Tim Child Interview
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I am sorry that some of you are so disturbed to discover that I am not a Dr Who fan.
In the 20th century postwar league of written sci-fi, Britain does rather well, with massive contributions from those who were prepared to follow in the steps of HGW and beyond.
But when it comes to translation of the genre into television, we lost out big. For over 2 decades, we got Dr Who, whilst the Americans got Star Trek. A fair deal? I don't think so.
It seems that just as the Americans could not manage a credible portrayal of heroic fantasy, we just simply couldn't do Sci-Fi. Whilst they were locked into fur bras and tanned bodybuilders with plastic sabres, we were stuck with: well, Daleks. Then Hollywood got it so very right with Conan the Barbarian, whilst our own defining movement was, er, Blake's Seven?
Of course some of the plots in Dr Who had social context and the odd swipe at parody. But so also does a bad Christmas pantomime.
True also that some of the talented screenwriters who took the cash to turn out the dross, went on to redeem themselves in other areas. Douglas Adams springs forward as an example. And yes, DW was broadcast in the States, but only, I believe on the minority PSB channels, and they'll show the Queen's speech on a quiet day. Even the Australians thought the Dr was more rubbish than Skippy.
One of the reasons why I so applaud Peter Jackson's team success with LOTRings, is because he has with a stroke redefined the acceptance level for fantasy, which includes all the genres. George Lucas might as well retire because it will never be possible to get away things like Star Wars again. Fine for the time (arguably), but gone, gone, gone now, and thankfully never to return.
So let's bring back Dr Who.
Will someone please tell me - why?
BVA
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That is indeed a truely good arguement, to tell the truth I watched 2 episodes of Dr Who and the abissmal movie and I also don't see why it need to return but that is my opinion and I cannot submit anything better than BVA's arguement. At least he knows what good TV is, he created Knighmare
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I am sorry that some of you are so disturbed to discover that I am not a Dr Who fan.
In the 20th century postwar league of written sci-fi, Britain does rather well, with massive contributions from those who were prepared to follow in the steps of HGW and beyond.
But when it comes to translation of the genre into television, we lost out big. For over 2 decades, we got Dr Who, whilst the Americans got Star Trek. A fair deal? I don't think so.
It seems that just as the Americans could not manage a credible portrayal of heroic fantasy, we just simply couldn't do Sci-Fi. Whilst they were locked into fur bras and tanned bodybuilders with plastic sabres, we were stuck with: well, Daleks. Then Hollywood got it so very right with Conan the Barbarian, whilst our own defining movement was, er, Blake's Seven?
Of course some of the plots in Dr Who had social context and the odd swipe at parody. But so also does a bad Christmas pantomime.
True also that some of the talented screenwriters who took the cash to turn out the dross, went on to redeem themselves in other areas. Douglas Adams springs forward as an example. And yes, DW was broadcast in the States, but only, I believe on the minority PSB channels, and they'll show the Queen's speech on a quiet day. Even the Australians thought the Dr was more rubbish than Skippy.
One of the reasons why I so applaud Peter Jackson's team success with LOTRings, is because he has with a stroke redefined the acceptance level for fantasy, which includes all the genres. George Lucas might as well retire because it will never be possible to get away things like Star Wars again. Fine for the time (arguably), but gone, gone, gone now, and thankfully never to return.
So let's bring back Dr Who.
Will someone please tell me - why?
BVA
I would imagine that a lot of the faults in British sci-fi has been down to the habitually low budgets given to them. Star Trek managed to work around it by being allegorical, so the cheap effects weren't the be-all and end-all of each show. Red Dwarf worked around budgetary deficiencies because, again, the effects were secondary to what the show was really all about; the comedy.
Thanks to the resurgence of fantasy brought on by Harry Potter and LOTR I believe that the time is perfect for a Km revival. The tremendous profits made out of the genre recently due to these two shows the level of demand for it. Kids are still enthralled by it and will probably always be enthralled by it.
As for the return of the Dr., well, you are probably far more acutely aware of the amount of cynicism involved in running a TV station than we'll ever be. The BBC will not put out a programme that it does not believe will be successful. How good or bad a programme is doesn't matter at all (witness Big Brother as an example of the latter) as long as it draws an audience. The BBC perceive the demand for more Dr Who and have decided to act on it.
P.S.: Welcome back!
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This is just starting to stray into a Back-Up forum topic, folks.
And forget Dr Who, bring back Blake's 7!
No, it isn't - we can surely discuss fantasy in the abstract here because in this case it is relevent to Km. Too much rigidity stifles useful discussion. In any case, BVA could post his shopping list and I personally wouldn't mind - just to know that he still visits this forum from time to time!
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Meh - some people are too irritable over little details.
Thank you so much to BVA for the amazing interview. I used part of it (hoping the great man does not mind) on my LiveJournal in a discussion of fantasy, in this case, relating to English Literature, and why fantasy is a relatively unrecognised genre. Fantasy, by avoiding reality on one hand, acts as social commentary in its own right; and initiating imagination and creativity on the other, attributes which might rightly be seen as what the study of English could be all about. Anyhow, not to regurgitate the whole argument again, although if anyone would like a read, you are more than welcome.
I am not a great Dr. Who fan, but see it as a fairly widely known phenomenon of the time that it could double as political satire. It's questionable whether the whole cross-Atlantic sci-fi/fantasy viewing experience was clinically down to what was produced at the right time; or the old debate of whether fierce loyalties were called into play, and the best of British sci-fi being both subdued and nullified across the waters.
I guess that's where you have to cast your luck with Knightmare, that it arrives at the right time, stays for the right length, and leaves at the right time. Would the existing Knightmare format have succeeded at such a large scale in the late ninties. I'd love to say yes, but thinking over this in recent weeks, there are so many questions to be considered. The inconceivable 'trends' amongst young people are so different now from 12-15 years ago, and it questions which direction the show would head. However, I maintain that it's a special and unique format, a challenge that would appeal to a lot out there - whether of the age that the original KM was intended for, again, I'm not so sure. Still, it's such great, great news to see more KM back on Challenge, as the end of Knightmare S8 nears 10 years, and the website passes 5, and whilst we can't predict how the new KM will impact upon people, there will be a great deal of anticipation and fun finding out.
KaM
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Well, I am not going to go into major details, but Dr Who is very simple for me: I like it. There is nothing else to it, really, and I do prefer it over Star Treck, simply because it appeals to me more.
When the Americans got their hands on Dr Who, they made a bit of a mess on it, hence why it never made it past a TV Movie.
Dr Who brings out the creative side in my mind, some of the stories are wonderfully scripted, and as I've said, a few comentate on real world problems/issues.
I can say very much the same for Knightmare. My justification being: I like it, and it brings out the creative side of me, triggers the mind full of fantasy.
Who and KM will possibly return around the same time (fingers crossed), so I'll be more than happy to see both shows running together, and it will be a test for the both to run in todays society.
Who adapted itself a lot in 26 years, I think it can do it successfully again, it may be more of a challenge to have Knightmare adapt to 2004/5. More of a challenge, but I still believe it will work.
Time will tell.
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Same here Kieren.
I enjoy Dr. Who simple as that.
Although I admit to there being a few clangers in it.
Like The Quarks & The Early Yetis were daft as well.
But on the whole I thought it was enjoyable.
It appels to me for the same resons as KM its a well writern and enjoyable escapist fantasy that also at times coments on political and social issues.
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I'll hold up my hand and admit to fandom also!
Why? Quite simply it was a marvellous excuse to explore any genre, but to give anything the slightly eccentric utterly British slant that embodies it!
At its best it can be genuinely thought provoking, at its worst it is truly hilarious (Oh come on, the Quarks are superb, what could be more risible than wobbly cereal packets talking in the voice of 'Baby Born' and disintegrating extras in faux-Roman leotards?)
And as for being off the subject, for goodness sake! We're discussing a slightly batty children's programme that retains an indefinable charm due mainly to memorable characters and running around corridors....
Sound familiar?
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I love Dr Who also, but I dont think it is comparable to the likes of Trek as they are different forms of Sci-Fi! The storylines are unique, and the fact that the Tardis is a time machine allows the writers to be more creative, hence sometimes clashing with Earth's history!
I agree that unfortunately towards its end, it did get a little bit childish, even though it was originally a children's programme!
As for Blake's 7, that is another great show, but I wouldnt want that to come back as the story actually did finish! I would love to see it return as repeats on terrestrial, but the trend nowadays is to keep on remaking classics, and I think that that is a bad idea!
Finally the return of KM could indeed be more popular now thanks to Potter and LOTR! But if it were to return it should keep the forumla of beeing challenging. There is a childrens show at the moment called Eliminator which is just a basic quiz show, but it requires intelligence to win, and is quite popular!
I think challenging kids with hard tasks can really bring out their potential, rather than some rather pitiful shows about being gunged all the time!
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"I like to say the word Quark! Quark quark quark quark quark quark!"
Hobbes, Calvin + Hobbes
And back to the debate....
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Hmm, I rather liked the interview. (I'm a slight Dr. Who fan, but I'm not even entering into that debate if noone minds.)
I was interested to read that the plans for Series 9 in 1995 weren't far advanced. In a weird way, I'm a little glad that series didn't happen, especially if they intended to "go VR", since I'm not sure how well it would have turned out.
I was slightly amused to read us being put forward as the reason work is ongoing on the new version. Something tells me there's a little more to it than that, but good on Tim for his question evading skills via flattery.
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I thought the interview was excellent - thank you, Kieran. It gives much food for thought for any Knightmare fan.
As for Doctor Who... my sister has a Doctor Who novel co-dedicated to her, but I've never seen an episode myself, I'm afraid. All I can contribute is this :-[:
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