New Doctor Who

[LiMP RABBiT]

I thought the latest episode was pretty good. The one bit I didn't like was Charles Dickens' 'Of course, the gas' bit when he realised how he could stop the aliens. What does Charles Dickens know about chemistry, really? And it was a bit cliched him returning at the last minute with a brilliant theory that would save the world. And I'm also getting a bit fed up of the Dr. coming a hairs breadth away from death in every episode. I mean, if he just looked a bit worried and thought up a plan, fair enough. But it seems like in every episode he is certain that he is going to die after God knows how many seasons of living and God knows how many episodes of the current season left. I'm not saying he shouldn't get into great danger, but he shouldn't keep weeping about how it's the 'end of the road for the Doctor'.

 

Anyhoo, not a bad episode overall.

[MJ]

And what sort of christmas carol is this, your evil Doctor Beazley music? This is supposed to be a family story! Do this seriously for once! Baby.

 

Now that's better. Everyone would think that the world was going to end with the music you were playing! We got the night off!

 

And we won't be attempting global destruction on christmas eve!

 

lol. I'm my own biggest fan.

 

The Marley's were dead to begin with...

[Huz]

Originally posted by Gabez

I think there are *some* restrictions on Time Travel. I mean, seripusly altering stuff by going back and changing everything might mean that your grandfather is never born, or something.

 

The only time The Doctor has actually changed things by time travel is when he went back to save Grace in the TV movie, but that was only a small incident that didn't effect the grand scheme of things much. And besides, the TV movie is hardly gospel.

Yeah, I don't think he's "allowed" to go back and change his own actions, or something. When Adric died and his mates were pleading with the Doctor to go back and save him, his excuse was that it just didn't work like that, or something. Personally I think he found Adric as annoying as the rest of us.

 

Besides, it's a major flaw in all time-travel stories - if you fail the first time, what's to stop you travelling back again and again until you get it right? I don't think anyone actually addresses this one!

 

It's also being implied more and more heavily that the Doctor is special from the other Time Lords, like he's evolved or something.

I like this! At first I wasn't so sure (like when the Doctor got past that fan - I was thinking "hold on, he's not supposed to be paranormal!") but the idea is growing on me. Like Ol' Sylv and his implications that there was a darker side to him than he was letting on, but we never found out what it was. Sniff sniff. Let's hope we get the chance to see the current Doctor's secrets outed!

 

And just for the record, I thought the latest episode (The Unquiet Dead) was the best so far. Great pacing, much less rushed than the previous episodes (even time for some ominous conversations), and some wonderfully scary stuff. 90+ complaints to the BBC from jelly-backed parents can't make it wrong! And apparently the script was much darker when first submitted.

 

Roll on the next episode - although I hope the boyfriend dies early on. ¬ ¬

[MJ]

David Tennant has been confirmed as the next Doctor. I haven't seen him in anything. Apparently the regeneration is going to take place in the christmas special. Rather morbid and fitting at the same time

[MJ]

And it looks like the Doctor might be picking up another companion towards the end of the season. A character named Captain Jack Harkness is in the last four episodes.

[LiMP RABBiT]

Originally posted by Huz

like when the Doctor got past that fan - I was thinking "hold on, he's not supposed to be paranormal!"

 

I didn't consider that paranormal. I thought it was just an enormous stroke of luck. A kind of leap of faith like near the end of Indiana Jones- Last Crusade. That's why I think the Dr. is getting too close to death every episode.

[LiMP RABBiT]

Just watched the latest episode. It started off really strong, but it got a bit cheesey towards the end IMO. The aliens were a bit poo, and that pig thing was stupid. High points were the bit where the Doctors name trigerred the alert and when he got cornered by all the armed guards.

 

Overall, I like the whole conspiracy thing, and the way the Dr. is known on earth, but some of the details and visuals put me off.

[Huz]

The latest episode was the weakest so far, I reckon.

 

And they still had a 'Next week...' trailer despite the fact it ended on a cliffhanger this week? What's that all about?! The cliffhanger alone should be reason enough to watch next week, surely!

[MJ]

I was a bit iffish on the entire episode. Of course, a well timed fart joke is always appreciated.

 

And yeah, the next week on Doctor kinda took away from the cliffhanger.

[Gabez]

I loved it, but then I've got to the stage where I'll love anything the series does as long as they don't seriously bodge it up. The Big Ben being smashed bit was an amazing peice of animation I thought. Personally I rate this episode higher than the first one, but probably less than the other two.

[LiMP RABBiT]

 

WHAT AN EPISODE!!!

 

Best yet, by far. People have told me that the Daleks were some of the most frightenning things when they were children and I didn't believe it until tonight. That bit where it killed all the guards in that hall way (when they showed the Matrix style bullet dissapearances) freaked me out. And now it's over I want more. I want another Dalek for The Doctor to kill. Better yet, an entire army. I'm so sad that I missed the original episodes and the original destruction of the Daleks. My only one slight reservation about the episode was the Dalek learning to 'love'. It was all a bit cliched and predictable, but when the rest is so good, who cares?

 

And I don't think I'll ever forget that scene where The Doctor first saw the Dalek. What a classic moment. I can't wait to watch the repeat tomorrow.

[LiMP RABBiT]

I may be flogging a dead horse in posting in this thread, but I feel compelled to say that the last episode was rubbish. The story was full of holes and compared to last weeks it was abysmal.

 

*Waits for Gabez to prove me wrong*

[Gabez]

*sigh*

 

I can't really prove you wrong as I don't know why you didn't like it. I couldn't see any plot-holes, and even if there were any it doesn't really matter with Sci-fi (look at Red Dwarf). I personally thought tonight's episode was the best yet, and much better than last week's.

[LiMP RABBiT]

Really? I thought last weeks was absolutely incredible, and that might be why this one wasn't as good. And as for plot holes, I didn't really mean that. I meant they had a strangely easy time of it. We'd seen that massive blob creature eat people before, so why didn't he just get the Doctor. And how on earth cold a bit of heat cause something like that to explode? Earlier, the Doctor had said that heat only affected it's metabolism. And why weren't there any security measures in place any where? I mean, I know the human race were stupid, but you can't just rely an entire empire on no one asking questions. The mere fact that the woman at the end began asking questions so quickly shows that more security was needed. It just all seemed like a bit of a walk in the park. I guess its down to personal preferance.

[Huz]

Limpo, I think that's more of a pacing issue than anything. They have tried to squeeze 'epic' plots about the end of the world, the enslavement of humanity and so on, into 45 minutes. It hasn't really worked - you have all this fantastic exposition building up over the first 35 minutes or so, then it's all wrapped up in about ten minutes. I don't think I was alone in saying "this must be a two-parter" towards the end of the episode (and some of the others), before feeling disappointed at the anticlimax of everything being sorted out very quickly.

 

I think they need to return to the 'original' format, either of 25-minute chunks (perhaps not realistic in the modern world), or at least two-parters of 45 minutes each. That would give these more 'epic' stories time to breathe. The only story I think has really worked from a pacing point of view has been Mark Gatiss's ghost story, which was a fairly simple premise lacking in epic scale, so we didn't feel too short-changed at its length.

 

For what it's worth, I agree with the Gabzo. I thought it was great. All right, so the fact humanity was subjugated so easily was a plot hole - but then a Dalek with feelings is just bollocks, so it all balances out! I loved the fact we didn't see the 'monster' until near the end of proceedings, real classic Who. In the past it was because they couldn't come up with a special effect convincing enough to be on-screen for more than 2 seconds, now it's because they realise the formula works! Let the viewers form their own expectation of what the 'monster' is, then show it to them - wouldn't be surprised if what some kids imagined was much worse than the reality, anyway.

 

Ooh man, another rambly Doctor Who post. Sorry about that!

[LiMP RABBiT]

If you check Clive's Doctor Who Website that was used in Rose, you'll see they've updated it according to each episode. Quite interesting actually. Just thought you should know.

[MJ]

Level 500 episode with Simon Pegg was a bit of a let down. It WAS very cool to see the Doctor lose HIS cool with a potential companion though.

 

That's what happens when you meddle with time, though...

[Huz]

Originally posted by 8 of 12

Level 500 episode with Simon Pegg was a bit of a let down.

Let's kill him Gabez.

 

Tomorrow's looks good, from the trailers. Apparently the baddies were originally going to be sinister monk-like characters in cowls, rather than huge flying monsters. That would have been fantastic, and more subtle. Still, we'll see how this turns out.

 

Oh, and Prince Caspian does exist, Gabez. Part one is good and has the best centaur... EVER!

[MJ]

I want Grim Reapers! I want Death himself, prowling around, trying to juggle his scythe and a cup of coffee...

[Huz]

Oh well, I've completely changed my mind. You just couldn't achieve the same effect with Grim Reaper characters, sinister as they would be!

 

That episode has just shot right to the top of my "best episodes" list. A TV mag described it as the sort of high-concept stuff they tried to do with Sylvester McCoy, only they've done it successfully this time. I agree - it was fantastic! It even justified the existence of some of the dull hand-wringing conversations they've had between the Doctor and Rose in past episodes (but only some). A real classic.

 

I'm really looking forward to next week's, too. The clip from it, as seen in the montage shown on Jonathan Ross before the series began (Gabzo linked to it earlier in this thread), looked brilliant. Hope it lives up to expectations!

 

PS. Prince Caspian is very good. Dawn Treader model looks slightly less great than I remember, but still good.

[MJ]

Well... THAT'S what happens when you try and play god with time. Not good at all!

 

That was a really good episode, but I'm getting annoyed that every single episode takes place on Earth.

 

I mean yeah, they're going back and forth in time, but the TARDIS does space as well. Hopefully we might get a few galactic stories next season. The Doctor has to grow tired of the one planet at some point.

 

In the trailer for next week's episode, we get a look of the new companion, Captain Jack. Does he strike anyone else as an arrogant git? A bit like an unfunny Lord Flashheart. Hope I'm proven wrong, we're going to have to put up with the guy for the rest of the season.

[Gabez]

What, really? Captain Jack? I didn't know about that... come to think of it, I can't even remember what the trailer for the next epsiode was about!

 

"Fathers Day" was definitely my favourite so far, though. Very clever writing and classic Doctor Who. The hooded Monks sounds even cooler though, shame they didn't go through with that... though it might have ruined the effect, I dunno.

 

PS. Now you're making me want to get those DVDs!

[LiMP RABBiT]

The latest episode was very good. Things do get very messy when people play around with time, but there were no massive gaps in logic that I could see, which was a plus. And it did go some way to answering your question about why the Dr. didn't save the other timelords, 8 of 12. Still, I maintain that Dalek is nigh on impossible to beat.

 

By the way, what's the deal with the Dr. changing? Does he voluntarily die and then change, or does it work when he is killed as well?

[Huz]

Originally posted by LiMP RABBiT

By the way, what's the deal with the Dr. changing? Does he voluntarily die and then change, or does it work when he is killed as well?

He regenerates when he is killed - I don't think he's ever regenerated voluntarily. There's some limit to the number of regenerations he has apparently, and with Eccleston leaving, he's rapidly approaching it... I'm sure they'll think of something!

 

If you really want to know (and admire my geek-out skills at the same time)...

 

 

1st Doctor died: Er... dunno.

2nd Doctor died: forcibly regenerated by the Timelords as a punishment

3rd Doctor died: fighting a big ****off spider

4th Doctor died: tipped off a radio telescope by the Master

5th Doctor died: sacrificing himself to save Peri ;(

6th Doctor died: Running away from the Rani or summat... Colin Baker didn't actually want to record the regeneration sequence, so it was mysteriously glossed over ;

7th Doctor died: being shot by some American kid.

8th Doctor died: we don't know!

 

 

Now I feel all dirty.

[Gabez]

I think the 6th Doctor fell off his excercise bike. There was some sub-plot going on with him keeping fit too - crinking lots of carrot juice or something! Anyway, the regeneration between Colin and Sylvester is hillarious, as it's obviously just Sylvester in a wig!

 

I hope the 9th Doctor has a dramatic death, like falling off Big Ben to save Rose or something. There are of course some things required for a good regeneration, like rest time in the Tardis maybe? I think Colin Baker had that, or maybe it was Davidson... he had to be carried around by his assistents in some salvaged wood from the Tardis. The episode was called Casalvalva or something. You know which one I mean!

 

Anyway, I believe a Timelord gets to 13 generations before he gets turned into a peice of slime that has to inhabit someone elses body to start all over again. This is what happened to The Master in the TV movie, if memory serves.

 

It would be great if we could find out how McGan died, incidentally... it would also be great if the Doctor finds a way to revive the Time Lords sometime, because they were quite good. It would make sense too - they've really stripped the Doctor down to his bare essentials this series, and are slowly adding old things back like the Daleks and that so as not to confuse and frighten off the new generation of Who fans.