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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 194.32.31.1
Posted on Monday, April 08, 2013 - 12:08 pm:   

Two episodes in and I have a very good feeling about this series so far:

'The Bells Of St John' 7/10 - Solid entertaining opener, if a bit rushed, but lifted by the introduction of the best new assistant of the new incarnation, imho. Clara is adorable - drop dead gorgeous and very likeable with just the right level of vulnerability. The "alien infiltration of wi-fi" plot needed a longer running time but as the big baddie got away at the end things could have been worse.

'The Rings Of Akhaten' 8/10 - Possibly the best looking episode of Who yet with cinematic quality special effects and a fascinating alien world and monster. The ending was rather overblown and too sentimental for my liking but as all round family entertainment goes this was excellent stuff and bodes well for the darker episodes to come. The already wonderful chemistry between the Doctor & Clara is making up for any nit-picking flaws I'm detecting.

Here's hoping the series contuinues to improve and the best is yet to come. They've reined in the stupid attempts at juvenile humour (so far) and really upped the ante with the classy production values, which is all to the good. I've just heard that the feature length 50th Anniversary Special is to get a limited cinema release in 3D. Will wonders never cease!!
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Rosswarren (Rosswarren)
Username: Rosswarren

Registered: 11-2009
Posted From: 86.176.27.40
Posted on Monday, April 08, 2013 - 03:10 pm:   

The only thing that's marred it for me so far is the over-reliance on the sonic screwdriver.

The door that was supposed to be impossible for it to open just took the piss.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 194.32.31.1
Posted on Monday, April 08, 2013 - 03:55 pm:   

Yes, they do need to handle that lazy get out clause. I totally agree, Ross. The sonic screwdriver was only ever a minor element of the Doctor's arsenal back in classic Who but now it's like his own personal Excalibur. Why can't he just outwit them like in the old days. Even writing in "lucky breaks" to explain impossible escapes, as Robert E. Howard wasn't above relying on, would be more satisfying than one device that seems capable of doing just about anything. Lazy writing.
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Simon Bestwick (Simon_b)
Username: Simon_b

Registered: 10-2008
Posted From: 82.38.79.142
Posted on Saturday, April 13, 2013 - 08:00 pm:   

Well, my beloved persuaded me to watch tonight's episode- the first New Who I've bothered watching since the feck-awful 'Victory of the Daleks' (same writer, oddly enough!- and it was actually pretty good. Coleman is fairly cute and adorable, Liam Cunningham (not playing a baddie for once) was great but David Warner stole the show. ("You have to tell me! Ultravox- do they split up?") Always liked the Ice Warriors, so it's nice to see them again, although (SPOILER) I'd rather not have seen Skaldak with the helmet off.

It was OK- fun without being brilliant. It isn't the Dr Who I enjoyed as a kid, but my childhood was the best part of 30 years ago, and the original stuff doesn't look as good when you watch it back now. The big problem (as others have said) is that making most stories single-episode robs the show of any chance for character development, atmosphere etc. At least there was no sign of a season-long story arc...
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Carolinec (Carolinec)
Username: Carolinec

Registered: 06-2009
Posted From: 92.232.244.38
Posted on Saturday, April 13, 2013 - 09:17 pm:   

Agreed on all counts, Simon. It was clear it was written by someone with a love of old film and a love of classic Who, but for today's audience. Good fun. Though the Ice Warriors will always be more scary to me when I think back to their very first appearance when I was knee-high to a grasshopper.
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Des (Des)
Username: Des

Registered: 09-2010
Posted From: 86.130.218.222
Posted on Sunday, April 14, 2013 - 11:41 am:   

David Warner's character in last night's Doctor Who reminded me of William Hartnell as the Doctor.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 212.183.128.45
Posted on Monday, April 15, 2013 - 02:06 pm:   

'Cold War' was DW right back to its glorious best, IMO. Self contained, scary, atmospheric, well written and directed with just the right level of humour and an inspired updating of one of the classic monsters. A resounding 10/10 and easily the best Mark Gatiss penned episode yet. The show has never had a more professional sheen or cinematic quality special effects than in these last three episodes. Very, very impressive so far!!
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 212.183.128.45
Posted on Monday, April 15, 2013 - 02:09 pm:   

Seeing David Warner again was the icing on the cake, Des. He'd have been a natural as the Doctor.
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Des (Des)
Username: Des

Registered: 09-2010
Posted From: 86.130.218.222
Posted on Monday, April 15, 2013 - 04:48 pm:   

I agree with both your previous two posts, Stevie.
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Protodroid (Protodroid)
Username: Protodroid

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 147.252.230.148
Posted on Tuesday, April 16, 2013 - 02:05 pm:   

I've got the last two eps on ice, so to speak and will watch them soon. David Warner was always my favourite suggestion for the lead role. Sadly, if he's playing another character it might not now ever happen.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 194.32.31.1
Posted on Tuesday, April 16, 2013 - 04:23 pm:   

I believe it happened before, Proto. Didn't Colin Baker play a different character in a Peter Davison episode of 'Doctor Who' before going on to be cast as the Doctor himself?

I felt the same reaction when I saw Richard E. Grant pop up in the Christmas Special, and again in 'The Bells Of St John', as he was always one of my top picks to play DW. Though, this being sci-fi TV, they can still make it happen if they want to.

But my No. 1 pick as a cast iron perfect choice to play the Doctor is now John Noble - alias Walter Bishop from 'Fringe'. The man is already like a sublime cross between Vincent Price & Jon Pertwee and a fantastic actor with it! As 'Fringe' has come to an end with the soon to be released Season 5 and Matt Smith surely must be nearing regeneration... get on that phone now, people!!
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Protodroid (Protodroid)
Username: Protodroid

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 213.233.148.13
Posted on Sunday, April 21, 2013 - 11:27 pm:   

I've just watched "The Rings Of Akhaten". Beautiful effects but the music and dialogue is all so overblown. It's trying so hard that there's never any modulation of tone. Every line insists on trying to be either funny or profound.

And that leaf summarized the solipsistic, childish, selfish, egotistical attitude Doctor Who protagonists have had for years. That leaf WASN"T "the most important leaf in human history". It was only important to you, mate!
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Weber (Weber_gregston)
Username: Weber_gregston

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 217.212.231.171
Posted on Monday, April 22, 2013 - 12:39 am:   

That depends on the answer to who Clara is really... Even ignoring that, the leaf represented all the possible futures and alternate versions of the present. I've loved these last 4 episodes. It seems to be getting better as it goes on. Even Gatiss have a damned good episode when i've not been a huge fan of the last few he's written. And we've still got another Neil Gaiman episode on its way. With Cybermen!
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 194.32.31.1
Posted on Monday, April 22, 2013 - 12:04 pm:   

"Hide" was another belter of a 'Doctor Who' episode in which all the elements that make the show great came together perfectly. Direction, plot, atmosphere, special effects, charming performances, scares, humour, edge of the seat tension, engrossing character developments and tantalising hints of deeper mysteries to come were integrated with seamless aplomb to provide 45 minutes of marvellous family entertainment for all ages. Another resounding 10/10 and this series is now up and flying!!
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David_lees (David_lees)
Username: David_lees

Registered: 12-2011
Posted From: 92.22.9.211
Posted on Monday, April 22, 2013 - 05:10 pm:   

My only nitpicky problem with that last episode was the age of Dougray Scott's character. The episode was set in 1975 and stated that he served in WWII, supposedly spending most of the war in a POW camp. That would make him at the very least 60 years old, wouldn't it?
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David_lees (David_lees)
Username: David_lees

Registered: 12-2011
Posted From: 92.22.9.211
Posted on Monday, April 22, 2013 - 05:12 pm:   

Probably older, unless he was recruited by the SOE as a teenager.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 81.149.182.62
Posted on Monday, April 22, 2013 - 06:08 pm:   

Unless it was the Korean War? Did it mention which conflict he had served in?
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David_lees (David_lees)
Username: David_lees

Registered: 12-2011
Posted From: 92.22.9.211
Posted on Monday, April 22, 2013 - 09:01 pm:   

I can't remember if it was named specifically as WWII but The Doctor did say he served in the Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, which was a name used for the SOE during WWII. With that and the talk of POW camps WWII seems heavily implied, enough that if it was another war they'd have named it specifically.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 86.24.62.55
Posted on Monday, April 22, 2013 - 09:42 pm:   

Perhaps they meant to say 1954 which would make this a classic continuity error. To be honest the clothes they were wearing were decidedly un-1970s!
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Weber (Weber_gregston)
Username: Weber_gregston

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 86.134.106.53
Posted on Saturday, April 27, 2013 - 02:28 am:   

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DQq-1umWDs
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 194.32.31.1
Posted on Monday, April 29, 2013 - 03:01 pm:   

"Journey To The Centre Of The Tardis" made it three excellent top-notch 'Doctor Who' episodes in a row. I found the revelations about the TARDIS quite fascinating and it was a pleasure to see such levels of genuine weirdness being generated with the cast all playing it dead straight. Cracking stuff that only loses a point for being a bit overly frenetic and hard to follow at times. The non-stop tension, truly scary monsters and quality of the special effects and general production values more than made up for this though. A highly impressive 9/10, imo. All-in-all some of the perennial problems of New Who remain (complex stories crammed into too short a running time and the lack of multi-part stories and the cliffhangers that made Classic Who so memorable) but 'Doctor Who' has certainly never looked better nor the new incarnation been of such a consistently high quality as these last 5 episodes!
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Weber (Weber_gregston)
Username: Weber_gregston

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 86.134.106.244
Posted on Sunday, May 05, 2013 - 01:24 pm:   

And another corker of an episode.

And next week's is Neil Gaiman's cybermen ep!!!! The teaser at the end was freakin awesome.
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David_lees (David_lees)
Username: David_lees

Registered: 12-2011
Posted From: 92.22.78.49
Posted on Monday, May 06, 2013 - 12:58 am:   

"Horse! You have failed in your mission!"

I thought the Satnav gag was a bit too weird, though.

It was nice to see the Doctor so vulnerable for once. I wonder how many kids are going to have a worrying epiphany about how much sheer luck was involved in surviving that episode when they stop and think about it.
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Weber (Weber_gregston)
Username: Weber_gregston

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 86.134.105.231
Posted on Monday, May 06, 2013 - 02:56 am:   

Fourth one this week, and I'm not even hungry...
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 86.24.62.55
Posted on Monday, May 06, 2013 - 12:04 pm:   

"The Crimson Horror" was another brilliantly entertaining 10/10 thrill ride from start to finish. Gatiss's script was a model of compact storytelling within the limitations of the running time, ingeniously structured to cram in all the necessary backstory, for full understanding of the threat and character motivations, without hindering the flow of the action. This was his best written episode yet and should be used as a template if they are determined to stick with the reigning format. We had great fully formed characters in a convincingly atmospheric setting, intrigue, scares, exciting action, a memorable new monster, genuinely funny moments of comic relief and we got to see The Doctor as a helpless victim, for a change, having to rely on his mates rather than just waving his sonic screwdriver to get out of every scrape. Lessons have been learnt, it would seem, and 'Doctor Who' is now easily the best thing on the telly once again! Hurrah!!
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 194.32.31.1
Posted on Tuesday, May 14, 2013 - 03:31 pm:   

Things were going far too well... "Nightmare In Silver" was a crashing disappointment following the excellence of recent episodes and Neil Gaiman's previous story, "The Doctor's Wife". This felt more like a return to the confusingly ramshackle episodes of the first half of this series, with Amy & Rory. In fact I feel certain Neil must have wrote this story with Amy in mind as Clara's character was transformed from being believably feisty but with an adorable vulnerability into a ballsy military commander shouting orders to space marines ffs! Compare how Gatiss wrote the character in "Cold War" and the difference couldn't have been more stark or irritating. Add to that Matt Smith's limitations as an actor being cruelly highlighted when he was expected to play a dual role and ended up just sounding like a berk. On the plus side I really liked the new cyberman design, and hope they stick with it, and it's always good to see Warwick Davis (of 'Leprechaun' fame). There were some good moments but the rushed storyline and character inconsistencies got in the way of comfortable enjoyment, for me, and I can't give it any more than a watchable 6/10. I think this backward looking script should have been ditched instead of being shoe-horned in to what was becoming a mighty resurgence - but with Neil Gaiman's name attached, thus are the drawbacks of fame. Hopefully this was just a blip in quality for the series and the writer!
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Tony (Tony)
Username: Tony

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 81.158.253.196
Posted on Tuesday, May 14, 2013 - 03:52 pm:   

Those completely unimpressed/'bored' kids annoyed me, and the stock Gaiman Dickensian weirdos ('He wears a top hat - in the future!').
I don't want heavy or dark Who stories but I also don't want candy floss like this. I was forgetting it as I watched. I like Who a bit scary and odd, and a little bit funny - the show is meant to be 'light'. But it's a bit sad when an episode of Not Going Out we watched last night turns out scarier, funnier and better plotted than this.
And yes, it feels like Smith is ungenerating himself with each passing moment.
A lot of people I know are really going off it, however amazingly popular it might seem to be. Honestly, hand on heart, bring back Russell T and Tennant in a Dallas inspired 'it was all a dream' episode, *please*....
(That episode ages ago, when the Daleks popped out of the egg to fight the cybermen, still remains one of the highlights of my telly-watching life. I knew at the time it wouldn't/couldn't get any better... :-( )
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Weber (Weber_gregston)
Username: Weber_gregston

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 80.239.242.205
Posted on Saturday, May 18, 2013 - 11:34 pm:   

Absolutely fantastic finale to the show and a great set up for the anniversary special. Some lovely geek touches as well - the list of names the doctor's gone by in the past, brilliant stuff. I won't say more yet so i don't leave spoilers for anyone who's not seen it.
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Mick Curtis (Mick)
Username: Mick

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 81.159.33.151
Posted on Sunday, May 19, 2013 - 01:35 am:   

Yep, not a bad episode at all. Easily the best this series, for me.
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Protodroid (Protodroid)
Username: Protodroid

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 213.233.148.12
Posted on Sunday, May 19, 2013 - 02:25 am:   

The ending would have had weight if was still a show in which, for example, destroying the Universe or, I dunno -- death itself had actual consequences. Alex Kingston is back AGAIN for the 50th Anniversary thing. More simpering. Dying is a mere inconvenience.

This year's eps had the most vulgar lighting I can remember. Great gaudy splashes of colour, clashing with each other and with no discernable scheme in mind.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 194.32.31.1
Posted on Monday, May 20, 2013 - 06:29 pm:   

I really enjoyed the final episode of this series and thought the cliffhanger ending was truly superb. NO SPOILERS but Wow!! Having said that the rest of the episode, for all the good bits, was a bit all over the place and bordering on the non-sensical, imo, with too much happening too quickly without adequate explanation - a major flaw that sadly continues to bedevil New Who. Was great seeing all the old Doctors, Jon Pertwee & Bessie in particular, get their little cameos and I can only hope the 50th Anniversary Special - set for limited cinema release, I hear - makes more sense of this episode and ties everything up as satisfyingly as we'd all love to see. I'd give "The Name Of The Doctor", as a whole, a solidly entertaining 8/10... and the final five minutes a resounding 10!
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 194.32.31.1
Posted on Monday, May 20, 2013 - 06:55 pm:   

So let's see... Part 1 of Series 7:

Asylum Of The Daleks - 7/10

Dinosaurs On A Spaceship - 4/10

A Town Called Mercy - 8/10

The Power Of Three - 5/10

The Angels Take Manhattan - 10/10

{which worked out at 68%}


The Christmas Special: The Snowmen - 10/10


Part 2 of Series 7:

The Bells Of St John - 7/10

The Rings Of Akhaten - 8/10

Cold War - 10/10

Hide - 10/10

Journey To The Centre Of The TARDIS - 9/10

The Crimson Horror - 10/10

Nightmare In Silver - 6/10

The Name Of The Doctor - 8/10

Which works out as 78 out of a possible 90 = 87% (including the, for once, crucial to the plot, Christmas episode).

And for Series 7 as a whole that's 112 out of a possible 140 = 80% overall.

Pretty impressive and, in the best episodes, really quite faultless family entertainment.
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Tony (Tony)
Username: Tony

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 81.158.253.196
Posted on Tuesday, May 21, 2013 - 10:22 am:   

I've watched them but not been gripped by them. I've laughed and things, but felt unsatisfied on the whole. It no longer feels 'essential'.
This happened to me yesterday when I got to see Star Trek 2. I sort of enjoyed it but then felt all the best it could possibly have done had been done in the first one. It made Prometheus's mistake of borrowing/echoing moments from previous films. In fact, I'm right fed up of 'harking back' in film. It feels like we've reached a wall of glass and can't ever get through it.
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Tony (Tony)
Username: Tony

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 81.158.253.196
Posted on Tuesday, May 21, 2013 - 10:24 am:   

I think they should stop making Who for a good few years. The times aren't right for it any more, and the feel of it isn't being judged well enough. It needs to calm down, become a bit more pedestrian.
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Tony (Tony)
Username: Tony

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 81.158.253.196
Posted on Tuesday, May 21, 2013 - 01:09 pm:   

I wish I would stop moaning.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 194.32.31.1
Posted on Tuesday, May 21, 2013 - 01:12 pm:   

You didn't like 'Into Darkness', Tony!!!! It is the most ridiculously enjoyable sci-fi spectacular in years, if not decades. 'The Future Begins' was fantastic but this one just blows it away. How can that have gone over your head? What Abrams gave us was a no holds barred and perfectly judged return to the classic space opera sense of fun and drama and spectacle that made the original 'Star Wars' trilogy so damn thrilling!! It's an unqualified masterpiece of popular cinema. No offence, but have you had the enjoyment centre of your brain by-passed or something?
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Protodroid (Protodroid)
Username: Protodroid

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 213.233.148.17
Posted on Tuesday, May 21, 2013 - 10:30 pm:   

Honestly Stevie, it would be hard for anyone to not take offense at what you've just said just there. I'm sure it wasn't your intention, but it comes across as pretty patronizing.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 194.32.31.1
Posted on Wednesday, May 22, 2013 - 12:20 pm:   

Tony himself admits he wishes he could stop moaning! I'm just agreeing with him.

When one approaches a work of popular entertainment one should never expect perfection but to be entertained. If the flaws in the production get in the way of our enjoyment then one should be honest about them. But if one goes in looking for the flaws, and blowing them out of all proportion, rather than suspending one's disbelief and going along for the ride, then one is never going to be satisfied. That's pure logic.
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Tony (Tony)
Username: Tony

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 81.158.253.196
Posted on Wednesday, May 22, 2013 - 01:51 pm:   

Stevie, you know how much I love my popcorn movies. This just didn't really do it for me. I wasn't looking for flaws - it cost the two of us £17 to see this film. I was *desperate* to. But if you like films that just keep echoing previous ones then I suppose all's well and good. Did I say I was looking for flaws somewhere? I'm sure I didn't... I have to say though, when every character cries at some point it starts to grate. Even Spock did. It stopped affecting me in the end. :-(
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 194.32.31.1
Posted on Wednesday, May 22, 2013 - 03:18 pm:   

It was supposed to affect you on a fun gut instinctive level if you had grown up watching and loving the original TV shows and films. It did that brilliantly and yet still presented us with an original and gripping narrative that turned the 'Star Trek' universe on its head and made us question everything we had taken for granted about the supposedly idyllic Federation. As a reboot, as a reimagining, as a homage and as a brilliant piece of pure family entertainment it is untouchable - and, yes, a work of reconstructive genius!
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Protodroid (Protodroid)
Username: Protodroid

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 147.252.230.148
Posted on Wednesday, May 22, 2013 - 03:26 pm:   

"It was supposed to affect you on a fun gut instinctive level if you had grown up watching and loving the original TV shows and films. It did that brilliantly"

I and (I'm assuming) Tony grew up watching Star Trek, but that doesn't mean that we'll have the same response as you. Your tone is suggests that there is only one correct response to the piece. Let's not have this debate again...
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 194.32.31.1
Posted on Wednesday, May 22, 2013 - 03:41 pm:   

Watch the movie and make your own mind up, Proto. I thought it couldn't possibly have been done any better.

Bear in mind this is not a remake but a continuation of the franchise with Leonard Nimoy still playing the real Spock. I know it sounds like a far-fetched get out clause but it at least keeps the integrity and continuity of the show intact.

There will only ever be one James T. Kirk, as Spock never fails to point out, but even the original show gave us alternate versions of the characters in parallel universes which makes this reboot all the more enjoyably daft and thrilling. Spock does want to return, after all, and stop the destruction of Vulcan from ever having taken place.

If only 'Doctor Who' paid half as much attention to continuity, rather than letting different writers do their thing every week with very little attention to what had gone before (plot and character wise) then we'd really have another franchise worth getting excited about.

'Star Trek' rocks!!!!
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Weber (Weber_gregston)
Username: Weber_gregston

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 194.66.23.11
Posted on Friday, May 24, 2013 - 05:54 pm:   

Jam doughnuts are the most beautiful tasty and absolutely fantastic guilty snack it's possible to eat. I simply cannot understand how anyone could dislike them. On a gut, instinctual level, it makes no sense to me whatsoever that anyone could dislike them.

However there are 3 people in my office who claim that jam doughnuts are the most disgusting food ever invented.

Personally I believe that they were born with a tastebud malfunction. there must be something wrong with them if they don't like this manna from greggs/morrisons/heaven. This has been stated on more than one occasion.

There are times when you enjoy something so much that you physically, emotionally and mentally cannot understand why anyone could have a different reaction.

Clearly Stevie finds the new Trek film falls into this category. It's his latest filmic equivalent of my jammy doughnut goodness.
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Weber (Weber_gregston)
Username: Weber_gregston

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 194.66.23.11
Posted on Friday, May 24, 2013 - 05:57 pm:   

BTW Stevie - with regards to Star Trek continuity, in the second or third episode they passed through some field or other which turned anyone with psychic abilities into a powercrazed psycically charged lunatic. Spock wasn't psychic and therefore wasn't affected. In later episodes, he could manipulate people's minds through concrete walls. It wasn't the great masterpiece of continuity you claim it to be,
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 86.24.62.55
Posted on Saturday, May 25, 2013 - 10:00 am:   

If you think back to that episode, "Where No Man Has Gone Before", only two people on the ship were struck by the cosmic ray or whatever it was and mutated into silver eyed god-like beings of immense psychic power. Had Spock or anyone else also been struck the same would have happened to them. That's the one in which Spock shows the dark side of his logic by pleading with Kirk to cold bloodedly murder his best friend before he gets too powerful to control.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 86.24.62.55
Posted on Saturday, May 25, 2013 - 10:07 am:   

I'd love to see someone like Alan Moore come in and do to 'Doctor Who' what he famously managed with DC's 'Swamp Thing'. It needs reined in and made sense of with a streamlining of the show's internal logic and mythology. Great fun as it still is 'Doctor Who' could also be so much more with a bit of care and thought and less of a "writer of the week" feel about it, IMHO.
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David_lees (David_lees)
Username: David_lees

Registered: 12-2011
Posted From: 92.22.37.208
Posted on Saturday, June 01, 2013 - 11:38 pm:   

Looks like there's going to be a new Doctor for 2014.

http://www.sfx.co.uk/2013/06/01/matt-smith-is-leaving-doctor-who/
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Stu (Stu)
Username: Stu

Registered: 04-2008
Posted From: 90.244.40.117
Posted on Monday, June 03, 2013 - 04:50 pm:   

Apparently Alan Moore was asked to write The Five Doctors for the 20th anniversary but turned it down because he thought the show had gone downhill ever since William Hartnell left. Terrance Dicks got the gig instead.
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David_lees (David_lees)
Username: David_lees

Registered: 12-2011
Posted From: 92.22.37.208
Posted on Monday, June 03, 2013 - 08:56 pm:   

My vote's for Danny Dyer. Travelling through time and space in a shellsuit, nursing a hangover and calling aliens "facking cahnts".
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 194.32.31.1
Posted on Tuesday, June 04, 2013 - 03:46 pm:   

Okay, by this time we all know that JH (always one of my favourite actors since his unforgettable turn as C in 'IC') was introduced as the "The Doctor" in the cliffhanger last episode, 'The Name Of The Doctor'.

So is he going to be some briefly appearing and previously unrevealed earlier incarnation rather than the new Doctor?

For myself, and including the Top 10 list of replacements I formulated elsewhere, before the news that Matt Smith is to be regenerated, which I could feel in my bones nonetheless, I can think of no one better for the role!

As a recap of that list, it went thusly:

1. John Noble
2. Benedict Cumberbatch
3. Ian McKellen
4. Stephen Rea
5. Bill Nighy
6. Bill Paterson
7. Richard E. Grant
8. Simon Baker
9. Damian Lewis
10. Andrew Lincoln

But I never thought of JH and he's better than any of them!
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Tony (Tony)
Username: Tony

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 81.158.253.196
Posted on Tuesday, June 04, 2013 - 07:01 pm:   

Surely Moore should have taken the chance to do it right?
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Tony (Tony)
Username: Tony

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 81.158.253.196
Posted on Tuesday, June 04, 2013 - 07:02 pm:   

Poor Smith has had the flattest run of all the new Whos. :-(

Toby Jones is my top choice.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 86.24.62.55
Posted on Tuesday, June 04, 2013 - 11:25 pm:   

Totally disagree, Tony. I still think Matt Smith was the best Doctor Who since Tom Baker and I'm hoping they give him a fitting send-off.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 86.24.62.55
Posted on Tuesday, June 04, 2013 - 11:44 pm:   

In the early 80s 'Doctor Who' was languishing in the absolute doldrums and not even the genius of Alan Moore could have revived it given just one anniversary special to work with. I'm not surprised to hear he turned it down. In truth the show had been in a woeful decline ever since Sarah-Jane Smith left it as Tom Baker's assistant. I consider New Who to be superior to the second half of the original run, the later Tom Baker to Sylvester McCoy years. If I were ever to start collecting the DVDs I would stop with "The Hand Of Death" serial.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 194.32.31.1
Posted on Wednesday, June 05, 2013 - 12:55 pm:   

Make that "The Hand Of Fear" (1976).

That farewell between Tom Baker's Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith before his return to Gallifrey (from whence he had fled with the stolen TARDIS as William Hartnell, way back when) marks, for me, the logical end to the classic period of 'Doctor Who' as absolutely essential TV sci-fi viewing at its very best. Charmingly shoddy production values notwithstanding!

The following years grew ever more silly and camp, degenerating into outright rubbish during the tenure of Colin Baker & Sylvester McCoy, imho (with apologies to fans of those incarnations).

The Paul McGann film was a decent reboot made cherishable, for me, by that machine gunning of the previous Doctor at the very start!

Since then New Who has seen the character rise from the ashes as once again one of the best things on television, while never quite reaching the giddy heights of the classic years (peaking with Jon Pertwee's time as scientific advisor to UNIT aided by the luscious Jo Grant). That's my potted opinion of the show's history for what it's worth.
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Tony (Tony)
Username: Tony

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 81.158.253.196
Posted on Wednesday, June 05, 2013 - 07:08 pm:   

I like Smith, just haven't fallen in love with Moff's run as much as I'd hoped I would. It's been interesting but not very stirring or gripping. For me, anyways.
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David_lees (David_lees)
Username: David_lees

Registered: 12-2011
Posted From: 92.22.35.223
Posted on Sunday, August 04, 2013 - 08:47 pm:   

Well, that's the new Doctor announced. Good choice! I was hoping for someone older this time. Can't wait to see how he plays the part.
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Weber (Weber_gregston)
Username: Weber_gregston

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 86.134.105.15
Posted on Monday, August 05, 2013 - 02:39 am:   

What a great choice. I can't wait to see him in the role.
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David_lees (David_lees)
Username: David_lees

Registered: 12-2011
Posted From: 92.22.35.223
Posted on Monday, August 05, 2013 - 10:43 am:   

I've been watching some reaction videos from very upset teen girls this morning. I think they may have lost a healthy chunk of their fanbase with that decision
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 212.183.128.118
Posted on Monday, August 05, 2013 - 01:33 pm:   

An inspired choice. He's one of the best actors who will ever have played the role and should bring some much needed gravitas back to the character. Thank feck they're headed in the right direction age-wise again! This, along with the involvement of the mighty John Hurt, would seem to indicate a readiness to really shake up the programme which can only be applauded.
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Carolinec (Carolinec)
Username: Carolinec

Registered: 06-2009
Posted From: 92.237.187.186
Posted on Tuesday, August 06, 2013 - 12:05 pm:   

I only just watched the vid of Peter Capaldi when he was announced as the new Doc. I'm probably the only person in the country who's never seen him in The Thick of It so I don't know much about him at all.

I must say I'm impressed. The William Hartnell homage he did with his lapels was inspired - definitely a nod to a more "mature" Doctor of the Classic Series. I have high hopes. Having said that though, when Matt Smith was first announced I thought he was way too young for the role, but he proved me wrong with a superb performance (pity about the mostly rubbish stories). So I hope I - and the rest of Who fandom - haven't set our hopes too high. He might fail miserably.

Also very much looking forward to John Hurt's performance in the 50th. I have a theory. A promo pic I saw of Capaldi with a goatee beard makes him look very much like a younger version of Hurt's Doctor, as seen at the end of the last episode. What if they *both* turn out to be the 12th Doctor? We may see Hurt as the Doc when things went badly wrong turning him into an outcast (the Time Wars?), and then we see Capaldi as the Doc leading up to that time? Hmmmm. Maybe I should write for Doctor Who (chance would be a fine thing! )
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Mick Curtis (Mick)
Username: Mick

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 81.159.61.246
Posted on Tuesday, August 06, 2013 - 12:20 pm:   

I'm a real fan of Capaldi - I've liked his work since first seeing him in LOCAL HERO.
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David Lees (David_lees)
Username: David_lees

Registered: 12-2011
Posted From: 176.248.120.78
Posted on Monday, October 14, 2013 - 01:57 pm:   

This is good news - Ben Wheatley will be directing the first two episodes of the next series of Doctor Who. Given what he says here I wonder if we're going to see more of a horror influence in Capaldi's tenure?

http://thequietus.com/articles/13595-ben-wheatley-doctor-who
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 194.32.31.1
Posted on Monday, October 14, 2013 - 04:16 pm:   

Now that's what I call bloody exciting news!!!!

Ben Wheatley seems to be a true fanboy perfectionist who realises his strengths as well as his limitations and has slowly been building up an impressive body of work as a horror specialist director.

I believe, if he doesn't let success go to his head, that he could be the next truly great horror auteur. Stay focused on what you love, stay subtle and stay clever, man, and don't be dragged into the Hollywood void... please!
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 194.32.31.1
Posted on Monday, October 14, 2013 - 04:23 pm:   

Hurt, Capaldi & Wheatley... things are looking up in the 'Doctor Who' universe.

I agree with the comments about the early Tom Baker years being wonderfully grim, moody and horror based. But they still pale beside the peak brilliance of the Pertwee years!

And did anyone on here hear the news about 9 episodes of the Patrick Troughton years being rediscovered ffs!!!! Including the entirety of one of my favourite stories 'The Web Of Fear'!!!!!!!!

I know it from reading the novelisation and little Weetabix cut-outs of the Yetis from the early 70s.

Finally going to see it in full!!!! Yeehaa!!!!
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 194.32.31.1
Posted on Monday, October 14, 2013 - 04:29 pm:   

'The Web Of Fear' was the serial that introduced the Brigadier and led to the formation of UNIT as an answer to any future alien menaces.

Yetis in the London Underground? How could anyone fail to love this show?
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 194.32.31.1
Posted on Monday, October 14, 2013 - 04:38 pm:   

For me the stone cold classic years of 'Doctor Who' - and the only ones I would deign to collect and watch in chrono order - include everything from the start of 'The Web Of Fear' (3rd Feb 1968) up to the final episode of 'The Hand Of Fear' (23rd Oct 1976).

There's good stuff before and after that but the show was never as consistently intelligent and entertaining and damn inspired and bloody scary as it was during those great years.

Discuss... but you won't change my mind.
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Mick Curtis (Mick)
Username: Mick

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 81.151.5.200
Posted on Monday, October 14, 2013 - 06:13 pm:   

For me it's Troughton all the way; I saw these eps when first broadcast and recall loving Web of Fear and so I'll be buying the downloads then the DVD once it's on sale. Pertwee was ok but I kind of lost interest in the show, with him being stuck in the present day on Earth for all that time. Baker made the show take off again for me.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 86.24.62.55
Posted on Monday, October 14, 2013 - 09:06 pm:   

I totally understand and agree with your love of Troughton's Doctor, Mick. I only really knew him from 'The Three Doctors' storyline as a child but anything I've seen since was absolutely brilliant! Tom Baker took a while to grow on me but the first four or so years of his tenure were undeniably brilliant. However, the Pertwee years were the show at its absolute pinnacle of excellence, imo. The Earth based stories made the Doctor and the threat to Earth seem more real. Those years also boasted the best regular supporting cast members (Roger Delgado chief among them), the most intelligent Kneale-like scripts and film-like Hammeresque atmosphere. Jon Pertwee, with his mix of gravitas, humour and daring-do spirit was born to play the part and no one, before or since, has done it better!
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David Lees (David_lees)
Username: David_lees

Registered: 12-2011
Posted From: 176.248.120.78
Posted on Monday, October 14, 2013 - 11:40 pm:   

Regarding the Wheatley news, I'll be gutted if we don't get some kind of "A Field in Trenzalore" gag.
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Mick Curtis (Mick)
Username: Mick

Registered: 03-2008
Posted From: 81.151.5.200
Posted on Monday, October 14, 2013 - 11:55 pm:   

Two episodes into The Web of Fear and it's looking like it will topple Tomb of the Cybermen from the top of my list of favourites!
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 194.32.31.1
Posted on Tuesday, October 15, 2013 - 11:18 am:   

Can't wait to see it, Mick! One of these days I'm going to start collecting the old 'Doctor Who' stories starting with that one.

My own favourite story is still probably 'The Green Death' with Jon Pertwee.
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David Lees (David_lees)
Username: David_lees

Registered: 12-2011
Posted From: 2.219.133.41
Posted on Thursday, December 26, 2013 - 02:11 pm:   

Well, speaking as someone who's generally a very forgiving Doctor Who fan, I thought Matt Smith's last episode was a bit of a letdown. It had good bits but overall there was FAR too much story crammed into a one hour episode and massive unresolved plots from the earlier seasons were handwaved away in a few lines of dialogue.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 94.118.74.89
Posted on Thursday, December 26, 2013 - 02:54 pm:   

I actually really enjoyed it, David. Much more than the Anniversary Special. Yeah it was too rushed, as usual, but the central idea of the Doctor being trapped in one place for hundreds of years by his oldest enemies and slowly ageing to death was compelling and built to a suitably emotional climax. I have very good vibes about Capaldi taking over after this one. More gravitas and not as much clowning would do a lot to rejuvenate the show to former glories - along with a ditching of the over-convoluted, hopelessly tangled and ultimately distracting multi-plot arcs. That's what did for 'The X Files' in the end and 'Doctor Who' has long fallen into the same trap. I'd give 'The Time Of The Doctor' a soundly entertaining and affecting 9/10.
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David Lees (David_lees)
Username: David_lees

Registered: 12-2011
Posted From: 2.219.133.41
Posted on Thursday, December 26, 2013 - 03:51 pm:   

I don't normally like to nitpick Doctor Who and tend to just go along for the ride, but how did that town function for centuries in a state of siege and in virtually permanent night? Where did their food come from? Why was it called Christmas? Why was it there in the first place? How did the Doctor lie about having a plan when they'd established people could only tell the truth?

I didn't hate it or anything, but it would have been more of a 4/10 or 5/10 from me and not a great final episode for Smith. Maybe if it had been a two-parter or even a ninety minute episode it would have worked for me better.

Still, I loved the "talk very fast, hope something good happen, take the credit" line.
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Stevie Walsh (Stephenw)
Username: Stephenw

Registered: 03-2009
Posted From: 94.118.67.66
Posted on Thursday, December 26, 2013 - 04:18 pm:   

All good points, David. I just assume that they were able to function like any growing frontier town due to the force field protecting them and the planet. The wooden cyberman was a nice touch I thought. But the script really did demand a credibility straining suspension of disbelief that has always been the greatest flaw of New Who... for all the frequently inspired one-off episodes. This was one of the more entertaining ones on an emotional level for me. But, yeah, elements of the story were all over the bloody place. A tightening up process of the internal logic in the show is long overdue! I say again - bring in Alan Moore ffs!! What he achieved with 'Swamp Thing' was nothing short of miraculous and that long running series was in a right awful mess when he took over as writer!

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