Wrong turn…
It’s Monday, now two weeks since my anterior cervical discectomy and I’m “doing”. Following the doctor’s orders I’m limited to lifting nothing heavier than five pounds, which means the family cat, Ban, could set me back a few more weeks if I try and lift that 17 pound ORCA of a feline. I have my first followup with the neurosurgeon on Thursday. The question is whether I will be well enough to make an early return to work next week or not. I’m not keen to rush things, but I had to take unpaid leave to do this so the longer I’m off the more it hurts Leanne and myself. So I’m asking, though I feel awkward doing so, for donations towards these two starving BMS creators to help us through a tricky time. Every little bit helps, and we’ll send you a personalized thank from Slave Leia which you can print and proudly pinup or frame. Donations under $5 dollars tend to give a large chunk to Paypal, so please shoot for that as a minimum. Large donations will get a Kill Lucas pinup at hi-res too.
I have to give a huge HUGE shout out to both Cody and David for their donations that were entirely unexpected and blew us away. Thank you so much guys, and to everyone that has donated in the past!
Today’s strip is a cute little crossover with one of our greatest sci-fi loves, Doctor Who (THE ORIGNAL SERIES). Have to stress that, because as soon as you tell someone you like something, they tend to think it makes gift buying easy. But we’re very much classic fans only. That’s 1963-1989. Anyway, above you will see the 4th Doctor (Tom Baker) and Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) in BMS form. Did the TARDIS bring them to Dagobah by accident? Or has Yoda gotten Luke well and truly lost, winding them up on Zeta Minor? Don’t worry all you non-WHO fans, this is just a one off for fun. We hope to be back next Monday, but our schedule might suffer over the next few weeks as we try to manage with everything else. Leanne has done an amazing job looking after me and I hate being such a burden.
A few quick words about Doctor Who. The crossover today was inspired by the 1975 serial “Planet of Evil”, during the show’s golden age of gothic-sci-fi. The Doctor and Sarah land on the planet Zeta Minor at the edge of the “known universe”. The planet, covered by a dark alien jungle, is in many ways alive, with a conscience of its own. The set design by Roger Murray Leach won an award and truly adds to the scary claustrophobic atmosphere that was one of Doctor Who’s greatest strengths as a show. Zeta Minor is about as close to Dagobah as the classic series could offer and gave Leanne and myself the perfect opportunity to provide the 4th Doctor and Sarah (our favorite Doctor / Assistant duo) a cameo in the strip. In the future you will see the odd cameo from other sci-fi shows that we like, including the poll winning “Firefly”. Well, so long as BMS keeps going that is. 🙂
A quick word on Doctor Who. Like Star Wars, Doctor Who was a huge part of my childhood and teenage years. It as an escape. It fired my imagination. At it’s worst, it could be embarrassing, but at its best it was absolutely brilliant for what it was. I will always see Doctor Who as a family sci-fi show, as opposed to the generally more adult sci-fi shows that share similarly large cult followings to this day. The original run was on television for 26 years, and evolved and reinvented itself many times to survive. I can’t say I love every period equally, but as a whole, Doctor Who was a wonderful, wonderful escape. It was when Star Wars came out that everything really changed. The landscape for sci-fi was re-written in the eyes of the general public. Doctor Who’s budget became a hindrance as people expected movie quality effects. In my opinion, that was never what Doctor Who was about. You don’t like a show like the classic Doctor Who for things like effects, you like it for the stories and the characters. You like it for the atmosphere and the humor. In the future, I’ll write similar pieces about my feelings on the other sci-fi inspirations in our lives and how they took a place alongside our love for Star Wars too.
Got an email recently from a reader chastising me for not being pro-Prequels and assuming that I must feel this way because I was some sort of bandwagon jumper, or just didn’t give them a fair chance. I’m sorry dude, but I have an opinion, and contrary to what you may think, it is indeed an INFORMED opinion. Despite what you claimed, I am not WRONG for having an opinion different than yours. If someone has an opinion different than mine, I never preach to people telling them why they should change. It’s your life and you’re entitled to view the world how you choose. 🙂
If you love the prequels while also enjoying this site, then I’m delighted to have open-minded readers who can find the humor in what we do. But BMS is our little corner on the internet and our opinions may not always match up with everyone’s. For the most part, I don’t think this webcomic ever gets particularly heavy in prequel criticism so I don’t think you have much to complain about really. I mean, we’re not Red Letter Media… although I do love those reviews. 😉
Hey, just dropping in to give you a thumbs-up for the lovely crossover. I love Tom Baker’s Doctor, and Sarah Jane (may the lovely actress Elizabeth Sladen rest in peace) was such an amazing companion. I’ve often wondered about things like this; would the Tardis land in “Serenity” or in the Enterprise? Weird mind-rambles sometimes. Anyway, thanks so much, and keep up the good work!
i bet he landed on alderaan but he was like “its a set point in time i cant change it” but i bet he saved some hot girl 🙂
How about landing inside of a Borg ship. That would make for an interesting episode.
Huh… wouldn’t most bandwagon-jumpers be more into whatever’s most recent (i.e., the prequels)?
Glad you’re at least doing well enough to continue updating. Hopefully the cat isn’t feeling too neglected!
The Doctor is IN…. Degoba? Works for me.
Also, someone actually likes the Prequels? Maybe you should have asked that person to hook you up with their dealer – clearly, they’re on some good drugs, which I’m sure you wouldn’t mind while you’re recovering from the surgery. 🙂
Good luck with that, by the way. No scooping up orca-cats… OR ELSE! 😀
Just coming in to say I love this little crossover! I grew up with Old Who since I was 5 and I love Tom Baker! It always makes me a little happy inside when I see fans of the ORIGINAL series. ALL of my friends are Newhovians and won’t watch the originals (while after trying for a few years, I’ve given up on the new series, it was bad for my mental health).
I’m sure I know exactly why they wont watch the original series too. That’s really sad though. They love the new series but can’t look past the superficial “tackiness” of the original. I guess, if the new series doesn’t make viewers feel any need the watch the original, then new fans can clearly live without it and it shows how separate to two shows really are. but I have heard of many people who have discovered the original series thanks to the new, and enjoy it. In the end, I’m just grateful that the renewed popularity has made for a strong DVD and toyline for the classics that I would have died to have as a kid.
This is very similar to how many people liked Next Generation, but found the original Star Trek to be “too violent” or “too cheesy”… while many people who liked original Star Trek practically hated Enterprise because of how much it wrecked canon.
nothing wrong with just like the Classic Trilogy, I’ve read so many of the books before and after that set that have enrich the Star Wars saga.
I’ve seen some of the earlier DW but only after starting with #9 forward. Star Wars was my first geek thing and also liked Babylon 5
Yes! Dr Who Crossover with my Fave Doctor! Whoo!
Although he looks a little odd. The most distinguishing feature of Dr 4 was his nose. 🙂
Uh, guys, you’re seriously missing out on another golden age of Doctor Who with Steven Moffat on the reigns.
It’s about as different and superior to RTD’s era as Hinchcliffe’s is to John Nathan Turner’s…
Ultimately, though, Moffat has taken Doctor Who to it’s roots.
From what I understand, Moffat’s era is about over complicated, mind-bending plots and story arcs, as well as this whole Doctor has a wife thing. Me not likey that much, unfortunately. It’s just not what I personally want out of WHO. I think Amy Pond is probably the best thing about the show at the moment, but I don’t follow the current series and I know she’s now leaving. It’s just not my sort of show anymore, but I respect those who enjoy it for their own reasons. Things I do like about the new show are the Daleks (up to their latest redesign in the Matt Smith era). I think they are being used in an interesting way (during the Tenant era) and have menace and intelligence that we hadn’t seen since the sixties. Let’s see what else do I like…. hmmmm… um….. give me a minute…. hmmmm…. I’m still thinking… hmmm…. that Sarah Jane was given respect? 🙂
Wonderful – Tom and Liz were my favorite combo too.
I didn’t send you that email did I? 😛
I don’t think so… but I am terrible at keeping up with emails.
Just to be clear – it wasn’t me – LOL
i know that bms is a lot of work but if you ever feel squirrly you should do a who comic strip 😀
We have a couple of classic Who strips done already. We did them a year or so ago for fun.
By all means–release them to the public!!!! 🙂
Fan of BOTH series of Doctor Who here. Tom Baker’s my favourite from the old days, and I got a real laugh out of this comic!
I think the budgetary issue with Doctor Who in the ’80s had less to do with competing with theatrical films than with competing against imported American TV shows like the original Battlestar Galactica. Granted, the technical issues with video resulted in a huge part of the gap, but there’s no excuse for an internationally successful program losing such heavy ground in its production values over its final decade on the air at the same time it was raking in loads of cash for the BBC.
I should have mentioned television competition from imported american shows. What I mean is that the 80s was a time, in Britain anyway, when sci-fi became popular again thanks to the reawakened interest in the genre through Star Wars. Films like Alien and Aliens (the series has, or HAD, a huge following in the UK), along with the Star Trek series, which raised the game in the eye of Joe public. Why couldn’t Doctor Who be the same? Unwarranted comparison, but all sci-fi back then was lumped together, particularly by the BBC Controllers
At the same time, Doctor Who was trying to get serious. It was both a reaction to the previous, more humorous era in the late 70s, but also evolving with the sci-fi around it. The rival network, ITV, imported Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, and forced Doctor Who out of its traditional Saturday timeslot. Joe public was drawn to the glossy big budget (comparatively) action show. Later, when Doctor Who tried to return to its traditional Saturday timeslot, ITV would put Doctor Who against the the A-Team. It should be pointed out that Doctor Who began as an intelligent children’s show that was watched by the whole family. By the mid 1970s, Doctor Who worked hard to expand its audience to include teenagers and adults, but it was still fundamentally a kids show driven by a new monster each serial format. It was aired between 5pm-6pm on Saturday afternoons. It’s content became increasingly violent / horrorific for such an early timeslot and the result was that the BBC switched producers and made the show more kid friendly again.
By the 1980s, Doctor Who was taking itself more seriously and crying out to be thought of as more than crappy budget special effects and wobbly sets. The stories got gritty as a result and the humor got darker. Even fans who had hung around didn’t want to feel embarrassed by the series. They’d grown up under the success of the Baker era and wanted the show to grow up with them. To be an adult show. That’s what I mean by saying Doctor Who started trying to compete with a sort of sci-fi that it never really was. I can’t think of too many American comparisons to what Doctor Who originally was as a hugely successful children’s sci-fi series. Land of the Lost perhaps? Yes Star Trek was a family show, but it was also highly romance-of-the-week driven, which is ground Doctor Who, as a children’s show, rarely tread.
I just think that the 1980s was a very difficult time for a show like Doctor Who to survive. It managed to, but only barely. The heads of the BBC felt it was embarrassing, too violent, and not the sort of boring kitchen sink soap opera drama they’d rather be producing. They didn’t understand Doctor Who’s strengths and so they never made a REAL effort to set the show back on the right tracks.
Doctor Who is fairly unique as a sci-fi show because at its heart its a kids show that has enough depth, wit and imagination to woo an adult audience. It should never cut out the kids. Shows like Revelation of the Daleks were not kid friendly. I love the story, but I love it as sci-fi, not as Doctor Who. The second segment of Trial of a Time Lord is another example of Doctor Who that is no longer something kids should be watching. The time slot was still in the 5pm to 6:30pm range. Considering the content of those stories for that time in the evening, you have to admit things were messed up. Then, when WHO returned under Sylvester McCoy, generally the show was more kid friendly again, but now it was airing around 7pm and up against the most watched show in Britain, Coronation Street. Sigh. You can’t win.
I know TOO much about classic WHO really. I need to make room in my brain for more useful knowledge. 🙂
As a cosplayer who has done the Delgardo Master and is working on a Pertwee Who, I can only quote the Brig (at the idea that Who knowledge is not useful) “Sargeant Benton! 5 Rounds Rapid!”
I just have to say: a Firefly cameo *_* Anyway, I think there already is at least one reference to Firefly in BMS, isn’t it?
Well, it IS if you want it to be. The secret is, that it wasn’t actually a Firefly ref, but people like Firefly so much I didn’t have the heart to correct them. So, we can treat it as the first Firefly ref.
How can anyone be pro prequel? They were terrible!
Also, you should given the 11th Doctor a try, more fun and nowhere near as bi-polar as 10th…
I gave Matt a try. I don’t think he does a bad job. But the flavor of modern wHO just isn’t for me. Perhaps if they’d cast someone like Bill Nighy as the Doctor I’d be more willing to try and grow to like the flavor / style of the new series. I haven’t seen ENOUGH of Tennant or Smith to be certain, but I think Smith, in the spirit of his performance, is probably less manic or cartoony as Tennant, and on that alone I’d prefer him. I really want to be able to like Tenant, and we plan to give the episodes featuring him and Sarah Jane a go in the next month or so, but I’m not terribly optimistic. I’m not saying either of these guys suck or are wrong, as I respect everyone’s right to their opinion, but just that it doesn’t work for me. I would, however, take both Smith and Tenant over Eccleston. IMO, that guy didn’t even try to be the part in his leather jacket and jeans.
I always thought Bill Nighy would do a good job especially for a movie in the flavour of the 60s Who movies. I think Moffat is doing a better job of looking back on the old series with more references sneaked in (Weapons work inside the TARDIS because “spacial grace” is just a clever line). I always look for thought provoking Sci-fi so Matt Smith’s era is exactly what I’m looking for. Also a huge fan of Tom. Tennant and Eccelston were alright but I feel that Eccelston’s era was a little rushed (only 13 episodes) and both got too emotional to the point of a long drawn out painful conclusion to Tennant’s era.
That’s like saying “how can anyone be pro-firely?”. People have different tastes. I can understand why the individual doesn’t think something is right (for them), but what purpose is there with running around saying others are wrong for not agreeing with you?
Great work. Great sense of humour. I want more!
Did the TARDIS bring them to Dagobah by accident? no one nose..
Nice strip, Tom Baker was a great Dr.
LOVE IT!!! AGAIN!!! I respect the original Who series but I personally am a fan of the new stuff. But I 100% agree with you that “to each their own.” I am an Original Trekkie not a Trekkor or Trekkon or whatever the kids are calling it today. I love the Original Star Trek for the very same reasons as you like the original Doctor Who. It’s not about the special effects its about the story and that sometimes gets lost with today’s tv series’.
And I have to say after seeing this week’s strip I wish you both could be working on the IDW Doctor Who series because it is just awful!!! I had to unsubscribe because the art was really bad.
Now if it were done in BMS style that would ROCK! Keep up the great work!
Excellent crossover! I’m going with the TARDIS on Dagobah. It can bend time and space, so no problem traveling to a galaxy far far away, and a long time ago! (I’m assuming. I’ve not watched the show much)
This is the second time I’ve seen the 4th Doctor on the internet in a short time. Before this (or maybe after?) he was inside the titular bakery at Ginger’s Bread. http://www.gingersbread.com/comics/gingers-bread-333/
If I wasn’t going through disability myself right now, I’d donate in a heartbeat. So you have my love, best wishes and the rest. Now, topical. Over the past 3 years one thing I did was watch every surviving (and listen to several where we have only the audio track) Doctor Who. I *always* thought Zeta Minor was Dagobah. Always, always.
We were lucky enough, thanks to reconstructions, to see the surviving telesnaps combined with the audio for all missing stories from the sixties during our last chronological start to finish viewing. Right now we are wrapping up the Sylvester McCoy era. I love swamp worlds in sci-fi, so it’s little wonder I connected both Dagobah and Zeta Minor. 🙂
YES!
Now my TARDIS carton is relevant! 😉
If you ever do a dedicated WHO strip I would like to see Dr. Who find his long lost family in Dr Seuss’s Whoville. I don’t know why, I just would.
I’m glad you’re recovering – even if it is slower than you would like. Sending my best wishes to both Rod and Leanne. 🙂
I’m not a Doctor Who fan myself, but who knows? I’m not sure how to go back and watch the original series – is it out on DVD at all? If so, I may have to check it out.
If you like wobbly old sci-fi shows and don’t hold the budget and simple effects against a show, then it is definitely worth checking out. You can netflix the early Tom Baker era. Start with The Ark In Space and go forwards.
Ark In Space,
Sontaran Experiment,
Genesis of the Daleks,
Revenge of the Cybermen,
Terror of the Zygons (not released on DVD yet but I’m sure you can find a torrent for all this stuff),
Planet of Evil,
Pyramids of Mars,
Android Invasion,
Brain of Morbius,
Seeds of Doom,
Masque of Mandragora,
Hand of Fear,
Deadly Assassin,
Face of Evil,
Robots of Death,
Talons of Weng Chiang.
Otherwise, if you like your sci-fi a bit glossier, a bit soapier, and bit more like Buffy, then try the new series of Doctor Who (2005 onwards). I’m an oldie though.
Thanks! I’ll get right on that, and report back as to whether your secret plan to get more Tom Baker era fans actually worked. 😉
Cool! I hope it is your taste. I completely understand how modern sci-fi fans would look on the pre-CGI era, particularly British sci-fi as being quaint and silly. But if you don’t mind good old stuff, particularly stuff that is quite different than anything else, then it might click for you. Definitely give a few stories a go in the order I listed. Watch for the Sarah Jane and Doctor relationship that develops. Though they don’t let it develop quite as far onscreen as Leanne and myself would have liked, it’s there.
And like I said, if you like shows like Buffy then you’ll probably prefer the newer Doctor Who series. You do not have to have seen the original series to view the new series.
And if you’re a manga fan, please recommend some works for Leanne and myself to read. We’re currently working on our first Web Manga at the moment.
And I now have a new series of shows to download/buy DVDs of, and watch while sitting in my MTC. Thanks for the intro to what looks to promise to be a good way to spend some time! Hope you’re up and around again soon!
I have to say I liked Doctor Who growing up, and still like the new shows, allthough the themes are somewhat more mature now (or the times have really changed, or I notice these things now).
As for SW the prequels, they aren’t really that bad on the SciFi scale (meaning that there is a lot of really awful movies out there) They are by no means good.
What bandwagon though? This guy commenting is probably a kid (which is oke, he’ll learn to moderate).
I’ve never really felt you were anti-prequels in the strip, just anti special edition retconning, in which you are absolutely right. Greedo never got the chance to draw his weapon, dumbass slowpoke excuse for a Rodian.
The Fourth Doctor AND Empire Strikes Back – you guys made this old SF fan very happy.
By the way, I heartily approve of your summary of Doctor Who pre-Star Wars. It was often at its best with a small cast in a few rooms: exploring a concept, not the limits of special effects. However, my favourite story is The Talons of Weng-Chiang, which was one of the (relatively) expensive ones due its Victorian London setting.
There is tale that says an oddly placed haystack in one of the establishing shots of that particular story, was actually covering over a sports car parked by an owner who was unaware that the street had been closed for filming. A very Doctor Who solution.
I’m glad you’re feeling better! And I really had fun seeing this strip, especially since I watched so much DW this weekend.
What’s kinda creepy though is that I was JUST wondering what a Star Wars and Doctor Who crossover would be like. Are you a mind reader? 😛
Ok heres the thing, it is late and I have to work tomorrow, so I stop on by BMS for a quick read before bed. I never read the comic, I saw the first panel and couldn’t stop laughing. Great work and thanks for the greater laugh.
Hey, BMS, did you see the “Star Wars crap” post at http://penny-arcade.com/2012/01/25/star-wars-crap? I wonder if Gabe’d be OK with you using Darth Fruitbasket somehow.
I’ve only seen David Tennant’s 10th Doctor, and not even the whole of that “generation” (I call each incarnation of the good doctor a generation), but I still really liked it. Sure, it wasn’t really anything compared to *modern* sci-fi effects and so, but i jsut loooooved Dave’s silly and carefree behaviour, yet almsot omniscent and serious core. To be able to act both that hilarious trxter and uncompromising big-boss personalities earns my respect for that actor. i knew it would end, but I was stil lslightly heartbroken when the eleventh doc came 🙁
Aah… fond memories of Wheetabix cereal giving away Dr.Who dioramas and stand-up card characters. I loved my Cyberman one. Must have been around 1975 (?) The cereal section was always my favourite part of the supermarket. When I was 4, I even got a Dr.Who colouring book for Xmas, with John Pertwee.
I just found this funny “How the return of the jedi should have ended” 😀
quite, funny, you should watch it 😀
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdukWtJwlPU&feature=g-feat&context=G2d6a8e1YFAAAAAAAAAA