Doctor Who episodes, R. T. Davies period (2005-2010) survivor - Phase I Round 16

[Californian Tony]

Ladies, gentlemen, multi-sex, undecided or robot, welcome to this survivor !

   

   

Series 1 (2005)

1. Rose Eliminated Round 14
2. The End of the World Eliminated Round 10
3. The Unquiet Dead Eliminated Round 4
4-5. Aliens of London / World War Three
6. Dalek
7. The Long Game
8. Father's Day
9-10. The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances
11. Boom Town Eliminated Round 13
12-13. Bad Wolf / The Parting of the Ways


Series 2 (2006)

1. New Earth Eliminated Round 8
2. Tooth and Claw Eliminated Round 7
3. School Reunion
4. The Girl in the Fireplace
5-6. Rise of the Cybermen / The Age of Steel
7. The Idiot's Lantern Eliminated Round 3
8-9. The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit
10. Love & Monsters Eliminated Round 2
11. Fear Her Eliminated Round 1
12-13. Army of Ghosts / Doomsday


Series 3 (2007)

1. Smith and Jones
2. The Shakespeare Code
3. Gridlock
4-5. Daleks in Manhattan / Evolution of the Daleks Eliminated Round 5
6. The Lazarus Experiment Eliminated Round 9
7. 42
8-9. Human Nature / The Family of Blood
10. Blink
11-12-13. Utopia / The Sound of Drums / Last of the Time Lords


Series 4 (2008)

1. Partners in Crime
2. The Fires of Pompeii
3. Planet of the Ood
4-5. The Sontaran Stratagem / The Poison Sky
6. The Doctor's Daughter
7. The Unicorn and the Wasp Eliminated Round 11
8-9. Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead
10. Midnight
11. Turn Left Immunized Round 6
12-13. The Stolen Earth / Journey's End Immunized Round 12


Special episodes

Xmas 2005 The Christmas Invasion
Xmas 2006 The Runaway Bride
Xmas 2007 Voyage of the Damned
Xmas 2008 The Next Doctor Eliminated Round 15
Easter 2009 Planet of the Dead
Nov. 2009 The Waters of Mars
Xmas/NY 2009-10 The End of Time


Rules

The principles of this games are simple : at each round, we will vote to eliminate one episode. The classical rule is that everybody has one vote to eliminate, but there can be variations from time to time. Rounds generally last around 24 hours, but can be extended if necessary to let people vote.

This survivor is composed of 46 episodes (note : episodes in two or more parts are counted as a single episode, so for example you can't vote to eliminate "The Sontaran Stratagem" only without also ousting "The Poison Sky"). Phase I will consist in eliminating the first 30 episodes. During each round, you are free to choose whatever episode you want to eliminate, with the exception that at least 3 episodes of each series (and two specials) must ascend to phase II. That means, when there are only 3 episodes left in the series, you can't oust them.

Every five normal rounds (that is, on round 6, 12, 18, 24 and 30), there will also be an immunity round. During such rounds, the vote will not consist in eliminating, but rather in "saving" an episode : if selected, the episode will be protected from elimination until the end of Phase I. Like for elimination, not more than 3 episodes can be immunized in the same series (2 in specials).

All right, enough talking ! Round 1 begins ! Have fun.

[Redalgo]

Oh shucks... well, let's begin with, "Turn Left."

[patrick1]

In honor of the 2012 Olympics theme, vote out Fear Her.  Sub-par.

[Fmr. Emperor PiT]

     Fear Her. It could have been So Bad It's Good, but it ended up missing that boat by a good margin.

[dead0man]

Voyage of the Damned

[patrick1]

Voyage of the Damned

Boo, that one is worth keeping around for a few rounds if only for Minogue's legs.

[Californian Tony]

The Unquiet Dead

The only interesting thing was the Doctor's admiration of Dickens. Otherwise, it's all quite forgettable.

[bore]

Fear her, on so many different levels.

[London Man]

Love & Monsters.

[afleitch]

Fear Her.

[shua]

Daleks in Manhattan

[Speaker Dereich]

Love and Monsters. Worst episode ever.

[Californian Tony]

Fear Her : 4
Love & Monsters : 2
Turn Left : 1
Voyage of the Damned : 1
The Unquiet Dead : 1
Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks : 1

Eliminated :
Series 2 - Episode 11



Aired 24 June 2006

   

   

The Doctor: I was a dad once.
Rose: What did you say?

Round 2 begins.

[London Man]

Love & Monsters.

[patrick1]

Despite some good ELO tunes,  Love & Monsters be gone.

[bore]

Journey's end for me, the first part is quite good but the ending is just awful.

[afleitch]

Gridlock.

[Californian Tony]

The Unquiet Dead

Can't resolve myself to vote Love & Monsters already. It's definitely subpar, but I quite like the dissonance between its unusually light/childish tone and the fact the story ends up being one of the saddest of the series.

[Fmr. Emperor PiT]

     I vote to eliminate Daleks In Manhattan, due to its large role in the villain decay of the Daleks. The Cult of Skaro deserved something more dignified than this.

[Californian Tony]

Nobody else ? C'mon people !

Pit : You didn't like Daleks in Manhattan ? It might well be my favorite Dalek episode ever, with the very original idea of giving the Daleks a chance to redeem themselves and become better creatures thanks to humanity. The fact it ends up in such a tragic way, in particular regarding Dalek Sec, the only "lucid" Dalek to have ever existed, makes the ending particularly moving. I've also liked Talullah and Laszlo's romance.

[Fmr. Emperor PiT]

     I thought the Daleks had a certain charm as implacable killing machines. It's a nice break from the complexity of real life, if you will. That four Daleks were stuck hiding under Manhattan (a fact that was pointed out, even) was humiliating to them and made them seem less threatening in the long run. I thought it was a good story on its own terms, but I didn't like the effect it had on the greater saga.

     Ultimately, I concede that it may not be fair to blame any one story for the recent decline of the Daleks. Overall, they were just used too often. Any tack that would let them stay menacing in spite of such frequent appearances would probably be too pessimistic to work in Doctor Who.

[afleitch]

     I thought the Daleks had a certain charm as implacable killing machines. It's a nice break from the complexity of real life, if you will. That four Daleks were stuck hiding under Manhattan (a fact that was pointed out, even) was humiliating to them and made them seem less threatening in the long run. I thought it was a good story on its own terms, but I didn't like the effect it had on the greater saga.

     Ultimately, I concede that it may not be fair to blame any one story for the recent decline of the Daleks. Overall, they were just used too often. Any tack that would let them stay menacing in spite of such frequent appearances would probably be too pessimistic to work in Doctor Who.

I agree. As a villain they really have ceased to be villainous (and this goes back to the 80's). One Dalek is not particualrly frightening and neither is a million; it's hard to get a happy medium - 'Dalek' got it balanced well.

Moffat has been wise to 'retire' the Dalek's though the first episode of the new series will feature every Dalek there has ever been so who knows if it will be a bit of a re-invention.

[Californian Tony]

     I thought the Daleks had a certain charm as implacable killing machines. It's a nice break from the complexity of real life, if you will. That four Daleks were stuck hiding under Manhattan (a fact that was pointed out, even) was humiliating to them and made them seem less threatening in the long run. I thought it was a good story on its own terms, but I didn't like the effect it had on the greater saga.

     Ultimately, I concede that it may not be fair to blame any one story for the recent decline of the Daleks. Overall, they were just used too often. Any tack that would let them stay menacing in spite of such frequent appearances would probably be too pessimistic to work in Doctor Who.

I agree. As a villain they really have ceased to be villainous (and this goes back to the 80's). One Dalek is not particualrly frightening and neither is a million; it's hard to get a happy medium - 'Dalek' got it balanced well.

Moffat has been wise to 'retire' the Dalek's though the first episode of the new series will feature every Dalek there has ever been so who knows if it will be a bit of a re-invention.

Well, personally, having watched only the new series I must say I have never found the Daleks particularly terrifying (except in "Dalek", by the point you see how terrified the Doctor himself is). They have long been overshadowed by the Angels, the Vashta Nerada, the Midnight thing or the Silence in terms of creepiness. IMO, the Daleks are in the show as a metaphor of evil and inhumanity. They don't need to be terrifying, they might even look utterly pathetic (the "do not blaspheme" bit in Doomsday is perfect in that regard). The remnants of the Skaro Cult in Daleks in Manhattan is a way to point out why the Daleks fail : because their conviction that dalekness equals perfection prevents them from evolving like every species does. And when one of them finally tries to, he ends up being rejected by his former mates (which he is genuinely trying to help). I thinks this story tells a lot of truth about fanaticism and hatred of difference, and is magnificently tragic this way.

[Californian Tony]

Love & Monsters : 2
The Stolen Earth/Journey's End : 1
Gridlock : 1
The Unquiet Dead : 1
Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks : 1

Eliminated :
Series 2 - Episode 10



Aired 17 June 2006

   

   

Rose: You upset my mum.
Elton: Great big absorbing creature from outer space, and you're having a go at me?
Rose: No one upsets my mum.
Victor: At last. The greatest feast of all. The Doctor.
The Doctor: What's this thing? A sort Absorbatrix? Absorba... clon? Absorbaloff?
Victor: Absorbaloff, yes.
Rose: Is it me or is he a bit... Slitheen?
The Doctor: Not from Raxacorricofallapatorius, are you?
Victor: No! I'm not the swine! I SPIT on them! I was born on their twin planet.
The Doctor: Really? What's the twin planet of Raxacorricofallapatorius?
Victor: Clom.
The Doctor: Clom.
Victor: Clom.

The Doctor: Sweet... maybe. Passionate... I suppose. But don't ever mistake that for nice.

Elton: So, there you go. Turns out I've had the most terrible things happen. And the most brilliant things. And sometimes - well - I can't tell the difference. They're all the same thing. They're... they're just me. You know, Stephen King said once, he said... "salvation and damnation are the same thing". And I never knew what he meant. But I do now. 'Cos the Doctor might be wonderful, but thinking back... I was having such a special time. Just for a bit. I had this nice little gang. And they were destroyed. It's not his fault. But maybe that's what happens if you touch the Doctor. Even for a second. I keep thinking of Rose and Jackie. And how much longer before they pay the price.

Round 3 begins.

[London Man]

Boom Town. Worst episode of 2005.