The Student Room Group

Doctor Who - Discussion Thread III (no untagged future spoilers)

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Original post by -Neuro-
lizbians :ahee:

I agree though, when they were first introduced it was subtle, to the point it wasn't ever really mentioned. It was just female human, female lizard, married, great, move on. And no more was ever said. It was just a thing we all accepted. Why Moffat felt the need to go over board with the referencing here is beyond me!


quinn_drummer?:sly:
Holy marbles that was bad. I really used to like the early David Tennant episodes,and Ecclestone episodes. Not because of the actors but mainly for the character development in each episode, the plot lines and just the general story telling being delivered was well presented.

Now it seems as though the pacing and editing is done by a teenager doing his apprenticeship at the BBC, and seem to over rely on really BAD CGI. I honestly wanted to sit through the episode but I just couldn't do it.
Reply 3482
Does anyone think this theory about Capaldi in fires of pompeii is likely to be true?

Spoiler

(edited 9 years ago)
I thought the episode was brilliant! Loved Capaldi's performance. I did have a few problems though.

I didn't like Vastra's speech about Clara not being able to see the Doctor in his new face and all about how/why the doctor chose his new one. She made it sound as if she's been around for all of his regenerations and they're old news, when in reality she's pretty much as much of a newbie as Clara to the whole thing.
I didn't like Vastra and Jenny's ninja style entrance near the end. Seemed over the top and unnecessary to me.
I didn't like that the robots would stop trying to kill them after they held their breath even though they'd already been seen as targets.

Like the humour, loved the dark scene of Clara desperate to breathe, I thought that was excellently executed. Loved Capaldi's confused "new Doctor" rants.
Original post by alpen
Does anyone think this theory about Capaldi in fires of pompeii is likely to be true?

Spoiler



If that happens it would be genius


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Original post by alpen
Does anyone think this theory about Capaldi in fires of pompeii is likely to be true?

Spoiler



But then what happen Capaldi being in Torchwood Children of Earth where IIRC he killed himself in the end?
Original post by 99DeadBaboons
I thought the episode was brilliant! Loved Capaldi's performance. I did have a few problems though.

I didn't like Vastra's speech about Clara not being able to see the Doctor in his new face and all about how/why the doctor chose his new one. She made it sound as if she's been around for all of his regenerations and they're old news, when in reality she's pretty much as much of a newbie as Clara to the whole thing.
I didn't like Vastra and Jenny's ninja style entrance near the end. Seemed over the top and unnecessary to me.
I didn't like that the robots would stop trying to kill them after they held their breath even though they'd already been seen as targets.

Like the humour, loved the dark scene of Clara desperate to breathe, I thought that was excellently executed. Loved Capaldi's confused "new Doctor" rants.


That's such a good summary.

I totally agree that it was silly how much lizard-lesbian-lady knows about the Doc. TBH I don't really feel much towards her character or her partner/maid. They've always seemed a bit rushed in terms of development and I like Stranx much more, he seems to be a likeable rogue who it would be good to see as a full companion - he and Clara travelling with the Doc would be brilliant.

Am I the only one who questioned why Tyrannosaurus was as tall as Big Ben? :lolwut:
Reply 3487
Original post by SirMasterKey
But then what happen Capaldi being in Torchwood Children of Earth where IIRC he killed himself in the end?

something wibly wobly timey wimey, maybe he died as a human but came back to life as a timelord, or maybe clara found the watch and did something which brought him back just as he died, idk lots of theories but I'm thinking fires of pompeii and children of earth will be explained separately
Original post by Fullofsurprises
That's such a good summary.

I totally agree that it was silly how much lizard-lesbian-lady knows about the Doc. TBH I don't really feel much towards her character or her partner/maid. They've always seemed a bit rushed in terms of development and I like Stranx much more, he seems to be a likeable rogue who it would be good to see as a full companion - he and Clara travelling with the Doc would be brilliant.

Am I the only one who questioned why Tyrannosaurus was as tall as Big Ben? :lolwut:


Thanks :smile:
Yeah, that was weird. Then Vastra was all like..."No... they're totally supposed to be that big" and so I guess we ignore everything else we know about dinosaurs. I like Strax a lot too! I'm not sure why he'd hold his breath along with the others though, surely Sauntarans are taught to fight to the end
i am a tad bit late but oh my goodness i thought doctor who was good!!!! my mum thought it was awful but i think there will be some good developments in the series.
on a side note if the dinosaur was in the thames why didnt she go out as soon as she combusted? important questions!!! :doctor:
Original post by hannahlizwoods
i am a tad bit late but oh my goodness i thought doctor who was good!!!! my mum thought it was awful but i think there will be some good developments in the series.
on a side note if the dinosaur was in the thames why didnt she go out as soon as she combusted? important questions!!! :doctor:


Water isn't always capable of putting out a fire - greek fire was a military weapon that would keep burning on water, and even still, the dinosaur was ridiculously large (definitely over 20 times their normal size given the comparison to Elizabeth Tower), the water isn't going to douse the lot of it.
i loovvedddd itttttt :party:

finally got to watch it today :colonhash:
Dear God i'm one of the more positives ones here... Give me a moment to compose myself. If they do give a proper explaination to Capaldi's previous appearances then brilliant, just so long as it doesn't become a case of River where something that doesn't need touching becomes a massive, unecessary mind screw.

Also to all those claiming sexism, I give you Peri from the 80s. Even if the female characters are given a lot of the same traits, at least they're mostly positive ones and not just breasts. A lot of the complaints feel very reductionalist - Amy is different from Clara in a lot of ways (if anything she's a more developed Sparrow) as is River. Personally I would take the former two over Rose. Ingrid Osgood, Liz Ten, Kate Stewart, Madame De Pompadour, Nancy, heck Molly from Sherlock - I would say they were all good female characters in their own way. Yes the companions are 'feisty strong women' but that's generally the kind of ones who make good TV that needs be to quick and hit that short format - Rory was a good example of a more insecure companion but he rather needs another companion there to beef it out and I think Clara is a nice pairing of the two sides seeing she's currently solo. Fingers crossed they do something more with her going through his time stream and coping with that.

... And now i'm defending Moffat. What a strange day.

Also as a weird lil aside, i'll have to check it on iplayer but i'm pretty sure I saw on the newspaper that one of the combustion victims was a Maragret Roberts (Thatcher's maiden name). Made I larf.
Original post by IMakeSenseToNone
Dear God i'm one of the more positives ones here... Give me a moment to compose myself. If they do give a proper explaination to Capaldi's previous appearances then brilliant, just so long as it doesn't become a case of River where something that doesn't need touching becomes a massive, unecessary mind screw.

Also to all those claiming sexism, I give you Peri from the 80s. Even if the female characters are given a lot of the same traits, at least they're mostly positive ones and not just breasts. A lot of the complaints feel very reductionalist - Amy is different from Clara in a lot of ways (if anything she's a more developed Sparrow) as is River. Personally I would take the former two over Rose. Ingrid Osgood, Liz Ten, Kate Stewart, Madame De Pompadour, Nancy, heck Molly from Sherlock - I would say they were all good female characters in their own way. Yes the companions are 'feisty strong women' but that's generally the kind of ones who make good TV that needs be to quick and hit that short format - Rory was a good example of a more insecure companion but he rather needs another companion there to beef it out and I think Clara is a nice pairing of the two sides seeing she's currently solo. Fingers crossed they do something more with her going through his time stream and coping with that.

... And now i'm defending Moffat. What a strange day.

Also as a weird lil aside, i'll have to check it on iplayer but i'm pretty sure I saw on the newspaper that one of the combustion victims was a Maragret Roberts (Thatcher's maiden name). Made I larf.


Now I can't agree with that - all of moffats female companions have been slightly feisty but head over heels with the doctor - there's really not that much difference between them. Hell, of the 5 female travelling companions in the reboot, only one hasn't been "smitten girl who needs his help" and that's donna. It's not just female characters though - mickey and Rory had pretty much the same idea behind them - insecure and slightly useless, travelling only to stop their girlfriend falling for the doctor and forgetting them. There's just not enough variety in the companions - every doctor has their own personality, but all the companions seem to have the same character brief.


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Original post by Stiff Little Fingers
Now I can't agree with that - all of moffats female companions have been slightly feisty but head over heels with the doctor - there's really not that much difference between them. Hell, of the 5 female travelling companions in the reboot, only one hasn't been "smitten girl who needs his help" and that's donna. It's not just female characters though - mickey and Rory had pretty much the same idea behind them - insecure and slightly useless, travelling only to stop their girlfriend falling for the doctor and forgetting them. There's just not enough variety in the companions - every doctor has their own personality, but all the companions seem to have the same character brief.


I would rather put Sarah Jane in there as well, I do like School Reunion but she is another DT fangirl in it to say just how gosh darn marvellous he is. And god was Mickey a poorly done character.

Apologies in advance if I get this a bit wrong, haven't watched a lot of the Smith era in a while but I always saw the Doctor as being more smitten with Amy than the other way around, least by the end. Definitely at the beginning Amy is the one who is obsessed with him (can't really blame her after having that experience as a child) but in season 7 the Doctor is the one who can't let them go when they've moved on. Also Amy is who he sees as he regenerates, whereas in the Angels Take Manhattan she rather chooses Rory over him.

I do agree that the baseline is rather the same but it's slightly unfair to boil them down to that. I think the development and traits of the characters are fairly unique, not saying it's perfect, goodness knows i'm not a big Moffat fan and we need someone who portrays the female experience outside of young twenty, hetero, middle class female again but they still stand up in their own right. It'll be interesting to see how the Clara and Danny relationship goes, hopefully it's genuine and not just a substitute for the fact she doesn't find the 'ol Doc attractive anymore. It is a shame that the writers think that an attraction is de facto due to the vary nature of the Doctor but maybe Capaldi's time will move away from that (i'll reserve judgement on Deep Breathe's final scene until we learn more).
I just got round to watching it and actually really liked it. I wasn't convinced I would because Capaldi's scene after the regeneration in the Christmas episode felt flat to me. But I thought this was pretty great overall, and I loved the diner scene - I found it funny when Clara realised the doctor had called her an egomaniac, and then the reveal of what was wrong with the diner was done excellently to make a very sinister vibe.

Obviously he's very different so not everyone will like him, but I think he's what's needed. If they had done another fresh-faced, childish doctor everyone would just think he was copying the last two and that the show was getting stale. I do think some people just aren't giving him a chance because they don't want an older doctor. But even if you didn't like him, remember that Tennant's acting in his first episode was objectively terrible and he still became beloved.

Original post by triplet3
I was so dissapointed with yesterdays episode:frown: The writing and characters are simply just not as good as they used to be...the plotline wasn't unique or interesting, the characters are cheesy and boring, it almost seems like they have made it really childish with all the slapstick humour? I dont know, just in comparison to the storylines of Christopher Eccleston/David Tennants seasons, there is a clear different in quality


I feel some rose-tinted glasses here. I mean two of Eccleston's thirteen episodes were based around fart jokes (those aliens that put on human suits and kept farting). Slapstick and childish humour has featured all the way since the start of the revived Doctor Who.
Original post by paddyman4
I just got round to watching it and actually really liked it. I wasn't convinced I would because Capaldi's scene after the regeneration in the Christmas episode felt flat to me. But I thought this was pretty great overall, and I loved the diner scene - I found it funny when Clara realised the doctor had called her an egomaniac, and then the reveal of what was wrong with the diner was done excellently to make a very sinister vibe.

Obviously he's very different so not everyone will like him, but I think he's what's needed. If they had done another fresh-faced, childish doctor everyone would just think he was copying the last two and that the show was getting stale. I do think some people just aren't giving him a chance because they don't want an older doctor. But even if you didn't like him, remember that Tennant's acting in his first episode was objectively terrible and he still became beloved.



I feel some rose-tinted glasses here. I mean two of Eccleston's thirteen episodes were based around fart jokes (those aliens that put on human suits and kept farting). Slapstick and childish humour has featured all the way since the start of the revived Doctor Who.


I've got to be honest I really found the episode terrible, like a few childish jokes are okay but I felt the humour just doesn't match the type of Doctor Capaldi looks like he'll be. The ridiculous oversized T-rex, which then had nothing to do with the actual plot, started the episode off badly.

On the plus side I really do think Capadi could be a great doctor and I agree that someone totally new and older (not that I'm saying Smith was bad at all) will be really good for the show :smile:
Original post by SirMasterKey
But then what happen Capaldi being in Torchwood Children of Earth where IIRC he killed himself in the end?


Spoiler

(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by Dalek1099

Spoiler



You mean that The Doctor IS Frobisher? Because John Frobisher is in no way Doctor-esque. If he was The Doctor, just pre-regen, he would not have volunteered 10% of the world's children without a fight and try to murder Jack Harkness and Torchwood. Unless he's really THAT dark... Also, he had a wife and kids (well, he killed them all)?


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Original post by Stiff Little Fingers
Water isn't always capable of putting out a fire - greek fire was a military weapon that would keep burning on water, and even still, the dinosaur was ridiculously large (definitely over 20 times their normal size given the comparison to Elizabeth Tower), the water isn't going to douse the lot of it.

Thanks! :smile:

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