Doctor Who Thread VI: "The Very Model of a Gallifreyan Buccaneer" [SPOILERS]

[BWR]

RE people fitting into Dalek casings: I could have sworn that Kaled mutant was larger in the old episode, but checking up on it, seems I was wrong about that. Probably mixing it up with what we saw in "Remembrance of the Daleks"

Spoiler: new episode

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I liked the first bit, even if I was 90% sure The Black Guy would be the first casualty, and Corporate ******** would be second. The Doctor showing up and doing his thing, seeming more together and serious was nice. Clara was annoying to begin with but hardly at all later. If it wasn't for that whole Impossible Girl crap and the previous seasons' Doctors obsessing over her because of it, I probably wouldn't care much either way for her except as eye-candy.
Then they had to ruin the impact with the Doctor Not Understanding Humans (despite obviously showing he gets it at other times) and his tangent about GHOSTS!!!!!111oneoneone
Still hate the shades.

I'm glad to see they are trying to spend more time on the stories. If each story in this season is a two-parter, we will hopefully avoid the breakneck pace lots of the nuWho stories have had. I have some hypotheses about what the 'ghosts' are but since I am pretty much invariably wrong when I tell people beforehand (not so wrong when I don't bother), I'll keep it to myself and either say "I was right" next time or complain about how stupid the actual explanation was.

[Kato]

Spoiler: Ghostbusters

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Eh, I actually enjoyed the latest episode except for one major thing: Do they need to drag out every episode into a two parter? I'm not sure what is coming next week but I'm gonne guess you could have made it one episode by cutting some stuff. We'll see.

Also: Not sure if killing the black guy before the intro was intentional... still not liking the shades. Cliffhanger was not a big surprise but oh well. And I'm pretty sure a massive metal structure is also a Farady cage, unless those metal tubes aren't... made of metal. btw, I didn't qute catch that bit about the magnetic locks during daytime. Would someone be so nice to repeat it for me?

[dehro]

yeah.. .I agree that it's most likely that

Spoiler: the Doctor

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is in the suspension chamber.

which is why I expect this not to be the case.

[turkishproverb]

Just gonna leave this here:Big Finish War Doctor Boxed Sets


and walking away....

[comicshorse]

Spoiler: Ghostbusters

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I didn't qute catch that bit about the magnetic locks during daytime. Would someone be so nice to repeat it for me?

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I think it was that during daytime to ensure safety the magnetic locks on the doors were automatically tested every few seconds

[Androgeus]

Just gonna leave this here:Big Finish War Doctor Boxed Sets


and walking away....

Big finish need to slow down, first Torchwood, then River, and now War Doctor. They going to run out of stuff to do. This isn't even mentioning the Tennant & Tate rumour.

[Aotrs Commander]

Bit late to the party, but...

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Starting out with two two-parters? Okay...

Pretty good, pretty good. The addition of the deaf commanding officer was a nice touch, I thought, because why not?

I snickered at the "cards" moment, and thus suspect a lot of you fine chaps and chappesses are probably spitting fumes over that...!

Not much else to say, really.

[Areswargod139]

Just gonna leave this here:Big Finish War Doctor Boxed Sets


and walking away....

SQUEEE!!!! Ahem, um, *cough*

*walks away*

[Quild]

It saddens me to think that I thought this episode to be the best since a while (since Capaldi actually) and was then to realize that it's not a very good one.

We have again an episode with a team facing some supernatural horrors in a closed area.

Still don't see any better episode in season 8 :/

[AGD]

Hello, I wanted to start with Doctor Who and I've now the first season finished. The one from the sixties. While it was pretty good at some times(The Daleks; The Aztecs), it was rather tiresome at many times and I understand, that the series will propably go much better with time. But I don't have the patience anymore to watch everything until I get to the good Stuff. Here are some Ideas, that I had, for watching only the "important" Parts.

-Looking at the character biographies from BBC and watching only the episodes, that are under "First Appearance", "Farewell Appearances" and "Key Stories" of the characters.
-Watching the best rated episodes from IMDB. Do I need much background information for things like "Genesis of the Daleks" or can these things work as Stand-Alone-Stories with only small continuity nods.
-Starting to watch with the fourth Doctor. His Era seems to be the most popular one.

[Androgeus]

It saddens me to think that I thought this episode to be the best since a while (since Capaldi actually) and was then to realize that it's not a very good one.

We have again an episode with a team facing some supernatural horrors in a closed area.

Still don't see any better episode in season 8 :/

Base under siege is Doctor Who's bread and butter.

[dariathalon]

Hello, I wanted to start with Doctor Who and I've now the first season finished. The one from the sixties. While it was pretty good at some times(The Daleks; The Aztecs), it was rather tiresome at many times and I understand, that the series will propably go much better with time. But I don't have the patience anymore to watch everything until I get to the good Stuff. Here are some Ideas, that I had, for watching only the "important" Parts.

-Looking at the character biographies from BBC and watching only the episodes, that are under "First Appearance", "Farewell Appearances" and "Key Stories" of the characters.
-Watching the best rated episodes from IMDB. Do I need much background information for things like "Genesis of the Daleks" or can these things work as Stand-Alone-Stories with only small continuity nods.
-Starting to watch with the fourth Doctor. His Era seems to be the most popular one.

I'd recommend a mix of your first and second options. I'd make sure to watch the first and last appearances of each doctor (not to say they're all particularly stellar episodes, but mostly for some semblance of completeness) and at least a few in between that are highly rated or recommended as important. The "in between" episodes are probably the most important, since it takes each new actor awhile to find his way in the role. If you're looking at the same page I just found for character bios, you're missing a lot of them since it leaves off sometime during Doctor 3's run and not pick up again until the new era.

Each story is mostly self-contained so you don't need to worry too much about continuity concerns in the older series. There are some things that you'd miss, I'm sure, but if you aren't willing to put in the time to watch it all, I think it should be a tolerable amount. The new era has a continuing story arc across each individual season, so when you get up to that point you might want to take that into consideration.

I would not recommend going straight to Tom Baker. For many people, he is the best doctor, but certainly not for everyone. It is definitely worth giving each one a try. While every doctor is at heart the same man, they have some pretty big personality differences. For example, #3 and #10 are my favorites while my gf is partial to #7. There is something to like about each of them though, and jumping to Tom Baker is doing yourself a disservice, in my opinion. He may not work for you (especially coming off of Hartnell's doctor) while others might be more to your liking.

[dehro]

It saddens me to think that I thought this episode to be the best since a while (since Capaldi actually) and was then to realize that it's not a very good one.

We have again an episode with a team facing some supernatural horrors in a closed area.

Still don't see any better episode in season 8 :/

I'm confused... That's what half the episodes of Doctor Who are about... It's like complaining that "they're picking the ball up with their hands again" when you're watching a rugby match

[BWR]

Hello, I wanted to start with Doctor Who and I've now the first season finished. The one from the sixties. While it was pretty good at some times(The Daleks; The Aztecs), it was rather tiresome at many times and I understand, that the series will propably go much better with time. But I don't have the patience anymore to watch everything until I get to the good Stuff. Here are some Ideas, that I had, for watching only the "important" Parts.

-Looking at the character biographies from BBC and watching only the episodes, that are under "First Appearance", "Farewell Appearances" and "Key Stories" of the characters.
-Watching the best rated episodes from IMDB. Do I need much background information for things like "Genesis of the Daleks" or can these things work as Stand-Alone-Stories with only small continuity nods.
-Starting to watch with the fourth Doctor. His Era seems to be the most popular one.

These points have been covered pretty well. You might also want to make sure to see at least one episode with every companion. I will say that Davison/Five's period was generally weak in my mind, a combination of a less interesting Doctor, boring or bad companions and occasionally weak writing. Colin Baker/Six I really wish he had been given some more stories to show what he was capable of (and a less terrible wardrobe wouldn't have hurt). His stories are generally good, though nothing really stand-out. Seven/McCoy and his stories are kind of weak while he still has Bonnie as his companion but both become all kinds of awesome once he picks up Ace (who is awesome in her own right). That period is probably the most concentrated good-storyness of any DW period. Eight/McGann had the misfortune of giving an excellent portrayal and real potential for a great Doctor but was sabotaged by that horrible movie and no one wanting to do DW anymore.

A short selection of personal favorites (only listing entirely surviving stories and making 'favorites' so to get at least one story from each Doctor) are:

The Sensorites
Tomb of the Cybermen
The Seeds of Death
The Dæmons
The Sea Devils (though you really should watch all the ones with Delgado's Master)
The Pyramids of Mars
Genesis of the Daleks
The Seeds of Doom
Image of the Fendahl
City of Death
Black Orchid (mostly for what it represented than anything else)
Attack of the Cybermen
The Mark of The Rani
Remembrance of the Daleks
Battlefield
The Curse of Fenric
(8)
The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances (the only truly excellent nuWho episodes I can think of)
School Reunion (entirely because of SJS and K9, and there isn't really a lot of competition)
The Rings of Akhaten (despite the resolution being bloody awful)

I really did try to cut it down to a brief selection but Four ended up getting more episodes than anyone else.

[comicshorse]

The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances (the only truly excellent nuWho episodes I can think of)
School Reunion (entirely because of SJS and K9, and there isn't really a lot of competition)
The Rings of Akhaten (despite the resolution being bloody awful)

No 'Blink' ?

Also from the early days I'd recommend 'The Horror of Fang Rock' (provided your ok with BBC special effects) and 'The Invasion of Time', 'The Masque of Manadagora' and maybe 'The Sontaran Experiment' ( Wow Tom Baker does come up a lot in these)

[BWR]

No 'Blink' ?

Blink got left out because The Doctor doesn't actually show up much in that episode. It's basically about Sally, not the Doctor. It's a very good episode but if a show is called "Doctor Who" he really should be more than a supporting character. Plus, I tried to keep the list pretty short.

Also from the early days I'd recommend 'The Horror of Fang Rock' (provided your ok with BBC special effects) and 'The Invasion of Time', 'The Masque of Manadagora' and maybe 'The Sontaran Experiment' ( Wow Tom Baker does come up a lot in these

He does, doesn't he? Those (and others) were on the list but cut because I really did try to keep the list very short.

[Kato]

The Rings of Akhaten (despite the resolution being bloody awful)

Why do people like hat episode? Admittedly, I haven't seen it since its original airing but that's because I really can't recall one good thing from it. Okay, that's too harsh but I still found it pretty bad.


Also, so BBC and Lego have agreed to now sell Doctor Who sets. And... they look pretty cool, but they're also kind of... expensive. Yay?

[Eldan]

Personally, I just like anything that has a lot of colourful creatures in an exotic location, especially if it's a marketplace.

[BWR]

Why do people like hat episode? Admittedly, I haven't seen it since its original airing but that's because I really can't recall one good thing from it. Okay, that's too harsh but I still found it pretty bad.

What Eldan said, plus it was the most ClassicWho episode to come out of nuWho. References to the old series and a general feel and set-up that was a lot of what I liked about the old series. The ending was terrible, sadly.

[factotum]

New episode!

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Yeah, spend five immersion-breaking minutes before the start credits explaining what a bootstrap paradox is, because we is fick and won't understand the plot otherwise...

Other than that, it was a reasonably satisfying episode. I do like a time travel story where all the interlocking threads are neatly tied up and everything sort of makes sense.

[Dienekes]

Why do people like hat episode? Admittedly, I haven't seen it since its original airing but that's because I really can't recall one good thing from it. Okay, that's too harsh but I still found it pretty bad.


Also, so BBC and Lego have agreed to now sell Doctor Who sets. And... they look pretty cool, but they're also kind of... expensive. Yay?

Interesting visuals, actual aliens and non-human planet, parts that were actually suspenseful, a fun little twist.

Then that ending, that horrible groanworthy ending. Almost as bad as Tinkerbell!Jesus!Doctor from The Last of the Time Lords.

[dps]

New episode!

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Yeah, spend five immersion-breaking minutes before the start credits explaining what a bootstrap paradox is, because we is fick and won't understand the plot otherwise...

Other than that, it was a reasonably satisfying episode. I do like a time travel story where all the interlocking threads are neatly tied up and everything sort of makes sense.

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Lots of people correctly called it being the Doctor in the suspended animation chamber, but I don't recall seeing anyone calling that the Doctor's ghost would turn out to be a hologram. I don't think anyone called the missing power cell being used to blow up the dam, thus causing the flood, but I think that's mostly because no one was really thinking about what caused the dam to fail being a plot point.

Generally, I'm not a fan of using the Tardis much within a story--I view it mostly as a devise to get the Doctor and companion(s) to the story. Moffat uses it a lot, though, mostly I guess because it helps him write the wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey plots he's so fond of and that he thinks are clever. This time, it actually was clever. If he could do it this well on a more consistent basis, I probably wouldn't mind it so much.

[factotum]

Just to raise a non-spoilery point about what you said there: Moffat didn't write this two-parter, Toby Whithouse did. Otherwise, agreed.

[huttj509]

And my awaited plot twist was a red herring. And kinda a silly herring explanation too...*sigh*

[Sliver]

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I enjoyed the episode, except for that Bootstrap Paradox bit at the beginning and then coming back to it in the end. They just put too much focus on that plot point, and it's not even one that they haven't used before. It's basically the same as it was in Don't Blink, where the Doctor recorded that stuff because he had the script and the knowledge of how it's going to go, except there they made the explanation fitting to how the Doctor would do such a thing, and within the narrative itself.

This just felt clunky... And I don't feel like Doctor Who is the type of show that should break the fourth wall and tell us to google stuff...

[BWR]

Spoiler: sigh

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That opening scene was terrible. I honestly can't see why they did it, since everything was explained in the end anyway. It just ruined immersion and gave away the entire (otherwise rather predictable) plot.

The Doctor being in the chest was no surprise but I felt that the use of the hologram was odd. Where was the emitter? If they were in his shades, weren't those locked in the casket with him?
Also, the ghosts were not explained at all. They just happened because of the synaptic programming without any other mechanism getting involved and gave the most vague and useless directions ever. Oh, and they really were the souls of the dead and everyone just kind of ignored it after the Doctor's little fangasm last episode. Still hate the shades and really hope he won't pick up a guitar again (even though it worked somewhat for the opening theme).

Also this thing about not getting involved and changing timelines...I am a bit annoyed at this - what should we call it? - temporal quantum observer effect: he never seems to worry about changing things until he knows how they are 'supposed' to turn out, at which point he starts blabbing about rules which we (and he) know he will break or circumvent any way he finds convenient. Remember in "Pyramids of Mars" where the Doctor showed Sarah a future that would happen if they didn't solve the problem at hand? No talk about fixed points in time or the future is fixed or anything of the sort, just pointing out that something else would happen if they didn't take steps to ensure the future they wanted.

The cloister bells are certainly getting overused too. The first time they showed up Existence was literally in danger of falling apart. Now they ring because....someone died?

And then there is Clara. She really did a great job in making me hate her even more, with that despicable whining about how the Doctor owes her and how he should exist for her sake, and the Doctor once again treating his obsession of the season as something special. Everyone else is expendable but not the Precious.

All in all, a let down after a decent start last week.

[Brother Oni]

With regard to the opening scene, I think some people are forgetting the target audience who need the explanation.

Spoiler: sigh

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The cloister bells are certainly getting overused too. The first time they showed up Existence was literally in danger of falling apart. Now they ring because....someone died?

Spoiler: Ding Dong

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There's the possibility that the TARDIS was either wigging out from the possibility of paradox (she probably remembers what happened last time the Master used her to maintain a paradox) and neglected to tell the Doctor the exact details, or she really didn't want the Doctor to die.

Either way, I am starting to agree that they're a little overused.

[Sliver]

With regard to the opening scene, I think some people are forgetting the target audience who need the explanation.

The Doctor could have explained it within the narrative, which he also did at the end. Addressing the audience is just lazy.

Edit: And from what I've seen on youtube comments, still wasn't enough for some to not be confused by the episode...

[Androgeus]

The opening monologue reminded me of Being Human, which Whithouse produced.

[Quild]

I think this double episode is what we got best since Capaldi. It's not as deceptive as many episodes where.
The Doctor actually do something, for once.

I'm not very fond of the bootstrap paradox, but I can go with.

I'm confused... That's what half the episodes of Doctor Who are about... It's like complaining that "they're picking the ball up with their hands again" when you're watching a rugby match

I guess that's not the better half of Doctor Who episodes to me then. Where's the problem?
My favorite episode ever is "The girl in the fireplace" though.