Doctor Who IV - Everything Whovian - Would you like a jelly baby?

[Kyer]

I would laugh with joy for a ginger or redheaded Doctor.
The only woman I possibly wouldn't mind as The Doctor would be Donna. (No, not myognistic, just bored by my fellow sex. It's possible. Trust me on that.). If female then their better be some male as interesting as Captain Jack (not necessarily for romance) or really good stories with Gallifrey and the Tardis.

[Matt]

The Doctor and Bill go back and fight stereotypes, white washing, dubious pies and a giant river monster (no, not Song).

I rather enjoyed this one, even if a couple of things made no sense - namely how did the Doctor and Bill climb up through that ice hole wearing weighted diving suits and how did the monster swim under that bridge with surprisingly close support beams/arches?

The episode had a huge classic era feel to it; a jaunt to Earth's history with a deplorable villain who needs to be taught a lesson through a dose of poetic justice. The writing seemed very tight with just the right amount of moral reflection and self examination thrown in - enough to make you ponder but not preachy. The Doctor came across as both a bastard and an ultimately caring person, who knows what he's seen and is forced to move on from it let his own past consume him.

The CGI was pretty solid, with only one scene not quite working - the one with the final giant crack in the ice.
One thing I usually detest in any show or movie are child actors. Mainly because they can't act. Yet, with just exception, this lot did a pretty solid job so that was certainly a decent surprise.
Capaldi is really shining with these improved scripts. The increased spotlight and the good riddance of Clara really do seem to be helping his efforts a great deal.

The Vault pops up again, this time with knocking. Was the person on the other side knocking four times? I'm thinking it's a version of The Master in there.

Next week: A haunted house starring David Suchet. That trailer alone left me thinking that David Suchet would make an absolutely outstanding Doctor.

[Kyer]

I agree with Matt's assessment of the episode and was wondering the same questions about the iffy bits. Bit of a cheat not to show at least how they got out of the water. Also those light fish looked an awfully lot like anglers, but those are deep, deep water fish which if came near the surface would explode from the difference in air pressure. Plus, they looked fake. I mean, yeah, Doctor Who classic monster fakeness. Must have run low on the funds before filming.

Thought of the Master/Mistress too, but tried counting and only heard three knocks the last time. Would love to try counting again---but suddenly they decided NOT to show repeats of episodes! Agh! I rely on those repeats quite a bit especially now when have started having real trouble making out some of the lines.. Now will have to wait months until they come out with the Complete Tenth Season BluRay and Closed Captioning to learn all what they were saying.

That's another thing: No, no, I am not going to hang around suffering through a show I don't like in order to catch the next Doctor Who trailer. Just my luck I'll see things I don't want to see only to end up missing the trailer because Mother Nature has a more strident voice than my needing see the trailer. I'll have to catch it once its posted on YT.

[Panfoot]

It was...totally okay. Pretty much sums up about how I feel about this season so far, Capaldi is still great and I like Bill, but the actual stories so far have just been kind of just fine(except for maybe like the last 5 minutes of "Smile", but even then it's no "Kill the Moon" or "In the Forest of the Night" in terms of bad 12th doctor episodes for me).

[Zero Hunter]

It was much better than last weeks episode. I liked it. Seeing Bill get to know what kind of man the Doctor really is interesting to watch.

[The Whovian]

It was better than Smile, but still kind of lackluster.

spoilers:

I didn't like how Bill was judging the Doctor when she's only known him for a very brief time. Had they saved that scene for a later time when she's spent more time with him, maybe I could see it, but she was too judgmental there. Like Matt, I think the person behind the door in the cell is The Master.

end of spoilers

[The Whovian]

Hey everyone, I posted this before, but you may have missed it:

If you're a Whoivan (and I'm assuming you are if you're here), please read this thread:

http://community.comicbookresources....have-in-common

[Carabas]

Am I the only one who is reminded of Eleven by pretty much everything Nardoe does, down to his outfit. Okay, minus the bowtie, but still...

It was better than Smile, but still kind of lackluster.

spoilers:

I didn't like how Bill was judging the Doctor when she's only known him for a very brief time. Had they saved that scene for a later time when she's spent more time with him, maybe I could see it, but she was too judgmental there. Like Matt, I think the person behind the door in the cell is The Master.

end of spoilers

spoilers:

I am perfectly fine with judging people when they don't even bat an eye at a child being killed right in front of them, and then after some prodding can't remember how many people they have killed.

end of spoilers

[The Whovian]

spoilers:

I am perfectly fine with judging people when they don't even bat an eye at a child being killed right in front of them, and then after some prodding can't remember how many people they have killed.

end of spoilers

spoilers:

It's not that the Doctor didn't care, it's like he said, he was more concerned about the rest of the children and people on the ice who were still alive and in danger of dying at any moment. He didn't want to waste a single second. The Doctor mourns, but only after he's saved everyone he can. As far as not remembering the people he killed. I assure you, he knows who he has killed and why. Bill just didn't give him a chance to explain. She kept interrupting him. She has no right to judge him until she's been in his shoes and has to make tough decisions.

end of spoilers

[Jim Kelly]

The death in this episode is an example of what I was talking about before. Innocent random character killed off to make the story seem "important."

The thing is my sympathy is with those characters--and it sends me into a trauma when they're killed and that's the thing I'm thinking about now for the rest of the episode. I'm not so interested in the de facto story and what the Doctor is doing--I'm in a panic for this poor unfortunate character who didn't deserve and just had the worse luck to get stuck in a DOCTOR WHO episode. The whole story is a waste because this innocent bystander was not saved. spoilers:

It's bad enough when it's some poor bloke or a little old lady, but when it's a kid--the writers are heartless bastards.

end of spoilers

On an unrelated note. I just finished binge watching the third season of BROADCHURCH. A few of the actors from that series could probably fit in quite well on DW when Chris Chibnall takes over.

[The Whovian]

On an unrelated note. I just finished binge watching the third season of BROADCHURCH. A few of the actors from that series could probably fit in quite well on DW when Chris Chibnall takes over.

What do you think of Tennant's performance in that show?

[Jim Kelly]

What do you think of Tennant's performance in that show?

It's fun to hear him speak in his natural voice rather than some put on London or American accent. I can believe he'd walk 500 mile (inside joke). But seriously, he does a lot more when he's quiet and when he's just staring at people. I think Olivia Colman is the real star on that show, but the energy between them is brilliant.

The one thing I hate (in all three seasons) is the music track. It drives me up the wall sometimes. I hope Chibnall doesn't use that on DW.

[The Whovian]

It's fun to hear him speak in his natural voice rather than some put on London or American accent. I can believe he'd walk 500 mile (inside joke). But seriously, he does a lot more when he's quiet and when he's just staring at people. I think Olivia Colman is the real star on that show, but the energy between them is brilliant.

The one thing I hate (in all three seasons) is the music track. It drives me up the wall sometimes. I hope Chibnall doesn't use that on DW.

Yeah, it's really weird watching him play such a serious role on Broadchurch after watching him play the Doctor.

[Carabas]

The death in this episode is an example of what I was talking about before. Innocent random character killed off to make the story seem "important."

The thing is my sympathy is with those characters--and it sends me into a trauma when they're killed and that's the thing I'm thinking about now for the rest of the episode. I'm not so interested in the de facto story and what the Doctor is doing--I'm in a panic for this poor unfortunate character who didn't deserve and just had the worse luck to get stuck in a DOCTOR WHO episode. The whole story is a waste because this innocent bystander was not saved. spoilers:

It's bad enough when it's some poor bloke or a little old lady, but when it's a kid--the writers are heartless bastards.

end of spoilers

On an unrelated note. I just finished binge watching the third season of BROADCHURCH. A few of the actors from that series could probably fit in quite well on DW when Chris Chibnall takes over.

Oh come on...

In a Tom Baker story, odds are none of those kids would have made it out alive. The modetn series is positively restrained when it comes to killing off bystander characters and guest stars compared to the classic one.

[Carabas]

spoilers:

It's not that the Doctor didn't care, it's like he said, he was more concerned about the rest of the children and people on the ice who were still alive and in danger of dying at any moment. He didn't want to waste a single second. The Doctor mourns, but only after he's saved everyone he can. As far as not remembering the people he killed. I assure you, he knows who he has killed and why. Bill just didn't give him a chance to explain. She kept interrupting him. She has no right to judge him until she's been in his shoes and has to make tough decisions.

end of spoilers

Bill is not a telepath. She is not privy to the Doctor's inner thoughts and feelings. She only knows what he chooses to show, which at that point was the most calous man that ever lived, who just admitted to killing more people than he can care to remember.

And everybody has a right to judge people who go "meh, whatever, at least I have my toy back" when some kid is massacred right in front of them.

Modern series Companions practically exist for calling the Doctor out when he goes like that.