The Woman Who Lived

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This topic contains 318 replies, has 54 voices, and was last updated by  janetteB 6 months, 3 weeks ago.

Viewing 19 posts - 301 through 319 (of 319 total)
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  • #51194
    KBranagh @kbranagh

    @winston @ichabod
    All the Doctor are great but i think that Capaldi is the most talented actor-Doctor until now…and Moffat magic touch and more deep rappresentation make him an unforgettable Doctor.

    I hope that Capaldi overcome the standard three years.

    #51197
    ichabod @ichabod

    @kbranagh  Well, he’s sure been impressive in my books; I’d like a couple more years of his Doctor, assuming he enjoys working with Chibnall and the next companion, and his character as written still gives him plenty to that’s interesting and challenging to do.  Good example of “Be careful what you wish for” — every fulfilled wish has its down side.  This one comes with the total insecurity typical of any acting job, plus a fandom with a toxic segment that never shuts up, and the downer (eventually) of no longer being the Doctor (and what do you do THEN)?  You have to feel for the guy — cripes, what a profession!  It takes sensitivity and intelligence to interpret the world to itself in a compelling way, but at the same time you need a rhino-thick skin for the slings and arrows, and nerves of azbantium to steer your course through the chaos.  I’m glad I’m just a writer.

    #51199
    ichabod @ichabod

    And that’s just the major stresses I can imagine from outside, looking in.

    But on the other hand — every downside has an upside, and what a delight it must be for a lifelong fan of DW to get this chance to bring his inner Doctor to light for everyone to enjoy.  And not just onscreen, either, given how warmly and generously this actor is in contact with admirers and Doctor-lovers.  Capaldi sure comes across as an all-around class act as well as an excellent Doctor.

    #51202
    KBranagh @kbranagh

    The Capaldi talent i think at the end of the day that ispires the writers and the story as well.
    You can imagine the Beethoven speech plays by Smith?
    The opening of “Listen” and “Before The Flood” exist only for Capaldi.
    I found more monologue moment in the Capaldi saga than before.

    #51205
    ichabod @ichabod

    @kbranagh  Oh, I agree — inspiration works both ways.  The writers do things like the monologues because Capaldi’s delivery is mesmerizing, and Capaldi takes bits of what the writers provide and runs with them because he can — like turning “I don’t think I’m a hugging person now” into a whole visual vocabulary of communication with Clara by touch.  I gather that Matt Smith wasn’t a dyed -in-the-wool Doctor fan from way back the way Capaldi has been all his life: this suggests that ideas and leads coming from Capaldi (in framing up the series and shaping particular stories) have probably been welcomed by Moffat, another long-time fan, the way they might not have been from Smith (also because Capaldi has the authority of a long-established career in TV that Smith didn’t bring to DW).

    I think we’ve been watching a pretty special synthesis of aims and values with Capaldi and Moffat, which is due to end with S10.  How Capaldi will work with Chibnall at the helm, gods only know — for starters, it depends on lots of other factors, and it may not even happen.  Complicated times coming up for the Doctor . . .

     

     

    #51221
    KBranagh @kbranagh

    i’m wrong by the way…there are a very strong monologue moment from Smith as well! In “The Rings of Akhaten” Smith was awesome.

    #51278

    One of benefits of having treated myself to the fancy dancy blu-ray set ,and watching in double-quick time, is the realisation of just how much of the key imagery that would become crucial at the end was set up in the run between The Magician’s Apprentice and The Woman Who Lived. Everything that became significant later was put into play in the first half.

    Chekhov would have been quietly chuffed, and possibly fed his duck.

    (Also, watching like this you really appreciate what total thundering twatbadgers are all of those over on the Graun, and other places, who said Maisie Williams can’t act. Somebody should neuter them as a service to the gene pool)

    #51282
    Bluesqueakpip @bluesqueakpip

    @pedant

    The total thundering twatbadgers are probably unemployed and disgruntled actors, expressing their extreme displeasure that a talented young actress is getting parts that should have been theirs, dammit, theirs! [That they’re well over eighteen and the wrong sex for the part is beside the point.]

    But they can’t say ‘I’m a jealous bastard’, so instead they say ‘she can’t act’. 😉

    #51284

    @bluesqueakpip

    But my point about neutering is still good, right?

    #51285
    Anonymous @

    @pedant

    neutering. A valid solution!

    #51306
    ichabod @ichabod

    @pedant @bluesqueakpip  Hell, I’m definitely on board for a spot of neutering!  But — so many promising prospects, so little time!

    #51316
    Bluesqueakpip @bluesqueakpip

    @pedant, @puroandson, @ichabod

    I think the neuterers have it!

    #51321
    ichabod @ichabod

    @bluesqueakpip  Now all we need is a trained commando who is also a veterinarian . . . ?  But let’s keep it equal opportunity: somebody for the fangirl vipers of tumblr, too?

    #51322
    Anonymous @

    @ichabod

    being ignorant about these things, what is tumblr?

    Some internet site which deals with shows and various comments about programmes, maybe?

    PuroTheSolo

    #51400
    ichabod @ichabod

    @puroandson  Sorry, I didn’t get back to you about this!  I’m not all that sure about tumblr myself — I signed up because some of the sites there have interesting poetry and art, and then I found some sites run by admirer’s of Peter Capaldi where there are sometimes interesting observations and some great photos etc.  There are also some crazy cliques of rabid fans, anti-fans, and nut-brains of all kinds, so mooching around there is chancey at best — but interesting.  People set up sites there to circulate pictures etc. to others with similar interests.

    I don’t hang out there much — too much craziness for me, and I don’t know how to put pics up or music or whatever and frankly I don’t care enough about it to learn that stuff.  That’s about all I know about it, and I won’t pretend it’s much . . . Anybody else know more?

     

    #51521
    dailyboother @dailyboother

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    #51527
    dailyboother @dailyboother

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    #74376
    Dentarthurdent @dentarthurdent

    This starts with a rather hilarious hold-up that goes off the rails because the Doctor bumbles into it. This is a Clara-lite episode so the human interaction is between the Doctor and Ashildr, now known as Me.

    The encounter in the hold-up was so typical of the Doctor, I was sure this episode was written by Jamie Mathieson and Stephen Moffat, like the previous one, but no it was Catherine Tregenna (whoever she is). And the melancholy note struck at the end of the previous episode continues as Me explains that she can barely remember most of her life, and begs the Doctor to take her with him.

    I liked the bit of detail that Ashildr boasts that, at Agincourt, she got so close to the enemy, she penetrated armour with her arrows. A historical fact confirmed for me by Tod Cutler’s experiments with arrows and armour on his Youtube channel.

    Interesting that, since Ashildr has a bit of alien in her and has travelled through time ‘the long way’, we (or at least I) unconsciously assume she knows much more than ordinary people of the era, as much as we do, in fact. The error of this is highlighted when the Doc says “Sonic technology. It should be able to deactivate any alarms.” Ashildr: “What’s an alarm?” Of course. They haven’t been invented yet!

    The burglary is simultaneously comic opera yet quite tense. It’s quite on the cards that the householder may shoot Me, or equally bad, that Me may shoot him. (Why equally bad? – because the householder is innocent, and Me is not supposed to be a villain. Missy might get away with shooting him, but nobody else.) It’s not shown how they get down off the roof, but I guess we don’t really need to know.

    The butler saying “Would you care for a cocktail, milady?” is surely an anachronism in 1651 though. First used (google says) in the 1800’s. Oops!

    The old trope about the villain (Leo the lion) explaining his plot in detail to the hero is quite skilfully handled here, even the slightly convoluted rules of the amulet. It seems Me is quite prepared to sacrifice her faithful retainer Clayton but draws the line at Leo killing the Doctor. Sort of a mixed message there.

    Sam Swift is very good indeed with his gallows humour. The idea that the amulet would actually kill (rather than just exploiting a death) seemed to be a leap of logic on Me’s part. But using the Mire pill to restore him to life was a very neat touch (I wonder, was that foreseen by the writers when the Doctor gave Ashildr a spare in the previous episode?) The whole portal opening/closing effect seemed to be quite out of proportion to its energetically insignificant cause (Sam’s life energy) but I’ll let that slide.

    So we end with Me reconciled to living life in the slow lane, with a new purpose, to help people. Seems a bit much of a change of heart, but maybe the discovery that Leo the lion was going to betray and kill her had a powerful effect.

    So, quite an entertaining, fun episode, but with a serious and melancholy streak running through it.

    #74387
    janetteB @janetteb

    Have just returned from holiday and doing some catching up.

    A good review for an episode that would probably be a 7/10. Not bad with a lot of good moments but not one of the best. (I have not watched it for a long time so I may be unfair in that judgement.) I thought it better than the previous episode with the dodgy Vikings. An episode of Sandman reminded me a little of this episode, where it touched on what it actually means to live forever.

    Cheers

    Janette

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