Doctor Who

[robwebster]

The only thing I didn't like about Asylum was

Rory and Amy's problems.  Amy "gave Rory up" because she's infertile now, its this thing both of them are sad about...so they're angry and pissy at each other in the time between Pond Life 5 and Asylum?  Their attitude at the beginning is a little hard to swallow.  Plus it was handled way too quickly, I guess Steven Moffat seems to love cramming as much in as possible into episodes now.  Which is great when he has space to do it!

As for the Oswin moment, I'm thinking its either a River Song deal or the new companion is an ancestor of Oswin, the way that Gwen Cooper is hinted to be a descendant of the girl from The Unquiet Dead, Amy loves Romans (she was in Fires of Pompeii), and Martha and her cousin look exactly alike.

My guess, WRT Oswin --

This is the end of Oswin's timeline. The very end. She gets Dalekified, and then blown to smithereens. That's what happens, that's how she dies, that's what history shows. That's the true, proper end - so when the Doctor picks her up, she'll be much earlier in her timeline.

One day, at the very end of her life, the Doctor will have an option. She'll be off, ready to see the universe for herself. Ready to board the Alaska, and the Doctor's not saying a thing. But from there, he can choose one of two options.

First, he can let her go. She will crash-land on the Dalek Asylum, she will get slowly and brutally turned into a Dalek, she will die a horrible death, and history will be absolute.

His other option, is that he can save her. Warn her, reveal everything, tell her exactly what's going to happen. The cost, of course, being that she will never have met him at the Asylum, and she will never have wiped the Daleks' minds. He could save his companion but doom the universe. Because silence will fall when the question is answered.

"Doctor Who?"

I'm a time traveler, I point and laugh at archaeologists.

 

Hahaha - yes! David Tennant is brilliant in every single way and words won't bring him down.

[alirocker08]

Mitchell and Webb <3

[Sigz]

That was wonderful.

[Heretic]

That was awesome.

[Super Dude]

That was a fun episode. Pretty uncharacteristic of the Doctor to just kill the guy in cold blood though.

[Sigz]

That was a fun episode. Pretty uncharacteristic of the Doctor to just kill the guy in cold blood though.

I keep hearing people say that, but it's really not. I mean, bear in mind this is the same doctor who basically orchestrated the genocide of an entire race (The Silence), just in the previous episode blew up a dozen Daleks, was implied to be fighting Silence with spears in the episode before that, destroyed a fuckton of ships in the Cyberman's fleet just as 'a message' in A Good Man Goes to War, etc. etc.

[Super Dude]

But I think it's different. Yeah, this guy was bad, but he wasn't a fate of the world/universe type deal. He was scum, but not arc villain bad. I can understand killing an army of beings whose main purpose is to destroy the Earth/time/whatever. But he wouldn't even kill the Master before.

[Cedar redaC]

"Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" was pretty cool, definitely one that held my attention for the entire thing. The only thing I wondered is, how are they going to tie that in to the rest of the series? Unless Solomon somehow survives and becomes the main villain of the series, I don't know how it will fit.

[Fiery Winds]

"Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" was pretty cool, definitely one that held my attention for the entire thing. The only thing I wondered is, how are they going to tie that in to the rest of the series? Unless Solomon somehow survives and becomes the main villain of the series, I don't know how it will fit.

Most of these are standalone "film-type" episodes, not a season long arc.

[Sigz]

Yeah, from what I understand there really isn't a main arc for this season. And I'm completely okay with that.

[Implode]

I really enjoyed that episode. I huge step up from he last one imo.

[robwebster]

But I think it's different. Yeah, this guy was bad, but he wasn't a fate of the world/universe type deal. He was scum, but not arc villain bad. I can understand killing an army of beings whose main purpose is to destroy the Earth/time/whatever. But he wouldn't even kill the Master before.

"Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" was pretty cool, definitely one that held my attention for the entire thing. The only thing I wondered is, how are they going to tie that in to the rest of the series? Unless Solomon somehow survives and becomes the main villain of the series, I don't know how it will fit.

Funnily enough, we might be able to tie these two questions together by the end of next week...

[robwebster]

In other news, it looks like Steven Moffat's deleted his Twitter.

Can't blame him. The second I saw my "Following" drop I knew who it'd be. So many self-righteous self-absorbed fucks who insist on telling him everything he's doing wrong by making a list of every way he's not pandering towards their utopian ideal. Hate to fall back on a cliché, (and yes, "fall back on a cliché" is itself a cliché,) but this is why we can't have nice things.

Sample tweet, came straight up when I searched "Steven Moffat" -

"@steven_moffat Do you not see the point in addressing negative feedback? Are we one homogenous lump of Crazy Ladies Thinking Too Much?"

[Cedar redaC]

"Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" was pretty cool, definitely one that held my attention for the entire thing. The only thing I wondered is, how are they going to tie that in to the rest of the series? Unless Solomon somehow survives and becomes the main villain of the series, I don't know how it will fit.

Most of these are standalone "film-type" episodes, not a season long arc.

But there's got to be a season arc, there's always a season arc. 

[robwebster]

Again - watch this space!

Next week's episode is A Town Called Mercy. In Steven Moffat's words --

• A tale of war, betrayal and vengeance, converging on one small town in the Old West - a town under siege. Just crossing the boundary line summons a not-quite-human killer from the desert heat haze.
  
  The Doctor finds himself not just in the crossfire of an ancient conflict (a cyborg killer and an alien fugitive) but faced with a moral dilemma. Which side should he take? Who really is the victim here? This time, though, the Doctor doesn't seem to care. Has the Time Lord been alone too long? Have the long days of travelling between his adventures with the Ponds taken their toll? Because for one of the few times in his long life, the Doctor takes a gun...
  
  Like all the best westerns, this is a tale of one man standing against impossible odds and his own personal demons. And like all the best westerns, it was shot in Spain. And like all the best dramas, it was written by Toby Whithouse.

This isn't a promise - I don't know anything more than you do - but wasn't the Doctor very conspicuously merciless this week? It's all a rich tapestry.

[skydivingninja]

The only thing I didn't like about Asylum was

Rory and Amy's problems.  Amy "gave Rory up" because she's infertile now, its this thing both of them are sad about...so they're angry and pissy at each other in the time between Pond Life 5 and Asylum?  Their attitude at the beginning is a little hard to swallow.  Plus it was handled way too quickly, I guess Steven Moffat seems to love cramming as much in as possible into episodes now.  Which is great when he has space to do it!

As for the Oswin moment, I'm thinking its either a River Song deal or the new companion is an ancestor of Oswin, the way that Gwen Cooper is hinted to be a descendant of the girl from The Unquiet Dead, Amy loves Romans (she was in Fires of Pompeii), and Martha and her cousin look exactly alike.

My guess, WRT Oswin --

This is the end of Oswin's timeline. The very end. She gets Dalekified, and then blown to smithereens. That's what happens, that's how she dies, that's what history shows. That's the true, proper end - so when the Doctor picks her up, she'll be much earlier in her timeline.

One day, at the very end of her life, the Doctor will have an option. She'll be off, ready to see the universe for herself. Ready to board the Alaska, and the Doctor's not saying a thing. But from there, he can choose one of two options.

First, he can let her go. She will crash-land on the Dalek Asylum, she will get slowly and brutally turned into a Dalek, she will die a horrible death, and history will be absolute.

His other option, is that he can save her. Warn her, reveal everything, tell her exactly what's going to happen. The cost, of course, being that she will never have met him at the Asylum, and she will never have wiped the Daleks' minds. He could save his companion but doom the universe. Because silence will fall when the question is answered.

"Doctor Who?"

I figured that out when I said "River Song deal," but for some reason I never considered the Doctor trying to save somebody he saw die already, especially after his "a God am I" moment on Mars.  The choice is interesting though.  I would like to see the Daleks have their memories of the Doctor back.  But how would the universe be doomed?  He wouldn't actually answer the question, would he?

[robwebster]

The only thing I didn't like about Asylum was

Rory and Amy's problems.  Amy "gave Rory up" because she's infertile now, its this thing both of them are sad about...so they're angry and pissy at each other in the time between Pond Life 5 and Asylum?  Their attitude at the beginning is a little hard to swallow.  Plus it was handled way too quickly, I guess Steven Moffat seems to love cramming as much in as possible into episodes now.  Which is great when he has space to do it!

As for the Oswin moment, I'm thinking its either a River Song deal or the new companion is an ancestor of Oswin, the way that Gwen Cooper is hinted to be a descendant of the girl from The Unquiet Dead, Amy loves Romans (she was in Fires of Pompeii), and Martha and her cousin look exactly alike.

My guess, WRT Oswin --

This is the end of Oswin's timeline. The very end. She gets Dalekified, and then blown to smithereens. That's what happens, that's how she dies, that's what history shows. That's the true, proper end - so when the Doctor picks her up, she'll be much earlier in her timeline.

One day, at the very end of her life, the Doctor will have an option. She'll be off, ready to see the universe for herself. Ready to board the Alaska, and the Doctor's not saying a thing. But from there, he can choose one of two options.

First, he can let her go. She will crash-land on the Dalek Asylum, she will get slowly and brutally turned into a Dalek, she will die a horrible death, and history will be absolute.

His other option, is that he can save her. Warn her, reveal everything, tell her exactly what's going to happen. The cost, of course, being that she will never have met him at the Asylum, and she will never have wiped the Daleks' minds. He could save his companion but doom the universe. Because silence will fall when the question is answered.

"Doctor Who?"

I figured that out when I said "River Song deal," but for some reason I never considered the Doctor trying to save somebody he saw die already, especially after his "a God am I" moment on Mars.  The choice is interesting though.  I would like to see the Daleks have their memories of the Doctor back.  But how would the universe be doomed?  He wouldn't actually answer the question, would he?

Well, a clever thing that they've done almost invisibly, is that Asylum of the Daleks quite subtly shifted the nature of the question. The question "Doctor Who" is no longer as banal as "What is the Doctor's name?" It's now "Who is this strange man who waltzes so freely across time and space?" Reinforced in Dinosaurs on a Spaceship - the universe has forgotten. And it's better off not knowing. If the Daleks found out he was their sworn enemy, a man they would tear the universe apart to kill... well! Who knows what the consequences might be? Don't get me wrong, they're frustrated little tyrants either way, but a tyrant with a cause is that much more dangerous.

The moment the Daleks find out, the moment the Daleks remember who he is, the question has been answered. His name isn't what might doom the universe, it's his identity.

Or that's how I see it, anyway! Watch 2013 roll on and expose this entire post as nonsense. q:

[Implode]

That's what I was thinking too, Rob. It makes me feel a lot better about the question already.

[Super Dude]

The only thing I didn't like about Asylum was

Rory and Amy's problems.  Amy "gave Rory up" because she's infertile now, its this thing both of them are sad about...so they're angry and pissy at each other in the time between Pond Life 5 and Asylum?  Their attitude at the beginning is a little hard to swallow.  Plus it was handled way too quickly, I guess Steven Moffat seems to love cramming as much in as possible into episodes now.  Which is great when he has space to do it!

As for the Oswin moment, I'm thinking its either a River Song deal or the new companion is an ancestor of Oswin, the way that Gwen Cooper is hinted to be a descendant of the girl from The Unquiet Dead, Amy loves Romans (she was in Fires of Pompeii), and Martha and her cousin look exactly alike.

My guess, WRT Oswin --

This is the end of Oswin's timeline. The very end. She gets Dalekified, and then blown to smithereens. That's what happens, that's how she dies, that's what history shows. That's the true, proper end - so when the Doctor picks her up, she'll be much earlier in her timeline.

One day, at the very end of her life, the Doctor will have an option. She'll be off, ready to see the universe for herself. Ready to board the Alaska, and the Doctor's not saying a thing. But from there, he can choose one of two options.

First, he can let her go. She will crash-land on the Dalek Asylum, she will get slowly and brutally turned into a Dalek, she will die a horrible death, and history will be absolute.

His other option, is that he can save her. Warn her, reveal everything, tell her exactly what's going to happen. The cost, of course, being that she will never have met him at the Asylum, and she will never have wiped the Daleks' minds. He could save his companion but doom the universe. Because silence will fall when the question is answered.

"Doctor Who?"

I figured that out when I said "River Song deal," but for some reason I never considered the Doctor trying to save somebody he saw die already, especially after his "a God am I" moment on Mars.  The choice is interesting though.  I would like to see the Daleks have their memories of the Doctor back.  But how would the universe be doomed?  He wouldn't actually answer the question, would he?

Well, a clever thing that they've done almost invisibly, is that Asylum of the Daleks quite subtly shifted the nature of the question. The question "Doctor Who" is no longer as banal as "What is the Doctor's name?" It's now "Who is this strange man who waltzes so freely across time and space?" Reinforced in Dinosaurs on a Spaceship - the universe has forgotten. And it's better off not knowing. If the Daleks found out he was their sworn enemy, a man they would tear the universe apart to kill... well! Who knows what the consequences might be? Don't get me wrong, they're frustrated little tyrants either way, but a tyrant with a cause is that much more dangerous.

The moment the Daleks find out, the moment the Daleks remember who he is, the question has been answered. His name isn't what might doom the universe, it's his identity.

Or that's how I see it, anyway! Watch 2013 roll on and expose this entire post as nonsense. q:

[skydivingninja]

The only thing I didn't like about Asylum was

Rory and Amy's problems.  Amy "gave Rory up" because she's infertile now, its this thing both of them are sad about...so they're angry and pissy at each other in the time between Pond Life 5 and Asylum?  Their attitude at the beginning is a little hard to swallow.  Plus it was handled way too quickly, I guess Steven Moffat seems to love cramming as much in as possible into episodes now.  Which is great when he has space to do it!

As for the Oswin moment, I'm thinking its either a River Song deal or the new companion is an ancestor of Oswin, the way that Gwen Cooper is hinted to be a descendant of the girl from The Unquiet Dead, Amy loves Romans (she was in Fires of Pompeii), and Martha and her cousin look exactly alike.

My guess, WRT Oswin --

This is the end of Oswin's timeline. The very end. She gets Dalekified, and then blown to smithereens. That's what happens, that's how she dies, that's what history shows. That's the true, proper end - so when the Doctor picks her up, she'll be much earlier in her timeline.

One day, at the very end of her life, the Doctor will have an option. She'll be off, ready to see the universe for herself. Ready to board the Alaska, and the Doctor's not saying a thing. But from there, he can choose one of two options.

First, he can let her go. She will crash-land on the Dalek Asylum, she will get slowly and brutally turned into a Dalek, she will die a horrible death, and history will be absolute.

His other option, is that he can save her. Warn her, reveal everything, tell her exactly what's going to happen. The cost, of course, being that she will never have met him at the Asylum, and she will never have wiped the Daleks' minds. He could save his companion but doom the universe. Because silence will fall when the question is answered.

"Doctor Who?"

I figured that out when I said "River Song deal," but for some reason I never considered the Doctor trying to save somebody he saw die already, especially after his "a God am I" moment on Mars.  The choice is interesting though.  I would like to see the Daleks have their memories of the Doctor back.  But how would the universe be doomed?  He wouldn't actually answer the question, would he?

Well, a clever thing that they've done almost invisibly, is that Asylum of the Daleks quite subtly shifted the nature of the question. The question "Doctor Who" is no longer as banal as "What is the Doctor's name?" It's now "Who is this strange man who waltzes so freely across time and space?" Reinforced in Dinosaurs on a Spaceship - the universe has forgotten. And it's better off not knowing. If the Daleks found out he was their sworn enemy, a man they would tear the universe apart to kill... well! Who knows what the consequences might be? Don't get me wrong, they're frustrated little tyrants either way, but a tyrant with a cause is that much more dangerous.

The moment the Daleks find out, the moment the Daleks remember who he is, the question has been answered. His name isn't what might doom the universe, it's his identity.

Or that's how I see it, anyway! Watch 2013 roll on and expose this entire post as nonsense. q:

aaaah that makes sense too!

So this last episode was pretty amazing.  That one controversial thing shouldn't be that controversial, given all the stuff the Doctor's done both in old and new Who.  Maybe it wasn't a fate of the world deal, but like Donna said, "I think you need someone to stop you."  No one else was with the Doctor, and Filch just wouldn't give up.  I also really REALLY liked how useful Rory and Amy were as companions.  Its probably the most capable/clever they've been as companions. 

Also, someone on Reddit pointed out that Nefertiti disappeared from historical record!  Had no idea and it was really bugging me until I saw that.  I love it when they do that, the way they did with Agatha Christie.

[Kosmo]

I wasn't even aware that the season started! That means two episodes today.

[robwebster]

I wasn't even aware that the season started! That means two episodes today.

Yes, yes it does! Watch! And report back!

So this last episode was pretty amazing.  That one controversial thing shouldn't be that controversial, given all the stuff the Doctor's done both in old and new Who.  Maybe it wasn't a fate of the world deal, but like Donna said, "I think you need someone to stop you."  No one else was with the Doctor, and Filch just wouldn't give up.  I also really REALLY liked how useful Rory and Amy were as companions.  Its probably the most capable/clever they've been as companions. 

Also, someone on Reddit pointed out that Nefertiti disappeared from historical record!  Had no idea and it was really bugging me until I saw that.  I love it when they do that, the way they did with Agatha Christie.

Agreed, entirely, with the first bit. Every word. We know how ruthless the Doctor can be, we know why the good man needs so many rules, and we know what he's like when he's travelling - as he is this series! - without a companion. And yes, Rory and Amy were excellent. And Amy got to be the Doctor! Brilliant, loved it.

Reddit - snazzy. That's brilliant. Yes, love stuff like that. And the self-restraint not to make a big point of it! Just to let it happen. Although, I didn't think Neffy and Riddell were that right for each other. Didn't really see Riddell's redeeming features (though he was an ace character) but who cares?! It was nice. I still smiled.

[Jaq]

Just wondering, why are we posting speculation on episodes that have already aired and are readily available in spoiler text?  Not like the old days where North America got Who six months to a year later, after all.

[robwebster]

Just in case! I know that anyone who clicks the thread but hasn't seen the new series has kind of brought it on themselves, but I also know how easy it is to do, and if anyone does read a plot point you can't get that ignorance back. You will always know.

Plus, there are people like Kosmo, three posts back, who didn't even realise there was a new series on! It's not necessary, you're right, but it does help.

For what it's worth, I've been posting slightly bigger spoiler text than usual. 4pt is legible. Might be a screen resolution thing, but I don't have to copy and paste this to read it. Just squint a bit.

What I could do instead, though, to save our copy and paste keys, is change the thread title after each episode? Like so...

[robwebster]

There we go. I think that's clear. And tidy. I hate it when thread titles get filled with exclamation marks and clauses and quips and the letter "v." Everyone knows where we're up to, everyone knows if they've not seen the episode yet, and we can beef the font size up a bit. Sorted.

[theseoafs]

Yo Rob!

I've never seen Doctor Who, but I saw this status posted on Facebook and wanted to get your thoughts.

"I'm just going to put this out there: after careful discussion with Bobby Huggins, we've determined that Futurama does a funnier, more sentimental, and better job of exploring the possibilities of space/time/science than Dr. Who."

[robwebster]

Yo Rob!

I've never seen Doctor Who, but I saw this status posted on Facebook and wanted to get your thoughts.

"I'm just going to put this out there: after careful discussion with Bobby Huggins, we've determined that Futurama does a funnier, more sentimental, and better job of exploring the possibilities of space/time/science than Dr. Who."

I think there's a certain truth to that!

Doctor Who is science fiction with a heavy dose of fiction - frankly, it's closer to science fantasy. You'd never get an episode of Doctor Who like The Prisoner of Benda, never any solutions based on mathematical proofs or on hard scientific concepts. Ideas, sure. The Weeping Angels are quantum locked, interesting idea, but at their core they're pure fantasy.

At the same time, though, the quality of writing on Doctor Who is, I'd say, signifiantly better. Futurama's lauded for its touching bits, and rightfully so, but they're the exception, rather than the rule. One thing that's been increasingly bugging me about Futurama is the dialogue. People will state what they're feeling - sometimes as a joke, but more often as a short hand. It's very much "Here's what we're doing, and bugger the rest."

The main thing, though, is that Doctor Who can be absolutely anything and everything it wants to be. It can be a murder mystery, it can be an action thriller, it can be body-horror, it can be a spaghetti western, it can be a one-act play, it can be a character study. The same's true of Futurama, to an extent, but it's more natural to the Doctor Who format. And, honestly, it does it better. When Futurama is on form, it's absolutely cracking, but Doctor Who is frequently sadder than Jurassic Bark, funnier than Roswell That Ends Well, and scarier than... I dunno, the Honking? And sometimes, all in one episode.

I'd say that Futurama's good comedy, with a bit extra. Doctor Who's good telly. Love both, but there's a reason Doctor Who's my favourite.

[theseoafs]

Doctor Who is frequently sadder than Jurassic Bark

Now that, I find hard to believe.   But thanks for your thoughts, buddy.

[Implode]

I've only seen parts of Jurassic Bark and oh man it looks sad. But DW has also had me in tears. It has some of the saddest stuff I've ever seen.

[skydivingninja]

Doctor Who is frequently sadder than Jurassic Bark

I was with you until this.  Futurama holds the ultimate tear-jerker prize in my book. 

[Cedar redaC]

But DW has also had me in tears. It has some of the saddest stuff I've ever seen.

I almost cried when The Master died at the end of series 3, and he was the bad guy!

[Implode]

That, Doomsday, and End of Time. 

[Super Dude]

Eh, Jurassic Bark was sadder. That doesn't bear on how awesome a series Doctor Who is, just calling it as I sees it.

[robwebster]

Doctor Who is frequently sadder than Jurassic Bark

I was with you until this.  Futurama holds the ultimate tear-jerker prize in my book.

Eh, Jurassic Bark was sadder. That doesn't bear on how awesome a series Doctor Who is, just calling it as I sees it.

Alright - cram in a "debatably!" Seems appropriate, seeing as we're debating it. Or, I could revise the line to --

:: Doctor Who is frequently more emotional than Jurassic Bark, wittier than Roswell That Ends Well, and scarier than... I dunno, the Honking?

I think "witty" is a better representation of what Doctor Who does, too, so it's possible that I wrote that line in a hurry.

Either way, why compete? They're both great! And frankly, neither's treading on the other's toes. Sure, you can learn more about the universe while you watch Futurama - but you can learn more about business by watching Dragon's Den! Doesn't make it better, just different. That's the point of having multiple programmes. If there was room for all of those things in one programme, there'd be one show called "TV," that ran for 24 hours a day, and we'd all sit there glued to it. Futurama and Doctor Who are both good writing of very different kinds. If I want a laugh, I stick on Futurama, but at its best it's so much more than just a laugh. If I want an adventure, I stick on Doctor Who, but at its best it's so much more than just an adventure. Brilliant shows, largely brilliantly written, talented actors, wonderful characters, similar in settings and scope (they both did the space-Titanic - and Futurama did it a lot better, actually!) - world's richer for both of them, and they both do things the other couldn't dream of. Just fourteen series of quality programming.

[Heretic]

Blink is on BBCAmerica right now! <3