Doctor Who Thread III: Reverse the Polarity of the Neutron Flow

[Eldan]

Now I want to see Strax in a dress.

Couldn't the Doctor just ditch those humans and go adventuring with the alien trio?

[Pink]

Couldn't the Doctor just ditch those humans and go adventuring with the alien trio?

This. I'd love to see those three as regular companions (certainly looking forward to their spotlight episode). Strax is brilliant alien mindset and comic relief.

[Dienekes]

Huh, didn't Snowmen heavily imply that Strax did die and they used that device that brings the mostly dead back to life on him? Also, last of her kind? Wasn't there an entire battalion of the Silurans at demon's Run?

Ehh, whatever in truth I don't care. MORE STRAX!!!

[Eldan]

Doesn't really contradict this. He is convinced that he was dead, and I don't assume his species is in the habit of just fainting for two days in battle. They might be lying to him.

[Thufir]

Nightmare in Silver (changed title for Neil Gaiman episode).
Set on alien planet. Scariest thing Neil has done.

I'm skeptical. Neil Gaiman has done a great many scary things.

My Guess: Titles still being hidden at this stage has happened once before. Season 4 episode 12's title was hidden for being too spoilerific (Stolen Earth). This title is probably the same. Thus, I posit it is "fields of trenzalore" or some deviation. I also posit trenzalore is somewhere in rural england, which will be seen in Crimson Horror.

Thoughts?

Fields of Trenzalore wouldn't really be spoilerific since we've already heard about them. If the title is a spoiler, I'd say it must be of or related to something we're going to encounter in the coming episodes.

Now I want to see Strax in a dress.

Couldn't the Doctor just ditch those humans and go adventuring with the alien trio?

Jenny's not an alien.
But yes, I would be for that as an idea. At least for a little while.

Huh, didn't Snowmen heavily imply that Strax did die and they used that device that brings the mostly dead back to life on him?

What device?

Also, last of her kind? Wasn't there an entire battalion of the Silurians at Demons Run?

Last of her kind in her own time period may be what she means, though it's still misleading because the rest of her race is still alive in that period, just sleeping.

[CelestialStick]

As a fellow 'old school' watcher this to occured to me and I did like it when romance was introduced. Note however the 'did', I'm going with the 'has been done, give it a rest and try something different' approach

On the alien companion thing I'd just point out that both Lela and Romana were alien and came off as so without it becoming something that had to be mentioned every 10 seconds ( I remember particularly liking Lela worshiping the tardis).

Since I haven't had any romance in this century, I don't mind seeing in regularly in whatever century the Doctor is operating in. Maybe he could take me back to the 20th century where I had quite a bit of it.

I definitely think that Lela and Romana (especially Romana I) are the best example of aliens done right as companions. Doesn't hurt that they are my two favorite companions by far. I personally loved Lela's penchant for trying to stab everything that moves. Sadly she grew out of that rather quickly.

Someone pointed out earlier that Leela really isn't an alien, but I did like both her and Romana. Indeed I named my first cat (a calico--black, white and orange) after Romana. I nearly named my second cat after Leela, but ended up naming her Lyta after B5's Lyta Alexander instead. I guess it's something about me and red-headed women.

Someone else mentioned Turlough, who came from Trion. The natives of Trion appeared no different than humans, as did some natives of other planets. It's not clear if they're all descended from humans who were taken from Earth, or if it's a case of multiple convergent evolution. In Star Trek, which used humans for aliens in most cases too (for the same real-world reasons), they eventually hit upon the idea of the Preservers, who seeded humanoids throughout the galaxy. In Star Trek: TNG, they discovered race that apparently was the ancestor of humans, Cardassians, Vulcans/Romulans and Klingons--or at least that these ancient humanoids seeded the four planets with their own DNA engineered to evolve into humanoids. I don't recall anything suggesting a similar phenomenon in the Doctor Who universe, but it would explain a lot. Since Time Lords themselves appear completely human on the surface, perhaps the early Time Lords seeded planets across space with similar life forms, or at least with DNA that could evolve into similar life forms.

[Thufir]

Now that I have my own copy of the Radio Times, I have to say, I'm getting pretty excited. From the descriptions, the first three episodes sound like they're going to be good and impressive. Hide, no real details, Crimson Horror all it mentions is that it's mostly focused on Vastra, Jenny and Strax, the as yet unnamed finale it doesn't really say anything.
The two episodes I haven't mentioned yet it also doesn't say a lot, but it doesn't have to. The concept of one and the writer of the other guarantee my very great frustration that Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS and Nightmare in Silver are the two episodes I will absolutely definitely not be able to see as they're broadcast, because I'm performing in shows both those saturdays.

But yeah, it all looks good. Good pictures and article stuff, getting me hyped up tolerably well.

[CurlyKitGirl]

Now that I have my own copy of the Radio Times, I have to say, I'm getting pretty excited. From the descriptions, the first three episodes sound like they're going to be good and impressive. Hide, no real details, Crimson Horror all it mentions is that it's mostly focused on Vastra, Jenny and Strax, the as yet unnamed finale it doesn't really say anything.

Do you really need any more details? After all, haven't people been begging for a Madame Vastra and Jenny spin-off since they first appeared? And hasn't Strax equally proved himself to be amazing.
(And yes, I saw that mini-sode about Strax. Died. Do you think he was upset that he couldn't wear a dress after all?)

The two episodes I haven't mentioned yet it also doesn't say a lot, but it doesn't have to. The concept of one and the writer of the other guarantee my very great frustration that Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS and Nightmare in Silver are the two episodes I will absolutely definitely not be able to see as they're broadcast, because I'm performing in shows both those saturdays.

But yeah, it all looks good. Good pictures and article stuff, getting me hyped up tolerably well.

Well, we're probably not going to be seeing the episode on Saturday now either are we? And you do have BBCiPlayer.

Priez-vous attention s'ils vous plait!:
Due to Curly attending a UK mini-meetup from Friday until Monday I have no idea when - or if - I can do a first-view liveblog. There will be a review. But I don't know what type or when.

[Thufir]

Do you really need any more details?

Not really. I meant to say something to that effect, but apparently I forgot to do so.

Well, we're probably not going to be seeing the episode on Saturday now either are we? And you do have BBCiPlayer.

Probably not, but it's still possible.
And yes, but those two episodes being as interesting to me as they are, they are the two I really would prefer not to have to wait for any longer than I have to, and to get in first on expressing my opinions.

Priez-vous attention s'ils vous plait!:
Due to Curly attending a UK mini-meetup from Friday until Monday I have no idea when - or if - I can do a first-view liveblog. There will be a review. But I don't know what type or when.

If the others are up for it we could try to get everyone in some chat program or other and do a joint liveblog maybe?
Though actually I have no idea how well I'd take to liveblogging.

[Sunken Valley]

Now that I have my own copy of the Radio Times, I have to say, I'm getting pretty excited. From the descriptions, the first three episodes sound like they're going to be good and impressive. Hide, no real details, Crimson Horror all it mentions is that it's mostly focused on Vastra, Jenny and Strax.

Dame Diane Rigg's character has a name! It says that! Name's Mrs Gillyflower.

For everyone else, on further inspection, Celia Imrie appears to be the human dragon running the Spoonheads wi-fi operation in "Bells of St John". And in the "Rings..." episode, two of the monsters are called the Vigil and the Mummy.

Now for a new feature for my review thing...Advance Scores! I score every episode out of 10 (although my scores do fluctuate). I'm going to try and guess what scores I'll give every episode, in advance, with justification. Hidden in spoiler box.

Spoiler

Show

Bells of St John: 8/10. Due to a mild deus ex machina ending and thinly veiled sexist stereotypes. Whilst the wi-fi monster is an awesome idea, I feel the excecution wasn't good enough. More "bubble shock", not "don't blink".

Rings of Bob (points for reference): 8/10. This episode is a solid one and an a-ok standalone but that's about it. The plot is all-over the place but not in an excessively annoying way. Certainly the Vigil suffer, a very poorly used monster which could work.

Cold War: 7/10. I liked the twist at the end, but it was wasted here. The characters felt poorly used, with no real personality, which is what you really need for an under siege story. Why do I care about these people? The Ice Warriors fail once again to be threatening and seem rather in the background to the boring humans in centre. Nice try but no.

Hide: 9/10. Brilliant! Everything about this episode is very atmospheric and the location looks nice. Jessica Raine was very good. Although I do feel the monster not being evil is getting worn out, especially as you've done it mutiple times this half-season.

Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS: 6/10. A wasted opportunity. We get all these new TARDIS rooms? Turn some damn lights on! This episode is far too dark in tone as well. We want to see TARDIS not your pointless talk. Move now before they get you! The continuity errors make it seem like a first draft. And too many unresolved questions.

Crimson Horror: 9/10. Hillarious, especially from Diane Rigg (surprise). Although I do think the shtick is getting a bit stale, especially from Strax. The trio work better as one off's. I mean Strax was well developed in Good Man. Now he's flanderised. Not again please.

Nightmare in Silver: 10/10. Entire Review consists of the words "Neil Gaiman is best Who writer". Although bit of crit for the end, an out of place build up for the finale.

His True Name (my new finale guess, with advice from Thufir): 5/10. These finale's get worse and worse don't they? The stakes and the resolution were stupid. Shut up River, don't infect Clara with your words. Don't like the Vastra and Jenny development. Whispermen were silly. And I don't like the idea that's his true name. Bit cheap? Ian MacKellan was good, but not enough.

There we go.

[LokeyITP]

You're about 15 points high, forgot the misogyny.

[CoffeeIncluded]

Do you guys know if BBC has an online stream of the episode?

[Androgeus]

Do you guys know if BBC has an online stream of the episode?

For the UK, yes (here). For America, I'm don't think BBCA has any form of streaming service.

Actually you could also try myiplayer.eu, don't know how good it is mind.

[Friv]

Dame Diane Rigg's character has a name! It says that! Name's Mrs Gillyflower.

For everyone else, on further inspection, Celia Imrie appears to be the human dragon running the Spoonheads wi-fi operation in "Bells of St John". And in the "Rings..." episode, two of the monsters are called the Vigil and the Mummy.

Now for a new feature for my review thing...Advance Scores! I score every episode out of 10 (although my scores do fluctuate). I'm going to try and guess what scores I'll give every episode, in advance, with justification. Hidden in spoiler box.

Spoiler

Show

Bells of St John: 8/10. Due to a mild deus ex machina ending and thinly veiled sexist stereotypes. Whilst the wi-fi monster is an awesome idea, I feel the excecution wasn't good enough. More "bubble shock", not "don't blink".

Rings of Bob (points for reference): 8/10. This episode is a solid one and an a-ok standalone but that's about it. The plot is all-over the place but not in an excessively annoying way. Certainly the Vigil suffer, a very poorly used monster which could work.

Cold War: 7/10. I liked the twist at the end, but it was wasted here. The characters felt poorly used, with no real personality, which is what you really need for an under siege story. Why do I care about these people? The Ice Warriors fail once again to be threatening and seem rather in the background to the boring humans in centre. Nice try but no.

Hide: 9/10. Brilliant! Everything about this episode is very atmospheric and the location looks nice. Jessica Raine was very good. Although I do feel the monster not being evil is getting worn out, especially as you've done it mutiple times this half-season.

Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS: 6/10. A wasted opportunity. We get all these new TARDIS rooms? Turn some damn lights on! This episode is far too dark in tone as well. We want to see TARDIS not your pointless talk. Move now before they get you! The continuity errors make it seem like a first draft. And too many unresolved questions.

Crimson Horror: 9/10. Hillarious, especially from Diane Rigg (surprise). Although I do think the shtick is getting a bit stale, especially from Strax. The trio work better as one off's. I mean Strax was well developed in Good Man. Now he's flanderised. Not again please.

Nightmare in Silver: 10/10. Entire Review consists of the words "Neil Gaiman is best Who writer". Although bit of crit for the end, an out of place build up for the finale.

His True Name (my new finale guess, with advice from Thufir): 5/10. These finale's get worse and worse don't they? The stakes and the resolution were stupid. Shut up River, don't infect Clara with your words. Don't like the Vastra and Jenny development. Whispermen were silly. And I don't like the idea that's his true name. Bit cheap? Ian MacKellan was good, but not enough.

There we go.

Bravo!

I look forward to seeing if your predictions come true.

[Sunken Valley]

Doctor Who Approacheth! 6:15.

I will warn you that my review will be later today. The crowds will mostly be beating me to it for review. Hope you enjoy it. Sorry to disappoint the three of you who read them.

[Androgeus]

You know what we should talk about with new Who on today? 50th anniversary news.

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Tennant and Piper apparently confirmed for the 50th special.

[Weezer]

You know what we should talk about with new Who on today? 50th anniversary news.

Spoiler

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Tennant and Piper apparently confirmed for the 50th special.

I have one word in response:

]

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Ugh

[Dienekes]

I am split.

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On one hand watching 10 and 11 try to out geek each other could actually be hilarious. On the other hand. Rose.

Also, I'm always amused when people bring up the amazing John Hurt they always bring up Alien. He did nothing in Alien, he was unconscious half the time and then was the first guy to die. Why don't we bring up his Caligula, Richard Rich, or Elephant Man?

[Mauve Shirt]

You know what we should talk about with new Who on today? 50th anniversary news.

Spoiler

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Tennant and Piper apparently confirmed for the 50th special.

Spoiler

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Must they? Can they please please please not?

[Kato]

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Oh, come on. I don't particularly like Rose either but for an episode I can stand her. It's not like Piper is terrible as an actress. We'll have to see.
Though, of course, Ten is rather easy to incorporate into the story. If we open the dimension door or whatever again. Unless it's another Ten/Rose.

[Mauve Shirt]

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The 10nant from the alternate dimension wouldn't be The Doctor though. He'd be plain human. So if they want to double, triple, septuple the dosage of Doctor they'll have to have it be a Time Travel incident of some sort.
Can Eccleston come back too please?

[Reverent-One]

You know what we should talk about with new Who on today? 50th anniversary news.

Spoiler

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Tennant and Piper apparently confirmed for the 50th special.

Spoiler

Show

Unlike others, I have no problems with this news. Well, except if their including Human!10 from the alt universe rather than the proper 10. Even then, Tennant is Tennant, so I'll take it.

[dehro]

I don't get the hate these two are targeted with. I still think he's the best doctor of nu-who (which to me means the show in general what with not having been all that taken with old-who rerun episodes when I could see them.)
as for her.. again, I understand some of the criticism, some I even share..but I still like her better than a few other companions.

on another topic.. does anybody know where to get a live streaming of the show? keep in mind I'n not in an english speaking part of the world..so..Iplayer doesn't do it for me.

[Mauve Shirt]

The anti-Tennants are overwhelmed by the Tennant fandom and feel constantly under attack and defensive. Thus a hatedom is born.

[Kato]

The anti-Tennants are overwhelmed by the Tennant fandom and feel constantly under attack and defensive. Thus a hatedom is born.

It's such a tragedy when people hate each other for so stupid reasons...

But as a person who really has nothing against Tenant or Ten (just a few things RTD did to him at certain points in the plot) I think people who actively dislike Tennant/Ten are pretty rare. The hate stems much more from obsessive Ten fans who dislike Eleven and wish the Doctor had never regenerated and people who like Smith feel they need to retaliate. That's why there is most of the arguing. (At least that's my impression)

[Friv]

With only a few hours left on the countdown, it is time for me to fulfill my promise, and put up another post that will be instantly lost in a wave of Tennant/anti-Tennant Davies/Moffat infighting. Yes, let us go back to the halcyon days, when the battles were over whether Troughton or Pertwee was the best doctor, whether Jamie could take the Brigadier in a fight, and what thrilling new monsters coming down the pipeline would become fan favorites for generations to come.

It is time for the thrilling conclusion to...

The Silurians!

My previous reviews:

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Spearhead From Space:
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four

The Silurians:
Part One
Parts Two And Three
Part Four
Parts Five And Six

Previously on Friv Reviews Doctor Who: Chris Chibnall was a hack.

Moving on.

Spoiler

Show

Final Episode!

Okay, seriously though, there's a deadly plague ravaging the Earth, spread by angry usurping Silurians, and the Doctor has been kidnapped just as he was about to write down the cure he developed. Can the world be saved? Can peace between humans and silurians be salvaged? Will the Doctor be grumpy?

Have I mentioned how much I like what sounds like computerized clown horns that they use to denote danger? It's very Homestuck. By which I mean kind of silly, but also a little intimidating I guess?

Anyway, the Doctor gets psychic'd into unconsciousness, and we cut to the Brig wondering where he is, then back to the Silurians dragging the Doctor away. A UNIT man sees them and yells for help, and then is promptly killed by psychic. The Silurians close the wall behind them and run.

The Brig and Liz are manning the phones, and are increasingly worried. Back downstairs, another UNIT man finds the dead UNIT man, investigates a bit. More back and forth with the Brig and Liz – Liz finally goes down to the lab to see what's up, and discovers that the Doctor has been taken. She goes back to the Brig, just as the UNIT crew report that there's been an attack. The Brig runs off, leaving Liz to try and decipher the formula alone – which she promptly does.

At the Silurian base, Usurper is trying to interrogate the Doctor, and gloats about being in charge. Meanwhile, the Brig is preparing an all-out assault on the caves, since the Silurians are doing the same. The antidote is under production. Back at the Silurian base, the silurians are planning to destroy Earth's atmosphere, forcing the Doctor to turn the nuclear base on. This is a brilliant plan that can't end badly.

We seem to be back in quick-cut city. The Brig has sent all of his available men into the caves, and just lost communications with them – he realizes that the Silurians are probably going to attack the research lab. The Silurians, meanwhile, are planning to revive all of their people once the power comes on, while Usurper takes the Doctor to get the power.

At the lab, it's Home Alone with the Brig and Liz, alone with the Doctor and a squad of Silurians. And also one hidden soldier, who attacks and is knocked out. The Doctor convinces them to leave everyone alive for the moment, and agrees to go to the generator. I'm sure nothing bad will happen.

The generator room is filled with scientists, and the Silurians kill a couple of them for literally no reason at all. The Doctor stops them from murdering everyone and appears to be working with them, which is definitely what's actually going on. They have him destroying the Van Allen belt, which I don't think does what they think it does. They apparently believe that destroying the Van Allen belt will heat up the world, killing the human race and allowing the Silurians to roam the Earth freely. But whatever, I don't come to Doctor Who for science.

The Silurians begin reviving their people, but there's not enough power. The Doctor asks for Liz's help, and tells her to throw all of the power rods in at once when he gives the order. She's a little dubious, but trusts him. We start the very, very, very gradual process of powering up the nuclear reactor – in real time. Now, they decide to be more scientifically accurate. And then Liz dumps all of the power rods in at once and blows the reactor, destroying the device that would ruin the Earth and setting up a massive chain reaction. The Doctor and the Brig explain that the entire area will be irradiated, killing everyone. The Silurians decide to retreat to their hibernation chambers, locking the humans in the lab to die of radiation poisoning.

After the Silurians leave, the Doctor admits that he exaggerated the danger, but there's still probably going to be a meltdown. But the lift is jammed! Everyone is trapped.

The Silurians set themselves to be revived in fifty years. Usurper does his literal only good deed ever, volunteering to stay behind and die to get everyone else into hibernation. He leaves Scientist in charge of all future human-murdering activities.

At the lab, the Doctor is trying to shut down the power overload, with no luck. Then he decides to “fuse the control of the neutron flow”, which isn't reversing the polarity at all so I'm very disappointed when it works. With everything under control, he goes down to the Silurian base to make sure that they're all asleep. The Usurper is there, and the Brig shoots him before he can kill the Doctor. Problem solved.

The Doctor intends to revive the Silurians one at a time; the Brig is shocked at the idea. But they are a sentient species, and the Doctor thinks that they can be reasoned with one-on-one, and that they have a wealth of scientific knowledge that can benefit humanity. Pan to a close up of unhappy Brig.
The Doctor leaves to get some equipment and scientists, and tells the Brig not to let anyone into the base. As soon as he leaves, the Brig says that he intends to seal the Silurian base permanently, and gets explosive charges set up.

Down at the Silurian base, Usurper is somehow still alive. He tries to wake up more Silurians.

The Doctor is having some engine problems, which leaves him and Liz on the road while he tries to fix Bessie. This, unfortunately, leaves him still on site when a series of explosions go off, killing Usurper and destroying the Silurian base. The Doctor realizes what's happened, and is furious with the Brigadier for committing murder, something that the Doctor would never do one serial earlier.

And... uh... that's it.

The Doctor drives off while explosions go off in the background, and the serial is over. Silurians dead.



My thoughts: Well, that was the Silurians.

Given how viciously they repeatedly attempted to genocide humanity, the Doctor's stubborn insistence that these aliens are totally trustworthy and safe compared to his frequently overwhelming desire to murder every other species that comes to Eath is more than a little jarring. Still, it is a very interesting story – the idea of whether humans are as bad as the aliens, human idiocy being responsible for half of the disasters and silurian idiocy being responsible for the other half, and so on.

Pacing was, as usual, kind of slow, and it's surprisingly hard to do quick liveblogging while there are scene cut taking place all the damn time, but that's the breaks.

Best Moment: The Doctor's grim understanding that the Brig did something bad.

Worst Moment: Still the plodding pacing, really.


Next Time: The Doctor meets a lovely young lady, who he has met before, but who is living a totally new life and has never met him. And will probably die.

Yes, I will be reviewing Inferno.


What? Bells of St. What? No, never heard of it.

[Dienekes]

I'm of the opinion, Tennant is awesome. 10, was pretty good but had some personality traits and taste in companions I find highly disagreeable and downright annoying when they kept popping up.

[comicshorse]

With only a few hours left on the countdown, it is time for me to fulfill my promise, and put up another post that will be instantly lost in a wave of Tennant/anti-Tennant Davies/Moffat infighting. Yes, let us go back to the halcyon days, when the battles were over whether Troughton or Pertwee was the best doctor, whether Jamie could take the Brigadier in a fight, and what thrilling new monsters coming down the pipeline would become fan favorites for generations to come.

That's just ridiculous. The Brig. would clearly slaughter Jamie

[Eldan]

Rose might not be that bad when not written by Davies. Maybe? Moffat does different annoying things with his females.

[Mercenary Pen]

Well, ten minutes to go, and a box of Jelly Babies in hand, time to head through for the start of the episode.