I didn't know about those in the last two episodes. There's only a few episodes left in the season, and I think one of them is titled "Bad Wolf", so we'll know soon. Today, maybe.
There has been some speculation in the fandom that the Bad Wolf episode would be some sort of it-was-all-a-dream copout. I have faith in RTD, though.
I'm loving Doctor Who and I encourage other USians to get the episodes over the net, since there's no telling when it will appear here. Even BBC America has given no indication that they intend to show it here. (Last I heard, anyway.)
I feel so dumb - I hadn't even noticed the pattern.
Hey, does anyone else have links to those Doctor Who related fictional sites, the conspiracy site now run by "Mickey" and the U.N.I.T. site? I couldn't find them again.
You know - I showed it to my friend, and he thought it was cheesy. In a bad way, not a good one.
And that's when I realised that sometimes even a friend can be utterly bonkers.
I know, we probably just have different tastes, but the new Doctor Who? It rocks so much! Dreadnought says they have a whole gang in the tv room at his college every Saturday Night to watch it. Of course, they are grad students, so the nerd population is high, but my friend is a nerd and an SF geek. He'd never seen the original - maybe that is part of it.
Thanks, Pallas Athena. I'm going to bookmark that page this time.
I really have no idea what is going on, bad wolf wise. I'm just going to wait to see.
Thanks for the post, I feel much less geeky now. The Bad Wolf thing has been rather lost on me. I've been watching old and new Doctor Who episodes now for weeks, pretty much non-stop while working. Occasionally my girlfriend will come tease me about it, especially if I'm on AIM and MofIRC concurrently.
But now I know there's people who are far more into than I, and have links to prove it! But...now...I'm really curious who or what Bad Wolf is.
Oh, and as a change of pace from some Colin Baker I'm watching the old Hitchhiker's shows. Geeky, very geeky, but not that geeky... right?
Veddy geeky.
So where's a good place USians can view episodes--not that I would advocate any unseemly activity...
Even more than what's obvious on the bad wolf site, the audio playing after it loads is a condensed version of William Blake's "Sick Rose":
O rose, thou art sick!
The invisible worm
That flies in the night,
In the howling storm,
Has found out thy bed
Of crimson joy,
And his dark secret love
Does thy life destroy.
Plus "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf" is playing in French. And if you go to the Disclaimer page and highlight a bit of blank space at the bottom, you will get a very frightening message (if you're like me and are totally scared by this whole bad wolf thing). You have to adore the amount of work the BBC has put into its web content, though - and if you pay attention, the bad wolf thing is in Mickey's site, and the Geocomtex site, and has recently been popping up in the weekly site the BBC has to advertise the new ep.
Can't wait for ep 12 to find out what this is about (that's the ep entitled "Bad Wolf"), although I am sadly slogging along behind the Brits and the downloaders, as it's showing here on CBC but we're behind - we're only seeing The Doctor Dances (ep 10) on Tuesday. Though I am also in no rush to get to the end of the season - ep 13 is entitled "The Parting of the Ways". I'm already suffering from extreme Regeneration Anxiety.
Wait, not awake yet - the poem plays over the "BBW" French song that you can get a clip of on the Revelations page. I knew something was wonky about how I remembered that. It's very creepy, give it a listen.
Or... a writer/producer with some pull, a sense of humour and a nickname has been slipping things into production. wouldn't be the first time.
Must say I'm loving the resurrection of Doctor Who. Never seen it before it returned to the Beeb, but watched every episode so far. It's GRRRRRREAT.
BUT. Guess who's going on vacation to Cyprus next saturday, approximately 30 minutes before "Bad Wolf" airs? Curse my bad timing!
Q: Is Doctor Who afraid of anything?
A: Who's afraid of the Big Bad Wolf.
Creepy moment in the new episode when the Doctor notices the "Bad Wolf" references. I really like this episode, by the way. It was very pleasantly odd and creepy and funny.
And I'm really sorry that Eccelston is leaving so soon. He's been an excellent Doctor.
For real, whoever they get to replace him had better be an order of magnitude better...
What are the odds that his imminent departure is just an internet prank?
He's been replaced already!
Personally, I am more miffed about Billie Piper leaving. She's signed on for some episodes of the new series, but she's a good actress... surprisingly.
Yeah, they picked the next guy a while ago. Piper is really good, too. It'll be like a whole new show. Which, I know, is how Doctor Who works, but still. Usually a Doctor sticks around for more than just one year.
A doctor for only one season (aka series)? Yeeks!
Thanks doublesix--now here's an excuse to clear some space on the old hard drive...
How many Doctors before they run out of regenerations?
The Doctor can have 13 incarnations (12 regenerations).
I'm really crushed to be losing Eccleston, but I can totally understand why he only wanted to do one series, and I think it was worth it - he's done a terrific job and pulled in a lot of new fans (like me) and so now maybe Tennant will stay on for a while (lots of planets have a Scotland!) and the series will be on air for a long while yet.
It's actually not confirmed that Billie's not staying for all of next season - there have been lots of conflicting reports. She's definitely staying for a few episodes, possibly for all. I find the idea of sticking around as a companion through a regeneration fascinating as it is, but you could see how they could write it for her to leave and make it natural.
He's got 13 regenerations all up. The next one after Eccleston will be the 10th doctor, if my math holds up.
It is well established in the backstory of Dr Who, however, that Time Lords are able to 'take' the regenerations of other Time Lords via use of their arcane, semi-magical technology. Most notably this was attempted by the Master with the 8th Doctor in the sadly not very good TV-movie produced in the US a few years back. The Master was a rogue Time Lord (or perhaps something other than a Time Lord, as hinted by the 7th Doctor in the last produced season by the BBC before the hiatus) who dogged the Doctor for many years.
Sorry, didn't see that on preview.
Yes, Eccleson is the ninth Doctor, since they decided not to count Richard E. Grant's webcast animated Doctor. Bit of a pity (Grant is the epitome of the classic Doctor), but I can understand why, since they are getting short of regenerations. Good to hear it's thirteen lives in total - I had heard something like twelve, but wasn't sure.
Actually, Chyren, The Master had proved he can take the life of another when he stole the body of Tremas (Nyssa's father, played by Anthony Ainley), The Keeper of Traken, in the story of the same name. This was because the Master had used up all of his regenerations - too rapidly - in his quest to defeat the Doctor, and was left with the crippled, distorted body we first saw in 'The Deadly Assassin'. Of course, taking over another's body kills the original inhabitant.
So, concievably, the Doctor could take over the body of another when his regenerations run out. I'm not sure if he'd do that though - even the 6th Doctor (Colin Baker) did not approach the taking of life without trepidation...
Pah. I bet the last shot of the current series is of the Doctor gnawing thoughtfully on Rose's femur.
Or possibly gnawing thoughtfully on Captain Jack's impressive-
... but no, on second thoughts, perhaps I won't type that in a public forum.
flashboy, I think I love you. ;)
"Or possibly gnawing thoughtfully on Captain Jack's impressive"
Heh. I think I've heard there is even something like a kiss coming between the two. But even the level of explicit homoeroticism we've seen is far more adventurous than would ever appear on American TV. I've been very impressed.
Come on, the Doctor has two independent cardiovascular systems. Who's to say what other redundant systems are concealed within?
Actually, the Time Lords lost the ability to reproduce when Rassilon, Omega and the Other overthew the Cult of Pythia. Hence the Looms, which led to the process of regenerations. It is unclear if they still have sex, though I think this 2005 incarnation of the series has been the most open about Time Lord sexuality. These overtures may also be aftershocks of the overly romantic nature of the Eighth doctor.
kmellis - You mean, explicit homoeroticism greater than a scene of lesbian oral sex? (Buffy - the camera stayed at head level, but it was clear). Or for men - half of Kids in the Hall, scenes in Will and Grace (maybe they don't count if it isn't implied, just done) - heck, I've even seen a fantasy love scene from Spin City where the gay black guy fantasises (as do a bunch of people in the episode) about the Michael J. Fox character.
Now if you say the Doctor and Jack have more chemstry than those characters, that I'll believe. (I haven't seen "Boom Town" yet - though at the end of "the Doctor Dances", their only chemistry seemed to be being annoyed at each other.)
See, you just don't say it's worth thousands of pounds and then offer a £500 reward.
You just don't.
Just saw Bad Wolf, and NO SPOILERS, but: man was it brilliant! Very handily the best of the series. And next week's episode shows a lot of promise. What a truly delightful Doctor the Ninth Doctor has been!
Hypothetically, if someone never saw any Doctor Who ever, could they start with the first show of this new series and be able to follow it?
Yes. It was written that way. I haven't seen much other Doctor Who. Eventually, you might go looking for more info on things like the Daleks, but it seems that wikipedia is overflowing with Doctorrelatedarticles.
The only thing is that if you are North American, the style of the show might be unusual. I have a friend who really likes SF TV, but had never seen Doctor Who; after I lent him the first episode, he said he thought it was cheesy. I personally think he's insane - I mean, he watches shojo anime! But I have always liked Doctor Who, even though I'd only seen a bit of Colin Baker (not one of the more popular Doctors) before this. But I've also been a Red Dwarf fan since I was about 12, so maybe I just have cheesy taste. :)
I'm a fan of some other Brit TV. I love Red Dwarf (though I like the book much better), and I like Ab Fab and Monty Python.
I always assumed Doctor Who was a Sherlock clone, but reading this thread it sounds like Big Trouble in Little China meets Hitchhiker's Guide, which sounds pretty cool.
In that case, you might like it very much. I'm loving Eccleson's Doctor and the writing in this series more than any of the original (and I've watched some Tom Baker since - Baker was good, but the writing and the rest of the acting was just not the same). Take the plunge - everyone else is doing it! :) (Doctor Who as narcotic, who would have thought it? if bittorrent is a problem, email me, and I may be able to hook you up.)
Missing Dalek Found. "[T]he thieves said it had become 'too hot to handle' and had been placed on Glastonbury Tor." I know I'm a geek, but man, some people just scare me. Well, not *scare*, exactly, but you know what I mean?
I just want to say, having now watched the finale all three times the BBC broadcast it, and twice on my bittorrented version: AWESOME.
Sod the deus ex machina, it absolutely ruled. Russell T Davies is like a gay, Welsh Joss Whedon.
Yeah, it was great. I haven't rewatched it, but I did watch the ending twice.
"Hmmm. New teeth. That's weird."
Just got to watch it yesterday. Am still, y'know, a bit beat up by the regeneration but it was beautifully done, beautifully acted, and overall, that has to be the best 13 eps of TV ever.
And I didn't mind the deus ex Rose one bit either, because it was all so whizz-bang wonderful and looping and sad and happy and kissy.
Is it time for the Christmas special yet?
Each regeneration has been quite different.
As to the Time Lords and their sex lives, didn't the first Doctor Who story with William Hartnell way back in 1963 (yes, that fucking long ago!) establish that Susan (Carol Anne Ford) was his granddaughter?
By the end of Sylvester McCoy's run, the Doctor was hinting that he was someone important from the history of the Time Lords, and indeed that even the Master was not an ordinary Time Lord.
I always wondered if all Gallifreyans were Time Lords. I mean, all Time Lords are Gallifreyans, but are all Gallifreyans.. oh to hell with it!
I'm going to miss Christopher Eccleston so much.
Just saw the last two episodes. Wanna cry now. Yes, I'm gonna miss Eccleston alot too. Billie Piper was really good in that last bit.
And Captain Jack looks good enough to eat. With chocolate. And cream. *shiver*
and I've seen what Alnedra does to servings of chocolate and cream. Poor lad doesn't stand a chance.
Eccleston is way cuter. In a serious-eyed Northern kind of way.
It's coming it's coming it's coming to NZ! Woo!
Nah, Tennant's much prettier.
Actually, though, I'd almost be happy with just the chocolate and cream.
flashboy, go to Florence. Seriously. Chocolate and cream at Hemingways. Have a Montezuma on me.
Oh, awesome, tracicle!
Eccleston is way, way better looking than both Barrowman and Tennant. In this really indefinable, great big ears and nose and tall skinny body way. Yeah, I'm doing a great job selling him here. He's no pretty-boy, that's the main thing.
Eccleston's Doctor was the most manic and mysterious of all Doctors. It works remarkably well for the character. I hope Tennant was taking notes.
Barrowman's Captain Jack blends macho and sluttiness so well, he could teach Tom Cruise his trade. He needs to get out of BBC Wales and onto the big screen before he gets too jaded to play this type.
I didn't dig Eccleston that much. He mugged too much to the camera. Doctor shouldn't grin so much. The best Doctors were Pertwee and Tom Baker. McCoy wasn't so bad either once they stopped giving him all the gag stuff to do, hinting at a mysterious past for the Doctor and the Master, but by then Doctor Who had become like a fucking pantomime with star turns from everyone from Ken Dodd to Alexei Sayle. I was worried that they put the women from that makeover show and weakest link in, the last couple, cos it sort of the same thing. Fuck that.
livii - it's the eyes and the accent, and the fact that his acting is so brilliant it blows me away on the screen. I believe in this man, this alien - his alien-sized pain, and his joy. When he is happy, I'm laughing, when he is pained, it pinches my own heart. And I loved the grin, that sharp grin.
I am glad that we have some time before the next series, for me to forget the first bloom of love for Eccleston's Doctor, and be ready to take on Tennant's on his own terms (even though he's so young!) - until Christmas is too long though.
I hereby declare there is something much better in North America than Britain - 26 episodes a season, and only a summer to wait between. (Of course, maybe that's why our television isn't written or acted that well :)
I was a little disappointed with the ending. I was convinced that Bad Wolf rhymed with Davros, and Rose Ex Machina didn't help matters, either.
Still, it was a pretty solid run for Eccleston. I'll be sticking around to see what Tennant makes of it.
Squee! But Tennant is still too pretty.
Ahem, limerick came to me in the shower today(of all places):
There once was a captain named Jack,
Who got killed in a Dalek attack.
But the TARDIS and Rose
Joined together and chose
To bring the ex-TIME agent back.
I had never heard the term "watershed" used that way before. Has it been around long with this definition?
It's been the standard term in British discussion of what time of night you can get out the telly-land nudity and swearing for as long as I can remember tracicle. I think it currently stands at 9 pm but it's more porous than it used to be.
Yeah, I looked it up and most sources said the 9pm line has been getting fuzzy of late. I never knew there was a word for the time when TV content becomes AO.
WELL NOW YOU DO
In future we must force Chy to only post after 9 pm. For the good of the children and the sensitive of constitution.
We could put a little "Adults Only" mark by his name. Start rating comments individually and then people could sort MoFi by G, PG, R18 and AO. I wonder if it would average out.
I've stopped putting the word "fuck" in my post titles, if that helps, though I was sorely tempted with the phooning one.
Good fuckin on ya!
Thank Christ he can't score.
Bad Wolof.
Go to your basket!
I think I might be able to, actually.
No that's tallying. It's different.
Haha, I just came here to see if the thread was updated with the Torchwood news. Because OMFG JACK!!!
Er, yeah, I got nothing else.
How does he get back to Earth?
Just spent the last three weeks watching the bit torrented episodes. Very happy with the series. Some excellent excellent peaks, a few shuddering lows (the Britney Spears song, the utterly extraneous and nonsensical reality tv plug), but let's face it, I'm in love.
Thanks England! You've made up for "Are You Being Served?"!
Torchwood sounds like it could well be the very worst thing ever made
Or the best
You never know, I suppose
Hey!
Back off the 'Are You Being Served'!
You don't know, man, 'cos you weren't there!!!!
Strange to think that Pauline Fowler from Eastenders was once considered a foxy minx.
*inserts 'Im free' / 'pussy' joke*
Plus, in my opinion, it should be The Doctor, his glam assistant and perhaps a robot dog. Too many regular characters spoil the thing. So get rid of Jack and Rose's boyfriend chappy.
Sounds like you don't remember the glory days of UNIT.
Where they the British guys sporting the Sterling sub-machine guns?
I quite liked them. They looked like Action Man.
That's interesting. Shada's already been redone for the web cartoon Who.
Did you guys get a chance to see the short new clip shown on the Children in Need special? You can see it in itty-bitty fuzzy form on the BBC website, or I uploaded it to yousendit here.
It's actual canon and I'm correspondingly freaking out. ;)
That clip was rubbish. OK, I admit being quite drunk when I watched it, but what was the point? The Dr feels a bit queezy?
Sheesh.
*baps kitfisto*
It's setting up the premise that the current regeneration has gone wrong, which opens up alot of possibilities in the coming season. Will Ten physically morph? His memories/personality go out of whack from time to time?
It also answers some questions, chief of which is that Rose and the Doctor assume/know that Jack is still alive. w00t! And that David Tennant may have to bear his back to show us that mole he likes so much.
So I think the mini-episode was plenty pointy.
*rubs head*
Yeah..well...I was still disappointed....
*opens another can*
Less than five weeks! Woohoo!!
Two words-
Cloister
Bell.
/happyfanboy
Well, we know from past Doctors that they are only supposed to regenerate eight times, total. So something should go wrong to remain canon, right?
Actually, I think it's 12 regenerations. But it seems to me that absorbing the whole Time Vortex might have something to do with things going wrong. He never did that before.
Hm, okay. #2 told me there can only be eight regenerations, but I just reread this thread. Never mind.
And, on preview, thanks Lara.
Now that teaser has got me all anxious again. How am I supposed to wait five weeks?
When Five turned into Six, things went pretty badly too, and he tried to strangle his assistant, Peri. So there's some precedent for this, and I think that Lara has it down that the Time Vortex thingie is what's screwing it up. It's neat, because (even though I've only seen a bit of old Who) you can see a few different Doctors shining through as he goes mad, like the regen isn't stable yet.
I can't wait five weeks either, Lara. In particular the "oh, such a long time ago" line has me completely in love with Ten already. /such a fangirl!
In actual fact, even though each Time Lord is given 13 regenerations, it has been established that they can have as many as several hundred. I think this was noted in a Pertwee episode. The High Council on Gallifrey could remove or add extra regenerations. The 6th Doctor was on trial facing having his last regenerations taken away. The Master has also attempted several times to take the Doctor's remaining regenerations for himself, so it is quite possible that the writers can come up with ways for the Doctor to get some extra. I rather doubt Gallifrey is really gone forever.
When Four turned into Five, he was very weak for a long time. I didn't see that, just read about it.
I'm still going to miss Eccleston, though I am warming to Tennant.
Oh, I get it. You people don't know about the cloister bell.
Huh.
n00bs.
I do so know about the Cloister Bell. I didn't notice it, is all. I've got the sound turned on way down low here in the office.
Oh...is it Christmas yet?!!?
But they're not still filming - new series starts on the BBC on Saturday! (And on my computer the day after, ahem).
The main BBC site has loads of stuff - trailer for the whole series and a TARDISODE (a one-minute teaser for the first episode, New Earth - and there have been little bits in other places. A bit from "Wales Today" can be found here on sendspace (the file goes dead in a few days though). And if you'd like to see the trailer in non-crappy, non-webstreaming format, here's another sendspace link though that goes dead really soon too.
*isn't at all overexcited*
We've got the first season (series) over in the States and even with the chunks of commercials courtesy of SciFi it is still a frabjous day.
Or as the Ninth Doctor would say, "FanTAStic!"
That design is very similar to what they planned for K9's redesign in the old series of Dr Who, but they scrapped it. K9 apparently won't look like that in the live action series.
Plus, which one is it? At last count there were 3 K9s. It's possibly the one that made it to Gallifrey with Romana?
From what I gather, the K9 to appear in Dr Who isn't even the old one he owned, it was one he made & gave to Sarah Jane in the pilot for K9 & Company. Blimey!
Wait a moment, wait a moment... the new series starts this week? Yippee!
Be warned that the first episode of the new series was awful, but the second one as excellent
Hmm, well, I didn't much like the first episode of the last series, so that's ok. First episodes always suck.
But.. how bad is it? Break it to me gently.
I didn't think it was BAD bad. Just not quite as good as I'd anticipated.
Phew.
They *could* fuck it up in the 2nd season, if they get over-confident. All of these spin-offs & other stuff worries me, because the focus should be on the Dr Who reboot.
I didn't think it was BAD bad. Just not quite as good as I'd anticipated.
Ah. I thought it was dreadful, and really lazy, too. Felt like they'd written it in about 20 minutes
Oh, so now the thread gets going - I didn't want to be the only one posting here.
New Earth (the first episode) had the crappiest skience in the world, and a terribly consternating Doctor, but it was new Who and had some very funny bits. Best enjoyed if you just appreciated the acting (don't want to spoil it) and um, went 'YAY NEW WHO!' The second episode (aired on Saturday) was Tooth and Claw and it kicked ass in all sorts of brilliant ways. No hand-waving required.
Next week is Sarah Jane and K-9, HURRAH!
No sign of it over here, yet. It airs on a channel which I think is owned by Australia's 7 network, so hopefully it won't be far away -- but it's such a low-budget channel that we might miss it for lack of advertising. *panic*
I was totally engrossed in the first ep, and didn't realise how silly it all was until after it ended. Especially the "meep" moment, heehee.
The Face of Bo is really starting to grow on me. Pity the next time we see him may be the last.
I've got Tooth & Claw *coughcoughdownloadedcough*, but haven't had time to watch it yet.
*walks away, squee-ing*
where'd ya coughdownloadcough it from? I missed it...
Are they very cruel? I don't think I could take it if they made fun of No. 9's mole or something.
*gets fangirl anxiety*
I love TWP. They only make fun of the characters that deserve it. Here's a sample for you from the start of Episode One's recap, Alnedra:
Rose is bummed and takes it downstairs on an elevator, which for some reason we look at from several angles on the outside while she makes bored faces inside. Her bored faces are like yours, only supernaturally beautiful. Once she meets the Doctor, the title for Prettiest Thing goes into sharp contention, so enjoy it while you can.
Rose is bummed...
Russell T Davies really should tone down the gayness a little. This is supposed to be a family show, after all
I thought this week's episode, "School Reunion," was the best yet this season: really well written, beautiful acting by Tony Head, sweet reflections on time and transience. I got all choked up at the end.
True story: a friend of mine who used to manage a cinema once gave a random woman free tickets simply because her name was Sarah Jane Smith.
Has anyone else noticed that they're cutting chunks out of the UK version when it airs in the US? I noticed a couple in Unquiet Dead, like when Rose emerges in her period costume and the doctor tells her she looks "beautiful...for a human."
It ticks me off.
I wasn't overly moved by School Reunion. It was ok. Glad they're not keeping K-9 around, sorry they're taking Mickey with them. David Tennant is walking a fine line between Doctor Who goofy and just acting goofy for goofy's own sake.
Also, does anyone feel that "Torchwood" is being crammed down our throats, in a not-so-subtle bid to push the spinoff?
The Bad Wolf clues last season were awesome, hidden, layered and clever. These just aren't.
What Torchwood do Torchwood you Torchwood mean, Torchwood®?
walking a fine line between Doctor Who goofy and just acting goofy for goofy's own sake.
Well said. It has to be serious on some level, or they might as well get Sylvester McCoy back. I know this is heresy, and obviously it's mainly a matter of the script, but I find I am prey to a growing conviction that Tennant might be, er nbg. I vote Ian McKellen next time round - if there is a next time.
I, too, am a bit worried by Tennant. He seems to be playing it the same as Ecclestone, except without the conviction when he gets angry.
I lived thru Colin Baker, I can live thru Tennant.
I had a lot of respect for McCoy as the Doctor. Any man who has done a human blockhead act, been a regular on Tiswas as a lampshade & performed in the theatrical version of Illuminatus! with Ken Campbell is OK by me.
Eccleston is (and may always be) my favorite Doctor and a very strong actor (I really need to see more of his stuff), but Tennant has some interesting interpretation. The similarity of his character to Eccleston is likely as much (or more) in the writing as in his acting.
Tennant is actually scarier sometimes. Eccleston did the ritious anger with more depth (and the delighted Doctor with more electric energy), but Tennant's Doctor is lighter, and on the surface younger seeming, but underneath he is more brittle, more old, and has less mercy. I wonder if Tennant's Doctor would have actually killed the Dalek in the first Dalek episode, even if Rose had asked him not to. His harder side comes out in the School Reunion episode.
But yes, the Torchwood references are getting very unsubtle. I liked it in the Christmas invasion, but it was too spelled out in the Victoria episode.
Tennant is endearing but not the best Doctor of the bunch; sometimes his serious moments he just looks like he's thinking about what's for lunch, or something. Plus, he looks like a weasel zomg shallow!) That said, his utter fanboy glee at seeing Sarah Jane was worth a ton. I just can't quite picture Eccleston's Doctor having the same totally wonderful reaction.
Oh, and I'm so excited Mickey's coming along. Did you know it's International Mickey Day? Well, it is. Not just a meme I'm spreading, I swear.
I need to check in on this thread more often so I can actually participate in the conversation, damnit.
"I used to have so much mercy."
Good line that. Hints of ptsd from the Time War or some such.
I liked it in the Christmas invasion, but it was too spelled out in the Victoria episode.
I like to think of it as providing a backstory to the spinoff. But I can be very silly that way.
Never ask me to write critical reviews of shows. It'll be half "squee!" and half "woah, that's cool."
Then you'll enjoy the "Ask Me About Torchwood" t-shirt Mickey will be sporting next week and the "Torchwood Lives" bumper sticker on the back side of the TARDIS.
I'm really totally enjoying the show, too. Christopher Eccleston is a damned hard act to follow. I think David Tennant is doing a brilliant job, really. Just as long as he doesn't jump the goofy line too far to find his way back.
"Everybody has nightmares - even monsters..."
"What do monsters have nightmares about?"
"Me."
Heh.
OK, am I the only one that kind of didn't like this week's episode? Why has Rose been relegated to the whining, third-string character that so many other companions have been?
In the first season, Russell T. Davies made a point to say in interviews that there were two stars in the new Who: the Doctor and Rose. I think that's what has made the show more accessible to new viewers.
Rose saved his life a bunch of times, swallowed the Time Vortex, faced down everything, was clever and brave. And now she's reduced to being tied up and whining to aliens to wait until the Doctor comes, and then they're gonna get it.
Maybe it's a one-off. I dunno.
I think that's just a result of the Doctor being more proactive himself in this season - Ecclestone's Doctor seemed to be contantly trapped in a room whenever important stuff was going on. Tennant's where the Doctor should be - running down a corridor. Obviously, that leaves a bit less space for Rose to be doing stuff.
There also looks like there's a bit of a "pride comes before a fall" story arc working itself out this season, which this could be part of.
Anyway, I loved loved loved The Girl in the Fireplace. Absolutely beautiful episode.
I disagree. Last season's Rose would have been (and was) running along the corridor right alongside the doctor.
You may be right about the story arc, though. Or else why have all the shots in The Girl in the Fireplace where Rose is left behind and obviously not happy about it?
I've hated them all so far. Even the return of Sarah Jane, who was my first remembered Doctor's Assistant, & even though I have a fondness for the actress. I thought they gave her short shrift.
It's turning into a fucking pantomime like the first few seasons of McCoy's Doctor, with every Brit actor in the country doing a turn.
I don't like a grinning, youthful Doctor. He needs to be older, & I don't like this subtext of romantic involvement with his companions. The Doctor is an alien, & Time Lords don't have sexuality. They reproduce via the looms.
Two days later, I'm still royally annoyed by The Girl in the Fireplace. Silly story, silly aliens, Rose becomes Peri (or worse, Mel!) Mickey hasn't been killed yet, Tennant is still bipolar, the Doctor's swooning over Madame de Pompadour, deus ex machina saves the day YET again... if they're not carefull they'll blow all the cred, and lose all the new viewers, they earned last year.
I agree.
I'm genuinely baffled by how many people seem to dislike the new season. Yeah, New Earth was rubbish, but the three since then have been magnificent, for me. And I'm a lot more comfortable with Tennant's Doctor than I was with Ecclestone's Doctor at this stage of the last series - remember that it took quite a while for all that grinning and saying "fantastic" to come properly into focus.
Tooth & Claw was one of Davies' tightest scripts, School Reunion did big emotions and big nostalgia far better than I expected, and The Girl in the Fireplace was both one of the most daring and one of the most haunting episodes I've ever seen.
And I'm a lot more comfortable with Tennant's Doctor than I was with Ecclestone's Doctor at this stage of the last series -
Well, maybe that's the whole thing in a nutshell. Eccleston had me from the first instant he appeared on screen, and never let go of me for an instant. Maybe nothing can ever compete, for me, with the magic of last year. Empty Child/Doctor Dances was hands-down The Best Thing I've Ever Seen On Television, Bar None.
What I'm beginning to suspect (all the time desperately hoping that I'm wrong, and repeating "early days yet, early days yet" like a mantra) is that there was a lot of pressure on Davies last year to prove himself with something both respectful to the past while also being something completely new and gripping; interesting for both children/adults, men/women alike. He succeeded, he proved himself, and now he's free to sit back, coast, and indulge his inner fanboy while spending his creative energy on Torchwood.
I haven't seen the Girl in the Fireplace yet, but I very much enjoyed the last two episodes. New Earth was silly, but in the old fashioned Doctor-Who-Silly mold. As far as the "romantic subtext", I rather like that the emotional aspect of the doctor-companion dynamic is being explored. Maybe it's a bit on the swoony side for my tastes, but it does make sense that the companions are significantly emotionally invested in the doctor in a way that he isn't capable of reciprocating.
In other words, I'm still watching.
I loved this episode
The clockwork robots would have been enough for me, anyway
They were nice, but my daughter's complaint in earlier episodes("whenever a monster comes in, he just stands there smiling and saying how beautiful it is, until it nearly gets him") was vindicated again.
I found it a bit odd to have Sarah Jane Smith represented as having been more or less Jon Pertwee/Tom Baker's girlfriend. More like a niece or god-daughter, I'd have said.
But I don't think the flaws are anything like fatal so far. In fairness I must acknowledge that even in the best of the good old days (Troughton in my personal opinion) there were some fairly silly bits and inconsistencies.
A niece or goddaughter who still may have been half (or more) in love with him. I was watching the original goodbye sketch, and she's really cut up about it.
I'm with flashboy - Girl in the Fireplace was brilliant. I think I liked it more than any single episode last year (except maybe Rose - first time nostalgia and "lot's of planets have a north!" is hard to beat).
Madame de Pompadour was a good character - I wouldn't have thought before that I could come to care for a character that much with so little to go on (jumping through her life, just a bit here, a bit there), but I really felt for her. And felt she could give the Doctor a run for his money. And it was right that he was chuffed to have been kissed by her - she's famous! That's why he time travels after all, the experience, meeting famous people, all that stuff.
I still like Eccleston better, but I realise that is my taste and it's only marginally more.
Last year's Rose (before her lobotomy, apparently) could give the Doctor a run for his money any day.
I saw it, it was fantastic. Y'all are just haters.
So? Cybermen? Hmmmm? Hmmmmmm?
Come on, people. What did we think of those crazy metal no-goods?
Impressions of the cyber ep -- I was relieved they didn't try to rewrite canon (parallel universe, it's all good!).
I'm sick of Rose's frickin' family. This is Doctor Who, not Whiney-Rose-wants-her-daddy. In that vein, I liked the "to be continued" -- harkens back to the orignial serial goodness.
I really like Tennant.
PLEASE GET AWAY FROM NEW/OLD/WHATEVERTHEFUCK EARTH. Can we have a different planet, PLEASE? Doctor Who is not supposed to be about humans (at least, not wholly). It's supposed to be about exploring and shit. Sure, they talking about seeing great sights and whatnot in-between eps, but FFS -- GO SOMEWHERE ELSE.
Weeeeeell.. in the old days, Doctor Who was almost always about Earth. The aliens & monsters only came into it really after the Daleks became popular, but even right up to the end of Troughten's spot as the Doc, it was very Earth-centric. Let's not forget that Pertwee's Doc was stuck on Earth for most of his tenure & unable to go anywhere cos the Time Lords had b0rked his Tardis.
ROtC was MUCH better than GItF. More like the real human drama we saw last year. The Doctor shows more real emotion and less babbling lunacy, Rose's lobotomy seems to be healing, and the Cybermen are nothing short of chilling. All those weird camera angles where we only saw bits and pieces of them until the big dramatic climax, the Doctor's calm "Because it hurts," the whole Fritz Lang look of the tech...nice.
And I won't complain if they trade Mickey in for Rickey - I like that dude.
coriolisdave - they get away from Earth in a few episodes time. Episodes 8 & 9 are a two-parter set, apparently, on "a nightmarish alien world". I think they've said for quite a while that they wanted to slowly wean the new fans off Earthbound stories that they could more easily connect with.
I thought ROtC was some really fun old-skool Who rompery, but was let down a little by Trigger's hammy villain, and the slapdash alternate-reality world building. They've got giant stempunk zeppelins, brain impant earbuds, strange advertising boards - but all the rest of their technology, design and culture is identical to our world? You've not really thought this one through, have you, lads?
I'm laying odds that next week we'll discover that the panto Devil in the cool zeppelin is under some Evil Alien Influence® that accounts for both the neat but out-of-place technology and his wooden acting.
I wish Ricky had a beard.
I was thinking that the older cybermen were scarier. The new ones are too robotic - and trying to be scary. Which is less scary than the more pleasant faced ones.
What interests me is, that if the dialogue in School Reunion is to be believed, the 1986 5 Doctors special never happened.
i read somewhere recently that the bit about the time machine in douglas adams's dirk gently book was resurrected from a script adams had written for dr who in the 70s. the script was not developed into an episode, i'm not sure why exactly.
Adams was script editor for Doctor Who for a number of years, or producer, I forget which. He wrote a number of episodes, including the classic unfinished Shada, partially filmed with Tom Baker.
I wouldn't be surprised, knowing Adams' writing technique, that there are a few more fragmentary Who story treatments hovering on his old hard drives somewhere.
Speaking of time travel, we Who fans in the States are just about to get the DVD set of the first series (season), but I'm curious...I know that SciFi has been trimming the episodes they show on TV here to allow for the grotesque amount of commercials they always show. Does any resident Who junkie know if the DVDs will have the full episodes?
The DVDs will be full episodes.
Thanks, you can never be too careful, what with the flurry of skeezy DVD editions these days.
That reminds me of the time that I bought a BBC series through A&E who had NorthAm distribution rights. They just cut the first hour, for time.
I'm still bitter.
Okay, I swear to god I just posted to this thread. Anyway -- what do we think of the new one? I say -- thank god they finally got off earth! YAYAYAYAYAY a different planet!
Also: yay! Mind-controlling bad dudes! HUZZAH
Gotta wait for the torrents, man.
what're you talkin' about? _I_ get the torrents, and I've had that one for almost 48 hours.
Where are you gettin' these slow-ass torrents?
Don't try to make me cry. You can't make me cry.
/sniff.
Tip: Azureus (or uTorrent) + inbuilt RSS feed scanner == automatically downloaded episodic goodness.
I swear to god, there's nothing quite like coming home from a hard day's not-working to find the latest Dr Who episode, ready and waiting for you to play it, just like a thick puppy.
When I had DSL, torrents were damned slow due to a needed change to my modem firmware that the ISP wouldn't give me. (The bastards!)
I did enjoy this week's episode quite a bit. Can't wait for next week!
I've never seen Dr. Who before..I think I'm missing out..
I was just thinking about that yesterday. I'm not sure I'll keep watching after she's gone. She was what made it OK that Eccleston left. It's the partnership between her and the Doctor that elevates the show into something really special. Without it it'd just be some guy swanning about, babbling, acting silly, and whipping out the deus ex machina at appropriate moments.
It was hinted at in a commentary (I'm not telling you which...) that someone seen this season may be returning later in the season and possibly joining the Doctor. If it's who I think it is, Rose is worldly and aloof in comparison.
Most of the guest characters this season have been particularly unappealing.
I'm gutted, because I saw a post on the front page of Metachat that gave it away completely. I haven't even seen the first episode yet, and I know what's coming, and I've been so careful about avoiding spoilers.
I think they've all been shit so far, but I admit I have only seen the first 4. Tennant has some work to do to elevate him above his current stupidness. I like my Doctor with a little gravitas, as well as silliness.
This really has me down, too. To me, it's the interaction between the Doctor and Rose that has made the last two seasons. The companion, in my mind, should be the viewers' eyes into the Doctor's world, and I think they've acheived that with Rose.
I'm already not 100 percent happy with the new doctor and his over-the-top goofiness, and if they add in a companion that's not so great...
/big sigh
There's been worse. Colin Baker was awful. Sylvester McCoy didn't start out well, but ended up being one of the more memorable incarnations with a bit of darkness. Troughton used to play a fucking recorder & wear a big fur coat. Peter Davidson was.. meh. So one can at least give this guy a break, he's certainly a good actor. They'll find another companion to replace this one. It has always been the way with the Doctor. In fact, it may bode well for Tennant, because he'll have to take up the slack. I thought it was a disaster when Mary Tam left, but, well.. who remembers her as Romana?
(I don't reckon much on Billie Piper, to be honest)
And the Davison/C. Baker/McCoy years are when most people, including diehard fans, began to lose interest and the show went off the air for a generation.
And the endless parade of dim-witted, ancillary, easily forgettable companions have always been the show's weak point. Sure, Tennant's got some chops, but mostly in light, frothy stuff. The concept that he can carry something like this all on his own is one I'm nowhere near ready to buy into yet.
Maybe Jackie could be his new companion. She's got a lot of Rose's finer qualities, when she's not being used as comic relief. Camille Coduri's an awesome talent, and the relationship between her and the Doctor has been an interesting one, progressing from animosity to an uneasy truce to a sort of friendship.
I thought things were improving recently, but the Absorbaloff cannot be seen as an encouraging sign.
The Absorbaloff was created by a 9-year-old boy, the winning entry in a "design a Doctor Who monster" contest on Blue Peter. Unless they've given the kid a permanent job, I wouldn't lose heart.
only two episodes to go... squeeeeee
Maybe it was created by a 9-year-old, but he didn't write the whole episode. The whole damned thing was like a bad Dr. Who parody.
Somebody doesn't remember things like the original Master (Roger Delgado) watching children's tv show The Clangers while in prison, & such like.
Dr Who always had whimsical nonsense in it from time to time.
I agree, and it was charming. But this was an entire 40 minutes of nothing but whimsical nonsense. It's all about the balance, for me at least.
Anyone who knows their STUFF can tell me why I was wrong about the 'mix franchise' bit. It's something to do with Star Wars background 'lore' that is a direct reference to something in Doctor Who. I wonder if anyone else is nerdy & obsessive enough to know what that is?
Never mind that. I've just heard that in the next series gay homosexual bum-sex between the Dr and Captain Jack is strongly implied.
Bigger on the inside etc....
Bigger on the inside etc....
That line was the best hoyay EVAR, and it completely went over my head 'til I rewatched with a gay friend.
Don't cross the streams!
I wonder if anyone else is nerdy & obsessive enough to know what that is?
Nope. Go on, spill it.
The manufacturer of some spaceships in star wars was said to take place at Gallofree yards, named after Gallifrey.
Ah! Thanks.
That's geekariffic.
As Wedge will attest, I am a mine of trivia about Star Wars etc.
So what did folks think of "Fear Her?" Opinion seems to be divided on Behind the Sofa, but I have to say that I enjoyed this low budget filleresque episode.
I enjoyed it. One thing this new series seems to do well (most of the time) is make something mundane into something very scary.
I'm just sad that we're up to the finale. I hope they don't kill Rose.
Oh, I've been forgetting to follow this thread. I thought "Fear Her" was really really good, a few quibbles aside - it was fun, with some good scares, and such. I didn't think it was that filler-y, at least not like "Love & Monsters" (which wasn't terrible, at least until Fat Bastard showed up).
I'm terrified for the finale - but am unspoiled, yay! So, um, maybe I won't follow this thread because I know how much glee some people have in posting spoilers (::remembers the Harry Potter kerfluffle::)
Much preferred Love & Monsters, which was genuinely charming, experimental and smart, to Fear Her. FH did very good low-key things with suburbia and domestic situations for a while but then it was all like "yadda yadda we must harness the force of pure love and omg the doctor is carrying the olympic torch" at which point it SUCKED SO HARD MY HAIR CAME OUT THROUGH MY EYE SOCKETS.
That is what I thought. But next week looks AWESOME.
I'm going to avoid posting anything specific about Unquiet Dead/Doomsday in here after I've seen them. I'd also recommend avoiding Behind the Sofa if you don't want spoilers.
Oh, yeah. Forgot about the Doctor and the torch. That was dead stupid.
The torch thing may have been cheesy, but it still gave me goosebumps. The pretty little alien ship was saved! And I hate the Olympics. But when 2012 comes around, I won't be so incrediably annoyed at all the Olympics hype, because at least I'll know that an alien will be saved by it.
Other planets should be allowed to compete in the Olympics.
Yeah, I wanna see a Dalek on the parallel bars.
Were my spoilers bad? Where go my post?
New Assistant
Meant to be secret until tomorrow, but here ya go.
To be honest though, I'm not that bothered. This new Dr's not wobbling my sonic screwdriver at all.
Blah. You know, I thought it was going to be her, right up until they killed her.
I know what you mean. In my missing post (?), I detailed my serious misgivings about the end of Episode 12. This whole year has been downhill for me.
Yeah, I thought it was going to be [spoiler redacted] in the [spoiler redacted]. I mean they even had the voice of [spoiler redacted] in the trailer. Of course, we already know that the two [spoiler redacted], so I guess I can see how Agyeman is still able to be the new companion.
Ya think this means Gallifrey will be back in the picture, or will the Timelords in [spoiler redacted] try to seal up the [spoiler redacted].
who remembers her as Romana
I still have fond fantasies about Romana. Am I the only one turned on by knife weilding warrior women?
Having said that, I think my very favorite Dr Who's are the early black and white ones. Of course, I also like Buzz Corbin, Space Cadet.
Corbett, not Corbin.
D'oh!
Berek: Actually, the knife-wielding warrior woman was Leela (Louise Jameson), not Romana (Mary Tamm, Lalla Ward). Romana was the next companion after Leela, IIRC.
I still remember Mary Tamm as Romana, and a lot better than I remember Lalla Ward. Neither path nor I could stomach Lalla Ward, and we stopped watching Doctor Who once she became Romana's new regeneration.
I was rooting for Mickey, or maybe Sarah Jane again.
Double D'oh!
Meant Leela.
Need sleep.
HM
jb
Jason Bourne
James Bond
Jack Bauer
R U perhaps a superspy?
Yeah, jb, I was hoping for someone who already has a bit of history with the Doctor. Jackie, Mickey, even Sarah Jane, or ideally, if the TV gods could somehow work it out, my beloved Captain Jack.
I have a higgling feeling Torchwood is going to be not so very awfully good...
/chants
Sa-rah-Jane!
Sa-rah-Jane!!
Sa-rah-Jane!!!
Seriously. She can still act, and has better hair now than she did in the Baker years. I'd be stoked.
All I'm going to say is:
GOD
DAM
MIT
Just saw Captain Jack in the the movie of the show of 'The Producers'.
Likes his musical theatre, doesn't he?
I thought I posted here before, but I guess not.
Torchwood has aired. I like.
And I think I'm going here the next time I'm in Scotland.
Sarah Jane's getting her own series.
Again.
Again? What was the first? What is the second? How many series can there be? They will out franchise Star Trek (they do have better acting and stories already).
Yeah, Torchwood looks promising. Looking forward to the episode where he finally catches up with the Doctor. Too bad [REDACTED] is stuck in [REDACTED], though.
BUT WHERE'S THE DAMN MASTER????!!!???!!!???!!???!!
I am still upset about [REDACTED] being stuck in [REDACTED]. Not fair!
Also speaking of Buffy, whatever happened to Anthony Head's spinoff show?
I think, tragically, that the Giles spinoff got cancelled pretty early on. Whedon went off to do Firefly instead IIRC.
On related note, I've been catching up with a UK series called Spooks, which is just superb, and Anthony Head guest-stars in an episode in Series 1 that is a strong contender for Best. Telly. Evah.
"BUT WHERE'S THE DAMN MASTER?"
The Master was sucked into the Eye of Harmony in the telly movie a few years back. Since Gallifrey & the Eye of Harmony (power source for all TARDISes) has been destroyed, presumably The Master has been also, if being being played by Eric Roberts & sucked into a super-dense contained black hole wasn't enough to do it in the first place.
Ah yes, destroyed. Forever.
Foolish mortal.
If the options are no Master or the Master played by Eric Roberts, I say NO MASTER.
(I still have unpleasant heebie jeebies from that '96 TV movie)
Best. Telly. Evah.
If you like series one of Spooks, Mothninja, just wait 'til series 2.
Just started series three, and if it stays with the energy of the first two episodes, well, wowsers.
(Naturally, they're up to series 5 or 6 of Spooks across the pond.)
Back to the good Doctor and his spin-offs, are there any bets on when Russel T Davies' head will explode launching this cornucopia of shows?
any bets on when Russel T Davies' head will explode launching this cornucopia of shows?
I'm pretty sure that's already happened.
Yeah, it was called "Love and Monsters."
HEY-OOOOOOOOHHHHH!
RTD isn't puppetmastering Torchwood, though, I don't think. It's a bit more edgy than ultra family-friendly Dr. Who. I mean, the big bad alien in episode 2 was a pink gas that liked to [REDACTED]!
what, fuck?
in toilets and alleyways?
RTD's totally in charge of Torchwood; he's the creator, head writer, and wrote at least episode one (I don't want to look at the imdb list of other episodes because I avoid those types of spoilers).
(It actually irritates me somewhat, because it took him away from DW and S2 suffered badly from poor show-running, IMO).
After a bunch of brilliant episodes, the final two were so poor I ended up feeling a bit dazed
I was happy with the second to last, but the final one was a real let down. I think they were going for a whole "The Master is Oilcan Harry, therefore this is a melodrama" thing, but man, they bungled that conclusion.
I hate it when they just decide that some effect/device/process will arbitrarily solve problems it has no business solving. And really, they *could* have spent some time foreshadowing it so it didn't come across as such a "oh, why the fuck not?" last minute deus ex machina, but they didn't.
This season nearly lost me a couple of times. Fortunately, there was a run of genius in the middle that gives me hope for the future, once they get this 'rebound companion' stuff sorted out.
I hate what they have done with the Captain Jack character.
Yeah. Even that could have worked, though, if they'd gone with some subtlety, some ambiguity, instead of just "awkward dialogue introducing outlandish concept appropos of nothing." What the fuck?
From what I understand, Davies is currently backpedaling like crazy on that one.
That was the Master? Meh.
I'm sad to say that I've been mostly disappointed with the new Doctor Who. Though I did just learn that my two favorite episodes, "The Girl in the Fireplace" and "Blink", were written by the same guy. I hope they let him write more.
Don't give it away!!
Yes, Blink was one of the best Dr Whos I've seen in years. Equivalent to the best of the early-mid seventies stuff, which often were more cerebral (cos they didn't have an effects budget to speak of then).
The rest of the season was a bit dodgy. The Dalek episodes were awful. But, them's the breaks.
I didn't mind their new version of The Master too much (he's my favorite Who character) although I felt Simm should have had a goatee.
I particularly enjoyed him watching Teletubbies. This was a nod to one of the first times the master appeared in the classic series, played by Delgado, in which he watched The Clangers in a similar situation. I liked that.
Yes, The Mofferator can write. He was also responsible for the long-ago Doctor Who Comic Relief special, The Curse of Fatal Death.
I SAW SOME MOTHERFUCKIN' SONTARANS IN TEH TRAILER!!! /spittle
I screamed like a little girl several times during Blink, and even attempted crawling into my sofa during one scene. Considering that I barely react during horror movies, I'm not sure why I freaked out so much.
Also amazing, How to build your own TARDIS
I'm pretty sure this has been linked before but can't find it... And it's so fab it's probably worth posting again. I love this woman
Having just seen the mid-season finale (the Draining of the Ponds :( ), if I saw two Weeping Angels, I would turn them to gaze at each other.... for evah!!!
I'm renting a storage shed that I am seriously considering painting (or having someone paint) TARDIS blue... because I need more room on the inside.
╔═══╗ ║░░░║ ╔═════╩═══╩═════╗ ╔╩═══════════════╩╗ ╔╩═════════════════╩╗ ║ POLICE ## BOX ║ ╠══╦══════╦══════╦══╣ ║ ║ ╔╦╦╗ ║ ╔╦╦╗ ║ ║ ║ ║ ╠╬╬╣ ║ ╠╬╬╣ ║ ║ ║ ║ ╚╩╩╝ ║ ╚╩╩╝ ║ ║ ║ ║ ▄▄═╗ █ ╔▄▄╗ ║ ║ ║ ║ ▐ ▌║ ▌▌║▐ ▌ ║ ║ ║ ║ ▐▀▌╝▐▀▐╚▐═▌ ║ ║ ║ ║ ▀▀═╗ ║ ╔▀▀╗ ║ ║ ║ ║█║ ▌▐█ ║█ ║█▀▀ ║ ║ ║▐╚█▐╝▌║▌╚█═╝█■ ║ ║ ║ █═▌╗▐█ ╔█▄╗█║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ╚══╝ ║ ╚══╝ ║ ║ ╠══╩══════╩══════╩══╣ ╔╩═══════════════════╩╗ ╚═════════════════════╝and kissy. Is it time for the Christmas special yet?