Is cool! The sci-fi channel just started showing the 2005 episodes. I was relatively interested by the forum discussion, so I decided to Wiki the series, and as a result awaited seeing it.

It's really neat! ...Sometimes, the 2005 episodes seem to border a bit...on the campy, I suppose. Not really campy like "Quick, Robin! The Bat-Shark Repellant!" but campy in a much cooler way.

It was actually amusing to watch plastic mannequins reveal guns in their arms and start terrorising a whole city and blowing crap up. That was awesome.

And! I hear they have DVDs of the older seasons in nearby movie stores. I'm thinking of getting, to start, some of the first season, and a bit of the seventh doctor's (he seems to have one or two really neat serials).

...Wonder when we'll get the tenth doctor episodes...I mean, Sci-Fi is just on #3 of the 2005 series...

Let's not confuse 60s Batman with non-campy Batman! You make it sound like I'm beating up on the respectable stuff :(

Not that 60s Batman is horrible, but the camp value is different from Doctor Who's. Batman camp is funny in a bad way that is good because of the badness. Dr. Who seems to have a bit of campiness, but it actually makes it...neater. In a "we do our campiness out of respect to the series" kind of way, rather than "let's just make it as campy as possible" way.

Oh, and thinking of collecting original series Dr Who DVDs? May I make a few suggestions? Firstly, for the love of God, don't buy them in order! Some of the stories no longer exist in the BBC archives. Here are a few of my favourites:

Earthshock (cracking ending to this one. The Cybermen at their most menacing)
Tomb of the Cybermen
Trial of a Timelord (not sure if this is on DVD yet, I have the special edition VHS tin)
The Seeds of Doom
The Deadly Assassin (which assassins aren't, eh?)
Death to the Daleks
Destiny of the Daleks
Resurrection of the Daleks
Remebrance of the Daleks (the 7th Doctor's one and only encounter with the Daleks)
The Ark in Space
The Hand of Fear
Battlefield
City of Death (written by Douglas Adams, if you like that sort of thing..)
Revenge of the Cybermen

Basically, I suggested not buying things in order for two reasons:

1. Not all Doctor Who episodes are on DVD yet. Every episode that still exists got released on VHS (I've even got an original copy of Revenge of the Cybermen on VHS, the first Docotr Who story ever released by the BBC on tape) but DVD will take much longer since they enjoy bundling some highly kick-ass extra features on them. And I *mean* kick ass. For instance, some of the older serials have optional CGI sequences now to replace the old model work. Every episode has commentary. Most of the DVDs have a slew of documentaries and archive footage. Some even have an isolated incidental music track for you to listen to.

2. Some Dr Who episodes are truly abomonable. The science behind The Invisible Enemy, for instance, is laughable at best. Still, most of Docotr Who is solid gold. One Doctor I do recommend buying a whole season of is Doctor number 5: Peter Davidson. The stories are great, the production values are passable, none of the episodes are missing, the season is of a length that buying it all won't break the bank and Nicola Bryant is super hot in Planet of Fire.

Oddly enough, I'm a huge fan of Colin Baker (not to be confused with Tom Baker..), Doctor number 6. Most people list him as their least favourite but I thought he was rather invigorating. In truth, he wasn't given long enough to sort the character out, the BBC screwed his time up in the role royally and yet he was still able to make something of it.

Oh, and speaking of TV series that break the bank: I'm currently collecting Babylon 5. I was convinced it was going to be awful but, having finally seen it, I absolutely love it and recommend it to everyone. Can't get enough, actually. I've bought FOUR seasons (a whopping 88 episodes, plus the pilot) of it so far, which has cost me a packet but is worth every penny. I just have season 5, the TV movies, the Crusade spinoff series, Legend of the Rangers and In The Beginning left to get. Bit of a shame that three of the best actors in it are no longer with us: Andreas Katsulas (G'Kar) died in February, Richard Biggs (Dr. Stephen Franklin) died a couple of years ago and so did Tim Choate (Zathras).

I just finished catching up on season 1!!

The Empty Child was awesome!

The finale was BLOODY AWESOME!

I can't wait for David Tennant though. Christopher Eccleston does a great job, but Tennant has that awesome hair. I hear the Christmas special is really worth seeing too...can't wait for that.

No. Right: Tom Baker is number 4. Colin Baker is Doctor number 6.

Lots of people really liked TOM Baker because he was quirky, forthright and an amazing presence on the screen.

Most people don't like COLIN Baker because he was radically different (he tries to strangle Peri to death in his first episode: his mind has been severely scrambled from the stress of regeneration). Colin aimed to play a Doctor who was initially out brash, loud and overbearing before mellowing down in later episodes. He also sought to emphasis the Doctor's alien qualities. What he GOT was a couple of duff stories (*cough*VengeanceOnVaros*cough*), Doctor Who nearly being cancelled and then being chucked off the cast through no fault of his own. In his lasts season - Trial of a Timelord - he really starts to pull it together and you start to see what Colin can really bring to the roll. But, alas, he wasn't given the time to really bring his incarnation to life. Shame, really.

New 'Who, though: bloody ace! This week - over in England - the final two-parter of the second series begins. It's going to be bloody EXCELLENT. I've seen the trailers for it and it promises to be the very best 'Who yet! Horror! Invasion! Death! A battle of wits with the Doctor's deadliest enemies! Yeeeeooooooooowwwoooh!!!

Season two-wise, I've enjoyed the following episodes the most:

School Reunion
Rise of the Cybermen / The Age of Steel
The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit

Love and Monsters was intriguingly experimental. Not like anything Doctor Who has tried before. My sister didn't like it but I thought it worked pretty good for a charater piece. God, I do love a good character piece: one of my favourite episodes of Babylon 5 is a character piece called Intersections in Real Time, where the cast list totals about 6 people and the story centres around the psychological torture of one of the show's protagonists.

Can't wait for the Doctor Who season finale: the trailers for it are so gloriously tantalising and it's airing Saturday night in the UK! Mere hours to wait! Then, there's the spin-off series "Torchwood" to look forward to, another christmas special, series 3...

...This is just bloody unfair.

...Strangely my friend and fellow Doctor Who enthusiast has also gotten himself stuck at Oxford in London right now, but as he doesn't know anyone and doesn't have a TV, he's missing out on the finale tonight...

Or at least I assume. It's 7 here, must be...late there. Dang time thing.

*wink-wink

Hey! I am a good and noble person now.

Ok, I saw the season finale over the weekend. Twice. It was ACE. It managed to be funny, action-packed, exciting and emotionally draining: all the things Doctor Who is at it's best. I'm eagerly anticipating Torchwood and the Christmas special, which I can (in an entirely non-exclusive manner) reveal will be called The Runaway Bride. Probably the most un-Doctor-Who episode title ever. Can't wait!