Doctor Who

I wonder if the different writers also means it was directed by someone else, because each episode with a different writer also has such an immensely different feel to it cinematically.
 
Looking the listings over, Flatline was directed by the same fellow who directed Listen. While Mummy on the Orient Express was directed by the same fellow who directed Kill the Moon, and who will also apparently direct the Xmas special, from what I've read.
 
Well, In the Forest of the Night.

Not too bad, I liked it overall, most of the child actors were pretty good, but I did find some of them to be a bit grating as time went on. Wasn't so fond of how the episode chose to end either, I guess it was meant to be heartwarming, but it felt a little too corny for my tastes.

As for the premise, reasonably good, I get the feeling this was some sort of environmental episode, and it did do it pretty well for the most part. Though I do feel it was being a bit overt at some points.

I actually liked how the Doctor, Clara and Danny act together in this episode, still a bit of hostility, but they're a nice group together when they're getting along for the most part.


That out of the way, the Next Time teaser, oh boy...Moffat's at it big time, I see. The finale approaches, and it's going to be intriguing at the very least.
 
Master said:
too corny
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I absolutely agree. It shouldn't have been there. I get what they were trying to do, but it didn't really fit in this story. It was like [every little backstory needs a happy ending, but that's not true. People's lives can be messy - that's okay, it really is. It would have been more interesting to see how they got by with their lives again as opposed to 'the magic fix' they got here].
Master said:
I actually liked how the Doctor, Clara and Danny act together in this episode, still a bit of hostility, but they're a nice group together when they're getting along for the most part.
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Yeah, that was good. I like their overall character interactions too, where Clara's still hiding the Doctor from Danny because he really doesn't approve - although he mentioned here that [he just wants to be included (in the know, that is), not left out like he is being now].

I don't like how they're [putting those Heaven sequences in; they feel tacked on and don't weave into the storyline at all].
 
Hmm, a good point about Missy, I do feel that NuWho has been playing the story arc game for quite too long now, with one per series at the very least, or entire eras. I don't mind the arcs, but sometimes I feel Doctor Who could do with just being a little more standalone now and then, just give us a nice romp throughout space and time, and tone down the constant impending galactic doom thing.
 
The thing is that usually it tied in well into either the characters' own storyline (Amy and the time crack), the tone of the overall series or as a throwback to previous seasons (the Bad Wolf throwback to Ecclestone's series in Turn Left). But this time it feels really, really, really forced and unnatural. Although it intrigues me greatly thinking how it can even be possible to [be extracting people from any point in space and time while they are in the process of dying or have recently deceased].
 
One theme that seems to be quite heavy in this series is the nature of time, how the entire future can be changed so greatly by unforeseen incidences. I get the feeling that this Nethersphere place is messing about with time, question is, why?

Also, funny fact, we're in for a two-parter, the first one we've had since 2011!
 
Naaaah we've had more two-parters, surely! All the series finales have been two-or-more parters, there were a bunch of two-parters in the second(?) Amy and Rory season, which I remember quite well because it severely pissed me off because it meant less 'individual stories'. Right? Or am I going looney? ;D

Anyway, exciting. Gonna be awaiting the next two weeks eagerly.
 
Series 7 had no two-parters whatsoever, neither has this series thus far. The last one was in Series 6, which was the episode about the Gangers.

Indeed, it's pretty exciting indeed, if not a bit bittersweet, Series 8 has come and almost gone, we ought to have a retrospective once it's over. Still, seeing as it'll end in November, we'll only have just over a month before the Xmas special, so it won't be too long.

I'm curious as to what the plans are for Series 9, will they go back to the Series 1-5 run style, with 13 episodes in Spring? Series 6 style, with 6 episodes Spring, and 6 episodes Autumn? Series 7 style, with some in Winter, the rest in Spring? Or stick with the current style, with a full run in Autumn?
 
Master said:
I'm curious as to what the plans are for Series 9, will they go back to the Series 1-5 run style, with 13 episodes in Spring?
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I would prefer this over all others. I think the reason it took so long this year was because of delays due to other jobs the actors were having at the time of shooting, right? Especially Jenna-Louise, if I recall correctly.
 
I think it's fair to say that if there's any point when you should avoid Doctor Who sites, it's now. There's some bigguns in this one, and I'm pretty glad there were no leaks for this. That being said, some of the stuff that was publicly announced and shown does mean that you'll clock on to a few things earlier, but nothing too bad.

So, spoilers...Dark Water:

[Ahh, it feels somewhat refreshing to have a two-parter again, this ended on quite a big cliffhanger, and no next time either! (That being said, watching this episode makes it obvious that some scenes in the next time preview from last episode were in fact from the second half, make of that what you will).

The episode begins with Danny getting run over, getting some "Impossible Astronaut" vibes from that, but I guess it allows us to finally learn more not only about the Nethersphere and its workings, but also Danny's own backstory. Guess that explains his current standing, and I'm curious as to what this means in the next part, seeing as the last thing we see is him pondering self-deletion.

As for the main duo, blimey, Clara tried to go 7 on 12, then 12 went 7 and then some. Nice to see how the whole Clara becoming the Doctor thing is progressing, but I'm hoping for some closure soon now, they've amped up about how "perfect" she was for the Doctor since Series 7, and I think it's becoming more clear that the "Name of the Doctor" wasn't the end of it all, I'd like to know why she was singled out by Missy, and what her role is in the grand game. 12 was brilliant as always, I think I've got a new favourite, also like the little shout out to Capaldi's other famous role, guess the Doctor can cuss if he wants. Pretty funny also, how he reacts to Missy's advances, but it's good to see that they're keeping their word about the reduction of romance, though it does feel awkward in another way...

So, Missy is the Master. That stray though of mine was right. Huh. In honesty, I like how she plays a female incarnation, they've dialled back the bombastic insanity of Simm and brought back the more refined element of the Classic Master, she's still a bit off-kilter, but it feels more sinister in light of said refinement. I really can't wait to see what comes of her.

Finally, we have the Cybermen, back again in a finale since 2010. In honesty, I do wish that they'd move on from some of the elements of the 2006 Cybusmen, the stomping for one thing, it was intimidating back then, but it feels a bit old now. They feel as subtle as a Dalek, and I can't say I can approve. Initially, NuWho Cybermen were essentially brains in robot suits, but during the course of the Moffat era, they've gone back to being complete cyborgs, and this episode puts that in full light. So why stomp? They're not robots anymore.

All in all good, let's see what next week brings.]

So, that leaves us with the grand finale next week, and like Deep Breath, it's going to be an hour long.
 
An hour? Epic!

My thoughts on last Saturday's episode:
[First of all, I thought it was a good episode. It had good suspense, a decent story intertwined with some drama here and there. I must say that I kind of like the swing of the Mistress coming into the story, but at the same time, this shatters my quasi-hopes of the Doctor ever incarnating as a woman. If they'd do that now, it'd be like "Oh they just copied what they did to the Master - lame!" instead of the intended "Hey that's innovative and cool, a female Doctor!"

Cybermen, Schlybermen. I thought the reveal was awesome, what with the two doors in the shape of Cybermen eyes and the theme playing in the background. Immediately, I thought 'oh no! it's them' - probably the desired effect. ;D
However, I still stand by my ideas of the Cybermen looking lame as shite. If these had been the old Cybermen's design, I would have been scared. Now, I was slightly impressed by the idea of them being there. They're so incredibly underwhelming, it's insane. I don't know exactly how they're supposed to look fear-inspiring; they're too slick. They look like robot mime performers. Come on, where are my scary droids?

Anywho, loved how the Cybermen got to have a season finale for once and not the Daleks again (although I had no idea that either would be showing up).

Still going to have to figure out how the Master returned after being dead, reincarnated, dying, and sucked into the Time Lock war portal together with Rassilon and the rest of them.

And I want to know who that woman was that Tennant looked at in such agony in his final episode... was she from an old Doctor Who? Was she his wife? Mother? Sister? I'm still stumped when I think about it.]
 
Right then, it's been a week and a half now, let's finish with Death in Heaven. I'm not going to bother with spoiler tags, be warned.

This finale reminds me of the Series 4 finale, where the first half really hyped things up, but then the second half really trips over and stumbles pretty badly. As such, while this had potential, sadly, I can't say it tops the Series 5 finale, which remains my favourite finale of the Moffat era, and perhaps even NuWho as a whole. But I digress.

I did like the performances for the most part, but that's been the case through and through. I get the feeling that I'm going to end up moaning here, so perhaps I ought to give credit where it's due before I mouth off. There were some very nice scenes, it was a bit corny, but I did like the one where 12 skydives into his TARDIS while his theme is playing. Also liked the scene where he discovers Missy lied, the way that they show his anguish was quite powerful. And we learn why 12 isn't so fond of hugs anymore, guess it makes sense given how much he's hidden in the past.

Clara ends up pretty badly too, and I do hope her story does see some proper closure, as her departure in this ep felt a little light. If the ending is anything to go by, it does seem we'll find out how it goes in the upcoming special, but we can only speculate at present. The episode also did well in highlighting her "control freak" nature, and kinda gives some justification for her prominence, which is fair enough by me.

Missy, well...I was happy with how she was in Dark Water, because it seemed to me that she had toned down her Simm and brought back some Delgado and Ainley, sadly, I do feel that she upped the Simmness again in this one. I don't mind the Master's insanity being apparent, but it'd be nice if she did show some of the more refined nature of her original selves. Can't complain too much though, looking solely at how she has been in NuWho, she was pretty good, hopefully they can develop her Delgado in future appearances.

Danny, aiaiai, I want to like him. But after all this, he's just a bit meh, I don't know, I found Rory to be more compelling, though perhaps that's because we got more episodes to know him. I wasn't fond of how his animosity with the Doctor never really gets resolved, nor am I fond of how he leads the whole Cyber-legion to burn away the cloud all "Poison Sky" style (another Series 4 story, eh?). He did sacrifice himself to save the child he shot, but unfortunately, because of how late we learn about this, it doesn't really have quite as much of an effect as I'd hope.

As for the episode, the Cybermen being able to convert the dead was an interesting concept, but I feel it was badly executed, them walking about the graveyard doing absolutely nothing of note really detracted from their menace. A pity too, this is the first finale the Cybermen have had to themselves, and the first they've had a significant role in since the Series 2 finale. Also, "the power of love," call me a git, but really? Again? I know the Cybermen have to contain their emotion lest they see themselves and self-terminate, as shown back in Series 2. But being able to conveniently subvert technology because of a strong, well apparently "promise," just seems a little too far-fetched, like the moon creature in Kill the Moon. I feel that this kind of Achilles Heel really detracts from the air of the Cybermen, and it's a pity too, I do wish they'd explore some of the ideas behind the Cybermen, such as their ability to be completely unified, equal and ubiquitous yet lacking in individuality. As it stands, I think the best Moffat-era Cybermen story is probably "Nightmare in Silver," which suffered heavily in itself for other reasons.

I wasn't fond of what was happening on "Boat one" either, the two guards behind Missy were pretty incompetent, for one thing. But then there was Osgood's death, and it just felt like it was put in just to make a point about Missy's own villainy, which really wasted Osgood's potential for develop. I guess some would like it for that reason, but I didn't. Finally, there's the whole "Good Man" arc, and ehh...was it really just to reaffirm what we all knew anyways? I guess it makes a point about how far the Doctor might have gone during Trenzalore, but still, I don't know if it was really worth it.

Blimey, did I blab on with negativity, I don't want to sound like a moaner, because I do like Doctor Who, and I did like the finale to a point, it just fell short here and because it was the grand end of Series 8, I feel it had more of an impact because of it. Speaking of which, Series 8 overall. It was pretty good, looking back, I did have quite a few mehs, but I think Capaldi's done brilliantly. When this began, I hoped it'd topple Series 5 as my favourite of NuWho, but I don't think it has, Series 5 I feel, is more consistent in its goodness, and it began and ended strongly, while Series 8 has ended with a bit of a meh for me. Here's hoping Series 9 will build on what went well this series, and outdo Series 5.

So, with that, let's wait for December 25th, and see what happens now.
 
I'm not sure how, but I recall already knowing that. I'm glad Jenna stayed. I remember David Tennant saying that leaving the show was either the best or the worst decision he made in his life.

Jenna's change of heart also sort of explains the weirdness of this Christmas's episode. Sort of.
 
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