Forum Replies Created
-
AuthorPosts
-
4 December 2018 at 21:44 #66177
@amdamiri 2-solaris from steven spielberg
Not Spielberg. Steven Soderbergh directed the 2002 film. There are countless other examples besides the three you named. The story doesn’t have to be an original idea to be engaging. This story drew me in because it’s told in the structure of a fairy tale, and is based on a fairy tale the Doctor was told.
3 December 2018 at 14:10 #66132I’d forgotten about Solaris. I’ve only ever seen the 2002 film, which I loved. I subsequently read the book, which I didn’t care for. The book was dry, focusing more on science, less on mystery, and (at least for me) it lacked the emotional resonance of the film, which captured love and loss so perfectly.
This episode didn’t go all the way down that road, but rather invoked (as @bluesqueakpip so aptly pointed out) fairy tales in their original form, not Disneyfied to make them more sentimental, less frightening.
3 December 2018 at 02:50 #66116I enjoyed this episode so much more than last week’s … but I think that’s because I was not bringing my own expectations into this story the way I was the last one. The only thing I would’ve changed is to make Grace the final “barrier” through the Solitract’s looking glass. I felt a bit of dramatic impact was lost there by making it Erik’s wife/Hanne’s mother, Trine. But otherwise, it’s a good’un! And I thought Ellie Wallwork, who played Hanne, was wonderful!
27 November 2018 at 22:06 #65972Better on second viewing … yet I still feel like this episode was a missed opportunity. I guess, considering the subject matter, I was hoping for something along the lines of “Midnight” in which the menace to the passengers, and the direct threat to the Doctor, felt very real. This felt too comic book-y for my tastes.
26 November 2018 at 13:55 #65934I thought this was the weakest episode this season … which surprised me, given the subject matter. I’d have thought the script would be written to enable Jodie Whittaker to knock it out of the park, dramatically. But it seemed like every time there was menace creeping in, the script undercut it with light banter, and the moment was lost.
However, reading the other comments in this thread, I must give it a rewatch because I feel like I missed something.
20 November 2018 at 17:44 #65808I admit that I prefer standalone episodes to those with long, complex story arcs. (Especially in a series like The X-Files, where the mythology arc got so convoluted that I reached a point where I didn’t care.) It’s not that I don’t like story arcs; I do. But when I am required to know every last detail in order to understand an episode, then I find myself feeling a bit frustrated.
I was entralled with “Kerblam!” from start to finish and felt it kept a good balance between whimsy and threat. The allusions to Amazon and its ilk were spot-on and disquieting. When Judy Maddox kept checking the system and remarking on who was reported “gone,” I wondered, “OK, how many really are gone?” I thought it would be nearly all the humans … but the story didn’t take it that far … because:
Once again, the enemy is us.
The Doctor took the lead, and once again she did it in collaboration with her companions. That’s how I like their relationship to play out. My husband doesn’t remember enough of the Matt Smith era to recall the fez as a trait of his Doctor, so I had to explain that to him. But not knowing that detail didn’t detract from the episode, for him.
20 November 2018 at 17:15 #65806Well, some of us Americans think the show is doing just fine now, so please don’t overgeneralize and make it sound like no one in the U.S. or Canada likes this season. I, for one, do!
19 November 2018 at 00:30 #65747@cathannabel I agree with @winston in that the 10th Doctor, and also the 11th, apologized … a lot. It was usually in the face of something very bad that the Doctor knew was imminent and couldn’t prevent. It kind of became Tennant’s calling card, and Smith took it up. Capaldi’s Doctor apologized less. So I have felt that Whittaker’s Doctor is simply harking back to that sense of futility and acknowledgment of how little can be done to help, in some situations.
13 November 2018 at 17:44 #65625@margaret-blaine You could be right about the bonkerizing. Doctor Who can’t please everyone, and that was the case in Moffat’s era, too. I lost count of the number of complaints I read about his stories being too complex, about how Capaldi wasn’t “my doc” … etc. Part of the fun many of us found with the Moffat era was our endless speculation about this or that detail, a bit like geocaching. Sometimes you find the prize, other times you don’t. But it doesn’t make it any less fun to search.
Maybe that’s why this season reminds me somewhat of the Russell T. Davies era, which I found to be more character-driven, less focused on bonkers twists and turns in the plot. I enjoy both equally, but for different reasons.
13 November 2018 at 17:33 #65624@miapatrick I do understand that this was really a story about two brothers, and the tragic divisions politics and religion can create within families and communities. I didn’t really expect there to be a major focus on this by having additional Sikh characters, but I guess I expected a bit more than a brief mention. Sikhs were equally affected by Partition, and this sort of glosses over that sad reality. But, again, I know that you can’t capture every detail, and it can undermine storytelling to try to shoehorn it all in. So I just have to accept that the Sikhs’ story not really integral to this particular story about Partition.
13 November 2018 at 17:22 #65623@missy I understand your comments about Capaldi, and I do miss him. But then, I’ve said that about all the Doctors after their regenerations. It’s not enough to keep me from watching, so I do continue on and am finding a lot to enjoy with the current Doctor and her companions. Not without complaints, mind you … but that’s always been the case.
@ichabod I think I agree with you on Whittaker’s Doctor. I find her more accessible, somehow, in much the same way I found Tennant’s Doctor more accessible (till his final few episodes, that is).
13 November 2018 at 01:22 #65601@bluesqueakpip @juniperfish Just to be clear: Even though it’s natural for us to want the Doctor and/or Yaz to rush back to save Prem, I knew it wasn’t possible, and so I didn’t really yearn for it. The Doctor established that changing this outcome might very well erase Yaz’s existence, and of course I don’t want that. But I thought, despite her inability to save Prem, Yaz would still look back, if nothing else to bear witness to what caused her grandmother so much pain. Though I do understand your observation that maybe that’s the only way they could walk away. Good point.
@miapatrick Thanks for that reminder, re: the mention of the Sikhs; I need to rewatch the episode! And yes, I knew that the story couldn’t cover all possible angles. It just seemed like an omission … though obviously not a complete omission. Like I said, I need to watch this one again!
I too wondered about whether the modern dress, especially for the women, would have been scrutinized. So it’s good to read others’ comments about this. I also wondered if, just as the TARDIS has a universal translator, might it also have a universal wardrobe cloaking device, something like a hologram? I don’t think that’s in the series canon, but the thought occurred to me.
12 November 2018 at 17:55 #65584This is an interesting conversation, re: who is the most “alien” of all the Doctors. I’m most familiar with the post-gap Doctors, so for me it goes like this:
Chris Eccleston convinced me of his alien-ness. I found him to be a believable in his portrayal of an alien needing companionship and trying (but not always succeeding) to understand and bond with humans.
David Tennant was, for me, the most accessible of all the Doctors. Or at least he was until he got near the end of his tenure. Then he took a sharp, dark turn.
Matt Smith convinced me of how ancient the Doctor is. The compelling element of his performance was the youth of his exterior, contrasted with the ages upon ages of experience reflected in his eyes.
Peter Capaldi was an enigma to me, yet I loved him. Being an introvert, myself, I appreciate the comments others have made about why, on occasion, his Doctor could be so snarky and unapproachable. Does that make him more alien? I guess it depends on how we define it. If “alien” is more about the barriers that go up, preventing empathy, then that makes sense to me. But, because it’s something I understand so well, it becomes the opposite of alien and is more of a human trait. Yet, if we’re supposed to be highly social creatures … the pendulum swings back to “alien” again.
Based on what I’ve seen so far, Jodie Whittaker reminds me of David Tennant’s Doctor (but without the Rose angst). We’re in early days yet, so I think there is much character development yet to come. The Doctor and her companions are still bonding. Given what many suspect will happen with Graham, if it happens, the ramifications for this Doctor should be significant.
12 November 2018 at 17:11 #65579Overall, I thought this was a wonderful episode. However, I thought there were a couple of missed opportunities:
I know there was a need to simplify a very complex subject, the partition of India. And there was a need to dramatize the two opposing points of view. However, I was surprised that (at least as far as I can recall) there was no mention of the Sikhs, only Hindus and Muslims. (I’m currently reading Arundhati Roy’s The Secret of Utmost Happiness, so of course this is foremost on my mind right now).
I also felt there was a dramatic missed opportunity. While the Doctor and her companions are walking away, I thought that Yaz should have turned back to witness what happened to Prem. And I can’t imagine, in that circumstance, that Yaz would not have looked back. It didn’t mean that we in the audience had to see it. The expression of horror on her face would have told us everything. As it was, I felt the pain of that moment was muted somewhat.
Having said all that, I think Vinay Patel did an extraordinary job with this subject matter. The young Umbreen was somehow not as compelling to me as I would have expected. There were moments when I felt her language was too “modern” to be believed, and it was a bit distracting. But the actor who played Prem (Shane Zaza) was riveting. He and Yaz’s current-day grandmother really made the episode, at least for me.
And, once again, the “demons” are not the aliens, but humans. We are our own worst enemy yet again. Who needs to protect Earth from aliens, when its inhabitants are so clearly bent on destroying one another?
I’m still waiting for the dramatic resonance that I’m certain Jodie Whittaker can deliver. She’s coming close, but for me is just not quite there yet. Still, I must admit that I have felt that way about most of the Doctors early on in their tenure. It takes time for the actors and the writers to coalesce. So I feel certain it will happen again.
Question: I need to review past episodes from this season, but is the closing credits music always different from the opening Doctor Who theme? Segin Akinola’s closing piece was exquisite.
9 November 2018 at 03:33 #65505@mudlark Fair enough. I certainly understand that point of view. But for me, it isn’t a prerequisite for Doctor Who.
8 November 2018 at 21:33 #65492@chiana I had the same feeling about Matt Smith, to the point where I avoided watching Doctor Who for quite some time after he started. It was only when we happened upon a repeat and watched it that I realized he was quite convincing as the Doctor, and every bit as good as Tennant, just different.
In fact, I loved Chris Eccleston, too. But because he had only one season, it didn’t seem like such a major transition to Tennant. Truth be told, I thought Tennant got off to a slow start. But once he got going, he was great.
Jodie Whittaker won me over within minutes. But I also realize this is very subjective, and not everyone is going to react the same. I quite enjoyed Peter Capaldi’s Doctor, but lost count of the number of people who posted (mainly on other sites) that he just wasn’t the Doctor, for them. Different strokes, and all!
I do hope, as others have observed, we start getting some episodes that feel like the Doctor and her companions are facing more of a serious menace. Fingers crossed that that’s yet to come.
8 November 2018 at 16:08 #65482@mudlark I was saying something similar to my husband, that re-watching these episodes isn’t mandatory. And, in a way, it’s a relief. As much as I loved Moffat’s writing, I sometimes got a bit tired of having to first watch an episode, just to get a sense of it, and then re-watch it multiple times in order to understand it. Needing to meet that challenge occasionally is fine, but every week?
Of course, that may be more a commentary on my literal thinking than on Moffat’s writing.
8 November 2018 at 15:55 #65481@chiana … but I am getting a bit tired of the sonic screwdriver pose with the big arm swing!
Why more so with Jodie Whittaker than with any of her predecessors? They’ve all shown a flair for swinging out the sonic screwdriver and striking a dramatic pose.
8 November 2018 at 15:38 #65478@azzitay Who lets Chris Chibnall write Doctor Who stories? The same people who let him write Doctor Who stories prior to him becoming showrunner. I take it you don’t recall episodes like “The Hungry Earth”?
7 November 2018 at 21:34 #65472I’m really enjoying this new Doctor and her companions. For me, this season harks back to the David Tennant era (whimsy and adventure, but without the Rose angst). The Pting was cute enough to add a bit of humor, but without being Disney-cute … if that makes any sense.
As much as I liked Peter Capaldi’s Doctor, I find Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor more relatable, somehow. And maybe some will consider her too human. Capaldi Doc certainly had an “alien” aspect, which might be more true to form, but occasionally left me feeling cold. I like how this Doctor connects with her companions, and also the other characters. In a world so in need of hope and encouragement, I’m glad that’s how this Doctor rolls!
30 October 2018 at 17:30 #65210@geoffers Sarcasm understood! Bravo!
@miapatrick Thank you for expounding so eloquently on how and why Graham is such a good role model, period. We can’t go too far wrong in trying to emulate him, regardless of our race, sex and other innate characteristics.
29 October 2018 at 21:06 #65154@hobbyco White male children need positive role models too!!
I would say Graham qualifies, wouldn’t you?
26 October 2018 at 05:33 #64995@msrbahar Let me make that more grumpy and arrogant: having a PHD in music? Who gives a shit?
I am sorry for your loss. I truly am. But I’m with @cathannabel. I can’t read your dismissals of Segun Akinola as anything other than racist, mainly because you claim he was chosen specifically because of his race. Why not because of his talent, which is demonstrated in his other works, not just what he has done so far for Doctor Who?
And, as for “who gives a shit”? I do. It’s far too easy to dismiss PhDs, especially when one has not done the work required to attain one. I’ve never done it, but know people who have, including my dear dad. It’s not an easy thing, contrary to what many seem to believe. And it’s not the degree, per se, that’s the thing, but the research and work that goes into it. That’s why it’s important. That’s why I give a shit. Because without that, we’re all just throwing our opinions out into the wind. I appreciate learning from people who dig into it more deeply than that.
25 October 2018 at 18:16 #64959@thane16 Bravo, Puro! Your explanation was a joy to read. Any thread citing my favorite composer, Aaron Copland, is a winner in my book.
And that clip from Close Encounters. Such marvelous musical interplay, one of John Williams’ best moments. But the thing that makes the scene so utterly engaging is the look of wonder on everyone’s faces. As @ichabod noted, what a different world it was then … not so long ago. Tears, indeed.
22 October 2018 at 19:55 #64817@craig With a title referencing the first ever episode of AG Who,…
OK, I admit that it took me forever to get this. I’m slow sometimes!
22 October 2018 at 16:36 #64807@misterf55 JW is a good actress (not actor)
Why not “actor”? “Actress” is in that mob of needlessly gender-specific terms we are burdened with. “Actor” refers to a person who acts, which perfectly describes Jodie Whittaker (along with all the other actors who have played the Doctor).
@thane16 Sadly I don’t think The Civil Rights Movement can ever be over.
Given the current state of things, I fear you are right. It seems we are in a “one step forward, two steps back” world.
22 October 2018 at 16:04 #64803I loved it! For me, this episode hit it out of the park. The Doctor and her companions are melding together and learning why what the Doctor does is so important. It reminded me of so many of the classic Doctor Who episodes where the TARDIS drops them off in unexpected, unplanned places, and then they realize why they are there.
I admit that I had become a little tired of the focus being so much on the relationship between the Doctor and his companion. It’s not that I don’t want any character development in that direction, but it had become such a focal point that I felt we were losing out on those moments that felt more spontaneous, rather than something generated specifically for or by them. (If that makes any sense.)
I must remember to stay away from Doctor Who’s Facebook page. Far too much “It’s too PC!” whining over there. I’ll take a socially conscious show over a vapid or morally bankrupt one any day!
18 October 2018 at 19:00 #64633OK, on second viewing (this time via Space’s on-demand stream, which, while it has commercials, has far fewer of them than the cable broadcast channel), this episode held together much better for me. I actually liked the Doctor’s uncertainty and fear that she’d failed her companions. As others have noted, it’s not that she’s never experienced failure. But she’s early enough into her regeneration that I’m sure she wouldn’t want it to happen so soon.
And I loved the Doctor’s greeting of her old friend, the TARDIS! Her relief at them being reunited was palpable.
17 October 2018 at 14:22 #64595@missrori … but I do think it would help if BBC America would, at least for the premiere airing, drop the commercials. They are REALLY killing momentum.
We have the same problem with the Space channel in Canada. The ads totally disrupt the flow of an episode. It’s always such a relief to be able to watch these episodes, sans commercials, on CraveTV.
Barring that, I enjoyed this week’s episode, though I agree with others who noted the constant running, which reminds me of many David Tennant and Matt Smith episodes. A little too “action hero”y for my tastes. I’m hoping things will calm down a bit in future episodes, and the writing focuses less on nonstop action, more on fleshing out the characters. But it’s early days yet, and it seems this is always my problem with getting used to any new Doctor. I struggle to let go of the rhythms and patterns of the old ones!
13 October 2018 at 01:11 #64414How she paid for all this is another matter. Maybe her new friends supplied the money, or maybe the 12th Doctor was carrying sufficient cash in his coat pocket 🙂
I’m pretty sure that right at the end, as she settled on her outfit, she asked her companions if they had any cash, because she had none.
13 October 2018 at 00:30 #64411Sorry to be so late chiming in. I was away in the States, visiting my family (and witnessing what seems to be the usual political mayhem these days). My 91-year-old father is having some health issues, so it was necessary to be away. I didn’t get to watch the season premiere until tonight. My husband and I are in agreement: We like her!
Jodie Whittaker was wonderful. I enjoyed her as the Doctor, liked the companions (was sad about Nan), loved the reboot (similar to the radical shift in style that arrived with Matt Smith) and am looking forward to seeing what this season brings. The only problem I had with Whittaker’s Doctor is the same problem I have with every regeneration: getting used to the new actor’s take on the role. So much is similar, yet so much is different because each actor brings a different interpretation to the Doctor. Having a new showrunner creates a more marked transition. But even as things change, much stays the same, and I am confident the magic of Doctor Who is in good hands.
30 December 2017 at 01:09 #62869@missy Exactly! Why couldn’t I have said that? With me, when emotions take hold, I become almost incoherent. I too liked Christopher Eccleston and those two episodes. I found it very amusing when they used “Are you my Mummy.” in at least two other episodes.
This is something I try to remember when I read posts by others who don’t love what I do. The pivotal term is “love” … obviously not a rational reaction, but an emotional one. So of course we don’t all love the same people, places, things, for the same reasons. It helps to understand how uniquely human that response is.
29 December 2017 at 03:00 #62836I just rewatched this episode tonight and caught so much more than I did when it originally aired. Now I love it! (Yes, I know, I am slow to catch on.)
Question: There’s a waitress who interrupts River and the Doctor at their table. I would swear she looks just like Rosie Jane, the actress who played Bill Potts’ mom, but I don’t see her credited in this episode. Did anyone else notice the resemblance?
29 December 2017 at 02:57 #62835@karenmarie Yup, I loved Chris Eccleston, too. Thinking back to Steven Moffatt’s first two Doctor Who episodes, I decided to rewatch “The Empty Child” and “The Doctor Dances” … brilliant!
28 December 2017 at 23:22 #62819Last night I rewatched “Dark Water” and “A Death in Heaven” (plus “Last Christmas”), and was struck by how young Peter Capaldi looked, compared with how he looked in “Twice Upon a Time” (plus most of Seasons 9 and 10). At the time all we heard about was how old he looked. Of course, after Matt Smith, who wouldn’t? So I sort of accepted that he looked old. But at least to me, looking back on it now, he doesn’t look old at all. Certainly, in his last two seasons, Capaldi’s Doctor looks increasingly weathered. Despite Smith’s youth, at times his Doctor seemed ancient. It’s been interesting to see the progression all the actors make throughout their time as the Doctor.
28 December 2017 at 23:05 #62818@karenmarie Thank you for your compliment! I do enjoy writing.
Like you, I enjoyed the camaraderie between Matt Smith’s Doctor and Karen Gillan’s Amy. They had a delightful rapport, and adding Rory to the mix provided another neat payoff. Instead of turning Amy into another Rose, they neatly dodged that trap by having Amy choose Rory. So the tension was there, but then relieved so that we could get on with the business of the Doctor and his companions having adventures together (rather burying it all in romantic fixations).
But I was so taken, first by Chris Eccleston’s Doctor, then even more with Tennant’s, that I couldn’t imagine either being matched or improved upon. How wrong I was!
28 December 2017 at 22:44 #62817@tardigrade However, I have to register my discomfort with the First Doctor being portrayed with 1960’s (or earlier) attitudes to gender roles, even with that being played for comedy. I have difficulty in reconciling that with the Doctor’s character as I know it- I’d have preferred that those dated elements were treated just as a by-product of making a show at that time, rather than intrinsic to the First Doctor, essentially just retconning them away, or being part of an act to fit in. As an alien from a society where people can change gender, having ingrained “traditional” gender roles isn’t something I could imagine as part of the Doctor’s character.
The part about this that seemed off-kilter to me was the fact that Capaldi’s Doctor even noticed at all. I realize they were playing this for laughs (and I agree with the observation by @jimthefish that “the First Doctor’s sexism was just over-egged slightly”). It was not so long ago that the Twelfth Doctor was fumbling with Clara’s index cards containing her notes on human social cues he’s supposed to heed. Has he really finally picked up on those clues? I can’t think of an episode in which he turned the corner in a big way (though certainly toward the end of his time with Clara, and then later on with Bill, there were plenty of small moments). So for me, his admonitions of the First Doctor seemed jarring and not quite believable, more so than the First Doctor’s comments, themselves.
28 December 2017 at 20:55 #62813@missy I don’t think you are as alone in your opinion as you might think (or maybe the opponents are more vocal). Earlier today I made the mistake of checking out Doctor Who‘s Facebook page. Not pretty.
I’m trying to keep an open mind. As I’ve said many times before, I often find myself resisting the regeneration casting changes … only to feel foolish afterward, when I discover how much I enjoy the “new” Doctor. In the beginning, I wasn’t wild about Peter Capaldi, but he quickly won me over. I was even less enthusiastic about Matt Smith, and boycotted the series till the entire fifth season came and went, and I was watching a pre-Christmas special Doctor Who marathon. I loved the Peter Pan whimsy of his introduction, and was kicking myself for having a closed mind. But, better late than never. So I remind myself of that every time a regeneration rolls round.
For me, the issue has nothing to do with whether the Doctor is male or female. It’s how the part is written, and if the actor is up to the task. If both of those things are good, then I will continue enjoying the series. If either part is off, then I won’t love the series so much. But neither has anything to do with the sex of the character. Last night I rewatched “Black Water” and “Death in Heaven” … and was struck anew at how delightfully layered Michelle Gomez’s portrayal of Missy was. Proving that the Master needn’t be inherently male. And if that’s the case, then why must the Doctor be male?
I realize that for most, this question doesn’t have a rational answer, because our love for the series isn’t imbedded in the rational, but in the emotional. So it’s hard to pinpoint why we want and need certain things from whatever it is we love, and why we feel we’ve been failed when those things don’t deliver, or the payoff isn’t what we expect.
27 December 2017 at 23:00 #62789@pedant I guess I missed that. I know that Smith and Tennant’s Doctors mentioned they didn’t like to think of that incarnation of themselves, and Hurt’s Doctor mentioned not considering himself worthy of the title. But I thought he came around when they ended up saving Gallifrey (though they also noted that none of them would remember doing it). Thanks!
27 December 2017 at 18:15 #62787My favorite part was the poignant Armistice Day scene, …
Uh, I’m not sure why I wrote that, as Armistice Day was a completely different event. This was a Christmas truce or ceasefire. I apologize for my humongous historical gaffe!
27 December 2017 at 17:55 #62786OK, I just watched this episode again last night, and loved it once again. For me, it was a nearly perfect celebration of the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who.
But I have one question (and I know I’m not the first to ask about this): Where does the War Doctor fall in the numbering system? I’m thinking he came between Paul McGann’s Doctor No. 8 and Chris Eccleston’s Doctor No. 9, correct? So shouldn’t the numbering of the Doctors have been changed to reflect this? Thus making Eccleston No. 10, Tennant No. 11, Smith No. 12, Capaldi No. 13 and now Whittaker No. 14? Or does that make the timeline more hopelessly complicated than it already is?
27 December 2017 at 17:44 #62785Thanks for that explanation, @missrori! Makes sense to me. I was thinking a bit too literally … as usual!
27 December 2017 at 16:05 #62781Thank you for the link to that article, @missrori! So, a question I have after reading that is, was Jenna Coleman asked to return for this Christmas special, and it didn’t work out? The author indicated that Bill Potts got what is essentially Clara Oswald’s ending. I got the impression, after reading other posts, that Pearl Mackie’s casting in this episode came about at the last moment, due to scheduling.
27 December 2017 at 15:58 #62780@countscarlioni and @bluesqueakpip Thank you for those detailed explanations! I was never sure how that was handled at the time, if William Hartnell was indeed in his Doctor’s regeneration scene. It’s also quite cool to learn some of the details behind the filming/editing of that, and how it managed to be archived when other early Doctor Who footage wasn’t. Such a shame, but at least this scene, and others, were saved!
27 December 2017 at 05:55 #62777Funny, I rewatched “Into the Dalek” tonight (along with “The Day of the Doctor”) and found I enjoyed it far more than I did the first time around. But it didn’t really give me any more of an emotional connection to Capaldi’s Doctor, other than that Twelve asked Clara if he was a good man, and Clara couldn’t answer him, other than to say she thought he tried to be one, and that counted. But Rusty insisted that Twelve was “a good Dalek.” The long way round to that linkage.
Question from someone who obviously has not seen many of the earliest episodes: Was regeneration of the first Doctor, played by William Hartnell, actually witnessed by the audience? Or did we see only see that first regeneration played by the second Doctor (Patrick Troughton)? I know how we saw it brilliantly inserted into this episode, but was that Hartnell in the regeneration scene?
26 December 2017 at 22:55 #62753I finally got to watch the episode on Boxing Day (on Space; yes, way too many commercials!), due to a windstorm that caused a massive power outage throughout much of Nova Scotia and other Maritime provinces. With power restored, hubby and I could watch this afternoon.
My favorite part was the poignant Armistice Day scene, which fit in beautifully with putting the captain back in his timestream. And watching both Doctors, the first and the twelfth, together was very satisfying. The hard part was not understanding all the references in the dialogue, which I’m sure trace back to the first Doctor, but which I don’t know by heart, since I’m far more familiar with the post-gap Doctors.
For me, the scene with Rusty (from the “Into the Dalek” episode, which is one of my least-liked) felt clunky and extraneous. As if, we must some sort of menace, and who better than a Dalek? Except that as with most aspects of this episode, there really wasn’t a villain. Not even a Dalek. Still, for me it felt like the episode ground to a halt here, then picked back up when we left Rusty.
How wonderful it was to see the Doctor teamed up with Bill and Nardole at the end, for their goodbye, plus Clara restored to the Doctor’s memories. Missing, at least in the literal sense, were Missy and River, but some of the Doctor’s references seemed to invoke them. I will miss Peter Capaldi. I didn’t warm up to his Doctor right away, but he quickly won me over. Here’s hoping that Jodie Whittaker does the same. I think she will. Particularly with Matt Smith, I found myself resistant to the change in Doctors … then, once I started watching, chided myself for my lack of imagination. As I discovered well after Smith joined the series, he was delightful!
It’s also bittersweet to acknowledge the end of an era with Steven Moffat. He’s had a few missteps along the way, but it would be impossible to chart a perfect course in any creative endeavor. He reshaped Doctor Who for a whole new generation of viewers, and did so in a tremendously intelligent, joyous and respectful way. I hope he is taking a well-deserved break, and I wish him nothing but the best in whatever projects he takes on next.
13 October 2017 at 02:25 #62147@hiker You and I are of like mind. I too find comfort in the words of Dan Rather. At least it makes me feel I am not alone. (P.S. I’ll bet you already know a lot about being kind.)
15 August 2017 at 15:30 #61725@winston I thought about buying them, but it would be an investment to get all the episodes I want. So I’m happy with my new CraveTV subscription. Not only do I get post-gap Doctor Who, but a lot of other stuff besides. It will be fun to review more episodes, including some I’ve not watched in a long time.
14 August 2017 at 04:12 #61710@bluesqueakpip Yes, it’s hard when you didn’t like the new showrunner’s previous show. The only thing I can say is that I found Jodie Whittaker’s performance as Beth Latimer very memorable.
I agree. I was blown away by her performance in Broadchurch, though far less blown away, overall, by Season 2 of that series. Season 1 was fabulous, in my opinion, and Season 3 mostly redeemed that promise. So I’m excited about what she will bring to Doctor Who.
14 August 2017 at 04:03 #61709Very well put, @hiker. Thank you!
Many of you may remember me whining when Netflix was set to drop Doctor Who. Where was I to find my Doctor Who fix? In Canada, CraveTV has carried on with the licensing, and we signed up over the weekend. I was finally able to watch “Heaven Sent” … sans commercials. What a difference! I knew it was a brilliant episode, having watched it on Space. But how much better to see it uncut, flowing as it must, without interruption, in order to be properly absorbed. I can’t wait to see Season 10 in this way!
-
AuthorPosts
