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Doctor Who

TomH1138

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wilhelm scream said:
It's a bit better, but I still think it was a bad idea to get Chris Chibnall to be showrunner. Why? Because he has written some awful DW episodes (e.g. the Power of Three), but he also wrote 2 of the worst Torchwood episodes of all time (Cyberwoman and End of Days).

Yes, but he also wrote "Exit Wounds," "Fragments," and "Adrift," widely considered to be among the best Torchwood episodes. The majority of Torchwood was produced under his stint as show runner. (I wasn't a huge fan, but I respect his work, and those are all excellent episodes.)
 

TM2YC

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Stop harshing my buzz :dodgy: .
 

TM2YC

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The hype train is almost at the station! :D



Let the Doctor WHo rave begin!


EDIT:

This interview with the new composer sounds great, taking it back to the original theme:

 

matrixgrindhouse

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So... an extended edition of the episode is going to be broadcast on BBC America in an hour.  Anyone know what's different?  Or is that just what aired in the UK earlier, and the US first run was abridged?  There was no opening title sequence when I watched it earlier, which seems like a severe omission. 


As it stands, I'd give the episode a C.  A completely average Doctor Who episode, pretty unremarkable in most respects.  Jodie is a natural in the role, channeling bits of Smith and Tennant, and I'm looking forward to more of her Doctor.
 

wilhelm scream

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I really didn't like the first episode. It was predictable (the thing that happened towards the end of the episode that I can't explain because of spoilers), full of baffling decisions (the sonic screwdriver looks like a sex toy and the Doctor's costume looks worse than the 6th doctor's in my opinion) and tropes of Chibnall's past works creeping their way in (terrible/pointless voice-overs). I think I might just retire from watching TV Who and stick with the weird and wonderful world of Big Finish.
 

Zarius

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I had a good time, but it was just passable at best. Not the worst thing Chibnall's written, but very meek in comparison to Moffat's Eleventh Hour or even the likes of Spearhead From Space and Castrovalva. It's a good thing "Open Air" doesn't exist now, or Pip and Jane would be giving Chris his receipt. :D


Jodie was great though, she really commanded authority and had the vital energy needed to keep up in the role, she'll be bringing me back next week, and at least we have a decent theme again and more of a throwback to the old music too.
 

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^ More or less agreed. Jodie was even better than I'd hoped.

Random spoilerish thoughts: Loved the sequence of The Doctor forging the new sonic-screwdriver out of "Sheffield Steel" and old circuit boards. Once again they've upped the production values and filmic look. I really hope the promises of self-contained adventures are true and less of the multi-episode, overly-convoluted episodes of recent years. The story itself was okay but I'll forgive that when they had to establish so many new characters in an hour. I'm very much looking forward to having three companions of different ages and attitudes, instead of the same carbon-copy twenty-something girl we've had since the show came back in '05 (a few examples excepting, Cpt Jack, Bill Potts etc). I can't wait to see the new titles and theme next week. The Doctor p**sing off the evil "Tzim-Sha" alien by mispronouncing his name as "Tim Shaw?" was a hoot.
 

addiesin

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Zarius said:
I had a good time, but it was just passable at best. Not the worst thing Chibnall's written, but very meek in comparison to Moffat's Eleventh Hour or even the likes of Spearhead From Space and Castrovalva. It's a good thing "Open Air" doesn't exist now, or Pip and Jane would be giving Chris his receipt. :D


Jodie was great though, she really commanded authority and had the vital energy needed to keep up in the role, she'll be bringing me back next week, and at least we have a decent theme again and more of a throwback to the old music too.


I am not a huge fan of Eleventh Hour. To me it makes Matt Smith look like a jerk. He finds a little girl who lives alone, makes her cook for him, and throws her food away. And it's played for laughs. I know she said she lives with the Aunt but we never see the Aunt when Amy is a kid. I was really relieved the new clothing scene went by fast in The Woman Who Fell To Earth because I was worried they'd try another long stretch of the Doctor throwing things as "comedy". 

I liked the new episode a lot, and was actually really impressed with how movie-like it is in presentation. Until the tooth guy comes out of the pod. His character design looked cheap and generic. Only took me out for a second, I was into it the rest of the way. 

Of course, any first episode of a new Doctor only needs to introduce them, and I like Jodie a lot already. A couple highlights:
"Not anymore!" (the phone)
"I'm sure it's fine." (the Swiss army)
"These legs definitely used to be longer." (the crane)
"Yup!" (the clothes)
 

TomH1138

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I liked it a lot. Jodie felt like the Doctor right away, the new characters are interesting, and the story was good. 

It's unusual for a regeneration episode not to be a comedy, but I like Chibnall challenging the conventions. (And not all of them up until now have been comedies, anyway.) The visuals were good; the music was a nice change of pace; and the somber conclusion definitely feels like a change to the status quo. 
 

I like this one much better than "Deep Breath."
 

LastSurvivor

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I have to say, this is the most engaging Doctor Who episode I've seen for a long time... a simple story, free from Moffatt's convoluted ramblings, it was fun, breezy and also very poignant.  Jodie was also excellent, making quite an impact for her first story.  

It also looked fantastic.. it's clear the photography has gone up a notch, so this bodes well for the rest of the season.  Also, best of all, the music is so much better.  It's far better balanced that Murray Gold's over-the-top style, feeling more like it's creating soundscapes and serving the story.

All in all, a very promising start.
 

DANLAV05

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This weeks was good, on par with last week (again not a great script) but I love the new
and the characters are great :D
i love Jodie, Bradley, Tosin and Mandip but I think the main issue for me is with both this and last weeks Chibnall's writing. I'm totally with these characters but the way he works a Doctor Who story has never been great
 

Zarius

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It was a solid, if unremarkable story. Really liked the concept of the space rally and the two rivals had some compelling backstories, I liked how they tackled the remnants at the end, but it just felt like the ep had no stakes to it, and those companions are way too calm and forgiving around the Doctor whenever she screws up.
 

matrixgrindhouse

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Another average episode in my book.  Nothing terribly wrong with it, but nothing memorable enough that'd make me ever want to watch it again.  I do like that we're getting some hints at an arc - the Tooth Fairy Predators have been busy.  More importantly , the Timeless Child sounds like it has plenty of potential.  I'm hoping for Susan.


Speaking of the Hartnell era, the new title sequence really seems like a throwback to the very original, both in terms of visuals and the musical arrangement.  Even dispensed with the TARDIS and the Doctor's face - though I imagine one or both will be returning to the sequence in the near future.

Not sure about the new Tardis interior.  Sort of a crystal beehive sorta thing?  I'll reserve judgement until we get to see more of it in the coming episodes.  The hour glass is fun, though.

At the very least, there's no growing pains for Jodie's Doctor.  It took the better part of a season - or more - to get Capaldi's characterization working.  They have Thirteen up and running out of the gate, and she's doing a good job so far.
 

Handman

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Hello everyone, new to the forum, but a big fan of Who. As such, I've got a lot of things to say about it.

I'm hoping for Susan.

Chibnail has been pretty adamant that the show should be accessible to anyone at any point, hence no two-parters this year.  If we were still with Moffat, I wouldn't doubt we'd see Susan eventually, but I don't think the new showrunner is going to be touching old lore, especially from that long ago.

I agree that the episode was fairly average, but after being so frustrated with Moffat's era ever since his second series, that's a minor miracle for me these days.  A coherent plot is all I want.
 

addiesin

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Handman said:
I agree that the episode was fairly average, but after being so frustrated with Moffat's era ever since his second series, that's a minor miracle for me these days.  A coherent plot is all I want.

I've often said I think Moffatt is good for an episode, bad for a season. He's got a limited bag of tricks and focuses way too much on surprise and not enough on payoff or resolution. 

Davies was much better at the long-term planning and specifically the culmination of events and emotions in the season finale episodes, though his time certainly wasn't perfect, if I hadn't been hooked by the Davies seasons, I don't know if I would have stuck around through all of Moffatt.

I'm not familiar with Chibnall so this season so far has felt very new and much slower, in a good way. I'm trying not to compare too much until more is available, but I agree the simple, coherent episodes so far are appreciated. They're not without their own issues, or their own surprises. But they make sense, and the new Doctor is thoroughly likeable.
 

Handman

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Definitely. He wrote great moments, but couldn't sustain a story.

Speaking of which, here's a video that takes a lot of those great moments and puts them all together. It's a pretty compelling watch.

 

theryaney

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I'll agree with the others and say it was fine. I would agree there's barely any stakes. I really like the title sequence, and yes, it definitely reminds me of the first doctor's. 

I like the new TARDIS, I thought that the pillar's looked like the Ninth/Tenth Doctor's, but with that Amber beehive style. But the main thing that worries me is that in my opinion it's a bit too dark, I mean the Eleventh and Twelfth had pretty bright TARDIS interiors.

I'm also starting to watch series 8. I really enjoyed Matt Smith's Doctor and Peter Capaldi fits in the role pretty well.
 

TM2YC

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I couldn't think what Doctor Who thing the new Tardis interior reminded me of but I just remembered. The Death Zone map thing in President Borusa's hidden chamber on Gallifrey from 'The Five Doctors':

43631164760_492a0ae7af_o.png


tardis.jpg

Let the "Is the new Doctor secretly trapped in the Death Zone?" fan theories begin! :D
 
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