any spoilers can someone tell me, why does he seem to let her in so easily?She is just some random girl he meets and all of a sudden dubs her his official companion?:confused:

[Lord Dalek]

I have a question about the Doctor's relationship with Rose and without giving out any spoilers can someone tell me, why does he seem to let her in so easily?She is just some random girl he meets and all of a sudden dubs her his official companion?:confused:He's always had a travelling companion (usually female). It's kind of an unwritten rule of the universe in this show, when he doesn't it suffers for the lack of chemistry and charisma.

[James]

I have a question about the Doctor's relationship with Rose and without giving out any spoilers can someone tell me, why does he seem to let her in so easily?She is just some random girl he meets and all of a sudden dubs her his official companion?:confused:

Aside from LD's cynical point, the Doctor sees that sparkle of character which draws him to a companion. He's been fond of humans since his first companions Ian and Barbara. There is certain quality, a tenaciousness about humans which fascinates him.

With Rose, it's that spark of guts and curiousity which he seems to warm to.

That and the fact - as he says in End Of The World - he's alone. He doesn't have anyone, not even his own race anymore. Considering Time Lords are said to be slightly telepathic (in fact in an earlier episode of the show, the Doctor says a certain Time Lord can track him because in some ways, they are all the same.. or words to that effect - Logopolis). So there is a bond in Time Lords, not by the looks of it a conscious telepathy, but like a race connection. So this again, makes him feel rather lonely.

[James]

Report from Outpost Gallifrey (Gallifreyone.com) on ratings:

Ratings for the broadcast of the fifth new Doctor Who episode broadcast on Sci Fi in the US, World War Three, on April 7 have come in. The episode turned around a slight downward trend, rising over two-tenths of a ratings point to 1.42 on the household ratings, with an average viewing audience of 1.6 million viewers -- nearly equalling the number of viewers who turned into the broadcast three weeks before of "The End of the World" which had been (and remains) the show's highest rating so far. Ratings detail shows that the broadcast this week was also up 18% in the coverted men ages 18-34 bracket. source: www.gallifreyone.com

Looks good for Who!

[Duke]

The ratings might have been bigger if they had waited and put it on between the two Stargates in July, when it was premiering. After all, BSG's not coming until October, so it'll be free to take up a slot.

[James]

I think basically, it's slotted in this seasonal schedule.. deadspace because it's an import and thus costs less.

The winter seasons you really want to promote your home grown shows which NEED the audience to justify they're financial existence.

From what I've seen of last year demograph statistics, Doctor Who is doing fine and I think it will do even better on reruns when the DVDs hit the shelves. Plus, Rose is the worst episode IMO, we know the season doesn't tire, it gets better, so I think we'll see a gradual increase in interest as the series progresses and when the DVD/reruns hit.