Topic: New Doctor Who (Read 59183 times)

Thad · « **Reply #201 on:** December 27, 2009, 11:15:38 AM »

Also: [spoiler]the drums from season 3 and the heartbeat from season 4 ARE the same thing.[/spoiler]

Misha · « **Reply #202 on:** December 27, 2009, 06:49:31 PM »

I felt like there was way too much random shit going on. [spoiler]An out of the blue Saxon cult? Some ridiculous rich man and his caricature spoiled daughter randomly have alien super tech, also there's green aliens there for some reason and the old man has visions and is special and also has a bunch of old sidekicks. there was also the ood and the time lords thing, which I can forgive because of the whole 10th doctor finale that's been all foreshadowed up until now, but it still served to make me feel like they just crammed as many different things into one episode as they could. [/spoiler]

Niku · « **Reply #203 on:** December 27, 2009, 08:04:53 PM »

Exaaaactly.

Thad · « **Reply #204 on:** December 29, 2009, 05:45:26 AM »

Rich Johnston has some fan art related to the ending of the episode. (Which of course means spoilers, but I expect by now everyone reading the thread has seen it.)

Thad · « **Reply #205 on:** December 30, 2009, 04:11:37 PM »

io9 has Bingo cards.

Thad · « **Reply #206 on:** January 02, 2010, 11:43:42 AM »

Weeeeeelllll that was probably the best-case episode, under the circumstances. Yeah, it was over-the-top Rusty spectacle followed by maudlin, too-long, cameo-heavy Rusty goodbye sequence, but it could have been a damn sight worse. Think of all the zany theories floating around over the last week: [spoiler]Wilf's a Time Lord, Timothy Dalton is the Master's father and Claire Bloom is the Doctor's mother...[/spoiler] Yeah, we got off light. I didn't get a bingo (I got [spoiler]"Memory wipes, all around!", "Grandiose name for regular object", "Allons-y", "Previously unseen Time Lord powers", "Weepy Doctor", "Deus Ex Machina", "Gay agenda", and "Timothy Dalton is a classic series Time Lord"[/spoiler], and probably could have checked off "I'm sorry...I'm so sorry" even though he just said "I'm sorry" once). Hell, he didn't even [spoiler]bring back Gallifrey permanently or find some new way to breach the barrier to Rose's parallel universe[/spoiler], both of which I would have put good money on. Even [spoiler]Donna was a red herring and didn't really do anything[/spoiler]. By RTD's standards, this was downright restrained. And yes, I am referring to the Doctor [spoiler]jumping out of a spaceship with a gun and crashing through a skylight[/spoiler] as "restrained". It's all relative.

I suppose the big nagging question is [spoiler]Who is The Woman? All she says is that she was lost long ago, and then when they ask the Doctor about her, he looks at Donna. So uh okay is she actually Donna and how is that possible? Of course "lost long ago" could be a reference to Romana, too; per the radio series, she was President during the Eighth Doctor era, which would mean Rassilon defeated her. She could even be Susan, though I think that's a stretch -- she wasn't lost; the Doctor left her behind intentionally.[/spoiler]

Anyway, pretty much a fitting end to the RTD run, warts and all.

And the closing moments, [spoiler]the birth of the new Doctor,[/spoiler] were lovely and left me cheering. But of course that's because [spoiler]Moffat wrote them[/spoiler].

Series 5 trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=299Q6HF7NlA&feature=player_embedded

Weeping Angels AND fencing vampires? I'm there. ~~Allons-y~~ GERONIMOOOOOOOOO!

LaserBeing · « **Reply #207 on:** January 02, 2010, 08:48:18 PM »

Just saw it. Better than I had dared to hope! Even [spoiler]the obligatory farewell scene with Rose, which I was dreading,[/spoiler] was handled with uncharacteristic restraint. Then again I am sort of a big sap and I eat that maudlin shit up with a spoon.

Quote from: Thad on January 02, 2010, 11:43:42 AM

I suppose the big nagging question is [spoiler]Who is The Woman? All she says is that she was lost long ago, and then when they ask the Doctor about her, he looks at Donna. So uh okay is she actually Donna and how is that possible? Of course "lost long ago" could be a reference to Romana, too; per the radio series, she was President during the Eighth Doctor era, which would mean Rassilon defeated her. She could even be Susan, though I think that's a stretch -- she wasn't lost; the Doctor left her behind intentionally.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]The first thing I thought was Susan, or possibly her mother who I don't think we've ever actually seen (Romana would probably make more sense, but I don't give a shit about Romana). Then the bit at the end with Donna sort of threw me off; could it be that Donna at some point remembers everything, but instead of dying becomes part Time Lord again and gains access to a regeneration cycle of her own? But then why would she be hanging out with Rassilon? And for that matter, what is Rassilon doing as Lord President? Shouldn't he be dead or inside a black hole or wherever the fuck he buggered off to? Stupid wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff. Also there were two dissenters to the "kill everything" plan, The Woman and someone else, who I'm sure isn't inconsequential either.[/spoiler] ARGH I HATE WAITING I WANT TO KNOW NOW

At any rate, this certainly isn't the last we've seen of Tennant, or at least heard of him. Radio series, allons-y!

Niku · « **Reply #208 on:** January 02, 2010, 11:11:20 PM »

I liked it a lot better than last week's episode!

and am basically now chomping at the damn bit. :(

Bal · « **Reply #209 on:** January 03, 2010, 01:00:10 AM »

Overall liked it. Loved the Master's [spoiler]rage at discovering that the drumming that has tortured him his entire life was intentionally caused by the future Time Lords[/spoiler].

Final impression, very sad to be losing David Tennent just as Moffat is taking over. I say with no reservation that Tennent is my favorite Doctor, even surpassing Tom Baker at this point.

Thad · « **Reply #210 on:** January 04, 2010, 06:46:31 PM »

io9 has a neat little rundown of the mysteries the finale left open (spoilers of course). The writer, by his own admission, reads WAY too much Key to Time into the whole affair, but there are some interesting theories along the way.

[spoiler]Prevailing theory is that the Woman is the Doctor's mother, and that he looked from Donna's mother to her to indicate the relationship between them. The Susan theory is also represented, suggesting that he looked from WILF to Donna.[/spoiler]

I also quite like the idea that the Ood are evolving into a new race of Time Lords.

At any rate, Davies left Moffat a lot of toys to play with, and I expect he'll pick a few up yet. At any rate, Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead made more hints at the Doctor's pre-Doctor personal life than pretty much anything else ever has, so he'd be a reasonable pick if we're going to find out more about [spoiler]the Doctor's mother[/spoiler].

Onward and upward: Bleeding Cool takes a look at a few key frames from the trailer for season 5. And makes an observation about Smith.

Quote from: LaserBeing on January 02, 2010, 08:48:18 PM

At any rate, this certainly isn't the last we've seen of Tennant, or at least heard of him. Radio series, allons-y!

Tennant already pointed out at Comic-Con that the 50th Anniversary is in '13 and would be a logical point for him to return. He quickly backpedaled and said there were no plans to that effect, but I'd really give it pretty good odds. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if all the surviving Doctors were onboard for a return, given that Tom Baker's finally started doing radio shows, making Eccleston the last holdout and for God's sake he appeared in The Dark is Rising and GI Joe so it's not as if he's really particular about his roles.

I read a Moffat interview awhile back where he said he wasn't going to bring back previous Doctors unless there was a good plot reason to do so, but I'm sure he could cook one up. Time Crash made for a good, what, eight minutes with one previous Doctor; I'm sure he could cook up a good 90 minutes with 7 of them.

Plus, certain things are just obligatory. He's already doing a Dalek episode, after all.

Quote from: Bal on January 03, 2010, 01:00:10 AM

I say with no reservation that Tennent is my favorite Doctor, even surpassing Tom Baker at this point.

Hm. I'd say mine probably goes Baker > Tennant > Eccleston > Pertwee > McCoy > Troughton > Davison > Hartnell > other Baker. (Can't really make a call on McGann from his one appearance; I haven't checked out his radio serials, aside from the Shada remake.) But there's wiggle room.

Bal · « **Reply #211 on:** January 04, 2010, 10:17:05 PM »

I think Baker is only surpassed because Tennant's writers were so much better. I love both their personalities, but Tennant really got the opportunity to shine whereas Baker only had a few standout episodes, with the rest being monster of the week affairs.

Thad · « **Reply #212 on:** January 06, 2010, 04:41:24 PM »

Probably true; I've seen some pretty poor and by-the-numbers Baker (detailed in the Old Who thread). Then again, Tennant had that goddamn traffic jam one.

To wit: Den of Geek gives us Who's writing Doctor Who series 5?

Quote

Firstly, Steven Moffat has already revealed that he'll be writing six episodes of the new series, which will include, we'd wager, the series opener and the final two or three episodes.

Quote

One of those at least is being taken by Gareth Roberts (Planet Of The Dead, The Unicorn & The Wasp).

Quote

And Blogtor Who has picked up the story that Mark Gatiss, who previously wrote The Idiot's Lantern and The Unquiet Dead, has been signed up for a story too.

Royal☭ · « **Reply #213 on:** January 06, 2010, 06:31:36 PM »

Need to get Paul Cornell to do more. He's the guy who wrote Father's Day. He also does novels and some of the comics.

Niku · « **Reply #214 on:** January 06, 2010, 09:30:04 PM »

HUNGRYYYYYYYYYYYYY

Thad · « **Reply #215 on:** January 07, 2010, 05:01:24 PM »

Bleeding Cool has the final list -- Moffat's doing twice as much as Den of Geek figured; just about half the season.

Quote

Steven Moffat, showrunner, grabs six of the episodes, including the two part with Weeping Angels and the return of the Doctor’s possible future wife, River Song.

Mark Gatiss, who wrote The Idiot’s Lantern brings us the World War II Daleks episode, mainstay Gareth Roberts writes one, Richard Curtis does the Vincent Van Gogh one, Toby Whithouse does the Venice vampire one, Chris Chibnall, I know I know, calm down, calm down, writes two, including the Silurian/Sea Devils episode, and creator of Men Behaving Badly and So How Do You Want Me writes one.

Niku · « **Reply #216 on:** January 07, 2010, 05:03:58 PM »

AND THEN RUSSEL T. DAVIES DOES THE FINALE!

Thad · « **Reply #217 on:** January 07, 2010, 05:18:56 PM »

Okay, since I don't know most of these people by name:

Richard Curtis: Blackadder, Mr. Bean, Four Weddings and a Funeral
Toby Whithouse: School Reunion
Chris Chibnall: 42, co-producer of Torchwood (and writer of some not-very-good episodes)
Simon Nye is the creator of Men Behaving Badly and How Do You Want Me, whose name Johnston seems to have forgotten to include in his sentence.

I am totally cool with going for a more comedic approach to Doctor Who. Except that the last time they pitched that idea we wound up with The Unicorn and the Wasp.

Mothra · « **Reply #218 on:** January 07, 2010, 07:25:33 PM »

*huff huff*

Okay! Finally saw this! Was waiting till I was back for Christmas and my dad had some time off so we could nerd out over our favorite show togeths.

I am shocked, but I loved it. Echoing everyone's thoughts on all the random-ass [spoiler]lightning-shooting and cult business and super-rich immortality guy[/spoiler], but it's important to note that none of this made it any less enjoyable to watch. It carried all of RTD's baggage, yeah, but thankfully he knew how to keep things moving, and play up the best bits.

I'm the biggest Simm's fag this side of the Mississippi and the whole sequence where [spoiler]he's giving himself a standing ovation and running out to balconies to This Guyyy the breakdancing hims in the courtyard below[/spoiler] was absolutely magnificent. I was literally laughing out loud, and can't remember the last time something on TV's delighted me so dang much.

Best supervillain plan I can think of, and watching him [spoiler]running every major country and staffing every position in the world[/spoiler] while grinning like a hyena just never stopped being awesome.

Liked Wilfred way more than I expected, too. This is probably the only RTD episode I can think of wherein I enjoyed every character they had in the mix. That scene with the two of them in the diner, and later, on the cactiship, is legitimately good. The man wrote good scenes. I am delighted.

Deus Ex Machina of shooting a machine with a gun was hells of retarded, as it basically presented the Doctor with a harmless catch-all third option that solved everything. I thought the point was to make him choose between taking a life/fixing everything and sticking to his pacifism?

My dad swears that [spoiler]the mystery Time Lord[/spoiler] is the Doctor's mother, but my money's on his wife. I remember him saying something off-hand to Donna about being married once, and it would be in keeping with his glance over at Donna in a wedding gown.

Wish we'd had a little more insight into how the time war worked, but like everyone already said, the whole [spoiler]Time Lord[/spoiler] part of the plot seemed rushed as hell.

Regardless, an all-around enjoyable watch, something I'd be happy to catch again on a rerun. [spoiler]Glad to see Simm didn't die on-screen and will probably be around again. Even if that's it, at least he got a satisfactory death[/spoiler]. He became less cartoonishly evil after he sorta fixed his powers, and I feel like they got their act together on the Master front pretty well after that.

Thad · « **Reply #219 on:** January 07, 2010, 08:18:35 PM »

Quote from: Kabbage on January 07, 2010, 07:25:33 PM

Deus Ex Machina of shooting a machine with a gun was hells of retarded, as it basically presented the Doctor with a harmless catch-all third option that solved everything. I thought the point was to make him choose between taking a life/fixing everything and sticking to his pacifism?

First time Doctor Who's ever done that.

...I'm sure I could slap a link to an episode or serial with a convenient "neither" resolution to a moral quandary on every word in that sentence, but those were the three I thought of offhand. ...hm. All season finales, too.

Then again, I'm a superhero comics fan; the notion of presenting the deep philosophical question of "Can a hero kill?" and then conveniently sidestepping it by having the Green Goblin accidentally impale himself/Joe Chill fall off a scaffolding/somebody else shoot Joe Chill before Bruce gets the chance is old hat to me.

Quote from: Kabbage on January 07, 2010, 07:25:33 PM

My dad swears that [spoiler]the mystery Time Lord[/spoiler] is the Doctor's mother, but my money's on his wife. I remember him saying something off-hand to Donna about being married once, and it would be in keeping with his glance over at Donna in a wedding gown.

Bear in mind the Doctor's original companion was his granddaughter, Susan, so it's been implicit all along that he had a wife and children at some point in his life (unless she wasn't his literal granddaughter). Yeah, the thought of his (estranged?) wife crossed my mind, too.

And of course the thing about Time Lords is that her age doesn't mean anything. The actress's relative age to Tennant, Ward, Ford, etc. is irrelevant to the character's age, because of the various regenerations everybody's experienced over the past 46 years.

Quote from: Kabbage on January 07, 2010, 07:25:33 PM

Wish we'd had a little more insight into how the time war worked, but like everyone already said, the whole [spoiler]Time Lord[/spoiler] part of the plot seemed rushed as hell.

I'm relieved we DIDN'T get more than we did. The Time War has always worked best as a mystery with an occasional clue thrown our way. Spelling it all out would be a mistake.

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Author Topic: New Doctor Who (Read 59183 times)