Doctor Who

[Ravern]

I was relieved - for a second there I honestly thought it was going to say 'the Cybermen are superior - only in height'.

I thought it was going to be something about climbing stairs.

I'm really not sure about those bits. I'd really like the enemies to be, well, evil! And then if they are going to crack jokes, it could at least be black humour, rather than the kind of thing a 6 year old comes out with on a playground.

[Hello Goaty ♥]

Girl in the Fireplace?

Yes. That too i'm afraid me old Boyatsea

[Harlen Quinn]

Well, I really enjoyed it. Yes, the general scientific explanations in new who seems somehow less satisfactory than old who but it was an emotional episode and a fitting end for Rose and her family. It's a pity the daleks were so outright superior to the cyberman but I guess I suspected as much. I've no problems with the dalek's contemptuous put downs to the cybermen, seemed fairly acceptable to me. As for Catherine Tate, let's not bury an episode before we've seen it just cos some of us don't like her comedy, I'm pretty sure she was an actress first.

[Boyatsea]

Yes. That too i'm afraid me old Boyatsea

Goatie.

The shame. That was special Who of a Father's Day quality.

[So. Angry.]

Join the club.

Oh fear for the TV show that starts to depend on guest stars...for that is a sorry road to nowhere.

Not even that good of a guest star: Lucas and Walliams must have been busy.

...

Catherine Tate as the Rani? Oh dear. I've gone and depressed myself...

[Boyatsea]

As for Catherine Tate, let's not bury an episode before we've seen it just cos some of us don't like her comedy, I'm pretty sure she was an actress first.

She was. And you're right - we shouldn't write it off.

Some people think they have a talent for this kind of thing though, and like to past comment. Problem is, in comparison to an episode like today's, they couldn't write themselves out of a paper bag.

[Hello Goaty ♥]

I know that Doctor Who is a BBC franchise, but every other character seems to have been scrimped and scraped from other BBC productions / programmes

this is why Christopher Eccleston was so great I think.

He was a big name actor from H O L L Y W O O D!

( And probably expensive to employ as well )

[biglime]

Some people think they have a talent for this kind of thing though, and like to past comment. Problem is, in comparison to an episode like today's, they couldn't write themselves out of a paper bag.

What a beautifully written pair of sentences...

[Dr Derek Doctors]

As for Catherine Tate, let's not bury an episode before we've seen it just cos some of us don't like her comedy, I'm pretty sure she was an actress first.

Exactly, it reminds me of going to see Dark City thinking that Richard O'Brien would ruin it, when he was actually really cracking in it.

I'm not going to write off the Christmas episode until the point where RTD's name pops up in the credits.

[Boyatsea]

I know that Doctor Who is a BBC franchise, but every other character seems to have been scrimped and scraped from other BBC productions / programmes

this is why Christopher Eccleston was so great I think.

He was a big name actor from H O L L Y W O O D!

Hollywood, in Salford.

[Sigourney Beaver]

The only episodes I actually enjoyed were "Tooth & Claw" and "Fear Her."

all the other episodes have been shite IMO.

( alright... the series finale was OK i suppose! )

I quite liked this series until after the satan episodes. The one with the coronation was superb too. Something about it stood out as being miles better than the others. Can't put my finger on what though.

The worst episodes were that flashback to the crimbo episode with that troll faced guy, and the one with the girl who kept drawing. They were just awful.

Overall, the series felt like it was in shock at losing Christopher Eccleston and all the supporting cast had bigger roles to make up for it.

At least Eccleston's place in history as the best ever Doctor is secure. I hope they ditch Tennant after the next series.

[Hello Goaty ♥]

Hollywood, in Salford.

[Harlen Quinn]

What a beautifully written pair of sentences...

Can you two take your handbags to PM and try and stick to the subject in the thread?

[Hello Goaty ♥]

and the one with the girl who kept drawing.

see, I enjoyed that one! can't think why I enjoyed it given the content. But I just did!

I liked the concept of drawing Planet Earth on her wall

[pretentious_helvetica]

Join the club.

Oh fear for the TV show that starts to depend on guest stars...for that is a sorry road to nowhere.

Like... Peter Kay?

I'd get worried if Ken Dodd turns up again, to be honest.

[Retroid]

see, I enjoyed that one! can't think why I enjoyed it given the content. But I just did!

I liked the concept of drawing Planet Earth on her wall

Stargate surely?

[biglime]

Like... Peter Kay?

I'd get worried if Ken Dodd turns up again, to be honest.

My point's more that they shouldn't be leaning on a guest star as the hook for the Christmas Episode.

It was a good series all in all, but not as good as the first. And RTD's episodes this time round really let the side down.

[El Pibe]

I hope that now that Dr Who is re-established and the Tylers are gone, we'll see the Dr and his companion move away from planet and Earth and explore!

I hope the new companion isn't going to be tied to Earth like Rose...I hope she is single and has no family!

[Sigourney Beaver]

It was a good series all in all, but not as good as the first.

The final episode in the first series was epic stuff. Rose's speech as she killed the Daleks blows my mind every time

[Mogster]

If I had to choose a set of episodes I could happily watch over and over ad nauseum, from both series, then both would yield seven episodes for me. From the first I'd pick The Unquiet Dead, Dalek, Father's Day, The Empty Child, The Doctor Dances, Bad Wolf and The Parting of the Ways. From the second I'd pick Tooth and Claw, School Reunion, The Girl in the Fireplace, The Impossible Planet, The Satan Pit, Army of Ghosts and Doomsday. There hasn't been a single episode from either season I haven't enjoyed to some extent, so I'd be hard pressed to choose a favourite.

However, I think the second suffered a bit from the actual placement of those episodes. In the first season my choices above were spread out fairly evenly, peaking with TEC/TDD in terms of quality. In the second, we were hit with the tripple whammy of T&C, School Reuinion and TGitF straight after the first episode, with TGitF being the peak of the series for most of us. As a result the series felt a little less consistent at the time than it actually was in hindsight.

Anyway, roll on The Runnaway Bride.

[Sigourney Beaver]

I've watched the first series at least three times. TV just doesn't get any better than that.

[pretentious_helvetica]

Maybe it's the same curse which happens to many TV shows - including The Simpsons. As they get more popular, the writers don't try as hard and rest on their laurels. They don't have to prove themselves because the show is loved by so many. I really enjoyed a lot of Season 1 with Eccles and there was some incredible stand-out moments - "Everyone lives!" being a particular favourite. I also loved the way there was the "Myth of the Doctor" where he was a harbinger of doom bringing death in his wake. I was a bit unsure when Tennant was the new Doc, though he's done a great role of being a particular type of Doctor.

I've not been so excited looking forward to a TV show than I have with both seasons of the New Who, and I'm going to miss that feeling until Christmas.

[FishyFish]

Cripes, it looks like a lot of people have got a major downer on tonights episode.

Personally, I was hooked. Loved it. Don't doubt it had it's faults, but it was pretty damned entertaining nontheless. Certainly there was nothing in there that disengaged my suspension of disbelief in the way that's happened a few times in the last two series' (see; burping bins, farting Slitheen, magic plague remedies etc.). I just went along for the ride and came out smiling.

I think that, with RTD's episodes, I've learnt to treat them like a ride on the ghost-train; Look hard enough and you can see that you're in nothing more than a wooden maze with painted on ghosts and rubber spiders hung from the ceiling; sit back and take it at face value and you can still have a load of fun. Maybe this is artificially lowering my expectations, and maybe I shouldn't have to do this, but this is just the way I feel things are under RTD's stewardship - don't let a plot hole get in the way of the entertainment - and anyway, the things I dislike are far outweighed by the ones I love.

TGitF was still the series highpoint though. That one sits there amongst my favourite Who stories of all time.

[Mogster]

I know it’s a complete over reaction but right now I agree with you. I'm in a state of mind right now that’s making me wish they pushed the boat out and spent whatever they had to to keep Eccleston. He turned dodgy scenes into acceptable and elevated good to gold. Tennant hasn't looked like he can impose himself as well on the show, he's not got the presence and its highlighting some of the poorer aspects of the scripts.

As much as I love him in the role, I agree with you to some extent. I think I actually prefer Tennant's doctor when he's given suitable material, and he really shines in School Reunion and TGitF in particular. Ecclestone however was faultless regardless of what was thrown at him. He could have been the Doctor.

[biglime]

Aint it great to care so much?

Oh well, back to shitty old normal telly until Christmas.

[Mogster]

Oh yeah, has it actually been announced when Torchwood's due to start? I want more Who!

[Twyford]

Oh yeah, has it actually been announced when Torchwood's due to start? I want more Who!

Sometime in October.

[JohnC]

At least I've completely ignored Catherine Tate in the past, so her appearing at the end didn't upset me like it did some people here. I didn't even know it was her until it was mentioned here.

[Fireproofradiator]

I agree with FishyFish as far as the Davies thing is concerned. You just have to take the rough with the smooth. That goes for the show as a whole, and it's always been that way. I was more irritated by the 'I love you guys!' and dull sci-fi rip offs that seemed to make up The Impossible Planet than farting aliens, personally, but that's down to sensibilities I guess.

And the silly stuff's always been there, of course. I was reading about a petwee story where the Master happens to catch an episode of the clangers the other day ('It seems to be a rather interesting extraterrestial lifeform...') - and you have to allow the fact that stuff like the 'You are!' 'No, YOU are!' cyberman-dalek exchange in this evening's episode will always happen, or decide whether it's enough to make you switch off and watch 'City of Death' instead...

Actually, I've kind of painted myself into a corner there...

[El Pibe]