Tag: Christopher Eccleston

Nine/Women

Splendid Chaps finally makes it to new Who! Hosts Ben McKenzie, John Richards and Petra Elliott discuss Christopher Eccleston and women in Doctor Who (and didn’t we need more time for that huge topic!) with guests Karen Pickering, Celeste Liddle and Tansy Rayner Roberts! It’s the ninth live Splendid Chaps episode, recorded at the Gasometer Hotel in Melbourne on September 15, 2013. Plus there are prizes, a tonne of audience questions, and a surprise musical performance from two of the chaps! Oh, and a word of warning: this one gets a bit more sweary than usual. But what do you expect? We’re Australians!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:34:15 — 43.2MB)

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Don’t forget you can go into the draw to win Christopher Eccleston’s first season of Doctor Who on DVD, courtesy of our friends at BBC on DVD! To enter the draw, just comment on this episode at splendidchaps.com. Were you won over by Eccleston, or do you think he’s a creep? Who are your favourite women from Doctor Who? If we’d had another hour, what do you think we should have covered in our continuing chat about women in Who? Comment by October 12 to be in the running, and we’ll announce the winner at the recording of Ten/Sex on October 13.

The Nine/Women viewing list

As revealed at the recording of our last live episode, Eight/Science, here is your homework viewing for Nine/Women, which will be recorded on September 15th at the Gasometer Hotel in Melbourne (full show details here).

Your homework viewing for Chris Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor is:

  • Aliens of London/World War Three
  • Dalek
  • The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances

Of course, as The Ecc only had the one season, you could just watch all thirteen of his episodes. Watching our list you’re nearly halfway there!

For a crash course in how women have been represented in Doctor Who, we suggest:

  • The Dalek Invastion of Earth (William Hartnell, 1964; six episodes)
  • Robot (Tom Baker, 1974, four episodes)
  • The Stones of Blood (Tom Baker, 1976; four episodes)
  • Survival (Sylvester McCoy, 1989; three episodes)
  • Rose (Christopher Eccleston, 2005, one episode)
  • School Reunion (David Tennant, 2006, one episode)
  • The Runaway Bride (David Tennant, 2006, one episode)
  • The Girl Who Waited (Matt Smith, 2011, one episode)

…and that’s only scratching the surface! Other stories and episodes worth considering include Spearhead From Space, Terror of the Autons, The Time Warrior, The Ark in Space, Mark of the Rani, Paradise Towers, The Happiness Patrol, The Curse of Fenric, New Earth, Human Nature/Family of Blood, and so many more…

Got suggestions of your own? Let us know in the comments!

Nine/Women (live show)

Young London woman Rose Tyler is at work when she is surprised by animated shop dummies, but she is saved by a mysterious man in a leather jacket who calls himself the Doctor. Though he tells her to forget him, she discovers he is a legend, the subject of Internet conspiracy theories: he has appeared throughout human history, and wherever he goes, death and destruction follow. Tough, resourceful, at times silly but with uncompromising morals, this Doctor has seen much and survived terrible losses. But he’s also alone – until he inspires Rose to realise her potential and save him, and the planet, in return…

Splendid Chaps is a year-long celebration of Doctor Who‘s fiftieth anniversary: eleven live performances recorded as podcasts in which your brains will be fed, your funny bones tickled, and your hearts opened (yes, both of them!). Our ninth major episode brings us finally to new Who, that time when the seemingly impossible happened and the show returned! Russell T Davies reinvented the Doctor by casting renowned TV and film actor Christopher Eccleston, famous for serious roles in dramas like Cracker, Our Friends in the North and Elizabeth. His simultaneously light-hearted and tortured portrayal of a man who has lost everything won over old and new fans alike, though the revelation after the smash success of the first episode that he would only be staying for one year took fans and media by surprise. Despite his short stay in the role, Eccleston defined the new era of Doctor Who and laid the groundwork for the format that persisted ever since.

Just as important to new Who was new companion Rose Tyler, played by pop star turned actor Billie Piper. For some she was a revelation compared to the “scream queens” of the past; but is this a fair assessment? We take as our theme women in Doctor Who: was having a proactive and near equal status companion for the Doctor really such a radical idea? Has Doctor Who been as terribly sexist as has often been claimed? Are the women in the show as varied and multifaceted as the men? And is the modern series really better in its portrayal of women than the old?

Hosts Ben McKenzie, John Richards and Petra Elliott are joined by a panel including feminist organiser and writer Karen Pickering (Cherchez la Femme), author and podcaster Tansy Rayner Roberts (Galactic Suburbia, Verity!) and National Indigenous Organiser for the National Tertiary Education Union, Celeste Liddle (Rantings of an Aboriginal Feminist), plus a musical performance, giveaways and other excellence!

Space: The Gasometer Hotel, 484 Smith Street, Collingwood (corner of Alexandra Parade)
Time: Sunday, September 15; recording starts 5 PM
Accessibility: We regret that this venue is not wheelchair accessible.
Tickets: $15 (plus booking fee where applicable)
Bookings: via trybooking.com or at the door (subject to availability)
Podcast: “Nine/Women” released on the 23rd of September, 2013.