Frankymole Posted May 20, 2013 Report Share Posted May 20, 2013 Series 8 has officially been commissioned for 2014, Stephen Moffat is returning. We should be on at least season 9 by now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donomark Posted May 20, 2013 Report Share Posted May 20, 2013 All right. As others have said, way more satisfying than Moffat's other finales. However, I have a challenge for folks. Name me one reason that Clara would choose to make that sacrifice, other than the plot/existing story required her to, given her relationship with the Doctor and who she is as a person. Also, this basically makes her the biggest Mary Sue in the history of fucking ever, and vaguely implies that every Companion at one point or another was possessed by her. Yeah, fuck no. Give the Ponds that sacrifice, not some character who we still don't know after only half a season. Also, the bit with John Hurt is really interesting, also is likely going to throw the 13 regeneration limit out the window. 1) If I'm reading my TV tropes right, "Mary Sue" implies that Clara is Moffatt, which I can't get my head around. 2) When watching the episode, I took the Clara monologue - which was repeated twice, and helped reinforce my view - to mean that whilst she was present for every Doctor dilemma, only Eleven turned to speak to her and thus engage. Therefore, she was always a separate entity to the actual companion. That she was dressed as other companions struck me as fan service and nothing more. Her presence can be explained as strictly undoing the damage of the Great Intelligence. For my part, I found the episode to be very engaging. It could possibly have been stretched into a two-parter, but I don't think the episode really suffered from being a one & done. With regard to the Clara storyline, I can see why people would think her sacrifice, such that it is in that she didn't die, would be a bit sudden, but then this storyline had been set in place from the beginning of this series, and if it hadn't been addressed in this episode, people would still have bitched & moaned about Moffatt dragging it out. At worst, we don't see the many iterations of Eleven meeting various versions of Clara, and tbh, I could see that getting very old, very quickly - especially as people didn't like Eleven moving onto the 3rd iteration of Clara after the Christmas special. My interpretation of this episode is that it wraps up the Impossible Girl storyline, gives River a proper goodbye so that she can be properly written out and, within the space where mutliple Doctor history can fall in on itself, sets up the 50th anniversary with John Hurt's Doctor/Valeyard, Tennant's Ten and possibly others. There was also Vastra/Jenny/Strax, so I'm scratching my head as to what the major, hateful flaws are that damn Moffatt as some kind of hack. Yeah man, I agree. I found the episode to be pretty intense and engaging. It's at the top of all of the modern finales, though not by very much as I've liked most of them. I do think that the whole River thing was confusing and not explained well enough to be totally understood. So she's dead, but she can ghost around to people's subconscious and talk to them from beyond the grave? And if this is the iteration of her that was saved in the library, how can she do that exactly? It's a bit tough to take on face value, and hard to understand logistically. But the ending made me scream. So glad I wasn't spoiled. Can't wait until the 50th Anniversary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Posted May 20, 2013 Report Share Posted May 20, 2013 I've had a couple of days to think on it, and I'm less inclined to call it good. There was a ton - A TOOOOON - of fanservice, and that's always fun, and some questions were answered, and that's satisfying, but the actual story was threadbare. Once again we got Team Vastra, and once again they had fuck-all to do. We got the Great Intelligence mwa-ha-haing with no real plan other than "I will kill the Doctor" with a singlemindedness that was entirely unearned; they've only met in two other episodes in modern Who and they barely interacted. As noted, Clara's determination to save the Doctor at the cost of her own life came out of nowhere and doesn't jell with what we've seen of her so far. Which is not to say I didn't have fun. Actually getting to see One steal the TARDIS was pretty entertaining (even if I don't know why he would have been in his Edwardian costume other than "because that's what the archival footage had"). This felt like it was wrapping up a question or two and then pumping the anniversary special, more than being a solid story in its own right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkylerQ91 Posted May 21, 2013 Report Share Posted May 21, 2013 The Rifftrax crew posted a picture on tumblr, Twitter and Facebook today to announce that they have the rights to the first Peter Cushing movie 'Dr. Who & The Daleks' and it will be out as a VOD download on Thursday at Rifftrax.com. I've never had a VOD on Rifftrax before normally going for DVDs or MP3s but I for one am thrilled by this. -Skyler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stavros Posted May 21, 2013 Report Share Posted May 21, 2013 Excellent! I loved their VOD of Cool as Ice. I'm sure there's less to mock here but it strikes me in the right way that I'll still get it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankymole Posted May 22, 2013 Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 Yeah man, I agree. I found the episode to be pretty intense and engaging. It's at the top of all of the modern finales, though not by very much as I've liked most of them. I do think that the whole River thing was confusing and not explained well enough to be totally understood. So she's dead, but she can ghost around to people's subconscious and talk to them from beyond the grave? And if this is the iteration of her that was saved in the library, how can she do that exactly? It's a bit tough to take on face value, and hard to understand logistically. But the ending made me scream. So glad I wasn't spoiled. Can't wait until the 50th Anniversary. Seems to me that the Library/CAL version of River somehow got to be in on the "conference calls" with Vastra (and now Clara), because somehow she's got a consciousness on the astral plane, like the great Intelligence and Vastra and Jenny when they dream ("time travel is always possible in dreams"). How she first got in touch is a mystery though. Maybe a property of the library/Doctor Moon network connection which is telepatic in some way? Or maybe by Clara temporarily - and temporally - possessing companions like Donna or even Rover through her infiltrating of the Doctor's timestream? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveJRogers Posted May 26, 2013 Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 WOW! WHAT THE... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2330872/Discriminate-Discriminate-Doctor-Who-branded-thunderingly-racist-academics--conquers-Daleks-slavery--likes-cricket.html I'd put this in the BOTI forum, but looks like the general discussion thread is no longer there? Anyway, this is a funny quote: ‘Cricket also had a role in maintaining the status of British imperialism through the exercise of soft power as it was successfully inculcated by the colonial elites. Davison’s cricketing Doctor once again saw the BBC using Who to promote a racial and class nostalgia that had already outlived its validity.’ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dc20willsave Posted May 26, 2013 Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 Well, to be fair, it's annoying and pointless for everyone to have two Doctor Who threads on the same forum. That said, it's the Daily Mail. It's the equivalent of the National Enquirer printing another story about Camilla's wacky schemes to become Queen (This week, her plan to dress up as the pirate ghost of Diana to scare William and Harry into renouncing their claim to the throne and how it was foiled by some potheads, a dog, and their hot lesbian friend.). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pan-dub Posted May 26, 2013 Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 Well, to be fair, it's annoying and pointless for everyone to have two Doctor Who threads on the same forum. That said, it's the Daily Mail. It's the equivalent of the National Enquirer printing another story about Camilla's wacky schemes to become Queen (This week, her plan to dress up as the pirate ghost of Diana to scare William and Harry into renouncing their claim to the throne and how it was foiled by some potheads, a dog, and their hot lesbian friend.). And gypsies. Immigrant gypsies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slothian Posted May 26, 2013 Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 Well, to be fair, it's annoying and pointless for everyone to have two Doctor Who threads on the same forum. That said, it's the Daily Mail. It's the equivalent of the National Enquirer printing another story about Camilla's wacky schemes to become Queen (This week, her plan to dress up as the pirate ghost of Diana to scare William and Harry into renouncing their claim to the throne and how it was foiled by some potheads, a dog, and their hot lesbian friend.). Also of note is that the Daily Mail HATES the BBC and will use every opportunity to denounce it. Interestingly, every comment of this article gets major kudos for denouncing the basis of the article as bullshit. Any comment that agrees is heavily marked down. Also, given that cricket is a popular commonwealth sport, not least one covered with admiration by the Daily Mail itself, I'm majorly surprised this isn't commented upon. I can't unequivocally state that cricket has NO ties to the British Empire, but to state that the 5th Doctor dressing in cricketing whites means he was outwardly promoting racism and the class system is utter bullshit. This "professor" is a joke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveJRogers Posted May 27, 2013 Report Share Posted May 27, 2013 Also, given that cricket is a popular commonwealth sport, not least one covered with admiration by the Daily Mail itself, I'm majorly surprised this isn't commented upon. I can't unequivocally state that cricket has NO ties to the British Empire, but to state that the 5th Doctor dressing in cricketing whites means he was outwardly promoting racism and the class system is utter bullshit. This "professor" is a joke. Yeah, this is a perfect example of going way too far when trying to take a schloarly look at popcorn entertainment. Specifically ones aimed at children/young adults. It's one thing to explore themes, deeper meanings in episodes and story arcs, and allegories. It's another to go above and beyond that by creating stuff out of thin air just to fit whatever political or social agenda you are trying to push in the name of academia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny Evil Posted May 27, 2013 Report Share Posted May 27, 2013 Big Finish have released a free Sixth Doctor story on Soundcloud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dc20willsave Posted June 1, 2013 Report Share Posted June 1, 2013 Doctor Who Random Plot Generator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dc20willsave Posted June 1, 2013 Report Share Posted June 1, 2013 BBC has sent out an embargoed press release. Cue baseless speculation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Posted June 1, 2013 Report Share Posted June 1, 2013 Wow. Obviously we won't know, but a press embargo of this extent is not a gun they fire often. It would not surprise me to find out Rich is correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stavros Posted June 1, 2013 Report Share Posted June 1, 2013 All sounds good by me. It's too much to expect that they'll make the identity of the new Doctor a surprise when it happens I guess. Although I retain hope that they'll do something to hint at who the next doctor will be in the 50th. A crossover with an actual future full-time Doctor is something the show still hasn't done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koete Posted June 1, 2013 Report Share Posted June 1, 2013 John Hurt is also expected to make a few more appearances after the 50th special. That would be awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shining knight Posted June 1, 2013 Report Share Posted June 1, 2013 first newspaper has leaked...gonna be another regeneration soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dc20willsave Posted June 1, 2013 Report Share Posted June 1, 2013 What he said. Matt Smith is going to be around for the Anniversary Special and the Christmas Special before he regenerates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stavros Posted June 1, 2013 Report Share Posted June 1, 2013 If it was the Sun, Star or any other redtop don't trust it. They're notorious rumour-mongers and liars. Edit- Ah, well that's somewhat more definitive. This is going to get interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dc20willsave Posted June 1, 2013 Report Share Posted June 1, 2013 Yeah, the BBC has said it themselves. I kinda hope that the new Doctor is snuck into the anniversary special. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koete Posted June 1, 2013 Report Share Posted June 1, 2013 Since it was out there that Matt Smith had signed for Series 8, I think that's very likely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Venneh Posted June 1, 2013 Report Share Posted June 1, 2013 It's been a good run from him. I'll be interested to see where they go next for the regeneration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stavros Posted June 1, 2013 Report Share Posted June 1, 2013 Older, crotchetier. I'd like to see a brain rather than someone maniacally running everywhere. Of course that won't happen for the same reason why Star Trek Into Darkness wouldn't stop for 5 minutes to build any tension. They're terrified the audience will look at their phones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damndirtyape Posted June 1, 2013 Report Share Posted June 1, 2013 If you didn't want to know when Mat Smith is leaving the show. BBC news tonight confirmed Mat will regenerate in the xmas special Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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