The Classic Series vs The New Series

[carmen_lj]

There's a curious discussion going on at teh OG just now (worry not, kids, this is nought to do with shipping or beloved companions) that's a general back and forth snarkorama over whether Classic or New Who is better. The answer, course, is that both are rather smashing and 'betterness' is so ridiculously subjective (and, indeed, Lambert is as different from Letts as Adams is from RTD, that viewing the whole Classic series as single entity is silly anyway) that it's an almost meaningless discussion.

Anyway point is that someone said that no-one who's got into Who through the New Series and then gone onto Classic will prefer the Classic one. So I was curious (and I'm pretty sure at least one person on teh flist has pretty explicitly stated that they do) and will thus discover truth by means of that Ultimate Skientific Test, the LJ poll.

[Poll #1041361]

I have reluctantly provided a cop-out choice. I will Totally Judge You for picking it.

Comments

[lyssie.livejournal.com]

The newer series is faster and shinier, but I really do think the older series holds up better. And it doesn't help that the female companions are just as helpless without the Doctor as they were in 1963.

Although Martha is still currently massively win.

[calapine.livejournal.com]

Babs wasn't helpless in '64, darnation!

[some-stars.livejournal.com]

yeah, one reason i really love the old stuff is because the feminism is *better.* Well, sometimes it's not, but it's never worse. Which is so, so, so depressing, but I take refuge in Zoe and Sarah and Romana and Tegan and Ace. (And I'm sure Barbara as well when I get round to her!)

[calapine.livejournal.com]

The nice thing about the sexism is that when it explicitly turns up, it's challenged by the female character, who either snarks, forces them to give in, or shrugs then sneaks off and does the dangerous thing anyway.

And Barry Letts, at least, was genuinely trying for a more liberal PC tone when he was producer, so I've read, anyway/

[some-stars.livejournal.com]

YES exactly. 'cause like...sure, you get stuff like the UNIT guys in The Invasion asking to have Zoe around because she's much prettier than a computer--but she still got to SAVE THE DAY with her GENIUS MATH BRAINS and be appreciated for them. SO much stuff like that. or how, yeah, Romana has to be young and pretty (and 'young' in-text too) while the Doctor can be experienced and funny-looking--but you know, Rose and Martha had to be drop-dead beautiful and much younger, adn they didn't get to DO or GROW half as much. I hate the backlash :( but meanwhile, I watch old TV a lot!

[calapine.livejournal.com]

Aye, and there's Jo being all sweet about being told to stay safely at base and then sneaking off to help out anyway, All The Time. And Zoe and her friend being told not to go into the sewers and doing it anyway in Invasion. And Sarah snapping at anyone who dares say anything sexist to her, and Anne Travers snarking sweetly to the soldier who asks why a prety girl like her would become a scientist.