It IS the same log

Skip to content

Elizabeth Sandifer

Elizabeth Sandifer created Eruditorum Press. She’s not really sure why she did that, and she apologizes for the inconvenience. She currently writes Last War in Albion, a history of the magical war between Alan Moore and Grant Morrison. She used to write TARDIS Eruditorum, a history of Britain told through the lens of a ropey sci-fi series. She also wrote Neoreaction a Basilisk, writes comics these days, and has ADHD so will probably just randomly write some other shit sooner or later. Support Elizabeth on Patreon.

33 Comments

  1. elvwood
    July 17, 2013 @ 12:20 am

    Started reading, then decided to go on youtube and watch them before carrying on (which may take some time to get around to). Grr, why didn't they put them on the DVDs?

    Reply

  2. Darren K.
    July 17, 2013 @ 12:37 am

    Despite watching all of them back in the day, I have no recollection of any bar School Reunion, and that is because it looks so terrible. Finally Doctor Who had found a new genre to play with: the corporate training video (well, "new" if you don't count the high profile fanpro videos of the wilderness years).

    Reply

  3. J Mairs
    July 17, 2013 @ 12:46 am

    … Someone needs to put together a Fry Meme.

    Can't tell if TARDIS Eruditorum…

    … or Review Blog.

    😉

    Reply

  4. Chris
    July 17, 2013 @ 2:13 am

    Reply

  5. Ross
    July 17, 2013 @ 2:39 am

    I think it's pretty telling that while I'm sure I watched all of these, the one for The Impossible Planet is the only one I have any recollection of whatsoever.

    if the organization is so vast and powerful that it has major papers completely bought off then the existing problem of how the hell it takes them until the early 21st century to ever find the Doctor becomes even larger

    I'm still going with "Torchwood never recognized that The Doctor was anything more than some Scottish Weirdo who annoyed the Queen once, and therefore never actually bothered looking for him until he happened to turn up in their basement"

    Reply

  6. Bennett
    July 17, 2013 @ 3:20 am

    "Were it that as much effort went into every bit of disposable ephemera connected with Doctor Who. Speaking of which…

    Now, now…that's no way to speak about Torchwood :).

    Reply

  7. Anton B
    July 17, 2013 @ 3:26 am

    Didn't bother at the time but I have now watched them all following your entertaining redemptive readings. I am still of the opinion that I was right to give them a miss the first time. The TARDISodes add nothing to the episodes as aired, nor do they work as teasers, trailers or…well anything that makes sense. They are embued with the taint of some production meeting wonk saying 'Hey there's this new gizmo called the intertron that all the kids are into. I suppose we should put something on it so that we look hip and happening, wouldn't want anyone to think this revival of a 45 year old show is old fashioned.'

    Or I wonder if it was RTD himself? The whole Torchwood, SJA spin-off thing suggests he considered Doctor Who to be a concept that was desperate to expand outside of its own parameters.

    The BBC finally got got its Doctor Who internet memes and virals right in the Matt Smith era. I'm looking forward to your take on 'meanwhile in the TARDIS' etc.

    Reply

  8. Daru
    July 17, 2013 @ 3:31 am

    I never watched them at the time – did not know about them as I was not really participating in web-fandom of Doctor Who. Having just watched them all the way through I find them interesting as an experiment in narrative, especially in such a truncated form. Yes Gareth really nails it with the Doomsday one – I especially love the moments when the news presenter is in front of the broken TV footage, and her emotional state carries a lot of the drama too.

    I am reminded in a way of the construction of movie trailers, especially for some films that I would have absolutely no desire to go and see (i.e. all of the Too Fast Too Furious pics – the last and most recent was a fun movie-trailer). Often in the movie theatre it is actually a joy to see such trailers, and some in short form present the entire movie (not including teaser types) – negating the need then to really see the whole film. Makes me think of Orwell's Newspeak, but more fun.

    In a way its a condensed cinema experience that can makes crap movies a helluva lot more enjoyable!

    Reply

  9. Daibhid C
    July 17, 2013 @ 3:43 am

    "There’s a kind of lovely moment when a lengthy obviously CGI shot suddenly turns into a non-CGI Cyberman, but then a giant CGI stamp comes in to mark the chest plate and the entire sequence crumbles."

    I don't quite agree. It looks to me like the Cyberman is just as CGI as the rest of the sequence. And the fact it's obvious CGI works for me because it's diagetic CGI; this is Cybus Industries' stylised representation of the Upgrade, not an actual brain transplant.

    Reply

  10. David Ainsworth
    July 17, 2013 @ 4:23 am

    Torchwood strikes me as having an inherent mission conflict. As replacement Doctors, each individual agent is likely to have more in common with the Doctor than they do with the imperialist organization they work for. The guy even has an English or Scottish accent! They'd be turning themselves in to Torchwood top brass, who strike me as being about as popular with the rank and file not immediately under them as you'd expect. And the Torchwood administrators strike me as the sorts in charge of secrecy and clean-up, and thus highly unlikely to encounter the Doctor themselves unless he does something like materialize in their HQ…

    Reply

  11. Lewis Christian
    July 17, 2013 @ 7:44 am

    They're just early prequel-type episodes, really. I read each one here and then watched them. Fun to revisit them.

    To those who don't like them: they're not meant to be taken seriously. They're just bits of fluff, harmless fun to tease the episodes.

    Reply

  12. Lewis Christian
    July 17, 2013 @ 7:57 am

    I also like the "series trailers" we had. Not the clipshow ones, but the new in-character scenes.

    The Ninth Doctor running from his ball of flame and Rose talking in the TARDIS. The Tenth lying on the TARDIS floor and talking about "coming with me". The Tenth and Martha's split-screen which ends up coming together with them both meeting / their faces half and half. The campfire trailers with Donna. The Eleventh Doctor on the hilltop with Amy, and in the blue vortex. etc.

    Reply

  13. Pen Name Pending
    July 17, 2013 @ 8:06 am

    I think it's also interesting to see how the technology has changed in such a short period of time. Computers, webpages, and cell phones were just taking off and were a bit clunky.

    Reply

  14. Pen Name Pending
    July 17, 2013 @ 8:09 am

    This may be a good place to ask: are there still versions of RTD's online commentaries around? It seems like the original links were taken down, and I can't get the ones on the series 4 website to play, although that's possibly because I'm in America.

    Reply

  15. Spacewarp
    July 17, 2013 @ 10:23 am

    Torchwood originated with RTD's desire to write a sexy X-Files type series, with a team investigating alien incursions and using alien tech…whilst swearing lots (tentatively to be called "Excalibur"). With the success of the new Who relaunch the Been appeared to have approached him with a request for a post-watershed Sci-Fi series to capture more of the adult Who demographic. RTD realised that with Jack as a ready-made jump-off point he could finally make his series as a Who spin-off.

    Bit of an unruly beast, Torchwood, and didn't quite turn out the way RTD wanted.

    SJA was much the same, except I believe the Beeb wanted a Who spin-off from the get-go, and it just happened to coincide with Sarah Jane's triumphant return to the Whoniverse. We're lucky we got SJA and not the other mooted concept – "Young Doctor Who".

    All in all 2006 was a fantastic year for Who fans. Two series, and Totally Doctor Who as well…then SJA at the end of the year. Who fans today don't know they're born!

    Reply

  16. encyclops
    July 17, 2013 @ 10:35 am

    "Just taking off"? In 2006? I feel so old all of a sudden. 🙂

    Anyway, I had no idea these TARDISodes even existed! I think I pretty much have to go watch them, if only because Gareth Roberts.

    Reply

  17. Archeology of the Future
    July 17, 2013 @ 11:34 am

    I wonder if the way to reconcile UNIT and Torchwood is to assume that Torchwood left The Doctor alone because he was actively working toward the same ends as them for most of his time on Earth. Similarly, with UNIT, it would make sense for them to know about UNIT but not work with them as Torchwood is UK where UNIT is international.

    In fact, the Doctor seems to bring alien tech to Earth every time he turns up…

    The seventh Doctor might have caused them some headaches as the most explicitly anti-imperialist Doctor, but they could otherwise leave alone. The third Doctor was right up their street.

    By the time we get to the tenth, he is quite obviously not on the same side (ending the golden age) and thus moves from useful independent asset to asset that needs to be grasped, mined and neutralised.

    I'm assuming that Torchwood as we see it in Army of Ghosts works much like a 'real' secret service organisation, or at least one that appears as 'realistic' in telly drama.

    Reply

  18. Pen Name Pending
    July 17, 2013 @ 12:37 pm

    Oh man I am always making everyone feel old. I sort of meant that there is a different style to the Internet in 2013 than there was in 2006. "Just taking off" was probably too extreme, but it's true of the Internet-based marketing of Doctor Who (at least).

    I knew they existed but didn't know you can still watch them on YouTube. Interestingly, they were viewed as failures because the download number underperformed. This is possibly because fans didn't have mobile phones (I am really converting to British English) that were compatible with the videos, or their providers charged them for that sort of thing.

    Reply

  19. Corpus Christi Music Scene
    July 17, 2013 @ 2:31 pm

    I think the reason that SJA was so successful is that it took the format of 70s DW… with Sarah Jane as the Doctor , Mr Smith as the Tardis , and the kids as the companions.
    Torchwood took a while to find its feet tho…. it often seemed as if they were throwing anything "adult" at the wall hoping it would stick , instead of just concentrating on telling a good story. Children of Earth is some of the best DW ever tho.

    Reply

  20. Lewis Christian
    July 17, 2013 @ 3:11 pm

    I can access Series 2 commentaries onwards still…

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/s4/audio/S2_01

    Try the above link (it'll lead you to New Earth) and then click through to others using the links on the left (for eps/series) and links on the right (find 'episode commentary').

    Hope that helps.

    Reply

  21. Lewis Christian
    July 17, 2013 @ 3:12 pm

    [Note: I've linked to New Earth there, but the first commentary available is for The Christmas Invasion.]

    Reply

  22. Adam Riggio
    July 17, 2013 @ 3:48 pm

    I think the TARDISode is one of those oddities that comes from the weird position Doctor Who held in 2006: the biggest thing on television. Here was BBC1's flagship program, which had never had quite this relationship with its audience in the show's history. And with the internet being the cultural force that it is, it offered new means of promoting the show. The TARDISode was the second of these experiments in how to promote the show on the internet. The conspiracy theory website during the Eccleston year was the first, and I think very successful, such experiment.

    The TARDISodes: interesting, but perhaps not really achieving all the creators wanted to. They're important to note as a part of how Doctor Who was growing during this period, trying to work out what its public profile was, how to engage viewers with the episodes while not yet actually watching the episodes. They work best when they expand the story somehow: New Earth, Rise of the Cybermen, The Impossible Planet especially, did that. The one for Fear Her reminded me of Gatiss' investigative news sketch for the Green Death DVD (best part of the whole DVD), which may have coloured my objectivity. But I can also see why they didn't do these again. In terms of promoting the episodes, they aren't always that great, either spoiling parts of the main plot, or just being a generic monster reveal.

    But it was an interesting experiment.

    Reply

  23. Pen Name Pending
    July 17, 2013 @ 3:58 pm

    I click "play" and it does nothing. Oh well.

    Reply

  24. Bennett
    July 17, 2013 @ 4:02 pm

    Sadly those BBC site players do not work for Americans and Antipodeans (unless you do something naughty and try to convince their server you are actually in the UK).

    The only time I recall them being available internationally was in the week after their release, when they were made available as MP3 downloads here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/doctorwho . Because of this, I still have the vast majority of podcast commentaries from Series 2, 3, 4 and the Specials in MP3 format. So if you have anything specific in mind (and don't mind publishing an email address here), I'd be happy to email you some on the sly.

    Reply

  25. Ross
    July 17, 2013 @ 4:51 pm

    There was a definite retro feel to SJA. As someone whose television intake is primarily American, for all I know this is the status quo for kids shows on that side of the pond, but the Sarah Jane Adventures seems almost sublimely uninformed by the kids-show-specific trends that evolved through the 1990s. They got the benefit of the modern advances in how TV is made, but they seem largely untainted by the Nicktoons revolution that said that any entertainment aimed at children must, whatever its other merits, depict no one past puberty as anything other than a total cartoon oaf, and must be packed full of bright lights, obnoxious characters, and a sort of general high-energy, loud-noise frenetic chaos. The Sarah Jane Adventures are, on the whole, cohesive, believable, and, in its way, straightforward.

    Reply

  26. Corey Klemow
    July 17, 2013 @ 6:02 pm

    This post makes me realize I wish you'd done a post about the tie-in websites used in Series One and Two. Unless that's next… ? (While many of the Series Two sites are gone, they can still be found via the Internet Wayback Machine.) I thought they did a much better job than the TARDISodes at providing supplemental material – particularly during Series One, when there was a bit of an ongoing narrative about somebody taking over Clive's site and obsessively searching the history books for mentions of the Doctor and Rose (a somebody who, of course, turned out to be Mickey).

    Reply

  27. BerserkRL
    July 17, 2013 @ 11:58 pm

    First experience working with computers: c. 1979.
    First computer owned: c. 1985
    First online w/ email etc.: 1994.
    First writing for a website: 1996.
    First website: 1999.
    First blog: 2002.
    First cellphone: 2004.

    And I'm not even an early adopter; I'm a second-wave adopter.

    Reply

  28. BerserkRL
    July 17, 2013 @ 11:59 pm

    try to convince their server you are actually in the UK

    Try "I never signed the Declaration of Independence, so …"

    Reply

  29. BerserkRL
    July 18, 2013 @ 12:01 am

    I really hated the TARDISodes. I grump about them here.

    Reply

  30. Scott
    July 18, 2013 @ 3:29 am

    @Pen Name Pending: I think you're right; it was about 2006-2007 that Youtube, Facebook, Wikipedia, social networking, smart phones and Web 2.0 in generally really began to boom.

    Reply

  31. Theonlyspiral
    July 18, 2013 @ 6:52 am

    Isn't it though?

    Reply

  32. Ununnilium
    July 18, 2013 @ 7:09 am

    Obviously, the Internet had been a vital active place for a while, but full streaming video only took off around then. (Flash animations, OTOH…)

    Reply

  33. Scott
    July 20, 2013 @ 8:08 am

    @Corpus Christi Music Scene:

    I think the problem with Torchwood is in several ways a similar problem to Totally Doctor Who, just in a different direction; if memory serves, early Torchwood especially is just desperate to prove that it's basically the adult version of Doctor Who, but it's more 'adult' in the way that 1990s superhero comics tried to be adult by throwing in loads of references to sex and gritty things rather than treating its intended audience as actual adults.

    A lot of the time, it seems to come off more as an adolescent's idea of being 'adult' more than anything else. Ironically, it was supposed to be the adult Doctor Who, and yet if you wanted an adult and mature version of Doctor Who for the most part you might as well have just watched Doctor Who.

    (The fact that it was also desperately trying to be 'Angel' to Doctor Who's 'Buffy' didn't help either. Sorry, Cardiff residents, I'm sure your city is lovely but it's never gonna be Los Angeles no matter how many shots of Captain Jack brooding on the top of the Wales Millennium Centre you throw in there.)

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Discover more from Eruditorum Press

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading