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Chapter VIII: "Then Let Us Begin"
Part II, Chapter VIII: "Then Let Us Begin"
“It was a lot of fun, being on that show. I was rather worried during the first season, given my high profile exit of The Next Generation. But with how successful the first season was, I was just excited to get back on set. Hugh, Tom and I tended to keep in contact anyway, but it was always so much fun when we were together on set. So when the three of us get together for conventions or other meetups, there’s always a lot of laughter.”
- Denise Crosby, taken from An Adventure in Space and Time.
Following the first season of the revival series of Doctor Who, there was much anticipation for the release of the second. The first had proved that Doctor Who could work in the American market in its classic form, and was a solid competitor for the other large franchises of the time.
All three main cast members would return from the first season, and were quickly becoming fan favourites. The three had become friends off set, and would often do interviews as a group, rather than individually.
The second revival season would see a slightly increased budget over the first, though the actors salaries would offset this somewhat. With many of the props and sets now left over after the first season, the production costs would be decreased somewhat, resulting in more guest stars coming on to the show. [1]
Season 23 of Doctor Who first aired on Sunday May 14th 1989 and was the second season of the revival series.
List of Episodes of Season 23 of Doctor Who: [2]
Eye in the Sky (Part 1)
Eye in the Sky (Part 2)
Vengeance on Varos (Part 1)
Vengeance on Varos (Part 2)
The Fall of the Hour (Part 1)
The Fall of the Hour (Part 2)
Overture (Part 1)
Overture (Part 2)
Time and the Rani (Part 1)
Time and the Rani (Part 2)
Recursion
Entropy (Part 1)
Entropy (Part 2)
Revolution of the Daleks (Part 1)
Revolution of the Daleks (Part 2)
Seven Pillars of Wisdom (Part 1)
Seven Pillars of Wisdom (Part 2)
Futureproof (Part 1)
Futureproof (Part 2)
Yellow Fever and How to Cure It (Part 1)
Yellow Fever and How to Cure It (Part 2)
Iceberg (Part 1)
Iceberg (Part 2)
The Greatest Show in the Galaxy (Part 1)
The Greatest Show in the Galaxy (Part 2)
The Greatest Show in the Galaxy (Part 3)
Cast of Season 23 of Doctor Who:
The Seventh Doctor – Hugh Laurie
Ace – Denise Crosby
Jim Baines – Tom Hanks
The Master – Anthony Ainley
The Rani – Madeline Kahn
Season 23 of Doctor Who was released to mostly positive reviews. Critics saw it as a general improvement over the first season, with special note being given to the season finale, The Greatest Show in the Galaxy, generally seen as one of Laurie’s best stories.
Seven Pillars of Wisdom was also singled out, being a story featuring T.E. Lawrence after the 1919 Paris Peace Conference. Many critics felt that it handled the topics of self-determination well, constructing an interesting story around the characters of T.E. Lawrence and Faisal of Iraq. [3]
The second season had proved that the popularity of Doctor Who was not a one-off, but would be a mainstay of American television for years to come. But very soon, there would be trouble in paradise. [4]
[1] As mentioned before, expect to see more guest stars from here on out. Keep an eye on who's guest starring this season in particular. [2] As before, a little bit of old, a little bit of new. I've not watched a whole lot of classic-Who, so I can't attest as to how good the stories I've reused are, but every show has its bad episodes. [3] This story will have most of the cast of A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia, as a result, that film never gets made. It will, however, have an alien aspect. I decided that it would be nice to start taking the show back to its roots of doing historical epsiodes. [4] I say 'very soon', it's not going to be revealed for quite a few updates, though I'm sure you could guess as to what this entails. Next update will be the plot summaries of the stories.