Doctor Who

[Lorfarius]

Felt hard going, was actually hard work to watch, didn't like it at all

[Aardvark]

During the 2005 series imdb had Norman Lovett listed as Davros

That would have been incredible, in fact I might just watch Revelation of the Daleks and imagine him playing Davros in that.

"All right Docs. What do you think of my new Daleks then? Of course I say Daleks but really they're processed humans I've stuck in some fibre glass, but you know what it's like. Conquer the universe? I'll be lucky to conquer a funeral home with this lot."

[Dame Orbette]

I caved and checked IMDB but seeing as I've been confused about everything so far in the series anyway knowing who may be in the next episode didn't really have any bearing on my feelings about what's supposed to be going on anyway.

I like the series so far but it's pretty hard going like Lorfarius said. The first couple of episodes felt like they should have been in the middle of the series, the pirate one felt massively out of place compared to episodes around it, and although bits and pieces are starting to come together I can't help but feel like it's almost being made up as it goes along almost. The end of Saturday's episode was a good cliffhanger though so hopefully my brain will start to work out what's going on in the next couple of episodes.

[Gregory Wolfe]

WTF!

Why did I look What a tit

yeah, pd is going to appear to offer his daughter to dt in unholy matrimony.

[Goose]

I caved and checked IMDB but seeing as I've been confused about everything so far in the series anyway knowing who may be in the next episode didn't really have any bearing on my feelings about what's supposed to be going on anyway.

I like the series so far but it's pretty hard going like Lorfarius said. The first couple of episodes felt like they should have been in the middle of the series, the pirate one felt massively out of place compared to episodes around it

Probably wrong here but I think the Pirate episode (or at least the majority of the episode, minus the is she pregnant/isn't she) was meant to be episode nine. Maybe.

[Lorfarius]

That doesn't make sense after last nights as the pirate ep had Pond in it.

[JohnC]

Unless Pond is back by the time it was to air. Which she presumably will be.

[SeanR]

comparing this thread to what's happening on screen is THE single most confusing "forum moment" I've ever had.

it's like NO-ONE knows who's what or anything.

[edit]

ok, NOW it's clearer.

Edited May 29, 2011 by SeanR

[Space Gibbon]

Unless Pond is back by the time it was to air. Which she presumably will be.

She saw eyepatch lady in the pirate episode. They might have added that in later, though.

I just went back to watch Silence in the Library. The moment when River realised the Doctor doesn't know her is a lot more powerful having seen season 6 up to this point.

[smoothe]

Ok, so here's my new plot hole.

Amy has been travelling through time for ages while being a ganger controlled by her real self, right? So when she went back in time, we had a ganger being controlled from the future by a woman with no time travel apparatus. So when the ganger gets dissolved, Amy wakes up at some time thousands of years in the future which has no causal connection to her ganger self!

Timey-wimey

[Garwoofoo]

There's something about this series that increasingly isn't sitting right with me, and I'm not quite sure what it is.

I think it's the story arc. I've always hoped that Doctor Who would start to develop proper story arcs and I thought I'd be pleased now it is finally going in that direction. But it seems to be going about it the wrong way, especially for a series aimed primarily at kids and casual viewers.

A story arc should involve some sort of progression from episode to episode. Even if you have stand-alone stories, the characters' experiences in one episode should lead naturally onto the next. This worked quite well last year - Amy joined up with the Doctor, then things became awkward, then Rory joined, then Rory died, then things got resolved. You could pretty much tell where you were in this very simple arc just by what was going on and how the characters were interacting.

But this year it is vastly too complicated. I don't think a story arc in this sort of show should involve asking a hundred questions right at the start that don't have any answer and don't appear to make sense, then answering them in a random order throughout the series. So we've got "who is River Song" which is a complicated enough concept for a show like this (and the way it has been spread across three seasons means it isn't always satisfactorily reintroduced every time the character pops up). You've got a load of unanswered questions from the end of last series, like why did the Tardis explode and what is meant by "Silence Will Fall". Then you've got the Amy pregnancy story, and Eyepatch Hatch Woman (who only now are revealed to be connected). Then you've got the whole "who kills the Doctor" questions, not to mention "who is the regenerating little girl". Now I'm sure most of these will eventually end up being answered, and will turn out to be connected, but the price we pay for that is an absolutely baffling two-parter at the start of the series and the fact that anybody who misses a couple of episodes or isn't paying close attention won't have a bloody clue what is happening.

Or maybe it's just the fact that I still think the show is now too scary for kids. The opening two-parter was really adult in tone and this week's episode featured such child-friendly concepts as abandoned piles of sentient Flesh and assistants being melted by the Doctor without warning.

It just feels that the show is currently being written for adult geeks and Doctor Who fans. In theory I should love that because I am both, but it's turning out that I like the show's family-friendly qualities too, and although I'd never advocate a return to RTD silliness, I do feel that there is a middle ground somewhere that is being missed.

[Retroid]

Nope, love the fact that the show is catering for me on a mental level. I'm selfish like that.

[kensei]

The first two were perfectly pitched - they set up mystery. The pirate one was quite self contained as was Gaiman's though only the latter was good. The problem is that the last two were a mess - too many ideas not well setup and a few too many plot holes.

[lordcookie]

I agree with Garwoofoo. I was going to leave my comments until the mid-season break to see how episode 7 answers and sets up the rest of the season but I've been disappointed with the season so far.

From the trailers and the very encouraging last season I was expecting great things this time around. I absolutely loved the opening episode (so much so I watched it three times), it had all the elements you could want in a Doctor Who episode and a great hook with the Doctor properly dying. But since then it has just gone off the boil for me. The second part of the opener felt rushed and scattershot, the pirate episode was flat out bad (how can you combine Who and pirates and make it so boring?), the Gaiman episode had its moments but again felt rushed and compromised and the last two parter was muddled and dull save for the cliffhanger that is going to need a fair bit of explaining.

Moffat is a great writer with some brilliant ideas but just occasionally less is more. I don't think this show needs to pander to its youngest audience, they are pretty quick at picking up some pretty complex stuff, but at present it feels as if there are too many plates being spun and none of the season spanning threads are given the time they deserve. Ambitious stories are great but I'd rather have a story that just worked rather than feeling rushed or crammed full of too many ideas that it lacks the thrills or emotion that the best Who does. Take the Doctor's Wife episode, I know the vast majority of the forum absolutely loved it but there was a concept that demanded proper time to spent on it and a proper budget. The end result had some great individual moments in it but for me it never quite gelled. The ending was, as has been the case a lot with Who, just far too quick and even with that nice emotional moment between Doctor and Tardis it felt unsatisfying. The whole bit with Amy in the Rory in the changing Tardis was very much filler when it could have been something far more interesting. I'm sure every writer would want their idea to be a two-parter with a budget to match and that obviously can't be the case but you can't compromise something with such a killer concept as this.

I thought Rory was a great character in his first season but it is as if they don't really know what to do with him now, apart from dying very easily he really hasn't added much at all this time around. A couple of the writer's have even upped the zaniness of Matt Smith's Doctor which is really unnecessary when Smith is naturally odd anyway. At times it has come across as forced and you don't need to with Smith at all, the reason he is such a good Doctor is because it does feel so natural unlike Tennant's Doctor.

Tonally the first half of the season has been pretty flat. On paper you'd think this impossible considering the range of plots we have had but there has been a distinct lack of fun. It's not even a question of them being darker, scarier or more complex stories (Blink was all three but it was always fun) they just seem to be rather dour and I can't put my finger on why. Doctor and companion interaction is certainly weaker this time around, maybe this can be explained away by the Doctor being unsure of Amy, but the spark in their relationship hasn't really shone through so far. As said earlier, Rory is pretty much wasted and his relationship with Amy isn't going anywhere new or interesting either.

Without putting too much of a downer on the season as a whole I still think when Smith is just Smith he is up there with the best Doctors and head and shoulders above Tennant and Ecclestone (two actors who always seemed to force the strangeness of the character). The cinematography is great, they've played with some really interesting concepts, even if I haven't always enjoyed the results as much as I'd hoped, and despite them dangling too many carrots at the audience I am still intrigued to see how they resolve all these unanswered questions.

[Hawkeye]

Chalk me up as another that's found this series to be poor so far. In fact there isn't a single episode I've enjoyed yet in this run. I don't think the story arc is remotely good, just bloated and lacking interest.

[Tunisia]

Ok, so here's my new plot hole.

Amy has been travelling through time for ages while being a ganger controlled by her real self, right? So when she went back in time, we had a ganger being controlled from the future by a woman with no time travel apparatus. So when the ganger gets dissolved, Amy wakes up at some time thousands of years in the future which has no causal connection to her ganger self!

Timey-wimey

They are linked though: the time as experienced by knocked-up Amy since her replacement = time as experienced by her ganger. Presumably the Tardis acted as a bit of a Wifi hub to keep the connection alive. So for each of them, ~7 months or so has passed (because Amy was taken post-knocking up and post-detecting that she could be pregnant, but pre-definitely being pregnant). Ganger dissolves, Amy wakes up, both ~7 months after the ol' switcheroo, regardless of where they are in 'absolute' time.

[scottcr]

It's certainly complicated, but in a multi-layered and good way that also goes back to the previous series. My 4 year old has really enjoyed it, including last weeks. He jumps around with his sonic screwdriver and scans to see if someone is a 'plastic person'. Meanwhile, it's got me thinking about how it all hangs together...

Interested to see how The Silence, Cybermen, Tardis from The Lodger, River Song and the little girl all come about. I'm guessing the little girl is river and she kills the plastic doctor in the first episode of the series... Dunno

[Hexx]

A new promo pic for next week

Rory

[scottcr]

I thought that was

roman rory

in previous photos....

also ... what have the

sontarans

got to do with it... ???

also ... what have the

sontarans

got to do with it... ???

[Hexx]

I thought that was

roman rory

in previous photos....

also ... what have the

sontarans

got to do with it... ???

also ... what have the

sontarans

got to do with it... ???

Well if they're going to war and Rory remembers his time as a Roman he might be a good little soldier/commander.

Sontarans? If you've read the promo you'll know...the Doctor recruits an army to help rescue Amy

Amy Pond has been kidnapped and the Doctor is raising an army to rescue her as the drama continues. But as he and Rory race across galaxies, calling in long-held debts and solemnly given promises, his enemies are laying a carefully concealed trap.

In her cell in Stormcage, River Song sadly acknowledges that the time has come at last – today will mark the Battle of Demons Run and the Doctor's darkest hour. Both sides will make their sacrifices and River Song must finally reveal her most closely guarded secret to the Doctor.

Here's 2 more promo pics - 1 spoiling another return (that if you've paying attention you'll know about), and 1 showing an...interesting...setting between 3 people

[Space Gibbon]

I thought that was

roman rory

in previous photos....

also ... what have the

sontarans

got to do with it... ???

also ... what have the

sontarans

got to do with it... ???

Maybe

the anti-Doctor alliance formed for the Pandorica job (here I'm imagining Doctor Who villaindom being like American gangster culture) is back.

[pauc]

Just caught up and I've no idea what's happening and not a clue on how all these loose ends are going to get tied up but it's all very exciting.

It'll all be pulled together neatly with a little bow on top by the end, you'll see.

[cassidy]

In October mind

[pauc]

Yeah, after saturday no more Doctor until Autumn. Bummer.

[scottcr]

Maybe

the anti-Doctor alliance formed for the Pandorica job (here I'm imagining Doctor Who villaindom being like American gangster culture) is back.

but

but

but

that would mean

the slitheen.... Noooo!

however, I think you may have a point - some of the folks that were part of the alliance may choose to help the Doctor - perhaps because of a threat that only the Doctor can help with... The Silence or the New Cybermen

PUMPED

[Hexx]

Someone's picked out a logo seen in the trailer, and it's come up before! Back in Series 5!

SPOILERS

OMEGA

River works for them? (Or will in the future? Weeping Angels two parter is further ahead in her timeline right?)

Are they the church!?!?

:OMG:

[Space Gibbon]

Someone's picked out a logo seen in the trailer, and it's come up before! Back in Series 5!

SPOILERS

OMEGA

River works for them? (Or will in the future? Weeping Angels two parter is further ahead in her timeline right?)

Are they the church!?!?

:OMG:

Maybe the guy she kills to get her sentence isn't the Doctor (as we might have assumed) but the leader of this Omega group's army.

[sprite]

Finally caught up. Some great moments in that two-parter but on the whole I can't say I enjoyed it as such. I suppose I found it all a little too tense and a bit disturbing in some ways. I can't really explain why, it just didn't quite feel like the Doctor Who I've come to adore.

That said, in those moments where

the Doctor is having conversations with himself

it was business as usual.

Great cliffhanger.

I see some speculation about how Amy could've been controlling her ganger self and all this, but fact is we've absolutely no indication of when she was kidnapped at this point. Before the start of Season 6 is possibly a good bet (as prior to that we didn't have any pregnancy scans and things), but what if the real Pond never even came out of the Pandorica the way we saw it or something? Craaaazy

Edit: read through a bit more and it seems Confidential confirmed she's been fake all season.

And from the trailer for next week's

Who is the chap in the massive coat running with a gun?

[Comrade]

Why is there speculation about when Amy was kidnapped? It was obviously in the second episode when she was kidnapped by the Silence, the Amy the gang "rescued" was clearly the Ganger.

EDIT: Anyway, the Silence best watch out for messing with the Doc's bitch because he will ICE those motherfuckers:

[pranny]

crackkk!!