The Doctor Who thread

digitalscream

Hmmm. Human-shaped Daleks again (but done a bit better, maybe?) and Missy. Might be interesting.

Fretwired

digitalscream said:

Hmmm. Human-shaped Daleks again (but done a bit better, maybe?) and Missy. Might be interesting.

I can't stand Missy - it's the actress, not the concept of the Master being female. Bring back River Song.

suspiciousminds

Fretwired said:

New trailer here .. some interesting monsters ...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04wqvqp

I was quite impressed with the trailer - hopefully theyve done capaldi some decent scripts to end on a high.

axisus

I'll be amazed if the scripts are any better, but we can always hope. Moffatt can't seem to see the difference between a diamond encrusted crown and a turd rolled in glitter.

EricTheWeary

In a minute we will see...  

VimFuego

so far, so good. They need to stop now while they're ahead.

StanleyAccrington

I managed around 20 minutes.I'm back watching the snooker.  Utter garbage.

Fretwired

A total mess .. I like Bill .. the setting was good .. the 'wet monster' was interesting until .. the Daleks and the cop out at the end.

EricTheWeary

Yeah, Bill and the water monster were fine but the dalek stuff was a bit naff. 

thumpingrug

I really liked it.  I think Bill is a good character, the vault clearly holds the Master, the Dalek was fine in the context of the story and the water "monster" just wanted to belong and feel it wasn't alone was a good new addition to the list of alien entities.  I think your all looking for something that hasn't every really been there.  It was good straightforward entertainment.  

ICBM

I thought it was pretty good apart from the rather tedious sequence with the Dalek, which didn't fit properly - it spoiled the feel of the whole thing and made it seem disjointed.

digitalscream

I thought that episode was a good setup - and, if I'm honest, instantly better than anything from the last series. Felt a little like the first Eccleston episode, without the darkness. Could've done without the Dalek bit (and the whole thing of Lucas excluding the other Daleks felt a bit silly, because if that was possible with a sonic screwdriver then every encounter with them is essentially null and void), but I can live with that.

axisus

Best episode in ages. Lots to like about it. I wish Peter Capaldi was staying, he's been the best Dr by a long shot. 

axisus

I have a really good pal at work who is a total Dr Who fanatic. He has pretty much memorised every episode of the 'classic' (pre-Eccleston) period.

He seems to hate ALL the new stuff, and think that the series has been ruined by the likes of Russell T Davies and Moffatt. To be honest he gets me down a bit as every time we talk about the new DR Who he just rants about how bad everything is. In the light of this, I tend to try and watch the series now with a non-critical eye and just go with the flow. Yeah, it could be a shedload better, but I just try and enjoy it for what it is.

digitalscream

axisus said:

He seems to hate ALL the new stuff, and think that the series has been ruined by the likes of Russell T Davies and Moffatt.

I would tend to agree with respect to the more recent Moffat stuff, but RTD was an excellent showrunner - it's since he left that it's kind of gone to pot.

With that said, I thought that Moffat did a pretty good job with the writing on this episode; he just needs to leave the big story arcs to somebody else.

Heartfeltdawn

As iPLayer has just conked out on me, I'll review the first 25 minutes: shite. 

There seems to be lots of acclaim in reviews online for Bill because she's normal and works in a canteen and how we haven't had that before. Sure, if you forget the retail worker Rose Tyler, the working class council estate Mickey, the former doubleglazing saleswoman turned secretary Donna Noble... 

(oh it works again). 

The callbacks with the photos and the old sonic screwdrivers.. tedious. The Doctor at university feels like Harry Potter at big school. Budget is so small that puddles are now scary. Bill introduced to the Tardis... let's just kill any sort of sense of discovery with a couple of quips so shit, they'd have been rejected for Iron Man 3. 

But Capaldi actually feels three-dimensional. Like Colin Baker, he is going to be remembered for being able to act far more than people will remember good scripts from this era.

And it finishes on John Sim with a shit beard. Hurrah. He's back with fucking Mary Poppins. 

Fuck off, Moffat. 

 

digitalscream

Heartfeltdawn said:

And it finishes on John Sim with a shit beard. Hurrah. He's back with fucking Mary Poppins. 

That's obviously going to be the big story for this series; there's some talk of Missy actually being The Rani, which would hold the potential for being a really good arc. And, with Capaldi, even Missy and John Simm wouldn't be able to overshadow the ol' Doc.

Heartfeltdawn

axisus said:

I have a really good pal at work who is a total Dr Who fanatic. He has pretty much memorised every episode of the 'classic' (pre-Eccleston) period.

He seems to hate ALL the new stuff, and think that the series has been ruined by the likes of Russell T Davies and Moffatt. To be honest he gets me down a bit as every time we talk about the new DR Who he just rants about how bad everything is. In the light of this, I tend to try and watch the series now with a non-critical eye and just go with the flow. Yeah, it could be a shedload better, but I just try and enjoy it for what it is.

It wasn't ruined by RTD. It started very well with Eccleston and the Tennant era turned into schmaltz. Moffat came along and the first Matt Smith season was fucking brilliant. Again, like RTD, it turned into schmaltz. One magical fairy girl worked: Clara Oswald on the other hand was absolute fucking shite. 

But then something odd happened and the 50th anniversary episode was fantastic. Capaldi's reveal... wow. Tom Baker... astounding. 

But then it was back to Clara's shite. Blah blah blah new Doctor with a shit first line, a shit first season, and a whole load of shit since. 

Doctor Who is the earliest memory I have (20th anniversary episode in 1983 actually, opening episode of The Five Doctors: the black triangle zapping people up scared me for a good few weeks). All the people to have played the Doctor have done it well. There isn't a bad Doctor. What there are are bad episodes and, in this modern era of the show runner, bad people in charge. I can watch Capaldi speak as the Doctor for hours but everything else really can fuck off. Tonight's episode... if they featured Capaldi speaking for half an hour giving a lecture at his university, that'd beat everything else. The Capaldi era has been at its best when it's him talking and being given centre stage. 

Heartfeltdawn

digitalscream said:

Heartfeltdawn said:

And it finishes on John Sim with a shit beard. Hurrah. He's back with fucking Mary Poppins. 

That's obviously going to be the big story for this series; there's some talk of Missy actually being The Rani, which would hold the potential for being a really good arc. And, with Capaldi, even Missy and John Simm wouldn't be able to overshadow the ol' Doc.

It might be a really good arc if you dispensed with Simm and Gomez and had both characters actually played a wee bit seriously instead of as shitehawk pantomime villains. The few minutes Derek Jacobi had as the Master urinated upon both of his successors from a very large height. 

suspiciousminds

Best episode in a long time i thought.
i thought i'de hate lucas but tbh he fitted in quiite well.
A good opener.