| Author | Message | ||
     Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.44.101.203 |
Well, this was absolutely ace tonight. I keep expecting the show to fall on it's face, be tired now (especially after the awful Xmas episode), but tonight it totally proved me wrong by being one of the best yet. It didn't rush, it let the characters breath, it was affecting and ... wondrous in a way it hasn't been in a while. Absolutely perfect entertainment - I feel glad to have been born and lived in its lifetime. Now, for the contrary view; up you come, Mark! | ||
| Matthew_fell (Matthew_fell) Username: Matthew_fell Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 216.232.103.134 |
I watched it this afternoon with our son, Tim; and I agree with you that it was well done, even if the Adiposes were a bit daft. Mind, I enjoyed the Christmas Special, too, so I can only give you a contrary view on that. Thank you whoever had it in Torrent format within the hour of it broadcasting in the UK. Christopher | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.44.101.203 |
The monsters were like nothing, really, though fun (and it was fun and refreshing to have such a different, almost 'friendly' monster); I thought it right the new assistant should get the fuss, and the attention. I was talking about it later that night in the pub and how there was more wonder in the talk between Tate and her grandad than in an entire hollywood sci fi blockfest like, say, I Robot. I have a good feeling about this series.  | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.74.96.200 |
I, ROBOT was a good film hidden inside a Hollywood action blockbuster movie. I'm afraid I didn't get on with the new epsidoe of WHO. I tried to like Catherine Tate, I really did. But her performance showed why Chris Carter absolutely made the right choice to keep famous names out of the X-FILES. Bovvered? Yup. But there was good stuff too. It was more kids' TV than TORCHWOOD, obviously, but it still carried enough to enjoy for someone older. I enjoyed the CLOSE ENCOUNTERS spaceship, Bernard Cribbens is never less than likable, and there was sign of growth that the Doc didn't have to do away with the not-very-baddy Sarah Lancashire. I'll watch the rest of the series, of course. Because it's WHO. But the Tate factor carries the same appeal of the Bonnie Langford years, I'm afraid. And what have they done to the great orchestration of the theme tune?! | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.168.56.80 |
...be nice if the next assistant was 'posher', or northern, or anything apart from Estuary, too - I'm getting a little tired of "Dokta!", which is a cry we've heard from all three assistants since Doctor Who came back. "Just say no to glottal stops"... | ||
| Griff (Griff) Username: Griff Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.93.21.100 |
When he said "its against GALACTIC LAW" I lost interest. It keeps promising much but lands flatly on its face with tosh like that. They did the same with The Master and his embarrassing speech in the final episode. Cringe making. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.240.83 |
I thought it was okay - daft, but fun. But isn't that the point? stuff like this is meant to put a smile on your face, and it rarely fails in that respect. It's something I can watch with the family, wich gets the thumb-up from me. So, yeah, me likee. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 79.70.89.50 |
My daughter of course liked the cute monsters - which means the writers should be buttering up for a really frightening one later in the series. Fun - not pretending to be anything else, like Torchwood does. | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 83.98.9.4 |
The Sontarans are back later in the series. The pics in the radio times look quite cool. | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 218.168.194.103 |
Overall, I like the new Doctor Who. It sometimes lacks the sense of gradually unfolding mystery and atmosphere of the old '60s-'70s Who, and obviously it's faster and flashier, but there have been some great episodes. Series 3 was mostly terrific, especially 'Blink' and 'The Family of Blood'. I'd like to see another Scottish assistant - bring back Jamie! | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 83.98.9.4 |
"Fun - not pretending to be anything else, like Torchwood does." I don't think Torchwood pretends to be something else, it tries to be and sometimes succeeds. Sometimes it doesn't. When it does it's a damned fine programme. I wasn't convinced by the final episode. The science regarding the nuclear reator seemed more than a little not quite right and the whole thing with captain Jack's clothes surving 2000 years underground was a little silly. If they'd pulled him nekkid out of the ground and given him one of his spare costumes (as he had crossed his own timeline) it would have solved that one quite nicely. I'm sure he'd have had some psychiatric problems by that point as well but... hey ho. | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.74.96.200 |
Sonic pen? | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 83.98.9.4 |
Not as bad as sarah jane's sonic lipstick in the Sarah Jane adventures... Now that was a badly thought out show. I know it's aimed for the younguns but try to use some kind of narrative logic? how has this housewife got a better computer than Torchwood? Where did all the fabulous equipment she has in her house come from.. | ||
| Matthew_fell (Matthew_fell) Username: Matthew_fell Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 216.232.103.134 |
>>And what have they done to the great orchestration of the theme tune?!<< According to Tim (aged 10): 'I think it's better because they've added additional instruments'. Who am I to argue with that? Christopher | ||
| John_l_probert (John_l_probert) Username: John_l_probert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 90.208.214.26 |
I liked this a lot although obviously I would have been happier with much scarier horrible little fat monsters. Still the only show that leaves me feeling I want to be the main character | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 218.168.194.103 |
What about the new show APPARITIONS? That should have been on by now. Was it any good? With Joe 'ULTRAVIOLET' Ahearne directing, it certainly sounded promising. | ||
| Gcw (Gcw) Username: Gcw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 84.43.122.103 |
Doctor Who - in a nutshell; - Good - Tate, surprisingly OK,good to see they toned her down a bit,...The Surprise Rose at the end....the 'lightness' of it....Bernard Cribbins...The fact that Tate simply doesn't fancy The Doctor is refreshing too. Bad? - the story really was pretty dreadful, but I suspect the good stuff will come later in the series...the first episodes of this 'new, Doctor Who all seem to be pretty crap...they are like a valve amp these series - take time to get warmed up. So...Lets see. gcw | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.74.96.200 |
>>Where did all the fabulous equipment she has in her house come from.. If you ain't got the catalogue, you ain't with the in crowd, hon, and I ain't-a tellin yer. | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.74.96.200 |
>>'I think it's better because they've added additional instruments'. It's logical, hand him that. I'm just gerrin old. | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.74.96.200 |
>>Still the only show that leaves me feeling I want to be the main character Yes! How depressing's this. I mentioned something similar to a guy I know, and he said he'd like to be Garfield. I think, in a sense, with that answer alone, he already is. | ||
| Gcw (Gcw) Username: Gcw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 84.43.122.103 |
>>'I think it's better because they've added additional instruments'. Didn't work for me! Ta-da! gcw | ||
| Griff (Griff) Username: Griff Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.93.21.100 |
"Ta-da!" It'll be the neatly trimmed moustache, blazer and membership of the golf club next. *shakes head* | ||
| Gcw (Gcw) Username: Gcw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 84.43.122.103 |
Join usss Grifff. Pleanty of rrroom for all... gcw | ||
| Albie (Albie) Username: Albie Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.195.236.131 |
Seeing as this was the start of a season, they could have had a better opponent to grab the audience. Chubby gremlins? I would rather have had an Ogron, with seventies special effects. Still, enjoyable enough. Now, over to Cannes for a report on the new slew of films from Zombania. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 82.2.133.184 |
Doctor...who? | ||
| John_l_probert (John_l_probert) Username: John_l_probert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.253.174.81 |
The little monsters would have been much better if they'd looked like that horrid gonk thing from Terror of the Autons | ||
| Albie (Albie) Username: Albie Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.195.236.131 |
Or looked more like true liposuction fluids. Gooey and streaked with blood. | ||
| Griff (Griff) Username: Griff Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.93.21.100 |
"Ogron" Blimey didn't know you read LoneWolf, Albie. | ||
| Albie (Albie) Username: Albie Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.195.236.131 |
I don't. But whoever writes it must be into Dr Who. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogron | ||
| Stu (Stu) Username: Stu Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 86.29.96.160 |
Dr Who is a bit hit and miss for me. This one was a miss. Aimed too much at kids (it's a FAMILY show, not just for the little'uns), Tate still needs to dial down her irritating persona a bit and RTD needs to be told that he isn't the comedy genius he thinks he is. | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.74.96.200 |
>>RTD needs to be told that he isn't the comedy genius he thinks he is. I'm not telling him: he's about 6'3. Leave it to Mick . . . | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.159.156.247 |
Sorted. | ||
| Jonathan (Jonathan) Username: Jonathan Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 79.69.18.162 |
I really liked Season 4's opener. Obviously I'm a bit of a rabid WHO fan but I really don't get why people knock RTD so much. Okay, so sometimes he can get a bit corny but him and his team have made WHO way more sucessful than I ever thought it would be. The fact that kids are excited by Daleks again warms the cockles of my heart. Okay, Saturday's episode though. Fun, I like the fact that the wee monsters weren't vicious. Sarah Lancaster was pretty good but, yes, the Wile E. Coyote fall was a bit silly. Tennant and Tate really gel and Tate was way better than I thought she was going to be. Anyhew, overall I think new WHO is the bollocks. Any series that can produce stories like The Doctor Dances, Human Nature, Blink, and fulfill my dreams of seeing Dalek battle fleets can't be a bad thing. | ||
| Gcw (Gcw) Username: Gcw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 84.43.109.20 |
Yes....But isn't RTD in danger of becoming like JNT in the 80's...Welcome at first but then long overstaying his welcome? Change is everything.. gcw | ||
| Jonathan (Jonathan) Username: Jonathan Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 91.143.178.131 |
I really don't think you can compare the two. Okay, both are gay but that's about it. Story-wise and approach-wise they're very different. JNT was at the helm when the show was at it's least popular and disappearing up its arse. The same can't be said for RTD. I'm also pretty sure that if he thought it was time to move on and that him staying would mean the show going stale, he'd move. | ||
| Stu (Stu) Username: Stu Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 86.29.104.79 |
I dunno, RTD has helped shape the show into something vastly popular but offhand apart from 'Smith and Jones' I can't remember him scripting any specific episodes that were any good. That said, I've missed various episodes and I may just be forgetting some of his better ones. Maybe he should continue working on the show but stop actually writing it. | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 83.98.9.4 |
The RTD episodes are generally the poorest in any season. The Moffat episodes have been consistantly the best | ||
| Jonathan (Jonathan) Username: Jonathan Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 91.143.178.131 |
Gridlocked was superb, I thought that Partners in Crime was really tight and pretty fun. The 1st series climax was brilliantly paced, I though that series 3 climax wasn't as good but Sim was excellent as the master. I really liked Tooth and Claw, and despite the slightly rubbish monster, Love and Monsters was rather sweet. So far, the clangers for me have been - Fear Her 42 The Third Christmas Special (which really was ultra crap) A lot of criticism that has been levelled at RTD is that he's lost some of the dignity of the show or made things too silly. People seem to have forgotten whole swatches of Tom Baker's time on the show, Pertwee doing Venusian Akido, the clown-like nature of Troughton, the bakofoil of the Hartnell era, some of the worst telly in the Colin Baker era and Sylvestor McCoy being rubbish at serious drama. WHO has always been a bit silly. I think some fans just are resistent to the fact that it isn't quite the show they grew up with. And that's fine. At it's heart it's still WHO. The main criticism I have of RTDs writing of late is that some of the Jesus/Doctor symbolism is getting a bit heavy handed. The 'ascension' in the Christmas episode stuck out like a sore thumb. | ||
| Stu (Stu) Username: Stu Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 86.29.104.79 |
Yeah, people (myself included) forget that WHO has a history of being silly but looking at your list you yourself think some of the silly stuff is crap. I think RTD doesn't always have a good sense of when silly = fun and when silly = shite. To be fair the sillyometer varies from person to person so RTD can't always be expected to get it right. And some of the other writers have fallen into the same trap themselves although not necessarily in the same way -- Paul Cornell's WWI story stopped being WHO and turned into a Neil Gaiman story with The Doctor imprisoning people in mirrors etc. Enjoyable but it doesn't feel like WHO. But Cornell glosses over it by making it all dramatic. I had a similar problem with Moffat's 'Girl in the Fireplace' -- enjoyable story but seemed to have been written for the wrong series. And the scene where The Doctor pretends to be drunk is in the same league as RTD's "comedy" stylings. | ||
| Albie (Albie) Username: Albie Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.195.236.131 |
I don't mind silly when there's enough fear in the story. You have to get the recipe right. | ||
| Jonathan (Jonathan) Username: Jonathan Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 91.143.178.131 |
Ah, I loved those two stories. I think the whole idea of defining WHO is also very difficult. You've got over 30 years of a widely varying programme to pick from. At the end of the day, it's about a guy who travels through time and space in a police box. I'm sure that some of the bits I find just silly kids probably love. Didn't think Paul's story felt Neil Gaimany at all. I like both writers immensely but I don't think there's much crossover. Also, some elements of Paul's story were VERY Doctor Who. Scary scarecrows, funky looking ray guns, being very English, great possessed human characters (straight out of Pyramids of Mars). Jessica Hines was stunning in it too. The bit where the Doctor doesn't want to go back to being the Doctor is very powerful. This is the only time in the series where the Jesus parallels have really worked. Girl in the Fireplace is also wonderful. I think the diversity of WHO is what makes it great. When you start trying to think up rules of what it should be that's when the programme falls apart. Something JNT found out. Trial of a Timelord anyone? Yeesh! | ||
| Albie (Albie) Username: Albie Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.195.236.131 |
Mist. Weird noises made by a cheap machine. Quarry. Rubber monster. Power station. Hypno ray. Screaming girls. But enough about my life, let's get back to Dr Who. Guffaw? | ||
| Stu (Stu) Username: Stu Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 86.29.104.79 |
>>Didn't think Paul's story felt Neil Gaimany at all. I was talking specifically about the ending with people getting trapped in mirrors etc, it turned from SF to Fantasy. Although I'm sure there are probably old WHO stories where Fantasy intrudes the series is sold as SF. I realise that WHO has a long and varied history and that much of what is accepted lore today was once stuff that was made up on the hoof -- two hearts, regeneration, Time Lords etc. But I still have a problem with various aspects of new WHO but okay, fine, if they're getting the viewing figures I try not to get too worked up. Still, behind the fanboy joy the writers bring to the series (which in itself isn't necessarily a good thing) there seems a sense of cynicism that goes beyond mere pragmatism. The casting of media-friendly names such as Eccleston, Piper and Tate. The way John Barrowman is in every bloody programme the BBC is currently making. The endless merchandising. I don't know, maybe it was always like that and I'm just too young to realise, coming in as the original series entered its death throes but new WHO sometimes feels pretty souless despite all the emotional histrionics onscreen. Maaybe WHO can't be the programme I want it to be but until the BBC come up with something better it's what I'm stuck with. TORCHWOOD is slowly improving but is still pretty ropey and imho should never have been a WHO spin-off in the first place. God, typing this has got me all depressed. There's never going to be a Britsh SF show I'll like is there? Sob! | ||
| Albie (Albie) Username: Albie Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.195.236.131 |
Welcome to our dried up middle aged grass used to be greener on our side of the fence world of nostalgia torture everything is shit now please kill me fish fingers for tea again mum robot circus Tucker Jenkins' corpse dumped in a fridge by me and I liked it... | ||
| Jonathan (Jonathan) Username: Jonathan Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 91.143.178.131 |
Never fear, American telly is doing good stuff all the time. And it's only a matter of time before Brit genre telly becomes good again. (Bar WHO, which is the nuts IMHO). Jekyll was pretty good, did you catch that? A production company is currently possibly interested in one of our SF novels, so it may only be a matter of time before the show you're looking for arrives. Obviously I'm biased though. I don't think WHO has ever been sold as solid SF (certainly not in the Arthur C. Clarke sense anyway). There's been lots of elements of fantasy, horror, comedy, murder mystery (you name it WHO's done it). For the record I think Ecclestone and Piper were inspired casting and Tate is shaping up really well. You're right about Barrowman though, he's not a leading man and he is on bloody everything at the moment. Barrowman on Ice, Barrowman the Opera, Barrowman the Underpants. Moychandising, moychandising, moychandising. To paraphrase Yogurt from Spaceballs. WHO has always been in to it. Trust me. I have a really shit McCoy toy somewhere at home and back in the late 60s when Dalekmania really took off you couldn't move for the bloody things. But don't be depressed Stu, you can pretty much find good genre stuff wherever you look. My favourite show at the moment is Dexter. I'm loving that. | ||
| Albie (Albie) Username: Albie Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.195.236.131 |
...milkshakes scare me now they're so thick something growing in my face and it's German or Japanese technology all fake and aliens wouldn't bother with us we are too boring Bigby the World's massivest dog Will Hay touched me... | ||
| Albie (Albie) Username: Albie Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.195.236.131 |
...Barrowight in every home now the chips are so small and cheap to reproduce and Ian Brown just seems a dick and thank god Dougherty has been shipped off to Australia with the rest of them and Tom Baker is too pink for TV now I didn't even buy that sci-fi quiz DVD he was in... | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 79.70.30.194 |
Welcome to our dried up middle aged grass used to be greener on our side of the fence world of nostalgia torture everything is shit now please kill me fish fingers for tea again mum robot circus Tucker Jenkins' corpse dumped in a fridge by me and I liked it...milkshakes scare me now they're so thick something growing in my face and it's German or Japanese technology all fake and aliens wouldn't bother with us we are too boring Bigby the World's massivest dog Will Hay touched me...Barrowight in every home now the chips are so small and cheap to reproduce and Ian Brown just seems a dick and thank god Dougherty has been shipped off to Australia with the rest of them and Tom Baker is too pink for TV now I didn't even buy that sci-fi quiz DVD he was in... Had to put that all together Albie - thank God we have you here. | ||
| Stu (Stu) Username: Stu Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 86.29.98.234 |
WHO may not be hard SF but there's usually some sort of (pseudo)scientific explanation for the goings on -- mummies and Yeti are robots, the Loch Ness Monster is an alien creature etc. The trapping someone in a mirror thing was played as Fantasy. I think we'll have to agree to disagree over Eccleston and Piper. Eccleston's normally good but in WHO he was too close to panto for my tastes. As for Piper she had the good fortune to join WHO at the point where the emphasis was put on the companion in order to give new viewers someone to identify with. Pretty much any other time in WHO's history she'd be just another companion and not the love of his life. Imagine if she'd been landed with the lovesick companion role they dumped on Freema Ageyman, she wouldn't have received half the acclaim that she got for playing Rose. As it was the scripts attempted to brainwash the audience into thinking Rose is something special with every other line banging on about how wonderful she is when generally the only thing she did different to any previous companion was to fancy The Doctor. To a large extent it's that constant referencing to how wonderful Rose/The Doctor/the show in general is that gets up my nose. There's an air of smugness about the writing and the acting. Yes, new WHO is getting good ratings, is raising an interest in SF telly and certain elements of the show are very good indeed but the production team seem to think this means they don't have to bother fixing the parts that are bloody awful. That annoys me more than any nostalgic ideas about keeping in line with old school WHO. Ugh, I should probably stop talking about WHO -- I find it so much easier to gloss over the dodgy bits if I don't start discussing them. | ||
| Albie (Albie) Username: Albie Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.195.236.131 |
"Had to put that all together Albie - thank God we have you here." Really, I think the opposite. Curse God I have myself. I woke up today and realised that I wasn't me. It was ace. | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 83.98.9.4 |
Barrowman has a new gameshow starting on a Saturday night before WHO. That means that when he makes his appearance in this series of WHO he'll be on TV from 6 till 9 every Saturday night - coz he's in the Oliver and Nancy show straight after as well. | ||
| Stu (Stu) Username: Stu Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 86.29.111.249 |
Oh joy. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 79.70.53.80 |
I used to fancy him. | ||
| Stu (Stu) Username: Stu Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 86.29.111.249 |
Er, you do know about his preferences ...? | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 79.70.53.80 |
Not when I first saw a photo of him. I do now :>) I just asked my nine year old if she thought he was handsome. She said,"eeeeeeewwwwwwww." | ||
| Stu (Stu) Username: Stu Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 86.29.111.249 |
And that was before she saw him act. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.44.101.203 |
I think he's an ok actor. He's just sort of old fashioned. Some of the daftest lines in Torchwood he made quite moving, I thought. I think he's probably just badly directed (Torchwood doesn't seem to know about restraint). | ||
| Stu (Stu) Username: Stu Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 86.29.111.249 |
Garnted, he's not the worst actor I've ever seen but he's nowhere near as good as he thinks he is. Seems to believe his own hype and gets by purely on self-belief. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.240.83 |
>>the only thing she did different to any previous companion was to fancy The Doctor.<< And act well. Very well, at times. John Barrowman is awful; he really bugs me. It's that fake American grin and his plastic hair. He's like someone Albie once invented after a bout of constipation: Tom Cruise's ADD-suffering older brother. DR WHO has always been rubbish IMHO, but it's also good-natured rubbish. People tend to read far too much into what is, basically, a family entertainment, a series of ripping yarns. Moments of this new incarnation have been fabulous - transcending anything the show ever was when I was a kid - but at the end of the day it's all just a bit of daft fun. Dont get me wrong; I love it, but it's not somethint that was ever meant to be taken seriously in any way. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.240.83 |
>>My favourite show at the moment is Dexter. I'm loving that.>> God bless you and all who sail in you. DEXTER is brilliant TV. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.44.101.203 |
You see I reckon Who has more depth than seems. My mind, emotions and imagination are often reeling after a good Who episode. He holds past and future up at us, vible from all sides, and makes us genuinely wonder at our place in it. Dexter is lovely. A lovely, sweet, huggable show. | ||
| Jonathan (Jonathan) Username: Jonathan Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 79.69.111.111 |
Blasphemy! Destroy Zed the unbeliever. Seriously mate, you're partly right. I love WHO to bits because I'm just a big kid. Dexter is the bollocks. That's grown-up telly. | ||
| Stu (Stu) Username: Stu Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 86.29.104.167 |
>>the only thing she did different to any previous companion was to fancy The Doctor.<< >>And act well. Very well, at times. I must have missed that episode. As for WHO being family fun the key word here (at least as far as my latest rant is concerned) is FAMILY. Families don't just consist of kids, adults are part of the family unit as well. That's why serious stuff sometimes (admittedly not always) makes it way into WHO. So you get the Buddhist parable of Planet of the Spiders and that story that was so confusing that no one understood it (Snakedance?). I read somewhere that even one of the McCoy stories (Ghost Light?) is being reassessed as being pretty damn clever. And new WHO tries to be clever too. For example, last week's episode was obviously a satire on today's body image culture. Not necessarily a very good good satire but satire nonetheless. DEXTER'S good but I've missed the last few eps and I'm watching way much TV as it is so, regretfully, I'm probably going to drop the series. Or at best be an occasional viewer. | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 83.98.9.4 |
I think I know who the Ice truck killer is. Actually I've got a choice of two but one is so blindingly obvious he's actually my least likely option. I might be completely wrong so I'm not going to say who it is here. (Plus if I'm right, it'll spoil things for other people) I know the American contingent will know already. One of my friends still hasn't forgiven me for when I leaned over and whispered "Bruce Willis is dead" in his ear during the restaurant scene in Sixth Sense. It was the most blatantly obvious plot twist. I couldn't believe that anyone wouldn't have spotted it for themselves. I guessed it in the first ten minutes. After he was shot the only person who spoke to him was the boy. Then as soon as we saw them in the restaurant and there was only the one place set there was no other alternative so I told my mate and he got annoyed coz he hadn't worked it out... Some people are just over-sensitive | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.74.96.200 |
>>I think I know who the Ice truck killer is. Me too, though they seem to have changed it from the book by bringing him in to the main narratvie a little. WHO's WHO, and will always have clunkers. but casting celebs in it is part of the reason it's failing when it does fail. I suspect part of RTD's problem is one eye onthe budget. As mentioned above by Jonathan, though, he's brought it back bigger than the wildest of we old WHOies could dream of, so more power to him. I'd no idea JNT was gay, though. You outed him for me, Jonathan! Best eps do indeed appear to be the Moffat ones. But I greatly enjoyed most of the last series, FAMILY OF BLOOD and THE SHAKESPEARE CODE too. Now if they can just figure out how to do future that doesn't look like a Wilf Lunn workshop they're in witha chance. So far, for me, GIRL IN THE FIREPLACE ep aside, the best future-set one was the second of the revamp, on the space station as the sun went nova. | ||
| Jonathan (Jonathan) Username: Jonathan Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 79.69.16.102 |
The Shakespeare Code improves with rewatching too. It's very cleverly written and the performances are spot on. Some of the exteriors were filmed where we had our wedding reception. Where the guy 'drowns' was where we had our drinks and canapes and where the TARDIS lands is where our wedding car pulled up. This was all filmed a few months after our reception, so is an added bonus. Moffat is the shizzle and the only reason Cornell hasn't won the Hugo yet for best WHO episodes. I too loved the End of The World episode from 'Season 1'. Especially love Rose referring to Cassandra as a 'bitchy trampoline.' I think my favourite RTD ep so far is Gridlocked. Plus I couldn't help cheering when I realised he'd brought the Macra back. Giant crabs for the win! The above sentence is what should be put on Guy N. Smith's gravestone when he finaly passes beyond this world. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.44.101.203 |
Actually that's a good point; even the most so-so Whos improve on rewatching, for the most part. They can blind you with the sheer busyness of the ideas, and it takes you a while to absorb what you've seen. Not seen tonight; watched it with friends (Marie's friends; I have none of my own) and some bloke was sat in the corner with his laptop playing little samples of music. Jeez! Had to walk out...  | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 218.168.195.222 |
One thing I don't like so much about the new DOCTOR WHO is the sometimes overly hectic nature of it and the continuous frantic soundtrack (also found on shows like TORCHWOOD and PRIMEVAL). It gets quite irritating after a while, and I think exposes a certain shallowness in the stories (not all of them, obviously). I think the old WHOs (especially those of the Pertwee era) relied on a gradual build-up of atmosphere and suspense, as well as characterisation. It did sometimes tackle relevant issues, too: THE GREEN DEATH and INFERNO, for example. I watched the second series of PRIMEVAL recently, and while it can be quite a fun show to watch (if your expectations aren't too high), it's also extremely lazily put together. The plot-holes are countless, and the way the characters behave is often ludicrous, all too often sacrificing any degree of consistency to serve the gimmick or impossible plot twist of the moment. There's precious little intelligence or integrity behind it, and as a result it's impossible to invest in the characters. | ||
| Barbara Roden (Nebuly) Username: Nebuly Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 216.232.103.134 |
We all just watched tonight's episode of Doctor Who - ah, the wonders of technology. Good special effects, an interesting moral dilemma for the Doctor, some funny in-jokes, and good acting by (especially) Peter Capaldi and Phil Davis. Downside: a lot of the lines seem garbled and rushed and are hard to understand, and Catherine Tate is a bit too screechy and in-your-face for my liking, like Kate Capshaw in Temple of Doom when compared with Karen Allen in Raiders. And her Sarf Lundun (or is it Estuary English?) accent grates: 'Dokta' this and 'Dokta' that. I don't fancy a return to Received Pronounciation, but she makes me think longingly of the days of Barbara and Ian in the Hartnell series; a bit posh by comparison, but at least you could understand what they said, and they didn't screech. And I agree, Huw: from what I've seen of the older series, they did have to depend more on scripts, acting, and characterisation, because heaven knows they didn't have the money to paper it all over with special effects. 'Never mind the quality, look at the CGI!' The episodes of the latest series of Who that have impressed me most are, by and large, the ones that depend on good writing and acting, and not so much on the whiz-bang effects. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.44.101.203 |
My son loves Primeval for the monsters, but yes, it's a terrible show. I'd accept the sloppy characters if only it was more funny and scary, or even a bit more quirky. I've just been telling Mark that Who is a variety show, one made for a lot of people; we don't always get the Who we want because often it's catering for others. But when it does hit OUR particular buttons nothing beats it. And really, watching it with small kids (any kids, actually) makes you see it in their eyes, and appreciate it on their level. So, even when it';s not a moffat or whoever it's still kinda fun. And is it just me or did we need an episode between last week and this, with Tate being more amazed by her first journey? She seemed too seasoned for this first adventure, too used to it. | ||
| Stu (Stu) Username: Stu Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 86.29.97.1 |
PRIMEVAL'S naff but from what I saw Season 2 was a big improvement over Season 1 with the writers moving beyond the dinosaur of the week formula to introduce other plot threads. Even if said plot threads weren't always handled that well. Enjoyed last night's WHO. Tate's growing on me but I agree with Barbara about the accent. Strangely, she seems to tone it down when she does a lot of the serious bits but then remembers, "Oh, wait, I'm supposed to be a shouty mockney" and it comes back stronger, and more irritating, than ever. Couple of other things bugged me about the episode but they're relatively minor niggles which I can't be bothered to go into. | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.159.156.247 |
And her Sarf Lundun (or is it Estuary English?) accent grates: 'Dokta' this and 'Dokta' that. I don't fancy a return to Received Pronounciation, but she makes me think longingly of the days of Barbara and Ian in the Hartnell series; a bit posh by comparison, but at least you could understand what they said, and they didn't screech. Pretty much what I said, Barbara, near the top - why is it with all of time and all of the universe from which to choose a companion, the last three have all ended up being from the present day and all speaking Estuary English? That "Dokta" is very irritating, and I think Tate could prove to be the worst companion so far, mainly for this. | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.159.156.247 |
(Fifth message from the top...) | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 79.70.46.40 |
I thought Catherine Tate was better last night. I went to Pompeii last summer - so I was particularly interested in this episode. Quite enjoyed it. | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 218.168.179.171 |
Like I said... bring back Jamie and Zoe! | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.74.96.200 |
Or Teagan and Nyssa . . . Actually, Richard Dawkins's wife wouldn't be bad either . . . I'm mostly in agreement with Jonathan, though I thought GRIDLOCKED had too many plotholes to be enjoyable. Last night's WHO was againa little bit patchy. While the sets were great, they weren't as lush and well-shot as the Shakespeare episode. And the escape pod out of the volcano was a tad silly. Peter Cushing going to the moon, really. Catherine Tate seemed better last night, but not by a lot. Unfortunately her first episode that she shot is next week's, so if she's toned it down since she started . . . | ||
| Barbara Roden (Nebuly) Username: Nebuly Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 216.232.103.134 |
Read your earlier comment, Mick, and agree entirely. At least David Tennant isn't saddled with that accent (although why he couldn't keep his own Scottish accent is a mystery). | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 218.168.194.127 |
I agree, Barbara - I'd much prefer to hear Tennant's real accent. He was great in THE QUATERMASS EXPERIMENT, which he made just before he became the Doctor. | ||
| Stu (Stu) Username: Stu Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 86.29.107.206 |
Even if Tennant absolutely has to have an English accent why does it have to be mockney? I thought he sounded better in the WWI story where he dropped the mockneyisms (if that's a word). Although, as has already been pointed out, I don't see the problem with him using his Scottish accent. Unless maybe the producers were worried about bringng back memories of Sylvster Mccoy. | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.74.96.200 |
>>He was great in THE QUATERMASS EXPERIMENT, which he made just before he became the Doctor. Forget his name, but one of the actors working with him during that live show changed the line from reading "Ah, hello [character's name, which I forget, but he was a prof or doc]," to "Ah, hello, Doctor." | ||
| Albie (Albie) Username: Albie Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.195.244.67 |
Mmm, thought i'd replied to this thread. Just wanted to say that the stone lady had some of the old style unintentional weirdness. | ||
| Albie (Albie) Username: Albie Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.195.244.67 |
http://www.thornhill-gala.co.uk/2007%20crows/davros.jpg | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.74.96.200 |
Ha. Is that Thornhill near Dewsbury, Albs? | ||
| Albie (Albie) Username: Albie Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.195.236.131 |
That's Chavros. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.147.52.75 |
Weird. I seem to be the only bloke in history who quite fancies Catherine Tate, warts and all (maybe because of the warts!), and is enjoying this series of who more than the previous ones by the same stage in the series. The first few series have gotten off to bumps with me but not this one; the pace has been very smooth, unrushed, and the dialogue doesn't feel as keen to make points or puns as usual. And each episode has genuinely touching, moving moments; last night for me it was the way Donna comforted the dying ood. She's so different to the previous assistants, and as a result we're seeing different sides to him. I'm pretty chuffed and grateful for that. And as for that bonechiller line; 'Your song is almost over...' If it's saying what I think it is, I'll be heartbroken. Tennant may well have been the best Doc ever. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.147.52.75 |
Sorry; that's a terribly written post. | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.159.156.247 |
Tennant may well have been the best Doc ever. Nah - bring back Troughton! | ||
| Matthew_fell (Matthew_fell) Username: Matthew_fell Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 216.232.189.45 |
I agree with you, Tony. Thought that last night's Ood episode was excellent (now I have to go back to the original Ood episode, which I haven't seen!). I'd heard that this was the first episode of the new series to be filmed, and was worried that Catherine Tate would be totally OTT with her exuberance and cockneyisms, but it didn't turn out that way. You singled out the compassion she was allowed to show a dying Ood, and we both felt that the Ood song was brilliantly and chillingly done. It all made us want to sit down and see something else, so we followed it with 'The Shakespeare Code', which neither of us had seen before, and again which we both thought excellent. Christopher | ||
| Barbara Roden (Nebuly) Username: Nebuly Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 216.232.189.45 |
Agreed, Tony; Donna does seem to be bringing out a different side to the Doctor, as when she can't listen to the Ood song anymore and he tells her he can hear it all the time, and we get a suggestion of the burden he carries; being a Time Lord isn't all sonic screwdrivers and jumping in and out of the Tardis. Tim McInnerney was very good; just the right mix of bluster and menace. Tim picked up on the 'Your song is almost over' line immediately; his eyes widened, and he whispered in reverent tones, 'Regeneration!' We shall see. | ||
| Albie (Albie) Username: Albie Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.195.236.131 |
"Weird. I seem to be the only bloke in history who quite fancies Catherine Tate, warts and all (maybe because of the warts!)" I keep thinking they are tears. Sometimes they are tears, which confuses me more. I'll make her go "Hurp!" Liked the Ood brains btw. And the big brain. I swear some fan has finally got through to them that Dr Who HAS to be ridiculous to work. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.23.225.121 |
Dr Who has to approach madness because that's where wonder lies. Step into madness with a sane mind and you see a magic world. You don't pry it gently open, you wallop it. Sometimes, anyway. Donna is the best assistant yet in these new shows because she says such great, insightful things. She even makes the Doctor's eyes bug out and make him air punch, which is surely a good thing. | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 88.109.177.51 |
Hmm. I'm afraid I think it's more like the Catherine Tate Show now, witha cameo by David Tennant ripping the pee out of his role as the Doctor. because of her . . . exuberant performance, shall we say, Tennant's nowhere to go with the Doctor. The Ood episode didn't work for me: the Docotor was totally superfluous. The Ood fixed everything. That's not a crime, making him an observor, but then having the Ood thank him was. Unless I got it wrong and they were thanking him for taking Catherine Tate away. Return of Freema Ageyman this Saturday, thank goodness. I hope she's not sidelined by Tate as well. Maybe the bees left when they saw Catherine Tate . . . | ||
| Albie (Albie) Username: Albie Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.195.236.131 |
Maybe the bees are her warts. Hiding. What a liberty. It is her show now. But then who noticed Davison when totty like Tegan was around? Ahem! | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.161.253.183 |
I thought the doctor saved the brain from blowing up? I am the only man who likes Tate and Who! I am an island. | ||
| Albie (Albie) Username: Albie Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.195.236.131 |
I don't know, I was thinking about Tegan. I think he pushed over some beam poles that surrounded the brain. But an Ood could have done that. The doctor did what he usually does: gets the enemy to chat and chat and chat to stall. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.161.253.183 |
Maybe they thanked him for being nice. I would. | ||
| Albie (Albie) Username: Albie Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.195.244.67 |
I would kidnap him, tie him up and torture him for his secrets. I thought that was the unspoken agreement? That if we ever did find Doctor Who for real we wouldn't let him leave. We HAD an agreement. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.161.253.183 |
I've loved this series so far but tonight it's been even better. Every aspect of this show is improving but tonight it out did itself; this felt like a good movie - it was exciting, flowed like a dream, had depth (that poor cybergeek bad guy latching onto the ordered, hyper-macho/paternal world of the sontarans. And what a superb actor he was, too - a future star, I reckon.). This show's just going from strength to strength. | ||
| Barbara Roden (Nebuly) Username: Nebuly Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 216.232.189.45 |
Christopher's just finished converting today's episode; I expect we'll be watching the episode later this evening. Tim can't wait. . . . | ||
| Barbara Roden (Nebuly) Username: Nebuly Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 216.232.189.45 |
Watched tonight's episode earlier this evening: Christopher and I marvelling that technology allows us to watch, in Ashcroft, a TV show which aired earlier today in England, while Tim - child of the technology age that he is - merely shrugs, as if to say 'What's the big deal?' As befits someone who is rapidly on his way to becoming as nerdy about Doctor Who as I was about Sherlock Holmes at his age, Tim watched tonight's episode and provided a running commentary: 'Sontarans! They were in the Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker series, three and four. Hey, UNIT! That goes back to Patrick Troughton; Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart was part of that. Bernard Cribbins was in the Christmas special, you know.' Etc., etc. Anyway, thought tonight's show was excellent: the interplay between Martha and Donna was handled well, the Sontarans are appropriately nasty, Bernard Cribbins was wonderful (honestly, he just has to show up in something and you smile contentedly), the young cybergeek (in Tony's words) was excellent, a couple of great cliffhangers - Martha! Grandad! - bode well for next week, and Tennant is more than holding his own. It'll be a shame when he moves on. | ||
| Tom_alaerts (Tom_alaerts) Username: Tom_alaerts Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.243.25.138 |
> Christopher's just finished converting today's episode; I expect we'll be watching the episode later this evening. Tim can't wait. . . . Barbara, FYI there are nowadays very cheap dvd players (I mean like $60) with a USB port and divx compatiblity. Meaning, conversion is not necessary anymore: just put the avi file on a memory stick and you can immediately (and without quality loss because of the conversion) see it through the usb port-equipped device. That's the way I see these tv episodes. cheers, Tom | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 88.109.229.144 |
The Doctor is SF's Sherlock Holmes, really. Far from perfect, last night's episode was for me the best of the series so far. Sontarons looked pretty good. And it was nice to see the transmat back! | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.161.253.183 |
Could I plug a memory stick in my set top recorder, then put it on a disc via the computer? That would be lovely. That poor geek villain btw, looking for focus, gleeful to be part of something masculine, paternal. It felt really sad, that bit. | ||
| Barbara Roden (Nebuly) Username: Nebuly Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 216.232.189.45 |
Thanks for the technical tip, Tom; I'll make sure Christopher knows. He and Tim are the experts at this stuff; I just enjoy the fruits of their labours, as it were. Oh, occasionally I'll be a bit embarrassed because my ten-year-old son can achieve casually and easily some feat of technical jiggery-pokery that sounds like Greek to me, and would have me throwing something (probably the monitor) across the room in frustration before too many minutes had elapsed; then I remember that I can ride a bike with no hands and he can't, and the universe balances itself out again somewhat. | ||
| Tom_alaerts (Tom_alaerts) Username: Tom_alaerts Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.78.35.170 |
Barbara, you will see that it's very easy to do: 1. download the avi movie file using any devious means 2. copy it to an usb stick 3. put it in the "usb-port equipped" dvd player 4. press play on the remote of the dvd player. Voila! Note that some of these dvd players can also show subtitle files that sometimes come with a divx file. Best thing is, put a doctor who episode on a memory stick and ask to try it in the shop. for me such a cheap device was a gift from heaven, no more burning dics! Tony, > Could I plug a memory stick in my set top recorder, then put it on a disc via the computer? perhaps... depending on how accessible the data is... | ||
| Albie (Albie) Username: Albie Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.195.244.67 |
I enjoyed the nerd's big face and the smooth grey armour of the sontarans. Also, his voice was almost right out of old style Dr Who. "I'm the villaaaain." stuff. Good. Kill Bernard Crabbins off though. "I can't get the door open!" What is missing is not enough alien landscapes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Green bubble wrap walls please. Or do I have to go to Mark Speight to get that now? | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.121.214.11 |
David Tennant is currently filming the Chrimbo special so it seems unlikely that he's leaving at the end of this series... Probably good news | ||
| Simon Strantzas (Nomis) Username: Nomis Registered: 05-2008 Posted From: 99.225.111.224 |
Ah . . . the Doctor's daughter. You know, the series has it wrong. She has THREE hearts. Because she just stole mine. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 79.70.85.161 |
I think it was the best episode so far. It had everything, moments of sadness, action - fun to watch. And now we have the interesting introduction of a daughter for Dr. Who. Heather loved it too and wants a spin off series for her. | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.163.48.60 |
Heather loved it too and wants a spin off series for her. Unfortunately it sort of has "spin-off" written all over it. Looks like the series is going the American way; create as many characters as you can and try them all out - the most sucessful ones get their own series. | ||
| Simon Strantzas (Nomis) Username: Nomis Registered: 05-2008 Posted From: 99.254.205.129 |
Wouldn't it be grand if the Doctor's daughter took the girl from BLINK as her companion? I'm getting excited just thinking about it. Excited in that way that requires a cold shower. BTW, we all know who the actress who plays the Doctor's daughter really is, don't we? I mean, who her father really is? | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 79.70.85.161 |
That's true Mick. I'd like to see more of his daughter in Dr.Who but just as the character gets interesting she'll be in her own series. We've also had the Sarah Jane Adventures too. | ||
| Stu (Stu) Username: Stu Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 86.29.98.152 |
Didn't particularly enjoy this episode. Couple of good moments but overall I felt it relied too much on the gimmick of the Doctor's daughter to compensate for the derivative sci-fi ideas, the predictable plot and the abrupt changes of heart for characters at key points in the story. And I can't help thinking that they only came up with the idea of Jenny 'cos Georgia Moffet auditioned for the part of Rose. A little lightbulb probably went off in RTD's head, "Aha! Peter Davison's daugher wants to be on Doctor Who -- wouldn't it be great if she actually played the Doctor's daughter?" Ally, someone mentioned Jenny getting her own series on BBC 2 next year but I don't know if they were joking. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 79.70.85.161 |
Mmmmm - let me think. Is it Peter Davidson's daughter by any chance? | ||
| Stu (Stu) Username: Stu Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 86.29.98.152 |
Jesus, how many people posted almost simultaneously just now? | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 79.70.85.161 |
I know what you mean Stu - I still like the idea of her in Who. We haven't had a female time lord yet have we? | ||
| Stu (Stu) Username: Stu Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 86.29.98.152 |
Romana Mark I and Romana Mark II. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 79.70.85.161 |
Thanks Stu! Found the series,(Sept 1978 - Feb 1979)on the net. | ||
| Stu (Stu) Username: Stu Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 86.29.98.152 |
Lynda Bellingham played a Time Lady in the Colin Baker era and Kate O'Mara played another one called the Rani. May be some more here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Lord#Partial_list_of_Time_Lords_appearing_in_D octor_Who | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.74.96.200 |
'Friad it didn't really work for me. The Doc's daughter was acting for kids, I felt, pantomime stuff; Martha going again; The Search for Spock ending, etc. Fingers crossed for the Agatha Christie episode. The ones set in the past seem to do better. | ||
| Griff (Griff) Username: Griff Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.93.21.100 |
Aah! Oh God! I am a nerd. | ||
| Adriana (Adriana) Username: Adriana Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 99.230.239.233 |
I don't watch this show, but my little sister recommended an episode in season 3 of New Who called "Blink" and I REALLY enjoyed it. Loved all the paradox time travel stuff - super fun! So I'm wondering - How indicative/representational is that ep of the rest of them??? | ||
| Griff (Griff) Username: Griff Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.93.21.100 |
You still in LA, A? | ||
| Barbara Roden (Nebuly) Username: Nebuly Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 216.232.189.45 |
But . . . isn't the show really aimed at kids?? Just asking. . . . Thought David Tennant was very good; got to do some real acting for a change, as opposed to merely reacting. I, too, am looking forward to next week's Christie episode; I don't know if the time period will be right for fitting in her disappearance, but it'll be interesting if they do work it in and come up with an 'explanation'. | ||
| Barbara Roden (Nebuly) Username: Nebuly Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 216.232.189.45 |
Blink isn't really representative; it was filmed at the same time that a more conventional episode was being done, which explains why the Doctor and Martha don't make much more than cameo appearances. It's a brilliant episode, though; I've watched it three or four times, and it gets better with each viewing. At the beginning, for example, when Sally and Cathy are in the abandoned house, and Cathy is peeking round the corner at the reflection of Sally and the young man in the mirror: that's Cathy's grandson, although she of course has no way of knowing that. It does add a bit of poignancy on subsequent viewings, though. And when Sally meets Billy again, and he says 'It was raining when we met', and Sally says quietly 'It's the same rain': heartbreaking. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.249.146 |
Just watched The Doctor's Daughter, and thought it was a blast. | ||
| Barbara Roden (Nebuly) Username: Nebuly Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 216.232.189.45 |
We thought it was good fun, when we finally got to watch it; Christopher downloaded it within four hours of it airing in England, but we had a big family thing here yesterday, and after dinner my brother and his little girl came up, and when they left just before midnight Tim was still wide awake, so we watched it then. Christopher fell asleep after a few minutes - no reflection on the show, he was just tired - but at the end Tim and I looked at each other and said 'Spin-off series!' I liked Donna's description of what life with the Doctor is like: 'lots of running'. I'm warming to Catherine Tate; thank goodness someone's got her to tone things down a bit. | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.163.48.60 |
A. - BLINK is very good indeed - and imo unusually so. It was written by Stephen Moffat, and each of the stories he's contributed so far have been real highlights of each series (of the "new" Doctor Who), although unfortunately he's written just one story each series/season. Other stories by other writers usually aren't as good, again in my opinion. I feel his stories are the ones that raise Doctor Who from being saturday tea-time fun to something much better. | ||
| Griff (Griff) Username: Griff Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.93.21.100 |
"Fingers crossed for the Agatha Christie episode. The ones set in the past seem to do better." You're not wrong, Mark. Remember the sets and acting when THE MASTER was bumped off? | ||
| Adriana (Adriana) Username: Adriana Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 99.230.239.233 |
My little sister owns all the ones that have been released so if anyone one else can highly recommend any other stand alone eps, I'd love to watch them. Mick are the other Moffat's equally stand alone? | ||
| Adriana (Adriana) Username: Adriana Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 99.230.239.233 |
No Griff, I'm back in Toronto now. And with super good news which I'll post on another thread. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.249.146 |
>>at the end Tim and I looked at each other and said 'Spin-off series!< That's exactly what I thought, Barbara. I watched the ep. with my four year-old son sitting on my knee eating his dinner, and he loved it - once he's stopped being terrified of the Hath. :-) | ||
| Barbara Roden (Nebuly) Username: Nebuly Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 216.232.189.45 |
Stephen Moffat's 'The Girl in the Fireplace' from series 2 is excellent, another standalone episode; it won a Hugo award, amongst other honours. Also from series 2 is Gareth Roberts's 'The Shakespeare Code' (I think it's called); another standalone episode, and very good. Roberts penned next week's Christie episode, which is one of the reasons I have high hopes for it. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 79.70.85.161 |
"super good news" - well come on A with the thread - you can't leave a cliffhanger like that. | ||
| Adriana (Adriana) Username: Adriana Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 99.230.239.233 |
Thanks, Barbara, I'll borrow those eps right away. I really appreciate the recommendations as I don't have the opportunity to watch everything. | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.163.48.60 |
A. - I'd agree with Barbara - "The Girl in the Fireplace" was superb, quite a moving episode. From the first series, he wrote "The Empty Child", which was a standout, but not as good as Blink or Fireplace... | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.129.20.239 |
Doctor Who is so varied because it needs as wide an audience as possible. Some folk think it should be creepy or serious or dramatic all the time, or one such thing, but it can't be. It's a pic n mix, and when it works for you it works, when it doesn't you can guarantee it's working for somebody else. This is, as much as we might not like it, how it has to work. I don't mind if an episode is duff now and then because I know there'll be one for me round the corner. A; Doctor Who is one of the big scrumptious things in my life, very close to my heart. Especially these past few years. I love it. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.129.20.239 |
A - you'd love Father's Day, one of the best Who's ever. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.129.20.239 |
And you know, if you can, watch them all in order for the full emotional wallops. | ||
| Hubert (Hubert) Username: Hubert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.22.231.194 |
Just watched the old Planet of the Spiders which I first saw on the Beeb all those many years ago. Not bad at all. Pertwee actually does a James Bond in this one. Genesis of the Daleks is still my favourite story, however. | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.163.48.60 |
Doctor Who is so varied because it needs as wide an audience as possible. Why does it? I think it's varied because it has a whole host of writers, each of whom brings something different to the mix. The 'old' Doctor Who never seemed quite so varied to me. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.129.20.239 |
TV shows are a business, too, but if you can use that necessity to to work for you all the better - which is what I think Who does. There's an element of finance fuellling creativity, which I've always admired, a la, say, Roger Corman. | ||
| Stu (Stu) Username: Stu Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 86.29.107.34 |
Tony, just to prove your point that WHO can't please all the people all the time I just have to say that I hated Father's Day. | ||
| Barbara Roden (Nebuly) Username: Nebuly Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 216.232.189.45 |
So, anyone watch 'The Unicorn and the Wasp' last night? Great fun: the actress playing Agatha Christie looked remarkably like her (judging by the few pictures of the author from the 1920s), and screenwriter Gareth Roberts obviously had a lot of fun playing with the conventions of Christie's 'cosy' type of murder mystery: the assortment of guests (including, of course, the vicar, the Colonel, the ne'er do well son, the mysterious housekeeper, the inscrutable butler); the increasingly outré assortment of clues; the 'Anyone for tennis?' dialogue (which is what people think Christie's dialogue is like; she actually has a wonderful ear for conversation and the way people speak); and especially the final scene in (natch) the drawing-room, where almost everyone is fingered as the possible murderer and a number of secrets are revealed before the true culprit is exposed. I counted twelve Christie titles that were worked into the dialogue (I might have missed one or two at the beginning, before I twigged to what was going on), thirteen if you count the rather laboured one at the end which even the Doctor acknowledges as being a bit of a stretch. One minor quibble: Christie disappeared in early December 1926, but the action in the episode clearly takes place at the height of an English summer: trees in full bloom, tea on the lawn, summer dresses (or frocks) on the ladies, wasps about, etc. Tim - for whom Christie is merely a name on a LOT of books downstairs - rates it as his third favourite episode of the current series, behind the two Sontaran episodes. I have a lot of my Christies in the Collins editions with the marvellous Tom Adams jackets, but don't have Death in the Clouds in that edition, which is what the Doctor shows to Donna at the end; however, I do have a book which reproduces all of the Adams covers, with commentary by the artist and by Julian Symons, so was able to show Tim the cover in a bit more detail. More like this, please! | ||
| John (John) Username: John Registered: 05-2008 Posted From: 82.24.4.67 |
I haven't watched last night's episode yet (I'm going to catch the repeat in about 45 minutes time). I really hope it's an improvement on the rest of the series, which I haven't enjoyed at all so far. Bizarrely, I expected to hate Catherine Tate but she's been one of the better things in this series so far. I'd had enough of companions following the Doctor around with a look of awed admiration on their face. At least she pricks his pomposity and keeps those 'Humans! You're so amaaazzzzing!' moments to a minimum. | ||
| Stu (Stu) Username: Stu Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 86.29.98.11 |
I missed chunks of dialogue as I was cooking my dinner whilst watching but I thought this was much better than last week's episode. Still not convinced by a lot of the comedy moments though. Too slapstick. And I thought The Unicorn switching to cockney after speaking in more refined tones would have been more effective if Catherine Tate didn't do the same thing in every bloody episode. Oh well, at least The Unicorn didn't borrow Tate's other mannerism of SHOUTING ALL THE IMPORTANT LINES. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.24.122.40 |
Even I watched the Agatha Christie episode. Fun, if a complete Timothy-West-in-Tales-of-the-Unexpected rip-off. | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 85.158.137.195 |
Oh well, at least The Unicorn didn't borrow Tate's other mannerism of SHOUTING ALL THE IMPORTANT LINES. ...and wobbling her head the way she does! | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.145.131.242 |
I'm going to watch the Who slot this week and view it as a weird episode and not just eurovision, just out of anger. Captain 'Jack Harknekk' will probably be in it somewhere anyway. | ||
| Albie (Albie) Username: Albie Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.195.244.67 |
Is this Dr Who? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Cremaster_3_Apprentice.jpg |