Dr. Who

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Just watched the second half of the finale. Moffat could have done better, and it didn't quite live up to the first half last week, but there were some moments of pure magic.

But there's a question that's still bugging me:

Why did the TARDIS explode in the first place?

[Morwen]

That's actually a really good question.
Oh wait no - didn't the Doctor say at the end that he didn't know what had sparked it all in the first place? I think it'll continue in the next series...

[BeardofPants]

The tardis bit was not resolved.

And good grief, what a twisty bit of story telling. My brain hurts.

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Well, that's a relief. I just missed them mentioning that it hadn't been figured out.

Yes, indeed; soooo timey-wimey! They charged a bit too gleefully into the absurdities of time travel for my taste, to be honest.

[BeardofPants]

But, but... FEZ!

I liked it, but I think I have to re-watch... I'm sure I missed stuff.

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Fezes are cool.

I liked it too; the mop scene was the funniest I've seen on the show for some time, and the something old at the end was pure magic. I may just have some residual resistance to the wibbly-wobbliness of Whovian time travel.

I mean

The Doctor escaped, because he time travelled to Rory to tell him how to let him out...after he had escaped.

At that point, there's NOTHING you can't do!

[Nerdanel]

Originally Posted by Gwaimir Windgem

Fezes are cool.

I liked it too; the mop scene was the funniest I've seen on the show for some time, and the something old at the end was pure magic. I may just have some residual resistance to the wibbly-wobbliness of Whovian time travel.

I mean

At that point, there's NOTHING you can't do!

hehe, indeed.. and i think moffat even said that that's the best thing about a show like doctor who: you can basically explain everything with timey-wimey stuff!

i really liked this season. the finale wasn't entirely satisfying, but i think that's a good thing: there are many things yet to be resolved later on. moffat is certainly better at writing finales than r. t. davies, though.

i'm watching the whole series a third time atm (yes, i'm slightly obsessed), and it's still so great.. 8D

we figured out the (re-)visit in flesh and stone (where the doctor comes and tells amy that she has to remember what he told him when she was 7) before it was resolved in the finale. you see, he lost his jacket earlier in that episode, but when he told amy that, he had it on again..

we thought that was pretty cool. :P

fish-custard for everyone! 8D

[Rían]

Am I behind things in Arizona? has the new season ended yet? The next one up for us is the staircase one. We just finished watching the Van Gogh one - invisible (except to Vincent) monster - way to save on the special effect budget! Nice concept, though, although I thought the bit about taking him to the museum at the end was a bit treacle-y (and I thought they couldn't travel along their own timeline or whatever - but as they say, timey-wimey explains all! )

(The Van Gogh episode actually played a week and a half ago, though - I taped it because we were on vacation, but the next one up on real-time is the staircase one, I think - is there another one I've missed?)

There was a nice quick little reference to past doctors when he took a pic of himself and showed it to the ID mirror thing - saw a coupla past docs, although not Tennant ...

Gee, makes me want to go back and watch Blink ...

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Originally Posted by Nerdanel

hehe, indeed.. and i think moffat even said that that's the best thing about a show like doctor who: you can basically explain everything with timey-wimey stuff!

I guess I'm just going to have to grit my teeth, quash my cause-and-effect mode of thinking, and enjoy.

i really liked this season. the finale wasn't entirely satisfying, but i think that's a good thing: there are many things yet to be resolved later on. moffat is certainly better at writing finales than r. t. davies, though.

I felt the same way. I think I said a while back that season 2 was the best, but after seeing the finale, and how the way everything ties together, I've decided that this was the best season. I'm thinking about going back and re-watching it, just to see what I missed.

I heard about what the Flesh and Stone bit you mentioned; apparently, a lot of people appreciated that little tip of the hat, though I didn't pick up on it myself...

Originally Posted by Rian

Am I behind things in Arizona? has the new season ended yet? The next one up for us is the staircase one. We just finished watching the Van Gogh one - invisible (except to Vincent) monster -

Sounds like you are; we've had a two-part season finale. I think the first part of it should be the next episode for you, after the staircase one.

way to save on the special effect budget! Nice concept, though, although I thought the bit about taking him to the museum at the end was a bit treacle-y (and I thought they couldn't travel along their own timeline or whatever - but as they say, timey-wimey explains all! )

Yeah, one of the things that made it difficult for me to enjoy that episode was that everyone on it seems to have a much higher opinion of Van Gogh than I do...

As for crossing time-lines, all I can say is: brace yourself for the finale.

[Rían]

OOOOKAAYYYY!!!


:: (-_-) ::



(bummer that we're so behind the times here in AZ! I hope the staircase one is good - it look like it could be good .... *crosses fingers*)

[Draken]

I thought it was a very good series and the finale added to it. I'm not going to slag off RTD because he resurrected (regenerated?) the whole thing in the first place and he contributed some great episodes ("Turn Left" is a dark little classic that foreshadows "Torchwood: Children of Earth", for instance). But his finales were just too damn grandiose and portentous. The subject of Moffatt's finale was as grandiose as it gets but it didn't seem that way because he focussed on just a few people.

Moffatt said from the start he wanted a fairytale-like quality to this series and I think he succeeded. The resolution, and Amy's part in it, was, like Gwaimir said, magical.

Matt Smith probably had the toughest ever act to follow and did the best ever job at doing it, Karen Gillan is immensely popular with my family's three young critics AND upsets the Daily Mail, so she's doing something right (and oh my word she's nice to look at...).

And for those of you who have seen the finale episode, check this out, it's excellent in a timey-wimey way... http://www.flickr.com/photos/bladewood/4745071483/

[BeardofPants]

Nice one, Draken (re: link). Agree w/ you on RTD finales. God, they were cheesier than a dominoes stuffed cheese pizza. :/

[Draken]

Originally Posted by BeardofPants

Agree w/ you on RTD finales. God, they were cheesier than a dominoes stuffed cheese pizza. :/

Yeah and the Ominous Forewarning trick got very tired very quickly:

"This is how I died" (No it isn't, cos you didn't)
"One of you WILL die" (No they won't)
"This is the End of Time" (well, it wasn't, was it...)

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Originally Posted by Draken

("Turn Left" is a dark little classic that foreshadows "Torchwood: Children of Earth", for instance).

Turn left was a fabulous episode, as was it's twin, Midnight. Didn't he write the Waters of Mars special, too? Another genuine creep-fest.

[Nerdanel]

Originally Posted by Draken

I thought it was a very good series and the finale added to it. I'm not going to slag off RTD because he resurrected (regenerated?) the whole thing in the first place and he contributed some great episodes ("Turn Left" is a dark little classic that foreshadows "Torchwood: Children of Earth", for instance). But his finales were just too damn grandiose and portentous. The subject of Moffatt's finale was as grandiose as it gets but it didn't seem that way because he focussed on just a few people.

I agree about RTD: even if his finales weren't very good, he did a great job by bringing back the series. I have to be eternally thankful to him for that.. And I think he brought a nice, non-heteronormative aspect to the series too, and I quite appreciate that.

Matt Smith probably had the toughest ever act to follow and did the best ever job at doing it, Karen Gillan is immensely popular with my family's three young critics AND upsets the Daily Mail, so she's doing something right (and oh my word she's nice to look at...).

Indeed. I was quite nervous to see who they'd bring in after Tennant, who did a great job and to make the role his. Matt Smith is doing a brilliant job, though - no need to convince me anymore. I really like Karen Gillan, mostly because she's very clever. I hope they don't bring in stupid companions anymore, they're just boring.. :P

Great season! And brilliant link..

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Originally Posted by Nerdanel

I agree about RTD: even if his finales weren't very good, he did a great job by bringing back the series. I have to be eternally thankful to him for that.. And I think he brought a nice, non-heteronormative aspect to the series too, and I quite appreciate that.

To my mind, that one goes both ways. He certainly has upped the ante with supporting characters (most notably Captain Jack), but at the same time, having all the sexual tension between Rose and the Doctor introduces a heteronormativity, where before the Doctor was (usually) portrayed as asexual. So, ya win some, ya lose some.

[Rían]

Originally Posted by Gwaimir Windgem

Turn left was a fabulous episode, as was it's twin, Midnight. Didn't he write the Waters of Mars special, too? Another genuine creep-fest.

Y'know, Turn Left started out great, and I loved the concept of not seeing what was on your own back, but it just got kinda too heavy and boring at the end - too "oh my the end of the world" disaster-y for me.

Midnight was wonderful, though! That actress was brilliant - the expression in her eyes was just so unwordly ... and the way she kept so still, kind of like a wounded animal, then an animal ready to spring ... creepy!

I bet they had a lot of laughing over the filming, though - those double-speak sequences had to be hard!

[Draken]

Originally Posted by RÃ*an

Y'know, Turn Left started out great, and I loved the concept of not seeing what was on your own back, but it just got kinda too heavy and boring at the end - too "oh my the end of the world" disaster-y for me.

It was the heavier implications of how society started to fall apart that made the episode, for me! It's something that sci-fi can do but not enough, in my opinion: use the rationale of a world where alien invasions/time travel/whatever can happen and use that to examine what makes real-life people and societies tick. Like I said, "Turn Left" is in some ways a dry-run for "Torchwood: Children of Earth" in that respect.

[Tessar]

Originally Posted by Gwaimir Windgem

To my mind, that one goes both ways. He certainly has upped the ante with supporting characters (most notably Captain Jack), but at the same time, having all the sexual tension between Rose and the Doctor introduces a heteronormativity, where before the Doctor was (usually) portrayed as asexual. So, ya win some, ya lose some.

That's why I loved it when Catherine Tate was in the series (I can't remember her character name...). It took out the sexual tension, AND she was a real actress . Also hilarious. I love that woman!

[Rían]

Yeah, that was a fun dynamic!