Doctor Who

[TheWho87]

Technically there has been nothing explained about who she is however...

This second spoiler has information that may happen further on in the series, you have been warned.

...there was something I read in early reports that said someone/something piggiebacked on what ever happened to allow the Doctor to regenerate so based on that its possible that this "heaven" is actually a place within the mind of the Doctor.

Edited August 24, 2014 by TheWho87

[wrathofcarnage]

For the end of the episode:

I would have to go back and watch the library episode, but my first though that the idyllic "Heaven" was very similar to the place where River and a few others had been "Saved." My first thought was that "Missy" was River.

[GhostMachine]

Theories I've read about the other thing marked with spoilers:

1. Its the Rani.

2. The Master regenerated and is now The Mistress. aka `Missy'. (I could see it. She vaguely reminds me of the Anthony Ainley incarnation)

3. Its River Song (and I will be EXTREMELY pissed if this is the right guess).

Personally, I'm hoping its something else, with no connection at all to any of the above.

Edited August 24, 2014 by GhostMachine

[Roster Depth Sicko No. 2]

So long as it isn't River Song I don't mind who she is. No idea who the Rani is, so wouldn't have guessed that anyway.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

I like the new intro. Capaldi is excellent, especially his rant with the homeless man. He's VERY refreshing after Smith.

Clara's annoying, but frankly I'll happily keep watching if Capaldi keeps this level of performance.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

The actress who plays Missy...Michelle Gomez....

I fancied her something chronic on Green Wing.

[GhostMachine]

I like the new intro. Capaldi is excellent, especially his rant with the homeless man. He's VERY refreshing after Smith.

Clara's annoying, but frankly I'll happily keep watching if Capaldi keeps this level of performance.

Two things I've read, but don't know if they're true or not:

1. The new intro was either made by, or inspired by one made by, a fan. I like the visuals, but not the new version of the theme.

2. The actor playing the homeless man was Elizabeth Sladen's husband. (That's the deceased actress who played Sarah Jane Smith for those of you new to the show)

Oh, and regarding my earlier post, got a new theory I've heard (and have immediately dismissed, because it would be world class stupid):

Someone at another message board I visit thinks Missy could be Romana. My response to that suggestion: AW, HELL NAW!!!!

[hugobomb]

I swear by this point the formula goes:

Villain with Bewbs = OMG GUYS IT HAS TO BE RANI OR ROMANA! Please ignore all the times we've said this and been completely wrong. This time we're sure for really reals!

[stokeriño]

Two things I've read, but don't know if they're true or not:

1. The new intro was either made by, or inspired by one made by, a fan.

This is true: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-28871058

[Vamp]

The homeless character was Sladen's husband too, that was confirmed at the Q&A on Saturday.

[Skummy]

Yeah, it's absolutely not going to be the Rani, but you can't have a new female character ever show up without half the internet predicting it. I thought she might be River Song, but hoped not - I want this to be as much of a clean slate as possible.

I didn't like the Matt Smith bit, but it was no worse - and, in fact, probably actually better - than David Tennant's Doctor travelling all over the world to stare at every single person he ever met. It just seems to be the norm now that the Doctor gets a little emotional send-off.

Capaldi, obviously, was amazing. He's such a fantastic actor, and at no point was I thinking "it's Malcolm Tucker playing the Doctor", or that I wasn't used to him being the Doctor yet. He just fit the role immediately, and perfectly. I hope he sticks around for a long time to come.

I didn't mind Clara in this one either; she did what the companion is there for, and acted as an audience proxy. Half the audience are going to be of the mindset that they don't want an "old man" as the Doctor, and that the Doctor "should" be a quirky younger guy, because that's what they're used to. It was perfectly fine to have an episode that basically went through the process of explaining that, even after regeneration, he's the same guy - Clara's never seen him regenerate before (that she can remember), doesn't know about all that, so would need time to come to terms with it. And I liked the Doctor asking Clara if she knew how it felt to be invisible, to be there and feel like people don't notice him, when that's what Clara was for his entire life. I imagine Clara and her character will change fairly significantly with Capaldi anyway - her worst work was with Matt Smith because she didn't act as a counterpoint to him; they were both energetic, "wacky" and young, and felt too similar.

I liked the rubbish androids, too. Is it significant that the Doctor kept saying he's seen them before? Am I forgetting an episode, or was that just regeneration confusion stuff?

Obviously, though, the highlights were Vastra, Jenny and Strax. I don't want them as full-time companions, because they're at their best when incongruously living in Victorian London. I'd love to see a The Veiled Detective spin-off series, though.

[Vamp]

You're forgetting an episode. The androids were from a sister ship of the SS Marie Antoinette that Tennant's Doctor came across in the second new series. In that story the androids were using the crew to try and power the engines so that they could stalk Marie Antoinette and use her to fix the spaceship.

[Skummy]

...and people say the writing got ridiculous with Matt Smith

[Benji]

That was one of the show's best episodes :/

[Vamp]

I'm pretty sure it was a Moffat one too, and one of the ones people used as proof that Moffat should be the next head writer.

It was mostly teasing out the timey wimey possibilities, writing an odd relationship and seeing the Doctor struggle to come to terms with being trapped. It was a pretty good episode, and one of Moffat's best (if it was Moffat?). It was pretty fresh at the time too, although probably feels less so now.

I think the androids were partly brought back (in a somewhat different form) to allude to how long ago the Tennant things are for Capaldi's Doctor. The reason he can't remember where he got his face from is the same reason he can't remember the androids straight away, it's was thousands of years ago for him now.

Although it didn't quite make sense why they'd want a dinosaur part. It's not like their ship was SS Dinosaur. But eh, plot holes are part of the fun of Doctor Who. I'd say "timey wimey" but maybe the new approach is "meh, have a scotch" which I can get behind.

[Benji]

Purely speculation, but I suspect that his memory issues are related to the fact this is a new set of regenerations, and so technically he is more of a 'new person' than he's ever been before.

[TheWho87]

Yeah it has been established that there is memory loss post regeneration, if you look back to most regenerations from 3-4 onwards.

EDIT

Doctor Who lesbian kiss sparks Ofcom complaints over 'weird lesbian-lizard perv trip'

Ofcom has received six complaints after a lesbian kiss featured in Saturday night’s Doctor Who episode, “Deep Breath”.

The BBC sci-fi drama came under fire from some fans for the “inappropriate” moment between lizard-woman Madame Vastra and her human wife Jenny Flint that aired to seven million viewers.

Although the Victorian London couple, portrayed by Neve McIntosh and Catrin Stewart, have appeared as lovers for three years, their first on-screen kiss sparked some people to attack what they saw as a “blatant gay agenda”.

The moment came about when Jenny holds her breath to escape clockwork droids who can sense humans by their exhalations. As she struggles to breathe, Madame Vastra helps keep her alive with her own oxygen.

But while the scene received a positive reaction from most viewers, others claimed it was “unnecessary” and “gratuitous”, with one reviewer accusing the BBC of “wanting to become a porn channel”.

“It just seems (executive producer Steven Moffat) is on some weird, lizard-lesbian perv trip,” another wrote, according to gay news site, Pink News.

Source: Independent.co.uk

Edited August 26, 2014 by TheWho87

[Skummy]

I used to play bass for Lizard Lesbian Perv Trip.

Also, Jenny and Vastra are much better characters than Jack in terms of "they're gay, don'tchaknow?" writing, insofar as they're not 90% characterised by wanting to have sex with everything.

[Benji]

I shall inform Mrs Whitehouse at once. Mostly because she's into Lizard Ghost Lesbian Perv Trips.

[TheWho87]

If anyone had put gay overtones into Doctor Who it was RTD, it seemed he was pretty much obsessed with getting as many male gay characters on screen and flaunting it as much as possible even into Torchwood and nobody cared, yet when Moffat does it for the ladies and has built an established lesbian couple who then kiss after being known to the series for three years then all hell breaks loose... well six stuck up arseholes complain.