Happy Birthday Doctor!

[AshNotTheHousewaresOne]

the good Doctor (Who) is 43 today! and he doesn't look a day over 900!!! let's all raise a glass to the childrens hero that adults adore!!!!

is he? happy birthday dr who

Has it really been going that long?! . My first Doctor was Jon Pertwee, God I am old!!!

huh, I remembr patrick troughton, so there!

I'm interested, actually - what makes you lot watch "Doctor Who" now, when you weren't in the 80s? At least I assume you weren't - it's not true, as is often claimed, that ratings plummeted, but they certainly tailed off to about 5m or so (quite respectable today, but not a lot back then with only 4 channels). And it really wasn't cool. No WAY would I, in 1987, have ever opened a conversation with a girl by telling her I liked the show, but if I were 18 today it would probably be a quite good conversation-opener.

So is it the sexy Northern allure of Chris Eccleston and the rakish charm of David Tennant? The higher production values? The fact that the BBC now promote it so that you actually know it is on, in a prime slot and not tucked away opposite "Coronation Street"? Answers on a postcard please.

As someone who stuck with the original run through thick and thin I'm delighted it's now back as "the people's show". It irks me a bit, though, when all these celebs come out and say "ooh, yes, I was a massive fan", and I think, so where were you in 1987, then, hmm? (I'll tell you where you bleeding were, Fearne Cotton and Konnie Huq and the rest. You were smoking behind the bike-sheds with your cool mates and if "Doctor Who" ever passed under your radar, it was only ever to have a laugh at the naff sets and costumes! You wouldn't have been seen dead watching it!!)

i watched it in the 70s though (j pertwee and tom baker!). i think they scrapped most of the budget for dr who to fund eastenders! watching some of the old series now though it's quite good. i think the answer is that it's better because the budget is higher!

The best of the old series certainly stands up well against other TV of the time. The Tom Baker they are showing on BBC4 this week and next is very good, and creepy. DS & DD loved it!

my sons have about 24 old videos, my dp keeps buying them from ebay! they are really good and my 5 year old is obsessed with them and can name all doctors in order. it's something that just seems to capture people's imaginations! i love the old monster costumes too

lol unquietdad...a man after my own heart(s)!.....where was i in '87?...recovering from 'the cancellation crisis', worried about that bloke from tiswas taking over and doing illustrations for fanzines.....i've always worn my geek colours with pride!!!

To be fair That Bloke From Tiswas tuned out to be quite good, actually! Shame he was never given a chance to settle into the role.

i must admit i'm a HUGE McCoy fan! i even own a replica outfit (complete with question mark sweater and umbrella!), but i've got a McGann outfit too (great for New Years Eve)....be careful, i'll be sending you to my myspace site to check out my reviews archive soon....(and give you a laugh at the Who themed artwork i was commissioned to do for a charity anthology a few years ago).

I kind of lost interest aound the time of Colin Baker as he seemed so wooden. I think I was doing other more grown up things when Sylvester McCoy ws on, although I did quite like the McGann vrsion.

What I like about it know - apart from seeing lavish budgets spent on things that used to rattle and wobble - is the emotional depth it has now - I really want the Dr to come and protect me too! DD and i watched the Madame de Pompadour episode through floods of tears, and even DP had a little sniff at the end. Cant wait for the next series, but will have difficulty adjustin if david Tennant leaves I think.

"Wooden? WOODEN? WOODEN?"

He was a bit bombastic, but I rather feel this persona was foisted upon him by the production team and that dreadful coat they made him wear. Had it been up to Colin, he'd have worn something more sober and probably turned in a more restrained performance too.

i think tom baker will always be my favourite, watched horror at fang rock yesterday, it was very spooky. my son loves the paul mcgann film too

I'm absolutely loving the old episodes they are showing on BBC4 at the moment - that and the old Day of the Triffids!

I also love that (in the last episodes they've shown on BBC4) the slimy aliens always seem to be covered in cling film!

It is amazing how special effects have come on since then.

yes i saw one where i'm sure the green slime monster was really painted bubblewrap. also saw lots of jam sponge monsters in an earlier episode.

The green bubblewrap one is the current BBC4 repeat. They are supposed to be larvae or something, so they don't look bad! It is a very creep story - especially the first episode with the Doctor and Sarah and Harry walking round the deserted Ark.

Not sure if I've seen the jam sponge monsters!

sure you have! from the three doctors

Mmm, nice!

Colin was toptastic in the 'Who' stage show, a great performance methinks....it does seem usual to blame the complacent production team for the shows fall from grace in the 80's....so who am i to disagree?....but looking back now i hate to say it but the cancellation was possibly the best thing that happened at the time (that and the 'doctor in distress' single).
unquiet dad, i'm assuming you're 'one of us'....that merry band of 'enthusiasts' who originally became besotted with the sometimes creaky but always magical show from a tender (and impressionable) age....and, like all childhood best friends, you?ve had your disagreements and fallings out over the years, only to make up in time for (Saturday) teatime. you?ve had you ups (?City of Death? and ?The Happiness Patrol?) and your downs (season 23) and probably even a short separation (?Buck Rogers: Planet of the Slave Girls??.Erin Gray in spandex or Matthew Waterhouse in rubber pyjamas...i was there too!).....but dont you get that sense of pride that 'the childrens hero that adults adore' is back where he belongs?...on saturday teatimes scaring the sh*t out of small kiddies?....look on the brightside tho....at least the thread hasn't turned into a 'why the use of bubblewrap in the hinchcliffe era was, from a design point of view, was better than Williams era bubblewrap'........yet.

still time tho.