I was terrified of the toaster-heads (cybermen). And those fat green creatures with suction cups all over their backs that hid out on the moors of England… who were they again?

David Ruys wrote:
I’d rather gnaw my own arms off than watch vacuous things like Star Trek or Babylon 5 or whatever

Don’t gnaw your arms off, it would be a shame for you to have to stop posting. :)

I’m glad that we are all made unique and have different tastes, or else this world would certainly be a boring place.

-bw

[quote author="Jon Guyer"]I was terrified of the toaster-heads (cybermen). And those fat green creatures with suction cups all over their backs that hid out on the moors of England… who were they again?

Zygons
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/doctorwho/gallery/monsters2/images/340/zygon.jpg

[quote author="Rick Smith"]I recall that shaggy beast he hyonotised. There was the Sultanas or Sultarens or something. There were the Ogrons… I liked these guys, particularly good in the episaodes where they came against John Pertwee and the Brigadier.

What were those guys that were all wrapped in alfoil… cybersomethings?

David C you’re sure to have catalogued all these?

Muahaha!!!

Pertwee hyptonised Aggador the first time he was on Peladon (The Curse of Peladon), it was one of the last survivors of an almost extinct species which the locals had taken to worshipping as a god. However certain individuals had taken to using the beast to kill diplomats, as a way of convincing the people that membership with the Federation was opposed to the will of Aggedor. A classic episode.

The Sontarans appeared several times. First in The Time Warrior where a single Sontaran is manipulating mediaeval Lords for his own ends, then in The Sontaran Experiment, again in The Invasion of Time where the SSSS (Sontaran Special Space Service) invade Gallifrey, and finally in The Two Doctors

Ogrons only appeared during the Pertwee era, they were servants to the Daleks (manual labour, expendeble footsoldiers etc.)

The Cybermen were the second most popular enemy, after the Daleks. They appeared in the William Hartnell story The Tenth Planet, at the end of which the Doctor regenerated for the very first time. Most Cybermen stories were Troughton era (The Moonbase, The Wheel in Space, Tomb of the Cybermen and The Invasion) including a classic scene where the Cybermen launched an all-out invasion of London, climbing out of the sewers where they had been hybernating. This was the first story where Lethbridge-Stewart was a Brigadier of UNIT (we met him previosuly, but he hadn’t been promtoed yet).

Tom Baker had the lacklustre Revenge of the Cybermen, but then Peter Davidson had Earthshock which was the first time that one of the Doctor’s companions actually died. The Five Doctors also featured a squad of Cybermen, plus a Dalek cameo, but the story was not really about them. Colin Baker had Attack of the Cybermen which was supposed to tie-in with The Tenth Planet, but was fairly weak in the end. The final Cyberman story was Silver Nemesis where the Cybermen were cleverly compared with a militant group of neo-nazis who describe the metal villains as the ‘Superman’ ideal of Nazism.

Should I mention at this point that this is entirely from my own memory?

I enjoyed Roger Delgado as the Master, though Anthony Ainley did well(after Delgado died) eventually in Survival (the final Dr Who episode ever).

Favourite villains besides the Daleks? Hmm.... I liked the Ice Warriors, Sontarans and the Cybermen. Don’t ask me to choose!

[quote author="Enkidu Jones"]
Zygons

Bah, you beat me to it! Here’s one of my favourite Dr Who quotes, from the 1988 story Remembrance of the Daleks, addresing the fact that nobody seems to remember all of the invasion attempts on the Earth. Ace has recognised the landing pattern of a space craft in a London school…

Ace: But this is Earth, 1963! If somebody had landed I would have heard about it.
Doctor: Do you remember the Zygon Gambit, with the Loch Ness Monster? Or the Yetis in the underground?
Ace: The what?
Doctor: [frustrated] Your species has the most amazing capacity for self deception, matched only by its ingenuity when trying to destroying itself!

Should I mention at this point that this is entirely from my own memory?

WOW! I am impressed.  I wish I had that ability/memory.  I forget what I had for breakfast, let alone last week/year.

delete
double post

Dr Who

I never was a fan of Dr Who.

I have a theory that real fans were either from out of town (rural or provincial), getting restricted shows that were suitable for kids. Or the parents had the set permanently stuck on the ABC, and directed the tastes of the kids.

My parents were catholic in their TV tastes when I was a kid. And when I saw the show, I was turned off by the low tech production, and the unattractive Dr Who star. The costumes were pantomine to my early mind.

I really see no reason to change my mind. What’s the attraction?

Ken

[quote author="David C Simon"][Should I mention at this point that this is entirely from my own memory?

That’s impressive. I am not worthy!

I hope you belong to Navigators.

[quote author="Rick Smith"]I hope you belong to Navigators.

And who/what would they be?

[quote author="Ken Austin"]I really see no reason to change my mind. What’s the attraction?

Here’s what I like about Dr Who:

Winning formula - with the TARDIS, the Doctor can travel anywhere in the universe at any point in history. Thus opening up an infinite number of stories/settings - one week you’re on a space station, the next week you’re in ancient Rome. Furthermore, the Doctor’s ability to regenerate means that the series can outlast its actors, and new blood keeps on getting injected into the show’s veins.

Superb Stories - Not all were good, I agree, but there are some real gems in there, often with some biting social commentary. The constant turnover of writers meant that new ideas kept on springing up, and there was some very witty dialogue.

Things blowing up - whatever you may say about the BBC effects, you have to agree that their pyrotechnics department has always been fantastic. The quantity and quality of explosions on Dr Who is a delight.

The low-tech production of Dr Who was never enough to turn me off, because the stories were so good. One can forgive poor production standards if the story is compelling. The costumes? Well they varied from one episode to the next, sometimes masterful, at other times campy to the extreme. It was never a major obstacle for viewing because I knew that the next story would have something different and fresh.

My parents brought me up on British TV simply because it was the best that was on air at the time. Thus I grew up watching Dr Who, Dangermouse, The Goodies, Yes Minister, The Professionals, Blakes 7, The Tripods etc.

[quote author="David C Simon"][quote author="Rick Smith"]I hope you belong to Navigators.

And who/what would they be?

They’re the Christian group big on memorising Scripture.

Navigators

Big on memorising verses, but sometimes not so big on the context of those verses, from my observation.

I think there are going to be some complications from the English lad joining them.

I reckon he will be exterminated in the next episode or so.

-bw

[quote author="Bec Watson"]I think there are going to be some complications from the English lad joining them.

I reckon he will be exterminated in the next episode or so.

-bw

I dunno whether he’ll get himself killed, in all 26 years of Dr Who only one companion has ever been killed (Adric, in Earthshock).

My verdict on ‘Dalek’ (the name of the episode): Not bad. The idea of the Dalek being reactivated by Rose because she’s a time-traveller is somewhat contrived, but on the whole I was satisfied with the course of the story. They’ve certainly spiced the Daleks up just in terms of menace and firepower, I liked the independantly rotating mid-section. Also, kudos to whoever built and controlled the new model as it actually moved smoothly and deliberately - for the first time in Dr Who history :D

I should point out that we first saw Daleks levitate upstairs in 1988 (Remembrance of the Daleks) and it was a similar gag. The Doctor and Ace discover a Dalek in a basement and the Doctor shouts out “The Stairs!"… only to discover that the stairs are not the haven he was hoping for.

I liked the assertion that the Doctor “Would make a good Dalek”. He deliberately wiped out the Dalek homeworld (Skaro) in RotD, luring them into a trap whereby they unwittingly sent their own sun supernova. In fact there has been much discussion on the fact that, more than once, the Doctor has committed genocide.

Mr Austin

real fans were either from out of town (rural or provincial)

what a snobbish and rude thing to say.

Next you’ll be belittling country people on other grounds.

Perhaps you will also criticise the Argonauts programme on the basis that its main audience was country children. (Now theres a throwback in time that passes the good Dr)

Mr Simon
your knowledge of the Dr is impressive. thank you for reminding us all. Would you care to recomend some Dr Who websites?