Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
March 29, 2024, 12:28:40 AM

Login with username, password and session length

Search:     Advanced search
we're back, baby
*
Home Help Search Login Register
f13.net  |  f13.net General Forums  |  General Discussion  |  TV  |  Topic: Dr. Who 0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.
Pages: 1 ... 33 34 [35] 36 37 ... 68 Go Down Print
Author Topic: Dr. Who  (Read 624487 times)
apocrypha
Terracotta Army
Posts: 6711

Planes? Shit, I'm terrified to get in my car now!


Reply #1190 on: April 17, 2013, 08:23:04 AM

I wasn't really talking about arcs as such, just having the location/setting/story take place over 4 episodes instead of just 1.

I watched Dr Who as a kid probably from 1970 up until the mid 80's and if you look at the list of episodes you can see that they were nearly all 4-7 episodes per "title" with 4-6 titles per season. There were background arcs but they were more about recurring characters like the Master and persistent settings, e.g. the Doctor being stranded on Earth for so long and UNIT etc.

Now each title/story is a single episode (occasionally two) with longer reaching story arcs that try and make it all serious and momentous and yadda yadda yadda. I think 4 episodes, or 3 if the 45 min duration is maintained, per story with 3-4 stories per season would work better.


"Bourgeois society stands at the crossroads, either transition to socialism or regression into barbarism" - Rosa Luxemburg, 1915.
Ironwood
Terracotta Army
Posts: 28240


Reply #1191 on: April 18, 2013, 01:24:51 AM

I don't disagree, but the couple of times they've done multiple episodes, it hasn't really added terribly much.  Mostly due to the stories being paper thin nonsense.

"Mr Soft Owl has Seen Some Shit." - Sun Tzu
apocrypha
Terracotta Army
Posts: 6711

Planes? Shit, I'm terrified to get in my car now!


Reply #1192 on: April 18, 2013, 01:29:02 AM

True enough, I can't disagree with that.

Still, Jenna Louise Coleman eh, phwoar.  Sigh.  Ohhhhh, I see.

"Bourgeois society stands at the crossroads, either transition to socialism or regression into barbarism" - Rosa Luxemburg, 1915.
palmer_eldritch
Terracotta Army
Posts: 1999


WWW
Reply #1193 on: April 18, 2013, 06:01:15 AM

I've actually enjoyed some of the arcs in the new show. They tend to be let down by the grand finale, which is usually horrible, but the bits leading up to that have been good.

For example (no spoiler tags because this is from years ago, ok?) the watch which contains the Doctor's Time Lord soul in Human Nature . . . followed by oh fuck that old Professor also has a watch . . . leading into a couple of great episodes with the Master (despite a terrible resolution with the world being saved through the power of prayer).

Or the Doctor and Rose's romance ending with him failing to say he loves her. That particular season did have a great ending. It might have been better if they'd never bought Rose back to be honest.

Or Donna's story, leading to her saving the whole of reality in Turn Left. Again, I thought that arc had an awful ending with Doctor-Donna, but Donna's story was still interesting.

There has been some good stuff imo even though it gets undermined by the dumb or annoying moments.

(I appreciate that this is not the same issue as multi-episode stories)
Ironwood
Terracotta Army
Posts: 28240


Reply #1194 on: April 18, 2013, 06:26:33 AM

Trouble is, I thought all those arcs sucked nuts.

The Master thing was an interesting and really, really good way of bringing him back, but then the cleverness got totally lost in the zomg retard.

"Mr Soft Owl has Seen Some Shit." - Sun Tzu
Sir T
Terracotta Army
Posts: 14223


Reply #1195 on: April 18, 2013, 06:41:12 AM

I thought the Cybermen Vs the Daleks 2 parter was pretty good fun though, even if it was just an excuse for the 2 of them to start kicking the crap out of one another.

That's probably by far the best of them though, I will agree.

Hic sunt dracones.
Ironwood
Terracotta Army
Posts: 28240


Reply #1196 on: April 18, 2013, 07:37:59 AM

Yes, sorry, that was actually really good.

Credit where it's due, the whole Genesis Ark thing worked out wonderfully.

"Mr Soft Owl has Seen Some Shit." - Sun Tzu
Ironwood
Terracotta Army
Posts: 28240


Reply #1197 on: April 21, 2013, 11:35:05 AM

Ok, that ghost episode was really rather good.

"Mr Soft Owl has Seen Some Shit." - Sun Tzu
JWIV
Terracotta Army
Posts: 2392


Reply #1198 on: April 21, 2013, 02:21:47 PM

Ok, that ghost episode was really rather good.

Yah - some nice build up especially in the beginning and overall pretty solid.
Setanta
Terracotta Army
Posts: 1512


Reply #1199 on: April 21, 2013, 02:57:28 PM

Although I grew up with the series back to watching afternoon TV with Jon Pertwee as The Doctor, Tom Baker was the real Doctor for me then. Having said that, my favourite is Chris Eccleston who (just barely) really did an amazing job with the role. The story arcs were damn good too, better than many of the ones Tennant was in. Eccleston nailed the elements of a man who would destroy his own people in such a convincing manner that you would blink when he went manic.

I can't get into the new series at all. It's like picking up the US version of Torchwood and going "yep...nope".

"No man is an island. But if you strap a bunch of dead guys together it makes a damn fine raft."
Simond
Terracotta Army
Posts: 6742


Reply #1200 on: April 23, 2013, 02:57:48 PM

Ok, that ghost episode was really rather good.
Oh dear, Ironwood's been replaced by a Rutan.  Oh ho ho ho. Reallllly?

"You're really a good person, aren't you? So, there's no path for you to take here. Go home. This isn't a place for someone like you."
Khaldun
Terracotta Army
Posts: 15157


Reply #1201 on: April 23, 2013, 04:48:19 PM

I thought that was a great episode. Blended some of the best old Who and new Who in its mood and structure. Just the right dose of character arc/ongoing mystery sprinkled in there.
HaemishM
Staff Emeritus
Posts: 42628

the Confederate flag underneath the stone in my class ring


WWW
Reply #1202 on: April 24, 2013, 11:39:22 AM

Just watched the Ice Warrior episode last night. Loved the armor and the story wasn't bad at that. Funny seeing two actors I've both just recently seen in Game of Thrones together in one episode.

Khaldun
Terracotta Army
Posts: 15157


Reply #1203 on: April 27, 2013, 06:03:58 PM

This week's episode was a hot mess. I thought that was one of the worst episodes in a long, long time and it unfortunately was working with important 'canon' material as opposed to some throwaway like "Fear Her".
Malakili
Terracotta Army
Posts: 10596


Reply #1204 on: April 27, 2013, 06:07:24 PM

I didn't think it was a total trainwreck but...

Surlyboi
Terracotta Army
Posts: 10962

eat a bag of dicks


Reply #1205 on: April 27, 2013, 08:04:21 PM

But still, it opened with the Cult. So, points for that.

Tuned in, immediately get to watch cringey Ubisoft talking head offering her deepest sympathies to the families impacted by the Orlando shooting while flanked by a man in a giraffe suit and some sort of "horrifically garish neon costumes through the ages" exhibit or something.  We need to stop this fucking planet right now and sort some shit out. -Kail
Triforcer
Terracotta Army
Posts: 4663


Reply #1206 on: April 27, 2013, 09:21:41 PM

I didn't think it was a total trainwreck but...


You should just be glad they didn't do it by hugging and believing really hard, like 80% of the endings in the last couple years. 

All life begins with Nu and ends with Nu.  This is the truth!  This is my belief! At least for now...
Ironwood
Terracotta Army
Posts: 28240


Reply #1207 on: April 28, 2013, 02:16:58 AM

This is what happens ;  they give you a good episode that sets you up that it might not be a total pile of shit and BAM, TARDIS episode that should have been great reduced to Poo.

That dress was stunning though.  Very floaty in the right places.

"Mr Soft Owl has Seen Some Shit." - Sun Tzu
Khaldun
Terracotta Army
Posts: 15157


Reply #1208 on: April 28, 2013, 04:26:18 AM

The salvager guys were just flat out horrible, particularly the excrutiating 'twist' of the cyborg brother. The thing that annoys me is that the elements were there for this to be a very good episode. Just have the Tardis collide with some kind of exotic matter--heck, if you want, make it be temporal debris from the Time War, maybe a sort of temporal 'land mine'--and have the Doctor and Clara have to repair several parts of it. Make the time zombies into something like the Reapers, maybe--time parasites who exist outside of normal time-space who get in when there's a wound, like bacteria on skin. Let the Doctor, Clara and the TARDIS all have to work together to change the interiors in order to keep getting away from the time parasites. Then admittedly it's a simple monsters-and-corridors structure but I'm ok with that if they do some good character work--let them get stuck in the library for a while and for the Doctor to awkwardly have to explain a few more things to Clara about who he is and where he comes from. Set up the whole 'I don't trust you, you might be a trap' thing. Heck, even hit a magic reset button. Just stay away from the utterly dumb salvage guys and the non-necessary timey-wimey shit.
JWIV
Terracotta Army
Posts: 2392


Reply #1209 on: April 28, 2013, 08:15:09 AM

1 - The best part of the episode was that dress.

2 - The rest of it was a disjointed incoherent mess. I'm in complete agreement with the criticisms so far.  The episode had a great premise, but the writing was rushed and overall just weak.  My feeling after it was that with the number of great sets and story elements they were playing with, it should have either been tore apart and redone as a two part episode or just focused on one or two things (that library could be damn near an entire episode in and of itself).
Ubvman
Terracotta Army
Posts: 182


Reply #1210 on: April 28, 2013, 08:11:48 PM

They seem to be doing they're very best to forget the Neil Gaiman episode; IMHO one of the best Doctor Who stories I have seen. Or rather avoid the implications of a sentient, rational (in it's own way) Tardis altogether.

I would admit a sentient Tardis interacting with the doctor would make all companions redundant and would basically paint Dr. Who into a corner; but really at the very least after "The doctor's wife" to stop writing the Tardis like deranged constipated puppy like what happened in this episode.

« Last Edit: April 28, 2013, 08:24:07 PM by Ubvman »
Ironwood
Terracotta Army
Posts: 28240


Reply #1211 on: April 29, 2013, 01:25:42 AM

Everything in your spoilers is actually SO MUCH WORSE than you think.  It makes a huge negative amount of sense.  I particularly like dissassembling a control panel that's locked the doors and has a self destruct on it.

How the fuck was he supposed to turn it off ?

This whole episode was mega, mega shite and I get particularly aggrevied at the whole 'The Doctor is Fantasy, he's got Harry Potters Workshop BULLSHIT.'  Moffat needs to STOP FUCKING TOUCHING things.

"Mr Soft Owl has Seen Some Shit." - Sun Tzu
palmer_eldritch
Terracotta Army
Posts: 1999


WWW
Reply #1212 on: April 29, 2013, 09:44:47 AM

All of the above. And just to emphasise,

I still loved the Doctor and Clara interactions. I think the show does a great job of convincing both the Doctor and the viewer that she really is innocent and at the same time hinting that she has a secret . . .

I think there could one day be a good story about someone getting lost in the Tardis, or possibly breaking in, and the Doctor then has to protect them from the Tardis itself.

The episode  had a bit of a Willy Wonka (the Gene Wilder version) vibe for me, which was actually pretty cool but not enough to save it.

« Last Edit: April 29, 2013, 09:46:35 AM by palmer_eldritch »
HaemishM
Staff Emeritus
Posts: 42628

the Confederate flag underneath the stone in my class ring


WWW
Reply #1213 on: April 30, 2013, 09:08:23 AM

Didn't we already get great episodes about someone getting lost in the Tardis in the Peter Davidson era?

I am caught up to the ghost episode and that one was really good except for the Doctor catching a ride on the outside of the Tardis. This 'fairy tale' bullshit really is getting fucking old. This madcap sense of shit just happening without making any sense is getting old.

Ironwood
Terracotta Army
Posts: 28240


Reply #1214 on: April 30, 2013, 01:03:24 PM

Caught up with the Ice Warrior one, but it wasn't the greatest ( or the worst ) and some bits bugged me as being 'not quite right'.  That's the trouble with the nod to the old style, the purists get knickers in a knot about the little things, like the hands being WRONG.

"Mr Soft Owl has Seen Some Shit." - Sun Tzu
HaemishM
Staff Emeritus
Posts: 42628

the Confederate flag underneath the stone in my class ring


WWW
Reply #1215 on: April 30, 2013, 06:35:24 PM

More fucking timey-wimey goddamn nonsense that completely ignores already established rules of the show universe. Moffat... seriously, fuck that guy.

Evildrider
Terracotta Army
Posts: 5521


Reply #1216 on: May 04, 2013, 06:33:03 PM

That episode look more like a pilot for Strax, Vastra, and Jenny then a normal Dr. Who episode.
Triforcer
Terracotta Army
Posts: 4663


Reply #1217 on: May 04, 2013, 08:43:34 PM

Jesus, this one hurt.  Whoever came up with the "Thomas Thomas" stuff needs to be selling cigarettes at the bus station by this time tomorrow. 

All life begins with Nu and ends with Nu.  This is the truth!  This is my belief! At least for now...
Khaldun
Terracotta Army
Posts: 15157


Reply #1218 on: May 05, 2013, 03:31:09 AM

Tom Tom was super dumb. But I thought the rest of the episode was reasonably fun, light, again a kind of retro feel. Been a while since the Doctor was up against an uncomplicated Bond villain sort of bad guy, and I liked to see one again--I get tired of villains who taunt the Doctor with "But you're like me, you really are" and all that. Diana Rigg chewed scenery rather spectacularly.
palmer_eldritch
Terracotta Army
Posts: 1999


WWW
Reply #1219 on: May 05, 2013, 01:39:31 PM

I might be easily pleased but the Sontaran made me laugh every time he opened his mouth.
Malakili
Terracotta Army
Posts: 10596


Reply #1220 on: May 05, 2013, 01:49:37 PM

Not one of the stronger episodes in my opinion.  It felt like it was over before it got started. The TomTom thing was dumb but it amounted to a one liner and I'm not going to crap all over one bad joke.
HaemishM
Staff Emeritus
Posts: 42628

the Confederate flag underneath the stone in my class ring


WWW
Reply #1221 on: May 06, 2013, 08:49:31 AM

I might be easily pleased but the Sontaran made me laugh every time he opened his mouth.

Best part of the episode. Villain was just a little weak, but at least the explanations weren't all timey-wimey handwavy bullshit.

Father mike
Terracotta Army
Posts: 533


Reply #1222 on: May 06, 2013, 09:22:17 AM

That episode look more like a pilot for Strax, Vastra, and Jenny then a normal Dr. Who episode.

I would watch the living hell outta this show.

I would like to thank Vladimir Putin for ensuring that every member of the NPR news staff has had to say "Pussy Riot" on the air multiple times.
Simond
Terracotta Army
Posts: 6742


Reply #1223 on: May 06, 2013, 01:53:40 PM

Diana Rigg chewed scenery rather spectacularly.
Fun trivia: Go look up the actress who played the daughter.

Anyway, I quite liked that "Mr Sweet" didn't turn out to be some sort of eminence grise (I was half-expecting the Great Intellegence, to be honest) and it was all just the insane scheme of a mad genius who decided to do "steampunk Moonraker". (Also Vasta's partner/maidservant/arsekicker-in-chief seemed to be raiding the wardrobe of one of Dame Rigg's prior roles).
« Last Edit: May 06, 2013, 04:48:58 PM by Simond »

"You're really a good person, aren't you? So, there's no path for you to take here. Go home. This isn't a place for someone like you."
palmer_eldritch
Terracotta Army
Posts: 1999


WWW
Reply #1224 on: May 06, 2013, 03:53:28 PM

Yeah I didn't get it immediately, but having her in a leather catsuit was a great touch.

(I mean, I appreciated the catsuit immediately but not necessarily for the right reason).
Pages: 1 ... 33 34 [35] 36 37 ... 68 Go Up Print 
f13.net  |  f13.net General Forums  |  General Discussion  |  TV  |  Topic: Dr. Who  
Jump to:  

Powered by SMF 1.1.10 | SMF © 2006-2009, Simple Machines LLC