Doctor Who — Page 5

The episode was okay, as you said.  It felt like a lot was cut out for time - I mean, when did Amy record the message of herself?  Why was that kid at the beginning sent to the whale for a bad test score?  Or did he figure out about the whale, or what?  Plus the name "smiler" came out of fucking NOWHERE.

On the plus side, I like Smith more every time I see him.  "No bloody HUMAN has anything to say to me today!" sent chills up my spine.  Oh, he can do Angry Doctor very well.

And Amy is already my favorite companion since series 1.

I assumed that Amy had already been to the booth to vote and when she pressed forget she forgot, Liz then reset the booth to prove there was something fishy going on.

Sending Timmy to the tummy was a rum deal but I guess they had to keep the population down and compliant so they must of thought the ability to fill in a test paper and obey orders was a good way of weeding out potential boat rockers early.

I suppose they are called 'Smilers" as a nod to the Chelsea/Glasgow Smiler playground meme that scared the crap out us kids in the seventies.

Which had it's origin in this practice :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasgow_smile

However they did smile when you behaved so it may just be that.

It's more that the name "smiler" is just mentioned out of nowhere in the episode, and if you hadn't been keeping up on Doctor Who news/rumors, you wouldn't know what the hell he was talking about.  I know my buddy I watched the episode (only his second) with had no idea who the Smilers were by the end of the episode, just that there were those "creepy fortune-teller thingies everywhere," and there was "something else called Smilers that we never saw."

I guess that explanation about Timmy makes sense, I just didn't feel it gelled with the rest of the episode very well.

If you want to remain spoiler free don't click here, there be plungers!

http://ehyfpw.blu.livefilestore.com/y1px6Dm1RUN81xoH7OArg0_ZbrpUY7kbeNhRgfaLbP3e2T-6-l19jWqutFEOTdnHu4NZazHO9edsamB8z1mvthR-v_38_fkiion/mainImage%20montage.jpg

The BBC Archive has released some interesting documents about the show:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/changingwho/10302.shtml

Yeah, but worse than that the story for Victory Of The Daleks was hardly existent.

Nice start...rather like Power Of The Daleks but the second half became just a reveal for the new toy range.

http://www.private-eye.co.uk/sections.php?section_link=eye_tv&

It needed to be a two parter really and it would have been a better twist if the first set of Daleks really were helping and didn't know what they were until the Doctor reminded them.

It would have also made more sense if the Daleks set the bomb off straight away causing a huge mess in space time which the Doctor would have to fix explaining the cracks.

In terms of design the new ones look hunch-backed, rickety and somewhat  inflatable.

The head is too small for the new bigger bodies which are too conical and the lizard eye looks really naff.

I've seen better fan designs and it goes to show what an amazing job that Raymond Cusick did back in 1963.

http://cathoderaytube.blogspot.com/2008/11/designing-who-streamlining-and-avant_8340.html

The whole business with the guy in the Threepio waist coat was painfully bad and how they managed to turn Spitfires into X-wings in 5 mins was baffling.

Matt Smith is still great though.

The latest episode is clearly the best yet and such an opening (Dr Song reminded me of Blake's 7's Sevalan only with more hair).

But why did the BBC have to do this (not to me we didn't get it in Scotland)?

(don't watch if you want to avoid spoilers but if you have seen the trailer you would have seen the end already).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GspzbY1iYO8

Is Graham Norton the Doctor's true nemesis?

He interrupted the first transmission of Rose (the first Doctor Who episode in nine years) too and when Eurosong comes back he will interrupt the flow of the show for a whole week.

This wouldn't really count as revenge either...

I noticed something on re-watching The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone.

WARNING - FLESH AND STONE SPOILERS!!!

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In Flesh and Stone, pay attention to the Doctor when he leaves Amy in the woods with the clerics.

His jacket has been taken by the Angels before he entered the forest.  He has to leave Amy, and tells her he'll be back.  He leaves with River and the Bishop/whatever.  Amy says something like "You always say that."

Then the Doctor returns ... but he's acting completely different, worriedly looks back the way he just left ... and he's wearing his jacket.  He asks her what he told her when she was 7, she says she doesn't remember and asks what it was.  He gets a pained look on his face, kisses her forehead, and says that isn't the point - she has to remember.  Then he leaves.

The next scene is of the Doctor, River, and the Bishop walking toward the flight deck as if the Doctor hadn't paused to talk to Amy a second time at all.  And he doesn't have his jacket.

I think it's because he didn't.  The jacketed Doctor is the Doctor from the finale.  Remember River showing the Doctor how to land the TARDIS silently?  He used this information to talk to Amy without her realizing that he's just shown up from his/her future.

Also, note that in The Eleventh Hour, at the end, 7-year-old Amy looks up and smiles when the TARDIS sound is heard, as if she hears the Doctor returning.  We then see 21-year-old Amy wake up in her bed.  I assumed at the time that 7-year-old Amy was a dream at this point ... but what if she wasn't?  What if the Doctor actually came back to her when she was 7, but, because of the effect of the Cracks, she doesn't remember?

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SPOILERS END.

I think this season is going to turn out to have a much more well-constructed overall story arc than the last four have.  Obviously, this remains to be seen, but based on the fact that I'm so carefully picking it apart in the first five episodes of the season (which would have been impossible in the last four seasons), I feel like it's much more well-planned-out.

There have been a number of similar situations noted by some fans perhaps the finale will reveal that almost everything we see is not happening quite the way it seems.

Slience has fallen but only one more day before the big bang.

What did the Doctor say to Amelia when she was seven...I wonder? 

Last week's cliffhanger was the most intense cliffhanger I've ever seen.  It elevated a somewhat-choppy (in the first half) episode to near perfection.

It's been a long week ...

This season as it currently stands (for me), from best to worst:

1. Amy's Choice
2. The Eleventh Hour
3. The Pandorica Opens (position dependent upon how good The Big Bang is)
4. The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone
5. Vincent and the Doctor
6. The Beast Below
7. The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood
8. The Lodger
   
9. The Vampires of Venice
10. Victory of the Daleks

Oh, and has anyone here played City of the Daleks (the first Adventure Game)?  What did you think?  I'm waiting for the US version as I'm too computer-illiterate to deal with proxies ...

Personally I'd nudge The Lodger up a rung on the top ten (the revelation of the thing at the top of the stairs lifted that episode into something genuinely odd) it was like a punch the air moment that then pulled the rug away (in an interesting way) otherwise I'd agree with your assessment of the series.

I'm waiting for the Mac version of the games before I play them (looking forward to Cybermen in Scotland are the villains going to do all the regions, Will it be Zarbi in my kitchen?).

1. The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang
2. Amy's Choice
3. The Eleventh Hour
4. The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone
5. Vincent and the Doctor
6. The Beast Below
7. The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood
8. The Lodger
9. The Vampires of Venice
10. Victory of the Daleks

Final rankings for the season.

Seems like Moffat has a multi-season story arc planned for us ...

SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN'T SEEN THE FINALE!!!

... since he didn't explain who caused the TARDIS to explode, what the "Silence" is, and who/what River Song truly is.  Interesting.

And I'm glad that Rory seems to be joining as a permanent companion - he's my favorite since the revival, for sure.

But my question is: is he still Auton-Rory, or is he human again?

SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN"T SEEN THE FINALE!!!

I think he is human Rory again but with the memories of being Auton Rory as these would have been pulled from Amy's memory too.

It would be interesting to see how much of this is a new universe, has anything changed?

It was great wasn't it?

Nice to have a story that was totally unpredictable and yet made sense (within the context of the universe it was in).

I'm glad to have some things carry over into the future of the show (it gives me hope that the show has a future with the pressures that the BBC will now be under).

The Dalek seemed more scared of Dr Song than the other Doctor and she seemed to revel in giving it some.

Fez!

Bingowings said:

It would be interesting to see how much of this is a new universe, has anything changed?

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the multi-coloured Daleks are re-designed/re-coloured again for the next season!

But I just hope the makers don't get carried away again...

Personally, I'd rather the Daleks went back to being more along these lines again.  All of them black and sinister -

Bring the 'real' ones back for the Christmas special!  Who do I write? ;)

The Black Dalek is traditionally in a leadership role (think Vader) the gray and blue were the grunts of the Dalek world.

I wish we got to see these guys in action.

I fear the hunchbacks are going to be with us for some time.

I rather liked the Steampunk Dalek.

Like the Stone Dalek it should only be used when the story required it (like the undelivered promise of the Deco Dalek in the disappointing, Daleks In Manhattan).

Sure, although I like the idea of an all-black force, with perhaps a differently shaped 'Emperor'/leader version, I'd certainly be happy to just see the silver versions re-instated.

I guess those who decided on the new look let their judgement get a little skewed for the sake of change (and further merchandising possibilities).  But it's the 'hunched-back' aspect of these new primary-coloured dodgems for the sake of the operators inside that really jars for me.  Totally ruins the overall look of the things.

Whatever happened to suffering for the art anyway?  In the old days, it was a badge of honour to be inside one of them, regardless of the discomfort!

The Stone Dalek didn't look as fake as the rest of the iDalek squad.

We still don't know what that hatch in the back is for either.

I don't mind them being bigger so much but the should have made the head proportionally bigger too and avoided comparisons with a rubber nipple.

I know the old joke,

Q "How many Doctor Who fans does it take to change a light bulb?"

A "Change?"

but these new boys are just stupid looking, even more so than the new look Silurians.

Bingowings said:

The Stone Dalek didn't look as fake as the rest of the iDalek squad.

We still don't know what that hatch in the back is for either.

I don't mind them being bigger so much but the should have made the head proportionally bigger too and avoided comparisons with a rubber nipple.

I know the old joke,

Q "How many Doctor Who fans does it take to change a light bulb?"

A "Change?"

but these new boys are just stupid looking, even more so than the new look Silurians.

I've read randomly they're bringing the Yeti back. No clue if it's true. Would like it if the Sea Devils returned. Hey check out my Doctor Who preservation thread.

If "They're bringing back X" rumors were true even 50% of the time, Paul McGann would have returned at least twice every season.  I wouldn't hold my breath for the return of the Yeti.

ChainsawAsh said:

If "They're bringing back X" rumors were true even 50% of the time, Paul McGann would have returned at least twice every season.  I wouldn't hold my breath for the return of the Yeti.

I really should get around to watching The TV Movie and listen to the Big Finish audioplays for McGann.

The story for the TVM was a bit poor but the Tardis looked great and poor Sylvester never felt more right than in his few moments tinkering around inside the old girl.

The Big Finish audios are a bit of a mixed bag for McGann, some are really,really good some are really,really silly.

Paul would have made a great on screen Doctor though.

As much as I loved The Lonely Angel Of The North I wish they could have brought back Paul for the 2005 series and had him regenerate into Tennant.

C3PX said: Just realizing I have never even seen the tiniest bit of Dr. Who. I have wanted to introduce myself to it, but really, the quantity is just down right over whelming. Seems like we have some old time Dr. Who fans around. Any good suggestions for an entry point? Don't have a whole ton of time on my hands to watch TV, so I won't be takeling anything season by season. Perhaps some of the movies I should check out? Or maybe some really excellent story arc from one of the older seasons that should not be missed?

Being a show about Time Travel I suggest a bit of time travel may be the best way to enter into the Whoniverse.

Try and get hold of the latest series (season to our American cousins) and if you were suitably interested you can hop back and forth at your leisure.

If you want recommendations for past stories I'll list a few in posts covering each Doctor as and when I get time (I may have to split Tom's epic run into two as he stayed the longest)

First Doctor.

An Unearthly Child (well at least the first episode as this is where it all began television wise) the story that follows on from it is a bit on the dull side but the basics are all there back in 1963.

The Daleks, drags a bit for modern tastes but it explains much of the history of the iconic pepperpots. (listen out for William Hartnell fluffing his lines about anti-radiation drugs)

Edge Of Destruction, designed as lower than the average low budget filler episodes they actually play out as a really disturbing piece of avant-garde theatre, and mark a turning point in the development of The Doctor's character from creepy anti-hero to friendly hero.

^All three of those stories are available in a single DVD box set.

The Aztecs, nice little period piece here outlining the dangers of drinking Cocoa and playing God.

The Dalek Invasion Of Earth. Epic on a shoestring is the mantra of the show and while this may seem clunky to modern eyes this was made when the blitz and the fear of Nazi invasion were fresh in the memory of some viewers. Check out the Robomen setting the style of speech later favoured by the Gumbys off Monty Python's Flying Circus and the true reason why the Doctor keeps picking up young girls to travel with.

The Romans, another nice period piece it also proves that nuGalactica was far from the first show to make bold narrative time leaps.

The Time Meddler, I shan't say much other than if you are going to watch any William Hartnell stories don't miss this one, not so much for the story, which is fine enough but for the first glimpse of the background of the Doctor and what he is.

The Ark, another clever bit of format twisting and time leaping here. What starts off as a conventional story gets a odd twist half-way through (2yrs before something similar happens in Planet Of The Apes).

I'd recommend The Tenth Planet but thanks to the BBC's policy of junking old shows a large chunk of it is missing, this is particularly annoying as the story introduces the Cybermen and the concept of regeneration. Also junked was the next story Power Of The Daleks which served as the first story for Pat Troughton's Doctor and one of the creepiest Dalek stories too. Thankfully due to fans all junked episodes exist in soundtrack form and what material remains has been released so you can at least see the first regeneration.