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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: Doctor Who: The Doctor is back! (Summer 2012)
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Sparrow
Shipmate
# 2458
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
My first thought was "King Solomon," too, but I shook it off, figuring Nefertiti just sort of put me in an ancient kings frame of mind. Hm.
That occurred to me with the Doctor's line: "Solomon, don't mess with Egyptian queens" (or something like that) ... although of course the Queen of Sheba wasn't Egyptian (quite)
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For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life,nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Posts: 3149 | From: Bottom right hand corner of the UK | Registered: Mar 2002
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Lord Jestocost
Shipmate
# 12909
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by angelica37:
I loved the triceratops, and Rory's dad. Slightly disappointed with Nefertiti ending up with whatsisname in his tent though surely she would have taken him home as as souvenir rather than the other way round.
Apparently Nefertiti really did just vanish from the historical record, and now we know why.
It would be fun to see her being introduced to Edwardian society back home.
Posts: 761 | From: The Instrumentality of Man | Registered: Aug 2007
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The Revolutionist
Shipmate
# 4578
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Posted
I’ve been enjoying this series of Doctor Who, as well as doing podcast commentaries on each episode over at Impossible Podcasts.
I enjoyed Asylum of the Daleks a lot, but it’s one of those tricky ones to judge in isolation without knowing how things will be resolved with Jenna Louise Coleman’s surprise appearance. I suspect that the entire story was built around her surprise introduction, and certain things that don’t quite add up (such as why the Daleks couldn’t send their own death squad/missiles to blow up the planet) might make sense if they were fully aware of who and what Clara was from the beginning, and the whole thing was a plan by them to assassinate her. But we’ll see…
Dinosaurs on a Spaceship was a fun romp on the whole, but I thought that some of the humour and innuendo was rather misjudged. Ridell and Nefertiti were horribly written, two-dimensional clichés with an anti-sexism “message” that ended up coming across as incredibly crass and sexist. The Doctor leaving Solomon to die was also badly handled: the problem isn’t that the Doctor is above such things, but that it went completely unchallenged in the episode. It was presented without any moral ambiguity, as just the obvious resolution to the adventure, rather than something that the audience is expected to question.
This Saturday’s episode, A Town Called Mercy, is much better though… you can listen to my spoiler-free preview over at Impossible Podcasts. It has some real moral ambiguity, dealing with weighty themes of justice and mercy, and goes some way to making up for the Doctor’s actions last week. It's also a fun sci-fi take on the Western at the same time! Best of the series so far in my view.
Posts: 1296 | From: London | Registered: May 2003
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Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by The Revolutionist:
Ridell and Nefertiti were horribly written, two-dimensional clichés with an anti-sexism “message” that ended up coming across as incredibly crass and sexist.
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif) Uh-huh. I have a feeling that it's gonna be a learning curve*. Quite honestly, as touching and joyous as I found the Christmas episode, I felt that there was an element of feminist appeasal in that, too (OK, I agree that mothers are strong-- what is the strength, then, of a woman who never wound up a mother? But I thought, "at least they're trying.")
*[also, yes, our geek girl is insanely smart, but please note the insanely short hemline.Yes,viewing public she's smart and that's important (pat pat), but MIND THE HEMLINE!EYES ON THE HEMLINE!
I can't imagine how poor Jenna wrangled that thing with all the tearing around her room she was doing.)
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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
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doubtingthomas
Shipmate
# 14498
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Sparrow:
quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
My first thought was "King Solomon," too, but I shook it off, figuring Nefertiti just sort of put me in an ancient kings frame of mind. Hm.
That occurred to me with the Doctor's line: "Solomon, don't mess with Egyptian queens" (or something like that) ... although of course the Queen of Sheba wasn't Egyptian (quite)
Maybe that's *why* he went for the Queen of Sheba instead ![[Biased]](wink.gif)
Posts: 266 | From: A Small Island | Registered: Jan 2009
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Sparrow
Shipmate
# 2458
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by angelica37:
I loved the triceratops, and Rory's dad. Slightly disappointed with Nefertiti ending up with whatsisname in his tent though surely she would have taken him home as as souvenir rather than the other way round.
Maybe she did - watching the rerun this evening, all you see at the end is her coming out of a tent which could be anywhere - maybe ancient Egypt?
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For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life,nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Posts: 3149 | From: Bottom right hand corner of the UK | Registered: Mar 2002
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Gill H
Shipmate
# 68
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
quote:
Originally posted by Late Paul:
I'm surprised no-one's mentioned the Deep Meaningful conversation Amy and the Doctor had whilst he was fishing out the green glowy thing, about how he'll always keep coming back until the end and she said vice-versa. Obvious foreshadowing I thought.
I couldn't say a word about it because it absolutely gutted me. The look they exchanged made me well up.
Smith has made is very clear in interviews that he is good friends with Gillan and I don't believe there was a bit of acting in that moment-- they just allowed themselves to be friends on camera.
It was a very anvilicious conversation, certainly. Reminded me of the oft-repeated Peter Pan/Wendy dynamic the two have.
I'm surprised no-one here has commented on "Spiders! You don't often see spiders in space..." No, unless you're John Pertwee, you don't.
I liked Amy a lot better this week. When she is allowed to be a real person, instead of The Most Kick-Ass Companion Ever, she's fine. But I still care more for Rory than Amy. And oh, I love it when the scriptwriters remember he's a nurse. (Oh, and Kelly - if anyone is Sam, Rory is!)
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*sigh* We can’t all be Alan Cresswell.
- Lyda Rose
Posts: 9313 | From: London | Registered: May 2001
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orfeo
Ship's Musical Counterpoint
# 13878
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by The Rogue:
They did pull the extra companions out of nowhere which is always uncomfortable to me.
"I've got a gang. Never had a gang before. It's new."
I do love the way Matt Smith delivers some of his lines. He really does succeed in coming off as alien, mad or both.
I think my favourite thing from this episode is the fact that "Ponds" have become a distinct (and expanding) class, even separate from "people".
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Technology has brought us all closer together. Turns out a lot of the people you meet as a result are complete idiots.
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Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Gill H:
I liked Amy a lot better this week. When she is allowed to be a real person, instead of The Most Kick-Ass Companion Ever, she's fine.
YES!! And paradoxically, when she's more real, she becomes more kick-ass. ("Are you a queen?" "Yes. Yes I am.")
[ 15. September 2012, 15:11: Message edited by: Kelly Alves ]
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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
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Ariel
Shipmate
# 58
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
YES!! And paradoxically, when she's more real, she becomes more kick-ass. ("Are you a queen?" "Yes. Yes I am.")
That was the point at which I wanted to give her a good swift kick. I hope the new companion doesn't have as much of an ego problem.
Rupert Graves is probably a one-off (sadly) but it does open the way for more guest stars. So long as the show doesn't turn into a vehicle for guest celebrities all will be well. I quite like the idea of the Doctor having a gang - when was the last time? The Fifth Doctor, with Tegan, Nyssa and Turlough, or has there been a later one?
Posts: 25445 | Registered: May 2001
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doubtingthomas
Shipmate
# 14498
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Late Paul:
I really enjoyed that.
I'm surprised no-one's mentioned the Deep Meaningful conversation Amy and the Doctor had whilst he was fishing out the green glowy thing, about how he'll always keep coming back until the end and she said vice-versa. Obvious foreshadowing I thought.
I agree, but there also seems a bit of a strand of this kind of thing running through (at least) New Who - think of the tenth explaining in School Reunion how he leaves companions to save himself from seeing them fade and die, and also the Girl in the Fireplace, where he ends up coming back to Versailles just after his girl's death. The Girl Who Waited can also be seen in this light.
I think Amy and Rory are getting older in the course of this series - he gave his age as (I think) 31 in this ep, so I suspect the theme will become more prominent now (and so we get back to foreshadowing ...)
quote:
Showing him becoming her consort in Egypt would have been fun but the budget probably wasn't up to it.
I actually prefer not to be told - it seems much more interesting that way...
quote:
Originally quoted by orfeo:
"I've got a gang. Never had a gang before. It's new."
...which of course isn't quite true - after all, the first trips we ever get to see are with what a friend calls "team Tardis": Susan, Ian, and Barbara. And then there are the multiple (and occasionally varying) companions of the era of the late fourth and fifth Doctor (as mentioned by Ariel), not to mention other one-offs. But I guess it's been a long time, and he needs to make his new "gang" feel good about themselves - plus, of course he's enjoying it far too much to care... ![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
[ 15. September 2012, 18:24: Message edited by: doubtingthomas ]
Posts: 266 | From: A Small Island | Registered: Jan 2009
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The Revolutionist
Shipmate
# 4578
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Posted
That was more like it! Not only was it fun and colourful (cyborg gunslinger!) it also had good characterisation and moral complexity, both of which were completely missing in action last week.
I thought it made a good stab of exploring the themes of justice and mercy - better than Russell T Davies' Boom Town, where the weightiness of the themes was rather let down by the Slitheen as the villain.
More thoughts as usual are on my Doctor Who podcast.
Posts: 1296 | From: London | Registered: May 2003
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Doublethink.
Ship's Foolwise Unperson
# 1984
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Posted
I haven't watched for a while, but this thread piqued my interest. So I watched tonight. I was somewhat disappointed, it seemed a bit simplistic to me and the characters seemed to swing wildly in their thinking. Not just the Doctor, but also the townsfolk.
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All political thinking for years past has been vitiated in the same way. People can foresee the future only when it coincides with their own wishes, and the most grossly obvious facts can be ignored when they are unwelcome. George Orwell
Posts: 19219 | From: Erehwon | Registered: Aug 2005
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The Great Gumby
Ship's Brain Surgeon
# 10989
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Posted
That was really rather good. I wanted a little more out of Jex - I wanted him to be a bit more sinister, a bit more guilty, a bit more repentant, just a bit more everything. There didn't seem to be quite enough time to explore who he was, what he'd done and so on, which was a shame. But it cast last week's conclusion in a very interesting light.
This is turning into a very good series indeed. It's just a shame that we've only got two more episodes left before the Doctor disappears off our screens until Christmas.
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The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. - Richard Feynman
A letter to my son about death
Posts: 5382 | From: Home for shot clergy spouses | Registered: Feb 2006
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Ariel
Shipmate
# 58
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Doublethink:
I haven't watched for a while, but this thread piqued my interest. So I watched tonight. I was somewhat disappointed, it seemed a bit simplistic to me and the characters seemed to swing wildly in their thinking. Not just the Doctor, but also the townsfolk.
Yes. Quite a limp episode, predictable plot, not very interesting really. Definitely a nadir in this new series, let's hope next week will be better.
Posts: 25445 | Registered: May 2001
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Schroedinger's cat
Ship's cool cat
# 64
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Posted
Definitely westworld inspirations here, which is not bad, but that is two in a row which seem to have film themes in them.
Overall, it was so-so, IMO. The swinging positions of the Doctor didn't make sense - he was all for having Jax killed, and then, shortly after, was keeping him safe.
The Drs trip to the tardis - well why didn't he get his tardis anyway, having gone to the trouble of going outside. He would have had been able to resolve things rather easier then.
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Blog
Music for your enjoyment
Lord may all my hard times be healing times
take out this broken heart and renew my mind.
Posts: 18859 | From: At the bottom of a deep dark well. | Registered: May 2001
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Paul.
Shipmate
# 37
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Posted
That was okay. The setting made it fun I suppose. However the plot, the moral dilemma, it was very broad strokes.
Posts: 3689 | From: UK | Registered: Jun 2004
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The Rogue
Shipmate
# 2275
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Schroedinger's cat:
Definitely westworld inspirations here, which is not bad, but that is two in a row which seem to have film themes in them.
Overall, it was so-so, IMO. The swinging positions of the Doctor didn't make sense - he was all for having Jax killed, and then, shortly after, was keeping him safe.
The Drs trip to the tardis - well why didn't he get his tardis anyway, having gone to the trouble of going outside. He would have had been able to resolve things rather easier then.
Or did Westworld have Dr Who inspirations? You can say anything if time travel is involved.
We did hear one of the best throw-away lines delivered in Matt Smith's inimitable style - the one about Susan.
Was the Doctor ever going to the Tardis or did he set up the whole trip so that he could look at Jex's ship? As Amy said to Jex when he realised: "welcome to my world".
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If everyone starts thinking outside the box does outside the box come back inside?
Posts: 2507 | From: Toton | Registered: Feb 2002
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Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Ariel:
That was the point at which I wanted to give her a good swift kick. I hope the new companion doesn't have as much of an ego problem.
I took it as a blatant nod to "Ghostbusters" : if someone asks you if you are a god, YOU SAY YES.
Really what other answer to that question wouldn't have been incredibly limp? And I love Amy's ego a lot more than her mooning.
[ 15. September 2012, 21:46: Message edited by: Kelly Alves ]
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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
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Roseofsharon
Shipmate
# 9657
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Schroedinger's cat:
Definitely westworld inspirations here, which is not bad, but that is two in a row which seem to have film themes in them.
This is not a problem to those of us who don't watch films - or those of us who can't remember what they've seen from one week to the next
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Talk about books -any books- on our rejuvenatedforum http://www.bookgrouponline.com/index.php?
Posts: 3060 | From: Sussex By The Sea | Registered: Jun 2005
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Schroedinger's cat
Ship's cool cat
# 64
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Posted
I will have to say it again: I like Amy. She doesn't always get well written, but when she is not fighting the script, I like her. Sue me.
The Susan comment was perfect, well written and well delivered.
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Blog
Music for your enjoyment
Lord may all my hard times be healing times
take out this broken heart and renew my mind.
Posts: 18859 | From: At the bottom of a deep dark well. | Registered: May 2001
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Ariel
Shipmate
# 58
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
I took it as a blatant nod to "Ghostbusters" : if someone asks you if you are a god, YOU SAY YES.
Really what other answer to that question wouldn't have been incredibly limp? And I love Amy's ego a lot more than her mooning.
I haven't seen Ghostbusters. I would have thought something along the lines of "I'm Rory's wife and that's enough for me/I'm a queen in his eyes" perhaps but that's probably a bit too old-fashioned for Amy.
Well, each to their own. From where I'm standing it's like watching a Valkyrie acting the part of the Doctor's latest companion, more ready to slap than embrace, snap or shout than laugh or smile (when did she last do either?); and having met women like her in real life, they're not a type I usually get on with. But this is fiction, and there won't be too much more of it.
Posts: 25445 | Registered: May 2001
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orfeo
Ship's Musical Counterpoint
# 13878
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Posted
Hmm. Wasn't really impressed by A Town Called Mercy.
At first I liked being a little bit disoriented as to what was going on (shades of another episode by the same writer, "The God Complex", which I liked a great deal), but then it turned out that not much interesting was going on at all.
So much of it seemed... glib. I mean, yes we had a spot of moral dilemma in there, but apart from that we just got thrown into a wild west situation with cardboard characters. Amy and Rory were criminally underused.
About the only part I really enjoyed was Amy telling the Doctor off and him explaining his change of attitude - of the things that go wrong when he negotiates. For those who were concerned about his behaviour re Solomon the week before, that was kind of a nice touch.
Otherwise...
I haven't really found any of these first 3 episodes especially marvellous. But I think the first couple were considerably more fun than this one. This had very little in the way of one-liners or someone like Rory's Dad to liven it up.
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Technology has brought us all closer together. Turns out a lot of the people you meet as a result are complete idiots.
Posts: 18173 | From: Under | Registered: Jul 2008
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orfeo
Ship's Musical Counterpoint
# 13878
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Posted
PS The preview for episode 4 certainly looked good!
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Technology has brought us all closer together. Turns out a lot of the people you meet as a result are complete idiots.
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M.
Ship's Spare Part
# 3291
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Posted
I really enjoyed last night's episode and thought it much better than last week's - I found that rather flat.
I put it at the best of the three so far.
M.
Posts: 2303 | From: Lurking in Surrey | Registered: Sep 2002
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Adeodatus
Shipmate
# 4992
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Posted
On first viewing, I quite liked A Town Called Mercy. On second viewing I really liked it. The moment when it lit up for me was when the Doctor was sitting in Jex's ship, watching the record of his crimes on the screen. Look at Matt Smith's face in that scene - that man can act!
And I thought we got three excellent guest performances, too - from Isaac, Jex and the Gunslinger. Yes, the moral dilemmas were fairly broadly sketched, but then they only had 40-something minutes to do it in. And I liked the quieter, less action-filled mood, giving the characters time to talk and think seriously for a change. I liked that there was less humour than usual. I liked that the Doctor got to be more alien, more angry and a bit more complex. I liked Amy's line - "This is what happens when you travel alone too much" - perhaps harking back to Hartnell's early moral ambiguity, before he'd got used to travelling with humans. And I liked Jex's "It would be so much simpler if I was just one thing ... the fact that I'm both bewilders you."
In some ways it was a bit like Eccleston's Boom Town, which most people hated but which I liked. In fact I think this was better argued and better executed than Boom Town, which unsuccessfully injected too much humour into the moral debate.
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"What is broken, repair with gold."
Posts: 9779 | From: Manchester | Registered: Sep 2003
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Sparrow
Shipmate
# 2458
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Adeodatus:
On first viewing, I quite liked A Town Called Mercy. I liked Amy's line - "This is what happens when you travel alone too much" -
That reminded me of something I think Donna said - something like: "Sometimes you need someone to stop you."
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For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life,nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Posts: 3149 | From: Bottom right hand corner of the UK | Registered: Mar 2002
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orfeo
Ship's Musical Counterpoint
# 13878
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Adeodatus:
I liked that the Doctor got to be more alien
See, if anything I felt he was less alien.
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Technology has brought us all closer together. Turns out a lot of the people you meet as a result are complete idiots.
Posts: 18173 | From: Under | Registered: Jul 2008
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Pyx_e
Quixotic Tilter
# 57
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Posted
I like it all, Amy, Rory, Doctor, episodes all of it. I just look forward to Saturday nights and enjoy it. Funny, deep, well acted. Good TV.
P
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It is better to be Kind than right.
Posts: 9778 | From: The Dark Tower | Registered: May 2001
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New Yorker
Shipmate
# 9898
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Posted
I've never watched Dr Who, but I understand that the actor Ben Browder of Farscape and Stargate was a guest star. I've always followed his career so I guess I'll need to see last night's episode. Anywhere one can watch the episode? Thanks.
Posts: 3193 | From: New York City | Registered: Jul 2005
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doubtingthomas
Shipmate
# 14498
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Roseofsharon:
quote:
Originally posted by Schroedinger's cat:
Definitely westworld inspirations here, which is not bad, but that is two in a row which seem to have film themes in them.
This is not a problem to those of us who don't watch films - or those of us who can't remember what they've seen from one week to the next
I think it is something Moffat is consciously going for this season (cf. the interview I linked to in this thread a few weeks ago).
[ 16. September 2012, 14:03: Message edited by: doubtingthomas ]
Posts: 266 | From: A Small Island | Registered: Jan 2009
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Dafyd
Shipmate
# 5549
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Adeodatus:
And I liked Jex's "It would be so much simpler if I was just one thing ... the fact that I'm both bewilders you."
That line only really works for me if you assume that Jex is misreading the Doctor. What ought to be bothering the Doctor is that from an appropriate point of view the Doctor is more of a war criminal than Jex is. Anyway, the Doctor isn't a stranger to ethical ambiguity.
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we remain, thanks to original sin, much in love with talking about, rather than with, one another. Rowan Williams
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Dafyd
Shipmate
# 5549
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Posted
Anyway, someone on the Guardian blog points out that all episodes so far this season have featured mysteriously flickering light bulbs at some point. The blog suggests that this may be symbolic foreshadowing of the weeping angels in two weeks time.
I fear it's not foreshadowing. Weeping angels can drain power from electric lights. All the incidents with flickering lightbulbs happened when Amy was around. Back in The Time of Angels Amy had a weeping angel inside her...
[ 16. September 2012, 14:58: Message edited by: Dafyd ]
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we remain, thanks to original sin, much in love with talking about, rather than with, one another. Rowan Williams
Posts: 10567 | From: Edinburgh | Registered: Feb 2004
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M.
Ship's Spare Part
# 3291
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Posted
Yes, this was pointed out on denofgeek, as well. denofgeek also pointed out that in one of the episodes of Pond Life, the Doctor was changing the lightbulb on the top of the Tardis, of course.
![[Yipee]](graemlins/spin.gif)
I much preferred the Weeping Angels in Blink to those in the Byzantium episodes, though. They were changed significantly, with just a handwavy 'oh, those ones were an isolated stranded bunch' to justify it, which I always found rather disappointing.
M.
Edited to make it clear that it is the draining electricity rather than Dafyd's clever Amy connection that was mentioned on denofgeek.
[ 16. September 2012, 16:49: Message edited by: M. ]
Posts: 2303 | From: Lurking in Surrey | Registered: Sep 2002
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Starbug
Shipmate
# 15917
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by New Yorker:
I've never watched Dr Who, but I understand that the actor Ben Browder of Farscape and Stargate was a guest star. I've always followed his career so I guess I'll need to see last night's episode. Anywhere one can watch the episode? Thanks.
It's on BBC iPlayer until 6th October.
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“Oh the pointing again. They're screwdrivers! What are you going to do? Assemble a cabinet at them?” ― The Day of the Doctor
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Eigon
Shipmate
# 4917
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Posted
I liked it - neatly done. (It's always a good sign when I start shouting at the screen. Shows I'm properly engaged with the story!)
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Laugh hard. Run fast. Be kind.
Posts: 3710 | From: Hay-on-Wye, town of books | Registered: Aug 2003
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Robert Armin
All licens'd fool
# 182
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Posted
Finally watched it, and I'm another one who thinks it was rather weak. Creakingly artifical moral dilemma, all the characters behaving erraticly, and not enough Rory. I may be biased, as westerns have never done anything for me, but I thought this was the weakest episode of this season so far. Still, if we don't get anything worse than this, it won't be bad overall.
Posts: 8927 | From: In the pack | Registered: May 2001
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New Yorker
Shipmate
# 9898
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Starbug:
It's on BBC iPlayer until 6th October.
Thanks!
Posts: 3193 | From: New York City | Registered: Jul 2005
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Lietuvos Sv. Kazimieras
Shipmate
# 11274
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Posted
New Yorker, I hope you will be able to see it that way. A lot of the BBC on-line stuff can't be accessed in the USA. At worst, you will need to monitor the airing schedule of BBC America to see when last night's episode will re-air -- it will unquestionably be repeated at some point. I didn't find it a very good example of Doctor Who -- I'd say about a third-rate episode, though I'm going to watch it again, as we always record the Doctor, and hope I'll have a better opinion second time round.
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Trudy Scrumptious
BBE Shieldmaiden
# 5647
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Posted
I haven't seen it yet, but the best way to watch it online here in Canada is at spacecast.com -- not sure if that's viewable for Americans or not, but might be an option to try if the BBC iPlayer doesn't work in your country.
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Books and things.
I lied. There are no things. Just books.
Posts: 7428 | From: Closer to Paris than I am to Vancouver | Registered: Mar 2004
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balaam
Making an ass of myself
# 4543
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Posted
I've missed all three episodes by being on holiday, but have caught up on the first two.
I was caught by the connection that the Doctor was erased from he Dalek memory in episode one and was not on Solomon's data base in episode two.
Is it me, or were the scenes with thousands of Daleks hardly scary at all, but the scenes with only a few malfunctioning Daleks could be tense.
With Daleks, fewer is better,
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Last ever sig ...
blog
Posts: 9049 | From: Hen Ogledd | Registered: May 2003
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Trudy Scrumptious
BBE Shieldmaiden
# 5647
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Posted
Amy told the Doctor he "gets like this" when he travels alone for too long. Didn't someone say the exact same thing to the Tenth Doctor near the end of his run? (or did he say it himself?) Anyway it seems to be an established fact, at least in the new series, that the Doctor needs companions to keep his moral compass from going astray.
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Books and things.
I lied. There are no things. Just books.
Posts: 7428 | From: Closer to Paris than I am to Vancouver | Registered: Mar 2004
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Ariston
Insane Unicorn
# 10894
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Posted
I think, as Sparrow pointed out, Donna did that, in The Runaway Bride. Granted, that's pretty much straight in the middle of 10's tenure, but, since it's Donna, it seems, in retrospect, later.
Also, did anyone catch that the Doctor is now 1200-ish? In the course of a single season and change, we have him aging 300 years!
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“Therefore, let it be explained that nowhere are the proprieties quite so strictly enforced as in men’s colleges that invite young women guests, especially over-night visitors in the fraternity houses.” Emily Post, 1937.
Posts: 6849 | From: The People's Republic of Balcones | Registered: Jan 2006
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orfeo
Ship's Musical Counterpoint
# 13878
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Ariston:
Also, did anyone catch that the Doctor is now 1200-ish? In the course of a single season and change, we have him aging 300 years!
Well, there was stuff about that in the Impossible Astronaut at the start of last season. The Doctor seemed to have spent a very long time travelling around before coming back to Lake Silencio to get shot. Wikipedia tells he give his age as 1,103.
[ 17. September 2012, 03:17: Message edited by: orfeo ]
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Technology has brought us all closer together. Turns out a lot of the people you meet as a result are complete idiots.
Posts: 18173 | From: Under | Registered: Jul 2008
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Trudy Scrumptious
BBE Shieldmaiden
# 5647
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Ariston:
I think, as Sparrow pointed out, Donna did that, in The Runaway Bride. Granted, that's pretty much straight in the middle of 10's tenure, but, since it's Donna, it seems, in retrospect, later.
Sorry, I missed seeing that Sparrow had posted that. I remember that too, but I'm thinking of the time period near the end of 10, after Donna's memory-wipe when he was travelling around by himself for like 4 specials or something. I thought the same point was made in one of those episodes.
Regarding his age, someone on the TWOP boards made the very good point that the Doctor probably has NO idea how old he actually is, since he doesn't live a linear life at all, and whenever he gives his age he's only throwing out rough estimates.
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Books and things.
I lied. There are no things. Just books.
Posts: 7428 | From: Closer to Paris than I am to Vancouver | Registered: Mar 2004
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The Great Gumby
Ship's Brain Surgeon
# 10989
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Dafyd:
quote:
Originally posted by Adeodatus:
And I liked Jex's "It would be so much simpler if I was just one thing ... the fact that I'm both bewilders you."
That line only really works for me if you assume that Jex is misreading the Doctor. What ought to be bothering the Doctor is that from an appropriate point of view the Doctor is more of a war criminal than Jex is. Anyway, the Doctor isn't a stranger to ethical ambiguity.
I think that was a bit of artistic licence. He'd already read the Doctor well enough to know that the Doctor recognised himself in Jex. In fact, I don't think it's fanciful to say that it was that similarity that drove him to throw Jex out of town in the first place. But this line was far more about highlighting the way the typical viewer ought to be feeling IMO.
I don't mind the Doctor being callous and brutal - it's consistent with being a complicated person who can be very nice (or at least charming, or intriguing) but who's also done terrible things which are only hinted at off-screen. What does irritate me is when he quixotically puts people at risk for no reason other than to satisfy his latest sense of what's an appropriate way to behave.
This week, he chose not to hand over a man who had done terrible things, and (it turns out) just wanted to die anyway. As a result, he put the lives of lots of other people in danger. Even if he thought he had a foolproof plan, the scene in the chapel showed just how much danger he was putting everyone else in for the sake of his conscience, and (probably) to silence his own demons for a while. I didn't like that, but I'm probably in a minority.
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The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. - Richard Feynman
A letter to my son about death
Posts: 5382 | From: Home for shot clergy spouses | Registered: Feb 2006
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New Yorker
Shipmate
# 9898
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Posted
Thanks for the thoughts, LSK. I'll keep an eye out for the repeat. Since I've never seen Dr Who, I'll have nothing to compare this episode to.
Posts: 3193 | From: New York City | Registered: Jul 2005
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Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by The Great Gumby:
As a result, he put the lives of lots of other people in danger. Even if he thought he had a foolproof plan, the scene in the chapel showed just how much danger he was putting everyone else in for the sake of his conscience, and (probably) to silence his own demons for a while. I didn't like that, but I'm probably in a minority.
Maybe we are genuinely not supposed to like it.
Am now envisioning a new end for Amy as companion-- maybe she just (I can barely even type this) begins to not like the Doctor so much anymore. That would be worse than the Weeping Angel thing.
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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
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Ariel
Shipmate
# 58
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
Am now envisioning a new end for Amy as companion-- maybe she just (I can barely even type this) begins to not like the Doctor so much anymore. That would be worse than the Weeping Angel thing.
She's beginning to remind me a bit of Tegan. I don't know if you ever saw her in action (in the Peter Davison days). A lot of people didn't like Tegan but I did: she could be brittle but I always got the sense that she wasn't naturally hard, and vulnerability lurked not very far from the surface. At the end she told the Doctor she just couldn't go on travelling with him the way he was, and that so many people seemed to die, and she ran off and left the Tardis in tears, and he went off without her.
Amy isn't Tegan but she may reach a point where she walks off in disgust and lets him just get on with it.
Also, just wondering if this may be building up to another possible regeneration, as well. In the New Who, the Doctor seems to get a bit callous and godlike then gets his comeuppance and regenerates into someone else; we've had that twice now.
Posts: 25445 | Registered: May 2001
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Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Ariel:
.
Also, just wondering if this may be building up to another possible regeneration, as well. In the New Who, the Doctor seems to get a bit callous and godlike then gets his comeuppance and regenerates into someone else; we've had that twice now.
(sigh) I've wondered that, too.
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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
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