Doctor Who Thread

[Fmr. Emperor PiT]

I would recommend not watching it, actually. Some astonishingly shoddy writing, unfortunately.

     The writing left much to be desired, but it still reveals a great deal about the Doctor's past. I suppose reading a synopsis would suffice.

[Sibboleth]

The writing left much to be desired, but it still reveals a great deal about the Doctor's past.

Only by wrecking the previously established backstory.

There was also those unintentional (?) incest vibes. Did. Not. Want.

[Fmr. Emperor PiT]

The writing left much to be desired, but it still reveals a great deal about the Doctor's past.

Only by wrecking the previously established backstory.

There was also those unintentional (?) incest vibes. Did. Not. Want.

     I would ask how so, though not everyone in the thread has seen the episode.

     I know, those incest vibes were so creepy. I also thought that the characters displayed an incredible amount of faith in politicians to get stuff done. There were definitely a few moments in there that were unbelieveable, to say the least.

[patrick1]

I'll lay it simply as this:  The old RTD era was about the characters, the new Moffat era is about the story.

I would disagree with this.  Moffat's stories were plot driven, but I think they were the strongest because he also had fully developed characters. In Blink, you could really identify with the Sally Sparrow, Nightingale and Shipton characters and this was from 50 minutes.

That being said, I was a bit disappointed in Moffat's stories this season. Personally, my favorite episode was the Van Gogh one.

Edit: I see you wrote the Moffat era. Yeah, I could see that from this season. 

[Formerly Californian Tony]

Hey guys, time for a little bump !

I've just watched all the specials and the first three episodes of season 5, and I must say I'm still charmed !

The end of time was a beautiful episod, with an intensity rarely seen. It was very disturbing at some point, especially realizing that the Time Lords weren't as good as the Doctor pretended. I'd have hoped to see more feelings from the Doctor, I'm surprised he wasn't more affected by all these events, and maybe I'd have seen him esitating more before sending his own race to oblivion. But it was undoubtely one of the greatest episodes of the series.

The new season was... surprising. We got a brand new doctor, who has still to show his character, but the first signs are encouraging (I've loved the scene whe he speaks to the Ataraxi). The first episode is surprisingly good (first episodes are usually pretty unappealing) : I've liked the plot, there was far more suspense than usual... And Amy is a great character. I guess it's too soon to say that, but she has the potential to equal Martha. She is far more clever, authentic and emotional than the usual Doctor's companions. This time, the doctor has probably got someone he deserves : let's hope she will stay for more than a season.

The second episode was heart-blowing. All right, I'm probably a quite sensitive person, but I felt extemely uncomfortable after watching it. Regardless of the emotional aspect (and there is too much emotion in this episode), it's probably one of the best episodes of the series. The concept of the "forget" button is probably one of the most creative sci-fi ideas I've ever seen (all right, I know nothing about sci-fi ), and the way it was used is excellent. The social and moral implications of this episode are extremely deep, as they have rarely been in the series. And of course Amy's final intervention was what convinced me that she was great.

Not so much to say about the third episode, partly because I was still traumatized by the second one. I've liked the spatio-temporal location, especially due to Churchill's characters. But honestly, I was a bit fed up of the Daleks. I think the dalek episodes would be percieved better if they weren't much frequent : twice per season (because they will certainly reappear in the season finale or close to it) is too much. Anyways, the plot was interesting, with the idea of Daleks manipulating humans and the doctor itself to win. However, what I can't bear is the fact the scenarists can't find an original way to explain the Dalek's return. Another ship survived from the Time War ! O rly ? Again ? Maybe we will eventually learn  that in fact 99% of the Daleks survived to the Time War (which would lead us to think that the Doctor's true aim was to kill the Time Lords, not the Daleks). As for the rest, fine episode ; the android is lovely.

[Fmr. Emperor PiT]

     I've also gotten around to watching season 5 (or season 31, to be pedantic ) in the meantime, & I must say that I liked Matt Smith a lot. I think I had just gotten too attached to David Tennant since he was the only incarnation of the Doctor who I was familiar with.

Not so much to say about the third episode, partly because I was still traumatized by the second one. I've liked the spatio-temporal location, especially due to Churchill's characters. But honestly, I was a bit fed up of the Daleks. I think the dalek episodes would be percieved better if they weren't much frequent : twice per season (because they will certainly reappear in the season finale or close to it) is too much. Anyways, the plot was interesting, with the idea of Daleks manipulating humans and the doctor itself to win. However, what I can't bear is the fact the scenarists can't find an original way to explain the Dalek's return. Another ship survived from the Time War ! O rly ? Again ? Maybe we will eventually learn  that in fact 99% of the Daleks survived to the Time War (which would lead us to think that the Doctor's true aim was to kill the Time Lords, not the Daleks). As for the rest, fine episode ; the android is lovely.

     I must agree that the Daleks appear too often, though having a small cast of Daleks to reappear offers promise (sort of like with the Cult of Skaro). The main problem I see is the tendency for the Daleks to appear with 10,000 or so ships that get completely annihilated at the end of the story, which makes it hard to take them seriously. I thought that this Dalek ship had actually been part of Davros's fleet from Journey's End, though.

     As an aside, I just finished watching season 16 (the Key To Time saga). I really liked Tom Baker & Mary Tamm. I also found K-9 to be quite endearing. It's also sort of refreshing to not see the sonic screwdriver being used every five minutes, oftentimes for things that such a device would have no conceivable use for.

[Citizen (The) Doctor]

Antonio, if you think Episode 2 was heartbreaking, just wait until you watch Episode 8 (Vincent and the Doctor), or even A Christmas Carol (this year's Christmas Special).  Those are the two most emotional stories I've seen since Matt Smith took the helm.

Also, you'll love Episodes 4 and 5.  And always remember, you can skip ahead, all of it is on Sidereel (albeit in English).

[Formerly Californian Tony]

     I've also gotten around to watching season 5 (or season 31, to be pedantic ) in the meantime, & I must say that I liked Matt Smith a lot. I think I had just gotten too attached to David Tennant since he was the only incarnation of the Doctor who I was familiar with.

Yeah, that's it. Hell, I got attached to Eccleston despite he stayed for only one season ! I think it will take a while for me to "accept" the new personnality, but of course it all depends to Smith and Moffat.

I must agree that the Daleks appear too often, though having a small cast of Daleks to reappear offers promise (sort of like with the Cult of Skaro). The main problem I see is the tendency for the Daleks to appear with 10,000 or so ships that get completely annihilated at the end of the story, which makes it hard to take them seriously. I thought that this Dalek ship had actually been part of Davros's fleet from Journey's End, though.

They were said to be "hybrids", which seems an allusion to the Daleks of the season 1 finale (the Emperor used human meat to create new Daleks and prepare the invasion of the Earth). But once again, they can't came with new Dalek survivors every two minutes and pretend we believe they were "destroyed" in the Time War.
I've also liked the Cult of Skaro and maybe they could have made it last for a few more episodes. However at some time the scenarist have to give us a definitive answer : are they gone or not ?

Antonio, if you think Episode 2 was heartbreaking, just wait until you watch Episode 8 (Vincent and the Doctor), or even A Christmas Carol (this year's Christmas Special).  Those are the two most emotional stories I've seen since Matt Smith took the helm.

Well, I have nothing to say but "wow !". Looks like this series is even more promising than I imagined. But I don't know if I will be able to bear so much emotions...

Also, you'll love Episodes 4 and 5.  And always remember, you can skip ahead, all of it is on Sidereel (albeit in English).

The next two are about the weeping angels, right ? Blink was a great episode, so it's great to see them back. I'll wait to watch them in French however, both because I don't enjoy watching these kind of series in foreign languages and also because I don't want to finish the series too quickly.

[Fmr. Emperor PiT]

     I do not advise doing what I did & waiting a week between first watching episodes 4 & 5.

[London Man]

      As an aside, I just finished watching season 16 (the Key To Time saga). I really liked Tom Baker & Mary Tamm. I also found K-9 to be quite endearing. It's also sort of refreshing to not see the sonic screwdriver being used every five minutes, oftentimes for things that such a device would have no conceivable use for.

Season 16 is a good season, but did you find the ending a bit poor? I know many fans have, including myself.

As for Amy, I like her a lot. She's had her detractors, but she's a great addition to the TARDIS.

[Fmr. Emperor PiT]

      As an aside, I just finished watching season 16 (the Key To Time saga). I really liked Tom Baker & Mary Tamm. I also found K-9 to be quite endearing. It's also sort of refreshing to not see the sonic screwdriver being used every five minutes, oftentimes for things that such a device would have no conceivable use for.

Season 16 is a good season, but did you find the ending a bit poor? I know many fans have, including myself.

As for Amy, I like her a lot. She's had her detractors, but she's a great addition to the TARDIS.

     I thought the ending was quite rushed. Given that the entire season comprised one long story arc, I expected a full episode for the epilogue, rather than the scant five minutes they gave it.

[Citizen (The) Doctor]

As for Amy, I like her a lot. She's had her detractors, but she's a great addition to the TARDIS.

Amy is quite interesting as she's a rather polarizing character.  Fans either flat out hate her or love her, there's rarely any middle ground.

Personally though she may come off as flat at times, I loved her character.  And I also think Karen Gillan is quite attractive.

[afleitch]

Amy is amazing. What I like about this relationship (and part of the reason why I liked Catherine Tate as Donna) is that her and the Doctor are friends. No romantic tension; they are just 'mates.'

[Sibboleth]

Amy is amazing. What I like about this relationship (and part of the reason why I liked Catherine Tate as Donna) is that her and the Doctor are friends. No romantic tension; they are just 'mates.'

Better still; no contrived romantic tension.

[London Man]

As for Amy, I like her a lot. She's had her detractors, but she's a great addition to the TARDIS.

Amy is quite interesting as she's a rather polarizing character.  Fans either flat out hate her or love her, there's rarely any middle ground.

It's rather the same with Martha, I've found.

[Formerly Californian Tony]

Of course it's too early for me to have a definitive judgment of Amy, but so far she's really promising. As Afleitch said it's good not to get back an "impossible love" story as we had in the first 3 seasons. Especially, I find very interesting the idea of making the doctor meet her as a child. I some way, I have the impression their relationship could be more like a father/daughter relationship (again, just a feeling so far).

[Platypus]

Bloody Rose was a bloody idjit chavette, yah?

Loved Martha.

Liked Donna quite a bit (but Donna as a character seemed to basically have the same personality as Catherine Tate, so it's hard not to like her).

Neutral to negative on Amy.

[Citizen (The) Doctor]

Any thoughts on the identity of River Song?

[dead0man]

Antonio, if you think Episode 2 was heartbreaking, just wait until you watch Episode 8 (Vincent and the Doctor), or even A Christmas Carol (this year's Christmas Special).  Those are the two most emotional stories I've seen since Matt Smith took the helm.

Why must they make the Christmas episodes so confussing.  They are going to get a lot of people watching the show for the first time (because a lot of people are at grandma's house or whatever) and they give them that?  I watched it at the inlaw's place with a handful of people that have never seen the show and they were left confused.

I like the new Doctor and Amy.

[Platypus]

Any thoughts on the identity of River Song?

Wife.

Maybe that is indeed too easy, but I'm fairly confident it's true.

[Fmr. Emperor PiT]

Any thoughts on the identity of River Song?

Wife.

Maybe that is indeed too easy, but I'm fairly confident it's true.

     From Silence In The Library/Forest Of The Dead, we see her call the Doctor "sweetie" & learn that she knows his true name. According to him, there is only one time he could have told her his true name. Given that, I'm really not sure what she could be other than his wife.

     It's an issue of how the writers of the show operate. They like to allude to plot points long before they expound upon them.

[Formerly Californian Tony]

Wait, River Song will be back ?

From what I've seen in "silence in the library", the Doctor and her are passionately in love. Whether or not they are married is not that important.

[JohnnyLongtorso]

Yeah, the one good thing about the new season (I can't stand Matt Smith).

[Sibboleth]

Antonio, if you think Episode 2 was heartbreaking, just wait until you watch Episode 8 (Vincent and the Doctor), or even A Christmas Carol (this year's Christmas Special).  Those are the two most emotional stories I've seen since Matt Smith took the helm.

Why must they make the Christmas episodes so confussing.  They are going to get a lot of people watching the show for the first time (because a lot of people are at grandma's house or whatever) and they give them that?  I watched it at the inlaw's place with a handful of people that have never seen the show and they were left confused.

I like the new Doctor and Amy.

Christmas telly is always a little whack in the evening. By the time it's shown most people are too pissed and/or full to take much in anyway.

[Platypus]

I can't believe TV is so popular on christmas day :/