On the Sofa 11

[winston @winston]

@blenkinsopthebrave  @thane16  @whohar   @ps1l0v3y0u

Series 5 was wonderful from the very beginning to the bitter end. The Eleventh Hour was such a great introduction to a new Doctor and companion that my regeneration shock wore off quickly. The episode is set in one big lonely house  and a very small village with only a small amount of FX but so much story. By the time it was over I was bewitched by this new Doctor and his fiery companion Amy Pond. Not to mention her boyfriend Rory, a sweet guy soon to be a loyal hero.

The Doctor saves the day and catches prisoner zero with the help of Amy ,Rory and a fire engine and then warns off the prison warden in a very cool way. His clothes are borrowed, his bow tie is cool and he is a bit knees and elbows but so much fun.

I suppose my point is that this and more , all happened in one satisfying episode and I miss that kind of episode now and then. I might be old and crusty but in my day….

stay silly

[winston @winston]

@whohar.  Great list!

[syzygy @thane16]

@blenkinsopthebrave @whohar @winston @psi

agreed. Those are top notch episodes. The Eleventh Hour was an hour long, wasn’t it? I think most of those series increased runtimes from 44 mins to 52. And there was still 13 eps per year.

RTD initially had an Easter special (as well as the Christmas ones) travelling to Dubai to film Planet of the Dead? I actually loved that Gareth Roberts story, an absolute hoot & Lady Sousa was just the right blend of cheeky & class.

[Dentarthurdent @dentarthurdent]

@thane16 Moff *is* clever, in fact I think he’s a genius at writing dialogue that is witty, ironic and surprising. (I’m a sucker for interesting, original turns of phrase, whether in book fiction or in TV drama). I think Moff’s era was the best of Who. RTD’s first era was very good too (I don’t know enough about his current one to judge it).

To be honest, I wasn’t that enthused by Hungry Earth / Cold Blood (and that was before I knew who the writer was). I was intrigued by the brief scene of the Doctor and Amy watching from the distant hillside, but that was never followed up or explained so far as I know? (Chibs planting the seed of a future story thread?)

@whohar One point from your list – Zygon Inversion was credited as Peter Harness / Stephen Moffat. (As an aside, although I really like the Zygon eps, Peter Harness also wrote Kill the Moon which is the absolute worst ep of NuWho – in my estimation).

But I’m not surprised writers other than Moff and RTD wrote some excellent eps, there are many other good writers out there. Toby Whithouse, Jamie Mathieson and Neil Gaiman come to mind. Though whether Moff (as showrunner) had any hand in reviewing or ‘polishing’ some of the other stories, I don’t know. I’d be surprised if he didn’t have some input into some of those (ditto RTD in the first 4 seasons).

@ps1l0v3y0u Series 7 was excellent – and for me that includes the whole of the series, not just the second half. Asylum of the Daleks I love, especially the hidden-in-plain-sight trick Moff played on us over Souffle Girl (where does she get the milk?) He got away with it because Jenna can do ‘upbeat’ so well. Unlike some viewers, I absolutely love it when a writer does that. And A Town Called Mercy (Toby Whithouse) – I thought that was great. Dinosaurs on a Spaceship was a clunker (oh, written by Chibs), and The Power of Three started out really well with the enigmatic cubes but fell flat in the finale (also Chibs – maybe he’s better at thinking up intriguing plotlines than he is at resolving them).

While I’m at it, The Girl Who Waited was a classic with a tragic moral dilemma – which Amy should Rory save. (Also, the Doctor lies like a bastard when necessary). I think I cried at the ending.
I liked The Wedding of River Song too – both in A Town Called Mercy, Wedding, and Angels Take Manhattan, Amy had turned into a formidable character. (In Wedding, I must admit I cheered when Amy left Madame Kovarian to be zapped – “River Song didn’t get it all from you, sweetie.”)

@blenkinsopthebrave Vincent and the Doctor was what got me back into Who. I have to admit that I was captivated by Tennant, so when we had lost Rose, and Martha had left, and Tennant regenerated, Smith’s early debut left me cold. So I lost touch with watching it on TV, besides the randomness of me remembering when to turn the TV on. Some time later, on a quite unrelated website, someone mentioned Bill Nighy’s excellent ‘Curator’ and that prompted me (I think) to start renting series DVD’s and I got back into it. I appreciate 11th Hour better now, having got used to the characters.

 

[syzygy @thane16]

@dentarthurdent

I think the scene of Amy & the Doctor on the hill was because at the end of that episode Rory was excised from memory due to the crack in time.

The Doctor keeps the engagement ring hidden from Amy. Her meeting with Vincent, in the next episode, shows her sadness as I think Vincent says she seems happy & yet still cries. 2 episodes later & Rory reappears as an auton.

Most definitely Moffat had a hand in polishing up & reviewing all the episodes in his seasons.

[Dentarthurdent @dentarthurdent]

@winston Well, as I’ve already said, Season 5 at first ‘lost’ me to Who, probably because I was still recovering from Tennant withdrawal. (I now like Smith and Capaldi just as much as Tennant. I guess I’m a bit slow to accept change). On later re-viewing, I’ve enjoyed those episodes more. I still find S5 middling good, best episodes (for me) were the Pandorica Opens / Big Bang. I thought Season 6 was better. But (looking quickly over the episode list, and taking seasons as a whole) I think Season 9 would be my favourite season. Obviously we all have our personal favourites.

@thane16 I liked Planet of the Dead best of the three specials. Lady Sousa was great, I was sure she was going to become a Companion. Apparently they had much difficulty in filming it, including that the bus got seriously bent on the ship on the journey out and they had to work around it.

Hungry Earth – Amy & the Doc on the hill was supposed to emphasise (or tease) the absence of Rory? But I still don’t get the rationale for them being there, unless they’d gone there deliberately to catch a last glimpse of Rory – but why, if Amy couldn’t remember him? I’m probably missing something.
The reappearance of Rory as an Auton, who then sort of decided he was going to become a human (or as good as), was a welcome surprise. Though I have to say, I’m never very enthused with Companions’ Significant Others – Mickey, Rory or Danny. Probably partly influenced by the fact that they were all to some degree disapproving of the Doctor. (The same went for most of their mothers, come to that).

[ps1l0v3y0u @ps1l0v3y0u]

@dentarthurdent @thane16 @winston @blenkinsopthebrave @whohar

it’s easier to find duff eps pre twice upon a time than good ones after (up until RTD2 anyway)

9 eps per season does seem a bit mean, with not a lot of scope for additional writers. I would say the only real clunkers were Russ’ Legend and Empire. But did they clunker. I keep looking for reasons in the arc… whatever it is. Will the key may be UNIT? Perhaps more information may emerge in the spin-off.

Secondary companions. Those three worked. Mickey was comedy, and we did laugh at him and Jack; now persona non grata. Danny and Rory were more critical, in different ways. Danny’s departure is interesting; he was on the verge of dumping Clara, next seen in various Virtual Realities. Which seems topical. I mean, I’m sure Gallifreyan tech is fantastic, but bringing a dead Afghan kid back? Presumably to London? And no awkward questions???

Arthur Darvill was great. Big Nose for Doctor 17. Doctor who refuses to put his companions at risk…? ‘Let’s NOT split up eh?’

[WhoHar @whohar]

@dentarthurdent

Smith’s early debut left me cold. So I lost touch with watching it on TV

I too, had some reservation with Smith’s early portrayal, finding it a bit too manic at times and with a bit too much posturing (I Am the DOCTOR), and it spoilt some eps for me (yes, even Vincent). I often take time to adjust to a new Doc though.

Once I had acclimatised myself to the new characterisation, I went back and rewatched and found I enjoyed them much more.

[Dentarthurdent @dentarthurdent]

@ps1l0v3y0u With respect, could you sometimes be a little more specific in your references to past episodes? Sometimes I’m not on the same wavelength and have trouble placing your references. For example, Russ’ Legend and Empire – I first thought of Legend of the Sea Devils, had to refer to the episode list to realise it was Legend of Ruby Sunday and Empire of Death.

But yes, they were a bit clunker. Like many of RTD’s finales, they had everything but the kitchen sink – UNIT, old Companions brought back, a universe-sized mega-threat – too much already. Not that I objected to seeing them, but not all at once.

[ps1l0v3y0u @ps1l0v3y0u]

@dentarthurdent

I did mention Russ… perhaps I should have said RTD2.

The main point being, those two season closers were not just messed up by the arc – the key element presumably being VR – but by slow development: UNIT; non vital personnel old and new; they have a TIME WINDOW, which requires an exorbitant amount of explanation to no effect; yet no one can explain what The Vlinx is.

I was saying that all is not lost, whether or not Billie is or not The Doctor. There were bad eps in the past. There were some great eps in both the new series.

And sadly I never saw Legend of The Sea Devils… some relation to the spin-off do you think?

 

[Dentarthurdent @dentarthurdent]

@pa1l0v3y0u   I got ‘Russ’, it was the ‘Legend and Empire’ that puzzled me.   Notwithstanding that they were the two most recent eps I’ve viewed.   Which kind of demonstrates the impact that RTD’s finale had on me.   🙂

Legend of the Sea Devils was one of Chibs’ last three specials, watchable if you weren’t too critical.   Roughly on a level with Curse of the Black Spot, I think.   Eve of the Daleks was Chibs’ best IMO, and Power of the Doctor was, IIRC, okay I think (can’t remember a lot about it).

Back to RTD’s two-parter – yes, I found the Time Window a bit confusing.   The Vlinx looks like a joke, or maybe a Disneydroid, and I agree, no explanation of where it came from or what it does.   (Or if there was I missed it).   For some reason I don’t like it much, though.

But I have high hopes for the new series.   Or at least, some of it, even if it’s a bit uneven.

 

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