The Doctor Who thread

EricTheWeary

I liked that Clara wasn't in it much BTW, all that confident, knows what she's doing stuff is turning her into a dull companion who should be moving on ( I think she does after this series?). It was also an episode that pursued relatively few ideas in a bit more depth rather than zooming all over the place with a lack of coherence.

Jalapeno

Fretwired said:

Jalapeno said:

Masie Williams can act, it was a very crappy and lazy script.

Holograms again I note ....

Not on the evidence of tonight's episode. Some interesting ideas and dialogue lost in a Blackadderesque plot with a cast member from Cats. Utter garbage. I'm also doubtful that there would have been a diverse multi-racial group in an Oxfordshire village of the 1600s. But worse than all of that .. as I predicted .. the sunglasses are back.

I thought she did ok. It was infinitely better than last week whatever it was. The fire breathing lion was indeed lame.

axisus

I mostly enjoyed tonight's one. Better pace, some interesting ideas. This is of course based on my "go with the flow" attitude of not analysing everything. Every time I see Jenna she looks SO hot!

UnclePsychosis

I really enjoyed this week's episode. Some interesting ideas and plenty of scope for future storylines.

Mkjackary

That pisses me off, (quickly apoligise for late comment as just caught up)

Since when can you invent something that can keep you imprtal in a short while. Then quickly invent another.

If you can do that then surely the time lprda would have done that (so they don't have to regenerate) or the daleks or the... Needless to say the list goes on.

And if she has had that extra imortallity necklace all this time why didn't she use it on a lover or relative or pet hamster. I call BS she would have kept it all that time.

thermionic

Tonight's episode is the first in a two-parter featuring the Zygons (no, not the band), that's supposed to be "gripping" according to the Guardian Guide. Sounds promising.

Mkjackary

So what did we think?

thermionic

Alien race are sympathetically allowed to settle on Earth and they assimilate, many of them in the UK but a minority are rebelling. Dr Who says "You can't bomb them, you'll radicalise the lot!" A remote-control drone bombs civilians. Dr jokes about them "taking your benefits".

Not subtle, but quite remarkable considering they probably finished filming at least six months ago and the script was probably done and dusted six months before that.

Fretwired

thermionic said:

Not subtle, but quite remarkable considering they probably finished filming at least six months ago and the script was probably done and dusted six months before that.

Not that remarkable. This is unapologetically political. Apparently this is Doctor Who's take on immigration, Islamophobia and ISIS - all been around for few years. A minority – “a radicalisation in the younger brood” – have broken off as extremists, seeking to overthrow a planet they believe will never accept them. Utter drivel.

http://bit.ly/1RD0aGu

Heartfeltdawn

Mkjackary said:

So what did we think?

If I could post a picture of a Zygon squeezing a log out onto a glass table with Moffat cracking one off underneath, I would. 

thermionic said:

Alien race are sympathetically allowed to settle on Earth and they assimilate, many of them in the UK but a minority are rebelling. Dr Who says "You can't bomb them, you'll radicalise the lot!" A remote-control drone bombs civilians. Dr jokes about them "taking your benefits".

Full story: alien race come to Earth originally and try to take over using the Loch Ness Monster. Aggressive! They then get reborn into the modern era and the Doctor plays a major part into forcing a treaty. The treaty results in Operation Double, a forced integration programme that goes horribly wrong because forced integration meant a loss of cultural identity. No wonder the radicals got miffed. 

Oh wait. I'm reading too much into it rather than focusing purely on the potatohead plot. 

EricTheWeary

Old man pursues seven year old girls on playground, school staff look on but do not attempt to intervene. Worrying stuff. Then, some other things - Clara's double very nearly going mwahaha and licking her lips when she was revealed.

Mkjackary

So moffat wrote blink? Arguably one of the best episodes since the re boot, and a load of the great ones. And he wrote Sherlock which I think is bloody brilliant.

So how comes everyone blames him for shit episodes, did his writing peak then turn bad or has it always been crap (including Sherlock)
I do agree the recent few series have had more forgettable episodes than the first few (since the reboot).

Jalapeno

He didn't even write this story !

Fretwired

Mkjackary said:

So moffat wrote blink? Arguably one of the best episodes since the re boot, and a load of the great ones. And he wrote Sherlock which I think is bloody brilliant.

So how comes everyone blames him for shit episodes, did his writing peak then turn bad or has it always been crap (including Sherlock)
I do agree the recent few series have had more forgettable episodes than the first few (since the reboot).

Blink originally appeared as a short story by Moffat in a Doctor Who annual which was adapted for TV - other people were involved in realising it. Sherlock isn't written by Moffat alone and in most cases is based on a Conan-Doyle story so it's more of an adaptation.

The BBC should follow the successful US TV shows and have a writing team.

axisus

Fretwired said:

The BBC should follow the successful US TV shows and have a writing team.

Definitely need quality control, some scripts are appalling and others are basically OK but need the shite editing out (eg Dr who saluting brigadier cyberman as he rockets off).

I thought that the Zygon episode was pretty good overall. 

Mkjackary

For me it does get really tiring where every episode it seems everyone is going to die and the baddies are unstoppable, then alst minute the doctor thinks of a clever way of fixing it.

Some of my favourite episodes have been the ones where it isn't an apocalyptic event on the line.
Why does it always need to be "oh my God the whole of time itself/world/universe is going to end.

english_bob

axisus said:

Fretwired said:

I thought that the Zygon episode was pretty good overall. 

Yeah, but...

Mkjackary said:

For me it does get really tiring where every episode it seems everyone is going to die and the baddies are unstoppable, then alst minute the doctor thinks of a clever way of fixing it.

...I know this is going to happen next week, and all the dead characters won't be dead any more.

Fretwired

Mkjackary said:

For me it does get really tiring where every episode it seems everyone is going to die and the baddies are unstoppable, then alst minute the doctor thinks of a clever way of fixing it.

Some of my favourite episodes have been the ones where it isn't an apocalyptic event on the line.
Why does it always need to be "oh my God the whole of time itself/world/universe is going to end.

Have to agree .. episodes like Dalek, the Doctor's Wife, the Girl in the Fireplace and Blink were terrific.

axisus

+1 on that. I hate all the OTT settings, it was Russell T Davis's mantra: The whole world is in danger!!!! The whole universe is in danger!!!! All life in the entire galaxy is in danger!!!!!!!!!! Every parallel universe that ever existed is in danger!!!!!!! All of time and history in every parallel universe and everything else I may have forgotten is in danger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ...... right, where can we go next ........

The beauty of the old Dr Who (I'm thinking particularly Pertwee era) was that an evil plan was defeated on a small scale before it had the time to grow into something unstoppable.

digitalscream

With all that said, I still think that The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit ranks among the best stories of the new run, even though it very definitely sits in the "all reality is in danger!" camp.

It's probably the only one, though.