The Doctor Who Club v.4

[pokemasterz]

So this sign up form.... I guess I'll fill it out

Why do you like Doctor Who?
Wow, first time I've actually had to answer this specific question. Hmm, well lets see... I remember vaguely seeing Doctor Who stuff being posted on the internet in some forums, which got me looking up what the heck it even was. I swear there was likely more to that, but once you actually watch an episode, which turns into an entire season, which then turns into watching it whenever you can and catching up on older episodes, you sorta lose why you never knew about this show in the first place. To be honest though, I don't truly know why I like Doctor Who, other then I just do. I mean the Doctor is a fully fleshed out character who manages to be different with every regeneration yet played perfectly by the guy who follows. Then you have your companions with their own quirks and personality traits that manage to play well along side one of the likely hardest character to act around (someone gotta put the Doctor in his place though). As far as villains go, despite a majority being one time villains or otherwise robots and statues, they somehow manage to be memorable, though I feel the Dalek's are memorable more for their design then anything else (Screaming maybe?). Anyway, if a show manages to stick around for 50 years (yeah I get there was a time break in-between before the reboot/squeal/continuation thing) then you know it's gotta be popular for something. If nothing else solving alien/technology/you name it mystery's or stopping intergalactic wars while traveling in a 1960's London Style Police Box that's actually a Time Machine that's bigger on the inside, is pretty cool, dare I say AWESOME. So yeah, while your cramming yourself with so much knowledge on Doctor Who only to discover there's still so much to learn, it's easy to forget why you decided to have a look at the series and even more hard to pick why you like Doctor Who. Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey...Stuff

Who's your favourite Doctor?
Probably one of the toughest questions to ask anyone remotely connected to Doctor Who. And I'll give you my best shot at an answer, so... GERONIMO!!! Universally there really is no true answer, but a majority would point fingers at David Tennant (10th Doctor). Despite having started more in the Smith era, I've had plenty of time to watch most of 10th Doctor's adventure and well, the majority is right, Tennant played a magnificent Doctor, full of just about every emotion. But, that's not who I'm picking despite my praises, quite frankly I'm torn because Matt Smith had big shoes to fill after Tennant's departure and because of how well he filled those shoes, I gotta pick the 11th. And quite frankly, this was also where I truly got started in the series, the Smith Era. Smith did an amazing job, being quirky, brilliant, mad, and emotional as well. The 11th Doctor was pretty unpredictable, which made every episode, every scene memorable. Plus everyone knows bow ties and fezzes are cool. If I could, I would actually love to say both are equally my favorite, but as favorite tends to come down to #1, I had to go with who really got me started in watching the episodes or adventures, or whatever you wanna call them XD. Can't forget though, Eccleston (9th Doctor) did a great job as well.

Desired character title?
If I had to pick one (not sure if counts anyway seeing as it's not actually a character) it would be Bow ties & Fezzes, if only because I don't deserve any of the actor's names who've played the Doctor. Still relatively new to the show despite having been watching it the past 4 years (I came in during the Matt Smith era explained above)

Wow, that is almost exactly like me! Tennant is awesome!

 

[pokemasterz]

Why do you like Doctor Who?
It's a funny, Sci-Fi TV show that has Statues that Kill You when you don't look at them, to a Police Box that is bigger on the inside. The doctors are awesome, and the ideas in this are really clever and amazingly funny.
Who is you favorite Doctor?
Tenant all the way. He has the best moments, one liners, stayed really long, and was really good. I hated that he had to go, but glad to see that Matt Smith became my second favorite.
Desired character title
Sand Shoes.

 

[MooseSmuggler]

Popping my head in and providing a bit of activity. Apparently Sylvester McCoy has a big mouth. He gave a bit of a spoiler for series 8. Per the usual *nods down to spoiler tag*

Spoiler: McCoy's spoilers

If this is indeed true, and not misinterpreted, then The Master will be returning this series. Note that no one has given his exact words, so he may have been speculating rather than confirming. So more speculation for us.

 

[elyvorg]

Cassafrass1999: If you would like to join, please fill in the joining form in the first post. Since it's been a few months since you posted, maybe you've had time to watch some more series since then, hopefully giving you lots to potentially talk about in your joining form?

Joltik-Kid: Don't worry, that joining post of yours expressed plenty of wonderful reasons to like the show! Welcome to the club. I realise it's in kind of a downtime right now without much to talk about (though if you come up with something you'd like to discuss, do please share), but hopefully you'll still remember about this place and be able to join us in discussing the new series when it comes along. From the amount of stuff you managed to talk about just in your joining post, it seems like you'd be great at contributing to discussions.

Unfortunately, as much as the Doctor got incredibly attached to his fez, I don't think bow ties or fezzes can be counted as a character. =P

pokemazterz: I'm afraid that isn't enough; I can't let you join without three or four lines of reasons why you like the show, as the joining form asks for. Please feel free to try again.


I realise this topic is from months ago, but seeing as it's the only real topic there's been here in all this time and it is an interesting one to think about, I might as well give my thoughts on it.

Do you think shows like Doctor Who need to work harder in pulling in and embracing new audiences?

I can certainly see where the writer of that article is coming from in saying that certain episodes, like The Time of the Doctor, can be pretty arc-heavy and not make much of a great jumping-on point for new viewers. But I think that's kind of a inevitability; while this is largely an episodic show, there is some semblance of story arcs in it, so the arcs need closure at some point, even if it might make those episodes a little tricky for newcomers to follow.

That said, though, most of the time Doctor Who really is just episodic, and I think the vast majority of episodes can still be appreciated by people who are new to the show. Granted, there are often various references here and there that newcomers won't get and may make them feel like they're missing out on a bigger picture. The main story of an episode usually remains followable and enjoyable even without this wider context, though. I realise I probably don't seem like the best person to be saying this since I'm always super-invested in the show and will unashamedly find something to gush about in every single episode because of that. But in my own experience of jumping into other franchises that are new to me, even those that have a whole host of outside continuity and references I don't initially get, I'm still able to zero in on the main story that's being told and enjoy that at face value, even if I might not quite appreciate it the same way a long-time fan would. So, while I obviously can't say for certain, I do believe that the majority of Doctor Who episodes make it perfectly possible for a newcomer to have a similar kind of reaction to them.

And even if it is an entirely valid point that things had been getting a little bit continuity- and arc-heavy towards the end of the Eleventh Doctor's run, that's exactly what a new Doctor is for! If ever the show is going to be making a bit more of an effort to welcome new audiences, it's likely going to be the upcoming series, where a new Doctor gives us a perfect excuse to start afresh and put most of the continuity from beforehand behind us.


...So, yeah, this is one of those between-series downtimes where there's barely any activity in the club. I haven't been helping much with that myself, either; I think my massive focus on Doctor Who which I kept up from the anniversary special all the way until the Christmas special left me kind of burned out afterwards, so I've just not had it on my mind much since early January. D: But seeing as this is a downtime, this is the perfect time for people to try and fill this place with the kind of topics that would just get swallowed by recent-episode-discussion while a series is airing. Maybe some of you have been filling the gap by watching a bunch of older episodes, which you could still give your thoughts on in here even if they first aired forever ago. I for one would always be happy to get more recommendations for good Classic episodes to watch, since I still intend to watch a bunch more of those when the mood next strikes me.

Meanwhile there's been a slow trickle of news about stuff in the new series coming in over the past few months, since they started filming in January. Most of the news is just stuff like actors that've been cast, which usually doesn't mean much to me as I generally haven't heard of most actors unless they've been in Doctor Who. One neat thing is that they released photos of the Twelfth Doctor's outfit, so people should go check that out if they haven't seen it. I find it pretty cool looking and... swashbuckling, was the word that came to mind for me, for some reason.

Another thing that's important enough to deserve mention and I guess to technically count as a spoiler is:

Spoiler: Series 8 vague character info

...that there's going to be a new recurring character called Danny Pink, who's another teacher at Coal Hill School where Clara works. That's kind of exciting; I wonder whether, given that school's history with the Doctor, it has a sort of mythology about him going around among its staff and that might be why this Danny becomes wrapped up in the Doctor's adventures. Or perhaps he'll just be dragged into it because there's going to be episodes set in modern-day Earth that intrude on Clara's ordinary life, which would also be nice because that's not something that's happened that much in more recent series, and I'd like to see more of Clara's life as a teacher. Also can't help but wonder whether "recurring" means Danny will actually come on board the TARDIS for a few adventures - it'd be neat to have a more extended TARDIS crew once again - or if it just means he'll repeatedly appear in all the modern-day Earth episodes as with people like Jackie or Wilf.

Also, there's going to be a villain called - I kid you not - Ms Delphox. Pfft. I wonder if that's a complete coincidence or if the writer of that episode plays the Pokémon games and decided that sounded like a good name for a villain, figuring that most viewers won't realise she's named after a Pokémon. (I'm not complaining, mind you; I just find it amusing.)

-elyvorg/Amelia

 

[Aegon]

...So, yeah, this is one of those between-series downtimes where there's barely any activity in the club. I haven't been helping much with that myself, either; I think my massive focus on Doctor Who which I kept up from the anniversary special all the way until the Christmas special left me kind of burned out afterwards, so I've just not had it on my mind much since early January. D: But seeing as this is a downtime, this is the perfect time for people to try and fill this place with the kind of topics that would just get swallowed by recent-episode-discussion while a series is airing. Maybe some of you have been filling the gap by watching a bunch of older episodes, which you could still give your thoughts on in here even if they first aired forever ago. I for one would always be happy to get more recommendations for good Classic episodes to watch, since I still intend to watch a bunch more of those when the mood next strikes me.

I'm glad I'm not the only one. Who hasn't been too prominent in my life as of late (though personal issues I've been experiencing may account for that). I'm sure that once Series 8 draws near and we're given glimpses of Capaldi's Doctor in action my excitement will be rekindled. A perk to this withdrawal from fandom is my avoidance of spoilers. I've come across filming pictures, but never anything laden with plot details. This image of Clara in an exceptionally unusual costume certainly arouses the imagination.

The Horror Channel will soon commence airing Classic Series episodes, which may be of relevance. Here's a schedule of upcoming broadcasts. Hopefully, I'll manage to watch The Mind Robber, as I've heard it's a highlight of Troughton's era. I'll consider giving An Unearthly Child another shot, but it bored me past the first episode. I do plan on taking advantage of these airings, though I believe only a select number of stories will be shown.

-The Eleventh/Rory Williams

 

[VampirateMace]

@ The Eleventh:
At the very least, marvel at what they got away with in the Unearthly Child episodes, I’m sure I mentioned the square trees covered in glitter?

Anyone participate in the fringe Doctor Who holidays? The next one is April 23, and currently goes by Tally Mark Day or Impossible Astronaut Day… It was Silence Day, until someone pointed out that a anti-abuse group had a day with the same name. Anyways, you’re supposed to mark up your arms with tallies and when asked, deny that you know why they’re there.

Anyone up for some timey-whimey jokes?
Bill Clinton and Winston Churchill walk into a bar at 5:02 in the afternoon…

Edit:
That pic of Clara, wonder if they're hunting what 9 and Martha were at the end of Blink?

 

[MooseSmuggler]

Some interesting info about series 8 has popped up.

Spoiler: New info

They've confirmed that an episode is being filmed in Lanzarote and said the Doctor is returning to the scene of an old adventure. Lanzarote was last used to film 5th Doctor serial "Planet of Fire", where he met Peri and left Turlough behind. It looks like the 12th Doctor may be visiting Sarn. Perhaps he'll see Turlough again?

 

[elyvorg]

So, hey, it's been announced that the new series will be starting this August!

...Which, going by past years' patterns, probably actually means really late in August, but still. Especially since they're doing a world tour thing to promote the new series in various countries, which starts on August 7th, so that's likely going to be taking place for a few weeks before the series actually starts. So my personal prediction for the exact start date would be Saturday the 30th of August, but mayyybe it could be a week or two earlier than that if we're lucky?

Either way, this should hopefully mean that sometime within perhaps the next month or so we'll start seeing some kind of trailer? Which would be nice, because then there'd actually be something to discuss and then this club can start coming back from the near-dead. (I realise I haven't been helping much with that, either, but once there's actual proper glimpses of the new series I will go right back to being as talkative and ridiculously-overanalytical as usual, I promise!)

One little somewhat interesting thing I found while digging through news to find stuff I had something to say about was this interview with Steven Moffat (probably a UK-only link; apologies) in which he talks about how he's trying to really significantly change the show this time. Apparently Peter Capaldi's casting was a very deliberate move to get someone very different from the young, quirky guys with extraordinary hair who, while they were both great at what they did, might start to seem a bit samey if we continued down that route again. It seems that's not all though and he's trying to change something about the writing to give the show a bit of a different feel and tone somehow. I'm not entirely sure what he means by that, but I guess I'll be interested to see how that turns out.

Therefore, in a desperate attempt to generate some vague kind of discussion topic from this:

What kind of changes do you hope/predict to see in the show, given we've got a fresh start with a new Doctor?

I'm really not sure how to answer this myself at the moment, but if some of you guys give your opinions then that might spark some ideas in me too and hopefully we can get something of a discussion going.

-elyvorg/Amelia

 

[Aegon]

Just over seven weeks to go until 23rd August, which is the recently announced air date of Deep Breath, the feature-length Series 8 premiere! The BBC have released another teaser, in the same vein as the one from a month ago, though this time, brief dialogue is included. There have also been some official reports on the finale, which is filming at the moment.

Spoiler: Series 8 finale

It's a two-parter (at last! It's been far too long since The Pandorica Opens / The Big Bang in 2010), comprising the eleventh and twelfth episodes, and marks the return of the Cybermen and UNIT in the form of Kate Stewart and Osgood.

I'm really starting to feel the excitement surrounding the new series. To answer elyvorg's question, I'd like to witness a tonal change, but I'm not so sure that'll happen with the same production team remaining in charge. Perhaps Capaldi's take on the Doctor will be a source of sufficient contrast with what has come before. I don't think the show needs to undergo a complete overhaul. As long as Series 8 signifies a return to form following the slightly shaky previous run of episodes, I'll be more than happy. The perennial replacement of the Doctor and his companion usually manages to keep things compelling. It shouldn't be any different this time. Right?

-The Eleventh/Rory Williams

 

[10th Doctor]

Why do you like Doctor Who?
I remember hearing a number of my friends talking about it in school. I decided to give the show a try, as I wasn't watching anything at the moment. I started with the first season of the revival, and while the first few episodes weren't the best things I'd ever seen, once I saw The Unquiet Dead, I was intrigued. Then, later in that season, I saw The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, and I was completely hooked at that point. I kept watching, and the series just kept getting better and better. As for why I like the show? It's probably the only TV show that can make me feel so many different emotions so strongly. The wonderful acting helps make this happen, as does the amazing soundtrack, but the part that really makes the show great is the atmosphere. The fact that episodes can basically be set anywhere in time and space allows for so many different emotions and atmospheres. The overall tone of the show is also great, and I honestly feel like watching Doctor Who has changed my life for the better.

Who's your favourite Doctor?
The 10th Doctor. Yeah, it's a bit of a cliche answer, but he really did do a fantastic job. He really captured the character of the Doctor and did a perfect job at portraying him.

Desired character title?
Just call me the 10th Doctor.

 

[VampirateMace]

Hi 10th D! The club has been a little slow lately, but it should pick up later this month when the new episodes start.

So, yesterday, I think someone thought they'd stumbled onto the mythical American version of Doctor Who set. . . There were a lot of tourists in town for an event, and I was talking to a friend on a street corner. Now I happen to have a sonic screwdriver sticking out of an opening in my purse (intended for older cell phones with antennae), and while I was entering his new number into my dumb phone (since I live in a dead zone, having a smartphone doesn't make much sense), which is overly complicated and can look like technomancing. And I hear "oh-eee" which vaguely sounds like the start of the theme song, and then some girl saying, "Oh gosh, I though that was the theme song."

Ladies, there were no cameras, they don't play the soundtrack on set, the American version is a myth, and I doubt they'd start off with a female doctor.

 

[elyvorg]

Hi, guys! I am not dead! I know, I still haven't been posting in here like I said I would even though there's been trailers and stuff to talk about. But that's going to change now, because today I read Steven Moffat's synopses of all of the episodes this series, and that at last has reminded me just what it feels like to be excited about a new series of Doctor Who. =D

Also, welcome to the club, 10th Doctor. Even though the Tenth was your favourite, I hope you'll still be able to join us in discussing and getting to know the Twelfth!

So.

Spoiler: Series 8 episode synopses

...which, since these are from the Radio Times and so I can't just link to them, will be in my own words and with my own thoughts added.

Episode 1: Deep Breath
Vastra, Jenny and Strax - and a dinosaur in Victorian London! The new Doctor deals with a slaughterhouse restaurant, a buried spaceship and an old foe as he figures out who he is, while Clara struggles to recognise the Doctor she thought she knew. How far is this new man really willing to go for his friends?

Apparently this doesn't contain quite as much of the Doctor as it should, but that's always a risk with post-regeneration episodes. At least it'll have Vastra and the gang to keep us entertained in the meantime, and I'm looking forward to seeing Clara try and deal with this massive change in her best friend. She already knew regeneration was a thing, but that isn't going to necessarily make it any easier for her.

Episode 2: Into the Dalek
A group of humans losing a desperate war have one last hope: a single Dalek so damaged that it's turned good. But has it really? To find out for sure, the Doctor and Clara lead a miniaturised team into the Dalek itself - somewhere even the Doctor is afraid to go.

I'm not sure entirely what is meant by "into" the Dalek, whether they'll just be physically going inside the Dalek's casing while miniaturised, or whether they'll somehow end up inside the Dalek's mind. Either way this definitely has a lot of potential to be one very interesting Dalek episode. The Doctor always reacts strongly to Daleks, so it'll be nice to see some of that so soon from this Doctor, too.

It also introduces the new recurring character Danny Pink, although I don't think he'll be coming into the TARDIS just yet; see episode 6 for more.

Episode 3: Robot of Sherwood
The Doctor meets Robin Hood! Except that, according to the Doctor, Robin Hood can't possibly exist. While fighting to save the world - or, well, Nottingham, at least - from an alien threat, the Doctor and Robin spent a lot more time than they should arguing over who's real and who isn't.

This one mostly sounds like a fun romp. It's by Mark Gatiss, too - he's usually pretty good at historicals.

Episode 4: Listen
"What's that in the mirror, and the corner of your eye? What's the footstep following, but never passing by?"
What scares the Doctor? What monsters lurk under his bed? The Doctor and Clara become plagued by ghosts of the past and future: the last man standing at the end of the universe, a terrified caretaker in a children's home, and a boy afraid of joining the army.

Several of my past posts in this club have probably made it fairly clear that I love it when episodes explore the Doctor's fears. In other words: I am so on board for this. It's unclear as to whether we might be seeing Clara's fears, too; I would also be totally okay with that if it were to happen.

And I like that title. It makes this sound like it'll be classic creepy Moffat stuff (because yes, this is one of his episodes).

Episode 5: Time Heist
The Bank of Karabraxos is a bank so deadly that only a genius or a fool would try and rob it. Good thing the Doctor is both! With the help of a beautiful shapeshifter and a gamer cyborg, the Doctor and Clara perform a heist - but in the heart of this bank is the Teller, a terrifying creature that can detect guilt.

...I hope it means the emotion kind of guilt and not just the objective being-guilty-of-a-crime type guilt. While the Doctor obviously has both kinds, exploring the former would be far more fun.

Also this is the one with Ms Delphox. Maybe she's the shapeshifter?

Episode 6: The Caretaker
Clara has got pretty good at juggling her two lives: her space life and her school life, her Time Lord and her boyfriend. Everything's fine so long as they don't mix - then one day a new caretaker with a Scottish accent shows up at the school. There's an alien invasion to thwart, but more importantly, if Clara's not careful, Danny Pink is going to end up meeting the Doctor.

This episode is sounding like it'll be kind of like The Vampires of Venice, what with the companion's comparatively-ordinary boyfriend suddenly being thrust into monsters and adventures. Hopefully we won't be comparing Danny to Rory too much, though, because that's a hell of a lot to live up to. There's no word on whether Danny will start travelling in the TARDIS with Clara after this point, but I imagine it's likely; the equivalent synopses for series 5 didn't mention Rory would join the TARDIS crew either, but he did.

Episode 7: Kill the Moon
In the not-so-distant future, Earth's Moon is falling apart, and a group of humans have been sent on a last-ditch suicide mission to an abandoned moonbase full of corpses and spider-like creatures. When she turns to the Doctor for help, Clara is left wondering if he really is a hero after all, or even her friend.

It's kind of ambiguous as to whether this mission it mentions is to save the moon or to destroy it outright, as the title indicates. Either way this sounds like an interesting concept - and more importantly, this seems like a good source for the darkness that we're supposedly going to be seeing from this Doctor, so I'm definitely intrigued for this one.

Episode 8: Mummy on the Orient Express
History's most beautiful train, travelling through the stars, is stalked by an ancient legend. If you see the Mummy, you'll be dead in 66 seconds, no exceptions. While racing against the clock to defeat this foe, Clara sees the Doctor at his most ruthless, and it's enough to make her decide that this is goodbye; she's not going to travel with him any more.

I assume that this is the same Orient Express IN SPACE that the Doctor took Amy and Rory to for one of their honeymoon trips. If there isn't some kind of reference to how the Doctor previously defeated an Egyptian goddess on this same space-train, I will be sad.

Also, whee, more darkness from the Doctor! Whether or not this is really going to be such a new thing (because the Eleventh Doctor was actually pretty dark too why does everyone forget this) I still really enjoy seeing the Doctor being dark just in general, so I'm excited for this regardless. Especially as it will be bad enough to make Clara want to leave - although I realise on reflection that she never really saw much of the Eleventh Doctor's darkness because he'd got it under control by the time he met her, so I guess this really will be a new and frightening side of him to Clara.

Episode 9: Flatline
Living at home without the Doctor, Clara discovers a threat from another dimension, one from which you can't hide because even the walls won't protect you. There's people to save and no madman in a box to help; Clara has to deal with this on her own.

It doesn't say whether or not the Doctor comes back in this one - the next one is also seemingly set in modern-day London so the Doctor could theoretically only come back and regain Clara's trust then. But I can't see this one being thoroughly Doctor-lite. Steven Moffat has outright said he doesn't like those episodes since he feels it short-changes viewers who are largely here to see the Doctor. That and there's already only twelve episode this series rather than the usual thirteen so there's less need for one of them to be Doctor-lite just due to filming constraints.

Also, this episode has the same writer as episode 8, so while they're clearly not connected in plot, they may well be strongly connected in terms of character development and the whole thing with Clara losing faith in the Doctor and wanting to stop travelling with him, which we obviously know won't stick.

Episode 10: In the Forest of the Night
One morning, the citizens of London - and every other city on Earth - wake up to find that nature has moved back in and the cities have become overrun with trees. The Doctor soon realises that these could be the final days of humanity.

This is probably the one I'm least interested in right now, solely because the synopsis didn't mention anything interesting and charactery going on with Clara or the Doctor like it did for basically every other episode. It's still entirely likely there will be something that just wasn't mentioned, though - perhaps the Doctor will still be trying to win back Clara's trust after the events of episodes 7 and 8.

Episodes 11 and 12: Dark Water / Death in Heaven
"You betrayed me. You betrayed my trust, our friendship, and everything I've ever stood for. You let me down."
In the Nethersphere, plans are being devised. Old enemies and old friends return, and the Doctor will be faced with an impossible choice. A sinister organisation known only as 3W promises that "death is not an end", but the Doctor and Clara might find themselves wishing it were.

A two-parter! Yay. It's been a while since a proper one of these. I hope the cliffhanger is fun - it's probably more likely to be a good cliffhanger since this is the finale, right? And it has Kate Stewart and Osgood in it. Plus, according to The Eleventh, it involves Cybermen; I'm not entirely sure what could be done with them to make this seem finale-worthy and not like just another Cybermen episode (since a Cybermen finale has happened before), but I have faith. The synopsis certainly makes things sound intriguing, even if it is as vague as finale synopses always are.

Plus, that quote up there sounds mighty interesting. I can't decide if I think it's being said by the Doctor, or by Clara (or someone else; Kate, maybe?), but either way should be fun.


Overall, though the monsters and plots in the episodes seem like they'll be very episodic as usual (except for the two-part finale), I'm happy that there seems to be something of a character arc going on to give the vague overarching feel that I enjoy from a series. I'm really looking forward to this whole thing about the Doctor's apparently-newfound darkness shaking Clara's trust in him to the point that she stops travelling in the TARDIS. I wonder how he might go about trying to regain that trust. We all know that the Doctor is lost without a companion and should never, ever be alone, so he'll absolutely want her back. However, whether he'll admit that to himself, and whether he'll actively try to get her back when it was her own choice to leave, I guess we'll see.


The magazine also had an interview with Peter Capaldi, most of which was just about what it felt like to be playing the Doctor and stuff. One bit I found more interesting was where he said the Doctor has a "deep affection" for Clara - which pretty much confirms exactly what I was expecting. Clara is the first face his face saw, after all! Immediately after regenerating, he stared intently at her for a good long ten seconds (I counted) before doing anything else. I have very little doubt that that's going to have made him incredibly attached to Clara in a very similar way to how the Eleventh Doctor was with Amelia.

It was also confirmed that, despite how much the trailers and stuff have been pushing the darkity-dark-darkness of this Doctor, he's still going to have his moments of daftness and comedy like any Doctor should. Yay!

~Four days to go? Haha, only four days to go! It's nice how being distracted and not thinking about Doctor Who for months makes the wait feel like it's just zoomed by.

-elyvorg/Amelia

 

[mtie123]

Why do you like Doctor Who?

The reason i love Doctor Who is because it is the classic Science fiction show, My Mother and Father are huge fans of the show so from a young age i have been brought up watching the old classic Doctor who episodes before the relaunch in 2005. I guess it due to the whole universe of the show is the reason i love it, it isn't just one character's story, you have multiple stories within one show going on all at the same time, from the newer series "The Rebel Flesh" and "The Almost People" is a good example for this as there at least 4 different stories and characters being developed all at the same time. Also i think it's a semi serious show, in the fact that you know that it can be very serious and scary at times for example "Blink" but it doesn't take itself to seriously and has a lot of funny parts too. I guess the reason i love the show is because it's a great show that the whole family can watch and also nostalgia reasons too

Who's your favourite Doctor?

The 7th or Sylvester McCoy's doctor, rather panned by most but i love the way he mixes his jolly persona with a darker side being a mysterious, cunning manipulator. Plus Sylvester McCoy is an amazing human being who i had the privilege to meet last year

Btw i hope this means i can join, i've been longing to discuss this show with other who like it aha

 

[Poetry]

Spoiler: Take a nice Deep Breath, now

Hmmm.

Hmmmmmmmmmmm.

See, one of the things I find frustrating about Moffat-era Doctor Who is that the episodes themselves are often such mixed bags that I can never seem to come to definitive conclusions regarding my overall reactions after watching them. That's not to say that every single Doctor Who episode I've ever seen has to necessarily fall into a definitive love/hate designation (though many do), but when I watch the end credits roll and I can't seem to even figure out if I've actually enjoyed the thing or not, well... I can never escape the feeling that I've been cheated a little. I like definitives. TV is no exception.

Let me start off with what I did like, which was the most obvious aspect of the episode. Personally, I found Capaldi's unhinged, temperamental and snappy Doctor to be a breath of fresh air compared to Smith. I like the fact that we have a Doctor with such a strong personality (kinda comes with the accent, I think), and I really like the fact that he doesn't seem to be afraid to just go and do his own thing, with little more reason than just the fact that he's the Doctor. I kinda get the feeling that the writers made sure to give him an introduction which was as different as possible to Eleven's, and recalling the atmosphere and the general feel of The Eleventh Hour, I think they succeeded in at least establishing that a good deal of things are going to change. Which is good. Change is good.

I think.

In terms of general humour, I felt the episode did have its moments. Strax, of course is usually good comic fodder and his interactions with Clara in particular was quite amusing to watch.

Also of course, can't forget that Matt Smith cameo. I love that fact that he would have phoned Clara ahead in anticipation of the change regeneration would bring, but dammit Moffat, you're making it harder and harder to forget about Eleven and start loving Twelve with all these goddamn throwbacks.

Other things I liked about the episode... oh wait, there aren't any. Which brings me to the negatives.

I was sitting on the fence when I heard that it was to be one of the very few series openers that wasn't going to at least once depict modern day Earth. I'm not even sure if it wasn't a coincidence that both The Christmas Invasion and The Eleventh Hour took place in present day Earth, but it just seemed appropriate at the time that post-regeneration, when the Doctor (and the viewers) are trying to find their bearings, the setting for recuperation and transition should take place in a setting we're familiar with. I was willing to keep an open mind with the Victorian thing because I thought that there would be a good reason as to why this time period in particular was chosen over the present, but after watching the episode, I'm disappointed to say that I failed to see why exactly this was. Not only did the setting feel vaguely rehashed and bland (iirc, Doctor Who has visited this time era a number of times before - in fact, haven't we even seen Clara in a very similar, if not identical costume before?), but I feel that a more modern setting might have appealed to me slightly more as a viewer. I'd hesitate to say that that one scene in "Glasgow" relieved the episode of this flaw, seeing as camera-wise, it was a very limited view, and come on - that scene could have taken place pretty much anywhere for it to still serve its purpose. It's a little thing, I know, but I always seem to enjoy the episodes which are steeped more in our reality and focus on the goings-on and pains of humans than the whizzy intergalactic, time travel-y episodes (think Love and Monsters, Father's Day, etc).

What else? Oh, the dinosaur. To be honest, I was never a fan of the idea from the offset (still got Dinosaurs on a Spaceship fresh in my mind, tbh), and I didn't particularly like the fact that it was just one plot device, and little more at that. It's involvement in the episode was underwhelming, and I'm still questioning exactly the writers thought it would be a good idea to put it in the episode bar the fact that it would be "fun" and also look good in the trailers.

As for the main plot and the antagonist... the entire throwback thing to The Girl in the Fireplace (incidentally, one of my least favourite Tennant episodes) left me confused. Was there a grand reason why the body part harvesting clockwork cyborg... thing was brought back? I like the way the decoy restaurant and the cyborgs were handled, but I feel like I'm missing something in the grander scheme of things.

It seems like a recurring theme with Doctor Who as of late; I just don't seem to understand a lot of the decisions the writers are making. Why did the episode take place in Victorian London instead of the present day? Why was there a dinosaur? Why was the plot a rehash/throwback to a previous serial? Am I just seriously out of touch of the direction the show's taking? Should I even be questioning these things? Should I just shut up and enjoy the episode and be grateful that the show is finally back for another series? So many questions, just not enough answers.

Which brings me back to my opening point. Even though I've isolated what I did and didn't like about the episode, my overall judgement on huge thing as a whole... is pretty hard to pinpoint. When I try to view it in comparison to other episodes, it doesn't seem to have a very distinct voice. It's just kind of... there. It's Capaldi's first episode, it had a dinosaur, the overall colour scheme was brown/grey/black, and that's pretty much it. It left me pretty cold.

So all in all, yay Capaldi, nay... everything else. As far as series openers go, I have to say this ranks fairly low on my list, with Partners in Crime still firmly resting on the top spot as my favourite.


...no, seriously.

Oh, and also!

Spoiler: Regarding the new opening titles

It's... short. And clocky. And very CGI-ed. The music is quite whiny and irritating.

They've redecorated, and I don't like it.

 

[VampirateMace]

Okay, here we go:

Spoiler: Deep Breath and New Opening

Well, I quite like regeneration trauma, probably part of way I like 6 so much, but I am left wondering how long it's going to last, and just how the Doctor's personality will settle. Is the memory issue going to be a thing now? Not knowing his left from his right? Speaking of things that are things now, apparently "You've redecorated, I don't like it" is a thing now. And the round things, yes, more round things. I was quite amused by the clockwork in the opening. Very steampunk, but slightly canned, so I imagine the steampunk community will have mixed feelings about that (Probably the American steampunks will love it, and the others will say, well there goes Doctor Who).

I found it kind of comforting that they ended up in Victorian England where they had friends that could help Clara take care of the regen traumatized Doctor. . . not that they did a very good job of that. (Good having Strax there though, we ended up rewinding when he hit her in the head with the paper.) But still adventure, and dinosaurs, and repair droids. . . yeah, there was a lot of rehash there, but seeing how the new memory loss Doctor faced that was kind of good character development wise. I feel bad for the dino though. And that line about 'the dino is too big, I've seen fossils' 'no they were all that big' . . . Eh, I've spent a lot of time with fossils lately and, yeah there were a lot of big ones, but the size choice did seem overkill. - But I love dinosaurs and was willing to forgive that, until they killed her off.

I like the nod to the fact that he was on the show before, where did the face come from, while at the same time being a nod to Amy.

The ending... well the first one. I don't even. Seriously? Did that happen? Was that the droid's 'dying thought' or what? And while I'm still confused, we reach ending number two. We're just not going to let 11 go are we? Moffet, you're not helping by helping! Yeah, it gave Clara some closure and motivation, but was it necessary?

 

[fitzy909]

Wow that episode. That episode. Well here goes:

Spoiler: spoilery stuff

Overall, I'd say pretty good. The trauma after regeneration was great and I really liked the way the Doctor seemed to be trying to settle in to his new body, like Capaldi settling into his new role.

On the topic of Capaldi. He was better than expected, and I had high expectations to begin with. He retains the quirkiness we know and love, but also brings in a slightly foreboding side. The Doctor seemed lost throughout this episode and this added to the mystery surrounding him. Why that face indeed? His humorous side seems to be there still, with the 'Planet of the pudding brains' comment. (Not as good as fish fingers and custard though) Also, let's hope for a Doctor that has his angry moments. Why? Well he's Scottish of course. They even went out of their way to point it out.

The rest of the episode was better than some, but not the best. We had the familiar group of Vastra, Jenny and Strax, who of course brought in comedy and very good supporting roles. I quite liked Clara's doubts about the Doctor. It mirrored the way that some seemed to regard Capaldi as 'not right for the Doctor' or 'too old'. Whether this was intentional or not I don't know, but I liked it. We had another instance with mirroring, being The Doctor and the dinosaur. Both alone and the last of their kind. That part was excellently delivered. The final mirroring was between the Doctor and the villain. (Did he get a name) Both changing so many times that they may no longer be who they originally were. That I found profound and quite thought provoking.

The villain on the other hand, less so. He was okay, but he was all bark and no bite. I mean he torched a dinosaur, but did not successfully use that flamethrower again, why? He wasn't really that threatening.

Final points. I liked the Matt cameo. It gave a nice bit of closure for him and Clara, with a bit of insight into how the Doctor feels. Although, I wouldn't call it 'the best part' as many people are saying. Also, those odd sound effects were slightly strange, to say the least. They sounded like they were out of Looney Tunes or something. Hopefully they won't be a recurring thing.

Can't wait for the next episode. 'Into the Dalek' we go.
~Cyber-Leader

 

[elyvorg]

mtie123: Welcome! Feel free to join in the discussion.

Spoiler: Deep Breath

I for one thought the new opening was cool. Clocks! And the theme tune seems to have a sort of ticking and maybe some chimes in it, to fit with that. That's pretty neat, in my opinion.

I also didn't have a problem with the reusing of the human-harvesting clockwork droids concept from The Girl in the Fireplace. As far as I see it, this episode did a lot more with that concept than the previous one did and made it considerably more creepy. I can just imagine kids playing games of how-long-can-you-hold-your-breath-so-the-clockwork-monsters-don't-get-you - at the same time, potential kids' game or not, that really is a genuinely frightening situation to be in. Points to Clara for holding out as long as she did without losing her nerve. I also enjoy how she stood up to the lead droid's threats even though she was obviously terrified; there was a nice nod to her experiences as a teacher there. (Also speaking of Clara, this episode really made a point of drawing attention to her hidden control-freak nature. I wonder if that means this is going to be explored some more. I'd be up for that.)

I'm not a superfan of Victorian London in and of itself; however, I do really like Vastra, Jenny and Strax, so I'm totally okay with the occasional Victorian episode if it means we get to see them again. Strax is always a source of good laughs, Jenny and Vastra's relationship is adorable, and Vastra herself seems to really understand the Doctor in ways that most other characters don't, so it can be interesting to get her insight into him. (I also like how she knew that to get a confused post-regenerative Doctor to listen to you, you pretend you need his help.)

I especially loved her point about how the Doctor's previous youthful personas were not at all his true nature and were mostly there so that people would accept him. I've long since noticed that the Eleventh Doctor's silliness was largely a facade, but I usually thought of it as being mostly for his own benefit - I didn't consider that it was also for the benefit of others, so that he wouldn't freak everybody out and would stand more chance of finding companions and friends. In hindsight, though, that really does make sense. For the past regenerations that I've had experience with, it seemed kind of like the Doctor changed to become what his companion wanted him to be: the Tenth Doctor became more the kind of man that Rose would want to be with than the Ninth, while the Eleventh became Amelia's daft imaginary friend.

However, the Twelfth Doctor pretty emphatically didn't become what Clara wanted. Whether that's because he basically already had been what Clara wanted him to be as the Eleventh, or because this is a new cycle, or for some other reason, it's kind of interesting. The impression I believe we're meant to have, based on what Vastra said, is that he's more or less ditched the light-hearted facade that he used to have in one form or another and has become outwardly more like the way the Doctor truly is on the inside. I guess this is what was meant by this Doctor being "darker" - he's exactly as dark as the Doctor's always been, but this time he's going to show it more. It's also very neat how the episode drew attention to certain things about Peter Capaldi that we'd probably have just taken for granted - his age, his frowny eyebrows, his Scottish accent - and made them potentially significant to his characterisation, since there's a reason the Doctor's subconscious chose them while regenerating. There's possibly even significance to the fact that he has the same face as Caecilius, that guy from Pompeii whose family the Doctor saved only because Donna begged him to... although I can't imagine what it might be; I'll get back to you on that one.

I was not expecting Clara to struggle quite as much as she did to accept the new Doctor. She was already fully aware of regeneration being a thing, and it had seemed to me like she knew and understood the Doctor as a whole. I guess she was just grieving at the loss of the incarnation she knew, which made her more cynical towards the new one until Vastra pointed out how shallow she was being. Maybe it's also that the previous Doctor made it abundantly clear how much he needed her, whereas this Doctor - who absolutely still needs her because the Doctor always needs a companion - doesn't really show it. According to Vastra, this Doctor isn't trying so hard to be outwardly likeable because he trusted that Clara, knowing him as well as she does, would accept him and want to travel with him anyway. It must have really hurt him when she almost didn't, were it not for the intervention of his past self. It doesn't seem like the new Doctor really knew how to express it, but I am willing to take his previous incarnation's word for it that he would have been incredibly lost and scared without her. Apparently, being "not the hugging type", he's not very good at showing affection. I am sure that this Doctor is still just as attached to Clara as before; I am just going to have to look harder than I'm used to doing for signs of it. (Challenge accepted.)

For those who were having trouble letting go of the Eleventh Doctor and moving on to the Twelfth, I can only imagine that the telephone scene would have helped far more than it would have hindered, for exactly the same reasons it helped Clara. What better way to be convinced to accept the new Doctor than by being specifically asked to by the old, familiar Doctor, in a way that stresses that he's still essentially the same person? It's really sweet that in some of his final moments, the Eleventh Doctor was thinking of how both Clara and his future incarnation would be feeling about things and did this to try and ensure it'd all work out.

And then that scene in "Heaven" is presumably part of our overarching plot for the series. I believe the woman in it is someone who's going to play a role in the finale, based on casting info. I wonder if she might be "the woman in the shop" who keeps trying to bring the Doctor and Clara together. Other than that, your guess is as good as mine as to what's going on there.

Spoiler: Next Time

Daleks! Though, really, this trailer didn't tell us much other than "this is a Dalek episode". I kind of wish it had elaborated on exactly what is meant by the title, Into the Dalek.

Oh, well. I guess we'll see. Dalek episodes are always fun because the Doctor reacts so strongly to them, so it's great that we get to see our new Doctor face Daleks so soon.

This first episode has definitely made me excited to see more of the Twelfth Doctor to try and figure out exactly how he ticks! (pun totally intended.)

elyvorg/Amelia

 

[mtie123]

First thanks for letting me join, it'll be great to actually discuss stuff with people

As to my reaction to the first episode

Spoiler: Spoiler

First of all, Peter Capaldi will be an excellent doctor if his performances carry on like they did in this first episode. I thought he dispelled all the worries that being older he wouldn’t have energy in the role. I thought he was extremely funny at parts and you can defiantly see that he is not going to be some to annoy (Did he push the cyborg or did he fall?)

Next the dinosaur, from what i have seen of reviews some people think that it’s inclusion was pointless. However I saw it a different way, the dinosaur was stuck on earth in a different time zone to it’s home through no fault of it’s own with no way to get back. Now to me the dinosaurs situation was very reminiscent of the Doctors on trenzalore during the night of the Doctor, stuck on a planet with no way to leave through no fault of his own. As well as the dinosaur being alone and the last of it's kind similar to the Doctor, which is why i think the Doctor was so in-tuned with it at the start

I didn’t care much for the enemy, but i liked the fact it was recurring and not just one of the big name enemies again. I also get the feeling it won’t be the last time we see them this series. Also that women at the end looks like she will be to do with the overall plot of the whole series and the idea of a promised land will also been quite prominent. Also from looking to the next episode, i think fear could be quite a large part of this plot, like Clara talked about being afraid of the cyborg, while the cyborg was quite clearly afraid of dying

The only bit that frustrated me was Clara, i get that she was in a way mourning the loss of her Doctor and i guess Clara was being used to mirror the feelings of some of the public that “He’s not right” or “too old” when talking about Capaldi. But if there was ever a companion who is more knowing of the fact the doctor regenerates it’s Clara, in a way she has met every single incarnation of the doctor so when she said “Change him back” it really kind of annoyed me because she knows that not how it works or more over the writers know she knows so why have her act that way. I dunno i guess it’s kind of a small qualm but it still annoyed me

I thought Vastra, Jenny and Strax although they were'nt vital for the overall plot, i thought they brought a lot to the story, especially Vastra making Clara angry. Strax brings comic relief, i had to pause so i could laugh when he fell through the hole at the end.

I thought the Elevenths cameo was very well done, it didn't steal the attention away from the new Doctor but also it gave some insight as to how the Doctor was overall feeling at the present time

Overall it was a good first episode imo,when comparing it to Matt’s and David’s first episode i thought it was very much on par with their’s.

Also the new title screen and revamped music was phenomenal, really reminded me of old classic who

 

[Will-powered Spriter]

Oh good, I'm still a member. Last time I came back to the club after a long gap it had regenerated and dropped it's old membership list.

Spoiler: Deep Breath

It's hard to form a decisive opinion, but I think overall it had problems. Not so much that I'm unwilling to keep watching, but still. Capaldi whispered a little too much (and the volume on my TV temporarily broke so I had a little trouble hearing him sometimes), I felt the ticking early on in the restaurant scene and the flash back to clara took away points that could have been left to the viewer, and they killed the T-Rex. Also I assume from what happened that Clara doesn't remember meeting War or 10?

In the future don't kill the T-Rex.

Opening is... different, but the whole timey thing is no more different from standard then some of the spacey openings in classic. They really have to stop doing the thing with the Doctors face in the opening though. It never has and never will look good.

 

[fango pango]

Glad to see I'm a member here too
Before any episode stuff, I just want to say something. Okay, last year I said to some of my friends I think Moffat is the best head writer of the new series (out of the 2 they had). Yeah...I might have been wrong. Rewatching some of his most recent works just pain me because they are so...not up to the standard I thought they were. FOR EXAMPLE. Asylum of the Daleks. At first I thought it was great. Upon a few more screenings it died very quick. And now I'm just hoping he goes back to being as good of a writer as I know he can be

SPEAKING OF

[spoil]Yeah I liked Deep Breath. It was good. First things first: Capaldi. Is. Great. I love how he manages to merge his timing of comedy with the more dark nature of some of the writing. He controls so much of the scene when he's there and when he isn't it's meant to be controlled by others (such as Vastra). The ambiguity of the ending with the Doctor and the Robot is also a very good idea in my opinion, making the viewer question whether the Doctor has truly become a killer OR the Robot jumped.

HOWEVER there are problems. Such as the T-Rex being there just for the sake of a T-Rex being a cool thing to have there. Admittedly I loved it at first but when I saw that it just died there was no point. ACTUALLY the whole scene where Capaldi is saying what the T-Rex is, there's the point. Which was used to show how he and they were similar. In my opinion this would have been so much better if it were just the Doctor sleeptalking about the fact he is alone (at least as far as he knows). ALSO am I the only one who heard sound effects? I know Dr Who has a sense of humour (I like it usually), but sound effects???? Really???


FINALLY, I'd just like to say honestly I have high hopes for this season being better than season 7 (not hard to do that honestly). And I'd give the episode 7/10. Good, without ever really showing anything great.[/spoil]