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I enjoyed this episode. Was as other have mentioned a bit cluttered but it all seemed to tie together and I liked that it fleshed out the companions.

I think the biggest issue I have this season and the last for that matter is 3 companions is too many. The Dr usually runs with 1 or 2 but 3 just doesn’t give enough screen time to the Dr herself or indeed the companions. I think it’s been handled well generally but it often feels like things are rushed as a result of just having too many characters. Add to this the usual list of extras each episode and the soup is just too watered down to be tasty.

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Okay episode. I don’t mind having political or social messages shoved into my who but this felt a little forced.

Wrap it around a well paced, entertaining, fleshed our story and everyone’s a winner.

I don’t think this is a bad episode but as others have said it had some obvious issues. Fingers crossed we get back to the arc this week and away from these standalone social commentaries loosely disguised as entertainment.

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Well it’s about time. This feels like who, this feels like sci fi, this feels right. Plenty going on, all of it interesting, let’s hope they continue down this path.

i get the feeling that the time lords destroyed themselves. That is the imperial empire time lords killed off the isolationist time lords, why I’m not sure but if they were attempting to combine time streams in order to prevent or even destroy a cyber man invasion that I could get on board with.

I love the idea of a non pacifist gallifrey, a colonial expansionist power. Makes for great viewing, keep it up chibs

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Yup loved it. An obvious improvement over last weeks Orphan.

The only issue I have with using real life people is the fact that they are real, we know a lot about them and the writers obviously have an opinion on both Edison and Tesla, neither man was perfect and it complicates things.

Concentrating on the virtues of Tesla and ignoring the less savoury parts of his character makes for a great underdog story but I feel a lot of this can be avoided if we just don’t use real historical figures.

Regardless I’m certainly not defending Edison or trying to take away from Tesla I just don’t see the need to shoehorn real life people into a science fiction story.

Theft seemed to be the major theme running through this episode as others have said. If the master did indeed destroy his own people it must be connected to this theme in some way. I’ve always assumed that the hero/villain relationship between the Dr and the master could easily be reversed. If we were to mirror the dr/master relationship to that of Tesla/Edison depending on how you perceive things, Edison could be seen as a hero as could the master. Tesla toils in obscurity and is one of earths great minds but ultimately dies with nothing but an enduring scientific legacy. Edison helped shape society by using his wealth and fame to promote and develop the ideas of others to societies benefit.

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Loved the season opener, very my type of WHO. This on the other hand I have no compulsion to rewatch.

Pacing seemed off and it introduced a lot of characters, rushed through some very sloppy character development and had way too many redundant scenes.

It’s a stand-alone episode, which does not add to the season arc hinted at in the opener which is fine if its entertaining. The dreg will likely never be mentioned again and the whole episode was designed to make a very important point on our current real life situation as a planet.

I have no issue with the premise of the episode and I think WHO has always had commentary political or otherwise on current issues, but if they are going to do it, wrap a decent, well paced story around it.

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@pedant

in Tim Shaw’s case sure I’m willing to reduce myself to the most depraved

If killing monsters is depraved then I’m depraved

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@pedant

Im actually against the death penalty in most cases.

This is not real life, this is TV. Tim Shaw is an evil being, responsible for the deaths of countless people and almost the genocide of 5 planets. On top of that he’s clearly in pain.

I do believe a creature of that level of evil deserves death and suffering as he is deserves the sweet mercy of death.

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@bluesqueakpip

All fine points. However the Dr strives to be better then those she is fighting, a constant inner turmoil throughout dr who’s long history. Clearly the compassionate thing to do is to put him out of his misery, he’s old, beaten and helpless. Locking him away evil or not for the rest of time is far worse than ending him.

Same  could be said of suffocating spiders, most people would argue killling a creature in pain is the humane thing to do. The Dr is better than the Stenza. Keeping species as trophies Is a hunter mentality, we could argue that the dr is also a hunter but her conpanions are certainly not. Eye for an eye nonsense aside, this is a broken man who has survived for centuries and is well past his used by date and would likely welcome a warriors death with open arms. Not that he deserves such a death.

Putting aside the obvious capital punishment arguments I still believe the human and correct course of action is to let this evil creature die. Based on his condition and general uselessness this wouldn’t have to be a gun to the head situation. Locking him away as far as I’m concerned is a cop out and failure to deal with the situation and deal with consequences like an adult.

All that being said I don’t hate the episode but tacking on morals without properly dealing with the concepts raised is negligent and has no place in light entertainment. Dr who has developed an identity crisis, one which I will likely overlook unless it goes crazy.

But i digress, hopefully this comes across as a constructive conversation and not an attack it’s certainly not meant as one.

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Yeah this was not the way to end a season. Okay episode but it’s all over the place and a lot of it made no sense. Thing that bothers me is bringing back Tim Shaw the self proclaimed god, clearly on life support, incapable of supporting himself, 1000s of years old, locking whole planets in prisons and then beaten by a retired bus driver with a laser rifle.

And apparently in the doctors eyes locking someone in stasis for the rest of eternity is better than killing them. If I want a lecture on the pros and cons of capital punishment I’ll go find a discussion group, just spare it from my Sunday night light entertainment.

 

 

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So I rewatched this episode and it’s still good but something about the resolution rubs me the wrong way and I can’t put my finger on it.

I’m a sci fi guy and their is some big sci fi elements here but they seem to fall flat. The frog at the end is certainly whimsical but a disembodied voice would have worked better for me or anything really. Not that I hate frogs, just the imagery could have been more significant.

I feel throughout this season that I’m being lectured to more than previous seasons. I prefer my entertainment free of agenda and it’s obvious chibnall has an agenda. While I think Jodie is a terrific actress, the scripts are forcing her in a particular direction.

now I still love who but I just hope it gets back to fantastical story telling on alien worlds, with high concept season wide story arcs and monsters, who are just monsters and not statements.

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Not sure about this one. Certainly didn’t dislike it but somethings not sitting right. Can’t put my finger on it yet though.

ill have to rewatch it

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This episode seems to have disappointed a lot of people including some within my own circle of friends. As I nentioned I really like the episode, but perhaps I approach who in a different way.

I consider myself a fan, been watching since the start of the reboot and I enjoy most episodes, some more than others but I always find something to like. I completely suspend my disbelief when I watch who and much like video games forgive plot devices etc so long as they enable good story telling. Stuff like psychic paper and period appropriate costumes to me are not sticking points. They allow the writers to bypass needless exposition and move the story on. That being said some writers choose to use these things as part of the story which is why their uses seems to be inconsistent. WHO has a lot of these devices too.

If WHO was a series of books written by one author I’d expect a lot more in relation to consistency and plausible explanations. But since it’s on TV broadcast in loosely connected stories written by a diverse range of people I just sit back and enjoy the ride.

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Solid episode. Thought they were originally over doing how camp king James was but he acted the part so well I was on board by the end.

I much perfer my historical episodes with a big dose of sci fi and happily this didn’t disappoint. Found the dr far more doctory in this episode for lack of a better expression and this was really the first time her gender has played a significant role and disadvantaged her. I think they handled it well.

The only real issue I have with this is the ending felt very rushed. Approaching the end I thought their is no way they can conclude this story in the time left. It went from monster reveal, straight to “we will save you king” , bam done.

I liked how they fleshed our the king and Bec, I got a real sense of understanding of the situation and interactions, considering they crammed all this in to 45 minutes is impressive.

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This is the kind of who I love. Loved the episode, tickled me in all the right places. When it started I was thinking “planet of the ood” which I also loved. Went in a very different direction but felt similar.

The villain I honestly did not pick, my money was on a virus. Anyway, less character building chances for the main cast and a huge focus on minor characters which is good for a change of pace.

Thing I’ve noticed about this season is they are not shying away from death, big death count thus far compared to previous seasons or maybe I’m just noticing it more.

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I liked the episode. Certainly made me feel, which is always good. The aliens did nothing for me though, I just couldn’t get into them.

The story itself was well written, acting good, nothing wrong with any single element but when brought together they just didn’t gel for me. I think WHO is at its best when it’s not steeped in real world history, the problem with real historical events is it grounds things too much for me in reality.

The occasional episode is awesome but we have had two heavy reality episodes so far this season and it’s just to much feels for me. I’m enjoying the new Dr but let’s get her back into space fighting aliens and off earth for a while.

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Loved it but I have one massive issue with this episode that I am unwilling to get over. Why did Ryan not fist bump Graham. I’d have totally fist bumped him. Boo Boo I say.

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Yeah not my type of episode. Way too many loose ends And script and villain seemed shaky. That aside love graham, Walsh is playing the character very well and I love that we have a mature companion again.

Seems obvious now that Ryan and yas will end up shacking up at some stage. Plus loving Jodie as the dr, though this episode didn’t do her justice I think the dr is in very safe hands.

certainly don’t feel the need or desire to rewatch this episode and I haven’t felt that way about a who episode in a very long time. Looking forward to next week though 🙃

 

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The thing that strikes me as odd is, Ryan and graham haven’t asked the question “if this is a time machine why can’t we save my wife/grandmother”.

I was almost expecting it to come up in this episode, presumably she’d be alive at the other side of the pond in 1955, thought the question may have come up, her name certainly came up a lot in the episode.

It would be the first thing that popped into my mind if I found myself on a time machine shortly after the death of a loved one.

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Fantastic. Such a powerful story about such an important part of history. The acting was excellent and the script likewise.

I usually like my sci fi separated from real life events, but this was done perfectly. I’m glad they didn’t play down what a horrible racist, society 50s America was.
<p style=”text-align: left;”>I’m still struggling to connect the dots on why he was trying to stop an event on earth in the 50s but I’ll rewatch and I’m sure my brain will come up with something. I’m not ashamed to admit my eyes certainly got watery in those closing scenes and I don’t tear up easily. A credit to the writing and acting, It made me feel, it’s a very soecial gift. Thank you.</p>

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Since we now know that the stenza are not a throw away one episode villain and would appear to be shaping up as this seasons cybermen I think it’s pretty reasonable to assume that their appearance on earth was not random.

If they were to be prepping for an invasion it would make sense that they would try to weaken earth in some way before hand. If the targets that were being chosen were not random but important in some way to earths future defence. They may be attempting to change or interfere with earth history to weaken them in the future. Though two random Sheffield twenty somethings seem like odd targets at this stage which are the only targets we can confirm their may be more. I suspect this may come up in later episodes.

Or maybe I’m giving them too much credit and it’s completely unrelated.

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Liked it. Felt a bit rushed in sections but overall I thought it was solid. Very interesting to see the Stenza again, as I had assumed Tim Shaw was a once off.

I think Jodie will need a couple more episodes before we really see the type of Dr she is going to be.

I think she will be a more collaborative and vulnerable Dr. She let the boys and in fact encouraged them to look at the engine, when clearly it would have been faster to just look herself. The whole episode revolved around collaboration and teamwork and I think due to her much large follower base than the usual 1 or 2, were in for a different interpretation of the Dr, one who does doubt herself and need that reassurance, as seen in the last scene.

Not a bad thing, I think Capaldi who I adore did his best work solo, Jodi I think will work better with a team. I look forward to watching her develop the character in a potential new direction. Thx Chibnall.

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Love it. Capaldi will be tough to top but good luck to our new Dr, I sincerely hope she does.

I liked the episode, story was a bit formulaic but it was well written and on par for a new Dr intro in my opinion.

I think the relationship between Graham and Ryan has a lot of potential, first time he calls him grandpa will wrap it up for me. Not sure about Yas but, I’m sure her character will be fleshed out.

As for the Dr well, I think a woman is an excellent choice, really can’t it see it affecting anything and Jodie is a brilliant fit. On first glance she appears to be a tech dr, and with s budding mechanic and an old bus driver as companions should be a lot of DIY shenanigans. I have a feeling the tardis will be in a state of malfunction for most of the season, thus the emphasis on the mechanical side of things.

 

 

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Love it. What a terrific season, stellar acting all round and good to see more of Matt Lucas.

Im willing to concede my many crazy theories on the content of the vault, it does indeed look like its Missy , as a bonus now that he has last his sight he will be forced to team up with her and rely on her for sight which could lead to some great stuff tag teaming fun.

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Love it. What a terrific season, stellar acting all round and good to see more of Matt Lucas.

Im willing to concede my many crazy theories on the content of the vault, it does indeed look like its Missy , as a bonus now that he has last his sight he will be forced to team up with her and rely on her for sight which could lead to some great stuff tag teaming fun.verbal

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@thane15

Hunger, now that is interesting and i think your right.

Perhaps whatevers in the vault is going to devour the doctor, perhaps he made a pact with the devil so to speak and promised his essence or soul to someone or something in exchange for something, perhaps saving someone or something.

Either way the idea is certainly interesting.

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Something bothers me though. Would you lock a child in a vault, even for his/hers own protection. Seems rough. Of course if we assume the vault is gallifeyan in origin, it xould be much larger on the inside, i guess we really have no idea how large the vault is or if indeed it conforms to normal time rules, hmmmmm. If its designed to keep something safe and if it does not conform to usual laws of time and space could it perhaps be a young doctor.

Perhaps he has to keep a child version of himself in the vault age him to maturity before letting him take his place. This theory allays almost all my problems, keeping a child captive etc, which seems very undoctor like, as i assume having two of them would shatter time, but safely sealed in a timey wimey gallifreyan vault he can just age and presto take over when the time is right.

Maybe im too hung up on the concept that it has to be a child, i think i need sleep.

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Im still pretty convinced, that whatevers in the vault is a child, almost certainly not davros but if i lose grip on reality momentarily, in the husbands of river song, on their last night together (24 years) maybe they had a child. Now presumably hes been guarding the vault for quite some time, which would make any normal child old, but being half time lord and half river ( who herself had an augmented life) this child could still be young, which would mean the oath was given to river to protect their child, who would undoubtedly have enemies due to who its father is.

However all that aggressive banging makes me sceptical, though if the child were now an unruly teenager, still dosent explain the delight at hearing a story about children being eaten, hmmmm.

It does certainly sound like that whatever is in the vault verges on the more evil side, but whos to know what being confined to a vault would do to a child. Either way im still convinced its a child and not some monster like a dalek, cyberman or weeping angel. If it is in fact the master, my money is on the master as a child.

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What if the Dr went back to the handmine field and stole young Davros. That certainly fits the themes of the season so far but causes huge paradox and time issues. However if we assume the vault is of Galifrey origin then its possible its contents are protected from the usual rules.

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Crazy their for vault dweller; Davros.

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Great little take. Love capaldi but think he really shines without competition ( heaven sent, which is phenomenal for example is one of the best performances by any actor i’ve seen) cause for me Suchet stole the show ( may be biased, adore them both but suchet is just better for me in a crowd). In any case another awesome stand alone which i love because i can watch with the wife without too many questions ;). As to the vault, i agree with other that the master would be a little obvious, so id be learning towards everyones favorite immortal Me, shes certainly a threat and also someone he knows well and would feel he needs to protect, though their was that thing with clara, now im doubting it could be her.

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Well what can I say this was Sci-fi gold. Capaldi brilliant as we have come to expect. Easily the best doctor in my opinion last weeks performance sealed it for me and this episode is a close second.

I will need a re-watch to let things sink in properly but my initial impressions are all positive, I had mixed feelings on whether bringing Clara back was a bad idea but by the end of the episode I was on-board.

When they reached the end of time and I saw Me sitting alone with the chessboard (I expected the game to be in progress as clearly its not the first time they have met here) I just clapped, excellent scene.

Can’t wait to see what happens with the next season and I’m very glad to see old favourites make a reappearance in the Christmas Special.

Bravo Moffat, may be a touch timey wimey for some but I Sir adored it start to finish.

Love Arch

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Loved it, im an unashamed fan boy but this was brilliant. Capaldi was masterful and truly this is the best performance by a dr I think ive seen. The groundhog day sequence at the end was perfect, mostly due to the soundtrack that accompanied it. I know I sound like a gushing schoolgirl but I just adore the whole thing from start to finish, I always suspend disbelief when I watch sci fi so I may not be as bothered as some others with the impossible. Bring on next week is all I can say.

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Have to say, I really liked this a lot. Felt different to the rest of the episodes this season, but I really dont mind the odd stand alone episode. Initially i was confused what was going on, then finally half way through worked out what the hell was happening and got on board.

I feel this episode will be a lot better once I have rewatched it, since I already rate it quite highly,  it could go on to be one of my faves.

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I thoroughly enjoyed this, wasnt the episode I was expecting after last weeks but it got the job done. I found it interesting that prentice ended up in the 1980s in a cold war training facility, I had pictured something much different after watching the first part. Still another commanding performance from capaldi and i absoloutley adored the intro, huge fan of tearing down that fourth wall.

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Also I forgot to add and I’m unsure if it has already been mentioned, my apologies if it has but the name of the petroleum company, Vector.

Being a physics guy when I hear the word Vector I think and ill use the dictionary definition for clarity “A quantity having direction as well as magnitude, especially as determining the position of one point in space relative to another” which has obvious parallels with the story.

However vector also has another meaning again for clarity here is the dictionary definition “An organism that transmits a disease or parasite from one animal or plant to another” again obvious parallels.

Now the conspiracy theorist in me can think of all kinds of wacky theories surrounding Vector, the fact that their representative is “dead” crushes some of the more plausible ones but nevertheless, my money is on Vector being controlled by Atlanteans 🙂

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I have to say, this is likely the best start to a season i’ve ever seen, the acting is truly great and i feel capaldi now owns the doctor, i believe i may be in love with missy and clara is fast becoming my favourite companion (move over rose). But i digress, when i saw the sunken city, as im sure Others have mentioned the first thing that came to mind was atlantis, thats just me im obsessed with atlantis, clearly this is not atlantis…. Or is it ( no its not) but in my defence atlantis was mentioned in the fantastic two parter we were treated to in the last weeks, so you cant blame me for getting excited.

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I thought this was the weakest episode of the three thus far and I absolutely loved Deep Breath especially. The Doctor seemed very juvenile in this episode and when that golden arrow took the engines from 80 odd percent to 100% at the end, I just rolled my eyes and sighed.

On a more positive note, next weeks episode looks to be far more up my alley.

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