...

[trinityofone]

"In the days when the Time Lords were young, their war with the vampires cost trillions of lives on countless worlds. Now the Vampires have been sighted again, in San Francisco.

Some want to coexist with humans, using genetic engineering in a macabre experiment to find a new source of blood. But some would rather go out in a blaze of glory - and UNIT'S attempts to contain them could provoke another devastating war.

The Doctor strikes a dangerous bargain, but even he might not be able to keep the city from getting caught in the crossfire. While he finds himself caught in a web of old feuds and high-tech schemes, his new companion Sam finds out just how deadly travelling with the Doctor can be.

This novel is another in the series of adventures featuring the Eighth Doctor."

...

Seriously, why am I trying to read the Doctor Who books again?

I mean, I love Doctor Who, I really do except the S3 finale and actually most of S2, and I WANT to expose myself to more crazy time traveling adventures with his magnificent emoness. Then I see that the book I'm about to start beings with that introduction.

"Now the Vampires have been sighted again, in San Francisco*." This would make a great t-shirt, really; I am dubious about its strengths as a novel.

lcsbanana, should I just skip forward to the first Fitz book or what? Or is Classic Who just not for me? I watched 'The Five Doctors' the other night and I thought it was SO LAME. *sad*

This is a SERIOUS DILEMMA, people!


*Most likely Haight-Ashbury.

Comments

[jetspeaks.livejournal.com]

Classic Who is just a very different animal; there are some great stories, but there are some truly awful ones, and the effects are dreadful at times. I love it, but I don't know if I would had I come to it later. As it is, I was a fan from infancy (I blame my mother, it was her favourite. I knocked out two teeth running to hide from something scary behind a couch at the age of 6). If you are looking for more Russel T Davies, you won't get it. If you can handle sorting through the chaff, you may find something fun, or you may find it's all too lame.

You might consider watching an old story that is not an anniversary show (as the Five Doctors is). IIRC there was a lot of bits and pieces thrown in for die-hard fans.

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

I've seen some other bits in pieces, including some of the Tom Baker era when I was much younger; unfortunately since it was only occasional and rare exposure, I don't remember much outside of The Scarf and K-9. I suspect that when choosing what to watch of the old stuff since becoming a New Who fan, I have not chosen wisely. Do you have any particular recommendations of good arcs, etc.?

If you are looking for more Russel T Davies, you won't get it.

At the moment, more Rusty is really NOT what I'm looking for. (The Doctor is Tinkerbell? WTF?) *g*

[graycastle.livejournal.com]

Just jumping in here - I really love a lot of old Who, but you have to be careful, as some of it is just...awful. I'd recommend 4th and 5th Doctors unflinchingly; try City of Death (Tom Baker, written by Douglas Adams), Logopolis (last Tom Baker series), Castrovalva (first Peter Davison series, and one of my favourites), Four to Doomsday (Peter Davison again), The Ribos Operation (Tom Baker again - this is the first of an actual plot arc that they did, and did well). It's often fun to watch the last/first series for a particular doctor, as that's when they tend to do interesting character things.

A friend of mine really loves Seven (Sylvester McCoy) and he is kind of charming - and if you want to see him being charming, watch Greatest Show in the Galaxy or Happiness Patrol (or even Dragonfire, which introduces Ace, the oh-so-eighties companion who likes to blow things up).

Hope that helps! Really, there's a lot to love in old Who.