The Doctor first crossed my personal time line during the Tom Baker years; science fiction in general (with the exception of the first Star Trek series on television) with the fourth volume of Isaac Asimov's "Foundation Trilogy in 1981." I must admit that I was at best a tepid fan of science fiction before discovering Dr. Asimov's page-turners and of the Doctor's before discovering David Eccleston's intense, intensely sexy Doctor (not to mention John Barrowman's Captain Jack and the remarkable dramatic comedy of Annette Badland's Cardiff Mayor Margaret! While she was last seen as the collapsed skin suit on the floor of the Tardis, I do hope some way will be found to have *her* time line cross the future or past of one of the Doctors or Captain Jack) in 2005 in the admirably written, reconstituted series.
The "modern" Doctor Who series (and Torchwoods) have gone on from strength to strength, but if a parallel can be drawn from an earlier series, just as the overwhelming quality and technological shift from the original Star Trek to the Next Generation made going back to appreciate the simplicity of the earlier series difficult, after Eccleston's new "First Series" with the often over-rated CGI effects (in that, well executed as they are, they threaten to overwhelm and distract from the vastly improved writing!), all previous Doctor Who episodes and stories became decidedly "BACK numbers." Calling the all too brief Eccleston Season "The First Series" as the DVD release does, is hardly hyperbole. In a very real sense it is a practical reality and a great new starting point. Bravo.
The "modern" Doctor Who series (and Torchwoods) have gone on from strength to strength, but if a parallel can be drawn from an earlier series, just as the overwhelming quality and technological shift from the original Star Trek to the Next Generation made going back to appreciate the simplicity of the earlier series difficult, after Eccleston's new "First Series" with the often over-rated CGI effects (in that, well executed as they are, they threaten to overwhelm and distract from the vastly improved writing!), all previous Doctor Who episodes and stories became decidedly "BACK numbers." Calling the all too brief Eccleston Season "The First Series" as the DVD release does, is hardly hyperbole. In a very real sense it is a practical reality and a great new starting point. Bravo.