Jump to content
IGNORED

Doctor Who

FishyFish

By FishyFish
in Film, TV & Radio

 Share

Recommended Posts

Cthulhu Steev

Cthulhu Steev

Posted
Posted

The Doctor's Wife

It's never going to be this good again, is it? Without the joy of Matt Smith I shudder to think what we're going to be left with. And that's the second show this week where a kid singing has made me want to turn it off in disgust (the Walking Dead being the other, but I'd pretty much given up on that shite a long time ago and was stupidly hoping the season opener would match the last ones finale).

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted

So bad. Also, whoever pointed out the killing of the star, was thinking the same myself. So, 7 planets orbit you? Sure we'll just extinguish it, it'll be grand!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
linkster

linkster

Posted
Posted

Terrible. At least when Moffatt writes an episode you're guaranteed some clever dialogue, plotting and characterisation. Tonight's was simply boring, which is a crime that is unforgivable in a Sci-Fi show.

Had to look up the episodes he was responsible for, as I thought they include introducing River Song.

I'm not saying russel t Davies was perfect by any stretch but he did set the tone for the show when it got going again and you have to say based on qaf and second coming it was no fluke but by s2 it was already going downhill fast, Moffat did a couple of decent stories (and I really loved Jekyll) but as script editor he didn't improve the show at all when he inherited it, under him its become absolute unwatchable, cabbage brained garbage

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Sprite Machine

Sprite Machine

Posted
Posted

Well, that was... imaginative.

I was quite intrigued at first, with the setting and the world-building (and even a reference to Susan!!). It felt like it could have been a good old fashioned sci-fi adventure with some lovely visuals and creatures.

Ah, then it kind of fell apart. I mean, they basically defeated a sun god with a metaphor, right? And then doomed a star system to slow frozen death? That is, unless they have other means of sustaining their environment. I was confused as to how they could even breath and fly about through space in the first place, so basically I have no idea what was going on.

Buh.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
joeplus

joeplus

Posted
Posted

Wow, you miserable bastards. Thought that was great. A bit of development of the Clara/Doctor relationship, but still retaining some mystery, and some great stuff about Clara herself, which was needed. Moffatt's companions are defined by experiences (where RTD's were based on personality) so it's good to know more about her.

I love a bit of quasi-religious singing (Abide With Me in Gridlock is one of my favourite Who moments) so that was fun, especially with the Doctor's neutral reaction to faith: I imagine that a lot of the rude militant atheist dickheads on the internet watch the show, and should learn.

I liked the big bad fiery sun face, but as others have mentioned, what happens to its solar system now? The cut away back to Clara's house was very jarring. Also, it was uncannily similar to "The Beast Below" - new companion, first time out in space, corridors full of aliens, and a little humanoid girl in danger, who the companion tries to help. That did bug me, there's no need to recycle stories when you've got all of time and space, surely?

Anyway, looking forward to next week. THE ONION KNIGHT ON A SUBMARINE, HELL YES MOTHERFUCKERS

6
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Cthulhu Steev

Cthulhu Steev

Posted
Posted

Well, that was... imaginative.

I was quite intrigued at first, with the setting and the world-building (and even a reference to Susan!!). It felt like it could have been a good old fashioned sci-fi adventure with some lovely visuals and creatures.

Ah, then it kind of fell apart. I mean, they basically defeated a sun god with a metaphor, right? And then doomed a star system to slow frozen death? That is, unless they have other means of sustaining their environment. I was confused as to how they could even breath and fly about through space in the first place, so basically I have no idea what was going on.

Buh.

I think

she gave it massive anxiety by explaining there's one past, but infinite futures, overloading its stupid face. A bit like Clive Barker's The Thief of Always (Actually, I'll spoiler tag this bit as well)

where the kid is asked to name one 'trick' for the baddie to perform so asks to see 'All the seasons, at the same time' and breaks its mind

I thought I'd missed an explanation for the space breathing, but I can't think where.

And I don't even know how the fucking thing could hear them, seeing as it was basically a massive head millions of miles away. In space. I can usually let things like that through where Doctor Who is concerned, I've learned to lower my expectations, but there's only Matt Smith who's worth watching. Or as Videogaiden's Ryan Macleod (dotterel) put it 'Matt Smith is a pound coin in a puddle of piss'.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Space Gibbon

Space Gibbon

Posted
Posted

I really prefer New Who when it's a bit cheap and naff. It feels more grounded that way. Now I'm worried the show is becoming too filmic, too, sci-fi-ish and, without interesting stories and characters to keep it on the straight and narrow, totally alienating the casual viewer.

I used to lament formula-based programming but the classic New Who formula of

1.Threat is foreshadowed before Doctor arrives

2.Doctor arrives and is a big know-it-all to companion

3.Something happens to pique curiosity/suspicion

4.Danger is revealed

5.Danger escalates. Doctor runs.

6.Doctor confronts evil. Doctor wins.

can work in a hundred different stories and keeps the pacing right. It doesn't HAVE to be this way, but when writers (especially inexperienced ones) deviate from this or something similar, the result is usually an incoherent or boring mess.

1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Mogster

Mogster

Posted
Posted

Thinking about it, this episode was kind of the RTD approach taken to the extreme. There was obviously a big attempt to add background for Clara, which seemed to be its main intent, and the need for an emotional payoff for this. This was then weaved into what was really a very slight plot with lots of flashy CGI thrown in to try and distract you. I actually really liked the character stuff, even if it slipped over the edge into tweeness at times, and I love a Matt Smith speech, but the story itself was just such a mess!

Also I'm one of those people that can buy into a sci-fi or fantasy world completely but hates it when that world ignores its own rules or flies in the face of common scientific knowledge without any explanation why. I assumed the TARDIS was just doing its thing when the Doctor first led Clara outside on that asteroid, but then we see an entire auditorium exposed to space with no ill effects, and indeed the rock it was built on somehow produced normal Earth gravity. Never mind, maybe it has artificial gravity and a force field to hold the atmosphere in? Oh wait, they're now flying off the rock on a space moped to blow up the star they're orbiting with the power of song and WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON? Doctor Who has never been too concerned with being scientifically accurate, or even being consistent with itself, but it's at least supposed to be set in reality.

Anyway, even aside from the nerdy issues it just didn't hold together, and it's a shame because I thought both Smith and Coleman were excellent.

3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Cthulhu Steev

Cthulhu Steev

Posted
Posted

Thinking about it, this episode was kind of the RTD approach taken to the extreme. There was obviously a big attempt to add background for Clara, which seemed to be its main intent, and the need for an emotional payoff for this. This was then weaved into what was really a very slight plot with lots of flashy CGI thrown in to try and distract you. I actually really liked the character stuff, even if it slipped over the edge into tweeness at times, and I love a Matt Smith speech, but the story itself was just such a mess!

Also I'm one of those people that can buy into a sci-fi or fantasy world completely but hates it when that world ignores its own rules or flies in the face of common scientific knowledge without any explanation why. I assumed the TARDIS was just doing its thing when the Doctor first led Clara outside on that asteroid, but then we see an entire auditorium exposed to space with no ill effects, and indeed the rock it was built on somehow produced normal Earth gravity. Never mind, maybe it has artificial gravity and a force field to hold the atmosphere in? Oh wait, they're now flying off the rock on a space moped to blow up the star they're orbiting with the power of song and WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON? Doctor Who has never been too concerned with being scientifically accurate, or even being consistent with itself, but it's at least supposed to be set in reality.

Anyway, even aside from the nerdy issues it just didn't hold together, and it's a shame because I thought both Smith and Coleman were excellent.

They've painted themselves into a corner if they're trying to say 'the TARDIS' was protecting them in space, because it's also supposed to be able to translate alien languages. Which it didn't. Probably the only reason they 'forgot' to mention it is because they'd already written that brilliant! yorkshire terrier yapping woman bit and were determined to keep it.

Really, it should be like Buffy - as long as you care about the characters you can pretty much shove any old nonsense in. But we've not been given chance to warm to Clara yet, and that left us with Matt Smith to carry the episode, a big ask even for a Doctor as engaging as he is.

1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Mogster

Mogster

Posted
Posted

The TARDIS protecting them already fell apart when it turned out all the aliens were living a life somehow exposed to space anyway. It was completely nonsensical.

As for translation, the TARDIS has always been a bit picky there. It doesn't translate the Judoon for instance ("Bo Wo Do Ko" etc), so whatever. I like to think that some languages simply don't have a direct translation.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Alex W.

Alex W.

Posted
Posted

Good setup. I was really convinced by the Doctor's monologue about stars. Then it went nowhere. Will nobody step up to the job of writing a good third act?

I'd love to see an episode with the Doctor's tone pitched somewhere between casual curiosity and histrionic rage too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
BitterToad

BitterToad

Posted
Posted

Thought it was great, smith was excellent and for the first time in a little while he got given a couple of really nice speeches to sink his teeth into.

Much better than last weeks anyway.

I can only assume I'm in a pretty small minority though but I kind of looked past a lot of the plot holes to just enjoy it. Each to their own eh?

1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. Use of this website is subject to our Privacy Policy, Terms of Use, and Guidelines.

  I accept