Doctor Who

[Red Alignment]

This is awful

Yeah.

Solomon was quite an old school DW villain, in a good way, but barely gets any screen time with the two extra companions of the week cluttering up everything.

[Nicky]

i enjoyed that on the whole. and Solomon was a fantastic character. it'd be a real shame to finish him off. such malevolence and frailty.

[zorse]

Absolutely gobsmacked at that line from Solomon about "breaking in" Nefertiti, how the hell did that make it from script to broadcast?

[Made of Ghosts]

I enjoyed that a lot, although the triceratops riding was a bit much. And I'm really not happy that the Doctor killed someone.

[Flub]

In the SFX review they say this about killing Solomon

If you’re thinking the Doctor is acting out-of-character when he sends Solomon to his death… well, let’s just say, it may not be totally random.

[mdn2]

I didn't think the Doctor was acting out of character at all, really. He's done lots of dark things. Remember 'The Girl who Waited' last year?

[PopeSmokesDope]

My kids lved it.

[merman]

I didn't think the Doctor was acting out of character at all, really. He's done lots of dark things. Remember 'The Girl who Waited' last year?

And Family of Blood.

Loved it, loved the fact the Doctor had a gang and thought Solomon was a good villain.

Oh and if you like dinosaurs on a spaceship, check out MJ Hibbett's sci-fi rock opera Dinosaur Planet - http://www.dinosaurplanet.co.uk

[Space Renegade Ulala]

Like I said the other week, I like it when the Doctor is a crotchety bastard threatening to bash people's heads in with a rock so his handling of the Solomon problem was fine in my book.

The Doctor is a good man. But not all of the time.

[kensei]

Speculation

The Doctor was exposed to Dalek nanobots last week. Is he being affected? The trailer for the cowboy one had Amy telling him off for lacking mercy.

Plus on the whole "Doctor Who?" thing is going to build up to the anniversary isn't it? An excuse to examine different regenerations?

[Harsin]

In the SFX review they say this about killing Solomon

There's speculation that he isn't immune to the Dalek nanobots, like Amy theorised.

EDIT: Beaten.

[Reidles]

Absolutely gobsmacked at that line from Solomon about "breaking in" Nefertiti, how the hell did that make it from script to broadcast?

Yeah, I was a bit at that too, but I guess it's subtle enough to go over most kids heads, right?

[NecroMorrius]

In Chibnall's mind, Solomon was probably talking about turning her into a cyberwoman.

[Comrade]

Out of character?

[linkster]

William Hartnell was prevented bashing in a wounded cave man's head in IIRC. While he was the doctor, obviously, he wasn't really a time travelling sadist

Mitchell and Webb cameo least funny thing theyve done since webb's best of the web tv clusterfuck

[Nick R]

Someone wrote this post on a Tumblr blog entitled "STFU Moffat", explaining why she and her sister are no longer fans of Doctor Who as show-run by Steven Moffat.

Then someone Tweeted the link to him:

His Twitter account has since been deleted. "It was too big a distraction," Sue Vertue said.

Then Spider-Man writer Dan Slott wrote this response, commenting on celebrities on social networks and the harassment they often receive.

Anyway, away from all that Twitter drama, a couple of days ago Andrew Ellard started his series of reviews of Dr Who episodes, beginning with an Asylum of the Daleks review that's a lot more positive than the one linked to at the top of this post. And now he puts them on Storify so I no longer have to copy and paste them into this thread to preserve them as I once did.

As for what I thought of Dinosaurs on a Spaceship: silly in a way that felt like a throwback to some of the one-offs in the RTD era, and some moments were quite bad (Mitchell and Webb being the robots' voice actors was just distracting). But it was generally enjoyable, with lots of pretty good lines throughout, and overall it was probably Chris Chibnall's best Who or Torchwood episode.

[Eighthours]

Someone wrote this post on a Tumblr blog entitled "STFU Moffat", explaining why she and her sister are no longer fans of Doctor Who as show-run by Steven Moffat.

Then someone Tweeted the link to him:

His Twitter account has since been deleted. "It was too big a distraction," Sue Vertue said.

Then Spider-Man writer Dan Slott wrote this response, commenting on celebrities on social networks and the harassment they often receive.

Anyway, away from all that Twitter drama, a couple of days ago Andrew Ellard started his series of reviews of Dr Who episodes, beginning with an Asylum of the Daleks review that's a lot more positive than the one linked to at the top of this post. And now he puts them on Storify so I no longer have to copy and paste them into this thread to preserve them as I once did.

As for what I thought of Dinosaurs on a Spaceship: silly in a way that felt like a throwback to some of the one-offs in the RTD era, and some moments were quite bad (Mitchell and Webb being the robots' voice actors was just distracting). But it was generally enjoyable, with lots of pretty good lines throughout, and overall it was probably Chris Chibnall's best Who or Torchwood episode.

Wait, that blog writer's sister's favourite episodes include 'Fear Her'? Why would you listen to the opinion of such a person?

[lordcookie]

Someone wrote this post on a Tumblr blog entitled "STFU Moffat", explaining why she and her sister are no longer fans of Doctor Who as show-run by Steven Moffat.

Even if she makes many valid points (and I think Moffat's tenure, bar the great central castings, has been a bit disappointing given how great his individual episodes were when RTD ran the show) she uses Fear Her as an example of a great episode. Of all the episodes she could use to back up her point and she chooses the one widely, and rightly, seen as the worst new Who made to date.

EDIT: Nice to see Eighthours agrees.

[linkster]

Out of character?

Actually, never mind that, I got to thinking the other day how one story featured the third doctor lauding what a spiffing chap old Chairman Mao was. Gotta love 1960s ill-informed liberalism

[zorse]

Yeah, I was a bit at that too, but I guess it's subtle enough to go over most kids heads, right?

No doubt it did, but the threat of rape still seems like a very disturbing idea to introduce in a show like this, granted there were other dark themes going on like genocide, but sexual violence just seemed totally incongruous with the tone of Doctor Who.

[c-cat114]

The sexualisation of Who was one of the most rotten aspects of RTDs run I thought sad to see it occasionally crop up in Moffat's reign too.

That said - thoroughly enjoyed both eps and the breaking her in line was the only sour note in the ep I thought. Maybe the Triceratops but my daughter loved that bit so that's fair enough. Just hoping that the series itself doesn't break apart during the middle break as mug as the last one did.

[Flub]

Something I just found out. Character Options (Who make the official toys for the series) previewed this rather interesting gun toy last december.

http://doctorwhotoys...itimedevice.htm

The blurb on the box reads

Spoilered just in case

"After the Doctor disappeared, the Cybermen and Daleks went to war across the universe. And on each world they destroyed, they left in their wake Stone Angels, picking over the dead and dying.

But the Cleric army fought back and scoured the dead worlds left after the wars, looking for the wreckage of Daleks, Cybermen, and broken Angels to create a hugely powerful 'anti-time' device.

A device part Dalek, part Cyber technology and using the Quantum signature from the Angel to trigger a Gateway to pull enemies into the time Vortex.... Erasing them from Time completely.".

Someone on i09 mentioned that the theme of this series may in fact be that people are forgetting who the Doctor is (Not just the Daleks) which could end in a situation where the question "Doctor Who" isn't about his name and more about the fact that the universe has completely forgotten the Doctor. Which would also explain how Clara/Oswin could travel with the Doctor and then forget about him in time for Asylum of the Daleks.

The full post spoilered

In both instances, it was a computer network (well, a "pathweb" and an ID system) which forgot both the Doctorand the TARDIS. As of right now, you could blame it all on somebody's superhuman hacking ability, though I'm hopeful in the next episode, we'll see more direct evidence of the effect spreading to human memories. (possibly with a "who was that bowtied man?" variant, where the population of Mercy forget the Doctor the moment he leaves town)

Personally, my suspicions point straight back to The Silence.

We already know they can make themselves memory-proof. What if they've found a way to do the same to The Doctor, and it's all part of the plan to make sure the first question never gets answered? (first remove the man, then remove the myth?) It would be a clever cheat on Moffat's part if "Doctor Who?" came to be less about knowing the Doctor's real name, and more about the man the entire universe has forgotten trying to reassert his identity.

Also, if you were wondering how Clara and Oswin could be the same person and not know the Doctor... there you go. Problem solved.

In a cruel twist of fate, when the memory erase effect finally catches up to Clara, they may be parked at Maldorian's or some futuristic space dock, at which point she just wanders off, looks up at a billboard saying "See the Stars on an Alaska Intergalactic Cruise" and subconsciously remembering her time with the Doctor, thinks "why not? It's what I've always wanted." (I imagine if she had the psychic paper on her, it'd be pretty easy to bluff her way onboard by saying "Hi, I'm Oswin... um Oswald. The new entertainment director. When do we leave?")

I also think that this current Doctor's desire to "have a gang" will make the loneliness of being completely and utterly forgotten all the more miserable. At Demons Run and The Wedding of River Song we saw the man who "only had to ask," and who could raise an army just by showing up. Now, ultimately, the Doctor will be forced to stand alone, to protect a universe that doesn't even remember him, from a legion of his greatest foes, who actually do remember him, thanks to those handy eye-drives the Silence have handed out.

[NecroMorrius]

Take solace in the fact that had Solomon been an RTD character, he'd have probably had the horn for Rory instead

I started reading that blog post (http://stfu-moffat.t...y-little-sister) but after a few lines my eyes rolled back in my head and I lost 8 minutes.

[Sprite Machine]

That was stupidly good fun. Snappy, exciting, funny. Full of sci-fi tropes pulled from everywhere (and why not?) and filled with a great cast of characters. Can we expect different companions every week? Interesting idea to drop Rory and Amy off at the end of every episode, rather than them coming with him. I liked the bit about weaning them off of him.

It's crazy watching these alongside Classic Doctor Who from the 60s. They're very noticably (and quite literally) from different times. The glacial pacing and melodrama make for some hard watching sometimes. I've just watched the 'Crusades' four-parter (parts 2 and 4 reconstructed) and it's just yet another Doctor meets famous person from history story, nothing especially interesting and a bit formulaic now.

I have noticed the Doctor is getting more and more giggly with each passing story. I shall call him the Chuckling Doctor from now on - quite a change from his first appearance when he was a grumpy old man smacking cavemen over the head with rocks.

I am getting slightly irritated by his constantly adding "hmm?" to the end of every single sentence. To be honest, I'm not much of a fan of his acting, but I've still got another 'series' before his first regeneration happens, so... hanging in there and hoping for some better stories soon.

[Hello Goaty ♥]

Ive just watched the Dinosaurs on a spaceship episode, as in 5 mins ago

Very enjoyable, and plent of COMEDY which is now obvious that its been missing from Doctor Who for a while.

and of course as others have said, you have to whole killing Solomon thing. He probably deserved it for killing all the Silurians.

What else I liked, is that things happened in the episode, no faffing about for a change.

[Professor Puzzles]

Wait, that blog writer's sister's favourite episodes include 'Fear Her'? Why would you listen to the opinion of such a person?

Even if she makes many valid points (and I think Moffat's tenure, bar the great central castings, has been a bit disappointing given how great his individual episodes were when RTD ran the show) she uses Fear Her as an example of a great episode. Of all the episodes she could use to back up her point and she chooses the one widely, and rightly, seen as the worst new Who made to date.

EDIT: Nice to see Eighthours agrees.

Take solace in the fact that had Solomon been an RTD character, he'd have probably had the horn for Rory instead

I started reading that blog post (http://stfu-moffat.t...y-little-sister) but after a few lines my eyes rolled back in my head and I lost 8 minutes.

I'm enjoying this run of Doctor Who but the criticisms she gives in the blog post are entirely valid, especially the stuff about River Song. Just because she particularly liked one particularly terrible episode doesn't mean her observations and those of her little sister about the Moffat stories are easily dismissed, there are still some rotten things about New Who that deserve to be picked to bits and scattered on the wind, and she skewers most of them.

[NecroMorrius]

Probably, I only read the first couple of lines.

[linkster]

If the Silurians could have space ships, then the Cave Monsters story makes no sense.

Just saying.

[whizzo]

Something I just found out. Character Options (Who make the official toys for the series) previewed this rather interesting gun toy last december.

http://doctorwhotoys...itimedevice.htm

The blurb on the box reads

Spoilered just in case

"After the Doctor disappeared, the Cybermen and Daleks went to war across the universe. And on each world they destroyed, they left in their wake Stone Angels, picking over the dead and dying.

But the Cleric army fought back and scoured the dead worlds left after the wars, looking for the wreckage of Daleks, Cybermen, and broken Angels to create a hugely powerful 'anti-time' device.

A device part Dalek, part Cyber technology and using the Quantum signature from the Angel to trigger a Gateway to pull enemies into the time Vortex.... Erasing them from Time completely.".

Someone on i09 mentioned that the theme of this series may in fact be that people are forgetting who the Doctor is (Not just the Daleks) which could end in a situation where the question "Doctor Who" isn't about his name and more about the fact that the universe has completely forgotten the Doctor. Which would also explain how Clara/Oswin could travel with the Doctor and then forget about him in time for Asylum of the Daleks.

The full post spoilered

In both instances, it was a computer network (well, a "pathweb" and an ID system) which forgot both the Doctorand the TARDIS. As of right now, you could blame it all on somebody's superhuman hacking ability, though I'm hopeful in the next episode, we'll see more direct evidence of the effect spreading to human memories. (possibly with a "who was that bowtied man?" variant, where the population of Mercy forget the Doctor the moment he leaves town)

Personally, my suspicions point straight back to The Silence.

We already know they can make themselves memory-proof. What if they've found a way to do the same to The Doctor, and it's all part of the plan to make sure the first question never gets answered? (first remove the man, then remove the myth?) It would be a clever cheat on Moffat's part if "Doctor Who?" came to be less about knowing the Doctor's real name, and more about the man the entire universe has forgotten trying to reassert his identity.

Also, if you were wondering how Clara and Oswin could be the same person and not know the Doctor... there you go. Problem solved.

In a cruel twist of fate, when the memory erase effect finally catches up to Clara, they may be parked at Maldorian's or some futuristic space dock, at which point she just wanders off, looks up at a billboard saying "See the Stars on an Alaska Intergalactic Cruise" and subconsciously remembering her time with the Doctor, thinks "why not? It's what I've always wanted." (I imagine if she had the psychic paper on her, it'd be pretty easy to bluff her way onboard by saying "Hi, I'm Oswin... um Oswald. The new entertainment director. When do we leave?")

I also think that this current Doctor's desire to "have a gang" will make the loneliness of being completely and utterly forgotten all the more miserable. At Demons Run and The Wedding of River Song we saw the man who "only had to ask," and who could raise an army just by showing up. Now, ultimately, the Doctor will be forced to stand alone, to protect a universe that doesn't even remember him, from a legion of his greatest foes, who actually do remember him, thanks to those handy eye-drives the Silence have handed out.

The Issue being that everyone he visited to join his gang remembered him.

[Davros sock drawer]

That was stupidly good fun. Snappy, exciting, funny. Full of sci-fi tropes pulled from everywhere (and why not?) and filled with a great cast of characters. Can we expect different companions every week? Interesting idea to drop Rory and Amy off at the end of every episode, rather than them coming with him. I liked the bit about weaning them off of him.

It's crazy watching these alongside Classic Doctor Who from the 60s. They're very noticably (and quite literally) from different times. The glacial pacing and melodrama make for some hard watching sometimes. I've just watched the 'Crusades' four-parter (parts 2 and 4 reconstructed) and it's just yet another Doctor meets famous person from history story, nothing especially interesting and a bit formulaic now.

I have noticed the Doctor is getting more and more giggly with each passing story. I shall call him the Chuckling Doctor from now on - quite a change from his first appearance when he was a grumpy old man smacking cavemen over the head with rocks.

I am getting slightly irritated by his constantly adding "hmm?" to the end of every single sentence. To be honest, I'm not much of a fan of his acting, but I've still got another 'series' before his first regeneration happens, so... hanging in there and hoping for some better stories soon.

Even as a child who devoured Dr Who novelisations I couldn't be bothered with stuff like The Crusades. You've now seen more Hartnell than I ever did, but I suspect that you won't start really enjoying Who until Tom Baker arrives. How early does your Classic Who memory start, or have you never seen any of it?