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Doctor Who - New Series

Archive: 1349 posts

If you do some science-y wience-y stuff in it, remember the second best phrase in the show's history: "Reverse the polarity of the neutron-flux..."

As for the villain, you may want to make an original one, so instead of seeming like a lame rip-off of an already-existing story, you may have just enough innovation to make the video/episode/minisode/short-story rise above the average fan-made... stuff.

Unless of course you have an experienced and innovative writer in your ranks who can actually write decent movie/TV-scripts (or books or very, very EXCELLENTLY BRILLIANT fan-fiction). Then feel free to use an already existing villain, so you may do something... New with it. However those personas are few and far between. If you can find one, awesome, more power to you, but I still suggest creating a new villain. If the concept and the execution is good enough story-wise, then the production values don't mean so much.

There's one more piece of advice I can give you: don't make the Doctor a rip-off of an already existing one, unless you look (almost) exactly like one of them.		2013-05-30 17:29:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

If you do some science-y wience-y stuff in it, remember the second best phrase in the show's history: "Reverse the polarity of the neutron-flux..."

As for the villain, you may want to make an original one, so instead of seeming like a lame rip-off of an already-existing story, you may have just enough innovation to make the video/episode/minisode/short-story rise above the average fan-made... stuff.

Unless of course you have an experienced and innovative writer in your ranks who can actually write decent movie/TV-scripts (or books or very, very EXCELLENTLY BRILLIANT fan-fiction). Then feel free to use an already existing villain, so you may do something... New with it. However those personas are few and far between. If you can find one, awesome, more power to you, but I still suggest creating a new villain. If the concept and the execution is good enough story-wise, then the production values don't mean so much.

There's one more piece of advice I can give you: don't make the Doctor a rip-off of an already existing one, unless you look (almost) exactly like one of them.


Thanks for all of that. Since I'm ginger, I really want to make 'my' doctor an original. (new TARDIS. New sonic. New outfit)
Do you think it would be okay for me to wear Converse shoes? I don't want to seem like a David rip-off, but I've been wearing Converse since before I started watching the show. They're a big part of me, and they're even in my username. Do you think it would be okay to wear them?		2013-05-30 21:41:00

Author:
ConverseFox
Posts: 2333

I've been wearing Converse since before I started watching the show. They're a big part of me, and they're even in my username

Fox is in your user name too, does this mean we can look to your portrayal of the Doctor wearing a fursuit?		2013-05-30 22:28:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

Fox is in your user name too, does this mean we can look to tour portrayal of the Doctor wearing a fursuit?

Sold.		2013-05-30 23:02:00

Author:
flamingemu
Posts: 1872

The point is that I don't know what kind of shoe the teenage ginger doctor would wear, I only own a pair of converse shoes, and I don't exactly have a ton of money. I would have an entirely different outfit than Tennant save the shoes.

If you all really think I should wear different shoes, then I suppose I could.

Our budget is $0 at the moment. We're sort of just scavenging what we already have at home to use, and I might be able to convince my mother to buy me some new shoes that aren't very significant.		2013-05-31 03:23:00

Author:
ConverseFox
Posts: 2333

The point is that I don't know what kind of shoe the teenage ginger doctor would wear

I say go full hobbit.		2013-05-31 03:50:00

Author:
ForgottenEnigma
Posts: 1414

P F Flyers. Similar enough to converse that it's a reference without actually ripping off a clothing piece from another Doctor.2013-05-31 04:09:00

Author:
Super_Dork_42
Posts: 1874

Well, if I was to portray as the Doctor is some similar fan fiction, I'd have either similar clothing to the second or the eleventh Doctor (which have quite similar clothes to begin with). The reason for this is that those kinds of costumes are the easiest and the most neutral (in comparison to other clothes the Doctor wears (apart from the ninth Doctor)). However, I think that the Doctor's clothes, while important, mean very little in comparison to the nature of the Doctor. You really have to nail the character (as in the writing), which, believe me, is very hard. Out of the three Doctor Who-related fan-fictions I have written, the one where I didn't use the character (so in other words was "Doctor-lite") got the highest ratings, while the others, which were rated average at best got the most criticism due to the bad writing of the character of the Doctor.

It could have been just me, but it appeared later on that I was not the only one who got criticism due to this. I'm not saying that you shouldn't put the character in there, you totally should. However the most important thing is the dialogue and the acting of the main character. Be original if you want, it's your choice, but just nail the writing, especially with the characters. In my opinion Steven Moffat is the best writer when it comes to the character of the Doctor. Not the best writer of the show in general, hell no, but his writing of the characters has been superb since the Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, with a few exceptions. The reason I love his writing in that one is because the Doctor is extremely subtle with the hints he makes towards his past, keeping the mystery of the character while still making the watchers feel as if they get to know the Doctor better with every line he speaks and every action he performs.

And just to clarify, no, I don't expect this kind of writing. That'd be not only stupid but also ignorant. What I want to say is, that before you make any filming or costume arrangements, write the script. It's the number one priority in every Doctor Who episode there is.

For my picks of the best writing in the episodes of Doctor Who, here's a fast top 10 list:

10.) Inferno (3rd Doctor)
9.) Girl in the Fireplace (10th Doctor)
8.) Midnight (10th Doctor)
7.) Tomb of the Cybermen (2nd Doctor)
6.) Genesis of the Daleks (4th Doctor)
5.) Waters of Mars (10th Doctor)
4.) Bad Wolf / Parting of the Ways (9th Doctor)
3.) Vincent and the Doctor (11th Doctor)
2.) Empty Child / The Doctor Dances (9th Doctor)
1.) Caves of the Androzani (5th Doctor)

(No, that is not my "favourite episodes-list", but the "best writing-list".)

I hope this helped you anyhow. Also, if you need any help or hints at writing, I can help, but I can not write for you, since I don't know the actors or their capabilities.		2013-05-31 10:00:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

Unless you have exceptionally good actors I'd stay away from a one-room episode like midnight; and I'm assuming you're restricted by special effects too

Maybe a sort of investigatory/exploratory themed episode? Still a lot of drama and character development, but not restricted as much as in the cathartic nature of an episode like midnight.		2013-05-31 13:29:00

Author:
flamingemu
Posts: 1872

Doctor Who plot generator. http://toys.usvsth3m.com/drwho/#2013-06-01 09:22:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

Doctor Who plot generator. http://toys.usvsth3m.com/drwho/#

Now that is useful.		2013-06-01 18:53:00

Author:
Protoraptor
Posts: 960

Bye Matt


The BBC is today announcing that Matt Smith is to leave Doctor Who after four incredible years on the hit BBC One show. Matt first stepped into the TARDIS in 2010 and will leave the role at the end of this year after starring in the unmissable 50th Anniversary in November and regenerating in the Christmas special. During his time as the Doctor, Matt has reached over 30 million unique UK viewers and his incarnation has seen the show go truly global. He was also the first actor to be nominated for a BAFTA in the role.
Matt quickly won over fans to be voted Best Actor by Readers of Doctor Who Magazine for the 2010 season. He also received a nod for his first series at the National Television Awards, before winning the Most Popular Male Drama Performance award in 2012.
Matt has played one of the biggest roles in TV with over 77 million fans in the UK, USA and Australia alone!
Matt Smith says: "Doctor Who has been the most brilliant experience for me as an actor and a bloke, and that largely is down to the cast, crew and fans of the show. I'm incredibly grateful to all the cast and crew who work tirelessly every day, to realise all the elements of the show and deliver Doctor Who to the audience. Many of them have become good friends and I'm incredibly proud of what we have achieved over the last four years.
Having Steven Moffat as show runner write such varied, funny, mind bending and brilliant scripts has been one of the greatest and most rewarding challenges of my career. It's been a privilege and a treat to work with Steven, he's a good friend and will continue to shape a brilliant world for the Doctor.
The fans of Doctor Who around the world are unlike any other; they dress up, shout louder, know more about the history of the show (and speculate more about the future of the show) in a way that I've never seen before, your dedication is truly remarkable. Thank you so very much for supporting my incarnation of the Time Lord, number Eleven, who I might add is not done yet, I'm back for the 50th anniversary and the Christmas special!
It's been an honour to play this part, to follow the legacy of brilliant actors, and helm the TARDIS for a spell with 'the ginger, the nose and the impossible one'. But when ya gotta go, ya gotta go and Trenzalore calls. Thank you guys. Matt."
Steven Moffat, lead writer and executive producer, says : "Every day, on every episode, in every set of rushes, Matt Smith surprised me: the way he'd turn a line, or spin on his heels, or make something funny, or out of nowhere make me cry, I just never knew what was coming next. The Doctor can be clown and hero, often at the same time, and Matt rose to both challenges magnificently. And even better than that, given the pressures of this extraordinary show, he is one of the nicest and hardest-working people I have ever had the privilege of knowing. Whatever we threw at him - sometimes literally - his behaviour was always worthy of the Doctor.
But great actors always know when it's time for the curtain call, so this Christmas prepare for your hearts to break, as we say goodbye to number Eleven. Thank you Matt - bow ties were never cooler.
Of course, this isn't the end of the story, because now the search begins. Somewhere out there right now - all unknowing, just going about their business - is someone who's about to become the Doctor. A life is going to change, and Doctor Who will be born all over again! After 50 years, that's still so exciting!"
Having starred alongside three different companions, Amy Pond (Karen Gillan), Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill) and most recently Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman), Matt's Doctor has fought Daleks and Cybermen, as well as Weeping Angels in New York. Regularly heard shouting 'run' and 'Geronimo', through Matt's Doctor fans have been introduced to a new culinary combination - fish fingers and custard!
Matt's spectacular exit is yet to be revealed and will be kept tightly under wraps. He will return to BBC One screens in the unmissable 50th anniversary episode on Saturday 23rd November 2013 - TUNE IN!
We’ll have exclusive quotes from Jenna on this site tomorrow and a special video from Matt - coming soon!



http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/doctorwho/articles/Matt-Smith-to-leave-Doctor-Who		2013-06-01 22:13:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

I saw this earlier.

*tries to contain feels*

NOOOOOOWHYWOULDYOUDOTHISWHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYNOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
*goes and isolates self with TARDIS on cloud*		2013-06-01 22:34:00

Author:
Protoraptor
Posts: 960

I saw this earlier.

Same, was just waiting for official news before posting on the off chance it was false information.		2013-06-01 22:54:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

Aww... I really like Matt's Doctor. I was hoping for one more series with him.
But on the other hand, his run has been brilliant. So many memorable moments.
He played such a varied Doctor that all the fans liked at least one aspect of him.
I really hope they send him off with a flair.		2013-06-01 23:08:00

Author:
Jedi_1993
Posts: 1518

Me too.

Listening to Clara's theme while reading the announcement...NEVER HAS IT SOUNDED SO DEPRESSING.		2013-06-02 10:05:00

Author:
Protoraptor
Posts: 960

Worse news, Moffat isn't leaving.2013-06-02 10:57:00

Author:
flamingemu
Posts: 1872

Worse news, Moffat isn't leaving.

I'm in agreement with that. I'm finding myself not too broken up about the news of Matt leaving, and after thinking about it some more...I really think the show has taken a turn for the worse since Moffat took over. I found his stories to be consistently the best during the first three years, but I think Russell T Davies had a much better vision for the show.		2013-06-02 14:20:00

Author:
Chazprime
Posts: 587

Bookies take oportunity to make easy money. http://io9.com/bookmakers-are-already-placing-odds-on-the-next-doctor-5109153002013-06-02 19:12:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

Hugh Laurie ~ <3 how cool would that be?2013-06-02 19:28:00

Author:
flamingemu
Posts: 1872

I want Rowan Atkinson back as the Doctor...

...for those who haven't seen his first performance it can be seen here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do-wDPoC6GM		2013-06-02 19:32:00

Author:
ForgottenEnigma
Posts: 1414

I wish people would stop being so horrible about Moffat. In my opinion, he is one of the best writers - and I think he exceeds RTD an awful lot. Moffat has been able to capture the essence of the Doctor perfectly, I think.


Also, I liked the new Daleks. *dodges brick*		2013-06-02 20:09:00

Author:
Protoraptor
Posts: 960

I wish people would stop being so horrible about Moffat. In my opinion, he is one of the best writers - and I think he exceeds RTD an awful lot. Moffat has been able to capture the essence of the Doctor perfectly, I think.


Also, I liked the new Daleks. *dodges brick*

*Throws more bricks*
BLASPHEMY!
(but yeah sure you're entitled to your own opinion or whatever)		2013-06-02 20:14:00

Author:
flamingemu
Posts: 1872

I just feel like his bag of tricks for writing is starting to wear out and it's time to get someone fresh in.2013-06-02 20:18:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

Then maybe we will finally get two part episodes again :I2013-06-02 20:28:00

Author:
flamingemu
Posts: 1872

10.) Inferno (3rd Doctor)
9.) Girl in the Fireplace (10th Doctor)
8.) Midnight (10th Doctor)
7.) Tomb of the Cybermen (2nd Doctor)
6.) Genesis of the Daleks (4th Doctor)
5.) Waters of Mars (10th Doctor)
4.) Bad Wolf / Parting of the Ways (9th Doctor)
3.) Vincent and the Doctor (11th Doctor)
2.) Empty Child / The Doctor Dances (9th Doctor)
1.) Caves of the Androzani (5th Doctor)


Did you watch 50 years worth of Doctor Who? How long did it take you?		2013-06-02 23:19:00

Author:
SnipySev
Posts: 2452

*Throws more bricks*
BLASPHEMY!

*runs to TARDIS*		2013-06-03 07:23:00

Author:
Protoraptor
Posts: 960

Hey, the most recent episode of Game of Thrones just put *actor revealed in the spoiler box below* out of a job, so why not hire him as the next Doctor? The cheeriness would be a nice break from all the brooding and gloom of GoT.

Richard Madden, who played Robb Stark.

The Doctor would finally be ginger(ish) and besides, Richard is dating Jenna-Louise Coleman (Clara Oswald) so they'd probably have good chemistry.		2013-06-06 00:18:00

Author:
SnipySev
Posts: 2452

Hey, the most recent episode of Game of Thrones just put *actor revealed in the spoiler box below* out of a job, so why not hire him as the next Doctor? The cheeriness would be a nice break from all the brooding and gloom of GoT.

Richard Madden, who played Robb Stark.

The Doctor would finally be ginger(ish) and besides, Richard is dating Jenna-Louise Coleman (Clara Oswald) so they'd probably have good chemistry.

Stuff the good chemistry think of all the money they can save on accomodation.

(Also he already has another 3 jobs)		2013-06-06 01:04:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

Just, no. It needs to be a nonfamous person, or at least relatively unknown.2013-06-06 22:15:00

Author:
Super_Dork_42
Posts: 1874

Just, no. It needs to be a nonfamous person, or at least relatively unknown.

Agreed. I don't mind well known actors being on the show, but the Doctor should be a, relatively, unknown.		2013-06-06 22:44:00

Author:
Jedi_1993
Posts: 1518

Why? David Tennant was a relatively well known actor when he accepted the role.2013-06-06 23:24:00

Author:
SnipySev
Posts: 2452

Did you watch 50 years worth of Doctor Who? How long did it take you?
Sorry for the delayed reply. Granted, I haven't watched every single episode available. I have quite a lot, though. It was written somewhere that if one was to watch all the Doctor Who television stories in a row, it'd take 15,6 days. Watching 60% of the classic series took me about three weeks, however I did sleep, eat and do my business in the room of celestial wisdom every now and then. But mostly I spent my free time watching Who.		2013-06-27 12:03:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

12th Doctor announcement apparently confirmed for Sunday http://scifibulletin.com/2013/08/01/new-doctor-who-to-be-revealed-live-on-bbc1-sunday-night/

Peter Capaldi is the current favourite and personally I think he would be fantastic. But we'll have to wait and see.		2013-08-01 17:44:00

Author:
ARD
Posts: 4291

Oh boy! They are announcing the time of the Next Doctor's announcement!

I don't really mind to speculate myself. He's good, whoever he is and I'm sure he'll grown on me.		2013-08-01 18:51:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

Well... if John Hurt's "Doctor" is an incarnation between the broadcasted eighth and ninth lives then this would technically be the Doctor's thirteenth body

food for thought		2013-08-01 19:18:00

Author:
ForgottenEnigma
Posts: 1414

Now Chris O'Dowd is a popular rumour. I think Capaldi is more likely but I'd be happy with either of those two. But it probably won't be either now 2013-08-02 10:23:00

Author:
ARD
Posts: 4291

Well... if John Hurt's "Doctor" is an incarnation between the broadcasted eighth and ninth lives then this would technically be the Doctor's thirteenth body

food for thought
If you're referring to the Valeyard, then it is only said that he's between the sixth and the last incarnation. Nothing else. And since River gave him her last regenerations, the number is currently unknown.		2013-08-02 11:39:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

Now Chris O'Dowd is a popular rumour.

I think he's a little busy with that film career he's got going on now.		2013-08-02 11:57:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

To be fair he has done a film about time travel 2013-08-02 12:27:00

Author:
ARD
Posts: 4291

12th Doctor announcement apparently confirmed for Sunday http://scifibulletin.com/2013/08/01/new-doctor-who-to-be-revealed-live-on-bbc1-sunday-night/

Peter Capaldi is the current favourite and personally I think he would be fantastic. But we'll have to wait and see.

I think it's funny that he played "W.H.O. Doctor" in World War Z and is being thought of for Doctor Who's main character too. But I doubt it'll be him. He had a big part on Torchwood and has already been in the tardis. He was the father in The Fires of Pompeii that The Doctor saved at the end.		2013-08-03 18:23:00

Author:
Super_Dork_42
Posts: 1874

Bookies are no longer taking bets on Capaldi http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/s7/doctor-who/news/a503811/peter-capaldi-almost-certainly-new-doctor-say-bookies.html

I will be very happy if it's him. I just hope Moffat doesn't ruin his character 		2013-08-03 20:07:00

Author:
ARD
Posts: 4291

Bookies are no longer taking bets on Capaldi http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/s7/doctor-who/news/a503811/peter-capaldi-almost-certainly-new-doctor-say-bookies.html

I will be very happy if it's him. I just hope Moffat doesn't ruin his character

Be positive: Moffat yet has to portray the Doctor badly. Sure, he has written a few mediocre scripts, but he's always got the Doctor right.		2013-08-03 21:45:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

I'd much rather see Ben Daniels (https://www.google.com/search?q=Ben+Daniels&oq=Ben+Daniels&aqs=chrome.0.69i57&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8) get the role. He hasn't been anything I'd recognize him from before, he's older than Matt. Everything I want in a Doctor.2013-08-04 03:44:00

Author:
Super_Dork_42
Posts: 1874

New Doctor is the guy from the Snickers ad.

http://i.imgur.com/r6uGNDv.png		2013-08-04 09:16:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

Be positive: Moffat yet has to portray the Doctor badly. Sure, he has written a few mediocre scripts, but he's always got the Doctor right.

Personally I don't think he has. 9 and 10 may have been a bit more "human" than previous Doctors but I think that was necessary to introduce Doctor Who to a new audience. I like that 11 was a bit more alien and eccentric but it really feels like Moffat is trying way too hard with him. I don't like all his "bow ties/fezes/etc are cool" crap or the timey-wimey stuff. It's like he's trying too hard to appeal to children and tumblr



I'd much rather see Ben Daniels (https://www.google.com/search?q=Ben+Daniels&oq=Ben+Daniels&aqs=chrome.0.69i57&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8) get the role. He hasn't been anything I'd recognize him from before, he's older than Matt. Everything I want in a Doctor.

I've never seen him in anything either so I don't know how good he'd be. If it is him then of course I'll give him a chance, and he's relatively local so that'd be nice


At the moment it's still looking like Capaldi is pretty likely. If all these people who've prerecorded messages for the show tonight know who the 12th Doctor is, then the sudden betting kind of suggests it has to be Capaldi...a similar thing happened with Matt Smith, his name appeared from nowhere shortly before the reveal.		2013-08-04 11:07:00

Author:
ARD
Posts: 4291

Oh, people speculating about the new doctor... and I am just sitting here... well, I've been sitting here since last spring watching Doctor Who starting from Ecclestone and I've almost caught up. Well, not really but still getting there. I just watched season 6 episode 4 "The Doctor's Wife" and I've really been loving the series since Matt Smith entered the tardis. I've heard people weren't that happy with season 7 so I'll have to watch and see why that is.

It's not that I didn't love Ecclestone or Tennant, those were fantastic and brilliant but there is something different with Smith. It's like the production value has gone up a lot (and it probably has, I didn't look it up, though)

I really should have started watching so much earlier. Pretty much since the 2005 series started I've always had at least one friend who's been watching and loving it and I've always thought to myself that this is a show I want to watch, even for just the awesome theme music if not anything else.

EDIT: So I watched a bit more now... "A good man goes to war"
You might know how I feel after that bit. The same kind of shivers I got at the end of "turn left"		2013-08-04 13:00:00

Author:
napero7
Posts: 1653

Fires of pompei is rich pickings for future casting.2013-08-04 19:31:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

It's not that I didn't love Ecclestone or Tennant, those were fantastic and brilliant but there is something different with Smith. It's like the production value has gone up a lot (and it probably has, I didn't look it up, though)



Funny enough, the only thing that has grown since then is technology. Production values have been actually quite low for BBC lately.

As for the choice of the Doctor... I think Peter can most definitely pull off the emotional side of the role as well as the age of the Doctor, but is he funny? Not as funny as Matt Smith, but that's setting the par to an unreasonable height. I think he is a great casting choice. To be honest, I probably won't like him for half an episode and then I end up loving him more than anyone else. Or then that was just with Matt Smith.		2013-08-04 19:38:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

Well, I'm very happy with that. Roll on christmas.2013-08-04 19:41:00

Author:
ARD
Posts: 4291

Hoping that since he is an older actor he will feel a bit more uncomfortable acting some of the more silly storylines and we might get a slightly more serious Doctor with better stories.

Loving the actor choice... just hope the writing improves and we never see anything like "The Doctor, the widow and the wardrobe" ever again...		2013-08-04 19:45:00

Author:
ForgottenEnigma
Posts: 1414

Hoping that since he is an older actor he will feel a bit more uncomfortable acting some of the more silly storylines and we might get a slightly more serious Doctor with better stories.

Loving the actor choice... just hope the writing improves and we never see anything like "The Doctor, the widow and the wardrobe" ever again...

I really hope the silly storylines are a thing of the past as well; that 'timey-wimey' thing was cute the first time, but it seems to have become Steven Moffat's new mantra.

One thing I noticed that was interesting: with a goatee Capaldi looks like one of the old Masters...

http://i3.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article2117005.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/Peter-Capaldi-2117005.jpg		2013-08-04 19:54:00

Author:
Chazprime
Posts: 587

One thing I noticed that was interesting: with a goatee Capaldi looks like one of the old Masters...



Dalek bumps?		2013-08-05 02:12:00

Author:
ForgottenEnigma
Posts: 1414

One thing I noticed that was interesting: with a goatee Capaldi looks like one of the old Masters...
I've always thought that after what the doctor said when meeting is John-Hurt-self: "The name I chose was the Doctor. It's like a promise you make. He?s the one who broke the promise", it would mean at any moment of his life, the Doctor would stop being a Doctor, and would become something else. Like, a professor. Or a master.


http://cdn-static.denofgeek.com/sites/denofgeek/files/styles/insert_main_wide_image/public/john_hurt_telly.jpg		2013-08-05 10:56:00

Author:
Djibees
Posts: 189

The thing that annoyed me about John Hurt's reveal is that the Doctor had just been saying "he's me but he's not the Doctor blah blah", and then when Hurt turns around it's stated in massive letters that he is the Doctor. Contradictory and unnecessary, the audience can't be that thick. It would be pretty cool to see Hurt and Capaldi together but I don't know if Hurt will appear again after the 50th.

Fans of The Thick of It should watch a video called "Malcolm Tucker IS Dr Who" on youtube, it's a pretty good fan made trailer for the 12th Doctor. I would post it here but I doubt the mods would approve of Malcolm Tucker videos on the site 		2013-08-05 11:31:00

Author:
ARD
Posts: 4291

The thing that annoyed me about John Hurt's reveal is that the Doctor had just been saying "he's me but he's not the Doctor blah blah", and then when Hurt turns around it's stated in massive letters that he is the Doctor. Contradictory and unnecessary, the audience can't be that thick. It would be pretty cool to see Hurt and Capaldi together but I don't know if Hurt will appear again after the 50th.

Fans of The Thick of It should watch a video called "Malcolm Tucker IS Dr Who" on youtube, it's a pretty good fan made trailer for the 12th Doctor. I would post it here but I doubt the mods would approve of Malcolm Tucker videos on the site

I do see your point. I do not see the reason to tell the audience who he is in character, as Doctor just explained it. Calling him the Doctor just made dumb people or people who just didn't understand what the Doctor say crazy over it. Then again, I don't know how they should've done it, because if he had just turned around and it would've been the end... It would've left people even more confused. Not me, I understood who he was, but some people would've certainly be even more crazy than they are now.		2013-08-06 21:25:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

I do see your point. I do not see the reason to tell the audience who he is in character, as Doctor just explained it. Calling him the Doctor just made dumb people or people who just didn't understand what the Doctor say crazy over it. Then again, I don't know how they should've done it, because if he had just turned around and it would've been the end... It would've left people even more confused. Not me, I understood who he was, but some people would've certainly be even more crazy than they are now.

Considering some people thought that John Hurt was the Doctor's name, I think it was hilarious.		2013-08-06 21:31:00

Author:
Jedi_1993
Posts: 1518

I've always thought that after what the doctor said when meeting is John-Hurt-self: "The name I chose was the Doctor. It's like a promise you make. He?s the one who broke the promise", it would mean at any moment of his life, the Doctor would stop being a Doctor, and would become something else. Like, a professor. Or a master.


http://cdn-static.denofgeek.com/sites/denofgeek/files/styles/insert_main_wide_image/public/john_hurt_telly.jpg


Or a Valeyard. 		2013-08-08 08:13:00

Author:
Super_Dork_42
Posts: 1874

Or a Valeyard.

That would've been a clever thing to do by Moffat. Two birds with one rock.		2013-08-08 12:43:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

Here's a really interesting fact for you all. Peter Capaldi was in World War Z and what part do you think he played?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0816711/

W.H.O. Doctor

Coincidence?		2013-08-08 23:00:00

Author:
GribbleGrunger
Posts: 3910

Coincidence?

Yes .		2013-08-08 23:23:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

Yes .

Don't you think it's a rather LARGE coincidence?		2013-08-09 00:00:00

Author:
GribbleGrunger
Posts: 3910

Don't you think it's a rather LARGE coincidence?

No .		2013-08-09 00:13:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

No .

Never ignore a coincidence.		2013-08-09 07:38:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

Never ignore a coincidence.

A coincidence in Doctor Who is like noticing a stick in one scene is the same stick in a different episode, but it really is a stick with the power to resurrect the daleks. (I exaggerated this a bit)		2013-08-10 04:58:00

Author:
ConverseFox
Posts: 2333

I've done it... now I've really done it. I screwed up big time. I went through time way too fast. The new series starting from Eccleston, I watched it all. Well, all until "the name of the doctor".

Now I have to wait like you people have been doing for a really long time already.

Is this how time normally passes? Really slowly.		2013-08-13 19:49:00

Author:
napero7
Posts: 1653

Watch Torchwood and enjoy watching it grow from sort of ok to the best thing ever to something thats stretched out much longer than it needs to be.2013-08-13 23:19:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

NO. DO NOT WATCH TORCHWOOD. IT'S A TRAP. They took everything great about Captain Jack's sexuality and overcharged it for no reason other than to separate it from the show they came from. It's got a couple of interesting stories but overall is highly skippable. And there is no season 4 YOU HEAR ME?!2013-08-14 21:56:00

Author:
Super_Dork_42
Posts: 1874

Watch series 5 of Torchwood (The Children of the Earth). It's one of the greatest pieces of television ever, with the Doctor Who episodes like Inferno, Waters of Mars and Caves of Androzani.2013-08-15 12:20:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

Wig confirmed http://www.doctorwhotv.co.uk/first-xmas-filming-pics-smith-in-the-wig-53043.htm2013-09-11 08:37:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

http://i.imgur.com/wNPwCvp.jpg

An official poster for the 50th. Seen on the official FB and official Twitter pages.		2013-09-11 09:49:00

Author:
Super_Dork_42
Posts: 1874

http://i.imgur.com/wNPwCvp.jpg

Not a bad poster. I especially like the exterminated daleks on John's sides, as well as the small sign that says: "Bad Wolf," not to mention the TARDIS door that flies around, detached to the rest of the TARDIS.

Also... Hairstyle competition, go!		2013-09-11 13:21:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

Yeah, and since John Hurt plays the version that was around then, it seems like we'll finally get some answers about the end of the Last Great Time War.2013-09-11 15:07:00

Author:
Super_Dork_42
Posts: 1874

Ugh, this new poster just reminds me the episode isn't out yet.
Looking forward to all the other 50th anniversary specials other shows are going to do though.		2013-09-11 17:58:00

Author:
Jedi_1993
Posts: 1518

Ugh, this new poster just reminds me the episode isn't out yet.
Looking forward to all the other 50th anniversary specials other shows are going to do though.
Other shows? Only other British products with over 50 years' run time are James Bond and the Queen of England.

Also, looking deeper into the poster... Talk about sonic screwdriver's red setting.		2013-09-11 18:03:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

There's a lot of speculation online that this will not only talk about what happened in the Time War but also explain the reason the TARDIS exploded and why the whole Bad Wolf scenario had to happen as well. I hope so. They have said that it will answer a lot of questions from the 10 and 11 timeframe.2013-09-11 20:13:00

Author:
Super_Dork_42
Posts: 1874

And only those from the Eleventh's time frame are Moffat's to explain, though I don't mind him giving RTD's stuff a little light as well (but he is already doing that with the Time War setting).2013-09-11 21:03:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORR-SY0KskM


The Complete Seventh Series Box Set (http://www.doctorwhotv.co.uk/the-complete-seventh-series-details-52034.htm) features three never-before-seen minisodes. Thanks to the earlier US release one of them, entitled Rain Gods, has already found its way online with the others no doubt soon to follow.
Neil Gaiman provides some details on the scene:
For the puzzled and curious. The lost Planet of the Rain Gods sequence from THE DOCTOR?S WIFE, which was drawn by Mark Buckingham as a comic featuring the Doctor and Amy and Rory in the 2012 Doctor Who Brilliant Book, was then rewritten by me as a Doctor/River minisode for the DVD, and then that script was filmed more or less given some limitations of time and budget, does now sort of exist.
(It's credited to Steven Moffat as writer, but then, they?ve credited me on the box as writer of The Name of the Doctor which he wrote and I didn?t, so there you go.)




http://www.doctorwhotv.co.uk/rain-gods-dvd-minisode-53349.htm		2013-09-26 00:09:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

Nine missing episodes of 1960s Doctor Who have been found at a TV station in Nigeria, including most of the classic story The Web of Fear.
The black and white story sees Patrick Troughton's second Doctor battle robot yeti in the London underground.
Also recovered is a complete version of Troughton's six-part story The Enemy of the World.
It is thought to be the largest haul of missing episodes recovered in the last three decades.


"It's thrilling," said Mark Gatiss, an actor and writer for the 21st Century incarnation of Doctor Who.
"Every single avenue seemed to have been exhausted, every now and then something turns up - but to have two virtually complete stories out of the blue is absolutely incredible."
The BBC destroyed many of the sci-fi drama's original transmission tapes in the 1960s and 1970s.
However, many episodes were transferred on to film for sale to foreign broadcasters. It is often these prints found in other countries that are the source of retrieved episodes.
In this case, 11 Doctor Who episodes were discovered, nine of which were missing, in the Nigerian city of Jos.


The find was made by Phillip Morris, director of a company called Television International Enterprises Archive.
Mr Morris said: "The tapes had been left gathering dust in a storeroom at a television relay station in Nigeria. I remember wiping the dust off the masking tape on the canisters and my heart missed a beat as I saw the words, Doctor Who. When I read the story code I realised I'd found something pretty special."
He said it had been a "lucky" find given the high temperatures in the African country. "Fortunately they had been kept in the optimum condition."
Only episode three of The Enemy of the World already existed in the BBC archive. The Nigerian discovery of episodes one, two, four, five and six complete the story.
Episode one of fan favourite The Web of Fear existed, with the rest thought lost forever. Now episodes two, four, five and six have been recovered.
Episode three is still missing, but has been reconstructed from stills to enable restored versions of both stories to be made available for sale via download on Friday.
The latest find means that the number of missing episodes of Doctor Who has dropped from 106 to 97.
'Quintessential story' One episode from each story - both last seen in 1968 - were shown at a special event in London on Thursday by BBC Worldwide, the BBC's commercial arm.
Among the guests were actors Frazer Hines and Deborah Watling, who played Troughton's Tardis companions Jamie McCrimmon and Victoria Waterfield.


Episode one of The Enemy of the World is a James Bond-style thriller complete with an exploding helicopter, a hovercraft, gun-toting henchmen and a foreign-accented villain, Salamander (also played by Troughton).
The story opens with the Tardis arriving on an Australian beach where the Doctor strips to his long johns and goes for a dip in the sea.
The Web of Fear is a claustrophobic tale that sees the Doctor battle his old foe, the Great Intelligence, and the yeti in the tunnels of the London tube system.
"It's the quintessential Doctor Who story," said Gatiss. "It has the return of the Abominable Snowmen in an iconic location."
He said it showed Troughton "at the height of his powers".
Frazer Hines recalled that the underground station sets had been so realistic that London Transport accused the BBC of filming at a tube station in secret.
The story also featured an appearance by Deborah Watling's real-life father Jack, reprising his role as Professor Travers.
Recalling Troughton's "wonderful sense of humour" on set, Watling said: "We all got on so well, we were like a family and Pat was always to me like another dad or an uncle. We had a chemistry and I think it showed."
How did she feel when she heard about the recovery of the lost episodes? "I couldn't quite believe it. There had been hoaxes before. I thought it was just another hoax."
Her only other complete story in the archive had been The Tomb of the Cybermen, all four instalments of which were discovered in Hong Kong in 1991.
Hines said: "This now gives me hope that more stories of Patrick's will come out of the woodwork."
The latest find comes as Doctor Who celebrates its 50th birthday. A special episode featuring the current Doctor, Matt Smith, and his predecessor, David Tennant, will be shown on the programme's anniversary on 23 November.




http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24467337		2013-10-11 00:22:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

exclusively on itunes

ಠ_ಠ

(╯?□?）╯︵ ┻━┻

(/ﾟДﾟ/✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ pocketsand!		2013-10-11 18:09:00

Author:
Super_Dork_42
Posts: 1874

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loGm3vT8EAQ2013-10-19 20:34:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

Amazing trailer.

Let's see here... The door to the junkyard that was in "Unearthly Child" and "Remembrance of the Daleks," Yeti, pyramid from "Weddig of River Song," the clockwork droid mask, 9th's/10th's screwdriver, a fez, Doctor's fob watch, the TARDIS and the TARDIS key, the scene where a soldier gets blasted by the dalek from "Remembrance of the Daleks," the Key to Time, 1st Doctor, 2nd Doctor playing his flute, 1st's and 2nd's sonic screwdriver, Mount Everest, 4th Doctor, 4th's hat, scarf and sonic screwdriver, jelly-babies, the text "no more," Sarah Jane Smith, K9, the ugly bird-thingies from some classic story I can't recall, classic daleks, dalek saucer, classic cybermen, 3rd Doctor and Master swordfighting in the TARDIS, Clara, Clara's leaf, a snowflake, reflection of Susan Foreman...

*Heavy breathing*

...7th Doctor, 7th Doctor's umbrella, Valeyard, Weeping Angel, Davros shooting lightning as in "Journey's End," 5th Doctor, 5th's glasses, cricket ball, the TARDIS key again, the Master again, 6th Doctor, 8th Doctor, 9th Doctor, Amy Pond's hair, an Ood, an auton, Rose, a dalek, an anachrid, the digits "17162311" (which is the time and date of the first episode's broadcast, 16 past five PM, 23rd of November), the leg of an Ice Warrior, John Hurt's Doctor, Bessie, 10th Doctor's epic pose, Golden Gate Bridge, (reference to the filming location of 1996's Doctor Who movie, San Fransisco) the London Shard, daleks invading London with their saucers, Gallifreyan text on the cliff 11th stands on, the form of the cliff looks a bit like a head (though I doubt it matters anyway)...

And finally, 11th Doctor, his screwdriver, 5th Doctor's glasses again, sonic pen, 11th Doctor's wig, more sonic screwdrivers floating around, Utah, atmosphere, space, the date of broadcast and the hashtag "#SaveTheDay" and BBC logo.

Also, the dialogue:

"I've been running all my lives, every time and space, every second of every minute of every day for over nine hundred years. I fought for peace in a universe of war. Now the time has come to face the choices I've made in the name of the Doctor. Our future depends on one single moment of one impossible day... the day I've been running from all my life.

The Day of the Doctor."

Speculation time! While I don't think half of the things here bear any weight in terms of the special itself, I do think that it has a deeper meaning over all. The trailer is frozen in time, so possibly it would have some part in the special itself? The "impossible day" likely refers to the two Doctors meeting each other, as it creates a pair-o-docs. I also wonder what the heck the "no more" means. Obviously it has some meaning behind it, as it has never been seen before, not to my knowledge. Needless to say, I love the trailer and all the things in it and I do hope to see some things reappear in the special:

Bessie, most importantly. It would be a nostalgic throwback and everything of the sort. I am also wondering who the heck John Hurt's Doctor is. The common speculation is that he is the Doctor from the Time War, but this has yet to be confirmed. I do think it's something like that, as he has done some pretty bad stuff to lose the title of the Doctor.

Yes, I watched it about a gazillion times.		2013-10-19 21:20:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mkq8pnvsnQg

It's incredibly amateurish but the content is interesting.		2013-11-09 00:34:00

Author:
ARD
Posts: 4291

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7z6FMCqYrBo2013-11-09 21:27:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U3jrS-uhuo2013-11-14 12:54:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

Even after all the supposed leaks and rumours I genuinely wasn't expecting that. I wonder what else we'll see that we were promised would not be in the 50th? 2013-11-14 16:47:00

Author:
ARD
Posts: 4291

Even after all the supposed leaks and rumours I genuinely wasn't expecting that. I wonder what else we'll see that we were promised would not be in the 50th?

Christopher Eccolsten? <3
(By the way can Steven Moffat... just ... stop? STOP TOUCHING THE WHONIVERSE) D:		2013-11-14 18:11:00

Author:
flamingemu
Posts: 1872

It'd be great to see Hurt regenerate into Ecclestone, I doubt it would happen in the 50th but maybe in the other minisode that I think is coming out after the special.

"The war doctor" looks so much younger here than in the 50th. Makes you wonder just how long he was supposed to have been around in order the age that much. The 11th Doctor has been going for hundreds of years already and visibly he hasn't aged a lot. So either the Doctor is actually thousands of years older than he claims and doesn't count those years because he was "Doctor no more" or whatever, or the war itself made him age faster. Which is perfectly feasible since it is a time war.

Does it matter? No. Forget all of that, I don't care. Good evening.

Actually, since 8 was the one who actually chose to become a warrior, technically wouldn't that make him the one that broke the "promise"? Hurt didn't choose to stop becoming the Doctor, McGann did 		2013-11-14 20:27:00

Author:
ARD
Posts: 4291

Maybe the decision wasn't really his, but the actions that ended the war are unforgivable in his eyes, and since Hurt was the one that stooped to that low, that's where the blame lies.

On a different point, did anyone else notice that the names of the people he talks about were the companions in the audio dramas? I think that's awesome.		2013-11-15 02:00:00

Author:
Super_Dork_42
Posts: 1874

Oh yes, McGann. Now, I am 90% sure there will not be a similar surprise in the 50th anniversary episode (which is not a bad thing), but as itself, the minisode was perfect from beginning to the end. Sort of makes you want some of the audio-drama, even though that is not going to happen, not for me anyway.

And it is, of course valid to question things. Just my piece of advice is not to expect an answer to everything. Also, if there is someone who didn't like this... Why? I am genuine. Why didn't you like this minisode? This was out of respect towards the program and its history, but also ties in well with the 50th anniversary. I swear to every god in the universe, though that if someone doesn't like this because it's written by Steven Moffat that my respect for that person is, from here on non-existent. That is basically whining for having nothing to whine about.

I am glad, though, since I have not seen anyone seriously whine about this one. It's like every single person, whether a lover of the new show or someone who also watched the classic episodes seems to be behind the banner that gives Steven Moffat a huge thumbs up for this. Even if the special won't itself be that good, this almost covers it in my eyes.		2013-11-15 05:49:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zn9Ss9rZMcU2013-11-15 20:52:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

Okay, that is fantastic.2013-11-15 21:13:00

Author:
Super_Dork_42
Posts: 1874

I just watched all the regeneration stories (apart from the last episode of Tenth Planet, as I do not own the animated version of it) and I have got to say...

"Tenth Planet" was absolutely great, the Cybermen were terrifying and the story was very good, but I couldn't view the fourth episode, so I only saw the regeneration clip from it. However, from what I did see, it's one of the best First Doctor stories, though "An Unearthly Child" is still the best.

If you have watched/enjoyed any Second Doctor stories, watch his final story: "War Games". It's a casual three-hour ten-parter, with one of the best plots I have ever seen in any form of entertainment. It's epic, gritty and it has one of the best villains in the show's history. It's also the second best regeneration story in my opinion. (It was my first viewing of this story.)

"Planet of the Spiders" was okay. It wasn't too bad, but it had a few silly moments in it, which kind of took away from it. What the story does right is its very end, with the James Bond's... Uh, I mean the Third Doctor's regeneration.

"Logopolis" is... Not my favourite regeneration story. Not even close. Actually, I would say it only ranks above one other regeneration, which we will come to soon. The regeneration line, though... It's the best of them all.

"Caves of Androzani" is hands down my favourite Doctor Who story of all time. Never have I seen a better piece of television, or any other piece of entertainment. It gritty, sad, it has tension, awesome cliffhangers, great acting, fully fleshed out acting and it delivers a fantastic end to the Fifth Doctor's tenure.

"The Ultimate Foe" is not a very fantastic story, however. It's good on part, but it has flaws. I have always liked Colin Baker and the Sixth Doctor, but here the focus is not on him. Also, the regeneration here is laughably pathetic at best.

"Doctor Who -Movie" is the exact reason why the show wouldn't work, if it was given to the hands of the Americans. It has the worst companions, bad story, Master is basically flushed down a toiled and then brought back up with a plunger, the writing is horrid...I could go on, but I won't. It's Paul McGann who makes this "Movie" bearable, but even he can't salvage this piece of crap. Worst. Regeneration story. Ever. You know what? I won't even count this as a regeneration story, as it's just so... bad.

(On the record, the movie was an Americanization of the program and I am glad it didn't work out, not because of Paul McGann, he's great, but because the writing is just the worst.)

"Bad Wolf / Parting of the Ways" is the reason I love Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor. While he was great in all of his episodes, especially in Steven Moffat's two-parter, this is where he shines. I am not a fan of Rose, though.

Then, the "End of Time"... I wouldn't want to comment on this, since I have a very different opinion than the most, but I shall do it anyway. The first episode is the second worst thing Russel T Davies has ever written and the second episode has 20 minutes of absolute perfection, yet it fails terribly as far as the regeneration history of the program is concerned. The Doctor is just an annoying, whiny little... I dare not say what, but the basic abuse of the character to force tears out of the audience is the thing that makes this purely annoying. The thing that annoys me the most, however, is the Tenth Doctor's final line of dialogue, which I won't quote, since you all know what it is.

Now, don't hate on me for that opinion, but it's true. It's. True.

Instead, tell me what you think? What are your favourite regeneration stories? While Matt's regeneration is still over a month away, I won't talk much about it. I will just hope it will show the Eleventh Doctor as he is: heroic.		2013-11-19 13:21:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

Anyone heard the latest rumours?

Tom Baker has apparently confirmed that he will be appearing in the special. He does seem to be the most likely "classic" doctor to do so, since I think he's the only one who hasn't actually denied involvement, and, apart from 10 and 11 who are already confirmed, he appears to be the only surviving doctor not in this fish dr red button thing.

Just watched AAISAT, pretty good, but...

As an idea, getting Matt Smith to turn up at the end sounds great, but it looked like a very, very late idea. It literally looked like they decided to drop him in there this morning - absolutely horrendous, incredibly lazy greenscreening. But then again, not bad for 1966 		2013-11-21 20:28:00

Author:
ARD
Posts: 4291

Watched An Unearthly Child never thought you could fill so much run time with fire.2013-11-22 19:02:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

Have you guys seen Google?

EDIT: I just saw "An Adventure in Space and Time" yesterday... I think it's, in all honesty, the best thing to come out of television since the last episode of Sherlock series 2. It is absolutely brilliant, casting choices are perfect (apart from the person who acted Patrick Throughton) and everybody does honor to the people they act. Everybody. And the person who I will likely remember the most kindly for this 50th anniversary is actually Mark Gatiss for bringing us such a perfect piece of docu-drama.

No exaggeration here, folks. "An Adventure in Space and Time" is the best thing in any form of entertainment to come out this year. It's not only a perfect docu-drama but it also helps show the kind of fan Mark Gatiss is to the program and in all honesty, if he will be Steven Moffat's successor, then I am not disappointed one bit. Oh, there's one thing that I have seen being constantly looked at as if it is a bad thing and I sort of understand it if you think so, but I have no complaints.

All in all, the best piece of drama to come out since "Reichenbach Fall".

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DOCTOR WHO! You don't look a day over 49!		2013-11-22 19:53:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

I just watched the 50th. That is pretty much all I can say at the moment... I will have to wait a while until I can actually form a sentence that makes sense that would describe how I liked what I just saw.2013-11-23 21:17:00

Author:
napero7
Posts: 1653

Steven Moffat proves that he is still a force to be reckoned with, when it comes to writing this stuff. Sure, he had his missteps, especially during the series 7, but in my opinion "The Day of the Doctor" has the right to be a monument to the program and a landmark episode altogether. If you haven't seen it yet, I won't spoil it for you, but I can promise you that you will not be disappointed.2013-11-23 21:38:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

Steven Moffat proves that he is still a force to be reckoned with, when it comes to writing this stuff. Sure, he had his missteps, especially during the series 7, but in my opinion "The Day of the Doctor" has the right to be a monument to the program and a landmark episode altogether. If you haven't seen it yet, I won't spoil it for you, but I can promise you that you will not be disappointed.

I was thinking the same thing, because I've watched quite a few episodes on BBCA this week/weekend, and boy...the 2013 season just...well...sucked IMO, compared to what came before it at least. I have high hopes going forward.

But this episode was just amazing, and I especially loved getting a glimpse of 13's eyebrows, and John Hurt rocking the fauxhawk. This was a great tribute for the show's 50 years.		2013-11-24 00:20:00

Author:
Chazprime
Posts: 587

Okay I've watched the 50th like 3 times now and have to say that it is well worth all the hype. I was seriously worried the hype would kill the episode or at least set everyone's expectations too high. Well... not that high.
I'll put some stuff in a spoiler


The story had great humor. I loved the interactions between the doctors. The plot was epic throughout the episode and even though like I've seen people say that the opening part seemed like too much filler and Zygons could be replaced with pretty much any monster, I think it works out really well in the end. As for stuff that seemed at first to be there just to please the hardcore whovians like the fez and Rose, they handled them amazingly. The fez actually had an important use here and Rose was brought back in probably the best way they could. As Bad Wolf she is fine (as seen in this episode), as Rose... meh.
Then there was the whole ending part... all the doctors are there, even Capaldi! Gallifrey is saved and doesn't mess with the whoniverse unless you count stuff that gets broken all the time anyway (paradoxes and time locks and whatnot). Also Tom Baker. Coming from someone who hasn't watched the old series at all, Tom's performance here seemed just perfect and I can see why he is the favourite doctor of so many fans.
There was one minor thing that annoyed me. It might have annoyed you too. Quite a lot of people seem unhappy with this little detail. You see, playing the doctor is like a promise you make. He is the one who broke the promise. Eccleston just couldn't show up for a couple seconds to complete that regeneration? I've heard there's been quite a lot of bridges burned between him and BBC but seriously... ugh... this annoys me way too much.
Anyway, amazing episode, would watch again.		2013-11-24 02:04:00

Author:
napero7
Posts: 1653

I watched it earlier today and boy am I glad I DVR'd it. Amazing episode. I'm with Chaz on the 2013 season. I didn't really "feel" it with that one. I wanted MOAR! Man, when Tom Baker came in, I seriously got chills. He was my all time favorite Doctor and seeing him in this episode was a real treat.2013-11-24 03:02:00

Author:
biorogue
Posts: 8424

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMOOLd_44Mo

Now, I absolutely loved the special so much that the few missteps don't matter at all, but once everything is said and done, in my opinion the best character in the entire program so far and the special itself is Osgood. Who is she? The girl with the Fourth Doctor's scarf. She's a Whovian in the Whoniverse.		2013-11-24 11:40:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

1. Nothing was actually changed, Gallifrey was never destroyed, the Doctor just believed he had used the Moment.

2. If the above is true, how do the events of TDOTD fit in with The End of Time? Did the "Gallifrey teleports to earth" thing happen on the same day as the "Gallifrey disappears to another universe" thing?

3. I thought the point of the zygon cube things was that is transports stuff into the paintings as seen with the zygons and the Doctors. So surely Gallifrey would just been turned into a painting and not disappear into another universe or whatever happened. I mean, what? When the Doctors went into the Gallifrey painting...wouldn't that mean they were actually on Gallifrey? Is the Gallifrey painting the result of turning Gallifrey into a painting or is it just a random unrelated painting? What?

4. The whole idea of "only the latest Doctor remembers" makes sense but it kind of doesn't work here. The Doctor married Elizabeth while his future self was present, so how does he remember in TEOT? And if the 12th/13th/14th/Capaldi Doctor joined in with the "save Gallifrey" operation, shouldn't that mean that Smith's Doctor wouldn't remember that part of the adventure, just like the previous Doctors? And, if the Curator is a future Doctor, Smith shouldn't remember the conversation until he has it as the Curator himself. So he wouldn't know about Gallifrey being safe and everything. Hmm. I mean, Clara could probably fill him in. But whatever.

5. The Curator being a future retired Doctor seems to make the most sense, ignoring the memory ****. The Queen did appoint the Doctor as curator of the "under gallery" so why shouldn't he choose to take up the position full time in the distant future? I suspect that this future-four is where Osgood got her scarf.

6. There were some other things but I've forgotten them. I'll have to wait for my future self to show up and fill the gaps.



I'm not going to post the christmas spoilers here because they are all over the internet and the promo pictures seem to support those spoilers, mostly. Moffat has confirmed that he is counting the meta hand thing as a proper regeneration, which means Smith is actually the Doctor's 13th body, so he should not be able to regenerate again. I suspect Moffat has done this just to boost his ridiculous ego even more and make sure he is the writer to tackle the regeneration limit - that's why he wanted to add an extra incarnation for the 50th, instead of bringing Eccleston back. I wonder if that's why Ellcleston didn't return - his part would only ever have been for Hurt's regeneration. But meh. Maybe it means Moffat isn't planning to be around when Capaldi leaves, which would be a welcome change.


I did like the episode, btw. I don't hate Moffat or anything 		2013-11-25 22:09:00

Author:
ARD
Posts: 4291

1. Nothing was actually changed, Gallifrey was never destroyed, the Doctor just believed he had used the Moment.

2. If the above is true, how do the events of TDOTD fit in with The End of Time? Did the "Gallifrey teleports to earth" thing happen on the same day as the "Gallifrey disappears to another universe" thing?

3. I thought the point of the zygon cube things was that is transports stuff into the paintings as seen with the zygons and the Doctors. So surely Gallifrey would just been turned into a painting and not disappear into another universe or whatever happened. I mean, what? When the Doctors went into the Gallifrey painting...wouldn't that mean they were actually on Gallifrey? Is the Gallifrey painting the result of turning Gallifrey into a painting or is it just a random unrelated painting? What?

4. The whole idea of "only the latest Doctor remembers" makes sense but it kind of doesn't work here. The Doctor married Elizabeth while his future self was present, so how does he remember in TEOT? And if the 12th/13th/14th/Capaldi Doctor joined in with the "save Gallifrey" operation, shouldn't that mean that Smith's Doctor wouldn't remember that part of the adventure, just like the previous Doctors? And, if the Curator is a future Doctor, Smith shouldn't remember the conversation until he has it as the Curator himself. So he wouldn't know about Gallifrey being safe and everything. Hmm. I mean, Clara could probably fill him in. But whatever.

5. The Curator being a future retired Doctor seems to make the most sense, ignoring the memory ****. The Queen did appoint the Doctor as curator of the "under gallery" so why shouldn't he choose to take up the position full time in the distant future? I suspect that this future-four is where Osgood got her scarf.

6. There were some other things but I've forgotten them. I'll have to wait for my future self to show up and fill the gaps.



I'm not going to post the christmas spoilers here because they are all over the internet and the promo pictures seem to support those spoilers, mostly. Moffat has confirmed that he is counting the meta hand thing as a proper regeneration, which means Smith is actually the Doctor's 13th body, so he should not be able to regenerate again. I suspect Moffat has done this just to boost his ridiculous ego even more and make sure he is the writer to tackle the regeneration limit - that's why he wanted to add an extra incarnation for the 50th, instead of bringing Eccleston back. I wonder if that's why Ellcleston didn't return - his part would only ever have been for Hurt's regeneration. But meh. Maybe it means Moffat isn't planning to be around when Capaldi leaves, which would be a welcome change.


I did like the episode, btw. I don't hate Moffat or anything

1. I do feel like you are not giving the man enough credit here. While in technicality nothing has changed, the Doctor now has a new destination for his journey. Therefore saying that nothing has changed is just leaving it short. Unlike the twist in "Asylum of the Daleks", this change was backed up by proper build-up, it's well executed and it actually looks like it's going to have some effect rather soon.

2. The events in the End of Time happened before the Doctors saved Gallifrey. On the same day, maybe, but before it.

3. The Time Lord paintings are images of things that have happened and work as their own pocket universes of those moments. They can later be entered and exited. The painting "Gallifrey Falls, No More" is its own painting and completely unrelated to the one the Doctors later made. The Doctor also said that the plan was not fullproof, but it would give the Time Lords hope. The Curator later revealed that the plan actually worked and Gallifrey existed, somewhere, hidden inside a pocket-universe frozen in time.

4. The memory thing was sort of a cheat, but it was a necessary cheat. The Tenth Doctor only remembers the things that happened in Elizabethian England, up until the point where he meets the Eleventh Doctor. Before that point, he had already snogged with Elizabeth. This wasn't explained clearly, so it's understandable not to understand it. Even I had to be filled in about this one.

5. So far, I have only heard two valid speculations. The other one is what you said and the other one... I have to put a spoiler-spoiler here, in case you don't know the thing about Peter Capaldi's Doctor. If you don't know what I mean, you probably don't know it.

The Twelfth Doctor has the face of the person in Pompeii and this is actually worked into the story. Therefore two people who look like Peter Capaldi exist in the universe. By extended logic, every face of the Doctor has a counterpart somewhere in the universe. Maybe the Curator is the counterpart of the Fourth Doctor? I really don't know, but I sort of do like it. Some mystery in the show is never bad.

As for your second spoiler thingy, it may be the case, but I really doubt he does that to "boost his ego." There are several people who constantly keep asking whether the regeneration in the Journey's End counted and Moffat had to make the choice to either count it or not to count it. It was a screw-up by RTD and Moffat is only here to save the day. I don't find tackling the regeneration limit as a bad thing, as it is a necessary change to the mythology of the character. Sorry for RTD hate here, but I do have to say he entirely ruined the Tenth Doctor with him being "in love" with Rose. It was solid crap that limited the character. Tackling the regeneration limit expands the character. Also, the reason Eccleston didn't return was his own choice, as he never was positive about his role as the Doctor and gladly Moffat worked the story so it wouldn't have worked with him.


Oh and yes, it would be nice to see a fresh face as the main writer. My vote would go to Mark Gatiss, as he really is a big fan of the show and gets what it is about, as he proved with "An Adventure in Space and Time." While none of his Doctor Who stories have been superly amazing, he has yet to write a bad script. His best things are those where he gets the most freedom to write as he wills, like he did in Sherlock - "The Great Game" and many of his documentaries and of course in "AAISAT". I have no issue with Moffat and I haven't grown tired of his style. Yet.

Yes, it is sort of an obvious choice, but obvious choices tend to work. Peter Capaldi as the Doctor received a positive reaction, Vol'Jin as the Warchief received a positive reaction, Peter Jackson as the director of the Hobbit was a great choice, having David Tennant in the Day of the Doctor didn't only receive a positive reaction but it also worked... The obvious choices tend to work.

Also, on the fifth viewing, it's even better. The special sort of suffers from the same thing as "The Big Bang": You spend so much energy on the first time wrapping your head around it that you don't necessarily understand everything and may not be able to see all the greatness in it, but on repeat viewings it shines. That's how classics are made.

Also, Osgood is officially in my top 10 fictional characters in TV and movies.

47335

The title is: The Time of the Doctor (Source: BBC America)

Also, in case you didn't see this, here is a hilarious 30 minute special by Peter Davison (not the only Peter here...), Sylvester McCoy, Colin Baker, Paul McGann, David Tennant, Matt Smith, Jenna Coleman, Steven Moffat, John Barrowman and many, many others, written and directed by the 5th Doctor, Peter Davison: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01m3kfy

Makes up for them not being in the special.		2013-11-26 10:02:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

What do you mean not in the special
Seriously, watch the Five(ish) Doctors, it is brilliant.		2013-11-26 11:00:00

Author:
Jedi_1993
Posts: 1518

[spoiler=disconnected thoughts about things]
I suspect Moffat has done this just to boost his ridiculous ego even more and make sure he is the writer to tackle the regeneration limit - that's why he wanted to add an extra incarnation for the 50th, instead of bringing Eccleston back. I wonder if that's why Ellcleston didn't return - his part would only ever have been for Hurt's regeneration. But meh. Maybe it means Moffat isn't planning to be around when Capaldi leaves, which would be a welcome change.

Technically Russell Davies already broke the regeneration limit rule with the Master. In the old series, he was already at his 12th regeneration in the Tom Baker series and was jumping from dead body to dead body to stay alive - the time lords "resurrected" him to fight in the Time War. So given that Gallifrey might still exist somewhere, and time lords can apparently trade regeneration energy like baseball cards, it should be no matter for the Doctor to nip back and refuel

I believe Eccelston told the BBC after season 1 that he had no interest in ever coming back or even doing a cameo for Doctor Who. Apparently he hated the production schedule and wanted out as soon as possible...so I think that's why we'll never see new footage with him playing the Doctor.

I suspect that Moffat will probably leave after next season, maybe two. He's been making statements to the effect that he's stretched too thin between this show and Sherlock, and I think that Doctor Who has been suffering because of it. I'm okay with that.		2013-11-26 12:24:00

Author:
Chazprime
Posts: 587

1. I do feel like you are not giving the man enough credit here. While in technicality nothing has changed, the Doctor now has a new destination for his journey. Therefore saying that nothing has changed is just leaving it short. Unlike the twist in "Asylum of the Daleks", this change was backed up by proper build-up, it's well executed and it actually looks like it's going to have some effect rather soon.

2. The events in the End of Time happened before the Doctors saved Gallifrey. On the same day, maybe, but before it.

3. The Time Lord paintings are images of things that have happened and work as their own pocket universes of those moments. They can later be entered and exited. The painting "Gallifrey Falls, No More" is its own painting and completely unrelated to the one the Doctors later made. The Doctor also said that the plan was not fullproof, but it would give the Time Lords hope. The Curator later revealed that the plan actually worked and Gallifrey existed, somewhere, hidden inside a pocket-universe frozen in time.

4. The memory thing was sort of a cheat, but it was a necessary cheat. The Tenth Doctor only remembers the things that happened in Elizabethian England, up until the point where he meets the Eleventh Doctor. Before that point, he had already snogged with Elizabeth. This wasn't explained clearly, so it's understandable not to understand it. Even I had to be filled in about this one.

5. So far, I have only heard two valid speculations. The other one is what you said and the other one... I have to put a spoiler-spoiler here, in case you don't know the thing about Peter Capaldi's Doctor. If you don't know what I mean, you probably don't know it.

The Twelfth Doctor has the face of the person in Pompeii and this is actually worked into the story. Therefore two people who look like Peter Capaldi exist in the universe. By extended logic, every face of the Doctor has a counterpart somewhere in the universe. Maybe the Curator is the counterpart of the Fourth Doctor? I really don't know, but I sort of do like it. Some mystery in the show is never bad.



1. I think you misunderstood me, I wasn't complaining or criticizing anything, just noting what I understood to have happened. Gallifrey was never destroyed in any timeline, the Doctor just believed he had done it.

2. Agreed, but it still all seems a bit weird.

3. That makes sense, thanks.

4. But Tennant later (in TEOT) says that he married Elizabeth, Surely he should only remember accidentally proposing to her, and not the wedding or anything. He shouldn't remember anything after meeting the two queens in the forest...the whole memory issue completely falls apart here.

5. I have heard that idea, but I really don't like it. I know Moffat has mentioned explaining the reason for a third Capaldi appearing in the whoniverse but I'd rather it wasn't mentioned. I really like the idea of the Curator but I really hope he is never seen or mentioned again as it would really spoil that moment. Leave it as a mystery.		2013-11-27 03:19:00

Author:
ARD
Posts: 4291

Oh, folks, some business to talk about...

Apparently the Sun magazine has released spoilers for the Christmas Special. And not just any spoilers, but all the spoilers. Everything to be spoiled about the Christmas special, such as the sorting of the regeneration, the episode's own plot, the cause of regeneration and even Matt Smith's final line have all been published. I don't suppose any of you read poor magazines like the Sun anyway, but if you do and f you know, keep this to yourself. Don't even put it in [ spoiler ], because there are always some people who will take part in the discussion and conveniently forget to put their own text into [ spoiler ] as well.

I swear, if anyone thinks it's a good idea to spoil something here, I swear I will make the underworld rain on that person and I will hammer them with the power of all the circles of Dante's freaking Inferno. If some mediocre magazine tries to arouse discussion and bring readers by doing something as poor as spoiling an episode of Doctor who, don't be a part of it.

On a much lighter note, it's apparent that the Doctor Who Christmas special will also be broadcast in Finland... on 29th of December. Well, better than watching it online. Now excuse me while I unsubscribe every Doctor Who related Youtube channel I have subbed to, unlike Doctor Who, MrTardisReviews and FiveWhoFans on Facebook and retreat to live in a cave. If I am lucky on 24th, I will have something to do while keeping myself from spoilers from 25th to 29th of December.		2013-11-27 20:08:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

Yeah, I heard about The Sun leaking things. Now I just have to try and avoid them until Christmas day. Wish me luck! (And good luck to you fine people too!)2013-11-27 23:15:00

Author:
Jedi_1993
Posts: 1518

Guys, this is really important...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRIHUGnH_es		2013-12-01 12:35:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

From what I've heard the Sun only gave the spoilers that have already been on the internet for weeks. But whatever. The fact that non-British people seem to think that the Sun is a magazine is a pretty accurate reflection of what people think of it over here

Pretty excited to see Capaldi take over anyway. But I think it's a shame that Moffat was showrunner for Matt Smith's entire run. Like I said before, I don't dislike Moffat, he's done some great episodes in the past, but he really should not have been left in charge of the whole thing. I hope Capaldi lasts long enough in the role to be written by someone else.		2013-12-02 05:03:00

Author:
ARD
Posts: 4291

My problem with Moffat is that, while I love some of his old standalone episodes, he cannot do series arcs or anything. He has some interesting ideas but seems to forget about them and make things up as he goes along. It seems pretty clear from his first series that he either had no actual plans for the "silence" or River Song stuff, or he changed his mind as he went along. River Song was interesting as a concept but kind of wasted, if she really is dead proper now. Why not leave her out of The Name of the Doctor so she could appear in TDOTD and actually bring a bit of sense to the "I've met the 10th doctor before and some others" thing she had when she first appeared?

Whenever Moffat does quit as head writer I'd still like to see him stay on and do a few episodes a year. He just doesn't feel right as showrunner. It mostly seems to only be people who didn't discover Doctor Who until Matt Smith started who really like Moffat's stuff.		2013-12-02 14:20:00

Author:
ARD
Posts: 4291

That's a really good point about River. We still haven't seen probably half her story and she's already dead.2013-12-02 17:08:00

Author:
Jedi_1993
Posts: 1518

My problem with Moffat is that, while I love some of his old standalone episodes, he cannot do series arcs or anything. He has some interesting ideas but seems to forget about them and make things up as he goes along. It seems pretty clear from his first series that he either had no actual plans for the "silence" or River Song stuff, or he changed his mind as he went along. River Song was interesting as a concept but kind of wasted, if she really is dead proper now. Why not leave her out of The Name of the Doctor so she could appear in TDOTD and actually bring a bit of sense to the "I've met the 10th doctor before and some others" thing she had when she first appeared?

Whenever Moffat does quit as head writer I'd still like to see him stay on and do a few episodes a year. He just doesn't feel right as showrunner. It mostly seems to only be people who didn't discover Doctor Who until Matt Smith started who really like Moffat's stuff.


Well, you do bring light to your opinion, but I still disagree with you. Christopher Eccleston was my first Doctor. I then saw David Tennant and then I saw Smith. Then I began watching the classics. Anyway, I know several people who (at least claim to) have began watching back in the classic series and still say that they find Moffat's writing very good. I also have to disagree on your opinion about the series-arcs. Series 5 is, as a series, the best one of the new series, partly because of the high quality of episodes (apart from two, which are, ironically for me, written by Steven Moffat) and partly because of the series arc being so fantastic. Series 6 was very good as long as the main theme was concerned, but kind of flopped at the finale. Series 7 arc was very well executed (the mystery around Clara), but it didn't work because Clara is a weak character, apart from few episodes.

Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah. The series arcs written by Moffat are very good so far, but as he has stated, we are going to see a conclusion to them in the Christmas special, so I wouldn't judge them yet. Unarguably, if they just dropped series 6 arc here, it would ruin series 5 arc with it, but gladly, this will not likely be the case. Then again, Moffat said that no classic Doctor actors were going to appear in the 50th, so he might lie on this one...

I do sort of agree with you about River Song. While Moffat's idea of a character who is not the companion but has several untold adventures with the Doctor is a very good one, and I understand that there will be mentions about stories we never saw, I think that it would be best for us to see two things about her: the story where Doctor comes to her just before her visitation of the Library and gives her his Sonic screwdriver and the story about Jim the Fish. God, darn it! I WANT JIM THE FISH!		2013-12-02 19:43:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

That's a really good point about River. We still haven't seen probably half her story and she's already dead.

This is a time travel show we are talking about? Since when should being dead stop a character from appearing? I've missed a few episodes but she didn't get erased from the universe did she?		2013-12-02 22:46:00

Author:
Skalio-
Posts: 920

This is a time travel show we are talking about? Since when should being dead stop a character from appearing? I've missed a few episodes but she didn't get erased from the universe did she?

Oh I know we can see her coming back as an earlier version, I was just trying to be funny.		2013-12-03 10:11:00

Author:
Jedi_1993
Posts: 1518

I've actually really enjoyed Moffat's run as the showrunner and have found his arcs to be very interesting.

Personally I find that the "bad" episodes of series 5-7 are still pretty watchable, where as the bad episodes of series 1-4 are just plain awful and I would even change the channel if they came on the tv.

That's my personal take on how the writing for the series has progressed since the reboot anyway.

Mind you, I can't be the only one in here that's counting down to the fall of the Eleventh instead of more traditionally counting down to Christmas this year.

Will be a shame to see Matt Smith go, he's definitely my favourite Doctor.		2013-12-03 12:23:00

Author:
StevenI
Community Manager
Posts: 420

Will be a shame to see Matt Smith go, he's definitely my favourite Doctor.

Yeah, but so was Tennant before Smith became The Doctor. I'm sure we'll love Capaldi in time just as much or more than Smith.

Although, to be honest, I hate Moffats writing for episodes. He did great at the 50th, but the individual episodes he's been putting out for a long time have been crap and I wish he'd get back to doing it how they used to with big story arcs that lasted half a season. Those allowed for better storytelling, I think, despite the fact that the budget was so much lower then. 		2013-12-03 16:31:00

Author:
Super_Dork_42
Posts: 1874

If anyone wants to see Peter Capaldi in action, check out the 2009 film In The Loop... he's really great in it (a little scary too)2013-12-03 17:39:00

Author:
Chazprime
Posts: 587

Chrismas ep confirmed for 19:30 on the 25th http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/s7/doctor-who/news/a535530/doctor-who-sherlock-bbc-one-unveils-christmas-new-year-listings.html2013-12-03 18:12:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

Yeah, but so was Tennant before Smith became The Doctor. I'm sure we'll love Capaldi in time just as much or more than Smith.

Although, to be honest, I hate Moffats writing for episodes. He did great at the 50th, but the individual episodes he's been putting out for a long time have been crap and I wish he'd get back to doing it how they used to with big story arcs that lasted half a season. Those allowed for better storytelling, I think, despite the fact that the budget was so much lower then.

When David Tennant said: "I don't wanna go" and people all over globe cried their eyes out, only thing I could let out was a small sigh of disappointment. His actions in Doomsday, Runaway Bride, some of the episodes of series 3 (boohoo, Rose was so much better, boohoo) and in the last 30 minutes of the End of Time made him my least favourite Doctor out of all, and I mean out of every single Doctor, including the classic ones. Therefore no, I didn't think he was great. He was never consistently the Doctor, apart from the few stories, mostly written by (surprise, surprise) Steven Moffat.

I do agree sort of with your other point, however, but only the other half and even so only with the idea. They need to bring back two-parters and if the rumours are correct, we are getting some of those in the next series. Hopefully one directed by Peter Jackson, as he's apparently directing in the next series.

Oh, and Steven Moffat's standalone episodes between and including "Let's Kill Hitler" and "Snowmen" were all quite poor, but he has gone through a significant, constantly progressing improvement beginning with the "Bells of Saint John" and ending with "The Day of the Doctor," so we can hope that he continues that improvement with the "Time of the Doctor," even though it's a Christmas Special, which in turn have generally been pretty lackluster.

My hopes for the regeneration story is something like "Bad Wolf"/"Parting of the Ways" was. The fact is that 11th Doctor has been best in emotional, unique stories and those that constantly bring up the fact that it's a science fiction show. Stories like "Eleventh Hour," "Vampires of Venice," "Amy's Choice," "Cold Blood," "Vincent and the Doctor," "Pandorica Opens"/"The Big Bang," "Doctor's Wife," "A Good man goes to War," "Girl Who Waited," "Closing Time," "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship," "Rings of Akhaten," "Cold War," "Nightmare in Silver" and the latest "Day of the Doctor" were all fantastic pieces of television (with an honorable mention to "Hide") in their own right and the Eleventh Doctor, unlike any other Doctor during the 50 years could, works in these stories because of how the Doctor is crafted. I don't think 11th is the best of them all, though, as he'd have to compete with 2nd and 6th and 7th (for me), but he is surely the best of these new Doctors.

Back to the Christmas special. It can either be like the story I mentioned earlier, or it can go to the crushingly surprising direction of "Caves of Androzani" and deliver a brutal regeneration episode as far as the story is concerned. But who knows, eh?

Who. Nose?		2013-12-03 18:58:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

If anyone wants to see Peter Capaldi in action, check out the 2009 film In The Loop... he's really great in it (a little scary too)

This post depresses me because it gives the impression that you are not aware of The Thick of it, from which In the Loop is a spin-off. Go and watch it.		2013-12-04 02:02:00

Author:
ARD
Posts: 4291

This post depresses me because it gives the impression that you are not aware of The Thick of it, from which In the Loop is a spin-off. Go and watch it.

Well what do you know...I saw an episode of it when I was living in the UK, but never made the connection. Definitely will check it out.		2013-12-04 02:07:00

Author:
Chazprime
Posts: 587

Surely it'll be 09 : 30, not 19 : 30. If it's 19 : 30, it airs here at 02:00 the next day here instead of the far more likely 14:00. But no. :/2013-12-04 07:49:00

Author:
Super_Dork_42
Posts: 1874

Surely it'll be 09 : 30, not 19 : 30. If it's 19 : 30, it airs here at 02:00 the next day here instead of the far more likely 14:00. But no. :/

The hell are you waffling on about?		2013-12-04 09:56:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

He was never consistently the Doctor

Thank you! That's probably my biggest criticism of Christoper Ecclestone's Doctor too.

Admittedly he only had 13 episodes to establish himself but it just felt like he could flip between being fearless or petrified of otherwise arbitrary alien encounters that he's encountered plenty of times before. A scene in the Unquiet Dead where the Doctor was very uncharacteristically scared of what was happening always sticks out as a bit of a low point during Ecclestone's run for me.		2013-12-04 11:15:00

Author:
StevenI
Community Manager
Posts: 420

Surely it'll be 09 : 30, not 19 : 30. If it's 19 : 30, it airs here at 02:00 the next day here instead of the far more likely 14:00. But no. :/

Wait... What?		2013-12-04 15:05:00

Author:
DreamLovePlay
Posts: 9

Wait... What?

A new member who's a Doctor Who fan? Join the discussion! Did you watch the special?		2013-12-04 18:06:00

Author:
ARD
Posts: 4291

In unrelated news, while Daleks have been under lots of unnecessary development and controversial upgrades to their mythology and style altogether, one thing that they have better than any other monster is their music.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRi_uB_Ecmk		2013-12-04 19:17:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

In my honest opinion, smith was the better doctor, though tennants run was infinately better due to the writing. it seems scince smith became the doctor the episodes spend a long time setting up what could be a really great two parter only to really rapidly and abruptly end them at what feels like it should only be the middle of the episode, which for me really feels like a buzz-kill. the episodes that do stay on to become two parters (of which it definately feels like there are less) tend to completely change direction come the second part which also kills the tension and sucks the fun out of most of the episodes.
add to that the constant "look we're really british, love us america" moments and it just feels too much like the writers just aren't getting it at the moment. I remember when I was a kid, and there were episodes like the ones with the gas mask children that just really worked and had us all talking and scared, or when I was a bit older and we'd crowd around a laptop watching classic episodes on DVD from woolworths and be really engaged. it feels like since smith started the stories have just gone downhill to the point that i and most of my friends stopped bothering half way through the most recent series.
also i'm sorry but i just thought that 50th episode was odd and it seems from people I've been speaking to that its kind of half enjoyed and half are just left confused by it, and not because its complicated or clever, but just because it did loads of silly things that just felt unneccessary. it definately feels like there was a time when they would have had us sit there and watch the doctor destroy galifrey and ball our little eyes out, then maybe hint all was not lost at the end or something, or gone some place scary or edgey with the material rather than just kind of copped out with the ending which felt a bit too tame for my liking which in isn't itself a bad thing. It's just that when we or my mother talk about the show we grew up with, its always mentioned as the one that had us hiding behind the sofa and, having watched several newer episodes, including the most recent with my neighbours younger brother I can safely say that it's gone a different direction, and one that maybe caters more to the american audience than its home group.		2013-12-04 20:56:00

Author:
Smudge228
Posts: 533

@Smudge228

Yes, the series has went into a different direction. We used to get stories that are either two-dimensional period dramas (such as "Love & Monsters" and the last 15 minutes of "Doomsday") or just very dull/insultingly stupid (like "Fear Her" or "Doctor's Daughter") and instead we get stories that are not ashamed of the show's sci-fi roots and offer actual quality instead of simply wasted ideas (too many to mention). I can safely say, that if you dislike the newer episodes of the revived series (the episodes from series 5, 6 and 7) and you think that series 1-4 were better altogether, I am sorry to tell you that you are honestly watching the show for the wrong reasons. It is not my decision to make, but in case you watch the show because of the drama and not because of the sci-fi and time travel, then you should switch to Eastenders.

I am not saying I don't like David Tennant's run, but even during that era the best episodes were ones like "Shakespeare Code", "42", "Human Nature" and "Family of Blood", "Utopia," "Fires of Pompeii," "Midnight" and "Waters of Mars". All these stories have in common the fact that they don't turn the show into a soap opera, but instead make sure the audience remembers all the way that the Doctor is an alien, the fact that stories such as mostly all of RTD's episodes conveniently forget.

If you think that the episodes after "Eleventh Hour" are poor... (which, on an unrelated note means that you have no idea what the show is about in the first place).

I fear I am not the person to judge you. (Mostly because, based on previous experience would be useless and a complete waste of time.)

You don't need to watch the show if you don't want and I most certainly am not the one to convince you otherwise. I agree to disagree completely on this matter.		2013-12-05 14:13:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

All these stories have in common the fact that they don't turn the show into a soap opera

You can't class the RTD stuff as "sopa opera" when one of Moffat's biggest storylines was "I'm your daughter". Doesn't get more soap opera than that crap, IMO.		2013-12-05 16:42:00

Author:
ARD
Posts: 4291

Waters of Mars was terrible. I do agree with Smudge a little in that the newer episodes tend to feel like they ended too quick and should have played out in two episodes. Or even better, return to the classic style and make each half season a complete storyline that spans all those episodes.2013-12-05 17:04:00

Author:
Super_Dork_42
Posts: 1874

nah mate, I didn't mean I prefer soap opera drama, of which I don't really see much, except in some cases the whole rory and amy stuff from the series I personally feel are weaker than the older ones. I'm not saying I don't like the sci-fi either, I'm simply saying the epsidoes nowadays are rushed and in my opinion poorly executed. they do often have good ideas behind them they just seem to fail at bringing them to the screen in 45 minuets, where in the older seasons we got great stories told within either one or two episode run-times. I don't dislike comedy in the show, but when it's just things where they spend ages doing things like saying fez it just feels kinda forced, though honestly that joke seems to have become kind of funny now they've used it enough to be kind of self-referential. in my opinion waters of mars is one of the better episodes that I remember because it was able to do funny bits and be british sci-fi whilst also telling a great story with a seriously impactful ending, something I just haven't really experienced for a long time in the series.
ever scince matt smith came on as doctor (was there a writing change here or something becasue the change was pretty abrupt for me) the stories have had alot of nonsense and silliness, and seem to try and just make excuses to end stories after realising the run time is too long, for instance the most recent series has an episode at the start with some singing culture, or another with an ice fella on a submarine, both stories with potential to be exciting pieces of telly, but both fail to deliver on their premises. the former ends really abruptly and certainly feels like a massive cop-out, almost like the writers felt they'd written themselves into a corner and needed to quickly get out of it again before the episode ended. the later starts by focusing on some idiot monster rather than on the characters on the boat and then proceeds to end in a sequence that comes out of nowhere and just feels again like the writers got carried away at the start of the script and were left with no time to finish the story off.
I remeber other potentially great episodes such as one set in a dolls house or one with dinosaurs on a space ship which could have been creepy and adventurous fun respectively but instead just play it too safe, end too soon and ruin potentially great concepts. I'd agree with super dork, in that it certainly feels like the current writing team ought to do something different with the format of the show, for instance doing more frequent, shorter three episode series with a continuous story, or else trying to find more natural ways to bring ideas both to fruition and to a close within the limited run-time they've been presented with.
finally I'd like to say that despite this I would consider myself a fan, what with living in the area it's filmed and having a best friend whose dad used to work on production it's kind of compulsory to like it to fit in around here, i just feel in recent years things have been going in a poor direction (I should point out here I mean with the writing style not with the actual content of the show which definately feels like it could be great)		2013-12-05 17:35:00

Author:
Smudge228
Posts: 533

One thin rings true here and that's the fact that the problem with the latest series is that no story got to be as good as they had potential to be, because they end too fast. They're all built up very well, but the ending comes too fast and that's probably why series 7 is the second or third worst of the new series. I thought I already said this, but in case I did it somewhere else and not here, I will say it again: they should and apparently will bring back the two-parters.

The blockbuster format could work marketing-wise, but we'll get the best stories when the stories are allowed to be longer. In fact, I think that "Cold War" and "Crimson Horror" are the only stories that aren't suffering from this that came out last series. As for the humour, I'd argue that it's only gone up since the Eleventh Doctor took the ropes.

Also, Super_Dork_42, "Waters of Mars" is masterful television and the fact that you disagree on that matter, especially considering you are not backing it up with anything makes your opinions to me on this subject completely invalid.

PS: People, never call Doctor Who too British. Doctor Who is not only British, but it's probably the single most British thing that is as popular as it is. Don't take this one thing away from them.		2013-12-05 18:49:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

I'd probably throw the beatles, sherlock, harry potter, basically every good thing ever or a whole bunch of others at you there, but it'd be massively off topic. just for confirmation, will the regeneration be taking place on christmas day, or in an episode after that one such as the new year episode they did with tennant?2013-12-05 19:07:00

Author:
Smudge228
Posts: 533

I'd probably throw the beatles, sherlock, harry potter, basically every good thing ever or a whole bunch of others at you there, but it'd be massively off topic. just for confirmation, will the regeneration be taking place on christmas day, or in an episode after that one such as the new year episode they did with tennant?

I think Christmas day, but if 'Fat was to make another episode to air on a later date, it would be a great cliffhanger since nobody would see it coming.

Probably Christmas day, though.		2013-12-05 19:45:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

We've already got confirmed scedules for the christmas-new year period there's only 1 episode.2013-12-05 20:00:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

And it's been confirmed that the regen is at christmas and Smith will have no part after that.

Also, You said Waters of Mars was great without anything to back it up, so I said the opposite without anything to back it up. If my criticism of it is invalid, so is your praise. Personally, I think it was a boring story with cheaper than normal effects and a stupid scooter scene they didn't need.		2013-12-06 00:04:00

Author:
Super_Dork_42
Posts: 1874

Alright, alright! The reason "Waters of Mars" is the Tenth Doctor's best episode (or tied for that title, with "Midnight") and that is because it does something with the character the writers don't do for very often. In fact, only in "Fires of Pompeii" was Doctor put into a similar situation. The script constantly evolves and the characters do with it, so the story never gets boring. The setting in not-so-far-away future is believable and something not many episodes of the show have ever done.

The first 45 minutes of the episode are spent as a very good base-under-siege story. The threat is actually valid as you see the Flood doing something and you know exactly what they're capable of. Of course, any story like this needs well fleshed out characters so you care for them and gladly "Waters" delivers on that aspect as well. All characters, from major ones like Captain Brooke to minor ones like Yuri are well-developed, realistic and they all have character traits to them, even the one whose name I can't remember (the one who died in the very beginning of the episode).

As the plot develops and you see the characters spiraling into a situation they possibly can't handle you are placed into the same situation as the Doctor, who is best thing about this story (which is not a compliment that can be given to every Tenth Doctor story). Doctor knows he can't stay there and help the people trapped in the base, so he constantly tries to get away from there. You actually feel the character and you see that he is not a human being. The moment he snaps after the rocket has exploded is beautiful but also scary. During the next 10 minutes the Doctor is not the Doctor; he is a force of nature.

The Doctor standing against the laws of time makes the Flood, who have already proven they are dangerous and pretty much unstoppable look pathetic in comparison. He becomes the threat and the villain of the story. While to story slows down for the last 5 minutes, it never gets boring because you feel the characters' emotions and the moment (spoilers) Brooke shoots herself, you know exactly why she did it. She knew the Doctor was too dangerous to continue doing what he did, so she shot herself to pretty much save the universe and the Doctor's reaction to it is exactly what she wanted and what the universe needed.

If you really are honestly under the impression that the story is not good, then I am not the one to convince you otherwise. I actually need to be sad that you can't enjoy it as much as it deserves to be enjoyed.

Oh, and effects are bad? Really? That is simply not true. The make-up effects are some of the best I have ever seen on any television program. No, they are not Middle-Earth quality, but they are, for any television show, phenomenal. If you still think they were bad, then get your eyes checked.

This story won the Hugo award for best piece of entertainment less than 90 minutes long and it did so for a reason. (Unless you already know, by the way, the people who grant Hugo awards are nowhere near how the people who grant Oscars are. They actually care for quality and don't fall for obvious baits that have none.) Even if you still are under the impression that the story is bad, I at least want you to see why some people consider this one of the best.		2013-12-06 10:16:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

What I meant was, What effects? It was a bit of water squirting around, a little latex around the mouth to make it look like the most extreme chapped lips ever, and some weird contacts. And like a spurt or two of fire. It wasn't up to the shows standards for that time period, IMHO. And the story was dumb. It's like they ran out of ideas and then out of desperation someone said "how about water" while looking into their bottle. Not my least favorite episode, to be sure, but not very good compared to the rest of the show.

My least favorite episode was the Satan Pit two parter. Unlike in pretty much every episode ever, he didn't care about the creature once he figured out it was supposedly the source of so many cultures having a satan-like mythology. At that point he just wanted to kill it without even knowing anything about the species, what it did, or learning whether or not it's crimes warranted such a punishment. The only reason he actually learned anything about it was because he got stuck in the room with it and got bored. Very un-Doctor-like to me.		2013-12-06 15:57:00

Author:
Super_Dork_42
Posts: 1874

Yeah, the "Impossible Planet" and "Satan Pit" is likely the most overrated Doctor Who story ever. It's not "Love & Monster", but it's... Well, quite bad. However, I completely disagree about the water being the villain. It was not only marvelously well worked into the story, but it also was a very valid threat, not to mention the nice tie-in with the Ice Warriors.

But yeah, if you are criticizing the story based on its special effects alone (which really weren't as bad as you say, especially in comparison to other 10th Doctor episodes as especially the set pieces were amazing and believable), then I don't think there is much for us to talk about anymore.		2013-12-06 17:46:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

The worldwide transmission time for The Time of the Doctor currently looks as follows: United Kingdom at 7:30pm GMT; Germany at 9:35pm CET (8:35pm GMT); Canada at 8:00pm EST (1:00am GMT); USA at 9:00pm EST (2:00am GMT); and Australia on Boxing Day at 7:30pm AEST (9:30am GMT).

http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2013/12/time-space-051213170008.html		2013-12-06 19:09:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

https://31.media.tumblr.com/05df12ebcca64bdc5d60a47c82a9eebe/tumblr_mxb0gj1Hh91r9zeo4o1_r1_500.jpg2013-12-06 20:26:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

"A change is going to come"? Amazing. Is that an official BBC America thing?2013-12-06 21:38:00

Author:
ARD
Posts: 4291

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7GhY-ds2Kfk2013-12-11 18:08:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

Ah, yes. What kind of a Moffat-episode with Cybermen, Daleks, Weeping Angels and the Silence would it be if it didn't have an older woman playing the part of the main antagonist (supposedly).2013-12-11 19:24:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

Scientists discovered a new planet that according to what we know about planets this one shouldn't exist. It's 650 times the average Earth-Sun distance. Somebody has started a petition to name this impossible planet Gallifrey to honor Doctor Who's 50 years. The petition has about 114,000 signs as of now, and needs about 36,000 more. Link to the petition below:

http://www.change.org/petitions/international-astronomical-union-to-rename-the-newly-discovered-planet-hd-106906-b-to-gallifrey-in-honour-of-doctor-who-and-its-50-years-even-if-it-s-just-a-second-name-or-officially-recognised-as-also-known-as-gallifrey-gallifreyfound#share (http://www.change.org/petitions/international-astronomical-union-to-rename-the-newly-discovered-planet-hd-106906-b-to-gallifrey-in-honour-of-doctor-who-and-its-50-years-even-if-it-s-just-a-second-name-or-officially-recognised-as-also-known-as-gallifrey-gallifreyfound#share)		2013-12-11 19:32:00

Author:
ConverseFox
Posts: 2333

Ah, yes. What kind of a Moffat-episode with Cybermen, Daleks, Weeping Angels and the Silence would it be if it didn't have an older woman playing the part of the main antagonist (supposedly).

Next we'll find out the plot has events occuring in a different order for the Doctor vs the rest of the universe.		2013-12-11 19:46:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

Next we'll find out the plot has events occuring in a different order for the Doctor vs the rest of the universe.

You have to point that out? That's like saying that there will obviously be some twist involved, or a character that serves the purpose of the twist, like River Song.		2013-12-12 06:19:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

You have to point that out? That's like saying that there will obviously be some twist involved, or a character that serves the purpose of the twist, like River Song.

That'll be some point between time can be rewritten and everyone lives.		2013-12-12 16:24:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

In a way this was the perfect christmas special, just like real life it felt bloated and things were a mess.2013-12-28 20:06:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

Apparently people hated the Christmas special. I can't tell why. I quite liked it, but I would lie if I said I didn't hope for a bit better. To sum up my reasons for this, I can only say that I don't even think there is such thing as an active script-editor working for BBC.

At least Matt Smith was at his best and Capaldi's final line was awesome, though I hope the entire "Kidneys!" thing would've been skipped.		2013-12-28 20:31:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

Pretty much everything about it was leaked ages ago but it turns out the Doctor didn't lose a leg after all. I was relieved that the actual regeneration wasn't up on the tower. If it was revealed to be Capaldi walking up the tardis steps I would have been annoyed and it wouldn't have been fair to Smith after Tennant's ridiculous ending. I also liked the instant change even though everyone else seems to have hated it, it was genuinely unexpected and a nice surprise. The actual plot of the episode turned out to be as awful as the spoilers claimed it to be though, Moffat just retconning every story arc of 11's era to make it seem like he'd planned it all from the beginning. But whatever, at least this should mean all the Silence/cracks stuff is done with and we can have somewhat of a blank slate for the next series. Apart from the Gallifrey thing. So I guess since Moffat is sticking around for a while that's the next best thing.

I did quite like seeing Amy again even if it was a bit soppy. Then again, I always enjoy seeing Amy I've seen some speculation that what appeared to be just the Doctor's imagination could have actually been the tardis projecting a hologram onto his retinas like the clothes thing. IMO if that was what Moffat was getting at then it's pretty nice and would give a reason for the holographic clothes. But knowing Moffat it was just an excuse to get nudity into the christmas special.

I wasn't a fan of the kidneys stuff, the body parts thing is getting old now. But I am very much looking forward to see Capaldi in the role proper next year. Nice to hear he's keeping his accent - I wonder if we could assume the scottish accent is based on 11's fondness of Amy? The same could be said of 10 and 11 switching to a southern accent after 9 spent so much time with Rose. But we're getting silly now bye.		2013-12-28 21:44:00

Author:
ARD
Posts: 4291

Theres one big question that I need answering.




Did matt and Karen do a wig swap at any point.		2013-12-28 22:01:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

I agree. The body parts analysis worked for Matt Smith's crazy, enigmatic and absolutely insane Doctor (also benefiting from the young actor), but I think it'd be best to let that thing slide into darkness of nothingness until we get another goofy Doctor like 2 or 11.2013-12-28 23:01:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

Meh I think they missed an opportunity with the regen comedy. Would have been great if it was Capaldi who took off the bow tie, looked at it, and said something along the lines of "It was never cool was it?"2013-12-29 14:27:00

Author:
ForgottenEnigma
Posts: 1414

See, the problem with that is that bow ties are, and were, cool. If they weren't, I'd agree. But they just are. They may not have been popular, but they have always been cool.2013-12-29 21:07:00

Author:
Super_Dork_42
Posts: 1874

Guys, just throwing this out there: "Urgent Calls" Big Finish audio drama is probably the best Sixth Doctor story ever. Not saying this because I don't like his TV-stuff, "Attack of the Cybermen" and "Vengeance on Varos" are genuinely great stories and "Mindwarp" can possibly be in my top 10 stories of all time, but honestly... "Urgent Calls" rocks. It isn't an ideal Sixth Doctor story by any means, but it is a genuinely fantastic Doctor Who story and the trick of the story being only in audio works marvelously here. The complete control of the story by having only his voice in it proves that even if Colin Baker wasn't the best Doctor, he is still the best actor to play the Doctor.

Seriously though, listen to it. And try some other audio-dramas too. They can be bought from quite many places and I have yet to be disappointed by, well, any. Also, 8th Doctor really gets to shine and he sort of has his own series audio-wise, so if he never gets a big place in TV, he still has had great effect to the Whoniverse in the audio-dramas, especially since they were made canon in the "Night of the Doctor".

Have you listened to any audio-dramas? What are the best ones and what do you think about the 6th Doctor? Trying to spring up some discussion so this place doesn't gather dust.		2014-01-05 23:08:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

Don't leave us hanging, man. Link us, bro.2014-01-06 17:50:00

Author:
Super_Dork_42
Posts: 1874

These are all the legal ones Big Finish has put up online for us to listen as sort of a 'demo' of what the real are. There aren't any 8th Doctor stories among them, not to my knowledge, but the Sixth Doctor story I mentioned, "Urgent Calls" is among them. It is fairly short, a little over half an hour, but every bit of it is absolute quality. It has a social message, it shows what kind of person the Doctor is and the side-characters are very good as well.

http://theconsultingdetectivesblog.com/2013/09/17/free-doctor-who-big-finish-productions-to-listen/		2014-01-06 19:27:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

So, I just watched the Christmas Special. Once you get past the bs of putting "all of the doctor's enemies" in the same place, and the bs reason to keep him regenerating, I thought it was pretty good.

Also, I just saw this on a fan page on facebook:

http://i42.tinypic.com/2v0eq6x.jpg		2014-01-08 07:45:00

Author:
ConverseFox
Posts: 2333

If I wanted to start watching Doctor Who, where is the optimal place to start? Will I understand everything if I start with Tennant's first appearance?

I already know the basics. The Doctor can travel through time in space with the TARDIS, is accompanied by human sidekicks, has a sonic screwdriver, regenerates and changes appearance once in a while, etc.		2014-01-08 17:45:00

Author:
SnipySev
Posts: 2452

If you plan to start with Tennant you'd be better off starting with the 2005 series with Eccleston since that series was designed to be an "optimal place to start". You'll only need to watch one extra series than if you started with Tennant and things will probably make a lot more sense if you don't skip that first series.2014-01-08 17:55:00

Author:
ARD
Posts: 4291

Eccleston is a good place to start, it was the shows reintroduction after years of being off air. It's only an addittional 13 episodes (some good soome bad) and there's a few recuring characters that are first encountered in this season that you're probably better off with seeing their characters entire arc.2014-01-08 18:40:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

Or start watching it legit!


http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1246v0_season-1-episode-1-an-unearthly-child_shortfilms		2014-01-08 19:46:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

'kay, I'll start with Eccleston then.2014-01-08 20:45:00

Author:
SnipySev
Posts: 2452

Don't base the entire series on the first episode though. I find the first episode extremely cheesy.2014-01-08 20:53:00

Author:
ConverseFox
Posts: 2333

(No spoilers here for Snipy) "Rose" is a good one to start with, but I feel like the first series does start off like the neighbour with an annoyingly loud truck. It takes a while, but when the series hits sixth episode, you're going to get more into the business. I feel like the first five episodes are a little bit too... showcase-y, as in they show what the show is basically, but they don't show how great it is. I mean really: the first episode establishes the recurring series-characters, the second one shows that the show can go to the future, the third one shows the show can go to the past and fourth and fifth episodes show how silly the show can get at times. None of those episodes are bad in my opinion, but none of them are truly great either.

But anyway, if the first ones feel like a drag, they sort of are, because they are there to basically explain younger audiences what the show is about and how it works. The program really starts off after them and the rest is opinions and criticisms and laughter and tears and tearing hair out of your head and taping them back and grinding your teeth and getting them checked and going into a cocoon for a week and going out happily for one day because you are so filled with joy until you realize that the outernet is not nearly as fun as it seems and things like that all the way until the current day.		2014-01-08 21:17:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

I don't mind having to watch weaker first episodes. A lot of TV series take a while to find their feet.2014-01-08 21:41:00

Author:
SnipySev
Posts: 2452

I don't mind having to watch weaker first episodes. A lot of TV series take a while to find their feet.
That's the right attitude! Also, while some of them are really good, like, exceptionally so, don't watch the next-time trailers. Just don't watch them. They can spoil entire stories. Don't. Watch. The next-time trailers.

Just do not watch them, apart from the first couple of episodes, since it's a must before your reflexes get honed up enough to pause the video before they spoil anything.		2014-01-08 21:43:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

I've started watching Doctor who lately, I'm very happy that I did 2014-01-09 17:52:00

Author:
aceofthorns
Posts: 288

Okay, I am not in enough places to do this satisfactory amount of times, so you are getting it too: my top 10 Matt Smith episodes. Overall, I think Matt Smith had a pretty good run as the Doctor. Sure, the over-arching series-wide plots were badly executed and made too little sense considering how long they were dealt with, and there were some really bad episodes (Asylum of the Daleks, The Snowmen), but overall his run had few stories that were so great that I wouldn't only call them some of the best in the revived series, but also the entire show's 50 year history.

So yeah. Note: I won't add "The Day of the Doctor" here, because it really isn't about the 11th Doctor in the end. Also, these are my personal picks and I am not forcing anyone to agree with me, but at least I hope you know why I like these episodes/stories so much.

Anyway, here we go.

10.) The Eleventh Hour

http://justinquizon12.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/doctor-who1.jpg

While I do think that the introduction stories for the Doctors are never really bad (though the "Time and the Rani" was... well, bad), this story is refreshing from all the others. In classic series, the main problem always was that the Doctors had way too much time on their hands to simply prove why they are the Doctor. It's like watching somebody else ride a roller-coaster. However, "The Eleventh Hour" takes you on that roller-coaster with the Doctor by immediately engaging you in an exciting story with colourful characters, brand new Doctor and gives you the Doctor at his best, when he has nothing to work with but his own intelligence. Truly a remarkable story and the best of all post-regeneration stories.
9.) Cold War

http://blogs.independent.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/doctor-who-cold-war.jpg

Mark Gatiss is a funny writer, to say the least. On one hand, his stories never disappoint, but on the other, they never hit it out of the park. With one exception. Sure, there are a few missteps here, but those don't really matter when the story is... well, this good! The story introduces historical themes, submarine, Russians and the Ice Warrior after 39 years of absence, but it never collapses around the amount of things going on. Instead, it moves at great pace throughout with an end-result that is one of the greatest historical stories since the show's revival (still waiting for Mark Gatiss to do an episode set in the future, or another world).

8.) The Rings of Akhaten

http://braindamaged.fr/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/doctor-who-promo-de-the-rings-of-akhaten-episode-8-de-la-saison-7-631x249.jpg

This is a story one can only truly appreciate when they understand everything about it. This is probably the story I was looking forward to the least in the new series, based on the poor poster and that I had never seen anything from the writer before. But darn, was this story surprising. The reason it is so surprising that the story is actually good (apart from the previously given reasons) is that not much is happening in the first twenty minutes of the story. It's also surprising that these parts are the best in the episode, not because the rest isn't also very good, but it is something so different from what we have previously seen from the introduce-the-future-to-the-companion-stories. An amazing world, simply brilliant first half and almost as awesome second half, this story ranks with the Eleventh's finest.
7.) The Doctor's Wife

http://static3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120818071052/tardis/images/9/9f/Neil_Gaiman_on_his_Doctor_Who_episode,_%22The_Doct or's_Wife.%22

I guess I am one of the few who don't think this story is among the show's best. It certainly has one of the best premises any episode has ever had and it is beautifully executed, but it is just too short, considering that you can only do this premise once. That being said, it's absolute gold throughout and if it is not Matt Smith's eras best, it's undoubtedly one of its highlights.
6.) Pandorica Opens / The Big Bang

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Media/Pix/pictures/2010/6/24/1277383484605/Doctor-Who---The-Big-Bang-006.jpg

Okay, kids. This is where it gets complicated. As I said before, this story suffers from the fact that it's very heavy on the series-wide plot. However, as a story, pretending that the stories after it never happened, it's absolutely brilliant, filled with mad action, time travel shenanigans and surprisingly well executed emotional conclusion to the characters of Amy and Rory. This story is much more than just the universe reaching a point where it never was, or the Doctor's enemies gathering together, or the River making a dalek beg for mercy. This story is about the Doctor, Amy and Rory. And it's easily one of the best of the era.
5.) Vincent and the Doctor

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Vincent-and-the-doctor.png

"Ooh, Vincent? As in Vincent Van Gogh? I wonder what kind of crazy adventure we are in for here!" These were my initial reactions when I first heard about this episode, but I was proven wrong with my expectations. What we get is a surprisingly realistic and dark historical story, but also one that knows how to be happy. If this story was simply going to be very sad and dark and realistic and gritty, I would have to criticize it, but instead this story shows how beautiful the existence truly is and despite being sad, it's also one of the happiest Doctor Who has ever been. It has to be seen to be truly understood, but once you watch it, you know exactly what I am talking about.
4.) Hide

http://blogs.independent.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Doctor_Who__Hide___preview_pictures.jpg

One of the best things about the show is that it can completely change tone, style and almost the entire creative team behind it every week (with different writers and directors), but it can also be a very surprising one. I originally didn't like Hide as much as I like it now. I thought it didn't simply work and I can see where I was coming from, but it's multiple viewings when the story truly comes alive before one's eyes. This is not a generic horror flick: this is Doctor Who and here, we do things a little bit differently. While the story constantly goes to new exciting places and directions, it never loses the track of the overall picture and is, surprising to no-one, of the best episodes of Matt Smith's era.
3.) Closing Time

http://news.thedoctorwhosite.co.uk/images/closingtimepromo1.jpg

Gareth Roberts's second best piece of Doctor Who (only beaten by "Shakespeare Code") is one of the funniest, saddest and best episodes in the show's entire history. While the setting may be uninteresting and the ending is (not "may be", but "is") very unsatisfying for the fans of the Cybermen, one can't really argue with how great the great things are. While I can talk about all the stories on this list, and I could for ages, this is one I can't talk about too much, because it would not do good to the story. Just enjoy this story. Enjoy every happy bit of it, get teary-eyed by the sad ones and say "Aww" out loud at the adorable moments, just like the Doctor does before his death.
2.) The Girl Who Waited

http://tvmedia.ign.com/tv/image/article/119/1193446/the-girl-who-waited-20110909091850240.jpg

Anyone slightly interested in low-budget film-making is happy this is on the list. This story had cast of four faces and five voices, is "Doctor-lite" (aka, the story doesn't have much Doctor in it), has lowest budget of series 6 and still manages to be the best of that series. How? The combination of brilliant writing, brilliant directing, amazing acting (especially on Karen Gillan's part, but also from Arthur Darvill and Matt Smith), beautiful set-up and pacing that makes it look like Graeme Harper directed the episode. Overall, there is nothing to hate here, but everything to love. As much as I would like to say I am praising this story "Out of kindness" (for the pun), I can't, because it'd be a disservice to this spectacular story.
1.) Amy's Choice

http://www.dorkadore.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Doctor-Who-Amys-choice.jpg

After the huge "WTF" that is the first five minutes of this episode, one can truly get invested into this story. I see the irony in picking two Amy-heavy episodes as "The Eleventh Doctor's best", but I simply can't help it. Amy's Choice is the best 11th Doctor episode and the 5th best story of the entire show's history. Why? How? Subtext and knowledge of what's to come. Anyone watching this the first time won't see half of the little things that are sprinkled throughout the episode. The few throwaway lines that are truly more important than the actual plots that are even happening, the amazing cast, brilliant imagination and simply the guts make Amy's Choice not only an instant classic, but also a spectacularly modern, important and subtly phenomenal Doctor Who story, even in comparison to the rest of the stories on this list. To this story, I tip my hat and hope we see more stories as imaginative and powerful as this one.		2014-01-16 20:34:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

Excuses for double-posting, but there are urgent news.

Peter's costume:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/1176385_810531222294240_1619617419_n.png

Looks bloody amazing. Jon Pertwee would be proud.		2014-01-27 18:57:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

I feel it needs a matching hat =p2014-01-27 19:49:00

Author:
ForgottenEnigma
Posts: 1414

https://31.media.tumblr.com/97db2139df4d2e59a9f0ce4743401f49/tumblr_n02r6dAPEX1r2xpibo3_r1_400.gif2014-01-27 20:12:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

I feel it needs a matching hat =p

Not my best work, but you might appreciate it...

http://www.lbpcentral.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=47618&d=1390854902

The image is a bit small, sorry. I don't know what causes that. Anyway, I hope that is somewhat to your liking 		2014-01-27 20:36:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

I've watched the whole revived series. Is rly good.2014-01-29 19:32:00

Author:
SnipySev
Posts: 2452

In three weeks? Dang, your game is mad good.

Who's your favourite Who?		2014-01-30 09:07:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

Yep. It's the holiday after the exams and I don't have much to do. I basically watched Doctor Who all day for three weeks.

My favorite is probably Tennant, because I was really sad to see him go. Eccleston didn't stay in the role long enough for me to get used to him. Smith was also really good though, especially during the seventh series.		2014-01-30 10:13:00

Author:
SnipySev
Posts: 2452

Yah. I do think that Smith's seventh series was overall really good and didn't have too many episodes I don't like. The only one I can't say I like is "Asylum of the Daleks", but I guess it's personal preference. Ignoring the specials for series 4 and 7, series 3 was probably the strongest one of them all, followed by series 5 or 1. The worst thing I can say about the weakest episode of series 3 is that it was a bit silly (Evolution of the Daleks, if you are wondering), while series 5 and 1 didn't have any particularly weak episodes either.

Then is probably series 4, since "Fires of Pompeii", "Forest of the Dead" and "Midnight" were from that series and they really gave Graeme Harper much more to do, as he is the best director to direct Doctor Who. If we were adding in the specials like "Waters of Mars", that series would be higher.

Then I guess would be series 7. As I said, "Asylum of the Daleks" is one I don't like but the rest are either average (by Doctor Who standards), good or great. Series 6 had few particularly great stories, like "Closing Time" and "The Girl Who Waited", but it also had "Curse of the Black Spot" and "Rebel Flesh / Almost People", which I am not particularly fan of.

Series 2 is probably the weakest of the modern series in my opinion. It failed to launch of with a bang ("New Earth" is kind of 'meh&apos and didn't have a soft landing ("Fear Her" and "Love & Monsters" were quite bad in my opinion, as bad as "Asylum"), though the finale itself was great.

But yay, Snipy has watched all the episodes of modern Doctor Who to date! As he is a fan of the Tenth Doctor, I am going to make a top 10 list for 10th Doctor stories (personal preference, of course). As earlier, "Day of the Doctor" doesn't count (not saying it'd make the list, 10th had some really solid episodes), so let's get started.

Christmas Invasion

http://www.arghink.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/christmas_invasion-1.jpg

Yes, it is pure coincidence that the tenth best stories of both Tenth and Eleventh are their first stories (and I realize "The Eleventh Hour" is vastly better than this one). The reason is that I don't really like episodes set on Earth. They are rarely better than quite good and on that par I'd have to say the same goes here. This story is not "great" in the same sense the others are. However, it is a great post-regeneration story to be sure. It is different than what we had seen before and is a great way to introduce the new Doctor to the world. I was very skeptical about David Tennant when he took over and in a sense, I still am, but when we are aching for the Doctor to finally come back, that's exactly what happens and he saves the day and he really is the Doctor in his own, kind of cowardly way (*cough* End of Time *cough*).

Human Nature / Family of Blood

http://joehillfiction.com/website/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/homepage9.jpg

I am sad I couldn't get this higher on the list. I would've wanted to. Then again, I wasn't sure whether it counts, as the Tenth Doctor only is in it for a short period of time. Tenth Doctor always was a very "human" Doctor in a sense, so this episode was great because it brought up contrast on how alien the Doctor actually is. When the Doctor becomes the Doctor and shows it to you, it's so apparent from his first line of dialogue. Combine that with a great story set in an era when scarecrows were a smash hit and add one of the best villains of the show ever to the mix... a story like that has got to make it on the list.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AumROBL_Z_0

Girl in the Fireplace

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lUwme_R8HFo/Txb5oigV4hI/AAAAAAAAAsk/bxP36e803Tk/s1600/1934.jpg

(They should make a case like this from every modern episode ever! THEY ARE SO COOL.)

Steven Moffat only wrote the best Doctor Who episodes before he became the showrunner and I am thankful for that. This story is not simple but it is sure as heck an engaging watch and it actually featured the Doctor, which is not something I can say about all Tenth Doctor episodes written by Steven Moffat (surprise, no "Blink" on this list) This is the best episode of series 2 (uh) because it is the only episode to make a sad and moody Tenth Doctor work. The key? Not drawing out the sadness and moodiness and not drooling over itself. That's the key.

Fires of Pompeii

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yTMXhWBCKVY/TnFTo8UeSgI/AAAAAAAAAtM/jqISo31HAEM/s1600/Fires_of_Pompeii_726.jpg

Truth to be told, I wouldn't be sad even if Peter Capaldi never got to play the Doctor. That's because Caecilius is one of the greatest ever characters to be in this show. I can't really say much more of him, he is just so likable. It is a great character, but it also makes the story better as a whole. The city probably had many as likable people in it when it burned. Though one can dislike the ending, I have to say that it is at least great that He saved someone.

Shakespeare Code

http://www.doctorwhoreviews.co.uk/2007-02_files/The%20Shakespeare%20Code%20(10).jpg

I have two things to say about this story. One, it's absolutely phenomenally great television gold that should be watched even if not a fan of the show. It's probably a great introduction to the show and it really brings it sci-fi elements together with its fantasy elements to form a spectacle that is not only great, not only a masterpiece of Tenth Doctor stories but also one of the greatest historical stories of the entire program.

Two, NO. ROSE WOULDN'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT TO DO. SHE IS AS DUMB AS A BRICK AND THAT'S A COMPLIMENT FOR HER.

Utopia

http://tvmedia.ign.com/tv/image/article/822/822942/utopia-20070925061619616.jpg

I don't really count this as a first part of the series finale, I think this is more of a set-up for them. The reasons are that the story as a whole feels more detached from the upcoming two episodes, even though they are tied together in a great way and "Utopia" is also much better than the next two-parter, though it certainly is good too. I find it kind of ironic that the best parts of the Master in the revived series are those where he is played in a much darker, close-to-original way. Don't get me wrong, John Simm is a great actor, but he wasn't correct for the mad, you and energetic Master he was used to play. That being said, "Utopia" is absolutely chillingly good and certainly one of the Tenth Doctor's highlights.

Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead

http://www.themindrobber.co.uk/series4/forest-of-the-dead.jpg

The best Steven Moffat episode for the Tenth Doctor is also the one that is the least scary of the bunch. You can't explain that. Well, yes you can, sort of. It's still scary, it really is, but there is nothing too iconic about this. When I see a statue. I think of Weeping Angels. When I see a gasmask, I think of Empty Child. When I hear a ticking clock, I think of the Clockwork Androids. It's just that I don't look for shadows when moving around the Outernet. But boy, is this one good. It really is reeeaaally good. So good that it doesn't matter if River Song's most interesting parts apart for this were in the mini-episodes. At least she had a majestic send-off. Or an introduction.

42

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h0gWIFTKZMQ/UjKadNiruDI/AAAAAAAADHc/9Yhd0lP66FE/s1600/doctorwho42.png

When thinking about stories like "42" I can only say that they would be much more weak if they had a less capable director behind the camera. For "42" this is not an issue, since Graeme Harper is a master of his craft and gave us a Doctor Who story that has not only dark themes and tension, but is also strictly honest with itself. It's not like dark themes were added in later for extra baggage, no. While it certainly feels like and probably is a filler-episode, it's a filler-episode at its very best.


Midnight

http://isabellerogers.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/ooo-pretty.jpg

Russel T Davies: "Hey, you know how Steven Moffat made gasmasks and statues scary? I want to make something as ordinary as those scary too. Hey, did you hear me?"

Random person: "I want to make something as ordinary as those scary too, yes I heard you."

Russel T Davies: "...Mother of--"


Waters of Mars

http://www.televisionzombies.com/wp-content/07280511077475/2009/11/dwwom03.jpg

Series 4 specials were kind of a mixed bag. "The Next Doctor" was not bad, but it was disappointing considering the hype, "The Planet of the Dead" had its goods and bads, and "End of Time" was pretty weak at the beginning and at the end, but the middle part was dang near perfect. But "Waters of Mars" is gold from the first minutes to the last. This episode was made during the best years for modern television, when fandoms were not nearly as big or important as they are now and instead pleasing them, the writers of cult-series like Doctor Who could concentrate on making the best and the bravest episodes ever. While not my favourite of all time, "Waters of Mars" is the best episode of the modern series overall. It has action, fun and is the most intense episode to date, or at least tied for that spot. This would be on this list even if it did end with the Doctor simply leaving, but when he turned around and walked back to the base, we got one-of-a-kind spectacle only Doctor Who can offer.		2014-01-30 12:54:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

hella words

Holy balls. Totally agree with number two, but not a fan of waters of Mars. Are these at all impacted by fear? Because WOM is too scary yo. Also I was interested as to "turn left" wasn't included, as that was one of my favourites, even including classic who.		2014-01-30 23:15:00

Author:
flamingemu
Posts: 1872

Turn Left would have probably been at 12 or 13. It's great.2014-01-31 09:16:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

I quite liked Blink. Which is weird because I'm not a huge fan of horror. It's just that the weeping angels are such a unique and well thought-out monster. They are seriously unnverving, even though you don't actually see them in movement.2014-01-31 16:11:00

Author:
SnipySev
Posts: 2452

I quite liked Blink. Which is weird because I'm not a huge fan of horror. It's just that the weeping angels are such a unique and well thought-out monster. They are seriously unnverving, even though you don't actually see them in movement.

Agreed, but don't you think the angels were spoiled a little in the episode where you could see them moving? Also, when Sally sparrow hands the doctor that thing with a picture of the angel isn't she killing him... And then the angel in the hotel...		2014-02-01 16:06:00

Author:
flamingemu
Posts: 1872

Agreed, but don't you think the angels were spoiled a little in the episode where you could see them moving? Also, when Sally sparrow hands the doctor that thing with a picture of the angel isn't she killing him... And then the angel in the hotel...

Of course we can't blame "Blink" for continuity established in later episodes, even though the show is about time travel. However, I do agree: seeing the angels move was kind of... not good. You sort of can't explain why, but they take away the intrigue in the Angels. Also, what was the hotel part you mentioned? God Complex? Those were not real Weeping Angels.		2014-02-01 19:10:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

I have to agree, seeing them move kind of detracted from the mistery surronding the angels. Like we got to see Sauron's real face or something like that.2014-02-01 19:58:00

Author:
SnipySev
Posts: 2452

It was kind of already spoiled by the location videos from the last week or so, but basically in episode 1 of series 8 Clara is going to receive a call from 11, from just before he regenerated. I believe in TOTD when Clara goes into the tardis at the end the phone is hanging off the hook - because the Doctor has just used it to phone her in the future, to say goodbye etc. So apparently we are going to see Matt again for one final scene which I assume was filmed during production of TOTD. It looks like it'll be towards the end of the episode because Clara's side of the conversation was filmed with Capaldi in 12's proper costume so hopefully this won't overshadow his entrance or anything. It sounds like an interesting idea anyway.

EDIT: I guess it's also adds a nice symmetry to Capaldi's appearance in the 50th. 12 was in 11's last *full* episode, and 11 will be in 12's first *full* episode. Isn't that nice?		2014-02-02 00:25:00

Author:
ARD
Posts: 4291

Of course we can't blame "Blink" for continuity established in later episodes, even though the show is about time travel. However, I do agree: seeing the angels move was kind of... not good. You sort of can't explain why, but they take away the intrigue in the Angels. Also, what was the hotel part you mentioned? God Complex? Those were not real Weeping Angels.

Any image of an angel is an angel		2014-02-02 16:13:00

Author:
flamingemu
Posts: 1872

The Angels should have been a one off creature, their gimmick can't really sustain multiple episodes especially so close together,2014-02-02 16:45:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

Any image of an angel is an angel

Let me reword my last statement:

They were cheap knock-offs of angels. Not images of real ones, nor the real deals.		2014-02-02 18:34:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

I found this nice thing...

http://cnt.likealaugh.org/158Ghoulo/20140220-220032-158-476-dtu.jpg

If we ignore Nicholas Cage... I can totally see this being a real thing.		2014-02-21 19:07:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

Donald Glover? I don't see it. His delivery was brilliant when he played Troy in Community, but Troy was the idiotic and childish kind of wacky. Not Eleven's kind of wackiness.2014-02-21 23:07:00

Author:
SnipySev
Posts: 2452

New companion?

https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/t1/1922051_828429757171053_1499541340_n.png

"Danny pink is a teacher in the Coal Hill School, the same school as Clara..."

A male + female teacher companions from Coal Hill? Since it's Moffat, we know it's not a coincidence. Anyway, in the wake of new companion announcement, my top 10 companions, because I love lists!

Brigadier

http://static.tumblr.com/mgwpgly/zEbmas0xn/brig.jpg

I love UNIT as a thing, but they rarely seem to get proper stories. Like, only "Inferno" and "The Day of the Doctor" were amazing stories with UNIT in them, but in lesser stories, Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart is great fun.With the exception of "The Three Doctors" he is always sympathetic, lots of fun and he quite often does stuff for who he is. Great fun, this character.
K9

http://images.fanpop.com/images/image_uploads/k9-doctor-who-257404_1024_768.jpg

Robot dog. Tin. Robot. Dog.

Romana II

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WRTcXEGy9To/TvJbgB4vKpI/AAAAAAAAD5A/Tcduy5R36XA/s640/523080-romana_super.jpeg

This renegade Time Lady actually becomes the president of Gallifrey in the audio-drama. That's funny. This character is just so utterly lovable and plays greatly off Tom Baker's enigmaticly insane 4th Doctor. Lots of fun, awesome stories for the most part and this has to be the only companion where the small romance with the Doctor is actually justified.
Captain Jack Harkness

http://popwrapped.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/jack-harkness-captain-jack-harkness-29496145-1706-2560.jpg

Ironically, the best parts of this companion were in Doctor Who instead of his own spin-off. Nevertheless, Jack Harkness defines character growth in TV-programs. This is how it should be done. While he is great comedic presence and staggeringly awesome in all other ways, the best thing about this character has to be how he grows as a character over the course of the series. Unlike some other Captain Jacks.
Sarah Jane Smith

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e6/Sarah_Jane_Smith.jpg

I am not as high on Sarah Jane Smith as many others, but she is still pretty awesome, given a great humanizing presence by stellar performance and great character-writing. Also, she knows how to use a rifle (Pyramids of Mars). Awesome.
Peri Brown

http://images.sodahead.com/polls/000747799/polls_Perpugilliam_Peri_Brown__Nicola_Bryant__0747 _359170_answer_6_xlarge.jpeg

Hugely underrated in my opinion, despite being pretty much a sex-icon for all his years in the TARDIS. This character shows great respect and trust for the Doctor, even after the uncertainties that came with the regeneration and the unstable Sixth Doctor. Where other people might remember her just for being fine, I choose to remember her for her loyalty instead. Also, great dose of American freedom is visible in this character. I just love this character.
Amy Pond & Rory Williams

http://antiscribe.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/amy-pong.jpg
(Yeah, I know he isn't in the pic, but Karen Gillan is, though. Just saying.)

I love the story arc of these characters. I simply love it. It's one of the most touching pieces of television in the history of Doctor Who and the characters are definitive. Best thing about this companion-duo is the baggage brought into it by Rory, as he is the grounding character here. I also love how Doctor affects these two characters, as in the more time they spend with him the more they become alienish, if that's a word.
Zo? Heriot

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/88/Wendy_Padbury_as_Zoe_Heriot%2C%28publicity_still%2 9.jpg

Citizen of Space Wheel from the 21st Century, Zo? is awesome companion all around and despite the television back in her age being not nearly as emotionally centered as today, this character's ultimate destiny makes me weepy every time I think about it. While there are times she is unimportant or uninteresting, some stories where the character is given room to breathe, namely "Seeds of Death" and "War Games", she makes for one of the best companions to be in the TARDIS. You sort of need to see it to understand how it works, but this character is one of the funnest characters in the entire program.
Martha Jones

http://doctorwhocompanions.com/files/2011/03/martha-jones-freema-agyeman.jpg

Over the course of series 1, 2, 3 and 4 the writers constantly kept telling the audience how awesome of a character Rose was. In a single series of time, Martha Jones proved not only to be amazing and also incredibly strong character, but still obviously a female character. Good character writing, I say.
Ace

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ef/Ace_%28Doctor_Who%29.jpg

You know that scene is "Remembrance of the Daleks" where Ace wipes the floor with that one guy and saves the Doctor from being exterminated by the dalek? Or how she beats up that dalek with a baseball bat? You remember how she turned into a cheetah-human metacrisis abomination in "Survival"? Yeah, I can't blame you, that wasn't a classic, but this companion is awesome. In one word, that's how I'd describe this character. Since this is a family forum, I can't tell you what she kicks without sounding dumb, so you just have to see it to believe. Watch "Remembrance of the Daleks", that's where the fun stuff takes place.		2014-02-28 23:01:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

Oh I wonder in what way he'll be the most important person in the universe.2014-02-28 23:25:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

Ah he has my name! *faints* I always daydreamed of being a third wheel with clara and the doctor too lol!

I imagine he will be like Mickey back with Rose as a companion.

-hyper		2014-03-04 15:59:00

Author:
hyperdude95
Posts: 1793

I imagine he will be like Mickey back with Rose as a companion.

-hyper

Judging by given information, he'll be a teacher, so I highly doubt he will be like Mickey. I can't say I don't get why people keep making that comparison, since ignorance gets one nowhere, but I'm just saying... just because he looks like Mickey (and don't you dare say you don't know what I mean with this) doesn't mean he's going to be like Mickey.		2014-03-04 19:34:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

slight change of topic but
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/132963-Doctor-Who-LEGO-Play-Set-Up-For-Official-Review
only site I could find with a full set of pics.
the bbc has finally allowed lego the rights to doctor who, so fans have been using a site called Cuusoo (essentially a site where builders can propose set ideas which will be considered for official sets if they get over 10k 'votes&apos and there has been a (rather snazzy) set which has made it to the consideration stage. can't figure out how to post pictures direct sorry.		2014-03-17 19:50:00

Author:
Smudge228
Posts: 533

Welp... didn't see this coming:

Crossovers in time and space? Well, here's our favourite Time Lord paying a visit to our favourite British renegade of old in the episode: "Robots of Sherwood." That title itself is enough to get me on board with aaaanything. Yeah. I didn't see this one coming. It's written by Gatiss, so I assume it's good. Here are some pictures from behind the scenes:

http://www.doctorwhotv.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/tom-riley-robin-hood-doctor-who-filming-series-8.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BlL83TmIEAEvgon.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BlNG-n8IIAIb2CX.jpg

What a time to be alive! (http://www.doctorwhotv.co.uk/series-8-filming-a-merry-day-62438.htm)

What will be spoiled if you choose to check it out: the working title of the episode, the main trope/gimmick of the episode and three behind the scenes pictures.		2014-04-14 21:33:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

Here we go again...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TivqZTq5u6Y#t=12		2014-07-13 21:11:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

Yes! Amazing! AUGUST, Y U BE ONE MONTH AWAY?!2014-07-13 22:03:00

Author:
The11thWheatley
Posts: 230

Amazing seeing my little thread is still going after all this time. I've never been more excited for a new series. Peter Capaldi is one of those actors that you just know will be a great doctor. When Matt was boarding the TARDIS I remember the huge backlash (unjustified), but with Peter I believe the general consensus is that he'll be one of the best yet. The trailer looks interesting certainly, but I'm not totally impressed. The whole "into darkness" is cheesy: we know he'll be a darker Doctor, we don't need it literally spelt out for us. Plus I'm getting a bit exhausted of the whole "good man" business which Moffat seems to love (e.g. A Good Man Goes to War).

But that's me just complaining about some slight niggles. I know it will be brilliant, and I can't wait!		2014-07-22 15:25:00

Author:
trembler
Posts: 8

Series 8 tonight! So excited, I can't wait. Still miss 11 though 2014-08-23 11:52:00

Author:
The11thWheatley
Posts: 230

Well its the least hyped I've been for a new series but here we go.2014-08-23 19:52:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

That. Was. Amazing. 2014-08-23 21:37:00

Author:
The11thWheatley
Posts: 230

Now the post regeneration guff is done maybe things will pick up a bit next week.2014-08-23 23:12:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

Deep breath... I cried.


-hyper		2014-08-24 03:01:00

Author:
hyperdude95
Posts: 1793

Meh. I'm not loving Capaldi yet, but then again I wasn't into Smith yet by now either. Overall though, the episode seemed to fall a bit flat, like most Moffat DW stuff for a long time. I think they need a new head writer.2014-08-24 07:13:00

Author:
Super_Dork_42
Posts: 1874

I think he might have aken on more work than he can handle and the quality is suffering because of it. The last Sherlock run was also a drop in quality.2014-08-24 13:14:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

I won't go into detail about Deep Breath (I liked it a lot, as in it's the best writing Steven Moffat has done since... well, probably since The Eleventh Hour, though not his best episode since then), as I am hopefully going to start making video-reviews of these episodes in the future, but I have to say something. I will put it into double spoilers because it's not a spoiler for the episode, but for the future of the series. Once we find out more about the mysterious "Missy", feel free to come back here and read what I had to say at this point:

Seriously, though, if you really want to hear what I have to say, know that I have read no information regarding this anywhere. This is pure speculation, but I'm guessing it can turn obvious at some point.
Missy is the Master. Missy is shortened term for "Mistress", which basically stands for a female in authority. As in, female Master.

This is only here to prove that I called it, assuming I did. If you really care for what I have to say, I will probably start tweeting about Doctor Who a lot now. So, just in case, here's my Twitter: https://twitter.com/VeikkoElo

PS: I probably forgot to tell you, I wrote that top 10 list drunk. Really, I did. It doesn't actually resemble the real list that much. It lacks Timelash.		2014-08-24 21:27:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

Missy = Master had been doing the rounds all day along with the other x is really y that always get thrown out for new characters.2014-08-24 21:47:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

Megaspoilers.

Spoilers. At least, possible ones. Wrap 'em up.

Seriously, though, it's kind of obvious that Missy's identity is, in reality, a big deal. She's not a new character, that'd be too Madam Covarian and too Tasha Lem.		2014-08-24 22:01:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

I doubt she's the Master. She called him her 'boyfriend' and I don't think that The Master could ever call him that.2014-08-24 23:41:00

Author:
Super_Dork_42
Posts: 1874

So I only watched a couple of episodes (literally two or three) of the Matt Smith ones; the new one completely confused me, I stopped watching it half-way through to watch gravity in 3D. Well, to be honest, I only watched it for the dinosaurs. This isn't really a constructive comment. Did they really do the Lesbian-inter-species relationship? Or was that a misunderstanding on my behalf.

*EDIT* Just realised this was created for the last series!		2014-08-25 14:33:00

Author:
wally-217
Posts: 521

So I only watched a couple of episodes (literally two or three) of the Matt Smith ones; the new one completely confused me, I stopped watching it half-way through to watch gravity in 3D. Well, to be honest, I only watched it for the dinosaurs. This isn't really a constructive comment. Did they really do the Lesbian-inter-species relationship? Or was that a misunderstanding on my behalf.

*EDIT* Just realised this was created for the last series!

It's for all the series and yes Vastra and Jenny are married although they hardly ever mention it.		2014-08-25 14:48:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

So I only watched a couple of episodes (literally two or three) of the Matt Smith ones; the new one completely confused me, I stopped watching it half-way through to watch gravity in 3D. Well, to be honest, I only watched it for the dinosaurs. This isn't really a constructive comment. Did they really do the Lesbian-inter-species relationship? Or was that a misunderstanding on my behalf.

*EDIT* Just realised this was created for the last series!
Hasn't that been obvious since A Good Man Goes to War???

Yeah, in Deep Breath, though, their relationship kind of gets into your face.

Also.. HOW CAN PEOPLE STILL BE WHINING ABOUT DAVID TENNANT GOSH HE WASN'T EVEN THAT GOOD!?!?!		2014-08-25 18:50:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

Hasn't that been obvious since A Good Man Goes to War???

Yeah, in Deep Breath, though, their relationship kind of gets into your face.

Also.. HOW CAN PEOPLE STILL BE WHINING ABOUT DAVID TENNANT GOSH HE WASN'T EVEN THAT GOOD!?!?!

I complained about him when he was first introduced (is that the right word?) It just takes some getting used to a new Doctor. I didn't see that episode, the only one I saw with the Lizard-ish person was the first tunneling one where they were first introduced. As I said, I barely saw the last series so It's no wonder why the new one confused me. ^_^'		2014-08-26 20:22:00

Author:
wally-217
Posts: 521

I complained about him when he was first introduced (is that the right word?) It just takes some getting used to a new Doctor. '

This is the one thing I fail to understand about this fandom. How can the fanbase of a show that is based around change be so repellent of change. And I don't simply mean the change of the Doctor, I mean change in general. Literally, the outcry when Gallifrey was saved, the outcry for the paradigm Daleks (this outcry actually prevented them from ever properly returning), the new Sillurian design in 2010, the (necessary) rebooting of the universe and so on and so on. Whenever there is major change in design or anything, the fandom cries out loud.

I guess I just want to say that I have a genuine disgust for the guts of every member of this fandom who jumped on the hatewagon for the Paradigm Daleks. I was excited of seeing more of them, but I never did because out the effing fans.		2014-08-28 10:15:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

I wholeheartedly agree. You can't have a long running series going on indefinitely without changes of cast, continuity retcons, reboots and the like. It just doesn't happen without said series becoming stagnant, overly complicated and inaccessible to newcomers.

EDIT: Hell, time-travel itself is one of the few themes that make retcons and reboots justified in the canon (along with parallel universes). In a less sci-fi-ish series, the explanations behind stuff like Gallifrey being safe after all and the Daleks' design change would be incredibly contrived. In Doctor Who it isn't, because it's a series about time travel. Anything can be explaned away with enough technobabble (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TechnoBabble) and applied phlebotinum (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AppliedPhlebotinum).		2014-08-28 11:20:00

Author:
SnipySev
Posts: 2452

This is the one thing I fail to understand about this fandom. How can the fanbase of a show that is based around change be so repellent of change. And I don't simply mean the change of the Doctor, I mean change in general. Literally, the outcry when Gallifrey was saved, the outcry for the paradigm Daleks (this outcry actually prevented them from ever properly returning), the new Sillurian design in 2010, the (necessary) rebooting of the universe and so on and so on. Whenever there is major change in design or anything, the fandom cries out loud.

I guess I just want to say that I have a genuine disgust for the guts of every member of this fandom who jumped on the hatewagon for the Paradigm Daleks. I was excited of seeing more of them, but I never did because out the effing fans.

Couldn't agree more, sometimes I think a lot of these people just watch the show to complain. What's the point in being a fan if you're going to complain about everything?		2014-08-28 11:29:00

Author:
The11thWheatley
Posts: 230

I think it's not that we're 'repellent to change' but rather that at first, the new guy isn't quite 'The Doctor' yet and that no matter who you are, after spending a few years with someone to have that person just gone and someone else trying to take their place is hard to get used to. Eventually he'll become The Doctor in most peoples eyes, but for the first episode he just isn't himself yet, that's all.

For me though, todays episode - he's The Doctor now. I see it. And I think

there's a common theme in this series already developing. The idea that the initial ideas are not the right ones. In episode one they weren't asking the right question. Now they are learning the wrong lesson the first time. I think it's going to be a running theme.

Also, there's this.

http://i.imgur.com/0d3tNWL.jpg		2014-08-31 02:43:00

Author:
Super_Dork_42
Posts: 1874

I really quite liked Into the Dalek, though it must be said that I was expecting more from Phil Ford. It's quite similar to 2005's Dalek but not as good, though it obviously tries to be. The episode bends over backwards to prove something a simple nod would've not only sufficied, but it would've been much more effective as well. Also, I don't like how the creators didn't give this new Doctor much breathing room after his first story, but they immediately brought in the Daleks. They should've waited at least a few episodes.

That being said, Dalek explosions were cool and the Daleks were the most menacing they've been since The Stolen Earth. Oh, where are the Paradigm Daleks, by the way? ...nevermind, I guess.

The Doctor was cool and Capaldi is probably winding up to be the best actor in the role since Colin Baker. Danny Pink was great for what little time he had and Clara has sadly returned to not getting much character development to chew on, though she does have a few nice moments here which are a joy to watch. It's like Steven Moffat decided to further express a side of the character to give her more personality, but he forgot to send the memo to the other writers. It needs to be said though, that one thing that has improved that is relevant to Clara is her relationship with the Doctor. The fact that they no longer are a happy-runny-kissy couple forces her to act differently to the all-too-familiar feisty-female archetype and it's immensely welcome. In addition, Jenna Coleman has easily far more chemistry with the Doctor now, something which always seemed a bit off to me in her adventures with Matt Smith's Doctor.

Can't wait for next week's episode. Mark Gatiss has really not written anything too spectacular apart from Crimson Horror and while I doubt he will be able to top that, Robot of Sherwood seems to be more on the level of a whimsical adventure-for-adventure's-sake kind of episode, which used to define the classic Doctor Who serials. That, and Robin Hood (I doubt anyone is quite as excited about that as my mother is). I just hope he isn't a titular robot (huh), because that'd be too predictable, because like... that's the name of the episode.

Also, on an unrelated note... Patrick Troughton's era was really good. I mean, really good. Tomb of the Cybermen, The Enemy of the World, The Web of Fear, The Mind Robber and The War Games are all pretty amazing and even the worst of his era (The Seeds of Death) is quite watchable. Troughton is arguably the best thing in The Three Doctors, even though he is more-at-home in The Five Doctors, but there's also footage from Shada there along with clay-action figures and the robot that jumps out of existence that kills an army of Cybermen along with space-lazers and stone-faces. So he has contest there.

If you haven't watched it though, do see The Five Doctors. I liked The Day of the Doctor fine, but it needs to be said that one single minute of The Five Doctors has more atmosphere, more identity and more scale than all 75 minutes of The Day combined. And The Day was about Time War. The Five Doctors was about four incarnations of the Doctor playing a live-action board game. Terrific stuff.

Listing a few absolutely fantastic (and I mean uttrely golden) pieces of classic Who because I feel like it:

The Chase
The Tenth Planet
The Enemy of the World
The War Games
Spearhead from Space
The Green Death
Pyramids of Mars
City of Death
The Five Doctors
The Caves of Androzani
Vengeance on Varos
The Two Doctors
Remembrance of the Daleks
The Curse of Fenric

Also, I have initially been so wrong about the Movie. Not maybe the best story, even if we ignore the cringe-worthy mistake that is in-your-face-obvious to everyone who has seen it, but I actually really like it after giving it thought. It's a seminal piece of the show's history, it has a great Doctor, it looks spectacular, the design is lavish and everything just amazes one with style.		2014-09-01 20:52:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

The Daleks hadn't killed anyone for a while up until this episode, right? It did kind of undermine the fact that they're one of the Doctor's most dangerous enemies.

I'm liking how much more detached 12 is from humans than his predecessors. That "top layer" line was a level of black humor we don't usually see in this series. And what happened before that was pretty darn dark.

The Doctor isn't a godly near-infallible "I have to save EVERYONE" messiah anymore. He's flawed and pragmatic and aloof. He'll need his companion(s) more than ever to help keep him connected to humanity.		2014-09-02 10:38:00

Author:
SnipySev
Posts: 2452

The Daleks hadn't killed anyone for a while up until this episode, right? It did kind of undermine the fact that they're one of the Doctor's most dangerous enemies.

Pretty much. That's also been my main complaint with the Cybermen as of late - they were terrifying when reintroduced in David Tennant's second season, but seem fairly wimpy since then.		2014-09-02 13:27:00

Author:
Chazprime
Posts: 587

Pretty much. That's also been my main complaint with the Cybermen as of late - they were terrifying when reintroduced in David Tennant's second season, but seem fairly wimpy since then.

Wimpy as in when five million of them could be defeated by four Daleks or wimpy as in a grand total of four of them could be killed with a specific super-gun made to kill them, while they moved at the speed of lightning like superwarriors that could detach murderous limbs and shoot super accurate one-shot-kill lazers?

Wimpy really isn't the best word to use here, I'm afraid.

Also, last time Daleks killed anyone was in... Victory of the Daleks? Yes, even then an old-design Dalek (they really have overstayed their welcome, have they not?) killed two men and the other kills were spitfires they accomplished to destroy with their spaceship. One of them wounded the Doctor in The Big Bang and I guess they killed a Silent in The Time of the Doctor. Other on-screen kills by them since they got the much needed but now reversed redesign in 2010 include, umm... well, does Tasha Lem count as a Dalek when she kills the bunch? No? Well, they haven't killed anyone apart from those, then.		2014-09-02 21:03:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

Actually ended up making a few Tumblr and Twitter posts about that, including this one:

Top 10 ‘Robot of Sherwood’ moments:

10.) The Doctor giving Robin the finger.
9.) …that was far too much saliva to be just saliva.
8.) Carnival of Monsters!
7.) “HAIK!”
6.) The jailor’s massive nose.
5.) The plot of ‘Deep Breath’,
4.) PATRICK TROUGHTON OHMYGOD!
3.) Wilhelm scream
2.) That beheading (huh).
1.) The Golden Arrow’s logical sense.		2014-09-07 08:39:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

"Oh god, I think he's soiled himself."

Twelve is such a troll xD		2014-09-07 09:42:00

Author:
The11thWheatley
Posts: 230

"Oh god, I think he's soiled himself."


"...I soiled myself?"

"That's really getting into character."		2014-09-08 20:33:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

Tom Riley was a perfect choice for the role of Robin Hood. That swaggering demeanor is exactly the same he has in Da Vinci's Demons, only cranked up to eleven.2014-09-09 04:56:00

Author:
SnipySev
Posts: 2452

I have a bad feeling about "Listen"...2014-09-09 11:14:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

I had to force myself to not think too much when watching the last episode.

That tiny arrow was all the gold that was necessary for the engine power to go from 80-something percent to "maximum power surge"? When they had that huge gold circuitry block? If they knew the engine wasn't charged enough, why not wait a little longer and melt some more of the gold they clearly had?

And even ignoring how they shot an arrow made of GOLD (heavy things don't fly so well, do they) into something nearing the orbit of the planet, how could it possibly affect the engine when it's stuck on the outer hull?

Heck, if that arrow was so darn precious as a fuel source, why did they give it away in the first place?

I know Doctor Who isn't the type of sci-fi where logic usually comes into play, but this is pushing it. No one is asking for scientific realism here, but this episode's plot was just too nonsensical.		2014-09-09 16:42:00

Author:
SnipySev
Posts: 2452

I had to force myself to not think too much when watching the last episode.

That tiny arrow was all the gold that was necessary for the engine power to go from 80-something percent to "maximum power surge"? When they had that huge gold circuitry block? If they knew the engine wasn't charged enough, why not wait a little longer and melt some more of the gold they clearly had?

And even ignoring how they shot an arrow made of GOLD (heavy things don't fly so well, do they) into something nearing the orbit of the planet, how could it possibly affect the engine when it's stuck on the outer hull?

Heck, if that arrow was so darn precious as a fuel source, why did they give it away in the first place?

I know Doctor Who isn't the type of sci-fi where logic usually comes into play, but this is pushing it. No one is asking for scientific realism here, but this episode's plot was just too nonsensical.




1.) The Golden Arrow’s logical sense.

Just go with it. Just... like, it's just one of those things. One of those Timelash moments, really.		2014-09-09 16:48:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

Just go with it. Just... like, it's just one of those things. One of those Timelash moments, really.

Timelash?		2014-09-10 08:05:00

Author:
SnipySev
Posts: 2452

We do not speak of Timelash.2014-09-10 19:06:00

Author:
The11thWheatley
Posts: 230

I stopped watching after Eccleston left, but (as a huge fan of Capaldi's former bandmate Craig Ferguson) I am giving the new doctor a chance.2014-09-10 22:09:00

Author:
DreadRandal
Posts: 434

We do not speak of Timelash.

Timelash is God-tier, up there with The Three Doctors and The War Games.

Also, as to Listen... that happened.

OH, OH, OH! I FOUND SOMETHING 'CLOSING TIME' RELATED!

http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z409/randomsushi/Stuff/p1.png
http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z409/randomsushi/Stuff/p2.png		2014-09-14 10:18:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

Always feels incredibly lazy when the story ends up as things/people are like this because our time travel set things in motion.2014-09-14 13:40:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

Is it me or was Listen unsatisfying? No real conclusions, no explanations of what was really going on, nothing. It wasn't a bad story, just not satisfying to me at all. It could have been really great and they just decided not to make it be.2014-09-15 05:10:00

Author:
Super_Dork_42
Posts: 1874

Is it me or was Listen unsatisfying? No real conclusions, no explanations of what was really going on, nothing. It wasn't a bad story, just not satisfying to me at all. It could have been really great and they just decided not to make it be.

It seemed so to me (I really wanted them to focus in on whatever was under the blanket), but I'm hopeful that this is a lead-in to something bigger...		2014-09-15 13:57:00

Author:
Chazprime
Posts: 587

I honestly think wibbly-wobbly-thing to create artificially complex narratives should be dropped from style. It didn't work in The Time of the Doctor, it didn't work in Listen, it kind of worked but barely so in Blink and it rarely ever adds anything.

Have you guys listened to Big Finish? No? You should. You should also listen to the fan-production (with surprisingly great p-values), Aimless Wanderings.

http://www.aimlesswanderings.co.uk/		2014-09-16 19:31:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

I liked Listen, especially that awesome callback to the War Doctor at the end. Although it was a bit too heavy on the "these characters have a deeper connection than we previously thought because one of them met the other at some point in their past" element. Clara had a big role in shaping the Doctor's personality. That's huge.

It was also heavily implied that Clara and Dan get together and that Orson is their great-grandchild, which I'm kind of apprehensive about. I hate it when people in time travel stories get in a relationship because they know they are going to get in a relationship, rather than letting it happen naturally. At least they didn't outright confirm it and it's unclear if Clara is aware of the implication, so I guess it wasn't that bad.		2014-09-17 05:12:00

Author:
SnipySev
Posts: 2452

Ultimately, what I have to say about Listen is this: it may not be the best of all time, it may not work 100% through and it may contradict itself on multiple occasions (the thing under the bedsheet wasn't a child, it made alien noises and that head looked more like a Sontaran-head), but it's ultimately what I wanted from Steven Moffat. It's a Steven Moffat-script, filled with his charasteristics, personality and style. That's where most of the dividing opinions come from, honestly. If you like Steven Moffat's style or if you think it, frankly, sucks, then that's your opinion of Listen.

That's my opinion of Listen.

However, when I first saw the episode, I actually didn't think about Orson being Clara's great grandchild as much as Danny's. Take from that what you will. I think I have already guessed how this series will end, but I will not say more, because I don't want to spoil it anyone. I had the Tom Baker-cameo as well as the ending of Listen spoiled for me, so I am not going to repeat that.		2014-09-17 14:51:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

However, when I first saw the episode, I actually didn't think about Orson being Clara's great grandchild as much as Danny's. Take from that what you will. I think I have already guessed how this series will end, but I will not say more, because I don't want to spoil it anyone. I had the Tom Baker-cameo as well as the ending of Listen spoiled for me, so I am not going to repeat that.

He could be Danny's descendant only. Clara could just get Danny involved in the time travel stuff and then break up with him in the future. But yeah, some moments implied pretty heavily that Orson is Clara's descendant as well. He did say that both of his great-grandparents were into time travel. And when he gave the toy soldier to Clara and she said "but isn't this a family heirloom?", he made that "Yeeeep" face.

The way I figure it, Clara is aware this could be a sign that she and Danny get together and have kids in the future. But it can't be confirmed, so she's all like "Well, only one way to find out". As I said, I'm not a big fan of relationships confirmed by time-travel. But the confirmation wasn't explicit and they were moving towards romance anyway, so it wasn't that bad.

If it had been like this:

"Whoa, you're my great-grandmother! You know, the woman who MARRIED my great-grandfather DANNY PINK"
"Welp, this means I inevitably get together with Danny and have kids with him. If fate dictates that it must happen, I guess I might as well roll with it"

...then I would've hated it. That kind of thing feels really cheap.		2014-09-17 21:11:00

Author:
SnipySev
Posts: 2452

While we're talking about Orson this is the second time we've had a failed early time traveler in the space of about a dozen episodes could be coincidence could be leading up to something.2014-09-17 21:59:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

Ultimately, what I have to say about Listen is this: it may not be the best of all time, it may not work 100% through and it may contradict itself on multiple occasions (the thing under the bedsheet wasn't a child, it made alien noises and that head looked more like a Sontaran-head), but it's ultimately what I wanted from Steven Moffat. It's a Steven Moffat-script, filled with his charasteristics, personality and style. That's where most of the dividing opinions come from, honestly. If you like Steven Moffat's style or if you think it, frankly, sucks, then that's your opinion of Listen.

That's my opinion of Listen.

However, when I first saw the episode, I actually didn't think about Orson being Clara's great grandchild as much as Danny's. Take from that what you will. I think I have already guessed how this series will end, but I will not say more, because I don't want to spoil it anyone. I had the Tom Baker-cameo as well as the ending of Listen spoiled for me, so I am not going to repeat that.

I don't think so, Tim. My opinion of Moffat is bad. He's terrible at writing weekly stuff. Don't get me wrong, he's awesome at the big event things, but for the everyday stuff they've needed a new head writer for over a season. Especially with this new Doctor, I think there's a place for a different writer to make a name for him/herself there.

However, I think the episode was pretty good, but it could have been great. It had a ton of great elements, but never fully capitalized on all of them like it could have. I think he needs to do more of his stories in multiple parts and stop stunting the possibilities by trying to shoehorn them into a single episode/half season/etc. He needs grand sweeping arcs for his stories to make the fullest usage of the plots he is capable of coming up with, but then he tries to squish it into a single 45 minute episode and it ends up full of holes and terribly done. Someone that can write great short stories would be awesome, but they just keep Moffat as head for some reason.		2014-09-19 07:55:00

Author:
Super_Dork_42
Posts: 1874

Most negative aspects the show currently has have come from bad creative decisions behind the scenes. The "blockbuster of the week" doesn't work for Doctor Who and only removes the possibility of telling more interesting stories. While yes, it's true that some people don't tune in to watch the next episode of a two-parter if they think the first one is bad, it's still better to risk half a million viewers for a few episodes than risk the life of the show itself.

The standalone format sucks, utterly sucks. It's terrible, hasn't caused anything good and removes much of the aspects that made the original new series work. It's by far among the top 10 worst things to ever happen to the show, including the loss of rights to Daleks, the cancellations and The Doctor in Distress.		2014-09-19 21:32:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

...am I the only one here who genuinely likes most of Moffat's work?2014-09-20 12:04:00

Author:
The11thWheatley
Posts: 230

...am I the only one here who genuinely likes most of Moffat's work?

Would it really matter if you are? We can all like different things for various reasons.		2014-09-20 18:32:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

...am I the only one here who genuinely likes most of Moffat's work?

Hmmm...

The ones I like:

The Curse of Fatal Death
The Empty Child
The Doctor Dances
The Girl in the Fireplace
Blink (for the most part)
Time Crash
Silence in the Library
Forest of the Dead
The Eleventh Hour
Time of Angels
The Pandorica Opens
The Big Bang
A Christmas Carol
The Day of the Moon
A Good Man Goes to War
The Wedding of River Song
The Bells of Saint John
The Name of the Doctor
The Night of the Doctor
The Day of the Doctor
Deep Breath
Into the Dalek
Listen
Time Heist
(Total: 24)

The ones I am on the fence about or don't like:

The Beast Below
Flesh and Stone
Impossible Astronaut
Let's Kill Hitler
The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe
Asylum of the Daleks
Angels Take Manhattan
The Snowmen
The Time of the Doctor
(Total: 9)

Fun fact: 24 > 9
Conclusion: No.

If we include Sherlock to Moffat's work:

The ones I like:

A Study in Pink
A Scandal in Belgravia
Many Happy Returns
The Signs of Three
His Last Vow
(Total: 5)

The ones I'm on the fence about or do not like:

...

(Total: 0)

I think that really settles it, no?

--

Also, Time Heist. Yay. As you probably spotted, I liked the episode. And when I say "liked", I mean OHMYGOD THE EPISODE IS PRACTICALLY PERFECT.

I say practically, but the episode probably isn't. I have only seen it once, I can't spot every possible continuity error after that. Still, Time Heist manages to be very refreshing and a surprisingly well written episode in a series which has been good so far, but one that has also stumbled a bit on every step.

Deep Breath was overlong, Into The Dalek contradicted the past, namely Evil of the Daleks, Robot of Sherwood was super enjoyable but had flaws in nearly every aspect of it and Listen used timey wimey to artificially complicate its plot to a degree it didn't really work, though the good things still outweighted the bad. Time Heist doesn't suffer from anything like that. It plays a new take on a familiar premise, namely that the characters in the heist actually don't know that much about why they are doing it and how.

It should be impossible to make an episode like this in a way. Timey wimey episode with Steven Moffat mostly ends up in negative opinion from me and any episode from Stephen Thompson should be crap, but this one isn't. It's like the two play so well together that you have the creative inspiration of two people with the coherency of a single writer. Stephen Thompson for the next showrunner? Nooooo... but together with Steven Moffat? Sign me up.

Time Heist is the pinnacle of Doctor Who. It's something that's just so traditionally good that I for one can't help loving it, but it's also unpredictable, new and refreshing with a very well handled time-travel aspect to it. The Teller was also a really sinister concept and a walking piece of art.

Time Heist is the first episode out of Peter Capaldi's era to be a full 10/10. About time, too.		2014-09-21 07:57:00

Author:
FreeAim
Posts: 2462

Sorry if I came across as rude, I wasn't intending to offend anyone.2014-09-21 20:53:00

Author:
The11thWheatley
Posts: 230


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