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Author Topic: Dr. Who  (Read 624490 times)
Khaldun
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Reply #1680 on: August 31, 2014, 12:24:33 PM

It will be if Moffat sticks to his wretched need to tie everything up in a big thematic knot and have all his half-assed side plots add up to something. The whole Silence-River Song-Church-Trenzalore things is almost as bad as Trial of a Time Lord in that sense.
Ironwood
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Reply #1681 on: August 31, 2014, 01:14:00 PM

Yes.

"Mr Soft Owl has Seen Some Shit." - Sun Tzu
HaemishM
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Reply #1682 on: September 01, 2014, 10:28:16 AM

I thought the episode was ok, but it retread a lot of the same well-worn ground as some previous Dalek episodes (that the Doctor hates Daleks so much that his desire to kill them all is almost Dalek-like).

I think it felt more like the writer/showrunner hates Daleks but is forced to make at least one Dalek episode per series so it got it over with in as small and quick a fashion as he could. The "no soldiers" was in direct contrast to many other instances of the Doctor actually having soldier companions (and don't even get me started on the Brigadier). I like Soldier Pink, the Teacher and hope he continues, maybe as the new Rory.  why so serious? Capaldi is absolutely nailing the material he's given but anyone who didn't expect that hasn't watched the man act.

DraconianOne
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Reply #1683 on: September 01, 2014, 10:44:47 AM

I think it felt more like the writer/showrunner hates Daleks but is forced to make at least one Dalek episode per series so it got it over with in as small and quick a fashion as he could.

On the plus side, the redesigned BMW Daleks didn't resurface...

EDIT: that redesign was 2010! WTF happened to the last 4 years? ACK!
« Last Edit: September 01, 2014, 10:48:15 AM by DraconianOne »

A point can be MOOT. MUTE is more along the lines of what you should be. - WayAbvPar
Ironwood
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Reply #1684 on: September 01, 2014, 12:23:03 PM

Yeah, have you noticed those IPod Daleks ain't been seen much ? 

I wonder why...

"Mr Soft Owl has Seen Some Shit." - Sun Tzu
Lakov_Sanite
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Reply #1685 on: September 01, 2014, 05:24:14 PM

Capaldi can and will, drag the show kicking and screaming into goodness whether the script likes it or not.

~a horrific, dark simulacrum that glares balefully at us, with evil intent.
Ironwood
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Reply #1686 on: September 02, 2014, 02:09:50 AM

He certainly makes it more watchable.

"Mr Soft Owl has Seen Some Shit." - Sun Tzu
apocrypha
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Reply #1687 on: September 02, 2014, 02:54:00 AM

I thought this was a bit better than the first episode, but I've dropped my expectations to the floor these days to avoid Moffatt-induced disappointment.

Clara did at least get to do "something clever" this episode, even if it was a bit deus ex machina.

"Bourgeois society stands at the crossroads, either transition to socialism or regression into barbarism" - Rosa Luxemburg, 1915.
Khaldun
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Reply #1688 on: September 02, 2014, 05:54:39 AM

I really feel like this is an example of how a great actor elevates other actors--you can feel Jenna Coleman trying to catch up, to layer her character much more. I wouldn't be surprised if both she and Capaldi ended up saying fairly explicitly to Moffat, "Look, this character has really blown up to this point: try to write a personality and an actual human storyline for her this season, eh?"
Merusk
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Reply #1689 on: September 02, 2014, 08:25:51 AM

She's gone after Christmas, so that's doubtful.

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DraconianOne
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Reply #1690 on: September 05, 2014, 08:35:33 AM

Complaints received by the BBC about the first episode this season



 why so serious?

A point can be MOOT. MUTE is more along the lines of what you should be. - WayAbvPar
Lakov_Sanite
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Reply #1691 on: September 05, 2014, 08:41:00 AM

Faith in humanity....yup, still gone.

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Raguel
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Reply #1692 on: September 05, 2014, 12:11:15 PM

Heh. Am I so far gone that the only thing about that relationship that looks creepy is that the reptilia woman treats her spouse like a servant?
Ironwood
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Reply #1693 on: September 05, 2014, 12:16:42 PM

 Ohhhhh, I see.

"Mr Soft Owl has Seen Some Shit." - Sun Tzu
Lakov_Sanite
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Reply #1694 on: September 05, 2014, 12:23:55 PM

 Ohhhhh, I see. DRILLING AND WOMANLINESS

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Khaldun
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Reply #1695 on: September 05, 2014, 01:04:01 PM

"This so called modern world mentality"
NowhereMan
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Reply #1696 on: September 06, 2014, 08:42:06 AM

I think the sexism one tops them. "If the same comment were made about, say, black people" indeed.

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Ironwood
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Reply #1697 on: September 06, 2014, 12:38:23 PM

Yeah, not sure I liked that much.  Didn't really rack up against The Time Warrior.

However;

Jenna Coleman.  Jesus.  Yes, Please.

Ben Miller was born to play The Master.  Clearly.


"Mr Soft Owl has Seen Some Shit." - Sun Tzu
Khaldun
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Reply #1698 on: September 06, 2014, 07:56:21 PM

It was slight and weirdly paced but not terrible or unpleasant. Ok but forgettable I guess I would say. Pushing a bit hard as always to say something about "the nature of the Doctor", it might be nice to just let that emerge out of the action of the stories.

We kept commenting on how perfect it would be if it turned out Ben Miller's Sherrif was the bastard son of the Master, since the Master was, after all, in this time for a good bit. In fact, I'm kind of surprised that the Doctor is even allowed to come that close to crossing his own path.
Simond
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Reply #1699 on: September 07, 2014, 03:55:54 PM

That was the sort of episode that would have been described as a 'romp' if it were a play a few decades ago.
Ben Miller was born to play The Master.  Clearly.
Totally agree with this. Ben Miller is Anthony Ainsley meets whatshisface from The Princess Bride as the Master of Nottingham.

"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."
HaemishM
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Reply #1700 on: September 07, 2014, 06:21:20 PM

Yeah, not sure I liked that much.  Didn't really rack up against The Time Warrior.

However;

Jenna Coleman.  Jesus.  Yes, Please.

Ben Miller was born to play The Master.  Clearly.

We are sharing the same minds. First moment I saw Miller, I didn't recognize him from Primeval but I thought, "That guy needs to play the Master." Then I looked him up and was even more sure that he should play the Master. He won't but still.

I liked the episode right up until "We fire this gold arrow into a pylon and somehow that wee little thing that shouldn't even remotely be near the engines suddenly creates enough fuel to get it into orbit." GAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH. Are you not even going to fucking TRY to come up with an explanation that a fucking 4-year old could poke holes in? That was just STUPID.

Khaldun
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Reply #1701 on: September 07, 2014, 06:27:52 PM

I think Gatiss' Who scripts always have to have one moment where he's basically trolling fans who care about plausibility. Usually near the end. I don't know that I mind it so much. I mean, shit, people watched ST: TNG in a mood of tolerant bemusement for years with stuff about reversing the tachyon-baryon polarity on the ass-whackifying probetron etc.--I think the meta that Gatiss is doing is, "Come on, you watched this shit for decades without whining too much about that kind of crap, so here's a golden arrow boosting a robot ship into orbit for you".
satael
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Reply #1702 on: September 08, 2014, 12:48:17 AM

Robot of Sherwood: What Was Cut. That cut part does change the feeling of the episode a bit in my opinion (however minute it is in the overall plot)
apocrypha
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Reply #1703 on: September 08, 2014, 02:53:06 AM

That kind of makes more sense because I'm sure the sheriff did say something about being half man, half machine at one point.

Overall I thought it was an entirely forgettable episode. I don't know why I feel the need to pass comment on each and every episode because seriously, it's not a show that's worth it. I think I watch it out of nostalgia now to be honest.

"Bourgeois society stands at the crossroads, either transition to socialism or regression into barbarism" - Rosa Luxemburg, 1915.
satael
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Reply #1704 on: September 08, 2014, 04:56:23 AM

That kind of makes more sense because I'm sure the sheriff did say something about being half man, half machine at one point.

Overall I thought it was an entirely forgettable episode. I don't know why I feel the need to pass comment on each and every episode because seriously, it's not a show that's worth it. I think I watch it out of nostalgia now to be honest.

I keep watching Dr. Who (for all it's faults) mainly due to it still having it's fun moments and retaining a bit of that "sense of wonder" that seems to be lacking in most of today's sci-fi shows.
Ironwood
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Reply #1705 on: September 08, 2014, 06:07:50 AM

I like Capaldi.

EDIT :  I was aware that they cut shit due to ISIS, but it's a shame.  That might have lent a bit more to the story.  Oh well.
« Last Edit: September 08, 2014, 06:11:27 AM by Ironwood »

"Mr Soft Owl has Seen Some Shit." - Sun Tzu
palmer_eldritch
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Reply #1706 on: September 08, 2014, 06:29:42 AM

You probably all saw this already but a nice little touch was the Doctor calling up imagines of the fictional Robin Hood, including a TV version where (as we saw on the Tardis screen) the character was played by



The Doctor! Or possibly by some guy called Patrick Troughton.
Khaldun
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Reply #1707 on: September 08, 2014, 08:16:12 AM

Yeah. No wonder he doesn't believe in Robin Hood, he was Robin Hood!

I think maybe the thing that bugs me a little even with slight little nothing episodes like this is that they are pushing too hard to always make the Doctor's character (in both senses of the word) the central point or idea of the show itself. It didn't used to be that way--the show often wasn't self-consciously thinking about "who is the Doctor? Why does he do what he does? What motivates and sustains him? What is the result of his adventures?"  Which is what made it rather precious and interesting when an episode DID roll out some sort of self-aware reflection--"I'm a Time Lord, Sarah, I walk in infinity". 

So here they need the Doctor to not believe in Robin Hood because he doesn't believe in mythical, larger-than-life heroes who are about pure goodness and benevolence, which is then a metatextual commentary on himself. But this doesn't gibe with the character's history at all: he's met plenty of good folks, some of them crusaders for the right and the light. Sure, he more often meets heroes with clay feet, or corrupt and cowardly businessmen/soldiers/administrators. It would be understandable if the Doctor were cynical or even curmudgeonly, but not to the point of thinking that history is just full of nothing but self-interested bastards. Especially not now: he just spent a thousand years defending a town full of sickeningly sweet people from Whoville singing about Christmas every day. (Jesus, I just realized that the people of Trenzalore are Whos from Whoville, basically--I wonder if that was deliberate?)   But the need to have the Doctor thinking about himself and have the show provide metatextual commentary on the Doctor trumps some kind of consistency, so there we go.
HaemishM
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Reply #1708 on: September 08, 2014, 09:33:34 AM

The heavy handed meta "Doctor WHOOOOOOOOOOO" shit is really jarring and grating and is really hurting an otherwise fantastic performance by Capaldi. Or in other words, the same shit that fucked up Matt Smith's is fucking this one up as well. Just write a good story. Stop commenting on the whole concept of the show to prove how much you hate it, and how much disdain you have for the fans.

Raguel
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Reply #1709 on: September 08, 2014, 10:15:22 AM

I can't think of a single scene in this episode I didn't absolutely hate.
Raph
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Reply #1710 on: September 08, 2014, 06:39:15 PM

I think this ep should have been Capaldi's first. It was

- more coherent than the dinosaur and robots thing
- exposed plenty of the new Doctor's character changes
- but wouldn't have scared away Tennant/Smith fans

My daughter might still be watching if it had been first.
Lakov_Sanite
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Reply #1711 on: September 08, 2014, 07:11:58 PM

Anyone leaving the show after they switched doctors has no place watching this show anyways.  Complain about writing all you want but actor switching is one of this shows core concepts.

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Reply #1712 on: September 09, 2014, 01:26:37 PM

It's not actor switching per se, it's who they switched to, and how.
Evildrider
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Reply #1713 on: September 09, 2014, 02:56:21 PM

I don't know if it's just the overall writing, but I can't get into this season of Who.  I don't have a problem with Capaldi as an actor, but he just doesn't do it for me as the Doctor.
Ironwood
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Reply #1714 on: September 10, 2014, 01:02:09 AM

I had the same problem with Smith at first.  Give him a chance.

Though Smith got better and the writing didn't, so it could just be that.

"Mr Soft Owl has Seen Some Shit." - Sun Tzu
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