joltman

What was the issue with series 6?

The Valeyard

BBC admitted it was an encoding error and offered replacements for the 6 discs. It's an exchange process. You send them in, they send the replacements.

mythmaker18

You really shouldn't be, though. The BBC will do you right. Heck, I've used their exchange program twice, and both times was to exchange faulty Region 2/Region B discs, even though I'm in the USA. Absolutely no problem.

Also, regarding The Two Doctors, I don't think it's OOP in the UK anymore. It's available "cheap" again on AmazonUK. I bet they went back and "trimmed" In a Fix with Sontarans to remove as much of Jimmy Saville as possible. Glad I've got the original pressing.

milo bloom

I've done other swaps multiple times, even Mill Creek did a replacement program for their Gamera Blus, sending out extra copies without any kind of proof at all.

The Valeyard

Announced over on the Gallifrey Base forum, An Adventure in Space and Time is no longer a part of the 50th Anniversary Blu-Ray release. The docudrama will be released sometime next year on it's own.

Josh-da-man

I do wonder how they're going to handle the 50th Anniversay Special and the upcoming Christmas Special. I know they'll get their own releases, but will they also be included in the eventual complete Series Eight set? Will "An Adventure in Time and Space" be included as well?

I could sort of see all three of these being bundled together like the four Tennant specials that concluded his run.

The Valeyard

I would think they'd keep the Series 8 box set Capaldi-centric. But who knows?

Josh-da-man

That's what I would think, too.

They have, historically, included all of the material (save for the two animated Tennant episodes) in the complete series sets. I would think that they would have waited to release the complete series seven until after the anniversary episode and Christmas episode so they could put all of the Smith stories in it. Of course that would mean the series seven set would include THREE Christmas specials...

If the series 8 set is only the Capaldi eps, then that leaves two orphaned specials that aren't in series sets.

Granted, we still don't know when Smith will regenerate into Capaldi. For all we know, it could be in the first five minutes of the Christmas episode making that one the first official Capaldi episode.

The Valeyard

True. I would love to see how nuts dedicated Who fans would get if that happened. It would almost be like Colin Baker's regeneration at the start of Time and the Rani. Only Matt Smith would be a willing participant.

rogerrobert69

Baker was willing to come back for that one scene even after he had been sacked, it was the BBC who didn't bother to call him at the time!

The Valeyard

Actually, Baker wanted to come back for one final season but the BBC just wanted him to do the regeneration story. He's the one who said no thanks.

If you ever get the chance, listen to the JNT Memoirs CD set from Big Finish. JNT goes into some details regarding this as well as all the turmoil during this time period.

mythmaker18

Also, if Baker had committed to the paltry four-weeks work of Time and the Rani so far ahead of time, he might have been missing out on more lucrative (and longer-lasting) stage work, as the time that Rani would have been filming would have been during prime "casting season" for theatre gigs. He saw no reason to commit himself to that--knowing he could be missing out other acting jobs--especially, when the BBC were wanting rid of him and were only grudgingly offering him those four episodes.

rogerrobert69

Baker says differently in one bonus interview I watched on one of his DVDs (can't remember which, probably to do with discussing the hiatus. I remember condescendant Michael Grade, the one who cancelled the show - twice - and sacked Baker also interviewed in that segment). He claims after being sacked he offered the BBC to come back for the regen but they didn't even bother to call him back to say no thank you!
I guess either he or JNT wants to embellish his part of the story. I know JNT has done that a lot in the past but also actors with hurt egos are known to be exagerating once in a while!

The Valeyard

That's probably from the Trial of a Time Lord box set. It's true that as time continues on, stories do get embellished or exaggerated. I have seen other behind the scenes stories that don't jell together on the DVD interviews, Doctor Who Handbooks and DW Magazine articles. So who really knows in the long run?

I've been meaning to pick up JN-T: The Life and Scandalous Times of John Nathan-Turner but I'm not 100% sure if there's any truth to it.

rogerrobert69

Personally, I find that JNT is rather low on my list of favorite DW producers. He stayed much too long, imposed crappy decisions all around (celery, question mark, Mel, etc.) and seemed an overall despotic ruler. But I guess inside anecdotes and gossip about ones fav series! is always fun to read!

The Valeyard

BBC America Shop has officially listed The Day of the Doctor on their site:

Blu-Ray - $23.98 Pre-Order

DVD - $19.98 Pre-Order

3D Blu-Ray + Blu-Ray + DVD on 2 Discs
Running Time: 1 1/4 hours
Release Date: 12/10/13

mythmaker18

At the time following the actual events (1986/87), Baker did say in print interviews that after he was offered just the one 4-part story (for which he'd have had to clear that whole month in his schedule), he himself counter-offered that he'd be willing to come back for the whole season and that if the BBC really wanted rid of him, he'd go at the end. They said, no, just the four episodes, and he turned it down.

It wasn't that he wanted to come back for the one season. He wanted to play the role much longer than that (if prior interviews are to be taken at face value, he wanted to be the longest-running Doctor). It was that he saw "one more season" as a reasonable compromise on his part to his treatment at the hands of the BBC.

Given how poor Season 24 actually turned out, Baker was probably better off not being on the show that year, despite the circumstances.

Josh-da-man

It's a shame because I think Colin Baker could have been a really, really great Doctor.

But by the time Baker came on board, the show was cheap and tacky-looking and the stories were awful.

I don't know... maybe it's just me... the Tom Baker and Peter Davison episodes that I started with were still cheap-looking, but there was just something sort of bravura about it where it seemed like they were trying to make the best possible show with what little they had to work with. Maybe I had just grown tired of it by then (I was in junior high and high school during the CBaker/McCoy years), or something really had changed. I know that CBaker and McCoy weren't well-received by others, but I always sort of liked Davison's run (but his final season seemed kind of unremarkable) even though it has its haters.

rogerrobert69

Agreed. He really took off in the Big Finish audio adventures. He's beautifully annoying and pedant with great scripts.
I do like his 80s episodes though. I'm a sucker for Peri (the physical aspect of her at least) and enjoy the Rani one (luddites rebellion) and the Cybermen in the sewers was cool. the Davros one too. I guess I'm not too critical when it comes to DW in any case. I like some McCoy even! Sillier and more bizarre than the previous Doctors'. Greatest Show, Paradise Towers and Dragonfire are cool.

The Valeyard

Baker's Doctor really does shine in the Big Finish audios. The first time it stood out (for me) was The Apocalypse Element. I remember thinking "Wow. He's really good. Why wasn't this Doctor on TV?" There's a definite feeling that Baker is finally playing the Doctor how he always wanted.

I recently listened to The Wrong Doctors which was a hoot. Two Sixth Doctors and two Mels running around inside a bubble in time. Wonderful!

I have very fond, nostalgic feelings toward his television run. The Two Doctors is one of my favorites from that era.

DoctorWhosScarf

There's a part of me that wants to get into the Big Finish stuff, but I'm kind of confused when looking at their website. There is an 8th Doctor series, but The Chimes Of Midnight isn't listed in that series. However, it's on the website to order. It also looks like it's been a while since any 8th Doctor stories came out, so are they continuing to make 8th Doctor stories?

The Valeyard

Yes. They're still making 8th Doctor audios. The Big Finish McGann run is a bit confusing. They ran his first two or three series throughout the regular monthly range of audios. After the BBC brought the show back, they did a separate series of McGann stories that ran on BBC 7. They just released a 4-disc set titled Dark Eyes that continues his stories after the BBC radio run and before the Time War.

The Chimes of Midnight was part of that first McGann series. It's Number 29 in the monthly range.

rogerrobert69

Plus he'll be in the 50th anniversary audio adventure (Light at the end) that comes out in nivember. Together with T and C baker, Davison and McCoy. Plus a bunch of their respective companions. Nice 5 CD box set with pictures and tons of extras. I pre-ordered it from a link on the DW news page and payed total 19 pounds (roughly 30$) which is much better than the 63$ asked locally!

rogerrobert69

Here we go again. Just when i had finally come to terms with the previous rumour probably being a hoax. Damn you 50th anniversary...

The Valeyard

Funny how this rumor snowballed and it only turns out to be 2 episodes. Well, we'll see on Tuesday.