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**SPOILERS** Series 6, Episode 1 - "The Impossible Astronaut"
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Wow; what a way to start your new series. That was definitely a case of Moffat throwing down the marker and saying "this is not RTD's series anymore". Adult, creepy, dark and throws up far more questions than it answers (although minus points for the "Next Time" trailer utterly negating the dramatic effect of the cliffhanger). What I liked was that it felt grounded; in the sense that the characters weren't getting used to each others boundaries or foibles, and we just got on with the story (River Song notwithstanding - god her "spoilers!" attitude is beginning to get on my wick tbh). Having said that, strange that there was no attempt to fill in the gap between the Christmas episode & this one. Why did Rory / Amy leave the TARDIS? Why did the Doctor go travelling on his own for 200 years?
One thing that struck me though in that episode - there was a distinct lack of running. I do wonder if the kiddies might have found that story a tad boring, because there wasn't a lot of action. Not saying that as a negative mind you, just that the younger demographic may have switched off? Not sure how many kiddies would appreciate who Richard Milhouse Nixon is / was
As for the Big-Bad of the new series; whoah, these guys seem to mean business, and continue Moffat's trend of "gimmick" monsters who have a simple rule to their existence. I wonder though how their presence as a shadow behind humanity fits against all those previous Earth Invasion stories. Going back to the creep/dark element, the Silence'sslow killing of that woman in the bathroomwas just ... ergh. For a 6pm show with no blood or swearing, there was something oddly disturbing and horrifying about that whole execution. Culminating in a splat. Nasty; or maybe it was just me.
I presume that the events of the first 10 minutes get resolved in the cliffhanger; otherwise we will have 5/6 more episodes withThe Doctor's Deathhanging around in the background like a bad smell. Oh and on that note - I totally called it in another thread. Details are a bit off, but my theory was right
Favorite line(s)?
"Why would anybody want to trap us?"
"Let's see if anybody tries to kill us and work backwards."0 -
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Brilliant episode! Loved every minute of it and it definitely did not seem like it was 45 minutes.
But there's only one thing that bothers me....
Why they hell do people not know how to use spoilers?? If they knew anything about what was happening in this episode of Doctor Who they should know that spoilers are used for FUTURE EVENTS and not what just happened. Don't be putting spoiler tags over comments about this episode please. It makes the whole thread horrible to read.
I've put the whole of this comment in spoilers just for the irony and to annoy you :P
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Well.. not to step on any of the mods toes, but from now on, discussion of the episode should not need spoiler tags.I'm REALLY starting to hate "Spoilers", both here and on the show!!!!
And maybe discussion threads in future can indicate spoilers in the thread title on it's creation.
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Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 60,360 Mod ✭✭✭✭
Join Date:Posts: 59287
ohh I'm about to be popular....
*breathe*
[IMHO]
I agree on the makeup but the idea? Personally I wouldnt call it messing around with the monsters I'd call it rehashing. For me Moffat is just as much a one trick pony as RTD was. Convoluted timey wimey plot. Again. Utterly fantastic in Blink, but getting a tad repetitive IMHO, so change the record Ted. Next week cue in another Moffat battered to death plot device to tie up the loose ends and it's all getting a little dull for me I gotta be honestMoffat does love messing around with the way people view monsters ("Don't blink" and now "Look behind you!"). Good make up and a neat idea.
And River song? Get to the point already. All this yes dear and fixing bits of the tardis behind him? Ehhh wut? And people complained about the Rose character as a love interest? She does look gooood with that holster on her hip mind....
And I still can't warm to the new Doctor at all, but I think it's not so much him, but I dunno... the self importance in the show now? Actually no for me he's a lot of it. No human juices in him(or Gallifreyan!), little or no inner life behind the eyes IMHO. While yes Tennants OTT antics could be wearing he's 10 times the actor Smith is. Maybe it's down to who "my" doctor was as a kid? Tom Baker and I really couldn't warm to Peter Davidson at all. I prefer the larger than life Bohemian Who and Smith doesn't fit? I dunno, I still don't rate him acting wise.
I'd also be wondering like Bajingo if the control room has any connection to the lodger time machine? If not new production designer to aisle nine. Varation on a Tardis theme ain't design. It can't be that though surely??
I did like the horror aspect though. More of that pretty please.
[/IMHO] *runs*Many worry about Artificial Intelligence. I worry far more about Organic Idiocy.
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ohh I'm about to be popular....
[...]
And I still can't warm to the new Doctor at all, but I think it's not so much him, but I dunno... the self importance in the show now? Actually no for me he's a lot of it. No human juices in him(or Gallifreyan!), little or no inner life behind the eyes IMHO. While yes Tennants OTT antics could be wearing he's 10 times the actor Smith is. Maybe it's down to who "my" doctor was as a kid? Tom Baker and I really couldn't warm to Peter Davidson at all. I prefer the larger than life Bohemian Who and Smith doesn't fit? I dunno, I still don't rate him acting wise.
[...]
[/IMHO] *runs*
Haha, no need to run, you're hardly giving the show an un-qualified kicking: I would disagree with you about the self-importance comment. If anything, this new series both promises (and so far, delivers) the idea of de-constructing the Doctor's omnipotence. A facet which the RTD run had in spades; how many times did we see Tennant chewing the scenery as he ranted about being Mr. Last-Timelord, shouting from the rooftops about being the highest authority? To me, a persistent issue with Tennant's reign was hubris that never (really) got addressed. Eccleston was racked with guilt & Tennant swung the other way into arrogance.
Above all else, I think the Doctor had become too powerful & too knowing of his power. This episode seemed to sow a seed that the Doctor's not without faults and weaknesses, and he knows it. I suspect the Silence will see to it that the two-parter leaves us knowing that the Doctor is once again a very vulnerable individual. Without resorting to RTD-style melodrama.0 -
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Ah well it is for me. I really missed the time travel aspect of the show, non-existent for much of the RTD era. I've always liked time travel paradoxes.Maybe a this timey wimey spot the clues stuff appeals to a different demographic, but as a constant theme? Not for me.
It's not all seriousness though - there's a good mixture of both. I think it's struck the balance for me. The RTD era leaned too much towards goofiness but this has a nice mixture. Now Moffat's episodes tend towards the darker side but we'll still have lighter ones in the mix. It's the sort of quality that I like in "Supernatural".The internal reality of the Who universe, never exactly consistent like other sci fi franchises was at least fun and a little daft, now it's trying for seriousness and scope, but below the upgraded budget, cast and writing don't always have the chops to pull it off.
I think these guys are well done... but I would be happy enough to see something a little bit different next time. Something that doesn't play on perception.The if you're not looking at them... monster thing is clever first time out, but rehashed? Lack of imagination time IMH.
Actually a lot of it was done off screen which is what made it so infuriating. "Water of Mars" though was good and I said as much at the time. Not everything he penned was crap (just too much for my taste).The lonely god thing was dying off before Moffat took over and kinda came to a head with Waters of Mars and that was an RTD penned episode.
Well the plots are more complicated (or at least more convoluted). That's fine for us sci-fi geeks but guess we need to bear the younger audience in mind, something that you wouldn't have to the same extent with other shows.I do think while he is the better writer, he's just as prone to dodgy and creaky plotting. Too many plot points the characters have to spell out for a start. A lot of "what's this?" dialogue.
Not remotely as irritatingRiver song is written at least as irritating as Rose ever was. Rose unbalanced the Doctor in a way that just didn't fit with the character I knew. Too much gooey-eyed in this relationship. Here the whole thing is filled with much more pathos as it's operating in reverse. We know she'll die (has died.)
No arguments on Tom or Davision. I think Tennant is a good actor but, whether by will or direction, grated on me by the end. I think it was the sheer foolishness that he employed. Tom Baker had no problems chewing the scenery, especially in his later years, but he did do it with such commanding presence that it worked - he always seemed in control whereas DT seemed to fall prey to the whims of RTD's direction.Well Tom can act, really act and had and has great presence. Tennant is one helluvan actor and has the presence thang going on. Davison another good actor and with presence. Smith, really really isn't and doesn't.
I'll disagree with your take on Smith - he's not meant to be as extroverted as DT. It's meant to be a quieter Doctor (and yet older one). It does remind again of Troughton- bumbling, appearing somewhat incompetent, but able to use that to his advantage.0 -
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