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Doctor Who: The Original vs the Reboot

A comparison between the original Doctor Who series and the new reboot of the series. What are the main differences between the audiences, the actors, the writing, and the story lines. Is the new version of Doctor Who more mainstream than the original or will the original forever be considered a classic.

  • I would say there is a definite difference between audiences, at least at the time the original aired. – nsnow 9 years ago
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  • Doctor Who used to be only a cult series that was mildly known in different countries with varying notoriety. Now it has become a world-wide phenomenon and has an audience of millions, a lot of whom are teens and 20 year-olds. Only 10 years ago, not many people really knew what Doctor Who was outside of die-hard fans who caught it periodically PBS here int he states. The writing is also far better in terms of consistency between individual episodes, and across seasons. The actors on the other hand, have always been good. Like so many people say, no one has ever played the Doctor wrong, and no one cast has ever been wrong for the part. People will have their favorites, and plenty will have their problems with the 6th Doctor, but he is nonetheless, personality-wise, a version of the Doctor that is warranted and believable in amongst all the other personalities he has had. It is also very clear that the sets and FX are far better, although some instances can still seem quite laughable and even a little rough on the CGI, especially in the original 9th Doctor season. – Jonathan Leiter 9 years ago
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  • I think it's more popular now because some of the doctors have been highly attractive haha. Totally just my opinion, but what the doctor represents in the newer ones (note that I haven't seen the older ones) to a single girl is worth touching on. Like Amy Pond waiting for him to save her, and all the girls got to experience new things and live outside of time. What girl wouldn't want the doctor to come scoop her up for such adventures. Again, no idea what the old ones were like, so it's possible this was a common theme throughout. – Tatijana 9 years ago
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  • I think the idea of the Doctor taking on a companion who is a woman was partly about that concept, but it wasn't nearly as "romantic" or romanticized as it has been with the 9th, 10th, and 11th Doctors. I suppose the closest comparison would be the 3rd Doctor, because he was quite the heroic, knight-in-shining-armor figure who could not only fight with his mind, but with his actual fists. He had a sense of the regal, but also of the Robin-Hood in him I think. So in terms of "attractive" doctors, he was the most similar to the 10th or 11th versions, even if he was far older and more rugged in the face. Also, a lot of the classic fans kind of hated the fact that the newer Doctors were so young and even baby-faced in terms of their attractiveness to younger audiences and women. I don't really mind that aspect at all, I just take issue with it when the women themselves are incredibly selfish and ego-centric about their relationship with the Doctor, and what they expect from him. It's makes them very unlikable as protagonists. But when they're more like Amy was after she married Rory, then the Doctor's companions were fun to ride along with. – Jonathan Leiter 9 years ago
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  • In "Day of the Doctor," the "War" Doctor seems shocked when he witnesses 10 marrying and kissing Queen Elizabeth I. When he asks, "Is there alot of this in the future?," 11 responds, "It does start to happen." I think this represents the most stark contrast between the classic and modern series. Rose and River (and even, to a lesser degree, Clara) show the romantic heart of The Doctor, making him easier for human audiences to relate to. For The Doctor to know love and loss, it connects him to us in a deeper and more meaningful way, making him more like the gods of old rather than the separate, isolated Christlike figure of the original series. – TheHall 9 years ago
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