Jon's Queen Consort Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 It's a stupid question but I will do it anyway...What is "rebooting" and how it could happen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Marquis de Leech Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 It's a stupid question but I will do it anyway...What is "rebooting" and how it could happen?Re-starting the entire series. Basically wipe existing canon, have a new First Doctor, and take things from there. The current series isn't a reboot, since it is functionally a continuation of 1963-89.I personally can't see the point: Doctor Who is already infinitely adaptable. The genre of story depends on the whim of the writers, the personality of the protagonist changes from incarnation to incarnation. With that sort of freedom, why bother undoing the last half century? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Octarina Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 I personally can't see the point: Doctor Who is already infinitely adaptable. The genre of story depends on the whim of the writers, the personality of the protagonist changes from incarnation to incarnation. With that sort of freedom, why bother undoing the last half century?For the same reason comics companies do this. Soon enough we'll be in season 12, or the 15th Doctor, and those numbers might discourage a new audience to watch the show (and, as Wert said, new audiences are their primary concern right now). I suppose they could always just change the season number to one again, but if renumberings are confusing in comics, I can only imagine what that must be like for TV viewers.The other option (and maybe the excessive watching of Community is showing here) would be allowing the Americans to make their own version of DW from scratch. Sure, it would probably be as bad as Miracle Day or the 90's movie, but I wouldn't dare think there wouldn't be a public for it; on the contrary, it could potentially be more successful than even the current show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 I think the difference is that in comics, there can be a genuine difficulty for someone picking up any random issue to know what's going on without a grounding in tons and tons of backstory, whereas most episodes of Doctor Who can be watched in isolation without knowing much beyond 'he's a time traveler, his box is bigger on the inside, he likes taking human lasses along for the ride'.Also even the New 52 wasn't a complete hard reboot given that it was given an in-universe reality-altering reason for it happening - and in that sense, both new-Who and Steven Moffatt's takeover function in a similar way. There'll likely be another slight reset when Capaldi takes over, given the way 11's story has been structured, and probably another big change when Moffatt leaves and the new person puts their spin on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Marquis de Leech Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 I think the difference is that in comics, there can be a genuine difficulty for someone picking up any random issue to know what's going on without a grounding in tons and tons of backstory, whereas most episodes of Doctor Who can be watched in isolation without knowing much beyond 'he's a time traveler, his box is bigger on the inside, he likes taking human lasses along for the ride'.Yep, This is why the new series has been cautious about referencing the older stories: it doesn't want to make itself incomprehensible to anyone who hasn't sat through 20-odd years of Doctor Who. With the exception of the self-referential fetish of the 1980s, it's generally been a series that takes a very liberal view of continuity (it's rather like The Simpsons in that respect). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 . I really like the concept for this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Octarina Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 I think the difference is that in comics, there can be a genuine difficulty for someone picking up any random issue to know what's going on without a grounding in tons and tons of backstory, whereas most episodes of Doctor Who can be watched in isolation without knowing much beyond 'he's a time traveler, his box is bigger on the inside, he likes taking human lasses along for the ride'.Which is great for people who risk watching their first ever episode in the middle of a seventh series, for example. But think of how many others resist watching it, especially people who don't really know what DW is about, when they're checking the TV schedules and see a high numbering on the show. Many more would begin watching if the season number was lower. For every person that starts watching a show like that, there are probably four others who refuse to spend an hour doing that and risk understanding nothing. I say that because that's what I do; even if we're talking about a sitcom, I'll never begin watching it on episode 16 of season 8; I'll go back to S01E01 and watch everything from there, if it's good enough, and I don't see many people going through the trouble of doing that. And that was my experience with DW: when I started watching it, season 6 was halfway through, but I had to go back to "Rose", otherwise I wouldn't feel like I could enjoy it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotcat Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 Yep, This is why the new series has been cautious about referencing the older stories: it doesn't want to make itself incomprehensible to anyone who hasn't sat through 20-odd years of Doctor Who.The problem with that is, you can alienate the people who did sit through the previous 26 years of DW continuity. If it was a straightforward reboot, it would be fine. But it isn't - it's a continuation. It's a tough balance to strike.For the record, I like both classis Who and NuWho - though I admit to only getting dragged into watching the 2005 series by my then 6 year old nephew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon's Queen Consort Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 Re-starting the entire series. Basically wipe existing canon, have a new First Doctor, and take things from there. The current series isn't a reboot, since it is functionally a continuation of 1963-89. thank you.So, basically they want to make another DrWho series? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Octarina Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 thank you.So, basically they want to make another DrWho series?If they do, they forgot to share that information. :PWe're just guessing what might happen with the series in the future, really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon's Queen Consort Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 If they do, they forgot to share that information. :PWe're just guessing what might happen with the series in the future, really. Oh I see. Sorry I thought that there was an information that they want to reboot the series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveSumm Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 It's a stupid question but I will do it anyway...What is "rebooting" and how it could happen?Just a thought: let's say that when The Great Intelligence tried wiping out the Doctor from time (as in he never existed), let's say he did it backwards. He started in the present and gradually eliminated each Doctor in reverse order. Clara's always one step behind him, then finally catches up with him after he crashes in Tanners Yard, the first Doctor. She succeeds in saving this one, and carries on as his companion. The whole of the DW universe is all waiting to happen, but because of Clara's presence, it isn't necessarily going to happen the same way.It's basically the Star Trek style in-universe tangent reboot. And I guess, like Star Trek, even though there's no reason for things to look any different, it would provide an opportunity to revamp the classic foes so that they look less.....ahem......shit. Just an idea. Maybe fans would be more receptive to this than a complete restart that ignores everything that came before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 The other option (and maybe the excessive watching of Community is showing here) would be allowing the Americans to make their own version of DW from scratch. Sure, it would probably be as bad as Miracle Day or the 90's movie, but I wouldn't dare think there wouldn't be a public for it; on the contrary, it could potentially be more successful than even the current show.It wouldn't surprise me too much if this did happen at some point, given how many foreign shows are getting remade in the US in the recent years. It also wouldn't surprise me if it was terrible, although if they did a good job with it then it would be interesting to see how different it would be from the UK version.One thing they could do if they wanted to keep it loosely connected to the British series would be to set in the parallel Universe that Rose ends up in. Presumably there are Timelords in that Universe and it could have its own Doctor. If the parallel Doctor had happened to base himself mostly in America (when on Earth) rather than Britain then he could have had different adventures and different regenerations (explaining using a different actor). That would allow them to do a reboot while not contradicting UK Who continuity and if it's successful they could even have some sort of crossover plot between the Universes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Wolf Smith Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 . I really like the concept for this.Wow that was really cool. I really like the spirling numbers of the pocket watch, and the Watch its self, at the end. It fits both the style, and some of the reason history of Who. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted September 24, 2013 Share Posted September 24, 2013 One thing they could do if they wanted to keep it loosely connected to the British series would be to set in the parallel Universe that Rose ends up in. Presumably there are Timelords in that Universe and it could have its own Doctor. If the parallel Doctor had happened to base himself mostly in America (when on Earth) rather than Britain then he could have had different adventures and different regenerations (explaining using a different actor). That would allow them to do a reboot while not contradicting UK Who continuity and if it's successful they could even have some sort of crossover plot between the Universes.It wouldn't even have to be that parallel to be honest. Probably better that way, keep it completely separate until called upon. I could see it happening. Just an idea. Maybe fans would be more receptive to this than a complete restart that ignores everything that came before.I think they'd hate it even more because of the perception that it 'wipes out' what had happened before. A completely unrelated restart would leave open the possibility of bringing the old universe back in some form.But like I say, I don't think it's necessary, the Who universe is so malleable that you don't need to reboot it to reboot it. For an American version yes it would make sense, but in terms of cadging a new audience for the original version, there's just no need. Especially in Britain (Lady Octarina's objections about perceived obtuseness due to length and high episode numbers even if the show itself actually isn't might apply in other countries, but here- which is still the core audience- there's basically no chance of someone not knowing what Doctor Who is and how it functions). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Killer Snark Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 Just to go off at a tangent, Terror of the Zygons finally has a release date...yay! And The Ice Warriors is coming out soon...yay! I actually had the box set of that on VHS, but the story gap between episodes 1 and 4 was near incomprehensible with just the soundtrack excerpts added. Let's hope the animated episodes are good. They should do this with The Underwater Menace sometime. The Tenth Planet is coming out soon also, partially animated for missing episodes as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derfel Cadarn Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 Ice Warriors has been out in the Uk for a month or two . Tenth Planet is also due out soon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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