The Doctor Who Thread

[42ndStreetFreak]

Just watched the new "Dr Who" Dalek story;

Smith is doing okay.
Not sure about the day-glo colour, plastic looking, 'Renault Megane'-style fat ass Daleks though!
Sort of cool, sort of silly.

And yet again, what would have made a first class 4 part (or even 6 part given the possible epic scope of this story that could have included so much interesting stuff) is stupidly rushed and crammed into one, roughly 2 part running time, episode that barely has any time left to even do anything with the new Daleks, wastes a great Spitfire vs flying saucer idea by having it last about 3 minutes, and barely scrapes the idea of the Daleks being around during WW2.

No cliffhangers, no plot development, rushed new ideas, rushed new Daleks even.
Shame.
So ****ing stupid, given how popular this re-boot now is (so there basically is no big risk) to not to try out a 4 part tale with a story full of this many plot ideas and possibilities....let alone new damn Daleks.

Hey ho.

[TwilightZoneTom@Cult Labs]

I don't mind the self contained episodes with nods to the arc that builds to the end of the series - it worked with Buffy and Angel. I think times have changed and the way TV has changed means the beeb could only make a twelve episodes of a show like this per year, so to have it taken up by a couple of self contained stories isn't really appealing to me.

Saying that though, I think the Dalek story last night was the first true dud of this year's series. It harkened back to a criticism that a lot of people had for the RTD era, painting themselves into a corner then pulling the solution out of their arse. I thought Matt Smith had very much found his Doctor persona in the last ep, but was a bit blank this time round. Possibly because Gatis wrote this pre casting? Who knows, but I thought it was a step backwards.

[Stephen@Cult Labs]

The new Daleks are pathetic imo,I'm sure kids will love them but I DONT! Steven Moffat needs a good slap!

[Roughale]

Now I am a big Doctor Who fan since I discovered it on one of these new cable TV stations we got where I could watch stuff in the original language and they had a constant fix of Tom Baker episodes - so I think I got a pretty good view of the series and can also relate to some of its silliness - where I also put the shopping-car-coloured new Daleks. I my self found this to be a nother top episode with the new Doctor, being a great David Tennant fan, I am really happy that Matt Smith is a good follow-up to him! He did good things in episode 1 and he was very strong here in episode 3.

I disagree on the episode being too short, ok, it was a lil tight, but there is big potential and the promise that this was not the last of the new Daleks, so that 2-part episode might still be in store, maybe as season's end? We have to wait and see...

And I am also excited about the episode-spanning thing with the cracks in the universe, this is good stuff and will surely develop into something big. I think Moffat does a nice job here and I am excited about each new episode!

[gag]

I like the new dr who think hes fitting in good, he plays it well, quite witty and sharp, but sadly the only downfall is i havent actualy enjoyed a episode yet think they been realy poor r just plain rubbish, the daleks wtf as the old saying goes if it aint broke y fix it, they was god dam awful, was dissapointed with the statue episode, the creatures in the 2nd episode looked promising then hughly let down become dull boring and sort of went nowhere with that episode

[Roughale]

Hmmmh... I think the opposite, ok, I can see the frustration in some with the Daleks, I may be off in liking that episode, but I really liked most of the episodes so far (my weakest episode was the second, as I was never a big fan of these future episodes - although there was good stuff in it like the UK spaceship, I still found it a bit dull...). The double episodes were both excellent, the return of the Weeping Angels was very welcome and spooky, same goes for the lizzards under the surface (me and names... ), but the ending

SPOILER:

where they killed off Rory was tough to take - maybe there is a loophole with that crack in time they have not revealed yet? Or the Doc simply does not know? I can see him being swallowed by that at the end of this season (or series as you might call it ) - so there must be a loophole...

I am absolutely thrilled by the spanning story line with the crack in time! For me it ranks on the same level as the previous 4 seasons since the return...

[Phantom]

Not really liking this season at all. After a pretty good 1st episode, it's mostly been down hill since. The episode "Vincent and the Doctor" was though a major step up, so perhaps the final episodes will see the series go out on a high.

Totally agree with others view on the 'new' Daleks. They are just horrible. The 2005 redesign was more than adequate. A simple repaint of that model would have been sufficient.

[JediLarfleeze]

Poor Rory came back only to be an Auton...

[mcmikey88]

new guy weighing in here with this.

i've got to admit i'm enjoying this series of doctor who as it's a departure from those of RTD. while Moffet has kept the 'structure' of the series with the companion lite episodes, the 2 parters and the key words scattered throughout he's done a good job at keeping it fresh. granted i wonder how many times the dalek's can loophole their way out of extinction but i guess seen as they're a staple of the doctor who name then they will never really go.

all in all it's keeping my guessing as i watch it and making my grin a little bit. plus matt smith and karen gillam work well together on screen.

[wayfarer]

I'm not homophobic but I hated the way in which RTD waved the pink flag for same sex relationships in both Doctor Who and Torchwood. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with gay characters, but RTD really underlined his social viewpoints to the point where they distracted from the storyline.

Anyway, I've found this season of Who t obe the weakest. What RTD did very well was what I'll call the "Whedon Effect" considering that he openly admits to borrowing Joss Whedon's style. He managed to creat very real emotions in his scripts from the interplay between characters or at least encourage it from the pool of writers. He teased very well, too, in making you believe that something was going to happen and invariably it didn't.

An example; Leading the public to believe that Tennant had regenerated when in fact he managed to create a "twin".

There has always been something wrong with the assistant;
Rose - not convincing for me
Martha - too bland and Freema is a crap actress (sorry to her fans)
Donna - the best of a bad bunch. Sometimes I thought I was watching a Catherine Tate sketch.

Amy Pond is irritating. She has no charm and just come across as a snidey know it all.

The last couple of episodes have been top drawer, though.