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Doctor Who

TomH1138

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Zarius said:
I am rarely disappointed by Moffat's set-ups and resolutions, but I'm probably not alone in thinking that the "everybody lives" thing has completely eroded the consequential drama and sapped all investment from the series in the high-stakes department at times, Jenny's death was stirring and effective...and then she's revived like it's nothing in a few extra minutes.

Back in Davies' day, people died all the time. Kids can handle a bit of brutality, Moffat, just trust them. I grew up on bloodbaths in 80's Who and I turned out....actually, I'd rather not say how I turned out...

I see your point about the characters in this episode. However, to be fair, during RTD's era, he promised and heavily foreshadowed deaths for both Rose and Donna, and then pulled his punch at the last minute. That drove me much more crazy than an episode like this, where Moffat doesn't promise us either way in advance.

Also in the RTD era: "The Doctor's Daughter," where Jenny (the daughter) dies and then gets brought back a few minutes later, and "Love and Monsters," where Elton's girlfriend dies and then gets sort of brought back (which is no better or worse than, say, the talking head of Dorian). I'm sure I could think of many more examples given enough time.

I would say that as many extras died during the RTD era as they do during the Moffat era, but no major characters die in either one.

I wonder if the BBC has some sort of rule about not killing important characters on a family show. It is weird that they keep getting brought back to life. The new series desperately needs its own "Adric."

Anyway, I thought the episode was terrific. The opening sequence alone with its "Trials and Tribble-ations"-type montage honoring the classic show -- that was simply amazing. One of the best moments on the show ever.

I thought the revelation of why Clara is splintered across time was very clever, and it didn't match my theory or any other theory I had seen out there, so kudos to Moffat for keeping it a surprise.

The Whispering Men were really creepy. More effective than the Silence, IMO.

I'm sorry that others didn't enjoy this episode, or seemingly any episode of the Moffat era, as much as I did. I can pretty much guarantee you're not going to like the 50th anniversary episode, either, because Moffat isn't going to change his writing style. But I still can't fathom this "RTD did everything better" mentality. The show was massively cheesy during his run. Moffat has his own problems, but I still think he's 100 times better than RTD.

And that's my two sonic screwdrivers -- er, cents -- about it. :)
 

Zarius

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Oh don't get me wrong, I still loved the episode, those were just minor niggles I had, and it won't affect my enjoyment of the 50th. I'm one of those people defending the Hurt stuff to fans.:)
 

Hymie

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TomH1138 said:
I'm sorry that others didn't enjoy this episode, or seemingly any episode of the Moffat era, as much as I did. I can pretty much guarantee you're not going to like the 50th anniversary episode, either, because Moffat isn't going to change his writing style. But I still can't fathom this "RTD did everything better" mentality. The show was massively cheesy during his run. Moffat has his own problems, but I still think he's 100 times better than RTD.

And that's my two sonic screwdrivers -- er, cents -- about it. :)

That's always been my mentality. Now, maybe its just I like Matt more as a Doctor, but RTD always made the show feel cheap and cheesy, where Moffat was actually tried to make Doctor Who always feel like the grand achievement that showrunners have been trying to accomplish since 1963. Now, he doesn't always succeed in my opinion (too much focus on the Season 6 storyline, not ditching Amy and Rory after God Complex) but as a showrunner in general, he seems to try to make the show feel grander than it is, rather than the cheesy mess it descended to at times under Davies.

As for the season as a whole, I enjoyed it but do wish that Amy and Rory never came back. The God Complex was a great episode, and them coming back for a few more adventures felt cheap and useless to me. I enjoyed most of their episodes, but would've rather seen them never return.

Clara's a great companion though, very reminiscent of those of old which has made for some enjoyable stories. The Doctor finally seems like the focus again, which is pleasant to see. I'm always glad that after all those "I'm just a normal girl" comments, it proved that's exactly what she was. Yes, once again a companion had to save the life of the Doctor but he had already saved her life so many times so it seemed like a fair trade off this time. JLC is a good actress, and the two of them have a good chemistry so hopefully she stays along as long as Smith decides to.

As for the 50th, I still don't know what to expect. I really hope the BBC gives Moffat and co. as much time as they want for the special, as with 10, Zygons, and a 8.5 Doctor, it seems too much to fit into the 60 minute slot as rumored. This is a huge television accomplishment, and if the BBC decides to limit the program just to put on Strictly Come Dancing over whatever nonsense, than they are truly the idiotic company I believe them to be.
 

bionicbob

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Finally got to watch the big final episode last night.... and I while I overall enjoyed it, it did feel a bit anti-climatic.

While I never actually expected the Doctor's real name to be revealed, I had hoped there would have been a bigger confrontation between the Doctor and the Great Intelligence -- or at the very least, seeing how Clara actually stops the G.I. and saves the Doctor. But no, this essentially happens all off screen and through voice overs.... so that I found both frustrating and disappointing.

Almost as frustrating that it seems that the entire episode is just set up for the 50th Anniversary special in November instead of being either a stand alone or concluding chapter to series seven.

That said, I thought the story was filled with wonderful moments. The opening teaser/tribute was glorious. I think I have rewatched that sequence over a dozen times now. Really, really like that.

I thought the mystery of Clara was nicely resolved.

River Song's appearance completely worked for me and I found it very touching and emotional. I think I even choked up a little bit there as the Doctor finally said his goodbye to her.

Trenzalore I thought was a delicious addition to the Doctor mythology. The TARDIS as his final tomb was very fitting.

Though I kept asking myself, where was THE SILENCE through all of this? Wasn't the whole point of series six about The Silence stopping the Doctor from going to Trenzalore? So where were they? Why the WhisperMen replacement players? Or were they there and we just didn't see them?

And then the big cliffhanger... John Hurt as.... The Doctor? But which Doctor? Is he the mysterious Valeyard from the Sixth Doctor's Trial? Or if the UK papers are to be believed, is the REAL 9th Doctor between McGann and Eccleston? Or an older version of McGann?

All I know, while slightly disappointed with the over all whole of THE NAME OF THE DOCTOR, I am salivating at seeing the return of John Hurt and experiencing the 50th Anniversary special! :)
 

Zarius

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bionicbob said:
Though I kept asking myself, where was THE SILENCE through all of this? Wasn't the whole point of series six about The Silence stopping the Doctor from going to Trenzalore? So where were they? Why the WhisperMen replacement players? Or were they there and we just didn't see them?

The Silence assumed that their job was done when the Tesselecta Doctor was eliminated at Lake Silencio and all knowledge of him had been eliminated, thus they thought the GI wouldnt have bothered making the Trenzalore gambit and going to all the trouble of rewriting history just to defeat The Doctor. They never counted on their own weapon (River) being the one to answer the question of course.
 

TomH1138

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Hymie said:
That's always been my mentality. Now, maybe its just I like Matt more as a Doctor, but RTD always made the show feel cheap and cheesy, where Moffat was actually tried to make Doctor Who always feel like the grand achievement that showrunners have been trying to accomplish since 1963. Now, he doesn't always succeed in my opinion (too much focus on the Season 6 storyline, not ditching Amy and Rory after God Complex) but as a showrunner in general, he seems to try to make the show feel grander than it is, rather than the cheesy mess it descended to at times under Davies.

Very well said, Hymie! :)

_________________________

Switching gears: A bit of news just came through today -- Matt Smith is leaving the show as of the Christmas special.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/doctorwho/articles/Matt-Smith-to-leave-Doctor-Who

I know a lot of people can't stand him, but he won me over in the first 10 minutes of his first episode, so I'll be sad to see him go. Still, it's always interesting to see what a new actor will bring to the role.

How about a British actor of African descent this time? That would freshen the show up.
 

white43

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TomH1138 said:
How about a British actor of African descent this time? That would freshen the show up.

Don't worry, this is the BBC, I'm sure they'll be all over that.

I wonder if they'll go with John Hurt for a while? Although I suspect he'll get wrapped up in the special.
 

TomH1138

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Yeah, I get the impression that John Hurt is a guest star. Otherwise, Matt Smith's exit would have been announced sooner, and John Hurt would have been formally announced as the new Doctor rather than simply a guest star in the 50th.

Even if I'm wrong about that, Eleven clearly seems to think the John Hurt character to be pure evil and doesn't even consider him to be one of the Doctors. He said something to the effect of: "Our name is something that we choose for ourselves. But he's the one who broke the promise. ... I said he was me. I never said he was the Doctor."
 

Hymie

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Yeah, Hurt is likely some Valeyard type character between 8 and 9. At his age, I'd think it would be far too stressful for Hurt to lead a show like this on a regular basis, not that I wouldn't watch it in a heartbeat.
 

hebrides

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Sorry for the weird font -- not sure what is going on. Anyway, if there is any truth to this at all, wow. The only thing even remotely comparable to it would be the discovery of the complete Metropolis, and, as amazing as that was, if this is true, we're potentially looking at around 45 hours of footage that was thought to be lost forever -- in other words, more than 20 times as much as with Metropolis. If it isn't true, then there are going to be a lot of people who are very upset. Either way, quite a story brewing.

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/06...-worth/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
 

wolfcarnage

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90 missing episodes.. Omg.. This would be a 50th year anniversary doctor who treat indeed. Would be a miracle if it's power of the daleks daleks master plan evil of the daleks.. If only we could find some validity!
 

Zarius

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Yeah, Ian Levine (superfan who blew the whistle on Matt leaving before it was announced officially) claims he has proof this is legit, so it's looking very likely. Apparently the BBC discovered this stuff two years ago and opted to sit on it as a 50th anniversary treat. They're currrently denying all hearsay of it.
 

TomH1138

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Yeah, it's fascinating stuff. And as great as 90 hours would truly be, more than anything I want a complete "Tenth Planet" (first Doctor's regeneration) and "Power of the Daleks" (the first story of the second Doctor).

Don't get me wrong; 90 hours is great in and of itself, and if it's true, I'll gladly take them. :) I just mean that I hope those two are in the bunch somewhere, because those are the most pivotal of the missing serials.
 

Omaru1982

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TomH1138 said:
Yeah, it's fascinating stuff. And as great as 90 hours would truly be, more than anything I want a complete "Tenth Planet" (first Doctor's regeneration).

Well the first doctor's regeneration has been given the flash animation reconstruction treatment and is currently about to be released in a 'regeneration' box set featuring each doctor's last story. Given how well they did the restoration of 'The Invasion' (a second doctor story that involved the cybermen) I'd settle for this.... however as it stands it's only available as part of this box set at the moment, the standalone release will come later in the year.
 

TomH1138

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Omaru1982 said:
Well the first doctor's regeneration has been given the flash animation reconstruction treatment and is currently about to be released in a 'regeneration' box set featuring each doctor's last story.

Yeah, absolutely. I had heard about that. But of course, if the original has become available, fans including me are still going to want that.

The one thing that worries me: The BBC supposedly knew about these lost episodes two years ago. But they certainly wouldn't have commissioned an animation for "Tenth Planet" if they knew the original was out there. So now I'm starting to doubt the story.

Side note: Of course we want "Tenth Planet" for the 50th anniversary, but I'd almost rather that the BBC wait on the "regeneration" box set since Matt Smith is about to join them!

Omaru1982 said:
Given how well they did the restoration of 'The Invasion' (a second doctor story that involved the cybermen) I'd settle for this....

My favorite part of that: At one point, you can see "Bad Wolf" written on a wall behind the characters. :)

Have any other classic serials been turned into animations? I tried to look that info up online with no luck.
 

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This will be a exciting piece of history this year or even if it is announced in the 50 th anniversary for Christmas at a later date
 

Omaru1982

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Have any other classic serials been turned into animations? I tried to look that info up online with no luck.

none I know of, apart from that audiobook with Paul Mcgann that was put on preservation site a few years back, no idea if it's still there, but it's still on youtube in it's original episodic format.
 

Zarius

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I'm looking at the GB forums and they're claiming the 90 missing episodes was a deliberate hoax to play about with the fandom, particulary Ian Levine
 
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