Doctor Who

[NEG]

The Doctor himself said it was a new set

Look, I consider myself bigger a fan then most and even I missed that detail. The show has had a problem with pacing and the way actors even speak since season 6ish.

[Flub]

Look, I consider myself bigger a fan then most and even I missed that detail. The show has had a problem with pacing and the way actors even speak since season 6ish.

I'll give you that one. It was during his big boom regeneration and since the show came back in 2005 they've had a massive problem with the music drowning out dialogue. I discovered if I switch my TV to speech instead of music in the sound settings it fixes that to a large extent.

[Mogster]

I thought the episode was overloaded. While it was fine that so many races showed up as the Time War seemed to piss off everyone, it would have been more dramatic to just use the Daleks seeing as they had the biggest reason to be there. The Confessionals, Angels and the rest all work really well when the story calls for their unique traits, but here they were all just there.

That said, I really enjoyed the episode, especially after the half hour mark or so. The Doctor gleefully ranting at everyone while kicking off his regeneration was brilliant, as was the sentimental farewell that led to Capaldi's sudden appearance. It got the feels going at several points, not least with Clara helping the aged Doctor pull his cracker (ooh-err and stuff).

Anyway, Capaldi! I'm so glad he's held onto his accent.

[Mogster]

I'll give you that one. It was during his big boom regeneration and since the show came back in 2005 they've had a massive problem with the music drowning out dialogue. I discovered if I switch my TV to speech instead of music in the sound settings it fixes that to a large extent.

I'm fairly sure that's down to the way some TVs handle the sound than mix itself. It's fine on mine, and my parents' has been fine ever since I turned off their virtual surround thing.

[Flub]

The TV I have at the moment is nice enough to turn that shit back on every single time I power it up. Cunting thing

[FishyFish]

The Weeping Angels have outstayed their welcome. They should have left it with Blink and they'd have remained a timeless classic. As it stands they've run them into the ground and taken them from utterly terrifying to mundane non-threats.

See also; Daleks and Cybermen.

Edit: Oh, and not forgetting the Sontarans now apparently being the light comic relief. I remember The Sontaran Experiment 30 years ago where they were subjecting humans to torture and experimentation. Maybe not the best subject matter for Christmas though.

[Hexx]

The Weeping Angels have outstayed their welcome. They should have left it with Blink and they'd have remained a timeless classic. As it stands they've run them into the ground and taken them from utterly terrifying to mundane non-threats.

See also; Daleks and Cybermen.

Yep

Also - why the hell where they even under the snow to start with

The "everything and the kitchen sink" approach really didn't help the episode.

[Flub]

Totally agree with FishyFish there.

[NEG]

It really isn't to do with sound settings, I'll tell you that much.

Take an overloaded RTD episode (journeys end, season 4 finale) compared to this. Take The Pandorica Opens (season 5 finale) which was equally boombastic in places.

There's just something wrong with the way these are directed now. Story I can forgive (though they would be wise to make it more average viewer friendly, especially for christmas episodes) but it honestly felt all over the place. Not just for confusion/being able to follow-sake, but for just being able to sit down and enjoy an adventure without feeling it's going at 100mph more then you feel comfortable with following with's pace.

Thankfully I doubt Capaldi will talk as fast, or use his hands. Not that I don't have my fav Matt episodes (see a few pages back).

Worst Christmas special.

[Hexx]

Worst Christmas special.

No way!

The Titanic in Space one (just jump off the van Kylie!) or the widow and Wardrobe one were far far far worse

When it changed to Matt Smith I didn't give it a chance, never saw a single episode, and after seeing tonight's episode perhaps that was a mistake on my part.

Try the 11th Hour if you can find it (his first ep). All it took to convinces lots of people MS was good (although some people obviously do dislike him. Horses for courses and all that)

[Mogster]

No way!

The Titanic in Space one (just jump off the van Kylie!) or the widow and Wardrobe one were far far far worse

I saw someone on Twitter genuinely holding that up as an example of how a Christmas special should be done earlier. Seriously.

NEG, I'm pretty sure it is. Otherwise it wouldn't sound fine on some TVs but not others, or sound fine after turning post processing effects off.

LeChuck, we're not all like that.

[Vespa Alex]

Worst Christmas special.

Not for me. There's a couple of Christmas ones I didn't even watch all the way through they were that bad.

[HarMGM]

Worst Christmas special.

Brave words for a man who has laid eyes on the episode where the writers managed to make a gigantic cyberman rampaging through Victorian London boring.

As for this episode, I quite liked it. But then a few pages back I confessed to liking parts of Wedding of River Song. This feels very much like that episode in terms of plotting and ideas being thrown around. Like that episode i'd say Smith carried a lot bad stuff and made it watchable.

The only things I found annoying was the Silence turning into Dalek puppets but then not really and Moffat trying to have his Christmas cake and eat it to by having Smith get two goodbye scenes. Would have preferred the Hologram idea with Capaldi pretending he was Matt so Clara could say goodbye to him.

Amy running around the TARDIS and saying goodbye really got me though. The Ponds will forever be linked to Smith's Doctor in the same way Sarah Jane will always be linked to Tom's Doctor for me.

[Mogster]

A Christmas Carol is still the best Christmas special by far for me. It's a proper Christmas story, rather than just one set at (or in) Christmas, but genuinely great.

[Hexx]

A Christmas Carol is still the best Christmas special by far for me. It's a proper Christmas story, rather than just one set at (or in) Christmas, but genuinely great.

Oh hell yeah.

Christmas Invasion isn't Christmasy. but is still good.

Fucking hell I'd wiped The Next Doctor from my memory.

[Harsin]

They should take a leaf from Colin's play book and have Capaldi strangle Clara on the floor of the Tardis next episode, except less people will have a problem with it this time.

[NEG]

Christmas Carol and the Titanic ones are actually my favs.

I've watched the titanic one at least close to 10 times now.

Next Doctor was naff, but the guy that played the fake doctor was at least fun and interesting. And the Doctor was in a hot air balloon tardis.

A hot air balloon tardis!

[NEG]

Oh and on the positive side tonight, the regeneration scene was great, but agreed there didn't need to be two. Or make him stay old for the second 'proper' one.

[SeanR]

is this not on the iplayer yet?

[Fury4k]

Not sure, have you tried typing Doctor who in the search engine and seeing what comes up?

[Harsin]

That episode was what I was afraid the 50th Anniversary Special would be like, so I'm glad that Moffatt kept his self-indulgent wankery for Christmas and basically left that as a standalone.

I'll give Matt Smith credit, he acted the hell out of that despite a garbled script and the worst old-age make-up this side of Watchmen.

It was pretty funny watching the parade of half-assed off the cuff explanations Moffatt came up with for his supposedly years long masterplan. Damon Lindelof would be proud.

is this not on the iplayer yet?

It's definitely on iPlayer, because that's how I watched it.

[Captain Novaforce]

Unless everything changes every 5 seconds I get bored yet incoherent love doctor more action such shit director

[CarloOos]

Christmas Carol and the Titanic ones are actually my favs.

I've watched the titanic one at least close to 10 times now.

What the actual fuck, it's utterly woeful from start to finish. Anyone remember the comedy 'chav' couple from the future in their 80s tracksuits?

[Nick R]

I'll give you that one. It was during his big boom regeneration and since the show came back in 2005 they've had a massive problem with the music drowning out dialogue.

Yes, people have been complaining about that for years. (Having said that, judging by the results a quick search brought up, a lot of the complaints seemed to be from the Pickfords).

2006:

The dialogue seemed a bit low in the mix though - hard to make out some of the lines.

Yeah, I couldn't make out a couple of lines (and I had the telly quite loud), but I could when I saw the same lines repeated on the 'confidential' show later. I think its the music which is too loud in places (no music on the same 'confidential' clips)

2008:

Why is the there still this issue with the music being too loud and the dialogue being too quiet though, it's been like this for FOUR FUCKING SERIES. Have we all got shit televisions or something?

I'd like the music a whole lot better if it wasn't louder than the dialogue. I don't understand why they don't do something about this. It's a constant complaint.

Also, during that search I spotted this post:

(Love and Monsters)

Absolute, unmitigated shite from start to finish. I genuinely do not understand what anyone would have liked about this episode. Worst Who episode ever, and possibly the least enjoyable 45 minutes I've spent watching ANY programme in recent memory.

I'm a big fan of both new series overall, but OH MY GOD WILL SOMEONE PLEASE KILL RUSSELL T DAVIES?! He's done his bit getting Who back to our screens, now let someone with some actual talent *cough*Stephen Moffat*cough* run the show.

Ahh remember those days? When everyone agreed that Steven Moffat was the guy who did the wonderful stand-alone one/two-parters, rather than the guy who did over-convoluted series arcs?

[pranny]

is this not on the iplayer yet?

Its not not. Just watched it on the iplayer . Thought it was ok. Tied up the loose ends but as often it was a bit rushed (300 years aside)to fit everything in. Capaldi's face !Bam get used to this! Loved the speach at the end from chin face.

[Captain Novaforce]

Let's face it the only reason we like Capaldi is we hope he goes Malcolm Tucker on the producers.

"Make a fuckin coherent screen play ya granny shaggers and hol the fuckin camera steady or I'll leave you with an arsehole like a yawning hipppo"

[SeanR]

ah, its the virgin media version of iplayer...

[Harsin]

Murray Gold's music is still overbearing and makes me feel like grinding my teeth every time there's a bit that supposed to be humorous and he immediately starts goes into TWEEDLY DEEDLY DEE OOMPAH OOMPAH EVERYONE LAUGH NOW mode, like Danny Elfman on speed, just in case there's a member of the audience out there who doesn't realise it's meant to be funny.

But it's a damn sight better than it was under RTD. I watched The Waters of Mars on UK Gold the other day (one of RTD's rare half-decent episodes, shit comedy robot notwithstanding) and the music was just awful, turned up to 11 on the sound mix, often undercutting tension and suspense with inappropriate usage and just didn't stop ever.

[Nick R]

The emphasis on Matt Smith's whole "I will remember this, every single day of it" speech raised my suspicions that it was foreshadowing memory issues as a side-effect of the regeneration. So I hope that Capaldi's "Do you know how to fly this thing?" doesn't mean that the next episode will spend ages with the Doctor an an amnesiac.

Amnesia storylines in fiction are a dime a dozen, but ones that are done well are very, very rare!

[HarMGM]

It was pretty funny watching the parade of half-assed off the cuff explanations Moffatt came up with for his supposedly years long masterplan. Damon Lindelof would be proud.

Both the best and the worst about the episode for me. The best because we can finally move on from who blew up the TARDIS, Silence wanting to kill the Doctor, etc. The worst because most of those plot threads should have resolved in Series 6 two years ago so that we could have let the actual story time to catch it's breath. The best moments of the episode were the quieter bits where old man Matt Smith showed some damn range in his acting.