Dr. Who

[Earniel]

Heh, I found Midnight about the poorest of the season.

But then I dislike such supernatural threats without explanation. It's lazy, IMO. I remember yelling at the TV while watching 'The Birds' for having watched the entire film and then not getting an explanation for the odd behaviour at the end.

And I've tired of TV telling me how badly people react to unknown and frightening things in isolation and how quickly they turn on one another. It felt a bit clichéd. Especially since that became more the focus of the episode. The idea of the strange city they were going to see, and the movement the pilots saw outside, were left more unexplored that way.

On top of that, the Doctor seemed to be written a little less genius just for the plot. There were, I felt, a few things in Midnight that the Doctor in any other episode would have handled better but that the plot just needed him to be less in control and more out of his depth.

Originally Posted by mithrand1r

The copying of lines must have taken some time to get correct on screen.

They talked about that in the Doctor Who Confidential, the little making-of programmes they tack at the end of each show. I believe that at some points they had to take the voice work to the sound studio to match up just right.

[Rían]

Originally Posted by mithrand1r

That episode was great for the suspense level. The unknown can be unnerving at times.

The copying of lines must have taken some time to get correct on screen.

Yes! and they must have just busted out laughing a lot when they blew it!

[Rían]

OMG! I want these!!!!

Tardis coffee mug and Tardis USB port, complete with sound!l

I so know what I"m asking for for Christmas!!! Probably just the USB hub, though, because it's hard to drink out of square mugs. But I could use it to hold pens ...

[Gwaimir Windgem]

So now Torchwood is back in business.

[Draken]

Originally Posted by Gwaimir Windgem

So now Torchwood is back in business.

And not matching up to Children of Earth. I thought at the time "how do you follow that?". The answer is... disappointingly.

[Pink Elephants On Parade!]

I am also a recent convert to the Whoniverse, but in the last year have watched all of New Who, Torchwood, and SJA. I loved them all, and even watched a few seasons of Old Who. I'm an American, and have always loved fantasy, sci-fi, and time travel stories, so I feel like Doctor Who is the show I've been looking for all my life without even knowing it. I'm so glad I started watching this awesomeness.

I am not a huge fan of TW: Miracle Day, though I didn't care much for Children of Earth either. I guess I prefer the lighter feel of Doctor Who, and I feel like Torchwood tries too hard to be Dark And Edgy, and jumps the shark when it keeps trying to top itself by getting Darker And Edgier. Also Miracle Day is riddled with plot holes and inconsistencies, and the characters keep doing the stupidest things! I mean, seriously, Dr. Juarez, did you really think the evil misogynist would let you walk out and expose him after you confronted him and told him you were on to his sinister plot? Also, since when does Jack use the label "gay", or let anyone label him?

As for the recent Doctor Who episodes, I have to say I'm not a huge fan of season 6, except for episode 4, "The Doctor's Wife", which I loved. I am not loving the disjointed feel of the episodes set in America, or "A Good Man Goes To War." It's like Stephen Moffat just brainstormed a list of the most quirky, random characters he could think of and threw them all in willy-nilly. I like quirk, and a bit of random humor, but I don't like how he makes random, silly things suddenly huge plot points. Like the forest girl (who is she, even?) or "fish fingers and custard". I guess the Tenth Doctor had his tea, but really? How absurd and random do we have to get? Something's wrong when the "filler"-type episodes are the only ones I like. I'm glad Moffat's so original he's bursting with ideas, but does he have to throw them all in all at once?

[Nerdanel]

i've also been quite disappointed with season 6... i did like the 2 first episodes, though, and the doctor's wife was nice. but the rest has been pretty blah... which is especially disappointing when it comes to the mid-season finale and the newest episode, which were both extremely predictable. it also feels like i've been robbed of the development of an awesome character, and like the doctor dies in every second episode, and they just come up with new ways for him not to regenerate. it feels like this episode focused more on the look than the content, and rushed through something that could well have been an underlying theme for the rest of the season (at least). i'm quite disappointed right now, and i love doctor who. i'm almost missing russell t. davies...

EDIT: i've never been a fan of torchwood, but according to a friend whose opinions i (mostly) value when it comes to good tv series, this ongoing season of tw is actually pretty good... i'll try to have a look and see what i think, but i'm not optimistic. i've seen a few episodes, and they haven't been very inspirational...

[Rían]

I loved the Doctor's Wife, too - really brilliant, and just had that wonderful feel to it. The other episodes I'm desperately trying to like, but it feels like they think that if it just keeps moving fast enough, and has enough tie-ins to other episodes, then it's ok.

My favorite Doctor is still Tennant (he's the first one I saw, which is probably typically a person's favorite Doctor) - he had just the right mix of crazy speed and slowness, and fun and seriousness.

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Originally Posted by RÃ*an

My favorite Doctor is still Tennant (he's the first one I saw, which is probably typically a person's favorite Doctor) - he had just the right mix of crazy speed and slowness, and fun and seriousness.

I first saw Eccleston, and Tennant is far and away my favourite, though I admittedly have little exposure to Old Who.

[Rían]

Tennant seems to be a favorite among many people, whether or not he's their "first doctor"

I've watched some of the Old Doctors, and it's a little hard - you definitely have to get into the rhythm of the old-style tv shows to watch them. It's like when I've shown my kids some black-and-white movies - they just have to be prepared for a different experience. They end up liking them, but it takes some energy to "prepare" them, and even to watch them, in a sense.

[BeardofPants]

Mine is troughton (followed closely by hartnell).

[Draken]

I can just about remember Troutnell, though Pertwee was the one I most grew up with. However, Tom Baker gets my vote every time.

I think Christopher Ecclestone is much under-rated. Reviving DW was quite a gamble and it might not have paid off without a "proper actor" like him. I think he was quite instrumental in getting the new DW taken seriously by the critics, something that had never really happened the first time around.

David Tennant was great but I think he moved on at the right time. Very impressed with Matt Smith so far.

Anyway, quite enjoying Part Two of this series, Saturday's was back to Mr Moffatt's childhood fears theme (yes I KNOW Mark Gatiss actually wrote it). A bit too similar to "Fear Her" for my liking, but always great to see Daniel Mays in anything.

[Tessar]

Originally Posted by RÃ*an

They end up liking them, but it takes some energy to "prepare" them, and even to watch them, in a sense.

Somehow I imagine you dressing your children up in little bow ties and suits to "prepare" them for Dr. Who.

[Rían]

Nah, it'd be Tennant's suit and coat, not Smith's bowtie ...

(along with their elven ears, of course! )

[mithrand1r]

Rory has to decide which Amy (1-today's Amy or 2- A 50+ yr old Amy) to save.

The Doctor could not go to Amy due to a deadly (to Time Lords) plague and Rory goes alone to try and rescue Amy and through special glasses is the Doctor's eyes and ears.

I will not spoil the ending, but I thought it was an interesting episode. I am not sure I completely follow everything, but the two Amy's were interesting. I liked how they made Amy look older to appear ~36 years older than 2011 Amy.

The episode brings new meaning to "killing someone with kindness".

[Rían]

True! I thought that was one of the best parts - how the handbot's line "This is a kindness" changed - at the beginning of the story, the "kindness" of the robots was bad, but at the end, it was indeed "good". That was very poignant, and very Dr Who.

Anyway, I think this one was much better than last week's one. Last week's show was a very interesting premise (the alien boy trying to fit in and what happens when there are problems), but very poorly developed ("Let's throw in some scary stuff that doesn't make sense!) (I mean, what was that giant eyeball in the drawer?).

Anyway, this newest one (with the handbots) was much better. Interesting choices that had to be made at the end - but that's what I like about Doctor Who - the best ones have a coherent storyline that makes sense within the Whoniverse, plus funny stuff, sad stuff, and scary stuff. Rory's line to the Doctor was esp. good - "You're making me be you!" or something along those lines - IOW, he had to make a difficult/impossible choice where there was something bad no matter what.

I loved the little Rory robot, and how Amy "disarmed" him! I think the older Amy made the right choice, although certainly difficult. I think I'd do the same thing - I'd have enough strength to say "don't let me in!" but not enough to leave if I got in.

[Nerdanel]

i wasn't a big fan of the horror-kid story, but i knew that even before i watched it. :P i'm not a huge fan of pirate or horror stuff, so those episodes haven't really done it for me. and i agree with draken, it was quite obviously quite similar to "fear her".

i liked "the girl who waited" a lot more, though. the idea was nice, and amy's bitterness really was nice to see... i've been quite bored with amy lately, even though i really liked her in the beginning (things like blinking with one eye at a time when confronted with an angel immediately made me like her - finally someone clever!). i guess they've focused more on developing rory's character, which is very good. i like rory more and more. in this episode, though, some of that amy that i liked came back.

what i wasn't a great fan of, though, was that half the episode (the second half) mostly consisted of fighting in slow-motion and babbling behind a door. it felt like they had a good idea, and had to fill out the episode because they ran out of lines. the babbling behind the door i understand, that's ok - it was character development and emotional stuff, but the slow-motion fighting in a white room was just... silly.

at some point, the doctor said: "sometimes knowing your own future is what enables you to change it, especially if you're bloody-minded, contradictory and completely unpredictable." talking about amy, of course, but to me it also sounded like he might be referring to himself (since he knows he's dying)...

[mithrand1r]

Originally Posted by Nerdanel

at some point, the doctor said: "sometimes knowing your own future is what enables you to change it, especially if you're bloody-minded, contradictory and completely unpredictable." talking about Amy, of course, but to me it also sounded like he might be referring to himself (since he knows he's dying)...

Nice point. Perhaps the writers are looking for a way to write their way from the silent ending.

I did not completely understand the two rooms from the two buttons.
It seemed to be similar to a teleportation device. I understood that it was some type of visiting room, but I was not sure how it worked.

I liked this episode better than (6.09 Night Terrors). That story reminded me of cuckoo birds laying their eggs in another bird's nest. Night Terrors was so-so as an episode. I do not want more episodes like it.

[Draken]

'The Girl Who Waited' was excellent, I thought. Exploring how people respond to situations that can't happen in the real world is what science fiction is all about, for me. Loved the look of the episode (the reception lounge really reminded me of an old Groove Armada video) and the aging effects were very convincing.

Not sure how much more Amy-related trauma Rory can take, though...

[Rían]

They should have aged her hair, though - looked like the hair of a 20-yr-old! I thought she looked more like she had aged 26 years, not 36. But overall, it was a huge improvement on the Night Terrors episode.

Good catch, Nel, about the Doctor saying that if you know your future you can change it - that definitely sounds like a preliminary device to get the Doctor out of his problem ...