The Doctor Who Thread

[Dangard Ace]

Quite a bit of difference between that and "Don't go doing evil stuff!"...

I have a feeling you know who will be back, it is not the fist time she has "died" this season.

EDIT - It has also been hinted the Doctor would break the "rules" to save her too.

I'm just illustrating how hard it is to retain memory for us mere mortals. Except for people with eidetic memories. Those guys are freaks.

I've no doubt Clara/Doctor will find a way. There's still two more episodes for Moffat to piss us all off again.

[Mommar]

I'm just illustrating how hard it is to retain memory for us mere mortals. Except for people with eidetic memories. Those guys are freaks.

I've no doubt Clara/Doctor will find a way. There's still two more episodes for Moffat to piss us all off again.

But your example is way off base. I might not remember the shirt I wore on any given day when I was seven but I sure do remember when my Uncle Andy throttled my ass after I kept smacking him in the back of the head with my Nerf fencing sword. Barring actual mental degradation like Alzheimer's or Dementia people absolutely do remember the major events. Something as significant as allying with an Alien entity and nearly destroying the Earth would be far more memorable.

[Dangard Ace]

But your example is way off base. I might not remember the shirt I wore on any given day when I was seven but I sure do remember when my Uncle Andy throttled my ass after I kept smacking him in the back of the head with my Nerf fencing sword. Barring actual mental degradation like Alzheimer's or Dementia people absolutely do remember the major events. Something as significant as allying with an Alien entity and nearly destroying the Earth would be far more memorable.

And you deserved to get your ass kicked by your Uncle cause I would've done the same thing if my nephews kept smacking me in the head with a nerf sword. Delinquent. What were you wearing then? What was he wearing? What colours? We remember major events but we don't remember exact details(if you do remember those details I'm gonna call you a freak you know that right? ) We're only dealing with decades worth of memories. Ashildr is dealing with hundreds maybe thousands of years. She writes everything down in books because she forgets even the major events, like losing her husband and kids. For a mother that has got to be more traumatic then even almost getting a village of strangers killed. Who's to say that was the only time Ashildr allied with aliens and nearly destroyed the Earth? There's a whole lot of aliens in that hidden alley way of hers.

I'm just having fun here. Currently there's no way we can prove or disprove how long we can retain our memories over hundreds of years. We're not Timelords.

Oh and I finally got this set on Bluray with the BBC store 20%off sale. So happy.

[Mommar]

And how old is the Doctor now?

[azrael]

And how old is the Doctor now?

It's still the same 2000-some year old body, just restored from backup over and over for 2+ billion years.

Give or take a few.

[Dynaman]

Excellent episode. My only problem with it is I could not understand what the Doctor was saying half the time, between the speed he was saying it and the volume of his voice it was hard for me to make it out.

Hopefully next week's episode lives up to this one.

[F-ZeroOne]

Really, really enjoyed it. Especially loved the... seafloor.

[Dynaman]

Really, really enjoyed it. Especially loved the... seafloor.

I really liked when it became clear just WHO's skulls they were...

I did not actually get it - or why he thought punching the wall would do anything, till he made it back up to the teleport machine. Icing on the cake was ending up on Gallifrey.

[Keith]

Worthy payoff for the season. I give it 3.5 out of 5 Gunbusters on the tearjerker scale.

[F-ZeroOne]

Not sure about it. Nice ending, but felt the story was a bit of a mess. Some lovely images, though - when are we getting a Rockin' Doctor figure, please?

[Dynaman]

Not sure about it. Nice ending, but felt the story was a bit of a mess. Some lovely images, though - when are we getting a Rockin' Doctor figure, please?

Agreed, I liked but on reflection there are some whopper plot holes in the thing. On the plus side we got to see a stock Tardis once again. On the minus side (without also being spoilery) - if the Time Lords have a gun that is deadly, why is it not actually deadly to a TIME LORD? (unless you shoot them a dozen times in a row I guess).

[F-ZeroOne]

Time Lords aren't entirely idiots?

[Roy Focker]

I fell asleep watching it.

[Dangard Ace]

What did Capaldi say about it being a problem for an immortal travel with another immortal?

[Dynaman]

What did Capaldi say about it being a problem for an immortal travel with another immortal?

I think he still upset that Romana is smarter then he... Speaking of which she needs to make an appearance someday.

[Dangard Ace]

Yesterday we saw the Husbands of River Song.

I liked how the Doctor was just playing along with whatever River wanted until she finally figured it out at the end, Hello Sweetie. He finally gets to own her. "I hate you! No you don't". Plus he got to do his version of "it's bigger on the inside!" Now that was funny.

[technoblue]

Yes. This Christmas episode was especially delightful.

As a one-off episode, it was quick (smart) and filled with fun. The one moment of classic camp was King Hydroflax, himself. He came off as more of a retired space marine from Warhammer 40K and less of a supreme dictator—great stuff. The doctor's gifts to River...fantastic. As a potential promise for having River join Capaldi's Doctor on future adventures, this episode could certainly work as a prelude like The Runaway Bride.

And that makes me excited for the next season, which is my metric for any Christmas episodes. I have to be honest. I wasn't sure what to make of the last few episodes of the regular season. I thought Clara's exit was poorly put together, making those final episodes with Coleman seem out of place. Given the direction that I think the staff was trying to go in, they probably could have used another half of a season to explain the changes to her character better.

In any event, It's nice to see Capaldi and crew moving on to new things.

Edited December 28, 2015 by technoblue

[azrael]

Unless...

they back up to a younger version of River, this will probably be the last use of River at her current point in her timeline. From her first appearance, she states the last time she saw the Doctor, he took her to the Singing Towers, which is what this episode covers. Which means the next time she would see him would be in the Library. From the DW Extra shorts, Moffet wrote this as his last River-story.

[technoblue]

Those are good points, azrael...

If Moffet is going to stick to his own rules, then that is certainly another way to revisit River's character. We didn't get to see much of young River after she was taken from Amy and Rory. But it remains to be seen if Moffet will abide by his rules. He certainly gave himself room for a change of heart, if he decides to have it. For instance, Capaldi's Doctor was hinting at the possibility that River's journal might not tell her entire story. And there was that throw-away factoid that a day at the Singing Towers is 24 years--not to mention that her sonic screwdriver is brand new. This could all be fan bait and mean absolutely nothing, of course.

[F-ZeroOne]

This is Moffat. He has "Lies To Fandom" on his business card.

[Dynaman]

And well he should, they usually want to know too much to begin with. Plus if it is a good story then go with it (not saying they are all good stories mind you). Especially with Dr. Who were Timey Wimey is the law of the land.

[azrael]

Writer Steven Moffat to leave Doctor Who

The head writer and executive producer of Doctor Who, Steven Moffat, is to step down from the show, the BBC has confirmed.

His last series will go out in spring 2017 following a Christmas special, after which he will be replaced by Broadchurch writer Chris Chibnall.

...

I recall Peter Capaldi remark that Doctor Who is the only show he knew where one of the first questions people ask is "When are you leaving?".

[Dangard Ace]

I like him for his single episodes during RTD's run. Don't like/hate him as the show runner. Everything was always flail flail flail oops problem solved. He was good at hitting the high notes but his series never seemed to take a step back and have issues simmer for abit. Have to start watching Broadchurch now to see how the new show runners runs his shows.

[technoblue]

Comparing RTD and The Moff, I preferred Davies as the show runner. I think Moffat has had clever ideas, but his ideas have had increasingly poor execution. I do think that he has probably been on a couple seasons too long when considering the last season with Capaldi. But before that, it was the Impossible Girl arch where I really started to notice the flaws. Mostly because I was expecting the Moff to do something tragic with Clara, giving us a the opportunity to see a more thee-dimensional companion who does something to help the Doctor (more like Catherine Tate's Donna). Instead we got that horribly confusing raven episode and all the episodes that came after breaking the show's own rules.

At the end of the day, Moffat's run reminds me of John Nathan-Turner's run during Classic Who. It started strong, with a strong cast and strong ideas, and then that momentum slowed over time. The silver lining here is that Moffat seems to know when to take a bow and let someone new take his place, unlike JNT.

I don't know what to expect from Chibnall. Broadchurch season 1 was excellent for a police crime story. Season 2 was good, but a bit more melodramatic. Chibnall has written some New Who episodes, so it will be interesting to see how he takes that experience, combining it with his Broadchurch experience, and applies it to a full season of Who. As usual, Doctor Who is all about change.

Edited January 23, 2016 by technoblue

[Kelsain]

I liked season 5 & most of 9. Moffat sets up some good ideas, but he's rarely able to pull off the finish. I'm ready for a change, but sad we have to wait another year. I hope Capaldi sticks around for a while, I really enjoy his Doctor.

[F-ZeroOne]

Still, just to be safe... Don't. Blink.

Edited January 23, 2016 by F-ZeroOne

[F-ZeroOne]

Oh, for non-UKians, "Broadchurch" (which Moffats successor worked on) was a murder mystery series that was a really big hit for ITV (BBCs main rival that isn't Rupert Murdoch) a little while ago. It starred some guy called David Tennant, an actor who I feel I should know from somewhere...

Edited January 23, 2016 by F-ZeroOne

[taksraven]

I hope that Moffat continues to contribute the occasional script and/or monster to the series. I have loved his creativity.

[azrael]

I hope that Moffat continues to contribute the occasional script and/or monster to the series. I have loved his creativity.

He may. Though, I think he probably wants to step away for a while if he chooses to come back and write a script. Being showrunner and lead writer has probably drained him for 5, heading into 6 years. Plus he's still working with Mark Gatiss on Sherlock.

And just an FYI, Chibnall's Who episodes were "42", "The Hungry Earth", "Cold Blood", "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship", and "The Power of Three". I won't list his 8 Torchwood episodes.

[F-ZeroOne]

I liked "The Hungry Earth", but mainly because it has one of my favourite Matt Smith scenes, the one where hes interrogating the Silurian.

[Phobos]

Good riddance. He was a horrible show runner, but a good writer. Some of the episodes Moffat wrote for the RTD era are some of my favorites, but Moffat needs someone above him to keep him on course & weed out the crap. Smith era Who was borderline unwatchable, and Capaldi's tenure is only slightly better.

[F-ZeroOne]

If you've ever wondered what the "Who" equivalent of the "Star Wars Holiday Special" might have looked like:

[Roy Focker]

So long his run had a promising first season/series but after that it was the River Song show.

[Kelsain]

Dang it, my wife was finally coming around to watching this show. Now it's leaving Netflix for bbc's upcoming service. That's going to be far less convenient...

[technoblue]

Dang it, my wife was finally coming around to watching this show. Now it's leaving Netflix for bbc's upcoming service. That's going to be far less convenient...

Are the usual warnings actually showing up on Netflix in the US? I was reading mixed reports stating that some shows like Faulty Towers and Red Dwarf were not renewed, but other shows like Doctor Who, Luther, and so on were renewed. Netflix tends to do licensing renewals around this time, and this generated similar confusion last year.

Still, it's dumb that Canada and the UK have no restrictions whereas the US is left with this song and dance between Netflix and (I assume) BBC America.