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25 June 2016 at 00:55 #52884
@ichabod You are not alone. I’m reading many reactions which are similar to yours. And reactions similar to mine. Clearly there’s a split of opinion. Which is fine. For me this worked, but obviously for others it didn’t.
24 June 2016 at 05:08 #52864Bawled my eyes out over Penny Dreadful tonight. Haven’t been moved like that by a television show in ages. (Even our dear old Doctor … which has come close on a number of occasions.) Enough said.
23 May 2016 at 18:58 #52488Speaking of gore, Vikings is no walk in the park. We’ve been treated to the blood eagle, as just one example. Yet one thing I appreciate about this series is that it goes beyond the barbarism and shows these people as complex: ruthless, yes; there’s the stereotype. But also ingenious, ambitious, tender, loyal, suspicious, bewildered, shuttered, insecure, driven, brave, joyful … all the aspects of human character. Obviously Vikings is a contemporary rendering of Norse mythology, but watching Norsemen (and women) striking out into the unknown, attempting to conquer foreign lands and deal with the people living there, has caused me to think very differently about them.
23 May 2016 at 03:00 #52467I have mixed feelings about Broadchurch, as I do about The Fall. I felt the first seasons of both were stellar, then both fell down in their respective sophomore seasons. So I suspect there will be complaints, especially about the second season of Broadchurch, that I would agree with.
22 May 2016 at 04:55 #52450Yahoo, other Penny Dreadful fans here. I love that show! Also (in no particular order): Broadchurch, The Fall, Orange is the New Black, Vikings and The X-Files. Hubby and I watched one episode of Happy Valley, liked it but weren’t sure if we wanted yet another bleak series (we had much the same reaction to Luther), so we didn’t continue.
In the midst of a lot of other bleak television we were watching, Hannibal made its way in. Can I say I liked it? Odd choice of words. I admired it, especially the first season, but became less enamored as seasons went by.
Canadian TV series: 19-2 and The Romeo Section, the latter by Chris Haddock, who gave us the brilliant Da Vinci’s Inquest and the underappreciated Intelligence (not to be confused with a lame U.S. TV series of the same name).
For comic relief: Episodes, Angie Tribeca and The Mindy Project.
Oh, and I’m currently enjoying The Night Manager mini-series, plus catching up on some wonderful old Twilight Zone episodes.
11 May 2016 at 18:25 #52259This item made it into my Facebook newsfeed. It doesn’t sound official, so I figured I’d better post it in spoilers: Rumour
26 April 2016 at 00:26 #51907Yup, I too have received another message. (Drat, the massage was so promising!)
23 April 2016 at 18:38 #51813Glad I’m not the only one who thought this was a grownup Courtney. I like her. Bill looks fun!
23 April 2016 at 01:13 #51790I should have known, LOL!
23 April 2016 at 00:20 #51788Ah, ha! I must be the favorite. Miss Tina/loveuu left me a massage. Apparently @blenkinsopthebrave only got a message.
20 April 2016 at 23:01 #51753Ah, I should have known. Another one bites the dust, LOL!
5 March 2016 at 00:08 #51188@winston You’re welcome! It was good to revisit that episode again … as I should have typed in my previous post.
4 March 2016 at 20:44 #51183Hubby and I watched this episode last night. I’d seen it multiple times, but this was hubby’s first viewing. He loved the layering of comical moments with dramatic ones, and also how this Doctor was introduced as quite vulnerable. Vulnerable in a different way than, say, Tennant, but still vulnerable and trying to get himself grounded in his latest regeneration. I’d remembered the broad strokes, but forgotten so many little details that added so much to the story. It was revisit that again.
2 March 2016 at 16:41 #51149A meme making the rounds today:
1 March 2016 at 12:25 #51136Not sure if this is considered a “spoiler” since it’s making the rounds in the news:
1 March 2016 at 12:14 #51135I received the same message. Sadly, not “the one” after all.
11 February 2016 at 05:58 #50944In the immortal words of the spousal unit, “How the hell are we supposed to know what to subscribe to for the content we want?” Yeah, my words exactly. Or some paraphrase therein.
8 February 2016 at 23:33 #50922It’s all down to contracts and renewal dates but the chances are that it’ll be pulled from Canada too at the earliest opportunity.
Yes, I imagine that the contract runs out at some future date and then we will lose it as well.
Gah, my hopes hopes dashed. Oh well. If I’m going to do any more Doctor Who binge-watching, I’d better get to it soon.
P.S. Where is this thread “hiding”? I see the locked Dr Who News (3) thread in the General Forums list, but not this one.
8 February 2016 at 03:15 #50899Interesting development: In the previous Dr Who News (3) thread, I read that Doctor Who was being dropped by Netflix on Feb. 1. However, I just took a look, and at least with Netflix Canada it is still there. Maybe this is something we will actually have that Netflix U.S. doesn’t? That’s rare. Our Netflix lineup is far less substantial than the U.S. one.
8 February 2016 at 01:46 #50897Well, I’m late to this party. Doctor Who is no longer available on Netflix? I’m glad I did some reviewing between “Hell Bent” and the Christmas special. I guess that means I’d better save the episodes I recorded on my DVR.
25 January 2016 at 02:28 #5043125 January 2016 at 02:09 #50430I’m not sure where to post this question, so hopefully I’m not too far wrong here. Someone once kindly posted where Doctor Who episodes can be found online. May I have a reminder as to where that is, again? Silly me, I did not bookmark it. Thank you.
25 January 2016 at 01:55 #50429@puroandson You know, reading other posts here, I felt a bit guilty in liking the Slitheen. I guess fart jokes still crack me up, sophomoric humour and all. But I felt there was a balance there between the humour and the seriousness of what the Doctor is all about. He is about protecting Earth and human civilization, yet he is not without sensitivity when it comes to the “sins” of his foes. I appreciated this deft exploration of the vulnerabilities of Margaret Blaine, and what she might or might not use to manipulate the Doctor.
25 January 2016 at 00:50 #50426Cautiously dipping a toe into the heated waters of this debate: I remember the “reboot” debate circling around Daniel Craig’s entry into the Bond franchise, and all that entailed in terms of adapting the Bond canon into a contemporary setting. I vaguely remember the term “retcon” being bandied about as the more appropriate term. Yes or no? I won’t tread any farther than that.
24 January 2016 at 01:33 #50383Well … I loved the first season of Broadchurch, but was quite underwhelmed by the second. And we have only a Christmas special to look forward to in 2016, followed by Moffat’s last season in 2017? That’s a long wait. Ah, well. There’s always that treasure trove of past episodes on Netflix.
1 January 2016 at 20:48 #49921The other night I gave “Husbands” a second watch, then rewatched the “Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead” episodes to reacquaint myself with how we viewers first met River. I think I shall have to review the Amy/Rory episodes, as well, as I have forgotten so many of those details. (‘Tis the curse of binge-watching Doctor Who on Netflix.) But the remarkable thing, as others have noted, is how remarkably consistent River has been in her behavior. Many things have changed in the course of Tennant, Smith and now Capaldi, but River is one unswerving refrain. Bravo to Moffat for giving her such a brilliant swan song!
29 December 2015 at 02:48 #49793Rewatched and spotted the new sonic near the end in the control room. However, it was on screen for less than 30 seconds. I’m not the only one who missed it. The closed captions writer thought it was the sonic trowel.
I’m about to do a rewatch, but if I recall correctly, River did have a sonic trowel. The Doctor thought it quite silly and, during this episode, gave her his sonic as a gift.
Also, I noticed the sonic sunglasses made another appearance here. I mistakenly thought he’d left those on the counter at Clara’s diner.
24 December 2015 at 03:25 #49628My goodness, how many fellow Canucks are there here? I am in Canada by way of the U.S., so I still feel like a bit of an interloper (Canadian citizenship notwithstanding).
22 December 2015 at 23:55 #49587Welcome to this forum! I really enjoy the intelligent discourse here. By and large we are troll-resistant (notice I didn’t say “-free” … but we do our best to keep that silliness at bay).
It’s a form of meditation for him, I think — better than sitting on his TARDIS in a sort of yoga posture, more like this Doctor than a violin.
Guitar playing as meditation. I like it!
22 December 2015 at 23:55 #49586@puroandson Someone has Jenna Coleman confused with Katie Holmes? There is a bit of a resemblance, but ouch. That had to have hurt worse than the needle prick.
21 December 2015 at 00:20 #49550Do you have favourite season of X-Files? Or did you believe the whole thing was a flop?
First 5 seasons were OK (and occasionally very good indeed), then it went badly off the rails and they were too slow putting it out of our misery.
I agree completely. I was never a fan of the convoluted mythology episodes, and really enjoyed the standalones far more. It’s interesting that the first five seasons were the best, all shot in Vancouver. Coincidence? After they moved to L.A., things started to unravel, like they ran out of stories to tell. As if to compensate, we got conspiracy on top of conspiracy on top of conspiracy on top of … till there were too many layers of conspiracy to count (and I was too tired to try). The fifth season has one of my favorite episodes: “Mind’s Eye” guest-starring Lili Taylor.
14 December 2015 at 02:05 #49402I love this guitar-playing Doctor. I think it’s wonderful that he does something besides fly a TARDIS … but that’s just me. For what it’s worth, I have enjoyed all of the new-era Doctors equally, but differently. Each time a new actor comes on board, I think there’s no way he can top his predecessor. And then I find I enjoy him precisely for the differences he and the writers bring to the role of the Doctor.
7 December 2015 at 13:33 #48975upon reviewing this scene, i did find it odd that ashildr/me remembers the events of “face the raven” so well, given her terrible retention. perhaps the time lords brought her forward in time, as well, and those events aren’t all that long ago to her, now? (but that doesn’t explain how she’s remembered everything while waiting for the doctor. it’s clearly been a long, long time since gallifrey crumbled…)
That same thought occurred to me, as well. But thinking about it a bit more, she probably wrote it down into a beautiful story, and she remembers the pain and beauty of it because she captured that in her story. Kind of like the Doctor transposing Clara into a lovely melody.
@ichabod Kudos to you for calling the Doctor’s Clara amnesia, as well!
7 December 2015 at 13:20 #489721. Sunglasses: Clara gives them back to the Doctor who, later in the diner puts them on the countertop to connect his electric guitar to the speaker system. BUT, the diner and the furniture in it are all part of Clara’s shiny new TARDIS, so when she dematerialises to leave the Doctor alone in the desert with his old TARDIS, the sunglasses have stayed presumably on the diner counter, and are now in the ClaraTardis for use by Clara and Me in their future wiggle-room adventures.
Thanks, I missed this detail. Time for another rewatch!
@morpho
Was the coat Hurt’s? Didn’t recognise it out of context.
I thought Hurt wore a brown leather coat. Capaldi’s was fabric.
7 December 2015 at 03:45 #48919I didn’t interpret the sonic screwdriver as replacing lost sunglasses. He reads “Be a Doctor” on the blackboard, puts on his “Doctor” jacket and takes up his sonic screwdriver- apparently fully willing to be the Doctor full-time again.
That makes sense. Thank you!
7 December 2015 at 02:33 #48906@tardigrade I’m not sure I agree with you about him forgetting almost everything and abdicating responsibility. Clearly he knows what he did, and his role in it. After all, he is the one telling Clara the story … about what he did as a result of her. The only thing is, he doesn’t realize it’s Clara he is talking to, because his memory of her details, her essence – that to which he connected, emotionally, and what drove him to do what he did – is gone. But his memory of all that happened is still there. So I don’t think for a moment that he failed to learn from this. I believe he has learned.
I have a more mundane question. On second viewing tonight, I see that Clara hands the sonic sunglasses back to the Doctor, who then slides them into his jacket pocket. As far as I can tell, that’s the last we see of them. Then, after he boards the TARDIS, he creates a sonic screwdriver. I guess I assumed the glasses would have to be damaged or lost before he would replace them with some other tool. Ideally I’d have thought Clara would keep them and use them on her adventures with Ashildr/Me, but that didn’t happen.
6 December 2015 at 23:06 #48876@arbutus @starla Ohila says, “I heard the Doctor had come home. One so loves fireworks.” Seems she had rather voyeuristic reasons for being there.
@the-war-doctor I thought the Doctor was playing a riff of Clara’s theme on his guitar. Wasn’t that what it was in reference to? That he remembers her story and song.
6 December 2015 at 16:38 #48828What is the wiggle room? I just never understood what this is.
If I understand correctly (and I might not, having watched it only once), Clara is stuck between heartbeats … presumably between her next-to-last and last heartbeat. So my interpretation of this is that as long as she stays within that between-heartbeat space, she and the web of time are protected. This harks back to the emperor/shepherd’s boy parable, and how much can happen in a second of eternity (which, come to think of it, is a very good analogy for the Doctor’s time-traveling existence):
“There’s this emperor, and he asks the shepherd’s boy how many seconds in eternity. And the shepherd’s boy says, ‘There’s this mountain of pure diamond. It takes an hour to climb it and an hour to go around it, and every hundred years a little bird comes and sharpens its beak on the diamond mountain. And when the entire mountain is chiseled away, the first second of eternity will have passed.’ You may think that’s a hell of a long time. Personally, I think that’s a hell of a bird.”
6 December 2015 at 16:12 #48825If she “dies” before returning, does the universe end?
Hard to imagine how someone lacking an actual pulse could die. Contrary to the excellent argument posted earlier (that the Doctor was the only one to witness Clara’s death, and now he can’t remember her), I think her death is a fixed point. The Doctor remembers her story, and maybe that’s enough. But as long as she plays within that “wiggle room” she’s been given, I think the web of time is safe.
6 December 2015 at 15:50 #48824I should have read the entire thread before posting. Bravo @pedant on calling it (re: the Doctor forgetting Clara)!
6 December 2015 at 15:33 #48819I definitely must watch this one again, but it will be after this afternoon’s hand bell concert. I need to prepare for that, and hopefully not make too many mistakes. Our last rehearsal was not as solid as I would’ve liked. Fingers crossed … er, uncrossed. Rather difficult to play hand bells that way!
But a few thoughts: I wasn’t as emotionally satisfied by this episode as I was “Heaven Sent” … but another poster predicted that would be the case, that there would be a lot of explaining to do, so it would be more cerebral, less emotional. I was glad we got this last (?) round with Clara. And how amazing it has been to see Ashildr/Me grow over the few episodes we’ve seen her in. Great acting by Maisie Williams.
Who is the poster who predicted it would be the Doctor forgetting Clara? Bravo! You must be feeling quite chuffed about that.
My husband, who has watched Doctor Who (starting with Before Gap episodes) far longer than I, happily recognized some of the old sounds in the new TARDIS.
With Clara and Ashildr/Me, I was reminded of the emperor/shepherd’s boy parable the Doctor told us (slowly, very slowly) in “Heaven Sent”: And when the entire mountain is chiseled away, the first second of eternity will have passed. It’s as if they eking out an eternity within Clara’s last few seconds before facing the raven. I thought surely she would pay Danny Pink a visit, thus solving the Orson Pink riddle. Lots of dangling threads still left to tie up.
And where was Missy? All episode long I was expecting her to turn up, but no. Maybe the Christmas special?
5 December 2015 at 02:09 #48657…, then she might plausibly be part TL in some sense (River Song certainly seemed to be following exposure to the time vortex in utero).
For a while now, and for this reason, I’ve been thinking the hybrid is River Song. Of course, all my other theories have amounted to zilch, so this one probably will, too.
3 December 2015 at 15:20 #48580Question 1. In his last conversation with Clara when he realises what it will take to get out, he mentions that he remembers it all – or words to that effect. Does he mean he remembers every life he has spent in the dial, or he remembers every Claricle? I still cannot make out what he is saying.
I think it is as @puroandson has explained so eloquently in her post 48564 about memory. I think the Doctor is saying he remembers everything. Unlike Ashildr/Me, who has an infinite lifespan but finite memory, the Doctor has the capacity to remember it all … including Clara’s death. He will always remember her death, and no matter what happens in his life (regenerations, etc.), she will always be gone. I consider that a metaphor for all the companions, and Gallifreyans, he has lost. He is always the one left behind. So what is there to give him hope? That’s when mind-Clara saves the Doctor yet again by reminding him that loss is a universal experience; his is just far longer than that of humans. But his losses are no greater than those anyone else suffers. That’s enough to get the Doctor on his feet again and keep pushing through.
@ichabod I think you’re having the same trouble I was with the coat color. In different lighting, it appears to be a different color. My confusion was when he entered the bedroom in his wet clothing. The coat appeared darker, but in reality I think it’s the same burgundy coat. I think he’s also wearing the same coat when he steps out into Gallifrey. It’s just that the lighting makes it appear darker. I could be wrong, of course!
3 December 2015 at 03:33 #48553To completely change the subject (this has absolutely nothing to do with bonkerizing): Did anyone else think Peter Capaldi looked younger in this episode than … well, practically any other Season 8 or 9 Doctor Who episode we’ve seen him in? I think it had to do with the golden glow of the lighting. Somehow his face just didn’t seem as pale or as lined. Odd, too, considering the time trap in which he found himself.
Also, this opening monologue (which we briefly saw on the wall of the castle) just floored me with its depth:
“As you come into this world,
something else is also born.
You begin your life
and it begins a journey.
Towards you.
It moves slowly, but it never stops.
Wherever you go, whatever path you take, it will follow.
Never faster, never slower, always coming.
You will run. It will walk.
You will rest. It will not.
One day, you will linger in the same place too long.
You will sit too still or sleep too deep and when, too late, you rise to go, you will notice a second shadow next to yours.
Your life will then be over.”
2 December 2015 at 20:01 #48534@morpho
does anyone have any insight into how and why the word HOME appearing briefly in the azbantium wall?
@geoffers made an excellent observation about that earlier in this thread; initially the Doctor thinks it means his TARDIS, but once he’s through he realizes it points to Gallifrey:
when the doctor reaches the wall (and the word “home” is there, then disappears) for the first time (our viewpoint), he clearly thinks that it’s the TARDIS waiting for him on the other side. his “home… away from home,” so to speak. he doesn’t realize he’s broken through to gallifrey until he’s on the other side. he looks around, sees the city, and then the boy runs up behind him…
1 December 2015 at 21:40 #48463when the doctor reaches the wall (and the word “home” is there, then disappears) for the first time (our viewpoint), he clearly thinks that it’s the TARDIS waiting for him on the other side. his “home… away from home,” so to speak. he doesn’t realize he’s broken through to gallifrey until he’s on the other side. he looks around, sees the city, and then the boy runs up behind him…
I agree with your take on this. I hadn’t quite put that together, so thank you.
@puroandson
Where are you on the ‘me’ question? Is Me the hybrid or is it the Doctor after all?
Where am I? I’m lost, I tell you! Lost! Seriously, I’m waiting for brighter minds than mine to work that out. No matter what, I guess we will find out on Saturday.
1 December 2015 at 19:55 #48453I watched “Heaven Sent” a third time last night. In Canada I watch via the Space channel, which means there are commercials. I think this episode suffers from commercial interruptions even more than most, mainly because the music is so extraordinary (none of the usual Doctor Who rousing themes, but some truly beautiful and inventive subtext) and segues seamlessly from one scene to the next. Commercial interruptions, ridiculous advertising banners across the bottom of the screen, all jar the viewer out of this marvelous emotional flow. I know Space has bills to pay, but still. I can’t wait till this one comes to Netflix!
I felt this the first time I watched it, and last night’s viewing confirmed it for me: “Heaven Sent” is, for me, when Capaldi truly became the Doctor. As much as I have enjoyed Capaldi’s performances these past two seasons, I have also felt he (and perhaps Moffat, as well) has been finding his way toward who his Doctor really is. “Heaven Sent” is such a tour de force performance, but the thing is, here I never felt he was performing. Capaldi wasn’t just embracing the Doctor; he was embodying him. Bravo!
1 December 2015 at 19:55 #48452Oops, I thought I was posting in the episode thread. Silly me! I will repost the non-memory portion of my post there. And yes, @mudlark, the commercials are just sort of shoehorned in there at odd spots. In Canada I watch via the Space channel, and yes, I know they have bills to pay. But it’s so bizarre to watch these spliced and diced versions of Doctor Who!
1 December 2015 at 14:46 #48426@lisa @bendubz11 @puroandson @ichabod Re: memory (or lacktherof), I too wish I had a good memory, but I never have … and of course this is not improving with age. Often the memories are there, but it seems to be my retrieval system that’s at fault. I wander around the filing cabinets in my brain, pulling at drawers till I find the right one. School was a chore because even rote learning was difficult for me.
Names of people and places; I have great difficulty retaining them. Yet here’s something odd: I have superb facial recognition, including age regression/progression. My husband is astonished at my ability to recognize actors in their pre- or post-fame period, either as children or as older adults. Even though they may look and sound quite different, somehow I am still able to recognize them.
Back to “Heaven Sent”: I watched it a third time last night. I think this episode suffers from commercial interruptions even more than most, mainly because the music is so extraordinary (none of the usual Doctor Who rousing themes, but some truly beautiful and inventive subtext) and segues seamlessly from one scene to the next. Commercial interruptions, ridiculous advertising banners across the bottom of the screen, all jar the viewer out of this marvelous emotional flow. I know channels have bills to pay, but still. I can’t wait till this one comes to Netflix!
I felt this the first time I watched it, and last night’s viewing confirmed it for me: “Heaven Sent” is, for me, when Capaldi truly became the Doctor. As much as I have enjoyed Capaldi’s performances these past two seasons, I have also felt he (and perhaps Moffat, as well) has been finding his way toward who his Doctor really is. “Heaven Sent” is such a tour de force performance, but the thing is, here I never felt he was performing. Capaldi wasn’t just embracing the Doctor; he was embodying him. Bravo!
30 November 2015 at 01:11 #48265@puroandson
As a child we learned with handkerchiefs first and yet most people don’t use them anymore? Do you?
I can remember my father teaching me how to iron using his handkerchiefs. My mother wouldn’t get within 10 feet of an ironing board. She felt permanent press saved her from all of that. And, of course, facial tissues made handkerchiefs obsolete, by her way of thinking. Maybe bandannas or cloth napkins could substitute?
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