Doctor Who Theme in Mario Paint

“This video is bigger on the inside.”

I used to love Mario Paint. (via)

Classic Doctor Who on Netflix Instant Queue

Here is a great list of all of the classic Doctor Who DVDs that Netflix has in their proper chronological order. Below I’ll list just the ones that you can watch instantly as of today. No guarantee they won’t add more or remove these in the future, of course.

1. The Aztecs
2. The Mind Robber
3. Spearhead from Space
4. The Three Doctors
5. Carnival of Monsters
6. The Green Death
7. The Ark in Space
8. Pyramids of Mars
9. Horror of Fang Rock
10. The Ribos Operation
11. The Pirate Planet
12. The Androids of Tara
13. The Power of Kroll
14. The City of Death
15. The Leisure Hive
16. The Visitation
17. The Caves of Androzani
18. The Curse of Fenric

I don’t know why the DVDs that are available to stream were chosen and not others. Many of the ones I understand to be the essential stories are DVD-only. Of those that can be streamed, all but the Sixth and Eighth Doctors are represented (though Eight only appeared once, anyway).

It should be said that Doctor Who is not a terribly continuity-driven show. There’s no need at all to start at the beginning. The series since 2005 stands alone very nicely, and I certainly recommend starting with the newer series first before going back to watch the older episodes. Season five (the most recent) is a great jumping-on point if you don’t want to go back to season one (though you should!). Here are the newer seasons on Netflix:

1. Season One
2. Season Two
3. Season Three
4. Season Four
5. The Next Doctor
6. Planet of the Dead
7. Waters of Mars
8. The End of Time
9. Season Five

Season five isn’t streaming yet, but it just came out on DVD so there might be a waiting period. There was an almost two-year break between seasons four and five, so the four special episodes (The Next Doctor through The End of Time) fill that gap and are crucial to the development of the Tenth Doctor’s character.

The Triumph of Intellect and Romance Over Brute Force and Cynicism

Craig Ferguson did a Doctor Who episode a few weeks ago. It started with him looking glum saying that he’d choreographed a dance routine set to the Doctor Who theme music but wasn’t allowed to show it because of right issues. At the time I thought it was a joke, that is, he was saying he’d choreographed this great dance number but really hadn’t. Yesterday the actual footage made its way onto YouTube. You can also watch the whole episode here, or just the opening on CBS’s site. I’m curious to see if CBS rotates the video off its site before it asks YouTube to take its copy down. (via)

This YouTube video of every Doctor Who title sequence is fairly interesting to watch as well. The theme, written in 1963, is one of the first examples of electronic music used on television. I love how each incarnation of the show puts its own spin on the music, and how you can clearly see the era each comes from just by the style of its titles.

Meanwhile in the TARDIS

Two excellent deleted scenes from the most recent season of Doctor Who. (via)

Dalek Blueprints

“The following images contain the blueprints for a Dalek.”

Your Dalek Blueprints are Enclosed

Doctor Who on Netflix

Netflix has four seasons of Doctor Who available on its Instant Queue streaming, except for three specials that they only have on DVD. To watch everything in the right order:

1. Watch the first three seasons.
2. After season three, you’ll need to watch the Christmas special “Voyage of the Damned” on DVD, then season four.
3. After season four, watch “The Next Doctor” and “Planet of the Dead” on Instant Queue, then get the DVDs for “The Waters of Mars” and “The End of Time”.

Then, while you’re waiting for season five to come out (it’s airing now), you can watch three streaming seasons of spin-off Torchwood. The other spin-off, The Sarah Jane Adventures, isn’t available for streaming as of now.

I’m woefully late to the party on Doctor Who. It definitely has some cheesy sci-fi stuff in there that you’ll either love or have to get past, but when it’s on, it’s absolutely fantastic. I think it’s very well served by the BBC’s shorter season length. US series like Flashforward suffer from having to fill twenty-something episodes. Doctor Who, with only thirteen episodes, can have a few one-off shows and slowly build it’s season-long story without too much filler.

Update 12/16/10: All of the specials are now streaming. Here’s more info on classic Who.