| Author | Message | ||
     Gcw (Gcw) Username: Gcw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.43.119.208 |
Surprisingly good Doctor Who this week, particularly as I have found the rest of the series so far to be very so-so. gcw | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.145.131.242 |
Uk! 'So-so'? I've loved this series so far. But then I've said that already. | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.159.153.186 |
I'd go along with the so-so - very much enjoyed this week's though, but then it was written by Mr Moffat... | ||
| Gcw (Gcw) Username: Gcw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.43.119.208 |
Oh Tony! you love everything  Sorry mate, but I can't say I have been very impressed with this years series. The tales have become predictable & formula -its just got a bit tired. No big deal, programmes do, as indeed 'Who has before. A change of producer (and hopefully Doctor) should zest it up a bit. I liked Planet Of The Ood & last Saturdays, haven't really dug any of the others too much. gcw | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.145.131.242 |
I must admit, while I quite like Ms Tate the presence of the wonderful Alex Kingston has shown her up a bit (well, a lot). She's wonderful - an actress to her very core, and so effortlessly so, to boot. | ||
| Griff (Griff) Username: Griff Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.93.21.100 |
Did you get my email at the weekend, Tony? | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.219.8.243 |
I liked this, too - actually, I loved it. And yes, Tony, Kingston is terrific. | ||
| Griff (Griff) Username: Griff Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.93.21.100 |
She was good alongside Sean Bean in Essex Boys. | ||
| Griff (Griff) Username: Griff Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.93.21.100 |
The Library was a good episode. However, as with the one about scarecrows, I'm left with the impression it isn't quite as good as it could be. Why? The quality of the acting varied as did the quality of the film used. The studio sets simply can't compete with the quality we're used to from big Hollywood movies. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.219.8.243 |
The studio sets simply can't compete with the quality we're used to from big Hollywood movies. Well, it is a TV show, Griff. And as far as I know it isn't trying to compete with Hollywood. | ||
| Griff (Griff) Username: Griff Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.93.21.100 |
We can't help but compare them, Zed. Our expectations have been raised and some of the more futuristic sets on Dr Who are not the best. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.219.8.243 |
I'll be honest, mate, I never compare TV stuff with their cinema counterparts. It's a different medium entirely. | ||
| Stu (Stu) Username: Stu Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 86.29.96.255 |
I'm not sure but I think RTD said somewhere that his intention with new Who was to make each episode feel like a shorter version of a Hollywood blockbuster. Tony, your comments about Tate and Kingston were exactly the same thoughts I had after seeing this ep. | ||
| Barbara Roden (Nebuly) Username: Nebuly Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 216.232.189.45 |
Thought this episode was excellent: wonderful sets, eerie moments, some poignancy (Miss Evangelista), and the wonderful teasing banter between the Doctor and Kingston's character, which suddenly takes a serious turn ('He looks right through me and it shouldn't kill me - but it does'). And Kingston's acting does rather show Tate up. She wouldn't be a very good full-time companion - she's too strong an actress, and would unbalance the relationship too much - but I'd love to see her back now and then as a recurring character. | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.74.96.200 |
It's another Steven Moffatt tale, of course, therefore excellent. Like no other WHO writer, he's grasped the cetnral brilliance of the show: anywhere, any time, time in flux, and high brown pop fiction. >>The studio sets simply can't compete with the quality we're used to from big Hollywood movies. >Well, it is a TV show, Griff. And as far as I know it isn't trying to compete with Hollywood. A lot of US TV shows -- HEROES, LOST, TIN MAN, I understand too -- are now getting big budget looks and big budgets! So it's not surprising that TV should now be expected to look that good. I think a lot of care could be taken with lighting to make our UK shows more spectacular. >>She wouldn't be a very good full-time companion - she's too strong an actress, and would unbalance the relationship too much - but I'd love to see her back now and then as a recurring character. Well, my spoiler guess -- and I'll be very disappointed if Moffatt's bottled it -- is that Prof River Song pegs it at the end of the episode and the Doc, in an echo of the ending of Girl in the Fireplace, will wind up with the little MP3 Brain Memory thing. But! That doesn't mean, of course, that in the Doc's future he can't come across Prof River Song again. In fact, he HAS to. An ideal end to this series, if as I'm also assuming, Catherine Tate's character is . . . no longer in the show, would be for the Doc to appear on a distant planet and casually walk into an archaeolgical dig, spot a younger River Song. It'd be a good hangover till the set of specials through Xmas and next year. Just a thought. | ||
| Griff (Griff) Username: Griff Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.93.21.100 |
Ever written any scripts, Mark? | ||
| John (John) Username: John Registered: 05-2008 Posted From: 82.24.4.67 |
I've been really disappointed by this series so far, but this was a big up-turn in quality. The 'ghosting' thing was a spooky idea, although it was over-used a bit towards the end. But plenty of mystery in there to keep you intrigued. You can get the word 'Rose' out of 'River Song', but nothing particularly comprehensible out of the remaining letters. I may be reading too much into it... | ||
| John_l_probert (John_l_probert) Username: John_l_probert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 90.209.204.109 |
Moffat has a genius for tapping into things I never even realised I considered important - as a child I would have loved for an adult to have told me that the real world was a fabrication and what I imagined was the truth. Oh, and I loved the 'I'm a footprint on the sand and the tide is coming in'. That was this week, wasn't it? (Says he having watched 3 episodes in one go) | ||
| Barbara Roden (Nebuly) Username: Nebuly Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 216.232.189.45 |
I'm guessing that River Song knows the Doctor from one of his future incarnations, hence her comment about him looking younger than she's ever seen him, and her mention that she sent the note for help back too far (i.e. to the 'wrong' Doctor, not to the one she knew/knows). I liked the look on Kingston's face when Donna asks where she (Donna) is in the future, and realises that whichever Doctor it is that Kingston knows, Donna's not with him (or perhaps not wiv 'im). SPOILER AHEAD I also suspect that the whole face thing and 'Donna Noble has been saved' ties in somehow with the message received from the Library that '4022 people were saved. There were no survivors.' Perhaps all those face thingies are the people who were in the Library when it was attcked. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.145.131.242 |
Doctor Who has perfectly fine sets and effects - I've recently come to learn that they don't have to be too amazing, that the stories matter. And as for catching up the movies I think it's the movies that are lagging behind telly; there's more poetry in Who than a slew of summer blockbusters. This series feels quieter right now but is, I think, building better than the first three seasons. It's not felt as haphazard as the earlier series, and the way it's going the finale should be very strong indeed. | ||
| Gcw (Gcw) Username: Gcw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.43.119.208 |
I have no problems with the sets, which have been quite excellent, The Doctor's Daughter episode looked a bit cheap, but hey, the script was worse. Still like the first series best! gcw | ||
| DF Lewis (Des) Username: Des Registered: 06-2008 Posted From: 86.161.241.208 |
I agree with the views on Moffatt. I only watch when he writes it. A bit pretentious of me, I know. :-) | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.145.131.242 |
But Who has so many profound nuggets, even in the 'duff' episodes! It's the best show on telly; always something in it to love, and never dull even if you don't approve of the sort of story it is. | ||
| Des (Des) Username: Des Registered: 06-2008 Posted From: 86.161.241.208 |
And, oh, I watched the first epiosde live (1964?) and thought to myself - I know a good story, Easter Eggs in DVDs. | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.74.96.200 |
>>Ever written any scripts, Mark? Nope. Wouldn't know where to start -- which is the trouble with time-travel. | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.74.96.200 |
Any thoughts on who the little girl may be . . .? | ||
| Des (Des) Username: Des Registered: 06-2008 Posted From: 86.161.241.208 |
She's the test card girl from 'Life on Mars'. :-) | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.74.96.200 |
So we can expect George, Zippy and Bungle next? | ||
| Gcw (Gcw) Username: Gcw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.43.119.208 |
".. It's the best show on telly" Gotta disagree. The best show is Battlestar Galactica by a country mile. Hate to say it, but the yanks trounce us again. gcw | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.145.131.242 |
It's good, BG, but Who has the bigger themes, and more awe. They're just presented in a more fun way. Just as Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is better than Goodnight and Good Luck; same message, but more enjoyable. Messages need never be heavy. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.249.146 |
LOST is still the best thing on telly for me - perhaps the greatest TV show ever, in fact. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.145.131.242 |
But Lost is an episode of Doctor Who ... only dragged out over five years.  | ||
| Griff (Griff) Username: Griff Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.93.21.100 |
I only watched the first series. Does it get better? | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 61.216.32.203 |
I thought Lost lost its way a little in the second season, but the third was very good. Haven't seen the fourth yet. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.219.8.243 |
I think the show has gone from strength to strength, and is currently astonishing. The writing - particularly the non-flashy character stuff - is outstanding. Lost and Band of Brothers stand out for me as superior TV drama. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.24.122.40 |
>>>LOST is still the best thing on telly for me - perhaps the greatest TV show ever, in fact. What, better than Auf Wiedersehen, Pet? Never! | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.74.96.200 |
Toss up between that and ALLO ALLO, I'd've thought. | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.74.96.200 |
I had the burglars round the other night, by the way. Always come uninvited, cheeky sods. They ran off before they could force a window any wider, as it turned out. But I've got a terrible cold (man-flu probably) and it wasn't an awakening I needed at 3-30 in the morning. | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.74.96.200 |
Police showed characteristic investigative technique, byt he way. One looked at the window and said she'd call out the fingerprint guy for a nose, while the other nodded and said it was a good idea, then casually wondered how they'd got the window open and bloody TOUCHED IT and gave it a good rattle to the open-mouthed astonishment of me and his partner. So no fingerprints guy called out . . . | ||
| Griff (Griff) Username: Griff Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.93.21.100 |
Sorry to hear that, Mark. Where the hell do you live? It sounds rough, it put me in mind of Ratboy from Viz. Not Fulchester is it? | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.74.96.200 |
Nah, it's Huddersfield. There's a lot of antisocial stuff goes on round here, but it's surprisingly rural quite quickly. | ||
| Griff (Griff) Username: Griff Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 92.18.171.201 |
Huddersfield! The place with the famous choir? | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.74.96.200 |
Yup. Surprisingly, like Bradford, despite its grim trappings and terraced housing, in only a few minutes you can take a breth of freedom by climbing the haunting and desolate moors. There are far worse places to live. Alas, as you can see if you scroll down here,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huddersfield, I've yet again been forgotten from the notable people list! but Zoe Lucker from FOOTBALLERS' WIVES makes it on . . . | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.74.96.200 |
Incidentally, the reason we've got such a famous choir is because they won't let me sing with them . . . Frankly, it's a bit unfair. I don't see why the rest of the choir can't sing in the same key as me: Off. | ||
| Griff (Griff) Username: Griff Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.93.21.74 |
"Surprisingly, like Bradford, despite its grim trappings and terraced housing, in only a few minutes you can take a breath of freedom by climbing the haunting and desolate moors." Yep, happens in many grim industrial areas. The director of DEAD MANS SHOES used it to brilliant effect with many of the outdoor shots. A brilliant movie for many reasons. | ||
| Griff (Griff) Username: Griff Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.93.21.74 |
The Silence in the Library One or two duff lines and over emotional acting here and there, but apart from that I thought it was brilliant. | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.74.96.200 |
Hmm. Dodgy ending. I suppose it was the best Moffat could come up with, not wanting to repeat the GIRL IN THE FIREPLACE ending. But as Griff says, otherwise. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.145.131.242 |
I think it was one of the most ambitious, audacious bits of telly I have ever seen, and certainly perhaps the best Who episode ever to boot. I'm frankly stunned there aren't carnivals going on in the streets to celebrate it, to be honest. | ||
| Barbara Roden (Nebuly) Username: Nebuly Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 216.232.189.45 |
The episode is 51% converted, then five minutes to burn it to CD and the Roden family will be able to watch it here in lovely (if a bit wet) Ashcroft. | ||
| Des (Des) Username: Des Registered: 06-2008 Posted From: 86.161.241.208 |
I heard she whispered his name in his ear. nemonymous? Greatest Who ever!!!!!!!!!!!!! | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.145.131.242 |
That sounds like hyperbole, but really, it went into some amazing areas and emotions never seen on telly, let alone Who. Telly was made so Who could be on it. | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.74.96.200 |
>I heard she whispered his name in his ear. >nemonymous? No, it was Ian. | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.74.96.200 |
SPOILER Actually, the ending with the sonic screwdriver was a bit ropey if you think about it. One of those loops in time thingy, really. | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.74.96.200 |
It was great SF otherwise. Uh, is it more romantic to have the Doc's relationships end in death, though, rather than the ending of this one, make it all a bit more mythic? | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.145.131.242 |
SPOILERESQUE But so uplifting - a huge emotional rush after what we were expecting. I got gosepimples and wanted to punch the air! | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.74.96.200 |
Didn't quite sit right with me or my girlfriend, who also found it mildly unsatisfying, but there you go. Interestingly, Tony, I'd imagine Moffat's an aetheist from that ending. I'm surprised you liked it as much as you did, if you consider the wider ramifications. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.145.131.242 |
Ah, but the soul could have been directed there. I only dislike closed-minded atheists - the grouchy barkers like Dawkins! | ||
| Griff (Griff) Username: Griff Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.93.21.74 |
"the grouchy barkers like Dawkins!" I'm copywriting that phrase! | ||
| Barbara Roden (Nebuly) Username: Nebuly Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 216.232.189.45 |
I really enjoyed the episode: there was a point, about halfway through, where I wondered how Moffat was going to tie things up, but he managed it. Some very good acting, especially by Kingston and Tennant; the latter seemed to enjoy being able to do some honest to goodness acting for a change (anyone notice how his accent seemed to slip after Kingston whispered in his ear, as if he was so caught up in the emotion of the moment he lapsed back into Scots?). That was a wonderful moment, by the way, especially in retrospect, when we learn what she said to him. Catherine Tate, while nowhere near as good an actress as Kingston, did well during her quiet moments (liked the glimpse of the man on the transporter at the end: will he turn up again?), and Steve Pemberton showed a talent for serious acting, managing to turn Mr Luxe from a one-dimensional sort-of baddie into someone a bit more complex (I still think Mark Gatiss is the best 'proper' actor of the League of Gentlemen chaps, just as Michael Palin is the best actor from the Python gang). I definitely want to see Kingston back again. I don't know how many episodes like this one Who can take - it's not your typical Doctor Who, after all, and if viewers don't get their quota of Daleks and Sontarans and the like then there'll be trouble - but it's nice to see a show taking chances and trusting the viewer to come along for the ride. | ||
| Griff (Griff) Username: Griff Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.93.21.74 |
I prefer episodes like the library and the scarecrows to sub-Buck Rogers ones like the Sontarans. I noticed that some of the special effects last night were better than they usually are. The lighting in some parts was also excellent. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.145.131.242 |
Thing is, it can't all be like Moffat. It wouldn't be right. I for one would miss the sub-Buck Rogers; I love the variety, the not being able to pigeonhole or predict it. | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.74.96.200 |
Its advantage, the reason it's the best storytelling format ever, is the scale of tales it can tell, as well as its mysterious protagonist. So no, a Moffat every week would be too much to take, however brilliant. Give us a Basset's Allsorts every now and again. | ||
| Albie (Albie) Username: Albie Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.195.244.67 |
The thing with Donna's kids saying " we aren't real, are we." freaked me out. A Campbell moment if there was one. | ||
| John_l_probert (John_l_probert) Username: John_l_probert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.253.174.81 |
I loved this story - especially the second episode. It's not easy to combine Phillip K Dick inspired SF, 'Woman in Black' style scary figures sitting in children's playgrounds and the kind of scary skull-in-spacesuit imagery we used to see in SF comics of the 70s, but I thought Mr Moffat did a bloody good job. | ||
| Albie (Albie) Username: Albie Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.195.236.131 |
But they will insist on flashing up insults about me when I'm watching it. "seaweed knob." "fat pubes: you've got them." "Albie wees tears through his arse sleeves." Didn't spoil it though. | ||
| Griff (Griff) Username: Griff Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.93.21.74 |
Do you really see those thing!? | ||
| Griff (Griff) Username: Griff Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.93.21.74 |
I will be buying magic beans in the marketplace later. | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.74.96.200 |
You'll only get a couple of cows for them. | ||
| Stu (Stu) Username: Stu Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 86.29.98.155 |
Apparently David Tennant is shagging Georgia Moffett in real life. Jammy bastard. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.147.50.25 |
Sad we know these things. I hate knowing all these things about celebs; it colours the parts they play. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.24.122.40 |
Well, she is the daughter of a Dr! | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.147.51.96 |
I actually don't like her face. I wanted the Doctor's daughter to be a bit quirky, not all fighty. Like Velma off Scooby Doo, but more cheery and funny, and only a little bit sexier. | ||
| Albie (Albie) Username: Albie Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.195.236.131 |
How can you get more sexy than Velma? | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.147.51.96 |
Or is it Daphne? I meant the little specky one. | ||
| Albie (Albie) Username: Albie Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.195.236.131 |
No, Velma. Sex on legs. |