I'm no fan of the updated Doctor Who and this latest episode was no exception. But hot red haired scottish girl? I could probably tolerate a few more episodes...
Oh indeed, the new series has started on a high, the next episode has got those weird clown aliens from the preview at the end and the third is WWII with Daleks in it.
The new series is looking to be amazing, someone find Stephen Moffat and give him a cake.... that episode was awesome!
Every time there's a new Doctor, I'm always a bit cautious, but Matt Smith (and Karen Gillan, now known as the sexy redhead) have won me over.
Can I ask did anyone else see the ending coming?
Yes, what have they done to the music over the titles? You can barely hear the haunting tones of the original tune over the base.
Spitfires in space did look very well done, though when they normally do special effects, it looks rubbish (spaceship in tonight's episode was of typically BBC low quality).
Flashman wrote:Yes, what have they done to the music over the titles? You can barely hear the haunting tones of the original tune over the base.
TV titles are a little like book covers. The episode was a good start for their first time out. It certainly didn't leave whole swathes of plot unexplained or leading to dead ends (I'm looking at you Christmas special).
Spitfires vs. UFO's is inspired on such an auspicious date.
Alien shapechanger was scary with the teeth (but because I watch Peep Show, I was laughing when it was Sophie) The eyeball snowflakes were rather poor.
The 'Run' bit was rather cool, with the placement of the new doctor via clips (although seeing Sylvester makes me all nostalgic and I hope they put him in a story via the doctor crossovers).
I am somewhat indifferent to the new Doctor, that's better than what I feared when I first saw him... The food thing was pointless.
I think what i really disliked about this series was the lack of anything sinister...
The 9th and 10th doctors seemed like real people in that they both had darker sides and the episodes themselves were often laden with death whereas this one the corpses (indian female dr who died) were not shown and mr matt smith appeared to be playing a mary sue with a little comic relief (the food bit) before any drama.
ALSO! who else thinks the "ill be back in 5 minutes" then coming back in X years thing is getting a little old? they used it in the one with the clockwork dudes in france too.
I agree, in the recent series, the comedic side has played a rather important role. Even with David Tennant and Christopher Eccleston, they had comedic bits, I mean, the first episode with Chris in it, the whole bit about him 'swanning around' and Jackie slapping him, that wasn't exactly all serious was it? I don't think that I've seen any first episode where the doctor is really in depth sad and depressed and showing 'I'm the last time lord' emotions.
I mean, the bit with the text message 'duck' and the part when he tells the guy with his internet history, who didn't laugh and think 'awesome!' at those parts?
Well, I thought it was guff! Talk about pandering to demographics with a young actor playing the doctor. Smith is just Tennent -lite, and hasn't done enough to stamp his own persona on the role. I'll give him another week to get his sorry ship to shore The episode itself was similar to Smith and Jones, way to similar. The redhead was irritating (we don't need another Donna). Take a note of the flag next to my avatar. Yep, I'm paying for this, and I feel short changed!
Damn, have you looked at a recent picture of Catherine Tate. She has truly jumped the shark. But, Billy Piper has that hot soccer mom / milf next door look that will get someone a restraning order.
Ah, Sophie Aldred from the Sylvester McCoy era. That takes me back. Her leather jacket was cool and I can't remember any other Dr Who assistant setting about a Dalek with a baseball bat. Ace indeed
That picture reminded me of a young, blond version of Julie T. Wallace.
That is the big woman in the bad James Bond film, "The Living Daylights" and the big woman in the "Fifth Element". I guess that is a bad picture of her you posted on here.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Well, here is a better picture of Sophie Alderd:
She was 80's cute but time has not been good to her.
Don't like the revamped theme tune, they should just pony up and use the Orbital version and make everyone happy.
Very happy with the rest of the show though, a nice change to have the world saving plan actually make sense and not involve 9too much) techno babble. Smith delivered on the killer lines -- "must be ahell of a scary crack" and"..run..." right at the end, which built nicely upon what we'd learnt in previous stories about him sending armies fleeing just by the mention of his name.
Loads of little cameos and I'm wondering if "Mrs. Meldrew" might be in a future episode when she's younger and meets the Dr. perhaps ? I'm assuming the cracks in reality will be related to the BIG BAD for this year... was one of the screens on his new Tardis cracked at the end ?
It was..better than I expected. Smith pullled of the "nutty" doctor quite well. Not sure what everyone see's in Amy pond myself, but she's cute enough, I suppose.
And I'm expecting this years "big bad" to be related to the 'silence will fall' line, or maybe that little bit at the end where they're talking and a meter on an instrument behind them jumps into life.
Pipboy101 wrote:Acting, who needs acting. She just needs to stand there.
I'm sure that qualfies as a form of assisting
I didn't catch it until the repeat so apologies for chiming in a little late. I thought that it bounced along at a fair lick for an episode that established a new Dr.
When I saw the preview clips I thought Matt Smith's exagerated moon-face would annoy me but I was pleasantly suprised by his performance. Tennet-who? If you will excuse the pun.
The ginge-totty was good as well but i'll be holding my Gigidy-gigidies for Alex Kingston in later episodes.
The eyeball ships were pap, but looking at the clips I think that it is because they are saving the budget for things to come.
A good start for the new series, saturdays will still hold meaning despite the looming end of the rugby season!
Dunno Flash, I just googled some nice pics of her, now here's 2 more and that's an end to it... Before Alph deploys the shockmaul for distributing images more suited to the DCM Lair...
Watched the new episode last night with Mrs Squilverine who spent most of it berating me for perving at the "hot redhead".
I wasn't taken with the dodgy new theme tune or the slightly lame snowflake and eyeball aliens but the scene on the roof top blew away any fears over the new docs abilities, I think he will definatley grow on people. Personaly I wasn't that much of a Tennant fan anyways.
Tennant is a good actor. I think his protrayal of Dr Who went a bit OTT because that is where RT Grant lead the series.
Big up mad propz to RT for reviving the whole franchise but he wasn't the best script writer. I'm very grateful to him for his sterling work but I'm also glad he is leaving the scripts to other people these days.
I don't mind the new doctor, I think it is a bit early to think he is the best or the worst thing since sliced bread or dark eldar. But i really hate the new take on the theme song, its just too... dowowow for me. Oh yeah and i also dont like new 'time vortex' as once again its just too... dowowow for me.
And thats my take on the fish finger eating maniac from planet tomorrow.
Oh yeah, did anyone else think the doctor looked a bit odd when he looked at that girl from the tardis at the start? i mean, im just saying.
Kilkrazy wrote:Tennant is a good actor. I think his portrayal of Dr Who went a bit OTT because that is where RT Grant lead the series.
Big up mad propz to RT for reviving the whole franchise but he wasn't the best script writer. I'm very grateful to him for his sterling work but I'm also glad he is leaving the scripts to other people these days.
This is the best description of nuWho that I've read in a long time.
Pipboy101 wrote:Who can say no to this new companion?
I can't.
MeanGreenStompa wrote:
MeanGreenStompa wrote:Dunno Flash, I just googled some nice pics of her, now here's 2 more and that's an end to it... Before Alph deploys the shockmaul for distributing images more suited to the DCM Lair...
MGS I think you or someone (who knows maybe me) should move these to the (Deleted by order of the Inquisiton) in the DCM Lair.
Matt Smith is a good actor and although some of the lines had obviously been written for Tennant or had Tennant overtones was genuinely funny throughout.
Moffat is excellent at building tension and actually got me on the edge of my seat a couple of times.
The assistant is hot legs............................mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Hmmm, episode 2 wasn't too bad I guess, thinking about it though, it was more full of holes than a collander: what was the purpose of the smilers? If the state wasn't inherantly corrupt, as we discover at the end, then why were they nescassary? also, why feed people to the whale just for dissent or low test scores? To me, a lot of that episode just didn't make sense...
I like the new stuff, mostly. I stopped watching after Tennant series 2 because RTD's scripts were killing my brain. So the new stuff is what I want, really.
Matt Smith is doing a pretty good job, I think he's good and odd and sufficiently different to Tennant.
Episode 1: Matt Smith is such a good actor. The rooftop scene near the end was brilliant. He had loads of lines to learn in just that scene and nailed it perfectly.
It's great how on the first episode of this series the world nearly ends. It shows great promise for future episodes.
Karen Gillan. WOW! I have suddenly grown a liking to gingers because of her - those legs are amazing!!!
Episode 2: This episode was OK but needed more action in my honest opinion. Another 15 minutes for action would have made it great.
Can't wait for the next episode. Daleks already!!!
Didn't do much for me. I'd agree with Flashman that the Spitfires were a wasted opportunity - if you're going to do space dogfights, either go all out or don't bother.
Bringing in the Power Rangers new Daleks didn't impress much either. They didn't seem threatening at all - though I'll concede that Pond not remembering them was intriguing.
Here's hoping they don't cock up the weeping angels next week - so far they've got a 100% success rate.
The Dreadnote wrote:Didn't do much for me. I'd agree with Flashman that the Spitfires were a wasted opportunity - if you're going to do space dogfights, either go all out or don't bother.
Bringing in the Power Rangers new Daleks didn't impress much either. They didn't seem threatening at all - though I'll concede that Pond not remembering them was intriguing.
Here's hoping they don't cock up the weeping angels next week - so far they've got a 100% success rate.
So it wasnt just me that thought that about the new Daleks eh?
I rather enjoyed the episode, especially the Daleks going around asking who wants tea (very British!)
I think the Spitfires in space were very nice but the whole Dalek plan seemed so...well drap: "let's remake 5 retro-Daleks while lighting up the whole of London."
I can't wait for next week's episode: I love the whole concept of the Weepinf Angels, and the trailer reminded me of Aliens: the marines descending to investigate a something ruined, destroyed by unknown causes.
Another bad episode. Looks like I've been vindicated. That's what you get if you pander to demographics. Leaving aside the argument that the redhead is not as good as Ace there is very little to carry the series. The problem with the doctor in recent years is that he is to good. He always saves the day. There is no genuine sense of danger a la Baker or Pertwee, that the doctor might come up short. Tis a shame.
Well, he wasn't 100% successful in this week's episode.
I've watched and enjoyed some of the Baker and Pertwee episodes, and they are great. The new show is quite different, but I don't think that's bad, really.
I have to say I like the persona of the new Doctor a lot. Amy Pond I'm less sure about, except that she's nice to look at. I'm not sure what her personality is supposed to be like, or what her motivations are. I was disappointed in a way that it looks like we're in for another unrequited love story too.
I was a bit sad that he got a new one, I was hoping he'd have to go a while without one. The old "Zap stuff with the screwdriver while showing intense concentration" trope has been done to death.
George Spiggott wrote:You're an old curmudgeon Flashman. Tonight's episode was a delight, a 70's child wet dream of an episode.
Anything with a Where Eagles Dare reference gets my vote.
Yes, probably. American sci fi (particularly BSG & Firefly) has just raised my standards too high. I did get the Where Eagles Dare reference though.
To whoever it was who asked, the Phantom Menance bit (for me anyway) was the spitfire's attack on the Dalek's ship. It looked very similar to the space dogfight at the end of Menace.
Episode 3 was decent. Any story with daleks is good in my book (though I must say the Cybermen are more my kettle of fish), and Spitfires in space was cool enough if one ignores the botched physics. In general, this series has been good. But then I'm naught more than a wee tyke who likes things that go boom . I got a chuckle out of the Daleks line "Purge the unclean" though, to the bemusement of my family watching with me.
I'll admit I was worried about the new Doctor, but I think after this first episode he'll do well. Of course that may just be the Tennant mannerisms he was using...
Flashman wrote:To whoever it was who asked, the Phantom Menance bit (for me anyway) was the spitfire's attack on the Dalek's ship. It looked very similar to the space dogfight at the end of Menace.
Given Lucas' love of British WWII war films (Star Wars references 633 Squadron and Battle of Britain quite heavily) it's possible that they're both referencing the same WWII flick, although I do not know which.
Anyone catch what I assumed was the Where Eagles Dare reference in the Battle of Britain episode. The radio operator stated his code name as Broadsword and the Pilot's call-sign was Danny Boy.
In Where Eagles Dare the British Agents call-sign is Broadsword and the Admiral they work for is Danny Boy.
Only just caught the first episode (accursed delay between UK and US airing!). I had my doubts about the new doctor - seeing Smith in a scarf and bowtie made him look really, really pompous (and how the US sees the British ) but his debut was pretty good. I did like that it started out with a tense, twenty minutes to save the Earth episode. And I will say the ending was epic; his closing lines to the alien made me realize just how awesome he's been in the past. I do miss the old opening, though. The new one kinda sucks.
I am looking forward to seeing the Weeping Angels again. That was one of the only episodes that truly freaked me out when I saw it, especially when they looked at the angel and its mouth was wide open, baring its fangs.
Flashman wrote:To whoever it was who asked, the Phantom Menance bit (for me anyway) was the spitfire's attack on the Dalek's ship. It looked very similar to the space dogfight at the end of Menace.
Given Lucas' love of British WWII war films (Star Wars references 633 Squadron and Battle of Britain quite heavily) it's possible that they're both referencing the same WWII flick, although I do not know which.
To those who think the new doctor is Tennant-ish, I don't really see it. He seems quite different to me. Not as mouthy, more impatient, and the way he got angry in episode 2 was pretty different to the way 10 showed his anger. On the whole, I really like him.
Sorry about slight necromancy but its still topical.
What did you think about the third episode?
Hell of a lot of references to Silence in the library.
Uninhabited world were the population were mysteriously wiped out.
Creatures that move in/ are the darkness.
Use of dead members of the group to communicate with the living.
River Song
That said Silence in the library is my second favourite after blink and this was a combo of the two its awesome Matt Smith is doing really well as the Doctor and the suspense building in this episode was amazing. I also love the fact that the Earth doesn't need saving for once and the paramilitary Church is a nice touch.
I just hope the themes from silence don't become Stephan Moffats 'thing'.
Weeping Angels is a great concept (best Doctor Who villain, bar none). As Dreadnote says, the first time the angel on the video feed moved was amazingly done. To Amy, the movement although a bit odd, was quite innocent. For us watching, it was chilling.
The rest of the episode was a bit flat, until the Doctor demonstrated his theory about the other non-angel statues by turning off his torch.
You couldn't do Angels every week because the concept would get tired, but they are the only Doctor Who idea which I think is genuinely amazing.
The Weeping Angels episode from a couple of seasons ago gave me nightmares, and I was afraid to leave the house and night for a long time afterwards. It honestly scared me more than any 'horror' movie I've seen.
Dreadnote, they do still send people back in time, but the fully powered angel needed to talk through those soldiers and the other angels were probally too weak to do it.
Let's please mind the spoilers for our fellow dakkites in other countries...
Thanks folks.
Ms Pond's first encounter with last night's villains did evoke the memory of a certain Japanese horror film, as noted elsewhere, there's a particular thrill in watching someone with the monster you already know about but the new character doesn't...
I like how they seem to put some restrictons on the Doctor's power.
I remember in Tennants last episode, he's zapping his screwdriver at something and the aliens try leaving with the ship, so he turns around and just zaps a control panel and the entire ship just shuts down.
I really liked that episode. I'm liking the new doctor persona more an more. Calling Amy "Pond" like a stuffy teacher, and my favourite line "River, hug Amy. I'm busy." Classic.
I was worried about the gun in the trailer of Ep 1, but now my worry has been soothed, I'm delighted.
Due to work restrictions blocking my ability to watch previous Doctors, (I worked Saturday nights up until September last year) this is the first time I have been able to watch weekly and see the stories first hand with the rest of the UK audience.
I'm loving it if I'm honest, and I'm really enjoying Matt Smith as the Doctor. I liked Tennant as well, (slowly catching up with the older series thanks to the DVD magazine) but I would certainly place Smith above Eccleston so far.
I had feared he'd be annoying from the clips we got at the end of the final Tennant episode, but I love the character he brought to the role, his cocky laugh he does makes me grin when ever he does it.
Great show so far, and damn those Angels, I was jumpy walking home from work at 10pm last night.
).
The episode itself was similar to Smith and Jones, way to similar. The redhead was irritating (we don't need another Donna). Take a note of the flag next to my avatar. Yep, I'm paying for this, and I feel short changed!
which built nicely upon what we'd learnt in previous stories about him sending armies fleeing just by the mention of his name.
. I got a chuckle out of the Daleks line "Purge the unclean" though, to the bemusement of my family watching with me. 