@pnwfan

If you watch from the start of the series (The Pilot), then you’ll know who the bald guy is (Nardole- he did appear previously in the last two Xmas specials) and why the Doctor is staying on Earth. I don’t want to say more for reasons of spoilers. You’re posting on an month-old episode. More is known at the currently aired point in the series.

@blenkinsopthebrave Babylon 5 is another good example to raise. It did maintain a multi-series arc pretty well, but again I think the less arc-heavy stories were often the best ones, and where there were a series of consecutive arc stories, that was where things trailed off a bit- that might have been due in part to JMS having too much on his…[Read more]

@bluesqueakpip

you should probably try the OED definition, which has ‘complete trust or confidence’ as the first definition

I have a problem with a “complete trust of confidence” definition as applied to science. If a scientist says that have faith in the process of science, the meaning would typically be something along the lines of meaning tha…[Read more]

@missrori

One idea being floated is one giant storyline running through a season, ala Broadchurch. Who thinks that might work?

If that means a story arc across a season, but not involving every episode in the season- yes. I don’t think many would argue against that- it’s pretty much an expectation really. If it’s one long story across the who…[Read more]

@bluesqueakpip
I’ll just note that I’ve seen this and I appreciate where you’re coming from here, and although I’d be happy to discuss further, I’d prefer to avoid an extended off-topic philosophical discussion on an episode thread. The point I was attempting to make was about deliberately using the word “faith” to refer to science, which I p…[Read more]

I liked this episode, fairly light-weight though it might have been.

The best line for me: “Don’t belong? We’re British! [indignantly]”

I wasn’t quite sure why Bill in particular was blank-faced upon being told the Ice Warrior had been dubbed “Friday”. It wasn’t clear whether that was amazement at the colonial assumption of automatic…[Read more]

In retrospect, I probably shouldn’t have followed my call for bathroom facilities in the vault, with @wolfweed‘s “Ta for the wipe!”. Not an intention juxtaposition 🙂

@missrori

All that’s certain is that the execution that wasn’t was “A long time ago” — at least from the Doctor’s perspective.

Unfortunately “A long time ago” doesn’t mean a lot for a time traveller. It seems to have been at least 70 years, which by itself would be a long time for Missy to be in solitary confinement- not the best way to foste…[Read more]

I’ve seen some comments on this thread suggesting that it might have been nearly 1000 years since Missy went into the vault. Is there anything to support that?

I wouldn’t have though that the Doctor or Missy would last that long on one regeneration- Matt Smith’s Doctor was decidedly worse for wear after a few hundred years, and probably would…[Read more]

@missy

Perhaps he didn’t use his regenerative powers to cure his blindness, because he didn’t think it important enough to waste them?

He was stuck on the wrong side of the door for long enough to use them in the previous episode- at a crisis point. And the (sim-)Doctor was prepared to use an experimental machine to temporarily restore his sig…[Read more]

@blenkinsopthebrave

And that is why I feel rather uneasy about the Doctor manipulating Bill into shooting him and and then the Doctor laugh about it back at Bill. That just didn’t seem right. At all.

I wonder whether the Doctor’s feigned regen might have been intended in part to soften this a little for the audience, in order to show that he w…[Read more]

@nick

Practical joke ? The Doctor made it into one, but I’m not convinced that was what actually happened.

In practical terms, I think the joke was more one by the writer and targeted at the audience, not really the Doctor pranking Bill- that’s certainly how it felt to me. That may be why it feels “off” as an in-universe event.

A couple of other points I didn’t noticed being raised yet:
* Again the Doctor’s plan consisted largely of taking the pyramid by force, which isn’t a particularly inspired solution, and force has been an increasing tactic of late. If the Monks had simply closed the door, it’s not clear there was a backup plan- pile into the Tardis, I suppo…[Read more]

@missy FWIW I thought this was probably the best of the 3 parts, but of course make up your own mind- I know some thought it the weakest. You can of course watch on iView (link earlier in this thread) if you want to watch on Sunday morning in Oz and not be stranded in spoiler purgatory.

@serahni The method of breaking the link that was considered was the “Missy method”- expedient and without concern for the person embodying the link. I can see why you would think a broader set of tools, other than Missy’s blunt instrument, might have been considered.

@serahni From memory, I think the Doctor does explain that simply breaking the link isn’t ideal, since it will take time for the Monks influence to fade away. I would have thought they might also be in a position to establish a new link- they’d surely then be a in a better position to find someone who feels trust/dependence/love for them than they…[Read more]

@serahni

I’m not sure but if anyone is in need of a site that doesn’t require login and, thus, might allow sneaky access, our Australian broadcasts are online. http://iview.abc.net.au/

This will be geoblocked also methinks- though won’t require a login.

I’m not entirely certain where the TARDIS was for those 6 months

With Nardole it would seem,…[Read more]

I wasn’t a fan at all of the previous episode, and while this wasn’t one of the greatest episodes of all time, there was more to enjoy here and fewer niggles, at least for me, so I enjoyed this more.

My favourite line: “Your future is taken care of”. On the surface it’s reassuring, but also very literal in that it also means that any…[Read more]

@pedant

A “spoiler-free review” is a chimera. It cannot be.

As long as it’s opinion unsupported by facts, then I suppose it could exist. It would be of little interest though. It would be like looking at a Rotten Tomatoes score and nothing else. I don’t see the point of getting others’ opinions on something I’m definitely going to see (and only a…[Read more]

@countscarlioni

the Doctor requesting a coordinated military attack on the pyramid. It’s both un-Doctor-y and, the Doctor must know, doomed to failure, given the alien tech he’s already seen the Monks deploy. Like Bill and Nardole, I’d like to know what that was about!

I don’t think the Doctor was very invested in the attack- it wasn’t his i…[Read more]