Robot of Sherwood

[thommck @thommck]

I’ve been going bonkers trying to link this Doctor with the man with the same face in the Fires of Pompeii episode.

I’m not having much luck but not ready to give up yet!

Tenuous link #1 – That man’s name was Lobus Caecilius. Whether intentional or not at the time, the name Caecilius is derived from the birth son of the God Vulcan, who was created by a spark. A bit like how the Doctor got a new set of generations from a very sparky bit of time lord “magic”.

Tenuous link #2 – We have seen this Doctor loves Chalk, which is comprised of the same base elements as marble. The character in FoP was in the marble business so maybe he can smell it out!

Tenuous link #3 – I’m currently commuting to a training centre opposite the Tower of London. Outside the entrance of Tower Hill tube station is a statue of Roman emperor Trajan. It turns out he was one of the rulers commonly known as the “Five Good Emperors” – Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius.

Now, doesn’t that last name stick out from a few episodes! Trajan ruled in the same era that Caecilius would have been living in years after the destruction of Pompeii.

So, what if this Doctor is riffing on the 5 good emperors & there are another 4 good time lords/emperors around somewhere?

This is what happens when you let a monkey type into Wikipedia while watching Doctor Who 😉

P.s. On another note, & more on topic, did anyone pay attention to the screens displaying the Promised Land in this episode? I’d love it if someone could grab a couple of screenshots to see if there is anything of value in them

[zeitgeis @zeitgeis]

@whisht.  I reviewed the arrow shot in slow motion and must agree that it penetrated an engine, though not very deeply.  I can see how I got the wrong idea.  So, we are stuck with the fantastical idea that somehow the gold in the arrow might bleed into such circuit boards as were gold deficient, or some such thing.  However, this is a sci-fiction, not sci-fact show so I can live with this analysis.

[thommck @thommck]

@zeitgeis it’s that futuristic space metal that ships are made of 😀

I had a look at the ships display screen and it didn’t reveal any amazing secrets. There was a lot of interesting useless data, someone obviously spent a lot of time on it. A few references to damage and gold (Au).
When it says Promised Land it had a burning orb behind it. Is that the planet or just their wallpaper!

Someone upstream also made a good point, why are the robots going there and where did they come from? Are they missionaries? Who created them?

So many questions!

[Anonymous @]

@mudlark  nit-picking on this Forum is essential for entry. Without it you wouldn’t get very far!  I too (in addition to Music) have ‘done’ History but not to the extent you have -as an academic with post doctoral degrees in archaeology? Your input regarding the attitudes expressed in Quatermass (sic) shown earlier on this Forum would have been very welcome.

I just woke up (literally in the land of Oz) to your comment and ironically, in speaking with friends last night about RoS, we discussed the anachronistic elements, then gave up on them, and then mentioned independently the same issues in….The Tudors!

Gosh, what a mash-up of a show that was! We all agreed that the costuming- whilst gorgeous- was basically the entire story: that and the soft-porn ‘aspect’ of the programme. As to the other series -or film? – you referred to, I don’t know it, and it’s sounding like something I would, or should, avoid.

Now, welcome to the Forum. After so much ‘lurking’, it’s great to finally reveal oneself! 🙂

If you have any particular music interests -from punk to rock, Medieval, Renaissance, blues and jazz, go check out the Music Thread. This year alone, I’ve been introduced by @arbutus to Medieval and Renaissance choral music, from @thekrynoidman and @whisht to German experimental mood music, minimalism, punk/rock fusion and jazz together with some absolute classic favourites like The Who; Queen and Prince.

Kindest, purofilion.

[Whisht @whisht]

hi @zeitgeis – yep, the arrow was kinda unbelievable and an eye-roll, but it was that kinda episode!

Not sure I mentioned the arrow so you maybe have been replying to someone else (or I’ve forgotten mentioning it which is also probable!)

🙂

[Anonymous @]

@mudlark – Great Avatar, BTW.  Please don’t stop nitpicking.  I bring my dislikes about an episode to the forum all the time and many times someone will give me a different way to look at it, which changes my mind on it.  Example – @Arbutus, your suggestion for the head nod, made it much better. Still not perfect for me but improving, TY. 

I must admit that I cringed when you brought up the intrisic properties of gold @mudlark, but then you made an excellent recovery. 

the hasty application of a little timelord technology, plus the combined efforts of Robin Hood, the Doctor and Clara, rendered it aerodynamic and hardened the tip

That works for me.  I can keep believing in impossible things, if there are such things in the world of DW, which is why I love it. 

Nice analysis of the Missy/Promised Land questions.  There is a lot to ponder in what you have written.  I think there is an good chance, that your ideas will lead to some new and exciting possibilities. 

Pleased to meet you,

Barnable

[Anonymous @]

@thommck I really liked the comments about the 5 Good Emperors. Particularly that of Aurelius. After all, in The Day of the Doctor (I think it was this one), we had Clara speaking to her class about “being a good man/person”. Other quotes about Aurelius (helped along by Wiki!) are very relevant to the Doctor and his companions: “power over your mind is possible not events outside your control” (tag: ataraxy); “What we see is a perspective, not the truth”. The latter works so well with RoS. 🙂

Kindest, puro.

 

[Bluesqueakpip @bluesqueakpip]

This year alone, I’ve been introduced by @arbutus to Medieval and Renaissance choral music, from @thekrynoidman and @whisht to German experimental mood music, minimalism, punk/rock fusion and jazz together with some absolute classic favourites like The Who; Queen and Prince.

Meanwhile, I introduce people to Kermit the Frog.

I like to add tone. 😀

[Brewski @brewski]

@serahni

So I suppose I should clarify that it’s not everyone with a heart full of wishful thinking that I was talking about; nostalgia gets us all! It’s a very specific sub-section of the fandom that seem to have missed the point.

Ah! Yes I get you now. Well look at it this way: some people just go right for the banana pudding. The rest of us are happier to sample everything on the buffet.

I will also never speak out against bonkers theorising because I love it!

Oooohhhhh…. I never thought you were speaking out on bonkers theorising. I mean after all… why else are we here?! 😀

@mudlark

So no more nitpicking from me, I promise.

Noooooooooooooooooooooooo! Don’t ever stop nitpicking. I am so sorry if I implied that.

It’s not the nit. It’s the spirit of the pick. I LOVE squabbling over details, or finding tiny, hidden flaws (even the best gems have them.)

I guess what I’m saying is: instead of hating the show because of one flaw, trying liking it in spite of it. (Or in so many cases, BECAUSE of it. 😛 )

 

@ IAmNotAFishIAmAFreeMan

        Mudlark… So no more nitpicking from me, I promise.

This promise will be broken in 3,2,1…… (Don’t fight it – resistance is futile)

OMG. You said it so much better and funnier than I did…. (and I think I wet myself a little.)

[Anonymous @]

@Blueasqueakpip  ah hah! Tone indeed. The advanced physics course, via your blog,  in String Theory and 4 Dimensional Time (after the DoftD) was an epiphany. So never mind the Mahler symphonies or other etymologies

[Anonymous @]

@bluesqueakpip sorry for above; I’ve been up all night. Hence the dreadful reply and not being able to ‘hover’ over your name. Mind you, a good deal of these avatar and user names are now in my personal Word dictionary which is helpful providing I pay attention to the squiggly lines in the first place.

[Arbutus @arbutus]

@bluesqueakpip     Meanwhile, I introduce people to Kermit the Frog.

Well, you are clearly better connected than most of us. I’d take an introduction to Kermit any day!

[midnyt @midnyt]

@thommck
Here you go (click thru for full size):

[midnyt @midnyt]

If you want the Robin Hood database shots, let me know! 🙂

[Anonymous @]

@thommck – your history lesson on the “5 Good Emperors” and marble/chalk was news to me, so your efforts haven’t gone for naught.

 As for your theory, I will be watching for more of those names now. All of the episodes have links to tFoP ep.

 I rewatched DB and the larder scene with HFM in the chair with smoke rising, 12 keeps saying is familiar. It reminds me of the smoke rising from the vents in tFoP.

 As many people including yourself  have said already, the name in ItD was a link to Rome.

 In RoS, the gold circuitry is similar to the designs on the marble in tFoP too.

 Seinfeld says, “I think you might have something!”

[Anonymous @]

@thommck – I have one more similarity to add.

In ItD, 12 says, “She cares so I don’t have to.”  That could be a connection to tFoP, because Donna makes 10 go back to save Lobus Caecilius.  Who knows what would have happened if Clara hadn’t slapped 12 into doing something this time?

[Whisht @whisht]

So, The Promised Land:

Earth – somewhen
Gallifrey – somehow
The Tardis – something seems possible but… crazier Idris? Seems unfair
The Papal Mainframe – sometimes I can’t let go

[Anonymous @]

@whisht on the music thread is a song just for you!

Kindest, puro.

[wolfweed @wolfweed]

@thommck
The NEW infinite monkey theorem states that a monkey searching Wikipedia for an infinite amount of time whilst watching Dr Who will almost surely discover the secrets of the series arc…..

[thommck @thommck]

Thanks @midnyt ffor the screenshots, you have better pausing skills than me!

@barnable, some nice extra links to chalk up on my blackboard 🙂

@wolfweed 😀

 

BTW, if you’re spoiler sensitive, try and avoid any of the official pre-release shots for the next episode. I saw one with somebody’s name on that I wish hadn’t been revealed to me (although it has set my mind whirring!)

[Mudlark @mudlark]

@brewski  Did you really think that, because a momentary rift in the spacetime continuum of the unreal universe allowed a sliver of boring mundanity to slip in, I hated the whole episode?  Please say it ain’t so!   Offhand I can’t recall a single episode, BG or AG, that I hated in its entirety and I almost always find something positive to like in even the episodes generally considered to be seriously sub-standard.

If I were among the pusillanimous band of haters who infest the Guardian discussions I doubt very much I would still be watching  at my advanced age 🙂

[IAmNotAFishIAmAFreeMan @pedant]

Apropos Clara seeing sadness – she has long running form: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p016r6pw

[Whisht @whisht]

way way waaaaay to late for me to try and develop this idea, but its an itch I need to scratch (feel free to ignore me!)

I think there may be a pun going on. [forgive me this is all mixed up]

We have a series arc.
I think we have a reflection of the Doctor’s arc with (an)other protagonist’s arc (hyphen may be after the s!).
His arc is his return to and return of Galiffrey.
He is both saving something (Gallifrey) that he once destroyed, as well as returning to it.
Is the Promised Land a reflection of that – is he saving (robots) and returning them to (somewhere – a ‘promised land’)?

Now to the pun – arc / Ark.
The Ark is a box (both Noah’s and Ark of Covenant) – so we have the madman in a box.
The Doctor’s Ark is the Tardis.

Now, that may be the type of morsel that writers enjoy so I played along a bit more.

Noah’s Ark saved Noah, his loved ones and the animals (ie his world).
The Doctor’s Ark (the Tardis) could therefore be saving Gallifrey (stasis cubes – why they pop in my mind? or Matrix?).
Ark of the Covenant is a “cupboard/closet/box” which is a ‘place of suffering/offering’ – metaphorically the heart to be purified in order for God to enter your body (I think – I’m not sure but googling around).
The Tardis could then be the venue for the Doctor to be cathartically ‘saved’ or proven a hero.

hmmm….. puns on Ark…..

Onto the robots:
Madame de Pompadour – clockwork robots from 51st Century.
Madame Antoinette – clockwork robots from 51st Century rebuilt and using human parts. (and I’m not forgetting 37 as an age). Interstellar Ark?
Robot Knights – NOT clockwork but did cyborgically enhance a human.
Daleks… when they had a touch (Rose) of human, or some radiation leak, they gained some humanity; they could be good….

Miss Direction – the Promise Land may not be the same as Paradise/Heaven?

Ark is just too religious for the Papal Mainframe not to be involved, and the phrase too juicy not to re-used.

Leaving me… bothered and bewildered and grasping at something.

Tomorrow night perhaps.

[Brewski @brewski]

@mudlark

Did you really think that, because a momentary rift in the spacetime continuum of the unreal universe allowed a sliver of boring mundanity to slip in, I hated the whole episode?

Oh naw…. that comment was strictly general, not for you specifically.

I was much more concerned for your (possible) reluctance to pick future nits.

If I were among the pusillanimous band of haters who infest the Guardian discussions I doubt very much I would still be watching at my advanced age

Heh…. am very glad to hear you’re not. I do like being on a board where that stuff doesn’t take place. Of course, I suspect many of those haters do continue to watch purely for the sake of complaining. Bitchers gotta bitch, after all. :p

 

[wolfweed @wolfweed]

Into the Dalek & Robot of Sherwood storyboards added to James Iles’ website…
http://158011.mrsite.com/storyboards.html

[Mudlark @mudlark]

Belated afterthought:  Did anyone see a possible connection between Capaldi-Doctor’s prowess with a spoon-as-fencing weapon and McCoy-Doctor’s expertise with the spoons-as-percussion instrument?

[Apopheniac @apopheniac]

@mudlark – ahh, Sylvester McCoy on the spoons!  Here he is in Time and the Rani

(rather less of hitting himself on the back of the head with one in Robot of Sherwood, though)

Im quite intrigued by the amount of past Doctor mannerisms / manners / thingymajigs that Capaldi is incorporating into his 12th Doctor.  I hope that viewers who have joined since 2005 are entertained enough, even without the glimpses of so-called “classic Doctors” that the crew feel the need to seed the current Doctor with and which sail serenely past the heads of newer viewers.

It would be even funnier to me if Twelve hadnt proffered the spoon as an hommage to Seven, but instead to the Private Eye “Me and My Spoon” regular feature.  But that is just me.

 

[Apopheniac @apopheniac]

Hello @brewski

All this talk of nit-picking is making me feel slightly better for being a bit OCD about the open-naw-now-its-shut-nope-now-its-open Tardis door business at the beginning of Robot of Sherwood.

Unlike @mudlark, I cannot promise to refrain from picking at such nits in future, sadly.  Im the perennial Sees The Trees But Misses The Whole Damned Forest person.  In my defense, Im hoping that one of my detail-oriented Gotchas will bear as much fruit as my “hunh, what happened to the Doctors coat?” question back in Elevens day with the Weeping Angels.  It meant so much to me and no-one was as concerned as I was, at the time.  “Continuity error” they all claimed.  Well, HAH I say to all of them now.  😀

Hello @pedant

Good catch / remembering on Claras ability to discern sadness in someone she has just met.

Hello @whisht

As much as I hope there isn’t some big religious REVEAL in the current seasons arc, you have dragged me over to your Ark-shaped corner.  😉  Im still thinking Promised Land = Gallifrey in some way though.  And that Missy / Miss-C / Miss-E / ooh-err Misstressy is not a Big Bad at all, shes just being drawn that way right now.

[wolfweed @wolfweed]

New one from Spleenal refers to the nod to Terminator 2…..

[Whisht @whisht]

Hi @apopheniac – yes, I think PL = Gallifrey too (at least it is currently for the Doctor, though as with all quests, it may be that he finds that its something else he’s to discover).

Weirdly that garbled rambling incoherent post last night, actually had no bonkers in it!

I know – what does this say about the state of my brain!!!

😐

[Brewski @brewski]

@whisht and @apopheniac

re Promised Land = Gallifrey

I’m with you. I’m sticking with the fact that Arcadia is a Greek name for Utopia = Arcadia on Gallifrey didn’t fall, but rather was “saved”.

P.S. I am totally in awe of and jealous of those who caught the missing coat “continuity error”.

 

[Apopheniac @apopheniac]

Hello @brewski

I’m sticking with the fact that Arcadia is a Greek name for Utopia = Arcadia

… And Im sticking with my theory that the antibodies in Into The Dalek looked and moved an awful lot like the Toklafane in the John Simm Master trilogy (first part of which was called Utopia).

Moffat is playing a lot of cards shown in many previous DW series [Blink (dont) / Breathe (dont) ] and Im trying to work out a theory about how the Toklafane — human beings from the far future, looking for their own Utopia [aka Promised Land] — could end up being the white blood cells in a Dalek casing.

I am totally in awe of and jealous of those who caught the missing coat “continuity error”.

Dont be.  Im very tedious to be around in person.  😉

[wolfweed @wolfweed]

The scanner images have some 3-D coordinates (X,Y & Z)…..

[Anonymous @]

@mudlark – After thinking about your Missy/PL theories,  I am almost in complete agreement with you.

I definitely think that Missy’s PL is a different one than the robot’s PL.

IMO, @phaseshift raised the key point for unravelling the mystery:

whatever this turns out to be, it won’t be that promised land, and it rather depends on who is making the promise.

For Missy’s PL I think it is a virtual place like you do.  I think the Doctor is the one making the promises.  To HFM, Gretchen, and Dinosaur (who I think got saved too, we just didn’t see it). 

My only concern about the Doctor saving people is it’s very anti climactic  for Missy’s Character.  Why would he use a bad interface character  to do it?  That’s the same problem with Missy Dino theory.  Missy has so much more potential to be a great new character or reintroduction of a previous one, that it would be a wasted opportunity if she doesn’t live up to the hype.  So I hope future episodes provide evidence for new theories.

@whisht ‘s Ark theory is interesting for Missy, but I think it would be an evil Ark this time.  Missy is an evil CAL.  Hence the choice of the garden from tGWW episode.  

That episode twisted the ideas of right and wrong, because of the robot’s medicine. They were really trying to perform a kindness (a good thing), but it would kill Amy (a bad thing), which made them seem like monsters (but they were not really trying to be bad). I think Missy will turn out to be that sort of twist on good/bad.  Her PL looks like a pretty nice place, but I think Missy has bad intentions which will make it a bad place to be.

But why would an evil character, collect only the people who help the doctor?  The reason I can think of is a trap, but maybe it is the TL’s holding them for ransom.  Forcing the Doctor to save the TLs, to keep his promises to the captured people.   The robot PL I think is a real place.  Which place will be answered by who is promising it to them.  I think the Daleks are behind those promises because of their time traveling abilities in BG and AG DW.  So that could mean the robot PL is Skaro. 

@brewski ‘s PL/Utopia/Arcadia/Gallifrey theory makes so much sense that it almost has to be right.  So I think it also works for the real place.  And indirectly fro the virtual place too.  🙂

 

 

[Mudlark @mudlark]

@handles :  I don’t think that it is the Doctor doing the ‘saving’ – not directly, anyway, and probably not consciously.  On the basis of the very limited evidence available so far I am speculating that it is someone, or some entity who/which is very closely, perhaps psychically linked to him, whether Missy herself or some kind of intermediary between him and Missy.  My first guess was that Missy represented some aspect of the Tardis, but another possibility is that the Tardis is the linking intermediary.

[Anonymous @]

@mudlark yes I also had this contention. There seems to be evidence that we’re returning to other characters/ theories/spaceships (ie: SS Madame..etc..) . Therefore, a connection with the Tardis as Idris makes some sense. She’s entwined with him and as I originally mentioned, we don’t know what a ‘new’ set of regens would do/could do to a Tardis. The Tardis always took the Doctor where he ‘needed to go’ so this could be a trial or ‘promise’ to pass or fulfil. Unconsciously, based on other ideas here, if the Doctor ‘fails’ to save a person or robot, a device could alert the ‘keeper’ of this Promised Land.

To what extent is he psychically linked to Gallifreyan artefacts, people etc… How is The Moment still involved considering we have Pompadour, silver spoons and ‘droids with human ‘skin’ ships…?

[Arbutus @arbutus]

Like @handles, I think that it is possible that Missy could be neither evil nor good. Deluded or misguided possibly, or simply crazy as has been suggested before. I also agree that when she tells the cyborg “You’re in the Promised Land,” it’s clearly not the place he was trying to reach. (I do like the notion that Gallifrey could be connected somehow to this place, as in @brewski‘s theory.) It still seems to me that Missy is “saving” people who sacrificed themselves, although as yet I have no idea why.

As to who she is, I like the various ideas that tie her to the TARDIS, as she is clearly linked to the Doctor in some way. I feel pretty sure that she is not the Moment, as I think we are done with that character. I also suspect that the Master is too obvious, and I don’t think Moffat and Co. would go for the obvious. I also remember that he drew the connection in the first episode between the Woman in the Shop and whoever placed the ad, so he clearly wants us to think about these as well. That could be a clue or a misdirection; I’m inclined to think it’s a clue.

Now that I’ve boldly stated all these views, watch for the upcoming episode to start proving them wrong!   🙂

[Anonymous @]

I am trying to avoid spoilers today.  This is probably a bad time for this, since it is Who Day again.   I can’t wait to see the new episode.  So, this could help pass the time.

Based on all the links to tFoP ep (@Thommck), I did a rewatch. What a great episode. Capaldi’s Doctor is nothing like Lobus the marble guy. I can’t even tell they are the same person. Terrific actor! But the real reason I’m writing this is:

 New Missy Theory!  😯  Missy is Sibyl.

•  10 says in tFoP, that he knew a Sibyl once. “She had a thing for me”. (He’s my boyfriend? @arbutus misguided or simply crazy)
• The founder of the temple in tFoP, was a Sibyl and all the seers (Pre-Amy etc…) had eyes drawn on the backs of their hands. (Explains all the eye imagery we are seeing now)

 From my google search, Sibyl was a general name for 10 (or 12) oracles. The Romans had one of these. The Renaissance painters even painted famous paintings of her/them? One of these paintings was inside a church in Italy (there are nine other ones Sibyls too, so please don’t be offended if you go to that church).

• That could be a connection to the Papal Mainframe (@Whisht).
• They would all be about the same age as the Doctor is now, over 2000 years old. (Maybe she is using the 2 streams facility to stay alive this long?)
• Sibyls were very famous psychics (@Mudlark), so there could be a psychic link with the Doctor.

Her psychic abilities make her a good candidate for the WitS too. (She can predict the reasons for keeping the Doctor and Clara together) And needy game player? (she has stalked the Doctor for 2000 years)

 Maybe there is a Wilf lady connection too, linking her to the TLs (@FatManInABox, @brewski)

[Mudlark @mudlark]

@handles   Missy as a Sibyl?  That is a very interesting suggestion, especially as the only thing we know about her for certain from the advance publicity and cast lists is that her title is Guardian of the Nethersphere.  I’m not sure that the sibyls of the ancient Greek and Roman world could be described as psychics, though. They were priestesses at certain shrines and cult centres who were believed to be able to prophesy the future when inspired by the god Apollo, usually after they had ingested or inhaled a mind-altering substance,  and were therefore consulted as oracles.  Their oracular utterances seem to have been of the ambiguous kind that could be read as applying to whatever actually happened. It was up to the party asking the question to interpret the meaning of her answer, and if he chose the wrong interpretation it was not the sibyl’s fault!

The Sibyls in Michelangelo’s painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican (which I presume is the church you are referring to) are depicted as the pagan equivalent of the Old Testament Prophets because it was believed that, like the O T prophets, they had foretold the coming of Christ.

But who knows what they are or what their role is or has been in the Whoniverse 🙂

[thommck @thommck]

@barnable Nice extra connections to Pompeii there, especially the all seeing eyes

[Spider @spider]

Again, late to the party due to only recently joining. But once again will throw my thoughts in..if anyone is still ‘Listen’ing (ha…did you see what i did there? No? Ah ok, I’ll get me coat 😉

This episode was the first one I properly enjoyed after not being sure of the first few (since then I have to say I have gone back and watched Deep Breath and Into The Dalek and have completely changed my initial view on them).

I liked the more lightheatedness of it. My favourite moment was probably the Doctor shouting “This is just getting silly!”  at the end of the archery scene, but that’s because I had shouted the EXACTLY the same thing at the TV seconds before he did. In hindsight, that is where i may have fallen in love with Capaldi Doctor XD

The shooting the arrow into the spaceship crossed the line for me, it’s silly and stupid. However, I have to switch my Engineering brain off during these things and let things just go…sometimes it is harder than others!

Clara and the Sheriff was excellent. Loved the ‘reflection’ dynamic of Robin v Doctor at being a hero…which is kind of the reflection we’ve had with the main characters in the first 3 eps so far (half face man, dalek and now Robin Hood)…i think that’s quite clever, we (and he himself) are trying to figure out who he is (am i a good man etc) and we get to see him literally dealing with that through the episodes. Ok, it’s not subtle but  think its quite effective!

(\(\;;/)/)

[Oblique @oblique]

Once upon a time… there was a lot of criticism levelled at the show, in the days of JNT.  I’m not sure – pantomime, whilst meant as a compliment, is one that Mr Gatiss would fully appreciate.

[Oblique @oblique]

Nice moral to this end of this tale.

I suggest reference points for Robot of Sherwood: The Time Warrior and State of Decay.

I thought the Anthony Ainley MkII made a good sheriff.

[Oblique @oblique]

Thank goodness writer, Mark Gatiss has pointed out the over-use of the sonic screwdriver.

If only the Doctor would use this device less frequently. Its been his ‘get out of jail free card’ for far too many years, and an excuse to create situations that can only be resolved within the confines of each episode.

The liberal use of this devise is purely a convenience for lazy writing.

It’s K9 all over again…

Of the two, K9 has the greater limitation, but he can hold a conversation, whereas ….Mmm, I wonder? A few tweaks to the Sonic Screwdriver…

[wolfweed @wolfweed]

[LordAllons-y @lordallons-y]

Plain and simple I didn’t enjoy this episode. My opinion of this episode peaked when the Doctor fought Robin Hood with a spoon. After that I found myself getting bored and annoyed with the plot.

[Anonymous @]

I was finally opening my Crimble gift of Series 8 with commentary on this episode and found the Director’s comments quite funny and charming. He made it clear that he wasn’t happy with the Golden Arrow: “I wanted it to go into the ship and not just hit it”.

What amazed me was how long it took to film scenes: where the Doctor is talking to the Sheriff, ultimately fighting him with Robin Hood to the rescue …took four days!

He also mentioned continuity errors -not specifically, but ..still…

Very good stuff. And a useful commentary.

[ScaryB @scaryb]

Just been rewatching (thanks to BBC 3’s repeats (and thanks to @bluesqueakpip for the heads up)). I was hoping they’d have gone back to the orignal edit which showed the Sheriff losing his head (and the Doctor having a more pivotal role in the Robin/Sheriff fight) but sadly it’s still the amended cut. Does anyone know which version is  on the DVD (@Purofilion or @bluesqueakpip?)

Apart from that minor niggle I enjoyed it more this time around. Not that I had a problem with it the first time but re-viewing has made me more aware of the subtleties in Capaldi’s slowly developing characterisation, and more nuances in the story itself.  Same with the other series 8 episodes. The pressure’s off re looking for clues (and avoiding spoilers), so other aspects can come to the fore.  Can’t wait to watch Listen again.

And how did I miss @wolfweed‘s “of spoons and Scotsmen” post (#31889)before – that’s just brilliant.

[Anonymous @]

Now this past season of doctor who one of the best i think and also think peter is doing a great job as the  doctor. Like i said once before with this new doctor i feel like some changes need to be made like his own tardis and sonic screwdriver. I also feel as tho just like during the season with the 10th Doctor i would not mind seeing some old faces popping in and out of the tardis as well. But one thing that most people have been talking about was a female doctor and or black doctor now i think a female doctor would be really nice to see but i think river song kinda gave us a taste if that but as for a black doctor i think that a really good idea to start with cause it something we’ve never seen before and this i a side of the doctor that can be explored. So i say just wait on bring a female to the tardis and start thinking about can the doctor be a black man? what you think who fans black or female which one.

[Anonymous @]

@scaryb  I think I’d better pass this to the expert-texpert @bluesqueakpip -I did watch that ep on DVD and I’m sure we saw someone lose an arm and the Sheriff falling into the ‘boiling gold’. But that could be hopefulness on my part?

@doctor1994 I think that it’s not a case of “which one” but which is the best actor for the role. To choose one here is to diminish both.

Regards, purofilion

[Author]

Posts