The Dr Who thread

Darkflame · Post by **Darkflame** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 8:43 pm 0

The last episode was great except for the slight dues-ex bit about being able to hide his smell suddenly.
The punishments were good too, and fitted perfectly with the thing I mentioned before about them needing an explanation as to why he didn't fight to start with.
Shame about the girl-trapped-in-mirror nonsense. Sci-fi often treads the line between fantasy and science based fiction, but thats far too much into the "fantasy" end for my liking.

Still, the rest was very strongly done.
I wish Jessica not-stephensons did become a regular though.

PVB · Post by **PVB** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 9:13 pm 0

Darkflame wrote: Shame about the girl-trapped-in-mirror nonsense.

Probably put in for all the kids watching, so they shit themselves the next time a curtain behind them moves when they're looking in the mirror.

Just caught the repeat tonight:

Best of this series and on a par with Fireplace.

Dungeon-Dave · Post by **Dungeon-Dave** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 9:56 pm 0

DutchLlama wrote:I agree with Bog. I'd rather have them act as if the Doctor's companions were orphans.

I'm in disagreement with that; most classic DrWho eps didn't address the ramifications of a companion jaunting off with the Doctor.

The "Sarah-Jane revisited" ep (School Reunion) highlighted an aftermath of the Doctor's companion, how he may not give them a second thought. Mickey/Ricky had a good script bemoaning the fact that he'd always be second to the Doctor, and how he didn't know if Rose would even return and when - same as with Jackie. I felt that revisiting the characters and examing the effects of the Doctor's travels made you remember wider issues and strengthened their roles in the ongoing storylines - else everyone outside of Dr+Companion becomes "red jersey disposible" status.

I'm enjoying this series from the viewpoint that eps aren't necessarily always about the Doctor. To me that makes for fuller, richer storylines.

amanset · Post by **amanset** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 10:03 pm 0

I really get the feeling I am missing something here. This one was probably more meh than last week.

IronGiant · Post by **IronGiant** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 10:05 pm 0

Yup, you're definitely missing something.

amanset · Post by **amanset** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 10:17 pm 0

IronGiant wrote:Yup, you're definitely missing something.

Or I'm the only one with any concept of decent TV.

Alarm · Post by **Alarm** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 10:19 pm 0

Nah, you are missing something.

Baggypants · Post by **Baggypants** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 10:25 pm 0

Darkflame wrote: Shame about the girl-trapped-in-mirror nonsense. Sci-fi often treads the line between fantasy and science based fiction, but thats far too much into the "fantasy" end for my liking.

and does that mean the Doctor only looks in a mirror once a year?

IronGiant · Post by **IronGiant** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 10:30 pm 0

amanset wrote:
IronGiant wrote:Yup, you're definitely missing something.
Or I'm the only one with any concept of decent TV.

Give us an example of 'decent' TV and we'll let you know if you're on the right track.

juice · Post by **juice** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 12:01 am 0

Welp... t'was better than the first half by far (actually, this one felt a bit like an episode-and-a-half stretched into two). As others have pointed out, the mirror stuff felt more like fantasy than sci-fi, which spoiled things a bit.

But... the characters were generally believable, the actions and plot were relatively consistent[*] and the final scene was a nice touch.

It's a surprising change from the norm

I'd actually quite like to know where the final scene was filmed - it pinged on one of my occasional obsessions!

[*] potential plot-spoilers:

The whole thing about giving out punishments was a bit... odd. Surely it would have made more sense to just stick 'em on a rock for the requisite amount of time. Rule number 1: imprisoned bad guys always escape, eventually. It felt like something Ecclestone would have been more likely to do.

The Doctor's final conversation with Joan seemed a bit odd too - very callous-sounding. Still, her point about the consequences of his decision to hide in the village was spot on...

PVB · Post by **PVB** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 12:06 am 0

juice wrote: I'd actually quite like to know where the final scene was filmed - it pinged on one of my occasional obsessions!

If you mean the WW1 trenches scene, Confidential said it was just 'a field in Wales' IIRC.

fro · Post by **fro** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 12:39 am 0

PVB wrote:
juice wrote: I'd actually quite like to know where the final scene was filmed - it pinged on one of my occasional obsessions!
If you mean the WW1 trenches scene, Confidential said it was just 'a field in Wales' IIRC.

Going by the pictures in the link, I'd say that Juice was likely referring to the memorial scene.

Governmentyard · Post by **Governmentyard** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 4:48 am 0

Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff.

Jonesey · Post by **Jonesey** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 8:31 am 0

The last episode was great except for the slight dues-ex bit about being able to hide his smell suddenly.

Absolutely. I was enjoying the episode up until that point - it was all like "Yes! The Doc's back now watch him kick arse!" only to have that olfactory masking nonsense thrown in - something he could've done at any time prior to becoming human

A proper oh F F's sake moment for me there. But like someone said it wouldn't have been much of a two-part episode otherwise...

HGFB · Post by **HGFB** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 9:19 am 0

Did you miss the part where he hid because he was being kind?