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The Doctor Who Thread.....


Greg1138

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Is certainly seems Moffat fast-tracked the regenerations so he could be the one who tackles the issue of the final regeneration.

I wonder if that was one of the reasons for the John Hurt Doctor.

Even if Eccleston didnt want to be in the anniversary ep, he could have gone with Paul McGann. Which would have made more sense then having that story with either a new Doc or the Ninth.

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LOL, just reading that right now


The article makes sense. If you cast a new actor, it's natural you want to choose someone who can bring something different to it. Much like every James Bond actor was very different to the last.

An interesting thing about the gut feeling of an actor taking over.

Also, the John Hurt Doctor was really only invented years after the fact. You can't really use him in that article to make the point.

I loved Eccleston, and when I read Tennant was taking over I wasn't sure about it. All I had seen him in was Goblet Of Fire, and he was frankly quite bad in that (IMO).

And that moment then the 9th regenerated into the 10th... I resisted it. Didnt like the look of this usurper at all, with his idiotic smile and big hair.

Tennant, would actually make the role his own. Starting out quote light weight, but eventually becoming the Tom Baker of this particularly generation. He was The Doctor when the show reached it's peak in the UK.

For his replacement, they announced a complete unknown, and even younger. Bit of weird looking chap. When the 10th regenerated into the 11thg, after a heart-rendering self sacrifice and farewell tour, I again felt resistance. Even bigger hair, even younger. hmmmm...

And of course Matt Smith became an utter smash hit. The first one of the revived series that seemed truly alien, both a young kid and an old man. I have some issues with the plotting during the Smith era, but his incarnation is an absolute triumph, and I consider Matt Smith to be MY Doctor! He is also the actor the American audience associate with the role more then the previous ones, even Tennant.

But of course all good things must come to an end. And as the new Doctor they announced Peter Capaldi. And for the first time I did not feel resistance. I had seem him in several things throughout the years. He is gifted in both comedy and drama, he's a bit older, which is nice, and looks just right for The Doctor. No doubts this time. Capaldi would be fantastic!

But still, when Matt Smith's impressive and moving end came, and we saw the new Doctor....I still felt resistance. An old, slightly creepy looking man speaking with a thick accent, piercing stare....I mean I know he will be brilliant. Possible better then Smith if they sort the writing out a bit. But still.

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The Angels Take Manhattan

The Angels return, and are quite effective despite the fact that the more you use them, the less scary they become. Another very timey whimey episode by Moffat. Lots of clever twists combined with stuff that doesnt make sense but is done because its a cool idea. (no way the Statue Of Liberty would be able to move without anyone at one point looking at it).

This is the end of Amy and Rory, and therein lies the main problem with the episode.

First of all it feels telegraphed.You know it's coming. Secondly, and this is a personal thing, It's not needed. I was perfectly happy with their story ending in The Wedding Of River Song. Thirdly, it DOES NOT add up.

The set up is similar to that of Doomsday, where The Doctor looses Rose to a alternate universe he cant acces so he will never see her again (of course he does a few series later, but thats beside the point).

In this episode Amy and Rory get zapped back to a specific point in time. New York 1938, and because of temporal distortions The TARDIS can never go there because it would rip the Universe apart yadda yadda yadda.

So the tragedy of this episode is that The Doctor can never go to New York in 1938 and retrieve Amy and Rory....so what? Wait 5 years, wait 10 years? Go to soem other place then New York and call them. He has a time machine. Trapping two character in time in a TV show that is about time travel is silly. Once you realize that the whole things rather falls apart.

This undermines what could have been a killer episode. And basically makes the first half of series 7 a bit of a waste.

I was a big fan of Amy and Rory, but this was pointless.

The Snowmen

Reintroduces Clara, or an incarnation of Clara to the show. Plays very much like a standard New Companion episode. Lot of attention on her, and a bit less of the mystery/villain of that week.

Coleman is really excellent. and her end is quite a surprise.

Matt Smith is good as a depressed and withdrawn Doctor eventually teased out of retirement by his curiosity. This Christmas special also introduces the concept of the Paternoster Gang. A most interesting addition to the show, and one I hope they will continue with in series 8. Love the Sherlock.

The main gripe is the villain. Played both by the voice of Ian McKellen and Richard E. Grant. The Great Intelligence is a classic villain from the Second Doctor era, and there is a clever hint to that when Smith shows a lunchbox containing a map of the London Underground. But other then that characterization of this character remains sketchy.

This Xmas special had quite a bit more depth to it then the last one. And sets up an interesting mystery. The Impossible Girl.

Also some beautiful shots of a TARDIS in the clouds and a new control room.

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"Do you know how to fly this thing?"

Could it be that Capaldi's Doctor is a version of the Time Lord who doesn't really know what hes doing? Because that would be a great twist on the character, especially for comedy value!

I don't mean a blithering clown of course, but perhaps just a touch of out-of-his-depth insanity, who lucks his way through intergalactic scrapes and near misses. Capaldi would nail it.

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Really? I don't watch it so wouldn't know, but I've never been under the impression that the Doctor is batshit crazy and almost clueless. Has the Doctor ever had to discover his own existence and purpose, or has he always known what he is?

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Even since it's return in 2005 the show always had a good blend between comedy and drama, I'm sure that will continue.

Please do be aware that it's a slow that is traditionally aimed at a family audience, so don't expect Mad Men or Breaking Bad...

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I agree with most points raised here. Far too much crammed into 60 minutes. Lot of stuff that doesn't strictly need to be there (them being naked) and far too oriented on hardcore Doctor Who geeks for a Christmas special. And the Christmassy elements seemed to be forced in there in any case. Smith was great in his swan song. Coleman is a very effective companion now that she's no longer an enigma.

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The mystery surrounding Clara is finally resolved in "The Name of the Doctor" when she sacrifices herself by entering the Doctor's timestream to undo the harm the Great Intelligence has done to it. As a result, incarnations of herself are scattered throughout the Doctor's history, appearing to every known face of the Doctor and saving his life in numerous ways—for the most part unnoticed—and even ensuring that the First Doctor (William Hartnell) picks the "right" TARDIS on his home planet, prior to the events of the show's first episode. Lost in the Doctor's timestream, she is eventually rescued and brought back into existence by the Eleventh Doctor.

Courtesy of Wiki

The Day and The Time Of The Doctor didn't really focus much on her. Other then she works as a teacher now and moved out of that family (and lives in a flat that looks identical to the one Rose Tyler lived in ;) )

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It's not only pointless, it's not cannon. The Doctor has never left companions, and then returned to them after a protracted period of time. If the Doctor has one good quality (and he has more than one!) it's loyalty.

Very rarely does The Doctor leave his companions, the last time (I think) being at the end of "The Hand Of Fear". It's debatable who left who at the end of "Journey's End".

This aspect of M.S's Doctor really annoyed me: he doesn't do it!

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Didn't Tegan leave and come back after a while?

In a word: no.

The only recurring companions have been Susan, Zoe, Jamie, Mike (as Captain) Yates, Liz Shaw, Brigadier Alastair Gordon Lethbridge Stewart,

Sarah-Jane Smith, Rose Tyler, Dr. Martha Jones, Micky Smith, Donna Noble, and Amy Pond. Adric appeared as a vision, in "Time-Flight", after he died in "Earthshock", one story beforehand.

It's now debatable whether Clara Oswald is now a recurring character.

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Why should Clara not get emotional?

She plays the scene well, it just felt a little abrupt, maybe it's because the episode kept on moving between different ideas and plot points, it didn't feel coherent.

I agree. The actual regeneration shift (from Smith to Capaldi) was very abrupt. Clara tearing up was good, but there's a strange cut when she says "Please don't go" at around 0:14 that seemed so ungenuine...and then Capaldi just appears.

It took me a while to get used to Clara as a companion, she doesn't quite have the kind of solid, emotional backstory that Amy did. But she's a far better actress and I like the chemistry between the two, especially in this episode. She's a lot more enjoyable after the whole enigmatic "Impossible Girl" nonsense was wrapped up.

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Recurring companions? Most of those from the RTD era merely have cameos, they don't become the doctor's companion multiple times.

I was referring to those companions who had more than one appearence (or group of appearences) in the show. The choice of the word "recurring" was...unfortunate.

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I like the chemistry between the two, especially in this episode. She's a lot more enjoyable after the whole enigmatic "Impossible Girl" nonsense was wrapped up.

I agree!

As far as I'm concerned they wasted the first part of series 7 saying goodbye to the Ponds instead of focusing on Clara.

I like the fact that in the last 2 specials she was more a traditional companion, rather then a puzzle. Moffat did rob us of quite a big chunk of their relationship between "Name, Day" and "Time".

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The fact that Clara came so late into the game made the companion seem rather...disposable (for the lack of a better term). It felt strange saying goodbye to a long-time running companion like Pond and then being introduced to a new face just a few episodes away from the series finale. There's also the matter of how dissatisfying Pond's exit episode was, but that's another issue entirely. I'm enjoying what I'm seeing, and I think both Clara and Capaldi's Doctor are going to knock it out of the park.


Yes. I bet that is totaly Capaldi's theme.

Yup. I like the direction his music might be taking.

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Plus I remember reading that Murray had already written or was writing a theme and given how dense some of his thematic references have been, I think that could work as theme for Capaldi that's different from Smith's more massive thematic ideas. Now, ehether he will still use the Mad Man with A Box theme or write a new alternate to that, I don't know...

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Didn't Tegan leave and come back after a while?

In a word: no.

The only recurring companions have been Susan, Zoe, Jamie, Mike (as Captain) Yates, Liz Shaw, Brigadier Alastair Gordon Lethbridge Stewart,

Sarah-Jane Smith, Rose Tyler, Dr. Martha Jones, Micky Smith, Donna Noble, and Amy Pond. Adric appeared as a vision, in "Time-Flight", after he died in "Earthshock", one story beforehand.

It's now debatable whether Clara Oswald is now a recurring character.

Well, technically Teagan did leave, as the Doctor finally got her back home in Time-Flight. In the next episode, Arc of Infinity, she's on vacation in Amsterdam where she becomes involved with the story and eventually returns to the TARDIS, much to the "delight" of the Doctor.

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Question.

Who would/should eventually take over as showrunner from Moffat?

When RTD announced he was leaving and Moffat was replacing him, that seems perfectly natural. His contributions to the series were widely considered to be among the finest stories not credited to Davies.

Of the current crop I does not seem that obvious to me. Neil Gaiman was pretty good, but I dont see him actually handling a TV show. The likeliest and most experienced would be Gattis. Even though the episodes he has done arent really rated as the best.

He does seem to have a very good relationship with Moffat and a long association with Doctor Who.

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