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Doctor Who

Just for anybody who wants it,alot of spoilers have been posted on a very reliable site called "doctor who TV" for anybody who wants to see it,not sure if im allowed to do that but it's there if anybody wants it
 
Uh-oh, big post on the way.

I think the main (and to me, only) fault of Series 6 was that the River Song storyline was FAR too prominent and intruded too much into the individual stories. I am a massive fan of Moffat's era but even so, I thought "Let's Kill Hitler" was poor and the finale a little underwhelming. Saying that there were still fantastic episodes within such as the opening two-parter, "The Doctor's Wife" and "The Girl Who Waited", which rank as some of my all time favourites. Series 5 was better though, managing to perfectly balance the cracks-in-time story-arcs and characterising the new doctor and companions. (I'd happily never watch the Silurian two-parter again though.)

I'm surprised how much praise the RTD-era has gotten, I personally thought on the whole it was mostly awful. I recognise that some episodes of Moffat's-era may become overly complicated for the younger audience (although my eight-year old cousin doesn't seem to complain), those arguing that the RTD-era was more family orientated should realise there's a fine boundary between "cheesy family-fun" and "cringe-worthy ridiculousness". For example, that finale where the Doctor defeats the Master with some magic powers obtained by everyone in the world whispering his name? Or the whole Master changing everyone on Earth into himself? Or the monster Cyberman stomping around Victorian London? Those were just insulting, and I thought that whilst RTD was good at putting the Doctor in difficult positions, he was hopeless at resolving them!

I hated how the Doctor became some sort of superhero who everyone relied on, I hated the over the top "throw everything in" season finales, I hated the stupid "Rose loves the Doctor", "Martha loves the Doctor but the Doctor loves Rose" soap-opera story-lines and how they kept bloody bringing her back long after she left. For me, it was only Moffat and Paul Cornell's (and the occasional one RTD got right) stories which kept me watching, not to mention they look even worse in hindsight. Okay, I liked Donna, I liked David, I liked Christopher and parts of Season 1, but for me, the stories really let them down.

James said:
Am I the only one that thinks Matt Smith's take on the Doctor is fantastic?

We've seen him cry, we've seen him hurt, we've seen the child within him, we've seen the excitement, we've seen his enthusiasm and most importantly we've seen the dark side of the Doctor - the life of a man that has raged through war and destruction.

The 11th Doctor has done just as much (if not more) than the 10th (David Tennant). I honestly don't see a big difference apart from the fact that people had a David Tennant fanism. The fact Christopher had one season as the Doctor didn't leave much for people to remember. So for much of the modern 'Who fans David Tennant has and will always be the Doctor - and to be honest if you feel like that then you're clearly a DT fan, not a Doctor Who fan.
I completely agree with this. Matt is arguably the quirkiest Doctor of New Who (possibly Classic as well although I admittedly have only seen a handful of Classic episodes myself) but he's more than delivered in terms of emotion, anger and excitement. The problem was that RTD made 10 so human-like and emotional that it's easy to forget he's an alien. I think the quirkiness is what defines Eleven and I hope it's pushed even more!

NastyPasty said:
But as soon as the takeover occurred, he changed the show from an hour of transportation to distant galaxies and adventures, that pulled at everyone's heartstrings, into a complicated parade for his nonsense plots. I find it difficult to understand what's happening and whilst the actors are fantastic, they are not given the plots they deserve.
Transportation to different galaxies and adventures?! Of the 60 episodes of the RTD-era, 44 of them were set on Earth (32 of them in London alone) and that's not even counting the ones set on a spaceship around the planet or various iterations of said planet! ::)

River Song is increasingly irritating, and Rory tags along like a spiritless whelk. There is little spark and the overpowering energy that Tennant played with is no longer present.
I like River Song, however I believe that she's being a bit overused and agree that the less of her in the future the better. But Rory - a spiritless whelk?! If anything I believe Rory's the most developed New Who companion to date. He may have been a bit spiritless at the very beginning of Series 5 but has since grown into a charismatic and to be honest - a complete badass! Sorry, but what's not to like about someone who waited for 2,000 years for the Pandorica, or who delivered an ultimatum to a Cyberman fleet dressed as a Centurion, or someone who punched Hitler and lock him in the cupboard etc...? Rory <3

Doctor + Amy (plus Rory?) -> Travel somewhere -> Universe threatened -> Run around, shout, complicated escape clause, rushed and unexplained -> Universe saved -> Typical banter between companions.
But wasn't it exactly the same in the RTD-era (just replace Amy with Rose, Martha or Donna)? Sorry to pick up on you NastyPasty but your post is the one I'd disagree with the most and I understand that the faster pace and greater complexity might throw off lots of people but I'll take complex and low-key over mindless explosions and kitchen sinks any day. ;)

As for Series 7, I'm really, really looking forward to it! The huge number of Daleks for episode 1 is a bit worrying but the rest of the trailer looks fabulous. Particularly looking forward to the Weeping Angels (and babies!) and the Western episode! I hope it's a little less serialised though and focuses more on the often stronger stand-alones so we get more of a Series 5 feel. :)
 
It seems we have less than a fortnight to wait until the new series of Doctor Who comes on, series 7 will be shown on BBC One at 7:20pm with the first episode being The Asylum of the Daleks.

Linky Linky
 
I'm actually looking forward to series 7 :) I think that is due to me constantly re-watching this trailer:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrEUBl2pacU[/youtube]

The music is <3!

EDIT: Also, do I detect the actor David Bradley (Professor Filch from Harry Potter) being in this. :)
 
Actually, you're right! David Bradley is due to be in this alongside Rupert Graves (Lestrade in Sherlock), not properly looked into the episode Bradley is due to be in however.
 
that was just amazing. Totally unexpected ending, and if thats the new companion then wow! She is just hot! Amazing episode, hard to really explain how I felt about it without ruining the episode for people who haven't watched but it was an incredible season-opener.
 
This episode could have been better for me. There were some plot twists but something was missing. Other than that, it was a pretty good episode. Rory and Amy making out at the end was a unexpected... But the new doctor's companion is HOT!
 
Wow. What a series opener.

It had me gripped from the word go, and kept me on the edge of my seat ever since!

A very interesting plot, with many twists and a very - very exciting finale. Even though we are not left with a cliffhanger at the end of the episode, (which most often comes with the phrase 'to be continued'), there are a few things left to the imagination, nothing major, but enough to keep me buzzing after the first episode.

What do I hope for the next few episodes then? Well, the same brilliant quality demonstrated in this episode, but I hope there aren't as many things left for the viewer to decide like last series; such as the complex subplots that mostly involved River Song (a.k.a. Melody Pond), and all that faff.

A good watch for everyone! :)
 
It was nice to see a variety of Daleks in that nut house. Especially some old school ones. But a shame there were't more of them.
 
Well, it was a darn-sight better than some of the tat we've been getting in the last couple of series, that's for sure. Big step in the right direction!

Loved the Asylum, such a brilliant idea, and such brilliant sets. Massive shame that we've (supposedly) seen the last of that place. The story worked very well as well, though it did feel quite rushed at the end: "Egg... egg... ex... ter... min... ate..." would've been a brilliant cliff hanger, and from that point on it really felt like a case of "Dammit, we've run out of time, wrap the story up quickly!"

It's nice to see the Daleks back (I know that's a controversial view), all the Daleks, including some weird and wonderful stuff from 'Old Who'. Shame about the terrible Dalek/Human things, though. To me, they seemed almost Slitheen-like, and definitely as if they could have been one of RTD's less favourable creations.

So, overall a good, solid episode, and like I say a big step back in the right direction, but with some fairly major flaws. Here's hoping it continues to improve :)

(Oh, and Matt Smith is still bleedin' annoying...)

Edit: Kinda forgot the biggest downside of the episode: the Daleks now don't know the Doctor. Boo. Unless that can be undone (where's the RTD-Big-Red-Reset-Button™ when you need it?), that destroys the frankly awesome dynamic between the two iconic opposites of the series. Not at all impressed.
 
Fantastic episode.

I'm impressed with them keeping Oswin (Jenna-Louise Coleman) appearing in this episode a secret. It was originally believed we would first meet the character in this years Christmas special, so it'll be interesting to see how this character develops...

I'm happy that finally, after 7 years, they have made the Daleks scary! The scenes, sets, music and atmosphere set this episode perfectly to get the Daleks back as the bad scary guys rather than being laughed at. So I'm glad Moffat has worked his magic on it.

Only disappointment is that the classic Daleks weren't used as much as I had hoped. I'm not too keen on the idea of the Daleks forgetting the Doctor either... doesn't seem right to me - and it's a massive change so I'm not quite sure what Moffat was thinking while writing that up.

The scenes between Rory and Amy I found to be quite a mixed bag. Amy seems a bit more like a brick wall (if that makes any sense) and lost of some of her emotions. The whole divorce situation I found to be rather forced on the show and resolved too quickly. There's been no slow deterioration in their relationship in the past series so for those who do not keep tabs on filming and so on will just get very confused by the sudden change in their relationship.

Overall it's quite a mashed up episode but I would say is my second highest rated series opener since 2005. I look forward to seeing what the coming weeks reveal.

--- I'd like to add too the sets used in this episode have been amazing. This is the first series that has been made in the new Roath Lock studios so they have clearly taken advantage of the bigger studios given to them!
 
I really liked it, was good moffat

And making the Daleks forget him is a great plot point as the old Dr v Dalek plot was going nowhere as the Daleks had too much fear for him. Without that fear they may get a bit more aggressive.
 
Dreadful.

This isn't Doctor Who. Doctor Who was a programme set out to be family entertainment that is easy watching. This episode went far too deep & complex, all this "epicness". It just isn't Doctor Who. I am officialy not watching the rest of the series, I feel really quite deppressed after watching that episode.

:'(
 
Quite a contrasting view there, Blizzard.

In what ways did you find it too deep and complex? Out of interest. :)
 
I thought it was a great episode. I like the way they freed the Daleks of their fear of the doctor, hopefully with will bring back the good old doctor v Dalek fights.

good twist to the Amy and Roy split.
 
Surprised to hear people found it too "deep and complex". This was pretty basic by Moffat's standards.

It was excellent though, I loved every second of it. It had a very claustrophobic feel to it and I thought the scenes of The Doctor & friends walking through the asylum was very atmospheric and well done. The addition of Jenna was a pleasant surprise and so far I like her. One thing though (white text contains spoilers) I thought Jenna's character was called Clara yet I didn't hear it mentioned once. Plus, she identified herself as Oswin Oswald so perhaps she may be some kind of relation to the future companion? I don't think he'll go back in time to rescue her because surely Oswin would have remembered him?

I haven't been keeping up with Pond Life but I thought the Amy and Rory relationship thing was a bit underdeveloped and solved a bit abruptly. Similarly the end of the episode seemed a bit rushed. Would this have worked as a two-parter? Yes, but they'd have needed some more filler, I think this could have worked best as an extended 60 minute episode. Also I felt that the Doctor felt a little off, far less excited and fast talking gibberish than usual. Those are my only qualms in an otherwise stellar episode.

The twist was excellent! Loved the whole "eggs-stir-milk-bake" at the end, I thought that was really clever. Bringing back the nanogenes (from Series 1's "Empty Child/Doctor Dances") was a nice little touch as well.

I don't know whether any of you are aware, but Moffat said recently that he was supposed to do the Dalek two-parter in Series 3 but pulled out and made Blink instead (And we got that god-awful "Daleks in Manhatten" two-parter") but both those stories contained some 'human dalek' elements in so I wonder if Moffat saved some of those ideas for this story.

Excellent start to the series for me. Finally a decent Dalek episode, nice and quick introductions and Jenna was excellent! Looking forward to seeing her as a full time companion. 8.9/10
 
Until they bring back the Ice Warriors, Dr Who is dead to me.

St--3m12.jpg


:p


Seriously though, I enjoyed the first episode and hope the rest of the series is good (though with only a few episodes, it shouldn't be too difficult :p ).
 
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