In my household we’ve rewatched the latest four specials several times already, and May still feels like a long time away 🙂 So what do you all watch to tide you over until there are new Doctor who episodes airing again?
For a baseline, here are some of the things we’ve sought out to fill the very specific DW flavour of soft science fiction entertainment:
- Old episodes of Doctor who, obviously. Plus the noughties spinoffs.
- It’s almost lazy to mention Star trek, and although we easily and often fall into that comfort rabbit hole I think there are other shows that are more in the Who vein:
- Fringe was an US show that borrows fairly heavily from both Who, X-files, and loads more. I don’t think it’ll be spoilers to say that specifically the image of Zeppelins to signify parallel worlds is an obvious callback to “Rise of the Cybermen”/“The Age of Steel”. And there are a group of characters that seem to be a cross between Time Lords and the Watchers from Marvel comics.
- The ministry of time was a Spanish show about a covert time traveling agency. It has a lot of Who feeling, and time travel of course, but with its own premise that centres it on the rich history of Spain and good humouredly makes fun of Spanish national and regional stereotypes.
- The Lazarus project is along the general outline of The ministry of time — secret time travel authority that keeps history on the straight and narrow — but with its own, convoluted tangle of changing timelines. Only on its second season, this show’ time travel shenanigans nearly did my head in, sort of like Dark when that was still good, but at a breakneck, Mission impossible pace.
Those are off the top of my head. What are your timey wimey or otherwise Who-alike go-to shows?
The extended universe is pretty overwhelming to me, but I’ve dipped just a little bit into Big Finish to get more mileage out of characters with too little screentime. The eighth Doctor primarily, but also the Paternoster Gang. I become wary when those spin into large continuities of their own, though. I have the TV series for that :)
But what I’ve heard of Big Finish has been really top notch, generally!
There are stories in all the media - comics, short stories, novels and audio that as up there with the best of the TV tales. Of course there are a good many that are mediocre and just plain bad too.
With Big Finish, the best stories tend to be among the earlier ones in any given range. They have given Eight a great run altogether though. And they allowed Six to complete his intended arc well too.