…sure. To a geek in the United States. A US geek is very much much more likely to have encountered Firefly or the X-files as both were broadcast on Network TV in the US. The closest that Who has come has been a TV movie on the Fox Network and a Very Special Episode of Craig Ferguson. It should have been obvious from the OP that they were based in the US (reference to Netflix) and that the statement they made should have been read in that context. So yeah, Doctor Who is popular in the UK and some other parts of the world: but as Ferguson says: not many people in the US have heard of Doctor Who. And that would include Geeks.
As a kid I watched the Tom Baker Eps in the 70s. They were actually on a local station back then every Sunday morning for 2 hours. (Ch. 9 WWOR in NYC area) I enjoyed them though not as much as Star Trek but I enjoyed them. I never saw the other Doctors until later and did not like them as much. Then the new series came out and I had the pleasure of watching all of these with my kids. They love the new shows. They love them enough that my son fired up an old Doctor Who (Tom Baker) with Romana from Netflix streaming tonight. He appears transfix and my daughter was drawn in to watch it too.
I have to say while Baker was my Doctor if you would, Tennant’s shows were the best so far. The Doctor Dances, The Weeping Angels and several others were just great shows and not just great Sci-Fi.
The Sarah Jane series is pretty good too considering the age group it is aimed at, but I found Torchwood terrible the first season and gave up on it.
Also Firefly is as obscure a show as Doctor who was in the 70s. The Internet just makes it easier for fans to talk to each other. Doctor Who actually was featured prominently at US Sci-Fi conventions in the 70s and 80s AFAIK.
Check your local library, then expand your research to your inter-library loan system, if your library is hooked into it. If you want to own them, Amazon.com has them.
Dang, I got the name wrong then. The two parter in WWII that introduces Capt. Jack. The scary gas mask shows with “are you my mommy?” is the one I meant. Incredibly good show.
Both great stories for long time fans to watch. Not so good as an introduction for new people. Five Doctors in particular, contains many appearances by old familiar faces. Great memories for those who grew up watching them. New watchers will be left saying “Who’s that? What’s going on?”
Don’t watch either of those stories until you’ve seen at least two other stories, preferably more, from each Doctor’s reign.
What this means is that a few decades ago it was difficult and expensive to archive old TV shows. Doctor Who is one that wasn’t preserved, and many old episodes were lost.
Don’t despair, though. The soundtrack of every episode survives, due to fans recording it on tape. And there were many photographs taken on set during rehearsals. And there were many telesnapsmade, where a photographer recorded what was onscreen during a broadcast episode. This has enabled people to make reconstructions of lost episodes, consisting of the original sound plus a load of stills. It’s not as good as the original episode, but it allows you to watch the story and get a good impression of what it was like.
Yes, I know! *I *pointed out the geographical oddity; no need to respond by pointing it out back to me!
Not sure what Netflix is or why that would make something obvious.
People seem to be trying to disagree with something, and I’m not entirely sure what. Yes, it may be unpopular where you are located; no it’s not unpopular in terms of how many people watch it. It’s more maintsream than, say, Firefly. Is this bothering anyone?
Netflix, however, is a niche cult thing that not many people have heard of.
In apropros of nothing, I would like to note that Doctor Who is so popular in San Antonio that a local DW fan group is able to fill two dinner theaters full of fans to their monthly showings of DW episodes.
A while back I decided to watch from the very, very beginning (being born in the mid 70s, PD was my first Doctor). I bought everything that was available (well, not all at once, I bought when I got to the serial) and then “located” everything else. So far I am still somewhere in the middle of the second Doctor (hey, there’s a lot of other TV out there) and I’ve avoided the telesnaps as I find them pretty much unwatchable.
It’s quite a project. The BBC DVDs are all kinds of awesome with random stuff on there and a brilliant trivia track that treads the line between amusing (watch now as the camera jumps because Hartnell walked into it) and interestingly informative. I have lapsed of late. I really should get back to it.
No nitpick there, I know I don’t know the episode names that well. But I figured any current fan would know the Ep I meant at least. Thanks for the correct name.
