Doctor Who Thread III: Reverse the Polarity of the Neutron Flow

[Androgeus]

For the discussion of Doctor Who (http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw).

First thread. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=195025)
Second thread. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=212965)

I'm planning on trying to keep a List of links to the many reviews in this first post, if people wish. (Currently includes Curly, Dr. Simon, Sunken Valley & Friv)

Reviews

Dr. Simon's Highlights of Each Season

Classic Who (Doctors One to Eight)

First Doctor

Season One (1963-1964) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11608367&postcount=1406)
Season Two (1964-1965) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11753964&postcount=89)
Season Three (1965-1966) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11798983&postcount=239)
Season Four (1966-1967) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11831287&postcount=355)

Second Doctor

Season Four (1966-1967) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11831287&postcount=355)
Season Five (1967-1968) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11895071&postcount=510)
Season Six (1968-1969) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11936222&postcount=594)

Third Doctor

Season Seven (1970) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12005725&postcount=793)
Season Eight (1971) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12057505&postcount=835)
Season Nine (1972) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12101112&postcount=837)
Season Ten (1972-1973) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12200809&postcount=861)
Season Eleven (1973-1974) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12265299&postcount=934)

Fourth Doctor

Season Twelve (1974-1975) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12337428&postcount=952)
Season Thirteen (1975-1976) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12473294&postcount=1084)
Season Fourteen (1976-1977) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12506440&postcount=1130)
Season Fifteen (1977-1978) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12539851&postcount=1209)
Season Sixteen (1978-1979) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12639432&postcount=1232)
Season Seventeen (1979-1980) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12681401&postcount=1233)
Season Eighteen (1980-1981) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12754705&postcount=1235)

Fifth Doctor

Season Nineteen (1981-1982) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12798671&postcount=1236)
Season Twenty (1983) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12853709&postcount=1282)
Season Twenty One (1984) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12881776&postcount=1288)

Sixth Doctor

Season Twenty Two (1985) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12920949&postcount=1314)
Season Twenty Three (1986) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12959616&postcount=1334)

Seventh Doctor

Season Twenty Four (1987) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12998906&postcount=1357)
Season Twenty Five (1988) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13078221&postcount=1406)
Season Twenty Six (1989) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13116901&postcount=1409)

Eighth Doctor

TV Movie (1996) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13153060&postcount=1412)


New Series (Doctors Nine to Eleven)

Ninth Doctor

Series One (2005) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13226813&postcount=1452)

Tenth Doctor

Series 2 (2006) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13263518&postcount=1458)
Series 3 (2007) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13300637&postcount=7)
Series 4 & Specials (2008-2010) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13351539&postcount=28)

Eleventh Doctor

Series 5 (2010) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13377076&postcount=36)



Koorly's Archive of Her Doctor Who Reviews:
Classic Who
Second Doctor
Series 6
'The Invasion' Part 1/8 (“http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12941528&postcount=1323”), Part 2/8 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12979300&postcount=1346), Part 3/8 part one (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13016280&postcount=1366), part two (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13016287&postcount=1367), Part 4/8 part one (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13031121&postcount=1397), part two (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13031134&postcount=1398), Part 5/8
Part 6/8 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13228620&postcount=1453), Part 7/8 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13315800&postcount=15),
Part 8/8 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13392795&postcount=44)
Fourth Doctor
Series 12
'Genesis of the Daleks' Part 1/6 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11330063&postcount=1267), Part 2/6 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11520791&postcount=1397) Part 3/6 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=14459211&postcount=1055)
Seventh Doctor
Series 25
'Remembrance of the Daleks' 1/4 part 1 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13631644&postcount=85), part 2 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13631651&postcount=86), 2/4, 3/4, 4/4
Nu Who

Season 1 - retrospective
Brief Whole Series Retrospective (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11066304&postcount=606)
Season 2 - retrospective
Brief Whole Series Retrospective (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11066304&postcount=606)
Season 3 - blind bar Moffat
Ep. 1: 'Smith and Jones' -missing.
Ep. 2: 'The Shakespeare Code' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11088119&postcount=714)
Ep. 3: 'Gridlock' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11094867&postcount=747)
Ep. 4: 'Daleks in Manhattan' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11095680&postcount=751) (part 1/2)
Ep. 5: 'Evolution of the Daleks' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11103504&postcount=771) (part 2/2)
Ep. 6: 'The Lazarus Experiment' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11109832&postcount=789)
Ep. 7: '42' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11115909&postcount=816)
Ep. 8: 'Human Nature' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11124347&postcount=836) (part 1/2)
Ep. 9: 'The Family of Blood' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11153986&postcount=977) (part 2/2)
Ep. 10: 'Blink' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11330063&postcount=1267)
Ep. 11: 'Utopia' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11183578&postcount=1079) (part 1/3)
Ep. 12: 'The Sound of the Drums' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11203030&postcount=1111) (part 2/3)
Ep. 13: 'The Last of the Time Lords' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11231084&postcount=1156) (part 3/3)

Children in Need 2007 episode: 'Time Crash' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11242571&postcount=1202)
2007 Christmas Episode: 'Voyage of the Damned' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11286020&postcount=1252)

Bits and Bobs About Season 3
Retrospective - to be written later
Why I Do Not Like Martha/Ten (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11129436&postcount=856) (This was written between my write ups of ep. 8 and ep 9)
Season Four blind bar Moffat
Ep. 1: 'Partners in Crime' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11474202&postcount=1313)
Ep. 2: 'The Fires of Pompeii' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11495165&postcount=1363)
Ep. 3: 'Planet of the Ood' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11711998&postcount=1469)
Ep. 4: 'The Sontaran Stratagem' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11732305&postcount=50) Part 1/2
Ep. 5: ‘The Poison Sky‘ (“http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11748813&postcount=75“) Part 2/2
Ep. 6: ‘The Doctor‘s (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11783480&postcount=162) Daughter‘ (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11783487&postcount=163) Posted in two parts.
Ep. 7: 'The Unicorn and the Wasp'

Season 5 - blind bar Moffat's Angels
Ep. 11: 'The Lodger' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11910590&postcount=531)

Season 6
To to things this series was split in two, as such eps. 8 - Christmas episode will be liveblogged, and the first seven will be written with me having seen them before.

Ep. 8: 'Let's Kill Hitler' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11730422&postcount=36)
Ep. 9: 'Night Terrors' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11775289&postcount=126)
Ep. 10: 'The Girl Who Waited' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11865120&postcount=385)
Ep. 11: 'The God Complex' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11865605&postcount=391)
Ep. 12: 'Closing Time' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11945529&postcount=601)
Ep. 13: 'The Wedding of River Song' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13825610&postcount=206)

Red Nose Day Specials: 'Space'/'Time'
2011 Christmas Special: 'The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12430141&postcount=1036)

Season 7

Ep. 1: 'Asylum of the Daleks' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13825610&postcount=206)
Ep. 2: 'Dinosaurs On A Spaceship' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13864601&postcount=315)
Ep. 3: 'A Town Called Mercy' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13903100&postcount=416)
Ep. 4: 'The Power of Three (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=14428020&postcount=953)'
Ep. 5: 'The Muppets Take Manhattan (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=14430271&postcount=961)'
'P.S. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=14430271&postcount=961)'
'The Great Detective (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=14430279&postcount=962)' CiN minisode
'Vastra Investigates (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=14430279&postcount=962)' minisode
2012 Christmas episode: 'The Snowman (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=14430279&postcount=962)'

An Interesting Question Via 'Fan Mail' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=14490605&postcount=1091)


Sunken Valley's Reviews

Series 6B
Let's Kill Hitler (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11731087&postcount=43)
Night Terrors (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11775642&postcount=129)
The Girl Who Waited (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11821163&postcount=316)
God Complex (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11868968&postcount=418)
Closing Time (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11909000&postcount=516)
The Wedding of River Song (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11953207&postcount=656)
The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12432053&postcount=1050)
Good As Gold (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13687334&postcount=125)

Series 7
Asylum of The Daleks (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13825449&postcount=194)
Dinosaurs on a Spaceship (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13864480&postcount=311)
Power Of Three (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13939693&postcount=525)
Angels Take Manhattan (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13978370&postcount=604)
The Snowmen (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=14429890&postcount=959)


Friv's Reviews
Spearhead from Space: Part 1 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13843587&postcount=255), 2 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13874807&postcount=375), 3 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13969392&postcount=583), 4 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13990432&postcount=660)



If anyone thinks there should be any additional resources or whatever in this post, suggest them in-thread. Discussion may now resume!

[Sunken Valley]

Reverse the polarity. Not Revese. For fullness it should be "Reverse the Polarity of the Neuron Flow" but you beat me to it so your call.

Copy paste from old thread.

Doctor Who series 7 episode one will premier at International TV festival. http://doctorwhotv.co.uk/august-aird...es-7-33719.htm

Based on Let's Kill Hitler (which did the same thing, premiering on the friday of the event and on TV next day), looking at an August 25th release.

5 episodes.
2 Moffat (number 1 and 5)
2 Chris Chibnall (number 2 and 4)
1 Toby Whithouse (number 3)

Only vauge details so far on plots. No finalised titles.

[Androgeus]

Reverse the polarity. Not Revese. For fullness it should be "Reverse the Polarity of the Neuron Flow" but you beat me to it so your call.


I fail at speeling. I changed it to the full quote btw. I don't know why I used the shorter version (both were used on the show I believe)



Doctor Who series 7 episode one will premier at International TV festival. http://doctorwhotv.co.uk/august-aird...es-7-33719.htm

Based on Let's Kill Hitler (which did the same thing, premiering on the friday of the event and on TV next day), looking at an August 25th release.

5 episodes.
2 Moffat (number 1 and 5)
2 Chris Chibnall (number 2 and 4)
1 Toby Whithouse (number 3)

Only vauge details so far on plots. No finalised titles.

August? That's awesome

[Thufir]

My thread! You stole it!

Also, neutron. Not neuron. Neutrons are fundamental particles, neurons are...something to do with brains I think.


It's a poor taste because the Cybus Industry Cyberman look radically different from all the minor variations found amongst the Mondasian Cybermen (excluding their first appearance but that was eventually explained) and as far I'm aware no other past enemy who was brought back had their appearance radically changed to such a degree. Yes, they were updated to look nicer, but they still had the basic feel and look of their older counterparts.

I... don't see how that makes it poor taste.
And, I don't see it as that radical a change. The same basic features are still there, just, as you said, updated to look nicer.

Now, the Silurians, that was a radical change, though they did give a brief handwave explanation for it.


Now if it ends up being, or has been, explained that the Cybus Industry Cybermen either ended up becoming or influencing the Mondasian Cybermen and thus is another piece of fall out from the Time War, that'd make utter sense and be another nice addition to the expanding Who Lore.

...nah, that'd just be kinda stupid, imo.

[Sunken Valley]

Hi, there is one person you may have forgotten to add the reviews of: myself.

I know this is difficult. This is because I didn't leave records of my reviews like CKG and DS did. If you want to make a record you can do. Alternatively I can go back through my records (all reviews were made in Thread II, so Who posted what?) and back track everything. I want some of my more rant like reviews excluded from the record. I am ashamed of them. Preferably the ones from the recent episodes (2011 series: so LKH, NT, GWW, GC, CT, WORS and DWW) are the only ones on there. Also some of the more controlled rants. Your choice to put them on there, I know I'm not the most well liked reviewer around here but I'm one of only 3 so that counts for something, right? If you want I'll make a record but I don't want to waste time making one and then have people say "no, your reviews are inappopriate".

[Androgeus]

Hi, there is one person you may have forgotten to add the reviews of: myself.

I know this is difficult. This is because I didn't leave records of my reviews like CKG and DS did. If you want to make a record you can do. Alternatively I can go back through my records (all reviews were made in Thread II, so Who posted what?) and back track everything. I want some of my more rant like reviews excluded from the record. I am ashamed of them. Preferably the ones from the recent episodes (2011 series: so LKH, NT, GWW, GC, CT, WORS and DWW) are the only ones on there. Also some of the more controlled rants. Your choice to put them on there, I know I'm not the most well liked reviewer around here but I'm one of only 3 so that counts for something, right? If you want I'll make a record but I don't want to waste time making one and then have people say "no, your reviews are inappopriate".

Are these the links you'd like in the first post?

Let's Kill Hitler (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11731087&postcount=43)
Night Terrors (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11775642&postcount=129)
The Girl Who Waited (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11821163&postcount=316)
God Complex (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11868968&postcount=418)
Closing Time (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11909000&postcount=516)
The Wedding of River Song (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11953207&postcount=656)
The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12432053&postcount=1050)

I didn't include you initially because they were harder to find ans hadn't looked till now, and was unsure if you would want to be linked.

[Dr. Simon]

Continuing my plan to post what I think to be the highlights of every season of Doctor Who, old and new.

For each series I choose 2 or 3 of what I consider to be the best stories, and a selection of also-rans. "Stories" may comprise any number of actual episodes (somewhere between 1-14, typically 4 or 6). Older Who is nearly always episodic, with NuWho most episodes are self-contained. Feel free to expand on my brief comments, agree, disagree etc. This is, after all, purely subjective.

Classic Who (Doctors One to Eight)

First Doctor

Season One (1963-1964) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11608367&postcount=1406)
Season Two (1964-1965) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11753964&postcount=89)
Season Three (1965-1966) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11798983&postcount=239)
Season Four (1966-1967) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11831287&postcount=355)

Second Doctor

Season Four (1966-1967) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11831287&postcount=355)
Season Five (1967-1968) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11895071&postcount=510)
Season Six (1968-1969) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11936222&postcount=594)

Third Doctor

Season Seven (1970) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12005725&postcount=793)
Season Eight (1971) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12057505&postcount=835)
Season Nine (1972) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12101112&postcount=837)
Season Ten (1972-1973) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12200809&postcount=861)
Season Eleven (1973-1974) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12265299&postcount=934)

Fourth Doctor

Season Twelve (1974-1975) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12337428&postcount=952)
Season Thirteen (1975-1976) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12473294&postcount=1084)
Season Fourteen (1976-1977) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12506440&postcount=1130)
Season Fifteen (1977-1978) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12539851&postcount=1209)
Season Sixteen (1978-1979) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12639432&postcount=1232)
Season Seventeen (1979-1980) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12681401&postcount=1233)
Season Eighteen (1980-1981) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12754705&postcount=1235)

Fifth Doctor

Season Nineteen (1981-1982) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12798671&postcount=1236)
Season Twenty (1983) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12853709&postcount=1282)
Season Twenty One (1984) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12881776&postcount=1288)

Sixth Doctor

Season Twenty Two (1985) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12920949&postcount=1314)
Season Twenty Three (1986) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12959616&postcount=1334)

Seventh Doctor

Season Twenty Four (1987) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12998906&postcount=1357)
Season Twenty Five (1988) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13078221&postcount=1406)
Season Twenty Six (1989) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13116901&postcount=1409)

Eighth Doctor

TV Movie (1996) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13153060&postcount=1412)



New Series (Doctors Nine to Eleven)

Ninth Doctor

Series One (2005) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13226813&postcount=1452)


Tenth Doctor

Series Two (2006) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13263518&postcount=1458)


Thanks Androgeus for the links in the top post!

And so onto Tennant's second series on the role, and a new companion. Martha starts out well - there's a nice moment in the first episode, Smith and Jones, where Martha has calmly worked out what is going on whilst her medical student friend has gone to pieces. The Doctor chooses Martha to come with him and, almost with a casual arrogance, dismisses her friend.
Pity that they decided to lumber her with unrequited love for The Doctor as her mooning over him gets tedious, as does his evident sense of loss about Rose. Whilst it is a bold move to give more focus to The Doctor's feelings for his companions, I personally think they take it too far to the detriment of other aspects of the show.

The Christmas Specials, by the way: I am considering them, as part of the series that they precede. In this case, The Runaway Bride. Catherine Tate is a surprise in the role, but more on her next time. I love the way, in the scene where she is trapped in a speeding taxi with a psychotic robot driver, she says "Santa's a robot!" with a mix of disbelief, resignation ("the way my day's been going, of course he is") and accusation ("...and somehow it's all your fault!")

Series Three (2007)
Tenth Doctor/Martha

Blink – Beautifully crafted and, at the time, unusual for featuring the Doctor only as an incidental character. The Weeping Angels are a masterfully scary creation, and this is the episode that gives us "wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey". (My Obligatory Moffat Episode :smallwink:)

Human Nature/Family Of Blood – An interesting story with explorations of jingoism vs. patriotism and attitudes to class and race at the beginning of the 20th century. Stories where the hero suddenly becomes reluctant to be the hero can be quite frustrating, as with this one, I found (I enjoyed Martha's frustration with "John Smith" - "Don't just stand there, run! God, you're rubbish as a human!"). I didn't like the Doctors super-powered punishments at the end, smacked too much of the "cult of the Doctor" for my liking. The moment by the cenotaph was just on the right side of bathos.

Honourable Mentions
The Shakespeare Code – Silly but fun. What more needs to be said? Well, if you insist; some brief and humourous considerations on historical attitude to race (with Shakespeare's fumbling attempts to find the right words to describe Martha), and the idea of an alien technology based on language is really just an excuse for "magic spells" but is nonetheless an interesting and audacious idea.

Utopia/The Sound Of Drums – Love Derek Jacobi in the first of these, then John Sims steals it in the second. Ideally, of course, you need to complete the trilogy with Last Of The Time Lords, but this is easily the weakest of the three, marred by another deus ex machina (as with The Parting of the Ways, pretty much literally a deus ex machina). The actual storylines are fairly slight, but the villain really makes these episodes. As he should.

[Androgeus]

Thanks Androgeus for the links in the top post!

Nae problem. I've just updated it to included Series 3 :smallbiggrin:

The only episode I can think of that you didn't mention that I enjoyed was 42.
I do think the Dalek two parter should get some kind of medal for biology fail. If it had used something like brain wave patterns it would have reach my level for willingness to believe (which I will admit isn't that high). But no, they went with DNA. and somehow made DNA transferable via electricity/super duper radiation/something. and made me have to ruin a certain scene in Avengers for a friend.

Btw I believe the Doctor Who/Star Trek:TNG crossover is out tomorrow, I am most like going to purchase it. Any one here interested in a potential review/summery thing?

[CurlyKitGirl]

*archival and introductory snip*

Series Three (2007)
Tenth Doctor/Martha

Blink – Beautifully crafted and, at the time, unusual for featuring the Doctor only as an incidental character. The Weeping Angels are a masterfully scary creation, and this is the episode that gives us "wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey". (My Obligatory Moffat Episode :smallwink:)

Human Nature/Family Of Blood – An interesting story with explorations of jingoism vs. patriotism and attitudeas to class and race at the beginning of the 20th century. Stories where the hero suddenly becomes reluctant to be the hero can be quite frustrating, as with this one, I found (I enjoyed Martha's frustration with "John Smith" - "Don't just stand there, run! God, you're rubbish as a human!". I didn't like the Doctors super-powered punishments at the end, smacked too much of the "cult of the Doctor" for my liking. The moment by the cenotaph was just on the right side of bathos.

Honourable Mentions
Shakespeare Code – Silly but fun. What more needs to be said? Well, if you insist; some brief and humourous considerations on historical attitude to race (with Shakespeare's fumbling attempts to fin the right words to describe Martha), and the idea of an alien technology based on language is really just an excuse for "magic spells" but is nonetheless an interesting and audacious idea.

Utopia/The Sound Of Drums – Love Derek Jacobi in the first of these, then John Sims steals it in the second. Ideally, of course, you need to complete the trilogy with Last Of The Time Lords, but this is easily the weakest of the three, marred by another deus ex machina (as with The Parting of the Ways, pretty much literally a deus ex machina). The actual storylines are fairly slight, but the villain really makes these episodes. As he should.

Firstly, congrats on becoming a . . . first post linked reviewer . . . doesn't fit right.
A reviewer/recommender of note?
Whatever.
Congrats either way!

So I do agree with you on your choices. I saw your cheeky shout there . . . As you probably gathered given my great rhapsodising. These are the ones I'd list as best of the season too, although there really wasn't all that much wrong with it as a whole.
Aside from THAT ONE SERIAL.
I think my ranking would actually put 'Human Nature'/'Family of Blood' at the top, partly because it's a character study/character driven, and we all know how much I love me some character driven things.
Even so, it is a really close call so I'd probably cheat and make it a joint spot.

I'll be posting part 7/8 tomorrow. I'd have posted it earlier, but honestly? I've kind of been being lazy to get over exams, and hanging with friends enjoying an actual week of summery warm weather with actual sunlight.

Dr. Simon, whenever you're ready. Although not the 4th June as I'm off to a UK mini-meetup for the Jubilee, and then the evening's taken over by a subject dinner. Which probably means I'll be free at ten.

EDIT:
@Androgeus: seeing as you are buying this anyway (I think you are, it sounds like it) I will consider it a sin if you do not review it as well! :smalltongue:
But seriously, I think it'd be cool for other people to pitch in and review Doctor Who in any medium. And a Star Trek:TNG/DOctor Who crossover is a thing geekgasms are made of. No. Seriously. How often have people debated who would win: Borg or Cybermen? This will settle it once and for all. 'Course we all know who wins eventually.
This can either go really well or terribly. And either way this would make a great review. The worst thing it could be is average or bland.

[Androgeus]

The worst thing it could be is average or bland.

This is mostly likely :smalltongue:

Btw the series of radio plays that's playing on radio 4 Extra just got awesome.
Nazi Doctor Klein just stole off with the TARDIS

Edit: thought I should actually name the story if anyone is interested in listening to it - Survival of the Fittest. While A Thousand Tiny Wings begins this trilogy of stories (concluded with Architects of History), it is a weaker story than Survival I believe. You don't even need it to be introduced to the companion of the piece anyway, as episode 1 of Survival is dedicated to her backstory.

[Sunken Valley]

On 24th May, Blue Peter showed the winner of the Dr Who script to screen competition 2012 (a new contest which no one mentioned mainly because no one is 9-11). http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/cbbc/episode/b01j9pmw/Blue_Peter_Doctor_Who_and_Rankin/

This is different from the Albert Einstein + Ood one

[CurlyKitGirl]

On 24th May, Blue Peter showed the winner of the Dr Who script to screen competition 2012 (a new contest which no one mentioned mainly because no one is 9-11). http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/cbbc/episode/b01j9pmw/Blue_Peter_Doctor_Who_and_Rankin/

This is different from the Albert Einstein + Ood one

WHAT THE HELL DID THEY DO TO BLUE PETER'S THEME TUNE?! DESECRATION!
Actually in general I can't believe what they've done to Blue Peter, it looks Godawful!

Now, because this was written by some ten-year-olds, I feel that I shouldn't review this, because they are only ten, and I spend enough time complaining about the writing of actual scriptwriters.
It just feels mean and kind of like bullying.

LIES!
'Course I'm reviewing it. Because I am a cold-hearted woman who rejoiced in the pain of others.

'Good As Gold'
The winner of the second Blue Peter/Doctor Who scriptwriting competition.
This isn't even five minutes long, so I'll be very quick. For once.

NO.
No.
No no no no no no no.
I did not like this..
The opening was . . . kind of Doctor Whoish, the Adventurer's Handbook I can easily see in an actual episode, and I can definitely believe that Eleven would put an Adventure Switch on the TARDIS and crash; but then I noticed that even though this episode has the season six opening titles with the flames there was no Rory.
At all.
Even though the shirt indicates this happened at least after the first two episodes.
I like Rory.
And then the adventure itself? Oh good God Jesus Christ Almighty what the Hell kind of narmy awfulness was that? The Weeping Angel wants the steal the Olympic Torch because it's the symbol of love and tolerance and friendship is magic release the orbital friendship cannon.
Someone's favourite episode was 'Fear Her' I see.
And even though everyone blinked (seeing as someone's favourite episodes are also Everything With the Angels In) the Angel only stole the Touch despite being a WEEPING ANGEL and a psychopath who likes killing people for funsies!
And the Doctor sonicked the Angel into asploding?!
And the Doctor got a gold medal?! FOR BEING GOOD AS GOLD?! (No one is as good as Murray Gold!) Okay yeah whatever.

This was . . . not good. In fact, it was pretty damn glurgy.

However, it did have potential, I did like the opening thirty seconds or so, and the idea of someone literally running into, and through the TARDIS doors because they were running so fast they couldn't stop is actually pretty good.
But this had no plot, no characterisation, nothing funny, it was barest set piece I've ever seen.
Watch:
Banter. Funny poofy hair. TARDIS crashes. Olympic Torch and runner.
A WEEPING ANGEL appears! A WEEPING ANGEL wants to fight!
WEEPING ANGEL used Steal!
WEEPING ANGEL has stolen the Torch!
Olympic Torch Bearer: Go! THE DOCTOR!
(Hello! I'm the Doctor!)
THE DOCTOR uses Sonic! It's super effective!
WEEPING ANGEL has fainted.
The Doctor gained 500 XP and a golden medallion!

Then I rage quit. Don't think I missed much.
So yeah, this episode is 'Fear Her''s idolisation and worship of the Olympic Torch up the eleven mixed with an ass pull that not even the show runner's use because it ruins the entire premise of the Weeping Angel's being scary. I mean, if all you have to do is switch it to the Resonate Concrete setting and vibrate it to asploding you have a boring monster and one Hell of a lot of innuendo about screwdrivers vibrating so hard the resulting orgasm literally makes a woman explode.

And this is probably going under an Odds And Sods Folder I have yet to make.

[Thufir]

Now, because this was written by some ten-year-olds, I feel that I shouldn't review this, because they are only ten, and I spend enough time complaining about the writing of actual scriptwriters.
It just feels mean and kind of like bullying.

LIES!
'Course I'm reviewing it. Because I am a cold-hearted woman who rejoiced in the pain of others.

'Good As Gold'
The winner of the second Blue Peter/Doctor Who scriptwriting competition.
This isn't even five minutes long, so I'll be very quick. For once.

NO.
No.
No no no no no no no.
I did not like this..
The opening was . . . kind of Doctor Whoish, the Adventurer's Handbook I can easily see in an actual episode, and I can definitely believe that Eleven would put an Adventure Switch on the TARDIS and crash; but then I noticed that even though this episode has the season six opening titles with the flames there was no Rory.
At all.
Even though the shirt indicates this happened at least after the first two episodes.
I like Rory.
And then the adventure itself? Oh good God Jesus Christ Almighty what the Hell kind of narmy awfulness was that? The Weeping Angel wants the steal the Olympic Torch because it's the symbol of love and tolerance and friendship is magic release the orbital friendship cannon.
Someone's favourite episode was 'Fear Her' I see.
And even though everyone blinked (seeing as someone's favourite episodes are also Everything With the Angels In) the Angel only stole the Touch despite being a WEEPING ANGEL and a psychopath who likes killing people for funsies!
And the Doctor sonicked the Angel into asploding?!
And the Doctor got a gold medal?! FOR BEING GOOD AS GOLD?! (No one is as good as Murray Gold!) Okay yeah whatever.

This was . . . not good. In fact, it was pretty damn glurgy.

However, it did have potential, I did like the opening thirty seconds or so, and the idea of someone literally running into, and through the TARDIS doors because they were running so fast they couldn't stop is actually pretty good.
But this had no plot, no characterisation, nothing funny, it was barest set piece I've ever seen.
Watch:
Banter. Funny poofy hair. TARDIS crashes. Olympic Torch and runner.
A WEEPING ANGEL appears! A WEEPING ANGEL wants to fight!
WEEPING ANGEL used Steal!
WEEPING ANGEL has stolen the Torch!
Olympic Torch Bearer: Go! THE DOCTOR!
(Hello! I'm the Doctor!)
THE DOCTOR uses Sonic! It's super effective!
WEEPING ANGEL has fainted.
The Doctor gained 500 XP and a golden medallion!

Then I rage quit. Don't think I missed much.
So yeah, this episode is 'Fear Her''s idolisation and worship of the Olympic Torch up the eleven mixed with an ass pull that not even the show runner's use because it ruins the entire premise of the Weeping Angel's being scary. I mean, if all you have to do is switch it to the Resonate Concrete setting and vibrate it to asploding you have a boring monster and one Hell of a lot of innuendo about screwdrivers vibrating so hard the resulting orgasm literally makes a woman explode.

I was going to say that the TARDIS having a specific 'adventure' setting was the best thing about the mini-episode.
I changed my mind.
Your review is the best thing about that mini episode (Mostly because I'm laughing so hard at the innuendo, but other bits as well).
And, yeah. I guess I get that they wanted to do something about the olympics, since it's a big British pride thing, and so is Who, but they already did it... 3 years ago? 4 years ago? Having the Doctor encounter the same olympic torch twice seems a bit crowded. It's worse than having aliens invade London every Christmas for straining the credulity. So, I don't think much of the basic premise, let alone the execution.

[CurlyKitGirl]

God I'm taking pedantry to a new level. I don't even know where these instincts come from, they just tell me something is wrong, and then it is wrong and I end up complaining!

[CurlyKitGirl]

I totally didn't post this in the old thread by accident first. No siree I didn't.
>.>
<.<

Koorly's Archive of Her Doctor Who Reviews:
Classic Who
Second Doctor
Series 6
'The Invasion' Part 1/8 (“http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12941528&postcount=1323”), Part 2/8 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12979300&postcount=1346), Part 3/8 part one (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13016280&postcount=1366), part two (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13016287&postcount=1367), Part 4/8 part one (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13031121&postcount=1397), part two (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13031134&postcount=1398), Part 5/8 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13156488&postcount=1421), Part 6/8 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13228620&postcount=1453), Part 7/8 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13315800&postcount=15), Part 8/8
Fourth Doctor
Series 12
'Genesis of the Daleks' Part 1/6 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11330063&postcount=1267), Part 2/6 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11520791&postcount=1397)
Nu Who

Season 1 - retrospective
Brief Whole Series Retrospective (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11066304&postcount=606)
Season 2 - retrospective
Brief Whole Series Retrospective (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11066304&postcount=606)
Season 3 - blind bar Moffat
Ep. 1: 'Smith and Jones' -missing.
Ep. 2: 'The Shakespeare Code' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11088119&postcount=714)
Ep. 3: 'Gridlock' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11094867&postcount=747)
Ep. 4: 'Daleks in Manhattan' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11095680&postcount=751) (part 1/2)
Ep. 5: 'Evolution of the Daleks' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11103504&postcount=771) (part 2/2)
Ep. 6: 'The Lazarus Experiment' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11109832&postcount=789)
Ep. 7: '42' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11115909&postcount=816)
Ep. 8: 'Human Nature' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11124347&postcount=836) (part 1/2)
Ep. 9: 'The Family of Blood' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11153986&postcount=977) (part 2/2)
Ep. 10: 'Blink' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11330063&postcount=1267)
Ep. 11: 'Utopia' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11183578&postcount=1079) (part 1/3)
Ep. 12: 'The Sound of the Drums' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11203030&postcount=1111) (part 2/3)
Ep. 13: 'The Last of the Time Lords' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11231084&postcount=1156) (part 3/3)

Children in Need 2007 episode: 'Time Crash' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11242571&postcount=1202)
2007 Christmas Episode: 'Voyage of the Damned' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11286020&postcount=1252)

Bits and Bobs About Season 3
Retrospective - to be written later
Why I Do Not Like Martha/Ten (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11129436&postcount=856) (This was written between my write ups of ep. 8 and ep 9)
Season Four blind bar Moffat
Ep. 1: 'Partners in Crime' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11474202&postcount=1313)
Ep. 2: 'The Fires of Pompeii' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11495165&postcount=1363)
Ep. 3: 'Planet of the Ood' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11711998&postcount=1469)
Ep. 4: 'The Sontaran Stratagem' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11732305&postcount=50) Part 1/2
Ep. 5: ‘The Poison Sky‘ (“http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11748813&postcount=75“) Part 2/2
Ep. 6: ‘The Doctor‘s (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11783480&postcount=162) Daughter‘ (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11783487&postcount=163) Posted in two parts.
Ep. 7: 'The Unicorn and the Wasp'

Season 5 - blind bar Moffat's Angels
Ep. 11: 'The Lodger' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11910590&postcount=531)

Season 6
To to things this series was split in two, as such eps. 8 - Christmas episode will be liveblogged, and the first seven will be written with me having seen them before.

Ep. 8: 'Let's Kill Hitler' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11730422&postcount=36)
Ep. 9: 'Night Terrors' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11775289&postcount=126)
Ep. 10: 'The Girl Who Waited' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11865120&postcount=385)
Ep. 11: 'The God Complex' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11865605&postcount=391)
Ep. 12: 'Closing Time' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11945529&postcount=601)
Ep. 13: Missing

2011 Christmas Special: 'The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12430141&postcount=1036)

Odds and Sods
Things that don't really fit anywhere.

'Good As Gold' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13312756&postcount=12) Second Blue Peter scriptrwriting competition for Doctor Who


And now, to boldly go where many have gone before. [*cue TOS theme (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Em_sxKHQekk) (Such a classic introduction)*]

'The Invasion' Part 7/8
Sorry about my absence, but I had real life issues, which are now resolved. Specifically, Finals are over and done. For better or for worse I have graduated from the University of Oxcamfordbridge. But who cares about that? We have some Classic Who to be reviewing!

Previously on 'The Invasion' I hold Zoe and Miss Legs culpable for the death of a couple of soldiers and an innocent policemen; Frollo gets progressively more rapey and THE INVASION IS FINALLY HAPPENING. Complete with a soundtrack straight out of Amnesia: The (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YxxCSIj2JI&feature=related) Dark Descent (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCusebyq2WU&feature=relmfu) or Silent (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZfH0pxXPx4) Hill (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoUPuwoEbNY&feature=relmfu).

The episode starts with our traditional brief recap of the last twenty seconds of the last episode, leading me to vaguely wish I was watching a Let's Play of one of the above games. Hey, I like me some survival horror. But God is the CyberSoundtrack bloody atmospheric. And seeing as it's a Plot Point it's going to be in. the. background. the entire. time.

And finally! Jamie and the Doctor are touching again! Ugh, Miss Legs is groping the Doctor's chest. No likee. (http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af110/CurlyKitGirl/Doctor%20Who%20Reviews/JamieTouching-1.png) And not picture: the CyberNoise. I hope it doesn't play throughout the entire episode (even at a lower volume) or I may go insane and jab a spoon down each of my ear canals.

So the Doctor groans in a way that sounds semi-orgasmic, but I think that's just me enjoying the end of the touching-drought. Jamie, because I don't think he could get any cuter unless you de-aged him by reversing the polarity of something (who got the reference in Avengers?! Because if you didn't: shame on you!), gently shakes the Doctor's arm and says rather urgently, "Doctor, the invasion. It's begun."

D: "Yes, Jamie, I rather gathered that." Dry wit. Sarcasm. Understatement. Joy. Also: these two bicker like an old married couple. What I don't like about this little tête-à-tête? MISS LEGS WILL NOT STOP HOVERING LIKE A MAYFLY. Fortunately I'm distracted from this little fact because the Doctor is the Doctor and immediately enquires as to the safety of the Brig and his men. Even though his magic ear plug things aren't working and the CyberSignal is slowly turning his brain to soup. I love the Doctor.

J: "Are you all right to stand up now, eh?" Jamie, never change. Captain Jimmy Turner runs to the CB radio and gets in contact with the Brig, but I'm slightly distracted because Zoe's in the shot. God woman - girl? Woman. To her Wikipedia page! "[a]ccording to initial publicity she was fifteen when she joined the TARDIS crew (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoe_Heriot#Character_history)" . And her first serial was only three serials before this one.

I'm going to Hell for sexually objectifying someone who is at best barely legal, and most likely is underage. On the plus side, her actress Wendy Padbury was twenty-one when she filmed this. Oh, and she can be considered directly responsible for helping get Matt Smith as the eleventh Doctor seeing as she was the one to discover him at the NYT. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendy_Padbury) Good Lord, Doctor Who's been around so long, I bet you could play The Six Degrees of Doctor Who with every British actor in the past sixty years. I'll give it a go.

Alan Rickman. Goddammit that's an easy one. Is a member of the RSC along with Patrick Stewart, and acted alongside him in a production of Antony and Cleopatra in 1978 (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000614/otherworks). Patrick Stewart appeared in the RSC's 2010 production of Hamlet alongside David Tennant who is best known for being the Tenth Doctor. That's what, two degrees? I wasn't even thinking hard at all.

But that was too easy. Okay. Caroline Harker (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Harker) - literally no idea who she is. And - no. Her sister Susannah Harker played Clare Keightly in the 2003 audio adaptation of 'Shada' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susannah_Harker) and her husband, Anthony Calf? Made his television debut in the 1982 Doctor Who serial 'The Visitation' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Calf). I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP! One degree of separation. By blood and by marriage.

I randomly chose her from Wikipedia's List of British Actor's and Actresses.

Okay. One last one: Georgina Cates (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgina_Cates). Oh, she was in The Bill. Everyone's been in The Bill. Here we go. Simon Rouse was in The Bill; he was also in Doctor Who's 'Kinda' which aired one serial before 'The Visitation'.

Granted, Doctor Who's been running an absurdly long time, and the pool of actors/actresses resident in Britain has got to be pretty small, and

- also I am an idiot. See, I've never seen any of the Harry Potter films except the first one the first week it was released; but I just remembered something. IT' HARRY FREAKING POTTER! Everyone's been in this film too. I think David Tennant was actually in one of those films. There we go.

Okay, one last one. Who the Hell is Patsy Kensit (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patsy_Kensit)? No idea. But she was in a production of Adam Bede in 1991. Alongside Susannah Harker. Who was in 2003's audio production of 'Shada'. Okay, Jesus Christ, this game is too easy.

Screw it. I'll just wait for the day Alan Rickman and Patrick Stewart star in Doctor Who, then we can play the Six Degrees of Doctor Who involving all of Hollywood too.

Right. I'm watching an episode of 'The Invasion' aren't I? The Brig is 'on the radio' when, given the audio quality he's clearly standing just outside of the shot. Oh 60s production values, I do love you. Anywho, about half of the men are getting over the CyberSignal, and he's unsure about the others. Also, the Doctor's getting hot under the collar and tugging nervously at his bowtie and collar. I think it's side effects of the CyberSignal.

Long story short: the Brig's sending a jeep over to see if he can give Our Boys a hand, and as the Cap succinctly puts it: "sounds like total success for Vaughn and the Cybermen".

Oh God. Even in the Villain Office of the Villain Lair you can still hear the CyberSignal dimly in the background. This is the Master's Drums v. 1.0. So the CyberRadio says that "[a] full invasion force is preparing for flight. Transmit the radio signal for the ships to home in on", but Frollo's just kicking back, relaxing so cool, writing some notes sittin' in his chair, when some Cybermen, up to an invasion, started making trouble in his neighbourhood.

Because clearly Frollo's not going to do this. He doesn't even look up from his clipboard when he tells his allies "t will be prepared". Is it wrong that I'm seriously considering Frollo as the main contender for Best Character In the Serial for being straight up badass? I feel like I shouldn't admire him as much as I do because he is one [I]creepy man.

And then when the CyberRadio starts talking about preparing to properly organise the invasion Frollo interjects, "My organisation will now take over." And he was writing on a clipboard. I was joking. "The Cyberman army must stay under my control."

CR: "Why do you oppose us?" Besides the fact that you're Cyberaliens from outside space intent on taking over the world and you already intimated (or was it just surmised by PACKER the moron) that you were going to betray your human ally and fully assimilate him into your collective? Wait, I think I started out in Doctor Who but ended up in Star Trek. What else? Oh yes. Because Frollo has made opposing you the highlight of his day for at least the past three days!

This shouldn't surprise you! It really shouldn't.

F: 2I don't oppose you. We're allies!" And I shall inform you of it in the hammiest, most flamboyant way possible without crossing the line into High Camp! Seriously guys, go to tardismedia/matrixarchives, get this episode up and skip to three minutes in. It is wonderful. "But you do not understand the world and its organisation." It's true, if you're not a Stonecutter (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OExykL5QnXY) you're no one.

Hey wait. Does this mean the Stonecutters run UNIT?

CR: "This is not necessary. Humans are now under Cyber-control." Except they seem to have worked it off to some degree. Unless it's truly an insidious wossname.

F: "I must control them!" I have a complex! "Look, let's understand one another." You are the naive, all-powerful Cyberaliens from outside space who appear to have all the advantages, but I have a secret weapon that will destroy you if you don't do what I say. Now beg for your. . . life? as I sit down and stroke my white fluffy cat of Evil. "You will not get what you want unless I, too, achieve my object." The Hell? Don't you mean 'objective'? "Is this agreed?"

CR: "It has been agreed."

F: "Then the invasion will continue under my direction." Have the Cybermen always been so naive? Because if I had a pushy subordinate whom I'd made pretty much immortal start ordering me around, I'd rip his head off and ruin his Cyberbody.

So then Frollo cuts off the CyberRadio, contacts Packer, and gives him the dubiously pleasurable job of collecting the Prof. from his secure UNIT hidey hole. Packer isn't all that pleased, but well, "You won't meet with any resistance. They're all under Cyber-control." Hey wait. If everything ie makes has a CyberCircuit in it, and it's that which puts them under CyberControl, then surely anyone inside the Villain Office which is the global headquarters of ie is exposed to dozens of CyberSignals no? Does this mean everything stupid can now be classed under mind control? Because it sure seems that way.

Good Heaven's that stinger! If you're watching it's about 04.00.

Oh my God it's a convertible jeep. Hello Sgt. Walters! And he has a gun! The minute he gets inside he informs Captain Jimmy Turner there are "hundreds of Cybermen about". Shame the budget doesn't stretch that far isn't it? Also, I'm pretty skippy Sgt. Walters is wearing a bulletproof jacket, I approve. Not that it'll do any good against Cybermen with their Dalek lazors, but it's still good protocol.

We're about to decamp and make our way back to the UNIT base from earlier when . . . the Villain jeep rolls up outside and you can tell it's a Villain jeep because it's black and souped up and rides lower to the ground than a standard military issue jeep! There's more than one way to colour code a vehicle. (http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af110/CurlyKitGirl/Doctor%20Who%20Reviews/GoodJeepEvilJeep.png)

Time to escape through the back door. Literally. HOLY SMEG! They shot the Prof in the leg! For a given member of shot. There's hardly any screaming or massive blood loss, just the usual minor inconvenience a gun shot (with a rifle) to a leg with major veins, arteries and muscle groups causes.

So Captain Jimmy Turner goes down on one knee and uses his little pistol to shoot at the redshirt while Jamie's left to haul "the radio" (and hopefully the Prof.) out of harm's way.

Nope. Just the radio. Captain Jimmy Turner's got the Prof. Odd, me, I'd have thought even some cover fire would be better than none.

Jamie just got shot . . .

. . .

Jamie.

JAMIE JUST GOT SHOT IN THE (LOWER) BACK! THIS IS MADE OF AWFUL! Loving that he's just running along though as if getting shot isn't a big deal at all. That's just how you roll when you're Jamie.

Cut to the Brig asking how Our Boys are.
CJT: "In bother sir. We need help." Yes. The Prof got shot in the leg, Jamie in the back and they were ambushed. It's only a spot of bother. So the Brig sends along a chopper to sector five.

The Brig contacts the chopper and in a wonderfully cheesy moment, every time the helicopter pilot speaks you can hear some vague motor noises in the background in order to represent the fact that the man in the helicopter is, in fact, in a helicopter.

Then we hop back over the the Villain Office for Villain Dialogue. Notably, Frollo's furious that the CyberSignal isn't working very well and Packer again says "It's that Doctor's fault . . . You should've gotten rid of him when you had the chance."

Let's talk about the Cardinal Sins for a moment. Specifically: superbia, better known as Pride. It is literally considered the original and most serious of sins because of someone who said this: "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God" (Isaiah 14:13) Guess who said that? LUCIFER. And then Things happened.

Pride is also, in my personal opinion, the ultimate source of every single Villain Ball in all of history and media ever. And probably the Hero Ball and a good chunk of Idiot Balls too.

If Scar had just killed and eaten Simba there wouldn't have been a revolution (well, okay, there would have been, but not for reasons of succession and regicide). Hell, if Scar hadn't told Simba that he murdered his father it's likely that the entire pride would have turned on Simba or just let him die!

If Jafar had paid Aladdin for retrieving the Lamp from the Cave of Wonders he'd have won!

If Khan hadn't gone all Captain Ahab on Captain Kirk and just taken the Reliant marooned the crew and run away he and his men would still be alive! But at least here we have many reasons for Khan to be absolutely mental! HE IS ABSOLUTELY MENTAL! So I don't actually mind this one Villain Ball all that much because it's actually justified, and rightly hinted or outright stated in the damn film!

If the Joker wasn't . . . the Joker he'd have won! But he's the Joker and has this Thing that may or may not be sexual, but is definitely obsessive and possessive about the Batman, and that's why he's the Joker. Also: he's a loony.

If Rameses had just let his people go there wouldn't have been the plagues and the decimation of his army by the Red Sea. But at least that's partially justified for reasons of family and grief!

If Frollo had just killed the Doctor when his cyborg alien allies from outside space told him to he would have succeeded!

If The Master wasn't - okay no. No one could have ever predicted Super Crystal Dragon Tinkerbell Jesus Doctor under any circumstance whatsoever! However . . . if he'd just not outright hinted that there was a bomb in the room Our Boys would've died.

If the Daleks just shot to God damn kill for once! You get the idea.

But that's generally a part of the joy of Doctor Who. Why it irks me here is that Frollo is, otherwise, a damn pragmatic villain. This is a man who, if given the Overlord List would follow it to a tee, and then make several amendments because he believe some of the rules aren't pragmatic enough, or that several key areas had been missed out due to oversight.

This is like me, an admitted nerd, geek and otherwise fairly smart person who, upon hearing that Doctor Who is about time travel proceeds to immediately call it a poor derivative of Back to the Future. Sadly, I know someone who did that. AND MEANT IT. AND WAS AN ACTUAL BRITISH PERSON BORN IN BRITAIN. AND KNEW HOW TO USE THE INTERNET. AND READ.

Okay, I got really sidetracked. A lot. Frollo is too smart to be this dumb! Or rather, too proud to admit his mistakes. Pride goeth before a fall (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuO34bmZ7BE&feature=related) after all. I mean, when your incompetent sidekick is reprimanding you you know you've done badly.

So Frollo goes on and on about how the invasionmust continue. I guess he knows the score on and on,
Does anybody know what he is thinking of?

Another villain, another ruined crime
Within the shadows of the pantomime
Hold the line
Does anybody want to take it any more?

The show must go on!
Inside my heart is breaking

Oh wait. That's Queen. Point is. Is that Frollo's plans are falling around him like the Tower of Babel. Something which he seems to be fully aware of, but too far up his own rear to actually acknowledge.

And yet: "For the moment, I have the Cybermen exactly where I want them."

P: "[C]an you honestly say that everything is going according to plan (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9ZNhjI0Iqs)? Well, can you?"

F: "Just obey my orders!" Translation: no. And get that radio beam working so we can bring in the invasion fleet even though I don't have a sure fire way to kill them any more.

That is stupid.

And then we're with another dude! I don't know who he is! But seeing as he's telling us that New York, Moscow and Peking are off the air and dead he is the Exposition Fairy. "In fact nothing, no radio signal at all." Oh! I think this might be Sgt. Walters!

And the Doctor, Captain Jimmy Turner and the Brig are all sat around a table in UNITQuarters talking about how boned the world is. The Doctor looks especially worried. I put this down to the fact that one: the world has been invaded and two: his beloved Jamie was shot in the back.

They're all agreed about how this is a bad situation unless they can stop the CyberSignal. Well. Duh. Oh, and get this: the Doctor's theory right? Is that the signal comes from the moon and that they'd "need a missile of some sort" (Brig)

CJT: "That would need an orbital launch vehicle. I mean, we simply haven't got anything of that size."

I have the following points to make, in no particular order: THE EARTH WAS INVADED BY ALIENS.

By this time both Russia and the US had launched manned and unmanned shuttles into space.

Around this time the UK was host to sixty Thor missiles.

THE EARTH WAS INVADED BY ALIENS.

I'm pretty damn sure that even the most anti-West person in the world would lend a hand to STOP AN ALIEN INVASION!

UNIT IS A MILITARY DIVISION UNDER UN (at the time) GOVERNANCE AND LIKELY HAS BASES IN EVERY COUNTRY IN THE UN. INCLUDING RUSSIA AND THE US!

And even if there is total radio silence, guess what! The UK has rocket launch sites at The Needles and South Uist. Both of which were fully operational at this point in time. And The Needles? Was host to ICBMs. And built Black Knight BLACK ARROW (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Arrow) missiles. WHICH WERE USED TO LAUNCH THINGS INTO SPACE.

Granted I'm not sure if those sort of things would be of use, not being a rocket scientist or anything, but the point is, when Captain Jimmy Turner says "we simply haven't got anything of that size" he is lying! And I'm taking pedantry to a new level.

Hehehehe. Maybe I should let a scene out before I complain because the Brig did just bring up the fact that the Americans and the Russians can send things into space.

B: "Wait a minute." OH MY WORD! The Brig has a Key to a Safe and it looks Important!

Hahahaha. The safe contains two ring binders. ABOUT INTERNATIONAL ESPIONAGE (http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af110/CurlyKitGirl/Doctor%20Who%20Reviews/TheFileofCommunism.png). For reals. And he only just remembered he had it. Wat.

B: "The Russians were planning a countdown at the time we were attacked. [...] a manned orbital survey [of the moon]. That means they'll have a launching vehicle almost ready to go!" Convenient. And he only just mentions this when a few episodes ago there was this whole Theory about Cybermen on the Moon. Doi.

And then for the dimwits Captain Jimmy Turner explains they'll switch out the Place Where Astronauts Go with something that goes boom very very loudly.

How long does this take?

Two hours.

Genius. There is no way this thing is possible, but it will be done. "Of course, we'll have to revive the rocket personnel from Cyber-control. After that, well it's up to the Russians." Well, that's just minor isn't it?

And in this time of the Red Scare, UNIT is just chillin' with the information about the precise details of this RUSSIAN ROCKET LAUNCHING FACILITY and not telling anyone else about it. I think I love this show.

The Brig then gets down to business with the Doctor. Upon finding out the CyberShips would home in on Frollo he asks, "Would we be able to pick them off with anti-missile missiles?" I find that funny: anti-missile missiles.

D: "Yes, that's a good idea. We might have a try." The one sad thing about this being Classic Who is that we'll never get to see this. At least not unless they ask Gerry Anderson very politely indeed.

B: "Right. There's a base near Henlow Downs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Henlow)." And runs off to go do Military Things.

But that's okay because Wendy Padbury just walked in in her sparkly catsuit! And even better, one of the very first things the Doctor asks is "[H]ow's Jamie's leg?"

Even though the way he flinched it looked like he was shot in the back. Which also posed a much bigger target than a leg hidden by a kilt.

Z: "Oh, it's just a slight flesh wound." And no. No I won't do that. I also have reason to believe that getting shot in the leg is not just a flesh wound. I understand that while the muscle pads of a human body are relatively 'safe' insofar as they don't contain any major arteries or organs, and that it is indeed possible to have 'just a flesh wound' for that and other reasons it is still highly unlikely.

Z: "but he's furious because the Army doctor won't let him walk on it." Jamie: too badass to need proper medical care and aftercare. I mean, it's not like you were just shot in one of the more important and frequently used muscle groups in your whole body or anything. At least they're acknowledging the potential danger even in a mere flesh wound.

And then the Doctor lets Zoe loose on computers that have the capacity to launch things into outside space. I do not know if this is a good idea or not, but I suspect it only is because a computer genius is a computer genius with all things computer.

The Doctor meanwhile is going to beard the line in his den in order to buy UNIT enough time to stop the invasion by launching a Russian missile into space to kill space-Uber-Communists.

B: "No, this is madness" Roll 2d20 for Meme Resistance . . . 6. Well, that was fail. Obligatory link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qR0Uke2XNI#t=0m39s). "I can't afford to let you take that risk."

D: "You can't afford not to Brigadier. If you're going to attack the Cybermen with missiles, they're going to retaliate and we want to know how and with what." He has a point. So he's going to leave his radio on to transmit the details.

And then some dude says they're landing and I'm confused because the next shot is Mobile UNIT HQ (apparently) 'landing' at what is supposed to be Henlow Downs. And then I remember that one throwaway line about things being a bit bumpy when they really weren't. They didn't even bother swaying from side to side to convey the fact the plane was flying. Or taking off. Or landing.

HYPERSONIC JET. Is that even a thing? It is in 2011 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14497641). Talk about future sight. But that's the thing that's going to take Captain Jimmy Turner to Russia in two hours. Just 'Russia'. Not like it's the biggest country in the world or anything.

But Wendy Padbury's walking around and to be frank, I want a shot of her rear in that catsuit. Damn it! We're doing military protocol and prep the the invasion. And from what little I know about this particular subsection of the British military everything seems about right.

And now we're in the Obligatory Sewer Level again. All I want is a sparkly ass shot. Oh, and the Doctor's discreet radio is longer than his forearm. At least he's testing that it works.

It does.

This is amazing. It's like actually caring that your allies are able to help you when you need it, so you respect them as people who can honestly render you assistance. I'M LOOKING AT YOU TEN.

The Doctor just flipped a coin to decide which way he goes. :smallbiggrin: That is such a Doctor thing to do.

Sweet Heaven we're hopping about worse than a cat on a hot tin roof here because now we're back in UNIT MHQ and Zoe's complaining that the helichopter isn't going to help the Doctor if there're Cybermen in the sewers. B: "If you've got any better suggestions, I'd be pleased to hear them." Zoe just got burned. Please don't have any better suggestions.

(It takes two hours to get from Bedfordshire to Russia. That's only about half as long as it takes a modern passenger jet to travel from London to 'Russia'.)

B: "Well, don't look so worried. Fancy a cup of tea?" World's about to end, aliens invading, your entire plan rests on one man delaying the Villain long enough to let the other launch a missile in time, and you have tea.

British. Clearly. And Zoe's obviously not as she doesn't instantly agree and then have a nice sit down and talk about the weather.

The Villains are doing their Villain Plans are taking over communication centres. P: "But, ehm, [...] we can't make a complete takeover without a full invasion force." Captain 'Obvious' Packer.

Frollo's forehead is exceptionally shiny today. And when the full invasion arrives "there won't be one city in the entire world that we don't control." What even places like Monaco and San Morino? Or cities that only just qualify as that due to some obscure ruling?

AND PACKER ROLLS HIS EYES. I'm starting to like him! How odd is it when Pinkie's the one successfully noticing the giant holes in the world takeover plot and the Brain just ignores every one of them?

And the Doctor's rebroken into ie. D: "There you are. Can you here me Mr. Vaughn. I hope I haven't called at an inconvenient moment, but I would like a word with you [...] I'll come up, I know the way."

The most polite and badass way to waltz into the centre of Villain HQ ever. With examples like this it's no wonder that everyone in the UK is stereotyped as being very polite and calm under even the most strenuous circumstances. Unless you're a footie nutter or from Glasgow. Or worse: a footie nutter from Glasgow (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XZ7M4pWSzw). Or a NED (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scNLfr1EP08). Don't worry if you can't understand more than ten percent of what they're saying.

P: "Why not just kill him? "He's caused enough trouble already." Still has a point.

F: "You forget Packer, he's insurance."

And now we're in UNIT MHQ. Again. And the Brig is buckling his belt. D: "I am just about the enter the lion's den." Maintaining radio silence from now on. So we fade from the radio (from which Frollo's voice is coming) to the Doctor and Frollo in the Villain Office.

F: "I have worked for the Cybermen for five years on this invasion. I know them, the way they think, the single-mindedness of their purpose." And it all goes downhill because of the universal wild card. Also, I do think Frollo may have a slight hand-on for the Cyberman way of life. Or unlife.

D: "Then you must know what ruthless and inhuman killers they are."

F: "Of course (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8u7px_GzWQ)." Just a note on staging here. The Doctor's in the foreground, presumably looking straight at the desk while Frollo's in the background looking the other way. It's a nice, unusual setting that draws out the tension (http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af110/CurlyKitGirl/Doctor%20Who%20Reviews/Ofcourse.png) and shows the difference between the villain and the hero.

The Doctor asks if he really believes the Cybermen are allies, and Frollo boasts that he's "allow[ed] for every possible factor" - except the Doctor. "It was I who contacted them in deep space" (how?) "provided the means by which they travelled to earth" (how? This is the height of the Star Wars thing you know, that sort of thing would have been monitored. You're just a British businessman. HOW DID YOU DO THIS?) "And masterminded the whole operation from A to Z." Why?

You're not one of those nihilist 'humanity is worthless' types are you?

F: "They have merely provided their advanced scientific skills, their might and strength." Ummm. So you basically delayed their takeover over the world. That what you're saying here? They could have just shafted you right the moment they found earth.

As flies to wanton boys are we to th' gods. Or Cybermen in this case. And you know how that ends? "They kill us for their sport." (King Lear, IV, i, l. 36 - 37) At least your better than Diagonal Man in that you're not going to be shoved up a Dalek's rectum and turned into a penis head. And you're able to at least intimidate the Cybermen.

D: "What do they get out of this?"

F: "What they want and what they're going to get are two entirely different things." So you're saying you can't always get what you want. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIX0ZDqDljA) Stuff, stuff, Frollo's a fool, the Cybermen will squish him, Frollo informs him that all Cybermen here are conditioned to obey Frollo. Yeah, here on earth. Which isn't a lot.

The Doctor points this out, and Frollo says "If they're not, I'll destroy them." I.

I.

IF?!?! Of course they're not! And how? No mass produced CyberKill 2.0 remember?! The "one machine" in the Doctor's hands. "And I've [the Doctor] go the Professor." He smirks gloatingly. Lor' Patrick Troughton can gloat.

Frollo's very . . . toddler-like about this. 'Of course they'll do what I say. I want them to and all their friends do so they will. Or I'll hurt them!'

So now we're an a place. It's military. People have passed out. Or are dead. This is Henlow Downs, just so's you know. And they've somehow managed to make loads of neuristors for all the dudes in the room.

Aagin in Villain HQ. "[T]hey'll destroy the earth as we know it!" And I feel fine. And Frollo's cottoned on to the delay tactics going on, so now I get to see if this version of the Doctor can lie/act as convincingly as Ten-pretending-to-be-John-Smith.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He says as he wrings his hands. I think someone rolled a four. So obviosuly Frollo laughs and calls in Packer.

Meaning that the beam is being linked to the invasion fleet right now. Thanks for breaking it hero.

Bounce back to Henlow Downs. They're being surprisingly compliant given everything. Then again, it is a Brigadier telling them this, so orders are orders. But there's nothing on the radar even though it's accurate up to fifty thousand miles.

Zoe calls that "almost on top of us", even though fifty thousand miles is roughly one quarter the distance from the earth to the moon. Personally I think that's pretty impressive. Now, Independence Day radars didn't pick up alien space ships as large as major metropolitan cities until they'd already floated past the moon, so all told I think that's pretty good.

Then technomilitarybabble happens. I think things are being prepared to launch. And I can't actually tell if the rockets are models or real. Obviously they're models, I doubt the military would let the BBC have actual access to actual missiles, but very convincing ones.

Bounce back to Villain HQ. CR: "The transporters will be launched. The invasion fleet will arrive in two parts."

D: "You must stop them! This is madness!" You've had your quota! "You can't trust them!" And by shouting this out in front of the open radio channel the CyberHQ you've effectively revealed that there are people actually fighting this invasion. Congratulations.

F: "Don't you understand yet? I have no alternative." You had five years to renege on this invasion. To work alongside the governments of the earth to unite them in a temporary alliance to defeat aliens from outside space. You could have begun manufacturing the CyberZap 5000 much earlier. You could have not asked and assisted in creating an invasion! You could have not included the CyberCircuit thing in your tech meaning that the peoples of earth would be active and aware of the invasion.

There were lots of alternatives.

F: "I can't see all these years of work destroyed. I must go on! I must." See, this is what 100% Completion runs do to you. Even when things go tits up you simply must finish because that's what you started out to do. There comes a point in a plan, a game, a story, a day out, an event where things are just so bad it's perfectly acceptable to abandon ship. Unless you have a perverse sense of honour . . .

Bounce back. Things are happening, but not much. And the CyberShips are "on a ballistic trajectory" and it'll be a few minutes until they come in range of their missiles. Things are all military technobabble. Basically, they can't get them all.

Z: "I think we stand a good chance of getting ninety percent of them." This is because Zoe is a genius and can compute a way to set off a "chain reaction of explosions" as they're travelling in formation in "thirty seconds". Which, okay, is pretty damn impressive. And is at least feasible for a non-genius in video games at least. But I though - oh never mind. She's only fifteen and telling the military how to do their job.

This is like War Games all over again.

At least the Brig has confidence in her. And as she' - damnit I missed the ass shot! But I did see that one man eye up Zoe's ass. So things happen and of course Zoe's right.

More model shots. And whirly things. Military technobabble. Countdown (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e32kaa9TzeE). And then rockets are launched and missiles hit the CyberShips and there are many explosions.

CR: "The first CyberFleet is being attacked and destroyed. You have betrayed us." The failure is is fault. And then the CyberRadio electrocutes Frollo as he rants about needing to be in control of the mission and things?

And then the CyberRadio talks about launching a "Cyber-Megaton bomb". Okay, when I started putting Cyber in front of everything related to the Cybermen it was a joke. And now it's a real thing that is very real! Oh, and the CyberRadio is very explicit in that they're only prepping a single CyberMegaton bomb. I don't think a single normal megaton bomb could destroy the earth, a quick scout suggest it would level a good-sized city; so the Cyberness must make it extra powerful.

Couldn't they have just made something up?

So the Cybermen are, of course, about to "destroy life on earth completely. Ever living being" rather than assimilate them because they lost one measly invasion fleet. Grouchy aren't they.

D: "Is this what you wanted?! To be the ruler of a dead world?!" And I think Frollo may have short-circuited because his head's tiled and he's holding his neck.

Scream Out!

Preview Thoughts: No preview this time.

Best Moment: In general I'm very impressed with how accurate the military scenes feel, but I have to give points to the last ten minutes or so when the Doctor and Frollo are conversing while the preparation to repel the invasion goes on. The tension is as high as the stakes, and the quietness adds a very sombre air to the scenes that is sometimes lacking in Nu Who where the score is occasionally overused to artificially tell us how to feel.

Worst Moment: Just a flesh wound.

Best Actor: The Doctor. Terrible liar, but very good in tense moments and during the last five minutes or so especially you can really feel the seriousness of the situation because the Doctor's taking everything stone cold seriously.

Worst Actor: Eh. Random military dude whose name I didn't get.

Best Special Effect: The model shots.

Worst Special Effect: UNIT MHQ's 'flying' is very bumpy even though nothing moves or slides around or acts any different from it does when it's landed.

Most Punchable Character: Frollo. Come on man, pride before a fall; at least admit that things aren't going as you intended.

Death Count: Presumably thousands all over the world, but all offscreen.

Kink of the Episode: I will have that ass shot eventually!

Thoughts so far?
Frollos self-delusions are annoying at times, but very well done, you can tell he's deluding himself and that everyone around him knows it. I really like this cliff hanger and the character interaction in general, the military scenes feel right and create an air of authority and realness to this serial.
What is annoying is that Jamie's out of the picture again. For no real reason. Well, he got shot, but still!
Really looking forward to the final part you guys.

[Dr. Simon]

The only episode I can think of that you didn't mention that I enjoyed was 42.

"42" is okay, but it's mainly about whether or not the monster will be defeated (answer: yes) rather than character moments, which looking at my other choices seems to be what I like the best. Although there's quite a poignant moment where Martha is plummeting into the sun and there seems to be nothing anyone can do.



I think my ranking would actually put 'Human Nature'/'Family of Blood' at the top, partly because it's a character study/character driven, and we all know how much I love me some character driven things.
Even so, it is a really close call so I'd probably cheat and make it a joint spot.


Ah, well, you see I just list them in chronological order, partly because often it is too close to call. Having re-watched those two eps recently I'd put them as probably the stand-out of the season. I particularly liked the acting from "Baines", and it was wierd seeing the actor playing a young Denis Thatcher in The Iron Lady.



Dr. Simon, whenever you're ready. Although not the 4th June as I'm off to a UK mini-meetup for the Jubilee, and then the evening's taken over by a subject dinner. Which probably means I'll be free at ten.


So I guess the best way to do this would be to do some kind of "simul-cast" and use a chat program as we go, unless you have any better ideas.



'Good As Gold'
The winner of the second Blue Peter/Doctor Who scriptwriting competition.
[spoiler]This isn't even five minutes long, so I'll be very quick. For once.


I've just been re-watching the original Hitchhikers Guide TV series, and the first thing that came into my head upon reading your review was the voice of Marvin, saying "Sounds awful". Also an Alexei Sayle sketch where he did a parody of Gilbert and George reviewing the artwork of some primary school children ("Your work is tedious and lacks originality").

[Calemyr]

Every time I read one of CurlyKitGirl's Invasion reactions, I'm reminded of a clip I've seen of the second Doctor that I find terribly relevant:

Zoe: [Uncomfortably] I'm beginning to wonder if this skirt is a bit too short.
Doctor: Oh, I wouldn't worry about it, dear. After all... just look at Jamie's!

That said, I kinda wish you'd do more of the Eleven's episodes, though I guess you've already seen them all and thus there's less magic to be had. Still, your style does add a new layer of charm to the series.

[CurlyKitGirl]

Ah, well, you see I just list them in chronological order, partly because often it is too close to call. Having re-watched those two eps recently I'd put them as probably the stand-out of the season. I particularly liked the acting from "Baines", and it was wierd seeing the actor playing a young Denis Thatcher in The Iron Lady.

Never noticed that, always thought you listed them in preference. And Baines is just so cool. ^.^
Willing to go hand-on-heart and swear that that two-parter is still one of the strongest serials in all of Nu Who.


So I guess the best way to do this would be to do some kind of "simul-cast" and use a chat program as we go, unless you have any better ideas.

Nope. So we're probably using livestream/justin.tv/similar yes? You want to set it up? Livestream does have its own chat. Unless we have someone who's actually tech savvy and knows a better way to do this.
Just PM me and we'll set up a date and time.
I'm basically free forever, so if we start in the evening that means we can watch as many episodes as we want.

Oh, and considering this format would basically be me liveblogging something blind I'll probably do a longer rambly thing in my usual post-watch format.


I've just been re-watching the original Hitchhikers Guide TV series, and the first thing that came into my head upon reading your review was the voice of Marvin, saying "Sounds awful". Also an Alexei Sayle sketch where he did a parody of Gilbert and George reviewing the artwork of some primary school children ("Your work is tedious and lacks originality").

:smallbiggrin:
I reminded someone of H2G2? That is so cool.


Every time I read one of CurlyKitGirl's Invasion reactions, I'm reminded of a clip I've seen of the second Doctor that I find terribly relevant:

Zoe: [Uncomfortably] I'm beginning to wonder if this skirt is a bit too short.
Doctor: Oh, I wouldn't worry about it, dear. After all... just look at Jamie's!

That is a thing that happens?
For real?
:cool: :biggrin:
They are so doing this on purpose.

Although this does suggest that I'm becoming more than a bit of a slash-obsessed fangirl. Curses.


That said, I kinda wish you'd do more of the Eleven's episodes, though I guess you've already seen them all and thus there's less magic to be had. Still, your style does add a new layer of charm to the series.

When I first started out reviewing Doctor Who I'd just finished rewatching the first and second season for the first time since they'd aired and wanted to vent massively about Rose.
A lot.
Then I started blind reviewing my way through Nu Who in order. The only reason I've reviewed the Eleventh Doctor episodes I did is because they were being aired on TV and thought I'd liveblog them.
The exception there is 'The Lodger' because I was informed that 'Closing Time' was a direct sequel and needed to be seen.
I'm about ten episodes (although some of those are specials and basically movies) away from starting Eleven's run proper.
All of which I missed during their first run on TV for reasons I explained when I first started blind reviewing Doctor Who. I will get to them. Eventually.

I have a schedule - well, I know what episodes/serials I'm reviewing next.

'The Invasion' Part 8/8
'Remembrance of the Daleks' Part 1/2
'Remembrance of the Daleks' Part 2/2
Season four of Nu Who including specials

EVENTUALLY 'Genesis of the Daleks'. I may have to resort to using an online thing rather than my DVDs because someone has stolen them and will not admit that they have!
And probably some time in the next week 'Talons of Wen-Chiang' which looks to be amusingly racist and all sorts of fun things. I'm ready whenever Dr. Simon is.

Problem is that I only recently finished my Finals and had a very heavy workload prior to . . . last week.
And, as you may very well definitely have noticed, I am easily distractable, so get sidetracked a lot.

Speaking of: what about my tangent-filled style is charming?
Because I'm feeling a little down today and need some cheering up, so some compliment on reviewing style/comments on 'The Invasion' Part 7/8 would just be really nice.

[Calemyr]

Speaking of: what about my tangent-filled style is charming?
Because I'm feeling a little down today and need some cheering up, so some compliment on reviewing style/comments on 'The Invasion' Part 7/8 would just be really nice.

First off, the energy. It's infectious.

Secondly, you look at it from a very different perspective than I. Reading your renditions of Doctor Who (particularly ones I've seen) is like watching the show through someone else's eyes. Critics are fairly common, but your responses are less focused on criticism and more on reaction - all the thoughts and tangents and shocks that the episode bring to your mind. This makes it feel like an entirely new experience.

Finally, the nostalgia value (for the ones I've seen). I've got a pretty good (if unreliable) memory, so I can see the episode in question play in front of my eyes despite not having it available at the moment.

As for the quip about the kilt, yeah, it's a real thing that actually happens. I saw it on a youtube video with a title like "Top 10 Doctor Who Quotes" or "Funny Doctor Who Quotes".

It also included another gem from Two:
Companion: What are you planning to do? (While watching a monster from cover)
Doctor: Bung a rock at it.

[Sunken Valley]

Are these the links you'd like in the first post?

Let's Kill Hitler (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11731087&postcount=43)
Night Terrors (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11775642&postcount=129)
The Girl Who Waited (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11821163&postcount=316)
God Complex (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11868968&postcount=418)
Closing Time (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11909000&postcount=516)
The Wedding of River Song (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11953207&postcount=656)
The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12432053&postcount=1050)

I didn't include you initially because they were harder to find ans hadn't looked till now, and was unsure if you would want to be linked.

Yes they are. Sorry for not saying sooner.

In June I will be doing "Good as Gold" review. Because Curly did it so its official territory. This review will be... different to the others. Don't expect a tangent or any major change to the style. But yeah different.

Also, I don't see why Fear Her is so hated. Love and Monsters, I get. Black Spot, I get. Boom Town, I get. Narnia, I get Colin Baker, I get. Every Season Finale ever, I get. What's wrong with Fear Her, It had no specific special effect fails or plot holes, it was scary, there weren't any mary sues or character de-railment. What was wrong?

@Simon: One could say that Fathers Day and Family of Blood (not it's brother though) are cheapened due to their similarity with each other (namely, a siege dominating most of it, probably working better without a monster (as per Father's Days initial intention), Same Writer and a character procrasinating over an action which will save the day at the cost of his life (which makes the whole thing tedious as he is putting the world at risk and we know he will do it). What do you think?

@Thufir: 6 years, Fear Her is 6 Years old. 5 years and 11 months at exactly the date that ep aired to be precise. Thats a while.

[Gilphon]

I believe Fear Her is felt to be corny and overdone.

[Dienekes]

Well, part of why we won't agree on Fear Her is you said "it was scary" at which point I started chuckling and shaking my head. No, no it wasn't. The scariest thing about it was a door was shaking while a hilariously cartoony villain was shouting something behind it.

The little girl was a boring actress, the story was uninteresting, and it was just dull. So, dull. Also, very cheesy, with the Doctor running in the Olympics for reasons that still elude me. And did I mention it was dull?

[kardar233]

Hey CurlyKitGirl, it seems like the link to your review of Blink directs to a different episode. Might want to take a look at that.

[kardar233]

Hey CurlyKitGirl, it seems like the link to your review of Blink directs to a different episode. Might want to take a look at that.

[Dr. Simon]

Also, I don't see why Fear Her is so hated. Love and Monsters, I get. Black Spot, I get. Boom Town, I get. Narnia, I get Colin Baker, I get. Every Season Finale ever, I get. What's wrong with Fear Her, It had no specific special effect fails or plot holes, it was scary, there weren't any mary sues or character de-railment. What was wrong?


For me, a mix of reasons.

1) There's nothing wrong, in itself, of the concept of drawing that come to life (and/or turning life into drawings) - see the 1988 film Picturehouse for a better (and creepier) interpretation - but I think it stretches even the dodgy pseudoscience of Doctor Who too far into pure fantasy.

2) Too many concepts squeezed into one story. Lonely alien joins with lonely child (see ET), helps her collect "playmates" - nothing wrong with this idea. This is then coupled to the drawings come to life/life turns to drawings idea (which is it? One or other would have been better, not both). This is also then coupled to the "scary father" idea (again, see Paperhouse) which is given short shrift and doesn't really go anywhere except to provide a sudden burst of suspense at the end. The whole concept is revisited in Night Terrors, which is still less than satisfactory but maybe done a little better.

3) All of those elements could have worked with more careful story construction, but the bit that really made my teeth hurt was the Olympic torch sequence, too much of the "Cult of the Doctor" that grew up around Ten. What next, How the Doctor Saved Christmas? (Well, okay, maybe we do get that one many times....)



@Simon: One could say that Fathers Day and Family of Blood (not it's brother though) are cheapened due to their similarity with each other (namely, a siege dominating most of it, probably working better without a monster (as per Father's Days initial intention), Same Writer and a character procrasinating over an action which will save the day at the cost of his life (which makes the whole thing tedious as he is putting the world at risk and we know he will do it). What do you think?


I wouldn't say that a superficial similarity like that necessarily "cheapens" the stories. A Monster Siege has been a staple Who storyline since the days of the Second Doctor (e.g. The Abominable Snowmen, The Moonbase, The Web of Fear, Fury From the Deep, The Ark in Space, The Seeds of Doom, The Robots of Doom, Horror at Fang Rock), and pretty much all Who stories are treading water until the Doctor comes up with a solution.

Because we know that the Doctor will pull through in the end, a seige story shouldn't make this the focus. Individual moments of suspense are fine - I mean, all Bond films work this way - but what, for me, makes a Doctor Who story memorable are the character moments, be they light and humourous or deep and inciteful, or preferably both.

So Father's Day and Family of Blood differ because they are about different things. Father's Day explores an aspect of time travel paradox not often (if ever, I think) addressed on the show, and it examines Rose's relationship with her father. What happens when someone you think of as a hero turns out to be just an ordinary bloke with a line in failed businesses? And the problem isn't solved by the Doctor with some fancy technobabble but by Pete's sacrifice (and redemption?). By removing the Doctor as the source of the solution, the story removes the inevitability common to such stories. And it turns that concept further on its head. The Doctor is doing all he can to find an answer that he knows probably won't work, purely to save Rose the pain of losing her father again - he knows Pete's death is the only way to solve the paradox. This in turn not only demonstrates the Doctor's compassionate side but viewers who have been paying attention will know that Nine knows what it is like to lose family (Time War?) and also that he is "adventuring" to hide the hurt that comes from caring.

Family of Blood, on the other hand, not only gives the Doctor the dilemma of choosing an "ordinary life" with a woman he loves, or to save everyone and return to his troubled, lonely, dangerous old life but it provides some beautiful period details and (again) an examination of the nature of heroism. Most of the characters are well-drawn and three-dimensional; the Headmaster for example comes across as a pompous and rule-bound man but he is also an old soldier, and brave (if foolish) to the last. Two conversations sum up the attitudes of the story to me - Baines (as Brother-of-Mine) asking the Headmaster if the boys will thank him for turning them into soldiers, given what is in store for them in the trenches of the Great War, and Jessica Hynes' character's disbelief that Martha (as a woman and as a woman-of-colour) could have medical knowledge. The Family of Blood are almost incidental under the weight of all this, but they provide a great mirror for the attitudes and prejudices of the human characters. Which is what the monster in a truly good Who story should do.

Which is all to say that, no, I don't think it cheapens either story because what you describe is really the barest bones upon which the rest is hung.

Regarding "Good as Gold", by the way, check out the winning entries in the "500 Words" competition by contrast, particularly the winner of the Under-9s category (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/500words/2012/stories/coming-home/). That's written by a 7 year old! It's on-topic because it's read by Catherine Tate. :smallwink:

[comicshorse]

[QUOTE=CurlyKitGirl;13318513]I have a schedule - well, I know what episodes/serials I'm reviewing next.

'The Invasion' Part 8/8
'Remembrance of the Daleks' Part 1/2
'Remembrance of the Daleks' Part 2/2
Season four of Nu Who including specials

EVENTUALLY 'Genesis of the Daleks'. I may have to resort to using an online thing rather than my DVDs because someone has stolen them and will not admit that they have!
And probably some time in the next week 'Talons of Wen-Chiang' which looks to be amusingly racist and all sorts of fun things. I'm ready whenever Dr. Simon is.
/QUOTE]

Cough* Pyramids of Mars*Cough

[Thufir]

Speaking of: what about my tangent-filled style is charming?
Because I'm feeling a little down today and need some cheering up, so some compliment on reviewing style/comments on 'The Invasion' Part 7/8 would just be really nice.

Well, for starters, you do have interesting insights into like, subtext, or themes, or whatever things highbrow critics are supposed to look for. But, despite getting at least a bit into analysis, you never lose sight of the basic point that it's supposed to be enjoyable to watch before anything else. You're still coming at it from the perspective of a fan of the show, and speak as such - pointing out the moments that are especially funny, or epicly cool, or really poignant.
And, that's basically the core of it. The conjunction of those two points of view. Actually, hang on, I already came up with this a while back:


"The perfect meshing of a cultured, erudite scholar and an excitable, geeky fangirl."

That do?

[Dr. Simon]

Continuing my plan to post what I think to be the highlights of every season of Doctor Who, old and new.

For each series I choose 2 or 3 of what I consider to be the best stories, and a selection of also-rans. "Stories" may comprise any number of actual episodes (somewhere between 1-14, typically 4 or 6). Older Who is nearly always episodic, with NuWho most episodes are self-contained. Feel free to expand on my brief comments, agree, disagree etc. This is, after all, purely subjective.

Classic Who (Doctors One to Eight)

First Doctor

Season One (1963-1964) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11608367&postcount=1406)
Season Two (1964-1965) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11753964&postcount=89)
Season Three (1965-1966) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11798983&postcount=239)
Season Four (1966-1967) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11831287&postcount=355)

Second Doctor

Season Four (1966-1967) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11831287&postcount=355)
Season Five (1967-1968) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11895071&postcount=510)
Season Six (1968-1969) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11936222&postcount=594)

Third Doctor

Season Seven (1970) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12005725&postcount=793)
Season Eight (1971) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12057505&postcount=835)
Season Nine (1972) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12101112&postcount=837)
Season Ten (1972-1973) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12200809&postcount=861)
Season Eleven (1973-1974) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12265299&postcount=934)

Fourth Doctor

Season Twelve (1974-1975) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12337428&postcount=952)
Season Thirteen (1975-1976) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12473294&postcount=1084)
Season Fourteen (1976-1977) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12506440&postcount=1130)
Season Fifteen (1977-1978) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12539851&postcount=1209)
Season Sixteen (1978-1979) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12639432&postcount=1232)
Season Seventeen (1979-1980) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12681401&postcount=1233)
Season Eighteen (1980-1981) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12754705&postcount=1235)

Fifth Doctor

Season Nineteen (1981-1982) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12798671&postcount=1236)
Season Twenty (1983) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12853709&postcount=1282)
Season Twenty One (1984) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12881776&postcount=1288)

Sixth Doctor

Season Twenty Two (1985) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12920949&postcount=1314)
Season Twenty Three (1986) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12959616&postcount=1334)

Seventh Doctor

Season Twenty Four (1987) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12998906&postcount=1357)
Season Twenty Five (1988) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13078221&postcount=1406)
Season Twenty Six (1989) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13116901&postcount=1409)

Eighth Doctor

TV Movie (1996) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13153060&postcount=1412)



New Series (Doctors Nine to Eleven)

Ninth Doctor

Series One (2005) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13226813&postcount=1452)


Tenth Doctor

Series Two (2006) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13263518&postcount=1458)
Season Three (2007) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13300637&postcount=7)


Some fairly lengthy analyses for me this time around. I've included the "year of specials" in this batch as well, mainly because not many of them got through the Dr. S Quality Filter.

Of all of Ten's companions, I like Donna the most. Catherine Tate is a revelation in the role, showing a capacity for serious acting as well as comedy. Tate and Tennant guest-presented a range of TV and radio over this period and there's a good chemistry between the two actors which carries across into the characters. I like how Donna is not afraid of the Doctor and on many occasions helps anchor him in the human aspects of the situation (for example, Fires of Pompeii or Planet of the Ood). It's a shame that previous companions keep cropping up during this series as they dilute it somewhat.

Series Four plus Specials
Tenth Doctor/Donna (2008-2010)

Fires of Pompeii – Another one of those stories that, really, is just a lot of fun, but manages to fit in some good dynamics between Doctor and companion concerning ethics and responsibility. There's a fun scene where Donna doesn’t take kindly to being sacrificed, and messing around with auto-translation, but also balanced by the way that Donna urges the Doctor into an act of compassion with Caecelius and his family.

Silence In The Library/Forest Of The Dead – These episode provide another good and creepy monster in an atmospheric setting whilst providing a mystery to the viewers in the at-first seemingly unconnected scenes involving the little girl and Dr. Moon. They also introduce the mysterious River Song - a good idea, I thought, to include a character who meets the Doctor out of synch with the series timeline. There's a (bitter)sweet arc for Donna, although it is a shame to seperate her from the Doctor, and finally the "little shop" running gag plays an important role in the plot.

Honourable Mentions
Midnight – An episode that delivers creepiness purely through the acting. A small group of people in a room having an argument, that’s about all this amounts to*, so it’s a credit to all involved how well it works.

Turn Left – This episode takes us down some very dark paths, where disaster brings out the best and worst in people - the scene where the "foreign" neighbours are taken away is heavy-handed in the evident parallels but affecting nonetheless. A good companion piece to Midnight, highlighting Catherine Tate’s abilities as an actor (not to mention the great Bernard Cribbins).

Stolen Earth/Journey’s End – This is pretty much the capstone to the Tenth Doctor’s era, almost rendering the specials of the following year redundant. Admittedly the call-outs to the spin-offs had little effect on me (since I haven't seen them) and the ending is hugely overblown, but by the time you get to it you’re completely in the mood for it. And nobody had to turn into a god. Well, almost.

The Next Doctor - As with many of Tennant's episodes this one is brought down for me by the "cult of the Doctor" - once again no-one is as great as the Doctor and could never hope to be, because he's just, well, the bestest. However, many of the concepts involved are worth it, including the idea of having a multi-Doctor special projected forwards in time from the current Doctor, the idea of someone emulating the Doctor, and the giant steampunk cyberman. Curly's reviews have reminded me that the willful human who can bend cybermen to their will has been done way back before.

Waters of Mars – For my money, probably the best of the specials. Almost a throwback to the stories of the Second Doctor’s era in terms of plot, but what makes it stand out is how the character of the Doctor is getting out of control having realised over the course of several seasons that no other Time Lords are out there to control his actions - many times before he has obeyed certain rules concerning altering time and direct intervention and has finally come to realise that there is no-one to enforce these laws (which seem to be a matter of convention rather than natural laws). The arrogance of this behaviour probably masks a deep hurt about the extinction of his race. This kind of behaviour has continued on in the Eleventh Doctor, I think, although the difference between Ten and Eleven is that the writers sometimes allow Eleven to be wrong. However, that's for next time...

*Although there are many great dramas that this description would apply to.

[Androgeus]

So the comic store in town hadn't even got enough to cover the orders they had, and it took me a week to cave in and buy a digital copy. I wanted to do this with a physical copy as I feel it adds a certain quality to the read but I don't feel like waiting for the second print run.

So with out further ado let's begin this readview of
Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who:Assimilation2 #1

The cover (http://cdn.screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/star-trek-tng-doctor-who-assimilation2-570x865.jpg) is good showing our main characters, Picard and 11 and their respective ships, getting across that this a crossover quite clearly. Although I do wonder what all the blue stuff is, are they flying at warp speed through the vortex or something?

So we start our story on Delta IV, home world of the species that the bald woman in the first movie. The stardate is 45635.2 which I think put it in season 5 (between The Outcast and Cause and Effect if my ability to read memory alpha is correct).
We find ourselves in an idyllic park when a man notices something in the sky, A large number of Borg and Cybermen descending! wait why are they coming from the sky? surely they should just report in seeing as Borg have teleporters.
Two men are escorting a woman to safety. I have no idea what is with this woman's face. it's just weird.
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h167/Androgues/panelEYES.pngAnyway they manage to successfully beam her (she's actually the Prime Minister) to safety.
We get a report from Admiral Vulcan that Star Fleet is sending a task force to deal with the invading force, however the two ships that star fleet already had in the area are getting soundly thrashed. We also get told that the Borg did call for surrender, and that Star Fleet realises that the Cybermen are different to the normal Borg they encounter. The Prime Minister orders a full evacuation of the planet, but is questioned on this action by an Andorian.
Before she can answer him a bunch of Cybermen and Borg teleport in to the room and a Cyberman delivers the Borg's catchphrase (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyenRCJ_4Ww&t=13s).http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h167/Androgues/PanelCyberBorg.png It also seems we have Cybrus Cybermen opposed to ones from Mondas. Perhaps the Borg found them in the Void or something and helped them out?
The Prime Minster and a few Star Fleet officers mange to escape to a shuttle. One of the officers tries reassure the Prime Minster the task force will save the planet, but she wonders if there'll be anything left to save as we see a ragtag fleet of ships flying away from the planet.

And now we jump to Ancient Egypt, where we are introduced to Amy not wanting to look. Yes, Amy I agree that this scene change is a bit nonsensical but if we don't look we'll never find out if it is going anywhere.
Next we get introduced to The Docto-Dear god what is with your face?
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h167/Androgues/Doctorface.pngI think Egypt has turned the Doctor evil. Also the Doctor wears a Khepresh (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khepresh) now. Khepreshs are cool.
We pull back to revel that the Doctor, Rory & Amy are in some kind of chariot chase with Rory at the reins. We get a bit of banter about favourite disembodiments, before the Doctor spies a chance to invoke a chase scene classic and knocks over some stalls to stop their pursuers. The hat is however lost due to this.
They arrive at the Pharaoh's palace where the Doctor calls for sneakiness. Rory starts to big up his sneak skills but manges to walk in to a vase causing it to topple and shatter. oh, the irony.
This brings a group of guards to the scene. The doctor manges to beat them by climbing up a nearby tapestry, sonicing the rail it's on off the wall and wrapping the guards in the tapestry. seriously. The Pharaoh's guard are beaten by tapersty. You know Pharaoh, I think you might want to screen your guards or something.
Rory manges to sweet talk the last two guards standing at the entrance to the Pharaoh's chamber. I guess because standing guard for 2000 years gives him an insight in the minds of all guards and knows that all guards just want their next tea break.
The Doctor enters the Pharaoh's chamber and informs Pharaoh that he's here to save the kingdom. An adviser doesn't like this and ask him who he is (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYaQVjF48eY&t=1m38s). The advisor doesn't like the Doctor's answer and is forced to ask the question that must never answered.http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h167/Androgues/AdvisorWho.pngThe Doctor also divulges his race, which surprises the adviser who believed the Time Lords were all dead. The Doctor gives the adviser a chance to escape as normal, but as usual the adviser declines this offer and opts for the more popular choice of slap the Pharaoh across the roomhttp://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h167/Androgues/pharaohSlap.pngHe then starts to morph in to some kind of insecty/Alein, but the Doctor stops him by using an crystal gemerald pokéball thing which is actually the alien's prison cell. The Doctor hands the gemerald to Rory to go and have a chat with the Pharoah, telling us the alien planed to use the Nile to power a thing that would have ignited the atmosphere.

Back on the TARDIS, the Doctor decides they should go some where foggy after being in a hot desert. Rory hands the gemerald prison thing back to Doctor causing him to have visions of the Borg/Cyberman alliance.
The TARDIS shudders violently and the Doctor says they have almost arrived. The TARDIS materialises and out step Rory and Amy wearing noir-ey outfits. This totally is the holodeck running Dixon Hill. I guess that shudder in the TARDIS was them crossing the Franchise Boundry. A line only fanfiction has dared cross before.
The Doctor insist that this is the real San Francisco, although he is apparently suffering from a bit of dimensional feedback, as they walk past Tom's Bakery on 4th Street (I wonder if there is a competitor on 6th street). The Doctor says they are bound to run into something usual here as they walk in to a barroom where at the bar stands a familiar android.
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h167/Androgues/barDroid.pngAnd that's where we end this issue

Overall thoughts:
I'm not sure on this, I don't really feel like it was much of a crossover. Sure we get Borg & Cyberman army at the start and Data at the end. I understand that there needs to be some set up, but unless that gemerald is going to be deadly important you could feasibly drop the entire Egypt plot. Heck you could just drop everything from before the Pharaoh scene if you need the gemerald in the plot and you don't lose anything except some decent banter.
The Star Trek/Delta IV invasion story is mediocre, it has some good panels of Borg & Cybermen, but other than that meh. I don't don't know who any of these people are, so I don't feel invested in their plight. I keep being amused by the Andorian in the background of some of the panels and I have no idea why. The TNG crew only appear on one page in the entire comic, and even then they aren't really doing anything so we are definitely short changed on the TNG side of things.
So Decent Doctor banter, but doesn't really live up to the cross over name. I'd rate it but most of my negative feelings are on how pointless it seems, so I have to wait for more plot if it really was superfluous. I am still looking forward to #2 though
So there we go, my first "review". I feel I may have gone far too much in the exposition route.
edit:added a sentence about TNG crew to thoughts.

[LokeyITP]

Honourable Mentions
...
I think you need a few more, at least The Unicorn and the Wasp and/or/proabably-and the Sontaran 2 parter.

[Dr. Simon]

I think you need a few more, at least The Unicorn and the Wasp and/or/proabably-and the Sontaran 2 parter.

Those are good, I agree, but I try to limit it to two or three per category, and the others stood out more, in my opinion. Probably because they are a bit different in terms of their storytelling whereas Unicorn and Wasp is a typical "alien in historical period" story and Sontaran Strategem/Poison Sky is a typical "aliens invade Earth" story. Both done well, but not as original.

Mind you, Unicorn and the Wasp does contain one of my favourite exchanges:

Doctor: I need something salty.
Donna (searching through the kitchen): Salt?
Doctor: Too salty.

I don't know why that should tickle me so much, it's partly in the delivery.

[Xondoure]

Posting to mark this thread, and because the vanishing post is driving me nuts. Nuts I tell you!

[Dr. Simon]

Best Moment: In general I'm very impressed with how accurate the military scenes feel, but I have to give points to the last ten minutes or so when the Doctor and Frollo are conversing while the preparation to repel the invasion goes on. The tension is as high as the stakes, and the quietness adds a very sombre air to the scenes that is sometimes lacking in Nu Who where the score is occasionally overused to artificially tell us how to feel.


I have to agree with you here, one of my favourite parts of the whole story. Second Doctor is quite good at this kind of thing, appearing buffoonish at first but when he gets serious, you know he's serious. In this case Frollo makes a very good foil for him, and you can really feel the battle of wills going on.

[Thufir]

Just dropping in to post an amusing image I saw on facebook:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/541995_419419258069329_1564330773_n.jpg

[Tanuki Tales]

...nah, that'd just be kinda stupid, imo.

I fail to see how. There's been plenty of fallout from the Time War that's changed the course of history from how it was and how The Doctor remembered it being.

It's not like the Cybermen would be immune, seeing as they're a lower species.

[Dr. Simon]

Continuing my plan to post what I think to be the highlights of every season of Doctor Who, old and new.

For each series I choose 2 or 3 of what I consider to be the best stories, and a selection of also-rans. "Stories" may comprise any number of actual episodes (somewhere between 1-14, typically 4 or 6). Older Who is nearly always episodic, with NuWho most episodes are self-contained. Feel free to expand on my brief comments, agree, disagree etc. This is, after all, purely subjective.

Classic Who (Doctors One to Eight)

First Doctor

Season One (1963-1964) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11608367&postcount=1406)
Season Two (1964-1965) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11753964&postcount=89)
Season Three (1965-1966) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11798983&postcount=239)
Season Four (1966-1967) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11831287&postcount=355)

Second Doctor

Season Four (1966-1967) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11831287&postcount=355)
Season Five (1967-1968) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11895071&postcount=510)
Season Six (1968-1969) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11936222&postcount=594)

Third Doctor

Season Seven (1970) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12005725&postcount=793)
Season Eight (1971) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12057505&postcount=835)
Season Nine (1972) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12101112&postcount=837)
Season Ten (1972-1973) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12200809&postcount=861)
Season Eleven (1973-1974) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12265299&postcount=934)

Fourth Doctor

Season Twelve (1974-1975) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12337428&postcount=952)
Season Thirteen (1975-1976) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12473294&postcount=1084)
Season Fourteen (1976-1977) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12506440&postcount=1130)
Season Fifteen (1977-1978) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12539851&postcount=1209)
Season Sixteen (1978-1979) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12639432&postcount=1232)
Season Seventeen (1979-1980) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12681401&postcount=1233)
Season Eighteen (1980-1981) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12754705&postcount=1235)

Fifth Doctor

Season Nineteen (1981-1982) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12798671&postcount=1236)
Season Twenty (1983) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12853709&postcount=1282)
Season Twenty One (1984) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12881776&postcount=1288)

Sixth Doctor

Season Twenty Two (1985) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12920949&postcount=1314)
Season Twenty Three (1986) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12959616&postcount=1334)

Seventh Doctor

Season Twenty Four (1987) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12998906&postcount=1357)
Season Twenty Five (1988) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13078221&postcount=1406)
Season Twenty Six (1989) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13116901&postcount=1409)

Eighth Doctor

TV Movie (1996) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13153060&postcount=1412)



New Series (Doctors Nine to Eleven)

Ninth Doctor

Series One (2005) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13226813&postcount=1452)


Tenth Doctor

Series Two (2006) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13263518&postcount=1458)
Season Three (2007) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13300637&postcount=7)
Series Four and Specials (2008-1010) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13351539&postcount=28)


This is where it all started, really, for me. Over the years I'd seen bits of the series for Tom Baker onwards but, barring a couple of seasons of Peter Davison I'd never made much of a concerted effort to watch the show. When it was re-booted in 2004 I was living in a house with very poor TV reception and again I only ever saw random episodes or bits of episodes. Not generally being in early Saturday evening didn't help.

So hooray for BBC iPlayer. When this season started I thought I'd give it a go, with an hour to spare with no distractions I sat down and watched Eleventh Hour. And loved it. First I went back and watched all the New Who seasons, then even further back to the very beginning. And now we have come full circle.

For the record, I think Matt Smith gives probably my favourite interpretation of the Doctor. He has a manic energy and childish glee, but he lets slip the haunted or serious side from time to time. Unlike some incarnations he isn't arrogant towards his companions but is more like Five, encouraging them to work together and better themselves. It helps that, particularly in the first few stories of this season, the writers allow Amy to solve problems by thinking more in terms of emotion and humanity whereas the Doctor is trying to solve a problem with logic (I'm thinking specifically of Beast Below and Victory of the Daleks).

Mostly a good season, some stories less successful than others, but this is pretty much to be expected. I predict much disagreement with this one. Which is a long-winded way of saying:

Series Five (2011)
Eleventh Doctor/Amy/Rory

The Time Of Angels/Flesh And Stone – This story means business right from River Songs audacious escape at the beginning, borrows freely from Aliens for some gorgeous set pieces and genuinely creepy moments, ending with Amy cementing her place as the most forthrightly sexual of all the companions so far.

Amy’s Choice – Almost diametrically opposite in tone, this one focuses on the three central characters and their respective psyches, the threats being almost incidental to insights into the Doctor's personality and some fun moments. "We’re going to die dressed like a Peruvian folk band."

Honourable Mentions
Victory Of The Daleks – This one can again be filed under the (now massive) “silly but fun” pile. Some interesting parallels with Power Of The Daleks, the jammy dodger gambit, Amy solving a problem by being more human than the Doctor, Spitfires in Spaaaaace! If only there was some obvious point to the “new dalek paradigm”.

Vampires Of Venice – Another largely fun one, with some great lines from all involved. The Doctor’s very poor attempts to mollify Rory ("You’re a lucky man, she’s a great kisser") to his observations that “Who would have thought fish from space would be so… buxom”. Ending with eerie hints to the future.

Vincent And The Doctor – Ramps up the schmaltz at the end and, as with a lot of the Eleventh Doctor stories the alien menace is almost incidental to the human drama, but I just love the way various Van Gogh paintings are bought to life (particularly the Starry Night moment), the sweet note to Amy in the sunflowers and more auto-translation fun (apparently a Scottish accent means that you're speaking Dutch).

[Archonic Energy]

so, who's up for a livestream of the first 3 eps of the 9th doctor on sunday?

16:00 - 19:00 UTC+1

[CurlyKitGirl]

I have to agree with you here, one of my favourite parts of the whole story. Second Doctor is quite good at this kind of thing, appearing buffoonish at first but when he gets serious, you know he's serious. In this case Frollo makes a very good foil for him, and you can really feel the battle of wills going on.

I think it'll be one of my favourite parts too, although I can't really say for the final part though as I just started watching it (friend with serious family bad things needing support). However, that confrontation shows what the Doctor's actually like when you really need to get down to business.
He's very nice and gentle and sweet and a bit of a klutz (and utterly smitten by a certain Companion), but when it comes down to it he's a centuries old man who can do almost anything he sets his mind to.
I am seeing so much Eleven in Two. Or Two in Eleven if you prefer. Kind of makes me want to call Eleven Two 2.0, but with extra bombast.


So, who's up for a livestream of the first 3 eps of the 9th doctor on Sunday?

16:00 - 19:00 UTC+1

Yo.
Barring unforeseen events I'll be doing this.
However, Sunday dinner tends to be served up about six thirty ish, so probably won't be commenting all that much, if at all, on the third episode. Or I'll just be having a cold dinner, whichever.
And yes, I will be turning the chat into a liveblog type review (if everyone's okay with this), which'll be fun as I won't be able to stop the video if I really need to expand upon something. As such a fair chunk of my thoughts on these episodes will be in my episode round up bit.

So people come to the Playground TV Doctor Who showings! It'll be fun, and if nothing else you can watch me incoherently rage at the screen because THAT WOMAN is there.

Good Heaven's this'll be ramping up my review counter won't it?

[Sanguine]

Damn, I hate to miss out on live-action Curly, but do to the fact that I share my computer with a violent internet addict* being on for three hours straight is just not in the cards.

Make someone's life mildly unpleasant violent, not grievous bodily harm violent.

[Thufir]

I am seeing so much Eleven in Two. Or Two in Eleven if you prefer. Kind of makes me want to call Eleven Two 2.0, but with extra bombast.

IIRC, Matt Smith did say at some point that after watching some of the old serials, Patrick Troughton was his favourite Doctor? And he may have consequently based his performance on him a little bit.

[CurlyKitGirl]

Damn, I hate to miss out on live-action Curly, but do to the fact that I share my computer with a violent internet addict* being on for three hours straight is just not in the cards.

*Make someone's life mildly unpleasant violent, not grievous bodily harm violent.

Couldn't you arrange something beforehand with said internet addict? Or if nothing else just try to be online for a bit during said time slot?

I do have the feeling live action me would be amusing. My friends certainly think so.


IIRC, Matt Smith did say at some point that after watching some of the old serials, Patrick Troughton was his favourite Doctor? And he may have consequently based his performance on him a little bit.

Eh. Probably? I think it's too similar to be a complete coincidence.

[Sanguine]

Couldn't you arrange something beforehand with said internet addict? Or if nothing else just try to be online for a bit during said time slot?

I do have the feeling live action me would be amusing. My friends certainly think so.

I'll try to be on for a bit. As for the other thing, unlikely, but maybe I'll be lucky and she'll be out or sleeping at the time.

[Archonic Energy]

So people come to the Playground TV (http://www.facebook.com/groups/154163098048383/) Doctor Who showings! It'll be fun, and if nothing else you can watch me incoherently rage at the screen because THAT WOMAN is there.

Good Heaven's this'll be ramping up my review counter won't it?

... oh, and sorry about Rose...

FB group link: http://www.facebook.com/groups/154163098048383/
direct livestream link: http://www.livestream.com/archonic_energy

[CurlyKitGirl]

Koorly's Archive of Her Doctor Who Reviews:
Classic Who
Second Doctor
Series 6
'The Invasion' Part 1/8 (“http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12941528&postcount=1323”), Part 2/8 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12979300&postcount=1346), Part 3/8 part one (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13016280&postcount=1366), part two (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13016287&postcount=1367), Part 4/8 part one (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13031121&postcount=1397), part two (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13031134&postcount=1398), Part 5/8 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13156488&postcount=1421), Part 6/8 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13228620&postcount=1453), Part 7/8 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13315800&postcount=15), Part 8/8
Fourth Doctor
Series 12
'Genesis of the Daleks' Part 1/6 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11330063&postcount=1267), Part 2/6 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11520791&postcount=1397)
Nu Who

Season 1 - retrospective
Brief Whole Series Retrospective (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11066304&postcount=606)
Season 2 - retrospective
Brief Whole Series Retrospective (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11066304&postcount=606)
Season 3 - blind bar Moffat
Ep. 1: 'Smith and Jones' -missing.
Ep. 2: 'The Shakespeare Code' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11088119&postcount=714)
Ep. 3: 'Gridlock' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11094867&postcount=747)
Ep. 4: 'Daleks in Manhattan' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11095680&postcount=751) (part 1/2)
Ep. 5: 'Evolution of the Daleks' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11103504&postcount=771) (part 2/2)
Ep. 6: 'The Lazarus Experiment' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11109832&postcount=789)
Ep. 7: '42' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11115909&postcount=816)
Ep. 8: 'Human Nature' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11124347&postcount=836) (part 1/2)
Ep. 9: 'The Family of Blood' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11153986&postcount=977) (part 2/2)
Ep. 10: 'Blink' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11330063&postcount=1267)
Ep. 11: 'Utopia' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11183578&postcount=1079) (part 1/3)
Ep. 12: 'The Sound of the Drums' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11203030&postcount=1111) (part 2/3)
Ep. 13: 'The Last of the Time Lords' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11231084&postcount=1156) (part 3/3)

Children in Need 2007 episode: 'Time Crash' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11242571&postcount=1202)
2007 Christmas Episode: 'Voyage of the Damned' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11286020&postcount=1252)

Bits and Bobs About Season 3
Retrospective - to be written later
Why I Do Not Like Martha/Ten (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11129436&postcount=856) (This was written between my write ups of ep. 8 and ep 9)
Season Four blind bar Moffat
Ep. 1: 'Partners in Crime' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11474202&postcount=1313)
Ep. 2: 'The Fires of Pompeii' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11495165&postcount=1363)
Ep. 3: 'Planet of the Ood' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11711998&postcount=1469)
Ep. 4: 'The Sontaran Stratagem' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11732305&postcount=50) Part 1/2
Ep. 5: ‘The Poison Sky‘ (“http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11748813&postcount=75“) Part 2/2
Ep. 6: ‘The Doctor‘s (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11783480&postcount=162) Daughter‘ (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11783487&postcount=163) Posted in two parts.
Ep. 7: 'The Unicorn and the Wasp'

Season 5 - blind bar Moffat's Angels
Ep. 11: 'The Lodger' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11910590&postcount=531)

Season 6
To to things this series was split in two, as such eps. 8 - Christmas episode will be liveblogged, and the first seven will be written with me having seen them before.

Ep. 8: 'Let's Kill Hitler' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11730422&postcount=36)
Ep. 9: 'Night Terrors' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11775289&postcount=126)
Ep. 10: 'The Girl Who Waited' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11865120&postcount=385)
Ep. 11: 'The God Complex' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11865605&postcount=391)
Ep. 12: 'Closing Time' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11945529&postcount=601)
Ep. 13: Missing

2011 Christmas Special: 'The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12430141&postcount=1036)

Odds and Sods
Things that don't really fit anywhere.

'Good As Gold' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13312756&postcount=12) Second Blue Peter scriptrwriting competition for Doctor Who


And now, to boldly go where many have gone before. [*cue TOS theme (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Em_sxKHQekk) (Such a classic introduction)*]

'The Invasion' Part 8/8
Previously on 'The Invasion': things have gone to Hell. Big time. Cybermen are prepping the CyberMegaton Bomb, Zoe helped asplode an entire invasion fleet, I think Frollo short-circuited, but he's insane either way! And Jamie got shot and the Doctor is being pretty amazing, same with the Brig. Oh, and Zoe's in a sparkly catsuit still. And best of all: Miss Legs is out of commission.

In short: CyberSparkles.

Although I must apologise for misleading you somewhat. It's not a CyberMegaton bomb. It's a CyberMEGATRON bomb (http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af110/CurlyKitGirl/Doctor%20Who%20Reviews/CyberMEGATRONBomb.png). That's right, the Cybermen upgraded the leader of the Decepticons. And that's pretty damn impressive given he was already a robot.

But yeah, the Cybermen still want to destroy "every living being" on earth because . . . they're offended or something. And Frollo's still clutching at his neck like he's been savaged by das vampire, and mildly stoned too.

Oh no. The first piece of new footage for this episode is Miss Legs eagerly listening to the UNIT radio. As if an egotistical photographer is of any help in the current situation. Honestly. There goes my hope she was done for the serial, alas. I really have developed an unreasonable dislike for her haven't I?

Frollo's begging the Cybermen to not destroy the world. And all that wonderfully complex motivation he's displayed until now boils down to narcissism (http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af110/CurlyKitGirl/Doctor%20Who%20Reviews/Egotism.png). And Frollo has always been such an intriguing villain (including his namesake). We get the typical response from the CyberRadio, one that is common to virtually every villain ever - you are of no further use to us etc. etc. The CyberInvasion must succeed, strength is irrelevant, resistance is futile, your culture will adapt to service ours. By dying. Fortunately, death is irrelevant anyway. And "the bomb will be delivered".

And Captain Jimmy Turner's working on some sideburns there! I think it's him, the way he and Miss Legs are leaning fairly close together does suggest that. It's also easy to tell that the radio they're working at is a prop because none of the dial doodads move at all. But that's irrelevant right now because they're about to explode a Decepticon over Earth and that's the kind of thing the Brigadier would want to know about. Especially if it means preventing those atrocious excuses for films being made.

And we cut from that tense moment to a party. Seriously. But it's a good kind of party because Sparkles managed to knock "every single one of [the CyberShips] right out of the sky", meaning this jocularity is okay because they assumed they'd stopped the Big Threat.

Well. Slowed it down.

It's a nice juxtaposition though because it shows the isolation of our four groups and how that isolation can be problematic in causing a relaxation of tension and attentiveness. For some reason I find it quite evocative of WWII films even though I've never really seen any. Ah. The calm before the storm. There we go.

Question for budding mathematicians. Is "creating a chain reaction of explosives" really "quite simple"? And hardly requiring any calculation except "speed, angle of descent and relative positions of the spaceships"? Using only a radar screen thing and . . . telemetry? Somehow I don't think that kind of thing is basic, even for a genius.

Random Dude: "Can't we keep her on sir? She's much prettier than a computer!" Hooray sexism! And accidental pervertedness! Sparkles is only about fifteen after all. Even if she is really pretty in her tight sparkly catsuit. Actually now I think about it, these men at the base have to be on average ten years older than her, so this suggestion while most likely made entirely in jest takes on a rather awkward tone. Eh. The sixties were a more innocent time after all, I shouldn't be casting my eye over it too hard.

Oh, it was Sgt. Benton with Miss Legs, not Captain Jimmy Turner. And, yes, the Sergeant. is the party pooper. Hehe, poop. Oh, it's Corporal Benton. Could have sworn he was a Sergeant. I blame my parents.

I adore this little piece of slang: "What's the flap?" It's so . . .gossipy.

Unsurprisingly, the military don't like the idea of alien bombs blowing up the planet so everyone puts on their SRS BSNS face and skedaddles to do military things, with Major Someone being informed that all radio whatsits are on an open network so everyone knows what's happening in real time. Also the Major with his one army base and limited amount of rocket power is now responsible for pretty much stopping any CyberShips and CyberMegatron Bombs landing. And this time he's got no super-genius mathematician in a catsuit to help him.

Sparkles really does choose the most inappropriate outfits doesn't she? Bet she'd wear a sailor senshi uniform to a funeral. She's such a Sailor Mercury (http://images.wikia.com/vsbattles/images/3/34/SailorMercury.jpg).

Bouncing back to Frollo's place we see that Frollo has gone totally mental in the most hammy way imaginable.

F: "But if you do, you'll destroy everything here. Even your own Cybermen!" Well, yeah. IT'S A BOMB. THEY KNOW WHAT BOMBS DO. And I love how the Doctor's just standing in the background looking particularly anxious. It's the hands.

CR: The sacrifice will be small."

F: "YOU CAN'T DO THIS. I WON'T LET YOU!"

CR: "You cannot stop us. No one can." The Doctor awkwardly dash-waddles forwards to Frollo's side and says,

"Now you're beginning to understand the Cybermen Vaughn. You can't make bargains with them!" The urgency and sincerity in his voice is bloody brilliant, you can feel the stakes and Frollo's increasing irrationality.

F: "I won't let them take over, I won't!" He grabs the CyberKill Machine, points it at the CyberRadio, and "You think you're indestructible. WELL, I CAN DESTROY ALL OF YOU!" I'm just waiting for the manic laughter now. And GOD is the CyberMurderer's noise whiny, it's fairly good actually in that you can imagine it 'killing' someone.

And I do find the flashing overexposure of the film to be such an endearing way of killing people, see, this is what all energy waves aside from visible light so. I completely ruined that science, but what the Hell.

CR: "Opposition is useless. The Cybermen will..." delete you? Upgrade you? Assimilate you? Destroy you? Triumph?

D: "Vaughn! Switch it off, you'll blow us all sky high!" And the thing is, even with the poor-for-now special effects, I believe him. I mean, yes the Doctor for some reason took about six steps back in order to make his rush to stop Frollo seem all the more dramatic, but the desperation evident in the Doctor's voice and body language actually makes me think this situation is dangerous.

F: "I'LL DESTROY THEM ALL, ALL!" Oh you delightful ham. If you try hard enough you might reach ham levels of 0.25 BRIAN BLESSEDs. Aaawww, and the way the camera struggles to auto-focus as it zooms in on Frollo's hand fiddling with various knobs (sorry, I had to)! Television production was so precious back then. It's adorable.

Then the CyberRadio asploded so hard it whited out the screen. Yep, Frollo twiddled the knob hard enough to make a radio vibrate itself to pieces. It's also very smoky and makes people cough.

The CyberRadio now a broken, crumbled mess Frollo says "It's dead. I killed it. I destroyed it." IT WAS A RADIO! I think. There's a script I'm consulting on and off when I remember they exist that calls the CyberRadio a Cyber-Planner. Hold on a sec. Apparently, they exist (http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Cyber-Planner) and are actual Cybermen and not radios. Eh, it's dead now, so it doesn't matter.

D: "That won't stop them. They're still out there in space preparing to destroy the world." Along with every other alien ever seen on a sci-fi show or film, with the exception of WALL-E and EVE. And scutters, but only because they're a bit mad.

Frollo meanwhile, seems to have recovered from his temporary bout of Ham and is more than a little stunned at the amount of scenery he's chewed "Five years, and in less than five seconds . . . " Yes, yes, what have I done, what have I done? How could I be so blind? All is lost, where was I? Spoiled all, spoiled all. Everything's gone all wrong. What have I done, what have I done? Find a deep cave to hide in, in a million years they'll find me, only dust, and a plaque, that reads 'Here lies poor old Jack'. But you did intend all this madness, truly. You're just cranky because you didn't take into account arrogance and the fact that you can't plan for everything unless you're Lord Vetinari.

But Frollo's well. Let's say when h got electrocuted I think something properly broke. Jut look at this exchange:

D: "Vaughn, listen to me. The Cybermen will deliver their bomb on the same radio beam they used for their invasion. You've got to turn it off, man, you've got to turn it off!"

F: "What?" He's very dazed, and more than a bit stunned. He's kind of hyperventilating a bit.

D: "We're both on the same side now, both fighting for our lives. You've got to turn the radio beam off!"

F: "The radio?"

D: "Yes! That's how they'll deliver their bomb!"

F: "The radio beam! Yes, yes, Packer must..." I am loving this relationship between Frollo and the Doctor as they enter an awkward alliance to solve an enemy mine problem. And their acting here is honestly just amazing, Frollo's in particular. That is a man who's plans have fallen to dust right in front of his eyes. Kevin Stoney does discombobulation so very well. It's a shame he's going to die. Oh don't look at me like that, I've not spoiler'd anything, but he's the villain in an alliance with the heroes so he's obviously going to die or do some redemptive sacrifice. I am a proud theoretician of narrative causality, and this is the most likely result!

As you may have expected, the Cybermen have killed everyone and everything around the radio, leaving only Packer alive to . . . be Packer. I don't know. He's the only mook who has a personality and is still alive. And I adore the jump scare (complete with scare chord!) when a Cyberman looms into view on those little circular telly screens. And there's yet another scare chord as a Cyberman drunkenly staggers into the office! This is marvellous.

Packer draws his gun, because that's worked so well before, unloads all six shots at the Cyberman whose chest proceeds to hum, emit a burst of white light and Packer falls down dead. Poor Packer, didn't even get to die of camera overexposure. Oh wait, there it is. After he's already dead. Natch, the Doctor kills the one Cyberman, and I'll be blessed if its costume doesn't look so adorable.

Aaaaand, Frollo's all down in the dumps again, "We can't fight them. They're too powerful, too many of them." Remember, this from a man who less than an hour ago was planning to double cross an entire invasion fleet. Talk about dramatic swerves. Oh, and the radio is back at the compound from way back in episode one.

The Doctor calls the Brig and UNIT in general to relay this news, as Frollo implements the traditional headdesk, and it leads me to wonder: are the Cybermen capable of monitoring earth transmissions? Apparently not because the Doctor informs the Brig they have two options: "We must either cut off the transmitter of the radio beam at the compound or destroy the Cyberman spaceship". (Oh, and we're at UNIT HQ again, and Miss Legs is still hanging around the war room like her ideas have lead to anything other than death) And as you may have gathered, they have until the bomb is prepped to do whatever they plan to do to unprep the bomb.

B: "We've heard from Captain Turner. The Russians are with us" [oh 1960s, height of the Cold War, and all it takes for a little cooperation is the invasion of the planet. Speaking of, wasn't this set AT THE START OF THE STAR WARS, and yet neither super-power on either side noticed all these UFOs hanging out over British airspace? I think that's the sort of thing that would be noticed] "but they say it'll take at least ten hours or more to get a missile that far."

Which, annoyingly enough is correct. No seriously. I looked it up. A conventional rocket has to travel 25 700 mph (http://www.qrg.northwestern.edu/projects/vss/docs/propulsion/2-how-fast-conventional.html) to achieve lunar orbit. The moon orbits at an average distance of 238 856 miles (rounded up). To be precise, with these figures it would take 9.3 hours (to one dp) for the rocket to reach lunar orbit. Take into account prep time to launch and allow for the rocket to orbit the moon and that's about right.

I can't decide who's nerdier: the writer's for checking the figures, or me for thinking 'are those figures right? I'll Google it and find out because I'm feeling suspicious and want to nitpick'. Either way, I'm impressed by the fact that these figures are so accurate in a television sci-fi show in the 1960s, because I don't think that would be common knowledge even if you do take into account the space travel fervour of the time.

You know, UNIT's radio is basically a short-hand for Scene Change, because after deciding that the ALIENS FROM OUTSIDE SPACE don't need ten hours to prep one bomb the Doctor asks Frollo in an aside if he'll help them. One cut to Frollo's office later and

"Help you? Why should I? . . . And if I survive, what future have I got? What will the world do with me?" Well, given the recent Avengers movie, put you in some sort of Hannibal Lecter face mask, hand you over to Thor and send you back to Asgard in order for justice to be served? Not as pretty as Loki is though.

And seriously, I think that electrocution thing damaged Frollo's CyberCircuits because he's slurring something bad. Got to admire his guts though: world doomed? WHAT ABOUT ME?! What about my fate? I deserve to be self-centred! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCSdLtNZbaA)

D: "Oh, for heaven's sake, stop thinking about yourself! Think of the millions of people on earth who are about to die!" Sadly this bitch slap isn't very effective as Frollo immediately ripostes,

"Appealing to my better nature... No. If I help you it'll be because I hate them. The Cybermen, "my allies". You think I'm mad, that all I want is power for its own sake. No, I have to have power. The world is weak, vulnerable, a mess of uncoordinated and impossible ideals. It needs a strong man, a single mind. A leader! . . . I'll help you to destroy them because I hate them. They... destroyed my dream..." Total enemy mine situation; 'I'll destroy you because you broke my plans'! Now, I don't know if it's because I saw Avengers for the fourth time this week (I blame my friends for never going out at the same time, whereas I'm always available), but I am so seeing Loki in this. Difference is: where I think Loki is an amazing and fun villain (and more than a little mad), and really want to just give Loki a hug until everything gets better, I think Frollo is a fun, cold-blooded chessmaster, and pretty damn awesome, but he is not sympathetic at all. And he doesn't regret a single thing he's done, or believe he's done anything wrong. He's only helping to screw over the people who betrayed him first. No hugs for Frollo.

Yes, I'm a Loki fangirl. However, I am really enjoying the 'bitch please' attitude both these villains share. Got to admire the unrepentant bastard as much as you want to hug the woobie. And besides, the pure vitriol Frollo's spouting is really magnetic, especially with the - oh my God Frollo's crying (http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af110/CurlyKitGirl/Doctor%20Who%20Reviews/Tears.png)! - music tinkling ominously threateningly in the background. Still don't want to give him a hug though.

After that little moment of emotional drama our Boys (how cool is it that the big bad is now allied with the Doctor to such an extent I can use that and mean it?) grab the EmoticonEmitter and run up to the roof to catch a helicopter that UNIT sent to pick them up to take them to the base that houses the radio transmitter that summons the Cybermen that Jack built.

And since UNIT radio was used, we get another scene transition back to HQ. They're off to the compound. And Miss Legs says "Are we going to help the Doctor?" and the way the Brig says "Err, yes" to her is filled with such scorn that I can't but want to high-five him. He dislikes her as much as I do! Sparkles informs us that there's some two hundred Cybermen at the compound, and how she knows that I don't know - mathematics probably.

B: "I only wish we had more time to release more men from the Cyber-control. As it is we've only got a platoon!" Remember, in the British army a rifle platoon from an infantry company comprises twenty-seven men, so even discounting the fact that Cybermen are aliens from outside space who can kill from a distance and are mostly impervious to bullets UNIT is outnumbered ten to one.

Then Captain Jimmy Turner calls. The Russians "have fitted a warhead to the rocket now sir, a super-cooled hydrogen device. It's a solid fuel booster so it's nearly ready for liftoff". No idea what that means, but it'll take nine hours and twenty minutes to get there. UNIT HQ takes off. Cut to Henlow Downs and after more military chatter about sending the platoon etc. to the compund Random Optimistic Dude optimistically says "But you never know, [the Cybermen] could take time to get that bomb of theirs ready, and that Russian rocket might make it." To which the other Dude replies, "Yeah, it just might." And I can't tell if he honestly means it or not.

Than we see stock footage (I think) of a rocket being launched, and the camera following it until it disappears. And now we're back at UNIT HQ. Good Lord I'm getting dizzy with all these scene changes.

Because what's actually happening is that we're using UNIT HQ to have the Brig chat to the Doctor (because they can't afford to use an actual helicopter) and have the Doctor tell him "I'm sorry [we can't wait for backup] Brigadier. We must go in right away. Otherwise, we'll be too late."

B: "But that's madness. You don't stand a chance against the Cybermen without us." But this is the Doctor: he's like fire and ice and rage . . . and he's wonderful. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlXnNr04X2c)

Besides, they have the machine. "It's proved to be very effective so far." On one Cyberman at a time. The transmitter controls are on the east side of the compound, and UNIT will arrive in ten minutes. God, I'm loving the military procedure here.

Sparkles: "Can we come with you?" Given that our Girls are between fifteen and twenty-five years old and are not combat trained the Brig dithers quite naturally. And then Miss Legs interrupts "It'll be the last chance I'll get to photograph the Cybermen. Please." FFFFFFUUUUUUU - and why does the Brig agree?!

Screw this.

Give me Jamie. I've not seen him barely at all in the last three episodes, and at the climax of the entire serial you're giving some bit-part tagalong girl who got multiple people killed more action than Jamie! Is this punishment for shipping Jamie/Two so hard I think some of the readers are sick of it? I bet it is!

At least this grudging agreement comes with a dismissive "At least I'll be able to keep an eye on you this time". In short: girl please, if you won't stay in the kitchen where you belong I'll have to babysit you to prevent you getting your pretty little heads blown up.

Time for some action! Frollo and the Doctor run down some lane, and just as Frollo is about to . . . sonic the Cyberman down the way to death the Doctor hauls him aside to remind him about the element of surprise being important.

So more running, less action. That said, the music makes for some tense creeping around. And then there's a Cyberman with a gun (why? Can't he just kill them to death with his chest pack?) and so the Cyberman is sonicked to death first. Screaming.

Surprise lost, we get to go roof jumping! After all, the Doctor's in what, his early forties I think, and Frollo looks to be a spry decade older than that. Well, one's a robot and the other can regenerate, no biggie. OH WAIT. What if they drop the one thing that can conclusively kill Cybermen? If that dies that's a big problem. A world ending problem.

And besides, less than a minute later they have to get off the roof into some building guarded by five whole Cybermen. Oh my word helicopter! This of course, is short hand for the arrival of the cavalry. And the Girls. Ugh. And worse yet? They#re some of the first to charge. ARMED WITH A CAMERA.

Back on the roof: Cybermen, the killing of, and running. Then ladders, the descending of. The the Brig and UNIT sees the Cybermen and goes to kill. Guns don't kill Cybermen, grenades do. Boom. AND CYBERMEN HAVE FLAMETHROWERS NOW WHAT.

And UNIT brings out a bazooka. Talk about bringing out the big guns. Aside from not exploding anywhere near as big as a bazooka does, it makes one of the Cybermen reverse itself until it dies. Complete with the rewinding noise you got back when DVDs and CDs didn't exist so you had to rewind all your tapes. Why does bazooka make Cyberman rewind?

I'm sorry if this is choppy, but it's an action scene with rapid cuts. So back with the Boys: running down another alley! And Frollo's really holding the Death Machine loosely for the only effective one-hit kill weapon. They hear bangs.

Cut to UNIT. Repeat some stock footage, more explosions that rewind Cybermen. All the Cybermen are dead so the Brig calls a stop and an advance, saying that there are still hundreds to go.

Another alley (surprised yet?) and our Boys are surprised to see no Cybermen (JUMP SCARE CHORD). It's a situation calling for General Ackbar. And then a trio of Cybermen (JUMP SCARE CHORD) pop out of a nearby door, only two of them (oddly enough the two at the back) die of Cerebro, and Frollo, surprise surprise, snuffs it at the hands of the last Cyberman.

And the Doctor? Runs! Skipping and leaping every time he dodges an explosion. I'd show you a screen cap, but I can't get a good one, so I won't. It is, however, veyr funny. If you're watching this online it starts about 15:10. I swear it's like someone set his coattails on fire.

Fortunately, UNIT show up and bazooka the Cyberman to death. I'd like to bazooka my across-the-hall neighbour and friends to death right about now, twenty past midnight and singing raucously. Some people have exams tomorrow! Not me, but still. And anyway, it's an hour past 'quiet time'. Why are they singing the national anthem?! Was there some sporting victory today that I've blissfully ignored?

After making sur the Doctor's okay the Brig and his men run off to the building to destroy themselves some radio transmitters. And Miss Legs? . . .

Decides this is the perfect time for a photo shoot (http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af110/CurlyKitGirl/Doctor%20Who%20Reviews/EndoftheWorldPhotoShoot.png). And the Doctor primps and preens as she takes pictures of them. That is pretty funny. End of the world? Photo shoot! Seriously, pictures solve everything.

Back at UNIT HQ we hear from that Brig announces that "For the moment the crisis is over. The radio transmitter's been destroyed, so they Cybermen can no longer deliver their bomb. But their spaceship is still sending out it's hypnotic signals. The world is still paralysed." On the one hand: we've saved the world from ending with a bang. On the other hand: the world is still ending with a quiet whimper. Now I just feel pretentious. (And now they're playing Land of Hope and Glory. And they know all the words. wot)

Meaning "we have to destroy the Cyberman spaceship". Good thing the Russians launched a nuke of some sort an hour or two ago then isn't it? So what are they going to fill the last seven odd minutes of the episode with? (And we're now in Henlow Downs - I told you the UNIT Radio makes scenes change) So while the Brig's informing everyone that the missile will impact in six hours or so a Random Dude whose name I probably should know announces there's "[s]omething on the screen, sir. Moving in fast. Look at the size of it!" Obligatory reference number one. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLz342GFRG4) Obligatory reference number two. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxnjpmG-_V0#t=0m49s)

No surprises what it is, it's a really big spaceship. I wonder if 'The Two Doctors' stole that exchange from here? Now, what's interesting about this scene is that the Brig's still ding his strategic thing in the background, meaning if you can pay attention to two conversations at once, have subtitles, or know where to find the script you can actually find out the Brig's original intentions for dealing with the rest of the invasion force.

Well, if Major Dude didn't pick up the radio and say "Sorry to interrupt you sir, but we've picked up a large UFO approaching earth." But it still shows a flow of information and the way the military acts. This is something I didn't really see in Nu Who's 'The Sonataran Strategy'/'The Poison Sky' or 'The Doctor's Daughter' (Oh, there is drama going on now they've got the Porters all over here. Apparently the music can be heard in the Lodge. Halfway across the college!) because apparently correct military procedure is for dummies in Nu WHo. That or it's just more obvious here what with UNIT being introduced properly here and being so pivotal to the plot. I like sharing like that.

Anway the Radio of Scene Change takes us over to UNIT HQ where, upon finding out that the CyberShip's moved to 50 000 miles away Sparkles asks "Why?" Perhaps because they've got more than one weapon? Or because they discovered and plotted the trajectory of the Russian missile and moved to avoid it while still staying out of range of ordinary missiles? Because common sense is not to be found in a genius.

So now the Brig needs to chat with Captain Jimmy Turner. OH. AND THE BRIGADIER IN THE BRITISH MILITARY DOES NOT UNDERSTAND WHY A TARGET MOVES CLOSER TO THEIR TARGET AND OUT OF THE WAY OF A MISSILE!! Palm, meet face, head meet desk. Repeat.

And the Doctor isn't sure either!

You're hundreds of years old! You've been in (or passed by) wars! COMMON SENSE! It is a thing that happens. It is a thing that people have! Then he adds "possibly to avoid the Russian missile . . . or . . . " POSSIBLY?! More like a damned certainty!

And, of course, the Brig chips in with the deploy their bomb via other means idea, and the Doctor agrees, suggesting that their conventional missiles couldn't handle a larger distance. Sparkles then chips in, "But in moving in thirt... fifty thousand miles they've come into range of the Russian missiles! Well they can't be more than a few miles from them!" Hehe, somebody made a flub. And they've moved more than fifty thousand miles dear, they've moved one hundred and eighty thousand miles (as the Doctor assumes the ship was originally two hundred and thirty thousand miles away (again, correct numbers)), meaning that the super-genius who only needs thirty seconds to work out numbers to create a chain reaction of explosions cannot do simple subtraction.

D: "But it's going in the opposite direction!" I don't get it. What's moving in the opposite direction? The CyberShip presumably, but it's coming in closer, not moving away. Maybe it's just me being a bit thick, but this line doesn't make sense.

Oh, and then Captain Jimmy Turner tunes in and apparently you can remote control a missile in space after it's been launched and had coordinates set and everything? Eh, I'll roll with it, it seems plausible enough, and it's getting late. It'll take about twelve and a half minutes to reach the CyberShip's new position.

And I adore this piece of dialogue as it is in the script I'm using (name abbreviations remain mine).

B: "That's more than time enough for them to deliver their bomb, move out to safety, isn't it."

D: (in a muted voice) Yes Brigadier, I'm afraid it is.

(As everyone looks to the wall clock, the BRIGADIER displays his ability to state the perfectly obvious:)

B: "Yes, well this is going to be a long twelve minutes."

Whoever did this transcription (http://homepages.bw.edu/~jcurtis/Scripts/Invasion/inv8.html) is a pure genius. So to show time passing we look at a look (analogue) reading twenty past two, and then fade to it reading twenty-six minutes past two. Wouldn't a military base prefer digital clocks?

The personnel at Henlow Downs are just standing in a group staring grimly at a clock. I'd love it if that's how they have the rest of the episode pass, by having people stand around tensely for six minutes.

AND THEY DID! They actually had everyone stare at clocks for twelve in-universe minutes. So awesome. (And for those minutes we cut between Henlow Downs and the UNITplane. Fortunately that Dude at the radar in Henlow Downs spots the incoming Russian missile and then excrement hits the fan because coincidentally the CyberShip launches their CyberMegatron Bomb at the same time!

Cue some model shots and rockets being prepped, after all, they've got to wait thirty seconds for it to come in range. The Radio of Scene Change takes us back to the UNITplane where we're told by That Guy At Henlow Downs the ship is still in position and "]f they don't shift soon, that Russian missile will hit it right on the button."

Back to Henlow Downs we have a countdown, various shots of missiles being launched, missing, other missiles being prepped and the word 'missile' has lost all meaning I've typed it so much in the last hour or so, and then the Henlow Downs missiles hit the CyberMegatron Bomb and blow it up! Oh, and the Russian missile hit the CyberShip (which in episode is actually the Cyber-spaceship, so I was close), and blows it up.

Wee bit anti-climactic really.

And we cut from the nuclear explosion to space to one of those lighting rigs used by photographers and . . . well . . . She is straddling two chair, legs scat abroad in her tight sparkly catsuit. (http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af110/CurlyKitGirl/Doctor%20Who%20Reviews/SparklyFanservice.png) And if that's not fanservicey/homoerotic enough, the dialogue "Tired?"

S: "No . . . exhausted."

ML: *giggles* "Okay, you can take a breather." certainly adds to the lesyay factor. And the camera is pointed right at Sparkle's crotch. I think these photographs are going to go in Miss Legs' In My Bunk Folder. And doesn't Sparkles look heartbroken (http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af110/CurlyKitGirl/Doctor%20Who%20Reviews/Sadface.png) (her eyes cast down in dismay) when she finds out Miss Legs has a contract with a publishing group after photographing Cybermen in action. She cannot bare the arriving separation! Also? Wendy Padbury? Damn pretty.

And how come Earth knows about the Cybermen now in the late 1960s, but are completely oblivious forty years later? The Time War: fixing all canon continuity problems since 2005!

The Captain Jimmy Turner comes in, there's some last bits of flirting between him and Miss Legs, and the Doctor's fixed all the circuits, so it really is time to go! And what about the Prof? I honestly don't know if he's still alive. And Jamie's "just having a check up at the hospital"

At the field from the first episode, "there's nothing here" (Captain Jimmy Turner). Because the TARDIS is invisible! AND JAMIE! :D. Cue some last minute farewells and Our Boys slip into the field to play hide and go seek with the TARDIS.

It's as funny as you think it is. And I finally got a nice ass shot (http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af110/CurlyKitGirl/Doctor%20Who%20Reviews/AssShot.png), which is nice and fanservicey. And in a nice bit of continuity you can just about make out Jamie's bandage under his kilt as he walks. The special effect for the invisiTARDIS is giggleworthy (http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af110/CurlyKitGirl/Doctor%20Who%20Reviews/InvisiTARDIS.png), although possibly impressive for its time and budget. The split screen is marvellous. So the Doctor makes the TARDIS visible again, and everyone's off in the TARDIS just in time for the credits to run.

Scream Out!

Just before the credits end we do get THE BBC WISH TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE HELP GIVEN TO THE BY THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE IN THE MAKING OF THIS PROGRAMME, thus cementing the alliance between the MoD and Doctor Who for the next forty years or so.

Preview Thoughts: Next week, "The Krotons". Intriguing. And Wikipedia informs me it was the first serial written by Robert Holmes, so I'm interested.

Best Moment: The entire sequence with the Doctor and Frollo in Villain HQ. The tension between these two is undeniable, and I love how Frollo reacts to his betrayal.

Worst Moment: 'I want to take more pictures of Cybermen! Let me follow you into a battle zone while you and your extremely limited number of soldiers fight to save the world, forcing you to expend valuable resources protecting civilians who shouldn't even be there'! Also: no Jamie wot.

Best Actor: Tobias Vaughn.

Worst Actor: Miss Legs.

Best Special Effect: The model shots are still rather good.

Worst Special Effect: The very small explosions from bazookas and grenades and alien weaponry.

Most Punchable Character: Miss Legs

Death Count: Several thousand or more Cybermen, Packer, Frollo and probably some redshirts and mooks too.

Kink of the Episode: Sparkly catsuit.

Brief overall thoughts?
Eh, ending fatigue? While I did enjoy the military side of things, it gets a little dull, especially given this is meant to be a climax to a serial that was roughly three hours long. However, the beginning was fantastic, and I did like the overall impression that the Doctor was only one part of the machine that helped save the world. And the fact that really, UNIT was responsible for actually saving the world means that for their introductory serial this was a really solid showcasing of their abilities and connections.

Frollo is an amazing villain, and while I do think some of the secondary characters were irritating beyond belief this was still a good conclusion overall, if a little too wordy for me personally. And not having Jamie in it at all, aside from what, one minute at the end, is kind of upsetting, if realistic. Jamie deserved to be more involved.

Serial Roundup

Best Moment: This is actually really tricky, because there are a lot of things I could call Best Moment. The fangirl in me wants to say 'all the Jamie/Two touching', the fan of cheesy sci-fi wants to say 'the CyberSuits', and so on.

But overall it's a toss-up between the actual invasion of London by the Cybermen because it's so well shot and for the sound design; the other option would be the confrontation spanning eps. 7 and 8 between the Doctor and Frollo for just being well written, acted, shot and [I]everything. The stakes felt real, and I think that, for the Doctor, this was the moment when he saved the day. By confronting and convincing Frollo he gained a good ally, the location of the radio transmitter and because these two were so diametrically opposed in morals, ideology and so on it shows just how serious things have gotten. Plus it's nice to see such an alliance also spawned out of that and narcissism, when you're mostly certain that the latter reason is the most important.

Worst Moment: Stupid Miss Legs running off as if she thinks she can actually do something other than get people killed and be a mcguffin girl.

Best Actor: Kevin Stoney! I love him and how he portrayed Frollo so very much.

Worst Actor: Miss Legs. Do I really need to elaborate? I'm sure she's not meant to be so annoying and punchable (spoilers!), and is meant to be endearing or something, but the way she's written and acted makes her nothing more than a burden to be borne unwillingly.

Best Special Effect: The CyberRadio - I mean, CyberPlanner.

Worst Special Effect: A fair few of the props in general: particularly that machine that drove one of the Cybermen insane. Stethoscopes . . .

Most Punchable Character: Miss Legs.

Death Count: Many thousands.

Kink of the Serial: Jamie/Two. All the way.

Overall thoughts?
Damn if this isn't a good introduction to the Second Doctor and his era. A quick look at Wikipedia tells me that this is one of the last serials of this period, and because of this, the flavour of this period is done well.

While the last two episodes are a bit of a drag (and I'm not certain if that's because I was watching so piecemeal and writing reviews at the same time), the pacing is done very well, the character are for the most part well-thought out and very realistic in motivation and reaction, and I do get a kick out of the accuracy here.

But by far and away the best parts of this serial are the Doctor and Frollo's interaction, whether it be face-to-face, by proxy or just watching them try to outwit each other. This one wild card utterly shreds Frollo's plans to pieces, and the downfall of the villain in the last couple of episodes (and before) is down so well, it's not a complete and utter meltdown (at first), but more a calmly desperate struggle to stay on top that actually succeeds initially.

And boy, is Frollo dark. Threatening rape that openly on what was originally intended to be a children's educational show (and still retained some of these aspects this early on in the show's history) is ballsy and really makes the villain more threatening than a simple CyberInvasion. This only makes the final fall all the more bittersweet, because in Frollo the Doctor actually met his match. While there was no doubt in Frollo's eventual fate, in my opinion, you come to care about his plans as much as the Doctor's because of how well he can out-think everyone else and has planned ahead. And youo got to admit: he's got balls.

On a fangirl note? The sheer subtext in this serial is overwhelming at time, and the pair are utterly adorable together. This does however, make it doubly frustrating when Jamie is kept out of the picture for such long stretches at a time. Out of the last quarter of the serial he was in perhaps six minutes of it, somewhat unbalancing the serial's general tone.

On an analytical note? The themes here are very well played, and it is ironic that Frollo's vision of a world where people work together in synchronicity is undone by that very thing: UNIT and Our Boys united against a common threat to save people's individuality by working as a group of like-minded people with a common cause. And of course, all the other themes (minus the homoeroticism) all play into this to make it tightly written and actually pretty deep.

Final verdict: highly recommend, one of the best serials/episodes in all of Doctor Who. So far.

Next up! 'Remembrance of the Daleks' Part 1/4

[Calemyr]

...the EmoticonEmitter...
That evokes a beautiful image: a gun that shoots smileys.

[Dr. Simon]

Final verdict: highly recommend, one of the best serials/episodes in all of Doctor Who. So far.[/spoiler]

Next up! 'Remembrance of the Daleks' Part 1/4[/spoiler]

Gah! I already wrote a reply to this and got a Database backup in the face.

I'm glad that my recommendation was vindicated. Remembrance... that the Seventh Doctor? (I get confused between Resurrection, Revelation and Remembrance). If so, another good one. I will just say ... Time War. Nuff said.

[CurlyKitGirl]

That evokes a beautiful image: a gun that shoots smileys.

That would be amazing. But really that's what the Cerebraton Mentor does: send emotions at people, and emoticons are shorthand emotions.


Gah! I already wrote a reply to this and got a Database backup in the face.

I'm glad that my recommendation was vindicated. Remembrance... that the Seventh Doctor? (I get confused between Resurrection, Revelation and Remembrance). If so, another good one. I will just say ... Time War. Nuff said.

Don't you just hate it when the database eats your post, ever since that happened when I was typing up a massive post I've taken to c&pping all the long posts into word/open office etc. and it's a lot easier that way.

And your1 recommendation is most definitely seconded! I have a feeling it'll be one of my favourite Classic Who serials for a very long time, and one of my favourite Second Doctor ones.

'Remembrance' is Seventh yes. It's the one with Ace and the baseball bat. And yes, I will mention I saw this before I start reviewing it. It was a birthday present, and there was a meetup, so Doctor Who. Obviously.

Also: 1960s, and I remember in-jokes, so fun.

[CurlyKitGirl]

Koorly's Archive of Her Doctor Who Reviews:
Classic Who
Second Doctor
Series 6
'The Invasion' Part 1/8 (“http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12941528&postcount=1323”), Part 2/8 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12979300&postcount=1346), Part 3/8 part one (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13016280&postcount=1366), part two (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13016287&postcount=1367), Part 4/8 part one (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13031121&postcount=1397), part two (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13031134&postcount=1398), Part 5/8 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13156488&postcount=1421), Part 6/8 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13228620&postcount=1453), Part 7/8 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13315800&postcount=15), Part 8/8 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13392795&postcount=44)
Fourth Doctor
Series 12
'Genesis of the Daleks' Part 1/6 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11330063&postcount=1267), Part 2/6 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11520791&postcount=1397)
Seventh Doctor
Series 25
'Remembrance of the Daleks' Part 1/4, Part 2/4, Part 3/4, Part 4/4
Nu Who

Ninth Doctor
Season 1 - retrospective/liveblog
Brief Whole Series Retrospective (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11066304&postcount=606)
Ep. 1 'Rose' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13411944&postcount=49)
Ep. 2 'The End of the World' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13411944&postcount=49)
Ep. 3 'The Unquiet Dead' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13411944&postcount=49)
Tenth Doctor
Season 2 - retrospective
Brief Whole Series Retrospective (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11066304&postcount=606)
Season 3 - blind bar Moffat
Ep. 1: 'Smith and Jones' -missing.
Ep. 2: 'The Shakespeare Code' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11088119&postcount=714)
Ep. 3: 'Gridlock' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11094867&postcount=747)
Ep. 4: 'Daleks in Manhattan' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11095680&postcount=751) (part 1/2)
Ep. 5: 'Evolution of the Daleks' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11103504&postcount=771) (part 2/2)
Ep. 6: 'The Lazarus Experiment' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11109832&postcount=789)
Ep. 7: '42' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11115909&postcount=816)
Ep. 8: 'Human Nature' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11124347&postcount=836) (part 1/2)
Ep. 9: 'The Family of Blood' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11153986&postcount=977) (part 2/2)
Ep. 10: 'Blink' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11330063&postcount=1267)
Ep. 11: 'Utopia' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11183578&postcount=1079) (part 1/3)
Ep. 12: 'The Sound of the Drums' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11203030&postcount=1111) (part 2/3)
Ep. 13: 'The Last of the Time Lords' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11231084&postcount=1156) (part 3/3)

Children in Need 2007 episode: 'Time Crash' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11242571&postcount=1202)
2007 Christmas Episode: 'Voyage of the Damned' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11286020&postcount=1252)

Bits and Bobs About Season 3
Retrospective - to be written later
Why I Do Not Like Martha/Ten (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11129436&postcount=856) (This was written between my write ups of ep. 8 and ep 9)
Season Four blind bar Moffat
Ep. 1: 'Partners in Crime' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11474202&postcount=1313)
Ep. 2: 'The Fires of Pompeii' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11495165&postcount=1363)
Ep. 3: 'Planet of the Ood' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11711998&postcount=1469)
Ep. 4: 'The Sontaran Stratagem' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11732305&postcount=50) Part 1/2
Ep. 5: ‘The Poison Sky‘ (“http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11748813&postcount=75“) Part 2/2
Ep. 6: ‘The Doctor‘s (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11783480&postcount=162) Daughter‘ (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11783487&postcount=163) Posted in two parts.
Ep. 7: 'The Unicorn and the Wasp'

Season 5 - blind bar Moffat's Angels
Ep. 11: 'The Lodger' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11910590&postcount=531)

Season 6
To to things this series was split in two, as such eps. 8 - Christmas episode will be liveblogged, and the first seven will be written with me having seen them before.

Ep. 8: 'Let's Kill Hitler' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11730422&postcount=36)
Ep. 9: 'Night Terrors' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11775289&postcount=126)
Ep. 10: 'The Girl Who Waited' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11865120&postcount=385)
Ep. 11: 'The God Complex' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11865605&postcount=391)
Ep. 12: 'Closing Time' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11945529&postcount=601)
Ep. 13: Missing

2011 Christmas Special: 'The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12430141&postcount=1036)

Odds and Sods
Things that don't really fit anywhere.

'Good As Gold' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13312756&postcount=12) Second Blue Peter scriptwriting competition for Doctor Who

[CurlyKitGirl]

And now, to boldly go where many have gone before. [*cue TNG theme (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsxgcLf0TSY) (Such a marvellous introduction)*]

Okay, so eleven hours of travel yesterday meant this was done before 'Remembrance of the Daleks', sue me.
The only changes I've made are to separate the chat into three episodes, and add/elaborate on my best/worst/etc. at the end of each episode. Aside from that, everything is as is. Apologies in advance for being less coherent than normal.
Oh, and due to weirdness, I lost about the first ten minutes of the chat for the second episode.

Koorly = me
ae = Archonic_Energy
ralphpocketwatch = Thufir
Hammer Birchgrove = H Birchgrove

'Rose'/'The End of the World'/'The Unquiet Dead' (season 1, episodes 1 - 3)
Koorly: Argh, made it just in time then.
ralphpocketwatch: Mmm. Say what you will about the writing in this series, but I ****ing love this music.
ae: yay! people!
Hammer Birchgrove: hi
Hammer Birchgrove: New Dr Who, I presume?
ae: small problem with my new fibreoptic broadband has resulted in a slightly lower than average quality video
Hammer Birchgrove: aww :(
Koorly: Yep, Nu Who it is.
ae: i had better latency with Sky
ae: 1:30 remaining
Koorly: Where's this music coming from?
Koorly: Frick. I remember.
ae: the DVD
ae: :p
Koorly: You know what I mean, from the series! Meanie pants.
ae: heh
Koorly: It's Rose's theme isn't it? This always follows her around.
ae: i htink so
ae: in the words of a very dear vorlon:
ae: and so, it begins
Koorly: Can't even put the damn DVD on without being reminded of That Woman (not that one).
ae: oooo oooo ooooo
ralphpocketwatch: I think it's not so much Rose's theme as the Bad Wolf theme.
Koorly: Yay! Nine's theme. I miss this theme, think it's better than Eleven's, and much better than Ten's.
Koorly: @Thu: did you wiki that just to find out?
ralphpocketwatch: Nope.
ae: who gets up that early?
Koorly: Hi Earth! Look at this cold open just like in 'Remembrance'!
Koorly: COW!
Koorly: Now way is she nineteen stupid chavvy spoiled pink princess
Koorly: Nice views of London though.
ralphpocketwatch: Ah, Koorly's hurling abuse at the screen already.
Castaras: ***
Castaras: Goshdarnit
Castaras: Paynus
ralphpocketwatch: This will be a fun stream.
Koorly: Hi Cassie!
Koorly: Mickey, I like you!
ae: hi Dr nick
Hammer Birchgrove: 1st or 2nd season?
ae: 23rd
Koorly: (Although I got to admit Rose is more tolerable in the opening two minutes because she's HUMAN)
ae: :)
Castaras: She hasn't started talking yet
Hammer Birchgrove: I meant of the new series
Castaras: so I'm fine with watching a little longer
ae: bbom headshot
Koorly: Not so we can hear at least.
Castaras: but pretty much as soon as she talks I'm gonna be going back to might and magic again
Castaras: there we go.
Koorly: I don't get her eyebrows.
Castaras: annoying ***
Koorly: Aaaand she spoke.
Castaras: until later. :P
ralphpocketwatch: Eh, I don't mind Rose that much for this whole series.
Hammer Birchgrove: I thought she was cute
Koorly: And what's with her outift, I don't ever remember her not wearing it, 'cept in 'Unquiet Dead'.
ralphpocketwatch: It's series 2 she gets *really* annoying.
Hammer Birchgrove: She would play a hooker in another TV-series
Koorly: Nice atmosphere in this opening though. Sdmittedly a bit cliche, but it's Doctor Who.
Hammer Birchgrove: didn't follow that one
ralphpocketwatch: She wears the Union Flag top in Empty Child/Doctor Dances.
Koorly: Freakin' mannequins.
Koorly: @Birchgrove: but she's *hot* in that.
Hammer Birchgrove: Makes me think of Clayface
Koorly: Oh noes. Look. A locked door. Doesn't she know any horror cliches?
Hammer Birchgrove: In Batman comics
Koorly: And why don't she just *call* Wilson on her mobile?
Hammer Birchgrove: (the dolls, I mean)
ralphpocketwatch: They're in the basement.
ralphpocketwatch: Probably no reception.
Koorly: I like the autons here. Haven't seen the CLassic ones yet though.
ae: basically... Run.
Koorly: Sweetheart, there comes a time when denial is a bit stupid.
Hammer Birchgrove: didn't know there were classics of those
Koorly: This is not a joke. It's obvious.
Koorly: And she backed herself into a corner for kjarate chopping
ralphpocketwatch: Best entrance.
Koorly: HI NINE!
Koorly: Heh, five minutes and we have Running!
Hammer Birchgrove: pause?
Koorly: Then again. "Run for your life" *waves bomb*
ralphpocketwatch: I mean, I love Eleven, but I really do think that is the best entrance a Doctor has had in Nu Who thus far.
Koorly: What? *holds hands*, *grins* "Run!"
Koorly: Certainly encompasses everything Who in a nutshell.#
Hammer Birchgrove: I still love Bob Baker the most
ralphpocketwatch: Do you mean Tom Baker?
Hammer Birchgrove: ah yes
Hammer Birchgrove: sorry
ae: he's harmless
Koorly: How d'you mix those two names up?
Hammer Birchgrove: I dunno
Koorly: Did we miss something?
Koorly: Eh.
ae: back on-line
Koorly: "I'm the Doctor by the way, what's your name?"
Koorly: "Rose"
Koorly: "Nice to meet you Rose, run for your life"
Koorly: Best entrance.
Koorly: Introduction even.
Koorly: It's the manic grin and Obvious Bomb that does it.
ae: i have a stoolen arm in my hands
Koorly: And there goes the special effects budget for the episode.
Koorly: Hi TARDIS!
Hammer Birchgrove: her mother
Hammer Birchgrove: uuuurgh
ae: slap
Koorly: Hey, anyone think that explosion got a bit awkward post 7/7?
Hammer Birchgrove: her boyfriend
Hammer Birchgrove: Blearg
Koorly: Pardon my language, but screw Jackie.
Koorly: This is such a chav family.
Koorly: And hello tea.
Hammer Birchgrove: a kid friendly chav family :p
Koorly: Just got nearly killed? Have tea, then try and drag girlfriend down pub.
Hammer Birchgrove: no knives
Koorly: I like Mickey. He's sweet. He makes Rose human.
ralphpocketwatch: Jackie and Mickey - masters of tact.
ralphpocketwatch: But yeah, Mickey's alright.
Koorly: OMINOUS CLOSE UP TO SHOW THIS IS FORESHADOWING EVIL.
ralphpocketwatch: So is Jackie to an extent.
ralphpocketwatch: More so later on though.
Hammer Birchgrove: I hate those alarm clocks
Koorly: Honestly. Pink?
Koorly: Her walls are a nice colour though.
Koorly: Racism and abuse of government monies. Yeah, this is the UK.
Koorly: Hello evil cat-like arm!
Koorly: Time to murder.
Koorly: Oh, it's only Nine.
ralphpocketwatch: Bonehead.
Koorly: Mit sonic screwdriver,
ae: heh
ae: screwdriver in my pocket
Hammer Birchgrove: MILF
Hammer Birchgrove: :p
Koorly: uurrrrrrrrrgh.
Koorly: Totally agree with Nine. Jackie's a . . . tart.
ralphpocketwatch: I like how he seemed to be oblivious of what Jackie was implying up to the end there.
Koorly: Oh! From that bit with the mirror we know that he only reccently regenerated!
ae: bad effect was bad
Koorly: Funny background event is funny.
Koorly: And was that a - oh god.
Koorly: Lampshading the stupidness of the effect and then making it happen. Genius. I don't know how, but it is.
Koorly: So. Bad. :D
ae: no i don't
Koorly: I love this long shot.
Hammer Birchgrove: annoying music
Koorly: Hate the background music though, honestly Murray Gold, what were you like?
Koorly: "Are you the police?"
Koorly: No. He's the Doctor.
ae: sort of yeah
ae: mmmmm chips
Koorly: *is having lag*
ralphpocketwatch: It's frozen up for me.
Koorly: Could go for some chips myself though.
ae: now?
Koorly: still froze.
ae: now?
Koorly: Nope.
Hammer Birchgrove: still
Koorly: For me at least it froze just after "Are you the police?"
ralphpocketwatch: Likewise.
ae: try re-loading the page... it always worked for me
ralphpocketwatch: Well, for me it was after "Are you the-" but basically the same.
ae: now?
ae: still saying "perfect streaming"
Koorly: Just F5'd, shot has clearly moved on, waiting for it to load though.
Koorly: There we go. Rose's theme.
Koorly: Doctor goes to TARDIS, Rose walks off, and hello vworp noise!
ralphpocketwatch: Oh man, I missed the speech about the Earth turning.
Koorly: There was a speech about that?
Koorly: Oh yes!
Hammer Birchgrove: I love the Tardis engine noise
Koorly: So military drumming mixed with Rose's theme? I call foreshadowing.
Koorly: Oh God. Thpse computers.
ae: everyone OK now/
Koorly: And she FakeGoogled the Doctor.
Koorly: Hi shout out!
ae: i've resized a bit so you can see the current time
Koorly: It's a VW Bug.
Koorly: Bring on the crappy bin effect.
Koorly: And pasltic!Mickey.
Koorly: plastic*
Koorly: Is it me, or is Clive familiar?
ae: he should be
Koorly: Do like that the conspiracy nutter is relatively normal. Bar the conspiracy bit.
Hammer Birchgrove: wifey is cool with him inviting young women
ralphpocketwatch: Well, of course his conspiracy theory is actually true.
Koorly: @AE: FINE. Is that actor who plays the Doctor familiar to anyone else?
Koorly: Also: hi obvious photoshopping.
ae: you mean eccleson [X Files music?]]
Koorly: And when you consider that earlier the Doctor checked himself out in the mirror as he'd not seen himself properly before this is a plot hole.
ralphpocketwatch: Of course, this stuff kind of goes against the Doctor having only recently regenerated.
Hammer Birchgrove: "did you have nice sex with the cute chav girl?"
Koorly: That Woman is not cute.
Koorly: HERE COMES THE BIN!
Koorly: It's so awful.
ae: nomomomom
Hammer Birchgrove: he's a time traveller though
ralphpocketwatch: But I like to imagine he went off and did those things at the end of the episode before coming back to tell Rose the TARDIS travels in time.
Koorly: Bet there's someone behind pushing it along.
Koorly: Just outside of camera.
ae: he just hasn't seen a mirror in a while
Koorly: Here it comes . . .
ralphpocketwatch: Yeah, but if he did those things after this episode Rose would've been there as well.
Koorly: (Do like that Clive info-dumps the Doctor = danger)
Koorly: Hehehehhehehe
Koorly: Look at that effect.
Koorly: Just look at it.
Hammer Birchgrove: burp
Koorly: It's awful and then omnomnomnom*burp*
ae: don't i could do something better on photoshop
Koorly: Oh, Murray GOld did okay with the suspenseful music just then "I think he's immortal, I think he's an alien from another world"
Koorly: That bit was nice.
Hammer Birchgrove: Plastic Mickey
Koorly: Hello plastic!
ralphpocketwatch: "Your champagne."
Koorly: How *bad* a girfriend is That Woman if she can't tell something is right fricking wrong there.
Koorly: Hi Doctor!
ae: pop
ralphpocketwatch: I think she can tell something's wrong, but she doesn't know what.
Koorly: Oh God these plastic effects. I was righter than I knew when I joked they spent all the budget on the explosion from earlier.
Koorly: Pizza flipper hands go smash! very ineffectually.
ralphpocketwatch: Because people need to be *told* to run from the plastic axe-hand monster?
Koorly: Oii. COW, you saw the TARDIS vworp away earlier, use that miniscule brain you have.
Koorly: It's not *that hard*
Hammer Birchgrove: whoa
ralphpocketwatch: She didn't see it dematerialise though.
ralphpocketwatch: She saw it, and then it wasn't there.
Hammer Birchgrove: It's
Hammer Birchgrove: Bigger
Koorly: She saw the box was there, then vworp vworp and it was gone.
Hammer Birchgrove: In
Hammer Birchgrove: The
Koorly: Not hard to figure out.
ralphpocketwatch: It could, in theory, have just been moved.
Hammer Birchgrove: Inside!
Koorly: Then again, That WOman is a moron.
Koorly: @Tuf: by what?
Koorly: She didn't hear or see no cars nor planes nor nothing.
Koorly: *Thu
ralphpocketwatch: I'm not saying she's thought this through in detail.
Hammer Birchgrove: Stealth helicopters :p
Koorly: It's been a long time since I seen Nine's TARDIS interior.
Koorly: It's nice.
ralphpocketwatch: Alternatively, she just doesn't trust her own memory.
Koorly: Also, did she start crying when she found out that aliens were real.
ralphpocketwatch: (Last time I saw this TARDIS interior - The Doctor's Wife)
Koorly: And since then I seen Two's interior, Seven's interior and Eleven's interior.
Koorly: And Ten's.
ae: something big...
ae: and metal...
ralphpocketwatch: Ironically, Doctor says "The signal, it's fading" and then the stream goes black for me.
ae: are you back yet?
Koorly: I am.
Koorly: HELLO RTD'S POLLUTION AESOP!
Koorly: Da fu' is anti-plastic?
Koorly: Is it wood?
Koorly: I do like this bit.
ralphpocketwatch: Wait, there was a pollution thing in this episode as well?
Hammer Birchgrove: UV light :p
Koorly: This is the only time That Woman is subtle.
ae: heh
Koorly: And I love how they halo'd the Doctor with the Eye.
Koorly: Running!
ralphpocketwatch: Love that grin.
Koorly: Don't like this piece of music.
ralphpocketwatch: And the "Fantastic"
ae: that bus doesn't use that bridge
Hammer Birchgrove: he should play a Batman villain
Koorly: *kinda ships Rose/Nine because of the spontaneous hand holding*
ralphpocketwatch: Rose/Nine is acceptable shipping.
Koorly: Red and steamy? Must be Evil.
ralphpocketwatch: Of course.
Koorly: See also: The Impossible Planet/[something something]
ralphpocketwatch: Doctor Who villains are generally very considerate with their easily identifiable colour-scheme.
Koorly: D: "I'm not here to kill it, I've got to give it a chance"
ae: shadow proc.
Koorly: Also, is the Shadow Proclamation ever mentioned again?
ralphpocketwatch: Yes.
Koorly: In a SPOILER way?
ae: for you... yes
Koorly: I love how disdainful of That Woman the Doctor is.
Hammer Birchgrove: classy doctor
ralphpocketwatch: Well, it's not a big spoiler, but yes, it's in an episode you haven't watched yet.
Hammer Birchgrove: "keep the domestics outside"
Koorly: Hey, guys, this lava monster was done so much cooler in 'The Fires of Pompeii'.
ae: more money for the effects
Koorly: I prefered Eleven's IIIII AAAAMMMMM TAAAAALLLLLKKIIINNNNGGG
Hammer Birchgrove: Excuse me doc, we flew to the moon
Koorly: I hate this Goddamn ending.
Hammer Birchgrove: THE WAR
Koorly: And how did the autons finds and carry that TARDIS without no one seeing it?
Koorly: Also, hello Time War!
Koorly: All the sadness.
ae: kill them all
Hammer Birchgrove: late night shopping
Koorly: Love this: world ending? Call your daughter/mother1
Koorly: !*
Koorly: You know where I seen better lightning effects? Star Wars (original trilogy).
Koorly: And web review series.
ae: pew
Koorly: All things considered, the autons are actually pretty creepy for being nothing but mannequins.
ralphpocketwatch: Poor Clive.
Koorly: Aaaawwww, bye Clive. :(
Hammer Birchgrove: :(
Koorly: Also: how weak is the Doctor he can't even wrestle out of a mannequin's arms?
ae: memo: i'm probably a few seconds ahead of you
ralphpocketwatch: They're pretty strong mannequins.
Koorly: And I love too how the suton is POORLY HOLDING THE ONE THING THAT CAN KILL THEM ALL.
Hammer Birchgrove: piezo-electric plastics are actually 10 times stronger than human muscles
Koorly: (no, I'm slow typoing.commenting/thinking of things)
Koorly: *typing/commenting
Hammer Birchgrove: (actually real thing)
Koorly: Oh my God. Hands up shoulder heightand screaming.
Koorly: So 1950s.
ae: no, i KNOW i'm at least a second infront
Koorly: Doctor: you have legs, kick the auton into the nestene consciousness.
Koorly: Rose: "No A LEvels, no job, no future", and a bronze gymnastics medal.
ralphpocketwatch: She also almost let her mother die by waiting to make that speech before doing anything.
Koorly: That Woman is such a loser.
ae: she just committed genocide
ralphpocketwatch: Nah, there are other Nestene.
Koorly: And that is how mannequins have seizures.
Koorly: Plastic + anti-plastic = explosion.
Hammer Birchgrove: How can people forget that lots of peeps got killed by plastic robots?
Koorly: Somehow I'd thought it wuold cancel each other out.
Hammer Birchgrove: Like matter + anti-matter!
Koorly: Now comes the bit where I want to *murder* Rose.
ralphpocketwatch: N'awww.
ae: cowering in the corner
Koorly: GOD DAMN SON OF A *** *** SELF-OBSESSED NARCISSTIC COW WHY DO YOU EVEN HANG UP ON YOUR MOTHER AFTER AN ALIEN INVASION YOU FILTHY DISGUSTING HORRIBLE LITTLE ***!!!!!!!!!!
Hammer Birchgrove: D:
Koorly: HAAAAAAAATTTTTEEEEEEE!!!!!
Hammer Birchgrove: He's a thing!
Koorly: (B-itch; w-hore, b-itch in that order)
Hammer Birchgrove: aww Mickey
ae: if my girlfriend discribed me as a stupid lump i'd dump the ***!
Hammer Birchgrove: and people complain about Robin in Batman :p
Koorly: Seriously, wo, AFTER NEARLY DYING AND KNOWING YOUR MOTHER WAS IN THAT SELF-SAME POSITION WOULD HANG UP ON THEIR MOTHER?!?!?!?!?!?!
Koorly: Not even TALK TO HER TO LET HER KNOW YOU WERE OKAY?!?!
Koorly: D: "Did I mention, it also travels in time." Awesome.
Hammer Birchgrove: lulz
ralphpocketwatch: Is it bad I find Koorly's murderous desires cute?
Koorly: R: "Thanks."
Koorly: M: Thanks for what?"
Koorly: r: "eXACTLY"
Hammer Birchgrove: stupid doctor
Koorly: *** murder!
ralphpocketwatch: (Also, **** this laptop overheating on me)
Hammer Birchgrove: bringing with the load
Koorly: Preview thoughts: nice. Interesting, intriguing, lovely effects.
Koorly: (That last asterisked bit was [[rather rude]])
Hammer Birchgrove: :p
Koorly: Stream off for anyone else?
ralphpocketwatch: Also, I still like my theory that the Doctor went and did the stuff Clive had pictures of between asking Rose to come with him and coming back after realising he didn't tell her it travelled in time.
ralphpocketwatch: Yeah, it's off for me.
Koorly: Mkay then.
Koorly: I'm starving, but dinner's not for an hour. Sadfacetiem.
ralphpocketwatch: I don't actually know when dinner is for me.
ralphpocketwatch: Ah. Not for another two hours.
Hammer Birchgrove: Not too keen on season one
Koorly: *is editing through liveblog now to delete duplicated bits.
Koorly: Oh!
Hammer Birchgrove: aside from the Dalek episodes
Koorly: Best moment: Nine's introduction. It's fast-paced, energetic, and sums up the Doctor perfectly. Nice smile, save someone's life, running, polite and manic and, of course, more running just before blowing something up. What more do you need.
Hammer Birchgrove: I *love* The Last Dalek
ae: sorry about that
ralphpocketwatch: Dalek is good.
Koorly: Worst moment: the end. Way to show off your Companion by having her callously discard everyone who loves her. This is when I started to dislike Rose. Seriously, who does that to people?!
ralphpocketwatch: The Moffat episodes are good.
Koorly: Best actor: Ecclestone. Fantastic energy and verve.
Koorly: Worst actor: Whoever played Jackie.
ralphpocketwatch: Some of the others are alright.
Koorly: Or, if I'm feeling especially mean, Bilie Piper because the way she plays That Woman makes me want to strangle them.
ralphpocketwatch: TBH, I'm pretty OK with all of the first three episodes actually.
ae: is it back on for you now?
Koorly: best special effect: the explosion at the beginning.
Koorly: (YES!)
ralphpocketwatch: Yeah, it's back.
Koorly: Worst special effect: Omnomnom bin and plastic!Mickey.
Koorly: Kink of the episode: None.
ralphpocketwatch: Though that was hilariously bad.
Koorly: That everything I normally do?
Koorly: Yes.
Koorly: I think.

Thoughts overall?
A very solid first episode that revives and introduces a show with a forty year history. The action is solid, the acting is generally very good, and I can see what the direction was going for with Rose the 'every girl' even if (in my opinion) it went horribly wrong.
The effects aren't good now, and they weren't at the time, but aside from that the direction and atmosphere was usually very good. The music was shaky in comparison to the next episode or two, and Murray GOld can and will most definitely do better.

‘The End of the World’

[[And as you can see, I lost a fair bit of this, and I don't know why either. In short, I loved the special effects and the costumes for the various aliens.]]

Koorly: (In a moment)
Koorly: And isn't it paradoxical to tell someone you need permission to talk before they have eprmission to talk?
Koorly: Writer: Look at me and m,y anvils talking about the working class being the new servants.
ae: well... if you don't know then how do you find out
Koorly: ANVIIIILLLLLLL!
ralphpocketwatch: I like the blue plumber lady.
Koorly: Oh yeah, she's lovely.
ae: bye plumber lady!
Koorly: Incoming angst!
Koorly: Watch me cry. Ohwait. I don't like you and will relentlessly bash you against all reason!
Hammer Birchgrove: RUUUUUUN
Koorly: Naaawwww, whosa kyoot widdle spider fing.
Hammer Birchgrove: working class hero
Hammer Birchgrove: RUUUUUUN
Koorly: Oh, wook at you gonna eat her face, but you so kyoot, killin all dese servant plumber types and ripping her flesh off.
Hammer Birchgrove: :(
ralphpocketwatch: Red dots of doooooom.
Koorly: And R2D2 is canon with Doctor Who/.
Hammer Birchgrove: is he?
Koorly: Sounds like him.
Hammer Birchgrove: cross-over?
ralphpocketwatch: Didn't you hear the beeping?
Hammer Birchgrove: nope
ae: robospider kill...
ae: aw....
Koorly: R: "Talking to a twig" FML.
Koorly: Adorable midgets!
Koorly: Probably I shouldn't call them that should I?
ralphpocketwatch: You'd think the Doctor would've noticed the robo-spiders there.
Hammer Birchgrove: better than dwarves
Koorly: R: "They're just ao alien. The aliens, are so alien. Youi look at them, and they're alien."
Koorly: *has a Red Dwarf flashback*
Hammer Birchgrove: Deeeep
Koorly: Yay! Translator microbes!
Hammer Birchgrove: Bablefish
Koorly: Incoming *actual* angst I like!
Koorly: Isn't it kind of masochistic when, after destroying your own planet and people, you then go off and see your second home planet die.
ae: nokia
Koorly: Those phones are bricks now compared to today-phones.
ralphpocketwatch: I know someone who still has a phone like that one.
ae: indestructable nokia meme
Koorly: Rose calls mum, I have a flashback to '42'.
Koorly: No. My phone's black and a little thinner than hers thankyouverymuch.
ralphpocketwatch: I wasn't talking about you.
Koorly: Also: marvellous bit of redirection there Doctor, giving her a magic phone.
ralphpocketwatch: Our rehearsal pianist in NUGSS.
Koorly: @Thu: I was temped to reference my own phone so.
ralphpocketwatch: Has a really old phone.
Koorly: You know, having R2D2 as a computer makes it easy to exposit things doesn't it?
Koorly: That robo-spider is my favourite.
ralphpocketwatch: You'd think it would require more than one button push to kill yourself.
ralphpocketwatch: I mean, what if he just lost his balance and did it by accident?
Koorly: Spider: You see me? You see me? Well, see me push this one exact button I need to kill you! And I look so adorable doing it! No wonder you couldn't kill me when you had the chance!"
Koorly: Hey guys, you think RTD knew the Face of Boe was Jack even now?
ralphpocketwatch: Probably not.
Koorly: Rose got called a concubine and a prostitute!
ae: heh jackson
Koorly: *hugs for Lady Cheem*!
Koorly: Majel: "Earth death in fifteen minutes" Trans: episode end in eighteen minutes.
Koorly: Oh look, Titanic reference.
ae: heh "Majel"
Koorly: Also, the Doctor mustive; been the only person to be on the Titanic twice when it sank,
ae: boy?
Koorly: @AE: Yes. All computer voices are Majel now.
ralphpocketwatch: Even GLaDOS?
Koorly: Cassandra: "I am the last pure human." Hello supremacist!
ae: the Cardassian computer wasn't Majel
Koorly: And obvious parody of plastic surgery.
Koorly: @AE: Was the Cardassian computer male?
ae: TRAMPOPOLINE!
Koorly: That was a good line.
Koorly: It's amazing how no one's questioning the fact that a tree evolved into a humanoid.
Hammer Birchgrove: I thought it was the opposite
Koorly: But fridge logic later, we have Tiem Lords now.
Hammer Birchgrove: human evolved into trees?
ae: Judi M. Durand
Koorly: Cheem: "I know where you're from" Not creepy at all.
ae: tree lords?
Hammer Birchgrove: damn she's hot
Koorly: @Birchgrove: "My ancestors were trsnplanted from below [...] I'm a direct descendant of a tropical ranforest"
Hammer Birchgrove: I feel ashamed over being a book reader
ae: she'll be hotter in a bit...
Hammer Birchgrove: opps :p
Koorly: HELLO GALAXY QUEST REFERENCE!
Koorly: Or rather, I want to make one.
Hammer Birchgrove: *** SLAP
Koorly: @AE: *rolls 2d6 for pun damage*
Hammer Birchgrove: needs a tentacle lady for Galaxy Quest
Koorly: D: "Hey, nice liana"
ae: @ CKG : why would anyone put that there...
Koorly: C: "Thank you."
Koorly: And there's your tenacle lady Birchgrove.
ae: it makes no logical sense
Hammer Birchgrove: where?
Koorly: @AE: *grins*
Koorly: Liana. Tentacle.
ae: mmmmm bacon
Hammer Birchgrove: Britney Spears!
Koorly: I don';t know how to feel about Britney Spears being the background music now.
Koorly: It's . . . a bit obvious no?
ae: could be disco inofern
ae: *inferno
Koorly: Burn Rosey burn.
ae: here comes the summer sun
Koorly: Here comes summer (doo doo doo doo doo)
ralphpocketwatch: The sun filter is totally trolling the Doctor.
Koorly: Dammit, she's still alive.
Hammer Birchgrove: Ipswich!
ae: he's "toast"
Koorly: *giggles*
Koorly: C: "Talk to the face! Talk to the face!"
Koorly: 'Cos the hand can't ever know.
Koorly: Cassandra just rolled her eyes at the Doctor's pseudo-philosophical talk.
Koorly: D: "Five billion years and it still comes down to money".
Koorly: Cynical.
Hammer Birchgrove: I SEE THE BRAIN VAT
ae: swift kicking time
Koorly: I forgot disco inferno was in this serial.
ae: so did I
Koorly: O RLY? *dubious face*
Koorly: Did Cassandra just make aan orgasm joke?!
Koorly: She so did!
Hammer Birchgrove: ayup
ralphpocketwatch: Yep.
ae: so woodwoman come with me
Koorly: Doctor Who: For children!
Koorly: That's a good point actually, why he bring a woman made of wood into a VERY HOT PLACE INDEED?
ae: start running moron
ralphpocketwatch: Because he trusts her?
Hammer Birchgrove: for DRAMA
ae: no explain say thanks then run!
Koorly: Nearly two episodes in and we get a species drop!
ralphpocketwatch: And he didn't realise the switch would be so inconveniently situated.
Koorly: Is that a train whistle I just heard?
Koorly: For reals?
ae: keep running moron
Koorly: But if he runs then there is less drama!
ae: cooked blue dude
Koorly: If he ran there's a good chance Lady Cheem'd live!
Koorly: And then where would our semi-forced drama and tears be?!
Koorly: Did you think of that Archie? No!
ae: use timelord powers
Koorly: He could have sonicked the lever couldn't he? Or the blades?
Koorly: Screw you Rose's them!
Koorly: The way youi intercut between the two just then makes it seem as if the Doctor's doing this ONLY TO SAVE ROSE!
Koorly: \a;jhf\ad
Koorly: HE IS NOT!
ae: you see I'd be the supervillan who just shoots the spy rather than explining my plans to him
Koorly: Love these special effects.
Koorly: Wait.
ae: i need a new cricket bat
Hammer Birchgrove: she should have 3rd degree burns
Koorly: They put the Instantly Repair Everything Perfectly Button on the other side of a death trap walkway?
Hammer Birchgrove: and skin cancer
Koorly: Who is there builder?!
Koorly: their*
Koorly: Because they need to sue someone now.
Koorly: Rose: faced the undiluted rays of the sun and got slightly firzzy hair.
Koorly: Blue fat dude: faced the undiluted rays of the sun and turned into ashes.
Koorly: Lady Cheem: spontaneously combusted due to heat build up in order to save lives.
Koorly: Rosehatetiem.
Hammer Birchgrove: Rose is a mutant
ralphpocketwatch: Stream offline?
Hammer Birchgrove: That must be it
ae: back on
Hammer Birchgrove: still pic
ae: paused
Hammer Birchgrove: works
Koorly: Aaaand the slow slow death.
Koorly: I like this because we see just how ruthless he is.
Koorly: Effects of the time war and all that.
Hammer Birchgrove: but but but brain is still left
Koorly: First episode: offers mercy.
ae: the builder really needs to sue their contractors
Hammer Birchgrove: did her brain boil?
Koorly: Second episode: straight up cold-blooded murder.
ralphpocketwatch: Ten talks about how he's less merciful than he used to be, but Nine did it so much better.
ae: hardly murder
ae: just not helping
Hammer Birchgrove: More like Batman in Batman Begins
Hammer Birchgrove: "I won't kill you... but I won't help you"
Koorly: *still ships Nine/Rose*
Koorly: It's tender okay.
Koorly: God Rose's eyebrows are massive.
Koorly: *also loves this ending*
Hammer Birchgrove: is she fake blonde?
Hammer Birchgrove: her eye brows look dark
Koorly: Did the stream cut out in the middle of that speech?
Hammer Birchgrove: yeah
Koorly: It always cuts during Drama, I think it's allergic.
ae: back
Koorly: D: "I'm a Time Lord. The last of the TIme Lords. They're all gone. I'm the only surivivor" Until 'Utopia'.
ae: really need to speak to Virgin about this
Hammer Birchgrove: well if the Daleks could survive
Koorly: Also: I'm guessing that for Classic fans that line was a BIG game changer.
Hammer Birchgrove: yeah
Koorly: R: "What sort of date are you? Come on then chips are on me."
Hammer Birchgrove: oooh
Koorly: Preview thoughts: Time for the Unquiet Dead!
Hammer Birchgrove: the Charles Dickens ep
Koorly: I'll do the bests etc. later.

It's later!
[B]Best Moment: Ehm. It's less than two hours after watching, and I can't think of anything that wouldn't go under a different category. Ah! Rose nearly died! It was also tense and dramatic and stuff, but mainly this is me hating Rose.

A runner up would be the remarkable preservation of five billion year old earth object, especially the juke box. And I loved the songs they'd chosen even if they were a bit heavy handed.

Worst Moment: The Galaxy Quest walkway of death. It worked in Galaxy Quest because it was a comedy about classic science-fiction, most particularly Star Trek: TOS. It does not belong on a tourist viewpoint. Especially when the Repair Everything Perfectly button rests just on the other side of two whirling blades of death.

Best Actor: Ecclestone owns it all again! He has great chemistry with everyone he interacts with, and you can see his pain in his actions and expressions, and look. Eleven is mine, but Nine is just really good at the whole 'tormented man who had to destroy untold numbers of people and species in a war that wiped out his entire people, and is now desperately trying to regain some of his joie de vivre and happiness' thing. Also he's really charismatic when he flirts, and he is the only Doctor with whom I would ship Rose. And I hate her! That's how good he is at what he does, he actually makes me think Rose is a nice person at times.

Runner up to Cassandra for being made of pure ham.

Worst Actor: Eh, the steward. He was okay, but he didn't stand out.

Best Special Effect: the sun expanding. You could feel the heat, and it was so vivid. This show does suns and stars in general wonderfully. And the makeup for the tree people.

Worst Special Effect: The Repeated Meme group. It was probably deliberate, but it wasn't very good anyway.

Kink of the Episode: Soft Cell's 'Tainted Love'. I love that song.

Thoughts overall?
I do think that the eventual motivation for murder is money. But aside from that this episode isn't as strong as it could be, it's just that there are some ridiculous plot holes/concepts (see Worst Moment) found right alongside the honestly thought provoking ideas of cynical/optimistic views on the survival of humans; on transience and immortality in general. And though I find the Plastic Surgery Is Stupid anvil a bit heavy, it's also funny.

And I loved the Doctor's darker side coming out firmly on top, probably exacerbated by the whole 'torturing self by seeing his second home die' thing and Cassandra's self-centred nature. It shows how dangerous the Doctor can be, and I agree with Thufir that while Ten talks about being so dark and dangerous, Nine gives off the more serious attitude and is very believable in his quiet way. You get one warning, and then you're gone.

‘Unquiet Dead’

Hammer Birchgrove: the Charles Dickens ep
Koorly: I'll do the bests etc. later.
Hammer Birchgrove: I like this one
ae: who needs previews when you have the episode coming up in a sec
Koorly: I have a format.
Hammer Birchgrove: uh oh
Koorly: Hello ghost zombie person!
ae: boom
ae: headshot
Koorly: Totally commonplace in Cardiff these are.
ae: zombies...
Koorly: Heehehe, she's making stereotypical ghost noises.
ae: a agree, i've been to Cardiff
ralphpocketwatch: Oh, I forgot this was Mark Gatiss.
Koorly: I love Mark Gatiss
ralphpocketwatch: It's Gwen Cooper!
ralphpocketwatch: Only not really.
Koorly: He's such a Mycroft.
ae: i'm /telling/ you
Koorly: Loving the Welshness.
Hammer Birchgrove: "Who're you gonna call????"
ae: Torchwo... NVM
Hammer Birchgrove: ... Ghostbusters!
Hammer Birchgrove: :-P
Koorly: Blech. Just saw my liveblog for last episode. Lost the first . . . ten or so minutes of it. Solution: will c&p lots and lots and lots.
Koorly: Oh my word! Someone's actually dressing in period clothing!
Koorly: For once!
Hammer Birchgrove: yay!
Koorly: Does that ever happen again?!
ralphpocketwatch: Occasionally?
ralphpocketwatch: Maybe?
Hammer Birchgrove: technically, denim would be period dressing
Hammer Birchgrove: if you're an American gold digger :p
Koorly: Inexplicably psychic servant scries for zombies.
Koorly: And pulls a Charles Xavier.
Koorly: MUTTON COPS!
Hammer Birchgrove: Dickens
Koorly: Hello Simon Callow! I recognise you from somewhere.
Koorly: *CHOPS*
Koorly: Should totally have got her Dickens timeline just for this episode.
Koorly: . . .
Koorly: Look! I studied okay.
Koorly: Taliesin lodge?! Is this a shoutout to *that* Taliesin?!
Koorly: If it is that is so awesome I might even :D
Hammer Birchgrove: ???
Koorly: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taliesin
Hammer Birchgrove: thanks
Koorly: The Book of Taliesin is one of the first records we have for Arthurian myths and things./
Hammer Birchgrove: aha
Hammer Birchgrove: who-ho
ae: snow angel time!
Hammer Birchgrove: bewbs
Hammer Birchgrove: or, skin anyway
Koorly: Also: Taliesin wrote lots about Welsh history.
Hammer Birchgrove: cool guy
Koorly: Yay! Actual Victorian style readings
Hammer Birchgrove: mr T
ae: i pitty the fool
Koorly: And look at that Totally Not Obvious Death Glare being given by the zombie.
ralphpocketwatch: Ah, God rest ye merry gentlemen.
ralphpocketwatch: The Doctor Who carol.
ae: brains
Koorly: O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy.
Koorly: Irony? Yes.
ralphpocketwatch: As it has pretty much become.
Koorly: "It's not Naples."
Hammer Birchgrove: Cardiff!
ralphpocketwatch: 9 years out, in Cardiff.
Koorly: R: "I don't care."
Koorly: D: "It's Cardiff."
ralphpocketwatch: Thanks Sexy.
Koorly: R: " . . .right."
Hammer Birchgrove: Temporal G!PS malfunctioning
Koorly: Dat hat.
ralphpocketwatch: Ironically, this episode was filmed in Swansea.
Koorly: Second row back centre-left.
Hammer Birchgrove: damn keyboard is frakking up
Koorly: It's huge.
Hammer Birchgrove: ****e
Hammer Birchgrove: eeeeeeek!!!
Koorly: Ah, the Doctors all have the same reaction to weird things; they fall in love.
Koorly: Was that casual racism towrds the Irish I just saw?
ae: heh, chloroform
Hammer Birchgrove: or ether
Koorly: And then chloroforming and kidnapping.
Koorly: Doctor Who: For children!
Hammer Birchgrove: It's made of gas!

Koorly: Ah, the Doctors all have the same reaction to weird things; they fall in love.
Koorly: Was that casual racism towrds the Irish I just saw?
ae: heh, chloroform
Hammer Birchgrove: or ether
Koorly: And then chloroforming and kidnapping.
Koorly: Doctor Who: For children!
Hammer Birchgrove: It's made of gas!
Koorly: And points for the accuracy regarding Dickens' scepticism.
Koorly: Fanboy tiem!
Koorly: The Doctor: Charles Dickens! You're brilliant you are! :D
Hammer Birchgrove: fan comes from fanatic
Hammer Birchgrove: and now he said it
Koorly: Oh yay, linguistics stuff!
Hammer Birchgrove: :-P
Koorly: Nineteen and no A Levels? Jesus Christ.
ae: gas her
Koorly: :D
Koorly: More mutton chops.
Koorly: On second thoughts, I like the Gelf noises.
Koorly: Veyr eerie.
ralphpocketwatch: Gelth.
Koorly: Close enough.
ralphpocketwatch: GELF's are from Red Dwarf.
ae: what the shakesphere
ae: heh
Koorly: Best curse ever.
Koorly: I have stolen it.
ralphpocketwatch: Wait, I didn't mean to put that apostrophe there.
Koorly: Rose: cannot tell the dead from the living.
Koorly: Because zombie films, whose seen them?
ae: not someone from 2005
Koorly: I do like the concept of gas aliens by the way.
ralphpocketwatch: Sadly, I don't think "What the Dickens" actually refers to Charles Dickens, so "What the Shakespeare makes less sense.
Hammer Birchgrove: I think Dickens come from **** :p
Koorly: Hello compulsive lying Gelths.
Hammer Birchgrove: oh she knows zombies now
ralphpocketwatch: And now you give me tea to make up for it! Naturally.
ralphpocketwatch: So British.
ae: attempting to re-connect
Koorly: It's a shame they didn't apportion the budget equally because the special effects really take a turn for the worse in aa few episodes.
ae: streaming is back
ralphpocketwatch: You mean the Slitheen?
ae: resuming
Koorly: Aye.
ralphpocketwatch: That's the next episode.
ralphpocketwatch: She read the Doctor's mind to know how he takes his tea?
Koorly: She's a servant: they make tea.
ae: she knew 2 shugars because she's a servernt
Koorly: Tch.This man buys a house knowing it's reputed to be haunted, and gets scared when scary things happen.
Koorly: Men.
ae: sugars servant
Koorly: Hello sceptic!Dickens!
Koorly: Watch you manhandle corpses shall we? Sure, after all, it was only worth decades in prison minimum getting caught defiling the dead.
Hammer Birchgrove: hey, defiling the death is a time honored tradition among Victorian scientists
Koorly: Yeah. WITH PERMISSION. And only with those hanged for crimes.
Hammer Birchgrove: I see
Koorly: Oh no. Classism time again.
Koorly: Watch the working class women bond over disparate cultural ideologies.
Hammer Birchgrove: but they don't mention Dicken's anti-semitism
Koorly: Oh frick. BadWolftiemnoaw.
Hammer Birchgrove: or how he hated Inuits
Koorly: @Birchgrove: that's because classim and sexism is a-okay!
Hammer Birchgrove: heh
Koorly: Racism on the other hand, no. So we'll clean up all our historical figures so the children don't get any bad ideas.
Koorly: You know, aside from that kidnapping and manhandling corpses and sniffing gas is fine.
Hammer Birchgrove: asnd
Koorly: Also, is the audio really quiet for anyone else?
Hammer Birchgrove: and bins eating people
Koorly: I can barely hear this chat they're having.
Hammer Birchgrove: I had to crank it up on the max
Koorly: I AM on max (my laptop has crappy audio)
ae: better?
Hammer Birchgrove: on my lappie and on my stereo
Koorly: Though I am distracted by Rose's shoulders.
ralphpocketwatch: It's quieter now I've taken my headphones out.
ae: better?
Koorly: halp. chat lag.
Hammer Birchgrove: both on my lappie and on my stereo
ralphpocketwatch: But that's a general thing.
Koorly: xcvbn
Hammer Birchgrove: can you see what I type
Hammer Birchgrove: I've watched too much porn
ae: better?
Koorly: That's better, thanks.
Hammer Birchgrove: oh dear
Hammer Birchgrove: Thanks
Koorly: And chatcaught up with itself.
Koorly: By the by, did they ever explain Gwyn's inexplicable psychic owers?
Hammer Birchgrove: was going to say: I keep expecting the ladies to start sexy time.
ae: you're lucky you didn't get deaffened because of the lag
Hammer Birchgrove: conference!
Koorly: I would very definitely not be opposed to lady sexytiem.
ae: invent the ouigi board
ralphpocketwatch: I think the psychic powers are because of the rift?
Koorly: Oh, and backtracking, I like how they breiefly touched on the Victorian fascination with sceances and the like.
Koorly: Shame Conan Doyle wasn't mentioned as a contemporary foil to Dickens' scepticism.
Hammer Birchgrove: ayup
ae: kill them all
Koorly: I've seen this special effect somewhere else.
ae: oops nine.
Koorly: OH LOOK. WE SHALL PLAY ON THE TIME LORD'S EXISTENCE GUILT TO DESTROY EVERYTHING.
ralphpocketwatch: It's a pretty good plan.
Koorly: Guilt is a powerful motivator.
Hammer Birchgrove: For once, Rose is right
ralphpocketwatch: Especially for the Doctor.
Koorly: Oooh yay! Values dissonance. 'It's a corpse, it's not needed any more'.
Koorly: 'But it's a corpse'!
ralphpocketwatch: Really? I'd say saving lives is more important than propriety.
Hammer Birchgrove: Lemme say that Rose is right for the wrong reasons
ae: ok... drop me off then
Koorly: R: "Those bodies were living people [...] We should respect them even in death!"
Koorly: D: [paraphrased] put up with it or go home.
Koorly: 'oh I'll put up wiht it then, my morals aren't important enough for me to stand by'.
Koorly: Of course it's the morgue.
Hammer Birchgrove: what did she say?
ralphpocketwatch: No! Don't tempt the gazebo!
Koorly: Why not make it the pantry.
Hammer Birchgrove: Zebra?
Hammer Birchgrove: oh
Koorly: Ha. Title drop. That's what? Five Dickens novels I've heard mentioned now?
ae: boom shake shake the room
Koorly: Thing is, if the Gelth weren't all psychokillers this would be a really good solution.
Hammer Birchgrove: The writers like to kill workers
Koorly: Hello special effect that will be repeated several time later on in the eries!
ralphpocketwatch: And they reveal their true nature through their evil colour scheme!
Koorly: And look at the colour symbolism. Good and blue and light and gentle.
Koorly: Then orange flames and pointy fangs and red eyes.
Koorly: EEEEvil!
Koorly: Hey, why didn't the Gelth even try to possess Dickens?
Koorly: Historical immunity?
Koorly: "We don't want your pity! We twant this world and its flesh!"
Koorly: Cowardly!Dickens is cowardly.
Koorly: Wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff means you don't die before you're born.
ae: from your perspective you are already born
Koorly: Ladies and gentlemen: the proto-wibbly wobbly timey wimey ball of stuff!
ae: gas them...
Hammer Birchgrove: Tom Baker's Doctor wouldn't be this gullible :p
Koorly: D: "I;m gonna die in a dungeon!" *in disbelief adds "In Cardiff." It truly is a fate worse than normal death.
Hammer Birchgrove: awww
Koorly: More handholding! *ships*
Hammer Birchgrove: hand holding
ae: i'm going to leave you behind and run Rose...
Koorly: Love that it's the one-off Companion that solves everything.
Koorly: Because Charles Dickens is smarter than everyone else.
ralphpocketwatch: Same as with Shakespeare.
ralphpocketwatch: Kinda.
ralphpocketwatch: They do have one-off companions save the day a few times actually.
Koorly: Two females sacrifice their lives to save everything in back-to-back episodes.
Koorly: Someone doesn't like women. :p
ae: really do you think someone likes men more?
Koorly: I think I like the orange Gelth design more than the blue.
Koorly: @AE: Nah. Just odd that both times women go up in flames to save everything.
Koorly: And I don't know how to feel about the unexplained ghost.
ralphpocketwatch: Yay! Hamlet quote!
Hammer Birchgrove: servant girl
Koorly: From Horatio to be exact.
ralphpocketwatch: No, it's from Hamlet, *to* Horatio.
ralphpocketwatch: IIRC.
Koorly: Een more exact: I, v, l. 160ish
Koorly: Eh, close enough.
Koorly: Yay!
Koorly: Dickensian in-joke!
Hammer Birchgrove: aww
Hammer Birchgrove: Dickens could have become a SF author
Koorly: So many people have seen the TARDIS vworp away.
ae: no
ae: no they don't
ae: now sod off
Koorly: Dickens: "My books, do they last?"
Koorly: D: "Oh yes, forever."
Koorly: N'aaaaawwwwwww.
Koorly: Just like Agatha Christie's then.
Koorly: *still hasn't gotten around to finished that*
ae: take the hand brake off Dr.
ralphpocketwatch: I like that noise.
ralphpocketwatch: It's a brilliant noise.
Koorly: Look at Dickens getting the Scrooged treatment and being all happy and filled with joie de vivre.
ralphpocketwatch: Blech. Slitheen. Eugh.
Koorly: Preview thoughts: nice effects, shame about the Slitheen.
Koorly: Wish UNIT was in this.
ralphpocketwatch: Harriet Jones!
Koorly: Hello MP for Clydesdale North.
ae: so, next time we'll have ailens of london ww3 & daled
ralphpocketwatch: UNIT are in it, they just end up dead.
Koorly: Spoilers.
Hammer Birchgrove: I thought the Slitheen would be masked Cyber-Men
Hammer Birchgrove: derp
Koorly: Think I'll just post this as is.
Koorly: A three-in-one review.
Hammer Birchgrove: cool
ralphpocketwatch: Once you've done that, could you also stop by the meetup thread?
Koorly: Posting in a few minutes.
Koorly: Yes, yes.
Koorly: Wait, why?
ae: so, thnkss for coming and keep an eye o the FB group for the next
Koorly: Yessir AE sir.
Koorly: Dinner all, bye.
ralphpocketwatch: And say when you're planning on being here?

Best Moment: I'm going to cheat and say the Victoriana in general. Look, I studied this period in depth as far as literature goes, and I got the happies. Oh, and I really enjoyed the Doctor's inhuman (as in, literally, not human) stance on corpses and respect 'due' to them. It doesn't happen as often as it could, this kind of thing. It's a nice reminder though that the Doctor is a TIme Lord.

Runner up would be the Doctor fangirling over Charles Dickens. It's adorkable!

Worst Moment: Of course, the morgue. And Rose who doesn't know what a zombie is/looks like, and then a few minutes later starts talking about zombies.

Best Actor: Simon Callow is Charles Dickens! And he's acted with/been in the RSC!

Worst Actor: Gwyneth sounds just a little too Welsh, and just a little too eager. Which okay isn't fair considering the actress is Welsh, but she's too everything. TOo eager, too pure, too gentle, too deus ex machina; she just grated.

Best Special Effect: the Gelth look genuinely otherworldly, even if their colour palette is stereotypical.

Worst Special Effect: the zombie makeup is so zombie it hurts.

Kink of the Week: Gwyneth/Rose has potential and appeal.

Dickens References: I didn't keep a close count, but about half a dozen that I heard.

Thoughts overall?
Charles Dickens in a Christmas ghost story!

It was awesome.

And I gather from somewhere, that this episode sets up Torchwood and various things that are important to later seasons of Doctor Who. It was a fun episode, and quite dark in some ways, but still had a good Christmassy vibe - disillusioned man inspired by otherworldly events to take an interest in life again?

More Christmassy than expected isn't it?

Didn't like Rose though, the only reason she's not in Worst Actor is because she's so average, and I feel like I should at least make a pale attempt at being objective for these round up bits. Sometimes.

[Thufir]

OK, so I think I'll just add in a few extra details that I didn't feel I had time to type out during the stream because the action was moving on.

'Rose'


ralphpocketwatch: I mean, I love Eleven, but I really do think that is the best entrance a Doctor has had in Nu Who thus far.

Of course, this is partly because Nine gets to come in as his established self, rather than spending an episode dealing with the after-effects of regeneration, but still. I'm counting Eleven's entrance as when he sticks his head out of the TARDIS and meets Amelia, rather than straight after regenerating. I love that scene, but Nine still wins. "Run!"


ralphpocketwatch: Jackie and Mickey - masters of tact.
ralphpocketwatch: But yeah, Mickey's alright.
Koorly: OMINOUS CLOSE UP TO SHOW THIS IS FORESHADOWING EVIL.
ralphpocketwatch: So is Jackie to an extent.
ralphpocketwatch: More so later on though.

Specifically, once Rose has been gone a while and Jackie is aware that she's off with the Doctor, Jackie's role in things becomes primarily that of a concerned mother, which works pretty well. It really is a case of shifting roles - in this first episode Jackie and Mickey have been written to showcase the annoyances, trivialities and mundanities that Rose really wants to escape from by going with the Doctor. Whereas subsequently they become her ties to Earth, what keeps her more grounded and human, and the solid family who're always there for her when she needs them.


ralphpocketwatch: Oh man, I missed the speech about the Earth turning.
Koorly: There was a speech about that?
Koorly: Oh yes!

Specifically, this speech:
"Do you know like we were saying? About the Earth revolving? It's like when you're a kid. The first time they tell you that the world's turning and you just can't quite believe it 'cause everything looks like it's standing still. I can feel it. The turn of the Earth. The ground beneath our feet is spinnin' at 1,000 miles an hour and the entire planet is hurtling around the sun at 67,000 miles an hour, and I can feel it. We're falling through space, you and me, clinging to the skin of this tiny little world, and if we let go... That's who I am. Now forget me, Rose Tyler."
Love that speech. One of those fascinating little moments of trying to sum up the Doctor.
(That I wiki'd, for the precise wording at the beginning and the numbers)


Koorly: And when you consider that earlier the Doctor checked himself out in the mirror as he'd not seen himself properly before this is a plot hole.
ralphpocketwatch: Of course, this stuff kind of goes against the Doctor having only recently regenerated.
*snip*
ralphpocketwatch: But I like to imagine he went off and did those things at the end of the episode before coming back to tell Rose the TARDIS travels in time.

I actually missed that Koorly made the same point I did just before me. I doubt RTD thought of the explanation I did, but it makes sense.
Oh, and yes, I know, wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey, he could've done those things later and Rose still heard about them at this point except that:


ralphpocketwatch: Yeah, but if he did those things after this episode Rose would've been there as well.

So yeah, I'm sticking to my idea.


ralphpocketwatch: She didn't see it dematerialise though.
ralphpocketwatch: She saw it, and then it wasn't there.
*snip*
ralphpocketwatch: It could, in theory, have just been moved.
*snip*
ralphpocketwatch: I'm not saying she's thought this through in detail.
*snip*
ralphpocketwatch: Alternatively, she just doesn't trust her own memory.

Just to be clear, I'm not exactly saying Rose isn't being a bit stupid here, but I'm saying that it is kind of understandable if she just hasn't given it much detailed thought. She's seen a bunch of really weird stuff, she's kind of in shock about it, and she's trying to cling to the last few shreds of normalcy she can grasp.


Koorly: Now comes the bit where I want to *murder* Rose.
ralphpocketwatch: N'awww.
*snip*
ralphpocketwatch: Is it bad I find Koorly's murderous desires cute?

So, is it?
(Also, those should have been said together, but:


ralphpocketwatch: (Also, **** this laptop overheating on me)


ralphpocketwatch: Also, I still like my theory that the Doctor went and did the stuff Clive had pictures of between asking Rose to come with him and coming back after realising he didn't tell her it travelled in time.

Like I said. It'd fit more with the character of Eleven (And corresponding Moffat-style timey-wimey shenanigans), but it amuses me to think that the Doctor left, a bit disappointed, had some more adventures, and then suddenly remembered he didn't actually mention that it travelled in time and figured he'd go back to just after he left to bring up that detail and see if Rose changed her mind.


Koorly: Worst actor: Whoever played Jackie.

Camille Coduri, IIRC.


‘The End of the World’


[[And as you can see, I lost a fair bit of this, and I don't know why either. In short, I loved the special effects and the costumes for the various aliens.]]

Doctor/Rose flirting over time travel, they hand-waved the continents being in the same places, Doctor flirting with a tree. Those are the pertinent points which I remember.


Koorly: That's a good point actually, why he bring a woman made of wood into a VERY HOT PLACE INDEED?

...I'm sure there's an innuendo to be made here, I just can't think of it...


ralphpocketwatch: Ten talks about how he's less merciful than he used to be, but Nine did it so much better.
*snip*

And I loved the Doctor's darker side coming out firmly on top, probably exacerbated by the whole 'torturing self by seeing his second home die' thing and Cassandra's self-centred nature. It shows how dangerous the Doctor can be, and I agree with Thufir that while Ten talks about being so dark and dangerous, Nine gives off the more serious attitude and is very believable in his quiet way. You get one warning, and then you're gone.

To be specific, I am of course thinking of the scene with Ten and Mr. Finch in School Reunion: "I'm so old now. I used to have so much mercy... You get one warning: that was it."
While I love that scene, the fact is Ten is all about giving people second, third, twelfth, twentieth, etc chances. Nine is properly ruthless.
And actually, similarly, so is Eleven. We've kind of had this debate before, with me and others falling on the side that Nine and Eleven carry more weight with their different brands of quiet menace than Ten with his generally louder and more bombastic approach. But I digress.


‘Unquiet Dead’


Koorly: I would very definitely not be opposed to lady sexytiem.

Of course you wouldn't. :smallamused:
(Was going to say that at the time but things moved on)


And I gather from somewhere, that this episode sets up Torchwood and various things that are important to later seasons of Doctor Who.

Well, yes, the time rift underneath Cardiff is the reason Torchwood Three set up there, and also the Doctor uses it to refuel the TARDIS - which is also why Jack was waiting for him there in Utopia, as I'm sure you recall.

[LokeyITP]

I'll have to get my Slitheen ep apologies ready for next time then (I found tons to like about the episodes, though of course they're no Dalek or EC/DD).

[Archonic Energy]

ae: you mean eccleson [X Files music?]]

:smallamused: i'll admit i was aware of what you meant, i was just having fun with waht you said

I thought it was the guy from the IT Crowd but i was wrong.

again, i'm going to apologise for the drop in video quality and the intermittant problems I was having with my connection, hopefully i'll be able to sort it before this weekend.
Memo: must talk to Virgin... Diablo 3 has latency problems too. :smallmad:

[Dr. Simon]

Well, sorry I missed the view-a-thon, maybe I'l try to catch another in future if I have a quiet Sunday.

It's time for another set of recommendations, but rather than do Series Six, I'm going for something different. Normally I highlight the good stuff, this time it's the worst, for all of the Classic era Doctors. I've given a star rating - one star means that the story is mostly sound but falls short on a few counts, two stars means it's painful to watch.

If you like things that have kitsch value, some of these are worth watching but, be warned, some are simply dull.

Doctors One to Seven: The Low Points

One
The Romans* - This is mostly watchable, although it caused controversy at the time because it is the first historical episode to be played largely as farce. Although it includes pretty much every Roman cliché in the book (Ian becoming a galley slave – do you like movies about gladiators?) I only really put it here because, as an afficianado of all things Roman it annoys me that Nero is portrayed as a fat, balding middle-aged man when in reality he was tall and lanky with red hair and died in his 30s. Research, people! Otherwise, it's quite good fun but more A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum In The TARDIS.

The Space Museum* - A good idea underneath, where the TARDIS crew get a glimpse of their future and then events move inexorably towards it despite their best efforts, a worthy exploration of the nature of time. However, it is framed within the most feeble civil war ever filmed, with a supporting cast who look like they’ve come straight from the weakest members of a university drama club.

The Chase** - Fun and hijinks with those whacky daleks! The daleks have invented a time machine (Time War!) and are chasing the TARDIS crew through time and space. This involves a series of zany encounters throughout history and thick daleks who can’t do basic mathematics. The ending, in the city of the Mechanoids, is well done except for moments that bring to mind Monty Python and the Holy Grail (“It’s only a model!” “Ssh!”).

The Gunfighters** - The Doctor becomes embroiled in events surrounding the Gunfight at the OK Corral. A sound premise, marred by bad American accents, ludicrous shootouts where both sides stand in the open, fire hundreds of shots and miss everything, and the terribly annoying song that is used as incidental music over and over and over again.

The War Machines* - A typical insane computer tries to take over the world plot, tired but not in itself bad. I mark this one down because it is the only incidence of a character referring to the Doctor as “Doctor Who”. No! Bad! Research, people!

Two
The Underwater Menace** - Curly might like this one for Jamie spending most of the time in a wetsuit. Otherwise it’s a terrible B-movie with a hackneyed plot (mad scientist in Atlantis wants to Conquer The World). Worth watching, though, for the moment at the end of episode 2, or 3, where said mad scientist declares to the camera “Nothing in ze vorld can stop me now! Muahahaha!”

The Dominators* - Again, a pretty hackneyed plot. Evil Dominators come to a planet and bully the peaceful indigents into giving up their resources. Watchable, and worth it just for the ridiculous costumes. The tractor tyre shoulder pads of the Dominators are silly enough, wait until you see the pleated skirts that the local men have to wear.

The Krotons* - Another fairly well-worn plot, with shades of the minotaur myth – locals give up their best and brightest to the mysterious Krotons. The idea of the mineral-based Krotons is sound, but the costumes don’t convince. Otherwise just a bit slow-moving and dull.

Three
Inferno* - Some viewers found the evil counterparts to be daft, I think it works quite well and it’s not bad by all means. Being a Pertwee era story, though, it drags on for too many episodes, and it is the monsters, the devolved men, that just look like a cheap wolfman, that spoil it.

The Time Monster** - A plot that’s all over the place, with poor acting by most of the guest stars and the by-now tired device of the Master in disguise meddling with powers beyond his control. Really, really bad special effects for one of the appearances of Chronos, which is supposed to be an all-powerful being but looks like a man in a bird suit on a wire and can be stopped by a door with a glass panel in it. Add a trip to Atlantis (but a different version) and you’ve got a real mess.

Invasion of the Dinosaurs* - I know I included this as a recommendation, and the storyline is quite good but: those dinosaurs!

Planet of Spiders** - When Michael Grade appeared on Room 101, one of his choices was his old nemesis Doctor Who and they chose a clip from this series to illustrate it. You can see why. It could have worked, and it has a good moment at the end with the Doctor facing his fears, but the effects for the spiders are weak, the actors on the eponymous planet are all stilted, there’s some “yellowing-up” of Caucasian actors to appear Asian (when they had genuine Asian actors in Mind of Evil, why do this?) and one whole episode is a lengthy and pointless chase sequence. Another end-of-season mess.

Four
The Android Invasion* - A largely silly plot (alien race recreates an English village so that they can plan an invasion of the nearby military base) with some largely forgettable aliens, although this one probably caused a few childhood nightmares from the scene where fake robot Sarah-Jane’s face comes off.

The Invisible Enemy** - Another mess, somebody (well, Bob Baker and Dave Martin) attempted to mix Star Wars with The Fantastic Voyage and got some total nonsense. The story is an inept mash of “sci-fi” that is more about effects than concepts, and the effects don’t live up to the concepts. Add to that loads of logical inaccuracies, such as a man-sized virus, clones that magically get clothes as well and miniaturised versions of the Doctor and Leela taking a stroll in the Doctor's air-filled head and it’s another mess. For those interested, though, it’s K-9’s first appearance.

The Invasion of Time** - Probably Baker’s nadir. Some terrible glittery tin-foil aliens, revealed to be weedy Glaswegians in silver suits, make way for East London Sontarans in ill-fitting make-up, with an endless chase through TARDIS corridors that looks like behind the scenes at a municipal leisure centre. Tom Baker looks like he can’t be bothered, and who can blame him? Leela falls in love with a man she speaks about three words with. Painful.

The Power of Kroll* - Not as terrible as it’s reputation makes out, but another one where execution falls short of conception. The idea of a massive monsters miles across is good, but not something that the effects budget is able to convincingly portray, nor something that is really got across in the script, regardless of visuals. The green-painted “swampies” re-enacting King Kong don’t help.

The Creature From The Pit* - Another one that’s not quite as bad as reputation makes out, but it does fall in the midst of a largely weak season. The idea of a metal-poor world and the culture arising thereon are workable, it’s the eponymous Creature that lets everything down, like a green Mr Snuffleupagus. There’s that horribly suggestive scene where the Doctor blows in its, er, “trunk”.

Nightmare of Eden* - A messy plot that goes back and forth and doesn’t develop much, some forgettable extras and the comedy fight scene “Oh, my everything!”. Tom Baker is just phoning it in at this point.

Five
Time-Flight** - Another of The Master’s needlessly complex plots and a story that make no sense at all. The only purpose behind this story seems to be an excuse to use Concorde, because it was cool at the time.

Terminus* - This is the story notorious for Nyssa stripping off for no apparent reason, but it’s Liza Goddard’s supporting cast of space pirates that derails things with their dreadful over-acting. Goddard’s “Freeeeeze!” is embarrassing enough, but my favourite is the crewmember who screams “This is a leper ship! We’re all going to DIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEE!!!!!” at the end of episode one that I like the best. I like to imagine him doing that, followed by an embarrassed silence as the other characters look a bit awkward. Finally one of them says “….yes….well…” and they get on with what they were doing. Sadly that doesn’t happen except in my own head.

Warriors of the Deep** - Silurians and Sea Devils team up to invade an underwater base, which looks like somebody borrowed some footage from Stingray. Minus continuity points for the Silurians using the terms “sea devils” and “silurians” – both of which are inaccurate human terms for the creatures, and for their hypnotic third eye now flashing in time with their speech, dalek-fashion. Worst of all is the pantomime-horse Myrka. Apparently shooting time was so tight the paint on the sets was still wet and this was the best they could do. However, if you have a rubbish monster suit, don’t, that is don’t, shoot it under bright lighting in full shot. Just… don’t.

Six
The Twin Dilemma** - It’s not the portrayal of the Doctor as unstable that is at fault here – personally I quite liked the change, nor is it the terrible costume that he is forced to wear (which I did not like). The plot is another B-movie reject of thuggish aliens against wimpy aliens, with a dreadful cross-eyed slug as the villain and some really weak acting by the eponymous twins.

The Two Doctors* - A waste of the Spanish location and of Patrick Troughton in a story that can’t decide if it is farce or horror. Not awful by any means; I think I rate this one low because of the disappointment factor.

Timelash** - Another story that seems utterly pointless (I can’t actually remember what the point of it was. I think the "timelash" was some kind of punishment, and there was a coup in silvery future-land). The timelash itself is a shoddy prop made with cardboard and tinsel, and all the supporting cast except Paul “Avon” Darrow are totally forgettable. And he’s not great.

Terror of the Vervoids** - Bonnie Bleedin’ Langford, for one thing. The vervoids, despite a disturbing similarity to, er, ladies’ parts, are a good invention (like an alien race designed by Georgia O'Keefe) but the plot wanders from red herring to red herring with tedious slowness and the lounge of a star liner somehow resembles the bar of the same leisure complex used in The Invasion of Time.

Seven
Time and the Rani** - The plot is cheesy sci-fi of the worst order, seemingly written by someone who has no more experience of SF than a few episodes of the Gil Gerard Buck Rogers. The Rani is wasted here as some kind of cackling megalomaniac building a huge brain to, I dunno, Conquer The Universe or something. For some reason she pretends to be Bonnie Langford, even though the Doctor can’t remember her. At this stage, Sylvester McCoy’s Doctor is a comedy character, but fortunately darkens as his tenure goes on. Oh, and it’s another story where a bunch of weedy aliens are threatened: note to would-be Who writers, we don’t care about what happens to weedy aliens, we want threat to main characters or to Earth, not weedy aliens who live in quarries and look like Kajagoogoo rejects.

[Archonic Energy]

Sorry about the late notice... i was busy this week.
hopefully Virgin have sorted the connection and i can go back to "normal" quality rather than "mobile" quality

http://www.livestream.com/​archonic_energy
Series one disc two
erm... which ever ones are there
26/06/2012 16:00 - 19:00 UTC +1

[Androgeus]

hmm, has the thread disappeared from the media discussions sub forum for anyone else? (edit: I think I fixed it)

Also I need update the main posts with the new stuff. Hmmm should I include the stream stuff under Curly or make a separate category? I guess seeing as Archonic Energy I could list them under his name.

edit: totally forgot to link some bad new (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18531461)

[Kato]

Hey there fellow Whovians (Well, I give myself too much credit calling me a Whovian, I guess)

Hu, you're doing live streams now, interesting... I guess I've really been away for far too long....
But I found a small something that got me all grinning happily and I thought I'd share in case anyone cares to see it: Dr Who RPG (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJMVxZ8pGzA&feature=g-u-u)

[Archonic Energy]

Steven Moffat has confirmed that the adventure will feature every kind of Dalek ever faced by the Time Lord – including the legendary Special Weapons Dalek! (http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/doctorwho/articles/Asylum-of-the-Daleks)

:smallbiggrin: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSD4RFEzRWs)

[Androgeus]

Radio 4 Extra is broadcasting some more of Big Finish's audio plays if anyone likes to listen to them. You can also get them on iPlayer.
The first story is a two parter, Orbis, involves Janet Keogh, an ex-companion of the Doctor being abducted, while the Doctor finds himself in need of a pair of tights and having to fend of the interests of a jellyfish.I can't believe I made a two pints reference, I feel kinda dirty

The second is also a two parter, The Beast With Two Backs of Orlok, which I haven't listened to yet and thus have no "amusing" remarks to make about it.

What I've listened to so far though doesn't beat Nazi moon base being invaded by sharks. I think that story arc may have spoiled me.

Edit:linked reviews in first post, Dr.Simon's series 4 & 5, the rest of Invasion and I put a link to the chat log under Archonic's name

[Hopeless]

Sorry but bought issue 1 of the Doctor Who meets the Next Generation of Star Trek and was wondering if you have already seen issue 2 yet?

So how will Moffatt resolve the age old question of which Dalek is best and what one to use?

[Finn Solomon]

The phrase 'The Fall of the Eleventh' scares me. I don't want Matt Smith to leave. :(

[Archonic Energy]

So how will Moffatt resolve the age old question of which Dalek is best and what one to use?

simple. use them all.

also:
http://www.livestream.com/​archonic_energy
Series one disc three
21/7/12 16:00 UTC+1

[comicshorse]

[QUOTE=Hopeless;13473612
So how will Moffatt resolve the age old question of which Dalek is best and what one to use?[/QUOTE]

The Special Weapons Dalek is clearly the best !

( Really just the thought of return of it gives my inner Dr Who fan a huge grin of happiness :smallsmile:)

[Androgeus]

So how will Moffatt resolve the age old question of which Dalek is best and what one to use?

Golden Emperor Dalek (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalek_variants#Dalek_variants_in_comics.2C_books_a nd_audio_dramas) is obviously the best. Only someone who didn't check wikipedia for the silliest Dalek would say otherwise.

[Archonic Energy]

http://www.livestream.com/​archonic_energy
Series one disc three
2 minutes....

[Androgeus]

So I just found out what the name of the second episode is.
Dinosaurs on a Spaceship

[Eldan]

That only works if they have Samuel L. Jackson.

You know what that means! Nick Fury's the new companion!

[LokeyITP]

Veracity of http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0436992/episodes?season=7 ?

Short version: 5 eps starting August 25th, holiday special, 7 next year. Also Moffat ruins the Daleks, yay :)

[Androgeus]

Veracity of http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0436992/episodes?season=7 ?

Short version: 5 eps starting August 25th, holiday special, 7 next year. Also Moffat ruins the Daleks, yay :)

The split is definitely correct, but I can't find anything concrete about the broadcast date. It's a likely candidate though.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

That only works if they have Samuel L. Jackson.

You know what that means! Nick Fury's the new companion!
The post-credits scene that Avengers should have had:

Nick Fury is standing at a computer screen, crunching data. The TARDIS materializes in front of him. Nick stares. The Doctor steps out, and looks around.

Fury: You have exactly two seconds to educate me as to your name, purpose, the source of your technology, and why the hell there's a blue box in my office!
The Doctor: Oh! I'm the Doctor, this is my TARDIS, and I'm here to speak with you about the Wibbly-Wobbley Initiative.

(cut to Doctor Who credits sequence)

[ShinyCap]

The post-credits scene that Avengers should have had:

Nick Fury is standing at a computer screen, crunching data. The TARDIS materializes in front of him. Nick stares. The Doctor steps out, and looks around.

Fury: You have exactly two seconds to educate me as to your name, purpose, the source of your technology, and why the hell there's a blue box in my office!
The Doctor: Oh! I'm the Doctor, this is my TARDIS, and I'm here to speak with you about the Wibbly-Wobbley Initiative.

(cut to Doctor Who credits sequence)

I would so watch that.

[Eldan]

Hm. Or that scene right in the beginning, in the cube room. instead of Loki, the Tardis materializes.

"Sir! Put down the.... glowing blue pencil?"
"It's a sonic screwdriver!"

[Hopeless]

I would so watch that.

Seconded on the grounds Fury so deserves it!!!:smallbiggrin:

[Hopeless]

Hm. Or that scene right in the beginning, in the cube room. instead of Loki, the Tardis materializes.

"Sir! Put down the.... glowing blue pencil?"
"It's a sonic screwdriver!"

I'd add the fact they realise the TARDIS has landed on someone who is quite upset at the fact although why he was wearing a horned helmet remains to be explained!

[Eldan]

I can just see Tennant now.

"Ooh, you think you are so smart, with your helmet and your mind-control spear, don't you, Asgardian. But you forgot one little thing..."

Yeah, I want the doctor to join the Avengers now.

[Hopeless]

simple. use them all.

also:
http://www.livestream.com/​archonic_energy
Series one disc three
21/7/12 16:00 UTC+1

First he's gotta catch them all!!!

(Yes I am having pokemon flashbacks but if they could use pokeballs to sic Daleks on pokemon I'd say it will be well worth it!)

[Androgeus]

First he's gotta catch them all!!!

(Yes I am having pokemon flashbacks but if they could use pokeballs to sic Daleks on pokemon I'd say it will be well worth it!)

Dalek, use Exterminate!

[TheWombatOfDoom]

Dalek, use Exterminate!

It's super effective!

Dr. Who used Sonic Screw driver! -Cyberman is paralyzed.

Tardis used Time Warp! -Witness is confused.

[Calemyr]

It's super effective!

Dr. Who used Sonic Screw driver! -Cyberman is paralyzed.

Tardis used Time Warp! -Witness is confused.

Tardis used Time Warp! Again!

What I'm curious about is the role of the Daleks in the last few seasons.

Why did they agree to the Pandorica Alliance? They would never agree to that just to save their own hides, would they? The Sontarans would be happy to play the heroes if their honor demanded it, the Cybermen want to grow, but the Daleks were A-OK with wiping out all realities with one bomb, why would they degrade themselves so much for the sake of one universe?

But they almost had to be the motive force behind the Alliance. They are the only ones with established time-travel capacity at this point, thus explaining how contemporary races such as Slitheen, Sycorax, and Atraxi could be at Stone Henge.

So what I am curious about is whether the Daleks are actually playing a larger role in events. What connection could the have to the Silence or the Fall of the Eleventh?

[Giggling Ghast]

Hey, you guys hear of the Doctor Who RPG (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnpTcrtsN3U&feature=relmfu)?

[dps]

Veracity of http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0436992/episodes?season=7 ?

Short version: 5 eps starting August 25th, holiday special, 7 next year. Also Moffat ruins the Daleks, yay :)

I think that the titles of the first 4 episodes are confirmed, but I'm not sure about the airdates.

[Androgeus]

Hey, you guys hear of the Doctor Who RPG (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnpTcrtsN3U&feature=relmfu)?

you mean this (http://www.collegehumor.com/video/6749695/dr-who-rpg)? if so then yes, yes we have.

[Hopeless]

Tardis used Time Warp! Again!

What I'm curious about is the role of the Daleks in the last few seasons.

Why did they agree to the Pandorica Alliance? They would never agree to that just to save their own hides, would they? The Sontarans would be happy to play the heroes if their honor demanded it, the Cybermen want to grow, but the Daleks were A-OK with wiping out all realities with one bomb, why would they degrade themselves so much for the sake of one universe?

But they almost had to be the motive force behind the Alliance. They are the only ones with established time-travel capacity at this point, thus explaining how contemporary races such as Slitheen, Sycorax, and Atraxi could be at Stone Henge.

So what I am curious about is whether the Daleks are actually playing a larger role in events. What connection could the have to the Silence or the Fall of the Eleventh?

I figured they were working with someone who was causing the TARDIS to malfunction and the deal was that they get the Doctor imprisoned and the last TARDIS would be up for grabs (theirs) however they didn't know their "ally" was setting the TARDIS up to blow up taking all of reality...
I believe Omega was the main suspect in that, but it would explain why they created the alliance and how they had aliens who should otherwise know they were talking porkie's!

[Thufir]

What I'm curious about is the role of the Daleks in the last few seasons.

Why did they agree to the Pandorica Alliance? They would never agree to that just to save their own hides, would they? The Sontarans would be happy to play the heroes if their honor demanded it, the Cybermen want to grow, but the Daleks were A-OK with wiping out all realities with one bomb, why would they degrade themselves so much for the sake of one universe?

The prime directive of the Daleks is to survive. It's just that Davros reasoned the best way to ensure their survival beyond all doubt was for them to kill everything else. They were A-OK with wiping out all realities, yes, but they would have survived.
And there's actually quite a history of the Daleks working with lesser races when they could gain an advantage from doing so (And then promptly killing their 'allies' as soon as they were no longer required).

[CurlyKitGirl]

Koorly's Doctor Who Review Archive:
Classic Who
Second Doctor
Series 6
'The Invasion' 1/8 (“http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12941528&postcount=1323”), 2/8 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12979300&postcount=1346), 3/8 part one (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13016280&postcount=1366), part two (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13016287&postcount=1367), 4/8 part one (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13031121&postcount=1397), part two (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13031134&postcount=1398), 5/8 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13156488&postcount=1421), 6/8 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13228620&postcount=1453), 7/8 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13315800&postcount=15), 8/8 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13392795&postcount=44)
Fourth Doctor
Series 12
'Genesis of the Daleks' 1/6 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11330063&postcount=1267), 2/6 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11520791&postcount=1397), 3/4, 5/6, 6/6
Seventh Doctor
Series 25
'Remembrance of the Daleks' 1/4 part 1 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13631644&postcount=85), part 2 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13631651&postcount=86), 2/4, 3/4, 4/4
Nu Who

Season 1 - retrospective
Brief Whole Series Retrospective (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11066304&postcount=606)
Ep. 1 'Rose' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13411944&postcount=49)
Ep. 2 'The End of the World' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13411944&postcount=49)
Ep. 3 'The Unquiet Dead' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13411944&postcount=49)
Ep. 4: 'Aliens of London' (1/2)
Ep. 5: 'World War III' (2/2)
Ep. 6: 'Dalek'
Ep. 7: 'The Long Game'
Ep. 8: 'Father's Day'
Ep. 9: 'The Empty Child' (1/2)
Ep. 10: 'The Doctor Dances' (2/2)
Ep. 11: 'Boom Town'
Ep. 12: 'Bad Wolf' (1/2)
Ep. 13: 'The Parting of the Ways' (2/2)

Christmas Episode: 'The Christmas Invasion'
Season 2 - retrospective
Brief Whole Series Retrospective (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11066304&postcount=606)
Ep. 1: 'New Earth'
Ep. 2: 'Tooth and Claw'
Ep. 3: 'School Reunion'
Ep. 4: 'The Girl in the Fireplace'
Ep. 5: 'Rise of the Cybermen' (1/2)
Ep. 6: 'The Age of Steel' (2/2)
Ep. 7: 'The Idiot's Lantern'
Ep. 8: 'The Impossible Planet' (1/2)
Ep. 9: 'The Satan Planet' (2/2)
Ep. 10: 'Love and Monsters'
Ep. 11: 'Fear Her'
Ep. 12: 'Army of Ghosts' (1/2)
Ep. 13: 'Doomsday' (2/2) GOODBYE ROSE!
Charity Special: 'Doctor Who: Children in Need'
Christmas Episode: 'The Runaway Bride'
Season 3 - blind bar Moffat
Ep. 1: 'Smith and Jones'
Ep. 2: 'The Shakespeare Code' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11088119&postcount=714)
Ep. 3: 'Gridlock' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11094867&postcount=747)
Ep. 4: 'Daleks in Manhattan' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11095680&postcount=751) (1/2)
Ep. 5: 'Evolution of the Daleks' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11103504&postcount=771) (2/2)
Ep. 6: 'The Lazarus Experiment' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11109832&postcount=789)
Ep. 7: '42' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11115909&postcount=816)
Ep. 8: 'Human Nature' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11124347&postcount=836) (1/2)
Ep. 9: 'The Family of Blood' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11153986&postcount=977) (2/2)
Ep. 10: 'Blink' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11330063&postcount=1267)
Ep. 11: 'Utopia' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11183578&postcount=1079) (1/3)
Ep. 12: 'The Sound of the Drums' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11203030&postcount=1111) (2/3)
Ep. 13: 'The Last of the Time Lords' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11231084&postcount=1156) (3/3)
Children in Need 2007 episode: 'Time Crash' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11242571&postcount=1202)
2007 Christmas Episode: 'Voyage of the Damned' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11286020&postcount=1252)

Bits and Bobs
Retrospective - to be written later
Why I Do Not Like Martha/Ten (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11129436&postcount=856) (This was written between my write ups of ep. 8 and ep 9)
Season Four blind bar Moffat
Ep. 1: 'Partners in Crime' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11474202&postcount=1313)
Ep. 2: 'The Fires of Pompeii' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11495165&postcount=1363)
Ep. 3: 'Planet of the Ood' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11711998&postcount=1469)
Ep. 4: 'The Sontaran Stratagem' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11732305&postcount=50) (1/2)
Ep. 5: ‘The Poison Sky‘ (“http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11748813&postcount=75“) (2/2)
Ep. 6: ‘The Doctor‘s (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11783480&postcount=162) Daughter‘ (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11783487&postcount=163) Two part review.
Ep. 7: 'The Unicorn and the Wasp'
Ep. 8: 'Silence in the Library' (1/2)
Ep. 9: 'Forest of the Dead' (2/2)
Ep. 10: 'Midnight'
Ep. 11: 'Turn Left' (1/3)
Ep. 12: 'The Stolen Earth' (2/3)
Ep. 13: 'Journey's End' (3/3)

The Specials]
1: 'The Next Doctor'
2: 'Planet of the Dead'
3: 'The Waters of Mars'
4: 'The End of Time' (1/2)
5: 'The End of Time' (2/2)

Season 5 - blind bar Moffat's Angels
Ep. 1: 'The Eleventh Hour' (including 'Meanwhile in the TARDIS 1')
Ep. 2: 'The Beast Below'
Ep. 3: 'Victory of the Daleks'
Ep. 4: 'The Time of the Angels' (1/2)
Ep. 5: 'Flesh and Stone' (2/2) (including 'Meanwhile in the TARDIS 2')
Ep. 6: 'The Vampires of Venice'
Ep. 7: 'Amy's Choice'
Ep. 8: 'The Hungry Earth' (1/2)
Ep. 9: 'Cold Blood' (2/2)
Ep. 10: 'Vincent and the Doctor'
Ep. 11: 'The Lodger' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11910590&postcount=531) (bar the angels this was the first episode I saw)
Ep. 12: 'The Pandorica Opens' (1/2)
Ep. 13: 'The Big Bang' (2/2)
Christmas Episode: 'A Christmas Carol'

Season 6
To to things this series was split in two, as such eps. 8 - Christmas episode will be liveblogged, and the first seven will be written with me having seen them before.
Ep. 1: 'The Impossible Astronaut' (1/2)
Ep. 2: 'Day of the Moon' (2/2)
Ep. 3: 'The Curse of the Black Spot'
Ep. 4: 'The Doctor's Wife' HELL YEAH!
Ep. 5: 'The Rebel Flesh' (1/2)
Ep. 6: 'The Almost People' (2/2)
Ep. 7: 'A Good Man Goes to War'
Ep. 8: 'Let's Kill Hitler' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11730422&postcount=36)
Ep. 9: 'Night Terrors' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11775289&postcount=126)
Ep. 10: 'The Girl Who Waited' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11865120&postcount=385)
Ep. 11: 'The God Complex' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11865605&postcount=391)
Ep. 12: 'Closing Time' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11945529&postcount=601)
Ep. 13: 'The Wedding of River Song'

Red Nose Day Specials: 'Space'/'Time'
2011 Christmas Special: 'The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12430141&postcount=1036)

Odds and Sods
Things that don't really fit anywhere.

'Good As Gold' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13312756&postcount=12) Second Blue Peter scriptrwriting competition for Doctor Who


And now, to boldly go where many have gone before. [*cue TOS theme (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Em_sxKHQekk) (Such a classic introduction)*]

[CurlyKitGirl]

'Remembrance of the Daleks' 1/4
Previously on 'Remembrance': I actually saw this three months ago at a UK mini-meetup when I received this as a birthday present. Naturally, the thing to do was watch it immediately. However, because there was food and lots of Playgrounders there I don't really remember a lot about this serial as I am typing this. I know there are Daleks in it because title, and Davros is in it, and Ace with the baseball bat. Also racism and breaking into spaceships.

On with the show!

We open to a shot of the Blue Marble while some audio clips play over it. Specifically the ‘I Have A Dream’ speech by Martin Luther King; something in French by Charles de Gaulle (probably about the Elysée Treaty or barring the UK from the EEC); JFK's 'peace' speech (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRH6_--dCqA); and something by the Duke of Edinburgh to tell everyone it's 1963. Got to love the info-text. Visually, the scene rips off the opening of Star Wars: A New Hope (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z33-qOXOWS4) minus the rebel fighters. But given this episode was released in 1988, eleven years after the film was released, I have to admit to being impressed they waited that long as far as I know to copy it. I qualify that statement because I've not seen any Classic Who post-1975 that imitates it. 'Course, Star Wars itself probably pinched the shot from somewhere, but it's probably the most famous example of that Space Ship Flying Over A Planet Above the Camera establishing shot in the popular consciousness so.

(Oh, and this is the third cold opening ever used in Classic Who. I feel like I should be using the G. I. Joe theme here.)

Before we start the intro, let's have a look at our usual behind-the-scenes things. Oooh! I'm in the John Nathan-Turner (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Nathan-Turner) (producer and uncredited director for this serial)/Andrew Cartmell (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Cartmel) (script editor (1986 - 1989)) era of Classic Who! I've heard about these two guys! It's my first time with both of these two, and yes, I am looking forward to seeing them and their work. As far as preconceptions go:

JNT has worked on Doctor Who in various positions since 1969 ('The Space Pirates), and as a producer (1980 - 1989) he did good things, bad things and controversial things, and it was under his direction that Doctor Who got cancelled. Cartmell, well, Cartmell's Master Plan.

Most importantly, the writer here is Ben Aaronovitch (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Aaronovitch). One of the other thirds behind the creation of the Cartmell Master Plan, and the writer of 'Battlefield' which I know is Arthurian mythology/Doctor Who. Which honestly? I WANT. BADLY. So much I may just buy it after I finish writing this. Mr. Aaronovitch also created the popular EU character Kadiatu Lethbridge-Stewart.

But more most importantly than that Doctor Who stuff is that he is the author of the Rivers of London series. WHICH I ALSO LOVE AND HAVE ORDERED THE FIRST BOOK OF PERSONALLY FOR MYSELF TO OWN. It's AU urban fantasy police procedurals! Kind of like an entire series of the Watch books from the Discworld series, but not really! Read this.

So yes. I was expecting good things from the twenty-fifth year anniversary when I first watched this, and now I know more about the background information.

By the by: this is Ace's second serial overall, and my first time meeting her.

As for the intro (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nhemnHrIsg)? It quite literally exploded in my face and gave me a start! It's very electronic, I don't particularly like the piano synth, but the bass and the later electro-strings are very good. The visuals are bizarre: a purple spiral arm galaxy and the TARDIS inside a blue sphere. And a nightmare-inducing winking Sylvester McCoy! These are my Do Not Wants, that face has all of them. Whose bright idea was to have utterly terrifying smirking/grinning faces of the Doctors fade into their intro tunes and stare out at you?!

This is one Classic Who tradition I'm glad didn't make it over to Nu Who. Although I got to admit, it would be delightfully kitschy if it happened for the fiftieth anniversary special.

Hehehehehe, oh sweet Angels of Mercy, have you seen the title for this serial? It is so eighties! (http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af110/CurlyKitGirl/Doctor%20Who%20Reviews/RemembranceoftheDaleksOpeing.png) It condenses eighties music into one title card. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTJHjuhCYos) This bodes well for my love of cheese. That and it's the eighties, which is quite probably my most favourite decade of the twentieth century.

We open to a Very Blatant Shout Out Indeed (http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af110/CurlyKitGirl/Doctor%20Who%20Reviews/ObviousReference.png). Because nearly everyone knows which school Susan went to. That and it says on the DVD's back cover that the Doctor "returns" to the school, making it extra obvious. Oh, and so does the info-text, which then goes on to tell us exactly how Doctor Who began. Talk about going overboard. And it's weird watching a Classic Who serial in colour after spending so long on 'The Invasion'.

It's the Doctor! And ACE! Hello! And she brings along her own background music with that incredibly large and dated boombox. I love her already. And I did the first time I saw this too. I also really enjoy the amusing contrast between their apparel. Ace is dressed kind of like a female Lister (http://www.mr-flibble.com/Lister/lister4.jpg), and the Doctor is, well, very unLister. Look at him! (http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lgybirwWXQ1qgoi4o.jpg) Except here he's in his beige jacket. Seriously, short black skirt, black tights, leather jacket, the Baseball Bat and a backpack; and the Doctor with his straw boater, tartan trousers, a question mark themed outfit and . . . spats. Mental. And awesome.

I also don't care what anyone says, Ace is seventeen. *rocks out to Ace's theme tune* As someone who was once a seventeen-year-old of the female persuasion, Ace is most definitely seventeen.

She is also very perceptive as she instantly spots the Creepy Child (http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af110/CurlyKitGirl/Doctor%20Who%20Reviews/CreepyChild.png), who will no doubt be important to the plot somehow, because this is Doctor Who and the 1980s, and subtlety is a very rare breed in both these things. Yay~! Ace called the Doctor Professor! Also, she is hungry, and this is 1963, so I expect there to be a scene involving confusion over imperial money. And I've seen this before, but I never got to my funny money scene.

Sadly, Ace's quest for food is waylaid by the Doctor's interest in a Mysterious Black Van parked outside the school entrance. But this is 1963, so this is entirely innocent. Aside from it's Very Advanced Aerial (http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af110/CurlyKitGirl/Doctor%20Who%20Reviews/MeccanoAerial.png) that looks like it was made from Meccano. This is so advanced and expensive for the time that the Doctor'd rather be playing about with it than have a snack. Nice to see they carry character traits like this through each incarnation isn't it?

Now. This is the part where I fell in love with Ace. She's badass, and she has a Batman earring. (http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af110/CurlyKitGirl/Doctor%20Who%20Reviews/Batman.png) She's a bona fide nerd! Also, she has Nitro-9 in her backpack. An explosive. Maybe. On screen maybe forty-five seconds, she spots a plot-relevant NPC, has good taste in music, is badass, likes Batman, and will later beat a Dalek to death with a baseball bat. I can see why people call Ace one of the greatest Doctor Who companions ever.

A: "Professor, I'm hungry. Lack of food makes me hungry you know." And prone to making tautologies.
D: "Lack of food makes you obstreperous!" Obstreperous: noisy, unruly, cranky - so, a normal teenager. "Why don't you go and buy some consumables? There's a cafe down there, while I undertake a detailed and scientific examination of that van that has so singularly failed to grab your attention!" Oh boy. McCoy's prone to sesquipedalian loquaciousness in normal dialogue, I dread his technoTreknobabble scenes. It is my comprehension that all of the Doctors are, to a certain degree, inclined to discourse in which they expound upon the most commonplace happenings with the most effusive outpouring of lexis more characteristically located in the novellas detailing events occurring within certain periods of Albion's long and noble history (a la the writings of the most estimable Jane Austen), but this is the Seventh Doctor's first major utterance and already I am compelled to comment in a stunned aside that it is indeed fortuitous that I had speedily located the transcription of this episode beforehand so that I might accurately relate unto you, my dear readers, the happenings of this tale otherwise I might have found myself awash in a veritable sea of overly archaic and convoluted conversation during my vain endeavours to transcribe the speech. Yes, that was all one sentence. Anything they can do, I can do better. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfHBPusZg6E)

Trans: I know the Doctors tend to ramble on a bit at the best of times, but the Seventh Doctor's already pushing it a bit. Luckily I found the script, so I won't get lost when transcribing things.

This is a very parental exchange, and this impression is only strengthened when Ace has to be reminded to take money (which the Doctor gives her) with her. Parental!Seven/Ace all the way. So Ace enters a cafe and laughs at a jukebox while the Doctor climbs up onto the MBV to have a closer peek at the aerial. As the Creepy Child watches. It's not like she should be in school or anything. You know, what with her standing right outside the school when the bell's already rung, so when the teachers look outside the windows they'll see her, go outside, grab her, and give her a caning for truanting. It is 1963 after all, and my mum was getting her hands switched until the 1970s.

(Oh, and the day after my little cousin crashed my laptop, Littlest Brother borrowed 'Remembrance of the Daleks' and had this to say: "The Doctor sounds a lot like Rowan Atkinson doesn't he?" He's right too. Now he said that I can't get it out of my head, I really want McCoy to say 'Bob' now. While I'm on McCoy's diction, I adore the way he rolls his alveolar trills.

No, Littlest Brother hasn't seen 'Curse of the Fatal Death', so that comment is remarkably apposite.)

Meanwhile, back in the cafe, the dude in the RAF-style jacket who was admiring her (and her boombox) earlier comes up to flirt while showing her how to order "four bacon sandwiches" and some coffee. Urgh, coffee. Of note is that when Harry comes in he tells the dude, "Hey, give it a rest Mike, I had enough of that in the war." and the info-text says 'As this story was set in 1963, the Second Word War would have finished only 18 years previously.'

One: You'll write Second World War out in full as opposed to its more commonly used abbreviation WWII, yet you won't write eighteen as a word? What.

Two: Harry looks to be around fifty, so even in 1988 most people would assume that he lived through the war, as in fact, several entire generations still did.

Three: While it's not obvious that the story is set in 1963, the Doctor did mention that Ace's clothing was somewhat anachronistic, and the presence of the jukebox and the Advanced Aerial indicates it is at least pre-1970.

Four: You think that fans of Doctor Who who watch these DVDs with info-text on can't do basic mathematics? Okay, sometimes I can't, but there's no need to tell the readers that 1963 was eighteen years after 1945.

Five: I believe this is the third time you mentioned the date in which this serial is set. And we're only 04:15 into the episode. I THINK SOMEONE IS TRYING TO REMIND US THIS IS THE TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY SERIAL.

Six: I should not have so much to complain about in one piece of info-text.

Hello old money system! Shame it only lasted about two seconds and only involved Ace holding up a couple of coins in confusion.

Now we have a creepy thing. The Doctor sneaked into the school playground to watch the Creepy Child playing hopscotch (http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af110/CurlyKitGirl/Doctor%20Who%20Reviews/SuspiciousPlayground.png). Okay, this is a secondary school, they take attendance first thing! And there are windows right onto the playground! And why does a secondary school have a . . . hopscotch grid? . . . when hopscotch is typically a little girl game? And isn't it rather coincidental that it happens to surrounded by the burn marks?

Like a landing strip?! Gasp!

Oh, and that rhyme the Creepy Child sings? "Five, six, seven, eight, it's a Doctor at the gate", does that seem familiar to anyone else? Oh wait. Nightmare on Elm Street (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjnFX8KHSOs) (1984). By the way, first time I started writing this I recognised the tune from somewhere else in Doctor Who. I found it too. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4AOrYyypwU&feature=relmfu#t=02m00s) Don't ask how long it took me to find that.

So after licking the burn marks and making the Creepy Child run away (somewhat justifiably as a strange man just licked her playground) the Doctor . . . uses an abacus to count up the numbers on the hopscotch . . . grid? and huffs a laugh before leaving. The Creepy Child, meanwhile, is singing her Creepy Nursery Rhyme while standing outside the boy's loos. Because that's not extra creepy at all! And now we're onto new material (for the review)!

The tune keeps playing as the Doctor runs into the MBV all authoritatively, as they all do, and there's Some Lady who, naturally, assumes the Doctor is some other dude. Oh, info-text says this is Prof. Rachel Jensen. The Doctor then interrogates Girl Prof. about "magnetic fluctuations" which most certainly are not "natural" because "it's a repeated sequence" (G!Prof). G!Prof then contacts the Group Leader, whom I dearly desire to be the Brig, sadly I don't think UNIT existed in the 1960s, so I'm stuck with a sadface and an a Not-Brig. Meanwhile, G!Prof is wearing really ugly glasses and a cardy. Terribly unflattering. And the info-text kindly informs me that her actress was in 'The Face of Evil' and 'The Robots of Death'. And isn't that the most amazing and cheesy serial title ever? 'The Robots of Death'!

This is amazing. She was involved in booting Dirty Den from Eastenders, which very few international readers would know of, so let me also say, she was Miss Moneypenny in Never Say Never Again (amongst many other things).

Oh, and something is Going On as Miss Moneypenny is "on [her] way" to somewhere in an urgent fashion to meet Not-Brig.

Yay! My long-awaited funny money scene. I don't see what's so difficult about the old system, I grew up with it and I was born in the 1990s! Twelve pennies to the shilling, twenty shillings to the pound (so two hundred and forty pennies to the pound), and half a crown is thirty pennies or two and a half shilling, so one-eighth of a pound. A guinea is twenty-one shillings. And a farthing is one-quarter of a penny. You pick these things up. Then again, my reading material probably differed from Ace's, and most other children of my generation so. Oh, and Ace is from Perivale A real place in the London Borough of Ealing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perivale).

It's cute though, they're bonding over money. Oh, and as Susan thought the UK had decimalised their currency in 'An Unearthly Child' this goes on my counter. Sadly, Mike must be rather, how can I put this? She's seventeen years old, quite obviously British and doesn't know the British monetary system. In 1963 she would be considered . . . developmentally challenged, to put it politely. So he's either humouring someone, or deeply suspicious. Granted, he does ask "Are you from somewhere else?" but Ace's accent is very London. Also, Perivale is in London, and has had a tube station on the Central line since 1947 so it's not like it's particularly obscure in 1963.

Mike is also a Sergeant in Not-UNIT, just so you know. I like the music here though, it's urgent and dramatic, fitting the dialogue as Miss Moneypenny tells Sgt. Mike that the Not-Brig is under attack. I also have to love how the Doctor just bursts from the back of the MBV, kicking the door so it stays open so Ace can get in. And Ace brings her boombox. Girl has her priorities straight. If I'm right, and Ace is from the 1980s, she's got to have some Queen cassettes somewhere.

At Totter's Lane, there's a dude on the ground covered in a blanket! He's having a lovely nap. Or he was killed. Probably Dalek'd to death, given this is a serial about Daleks and it's unlikely a member of Not-UNIT would take a nap on the floor in the middle of the morning.

Info-text: 'The junkyard at 76 Totter's Lane was where the Doctor originally hid the TARDIS during 'An Unearthly Child' (1963).' Obsessed with 1963! this is an anniversary! look at our anniversaryness and how we were so clever referencing the FIRST EVER EPISODE in this serial! look at us! 'The TARID returned here once more in 'Attack of the Cybermen' (1985).' Oh. Um. My point still stands!

Gasp! Look at this blasphemy! The Not-brig has a Not-Brigstache and is acting like the Brig! (http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af110/CurlyKitGirl/Doctor%20Who%20Reviews/Not-Brig.png) WHO IS THIS MAN?! Simon Williams (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Williams_%28actor%29) aka Group Captain Gilmore. He is also a Brigclone (http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af110/CurlyKitGirl/Doctor%20Who%20Reviews/Brigparison.png). They must be going for the suspiciously similar substitute thing on purpose. No way that's a coincidence. Look at them! Plus we have a Not-UNIT instead of a UNIT. I get that 'The Invasion' was the first time the Doctor chronologically met UNIT as UNIT, having met the Brigadier previously, so perhaps this is the pre-UNIT UNIT. As for the Brig, some quick cheating informs me that the Brig was only the Col. in 'Web of Fear', so we could easily have Lieutenant-Colonel (or even Major) Lethbridge-Stewart running around somewhere in the background. In fact, this is now my new head canon.

Oh, and this dead dude in in a junkyard. I. M. Foreman's junkyard (although they missed out the 'e' this time around) which just so happens to be where pre-UNIT and the dead boy are. Did you know I. M. Foreman's junkyard is where the TARDIS was first seen? The info-text sure did! It also noticed the typo. Tch. The info-text just likes spoiling all the fangirl's fun by pointing everything in-jokey out.

D: "What's the situation?"

N-B: "Who the devil are you?!"

"I'm the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord. I'm I'm from the planet Gallifrey, in the constellation Kasterborous. I'm nine hundred and three years old, and I'm the man whose going to save your lives and all six billion people on the planet below. You got a problem with that?" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRSFwMqKIu8) Oh wait. Wrong incarnation.

Let me try again. "Hello, I'm the Doctor, basically, run." (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCCMg-rcCQk#t=01m19s) Nope. Again. "I'm the Doctor [...] the definite article you might say. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSXsWd3XVmY#t=01m00s) Wrong. Again. I'm a doctor, not a bricklayer," (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGMLCxKPMSE) Wrong series entirely! Again!

D: "I'm the Doctor, and this is Ace." There we go! And I do like how Ace's name is both her name, and describes her. The Doctor probably gets a kick out of introducing her too because he probably feels the situation is pretty damn cool. He gives the Not-Brig a once-over, probably thinking the same thing I was. "You must be with the military."

N-B: "Well how to you know?"

D: "I'm very perceptive." That and you're wearing captain's stripes, were referred to earlier as a Group Captain, Sgt. Mike flashed a badge and said he was military, you're in a uniform and wearing a military cap. I don't think the Not-Brig's the sharpest crayon in the draw. Oh, and the way Sylvester McCoy said that line gave me flashbacks to Blackadder Goes Forth. It's uncanny. Luckily the wires of communication are very crossed because the Not-Brig is told by Miss Moneypenny that the Doctor's there on her authority, whereas Miss Moneypenny assumes the Doctor's there on her higher-up's authority.

Oh, and the bleddy info-text is banging on about Susan 'Foreman' attending Coal Hill School (in 1963). Can't they just shut up about 'An Unearthly Child' in the Ruin All My Fun-text and talk about different trivia!

So Ace and Sgt. Mike run off to "set up a position over by Red Six" whatever that means, leaving the adults to talk amongst themselves for a bit. Oh, and I've just realised that from certain angles Not-Brig looks a bit like Captain Darling. I have a Blackadder soundalike, a Captain Darling lookalike, where's my General Melchett and Baldrick? Using this logic Sgt. Mike is Lord Flashheart.

The grown ups go have a peek at the dead guy. The Doctor actually acts like a doctor and diagnoses COD: "Massive internal displacement [...] His insides were scrambled." Sounds like a Klingon disrupter. Well, it was a death ray, so point to me, and I'll point another accusatory finger at Star Trek: TOS for stealing from Doctor Who. It is cyclical though, Captain Jack Harkness is clearly Captain James T. Kirk.

The Doctor condescends to the Brigclone (quite rightly too) and "presume" reinforcements are on the way. Brigclone: "This is prepostrous. A death ray? It's unbelievable!" The Doctor turns and gives the Brigclone the most unbelievably Blackadderian look and reply, "What a predictable response!" The more I watch of Radagast the Brown (http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2011/10/27/49461-sylvester-mccoy-talks-a-little-bit-about-radagast/) the more I can see why Rowan Atkinson was cast as the Doctor in 'Curse of the Fatal Death', it is uncanny!

Oh, Red Six is the little blue van they rolled up in. They're after some chick called Miss Williams. She'd pretty up quite nicely Miss Williams would. And I love how they gloss over the death of that dead guy. "He's dead"

MW: "Dead, are you sure?" And just to emphasise just how dead the dead guy is we see Miss Moneypenny cover up the dead guy. Because he's dead. As a parrot.

But who cares about the dead! The Doctor's just pointed out that whatever killed the dead dude is still there, and he should know because "[He's] been here before." Surprisingly, the RAMF Text didn't butt in to remind us about 'An Uneasrthly Child' even though that line of dialogue is just begging for it.

Perhaps the RAMF Text was distracted by the huge truck showing up. Bet it's got all men in it. It does.

oO

Whoa. RAMFT: "Stuntman Tip Tipping [poor guy] was an ex-SAS soldier." No wonder the RAMFT was distracted that's pretty damn cool. I mean, just look at the pull the Beeb (and this show) had even back when this show was on the downslide. Also, this probably means that the military stuff is as accurate as possible when you're fighting salt and pepper shakers armed with death rays. Heeeeeeyyyy, guys, given that probably a lot of the UNIT/proto-UNIT soldiers (throughout all history) are probably real soldiers, this means the UK Armed Forces are probably the only ones in the world that have ever practiced full manoeuvres and things against Daleks and so on. That's so cool. Sadly, it appears that only one or two were actual soldiers for this episode.

Hehe. Poor Redshirt Squad's being sent up against a Dalek knowing only that it's an "armed hostile". Can't believe the Brigclone didn't tell them about the frickin' lazors attached to the [s]shaDalek's body. Naturally, the Doctor objects, "I don't think you realise what you're dealing with here." To which the Brigclone is all uppity and more than a little stupid.

YOUR DEAD DUDE WAS KILLED BY SOMETHING THAT SCRAMBLED HIS INSIDES AND YOU'RE JUST STANDING THEIR SAYING YOUR DUDES CAN GO UP AGAINST ANYTHING. I DON'T THINK THE BRITISH ARMY EVER TRAINED FOR FIGHTING A DEATH RAY. JUST SAYING. I mean, when you have a dude who can diagnose Death by Death Ray just by poking a corpse a few times in the chest, and he knows the area, you might want to ask him some advice. Like: do you know of any blind spots in the area? Do you know a way we might be able to sneak up on this hostile without him seeing us? What can you tell us about the capabilities of this weapon?

Hey, how do you know all of this? Are you working with them?!

How can the Brigclone be simultaneously too suspicious and not suspicious enough?

The Redshirt Brigade are sent off to their deaths, except for two who go and tell their gawkers to shove off. The very noisy crowd who only started to be noisy the second you saw them. (http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af110/CurlyKitGirl/Doctor%20Who%20Reviews/AndThenCivvies.png) You got to love this show. They are slowly shoved off, and only now can you hear the furore going on off-screen. Love this show. And two more of hauled off to carry off the dead dude.

The RAMFT interrupts again to tell us that "Tip Tipping appears as a soldier in readiness for a stunt." Who'd have thought that a stuntman would be used in a stunt. I am bloody amazed that anyone thought of doing such a daring idea. It has literally never been done before in the history of drama ever.

Ohai Dalek POV. You know, it's been ages since I seen any of the nu!Dalek episodes, but I think they kept the little squiggly symbols the same. So that was just to show us that in a serial called 'Remembrance od the Daleks' there are Daleks who kill humans. Tip Tipping gets stunt-killed into some corrogated iron, and in a marvellous display of slow reactions, people only duck after Tip Tipping was killed.

Proto-UNIT starts shooting the Hell out of a tin shed, and Mike seems to have some sort of semi-automatic going on. What I'm really interested in is . . . the Doctor and Miss Moneypenny are sort-of flirting over something that's (MM) "beyond the realm of current technology." Seriously, the Doctor even makes a beckoning/enticing gesture to make her come out and say it. It's weird. It's been so long since I've seen a flirty Doctor - and no, Two doesn't count because he's in a committed relationship with Jamie - that it's actually fairly unsettling.

The Brigclone even has to interrupt, saying "If we can save the science lecture for a less precipitous moment, now perhaps Doctor you can tell me what's going on." Replace "science lecture" with 'flirting'. I'm not saying he actually was, but he maybe was.

The Doctor's advice is quite obvious: withdraw. The Brigclone refuses. Again. Because when your resident expert - even if of dubious origins - advises a withdrawal there's really not much of a problem with it. The Doctor's naturally rather peeved, so he starts in on a reprimand. "Listen to me Brigadier!" HA! I KNEW IT! THIS IS SO OBVIOUSLY UNIT THAT EVEN THE DOCTOR GETS CONFUSED. The Brigclone retorts that's he's not the Brig even though he is, and proceeds to ignore the Doctor again.

And, of course, the RAMFT has to tell us why the reference is funny, complete with an exclamation mark. I've been trying to think of Doctor Who fans who wouldn't know who the Brig is. People who grew up with Classic would know who the Brig is because his first appearance was back in 1967 or something, and loads of the Third Doctor's stuff had him working for UNIT. Nu fans (and encompassing The Adventures of Sarah Jane Smith, Torchwood, K-9 and so on) would know of the Brig via passing comments and him showing up TASJS, and to be honest, I think a fair amount of Nu fans subsequently got into Classic Who because we're all nerds at heart and like knowing the history of things we like. Also there are many fansite and wikis for this show, so chances are even if you haven't seen any Classic Who you've at least stumbled across reference to him somewhere. This is even more likely in the UK as it's highly probable that one of the relatives in your parent's or grandparent's generation watched this show.

To conclude, a casual Nu fan with no other family who watch the show probably don't know who the Brig is. But if so, why would said casual fan, on their first venture into Classic Who then buy this particular serial and then choose to engage the info-text. Info-text seems particularly nerdy . . . and I think it's sending me into nerdrage.

Love this exchange though:

D: "Group Captain, you're not dealing with human beings here."

BC: "What am I dealing with? Little green men?"

D: "No, little green blobs in bonded poly-carbide armour. [... is ignored once more ...] Humans!" And maybe I've been around sci-fi/comic science too long, but poly-carbide sounds like a real thing.

So the grenades are fired and things asplode. It does look awesome. BC: "Nothing even remotely human could have survived that."

D: "That's the point Group Captain. It isn't even remotely human!"

Oh Lawdy. Technology has advanced so far since the 1960s hasn't it? Just look at that walkie talkie (http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af110/CurlyKitGirl/Doctor%20Who%20Reviews/ABrick.png). Just look at it! And that was the size of a mobile in the 1980s. And now look at them.

The music here is very good, there's actual instruments - strings of some sort - ramping up the tensions, and for good reason as we cut to another Dalek POV eyeing up the van and planning to asplode it. It missed. Went right through the window and missed Mike too. Natch, the soldiers start shooting again. Because, you know, small arms ammunition will do the job high explosive grenades couldn't.

And finally, 12:27 into the episode we get our first shot of a Dalek (http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af110/CurlyKitGirl/Doctor%20Who%20Reviews/FieryDalek.png). Wibble wobble wibble wobble Dalek on a plate. You can see the ground clearance and wheels. It's so obviously made of plastic and fake. I mean, it's on fire! Daleks should not be scorched and on fire from a few grenades! IT WOBBLES WHEN IT MOVES. It's lopsided! This is glorious.

D: "Aim for the eyepiece! Ace, give me some of that nitro-9 that you're not carrying. Quickly. And another." Nitro-9 comes in aerosol cans apparently. But this little exchange (the whole thing) shows how close they've become in just one serial, he already knows that Ace always carries explosives, and trusts her to look after it so they don't get blown sky-high. Also? Ten? You have used explosives in the past. And encourage your Companions to make and use them. You would never use a gun indeed. Just you wait until I see you use a gun. Just you wait.

There's some stuff that I could interpret as misogynistic (sending the girls away), but as it's also a military situation with an alien and soldiers and Things of Death flying around, I call it Common Sense.

But what's best? The Doctor whistles a Dalek to him! And the Dalek persists in wobbling drunkenly! This is the serial of Drunk Daleks! It's about 12:50 onwards (http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xagjin_remembrance-of-the-daleks-part1_shortfilms). And of course the Nitro-9 blows it up. And sends the Doctor flying. Good stuntwork that.

D: "Ace, you said ten seconds." It was about nine in actuality.

A: "Nobody's perfect Professor." I want more Ace. Ace is the best. Ace is ace. Can Ace come back and be a one-episode Companion for the Doctor or something? This show needs more Ace. And Jamie. And Rory. And Donna. Best crossover or best crossover? Then Ace and the Doctor duck into that van thing, and I think they're going to nick it.

The Brigclone meanwhile tell . . . Mike Smith? Oh God, it's Classic!Mickey! Anyway, he tells him military type things including, " And I want a weapons team at the Coal Hill school. [...] And Smith! I want them armed with ATRs." An ATR being an anti-tank rockets. Impressive.

This is what an exploded Dalek looks like (http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af110/CurlyKitGirl/Doctor%20Who%20Reviews/Daleksplosion.png). Green goo. It doesn't look very realistic, but well, it's an exploded alien from the 1980s, should it look very realistic? We cut from the proto-UNIT crew wondering what it is to the Doctor saying "A Dalek. Only trouble is it's the wrong Dalek."

A: "Will the right one be better or worse?" To which the Doctor only replies "Yes". Now, when I showed you the first picture of the Drunk Dalek the RAMFT mentioned it was a Renegade Dalek (I'm beginning to think the RAMFT is only meant for rewatches because that's a spoiler), which is the 'bad' faction in the Dalek Civil War. I think. I shouldn't want to Google that, but I do. BUT I don't think I can because spoilers. What I do remember from first time around is that the Renegades are the ones who hate Davros. So does this mean the Doctor considers the Imperials better than the Renegades?

Confused Curly is confused.

So Our Boys nick the van. Mike likes this. We get a quick info-dump about the Daleks, and then our Boys bicker about missing turnings. This show has never ever been more realistic than right now. After switching drivers (the Doctor can drive? Wonders never cease) the plot summary from 'Genesis of the Daleks' continues. Oh, and apparently 'The Daleks' as well (thank you RAMFT), although I thought that serial was the one retconned by 'Genesis of the Daleks'? Because in the non-canon Doctor Who and the Daleks (don't look at me like that) which was based on 'The Daleks' the Thals were completely different from the Genesis!Thals and Daleks ran on static electricity. And were already in the poly-carbide armour rather than being super-accelerated mutated/evolved Kaleds that were engineered by Davros.

And now it's a bit of both? Even though I recognise all of the summary as being the backstory and contents of 'Genesis of the Daleks' episode one?

Eh. Doctor Who and continuity have a rocky relationship at best.

A: "And now they want to conquer the Earth?"
D: "Nothing so mundane. They conquer the Earth in the 22nd century. No, they want the Hand of Omega." Spoilers much? And yes, thank you RAMFT for telling me they conquer earth in 'The Dalek Invasion of Earth' (1964) and 'Day of the Daleks' (1972). I thought it was 'The Dalek Invasion of Earth 2150'. To Google! Oh. That other non-canon film was called Daleks – Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. and the serial upon which it was based was set in 2164. Okay.

Next question: who or what is Omega? And why is his, hers or its hand an Artefact of Power? And how does the Doctor know that the Daleks want it? Is this a Thing that pops up a lot in Classic Who or was it pulled out of nowhere? And why is it on Earth at Coal Hill School? And don't tell me it's not, because a) I've seen this before and b) even when I hadn't I knew it would be there because Creepy Schoolchildren are one of the best indicators of Strange Happenings and Artefacts of Power ever.

Is this going to be a metaphorical hand, as in a right-hand man? Is the Creepy Child the Hand of Omega? I honestly can't recall, but it would be cool if it was and explains that creepily appropriate rhyme she sings.

All these questions go unanswered as we cut to some hall posing as proto-UNIT's local HQ. There's a dude in there called Ratcliffe who seems to be part of MI9, 5, B or something; and given Mike says he "might be of some help to us" I immediately call him a villain. His name doesn't help either as I keep thinking that guy from Pocahontas (http://images4.fanpop.com/image/photos/16700000/Ratcliffe-disney-villains-16728116-800-632.jpg). You know, the racist (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=_0vJkw4sfP4&NR=1) one. And well, Ratigan was a villain too. When you are introduced to a guy with 'rat' in his name somewhere he's going to be a villain okay. My eye is on you Ratcliffe. And, well, I know profiling is bad, even though I've certainly done it as much as I've not in these reviews, but he just looks suspicious (http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af110/CurlyKitGirl/Doctor%20Who%20Reviews/Ratcliffe.png). I suppose it could be my faint memories of this serial kicking in, but I feel like I've never seen him before in my life.

And now we cut to girls. In fluffy knitted jumpers. MM: "Oh, what do you think we should do?" And stamps her foot. Kind of.

MW: "You're the Chief Scientific Adviser. It's your decision." I think Miss Williams is a secretary of some sort. And maybe a misplaced love interest? There's no one for whom she can be a love interest, but she pretty, long blonde haired, blue eyes, nice tracts of land, wears pink. She's a straight-cut love interest. And they are, of course, helpless without their men, so they go off to find the Doctor.

Not that I'm accusing them of total misogyny, it's only logical that they go after the resident expert in Daleks, but Miss Moneypenny seems so indecisive and petulant. And God that skirt suit thing is ugly. Also, I can see a portrait of the Queen in the background, pretty woman she was.

But who cares about girls and science? Let's see Our Boys break into a secondary school in the middle of the day and sneak around looking for things in a suspicious manner!

Whilst that damn girl Creeps around the background. And RAMFT mentions something interesting. The Headmaster is played by Michael Sheard (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Sheard). He has also been in (*draws breath*) 'The Ark', 'The Mind of Evil', 'The Invisible Enemy', 'Castrovalva', and 'Pyramids of Mars'. Oh, and Auf Wiedersen Pet. And Grange Hill as Mr. Bronson (the Headmaster). And The Likely Lads. And Blake's 7. And Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back as Admiral Kendal Ozzel (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7O1Qd_FNgfM). Oh, and he played Hitler five times. Including Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Now, given his Hitler (and Himmlerific) acting career, and his role in Grange Hill and the fact that his Wikipedia page says he often plays villains, and he's a Headmaster in Doctor Who, I'm inclined to say he's a villain, but he doesn't look like one. He looks very kindly, so I will say that despite Doctor Who's tendency towards evil Headmasters, that this one is nice, if a bit bumbling.

Okay RAMFT, don't you make me go look up Laurence Scarman now (his role in 'Pyramids of Mars', because Wikipedia told me he often plays villains, and with a name like Scarman he's got to be a villain, so don't you go intriguing me into spoiler. I mean, seriously, this guy's acting list is full of Nazis and other villains.

The Headmaster assumes the Doctor's here for the caretaking job, but when he finds out he isn't he goes to kick them out because you don't want strange men and women wandering around a school during class time, when the Doctor asserts there's a great evil on the loose!

Firstly, I love the Heamaster's response: "You'll have to be a bit more specific Doctor." I mean, how many great evils are you developing in this school to not know which one you should be concerned about at the moment? And simply put, it's such a British response. Evil is afoot! 'Well, could you tell us a bit more about it, I mean, we're stopping off for tea in an hour and we don't want to miss it.'

H: "You'll have to be a bit more specific Doctor. [He touches his ear as if in pain and a tingly glassy noise plays. You know, like when you play music on wine glasses] But I don't think it would do any harm, if you were to have just a quick look round." And then there was mind control. Why is there always mind control? On the plus side, I was right. The Headmaster who doesn't seem evil wasn't evil at all. Oh, and the RAMFT only just stopped listing off some of his more memorable roles.

You know, I do think the mind control music is done via glass harps (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_harmonica) after all. Certainly the Doctor seems to pick up on the suspicious behaviour and gives a nervous smile as he escorts Ace away.

Back in Proto-UNIT HQ (momentarily) people find out the Doctor is in the vicinity of Coal Hill School and Mike says the Dalek is "safe". Cut to Ratcliffe's men hauling the obviously polystyrene and plastic Dalek (http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af110/CurlyKitGirl/Doctor%20Who%20Reviews/StillFake.png)onto a van. The Daleks in this serial are so. bad. I mean, even taking into account the absurdity that is a Dalek in the first place, these Daleks look the worst of all I've seen. Not that it's saying much as this is my second Classic Who Dalek serial, and the other one was 'Genesis of the Daleks' during the height of the show's popularity (and presumably budget), and the Nu series just has a budget, but I've seen prop/fake Daleks that look better than this!

And yes, Ratcliffe has an Umbrella of Evil. I'm tempted to whip out a Mycroft pic to compare. And if you weren't suspicious of the Ratcliffe before the jump cut, don't you worry as Ratcliffe and his men drive away you see that behind his truck are the corpses of two more proto-UNIT men.

Back at the school, oh my God we're in Ian's science classroom! Oh don't look at me like that, I'm not cheating, I can read, and I know that one was a history teacher, and the other science, therefore bys do science and girls do history.

Why are the Daleks following the Doctor? RAMFT tells us of a cute shoutout, the book Ace picked up (The French Revolution) is the same one that Susan borrowed from Barbara. So, why are the Daleks following the Doctor?

D: "You can always judge a man by the quality of his enemies." So your enemies are insane, omnicidal - or at least homicidal - rejoice in causing pain in others, are self-centred, often arrogant, may or may not love you and want hatesex, are geniuses . . . yeah okay. Most of those do cover the Doctor too.

The Doctor then points out the scorch marks I pointed out first. And awwww, that was adorable. And possibly a little condescending. Ace has a look at the scorch marks and says "Well, landing pattern of some kind of spacecraft isn't it?", to which the Doctor compliments her deduction and taps her on the nose. Given that this relationship just is parental or mentor-like I consider it both adorable and condescending, but that the latter is okay because that's what parents and mentors do to their children.

Anyway, Ace does point out that having a spaceship land in a playground in 1963 should have been noticed, and the Doctor sallies back with, "Do you remember the Zygon gambit with the Loch Ness monster? Or the Yetis in the Underground? [...] Your species has the most amazing capacity for self deception, matched only by it's ingenuity when trying to destroy itself." It's the Sunnydale Effect. Oh, and RAMFT says these are even more references to Who serials, specifically, 'Terror of the Zygons' (1975) and 'The Web of Fear' (1968) - and it's that one that the Brig shows up in because I remember the Yetis from 'The Invasion!

I feel so much like Ace - and most Companions really - because I don't really get half of what he was going on about. Business as usual then.

Turns out the Hand of Omega was left behind by the Doctor last time he was here. But if it's something so super-important that even the Daleks want it, how could he lose it? I mean, he's not seni -

*glances at her Doctor Who: The Beginning boxset on the shelf*

okay, that explains that.

Hey, do you think the Doctor finds it weird and nostalgic walking around his granddaughter's old school less than six months after they've left? I mean, I feel nostalgic walking past my old schools, so it must be moreso for the parents right?

Okay, and one last thing. Remember how I called the info-text the Ruin All My Fun Text? It's all full of spoilers. Such as 2Omega was a Time Lord pioneer, who along with Rassilon is credited with discovering the secret of time-travel. He managed to harness the energies of a black hole, but at the same time become trapped in the universe of anti-matter. " So this dude is basically one of two who essentially created the Time Lords and their schtick.

And the hand of Omega? Is "something very dangerous." Thank you Doctor. I never would have guessed that from your serious demeanour, or the fact that the Daleks were after it. I also don't like that he's not explaining it one iota, but I'm used to that in all media now as a way to create tension from the unknown.

Back at Ratcliffe's villain lair - which looks surprisingly like a basement, he's been unfurling the Dalek. That sounds dirty doesn't it? Oh hello Dalek voice!

I was right! Ratcliffe is a Dalek lover. RAMFT: The Dalek Battle Computer is voiced by John Leeson , who had also provided the voice for K9 some years previously. Oh, okay then. So why does the Dalek Battle Computer sound so much like Davros? Is it Davros in disguise?! And he's only being voiced by John Leeson to make it a big reveal when it turns out Michael Wisher was in the serial!

The Computer wishes to "be kept informed of [the Doctor's] movements." And there's also a Dalek machine around somewhere

OH FOR - "Leeson was asked to make his voice sound like Davros in an attempt to lead the viewer into thinking that the Battle Computer was actually Davros." RAMFT, I hate you. So much. River Song would hate you so much. I can't even be mislead by the plot without you butting in to say something geeky that would be interesting [I]if you didn't end up ruining the false lead in doing so! I just might turn you off next episode.


- that is supposedly only "[a] machine, a tool, nothing more." (Computer) which makes me think this Machine is more than meets the eye. The dramatic sting does help me come to this conclusion.

Scene change to the school. Our Boys are walking down some stairs. They're looking for Daleks in the cellar. A: "Why the cellar?"

D: "Good place to put things, cellars." True. The Headmaster then peers around a corner in a manner to suggest that there'll be an ambush or a locked door somewhere in Our Boys' immediate future.

Inside the surprisingly large cellar, nitro-9 is wished for. Because there's nothing better than setting off futuristic explosives in the cellar, next to the foundations of a school during class time. Just saying. I mean, you might not want the death of hundreds of children on your conscience.

A: "What are you expecting to find down here anyway?"

D: "The unknown."

A: "Isn't that a bit dangerous?"

D: "Probably, but then if I knew what was down here, I wouldn't have to look." And that's the Doctor to a tee. THE BASEBALL BAT HAS COME OUT!

A: "This is some severe technology." I can't tell if this is eighties slang, or futuristic slang as imagined by the eighties. Either way said technology amounts to to things with Dalek bumps on them attached to a platform. Transporter technology's my bet.

Called it. It's a transmat. I remember those from 'Closing Time' and 'Genesis of the Daleks'! Guess it's only coincidence they look a bit like Dalek-ified Bakerlite radios then. The Doctor then fiddles with some things and discovers they're transmitting from somewhere within three hundred kilometres. Why is he talking in kilometres? Nobody does that? What's that in normal? One hundred and eighty-six miles. Okay.

And seeing as the Doctor's got his head stuck in circuits he doesn't notice the lights and things flashing. Ace however? "Professor,... Professor, something's activating it."

[CurlyKitGirl]

'Remembrance of the Daleks' Part 1/4 cont.
D: "Very likely, it has an automatic activator. What? You're right. Something is beginning to come through." Specifically: a Dalek. Got to say, I prefer Star Trek's transporters; they're much faster for one thing, and thus probably safer. Not as fabulous though. (http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af110/CurlyKitGirl/Doctor%20Who%20Reviews/FabulousDalek.png) Just look at the rainbows. And it was done in post-production.

The Doctor's reaction to this? "Excellent!"

A: "Will this one be friendly?" Excuse me while I go die laughing. Friendly. Dalek.

D: "I sincerely doubt that!" YOU DON'T SAY! "Now, if I can just... get the transmitter to de-phase at the critical point!" Then the Imperial Dalek ('cause it was white) turns into a crappy screensaver (http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af110/CurlyKitGirl/Doctor%20Who%20Reviews/SwirlyDalek.png). The technoTreknobabble is a bit . . . ummm, the Doctor got both halves of the Dalek to exist at the same point which make it explode?

Think like in Star Trek: TMP where Not!Spock arrived turned inside out, but cleaner. And with more neon colours. Least, that's how I'm reading it. It's easier to understand than what the Doctor said.

In doing . . .that, the de-phase broke the transmat temporarily.

D: "t'll slow them down till the operator can repair the systems."

A: "The operator?"

D: "Yes, the Daleks usually leave an operator on station in case of any malfunction."

A: "And that would be another Dalek?"

D: "Yes!"And cue the Oh Crap moment.

ID: "Stay where you are! Do not move!" Got to say, the Imperial Daleks do look snazzy.

And lo, Our Boys run up the stairs away from the Daleks (shame I already know Daleks can . . . fly), well, Ace runs up the stairs, the Doctor trips and falls flat on his face. Ace, meanwhile at the top of the stairs is . . . [I]kneed in the groin by the Headmaster who does, indeed, lock the door. Ace is now unconscious by the way.

The Doctor on the wronger side of the door is quite frantic, and for good reason given the Imperial Dalek's floating up the stairs (http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af110/CurlyKitGirl/Doctor%20Who%20Reviews/IBelieveICanFly.png) shouting "You are the Doctor. You are the enemy of the Daleks! You will be be exterminated! Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!" It looks pretty good actually, even if it does make me think of corny 1990s songs. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16FdJrrAWSo) Ruins the drama of the moment if I'm honest. I wonder, was this the first time they showed Daleks floating up stairs?

This face is very appropriate. (http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af110/CurlyKitGirl/Doctor%20Who%20Reviews/Ohdear.png)

Scream Out!

Preview Thoughts: None.

Best Moment: The ending two minutes was very well done, the music was tense and dramatic, the quick cuts throughout ramped up the situation and its danger, particularly the last thirty seconds or so of cuts between the Dalek floating, the shots of the Doctor's face and the view from the eyestalk. And well, it's a classic cliffhanger (pardon my pun) with the faces and the EXTERMINATE! and everything.

It was just generally really well shot, dramatically lit so it was dark, but not oppressively so, and though I was expecting the Headmaster to be sneaky, I wasn't expecting him to be physically so.

Worst Moment: Eh. Um. The very abbreviated funny money scene. To be honest, there wasn't much that particularly bad. I mean, the stuff with the Brigclone and Proto-UNIT was only annoying because it was so obviously UNIT.

Best Actor: Sylvester McCoy! He's just a really, really good actor, and I am so looking forward to him being Radagast the Brown in the Hobbit movies. His face is also pretty malleable, so he's very expressive; his voice is rich, and I do like the way he rolls his r's. He's also fairly brooding, I mean, you can see hints of a dark backstory, and I do know there was a Thing Cartmel was planning; and I think it's all revolving around the Hand of Omega, so I think he's a Bigwig Time Lord rather than a renegade or normal one? And yet despite these moments of brooding and darkness you can also very much see a natural lightness in his interactions with Ace and other humans in general.

Basically you can tell right off the bat that this Doctor is more subtly complex than others. And I like it.

Worst Actor: I want to say the Brigclone because he just is the Brigadier, but that only makes him a little obsolete, not bad. I suppose the Creepy Child because that's all she is. A creepy child whose only lines are a creepy rhyme of Ominousness.

Best Special Effect: The Dalek floating up the stairs. I mean, it's not like there was much special effects that weren't explosions, and explosions are just explosions, and I do like the Dalek effect there.

Worst Special Effect: Wibble wobble wibble wobble Dalek on a plate.

Most Punchable Character: The Brigclone for being too obstinate to listen to the Doctor shouting advice at him during a battle.

Death Count: Half a dozen or so.

Kink of the Episode: Ace. She cool, smart, nerdy, looks nice, even if she does have a Croyden facelift plait. And she'll beat a Dalek to death with a baseball bat, and who couldn't crush on someone who did that?

Number of times 1963/'An Unearthly Child' Is Mentioned/Referenced: ten. That I counted.

Overall thoughts?
This is a very sweet anniversary episode which is basically an homage to 'An Unearthly Child', and yes, I do like trying to play Spot the Reference, even if I don't know much about that first episode, and am getting endlessly frustrated by the RAMFT and the way it keeps spoiling things for me. Particularly the John Leeson thing.

In fact, I declare the RAMFT the Most Punchable Character.

But, as usual, the Doctor is the defining aspect here, and you read what I thought about McCoy here. Fantastic. You can see his nostalgia and wistfulness at times, particularly in the science classroom and the junk yard, and moreover, it's because he used to live there that he knew Something Was Up with the van outside the school.

Actually, I think that nostalgia is the reason the Doctor went back there, it's where he raised his granddaughter for who knows how long, and it's where he met his first two Companions and started on his adventures, and began to grow.

Ace is just ace, and I will keep on using that pun until I run it into the ground, because she just is. She's cool, and perhaps a bit of a delinquent, but I adore her attitude and how she relates to the Doctor. I like her as a person, and her flirting with Mike, and LOOK IT'S ACE OKAY.

I like the mystery surrounding exactly what the Daleks are going on and doing, yes, I am very intrigued by the Dalek Civil War because it is a Dalek Civil War, and there is Davros - maybe - and I don't know who the Hell, why the Hell, how the Hell this is going or what the Hell is going on regards to the Civil War, but I like this in media res style of storytelling.

It should happen more often! This Civil War has been going on for probably centuries, and I'm sure the Doctor's been involved in this a lot, so he doesn't see the need to explain exactly what's going on because it's too convoluted. So there is no real info-dump, and really, when it comes to a Civil War with the Daleks there is no. good. side. The Daleks aren't going to suddenly become peacekeepers or anything like that, they'll EXTERMINATE regardless of the politics.

Proto-UNIT's a bit off, because it's so obviously UNIT, and yes, I can see that after so many years of writing for UNIT and UNIT's particular officers it would be difficult to write for another division of men. Especially given this is the Army which well, they're an armywith set interactions, certain personality types and ideas and so on. But they could have at least tried a little harder not give give us such an obvious Brigclone.

So, it's a great introduction, sets up mysteries very well, and the characterisation is great for the most part. But what else can you expect from an anniversary serial? And with all the talent behind it.

Very much looking forwards to episode two.

>.>
Apologies for the delay?
*flees the horde*

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Hmmm. So, I was quite a bit let down that the only nod given to Doctor Who during the Olympic ceremonies was a materializing TARDIS during Bohemian Rhapsody.

No, I'm not talking about wanting them to give the continuity nod to Fear Her...I'm just thinking that for a series which has played such a role in Britain's popular media, it ought to have been given some sort of recognition. Heck, why not scrap Voldemort and have Mary Poppins' army fight a giant Dalek? :smallbiggrin:

(Mind you, the Americans would've been like "Huh?"/"That's so stupid", but then again this is the Olympic opening ceremonies...)

[ShinyCap]

But more most importantly than that Doctor Who stuff is that he is the author of the Rivers of London series. WHICH I ALSO LOVE AND HAVE ORDERED THE FIRST BOOK OF PERSONALLY FOR MYSELF TO OWN. It's AU urban fantasy police procedurals! Kind of like an entire series of the Watch books from the Discworld series, but not really! Read this.

Ooh, yay! I bought the first book of the series recently, haven't started it yet, and I'm glad to know it's good.

Also, about Rassilon and Omega spoilers...have you heard Gallifreyan History 101? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pg49uxC2v_g

[CurlyKitGirl]

Ooh, yay! I bought the first book of the series recently, haven't started it yet, and I'm glad to know it's good.

Also, about Rassilon and Omega spoilers...have you heard Gallifreyan History 101? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pg49uxC2v_g

It is good. As I said, bit Pratchettesque, a bit Gaimanesque (in some ways it very much reminds me of American Gods). And it's urban fantasy set in London.

I am (sometimes (okay, a lot)) a simple girl, and that rings all my bells. And it's witty.
And if you consider his Who talent, you already know that.

[Thufir]

By the by: this is Ace's second serial overall,

Huh. Did not know that. The Seven/Ace relationship seemed so solid, I would've thought they'd already been together a while before this.


Whose bright idea was to have utterly terrifying smirking/grinning faces of the Doctors fade into their intro tunes and stare out at you?!

This is one Classic Who tradition I'm glad didn't make it over to Nu Who. Although I got to admit, it would be delightfully kitschy if it happened for the fiftieth anniversary special.

I'm imaginig a Matt Smith equivalent. It just looks silly (This may be helped by the fact I'm imagining him wearing the fez as well).


A: "Professor, I'm hungry. Lack of food makes me hungry you know." And prone to making tautologies.
D: "Lack of food makes you obstreperous!" Obstreperous: noisy, unruly, cranky - so, a normal teenager. "Why don't you go and buy some consumables? There's a cafe down there, while I undertake a detailed and scientific examination of that van that has so singularly failed to grab your attention!" Oh boy. McCoy's prone to sesquipedalian loquaciousness in normal dialogue, I dread his technoTreknobabble scenes. It is my comprehension that all of the Doctors are, to a certain degree, inclined to discourse in which they expound upon the most commonplace happenings with the most effusive outpouring of lexis more characteristically located in the novellas detailing events occurring within certain periods of Albion's long and noble history (a la the writings of the most estimable Jane Austen), but this is the Seventh Doctor's first major utterance and already I am compelled to comment in a stunned aside that it is indeed fortuitous that I had speedily located the transcription of this episode beforehand so that I might accurately relate unto you, my dear readers, the happenings of this tale otherwise I might have found myself awash in a veritable sea of overly archaic and convoluted conversation during my vain endeavours to transcribe the speech. Yes, that was all one sentence.

<3
Honestly, IIRC, the sesquipedalian loquaciousness was the first thing which really made me love Sylvester McCoy's Doctor.
As to


It is my comprehension that all of the Doctors are, to a certain degree, inclined to discourse in which they expound upon the most commonplace happenings with the most effusive outpouring of lexis more characteristically located in the novellas detailing events occurring within certain periods of Albion's long and noble history (a la the writings of the most estimable Jane Austen)

That immediately brought to mind a Four quote which I've seen: "The localised condition of planetary atmospheric condensation caused a malfunction in the visual orientation circuits. Or to put it another way, we got lost in the fog."


While I'm on McCoy's diction, I adore the way he rolls his alveolar trills.

Oh yes, I loved that as well. It's no wonder he's done Gilbert & Sullivan with diction like that.


Gasp! Look at this blasphemy! The Not-brig has a Not-Brigstache and is acting like the Brig! (http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af110/CurlyKitGirl/Doctor%20Who%20Reviews/Not-Brig.png) WHO IS THIS MAN?! Simon Williams (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Williams_%28actor%29) aka Group Captain Gilmore. He is also a Brigclone (http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af110/CurlyKitGirl/Doctor%20Who%20Reviews/Brigparison.png).

I'm just really amused by your portmanteaus.


D: "What's the situation?"

N-B: "Who the devil are you?!"

"I'm the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord. I'm I'm from the planet Gallifrey, in the constellation Kasterborous. I'm nine hundred and three years old, and I'm the man whose going to save your lives and all six billion people on the planet below. You got a problem with that?" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRSFwMqKIu8) Oh wait. Wrong incarnation.

Let me try again. "Hello, I'm the Doctor, basically, run." (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCCMg-rcCQk#t=01m19s) Nope. Again. "I'm the Doctor [...] the definite article you might say. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSXsWd3XVmY#t=01m00s) Wrong. Again. I'm a doctor, not a bricklayer," (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGMLCxKPMSE) Wrong series entirely! Again!

:smallbiggrin:


It's been so long since I've seen a flirty Doctor - and no, Two doesn't count because he's in a committed relationship with Jamie - that it's actually fairly unsettling.

:smallamused:
I've got to get back to watching through Classic Who.


And maybe I've been around sci-fi/comic science too long, but poly-carbide sounds like a real thing.

I don't recall ever hearing of it outside the context of Daleks.


D: "Aim for the eyepiece! Ace, give me some of that nitro-9 that you're not carrying. Quickly. And another." Nitro-9 comes in aerosol cans apparently. But this little exchange (the whole thing) shows how close they've become in just one serial, he already knows that Ace always carries explosives, and trusts her to look after it so they don't get blown sky-high.

I believe Seven consistently tells Ace not to bring the nitro-9, and she always does anyway.


Also? Ten? You have used explosives in the past. And encourage your Companions to make and use them. You would never use a gun indeed. Just you wait until I see you use a gun. Just you wait.

I think Six used a gun at some point? Pretty sure there was a clip on a Confidential at some point when they were talking about the whole Doctor-guns thing.


Turns out the Hand of Omega was left behind by the Doctor last time he was here. But if it's something so super-important that even the Daleks want it, how could he lose it? I mean, he's not seni -

*glances at her Doctor Who: The Beginning boxset on the shelf*

okay, that explains that.

(Not spoilers because I haven't seen the relevant serial either)
I think he hid it on Earth so other people wouldn't find it. And it wasn't back in days of One. Four or Five I think.


>.>
Apologies for the delay?
*flees the horde*

*Pursues the Kurly*
*Tackle-hugs*

[CurlyKitGirl]

Huh. Did not know that. The Seven/Ace relationship seemed so solid, I would've thought they'd already been together a while before this.

I know. Only other option is that there were a lot of offscreen adventures between 'Dragonfire' and 'Remembrance', but somehow I don't think there was.


I'm imagining a Matt Smith equivalent. It just looks silly (This may be helped by the fact I'm imagining him wearing the fez as well).

That's because it would be extremely hard to make a smiling Matt Smith look menacing. Ever. He's so adorkable as the Doctor that I'm really impressed by his darker or deeper moods.



<3
Honestly, IIRC, the sesquipedalian loquaciousness was the first thing which really made me love Sylvester McCoy's Doctor.
As to

[...]

That immediately brought to mind a Four quote which I've seen: "The localised condition of planetary atmospheric condensation caused a malfunction in the visual orientation circuits. Or to put it another way, we got lost in the fog."

Tricky to keep track of though, specially when one forsakes the subtitles for RAMFT.
Also, overly elaborate sentences are fun. Particularly when you have more than enough of a vocabulary to make it antiquated enough to almost genuinely come from a period novel.


Oh yes, I loved that as well. It's no wonder he's done Gilbert & Sullivan with diction like that.

'as 'e? As whom? (God, look at the social grammatical distinction there)


I'm just really amused by your portmanteaus.

Brigstache, Brigclone . . . that's all I can think of. I think it's just because 'Brig' is a funny word.


:smallbiggrin:

Can't blame me there're so many possible answers to that question. I really ought to expand my quote repertoire though, Trek and Who are becoming a bit obvious for me now.
*looks at DVDs in room within sight*
Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Babylon 5, Farscape, Star Trek: 2009 . . . I think I have enough sci-fi to run on.


:smallamused:
I've got to get back to watching through Classic Who.

Yes.
And look, just because you don't understand how deeply in love they are - everyone knows it. I bet if I ventured onto the Ho Yay section for Doctor Who there'd be loads on Jamie/Two.
Not as much as certain characters - Jack - but loads anyway!


I don't recall ever hearing of it outside the context of Daleks.

It sounds so legit though.


I believe Seven consistently tells Ace not to bring the nitro-9, and she always does anyway.

See, he can always trust her to disobey this order!


I think Six used a gun at some point? Pretty sure there was a clip on a Confidential at some point when they were talking about the whole Doctor-guns thing.

Well, when I find it, I'll point it out.


(Not spoilers because I haven't seen the relevant serial either)
I think he hid it on Earth so other people wouldn't find it. And it wasn't back in days of One. Four or Five I think.

If it wasn't One, who looks pretty senile, it'd be Four because Four's sideways to everyone else.


*Pursues the Kurly*
*Tackle-hugs*

Halp!

Work has begun on episode 2!
And I probably won't need three posts for it either because I got a lot of the writing/behind-the-scenes stuff out of the way last episode! Stupid research making me write thousands of characters of post-breaking stuff.

[Thufir]

'as 'e? As whom? (God, look at the social grammatical distinction there)

He was the Mikado back in 2008. It was amazing. His eyebrows were amazing just by themselves, let alone the rest.


Brigstache, Brigclone . . . that's all I can think of. I think it's just because 'Brig' is a funny word.

Also the image titled 'Brigparison'.

[Giggling Ghast]

Hey, you guys hear of the Doctor Who RPG (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnpTcrtsN3U&feature=relmfu)?


you mean this (http://www.collegehumor.com/video/6749695/dr-who-rpg)? if so then yes, yes we have.

F***ing Hell! Sorry, that was supposed to go to the video you posted. I copy-pasted the wrong link.

[CurlyKitGirl]

He was the Mikado back in 2008. It was amazing. His eyebrows were amazing just by themselves, let alone the rest.

Oh? They made the role the way Cumberbatch's cheekbones made his role?



Also the image titled 'Brigparison'.

I forgot about that one.


GUYS!

I have a special review coming up! But it'll take a while to fully put it up because well, backstory.

For the Brits, it's about a certain thing that aired on Saturday.

It'll be joyously fun, and semi-liveblogged.

[Calemyr]

Last night I watched the 40th anniversary documentary (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S04i65FqEmU&feature=related) on Doctor Who and they mentioned one thing I think is worth pointing out. Peter Davidson (Five) was apparently told point blank he was not allowed to put his arm over the shoulder of any female companion, that he was only allowed to touch male companions because people were so concerned about suggesting there was any hanky panky going on in the Tardis. I expect Troughton (Two) had a similar rule going on, because he (like Davidson) was so much younger than his predecessor. Which is pretty funny because, nowadays, the efforts they went to avoid suggesting romantic ties only serves to infer a whole different set. And also we now have Smith (Eleven) married with a pretty blatantly advertised physical element.

One other thing I found interesting:

In the second series of the show, they mention a scene where the crew is trying to escape with an injured caveman in tow. As the caveman is lying on the ground, the Doctor thoughtfully picks up a large rock and walks toward the caveman before getting intercepted by Ian. Has he ever attempted anything quite that ruthless since?

[Suichimo]

I'm imaginig a Matt Smith equivalent. It just looks silly (This may be helped by the fact I'm imagining him wearing the fez as well).

Not sure if its exactly what you're thinking about, but Matt Smith has a pretty terrifying smile in his exchange with Captain Runaway.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUZ50cAk_Lk&feature=player_detailpage#t=38s

[comicshorse]

One other thing I found interesting:

In the second series of the show, they mention a scene where the crew is trying to escape with an injured caveman in tow. As the caveman is lying on the ground, the Doctor thoughtfully picks up a large rock and walks toward the caveman before getting intercepted by Ian. Has he ever attempted anything quite that ruthless since?

In 'Rememberance of the Daleks' ( Spoilered if you don't want to kow the end before Curly's review reaches that point) the Seventh Doctor tricks Davros into deploying a weapon that incinerates Skaro and every Dalek on it

In the 'Sea Devils' the Third Doctor destroys a Silurian colony before it can initaite an attack to wipe out humanity

[Calemyr]

In 'Rememberance of the Daleks' ( Spoilered if you don't want to kow the end before Curly's review reaches that point) the Seventh Doctor tricks Davros into deploying a weapon that incinerates Skaro and every Dalek on it

In the 'Sea Devils' the Third Doctor destroys a Silurian colony before it can initaite an attack to wipe out humanity

Yeah, but those are enemies that are either currently or soon to be hostile. The caveman was an innocent whose only crime was being injured enough to endanger their escape. Those are two entirely different scales of dark.

[Friv]

Yeah, but those are enemies that are either currently or soon to be hostile. The caveman was an innocent whose only crime was being injured enough to endanger their escape. Those are two entirely different scales of dark.

The First Doctor, especially in his first few serials, was kind of a terrible person in a lot of ways, only gradually turning into the sort of guy we tend to think of. I'm going to spoiler this in case someone doesn't want to have the first season spoiled, but I don't expect that'll be a problem.

Among those of his exploits that I can remember are:

* In the first episode, the Doctor refuses to let Ian and Barbara leave the TARDIS once they know he's an alien, and then when Susan threatens to leave the TARDIS he deliberately triggers it, stranding Ian and Barbara with him for the next two years.
* In the Daleks, he steals a piece of his own TARDIS so that the others will let him explore the mysterious city, pretending that it's broken. Then, when he finds out that the Kahls are in danger of being genocided by the Daleks, he tries to leave the planet. He only stops because the Daleks got the TARDIS piece he lost.
* In The Edge of Destruction, he attempts to murder Ian and Barbara (although to be fair, he does think they're sabotaging the TARDIS at this point).
* The first time we see him have any kind of respect or liking for humans at all is in the Aztecs, when he accidentally gets married. At the end of that episode, he can't bring himself to discard the token his 'wife' gave him, and takes it onto the TARDIS with him.

After that, I think he's mostly only a jerk to people who actually deserve it, but he definitely tricks more than a few people to their deaths.

[Corvus]

Brand new just released Season Seven trailer. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7YGoVyRSik)

[Dienekes]

Daleks, and dinosaurs, and cyborgs oh my.

[Thufir]

Was that possibly Cleopatra at about 30 seconds in? Are we finally going to actually meet Cleopatra?
In general, it all looks pretty cool.

[DeIdeal]

"Who killed all the daleks?"

"Who do you think?"

Oh dear. This is going to be mad. And it's even the very first episode of the season. Amazing.

[Helanna]

W- Was that - a weeping angel baby?

When will that episode air? I need to schedule a week of not sleeping.

[Androgeus]

W- Was that - a weeping angel baby?

When will that episode air? I need to schedule a week of not sleeping.

It's the 5th and final episode of the autumn half of the series.

Is that snow in trailer? Yeti/Ice Warriors/Rani totally going to return.

While it may be month old news, I find this (http://www.sfx.co.uk/2012/07/06/doctor-who-old-faces-return-spoilers/) more exciting than the trailer
Victorian Silurian detective returns, along with butler Sontaran

[CurlyKitGirl]

Re: new trailer: The Doctor, Rory and Amy ride a triceratops in a spaceship in what seems to be a battle. How is that not awesome?
And yes, Thu, I do believe that was Cleopatra.

Speaking of dinosaurs . . . did you know the Eleventh Doctor once had a sentient robotic T-Rex as a Companion. One that, in his last issue, donned a pair of prosthetic arms and punched out a squid.
A giant space squid who was worshipped by cultists who brainwashed people.
TO SUM UP: ELEVEN'S ROBOT T-REX PUNCHED OUT SPACE-CTHULU.


It's the 5th and final episode of the autumn half of the series.

Is that snow in trailer? Yeti/Ice Warriors/Rani totally going to return.

Everyone's the Rani. Personally, I think I'd like the Ice Warriors to come back, they weren't in many serials back in Classic WHo, but I've heard they were rather popular.


While it may be month old news, I find this (http://www.sfx.co.uk/2012/07/06/doctor-who-old-faces-return-spoilers/) more exciting than the trailer
Victorian Silurian detective returns, along with butler Sontaran

The Victorian Silurian Lesbian detective (with swashbuckling ninja maid and lover) is back?! And she has a Victorian Sontaran butler?
Best. Thing. Ever.
Please give them a spin-off!
Then again, it does say something about their popularity that they were in . . . maybe ten minutes of an episode, and they're back.
Here's to another spin-off for the Whoniverse!

[Kobold-Bard]

"Who killed all the daleks?"

"Who do you think?"

Oh dear. This is going to be mad. And it's even the very first episode of the season. Amazing.

There's only so many times you can kill all the Daleks, before it starts to lose its impact. And we passed that point a while back for me.

[Thufir]

While it may be month old news, I find this (http://www.sfx.co.uk/2012/07/06/doctor-who-old-faces-return-spoilers/) more exciting than the trailer
Victorian Silurian detective returns, along with butler Sontaran

:smallconfused::smallbiggrin::smallcool:
Yes, want.
Although, not sure how my excitement compares to that for the trailer, given Daleks and dinosaurs and Rory.


Speaking of dinosaurs . . . did you know the Eleventh Doctor once had a sentient robotic T-Rex as a Companion. One that, in his last issue, donned a pair of prosthetic arms and punched out a squid.
A giant space squid who was worshipped by cultists who brainwashed people.
TO SUM UP: ELEVEN'S ROBOT T-REX PUNCHED OUT SPACE-CTHULU.

Wait what where how why was I not aware of this how can I see it.


Everyone's the Rani.

Your mother's the Rani.


The Victorian Silurian Lesbian detective (with swashbuckling ninja maid and lover) is back?! And she has a Victorian Sontaran butler?
Best. Thing. Ever.
Please give them a spin-off!
Then again, it does say something about their popularity that they were in . . . maybe ten minutes of an episode, and they're back.
Here's to another spin-off for the Whoniverse!

YES DO IT NOW.

[dps]

And yes, Thu, I do believe that was Cleopatra.



I was under the impression that it was Nefertiti.

[Dienekes]

While it may be month old news, I find this (http://www.sfx.co.uk/2012/07/06/doctor-who-old-faces-return-spoilers/) more exciting than the trailer
Victorian Silurian detective returns, along with butler Sontaran

I honestly would rather of had more Commander Strax. I somehow feel the butler thing is an attempt to latch onto how awesome Strax was, and let's just say I'll be judging the man. He has large boots to fill.


There's only so many times you can kill all the Daleks, before it starts to lose its impact. And we passed that point a while back for me.

I think the worst thing about having the Daleks in the show was that agreement they had to be in each season. Meaning we got to see the Doctor beat them, each season.

The episode Dalek was awesome, one of my personal favorites. Since then? Well we have the Daleks who couldn't figure out to turn off their own minions before they were almost wiped out. Daleks beaten by WWII planes. Daleks begging for mercy. And two "good" Daleks that betrays the Dalek ideals.

It's sad, cause I really do enjoy Daleks.

[DeIdeal]

There's only so many times you can kill all the Daleks, before it starts to lose its impact. And we passed that point a while back for me.

I'm not saying I'm fond of Daleks in general. In fact, the episode with the WWII Daleks is among my least favourite episodes of the new series. It's just that that quote is up there with this one.


Bob: Sorry, can I ask you again? You mentioned a mistake we've made.
The Doctor: Oh, big, big mistake. Really huge. Didn't anyone ever tell you? There's one thing you never put in a trap. If you're smart, if you value your continued existence, if you have any plans about seeing tomorrow, there is one thing you never, ever put in a trap.
Bob: And what would that be, sir?
The Doctor: Me.


So it's more like I have high hopes for the episode despite the Daleks.

[dps]

I think the worst thing about having the Daleks in the show was that agreement they had to be in each season. Meaning we got to see the Doctor beat them, each season.


What agreement?

[Kobold-Bard]

...

So it's more like I have high hopes for the episode despite the Daleks.

My issue isn't with the Daleks themselves, even if they hve been over used I really like them.

The problem is that it always ends in "destroying them all, except for the one/couple who survived through increasingly worse ways". Would it be so hard for to it to end in a tie, or end with a win that doesn't involve the total destruction of them all do that theres a real reason for there to be more.

[Calemyr]

My issue isn't with the Daleks themselves, even if they hve been over used I really like them.

The problem is that it always ends in "destroying them all, except for the one/couple who survived through increasingly worse ways". Would it be so hard for to it to end in a tie, or end with a win that doesn't involve the total destruction of them all do that theres a real reason for there to be more.

So far, in Moffat's reign, the Daleks have won the only real conflict. The other two appearances were of crippled lone drones that were unable to put up a decent fight.

Haven't seen the trailer, but I would think (given Moffat), that "Who killed all the Daleks?" is going to be tied to the Time War, not yet another genocide by the Man of Peace.

[Friv]

Haven't seen the trailer, but I would think (given Moffat), that "Who killed all the Daleks?" is going to be tied to the Time War, not yet another genocide by the Man of Peace.

The quote comes when Rory steps into a room filled with dead Daleks. He then asks, "Who killed all the Daleks?"

I'm pretty sure he doesn't mean all of the Daleks in the cosmic sense, but is merely referring to all of the Daleks that had been previously in the room.

[Weezer]

Rupert Graves is going to be in this series? So happy, I love him as Lestrade and in everything else I've seen him in.

[Suichimo]

There's only so many times you can kill all the Daleks, before it starts to lose its impact. And we passed that point a while back for me.

I think it'll be more focused on the fact that it was actually the Doctor that killed them. I can't remember any time in the new series where the Doctor actually killed them, its always been one of the companions. Rose killed them in Parting of the Ways and Donna killed them in The Stolen Earth/Journey's End, where the Doctor even offered aid to Davros who didn't accept it. The closest he got was banishing some of them, along with the Cybermen, in Army of Ghosts/Doomsday.

If the Daleks were to actually kill Amy in front of the Doctor... well, my mind isn't big enough to begin to think how the Doctor would utterly destroy them. He was near enough to going ballistic on Colonel Mantin(sp?) and Madame Kovarian when they simply kidnapped her.

[Androgeus]

Donna killed them in The Stolen Earth/Journey's

That was handy half human clone Doctor. And new series created the time war, which was ended by the doctor killing all the Daleks (and Time Lords)


Colonel Mantin(sp?)
It's spelt R-U-N-A-W-A-Y. :smalltongue:

[Dienekes]

What agreement?

You know, now that I think about it, I've only heard about it from second hand sources (from this site a few times). But apparently, in order to use the Daleks in the new series Davies had to agree that the Daleks needed to make an appearance at least once a season. And they have, their shortest appearance being last season when you just see the Doctor dismantle one in the last episode.

Another problem is, up until Moffat took over each time we see the Daleks the menace gets upped. One lone Dalek. An army of crazy Daleks. An army of sane Daleks invading Britain. Then the Daleks in Manhattan thing happened, which doesn't follow the pattern but sucks anyway. Then we get a super big huge Dalek army with Davros trying to destroy the Universe. And despite these huge forces, the best Dalek episode is still one lone Dalek taking down everyone. Each time we get the huge threat Daleks we get to watch the Doctor/Companions utterly destroy the Daleks. It's stopped being interesting.

Now the one bit of hope I have is Moffat so far did not follow the pattern in his run. We got the Daleks get a tie against the Doctor in Victory of the Daleks, and the lone stone Dalek was pretty threatening (until it begged for mercy, that was just, just no). But from the look of the trailer we're gonna get a big huge Dalek threat this season, and it's even spoilered in the trailer that the Doctor kills them.

But I still have some hope. Because if it's the Doctor wipes out all the Daleks then that trailer is such a huge spoiler it would not be funny. I personally hope that since the episode is supposed to have all the Daleks ever involved we get the logical conclusion, the Daleks attack each other. Daleks kill the Daleks and one group of them rises to become a major threat later on in the series.

[Reverent-One]

He was near enough to going ballistic on Colonel Mantin(sp?) and Madame Kovarian when they simply kidnapped her.

Defeating them in a mostly bloodless takeover and forcing the Colonel to say "Run away" (from one of the scariest individuals in the universe) is going ballistic? Honestly, I think that was rather tame, his take down of the Silence was far more brutal.

[Suichimo]

That was handy half human clone Doctor. And new series created the time war, which was ended by the doctor killing all the Daleks (and Time Lords)


It's spelt R-U-N-A-W-A-Y. :smalltongue:

No, it was Donna after she became the Doctor Donna. Its been a while, but I don't remember Handy doing too much in that part.


Defeating them in a mostly bloodless takeover and forcing the Colonel to say "Run away" (from one of the scariest individuals in the universe) is going ballistic? Honestly, I think that was rather tame, his take down of the Silence was far more brutal.

It was more the Doctor's conversation with Colonel Runaway and Madame Kovarian after that. The Doctor was terrifying.

[Androgeus]

No, it was Donna after she became the Doctor Donna. Its been a while, but I don't remember Handy doing too much in that part.

'Twas Handy. Evidence (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDgCaX-wm3c&list=UU2wSeXV6VrNmYyL6oMzu9ZA&t=1m)

[dehro]

Brand new just released Season Seven trailer. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7YGoVyRSik)

can I get a "giggity"?

[Calemyr]

The dalek begging for mercy never really bothered me all that much, oddly enough. Sure, it's seems counter to everything we ever see of them (although the series has been humanizing them more and more since the show was revived), but then you have to remember that it's River. The Doctor chooses his friends carefully, as he puts it, and they don't hold a candle to the Doctor when it comes to darkness and ruthless malice.

River doesn't fit that pattern, though. She's more like the Master, someone the Doctor would never associate with if it were not for his own crippling survivor's guilt and loneliness. She's a violent, self-professed psychopath who is far more ready with a sidearm than the Doctor finds comfortable, but her obsession with the Doctor leads her to channel it in "good" ways.

In short, River may very well be every bit as terrifying to the Daleks as the Doctor himself, but with one very specific caveat: the Doctor doesn't like to kill. Oh, he will, but he never likes it - or, perhaps more accurately, he's afraid of liking it. He often even tries to save his most hated enemies at the last moment, though they rarely take him up on it. River isn't like that - she represents all the terror of the Doctor without the restraint.

And then the Dalek killed the only thing that had ever restrained her. Yeah, begging for mercy sounds like a proper thing to do, especially when you're the only Dalek in existence at that point. Survival at any cost, remember?

---

Now that I've seen the trailer you've been talking about, however, I'm less interested in the Daleks and more interested in the Doctor's speech about how he intends to honor "everyone who's suffered and died because of my mercy" and Amy's response of "This is what happens when you travel alone."

I love the sections that show the pain the Doctor is really in (Dalek, School Reunion, parts of the Season 3 finale, End of Time, Amy's Choice, The God Complex, Closing Time). It's easy to see the Doctor as a swashbuckling hero who has a heart of teflon, and all the pain and loss just slides off him, but the moments when you see how false that image of him is are his finest moments, if you ask me. That's why, while I like all the doctors, 9 is my favorite (11 is quickly closing in on that, though).

[Sunken Valley]

Okay, sorry for keeping everyone waiting. Now, Good as Gold.



Stuff I liked
[SPOILER]Good as Gold contained a charm to it with meta-references such as the adventurers handbook.

The Dr Who specials written by children are non-canon so we can ignore continuity.

It was really sweet the way it had better Olympic spirit than Fear Her.



Stuff I disliked
Weeping Angel was not the best choice of monster. Then again they only had four options in the contest (Cyberman, Judoon and Ood). Also an angel can’t chase an Olympic runner. Watched by thousands of spectators.

Fun Fact!
Given the age of the young writers, they may not have known of Fear Her’s existence (2006)

Fun Fact 2!
David Tennant didn't light the flame! The future is changed!

[SPOILER]

8/10, don’t want to be nasty to 8 year olds but it was not as good as “Death is the Only Answer” (which was awesome).

CORRECTION: 5/10, an insult to the angels, why oh why is their threat wasted!

Sunken Valley returns on Aug 25/Sep 1 to tackle Asylum of the Daleks and what ever gems Dr Who Season 7 has to offer.

NO WAIT! Sunken Valley will/may return earlier for a special feature. Joy! No one? Ah well.

Also Season 7 will have 14 episodes. Excluding Christmas Special. 5 this year. 8 next year.

PS: I know I'm on the first page but I should get on the OP Andro.

[Sunken Valley]

No, it was Donna after she became the Doctor Donna.

Curlers dude!

[Androgeus]

PS: I know I'm on the first page but I should get on the OP Andro.
Sorry, went through the effort to find all them and forgot to edit them in. You should be in now. Also updated to include latest Curly review. Wonder how many reviews I can link before I run out of space.


Curlers dude!
yhea, totally forgot Curly was still only up to Unicorn & the Wasp but that was almost a whole thread ago. and that we renamed spoilers "curlers"

edit to guess at special feature, the night mini-epsodes on the dvd?

[Calemyr]

Sorry, went through the effort to find all them post and forgot to edit them. You should be in now. Also updated to include latest Curly review. Wonder how many reviews I can link before I run out of space.


yhea, totally forgot Curly was still only up to Unicorn & the Wasp but that was almost a whole thread ago. and that we renamed spoilers "curlers"

edit to guess at special feature, the night mini-epsodes on the dvd?

I think so. Saw them on youtube, and they were good.
Last Night was particularly moving: The Doctor and River's current date, first date, and last date all in one timey-wimey ball. The look between the two doctors at the end was the best, it says without words exactly what both of him are thinking: "That means she's about to go to..." "The library, yeah."

[CurlyKitGirl]

8/10, don’t want to be nasty to 8 year olds but it was not as good as “Death is the Only Answer” (which was awesome).

Sunken Valley returns on Aug 25/Sep 1 to tackle Asylum of the Daleks and what ever gems Dr Who Season 7 has to offer.

NO WAIT! Sunken Valley will/may return earlier for a special feature. Joy! No one? Ah well.

Hey! I was mean to eight-year-olds, well, I held their work to the same standards as professional writers which is both mean and yet respectful in a sense.
Still, I more or less agree with you on the points you raised.


Curlers dude!

If it helps the instant I come across a word that could even vaguely spoil me I skip the whole post.
I have reflexive actions now to any mention of the word 'Donna'.
It's trickier when it gets to season 5/6 because same people though, so I tend to skip loads.

And the fact that you remembered curlers gave me warm fuzzy feelings.

ION:
Doing a non-Doctor Who thing over in RB. I feel like whoring myself out, so I may link it here, but if I don't check out RB some time tonight or tomorrow for
me watching Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone blind.
Because I've not seen it since opening week.
When I was ten.
And haven't read the book since . . . perhaps 2003 at the lastest.

Don't look at me like that.

So yeah. Attention whore needs attention plz. :smalltongue:
(Expect a Who review tomorrow or Friday at the latest - I've had a string of job interviews lately)

[Thufir]

8/10, don’t want to be nasty to 8 year olds but it was not as good as “Death is the Only Answer” (which was awesome).

Lulwut. 8/10 for that piece of cheese? Judge them fairly, it's not nastiness, just honest assessment.


I feel like whoring myself out,

:smallamused: Oh really. *Waggles eyebrows* Well then, perhaps you'd like to come with me :smallwink: and-
Oh wait, you're just advertising another review you're doing. Never mind. :smalltongue:

[Dr. Simon]

Hey! I was mean to eight-year-olds, well, I held their work to the same standards as professional writers which is both mean and yet respectful in a sense.

If you compare it to some of the winners of the "500 Words" competition it's evident that some 8-year olds can write stuff a lot better than Good as Gold.

[ShinyCap]

I found an interactive episode of Doctor Who! Tennant-era.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/games/graske/geoip/host.shtml

[Archonic Energy]

ok continuing my 9th doctor recap...

tomorrow 16:00 UTC+1
http://www.livestream.com/​archonic_energy

[Androgeus]

ok continuing my 9th doctor recap...

tomorrow 16:00 UTC+1
http://www.livestream.com/​archonic_energy

Unfortunately I will be unable to join this week :smallfrown:

[Reluctance]

Question to see if I'm losing my mind.

A few weeks ago, looking at the new season trailers on Youtube, I saw an episode list. Including one called Merlin, with Colin Morgan.

Unfortunately, "Doctor Who Merlin" punched into Google shows nothing but a load of fanfic.

So consider this wild speculation based off one person's memory until there's corroborating evidence. But potentially cool.

[Androgeus]

So Asylum of the Daleks is premeriming tomorrow (http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/doctorwho/articles/Guest-Tweeter-Caro-Skinner-and-Much-More) at the British Film Institute. So it should be back on our screens pretty soon.
And now to active detective skills. This Saturday's Shedule already exist, and it isn't Who. 25th August does have a "TBA" on BBC 2 which is about the correct length of time, but Who is broadcast on BBC 1 so I feel that's something else. Thus I believe it'll be the 1st September.

[Strawberries]

Yay! This will be the first series I get to se as soon as it airs and on the BBC! :smallbiggrin:

One of the perks of moving to UK! :smalltongue:

[dehro]

Yay! This will be the first series I get to se as soon as it airs and on the BBC! :smallbiggrin:

One of the perks of moving to UK! :smalltongue:

colour me jealous

[Kobold-Bard]

colour me jealous

She does have to deal with our weather now however. It's a trade off.

[Androgeus]

I get bored easily so I went deeper on my detective work on figuring out the broadcast date. BBC America's Schedule for 1st September has them showing the entirety of series 6 and Christmas special with an hour long gap before the next show. so yhea pretty confident in my prediction.

[dehro]

She does have to deal with our weather now however. It's a trade off.

I lived a few years in Cambridge and must say, the weather was altogether livable and not too rainy at all...now on the other hand, i'm sat here in my shorts blessing the airconditioning which is keeping me from melting away..so, no sympathy there, from me :smallamused:

[Archonic Energy]

which kinda reminds me...

Live Who streaming... yay or nay.

(TBA) though it'll be about 7pm UTC+1

[Brother Oni]

She does have to deal with our weather now however. It's a trade off.

And judging from her location, the locals too. :smalltongue:

[Strawberries]

I can't stand hot weather, so the trade-off so far is very favourable. :smallwink:

And the locals are nice. :smallsmile:

[Kobold-Bard]

I can't stand hot weather, so the trade-off so far is very favourable. :smallwink:

And the locals are nice. :smallsmile:

I was thinking more of the implausible changeability of it rather than just the cold eg. bright and sunny now but in 5 minutes it could easily be raining/hailstoning, then sunbathing weather when I leave work. Have to take a waterproof to work every day just in case.

And as for locals, as long as you aren't in London they could always be worse.

On topic: do we know how many episodes River is appearing in, and if she's expected in any after Rory & Amy leave?

[Archonic Energy]

And as for locals, as long as you aren't in London they could always be worse.



:smallannoyed:

don't make me set the "son of Bob" on you again... :smalltongue:

http://doctorwho.tumblr.com/post/12891889415/i-want-my-hat-back-the-doctor-edition
http://eris-goddess-of-discord.tumblr.com/post/29377237105/i-want-my-hat-back-tenth-doctor-edition

saw these and thought I'd share them...

[Androgeus]

fallen to the second page :smalleek:
We finally have an official broadcast date (https://twitter.com/bbcdoctorwho/status/238270358862573568)
In other news the audio book version of Creature From the Pit, read by Tom Baker, is being broadcast on radio 4 extra starting Thursday, expect me to say that they are alright at some point.

Edit:just remembered an idea I had, would anyone be interested in doing some live chatting via irc or some similar method?

Edit 2 - Edit Harder: I'm terrible and keep finding stuff I should post to this thread. Starting on Monday a 5 part mini-series called Pond Life, Karren and Arthur talk a bit about it (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meOjflmGhSc&feature=g-u-u)
Oh and Moffat talks about blink & weeping angels (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkm_vbEEKX4&feature=plcp)

Edit 3 - With a Vengeance: US Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNHEEZ_I74U) if you care.

[Archonic Energy]

anyone been watchnig the pond life minisodes?

also: Sunday at 7 UTC+1
new episode streamed so we can discuss it.
http://www.livestream.com/​archonic_energy

[dehro]

anyone been watchnig the pond life minisodes?

wutwut?:smallconfused:

[Androgeus]

wutwut?:smallconfused:

Part one (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMdBsc5pQ1k), part two (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQZc9DzneUI), & part three (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pm0dqb7rKpk).

[Sunken Valley]

Once again Doctor Who was in the Radio Times. I will, once again, mention all the titles, basic synopsis and my opinion (the latter being spoilered).

1. Asylum of The Daleks
Moffat's Dalek Themed Premier. Doctor gets to save Daleks apparently. The Asylum is a legendary planet in which all the most insane Daleks are contained. Hey, at least we have an excuse for the Doctor killing all the Daleks. This episode has a big twist near the beginning.
???????????????? The general Stephen Moffat consensus. Usually the premiers are not so great but Impossible Astronaut was good. So, who knows

2. Dinosaurs on a Spaceship
Guess, come on guess what the theme of this episode is. Written by Chris Chibnall The Doctor has to save the spaceship and the earth. Guest starring Queen Nefertiti and...Rory's DAD! Also has the Doctor ride a tricerotops. Now both mammals and timelords can't seem to get enough of the siren's lure (anyone get the reference?).
Probably gonna be one of the weak episodes. Two blockbuster style eps in a row don't sound like a good idea. And I'm going to wager Daleks being the better of the two. Probably.

3. A Town Called Mercy
This here's gonna be the wild west episode, wherepon the Doctor faces a moral dilemma on whether to support a cyborg gunslinger or his bounty. Doctor picks up a gun. Toby Whithouse written.
Yeehaw! This is gonna be mighty fine!

4. Power of Three
Small cubes invade Earth. They don't do anything, but the Doctor has to wait and be patient or humanity is at stake. Which means he needs to stay...at the Ponds! Starring a character called Kate Stewart who works for UNIT...hmm. Chris Chibnall again
Might be good, like Lodger. Might be bad. Gonna say will be a quieter but good episode.

5. The Angels Take Manhattan.
I am really gonna have to see the Muppet film with similar name sometime, just to quote it. The Doctor takes a much aged Rory and Amy on a mission to stop the Weeping Angels and their mistress Jean Shrimpton (last part was a joke, anyone get the reference?). Guest Starring River Song... hopefully for the last time.
Weeping Angels and Crowd threat, no. Does not Work. Someone will always be watching. The Angels are called the Lonely Assassins. Not Invaders of Worlds. Add Needless Wagnsting and we've got the weaklink.

[dehro]

Part one (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMdBsc5pQ1k), part two (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQZc9DzneUI), & part three (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pm0dqb7rKpk).

you're a gent.. here, have a cookie
part 3 has the best line ever.

[Xondoure]

Those are hilarious. When can we expect parts 4 and 5?

[Kobold-Bard]

Those are hilarious. When can we expect parts 4 and 5?

Thursday & Friday.

[Androgeus]

Each episode this series has had a poster made for it.

I can't find it on the offical site but I think this is the one for Asylum of the Daleks
http://www.scifiheaven.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/LrF6l.jpg

Dinosaurs on a Spaceship
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/tv/isite-static/doctorwho/wallpapers/s07/s07e02_wall_16x9.jpg

A Town Called Mercy
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/tv/isite-static/doctorwho/wallpapers/s07/s07e03_wall_16x9.jpg

The Power of Three
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/tv/isite-static/doctorwho/wallpapers/s07/s07e04_wall_16x9.jpg

The Angels Take Manhatten
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/tv/isite-static/doctorwho/wallpapers/s07/s07e05_wall_16x9.jpg

[Kato]

Each episode this series has had a poster made for it.


Where us that rainbow puking meme when you need it... those are awesome!


Pond Life is very different from what I expected and to be honest 1&2 were quite a let down for me, 3 got better and 4 was really nice today. Looking forward to the last few.

[Weezer]

3. A Town Called Mercy
This here's gonna be the wild west episode, wherepon the Doctor faces a moral dilemma on whether to support a cyborg gunslinger or his bounty. Doctor picks up a gun. Toby Whithouse written.
Yeehaw! This is gonna be mighty fine!



Reminds me of the old Battlestar Galactica episode, The Lost Warrior. Apollo crash lands on a planet and has to kill a Cylon turned gunslinger. It was odd, not one of the best episodes at all.

[Hopeless]

I actually liked that original battlestar galactica episode barring the fact they would need to evacuate them as the cylons was on the heels of the refugee fleet looking to wipe out humanity and that looked like a wild west version of a colony of humanity to me!

Anyway... 33 hours until the Uk release of season 7 and 2 more hours than that before the US gets the same experience!

[dehro]

and I'll be in germany attending a trade show

so unfair:smallfrown:

[Archonic Energy]

what are you doing Moffat.... that's not cool. :smallfrown:

[Strawberries]

and I'll be in germany attending a trade show

so unfair:smallfrown:

I thought you were in Italy, so... isn't the point moot? Germany or Italy, you won't be able to watch it as soon as it comes out all the same.


what are you doing Moffat.... that's not cool. :smallfrown:

What isn't cool? :smallconfused:

[dehro]

I thought you were in Italy, so... isn't the point moot? Germany or Italy, you won't be able to watch it as soon as it comes out all the same.


rub it in, why don't you :smallbiggrin:?
at home I could at least have scoured the web for.. alternative sources

[Androgeus]

What isn't cool? :smallconfused:


Pond life, Part 5 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxXAY7LyjcM) is what (part 4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ikv0QbubV7Y) if anyone requires linkage)

[Aidan305]

But, but, why would that happen?

Seriously, I can't believe that Rory would wait thousands of years for Amy and then just up and leave her. There must be something we're not seeing here. That can't be what's happening.

[Calemyr]

But, but, why would that happen?

Seriously, I can't believe that Rory would wait thousands of years for Amy and then just up and leave her. There must be something we're not seeing here. That can't be what's happening.

Given that both of them are billed for all five episodes, I doubt it. Besides, Pond Life is supposed to be a lead-in to Asylum of the Daleks.

[KuReshtin]

Just accidentally ran into this video and thought it'd be something hat would be appreciated in this thread.

Dr Who goes bowling (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQfvLpfXe2U)

[Sunken Valley]

Guys, all we saw was Rory walking out of the house with Amy following and then stopping.

I don't think that is evidence of anything. Maybe Rory had something on his mind? Remember when Amy says she needs the doctor she is in different regalia to the clothes she wears in theflashback and in asylum. Clever editing

However, i am upset by the doctor forgetting that ood are not servile innately.

[Calemyr]

However, i am upset by the doctor forgetting that ood are not servile innately.

Is that in episode 4 or 5? Because in 4 he just says "conditioned to serve", as in the Ood was already converted and the Doctor can't really do anything about it, so there's no reason to get between him and what he wants to do. Can't see 5 at the moment, though.

[Aidan305]

Guys, all we saw was Rory walking out of the house with Amy following and then stopping.

I don't think that is evidence of anything.
Yes, but rampant speculation is fun.


However, i am upset by the doctor forgetting that ood are not servile innately.
He didn't. It was a lobotomised Ood.

[CurlyKitGirl]

. . .

So.

Um.

I've been really ill. Like, mystery illness and x-rays and other investgations that couldn't identify said malady ill.
So that's my excuse.

I will be liveblogging this season.

I'm All A-Shiver With Antici . . . pation For:

I've only seen one or two trailers, and now the titles for all. And maybe some more things thanks to this thread as long as it wasn't in a spoiler box.

I'm most looking forward to a 'Dinosaurs on a Spaceship'.
This sounds and looks like B-movie ridiculousness masquerading as a plot. As long as it's not boring or tedious this will be marvellous in some fashion.
I'm foreseeing Classic Who style cheesiness and Nu Who effects.

'A Town Called Mercy'
Because I know One had a Western-themed serial so yes, I'm thinking (read: hoping) for some call backs. Also, this was the main focus of one of the trailers, with eyepatches and electricity and the Doctor with a gun (screw you Ten! (no, still not over that)) because Eleven (and Smith) are terribly clumsy, so shenanigans.
I also think this this offers some serious cheesy opportunities, and you may have guessed that I like a bit of cheese.

Madness Takes Its Toll When I Think About:

'Asylum of the Daleks' because Daleks - but I'm not exactly expecting anything new: the Doctor wins.
This is, I think, my most conflicting episode based off my current knowledge. It's a Dalek story, so the Doctor will win.
However I am looking forward to insane Daleks from all fifty years of the show.
The worst things this episode could be is tedious and a bit of a rehash, but the problem is that it's a very real possibility for this episode, the Daleks have quite literally been done to death a good half dozen times or more now, and when you can look at an episode title and know right off that the Daleks are all destroyed once again, well.

'The Angels Take Manhattan'
Muppets Take Manhattan anyone? I've not seen that film in years, but I may have to again because come on. Episode title will be redeemed if there's an in-universe reference to the film.
'Blink' was most definitely an unexpected hit in all ways - Hugo awards, highest fear rating ever, fan favourite, new awesome villain - and the problem is simply that the Angels were likely intended to be a one-shot monster with a terrifying premise. And then they were so popular they were resurrected for a (still) very good two-parter. And the thing was: thousands of Angels, maybe a dozen humans-or-approximations-thereof. Manhattan on the other hand has a population of 1.6 million (as of 2011) and a buttload of security cameras acting as artificial eyes.
What new gimmick will the Angels have now? Or how are they going to use their old ones to account for the sheer number of eyes around them?
It's either going to suck or be very good.

Eh?:
'Power of Three'. It's about three people? Probably Our Boys. Ummm. Based on the posters it looks like they're carrying around phones on the 3 network, so product placement?

Writing?
1. Stephen Moffat
2. Chris Chibnall
3. Toby Whitehouse
4. Chris Chibnall
5. Steven Moffatt

Odd man out much? While I do love me my Moffat episodes, they're also the two I'm most concerned about. Then again, it's often that way with his stuff.
Chris Chibnall wrote '42'. I loved '42'. He was head writer for Torchwood which is a mixed barrel. He wrote 'The Hungry Earth'/'COld Blood' two-parter of which I know nothing.
Toby Whitehouse wrote 'School Reunion' which I loved and ditto for 'The God Complex'. I do like Being Human. His episode title also intrigues me the most.
Despite having a single episode this season I nominate Toby Whitehouse for having the best episode in this half.
Without having seen a thing.

Let's see how right (or wrong) I was at the end.

(Also I totes have an review to be posted soon. Having chest x-rays and being dosed with antibiotics with death via heart arrhythmia and various types of organ failure and internal bleeding as possible side effects tends to take a bit out of you.)

[Sunken Valley]

Just had a thought about "bunny-face"

I know this is out of nowhere but how old is Martha really? She's only a medical student. So even though her actress was 26-27 when she got the part, Martha need only be 21-22. She is not required by the plot to be mature. Just a thought.

@CKG: Ten using a gun...that happens again. Near the end of his run.

Toby "Whithouse" also wrote Vampires of Venice (season 5). Which sucked (ha!) and made me give him the moniker of "Toby Witless" for a period. But it was Rory's first trip in the TARDIS. So that was a plus.

Also you may want to see Wedding of River Song before Angels Take Manhattan at least. I bet it will be referenced.

Finally, to all concerned, Sunken Valley will be triumphantly returning to the playground for reviews. I don't care if you don't like them. I know you comment on them.

EDIT: Clara Oswin. New companion name.

[Calemyr]

'Asylum of the Daleks' because Daleks - but I'm not exactly expecting anything new: the Doctor wins.
This is, I think, my most conflicting episode based off my current knowledge. It's a Dalek story, so the Doctor will win.
However I am looking forward to insane Daleks from all fifty years of the show.
The worst things this episode could be is tedious and a bit of a rehash, but the problem is that it's a very real possibility for this episode, the Daleks have quite literally been done to death a good half dozen times or more now, and when you can look at an episode title and know right off that the Daleks are all destroyed once again, well.

Well, there was the Victory of the Daleks (Season 5), where the Daleks pretty walked away with the game. Seriously, they achieve every high priority goal they set in that episode and only were thwarted on throwaway side objectives (such as destroying the Earth), and even the objectives they failed on served to help them achieve their primary goals.


'The Angels Take Manhattan'
Muppets Take Manhattan anyone? I've not seen that film in years, but I may have to again because come on. Episode title will be redeemed if there's an in-universe reference to the film.
'Blink' was most definitely an unexpected hit in all ways - Hugo awards, highest fear rating ever, fan favourite, new awesome villain - and the problem is simply that the Angels were likely intended to be a one-shot monster with a terrifying premise. And then they were so popular they were resurrected for a (still) very good two-parter. And the thing was: thousands of Angels, maybe a dozen humans-or-approximations-thereof. Manhattan on the other hand has a population of 1.6 million (as of 2011) and a buttload of security cameras acting as artificial eyes.
What new gimmick will the Angels have now? Or how are they going to use their old ones to account for the sheer number of eyes around them?
It's either going to suck or be very good.

Well, if Time of Angels and Flesh & Stone are anything to judge by, security cameras are more of a boon to them than a hindrance. And Manhattan is no less reliant on electricity than a stranded starliner - with a little power grid sabotage, they could do some serious damage in one night. Heck, they could have an army just standing in wait around that city and nobody would ever suspect a thing until the power goes out.

That said, I rather suspect this to be another Let's Kill Hitler story, where the title is technically accurate, but does not even begin to hint at the real plot of the episode.


(Also I totes have an review to be posted soon. Having chest x-rays and being dosed with antibiotics with death via heart arrhythmia and various types of organ failure and internal bleeding as possible side effects tends to take a bit out of you.)

Yikes.

[Xondoure]

Yes, but rampant speculation is fun.


He didn't. It was a lobotomised Ood.

Not only that but he also stated he managed to return the ood to it's people.

[CurlyKitGirl]

Just had a thought about "bunny-face"

I know this is out of nowhere but how old is Martha really? She's only a medical student. So even though her actress was 26-27 when she got the part, Martha need only be 21-22. She is not required by the plot to be mature. Just a thought.

For the sake of simplicity we'll say that Martha did do science-y A Levels and she went to UCL Medical School because the hospital she was in was in London, Royal Hope is enough like Royal Free for me to say so, and the uni is always in the top five med schools in the country.
Their typical degree in Medicine (not any other medical degree) is six years long. Two pre-clinical, three clinical and one for some fancy compulsory thing they have to do.
So Martha's between twenty-one and twenty-five.
Given her competency in medical situations (see, I do compliment Nu!Companions pre-Donna!) I'd say she's nearing the end of her clinical training, making her about twenty-three. (Non-canon material says she was born in 1986 (http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Martha_Jones) and 'Smith and Jones canonically did take place in 2008 making her about twenty-two depending when exactly she was born.
Go me working something out from real world stuff before going to a fan-wiki and coming up with basically the same thing.

So while she's not required to be mature by virtue of her age (Lord knows I'm extremely immature at times), I do argue that her chosen profession requires it.
Either way, it's her face more than anything.
I think maybe she has big front teeth because so often when I paused the video her mouth was open and all I could see were her possibly-bucked teeth.
It's not me mocking her maturity when I point out bunny-facing, just an unfortunate union of pausing at exactly the wrong moment and facial features that don't lend themselves very well to the mouth-open-in-shock face.

God I'm a dork.
You point out something fairly logical re: maturity and age, and I go all out to logic out said age and then defend my running gag. Still not sure if they're completely linked, but it was fun to work out anyway.
That was a good half hour browsing various wikis.


@CKG: Ten using a gun...that happens again. Near the end of his run.

Sssshhh. Curlers. :tongue:
I look forward to seeing his possible hypocrisy/Thing That Makes Him Do That.
Nah. Hypocrisy. (IMO)
If it's more Daleks I'm going to kick my sister in the shins.


Toby "Whithouse" also wrote Vampires of Venice (season 5). Which sucked (ha!) and made me give him the moniker of "Toby Witless" for a period. But it was Rory's first trip in the TARDIS. So that was a plus.

YAY RORY!
Also vampires are co - no, no they're not. Not any more. Curses. Well, Venice is cool! Maybe it's a historical episode! You can't be in Venice and not be doing a historical episode!
Also, Whithouse, Whitehouse; half the time I don't think I can even spell Stephen Moffatt's name right, so the chances of me getting a 'normal' writer's name right, especially when it's a multiple option name are way down low.

Besides, just working off my previous knowledge does suggest that it'd be good. Eh, wouldn't know would I? Stupid me for burning the candle at both ends and missing an entire season.


Also you may want to see Wedding of River Song before Angels Take Manhattan at least. I bet it will be referenced.

>.>
I keep forgetting I'm still missing that episode.
*adds to the list, but higher up*


Finally, to all concerned, Sunken Valley will be triumphantly returning to the playground for reviews. I don't care if you don't like them. I know you comment on them.

Hey, I like your reviews.
Certainly they're a lot quicker to read, and more concise than mine. Plus we seem to come at the reviews from opposite ends of the spectrum; I'm just . . . what was it? An unusually erudite fangirl who tends to think more positively; and you tend to be of the slightly disillusioned fan with an emphasis on what didn't work over what did.

It's fun.

EDIT:

Well, there was the Victory of the Daleks (Season 5), where the Daleks pretty walked away with the game. Seriously, they achieve every high priority goal they set in that episode and only were thwarted on throwaway side objectives (such as destroying the Earth), and even the objectives they failed on served to help them achieve their primary goals.

SPOILERS.
*still haven't seen season five*
Still, with a title like that, it's a bit obvious.

But looking back over all of Who-history I can think of at least five serials/episodes/occasions where the Daleks lost quite drastically.

'The Daleks' - they were all destroyed. I know this because I've seen the Peter Cushings movie. 1
'The Dalek Invasion of Earth' - all destroyed. I know this because I saw the Peter Cushings movie. 2
'Genesis of the Daleks' - all destroyed. I know this because I think everyone does? 3
'Remembrance of the Daleks' - all destroyed, including their home planet. I know this because I saw the serial at my birthday party in March. 4
'Dalek' - already established as totally obliterated in the Time War (5). The 'last Dalek in existence' then commits suicide. 6.
'Bad Wolf'/'Parting of the Ways' - ROSE! goes Mary Sue God Mode and destroys them all. Again. 7.
'Army of Ghosts'/'Doomsday' - Mary Sue ROSE!'s life is all worthless and emo-tastic because the Daleks had a plan which was foiled and now they're all destroyed. Again. 8.
That Serial In Season Three Which Shall Not Be Named, But Sounds Surprisingly Similar To Season 7's Angel's Episode. All but one detroyed. Oh no. The Doctor is going to use a gun to kill that Dalek isn't he? 9.

So that's nine examples I can think of from Who-history, and five of them just from Nu Who seasons 1 - 3.
Kind of depressing no?
The overwhelming majority of cases involve the Daleks being defeated if not outright obliterated. Chances then are extemely high they lose again.


Well, if Time of Angels and Flesh & Stone are anything to judge by, security cameras are more of a boon to them than a hindrance. And Manhattan is no less reliant on electricity than a stranded starliner - with a little power grid sabotage, they could do some serious damage in one night. Heck, they could have an army just standing in wait around that city and nobody would ever suspect a thing until the power goes out.

True, which is why I said it could go either way.
There are many reasons why the Angels premise could work really well, especially given season 5's revelations, but on the other hand it could go badly. I remain dubious because I really like the Angels and hope the plot serves them well.


That said, I rather suspect this to be another Let's Kill Hitler story, where the title is technically accurate, but does not even begin to hint at the real plot of the episode.

I HOPE THIS IS IT.


Yikes.

Yeah.
http://i451.photobucket.com/albums/qq240/anthonyhardcore/my-life-sucks.gif

[Androgeus]

. . .

So.

Um.

I've been really ill. Like, mystery illness and x-rays and other investgations that couldn't identify said malady ill.
So that's my excuse.

pfft, you use any old excuse to get out of writing reviews. :smalltongue:

[CurlyKitGirl]

pfft, you use any old excuse to get out of writing reviews. :smalltongue:

Yep. Next time I'll say that I was busy getting pregnant. Or perhaps having a boxing match with a space!dolphin from Pollux b, which orbits the star we know as Pollux.
The latter is more likely than the former.

[dehro]

Just accidentally ran into this video and thought it'd be something hat would be appreciated in this thread.

Dr Who goes bowling (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQfvLpfXe2U)

Really funny.
also, Karen is Badass.. her attitude towards bowling is the same attitude Dr. Who has towards... everything

[Androgeus]

Yep. Next time I'll say that I was busy getting pregnant. Or perhaps having a boxing match with a space!dolphin from Pollux b, which orbits the star we know as Pollux.
The latter is more likely than the former.

You want to watch them Pollux B space!dolpins, they can pack a pretty mean right hook.

Also more videos to throw at this thread:
Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill Introduce Asylum of the Daleks (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00y24zj)
Steven Moffat and Caro Skinner Introduce the New Series (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00y24v8)

[CurlyKitGirl]

You want to watch them Pollux B space!dolpins, they can pack a pretty mean right hook.

Tell me about it. Once you get whacked in the face with a tepid flipper your whole world turns upside down.
Especially if that dolphin is actually The Rani in disguise.


Also more videos to throw at this thread:
Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill Introduce Asylum of the Daleks (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00y24zj)

This actually makes me more intrigued in 'Asylum of the Daleks', and a little more positive about it too. What can I say, Amy and Rory (and Arthur and Karen) are wonderful people and I'll take their opinion into consideration.


Steven Moffat and Caro Skinner Introduce the New Series (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00y24v8)

Thank you Mr. Moffatt for making a distinction between plot and story! All my love to you for at least the next two hours.
Doctor Who, with a few exceptions is very much story focussed.
For all that I'm not as big a fan of Ten as I was way back when series three started airing, I can still see his character develop over his tenure, watch how the emotions punch people in the face repeatedly.
Nine and Eleven's reigns do this too.
With a few glaring exceptions - hello Rose! Nice to see you stagnating in a swamp of anti-development over there.

The plots of Doctor Who on the other hand . . . let's just say that while they're overall more coherent than Classic Who, the average Nu Who episode has a fair number of plot holes and silly bits.
In some cases they're large enough to infuriate me.

So yes, I do like that distinction, and seeing as I've said a quadrillion squillion times that I love character driven things lots this is why I'm willing to overlook a fair amount.

[Sunken Valley]

Curly Responses!

They don't lose drastically in Genesis. If they did, they won't have existed.
They have however, lost dramatically in several other serials, including Evil of the Daleks, Daleks Master Plan and that time Colin Baker met them. They have fought the Doctor in a full length appearence 22 times, with tomorrow being their 23rd. Surprising, they are only the 2nd most frequent villain to fight the Doctor, no 1 being the Master (who was cheaper in the Pertwee and Davidson years, as he was a guy.)

Tennant does not pull a gun against Daleks. That I will say.

Technically, the "Vampires of Venice" aren't vampires. Nor is the episode historical. It is in actual fact, the weak link of the season (although some consider either Chibnall's 2 parter or Beast Below (the one Moffat, you've never seen) worse).

That is so true. Although I'm not disillusioned, I just think Moffat's let it get to his head and he should move on and work for something else (although, who would be the showrunner?). Moffat's all like "I've made Dr Who an event" and "The Davis era is a relic" or "My take is unique". You know what Moffat? Without Davis, your run would not have existed. Your run only works when contrasted with lighter and softer Davis. That's why your episodes were best, as a contrast. If you'd wanted to be first Showrunner, you could have done it. You did it with Rowan Atkinson. But you didn't. And your show would not have worked if it came before Davis. Cartmel master plan didn't work (by the way, Moffat's not trying to reproduce that, the plan has been leaked in a novel). This would not have worked unless Davis came beforehand.

And the accentuate negative stuff is heavily influence by Confused Matthew and later, TGWTG

[Strawberries]

(Also I totes have an review to be posted soon. Having chest x-rays and being dosed with antibiotics with death via heart arrhythmia and various types of organ failure and internal bleeding as possible side effects tends to take a bit out of you.)

*Hugs*. Get well soon!



So yes, I do like that distinction, and seeing as I've said a quadrillion squillion times that I love character driven things lots this is why I'm willing to overlook a fair amount.

Oh, hey! I'm the same! :smallsmile:

[Xondoure]

I don't think Moffat has that idea at all, as he greatly respected Davies and the two are close friends.

[Thufir]

My thoughts on the episodes:

1. Asylum of The Daleks
One question: These were the Daleks considered dangerously insane even by their own race of omnicidal maniacs. Interesting, sure, but why is there an asylum? Why weren't they all just exterminated?

2. Dinosaurs on a Spaceship
Will be either awesome or disappointing. With this premise/title, there is not much room for middle ground.

3. A Town Called Mercy
Should be cool. (Because Stetsons)

4. Power of Three
This will be hilarious.

5. The Angels Take Manhattan
I admit to being skeptical about repeated use of the Weeping Angels, especially trying to ramp up their threat level. But if it works, it'll be amazing.


I'm most looking forward to a 'Dinosaurs on a Spaceship'.
This sounds and looks like B-movie ridiculousness masquerading as a plot. As long as it's not boring or tedious this will be marvellous in some fashion.
I'm foreseeing Classic Who style cheesiness and Nu Who effects.

In the Radio Times, Moffat said he pitched the episode to Chris Chibnall by just telling him the title and hoping he'd be impressed. Chibnall's response: "Could the Doctor ride a triceratops?"


'A Town Called Mercy'
Because I know One had a Western-themed serial so yes, I'm thinking (read: hoping) for some call backs.

Given I actually couldn't be bothered to watch that serial because it completely failed to grab me, I'm not sure how I'd feel about call-backs to it.


Toby "Whithouse" also wrote Vampires of Venice (season 5). Which sucked (ha!)

Lies.


Also you may want to see Wedding of River Song before Angels Take Manhattan at least. I bet it will be referenced.

I'm not so sure it'll be referenced, but yes. I want that review.


Sssshhh. Curlers. :tongue:
I look forward to seeing his possible hypocrisy/Thing That Makes Him Do That.
Nah. Hypocrisy. (IMO)
If it's more Daleks I'm going to kick my sister in the shins.

Not The intended point of it was to suggest "The **** has really hit the fan now." Worked decently since IIRC he'd just been explaining the reasoning behind his "no guns" stance, giving it more impact.
(Though only with regard to him not carrying one, not his companions or soldiers in his general vicinity - I think that particular idiocy may be safely attributed exclusively to Helen Raynor)


Yep. Next time I'll say that I was busy getting pregnant. Or perhaps having a boxing match with a space!dolphin from Pollux b, which orbits the star we know as Pollux.
The latter is more likely than the former.

I was going to say. I mean, you have to keep these excuses plausible for us.


Now, leaving aside most Moffat argument as nothing productive would come of it, suffice to say I still love all his stuff minus half an episode. However:


Moffat's all like "I've made Dr Who an event" and "The Davies era is a relic" or "My take is unique".

[Citation needed]

While fans of Moffat's Who are often scathing about RTD's run on the show, Moffat himself has not criticised Davies to my recollection.


And the accentuate negative stuff is heavily influence by Confused Matthew and later, TGWTG

By what and later what?

[Dienekes]

[Citation needed]

While fans of Moffat's Who are often scathing about RTD's run on the show, Moffat himself has not criticised Davies to my recollection.

Actually, the one Moffat interview I remember where he mentions Davies he calls him a genius and defends him against his naysayers claiming that Davies has never used a Deus ex Machina.

I do not agree with his stance, cause while I do enjoy Davies run, he used a lot of DEM.


By what and later what?

Internet reviewers of movies. Personally I thought Confused Mathew isn't worth the time it takes to look him up on google as his points are often not particularly thought out, completely misses the point of the show, or just complaining for complainings sake. And unlike That Guy With the Glasses (TGWTG) he doesn't cover all that up by being funny. TGWTG is a reviewing site filled with internet personalities like the Nostalgia Critic (the eponymous guy with the glasses), Linkara (reviews comics), and other reviewers of varying skill or lack thereof. They can be funny and if you enjoy a funny rant they should be checked out. Admittedly their humor is not for everyone.

[Androgeus]

anyone going to be playing Dalek bingo (http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2012-08-31/doctor-who---get-ready-to-play-dalek-bingo) tonight?

[Avaris]

Curly Responses!
That is so true. Although I'm not disillusioned, I just think Moffat's let it get to his head and he should move on and work for something else (although, who would be the showrunner?). Moffat's all like "I've made Dr Who an event" and "The Davis era is a relic" or "My take is unique". You know what Moffat? Without Davis, your run would not have existed. Your run only works when contrasted with lighter and softer Davis. That's why your episodes were best, as a contrast. If you'd wanted to be first Showrunner, you could have done it. You did it with Rowan Atkinson. But you didn't. And your show would not have worked if it came before Davis. Cartmel master plan didn't work (by the way, Moffat's not trying to reproduce that, the plan has been leaked in a novel). This would not have worked unless Davis came beforehand.

Y'know, leaving aside any opinions the Moff may have of RTD and without wanting to get back into an old and tired arguement (seriously, can we have one series where we're not arguing over the quality of the showrunner/episode writer of every episode?) I sort of see your point about why Moff's episodes were best in RTDs run... dark works well as a contrast to the lighter stuff, but the reverse is harder to get right; currently there is perhaps too much dark, so Moff's stuff does not stand out as well. While I think parts of RTDs run went too far to the other end of the scale, I can see the arguement for a lighter overall feel to avoid diluteing the truely scary bits.

[Androgeus]

8 minutes people. I'm excited :smallbiggrin:

[Strawberries]

Dinner has been baked and is ready to be eaten, beer is on the table... let's do this. :smalltongue:

[Dienekes]

I still have 7 hours.

[Archonic Energy]

doc Tor Who?

[Androgeus]

doc Tor Who?

EGGS STIR MILK ATE

[Archonic Energy]

EGGS AND MILK

all the good questions were taken.

Poor Amy & Rory. :smallfrown:

they all survived me. :smalleek:

join me tomorrow for my live dalekast

[Aidan305]

Daleks were scary. Scary Daleks are good.

Not so certain how I feel on the elimination of the Doctor from Dalek memory. Kind of eliminates the whole rivalry thing they have going on.

[Sunken Valley]

SUN-KEN VAL-LEY REVIEWS IS ON-LINE! ON-LINE! Nah, not gonna talk like that for the whole thing

Asylum of the Daleks


Stuff I liked
Dalek Humans are spooky, brings the menace back to when the Daleks had human allies.

"Doctor Who" at the end was good

JENNA LOUISE COLEMAN: DALEK COMPANION! Okay, she was different, Moffat. You were right. That is awesome! Now the Doctor has a reason to meet and save her!

Clever how the Doctor hid his immunity to the virus to re-kindle Amy and rory's love

Was good for first ep


Stuff I didn't like
I found the reason for Amy and Rory's divorce stupid. Lots of couples can't have kids. Plus it makes Amy look selfish. Again.

Wiping The Daleks memory, bit mary sue Oswin. Well, I don't judge characters on first appearence and you are better than River



Next time

Sigh (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0726.html)



9/10

[Aotrs Commander]

New Episode:

Well, that was cool. Of course, on the downside, that'll be the best episode of the season1...

I had my suspicions about what was going out fairly early on, but it was sufficiently well done it was still a bit of a shock. Feel sorry for Dalek Oswin.

(Actually, she could have been Best Compantion Ever - and I mean AS a Dalek! You could have had her speaking through her perspective - as this episode - and everybody reacting to a Dalek, except for sometimes... Could have been awesome! But, of course, they'd never do that, sadly. But it would have been stupidly cool!)

And I have to say, that was as absolutely creepy as all get-out. Insane Daleks. Wow. Creeeeeepy. I regret I didn't bother to shut the curtains or anything, because that would really have benefitted from that treatment. Good use of the Daleks, and definately a fresh one.



The only thing I am left with is questions. Dalek parliament? Scaro undestroyed (though to be fair, we saw that in the New Doctor Who Adventures game, but it was never really explained then.) How long has that asylum been there - because the Daleks are relatively new after bouncing back after their...near extinction, but then again, time-travel... So... I guess it was relatively recently there for a long time...? I... My skull hurts.

(I suspect in, seriousness, Eleven has probably done more off-screen travelling and adventuring (and Dalek-stopping, in which to find all that information out) than many of his other incarnations; if only because he hasn't had a constant companion all the time. (Moffat really uses the whole time-travel thing as more than just a device to facilitate the set-up for the story, and I like that.)) I dunno. The Doctor's true age and time each regeneration is a bit of a murky issue at the best of times. I just get that impression anyway. He seems to jump about a bit more than some of the others.



Also, gratuituous name dropping! (For, I think, the first time in the show's history, between this and last season.) Really wonder what they're building up to for the 50th, but it's going to be spectacular and/or interesting...



I'm not sure I like the Daleks forgetting who the Doctor is, though. Them recognising him has been a facet of their character (albiet one that has become more and more pronouced and edged with fear as subjective time has passed) for so much of the show's history... Still, pretty sure it won't take 'em many foiled schemes to get that back...!)



1The Daleks are always the best episode in the season...

[Strawberries]

I had guessed the twist about Oswin... but I also had thought that the doctor wasn't immune to the virus. Oh, well. Half my guesses were right. :smalltongue:



Stuff I didn't like
I found the reason for Amy and Rory's divorce stupid. Lots of couples can't have kids. Plus it makes Amy look selfish. Again.

Wiping The Daleks memory, bit mary sue Oswin. Well, I don't judge characters on first appearence and you are better than River



I agree: stuff you didn't like was the same stuff I didn't like. But all in all, I enjoyed the episode.

[Aotrs Commander]

Stuff I liked
JENNA LOUISE COLEMAN: DALEK COMPANION! Okay, she was different, Moffat. You were right. That is awesome! Now the Doctor has a reason to meet and save her!

!?

*spittake*

Wait, hang on...!

Y'know, I thought I recognised her at the start as the new companion (out of the Radio Times), and I thought, "oh yeah, she's going to be joining the Doctor, awesome, I like her already! Nice that they brought her in right away!"

And then we got a bit further, and it became clear it was going to All End Badly, and I thought, "nah, must have been mistaken. Must be a different actress and I'm just not payin' much attention as usual..."

I do Moffat a disservice!

Oh, hells yes, this is going to be good. Is she going to end badly (presumably after her adventures with the Doctor), and we're seeing her River Song introduction moment, or is the Doctor going to rescue her from Dalekness (or something) before or after her transformation or something...? This is gonna be sooo coooool!

[Lateral]

Hey, what time does Asylum premiere in the US? I'm having trouble finding it on the BBC website.

[Thufir]

I found the reason for Amy and Rory's divorce stupid. Lots of couples can't have kids. Plus it makes Amy look selfish. Again.

How so? In what way was it selfish for Amy to give up Rory in the hopes he could have the children he wanted with someone else?

More general thoughts: I loved the explanation for why the Asylum existed. Daleks find hatred beautiful. The inclusion of the Daleks who survived the Doctor was obviously a great touch, though I feel like more could have been made of it. The scene of Amy and Rory arguing was great.
Oswin worked very well, I felt. Erasing the Daleks' memory of the Doctor... I'm not sure how I feel about it, but it fits the trend suggested at the end of series 6, and it's certainly interesting. We'll see how it plays out. And they did kind of have a theme running through the episode of memory.

I am somewhat bothered by the fact it seems the Daleks can quite easily capture the Doctor when they don't want him dead, but if they were trying to kill him, of course they'd fail to do the same thing then. But never mind.

[Androgeus]

1The Daleks are always the best episode in the season...

Except when they are in Manhattan

[Thufir]

1The Daleks are always the best episode in the season...

I'm not sure if I'd agree that has ever been the case...
I mean, I love the Daleks, but there's always been something I considered a better episode, even when they weren't suffering from villain decay.

[Strawberries]

On the subject of


Erasing the Daleks' memory of the Doctor...

I know this kind of logic doesn't always applies in the Dr Who universe, but my idea was that the Doctor would eventually get her to travel with him earlier in her timeline, so she would never have crashed into the Asylum and the whole thing would never have happened... but that's just my baseless speculation.

[Hopeless]

So Daleks don't have memory backups?

Nice try no cigars!

[factotum]

Guys, hate to pour water on the excited discussion about the New Companion, but:


New companion's name is Carla, not Oswin, and you've obviously all forgotten that Karen Gillan appeared as a soothsayer in Pompeii long before she became a companion--as far as I know, the two characters were never supposed to be related, despite being played by the same actress.


As for the episode, I thought it was pretty good, apart from a possible plot hole:


Not only do I not remember the TARDIS being aboard the Dalek spaceship when they were sent down to the planet, I have to ask why the Daleks brought it aboard anyway--they were clearly intending to send the Doctor on a one-way trip, so they could have just left it on Skaro.

[Androgeus]

New companion's name is Carla, not Oswin, and you've obviously all forgotten that Karen Gillan appeared as a soothsayer in Pompeii long before she became a companion--as far as I know, the two characters were never supposed to be related, despite being played by the same actress.




Apparently Jenna's debut was meant to be a secret (http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/doctorwho/articles/Steven-Moffat-and-Jenna-Louise-Coleman-Discuss-Her-Doctor-Who-Debut), so I think they are meant to be the same character




As for the episode, I thought it was pretty good, apart from a possible plot hole:


Not only do I not remember the TARDIS being aboard the Dalek spaceship when they were sent down to the planet, I have to ask why the Daleks brought it aboard anyway--they were clearly intending to send the Doctor on a one-way trip, so they could have just left it on Skaro.



I would have thought a time lord's tardis would be a bit of a hot commodity

[CurlyKitGirl]

Koorly's Doctor Who Review Archive:
Classic Who
Second Doctor
Series 6
'The Invasion' 1/8 (“http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12941528&postcount=1323”), 2/8 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12979300&postcount=1346), 3/8 part one (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13016280&postcount=1366), part two (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13016287&postcount=1367), 4/8 part one (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13031121&postcount=1397), part two (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13031134&postcount=1398), 5/8 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13156488&postcount=1421), 6/8 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13228620&postcount=1453), 7/8 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13315800&postcount=15), 8/8 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13392795&postcount=44)
Fourth Doctor
Series 12
'Genesis of the Daleks' 1/6 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11330063&postcount=1267), 2/6 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11520791&postcount=1397), 3/4, 5/6, 6/6
Seventh Doctor
Series 25
'Remembrance of the Daleks' 1/4 part 1 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13631644&postcount=85), part 2 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13631651&postcount=86), 2/4, 3/4, 4/4
Nu Who

Season 1 - retrospective
Brief Whole Series Retrospective (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11066304&postcount=606)
Ep. 1 'Rose' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13411944&postcount=49)
Ep. 2 'The End of the World' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13411944&postcount=49)
Ep. 3 'The Unquiet Dead' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13411944&postcount=49)
Ep. 4: 'Aliens of London' (1/2)
Ep. 5: 'World War III' (2/2)
Ep. 6: 'Dalek'
Ep. 7: 'The Long Game'
Ep. 8: 'Father's Day'
Ep. 9: 'The Empty Child' (1/2)
Ep. 10: 'The Doctor Dances' (2/2)
Ep. 11: 'Boom Town'
Ep. 12: 'Bad Wolf' (1/2)
Ep. 13: 'The Parting of the Ways' (2/2)

Christmas Episode: 'The Christmas Invasion'
Season 2 - retrospective
Brief Whole Series Retrospective (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11066304&postcount=606)
Ep. 1: 'New Earth'
Ep. 2: 'Tooth and Claw'
Ep. 3: 'School Reunion'
Ep. 4: 'The Girl in the Fireplace'
Ep. 5: 'Rise of the Cybermen' (1/2)
Ep. 6: 'The Age of Steel' (2/2)
Ep. 7: 'The Idiot's Lantern'
Ep. 8: 'The Impossible Planet' (1/2)
Ep. 9: 'The Satan Planet' (2/2)
Ep. 10: 'Love and Monsters'
Ep. 11: 'Fear Her'
Ep. 12: 'Army of Ghosts' (1/2)
Ep. 13: 'Doomsday' (2/2) GOODBYE ROSE!
Charity Special: 'Doctor Who: Children in Need'
Christmas Episode: 'The Runaway Bride'
Season 3 - blind bar Moffat
Ep. 1: 'Smith and Jones'
Ep. 2: 'The Shakespeare Code' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11088119&postcount=714)
Ep. 3: 'Gridlock' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11094867&postcount=747)
Ep. 4: 'Daleks in Manhattan' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11095680&postcount=751) (1/2)
Ep. 5: 'Evolution of the Daleks' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11103504&postcount=771) (2/2)
Ep. 6: 'The Lazarus Experiment' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11109832&postcount=789)
Ep. 7: '42' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11115909&postcount=816)
Ep. 8: 'Human Nature' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11124347&postcount=836) (1/2)
Ep. 9: 'The Family of Blood' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11153986&postcount=977) (2/2)
Ep. 10: 'Blink' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11330063&postcount=1267)
Ep. 11: 'Utopia' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11183578&postcount=1079) (1/3)
Ep. 12: 'The Sound of the Drums' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11203030&postcount=1111) (2/3)
Ep. 13: 'The Last of the Time Lords' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11231084&postcount=1156) (3/3)
Children in Need 2007 episode: 'Time Crash' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11242571&postcount=1202)
2007 Christmas Episode: 'Voyage of the Damned' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11286020&postcount=1252)

Bits and Bobs
Retrospective - to be written later
Why I Do Not Like Martha/Ten (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11129436&postcount=856) (This was written between my write ups of ep. 8 and ep 9)
Season Four blind bar Moffat
Ep. 1: 'Partners in Crime' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11474202&postcount=1313)
Ep. 2: 'The Fires of Pompeii' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11495165&postcount=1363)
Ep. 3: 'Planet of the Ood' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11711998&postcount=1469)
Ep. 4: 'The Sontaran Stratagem' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11732305&postcount=50) (1/2)
Ep. 5: ‘The Poison Sky‘ (“http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11748813&postcount=75“) (2/2)
Ep. 6: ‘The Doctor‘s (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11783480&postcount=162) Daughter‘ (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11783487&postcount=163) Two part review.
Ep. 7: 'The Unicorn and the Wasp'
Ep. 8: 'Silence in the Library' (1/2)
Ep. 9: 'Forest of the Dead' (2/2)
Ep. 10: 'Midnight'
Ep. 11: 'Turn Left' (1/3)
Ep. 12: 'The Stolen Earth' (2/3)
Ep. 13: 'Journey's End' (3/3)

The Specials]
1: 'The Next Doctor'
2: 'Planet of the Dead'
3: 'The Waters of Mars'
4: 'The End of Time' (1/2)
5: 'The End of Time' (2/2)

Season 5 - blind bar Moffat's Angels
Ep. 1: 'The Eleventh Hour' (including 'Meanwhile in the TARDIS 1')
Ep. 2: 'The Beast Below'
Ep. 3: 'Victory of the Daleks'
Ep. 4: 'The Time of the Angels' (1/2)
Ep. 5: 'Flesh and Stone' (2/2) (including 'Meanwhile in the TARDIS 2')
Ep. 6: 'The Vampires of Venice'
Ep. 7: 'Amy's Choice'
Ep. 8: 'The Hungry Earth' (1/2)
Ep. 9: 'Cold Blood' (2/2)
Ep. 10: 'Vincent and the Doctor'
Ep. 11: 'The Lodger' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11910590&postcount=531) (bar the angels this was the first episode I saw)
Ep. 12: 'The Pandorica Opens' (1/2)
Ep. 13: 'The Big Bang' (2/2)
Christmas Episode: 'A Christmas Carol'

Season 6
To to things this series was split in two, as such eps. 8 - Christmas episode will be liveblogged, and the first seven will be written with me having seen them before.
Ep. 1: 'The Impossible Astronaut' (1/2)
Ep. 2: 'Day of the Moon' (2/2)
Ep. 3: 'The Curse of the Black Spot'
Ep. 4: 'The Doctor's Wife' HELL YEAH!
Ep. 5: 'The Rebel Flesh' (1/2)
Ep. 6: 'The Almost People' (2/2)
Ep. 7: 'A Good Man Goes to War'
Ep. 8: 'Let's Kill Hitler' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11730422&postcount=36)
Ep. 9: 'Night Terrors' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11775289&postcount=126)
Ep. 10: 'The Girl Who Waited' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11865120&postcount=385)
Ep. 11: 'The God Complex' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11865605&postcount=391)
Ep. 12: 'Closing Time' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11945529&postcount=601)
Ep. 13: 'The Wedding of River Song' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13825610&postcount=206)

Red Nose Day Specials: 'Space'/'Time'
2011 Christmas Special: 'The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12430141&postcount=1036)

Season 7
Liveblogged unless otherwise mentioned.

Ep. 1: 'Asylum of the Daleks' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13825610&postcount=206)

Odds and Sods
Things that don't really fit anywhere.

'Good As Gold' (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13312756&postcount=12) Second Blue Peter scriptwriting competition for Doctor Who


And now, to boldly go where many have gone before. [*cue TNG theme (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsxgcLf0TSY) (Such a awesome introduction)*]

DOUBLE FEATURE TIME!

'The Wedding of River Song' (season 6b, ep 13)
So yeah, watching this about an hour before season seven officially starts. Bit late that isn't it? I'm watching this now because someone said it might be important to the next season.

Plus it's the only episode I've not seen for this season, I need one hundred percent completion for something after all.

What do I know? Time's even more wibbly wobbly than normal, there are eyepatches, the Silent and I think somebody might be getting married. No idea whom. Oh wait, title spoilers.

On with the show then.

WE HAVE A PREVIOUSLY ON SEGMENT. Basically, for all the thick people who didn't understand the implications of the previous episode and oh - all the other BIG DRAMATIC REVEALS ABOUT RIVER SONG, River killed the Doctor. Time is now borked to Hell and back because apparently if a Time Lord doesn't exist time goes borkaborka. Even though River and ugh Jenny the genetic mutant still exist and are therefore part Time Lord.

Oh, and figuring the Terminator-bot in the Previously segment tells me that said bot was or will be instrumental in the Doctor surviving to film season seven. And I do remember way back just post-'Let's Kill Hitler' there was speculation as to the Tesselator being the shot Doctor.

This is what happened.

I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but when you show a one episode villain with a chameleonic gimmick so prominently in a precap you kind of ruin the twist.

A bit like saying there's a wedding in 'The Wedding of River Song', or putting 'Dalek' in the title of a serial and than pouting because we figured out Daleks were the main antagonists in the serial.

On the plus side, we got spiffy!tuxedo!Doctor.

GOOD GOD. NOW THEY'RE TELLING US ALL ABOUT THE SILENTS/SILENCE (?) - do we ever figure out which it is? - BEING THE MYTH ARC OF THE SEASON. WE. ARE. NOT. THICK. DON'T TREAT US AS IF WE ARE.

Am I the only one annoyed by this bludgeoning we're receiving? You couldn't be more blatant unless you stuck the plot synopsis up on scre - ohwaityoujustdidthat.

Hey. After the obvious cue for the intro theme we just get a title card about it being London, April 2011.

Dude. Hot air balloon and the Gherkin? Steam train.

HOT AIR BALLOON CARS AND A WEB OF TRAIN TRACKS IN THE SKY! What is this place?!

PTERODACTYLS!!!!! Is this foreshadowing 'Dinosaurs on a Spaceship! Why are there dinosaurs in London 2011? Don't they eat meat? Apparently pterodactyls are the new pigeons.

This is just endless reaction shots of me seeing anachronistic stuff! ROMANS! INNA CHARIOT! I think I've been on that street actually.

WHAT. LONDINIUM COTIDE?! I know that! That's Latin for 'London Daily' - that's a real newspaper. But that's okay, the reason I hit the pause button was because the headline is WAR OF THE ROSES ENTERS SECOND YEAR!!!!!!

Why is the C15th in the C21st? And why is this more concerning than anything else so far? Because the WotR was several conflicts over the course of about thirty years. I studied this! It's funny because it's an old famous war still going on, but it vexes me because it's very wrong at the same time. It's actually the WARS of the Roses. Multiple conflicts people.

Hello Callow!Dickens from 'The Unquiet Dead'! C!D: "All I can say now is that it involves ghosts from the past, the present and the future all at the same time." HELLO META-COMMENTARY.

Random American Newsreader: "Crowds lined the Mall today as the Holy Roman Emperor Winston Churchill returned to the Buckingham Senate on his personal mammoth."

Help! SPQR on the Palace. HRE?! But I can't recall a British monarch ever being HRE! What I am doing even history with the comparing alternate to reality real history?! Even words wrong!

Also, that one line that lady has? So awesome.

Gaul?

Whut.

I don't even.

Silurian Doctor. What.

Don't make this all be reaction shots because it will be.

TOGAS. SO many bedsheets, so little time.

YOU CAN'T CALL THE HRE CAESAR AS WELL AS THE HRE! MAKE UP YOUR MIND! I KNOW TECHNICALLY THEY'RE ALMOST THE SAME THING, BUT HISTORICAL CONNOTATIONS ARE CONNOTATIONS NONETHELESS. THEY ARE DIFFERENT.

WC: "It's always two minutes past five. [...] It's always two minutes past five in the afternoon. Why is that?" I'm pretty sure there was some work of fiction that joked about stopping all of Britain at tea time to permanently freeze the country into indecision and unending tea. That's what I'm reminded of.

S!D: "Because that is the time." This SIlurian doesn't really seem to care that time and space has gone tits up, but Churchill does, so he summons his Soothsayer from the Tower. Is the Soothsayer a man from Gaul called Prolix perchance?

Alas no, it's the Doctor. In shackles. Hot. Oh, beard. Never mind then.

Oh, there was some stuff about tying in the creepy nursery rhyme to time happening all at once and Churchill not getting it, so the Doctor has to re-explain in terms the HRE understands. WC: "What has happened to time?"

D: "A woman." Okay. I know this is true and nice and accurate and things, but I'm sorry, the only way this comes off is in varying degrees of misogyny. Also it's clearly a lie because the Doctor knows a Tesselator so it's a man's fault he let time collapse. Or something. I blame Smith's tone. Sounds really familiar to Chi-Fu's in Mulan.

Theme tune time. Still cool. Moffat's the writer. Things are looking good. Confusing.

Even more so we're "Earlier" whatever, wherever and whenever that means. And the Dorktor's narrating about how it would feel dying alone and in pain far from anyway etc. Dude, you've died at least eleven times now, you don't need to imagine it. Wow. Depressing.

In a stetson.

Also he's talking to a robot.

Also he just called himself "the devil himself". And I think he's talking to the Tesselaltor? No, a Dalek because eystalk? Maybe?

D: "Hello Dalek!" Hello Dalek!

Dalek: *freaks out*

The Dorktor . . . decapitated a Dalek. Well that's dark. And then he . . . kills it? Or at least tortures it to get "everything [he] need[s] to know about the Silence" from it. So from the fun and quirky to torture.

The Docks of Callisto B? I am very lost. WAS THAT A REAL EYE IN THE EYE STALK?! Hah! The Doctor's reading Knitting For Girls! Doesn't Brian read that in My Parents Are Aliens?

Oh, and that eyepatch dude was an envoy for the Silence. He looks very girly. Oh, and it's actually the Tesselctor thing.

D: *sums up the Tesselector* "Never get bored by that." True. And the Dorktor wants to find out the Silence's weakest link. It's apparently some big-nosed pirate-type playing electro-chess. In the future - or something - chess is Big News, and that was a terrible pun, but I can't help but smile.

Okay, so this take place post-'Hitler' but simultaneously pre-'Impossible'. Eyepatch will die either way, but Dorktor wants info anyway. Dorium? The blue guy?

Okay. He's dead and not. Oh no, the Headless monks collect heads. AND THEY'RE ALIVE! And boxes preserve flesh now. So he bought his own stasis box? (And the pirate is eaten alive by a pit full of skulls. Who then hiss at the Dorktor.

HELLO NIGHTMARE FUEL!)

Now we're in the present. THis is a flashback episode. And if you know the Dorktor you gain Time-Sense. Well, it's happened before.

Sorry, still sounding misgynistic when you call River (or Madame Kovarian) "Hell [long pause] in high heels." Moffatt, why the misogyny?

Now in the box time. Wifi in your head? Cool.

The Silence "don't want [the Doctor] to remain alive" because his future his dangerous. Talky talky, Fall of the Eleventh (bit too meta for me to be honest) "a question will be asked that must never ever be answered".

Okay, that prophecy foretells the end of the religious order known as the Silence. So this whole one (or two? I've heard whispers) season arc is a bunch of selfish religious types out to - well. It's just one massive joke isn't it.

D: "The oldest quesiton in the universe, the one hidden in plain site, would you like to know what it is? [...] Then on your own head be it." Now we're in the TARDIS. This episode is a tease.

Churchill has a gun now. Basically, because the Doctor is the only one who knows the answer, he's going to die. Or now silence means 'not speaking'.

Oh dear. GUns and a change of location. AND A MARK. HELLO SILENTS.

Too many flashbacks. Hehe. Upside down Dorium. Lake Silencio is a still point in time, making it easier to make a fixed point in time.

Oh God. He's - screw ROSE TYLER. But please literally screw Captain Jack Harkness.

In-universe acknowledgement about the death of the Brig. *sheds a tear* No fair. No fair at all.

- running from his death. Boo hoo hoo. Face it like a man who can regenerate. Nine was fine to die. Man it up.

And the Tessleator delivers the messages. So it was the Tesselator in 'The Impossible Astronaut'. They did essentially just beg to be the Dorktor to fake his death. N'aaaawwwww, cuteness about the Ponds being "the best. My friends have always been the best."

MORE MARKS!

More flashbacks. So that is the Tesselator!Dorktor? River doesn't really fit that suit does she? Makes her look a bit stupid. Whut. TIme streams are being crossed. And the Dorktor's - what.

God Matt Smith has beautiful hair doesn't he? I want to stroke it.

Oh River you cow. She just ballsed up time because twu wuv. So she rejected the obvious -

Oh, hello Silents, we know you're there because weapons. Just look up. Like last - o screw me sideways they look like the Gentlemen.

RORY! Eyedrives? POND! AMELIA POND. Amy! Sexy inna suit. I want to play with her hair too. And she shot the Dorktor in the face with a stun bullet.

Damn Amy you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind hey Amy!

Also, they're going to Cairo.

Also, I think Amy already knows Dorktor. Look at what you're holding. I love Amy. So badass she can bend time and the universe to her will whenever she wants.

And she has his suit! Oh my. Longer haired Dorktor. Stroke. Stroke.

D: "You've got an office on a train. That is so cool." N'aaaawwww. Friendship ship!

That's not Rory. She remembers him, but not his face?

Amy remembers two versions of the same thing.

D: "TIme isn't just froen, it's disintegrating. It will spread and it will spread until reality falls apart." I've only seen bits of the season five finale, but didn't that happen then too?

RORY IN UNIFORM DO WANT. SHE DOESN'T KNOW HIM. WHY?! D: "Amy, you'll find your Rory, always. You just have to look." Yes! The universe ships Amy/Rory!

There's a steam train sailing into one of The Pyramids, said pyramids belong to Area 52. And those eye patches store information on them and show them stuff about the Silence.

I think those suits are their skin . . . hello Slender Man.

Look at the Dorktor endlessly shipping Rory/Amy even in the midst of the end of reality. Literally. D: "Your boss, you should ask her out. She likes you she said so."

River's leading the resistance, and Kovarian's a prisoner.

K: "Oh, they're flirting, do I have to watch this?" Yeah . . . I agree.

Also, I just finished watching an LP of To the Moon, so sobs. ENDLESS SOBS.

So the Doctor and River touching moves time forwards and restart time. So Amy and Rory are working for their daughter.

Oh, and the creepy Silents? Are creepy and breaking free from their watery cells of doom. Or possibly making the Pyramids spring a leak.

Why's it raining in Egypt?

Then there's some flirting/lampshading of WMGs. Oh, and the Silents were only waiting for the Doctor to arrive.

Cue mass electro-death and Rory continuing to be a badass!

Oh, and the eydrives? Are actually murderpatches of electro-death! Cool. Also, Dorktor, you could just grab hold of River right now and hug her until you reboot time. Well, lean on her.

Oh, and in an obvious twist Mme. Kovarian is dead-by-electro-death-murder-patch.


RORY'S DOING A SACRIFICE -

AND HIS EYEPATCH HAS ACTIVATED! *dies a little inside*

Rory you neverending badass1 Your badassery is a universal constant!

S: "Rory Williams: the man who dies again and again [...] she will never come back for you."

SHE DID!

The SIlents are liars!

And Amy's a cold-stone killer who - Mme. K. has only one eye. - lputs the murder-patch on to kill Mme. Kovarian.

River built a distress beacon to everywhen everywhere asking for help to save the Doctor. Weren't there all those distress calls last season?

D: "You embarrass me!"

And the sun spots I ignored? People saying they'll help. R: "Did you think when your time came, you had to do more than just ask?"

R: "I can't let you die. Without knowing you are loved so much [...] and by no one more than me." I OBJECT!

Wow. Bitch. River's willing to sacrifice every living thing in the universe for her love.

-

Handfasting of marriage? With the bowtie. Does this technically count as a shotgun wedding because the universe is ending again. Also, I bet it wasn't the Dorktor's name he told her.

I can't get over the Doctor's long hair. I WANT TO TOUCH IT.

And a kiss end/saves the universe. Screw that nursery rhyme!

Hi Amy! And River came avisiting. Literally just after the Byzantium. So . . . I - time! River's timeline is too much for me right now, so you know what? I don't care. My migraine's bad enough as it is.

And River just called Amy "mother". Small warm fuzzies. See? Rule one: the Doctor lies.

And so does River. All the time.

R: "He's always one step ahead of everyone. There's always a plan." And then Rory! Hi Rory! Seems they've just found out the Doctor's alive.

And now I . . . I think this is - nope. No idea. Yeah, the Doctor realised at the last second that a robot that exists to fake people's deaths is good for faking deaths.

That is cool even if it was revealed by the Previously On trailer.

And then he implied he had sex with River. Do not want.

Oh, and the Fields of Trenselor etc. are still to come. And the question hidden in plain sight? DOCTOR. WHO? DOCTOR WHO. DOC. TOR. WHO.

Scream Out!

Preview Thoughts: None.

Best Moment: Rory the eternal badass.

Worst Moment: River's more than a bit selfish. Didn't like her forcing him into marriage. I call one-sided love.

Best Actor: Ehm. Amy and Rory. So good in their new relationship, and the acting Rory does. Excuse me while I go fangirl over Rory's badassery ebing such a universal constant.

Worst Actor: Kovarian. Most unimpressive gloating prisoner-who-is-not ever.

Best Special Effect: Timey-wimy Earth! Moreso London the Giza because the Pyramids looked a little too fakey.

Worst Special Effect: Head inna box. Rly?

Most Punchable Character: River. Yeah, I love you so much I'm going to sacrifice all of reality just so you know I love you so much.

Death Count: Kind of zero, but also kind of everyone in human history too.

Kink of the Episode: Amy and Rory are MiB. Also long hair!Doctor.

Overall thoughts?
Eh.
Conflict?
I loved timey-wimey earth, and I loved the Ponds MiB and their badassery, the foreshadowing for certain events was well-thought and laid out throughout the entire series.
The effects were overall decent if a bit too CGI-reliant and obvious at the Pyramids.
River was just. I like River, but I'm not sure I do any more. Selfish much?
And the way this episode was told was jarring frankly. The cuts between present and past could have been a lot smoother and narratively I felt yanked around, which is not a good thing when attmpting to tell a coherent story.
So the end was kind of fail, but the rest was actually pretty good.
Like I said: conflict.

Also, and I know this is stupid considering Buckingham Palace is now a Senate like in Republican and early Imperial Roman and you can ride mammoths to work; but if Britain is ruled by the HRE how can the Wars of the Roses still be happening? They were a Thing between two noble houses who had valid claims to the throne (both being descended from Edward III, although Lancaster was from the third son and York the fourth) and their allies. If there was a HRE around he would have had precendence.
Unless the Emperor came about later, but I doubt that as the hey day of the HRE was the C15th and eC16[sup]th[/cup] meaning that -
See, there I go again. Transplanting real history onto what is canonically Screwed Up Time and Space.
But the history dork in me protests!


'Asylum of the Daleks' (season 7a, ep. 1)
Welcome to another season opener written by our Moffat. Good times await. Even if my migraines from the illness have returned.

Oooh, David Bowie music in the adverts for . . . Strictly Come Dancing. Meh. *sways while colour lights up your face, swaying through the crowds to an empty space 'cause my love for you would break my heart in two*

On with the show!
DALEK MYTHOLOGY WITH A GIANT STNE STATUE OF A DALEK. Who is Hannah? And why is she -

hello kinky boots.

Who is the Dorktor talking to? Ah. Hannah's mum. The girl's in a Dalek prison camp? But you just said he was dead.

SKARO!

YOU BLEW IT UP WHEN YOU WERE SEVEN! I SAW YOU DO IT!

How did Hannah's mum escape? Zombie mother? D: "It's a trap. [///] you are and"

WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!

Sexy Amy doing photography stuff. ENDORSED!

WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T HAVE A HUSBAND! NO DIVORCE. NOOOOOOOOOOOO.

THEY DIVORCED.

WHAT?!

*dies*

I DIED.

WHAT.

BUT. NO SINKING OF MY SHIP.

Ewww. Another human-Dalek. OH MY GOD THIS IS THE SEASON THREE DALEK SERIAL DONE RIGHT AND VERY SCARILY TOO.

And then we're in the hospital from 'The Girl Who Waited'. Which is actually on a Dalek space ship in the middle of a Dalek fleet.

R: "How much trouble are we in?"

D: 2Out of ten? Eleven." *dies* So punny and lame it circles right around to it again.

Oh wow. This serial is worth that one shot.

Hell what. THE PARLIAMENT OF THE DALEKS?! Daleks and Parliament does
not mix.

Also, is that - what.

Dalek: SAVE. US. YOU WILL SAVE US. YOU WILL SAVE THE DALEKS.

Well, this is new.

Yes Dorktor, I just said that.

Speaking of new, I think the intro theme took extra amounts of LSD before upping the colour saturation because I just turned my retinas out.

The Big Brother house? Or . . . what. Hello Hannah. How can she block out - *giggles* - she's blocking out the Daleks with a few

Hannah's mum is a dominatrix. Also Amy Sherlock-scanned the Dorktor.

THE PRIME MINISTER OF THE DALEKS. This will never be not funny. So . . . what happened to Davros?

"According to legend you have a dumping ground where you lock up the Daleks [...] you can't even control." They think it offensive to destroy such "divine hatred". They think hatred is beautiful. THis sickens the Dorktor. I'm still surprised they understand beauty.

Oh, and there are millions of insane Daleks on the planet.

And that's from Carmen. Where the Dorktor apparently played in triangle.

So what's Oswin Oswald - isn't that a boy's name? - she crashed. And is just chillin' out making souffles.

D: "Where'd you get the milk?" *dies*

So . . . the Dorktor and the 'good Daleks' must ally to destroy the insane Daleks. BEST. ENEMY. MINE. SITUATION. EVER. EVER. Also, this means all the Daleks in existance ca

- the Dalek's name for the Daleks is the Oncoming Storm not . . . [random Klingon Word].

And Rory just snarked at the Dorktor because the Dalek's plan for them is basically what the Dorktor does anyway.

Daleks and snow. And transporter beams. I think they filmed this in the Alps.

Oh, and there's a dude. A dude on the surface of a planet of insane Daleks who isn't dead.

Is that a Dalek in the snow? Doing that submariney thing? Oh, it's Souffle Girl. She's hacking Dalek technology. Why am I thinking Souffle Girl is actually a Dalek?

BECAUSE SHE IS.

Does this mean all the humans are Daleks then? I SAY YES. And typical Rory. He fell into a massive hole to the centre of Dalek-ville.

He's not dead yet though. Because the Daleks are asleep? Or deactivated?

I STILL HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN THIS DIVORCE YOU KNOW, AND I DO NOT WANT.

Is that a season one Dalek there?

Okay. Souffle Girl says she's been there a year, yet this Other Dude from the same ship says he's been there a day or so. Also, I think he's insane because he's not realised the other crew's all dead.

And have been for a good year it seems.

SOMEONE HERE'S A DALEK AND I WAS RIGHT ABOUT HUMAN!DALEKS. CALLED IT!

Also the Dorktor just beat a Dalek with a fire extinguisher.

Oh that's gross. The atmosphere of the planet turns all flesh into human!Daleks. Well, paranoia fuel much.

NOWAIT. ZOMBIE!DALEKS IN THE SNOW! ZOMBIE!SPACE!NAZIS IN THE SNOW! It's Dead Snow in space!

I think Souffle Girl just flirted with the Dorktor and he responded even though he's technically sort-of dead.

Ha! The Dorktor still ships Rory/Amy even in the face of real life. Take this badge of join the good ship Ponds!

Oh. And Amy's going to turn into an Amy!Dalek. Sads.

Meanwhile in Loner-ville: definitely season one Daleks. Rory manhandles them. And they're awake now.

R: "Ssshhh" it? Perhaps?

*giggles*

Rory's doing charades with the Daleks. And doesn't get that they're saying EXTERMINATE! At least until they said so.

That is rather scary.

One Rory against an entire planet of Daleks and he's doing fairly well. Even with Souffle Girl being a possibly benign GLADoS type. So Rory is Chell, and the Daleks are turrets.

Where's the cake?

I think we can safely conclude Rory is screwed. And is scared enough to ask Souffle Girl to flirt with him because he knows it.

Oy. This is 'The Empty Child' two-parter with Daleks! Mixed with Portal.

There are worse things.

SG: "Pop your shirt off as quick as you like."

R: "Why?"

SG: "Does there have to be a reason?"

Nope!

Also, Amy's doing the same thing she did in 'Time of the Angels'/'Flesh and Stone'. Except this time she's - hallucinating some trippy stuff.

Oooh, ballerina!Amy. Do want. Except those people are Daleks. Rory woz 'ere.

Why's that Dalek broken? It's . . . stalled. Oh, the Dorktor is called the Predator now.

D: "A Dalek without a gun, you're useless. That's like a tricycle with a roof." Amazing simile. Also, Daleks can be remotely reversed when self-destructing a asplode a dozen or so Daleks at once. I'm kind of having flashbacks to that Peter Cushing movie now.

Not a good movie you no.

Oh. There's where the trailer clip comes from.

Talk about lying while telling the complete truth.

OOH! SOUFFLE GIRL IS THE NEW DAVROS!

SG: "Somebody's a bit too angry."

A: "Somebody's never been to Scotland." *dies*

Huh. The milk is a chekov's gun. And I'm loving that the Dorktor ranks the Ponds' marriage only marginally lower than saving the universe by killing insane Daleks.

SPEAKING OF INSANE DALEKS: I WANT MY SPECIAL WEAPONS DALEK NOW.

SG is definitely Davros. Why else is she stuck in a pod thingy? The Dorktor obviously knows this too, so why's he co-operating with her?

I mean, aside from the Amy thing. And the everything else.

Daleks: "they [subtract] love. Don't let them." Cool.

Cue marriage!angst! Oh Rory!!

R: "It'll take longer [to convert me] because [...] the basic fact about our marriage is that I love you more than you love me."

D:

D,:

Also it's a lie.

And Amy can't give Rory kids!

Excuse me while I go cry in a corner because Amy gave Rory up so Rory can have children.

;_;

Oh, except the Dorktor already gave Amy his thingy so this just cleared the air between them, and I bet the Dorktor can be converted.

Oooh! Dalek ICU. S

Survivors of Spiridon, Caridian, - DALEKS WHO SURVIVED THE TIME WAR! OR THE DORKTOR IN PARTICULAR!

Comatose Daleks woke up to kill the person who hurt them!

I bet Davros did that on purpose.

SPECIAL WEAPONS DALEK!!!!!!!!!

:D

Did the Dorktor just say the f-word? I swear he did.

SG: "Tell me I'm cool Jim-boy." Okaaaaaay . . . maybe she's the Master? Nah, definitely Davros.

Because she did something the Dorktor couldn't.

Huh. SG's dreaming.

CALLED IT! SHE WAS A DALEK! But to be honest it was pretty obvious. D: "They didn't just make you a puppet. They did a full conversion. Oswin, I am so sorry, but you are a Dalek."

Well. Excuse me while I go curl in a corner and cry because I saw a girl my age(ish) get forcibly mind-raped into a Dalek. Completely.

Wait. But in 'Dalek' it committed suicide being marginally comtaminated by human DNA. Eh. Special exception I guess.

And the Daleks are so strong because they are afraid of the Dorktor.

Awwww. THat's so sweet, a human!Dalek saved the Dorktor's life.

Oh, and the Ponds are back together again. Snogging on a transmat pad while a prison full of Daleks blows up literally around them. So intense is this kiss they don't even notice the Dorktor so he has to transport them himself.

DALEK SUPREME!

D: "SUCKERS!" He transported into the TARDIS.

Daleks: "Doctor Who?" SG . . . made all the Daleks forget who the Doctor was! MY BRAIN!

Did Moffat just reboot Dalek-Doctor hostility universe wide?!

MY BRAIN.

Scream Out!

Preview Thoughts: RORY'S DAD! Indiana Jones, Nefertiti of Egypt! DINOSAURS ON A SPACESHIP WITH RORY'S DAD!

Best Moment: Errrm. DOC. TOR. WHO. Because of the potential for yet another reboot in the Who-verse, and because that was really awesome of SG to do!
Also, the way Rory and Amy revealed why they 'wanted' divorce. It was emotionally moving! And character driven! And this is Curly here and Curly loves character!

Worst Moment: The initial revelation about the Ponds' divorce. because these two deserve to be together forever and should never ever be split up.

Best Actor: Rory. Obviously.

Worst Actor: Black human!Dalek. He was good, but not as good as the rest.

Best Special Effect: Those human!Daleks were awesome. Especially zombie!Daleks. I can't believe there were zombie!Daleks! I never imagined it would ever be possible to write that.
Second place to the parliament of the Daleks.

Worst Special Effect: The transporter beams were a bit . . . well, let's just say that I think the Star Trek beams were better in many ways. Even the TOS beams.

Most Punchable Character: SG. I do like her, but I also would secretly want to hit her if I knew her in real life.

Death Count: millions of Daleks

Kink of the Episode: Amy. Duh.

Overall thoughts?
Since when did Daleks pull a Cyberman and convert humans into Daleks? With nanogenes from Chulu 'warships'.
Oddly enough, I don't really care because you know what, it was very terrifying, and lets a lovely thought creepy slowly up on you: if a Dalek looks like a human, who's to say my sibling isn't one? Or my parents? Or anyone I know.
The Daleks were really and truly scary! Points! I haven't felt honestly scared of Daleks since at least 'Dalek', and most likely ever really.

I'm cutting this short because my head hurts so much I think I'm going to vomit.
The plot 'twist' was very obvious, but I think the emphasis here was on SG actually discovering that for herself as I'm positive that Rory knew SG was a Dalek along with the Dorktor. SG was a very, very good actress.
Albeit annoying, but I think that was intended? And honestly, a year of going insane holding out against the invading Daleks gives her some leeway in the sanity department.
The special effects were honestly excellent and there really was a wonderful contrast between the space and looming expanse of the Parliament (will. never. get over. this) and the claustrophobic corridors of the asylum.

I was dreading this story as a season opener, but this was good. While I do think the Ponds' marital issue was resolved a little too quickly, and there were some remixes from previous Moffat episodes, I think it was done in an innovative fashion, overall this was fun with a good threat involved.
And while it was obvious, I still found the reveal about SG was still gutwrenching because of how they did it.

(Oh, and I'm pretty sure Skaro was destroyed properly during the TIme War? Ugh. Timey wimey, reboot the universe every other year stuff.)

Oh hey. This means there was a Dalek Companion. Awesome.

Don't know how I feel about the Dalek's forgetting the Doctor, their relationship is one of the defining things about them, but my fingers are crossed hoping it was just that specific ship of Daleks.
Look! I can dream!
Maybe he'll just earn their enmity again.
OR THEY'LL READ A BOOK!

Now if you don't mind, I've got to go shop as I'm almost out of EGGS.

oi
DOC. TOR. WHO. indeed Dorium!!!!!

EXTRA OI:

ASWIN WAS JENNA-LOUISE COLEMAN! JENNA-LOUISE COLEMAN IS THE NEXT COMPANION

brb fainting from awesome

[Aotrs Commander]

I'm not sure if I'd agree that has ever been the case...
I mean, I love the Daleks, but there's always been something I considered a better episode, even when they weren't suffering from villain decay.

It has been for me.

Without exception, because the Daleks are by far the best bit of Doctor Who, and I've always thought that.

I still giggle excitedly about Victory of the Daleks (and that Daleks verses Cybermen trash-talk) years after the events...!




Guys, hate to pour water on the excited discussion about the New Companion, but:

Dammit.

(Her wiki entry suggested otherwise, but, it is, at the end of the day, wiki and therefore not always reliable about new and in motion things.).



Apparently Jenna's debut was meant to be a secret (http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/doctorwho/articles/Steven-Moffat-and-Jenna-Louise-Coleman-Discuss-Her-Doctor-Who-Debut), so I think they are meant to be the same character

But then...

Wha...

Well, given the secrecy surrounding Jenna Louise Coleman's recruitment, I wouldn't put it past Moffat to have lied about what the companion's name is. It is, after all, what I would do in his position. Heck, even with the information we have at the moment, we can't entirely be sure whether she will be or not, so if they don't outright confirm it, all they have to is not confirm or deny it and we still won't be sure until we see her again. Clever, very clever!

I think I'm getting speculatory whiplash.



Not only do I not remember the TARDIS being aboard the Dalek spaceship when they were sent down to the planet, I have to ask why the Daleks brought it aboard anyway--they were clearly intending to send the Doctor on a one-way trip, so they could have just left it on Skaro.


Naah, it was there at the start, you can see it in one of the establishing shots when they were first brought on board (I took special note of it and went, "they really did the job, didn't they?") Though, yeah, why they brought it onboard is another question. On the other plunger, last TARDIS in existance, with the Doctor out of the way...?

[Eldan]

Wait.

Why the hell did no one tell me a new episode was on? Shame on you, thread. Now I will have to... borrow... it. From.... friends.

[Starscream]

Just saw it. Like it a lot.

The Amy/Rory thing seemed a little tacked on, since we never saw any indication of it before, and since they are back together by the end we will probably never see anything of it again. So it sort of came out of nowhere and went nowhere. But I liked the resolution, and the Doctor's clever way of fixing it. Nothing is ever pointless if it allows the Doctor a chance to do something awesome!

Liked Oswin. Figured out what her deal was about halfway through, but not entirely. I knew she'd turn out to be a dalek, but I figured she had always been one and just thought she was human. This is, after all, a place full of insane daleks. Delusions of humanity sound like the sort of thing a crazy dalek might suffer from. Her sacrifice was cool, and making the daleks forget the Doctor is hilarious.

The daleks themselves were genuinely creepy, which is always welcome. I usually find them a lot scarier when there aren't many of them. It the whole "Conservation of ninjitsu" trope in effect; one dalek is a massive threat, but an army is theoretically such a huge threat that the universe is doomed, which means there must be a magic fix it button somewhere. But these ones were genuinely a little freaky, since they were insane and haywire enough that you aren't sure just WHAT they are capable of.

The "Doctor Who" thing made me smile. It's pretty amusing, but considering what we leaned at the end of The Wedding of River Song, I wouldn't be surprised if it comes back in a big way by season's end.

Overall, great start for the new series, has me jazzed for more.
9/10

[Sunken Valley]

On the subject of



I know this kind of logic doesn't always applies in the Dr Who universe, but my idea was that the Doctor would eventually get her to travel with him earlier in her timeline, so she would never have crashed into the Asylum and the whole thing would never have happened... but that's just my baseless speculation.

Please No, Not River all over again, Doctor should save her. That's what Christmas ep can be about

New point
Plot hole: How did they get all the gold Daleks in the Parliament? I thought the gold brand was wiped out.

Also, See you got every Dalek ever in your ep, Why don't you put them somewhere that's too dark to see them fully? Nice.


Thufir
It's selfish because Rory and Amy still loved each other. And I think Amy's being stupid. Did Ellie kick Carl out (Up reference)? No!

As per your marks on my needing of citation, I got them off DWM and Radio Times again. Moffat has never directly insulted Davis, but he has said that "he" made Doctor Who an event, implying Davis didn't. He said he "rescued" the ood from "the past", Davis's past. And he said that he would make Dr Who "better than ever", Better than Davis


Aorts Commander
Spot checks. I keep them maxxed. I wasn't sure it was JLC either but I waited for credits.


Factotum
It's Clara Oswin!!! I said this. Plus, with JLC being announced so big in papers and in DWM. Plus, you failed your spot check. The TARDIS was on board the ship.

Furthermore, the proposal that JLC is playing a different Oswin to the one she assumes in the Christmas special is weakened by a) JLC not being mentioned or shown in trailers or early cast lists, b) Being within 3 months of appearance and c) Moffat said she would be a unique companion. Two Oswin’s played by the same actress would be similar to Martha, whose actress played a woman brainwashed by the Cybermen in “Army of Ghosts”. This was lampshaded as being her cousin. Now, this would cheapen the awesomeness of a Dalek companion.



Eldan
I distinctly remember you saying you didn’t care about Dr Who after the Christmas episode.

To all,
I am so impressed with this ep. So impressed that, if Stephen's next 2 episodes turn out to be 8/10 or above in my reviews, I will not only forgive him for all of Season 6 (which was one of the main reasons I joined by the way) but I will also review something of the communities choice.. If it is from classic who I will need some way to track it down and it will be in the normal style (although, if it is a one part episode I will consider doing it Curly-style if that is what the community wants.) Now that's a thought. And it gives me an idea..........

[Thufir]

New companion's name is Carla, not Oswin, and you've obviously all forgotten that Karen Gillan appeared as a soothsayer in Pompeii long before she became a companion--as far as I know, the two characters were never supposed to be related, despite being played by the same actress.

In the same season of the show? Nuh uh. Pull the other one, it's got bells on. They have to be the same character.
Also, yeah, Clara Oswin, I was paying attention to what SV said.


'The Wedding of River Song' (season 6b, ep 13)

In-universe acknowledgement about the death of the Brig. *sheds a tear* No fair. No fair at all.

Actually possibly my favourite moment of that episode.


RORY'S DOING A SACRIFICE -

AND HIS EYEPATCH HAS ACTIVATED! *dies a little inside*

Rory you neverending badass! Your badassery is a universal constant!

And that would be the best bit of the second half of the episode.


River built a distress beacon to everywhen everywhere asking for help to save the Doctor. Weren't there all those distress calls last season?

I don't think so? The Pandorica broadcast something basically drawing everyone to it, but not a distress call.
However you are right about the previous finale also having the time gone screwy thing (Which I forgot to quote further up), though it was more background in that one.


Worst Moment: River's more than a bit selfish. Didn't like her forcing him into marriage. I call one-sided love.

Yeah, I didn't really like River in that episode. And she really dominated the second half of it, which is why that's the half a Moffat episode which misses the cut of episodes I love.


Worst Actor: Kovarian. Most unimpressive gloating prisoner-who-is-not ever.

I didn't think she acted it badly, more just the character was rather wasted. As were the Silents, for that matter.


And the way this episode was told was jarring frankly. The cuts between present and past could have been a lot smoother and narratively I felt yanked around, which is not a good thing when attmpting to tell a coherent story.

Huh. Actually, I really liked the flashback bits at the start (As I've pretty much said, I really liked the first half of the episode)


'Asylum of the Daleks' (season 7a, ep. 1)

SKARO!

YOU BLEW IT UP WHEN YOU WERE SEVEN! I SAW YOU DO IT!

a) Technically he tricked Davros into doing it for him.
b) Wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey...


SG: "Tell me I'm cool Jim-boy."

"Chin-boy." Because of his chin. Like Rory's nose. So I guess following the trend Amy would be Legs-girl?


Wait. But in 'Dalek' it committed suicide being marginally comtaminated by human DNA. Eh. Special exception I guess.

Well, it's going the opposite direction. Daleks can't stand the idea of being part anything else and would kill themselves rather than continue so. But she started as human, and humans are more likely to go to denial before suicide.


if a Dalek looks like a human, who's to say my sibling isn't one? Or my parents? Or anyone I know.

Ah, yes. So now Moffat has added every person in the world to the list of things he's made terrifying, along with ticking clocks, statues and shadows.


New point
Plot hole: How did they get all the gold Daleks in the Parliament? I thought the gold brand was wiped out.

They made more?


Thufir
It's selfish because Rory and Amy still loved each other. And I think Amy's being stupid. Did Ellie kick Carl out (Up reference)? No!

As per your marks on my needing of citation, I got them off DWM and Radio Times again. Moffat has never directly insulted Davies, but he has said that "he" made Doctor Who an event, implying Davis didn't. He said he "rescued" the ood from "the past", Davies's past. And he said that he would make Dr Who "better than ever", Better than Davies.


Stupid, yes. Selfish, really, seriously, no. Selfless, in fact.

And, well, of course Moffat says he's going to make Who better than ever. Any show-runner would say the same, because that's always what you try to do with anything. I'm not going to comment on specifics without specific quotes to respond to, with context, but I think you're allowing your negative view of Moffat to colour your perception of perfectly innocent comments.

[LokeyITP]

The worm has turned, now Sunken Valley's the apologist :)

Production values: A+ (some camera-work above even normal Dr Who brilliance)
Dialog: C+ (some of it was flat for Moffat standards)
Story: B- (could have been done without that much canon change, otherwise fun)
Acting: A (didn't have any problems with any of the performances. also see spoiler.)

Watched with friends so probably missed too much to be too critical.

Onoz, 4 months until more Jenna Coleman. Great debut performance, but she did have a lot of the best lines and it was her character's story too.

[Eldan]

Eldan
I distinctly remember you saying you didn’t care about Dr Who after the Christmas episode.



Well, yeah, but that was then :smalltongue:

What I said was, indeed, that the last season, especially towards the end, and the mediocre Christmas episode had managed to make me temporarily uninterested in Who. It doesn't help that I still don't really like Matt Smith as an actor, he often seems flat and emotionless to me.

But it seems that overall in hindsight, I still see Who as more positive than negative and I'm willing to give it more chances. If this season turns out like the last one, however, I think I'll just start looking around for classic Who and watch that instead.

[Avaris]

Onoz, 4 months until more Jenna Coleman. Great debut performance, but she did have a lot of the best lines and it was her character's story too.

...
I've just realised... We don't know that.

They kept her appearance hidden until now... she could show up again in this series... we just don't know

Regarding the episode, I think it's the best opener to a season yet (which isn't necessarily a high bar to beat, but still...). I hadn't figured out the plot twist until the reveal, though I appear to be the only one who ddn't!

Little annoyed with the Skaro ret-con: would like to see it explained how it still exists. However I'm going to argue in favour of the having the daleks forget the Doctor.

Granted, part of the appeal of the Daleks is their shared history, but in recent years their fear of the doctor has become a major theme in all their appearances. This diminishes them... their plans are always going to be restrained and designed to avoid him... without that fear, they become much more dangerous. It also gives more peril for the main characters: as the daleks point out, they've never taken the chance to kill the doctor, possibly because of what he is to them. Now they can.

In general, this is another part of the change in tack that Who is taking, to free itself from past history. The Doctor is famous, and it is expected that people will have heard of him and react accordingly. IMO recent years have seen the Doctor become too known, where he can defeat foes simply by saying 'look me up'. That doesn't seem healthy for the series long term, better for him to be forgotten.

[Friv]

How so? In what way was it selfish for Amy to give up Rory in the hopes he could have the children he wanted with someone else?


It's less selfish, and more making a wildly unilateral decision, without any conversation, for a situation that's fairly easily solved. (I mean, yes, adoption isn't necessarily "simple", but it's easier than divorcing your soulmate.) It's insanely narcissistic, and a lot of people confused self-involvement with self-interest.

But then, insane self-involvement has always been Amy's main character flaw, so it was also kind of believable.

My friends and I are attempting to start a meme indicating that Amy and Rory's relationship is so intense, they divorce the way other couples have arguments.

AMY: "How's the casserole?"
RORY: "Not bad."
AMY: "It needs more salt. You deserve a wife who can prepare better food! That's it, I want a divorce!"

RORY: "Amy, could you get some milk at the store?"
AMY: "We ran out of milk?!? That's it, you deserve a wife who can keep things onhand! Divorce!!!"

RORY: "Well, here we are, working with the Doctor again."
AMY: "It's all my fault! If you weren't married to me, you wouldn't end up fighting Daleks all the time!!"
RORY: "It's really fine..."
AMY: "DIVORCE!!!!!"

[Eldan]

Several comments, but first, something I noticed in Curly's review:


So what's Oswin Oswald - isn't that a boy's name?

I think that's the key here, and I only noticed it when I read it. She had a friend who called herself Rory instead of Oswald. Calling it now, she is calling herself Oswin instead of Carla.

Didn't figure she'd be a Dalek until quite late. But when the Doctor started calling her Genius, I was all ready to come in here and call "Rani!" :smalltongue:

Strange: same punchline as that awful, awful finale. But here it worked. Until the Doctor said it himself while doing that weird semi-dance. That overdid it.

[Kato]

Ah, new episode... I'll be quick about it.


Well, where to start... I clearly liked the episode. It wasn't perfect but it was great. Lots of funny bits, scary bits, awesome bits. What I want when I watch Who. So I won't say what I liked but what I have problems with.

a) Amy and Rory. Okay, first off, I'm not quite sure what Amy meant, whether she is actually sterile or whether she just couldn't handle having another kid. If the former, I'd call her stupid. Yes, I know, people make a big deal about having biological children but dropping your soulmate without even explaining it to him and... urgh, no. That was not nice or selfless or anything. That was stupid.
If the latter it's a slightly different thing, if he really wants them and she can not possibly have them... or thinks she can not. Still, leaving him without any explanantion is stupid anyway, albeit in my opinion slightly less stupid. But... it really did not work for me. Also, I new they'd make up. My faith is strong in few things in the universe but Rory and Amy are universe' OTP :smalltongue: The Doctor believing so strong in that he'd let Amy become a Dalek is still a little bit... weird...

b) Dalek Carla/Oswin/whatever. I... had some suspicions but was only sure when it was almost revealed. It worked well enough, either way but.. I WANTED A DALEK COMPANION! That would have been so sweet! Damn you Moffat, why couldn't you... So mean... But the... well, pun was quite nice. At first I thought he was just going to repeat the joke he made with Rory earlier... also, new Rory fact: "Rory is surrounded by Daleks. He plays charade with them."
But... as others noted, I think Curly as well. Daleks do not assimilate. They just don't. They'd acknowledge a non-Dalek is superior to them. But I'll give it a pass because they were insane Daleks...

c) Doc. Tor. Who. I like it! I wonder where it is going and if they will rebuild the whole Doctor/Dalek dynamic but I like it anyway. Wait, that's not a complaint... uhm... it could go terribly wrong? We'll see.


In the end, I'll give the episode... a 11 out of 10. Okay, kidding, 8.5? B+, maybe that works better.


Oh, btw, Gillan, Moffat, Smith, Darvill go bowling. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQfvLpfXe2U)

[Androgeus]

So apparently there was a non-pond life prequel to AotD (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1r2dQkB1fY)

[NikitaDarkstar]

...

Regarding the episode, I think it's the best opener to a season yet (which isn't necessarily a high bar to beat, but still...). I hadn't figured out the plot twist until the reveal, though I appear to be the only one who ddn't!

[spoiler]Little annoyed with the Skaro ret-con: would like to see it explained how it still exists. However I'm going to argue in favour of the having the daleks forget the Doctor.

Granted, part of the appeal of the Daleks is their shared history, but in recent years their fear of the doctor has become a major theme in all their appearances. This diminishes them... their plans are always going to be restrained and designed to avoid him... without that fear, they become much more dangerous. It also gives more peril for the main characters: as the daleks point out, they've never taken the chance to kill the doctor, possibly because of what he is to them. Now they can.

In general, this is another part of the change in tack that Who is taking, to free itself from past history. The Doctor is famous, and it is expected that people will have heard of him and react accordingly. IMO recent years have seen the Doctor become too known, where he can defeat foes simply by saying 'look me up'. That doesn't seem healthy for the series long term, better for him to be forgotten.

I expected her to have an eye-stalk pop out of her forehead, not be a full on dalek, but yhea it was obvious something was up.

And I fully agree with you on the rest. It was cool when 10th pulled the "You're in the biggest library in the universe, look me up." thing, but it's become to common. Everyone knows the Doctor nowadays, and it's getting frustrating. It's okay with some of his classic enemies, but really, all of time and space knows who he is now. Also daleks without their healthy respect for the Doctor who just goes out to exterminate whatever gets in their way? Yhea, that might turn out awesome, especially since they're clearly at full power now and there's just one (possibly two) time lords left in existence... so I can totally see this as a setup for 11th death (and 12th's introduction) in the future. The daleks don't remember the doctor, so aren't cautious around him, which ends up forcing him to sacrifice himself to stop them.

Overall I hope this season keeps this up, because if it does it'll be awesome.

[Fjolnir]

What sort of causation can this imply in the wibbly wobbly ball of time though? is it not possible that the time war might end up getting passed over due to the removal of the knowledge that they possessed about their greatest enemy? Also what happens when the not dalek girl changes her decision to join the crew of the alaska and flies with the doctor?

[Fjolnir]

It's less selfish, and more making a wildly unilateral decision, without any conversation, for a situation that's fairly easily solved. (I mean, yes, adoption isn't necessarily "simple", but it's easier than divorcing your soulmate.) It's insanely narcissistic, and a lot of people confused self-involvement with self-interest.

But then, insane self-involvement has always been Amy's main character flaw, so it was also kind of believable.

My friends and I are attempting to start a meme indicating that Amy and Rory's relationship is so intense, they divorce the way other couples have arguments.

AMY: "How's the casserole?"
RORY: "Not bad."
AMY: "It needs more salt. You deserve a wife who can prepare better food! That's it, I want a divorce!"

RORY: "Amy, could you get some milk at the store?"
AMY: "We ran out of milk?!? That's it, you deserve a wife who can keep things onhand! Divorce!!!"

RORY: "Well, here we are, working with the Doctor again."
AMY: "It's all my fault! If you weren't married to me, you wouldn't end up fighting Daleks all the time!!"
RORY: "It's really fine..."
AMY: "DIVORCE!!!!!"

that last one though,if the names were reversed would work

[Dienekes]

So finally got around to watching the episode, and I wasn't as impressed with it as everyone else seems to be.

First off, I don't get this whole thing that: we're humanizing the Daleks so now they're scarier. No. Humanizing them has never made them scarier. The Daleks are scary because they are so inhuman. Now I won't say that humanizing a villain can't make them scary, but it doesn't work with the Daleks. They were designed to be completely inhuman, from the look to their personality. Also, I didn't get this was the creepy insane Daleks they were built up to be. In fact more than anything they seemed like the pathetic dregs of the race. Half of them couldn't shoot, others couldn't move, and one of them was just spinning around in circles. Now the using human puppets thing was pretty cool, but that's about it.

Then we get to the plan. The Daleks can't blow the planet out of the sky because their missiles are stopped by the shields surrounding the planet. Fair enough. But they can drop things on planet. So why don't they just drop some bombs and surpass the shields completely? I guess I'm not too put off by this one since then we wouldn't have an episode but it's what I thought when I saw it.

Then the Daleks turning Oswald into a Dalek. Now, I called that she was a human-bot that was mentally strong enough to resist Dalek imprinting, or just a crazy Dalek who thought they were human. But I didn't think she was a converted human, because Daleks need genius. No they don't. Daleks think every other race needs to be exterminated, and that they alone are geniuses, with the Doctor being the possible exception as a grudging understanding that he is that damn smart. Now the Cybermen, they need geniuses and they convert humans, that's their thing. The Cybermen also have a hive mind controlled by their programs and whoever is the Cyberking or whatever it was called. Daleks are living mutants in a mini-tank, how can they be hacked into? Maybe that's a thing from Old Who that I don't know about.

And finally the Ponds, they are one of the three fictional romances I don't actively root against, so seeing their relationship get played with for no reason bored me. The logic behind it was dumb, the pay off was dumb, and watching them make out instead of trying to save themselves wasn't touching, it was just dumb.

Now, I actually liked the episode, quite a bit. But I keep seeing the 9/10s thrown around and I honestly can't agree with those scores. It was an average Who episode, fun, but nothing special.

[Androgeus]

Doesn't Revelation of the Daleks have Davros converting humans in to Daleks?

[Xondoure]

Yeah these were the utterly crazy Daleks and that's the only excuse for the coversion. It could be said that since she was subjected to the nanos she had already become a Dalek, and that they were simply upgrading her body but even that doesn't really work out.

As for dropping a bomb, my head canon is that a few living organisms have a small enough energy output to survive the shield, and a bomb strong enough to blow the planet up would be detected.

Still, good episode all in all. Just, perhaps it should have been a Cyberman story.

[Tergon]

I thought the episode was pretty damn cool in a lot of ways. The nanomachines that converted any invaders was a clever idea; it was very Cyberman-ish, though, I agree. At the very least, having an eyestalk and blaster come out of their bodies was a bit odd, when there would have been ways to handle it that looked less... well, ridiculous, frankly.
The insane Daleks were a nice touch, though. The survivors of wars, disasters, and the Doctor, left to roam the planet while shrieking whatever pitiful thoughts enter their minds. Having them be battle-scarred and damaged and barely functioning made them creepy as hell while still making them a survivable threat, and I loved the Doctor's utter disgust at the start of the episode: "Just when I thought you'd run out of ways to make me sick..."

Amy and Rory, Amy and Rory, Amy and Rory... I have no idea why this happened. None at all. Their split-up happens in the off-season where we only get hints from Pond Life, and then by the end of the first episode they're back together again. And come on, the reason they split up is because Amy can't get pregnant? Very clearly Rory doesn't care about that, and there's adoption - not to mention, oh, a time-travelling super-scientist with access to any form of medical treatment that can exist or will exist. You cannot pretend that he couldn't get Amy's baby-factory up and running again if she asked for his help.
If it's going to be a plot point through the series and tie into something bigger, it can work. Otherwise this is needless meddling with a perfectly good relationship because of a plot point that makes zero sense. if a rabbit isn't pulled out of the hat on this one, I'll be disappointed.

Good old Souffle Girl, well, I was one of the many who saw a twist coming there. My guess was on the ship's AI, because she clearly wasn't human. And I think most Doctor Who fans have been around long enough to realise that, "Where'd you get the milk?" Is actually a very important question, because it says that she's clearly not really doing her cooking at all, which raises the question of how much of her is real... I think it would have been a better twist, though, to have her as a real Dalek who believed she was human, not a human who got turned into a Dalek. That'd be the ultimate Dalek insanity, believing it was human.

Now, by the end of the episode, we've got the Ponds working on a damaged relationship, a Dalek Empire at the height of its power that no longer fears the Doctor, and a Doctor who may or may not be infected with Dalek Nanobots. Lots of ways this could go, and I'm looking forward to seeing what comes next.

All in all, I'd give it a 7/10, with room to boost that score later depending how many of those plot hooks are picked up and how many plot holes are filled by the upcoming season. I won't underestimate the writers; they're quite capable of taking those qualms of mine and spinning them into the larger plot, which could make the episode seem even better in hindsight. Still, whatever works, it was a fun idea and a great season opener.

EDIT: Oh yeah, one more idea.
The Daleks clearly had Amy and Rory's life on record, to the point where they could snag them from Earth during their everyday lives and kidnap them because "The Doc-tor requires com-pan-ions." And they not only snagged 'em, they took them to a point in the future where humans are exploring off-world and crashed into the Asylum Planet.
Now, the Daleks have completely forgotten the existence of the Doctor, and that's a cool twist. BUT! They clearly also have files on the Doctor's companions, and they've got access to very accurate time travel to burst in on their lives. Those files say that each and every companion was there when the Daleks were defeated in the past, and the Daleks are quite capable of travelling through time to find those enemies. Without a Doctor to intimidate them into not going after past and present companions... well, if they could snatch Amy and Rory that easily, and now they have a very good reason to be curious about them, and they won't be scared off because they're protected by the Doctor...
I guess it all comes down to how complete the mindwipe was. If the Daleks remember the Time Lords at all, they'd recognize the TARDIS as it disappeared. If they remember companions at all, lots of people are in terrible danger. And if they completely forgot those things as well, then there's going to be big chunks missing in the Daleks' collective memories, given that the Doctor has been involved in their entire existence. If everything related to him is wiped from their minds, then there's a race of very powerful pepperpots who are about to discover just how terrifyingly powerful they really are.

[Lord Tyger]

I don't really have a problem with Skaro being back. Remember that, during the Last Great Time War, reality was being rewritten on a grand scale over and over again. It's far from unlikely that Skaro was recreated during that time- in fact, there was already some indication that this might be the case, with the Skaro Degradations being among the horrors that the Doctor listed as likely to return when the Master broke the Time Lock and brought back Gallifrey. I would have thought it likely that Skaro would be Time Locked, but I suppose that it might just have been scoured of Daleks, and later repopulated after Victory of the Daleks.

[dps]

Technically, the "Vampires of Venice" aren't vampires. Nor is the episode historical. It is in actual fact, the weak link of the season (although some consider either Chibnall's 2 parter or Beast Below (the one Moffat, you've never seen) worse).

I think I'd consider "The Beast Below" the weakest episode of that season. Though to me, it's a relatively "flat" season--all of the episodes were fairly mediocre (though mediocre Who is still one of the best things on TV) with nothing standing out as particularly good or bad. I realizes that's probably a distinctly minority opinion, since a lot of people really, really like "The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone" and the season finale, and while opinion is more divided, there are a lot of fans of "Vincent and the Doctor" and "The Lodger" as well. To me, though, it's much more consistant than the following season, when the episodes varied wildly in quality.


Although I'm not disillusioned, I just think Moffat's let it get to his head and he should move on and work for something else (although, who would be the showrunner?). Moffat's all like "I've made Dr Who an event" and "The Davis era is a relic" or "My take is unique". You know what Moffat? Without Davis, your run would not have existed. Your run only works when contrasted with lighter and softer Davis. That's why your episodes were best, as a contrast. If you'd wanted to be first Showrunner, you could have done it. You did it with Rowan Atkinson. But you didn't. And your show would not have worked if it came before Davis. Cartmel master plan didn't work (by the way, Moffat's not trying to reproduce that, the plan has been leaked in a novel). This would not have worked unless Davis came beforehand.


I've been pretty hard on Moffat myself, but I really liked "Asylum of the Daleks", so I take it all back. For now. But I reserve the right to say it again if the rest of the season doesn't live up to its promise.

[Reverent-One]

I think I'd consider "The Beast Below" the weakest episode of that season. Though to me, it's a relatively "flat" season--all of the episodes were fairly mediocre (though mediocre Who is still one of the best things on TV) with nothing standing out as particularly good or bad. I realizes that's probably a distinctly minority opinion, since a lot of people really, really like "The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone" and the season finale, and while opinion is more divided, there are a lot of fans of "Vincent and the Doctor" and "The Lodger" as well. To me, though, it's much more consistant than the following season, when the episodes varied wildly in quality.

Nope, that's what I think of season 5 as well.

[Xondoure]

Vincent and the Doctor is awesome. But I've found season five holds up poorly to repeat viewings, though it is fabulous upon initial view.

[Ninjadeadbeard]

Hi! First time poster, longtime Whovian calling in.

@Tergon: Yes. You are correct on every point. Furthermore

Why didn't he take Dalek-Souffle with him!? How awesome would it have been for the Doctor to have a Dalek companion! Oh the hijinks we've been robbed of!

"Hello, I'm the Doctor. Basically...um...RUN!"
"Doc-tor, would you care for a sou-ffle? Souffle? SOUFFLEEEEEEE!?"

Oh. :smalleek: I have a new ship...:smallamused:

[dps]

A few thoughts on "Asylum of the Daleks":

I don't know exactly how Skaro exists, but Eight did a much better job of killing off his own people than the Daleks, didn't he? Kind of makes Ten's boast in "Dalek" about watching the whole Dalek race burn a bit hollow.

The name Oswin Oswald makes me think of Oswald Mosley, the British Fascist leader. I kind of doubt that was what Moffat was going for.

Androgeus is right that Davros was converting humans into Daleks in "Revelation of the Daleks". Dead humans at that, too. At least the dead humans that he and his crooked business partners weren't converting to food in a Soylent Green plot. Yeah, that was a weird episode.

And I don't think this means that Jenna-Louise Coleman's character will end up being a Dalek companion. On another forum, I posted ten possible ways that I see off the top of my head that this could go, and for the most part, they don't involve her being a Dalek companion. Though I hope they don't go the route of her travelling with the Doctor before the crash of the Alaska--that gets too close IMO to what they did with River Song.

For that matter, why couldn't the Doctor have taken her with him anyhow. Even physically converted, mentally she pretty clearly was still human-ish. Maybe he didn't think she'd want to keep living like that, and maybe she wouldn't, but I think it would be better than how Ursala ended up in "Love and Monsters". Hmm. Maybe it's best that we just forget that "Love and Monsters" ever existed. To bad the BBC can't burn the tapes of that one and "Fear Her" and in exchange get back "Power of the Daleks" and, say, "Marco Polo".

EDIT: Ninjaed by Ninjadeadbeard on the taking Oswin with him anyway point.

BTW, the director for this episode was Nick Hurran, who also directed "The Girl Who Waited" and "The God Complex". He's also the director for this season's fifth episode. I'm kind of fearing that one, because it's the Pond's departure episode, and God only knows what Moffat will do to them, but if things hold true to form, at least with Hurran directing, the performances will be good.

Oh, and if you've seen the N.A. only prequel, who or what was The Messanger? A Headless Monk? The Dreamlord? We'll probably never find out.

[Xondoure]

Well while Oswin; Dalek Companion still might happen, it's important to remember that the Dalek mindset was breaking through and could well have taken over at any time. Also quite possible she needed to stay to maintain the loss of forcefield.

And as for the time war: an important thing to remember is while the Dalek's seem to be in full force the universe doesn't seem like it'll end anytime soon because of it. My guess is they've lost a lot of the technology that make them universe destroyers over their quite frequent bouts of being next to completely annihilated.

[Kato]

Okay people, could we stop trying to get any kind of temporal logic to make sense in Doctor Who? This is doomed right from the beginning...

Anyway, I was just curious about the Amy point once again.

Okay, maybe I missed a line but did Amy explicitly say she was sterile because apparently this is what everyone got apparently from the episode.
Wasn't the quote "I can't have kids after what they did to me at Demon's Run"? Of course it could mean just that, that she's unable to get pregnant because (???) but maybe she's talking from an emotional angle, like: I lost my baby once and I can't lose another one, ever. I'm not sure what was meant but... either I missed something or everyone else is not thinking about it from what I gathered.

[Kobold-Bard]

It would be safe to assume that she meant she was incapable of having kids, rather than her just being too traumatised.

That said, they know the Doctor. If he can't go an find young Melody before she regenerated in the alley into the Pond's friend, and clone her, then he's really not trying anymore. The baby wouldn't regenerate into either Mel or River since they're unlikely to let her die, and so would be their own kid that they could raise as normal. Problem solved.

Or alternatively, you know, adoption. Rather than a completely irrational divorce. Just an idea.

[dps]

It would be safe to assume that she meant she was incapable of having kids, rather than her just being too traumatised.

That said, they know the Doctor. If he can't go an find young Melody before she regenerated in the alley into the Pond's friend, and clone her, then he's really not trying anymore. The baby wouldn't regenerate into either Mel or River since they're unlikely to let her die, and so would be their own kid that they could raise as normal. Problem solved.

Or alternatively, you know, adoption. Rather than a completely irrational divorce. Just an idea.

That first paragraph probably should have been spoilered. So
I don't think it's safe to make that assumption. It's reasonable, but it's not necessarily right. In fact, on a certain level I'd rather that it be that she's too emotionally traumatized--at least that would be showing some emotional reaction to the loss of their baby, which was something sorely lacking from the story arc last season. But either way, it's something that she should have discussed with Rory first, instead of just kicking him out of the house with no explanation and demanding a divorce.

[Thufir]

That first paragraph probably should have been spoilered.

It's been three days, we can stop spoilering things at this point.

[Kobold-Bard]

That first paragraph probably should have been spoilered. ...

Personally, I think the thread should have [spoilers] in the title so they're unnecessary altogether (even without it, if you know there'll be spoilers its only sensible to avoid the thread until you see the episode). I consider Monday an acceptable cut off so that America & the world has had a chance to see it on tv.

[Tergon]

Check Wikipedia, good sirs. The episode doesn't come out in Australia until the 8th of September - the only reason I've seen it is because, frankly, my friends and I are massive Doctor Who fans and didn't want to wait (don't worry, I make a point of buying the box sets of shows I download to ensure my karma stays positive).

Adding spoiler tags is a mild irritation, but since I most likely won't be downloading every episode before it airs, I'd greatly appreciate it if I didn't have to avoid this thread for a week every time a new episode airs. Fair's fair, no?

[Calemyr]

Oswin:
Oswin says point blank that the Alaska was her first adventure. If Clara is Oswin at an earlier date, and she becomes the new companion, that means that her timeline has already been drastically altered by that fact. We're talking Time War level causality warping, here. Taking Oswin out on tour means she won't be on the Alaska, she won't be converted, she won't spend a solid year screwing with the asylum, and she won't scare the hell out of the Daleks. Then they won't call the Doctor, Oswin won't rewrite the Daleks, the Daleks won't forget him, and the Doctor won't have a reason to recruit Clara. So she does go on the Alaska and the episode happens as normally. Paradox.

Of course, it could be intentional. But what would be bad enough that the Doctor would intentionally undo the mindwipe and resurrection of the Pond marriage?

[Xondoure]

Personally, I think the thread should have [spoilers] in the title so they're unnecessary altogether (even without it, if you know there'll be spoilers its only sensible to avoid the thread until you see the episode). I consider Monday an acceptable cut off so that America & the world has had a chance to see it on tv.

Oh please no. With all the wierd scheduling things that happen with Who I'd have to stop visiting this thread altogether. Even with the spoiler tags lack of labels have occasionally tripped me up. Please please respect the spoilers. Or River will kill you in her sleep (that's right, hers, not yours.)

[Ninjadeadbeard]

Oswin:
Oswin says point blank that the Alaska was her first adventure. If Clara is Oswin at an earlier date, and she becomes the new companion, that means that her timeline has already been drastically altered by that fact. We're talking Time War level causality warping, here. Taking Oswin out on tour means she won't be on the Alaska, she won't be converted, she won't spend a solid year screwing with the asylum, and she won't scare the hell out of the Daleks. Then they won't call the Doctor, Oswin won't rewrite the Daleks, the Daleks won't forget him, and the Doctor won't have a reason to recruit Clara. So she does go on the Alaska and the episode happens as normally. Paradox.

Of course, it could be intentional. But what would be bad enough that the Doctor would intentionally undo the mindwipe and resurrection of the Pond marriage?

Clara? Who?

As to undoing the mindwipe, I'm guessing that'll happen When Silence Falls.

[Friv]

So, I'm thinking of joining the review festival, and walking through the Third Doctor.

I am thinking this because I just finished watching Terror of the Autons and oh my god did I want to yell things at the screen. ;) However, it'll be a not-quite-liveblog for the first few, because I've watched them each once alreay, so I'll be writing notes from a second readthrough.

Anyone interested in a new reviewer joining the field?

[Calemyr]

Clara? Who?

As to undoing the mindwipe, I'm guessing that'll happen When Silence Falls.

Make that Carla...

[Lensman]

So, I'm thinking of joining the review festival, and walking through the Third Doctor.

I am thinking this because I just finished watching Terror of the Autons and oh my god did I want to yell things at the screen. ;) However, it'll be a not-quite-liveblog for the first few, because I've watched them each once alreay, so I'll be writing notes from a second readthrough.

Anyone interested in a new reviewer joining the field?

Definitely! We still feel that the classic Whos are better than the New episodes - most of the new shows are more interested in cool images and instant emotions rather than solid stories. Someone earlier on commented that the new season 5 stories were great at first sight, but didn't bear re-watching - we feel that about most of the new episodes. They're style over substance, and the internal logic just doesn't hold together. (Amy's divorce? Come off it! Daleks can capture the Doctor, Amy and Rory just like that? How come they haven't exterminated the Doctor years ago? Daleks can convert humans into daleks so easily - why aren't they dropping nanobot bombs onto every planet they attack? They can get the Doctor and co onto the Asylum world but can't take in a dalek task force or a bomb?)

The classic Whos have their problems (just rewatched The Dominators... ooops) but at least the universe seems coherent and the plots (usually) make sense and hold together, mostly because the special effects were so awful that they had to make up for them with a decent script. So - roll on the 3rd Doctor!

[dps]

Definitely! We still feel that the classic Whos are better than the New episodes - most of the new shows are more interested in cool images and instant emotions rather than solid stories. Someone earlier on commented that the new season 5 stories were great at first sight, but didn't bear re-watching - we feel that about most of the new episodes. They're style over substance, and the internal logic just doesn't hold together. (Amy's divorce? Come off it! Daleks can capture the Doctor, Amy and Rory just like that? How come they haven't exterminated the Doctor years ago? Daleks can convert humans into daleks so easily - why aren't they dropping nanobot bombs onto every planet they attack? They can get the Doctor and co onto the Asylum world but can't take in a dalek task force or a bomb?)

The classic Whos have their problems (just rewatched The Dominators... ooops) but at least the universe seems coherent and the plots (usually) make sense and hold together, mostly because the special effects were so awful that they had to make up for them with a decent script. So - roll on the 3rd Doctor!

I think a large part of that is because in Classic Who, time travel is mostly used just to get the Doctor and his companions to the adventure, but then isn't really used within the adventure itself. They were real careful not to let the Doctor go back in his own timeline to fix things. Nu Who doesn't take that care. In fact, it seems at times to go out of it's way to have the Doctor go back and hit the reset button, especially since Moffat took over from RTD.

[Thufir]

Personally, I think the thread should have [spoilers] in the title so they're unnecessary altogether (even without it, if you know there'll be spoilers its only sensible to avoid the thread until you see the episode). I consider Monday an acceptable cut off so that America & the world has had a chance to see it on tv.

Wait, doesn't i- oh wait, no it doesn't, because I didn't start this one. We had [SPOILERS] in the title of the last thread, but still followed a policy of spoilering new episode discussion for a day or two in case people were lagging behind (Explained in the first post). Androgeus, I don't suppose you could sort those things out?


Check Wikipedia, good sirs. The episode doesn't come out in Australia until the 8th of September - the only reason I've seen it is because, frankly, my friends and I are massive Doctor Who fans and didn't want to wait (don't worry, I make a point of buying the box sets of shows I download to ensure my karma stays positive).

Adding spoiler tags is a mild irritation, but since I most likely won't be downloading every episode before it airs, I'd greatly appreciate it if I didn't have to avoid this thread for a week every time a new episode airs. Fair's fair, no?

Frankly, I'm sorry, but suck it up. If you haven't seen the episode, that's the vast majority of what we'll be discussing after it airs in any case, so it's not like you'll be missing that much, and spoilering everything for a whole week is just too much to ask really.


Oh please no. With all the wierd scheduling things that happen with Who I'd have to stop visiting this thread altogether. Even with the spoiler tags lack of labels have occasionally tripped me up. Please please respect the spoilers. Or River will kill you in her sleep (that's right, hers, not yours.)

See above.


As to undoing the mindwipe, I'm guessing that'll happen When Silence Falls.

You mean when Silence fails to fall. Have people still not got this straight?

[Xondoure]

Clicking the spoiler tag button takes 2 seconds, and fixes most of the problems. I've never understood why it's such a hassle to people.

[Avaris]

Clicking the spoiler tag button takes 2 seconds, and fixes most of the problems. I've never understood why it's such a hassle to people.

Problem is remembering to do so. I try and use spoilers soon after an episode, but the longer a thread goes and the longer from when I saw an episode the easier is to forget. Sure, doing it is easy and considerate, but unfortunately we are only human and can forget.

We do of course have the tardisesque powers of the edit button, so there is no excuse for not adding them later...

[Ninjadeadbeard]

You mean when Silence fails to fall. Have people still not got this straight?

Silence will fall when the Doctor answers the First Question. "Silence will Fall" is the thing the Silence want to avoid as that is their Fall, their end/destruction.

[Calemyr]

Silence will fall when the Doctor answers the First Question. "Silence will Fall" is the thing the Silence want to avoid as that is their Fall, their end/destruction.

"'Silence must fall' is a better translation." - Dorian

If the question is asked and the Doctor is able to answer, he will have to, and very very bad things will happen. (Or very very good things that other people don't want, given how much effort he went through surviving to that point.)

Either way, the Silents want silence to fall. They want the Doctor to keep his mouth shut, which would take an act of God. (Using the Silents homonym just makes it easier to tell the two concepts apart.) Now, the Silents can fail or the Silence can fall. At this point, the former seems more likely.