Doctor Who

[Master]

What with the 50th Anniversary coming up next year, I'd assume we'll be in for some interesting episodes.

[Nannerb3]

I wonder what the Doctor's new companion will be like...? To be honest I really hope she doesn't fall in love with the Doctor.

[Shrooblord]

I wonder what the Doctor's new companion will be like...? To be honest I really hope she doesn't fall in love with the Doctor.

Maybe they should have a guy for once. Maybe.

Also the next Doctor has to be a red-headed lady, when Matt decides to stop.

[Master]

I wonder what the Doctor's new companion will be like...? To be honest I really hope she doesn't fall in love with the Doctor.

I have to agree, this lovey-dovey nonsense is irritating me, it's one of the reasons Donna remains my favourite out of the new series companions.
[Sadly, trailers and screenshots of the ep show the pair kissing...that bodes well.]

Maybe they should have a guy for once. Maybe.

Rory was promoted to full companion in Series 6, though he was often overshadowed, poor fellow.

[Master]

Not exactly my worthiest double-post, but it is still something significant, of course...
MAJOR SPOILER...yet again.
http://doctorwhotv.co.uk/best-alien-pla ... -43358.htm

I really need to stop scouring around fansites and the like, I find plenty of spoilerific items.

[Master]

Final bump...and a triple post, I'm ashamed.
A reminder that the Doctor Who Xmas special is on tomorrow on BBC One at 5.15pm!

[HappyHaunter]

Just finished watching the Christmas episode. Totally forgot it was supposed to air a few days ago. Anyways, it wasn't too bad. I didn't like the whole depressed doctor attitude or whatever cause I knew he'd change at the end of the episode.

That memory worm is sure dangerous alright. Sheesh that things probably going to cause some problems for sure in the future!

[Shrooblord]

The episode was great! It was a bit more horror-esque than I'm used to from this Doctor, but I liked it a lot. I do hope that new girl returns in the series. I like them together - the chemistry works.

And, Master, I believe you've been dying to speak about the episode...?

[Master]

Ah, so I was.
So much new stuff to talk about.

Just finished watching the Christmas episode. Totally forgot it was supposed to air a few days ago. Anyways, it wasn't too bad. I didn't like the whole depressed doctor attitude or whatever cause I knew he'd change at the end of the episode.

Fair enough, but I think it was a nice way to show the effect of Amy's departure, it added to his guilt overall, and I'd rather they spent some time resolving said guilt instead of just making him carry on as normal.

Well, it appears that Clara Oswin Oswald is a great mystery, aptly put when they called her "The Woman who died twice," first in the Asylum, and now this. And I'd imagine that this is going to be an interesting plot point to deal with in part 2 of the series.

The episode itself is probably one of the best specials ever made, it had humour, but at the same time, a good villain, Dr. Simeon was well portrayed as a heartless, cold person, and the intelligence itself, voiced by Gandalf, no less, is infact, an old villain from Classic Who, if my reading is correct, furthermore, the Snowmen gives hints to previous which featured the Great Intelligence, these hints strongly suggesting The Snowmen to be a prequel to these past eps.

The Doctor's new apparel is quite different to his previous one, but nice to see that they reintroduced the bowtie as a signal to show the Doctor was returning to his normal self. And of course, we had plenty of other new things as well, a new title sequence, and TARDIS interior.


I like how the sequence is, of course, it is a departure to the Time Vortex we've had since 2005, but this sequence seems to have references all over to past introductions, and it reintroduces an element that featured in Classic Who since Patrick Troughton, namely, the big floating head in the introduction, of course, the way it is done in this sequence is a lot more subtle, but it still fits and is a nice touch. The theme itself seems a little more eerie, not to the same scope as some previous themes, but more than recent themes.

And then we had the new TARDIS interior:

A radical departure from all of the new series designs, but definitely inspired by interiors of old, many compared it to this iteration in particular:

Fitting, given that we're going to be celebrating Doctor Who's 50th anniversary next year, though I'm not as happy that they've changed the time rotor from being the "up and downy" thing in the centre to being spinning disks at the top of the room, but it'll probably grow on me. All in all, I really do like this design, it has a sort of Retro-Modern feel to it.

I'll keep quiet about the stuff in the Coming Soon trailer, suffice to say that we're in for some interesting eps in part 2 of the series, [along with some...interesting redesigns.]

[Shrooblord]

The old time rotor was cooler, but I like this one too. It was a bit obvious how they were focussing on all the new things in the machine, though, but I laughed at that matter.

Ah yes the new opening sequence! I had forgotten completely about it! It's really cool and I like it a lot. I was just saying "but where's the Time Vortex" when it popped up at the end, so I was happy with that too. I like how the melody suddenly bends down; it makes it, like you said, more eerie. It's fitting.

I also immediately recognised the interior of the Tardis as inspired by the previous ones. I am a bit confused about why it has changed though. Usually the Tardis reinvents herself as her old body dies with the old Doctor's body, but now, she's suddenly changed without prior notice (or have I forgotten something about the previous episodes?). I like it though - it's a lot spacier and sleeker, and I love the Gallifreyan that's etched into the pillars in several locations.

[Master]

The TARDIS changing interiors due to damage alone is a bit of a misconception.
I believe in the classic series the console room changed quite a bit from its initial design, to the final 80s design. Not all came from damage.
Also, there was a line in "Time Crash" mentioning "Desktop themes" and then we've also learnt the TARDIS has an archive of console rooms, so it's quite possible that the Doctor can just change interiors on a whim.

[Serza5]

Just going to leave this in here :

[Shrooblord]

-- Moved over from the Rayman Legends thread--

Granted, there are some eps which aren't very good, there are still some which are pretty amazing, The Doctor's Wife, for instance, was a rare one-of-a-kind episode which explored the relationship between the two oldest characters who've featured since day 1, and I liked the way it was handled.

I liked that episode a lot too. The play between the two parties ('Idris'-Doctor; Rory-Amy) was well-executed.

I also liked Episode 2 of Series 5, "The Beast Below," it doesn't seem very special, but it is a rather heartfelt episode when it comes to the comparison with the Star Whale and the Doctor himself.

Yes, I feel this episode had a lot of good sides to it. The twists in the story are great and I like how you don't know what's going on until the very end.

Let us not forget that, Tennant's era did have it's share of bad eps as well, let us not forget "Fear Her" or the Dalek two-parter in Series 3. Though each Doctor has probably had his share of bad episodes.

I will admit that Fear Her wasn't great, but I still liked it - I wouldn't call it a bad episode at all. Which two-parter are you referring to?

Of course Tennant's series will have had the occassional ones where the episode wasn't great, but in comparisson, the amount of ones that were good, or even amazing, and the gradation in which I liked them, are more numorous and more satisfying than in this series. Don't get me wrong, I love watching Doctor Who still, but it's lost some of its magic here and there.
Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead are among my favourites and, like I said before, The Fires of Pompeii is right up there. It shows the predicaments he can be in and how perceptive he is even if you don't notice that as a viewer.
From Smith's series, I like the ones in which he plays with Alex Kingston best. Their interaction is a lot of fun to watch. But judging by the Christmas episode, I'm going to like that new girl a lot too.

[Master]

Let us not forget that, Tennant's era did have it's share of bad eps as well, let us not forget "Fear Her" or the Dalek two-parter in Series 3. Though each Doctor has probably had his share of bad episodes.

I will admit that Fear Her wasn't great, but I still liked it - I wouldn't call it a bad episode at all. Which two-parter are you referring to?

The two-parter I refer to is "Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of The Daleks" from Series 3, it was a good idea, but I don't like the execution, but that could just be me.

Of course Tennant's series will have had the occassional ones where the episode wasn't great, but in comparisson, the amount of ones that were good, or even amazing, and the gradation in which I liked them, are more numorous and more satisfying than in this series. Don't get me wrong, I love watching Doctor Who still, but it's lost some of its magic here and there.

I guess that depends on whether or not you like the new approach, though I must admit, most of my favourites from Smiths' era are from Series 5, before they started messing around with the formula, though Asylum of the Daleks was pretty decent, as was The Snowmen. Though the rest of Series 7 hasn't been so strong.
One of my main problems with Tennant's era is the companions, I will admit, I'm not a huge fan of Rose, and Martha...was ok, but I wasn't a big fan of all the romances that these characters had with the Doctor, I tolerate River Songs' marriage with the Doctor because the character is intriguing and I like the relationship that the two characters have. Of Tennants' era, I'd say my favourite companion is Donna Noble, though her initial ep didn't portray her as the likeable character she ended up as in Series 4.

Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead are among my favourites and, like I said before, The Fires of Pompeii is right up there. It shows the predicaments he can be in and how perceptive he is even if you don't notice that as a viewer.
From Smith's series, I like the ones in which he plays with Alex Kingston best. Their interaction is a lot of fun to watch. But judging by the Christmas episode, I'm going to like that new girl a lot too.

The Library two-parter was penned by Steven Moffat, who is currently Head Writer and Executive Producer of the series since Series 5, and I have to agree, I loved that two-parter, Moffat does scary well when he's in his element, though I wasn't a huge fan of the Angel two-parter in Series 5, that was a little disappointing.
The Fires of Pompeii, funnily enough, actually starred Karen Gillan as one of the Soothsayers, odd coincidence.
Though not as odd as that time that Colin Baker (6th Doctor) played a character who actually shot the Fifth Doctor in the old series.

[Shrooblord]

Let us not forget that, Tennant's era did have it's share of bad eps as well, let us not forget "Fear Her" or the Dalek two-parter in Series 3. Though each Doctor has probably had his share of bad episodes.

I will admit that Fear Her wasn't great, but I still liked it - I wouldn't call it a bad episode at all. Which two-parter are you referring to?

The two-parter I refer to is "Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of The Daleks" from Series 3, it was a good idea, but I don't like the execution, but that could just be me.

Really? I love that episode - Dalek Sec was quite the character and they gave me and the Doctor the hope of 'curing' the Dalek race, if you will. That's the tragic thing about most of The Doctor's stories; everything seems to be going excellently and things are looking bright and hopeful, but then it all comes crashing down.

I guess that depends on whether or not you like the new approach, though I must admit, most of my favourites from Smiths' era are from Series 5, before they started messing around with the formula, though Asylum of the Daleks was pretty decent, as was The Snowmen. Though the rest of Series 7 hasn't been so strong.

Yes, I feel the same way. I hope this next series will bring something revitalising...

One of my main problems with Tennant's era is the companions, I will admit, I'm not a huge fan of Rose, and Martha...was ok, but I wasn't a big fan of all the romances that these characters had with the Doctor. Of Tennants' era, I'd say my favourite companion is Donna Noble, though her initial ep didn't portray her as the likeable character she ended up as in Series 4.

It is a bit cheesy that almost all companions end up falling in love with the Doctor (even Jack Harkness - mind he falls in love with almost anyone ) but I think I liked the Rose/Doctor combination best. They worked well together, in my opinion, especially because it was the first time the Doctor seemed to be happy again with someone after his family got taken by the Time War. Judging by how distraught he is after Rose is locked up in the alternate universe, that assumption is correct.
But you are absolutely right. Catherine Tate is an ace in Doctor Who. I love all her little jokes and improvs (as most of her funniest moments are just that - improvisations) and that, for once, the character likes being with the Doctor, but doesn't fall for him.

The Library two-parter was penned by Steven Moffat, who is currently Head Writer and Executive Producer of the series since Series 5, and I have to agree, I loved that two-parter, Moffat does scary well when he's in his element, though I wasn't a huge fan of the Angel two-parter in Series 5, that was a little disappointing.

I think only Blink was good when it comes to those Angels. They were best in their initial screening, for the same reason that all horror is great until it gets a sequel: the surprise is gone once the initial story arc has ended. You know exactly how they work and why they are scary, but that won't make you fear them the next time you see them. And inventing new things like 'everything that holds the image of an Angel is itself an Angel' won't solve that problem. The Angels should have stayed in Blink and gone no further, but I do appreciate that they tried to give them some more screentime.

The Fires of Pompeii, funnily enough, actually starred Karen Gillan as one of the Soothsayers, odd coincidence.

Yes, I noticed! Maybe that's where they noticed her skills and wanted to have her as a future companion...?


I guess what I want most from the series now is originality. They keep ending up back on Earth now-a-days and face enemies the Doctor's faced before. I guess that's because the writers know those enemies will work, because they've got some good concept behind them. However, I'd rather they think up a new set of enemies and locations and work with that. And also, maybe once, only once, for crying out loud, can the race accept what the Doctor offers them and not end up dying horribly? It's tragic to see them realise their failure right at their demise. But I guess that just adds to the Doctor's personality of being unforgiving when he has to.

OH! And Jenny has to come back at some point. Come on, you don't end an episode making you think she's dead and then revealing at the very end that she's very much a alive and shoots away to venture off in the vast and open universe just to leave it at that. That's got to go somewhere... right?

[Master]

Let us not forget that, Tennant's era did have it's share of bad eps as well, let us not forget "Fear Her" or the Dalek two-parter in Series 3. Though each Doctor has probably had his share of bad episodes.

I will admit that Fear Her wasn't great, but I still liked it - I wouldn't call it a bad episode at all. Which two-parter are you referring to?

The two-parter I refer to is "Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of The Daleks" from Series 3, it was a good idea, but I don't like the execution, but that could just be me.

Really? I love that episode - Dalek Sec was quite the character and they gave me and the Doctor the hope of 'curing' the Dalek race, if you will. That's the tragic thing about most of The Doctor's stories; everything seems to be going excellently and things are looking bright and hopeful, but then it all comes crashing down.

I didn't mind those, but considering that one of the things that defined the Daleks was their "purity" as it were, to the point where in Victory, the old are exterminated solely based on the fact that they weren't pure Daleks, it struck me as odd that the Daleks were even willing to go that far, to become "impure" as it were in their eyes, just for survival. But I digress, to each their own.

I guess that depends on whether or not you like the new approach, though I must admit, most of my favourites from Smiths' era are from Series 5, before they started messing around with the formula, though Asylum of the Daleks was pretty decent, as was The Snowmen. Though the rest of Series 7 hasn't been so strong.

Yes, I feel the same way. I hope this next series will bring something revitalising...

Well, you're not one for spoilers, I know. But, I shall tell you, from what I've seen (the trailer at the end of The Snowmen), part 2 of the series seems to be much better than the first, though whether or not it is better, remains to be seen.

One of my main problems with Tennant's era is the companions, I will admit, I'm not a huge fan of Rose, and Martha...was ok, but I wasn't a big fan of all the romances that these characters had with the Doctor. Of Tennants' era, I'd say my favourite companion is Donna Noble, though her initial ep didn't portray her as the likeable character she ended up as in Series 4.

It is a bit cheesy that almost all companions end up falling in love with the Doctor (even Jack Harkness - mind he falls in love with almost anyone ) but I think I liked the Rose/Doctor combination best. They worked well together, in my opinion, especially because it was the first time the Doctor seemed to be happy again with someone after his family got taken by the Time War. Judging by how distraught he is after Rose is locked up in the alternate universe, that assumption is correct.
But you are absolutely right. Catherine Tate is an ace in Doctor Who. I love all her little jokes and improvs (as most of her funniest moments are just that - improvisations) and that, for once, the character likes being with the Doctor, but doesn't fall for him.

I wasn't against Rose/Doctor initially, but it became...too extreme for my liking. Jack Harkness, well, his flirtatious nature is lampshaded by the Doctor many times, so I take that more as a personality trait. And yes, Tate's methods of acting were humorous, but at the same time, she did well in more emotional scenes as well, and I found her send-off in Journeys End to be more, emotionally engaging than Rose's.

The Library two-parter was penned by Steven Moffat, who is currently Head Writer and Executive Producer of the series since Series 5, and I have to agree, I loved that two-parter, Moffat does scary well when he's in his element, though I wasn't a huge fan of the Angel two-parter in Series 5, that was a little disappointing.

I think only Blink was good when it comes to those Angels. They were best in their initial screening, for the same reason that all horror is great until it gets a sequel: the surprise is gone once the initial story arc has ended. You know exactly how they work and why they are scary, but that won't make you fear them the next time you see them. And inventing new things like 'everything that holds the image of an Angel is itself an Angel' won't solve that problem. The Angels should have stayed in Blink and gone no further, but I do appreciate that they tried to give them some more screentime.

The Angels seem to have gained a popularity that sort-of makes them the "Daleks" of NuWho, so chances are, we're not going to be seeing the last of them.

I guess what I want most from the series now is originality. They keep ending up back on Earth now-a-days and face enemies the Doctor's faced before. I guess that's because the writers know those enemies will work, because they've got some good concept behind them. However, I'd rather they think up a new set of enemies and locations and work with that.

To be fair, we've reached 50th anniversary, so it's natural that some oldbies will be brought back, funnily enough, the Great Intelligence from The Snowmen, is actually a villain from the 2nd Doctors era (back in the 60s!). But, don't fear, there are some new monsters, I assure you, in part 2 of the series.

I did like the fact that UNIT came back in The Power Of Three, they've not been seen since 2009. I also am happy about the character of Kate-Stewart, given the legacy of the Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart character, it's nice to see that they continue the role he had in UNIT through a daughter character.

And also, maybe once, only once, for crying out loud, can the race accept what the Doctor offers them and not end up dying horribly? It's tragic to see them realise their failure right at their demise. But I guess that just adds to the Doctor's personality of being unforgiving when he has to.

In fairness, in the Tennant era, during his first episode, they (the Sycorax) did take his warning, only to have it be backfired by a certain Harriet Jones.
I do agree though, while it has been said that the mention of the Doctor would "have armies turn in his wake" (or something to that effect), none of the actual villains seen seem to do that, though, what with the Doctor having been erased from all major knowledge, perhaps this trait no longer exists, and villains don't see him as a threat anymore.

Jenny...well, it'd be nice if she did come back, rather amusing actually, given that her actor, Georgia Moffet, is married to David Tennant, and also happens to be the daughter of...Peter Davison (the 5th Doctor). Wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey indeed, but I digress, I'm not really that concerned if she doesn't come back, at least we have knowledge that she went out and travelled in the same rein as her father.

[Shrooblord]

I didn't mind those, but considering that one of the things that defined the Daleks was their "purity" as it were, to the point where in Victory, the old are exterminated solely based on the fact that they weren't pure Daleks, it struck me as odd that the Daleks were even willing to go that far, to become "impure" as it were in their eyes, just for survival. But I digress, to each their own.

I think the point was that it was Sec who thought of this escape option; since there were only four of the Cult of Scaro left, he had to make sure that the Dalek species would survive. He was being "inventive", I think he called it, and trying out "new options". The others weren't particularly fond of this, if you recall, but they followed him anyway because he was their leader. But then when he became hybrid, his impurity made him inferior and you know what happened next. In that other episode, however, they were so numerous and perfect that they could easily kill off the inferiors without fear of extinction. And lo, when the Doctor meets them again in the Asylum of the Daleks, there's whole warships of them.

To be fair, we've reached 50th anniversary, so it's natural that some oldbies will be brought back, funnily enough, the Great Intelligence from The Snowmen, is actually a villain from the 2nd Doctors era (back in the 60s!). But, don't fear, there are some new monsters, I assure you, in part 2 of the series.

No, of course. I was rather suggesting the point that they bring back some old enemies and then keep hammering on their existance. I haven't seen too much of those vampire people from the Shadow Proclamation when Tennant (I'll call them by their real names since that'll help prevent confusion) travelled to it in Journey's End (or the one before... you know what I mean). Other species could get some more screentime, or maybe some other, older, enemies, like, indeed, the Great Intelligence.

I did like the fact that UNIT came back in The Power Of Three, they've not been seen since 2009. I also am happy about the character of Kate-Stewart, given the legacy of the Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart character, it's nice to see that they continue the role he had in UNIT through a daughter character.

It's fun that, when they stay true to their legacy, they do it all the way, right down to making one of the characters part of a plot from some fifty or more episodes before or making them related to others.

Jenny...well, it'd be nice if she did come back, rather amusing actually, given that her actor, Georgia Moffet, is married to David Tennant, and also happens to be the daughter of...Peter Davison (the 5th Doctor). Wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey indeed, but I digress, I'm not really that concerned if she doesn't come back, at least we have knowledge that she went out and travelled in the same rein as her father.

Oh? That's some connections, alright! I never knew that - thanks for telling me!

---
Haha look at us filling the screen with walls of text! ^-^

[Master]

I didn't mind those, but considering that one of the things that defined the Daleks was their "purity" as it were, to the point where in Victory, the old are exterminated solely based on the fact that they weren't pure Daleks, it struck me as odd that the Daleks were even willing to go that far, to become "impure" as it were in their eyes, just for survival. But I digress, to each their own.

I think the point was that it was Sec who thought of this escape option; since there were only four of the Cult of Scaro left, he had to make sure that the Dalek species would survive. He was being "inventive", I think he called it, and trying out "new options". The others weren't particularly fond of this, if you recall, but they followed him anyway because he was their leader. But then when he became hybrid, his impurity made him inferior and you know what happened next. In that other episode, however, they were so numerous and perfect that they could easily kill off the inferiors without fear of extinction. And lo, when the Doctor meets them again in the Asylum of the Daleks, there's whole warships of them.

Indeed, though I guess I will always be against the idea of Daleks being anything more, their core idea were to be, in essence, Space Nazis, and destroy any who were not like themselves.
Speaking of the new Daleks, now that I think about it, the new 2010 Daleks in Asylum looked much more metallic than they did in Victory:

Ignore the speech bubble thing, this was the best I could find

To be fair, we've reached 50th anniversary, so it's natural that some oldbies will be brought back, funnily enough, the Great Intelligence from The Snowmen, is actually a villain from the 2nd Doctors era (back in the 60s!). But, don't fear, there are some new monsters, I assure you, in part 2 of the series.

No, of course. I was rather suggesting the point that they bring back some old enemies and then keep hammering on their existance. I haven't seen too much of those vampire people from the Shadow Proclamation when Tennant (I'll call them by their real names since that'll help prevent confusion) travelled to it in Journey's End (or the one before... you know what I mean). Other species could get some more screentime, or maybe some other, older, enemies, like, indeed, the Great Intelligence.

Oh, my apologies, I misunderstood.
Indeed, I agree that they should look back and pick out some more old villains, as well as create new ones, instead of constantly reusing the same villains again, in some cases, such as the Daleks and Cybermen, it's kindof understandable, they are iconic villains, but even then, there should be a limit.
The Shadow Proclamation haven't been mentioned in a long time, the last time I can remember it being mentioned was in The Eleventh Hour, perhaps the events of later episodes caused the Proclamation to become nonexistent, or perhaps, they were no longer relevant. We may never know.

Haha look at us filling the screen with walls of text! ^-^

Well, an opportunity to discuss Doctor Who like this is rather rare...

[Shrooblord]

Indeed, though I guess I will always be against the idea of Daleks being anything more, their core idea were to be, in essence, Space Nazis, and destroy any who were not like themselves.

Sure, and this is what makes them great, in a way. They're so absolutely hatable that they make for good enemies.

Speaking of the new Daleks, now that I think about it, the new 2010 Daleks in Asylum looked alot more Metallic than they did in Victory.

Good. They look realistic again, as opposed to made by a cheap souvenirs shop (apologies to the design team - I'm sure that took a lot of work to make those plastic Daleks, but you got it just wrong).

Haha look at us filling the screen with walls of text! ^-^

Well, an opportunity to discuss Doctor Who like this is rather rare...

Indeed! The thing is, bring up any Doctor Who topic and I could probably talk about it all day long, which I guess says something in its own right (lol).

[Master]

You know which classic villain I miss at the moment? The Master.
We haven't seen him since 2010, I'd like for Simm to meet Smith, the interaction between these two obviously won't be the same as Simm and Tennant, but I think they could work well together.