| Author | Message | ||
     Barbara Roden (Nebuly) Username: Nebuly Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 216.232.189.136 |
Anyone in Blighty (or elsewhere) catch this yesterday? Through the miracle of modern technology we were all able to sit down and watch it last night. I enjoyed the look of the show - when it comes to recreating a historical period, you can't beat the Beeb - and I thought David Morrissey as 'the other Doctor' did a good job with a role that was a bit of a cipher for much of the show. Tennant seemed a little on auto pilot for much of the running time (not one but two instances of him saying 'I am so sorry' to people?), and companion Rosita was definitely underwritten - really, she might as well not have been there for a lot of the time - but Dervla Kirwan as Miss Hargitson was excellent, and the shaggy Cybermen were certainly novel. And I liked the steampunk ending, although my favourite moment came when Tennant explained to Morrissey who he was and how he had his (Tennant's) memories; nice to see all the incarnations of the Doctor, from Hartnell through Eccleston. Plus Morrissey's versions of things like the sonic screwdriver and the TARDIS were fun. All in all, a good episode for Christmas Day, considering the different aims of a one-off show designed for Crimble viewing, as opposed to something part of a larger, darker whole, although I preferred last year's 'Voyage of the Damned', which had a better storyline and more vivid supporting characters (plus I'm a sucker for anything involving the Titanic). | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.159.82.2 |
Not watched this year's yet, but I REALLY didn't like last year's. Will report back when we've seen it, although we have to watch Wallace & Gromit first, of course! | ||
| Steve Bacon (Stevebacon) Username: Stevebacon Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 90.209.220.53 |
Haven't yet seen the Dr Who special. But I thought the Wallace and Gromit episode was superb! A brilliant return. How many in-jokes did you spot? | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.0.112.152 |
W&G is genius. So is The Royle Family. | ||
| John Llewellyn Probert (John_l_probert) Username: John_l_probert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 90.203.130.71 |
I really liked it, thought it a far better effort than last year's rather silly Titanic episode, and the best Xmas episode they've ever done. This had far more of what I want from Dr Who - cybermen killing vicars in snow-strewn Victorian graveyards and a completely crackpot central idea (let's have Dr Who in a balloon battling the most enormous cyberman ever) rendered almost believable. Murray Gold's music is still far too intrusive but who cares when you've got Dervla Kirwan. In her red dress, black leather gloves, bloodstained lips and spouting lines like 'Here comes another man to take away my self-respect during the hours of darkness' (or something like that) I found her the sexiest thing in Dr Who ever. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.44.101.171 |
But Wallace and Gromit was fucked! Bloody Eastenders overran by ten minutes and chopped the end off it. Why did we opt to watch a recording later? Why didn't we just watch the bloody thing? To rub salt in the wound it's not even on Replay...  | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.152.215.184 |
A friend of mine said that that giant robot at the end of /i{Doctor Who} was like something out of /i{Wallace & Gromit}. The first half was better than the second. How exciting to see Tom Baker's face in new Who! I'm vaguely dissatisfied with Nick Park's work since The Wrong Trousers. He seems so conservative, so unwilling to take risks. | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.152.215.184 |
Why didn't my italics work? | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.44.101.171 |
Me too, Proto. The mad wonder of their first (the moon one) has never been attempted again. This last Who showed me the show currently has glass walls that it's buffering against. I'm starting to feel claustrophobic watching it. Enjoyed it, but kept recalling batter eps, my mind wandering. Weirdly, I enjoyed the Survivors finale much more - ace fun it was, with the whole family shouting 'Kill him, kill him!' in unison, when Tom was chasing that Tony Hadley lookie-likie with the gun. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.44.101.171 |
Wonder if it was meant to be Tony Hadley? That would have been great. | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.152.215.184 |
Yes, it's beginning to feel like a template. Swap Tennant, give the TARDIS a major makeover (why not set a full episode inside it?) and change the tone of the show, I think. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.44.101.171 |
Swap Tennant for any random person, make the Tardis SMALL inside, and have all the adventures take place in history with no monsters.  | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.44.101.171 |
Make the tardis only a little bit bigger inside, like a shed or front room. | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.152.221.243 |
Make it smaller on the inside? | ||
| Simon Bestwick (Simon_b) Username: Simon_b Registered: 10-2008 Posted From: 86.24.165.182 |
Make Dawn French the Doctor's new companion? Finally got to see this episode today- on my laptop, tucked up in bed with hot water bottles as the &%*!ing central heating chose last night to pack up. Very cold. Not good. But the episode was. It had to be an improvement on last year's, which I thought was truly a steaming pile of half-digested llama guts (sorry Barbara!) But it rocked, I thought. Dervla Kirwan- see Lord P's comments above. Cybermen- always cool. Steampunk-ish giant killer robot- yay! The dreaded cheese, treacle and schmaltz did turn up in the final reel, unfortunately, but nowhere near as badly as in last year's. All in all, though, RTD seems to have gone out on a high. | ||
| Barbara Roden (Nebuly) Username: Nebuly Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 216.232.189.136 |
He hasn't quite gone yet; he has four special episodes to write, to air in 2009, before handing over to Steven Moffat for 2010. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 79.70.66.42 |
The Christmas episode that was screened last year was not the greatest (read for steaming pile - Simon). This year's one was okay - but there is so much left to offer with the Christmas specials yet and until either Simon Moffat can come up with the goods or one of us gets to write it - it doesn't get to live up to its true potential. Is it just me or can there be more to this... | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.74.96.200 |
I enjoyed. As has been said above, pretty much just the job for its intended audience. These cybermen still aren't as scary as the old mob, though. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.157.50.168 |
Got to see Wallace and Gromit. Tired, sadly. Seen it all, as in Who. Do a Bourne on their asses I say, a la Bond! | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.242.126 |
I missed WHO and wasn't bothered. Ordered an old Tom Baker era DVD instead... | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.0.112.152 |
W&G was great, Tony. Loved it. They're national treasures. They don't need reinventing. In any case, they had fun with Wallace in the Were-Rabbit film, which had me laughing like mad. Utterly crackers (with cheese). | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.0.112.152 |
Am I alone in finding Gromit quite a moving character? He never speaks; it's all conveyed via facial expressions. He's like a poochy version of Victor Meldrew's wife - the patient, devoted companion; the great fixer. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.157.50.168 |
Yes. And Wererabbit is excellent. | ||
| John Llewellyn Probert (John_l_probert) Username: John_l_probert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.253.174.81 |
I loved The Wrong Trousers and still don't think anything has matched it. Extra points here for those who know the Bristol-based Wallace & Gromit connection with Dr Who (it was the first in-joke in the Xmas day special) | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.157.50.168 |
I agree - Wrong Trousers has just such a good atmosphere, such a great texture, and genuine invention. Nothing Park has done has matched that train set chase, or Penguin as the best villain. This last one is just a remake of Shave. | ||
| John Llewellyn Probert (John_l_probert) Username: John_l_probert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.253.174.81 |
Ok that's long enough to think about the in-joke. Bob Baker (with Dave Martin) wrote The Claws of Axos, The Three Doctors & other Pertwee-era stories. He also co-writes the Wallace & Gromit scripts. And the first victim on Xmas day was Baker Bob. I wish I could say I need to get out more but the sad fact is I probably get out too much. | ||
| Jonathan (Jonathan) Username: Jonathan Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 79.77.20.28 |
Who Christmas special was alright but it was a bit by the numbers. My favourite one is still the Sycorax episode. That felt like it actually meant something to the series as a whole. The Runaway Bride also had that utterly ace TARDIS/car chase scene. Shame about the huge spider not being able to do not much more than sway threatningly though. Voyage of the Damned was just too much RTD wish-fullfilment. Not a fan of Kylie and this ep was just too long. Although usually I quite rate RTD. | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.152.200.74 |
Which Baker one did you order, Zed? My fave is Pyramids of Mars. Isn't it good that popular entertainment is evolving? That even though there are sequels and remakes, they are beginning to "Bourne" things up or reboot things rather than trundle on.. | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.152.200.74 |
I figured out why Christmas movies are so important to us... | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.152.200.74 |
Christmas is the only time of year when virtually all of society stops simultaneously and we can divest ourselves of our everyday roles. Even the most unimaginative adult is allowed to roleplay, to play games. By stopping our lives, we can step outside them, hover over them. Christmas movies function almost like a catalogue, reminding us how infinite the possibilities of our lives are, how much freedom we actually have. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.0.112.152 |
And they're mostly repeats... | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.152.200.74 |
The message bears repeating, I think. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.157.50.168 |
I've just been to see a totally girlie film and absolutely LOVED it; Twilight. It made vampires seem new, and was so earnest and innocent it worked. An awkward, beautiful, utterly pure joy. | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.159.152.164 |
I finally watched the Christmas Dr Who episode last night and I enjoyed it. It wasn't up to the standard of the best Who episodes, but it was a bloody sight better than the worst, and a lot better than last year's effort with the Titanic. | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.159.152.164 |
...oh and they still had a 'companion' talking Estuary English - "DokTA"! | ||
| Gcw (Gcw) Username: Gcw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.145.240.86 |
Yeah! - Cor blimey! David Morrissey was very good, though with the casting of Matt Smith, it is all too clear that Morrissey, as a 'traditional' Doctor figure was just a red herring. ..And it felt a little mocking...I dunno, maybe it was me, almost like..."You didn't raelly think you would get a Doctor like the old days did you daddyo...?" I reckon Matt Smith will be very good. Doctor Who R.I.P. Long Live Doctor Who! Why do I feel like I am losing 'Who? gcw | ||
| Joel (Joel) Username: Joel Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 91.110.175.65 |
Who's losing 'Who'? Is it me? Is it you? Is there anything we can do? Sorry, I get these 80s flashbacks occasionally. The doctor's given me a prescrisption and told me to take... on... me... | ||
| Simon Bestwick (Simon_b) Username: Simon_b Registered: 10-2008 Posted From: 86.24.165.182 |
Well, however gloomy things get, Joel, there's always the telly. Believe me. The sun always shines on TV. I'll get me coat... | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.0.112.152 |
Is Joel's doctor Gary Linekar? | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.74.96.200 |
Doc-Doc-Doctor Beat, I suspect. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.161.253.10 |
'Why do I feel like I am losing 'Who?' Because you are now older than Doctor Who. | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.152.201.50 |
Oh God. | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.74.96.200 |
Holy shite. And he's over 800 years old . . . no wonder my back hurts. |