Doctor Who: The Unearthly Child

Thorsten Bonsch (Xenomurphy) returns with the 4th installment of his 50 years of Doctor Who tribute that will culminate in November with a large model that will no doubt be mind-blowing. This time the subject is the legendary first episode of the beloved series entitled “The Unearthly Child“. Thorsten gives a key scene the black and white treatment and the results are stunning.

50 years of Doctor Who – 04. An Unearthly Child

In a thinly veiled attempt to generate comments, I will also offer that I just don’t understand the appeal of Doctor Who. While I can appreciate the skill of Thorsten’s model and presentation, I really don’t think the British should be allowed to produce filmed science fiction. Maybe Dr. Who would be better with puppets…or minifigs? I shall wait patiently in the comments area to be shanked with a sonic screwdriver.

19 comments on “Doctor Who: The Unearthly Child

  1. Cuahchic

    Keith – never put down Red Dwarf again man. That is one of the best sitcoms ever produced. Granted, the humour is very British, but I still believe it is one of the best shows ever created.

  2. Sarah

    Wow, um so you are blogging a model but at the same time bashing the theme it was based on? Should I expect that from now on? Plane models featured here going to have the comment, “I don’t see the appeal of planes. -insert link to plane crashes-. I mean I know they have been around longer than I have but I just don’t think we should fly in them.

    If you wanted comments you didn’t have to bash the theme, you could have said, “I don’t understand the appeal of Doctor Who, but since this moc is part of celebrating 50 years of it, they must be doing something right. Can everyone post their favorite part of Doctor Who and why it appeals to you.?”

  3. LukeClarenceVan

    *Gasp* How dare you insult The Prisoner and Red Dwarf? Granted they could be better, but they trump most U.S. shows by a factor of ten. ;) As for Doctor Who, are you basing your judgement off the old series, the new series, or Matt Smith? If Matt Smith, I can forgive you… Doctor Who’s been on a bit of a downward spiral with him. (Well, to be fair to Matt Smith, it’s really the screenwriters’ fault.)

  4. Keith Goldman Post author

    I insult them, because they are largely unwatchable and in the case of The Prisoner, make no sense at all. ;) As for Dr. Who, I’m basing my judgment off of my first exposure to the oh so creepy 4th (and apparently longest running) Dr.

  5. Keith Goldman Post author

    I knew taking a stab at Dr. Fussypants would bring out the lurkers, thanks for your comment Sarah. To answer your questions in the order you posed them, yes, I can appreciate a model while not particularly caring for the subject matter. No, I don’t think you should expect this kind of approach from now on, I don’t think I’ve seen any of the other Brothers troll for comments so shamelessly, and I’m only one blogger on the weekend shift. I liked your analogy about the appeal of planes, I may plagiarize it the next time Ralph makes a post. I appreciate your attempt to give me a positive suggestion about how I could have handled my intense dislike for Dr. Who, but having to read about everyone’s favorite Dr. Who episode would be more than I can bear, I get enough of that reading the IO9 blog.

  6. mccache33

    To dislike Doctor Who is one thing but to attempt to denigrate British science fiction in any medium is something else entirely. Perhaps you have heard of Ridley Scott? What about A Clockwork Orange? Maybe you’ve heard of 2001: A Space Odyssey? Based on the work of British writer Arthur C. Clarke. Then there are the works of Douglas Adams who also wrote for Doctor Who. There have been a great many British contributions to sci fi that it can be argued have had a much greater impact on the medium than the contributions of any other group.

  7. Keith Goldman Post author

    My apologies, I should have specified “filmed for television.” I’ve never heard of any of those movies you mentioned but I’ll be sure to check them out soon. I don’t read books unless they have pictures in them so I’ll have to take your word about A. C. Clarke. Did you like Thorsten’s model?

  8. Balthar

    Okay, so everyone is entitled to their opinion, even when it may be quite controversial. I can appreciate that exposure to the latter part of the fourth doctor’s adventures could put someone off the series, but I cannot see that you could dismiss stories/episodes such as Blink, The Talons of Weng Chiang, Hide, anything involving a Dalek, and so on.
    Let’s not forget that this is a television program written for children. The science may be a little wonky here and there, but having a conversation about the effects of paradox in the space time continuum with an eight year old could stretch most parents, which is probably why it is written that way.
    I grew up with Doctor Who, and I watch it with my kids today and for me it has lost none of its excellent story telling (admittedly some of them are weak sauce, but they are made up with some real gems).
    May I also echo the comments here about our other wonderful science fiction. Quatermass, Blakes 7, Red Dwarf (one of the funniest things on TV during the eighties and nineties), the incredible creations of Gerry Anderson. All of them a testament to British creativity.
    (Mission accomplished BTW. An excellent approach to illicit comments :o))

  9. Andrew

    I’m right with Keith on not understanding the appeal of pre-2000’s Doctor Who (not “Dr. Who”, by the way, Keith), Red Dwarf, and the ilk. But Keith, you really must get with the times and catch up on the newer Doctor Who series, as well as Torchwood. Both properly dark, and as much about the human experience as the old shows were about cheesy special effects and fairly bad acting.

  10. Xenomurphy

    At first I wasn’t sure if Keith‘ statement was meant to be ironic or real. I understand now that it is his opinion and that is, of course, okay. Everybody is entitled to his or her opinion as long as it is not hurtful and different tastes are important for a healthy and creative community.

    To no surprise, I disagree with Keith in this case (the part about British science fiction shows, not the part where he praised my moc, hahaha). I’ve always been a huge fan of TV series, especially science fiction series. I grew up watching Star Trek and Space 1999 and loved both. As a result of growing up in Germany, there was no difference for me between British and US series, heck, with only 3 programs to choose from, we were very easy to please.

    I think Space 1999 was technically far, far superior to Star Trek. They showed ships landing and even crashing into the ground, while Roddenberry invented ‘beaming’, because they couldn’t afford the models or effects for those scenes. But as I already said, I enjoyed both (and still do).

    When I grew a bit older, I almost exclusively watched products from the dream factory Hollywood. I wasn’t interested in European movies or series, regardless of whether they were produced in Germany, France or the UK.
    I’ve changed my opinion a few years ago. Hollywood became in most parts to generic, shallow and extremely repetitive. It is true, production companies in the UK usually can’t come up with budgets as high as the ones in Hollywood, but they make up for it with brilliant writing and unspoiled actors.

    Hollywood producers know that for sure, that’s why they copy many British TV series (Being Human, The Inbetweeners, The IT Crowd, Life on Mars, Red Dwarf or Skins, just to name a few), but fail nevertheless, because they don’t copy the essence, just the surface. Many jokes aren’t even allowed to be shown in US television.
    US shows are often stretched to the max (e. g. 7 seasons, 22 episodes per season), which results in a lot of filler episodes. UK shows are often very short (e. g. 3 seasons, 6 episodes per season).

    For me, the bottom line is that every nation should be allowed to produce TV shows, regardless of whether they are science fiction shows or other ones. They do not take anything away from us and we are not forced to watch or like them.

  11. mccache33

    British sci fi tv isn’t limited to Doctor Who. There’s been Blake’s Seven, Red Dwarf, Torchwood, Being Human, Primeval, Outcasts, Hyperdrive, Space 1999, Sapphire and Steel, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, The Prisoner, The Avengers, The Tomorrow People, Day of the Triffids, just to name a few.

  12. dshaddix

    Hats off to Goldman for some artful, if not downright inspiring, pot-stirring.

    As far as restricting British production of science fiction, I think we should take a long, hard look at Australia first.

  13. antibolo

    It’s one thing to dislike Doctor Who (couldn’t care less). It’s another to claim that an entire nation “should [not] be allowed to produce filmed science fiction”. Although I understand that you’re not being entirely serious, that comment was just plain unacceptable, and borderline racist.

    I’ve been subscribed to this blog for around 2 years and have enjoyed its content, but this post may get me into unsubscribing from it. Nice job.

  14. Keith Goldman Post author

    Lucky for you then, that I have no control over the British film and television industry! I do hope you keep your subscription to TBB though; we all have mortgages to pay. Thank you for your thoughtful comment, I hope you enjoyed Thorsten’s model too!

  15. Andrew

    @antibolo: Really? Really? Keith stirs the pot a little — as Keith has been doing online for nigh on a decade now (and one of the main reasons I recruited him) — in one post, and that’s enough to quit reading a whole blog you’ve been enjoying for two years? As I said to everyone who hated on me for posting something in support of marriage equality recently, if you don’t like something, say your piece in the comments if you like, but you can also scroll on to something else. ;-)

    (And no, nobody is paying anybody’s mortgage with the little bit of advertising revenue we get here on TBB. Keith is of course joking.)

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