Is it just me, or is Danny really creepy and controlling? It seems to be becoming a soap with a domestic abuse sub-plot. I think he is supposed to be heroic and loving, but to me he seems to be controling, jealous and a horrid person.
Actually a very strong episode. The good mix of funny, emotional and serious worked well, there was some great acting by all the cast and it was very well written on the whole. Bit rushed at the end to fit in the plot arc bit, but I can line with that.
I think this episode also showcased the dynamic between Capaldi and Coleman very well, which is, in my opinion, much better and more interesting than her and Smith.
Danny is also more interesting now, and seems to bounce off the Doctor quite well.
Steve steveson wrote: Is it just me, or is Danny really creepy and controlling? It seems to be becoming a soap with a domestic abuse sub-plot. I think he is supposed to be heroic and loving, but to me he seems to be controling, jealous and a horrid person.
Nope, kinda the opposite. The sense that I'm getting is that he's really worried about that being what The Doctor is.
Steve steveson wrote: Is it just me, or is Danny really creepy and controlling? It seems to be becoming a soap with a domestic abuse sub-plot. I think he is supposed to be heroic and loving, but to me he seems to be controling, jealous and a horrid person.
Nope, kinda the opposite. The sense that I'm getting is that he's really worried about that being what The Doctor is.
Good point. I think he's there from an external perspective to contrast to the Doctor as Clara/we have come to see him, in much the same way as Rory was at the start. He shows the Doctor up as dangerous, aloof and alien (both figuratively and literally) when, through Clara, we've come to see him as safe, trustworthy and familiar.
Clara is able to stand toe to toe with The Doctor. The whole bit in the tardis where he was telling her to leave and she refused. Danny however is getting stroppy about her not telling him everything then threatening to leave her if she dosn't tell him everything, along with the whole "I'll protect you" bit at the end was very creepy. Clara and The Doctor have a relationship at times that is argumentative and strained, but one of equals. Danny seems to be upset at her having a life appart from him.
He seems to be expecting far to much from what is a new relationship. Rory was different in that he was far less aggressive about it, more supportive and was a relationship that existed prior to the Doctor/Amy relationship (excluding the meeting when she was very young).
Steve steveson wrote: Clara is able to stand toe to toe with The Doctor. The whole bit in the tardis where he was telling her to leave and she refused. Danny however is getting stroppy about her not telling her everything then threatening to leave her if she dosn't tell him everything, along with the whole "I'll protect you" bit at the end was very creepy.
I'm not sure why you see it as creepy that he feels the need to be concerned about the woman he loves now that he knows she's frequently in mortal danger. I'd say that's a fairly normal reaction, and trying to keep her safe really isn't being controlling.
Clara and The Doctor have a relationship at times that is argumentative and strained, but one of equals. Danny seems to be upset at her having a life appart from him.
The Doctor is just as guilty of this. The sole reason he's angry with Danny is because he feels he's potentially not good enough for Clara, and I imagine he's judging that by the parameters that he himself is good enough, when his past is just as chequered as Danny's. The Doctor is lonely, his companion is the one thing that stops that, and if she goes off with someone else (not necessarily romantically) then he has no one.
How Danny sees Clara's time travelling is just how the Doctor sees her relationship with Danny.
Did anyone else catch the disruptive girl running with Clara in spacesuits in the next episode? It was quick, but I thought it might be her with her hair back.
Automatically Appended Next Post: I was talking to my wife about Classic who companions. It'd be pretty cool if we went back to the three or four from like the Baker years.
To be honest I was hoping for more alien death machine action but clearly the robot was just a plot device to allow the overall story arc to be advanced.
I am not getting, though, how now people who die violently while Doctor Who is within a couple of miles radius are transported into "Heaven" -- the policeman I mean.
pretre wrote: Did anyone else catch the disruptive girl running with Clara in spacesuits in the next episode? It was quick, but I thought it might be her with her hair back.
Yeah, she's in next one. No idea if she becomes a regular or not.
Automatically Appended Next Post: I was talking to my wife about Classic who companions. It'd be pretty cool if we went back to the three or four from like the Baker years.
Personally, I'd hate this. The 3-companion Davison era I really didn't like as it was just too overcrowded (that and Tegan annoys the out of me!)
There's talk of Clara going at Christmas, but Danny's actor whose name escapes me mentioned he love to come back next year. That would be interesting, to see the 'primary companion' killed off/written out and have the Doctor and secondary companion pick up the pieces. They kind of did that in The Girl Who Waited, and it led to a very interesting dynamic.
I think I disagreed with most of that. I agree about the companion not needing to be part of a plot arc to work (Clara has been so much better since the Impossible Girl arc, and his ctry and do something for christmasr and Sladen was something I'd almost noticed but not quite), but I don't think there was any need to 'soldier through' the excellent Ecclestone era, such as it was.
Like always, everything this series has been better second time around (hell, I now quite like Sherwood taken for what it is) and it's getting better, The Caretaker was great (I foresee Danny adding a lot to the dynamic) and Kill the Moon will supposedly herald major change in direction, which will be interesting to say the least.
Looks like it might be a Water of Mars redux, but that's no bad thing!
Heh. It showed up on my RSS feed and I read it and started getting annoyed. It didn't help that I couldn't remember who the heck was writing it until I clicked the link.
Paradigm wrote: but I don't think there was any need to 'soldier through' the excellent Ecclestone era, such as it was.
IMHO, that's exactly how I have to get through the Ecclestone episodes. BUT!!!! It isn't because of Ecclestone as the Doctor that I "have" to trudge through the episodes.. Nope, his Companion throughout that time was what caused my dislike, difficulty in watching his run of episodes.
Seriously. That is how bad I think Rose is, as a character (and she only gets worse once we're into Tennant's time)
The writing and acting was great this week, especially with the astronaut character. Having a small cast like that really did work.
I thought the Spiders were a bit of a red herring and quite underused; the idea of an adapting bacteria that happens to look like a freaking massive spider is a great one that was, unfortunately, something of a throwaway concept this week. I suppose that is the trend these days, though, to sideline the villain in favour of plot/character.
I had almost feared it would be a Waters of Mars remake, but it ended up being a very good reversal of it. 'Grey Areas' vs 'fixed moments', the Doctor leaving and removing himself rather than taking charge.
The ending dragged on a bit, but sets up some interesing stuff. This could well be the beginning of the end for Clara (didn't notice her the Next Time trailer (which looked great))
Good performances all round and some nice ideas but there were too many plot holes. Bacteria that look and behave like spiders? The moon developing mass rapidly out of nothing. A bottle of bleach that pops out of nowhere.
Clara's melt-down at the end just felt wrong somehow.
So I was not really looking forwards to this weeks episode at all due to the idea of the Orient Express in space. Stupid, stupid, stupid thought I, cheap old BBC reusing sets thought I, tired writers trying to juxtapose ancient and future again.
Well what a fool I was. I loved, that's LOVED almost every second of that episode. Capaldi's Doctor is dark in a very quirky way and I can't get enough.
Clara was a much more supporting character in this one which helped to push the Doctor to the fore which was much better and (I apologise for being base and sexualising) she looked simply stunning as well dressed as she was in 20's flapper style attire.
Super bad guy effects, interesting but not overly convoluted reasoning for its existence. Good bad guy of the week material.
The sonic screwdriver was broken so couldn't be used as a get out of jail free card.
That was a good episode I think. The Doctor seemed to straddle shades of grey pretty well in it too.
I enjoyed Frank Skinner as well, though I'm wondering if the US audiences will notice that he actually was a 'guest star' rather than just some random engineer.
Wow, what an episode! Possibly the most solid one from season 8 yet. Tight pace, well-woven story, good monster, and Capaldi managed to top himself yet AGAIN. I swear, he goes from strength to strength each episode. Frank Skinner did a pretty good job as the engineer as well - I wouldn't half mind seeing him travel with the Doctor.
Hmm, didn't find it the strongest episode. The build-up was great, but the third act felt rushed. The creature approaches the Doctor and poof he says the magic word and fixes everything.
The whole Gus thing kinda gets ignored, since it's all solved then. However, the ending felt a bit suspicious: who is Perkins? He seemed a bit too willing to help, and the tone the Doctor has against him in the end does sort of sound as if he suspects something. Are Perkins and Gus linked?
Malika2 wrote: Hmm, didn't find it the strongest episode. The build-up was great, but the third act felt rushed. The creature approaches the Doctor and poof he says the magic word and fixes everything.
The whole Gus thing kinda gets ignored, since it's all solved then. However, the ending felt a bit suspicious: who is Perkins? He seemed a bit too willing to help, and the tone the Doctor has against him in the end does sort of sound as if he suspects something. Are Perkins and Gus linked?
The doctor always fixes things in the third act. That's how it works. As for Perkins, I think you may be a bit overly suspicious. Perkins was brought along by Gus, just like all the other important passengers. Obviously Gus wanted a hands-on, electrical/mechanical dude.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Kilkrazy wrote: The question is who is behind Gus, or will that just get left as a loose end?
good episode, yes it was not one of the very best but it was one of the good ones. the doctors darker side was shown well, and fact he was not afraid to use lives to save lives.
I was actually disappointed about Clara choosing to stay. He needs a good break from his past and a new companion (or at least one that is a little more open to moral grays) would be a great way to do it.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Also, I loved some of the allusions to earlier doctors. (Jelly babies and the very first doctor costume)
pretre wrote: I was actually disappointed about Clara choosing to stay. He needs a good break from his past and a new companion (or at least one that is a little more open to moral grays) would be a great way to do it.
Really, they need to bring new-Mickey... I mean, "Mr. Pink" onto the damn TARDIS already... I think that, while not necessarily a "break" from Clara, it is someone who has experienced morally grey areas first hand, and while he may have some issues with it, will make his choice and roll with it.
I too find the lack of Danny odd; The Caretaker set up a really intetersting dynamic between him and the Doctor I'd like to see taken further, but since then he's just become a substitute conscience/voice of reason for Clara.
Another great episode, same writer as last week and I expect great things from him in future! Brilliant mix of suspense, humour, drama and character work.
And Capaldi in full on Badass Mode was terrifying/exceptional!
The series has really picked up in the last few weeks!
In the words of Edmund Blackadder:
'A spectacular return to form, Baldrick, after the genius moment.'
Two great scripts in the last couple of weeks, and then... whatever that was that just brutalised my eyes and ears. No threat, no substance, too many badly-acted kids, a plotline you can see coming from 20 miles away, and general confused nonsense. One of the worst not just in this series, but in the entire New-Who run.
And as for next week...
Spoiler:
Good: Return of UNIT and hopefully some decent Cybermen for the first time in a few years
Bad: 'Clara Oswald has never existed' and various other bits. I thought we were done with the companion=plot arc crap!
That was just awful. I've not seen much of this series of Dr Who but that amounted to bollocks. There was nothing credible about it, the adult actors were fine and the children were what they were. But the entire concept was just rubbish, it's a disservice to what this show can achieve. Science fiction doesn't mean a blank cheque to dismiss reality, because it's hard to suspend disbelief when it's just all magic. Even if you accept that a forest can be magically created and dissipated overnight with no real consequences to society, an event that has no credible basis in physics or biology, it just doesn't matter how much forest you have making oxygen, it won't stop everyone being cooked by the intense blast of gamma rays. I didn't really follow what the little fuzzy things were that seemed to control the forest, their dialogue was difficult to comprehend. It was nice to look at, so yay for the special effects.
To be honest, I didn't mind the episode (family show and all that).
The whole, forest immune to fire, solar flare thing did seem to beat you over the head a bit. I don't know how they would have done it better though, maybe done that 'reveal' later on in the episode? But then, wouldn't that have been a deus ex machina?
The diversity message is all well and good though, can't really complain about that. There might be a high number of very happy parents and children out there as a result of this episode. - And that might make the entire thing far more important than quite possibly most other Doctor Who episodes ever made. On the other hand, I did detect a note of sarcasm from Clara... That is hopefully just my cynical nature though...
As for the orange fireflies things... Nope, got nothing, made no sense to me at all. - And I was watching with subtitles on, so there was no dialogue missed.
As for, "there is no Clara Oswald..." First thoughts, the Great Intelligence / Trenzalore... Stable timeloop situation ala Bender's Big Break? When Clara went into the Doctors past /future to save him, that included, her going into the Doctor's past / future to save him....
Everyone forgot the Androzani trees already? Or the evolved trees from the End of the World episode?
Automatically Appended Next Post: As well, let's not pretend like environmentalism or mysticism are anything new on Doctor Who. People always make it sound like some new episode has ruined everything or has no historical precedent. OldWho did that kind of thing all the time
It wasn't the 'save the trees' spiel that killed it for me, it was how predicatable the plot was (as soon as we had seen both the impending Solar flare and the trees not burning the ending was obvious), there was no threat beyond some badly-shoehorned-in animals, there were far too many annoying kids that were largely cutouts/stereotypes (and in all honesty, acted more like 8-year-olds than year 8 students), still no continuation of the dynamic The Caretaker set up between Danny and The Doctor (without Clara as a go-between), and basically, nothing to it in terms of substance.
Different strokes for different folks and all that, but personally I saw it as nothing more than 45 wasted minutes.
AduroT wrote: Why would extra oxygen prevent fire anyways? Wouldn't adding a ton of oxygen actually increase fire?
True. I believe it was mentioned that the trees would pump out more oxygen so the flare burnt up in the atmosphere, but that would surely just engulf the world in fire and cook us all! That aside, that still wouldn't stop the effects of all the radiation that comes with a chronal mass ejection. Swy goodbye to power/light/communication, Planet Earth. Plenty of time for gardening though!
pretre wrote: Everyone forgot the Androzani trees already? Or the evolved trees from the End of the World episode?
Automatically Appended Next Post: As well, let's not pretend like environmentalism or mysticism are anything new on Doctor Who. People always make it sound like some new episode has ruined everything or has no historical precedent. OldWho did that kind of thing all the time
I know it's nothing new, but this really felt a bit too in your face. As if the script of the episode was some sort of 'environmental awareness assignment' that a bunch of 9 year olds did as some sort of entry of a competition between elementary schools...
pretre wrote: Everyone forgot the Androzani trees already? Or the evolved trees from the End of the World episode?
Automatically Appended Next Post: As well, let's not pretend like environmentalism or mysticism are anything new on Doctor Who. People always make it sound like some new episode has ruined everything or has no historical precedent. OldWho did that kind of thing all the time
I know it's nothing new, but this really felt a bit too in your face. As if the script of the episode was some sort of 'environmental awareness assignment' that a bunch of 9 year olds did as some sort of entry of a competition between elementary schools...
Hey, give nine year-olds some credit, they probably have more subtlety than the people behind this wreck of an episode.
Well, congratulations to the people who guessed Missy's identity! It did seem like the most likely result though. - However, I am glad that Moffat didn't decide to make it a random plot twist for the sake of it being a plot twist.
Right, along the way I'm convinced everyone at the BBC has cracked the formula to writing memorable character, but have neglected the vital skill of writing coherent plots.
Because that episode, basically, I thought was complete and utter rubbish, a new low for the show. Spoilered below are my thoughts on it, so anyone who doesn't want to read them doesn't have to.
Spoiler:
Before I get to the more obviously controvertial points, the script itself was terrible. The opening basically wasted the character of Danny, meaning either he's dead, in which case it's a complete waste of potential, or he's coming back, which undermines the death scene in the first place (I'm tired of the 'Everybody Lives' moments being the norm, and I thought this series was starting to move away from that.). It was also ploddingly slow, the first half an hour painfully dragging and the last ten minutes far too rushed. It's been so long since they've done a 2-parter that it seems they've come to think it means half the pace rather than double the content.
Clara's ranting was completely out of character, and to a certain extent, so was the Doctor's reaction. While I liked the 'did you really think I cared so little that betraying me would matter' line, the rest was just badly written and poorly thought out.
Now, the Master/Mistress/Missy/Whatever we're calling he/she/it/them from now on. Ignoring for a moment the fact that the regeneration and gender swap was pointless, unfounded and at the moment inexplicable, the reveal was too poorly done. There was no set-up, no building and time to theories, it was just BAM there's a scary woman who's a droid BAM she isn't a droid BAM she's the Master BAM What the hell? Compare it to how they built up the reveal in Utopia, a really great episode, and you can see how this one is a seethrough-pale imitation.
And making him a woman, why? Unless they have a bloody good reason for the change next week, it's simply either a token gesture to the minoroty clamouring for a female Doctor (and can you imagine the noise they'll make next time now a precedent's been set?) or it was an attempt to be 'different' that fell completely flat. Like it or not, the gender of a character is as much a part of that character as their background, history, relationships and attitude, and to make the Master a woman just for the sake of it undermines completely one of the most established and defined villains in sci-fi. Like I say, there better be a damn good reason given or it's just pointless. And don't get me started on why/how the Master is using Cybermen as footsoldiers...
So yeah, that's why, and I expect I'll give next week about 10 mintues to make up for it before I turn it off. For the first time since it came back, I'm considering not actually watching the next one and hoping things pick up for Christmas.
Regarding the Master's gender: hasn't it already been established that Time Lords can regenerate into different sexes? The 11th Doctor at a certain point mentions the Corsair, who has had both male and female regenerations.
Regarding the Master's gender: hasn't it already been established that Time Lords can regenerate into different sexes? The 11th Doctor at a certain point mentions the Corsair, who has had both male and female regenerations.
Spoiler:
Yes, it is written in The Doctor's wife, but I believe, off-script, the writer Neil Gaiman hinted that it was a conscious choice or at least a subconscious one, and that The Corsair was already transgender. Of course, whether you take that as canon or not is your own call to make. The other thing to consider is that it can't be random, as the Dr has gone through a a dozen regenerations and got a man every time, presumably not through some coincidence.
Personally, I don't think it's something that can't be done, or even something that shouldn't be done given the correct circumstances, but in the Master/Missy's case, it just strikes me as Moffat throwing it in in a sort of 'shock for shock's sake' rather than for a reason. If there`s a good enough reason for the change given next week, I may have to reconsider, but if not, I'll still think of it as typical Moffaty 'look how clever/bold/shocking I'm being today!' One almost-credible theory I've seen is that the Master has stolen another body purely as a means to survive, which would be in character, but I think I'm just clutching at straws to save one of my (maybe soon to be former) favourite characters here.
Indeed, The Curse of Fatal Death seems to have come to pass after all, including the Master with his/her 'Dalek bumps' (and if that sounds weird, watch the spoof/episode above and all will become clear. It's hilarious, too!)
Only Moffat could be arrogant enough to take ideas from a spoof he wrote himself and put them in the actual damn show!
I saw something a bit different today in Leicester Square. Cybermen and other costumed characters collecting for the Poppy Appeal, I gave some to help them and hope they did well. Complete surprise, this is why I love having a camera in my phone.
A few nice touches, which I'd expand on if I knew how to utilise the spoiler function, but I was left rather underwhelmed, which is probably how I'll remember this whole season. There was nothing that really stood out as brilliant or particularly memorable, lthough at least Clara's not bad to look at if I need a distraction from a poor episode
Bring back the crazy [Chaos] possessed Ood from The Impossible Planet and The Satan Pit , at least they were slightly interesting and scary
Once again, pretty dire, especially as finales go.
Do not read the below if you actually liked the episode, it's a bit of a rant!
Spoiler:
The plot was again weak, lacking substance and ultimately underwhelming. Missy/The Master taking over the world with Cybermen was bad to start with, sidelining the owed-a-good-story classic villains to basically henchmen, but then handing that army over to the Doctor in a feeble attempt to get him to 'join me on the dark side' was just nonsensical, out of character and poorly written to boot. In terms of gaps in the plot, the cyber-pollen has to be the worst; fair enough that they are programmed to grow new cybermen, but what about the materials? Unless the dead of centuries have been buried with computer chips, metal sheeting and a few yards of wire, it just doesn't hold water. (no pun intended).
The handling of Danny also annoyed me. Ok, we finally got a resolution to the conflict between him and the Doctor, but it was far harder to appreciate when, at most, he was sacrificing people who were already dead and likely to kill him. Then him taking command and remaining himself despite the inhibitor (which has never been, nor should be, optional for Cybermen) was again silly and badly written. Don't get me started on his face still being inside the suit.
Missy/The Master/Whatever, I'm still annoyed with. On a personal level because there was still no reason given for the regenderation, or explanation for how she escaped Gallifrey, when last we saw her she was being killed by Rassilon and chucked back into a Time War. On a more objective level, I have to say she did a somewhat decent job with the role in places, chanelling the John-Simm-esque 'mad as a box of frogs' lunacy, but ultiately, I still feel it was a role that never should have existed. And in terms of plotting, all she did was turn up largely for the shock factor, kill some people because she could, and then take over the world only to hand it over to the Doctor who was ostensibly in charge of it anyway...Poorly written, poorly handled and pooly thought out.
Osgood's death was slightly saddening, but ultimately a waste; ever since Day of the Doctor I'd been hoping she'd get those five words, 'all of time and space', and when at last she did, she was killed, for no reason other than to prove that The Master (who anyone who's seen the show in the past knows is insane) is insane...
There was also no real resoltution to all those characters that wasted our plot time by being 'Missyed' over the series, I suppose we can assume that they were Cybermen, but that's hardly satisfactory.
The writing out of Clara was just weak, there was really no emotion to it, it was largely unfounded, and really just pathetic. She's grown a lot as a character, to just sideline her based on a set of lies is again a massive waste and lacked any real impetus or feeling.
But by far the worst bit, in terms of sheer offensiveness, inappropriateness and 'look how radical I am' Moffatness, was the resolution of Kate's 'death'. To put it bluntly, I think that making The Brigadier a Cyberman is not only an insult to the late Nicholas Courntney, but also to the character as a whole anyone who ever wrote or watched the character. Glossing over the fact that, as previously mentionded, a Cyberman with a conscience largely stupid in this context, that's the fething Brigadier! It was just a cheap shot by Moffat to try and show that he's paying homage (read: dancing on the grave of) the classic show.
I didn't think it was entirely terrible. But yeah, I had plenty of issues - It reminded me of The Angels of Manhattan actually, some good character moments, interspersed between awfulness.
Spoiler:
The 'all of time and space' line is a major death sentence. As soon as The Doctor said that, I knew Osgood was a goner.
Overall, I enjoyed Missy and, personally I don't have any issues or complaints with her being The Master at all. I may be wrong but... When the Doctor shot her at the end, it was a blue disintegration, whereas the rest of the time, it was a red one. I imagine it's actually a transport beam of some form. So we'll probably see 'Missy' again.
With The Brigadier at the end, I can imagine that hugely irritating fans of the original show. On the other hand... He didn't self destruct. Could it be that there's been an intentional setup now of potentially having both Cyberman and Da'lek 'resistance' cells operating. So perhaps we'll see him again.
I didn't mind the hint for the Christmas show. It could be quite entertaining.
It also suggests that we haven't seen the last of Clara either. "Doctor, you know it can't end like that. We need to get this sorted. And quickly. She's not alright you know, and neither are you."
I imagine what will happen is. We'll have a Christmas special with The Doctor having his adventure on his own. Then in the last 5 minutes of the special, he'll be talked into going back to see Clara, they'll talk it out and she'll rejoin him for the next season. The whole Orson Pink thing wasn't resolved...
So, that's the sort of positive things out of the way.
Spoiler:
Negative things... Like Angels in Manhattan, they take a potentially interesting idea (Cyberman zombies), then take it to ludicrous extremes. - Really, was every dead person, from the last 50 years at least) becoming a Cyberman Zombie that necessary? They could very easily have had the exact same type of Graveyard Scenes if they had set it as something like 'those that the 3W company had access to since it was first set up.' That'd then allow the logic of, maybe the coffins or some sort of preparation were actually technologically designed to convert the dead into cybermen. As opposed to magic water.
Then all would need to have done was switch Danny's scene to him being in a coffin in a funeral parlour, as opposed to a mortuary slab. Heck, that'd have arguably been even 'scarier.'
It seemed a massive waste of Sanjeev Bashkar to just kill him off like that. Very strange too.
Unless there is a major future plot point with the Brigadier Cyberman, I can't see why they just didn't have the Doctor getting into the TARDIS as he did, then having it fly over to catch Kate, yet still have her injured/unconscious for the rest of the episode. That way, the character is kept around and loads of fans aren't annoyed.
I'm crossing my fingers that Nick Frost as Santa is going to be alright...
Wow. I can't disagree more with paradigm again. Maybe Doctor Who isn't for you?
Automatically Appended Next Post: Re: Brig. The first thing I said to the wife when the rain started was 'oh crap, there's gonna be Amy, Rory and Brig cyber men." I was one third right.
pretre wrote: Wow. I can't disagree more with paradigm again. Maybe Doctor Who isn't for you?
It most certainly is, I've been glued to it ever since it came back and love almost every episode since then. That's actually why I've been so annoyd with some of the stuff this series, because in my eyes it's such a decline from what has gone before and what the show could/should be. Although this series has been pretty good on the whole, especially after second watchings of most things, some of them are just worse than the worst of previous series (just the last three episodes, really). Of this series, only Flatline, Mummy and possible Dalek and Listen can really sit alongside the really good ones, in my opinion (and it's just that, opinion. I fully appreciate that plenty of people prefer the show as it is now to how it was before, and I won't argue with that.)
Capaldi is completely amazing, and Coleman has come a long way from her first appearances, so the show is in good hands on screen. Behind that, though, all I can see if Moffat making the show more and more convoluted, showing no respect for the history of the show (see: The Master, Cyberbrig), writing terrible plots that just lack substance (particlarly those last two), and basically letting the fact he's showrunner go to his head.
It's not so much that it's bad, it's just that it could be so much better...
I suppose that's actually how many people feel about 40k these days
Automatically Appended Next Post: I can't even remember much about it except a general sense of disappointment.
Automatically Appended Next Post: The Master never used to be a frothing loon in Jon Pertwee's time. It actually weakens the character IMO for him/her to be a nutter.
I thought that was nonsensical twaddle. Doctor Who is or was the show for me, I've been watching it for about 25 years. I don't know what this is other than a mess. I love Peter Capaldi, but I don't really know where to begin with the disappointment that was the last few episodes. The Brigadier thing felt surprisingly crass given he's only a fictional character.
It's definitely Moffat and the other showrunners which is the issue, I think. Keep the actors, but look at doing a complete refresh of all the behind the scenes people.
Ok, maybe keep the set, costume and sound designers
Compel wrote: It's definitely Moffat and the other showrunners which is the issue, I think. Keep the actors, but look at doing a complete refresh of all the behind the scenes people.
Ok, maybe keep the set, costume and sound designers
I think it's just Moffat. From the likes of Mark Gatiss, Toby Whithouse and newcome Jamie Maitheson, there has been some great stuff produced in recent years, but the key issues with the show, at least for me (convoluted plot acrs, hanging resolutions, shock factor writing) all really come from him.
I never thought I'd ever say this a few years ago, but bring back Russel T Davies!
I really liked the Doctor's "Thankyou! You're right! I'm not a Good man! But nor am I a bad man! I'm just an idiot with a box" monologue.
They really laid it on thick with the "Soldier" theme with it being Remembrance Sunday.
The Cyberman pollen idea was stupid.
But Capaldi was brilliant. He's definitely my favourite doctor to date. I didn't like Eccleston or Tennant. I loved Matt Smith's Doctor, and he was the Doctor who won we over and got me watching the show regularly. But Capaldi is by far the best of the four Doctor's that I've seen. All the old Doctors from the classic Seasons in the 90's and earlier were way before my time.
So with the dust now having settled on the series and the wait (either in anticipation or dread) until Christmas upon us, what are folks thinking about the series as a whole?
I know I have certainly changed my opinion a lot on the earlier episodes; while I still don't put many of them up there with the best of the earlier series and still think there was quite a lot of wasted potential (looking at you, Listen!), I think the run got steadily better until the last 3 episodes, peaking with Mummy and Flatline. Jamie Mathieson, the writer of both of those, has to be one of the best finds of the series, so I hope he gets at least 2 scripts next year if not more. His episodes were good enough to have fitted perfectly alongside the best of Tennant, Smith or Ecclestone.
The most consistent thing, this year, was the leads, both Capaldi and Coleman. Both of them had to deal with some pretty difficult or weak scripts at points, and pulled them together remarkably well. Coleman actually did a great job of taking Clara from plot device to character, and Capaldi may just be my favourite Doctor of all time (sorry, David). Even in the episodes I was less than thrilled with, the interplay between the two of them had a spark that quite a few Doctor-companion dynamics have lacked in the past.
The effects and music were great as ever, and the new title sequence I think I've commented on every episode, as it's just brilliant.
I still think there needs to be a big step back from plot arcs that span a season or even 2, and get back to the 'adventure of the week' format from the earlier series (and bring back regular 2-parters while you're at it), but overall, I think this series has played out pretty well, and although it ended not with a bang but with a whimper (and Santa), I am hopeful for next series.
Paradigm wrote: I still think there needs to be a big step back from plot arcs that span a season or even 2, and get back to the 'adventure of the week' format from the earlier series (and bring back regular 2-parters while you're at it), but overall,
Although I agree that more smaller arcs are good, I thought this season was very much 'adventure of the week'. Yes, there was a little bit of tie in in each episode and such, but even the old series had continuity between the individual episode arcs.
Paradigm wrote: I still think there needs to be a big step back from plot arcs that span a season or even 2, and get back to the 'adventure of the week' format from the earlier series (and bring back regular 2-parters while you're at it), but overall,
Although I agree that more smaller arcs are good, I thought this season was very much 'adventure of the week'. Yes, there was a little bit of tie in in each episode and such, but even the old series had continuity between the individual episode arcs.
I'll admit it did become far less significant as the series went on, I was more referring to the earlier episodes where we were basically hit over the head with Missy and/or Danny incase we hadn't realised they would be important. In short, I miss the days when Bad Wolf would be namedropped every couple of weeks and that was it
pretre wrote: Bad wolf was referenced in every episode of that season wasn't it?
I think so, but there were quite a few episodes where the only reference to it would be some graffiti in the background or something. It wasn't like the Vegas neon signs we got in the early parts of this season with Missy/Danny
pretre wrote: Bad wolf was referenced in every episode of that season wasn't it?
I think so, but there were quite a few episodes where the only reference to it would be some graffiti in the background or something. It wasn't like the Vegas neon signs we got in the early parts of this season with Missy/Danny
Yeah, it was like that most of the time actually. Graffiti on the TARDIS, mentioned by some extras as they walked past and stuff like that. I can't quite recall every reference to it, but I'm pretty sure it was never played up as something significant. That sort of thing started happening in S5 when the cracks started showing up, and after Flesh and Stone the Doctor actually notices and starts paying attention to them (which was an interesting move at the time, but since then things have become more and more obvious).
I think some of the best examples of how to set up a finale come with Rise of the Cybermen and Human Nature in S2 and 3. Both introduced elements that would come into play as in the finale (Cybermen from another dimension and Human Time Lords respectively) but other than that remained entirely self-contained and brilliant stories.
out of me!)
I agree about the companion not needing to be part of a plot arc to work (Clara has been so much better since the Impossible Girl arc, and his ctry and do something for christmasr and Sladen was something I'd almost noticed but not quite), but I don't think there was any need to 'soldier through' the excellent Ecclestone era, such as it was.
from The Impossible Planet and The Satan Pit , at least they were slightly interesting and scary 