Doctor Who Club of Australia

Theta Sigma · Joined: 26 Jun 2005 Posts: 4109

Read in Outpost Gallifrey today that the official Doctor Who BBC website has pointed out the fact that Gridlock (third episode of the 2007 season) will be Doctor Who's 727th episode saying it breaks the record previously held by the total number of episodes of all the Star Trek shows.

The website says, "Gridlock is the 727th episode of Doctor Who. This will break the record held by the various series in the Star Trek franchise. They amassed a combined total of 726 episodes between them."

I however have emailed to Outpost Gallifrey saying that the count is unfair.

"I just read the report that Gridlock will break the TV record for having more episodes than all the episodes of the Star Trek TV shows.

I just like to say that this count is unfair as the count only applies to Doctor Who but not with its spin-offs as well while the count for Star Trek is for all its shows.

The count should be for all the televised episodes in the Whoniverse not just Doctor Who. I mean fair is fair, I mean why should the count for the Whoniverse be for for just one show Doctor Who while the count for Star Trek is for five seperate shows (or six depending whether the animated series is being counted*).
If the Doctor Who spin-offs is not being counted due to them not having the words "Doctor Who" in their titles then the count is still unfair because the Star Trek count presumably include the first season and a bit of Enterprise which did not have the name Star Trek as part of its title at that time.
I thought this is something you should take into account."

*16/4: I since made a calculation with the Star Trek episodes and it does indeed include the animated series.

obsecration · Joined: 02 May 2007 Posts: 37

So did you find which episode of Who broke the record then?

Greg · Posted: Sat May 12, 2007 9:38 am Post subject:

This whole thing - two fans hanging out and saying 'My show's longer than your show' - is a bit mad.

In any case, they are both losers. Dark Shadows ran for 1225 episodes. It'll be a long while before fans of that show will feel threatened by Doctor Who or Star Trek...

montypython · Posted: Sat May 12, 2007 2:53 pm Post subject:

What's Dark Shadows?

Greg · Posted: Sat May 12, 2007 4:56 pm Post subject:

Dark Shadows is a gothic/supernatural show that was written and broadcast in pretty much the same way as a soap opera. It was made between 1966 and 1971 (in the US - I saw it when I was a kid on Australian TV and remember it being quite scary!), two movies 1970 and 1971), 32 original novels, a comic that ran for 35 issues, and a daily syndicated newspaper strip... and then it disappeared, though retains a strong cult following in the US. There have been a few attempts to revive it - a 13 episode reboot in 1991, a few scattered novel and, most recently, an audio series from Big Finish.

Sure, it's not science fiction - or not primarily, as there were pretend-science elements which drew inspiration from sources like Frankenstein and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde - but it is generally remembered for the character of Barnabas Collins, a vampire who was the focus of many of the stories.

I hadn't given the show much thought in recent times, but the Big Finish audio series picqued my interest again. The four releases so far have been good, and the second set are just over the horizon. I also interviewed the co-producer of this audio series, Stuart Manning, for the first issue of the science fictio, fantasy and Horror webzine Pantechnicon. I'm currently awaiting the first DVD collection to arrive from the States - they aren't available in a local release. I'm not sure if they've all been released, but there's 24 box sets out already...! Could be an expensive reacquaintance with an old memory.

Theta Sigma · Joined: 26 Jun 2005 Posts: 4109

Sulp Niar · Posted: Sun May 13, 2007 1:04 pm Post subject:

The idea of the record breaking Whoniverse episode being in fact a Torchwood episode... er... kind of disturbs me, actually. No offense to the show, it just seems a bit wrong.

kangamac · Joined: 09 Feb 2006 Posts: 2757

I also think that the Doctor Who vs Star Trek count is unfair - but for a different reason. It is misleading in a fundamental way - it gives the impression that there is more DW than ST. This is simply not the case.

With the exception of K9 and Company, The Five Doctors, Resurrection of the Daleks, season 22, Enemy Within, the new series, Torchwood and so forth, the vast majority of individual Doctor Who episodes were only half the length of their Star Trek counterparts.

At present, Doctor Who has only amassed about half - or perhaps slightly more - of the quantity of material that is available to be viewed in comparison to Star Trek. It will be quite soe time before DW has the same amount of actual footage as ST - especially considering the tragic end that many early DW episodes met with...