Doctor Who

[TGC]

Okay now I am even more excited for The X-Mas Special of Dr. Who!

[Benji]

How the fuck did I miss this - The First Doctor also had a signet ring (blue, unlike The Masters green one), make note of its 'powers' and see recent stuff about The Master, could be pure coincidence, could be a nice little nod by RTD.

[Benji]

New promo:

Here.

[GhostMachine]

Well, BBC America finally started airing the specials here - apparently they're going to do that on Saturday evenings - airing The Next Doctor and Planet of the Dead last night. The Waters of Mars will be on next week.

The Next Doctor I thought was pretty good. Really liked the bit about the other Doctor's "sonic" screwdriver, but I sincerely hope this is the last we see of the Cybermen for a while. They're being overused as much as the Daleks are, and I'd assume it would be much easier to renew the rights to use them than it would be with the Daleks.

Planet of the Dead I thought was a bit so-so, but am glad they used UNIT again.

(So far the only other thing I've watched on BBC America besides Doctor Who since I got the cable package its part of back is a few episodes of Robin Hood, and the ending to it sucked)

Edited December 13, 2009 by GhostMachine

[TGC]

Well, BBC America finally started airing the specials here - apparently they're going to do that on Saturday evenings - airing The Next Doctor and Planet of the Dead last night. The Waters of Mars will be on next week.

The Next Doctor I thought was pretty good. Really liked the bit about the other Doctor's "sonic" screwdriver, but I sincerely hope this is the last we see of the Cybermen for a while. They're being overused as much as the Daleks are, and I'd assume it would be much easier to renew the rights to use them than it would be with the Daleks.

Planet of the Dead I thought was a bit so-so, but am glad they used UNIT again.

(So far the only other thing I've watched on BBC America besides Doctor Who since I got the cable package its part of back is a few episodes of Robin Hood, and the ending to it sucked)

They aired months ago on BBCA.

[stokeriño]

This thread is automatically spoilered, right? Good.

* Timothy Dalton as a Time Lord = brilliance.

* Gallifrey!!!

* 'Master Race' pun = hillarious in its awful inevitability.

That is all.

[DFF]

I really enjoyed the episode. I thought John Simm was great playing a crazed maniac, Tenny was great in his emotional scenes with Cribbins (who was good throughout), and Dalton was great narrator. Story itself was not bad - blatantly a set up for ep 2, but there's nothing wrong with that.

Also, there's an exclusive trailer for part 2 on the Beeb's site: http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/s4/episodes/S0_09

[Rainiac]

Great episode, and a fantastic setup for what might be the most epic episode of new Who yet. My only real complaint is that the story didn't always explain what was going on enough, but there's always time for that in Part 2. Fantastic acting by John Simm, who's Master has become even more psychotic than he was in Series 3. I have absolutely no idea how this is going to end, but I can't wait til New Year's Day. And Timothy Dalton being cast as the (apparently evil) chief of the Time Lords= sheer brilliance. Roll on January 1st

[Skummy]

Really didn't like this episode, but hopefully the second part makes up for it. This one just seemed unstructured, and the mess of the Master's resurrection was just cringeworthy - it was melodramatic and camp even by Doctor Who standards, and just seemed to come from out of nowhere, it would have been nice to have the actual act of resurrection teased a little bit beforehand, rather than just introduce new characters to throw it out there with. The idea of Harold Saxon, a former Prime Minister who, in the public consciousness, as far as we can tell, "went mad" (what the public actually remember about Saxon is horribly ambiguous at best anyway) if the Doctor wiped the memories of the entire population, then why would his followers still remember this bizarre resurrection rite?) inspiring this pagan following...it just doesn't add up. The Master having a cult-like following, sure, I can get behind that - but the Master while masquerading as a high-ranking politician? That doesn't make sense to me. The main problem was just how hammy and awful that opening was, though.

On the subject of the Master, I don't much like his "new" insanity - I preferred Series 3's deranged genius, the ranting and raving this season was pushing it a little too far, and while I know that Time Lords have always been pretty ambiguous about what they can and can't do but fire lightning from their extremities and jump superhuman distances? Don't remember that one, somehow.

It wasn't all bad...Bernard Cribbins was brilliant as ever, and some stellar work from David Tennant in their scenes together, I just wish that Russell T. Davies could write "epic" storylines half as well as he does character-building, because even the best "epic" episodes (i.e., the last time we saw The Master) always end up being horribly cheesy. It's not all his fault, I just hate how rushed the new series can seem - it's a big deal nowadays to get a two-part special, whereas you look at classic Doctor Who, look at something like Logopolis, Tom Baker's last story, that took four episodes to tell, and that had been built up across at least four episodes previously before the story proper begins and, like this, it's a story of The Master returning and of the Doctor facing his inevitable death, yet The Master is in the background for much longer before he finally returns. Now, we just have to cram as much as possible into an episode, and this episode in particular was hurt by it, it felt unstructured and rushed.

To end on a positive note, Timothy Dalton.

Edited December 25, 2009 by Skummy

[Timmoru Suzuki]

I'm more with Skummy, that was very average fare and the ressurection was lame. But it was blatantly an hour-long set up to next weeks episode, which CAN'T POSSIBLY FAIL TO BE AMAZING*, and Bernard Cribbins trying to answer a gun > .

And, since I've not posted in here for ages, Waters of Mars was sensational. One of the best New Who's yet, no doubt.

* In theory.

[AnnIQ Edison]

I still don't understand a couple of things.

1. What was the Doctor shot with? A bullet? A Tranq?

2. Is The Master hungry all the time because he is losing his life force? Didn't quite get that and his raving about food was actually quite annoying.

3. I didn't like that those random aliens that were brought in for the hell of it. Though it did bring laugh of the ep with "She a cactus!"

4. How are the Time lords back? Or is that going to be explained next episode

Also did anyone else see Zack Efron or someone who looked a lot like him at the quick glance you get? The emo kid wearing the purple shirt when everyone walks outside just before they are transformed

[Downward Spiral]

I thought it was a brilliant episode but I will be the first to admit I'm a lot more forgiving of stupid plot decisions if the whole thing entertains me. Which is exactl what this episode did. The Master's resurrection was... bizarre, but, hey, it looked impressive. My little sisters were terrified which, really, whilst we can argue about what worked and what didn't all day, for that very reason it did its job.

I would also like Bernard Cribbins to be my granddad. What an amazing actor, brilliantly evoking so many facets of Wilf's personality. Excellent stuff.

The electrified master was... again a bit odd but Simm played it brilliantly. I think it was brought about entirely through the failed resurrection, really, which is why I'm prepared to forgive these sudden superhuman powers. Simm's constant insane ramblings were brilliant, and when the plan all camee together in the end, his metamorphisis from the powerless to the powerful was superbly played.

And finally, if Donna dies without seeing the Doctor again, I'm probably going to... well... get a bit annoyed, really.

Roll on part 2. And the Time Lords. Looks like we're FINALLY going to learn something about the Time War!

[Skummy]

1. Yeah. Really no explanation there.

2. Yeah, he's constantly hungry because he's using up his life force. I'm assuming the "electricity" that he uses is also his life force, so the more he does that kind of thing the hungrier he is. Seems a tad un-necessary, though, and really annoying.

3. Yeah, random aliens were just there. Really pointless, though "she's a cactus" was gold, they're just the kind of campy naff alien I'd rather not see in the more serious and important stories. All they really served to do was explain that the Immortality Gate was designed to heal entire planets - something the Doctor could have conceivably worked out on his own and cut out a load of extraneous bullshit. Maybe they'll be relevant next time round, but I really hope not.

4. I suppose we'll find out how the Time Lords are back next time, but I'd wager it's connected to the Master replicating his DNA, because by doing that the human race are now all Time Lords, surely? How that results in the resurrection of Gallifrey is anyone's guess, but I suppose we might find out about the Time War rather than it just being a deus ex machina. What it looks like, going from teasers on the BBC website, though, is that the Doctor holds (or held) something which ended the Time War - he was responsible for the death of the Time Lords, and the Daleks - how that relates to them being back now is anyone's guess.

[GhostMachine]

One thing I'm wondering:

If something happened that caused the entire Master race (that name is beyond stupid) to regenerate, they'd all still be Masters, but would they all look the same after regeneration?

From the preview for part 2, and the way Timothy Dalton's character was acting in part 1, I'm guessing the Time Lords being back may not be a good thing at all. And from the footage from part 2, I'm wondering if the Time War isn't actually over.....

The 11th Doctor will take some getting used to, because David Tennant is my second favorite Doctor (Tom Baker being the first; Tennant bumped Pertwee down to third), and I have the same birthday as him (literally; we're the same age), which is kind of cool.

[Jimmy]

Oh, I asumed that the fact that the resurection wasn't complete and he got stuck in the same body made him hungry, or something. Like he was stuck in the same body and probably got some human traits, such as hunger. The whole hunger thing was quite annoying; but I love me some John Simm. The ending was superb with everyone turning into Simm. It looked amazing and really reminded me of the genius that made my favourite two episodes (The Double-Parter at the end of series 3).

I thought the episode was good, but nothing amazing. I think I'm forgiving too; because of my love for Johnn Simm and David Tennant. And I don't mind about the pointless aliens, "She's a cactus" was gold.

In the second parter, what are the rumoured cameo's/actors? I fully expect to see John Barrowman.

[Skummy]

Pretty much everyone's going to be in the second part, I think. Definitely Barrowman, and almost certainly Rose and Sarah Jane popping up too.

I doubt the Time Lords coming back will be a good thing at all - despite officially being "the good guys", their society has proven to be either corrupt or complacent plenty of times in the past, and I get the feeling that it will be them responsible for "The End Of Time", as perhaps the only way to "fix" everything that's gone wrong through the Master and the Doctor's meddling would just be to destroy it and start anew.

[Benji]

Anyone who thinks the Time Lords being back is a positive thing in terms of helping The Doctor, you need to watch old Who. Whilst they are good in a "they'll always be the ultimate backup in the universes arsenal if things went majorly wrong", they're clasically one of the Doctors greatest foes in all honesty. Whilst The Timelords were never trying to destroy the universe (wellm, barring a few individuals) they are also the personification of apathy and a constant thorn in The Doctors attempts to save absolutely anything he believes deserves saving.

They're a double edged sword, they'll step in during desperate moments and be The Doctors greatest ally, but they can also be cold and destructive to The Doctor - remember, he ran away from them in the first place.

And just as confirmation, if you don't believe me - watch this weeks Doctor Who Confidential for a brief glimpse at where RTD is going with them

[Frederick Jameson]

Whilst I know this is more likely to be a coincidence a theory about what makes Wilf so important is doing the rounds based on the fact

The name Wilfred Mott is an anagram of "Timelord WTF" or "Timelord FTW

[therockbox]

I would love it if that actually had something to do with it.

It would be so appallingly shit that it would become good.

[TGC]

RTD is just goofy enough to do that too!