Doctor Who (again) [SPOILERS]

[Triscuitable]

I just want Chris Eccleston back in an episode similar to "Time Crash". That would be so awesome.

[Androgeus]

I just want Chris Eccleston back in an episode similar to "Time Crash". That would be so awesome.

I wouldn't get your hopes up. Sauces

[Raz_Fox]

So, on Friday, my father and I had a conversation, in which he expressed his hopes that this episode wouldn't end with me screaming "GAIMAAAAAN" in fury at the television. (Neither of us is really impressed with Moffat's run, though it does have its moments.) So it was with some amount of trepidation that I approached this episode.

Spoiler

Show

BESTEST BESTEST BESTEST BEST EPISODE EVER EVER EVEERRRRR

1. "I stole a Time Lord."

2. They killed Rory again. They killed him again.

3. "I feel fine-"

4. "The pretty one?"

5. Best climax. Best. Very "Bad Wolf", only better. The sheer raw power of the old girl, driving out the invader. How dare you get into her body, endanger her Doctor, and take what was not yours? Like fire driving back the darkness, the hound chasing the fox out of his den, like all of time and space unrestrained in its fury. GET OUT.

6. "You wished really really hard?"

7. Ten's Tardis room revisited. I think my squeal of fan-girlish glee could be heard several kilometers away.

Neil Gaiman proves, once again, why he is one of my favoritest favorite writers.

[Syka]

Definitely in my Top 5 Episodes of Nu Who. Definitely.

I really adored the

Spoiler

Show

I wanted to see the universe so I stole a Time Lord...You were the only one man enouch.

bit.

I mean...REALLY, who else would be the Doctor's Wife? River is the obvious choice but...this actually makes way more sense.

[Dr. Simon]

Lots of good stuff in this one, but I think for me the line that says so much so concisely:

Spoiler

Show

When the TARDIS is amazed because humans are much bigger on the inside.
Loved the reversal of a fifty-year standing joke, loved the sentiment.

[Comet]

Gaiman has guts, doing something like this. And it feels like he had a lot of fun with it, too.

It's been a while since we've had an episode of Doctor Who that really mattered. Not in the "oh no, time and space are being rewritten and only the Doctor can stop the apocalypse" kind of way, either, but in the way that will be written into wiki-sites and fan guides everywhere as one of those defining moments in the show's history.

So, yes, an awesome episode. And House was a great antagonist. The corridor running was very System Shock, I felt.

[dehro]

right..ok, I give up.
Matt Smith is a worthy Doctor after all. he was very good in this one and has finally convinced me he can take the role (my reservations stand, but are put on hold until the next "big" episode).

that said, great episode...

I want a shiny Ood!

[The Big Dice]

So, yes, an awesome episode. And House was a great antagonist. The corridor running was very System Shock, I felt.

The corridors thing is an old, old Who joke. Going back all the way to The Daleks, the second serial ever made for the show way back in 1963. The quarry was also a nod back to the days when every alien planet in time and space was a gravel pit or quarry somewhere in the Home Counties.

Like Steven Moffat, I had always had a feeling Gaiman was a secret Who fan. It's impossible to be involved in science fiction, be British and be unaware of the show. And in 45 minutes, Gaiman contributed more to the mythology of Who than Moffat has in all his time on the show since 2005.

Think about it, we know a little bit more about the Doctor taking the TARDIS. We know what his first words were when he sneaked on board and we know why the doors were unlocked. Those are huge, huge things in Who terms. Like, up there with the War Games revealing that the Doctor is a Time Lord or the Deadly Assassin taking us to Gallifrey. The only thing of the modern era to compare to that is RTD's Last Great Time War.

But most of all, Mr Gaiman has shown us that the writing of the last two years on Who hasn't been that great. This one episode has shown the level of ability of everyone involved in the show, from actors to crew. He's even managed to beat season 3 and the Human Nature/Family of Blood two parter, and I didn't think that was possible.

[Thufir]

Like Steven Moffat, I had always had a feeling Gaiman was a secret Who fan.

Anyone who has listened to the commentaries on Neverwhere already knew it for a fact. He mentions in the commentary for the first episode that the Marquis de Carabas was somewhat based on what he would have liked in a Doctor - always with a bit of his own mysterious agenda and several steps ahead of everyone else.

[dehro]

Definitely in my Top 5 Episodes of Nu Who. Definitely.

I really adored the

Spoiler

Show

I wanted to see the universe so I stole a Time Lord...You were the only one man enouch.

bit.

I mean...REALLY, who else would be the Doctor's Wife? River is the obvious choice but...this actually makes way more sense.

I thought she said "mad"

[Tiniere]

I haven't noticed anyone mention this yet... but a friend of mine and I agreed very much on the fact that one of the best moments was:

Spoiler

Show

"Fear me I have killed hundreds of time lords!"
"Fear ME I've killed all of them!"

Now I may have mis-quoted a little bit there, but it brought me the biggest smile out of the entire episode. I am very pleased with Gaiman very pleased indeed. Now I shall go spend money on his books, because if that writing is as good as this writing was, I have certainly been missing out.

[The_Admiral]

Is it just me or House acts quite similar to well House

[Drolyt]

But most of all, Mr Gaiman has shown us that the writing of the last two years on Who hasn't been that great.

Really? I thought he just showed us how awesome his writing ability is. This isn't just a matter of Gaiman showing up other Who writers. There was literally nothing on TV last week better than Gaiman's Doctor Who. Nothing. The man is a genius, period.

To be fair, you are correct in that Moffat doesn't seem to be nearly as awesome as he was before he took the helm. Perhaps he is having trouble adjusting to the extra responsibility? I'll forgive him, since even if his writing skills aren't 100% the Myth Arc is great. I think he just needs to be more hands off, give other people more responsibility. Not every writer is Gaiman, but they have to be able to get some great writers for the show.

[The Big Dice]

Anyone who has listened to the commentaries on Neverwhere already knew it for a fact. He mentions in the commentary for the first episode that the Marquis de Carabas was somewhat based on what he would have liked in a Doctor - always with a bit of his own mysterious agenda and several steps ahead of everyone else.

I watched Neverwhere when it was on TV way back when. Liked the obvious Monopoly usage for some of the names, but I never thought it was that great. Interesting, but not really a patch on Sandman or Good Omens.

[Thufir]

I thought she said "mad"

Pretty sure you're right.

Is it just me or House acts quite similar to well House

I was wondering how long it'd be before someone brought that up.
Never actually watched House, so I can't comment on the comparison, but 'House' isn't commonly used as a name. I vaguely wondered if fans of House might be bothered by the conjunction of names.

[Drolyt]

I thought she said "mad"

She did.
I need ten characters.

[Calemyr]

I got to see the Doctor's Wife now, and I'm more sure of it than before.

Spoiler

Show

River Song will be the Tardis. For one thing, the Tardis stole the Doctor because it wanted to see the universe rather than be preserved in moth balls. River became an archeologist, and an empirical one at that, a profession that is all about seeing the universe. Irdriss's relationship with the Doctor (love and trust and frustrated outbursts) is also very similar to his relationship with River. And while Doctor Who writers have never been a group to wring their hands over the concept of ontological paradox, River learning things she taught the Doctor from the Doctor after she'd taught them to her is a bit big even by their standards. If she knew them instinctively, however, that would be a different story.

And finally, the Tardis's matrix is too much for a human body to handle, and it eventually just burns up. This is very similar to Donna's response to becoming a Time Lord. If the time came that the Tardis couldn't be saved and the best he could do was put the Matrix into a human (or a variation of which that would be acceptable to the Doctor's sensibilities), he'd almost have to strip away a lot of her memories in order to make the implantation viable. The result would be a girl with an innate closeness to a Doctor that knows more about her past and future lives than she did.

Still just a theory, but it fits the evidence, I think.

[The_Admiral]

I got to see the Doctor's Wife now, and I'm more sure of it than before.

Spoiler

Show

River Song will be the Tardis. For one thing, the Tardis stole the Doctor because it wanted to see the universe rather than be preserved in moth balls. River became an archeologist, and an empirical one at that, a profession that is all about seeing the universe. Irdriss's relationship with the Doctor (love and trust and frustrated outbursts) is also very similar to his relationship with River. And while Doctor Who writers have never been a group to wring their hands over the concept of ontological paradox, River learning things she taught the Doctor from the Doctor after she'd taught them to her is a bit big even by their standards. If she knew them instinctively, however, that would be a different story.

And finally, the Tardis's matrix is too much for a human body to handle, and it eventually just burns up. This is very similar to Donna's response to becoming a Time Lord. If the time came that the Tardis couldn't be saved and the best he could do was put the Matrix into a human (or a variation of which that would be acceptable to the Doctor's sensibilities), he'd almost have to strip away a lot of her memories in order to make the implantation viable. The result would be a girl with an innate closeness to a Doctor that knows more about her past and future lives than she did.

Still just a theory, but it fits the evidence, I think.

Saply busted by the fact reapers don't appear every time River touches the TARDIS

[Eldan]

Timey-Wimey. The Tardis is immune.

Anyway. I think this is the first time I've seen a room of the Tardis outside the main control room. Or was ever anything else shown in the new series?

[The_Admiral]

yup first time in this series

[Kobold-Bard]

I got to see the Doctor's Wife now, and I'm more sure of it than before.

Spoiler

Show

River Song will be the Tardis. For one thing, the Tardis stole the Doctor because it wanted to see the universe rather than be preserved in moth balls. River became an archeologist, and an empirical one at that, a profession that is all about seeing the universe. Irdriss's relationship with the Doctor (love and trust and frustrated outbursts) is also very similar to his relationship with River. And while Doctor Who writers have never been a group to wring their hands over the concept of ontological paradox, River learning things she taught the Doctor from the Doctor after she'd taught them to her is a bit big even by their standards. If she knew them instinctively, however, that would be a different story.

And finally, the Tardis's matrix is too much for a human body to handle, and it eventually just burns up. This is very similar to Donna's response to becoming a Time Lord. If the time came that the Tardis couldn't be saved and the best he could do was put the Matrix into a human (or a variation of which that would be acceptable to the Doctor's sensibilities), he'd almost have to strip away a lot of her memories in order to make the implantation viable. The result would be a girl with an innate closeness to a Doctor that knows more about her past and future lives than she did.

Still just a theory, but it fits the evidence, I think.

I sincerely hope that never, ever happens. River being the TARDIS just seems impossibly unnecessary, especially as it then means the writers then have to come up with a new ride for the Dr.

[Androgeus]

Timey-Wimey. The Tardis is immune.

Anyway. I think this is the first time I've seen a room of the Tardis outside the main control room. Or was ever anything else shown in the new series?

The wardrobe was shown in The Christmas Invasion. (you also see a study in one of the Adventure games, but that hardly counts )

[Kato]

Is it just me or House acts quite similar to well House

Honestly? No, not really. Well, House was a douche who did some kind of medical stuff to it's people but overall... No, I don't think there's any more behind it.



As for the River theories... I considers it before but I think the new episode much more opposes than supports it. They won't do the same thing over and over again, I think and we see the personalities are vastly different. Nope, if anything this episode disproves and the theory more than it confirms it.

[Dienekes]

right..ok, I give up.
Matt Smith is a worthy Doctor after all. he was very good in this one and has finally convinced me he can take the role (my reservations stand, but are put on hold until the next "big" episode).

that said, great episode...

I want a shiny Ood!

Out of curiosity, what were your reservations about Smith? Personally I like his style of Doctor best of the new three.

[Kato]

Out of curiosity, what were your reservations about Smith? Personally I like his style of Doctor best of the new three.

Gotta agree. Okay, Ecclestone hadn't much time to shine and Tennant was good, I guess it was much more RTD's plots that made me like him less but Smith still seemed great from his very first appearance.

[The Big Dice]

Gotta agree. Okay, Ecclestone hadn't much time to shine and Tennant was good, I guess it was much more RTD's plots that made me like him less but Smith still seemed great from his very first appearance.

People complain all the time about Russel T Davies, a man often held up by other TV writers as being the writer's writer. And yet the British viewing public seem to disagree. Viewing figures are down on average by notable amounts. This page gives figures for every episode.

Looking at the last two full seasons, the closing two parter of season 4, The Stole Earth and Journey's End had viewing figures of 8.78 and 10.57 million. The closing two parter of season 5 received 7.57 and 6.7 million viewers respectively. The figures have dropped by a huge amount. And if I was an executive at the BBC, I'd be asking why one of our two biggest exports (Doctor Who is second after Top Gear for the BBC international sales) is getting figures so much lower than it was a couple of years ago.

[Dienekes]

People complain all the time about Russel T Davies, a man often held up by other TV writers as being the writer's writer. And yet the British viewing public seem to disagree. Viewing figures are down on average by notable amounts. This page gives figures for every episode.

Looking at the last two full seasons, the closing two parter of season 4, The Stole Earth and Journey's End had viewing figures of 8.78 and 10.57 million. The closing two parter of season 5 received 7.57 and 6.7 million viewers respectively. The figures have dropped by a huge amount. And if I was an executive at the BBC, I'd be asking why one of our two biggest exports (Doctor Who is second after Top Gear for the BBC international sales) is getting figures so much lower than it was a couple of years ago.

Davies executive produced Daleks in Manhattan, ergo your argument is void.

More seriously, I don't know who writes what episode nor do I care. If you don't like Moffat, well, good for you. Personally I've enjoyed this doctor more than last though they admittedly both had some good and not so good episodes.

[The Big Dice]

Davies executive produced Daleks in Manhattan, ergo your argument is void.

He also executive produced The Empty Child, The Doctor Dances and Blink.

Moffat wrote The Girl In The Fireplace. Your argument is void.

[Dienekes]

He also executive produced The Empty Child, The Doctor Dances and Blink.

Moffat wrote The Girl In The Fireplace. Your argument is void.

Didn't Moffat write Blink, Empty Child, and Doctor Dances? After looking it up, yes, yes he did.

Also you might want to see my edit.

[Reverent-One]

Out of curiosity, what were your reservations about Smith? Personally I like his style of Doctor best of the new three.

I'll jump in with my reservations about Smith, if that's alright. While he does the happy/excited/genius sides of the Doctor well, he also seems a bit more immature than the previous ones, like we're looking at a younger version of the Doctor, not an older one. This may be intentional (probably is, actually), but I don't particually care for it. Still, that's just a matter of personal taste, the biggest issue I have with Smith's Doctor compared to the previous two is that he doesn't do the scary, awesome (in terms of inspiring awe), "don't mess with me or you will regret it" aspect of the Doctor much, or really at all. Even in the latest episode (which I agree was great), the tardis says he's going to be mad once he finds out about the boxes, and his response once he does find them is...lacking. He's actually rather calm about the whole thing.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think he's terrible. All in all he does a fine job, I'd just take Eccleston or Tennant over Smith.