Doctor Who: 5 Things To Learn From Classic Series & 5 Things That Are Better

1. The Plots Aren't All That Grand, When You Break It Down

Convenient that Donna never asked "WHY those two words, Doctor?", isn't it?I love, love, LOVE Series 3 of the New Series. Why? Well, there's fanboy pleasing (Macra! Sketches of the old Doctors!), an arc that pays off in SO many ways (Saxon/The Master), strong individual stories (Even the one mostly without the Doctor - "Blink" - is considered a classic), our two primary characters - The Doctor and Martha - are at the center of it all and make the most important decisions, and - lastly - it's so well structured. It adds up well in a way that doesn't seem contrived. The Fob watches that are introduced in "The Family of the Blood" are crucial to that story BUT also set up a way for the Master to show up later, for example. It isn't crass or obvious signposting, it's nicely plotted and the payoff is great. Sadly, most other series of New Who struggle with this sort of thing. Series 1 shoehorned "Bad Wolf" in and even made jokes about those two words improbably popping up. Series 2 could've obnoxiously shoved "Torchwood" down your throat further only if it mailed you calendars of Captain Jack nude. Series 4 and 5 were better on this, but it still was terribly obvious what to watch for. And anyone who didn't figure out who River Song was before the reveal in Series 6 probably has trouble solving those wood block puzzles where you fit the right shape in the hole (Or, like me, desperately hoped it couldn't possibly be the most obvious solution EVER). So here's my idea for a Doctor Who epic, spread out over an entire season: A strong force tears the Doctor out of time, and puts him before a godlike force of aliens. They charge he is an evil being, wreaking havoc upon the universe to suit his will. The Doctor is confused, and nonetheless rallies himself to repute their claims. Following a recollection of an offence they hold against him, he suddenly realizes the abscence of his companion - They reveal later when they ripped him out of time, they prevented him from saving her "for the greater good" - The same choice he always makes. She has died. Stricken with grief, he Doctor continues to fight for his life, when The Master shows to defeat his nemesis - the head of the godlike aliens persecuting the Doctor. Confused, the Doctor doesn't understand why the Master is helping him - Until it is revealed the head of the godlike aliens is THE DOCTOR - a later, corrupt incarnation. The Master's intervention favours a Doctor he - and the Universe - at least benefit from, and hopefully reshape the future (Doctor). As anyone who HAS watched beyond the New Series knows, that's not my idea - That's Season 23 of the classic series, the 6th Doctor's "The Trial of a Time Lord". However, despite a REALLY unfortunate execution, its concept's scale is astounding. Don't believe me? Imagine that plot with Tennant and Donna for the end of Series 4 and the specials. Pretty epic huh? Too bad I can describe Series 4's arc plot as.... Planets are incidentally disappearing, but it doesn't bother the Doctor until Donna has a premonition outside of time and Earth vanishes. It's the Daleks and Davros, and they've a fiendish plot to extinguish reality with the planets. With other friends on Earth and some biological Time Lord irregularites, the Doctor and crew defeat them and put the planets back.

"Trial" has so much twist that you need a slow burning season to set it up properly. Series 4's plot could just as capably be handled in a 2 and 1/2 hour "Doctor Who" movie. Notice I didn't even wrap the "Trial" description? That's because it originally was supposed to end on a cliffhanger, with both Doctors fighting to the death over a break in the Time Vortex. Again, kind of epic in its scale. Instead, it ends with a fight inside the Time Lord Matrix (Which was created a full TWENTY YEARS before Keanu whoa'd his way around a similar concept). Again, epic. Not as bold, but still epic. Sadly, the Classic Series rendering of this godlike faceoff and persecution looks like this....

I should take a moment to say that the "Trial" season isn't even a favourite of mine. It's got problems, most of them related to budget and realization (And YES, I include casting in the "Budget" point). But even shoddier Colin Baker Stories and some of the lesser 5th and 7th Doctor stories tend to have more going on in them plot-wise than the New Series can manage - Aren't these stories supposed to be better? Supposedly, Classic Who was padded with running up and down corridors. Yes, this sometimes happened. But these stories often had more character points or subplots in two episodes (about the length of a New Series episode) than most since 2005. Worse, sometimes the "shortcut" the new series takes is to just make them stereotypes. This is like just having them introduce themselves by their character descriptions. Who'd do something like that?

Don't be dazzled. The New Series is far too often a variation on The Emperor's New Clothes in terms of its plotting and writing - You are told a lot is going on, there's a lot of running around and swish effects and budgets that the Classic Series would never see. But most plots can be summed up in two sentences. Worse, most SERIES ARCS can be summed up in two sentences, twists and main plot points included. The Classic Series knew you might have to look at an alien costume that you could see the zipper on in a quarry, so it made VERY sure that its characters, stories, and subplots - things they often excelled at - were solid and varied. (Mostly. More about that after you click.....)