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Post by Stripes on Mar 14, 2012 0:57:02 GMT
My nephew is sort of showing interest in Doctor Who. Simply because I am into it. I kind of want to show him an episode or two but I am not sure which is a good age to introduce a child to Doctor Who.
Right now he is 6 almost 7. Do you think this is a good age to show him doctor who? His mum is very chill about what he watches. I am more worried that he is still too young to grasp the story lines.
If we were to watch a few episodes, should I start with Nine and see how reacts with those first few episodes or should I edit his viewing and only show certain episodes from Nine and Ten? I would show him some old who but I think he find those boring.
((I am NOT going to show him any of 11 stories. I am sorry but those stories are awful and I will not expose my nephew to such trash. *goes on a rant about Moffat's era*. ))
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Post by aquabluejay on Mar 14, 2012 23:46:08 GMT
Awwwe, I've alwasy thought younger kids would appreciate Elevens whimsy.... but if that's how you feel..
I'm not totally sure about what you should start him off with. All the seasons kind of start off pretty lighthearted and become darker, more angsty and complicated. I suppose nine's first few episodes would probably be an ok place. If it were me, I'd be making sure I talked through each episode with him at the end, or possibly during sort of "commercial break" type pauses. Not out of concern of them being to dark for him or anything, but to really make sure he's catching some of the more subtle characterization that's starting up with nine. You could as him things like if he notices how the Doctor reacts to certain questions or situations and see if he can puzzle out why before it's revealed.
My parents were also always very 'chill' about what we watched, and often showed us things that would normally have been far above our age bracket, but they also loved talking though them with us kids, and helping us really understand all the subtleties of what was going on. (My parents are also both telecommunications majors and involved in TV production so to some extent this sort of critiquing is sort of inevitable, but I've always really loved picking things apart to appreciate them better as a whole. XD )
I don't know your nephew obviously, but talking things through with kids like that can be a great learning tool to help them grasp the subtitles of storytelling as well as help the get everything out of what they're watching. You could as him things like if he notices how the Doctor reacts to certain questions or situations and see if he can puzzle out why before it's revealed.
As long as you think he's ready to spend enough time and attention on it to actually get it, I'd say go ahead. ^^
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Post by clocketpatch on Mar 15, 2012 10:39:38 GMT
Aww. No love for Eleven? I'll agree that a certain percentage of his episodes are absolute crap and have inappropriate sexual references, but you can filter those out. From what I've heard kids really seem to respond to Eleven's whimsy. Also, Matt Smith is adorable with kids.
And, hit me with something, but crap as it is I think that the WWII episode with the Daleks would be absolutely awesome to a seven year old and I'm just too old to appreciate it properly. Ditto with the last Christmas special. (Also, I think that it's not so great to decide someone shouldn't be exposed to something at all just because you don't like it. Granted, it might be good for your sanity if he's one of those kids demands to watch that one thing he likes all the time)
Anyway… avoiding Eleven…
I think that Nine might be a bit too dark and scary in most of his episodes. He is kind of terrifying, especially in Dalek, but it depends on what your nephew is like. Some kids love being scared. Granted, it's better if they're scared of the monsters rather than the main character… There used to be some kind of scare index on the BBC website, not sure if its still up, but it had a group of kids from six to nine rate each NuWho episode to say how scary it was. Midnight and Blink were the highest ranked if I remember correctly…
Ten's got some really good light-hearted episodes as well though, so, much as he irked me in his last few series, I'd say start with him. Start with the Christmas Invasion, it's got Lion King quotes and Jackie being chased by a Christmas tree (and is still the best Christmas special imho)
If he responds to the new stuff you might try him with the Classic, but watch the episodes one at a time over a series of days rather than trying to watch the whole story in one go.
Seconding what Aqua says about discussing the episodes after they finish.
I look forward to hearing your nephews opinions.
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Post by jjpor on Mar 15, 2012 20:28:24 GMT
I think I was about four or five when I started watching it, back when it was Fivey, and I don't think it's done me any (much?) harm...! ;D I don't really remember a lot about it, just "bits" and images that have stuck with me and which give subsequent re-watches a bit of an extra nostalgia factor. I wasn't really "getting" it till it was Six and Seven, so...how old was I when Six took over? Six or seven? I don't think my parents ever bothered that I was watching stuff that on the whole made NuWho look positively child-friendly (people biting the heads off rats, etc etc) , 'cause, you know, it was "just" Doctor Who. I used to be too scared to watch sometimes. Sil! Peri turning into a bird!  I guess my point is, at that age I bet kids aren't really following things like the intricacies of the story - they're noticing striking images and kewl bits and stuff. And they're remarkably resilient to stuff that makes us adults go "ewww!" or "hmm, now that's a bit irresponsible...!" In fact, I think the guy eating the rat in The Two Doctors was at one point when I was much younger and (a bit) more easily impressed one of my very favourite Who moments of them all. I think they're more likely to be bored by stuff like Midnight or whatever than traumatised by it. So, I guess what I'm saying is - you can't go wrong with monsters and that - maybe leave the more talky, plotty stuff till he's a bit older. Then again, what do I honestly know about kids apart from my very vague memories of having once been one? ;D Take anything I say on the subject with salt to taste... |
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Post by Stripes on Mar 17, 2012 21:30:19 GMT
My mum let me watch movies and tv shows that frankly 6 year olds should not watch. Then again, it exposed me to the good,t he bad and ugly the world had to provide and made me very curious. I asked like million of questions and my family answered. Go open mind family!
My sister is pretty chill about what my nephew watches. She has no problem with sex but she does like to censor violence to a degree. Doctor who violence does not bother her.
I was thinking of starting with Ten. When I thought over which new who episodes would be good I mainly come up with tn episodes. Old Who I think he is still too yougn for simply because he has a short attention span ... then again he may really like the monsters in the old who.
11, oh 11. I LOVE 11 actually.I Like Matt Smith too. I just really dislike his stories and don't think most of his stories are really kid friendly. Also they are confusing to the point where I am not sure if I fully understand them. I will show him a few episodes of 11 but I am not sitting through 11 second season... I am sorry but just thinking about River Song saying mummy to Amy just feels so wrong.
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Post by aquabluejay on Mar 18, 2012 2:27:34 GMT
As much as I'm into breaking things down and scrutinizing them in depth and fully understanding them, I also believe there's a point at which you let it all go, (particularly if you're six) and just enjoy the shear mayhem and whimsy of the whole thing, which I think 11 definitely has, perhaps you just want to show him the more fun episodes, maybe start with Rose, so she's introduced, and then maybe cherry pick a few more and then start in with Ten, and possibly Eleven eps you like.
If you're both not in it for the long and rather angsty haul of whole seasons anyway, you could give a cursory explanation about how they're all the same person (or just watch the children in need special wherein 9 regenerates into 10) and sort of skip around. Let your nephew decide who he likes best and watch more of those eps.
After all, as we say - Continuity? What continuity?
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Post by Stripes on Mar 18, 2012 16:59:47 GMT
Good idea on having him watch the children in need special. and Rose is a good intro. I think i will start him with nine and see what he thinks.
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Post by aquabluejay on Mar 19, 2012 16:06:57 GMT
Yeah, and then if he get's bored, you can just be like "And then the Daleks attacked, Rose absorbed all the energy from the time vortex to save them and roll film!"
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Post by primsong on Mar 21, 2012 3:46:09 GMT
I'm thinking "shear mayhem and whimsy" is one of the best descriptions I've seen of Our Show in a long time. I love it. No doubt it will resurface as a phrase somewhere in my future except I'll probably forget where I heard it, which is always a little annoying. On the other hand, maybe I'll think it's a quote from the Doctor (seriously, can't you see him saying something like "sheer mayhem and whimsy"? Any of him?), which is a bit of a compliment to you.
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Post by aquabluejay on Mar 21, 2012 17:42:58 GMT
Why thank you Prim! ^^ I thought it was about as succinctly as I could describe the experience of watching it overall.
I don't recall any of the nuwho doctor's saying it, but possibly one of the classic doctors or maybe in one of the EDA's someone might have said it...
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Post by Stripes on Mar 22, 2012 23:35:19 GMT
I am starting to think that maybe I will let my nephew pick which doctor he wants to start with. I will show him a picture of 9, 10, and 11 and be like, "pick one". He will most likely pick 11 and/or 9 since he sort of knows 9.
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Post by aquabluejay on Mar 23, 2012 5:50:42 GMT
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but only if you know how to look for them, and besides, the doctor's hardly about standing still in a single frame. If you're going to go that road, maybe show him a clip of each?
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