Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time 4K UHD (2017)

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by RockyIII

But why does it look like as show taped on a VHS tape from 1985? 2005 SD quality should look better, unless it's Prime streaming to blame here

It looks like crap because it's a low-budget show shot on SD video tape. There's not much to even compare it to from that era as pretty much everything else was shooting on much better stuff.

That said I'm not sure what Amazon is using. If it's the PAL DVD encodes quickly converted to NTSC then it might look even worse than the Blu-rays.

[pottyaboutpotter1]

Originally Posted by RockyIII

But why does it look like as show taped on a VHS tape from 1985? 2005 SD quality should look better, unless it's Prime streaming to blame here

Because up until 2009, the show WAS shot on tape. Planet of the Dead, the 2009 Easter special, was the first episode shot digitally in HD.

Series 1-4 are shot on SD tape. Series 1 looks particularly rough because it was their first go at it. Series 2 looks better and then Series 3 and 4 look tons better. This is partly helped by them getting a bigger budget as they went along due to the show being a success. Series 1 had a pretty low budget (especially by Doctor Who standards) because BBC weren't sure if the show's revival would be a success or not. This is why there's no alien planets until Series 2 and every episode in Series 1 is set on Earth or on space stations orbiting Earth (you'll quickly lose count of how many sets and locations are reused and redressed). And then there's the wonky CGI which was wonky even by 2005 standards.

But... the show works past all that. The show is great despite it. This is why most recommend Series 5 as a jumping on point because the production values are much higher.

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by pottyaboutpotter1

But... the show works past all that. The show is great despite it.

Other than Moffat's two-parter I think Series 1 is pretty dire, really.

[pottyaboutpotter1]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

Other than Moffat's two-parter I think Series 1 is pretty dire, really.

I think most of the episodes still hold up well.

End of the World is good because of how utterly bizarre it is. The rich and the powerful showing up to drink and party, treating the destruction of Earth as an interesting backdrop is still a darkly brilliant idea. And Cassandra bringing out an "iPod" and playing Britney Spears is just hilarious.

The Unquiet Dead is spooky and fun. A great story.

Aliens of London/World War Three has some absolutely delicious political satire that I love (RTD is clearly having the time of his life reinventing Tony Blair's government as fat, greedy, farting aliens who only care about money). The story works even better when looked through the lens of being political satire of Tony Blair and the Iraq War.

Dalek is an absolute classic and still one of the best episodes of New Who.

Father's Day is another wonderful episode that fleshes out Rose's family quite a lot and, if it was in another series, would probably be the best episode of the lot.

Boom Town is cheesy and daft... but yet works precisely because it's cheesy and daft.

Bad Wolf/Parting of the Ways is one of Doctor Who's strongest finales. It's the best of RTD's finales and is definitely up there with World Enough And Time/The Doctor Falls, The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang and Heaven Sent/Hell Bent as one of the best finales overall. An excellent conclusion to the series thematically and emotionally. Plus it's even better with the context of what really happened on the last day of the Time War in The Day of the Doctor added (The Dalek Emperor's scene of asking the Doctor if he is a "Coward or Killer?" is still excellent.

[morphinapg]

Originally Posted by RockyIII

But why does it look like as show taped on a VHS tape from 1985? 2005 SD quality should look better, unless it's Prime streaming to blame here

It was filmed on digital tape at 50i, and then deinterlaced to 25p.

The budget increased slightly every season and then significantly increased between season 4 and 5. The specials between those seasons saw the increase to HD, and then Season 5 seemed to significantly increase production quality.

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by pottyaboutpotter1

I think most of the episodes still hold up well.

Agree to disagree. Unquiet Dead is decent, but other than that I think the non-Moffat ones are all pretty bleh. Maybe if I was British the political satire of the farting aliens would hit me more, but I'm not.

I also think Series 2 is pretty meh for the most part, but still much better.

Series 3 and up I largely love.

[Rizor]

Originally Posted by RockyIII

But why does it look like as show taped on a VHS tape from 1985? 2005 SD quality should look better, unless it's Prime streaming to blame here

As others have said, it was shot on SD video. But Series 1 looks particularly bad because they shot the thing with those soap opera-y diffusion filters.

While Doctor Who has also been celebrated for its low budget charm, I think the challenge of Series 1 and 2 is really the camp. There's just a lot of cheesy and cringe-inducing campy material. The first two series are largely buoyed by a handful of solid to excellent episodes and the lead performances by Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant. I don't want to point fingers, but it seems you can expect most of the standalone episodes written by Series 1-4 showrunner Russell T Davies to be fairly lousy and cheesey (with the exception of Series 4's excellent "Midnight"). His multi-part finales are usually pretty bold and exciting but go off the rails towards the end. The show really finds its footing in Series 3 though and is quite good from there on out.

[morphinapg]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

Agree to disagree. Unquiet Dead is decent, but other than that I think the non-Moffat ones are all pretty bleh. Maybe if I was British the political satire of the farting aliens would hit me more, but I'm not.

I also think Series 2 is pretty meh for the most part, but still much better.

Series 3 and up I largely love.

the farting aliens are 3 episodes. Too much, yes, but not the entirety of the season.

From season 1, I love:

-The End of the World (mostly for the moments between The Doctor and Rose, introducing us to the character and world)
-Dalek
-Father's Day
-The Empty Child
-The Doctor Dances
-Bad Wolf
-The Parting of the Ways

The Unquiet Dead has some stuff to like about it, such as

[Show spoiler]the connection to Torchwood, the slight connection to the finale, and Dickens,

but overall I'm not a huge fan of the

[Show spoiler]ghost like aliens.

but even as a whole, there are things I love about the season even on episodes I don't like. Eccleston is brilliant, the way he can switch from super serious to cheery in an instant is incredible, and totally believable. I also love

[Show spoiler]having Captain Jack as a companion

in the later episodes.

[RockyIII]

Originally Posted by morphinapg

It was filmed on digital tape at 50i, and then deinterlaced to 25p.

The budget increased slightly every season and then significantly increased between season 4 and 5. The specials between those seasons saw the increase to HD, and then Season 5 seemed to significantly increase production quality.

Would it make any difference whether I set my streaming device at 24Hz or 60Hz?

[morphinapg]

Originally Posted by RockyIII

Would it make any difference whether I set my streaming device at 24Hz or 60Hz?

if the motion seems really jerky try 60hz. I don't know if amazon has the original 25fps versions or the versions converted to 24fps for the Blu-rays.

[RockyIII]

Originally Posted by morphinapg

if the motion seems really jerky try 60hz. I don't know if amazon has the original 25fps versions or the versions converted to 24fps for the Blu-rays.

It frustrates me some not knowing whether Prime is using the DVD or BD encode for their streaming selection of series 1.
Despite that, the show looks intentionally cheesy, almost like a satire or a high school play. I was tempted to just jump to the episodes filmed in HD and from there tackle Day of The Doctor 3D and Twice Upon A Time 4K (the two titles that first and foremost induced me to explore Doctor Who as a whole), but my OCD drives me to stick with it from series 1

[morphinapg]

Originally Posted by RockyIII

It frustrates me some not knowing whether Prime is using the DVD or BD encode for their streaming selection of series 1.
Despite that, the show looks intentionally cheesy, almost like a satire or a high school play. I was tempted to just jump to the episodes filmed in HD and from there tackle Day of The Doctor 3D and Twice Upon A Time 4K (the two titles that first and foremost induced me to explore Doctor Who as a whole), but my OCD drives me to stick with it from series 1

There's usually some level of cheese to it, but as the production quality increases, it takes itself a bit more seriously. It's definitely worth it to stick to it. There are some really great stories that happen before the HD switch.

[RockyIII]

Originally Posted by morphinapg

There's usually some level of cheese to it, but as the production quality increases, it takes itself a bit more seriously. It's definitely worth it to stick to it. There are some really great stories that happen before the HD switch.

I am still confused about a girl

[Show spoiler]deciding to leave her mom, boyfriend, and her whole life behind that quickly. I know it's fiction, but there should still be some sort of ground in reality, I would assume LOL

[Member-167298]

Originally Posted by RockyIII

I am still confused about a girl

[Show spoiler]deciding to leave her mom, boyfriend, and her whole life behind that quickly. I know it's fiction, but there should still be some sort of ground in reality, I would assume LOL

I find it totally believable. Her very conception of space, time and reality had been shattered. I can't imagine any human being not being curious in that situation. All other things would seem relatively trivial by comparison from that moment forward.

[RockyIII]

Originally Posted by PrestonXI

I find it totally believable. Her very conception of space, time and reality had been shattered. I can't imagine any human being not being curious in that situation. All other things would seem relatively trivial by comparison from that moment forward.

And here I was expecting

[Show spoiler]an exemplary moment of a person putting her family, job, responsibilities and priorities first, when it came to making her choice...boy was I wrong!

[bluenote23]

Originally Posted by RockyIII

And here I was expecting

[Show spoiler]an exemplary moment of a person putting her family, job, responsibilities and priorities first, when it came to making her choice...boy was I wrong!

It's a good thing when a TV show can still surprise you, no?

I think it is worth watching the show, as you are doing, from the 'beginning' (meaning, the beginning of the New Who). If you get into it, then it will all start to make sense and its brilliance will shine.

[Member-167298]

Originally Posted by RockyIII

And here I was expecting

[Show spoiler]an exemplary moment of a person putting her family, job, responsibilities and priorities first, when it came to making her choice...boy was I wrong!

Those things are really only of paramount important in the context of society and reality as we know it. They have been ingrained into us through the process of socialization. The Doctor illuminates a higher truth. I am not saying those things are not important, but there is a greater spectrum to acknowledge.

It's almost like the story of Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) leaving behind his family and palace to pursue enlightenment. Those things were temporary compared to the universal truths.

If all that is too much of a shock to your programming, the TARDIS is a TIME MACHINE! You don't have to forsake anything. Sure, you leave behind things, but you can come back a second later.

[pottyaboutpotter1]

Originally Posted by RockyIII

I am still confused about a girl

[Show spoiler]deciding to leave her mom, boyfriend, and her whole life behind that quickly. I know it's fiction, but there should still be some sort of ground in reality, I would assume LOL

A major point in that episode is that Rose finds her life dull, boring and repetitive. An overbearing mother, a boyfriend that she's not sure if she really loves or not and a life that's going nowhere leads Rose to want to run away from it all. With the Doctor, Rose feels like she matters. She sees that her life can be bigger than work, pub, chips etc. And as you'll see, Rose belongs with the Doctor. You may accuse Rose of abandoning her whole life. She'd respond "What life?". This is perfectly expressed in the episode's final lines;

Rose: (to Mickey) Thanks
Mickey: Thanks for what?
Rose: Exactly.

Plus, the TARDIS is a time machine. She can be back five minutes after she left. In theory.

[oddbox83]

Originally Posted by RockyIII

And here I was expecting

[Show spoiler]an exemplary moment of a person putting her family, job, responsibilities and priorities first, when it came to making her choice...boy was I wrong!

Well, her job blew up, remember?

As for the rest, there are consequences later on. Keep watching.

[RockyIII]

Originally Posted by PrestonXI

Those things are really only of paramount important in the context of society and reality as we know it. They have been ingrained into us through the process of socialization. The Doctor illuminates a higher truth. I am not saying those things are not important, but there is a greater spectrum to acknowledge.

It's almost like the story of Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) leaving behind his family and palace to pursue enlightenment. Those things were temporary compared to the universal truths.

If all that is too much of a shock to your programming, the TARDIS is a TIME MACHINE! You don't have to forsake anything. Sure, you leave behind things, but you can come back a second later.

On to episodes 3 and 4 tonight