THERE'S A TURING EXPY IN CURSE OF FENRIC. And some, uh, very off-label uses of Enigma machines. And the writer originally wanted a subplot about how not!Turing got screwed over for being gay, but the BBC put their foot down about sympathetic portrayals of homosexuality, so it got shunted into a slightly awkward physical-disability metaphor.
Classic Who is, for the most part, meant to be watchable out of order, therefore "draw a random serial out of a hat" is a perfectly valid approach. Ace has a loose character arc, but watching the end first doesn't make the beginning less terrific--more that the climactic scene in Fenric is richer if you know what's gone before. And, honestly, Fenric is too rich already. It's like mythology cheesecake topped with a two-inch-thick layer of dark-chocolate subtext frosting, it doesn't really need the character-arc maple syrup drizzled on top.
First Doctor era is one of the few I've been doing in order, actually, and I'm only up through part of The Aztecs (which is really good so far). Definitely watch the very first installment of An Unearthly Child, though you can skip the other three if you want. I'm really tempted to say "just watch aaaallll the serials so you can see the show finding its feet" but that probably would not be practical. I have heard consistently good things about both The Aztecs and The Romans.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2012-11-03 06:20 am (UTC)Classic Who is, for the most part, meant to be watchable out of order, therefore "draw a random serial out of a hat" is a perfectly valid approach. Ace has a loose character arc, but watching the end first doesn't make the beginning less terrific--more that the climactic scene in Fenric is richer if you know what's gone before. And, honestly, Fenric is too rich already. It's like mythology cheesecake topped with a two-inch-thick layer of dark-chocolate subtext frosting, it doesn't really need the character-arc maple syrup drizzled on top.
First Doctor era is one of the few I've been doing in order, actually, and I'm only up through part of The Aztecs (which is really good so far). Definitely watch the very first installment of An Unearthly Child, though you can skip the other three if you want. I'm really tempted to say "just watch aaaallll the serials so you can see the show finding its feet" but that probably would not be practical. I have heard consistently good things about both The Aztecs and The Romans.
Also, Martha is in fact the best. :D *high five*