sebastienne

How DocSoc watched the TVM (http://www.glascopress.freeserve.co.uk/DrWho/inday.htm) - memories from 1996. No pictures of McGann in his wavy-haired, velvet-jacketed waistcoated glory, however.

ETA: contemporary fads like 'THE X-FILES' or 'BABYLON 5' - I was an even more reactionary youth than I remember... or at least chose to pose as one for the readership, given that I was watching B5 fairly devotedly by then.

Edited Date: 2008-03-09 05:50 pm (UTC)

From:

*crushes quietly on the TVM publicity photos*

My pleasure! I am just so ridiculously happy to have found someone at whom I can throw Eighth audio dramas :D

From:

crouchinglynx.livejournal.com

I think I still have several cuttings from that RT, tucked away in my hardback copy of "Doctor Who: A Celebration", including a not-quite-complete run of the RT's own 8th Doctor comic strip. But I remember that my first cut-out, which I lovingly stapled to a piece of cardboard somewhere (possibly with the help of my dad for the moments that required scissors), was from about ten years earlier than that - it was a double-page spread featuring a photo and short description of each of the six Doctors.

From:

I still have the whole eighth Doctor launch issue of the Radio Times, great hoarder that I am... I went through a period of cutting out articles and sticking them to the wall, too, including the Colin Baker launch article.

From:

opportunemoment.livejournal.com

I know I watched the TVM, but pretty much the only thing I remember about it was the fact that I crushed on him something rotten.

(Jonathan Creek, yes - Laurence LB I really liked and was completely convinced was gay, so much so someone had to show me pictures of his children before I'd believe them. I liked him better when I thought he was gay. Same goes for Jonathan Ross.)

From:

distorted-prose.livejournal.com

Iiiiiii may or may not have (had) a crush on Lawrence Llewllyn Bowen ¬.¬;

From:

There were next to no true dandies in the mid-nineties. It is not, therefore, our fault, if we have a taste for elegance, that we instead fell for his frilly cuffs and shiny suits. This is my story, and i'm sticking to it.

From:

Oh-ho, yes. Who, Holmes, Vetinari, de Carabas.. pseudo-omniscient, nattily-dressed gentleman-heroes are apparently a kink of mine - Who knew? (Are there any fandoms with a woman in that role? I'd love to see if they have the same, ahem, effect...)

I think that Jonathan Ross' comfort with homoeroticism, plus the incredible hotness of his wife, means that I can just-about-deal with his lack of homosexuality. LL-B? Yeah, I could never look at him the same way again...

From:

Wow. Thank you for sharing! Also - Sophie Aldred? Lalla Ward? *is unable to supress a bit of fangirlish squee*

I can't believe it took me so long to find DocSoc - you people make me very happy indeed.

From:

As I say below, there is a certain something about those pseudo-omniscient, nattily-dressed gentleman-heroes, isn't there?

Nice to know that I am able to spread joy, simply by spending three hours a week listening to things that make me squeeful!

(Although, I am continuing to find the audio dramas somewhat predictable. Sword of Orion in particular failed to shock or surprise me in any way, although I did find the opening sequence to be goosebump-creepy. Am I just missing all the clues in the TV shows / novels that would make those adventures equally predictable? I wouldn't put it past me.)

From:

I think that a lot of the Big Finish audios were deliberately predictable, early on - the production team were mostly veteran fans who for a few years doubted that anyone but conservative collect-everything fans would buy them. Gradually Big Finish took over from the book range as the principal envelope-stretching limit-breaking creative workshop for Doctor Who, though.

From:

It's probably relevant, that when Doctor Who won a Radio Times poll in August 2003 or so, for series for which a revival was most desired, that a mock-up listing was produced with LL-B as the Doctor. There was a slightly sneering tone to all this which was swept away within weeks when news of the RTD revival was announced.

From:

!! Thank you for knowing so much interesting and happy-making stuff!

I imagine they were mostly mocking the popular conception of the dandyishness of the Doctor and of LL-B by doing that. Still, I can imagine a younger Emma getting somewhat swept away by the concept, nevertheless...

From:

...pseudo-omniscient, nattily-dressed gentleman-heroes are apparently a kink of mine - Who knew? (Are there any fandoms with a woman in that role?...

The one that sprang instantly to mind here was the anime series Hellsing, but I'm not sure that entirely counts, as it took me at least four episodes before I was actually convinced that Sir Integra Hellsing (http://www.advfilms.co.uk/titles/hellsing/images/operatives/integra01.gif) was, in fact, a girl rather than a typically effeminate anime boy. Doesn't stop her from being about the awesomest thing in animation though. And I must admit to totally crushing on her too, so evidently as far as I'm concerned the same buttons work regardless of gender ^_^ There's also Rebecca Fogg (http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/2/20/300px-SAJV_cast.jpg) (apologies for useless picture) in 'The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne', but she's hardly omniscient, is quite seldom nattily-dressed, and in any case the series is sufficiently bad you quite definitely never want to go there, even for the intriguing possibilities of Phileas Fogg/Jules Verne slash :D

(Interestingly - if you're me - Rebecca Fogg is played by the sister of India Fisher, who plays Charley in the Eighth audio dramas. It took me forever to work out why her voice sounded so familiar.)

From:

parrot_knight says, the early audio-dramas don't really seem to set out to be ground-breaking - though I must say, I think the Eighth stories suffer more than those of Fifth to Seventh in that respect, at least early on. They do get more innovative later, as the continuity-porn starts to kick in, and the writers and the cast get more confident, and the tone of the series gets more sure of itself. Though even of the early stories, I think 'Minuet in Hell' has a certain amount of presence (mainly because ZOMG Brigadier LOVE. Especially because he and Eighth are *utterly adorable*, and every time the Doctor calls him 'Alistair' I curl up in a little ball of happiness), and 'Chimes of Midnight' is really very good.

In general terms though - and despite my extreme love for Eighth - I think the Sixth audio dramas are the most interesting and consistently entertaining / engaging - mainly because he manages to scoop up one of my favourite ever companions. I so badly want to be Evelyn when I grow up. As far as Eighth continuity is concerned, I generally prefer the novels.

From:

More people than I care to name have, over the years, insisted that I would love Hellsing.. but I've always resisted, as while I can enjoy Ranma or Ouran High School Host Club for the camp silliness and joy, I've never been a serious anime fan.

..Or maybe I should order the manga up from the Bod and read it in my breaks?

From:

*grins* Ordering manga up from the Bod is always a worthy endeavour. I order rare Biggles books from Cheshire on much the same basis. The Hellsing manga is a bit of a mixed blessing though - some parts are much better than the anime (the last arc of the anime was an original plotline not in the manga and was pretty rubbish; and the anime doesn't get up to the arc where we meet Schroedinger the Nazi catboy), but the art-style is much more out-and-out shounen than the anime, there's even more gratuitous violence, the sexual elements are played up more (well, it's shounen manga...) and Integra isn't voiced by Yoshiko Sakakibara (woe.) Also, the anime has awesome music. I generally prefer the anime to the manga, but big fans of the franchise might well consider this heretical ^_^

I used to be a big anime fan, but I've more or less drifted out of it these days. Though I still watch bits of 'Revolutionary Girl Utena' every few months. Because once you've seen that, you can never go back...

From:

Curses - that plan is foiled by there being no Hellsing in the bod. And I know that they have some graphic novels because I've called up their Transmet before now. Ach.

(eee, Biggles in the Bod!)

It seems, however, that your foul audio-crack machinations have succeeded; I've just started torrenting Minuet in Hell. You've made an addict of me - I couldn't face cleaning the kitchen without it!

From:

ahahahahaha :D I win.

Minuet in Hell = total crack. Often not in the good way. But the moment when Eighth says 'Alistair - Alistair, it's you!' with that little break in his voice - just melted me. Completely. And now I rather shamefacedly ship Brigadier/Eighth. Of course, 'Zagreus' and the TARDIS manifesting its angst at the Doctor taking it for granted in the form of the Brigadier didn't help. ('It *hurt*!' oh, woobie Brigadier!TARDIS. Here, have a chocolate biscuit. And a hug.)

From:

[half-way through: You aren't the doctor - I am.]

*joygasm*

This is why I loved "Human Nature", the Red Dwarf V episode "Back to Reality", even that episode of Buffy... questions of identity and sanity and the things that our minds will accept.

I don't know if I'm going to get a chance to listen to the rest today, and gah, I am so full of suspense and intrigue right now! I am much more impressed with this episode than I have been with any of the previous ones, enjoy them though I did. I await the slash with joy!

From:

(*finishes listening to Minuet in Hell* *shamelessly ships Brigadier/Eighth* *kicks torrent for Invaders from Mars which has been going on for days*)

I am conflicted. I'm enjoying the mystery & intrigue of a girl whose name I don't know popping up with audio-crack every week. But, equally, I'd quite like to learn your name and repay some of your 8th-doctor kindness by taking you out for a drink.

I'm going to London tomorrow, while the library's closed. Do you have a name, and will you share it with me when I get back to Oxford - perhaps over a coffee or a cocktail - or shall I let the mystery endure a little longer?

From:

Oh good, glad it's not just me then! Brigadier/Doctor in general is one of my favourite things - which is what left of pirouetting with glee at the end of the Unbound audio drama 'Sympathy for the Devil', featuring alterni!Third and the Brigadier gadding off around the universe together - but annoyingly I'm not so fond of Third/Brigadier, which knocks out most of the canon interaction and the fanfic. Boo hiss. Brig/Eighth is my OTBrigP though. Theirloveissouncanonical.

Gosh, I didn't realise I was being an international crack-merchant of mystery! Though it must be said, I'm not sure whether sitting through Trial is the most efficient method of introduction. On the one hand, there's the bond of mutual suffering and incomprehension; on the other, the distracting '....@_@' factor. Not to mention the gin.

Nevertheless, I do have a name, and would be only too happy to share it over coffee/drink etc ^_^ I'm away from Oxford until the Bank Holiday Monday too, but any time after that should work.

And speaking of audio crack...

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=64JYOQ6C - Chimes of Midnight
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=BFFU9P4T - Living Legend
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=92BYAM4N - Seasons of Fear
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=9L7AR12H - Embrace the Darkness

(I skipped 'Invaders from Mars' as you said you were downloading it - let me know if the torrent's misbehaving.)

From:

Wow, so many, thanks! Invaders from Mars has finally finished downloading, and I have no particular plans for today, so I have a feeling that I may end up racing through a couple of these while I henna my hair or something.

As for the consumption of beverages - how's the Three Goats Heads on St Michael's Street, say, 5.30pm on Wednesday?

From: