DTMark Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 Well, I've been fairly critical of the latest series... Tonight's episode was, I'd say, probably the best since the Ecclestone season. Absolutely outstanding script, acting, sets, story. And the emotional bits were actually emotional. Brilliant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Masked Tulip Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 It ain't Star Trek, Stargate SG1, Battlestar Galatica or numerous others. Some of the Tennant ones were good but IMPO because Tennant is a fine actor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19 year mortgage 8itch Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 I agree - it was actually really moving. I don't watch Dr Who but happened to watch it tonight. Whilst I resent the fact that becoming a father has turned me into a pussy-whipped, sentimental fool, the episode was quite touching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rantnrave Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 Shame Ecclestone didn't last long as the 9th doctor. I'd watch a lot of the 9th and 10th doctor stuff again, but the only decent 11th doctor story so far has been the Christmas special IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Orange Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 I really liked "The Doctor's Wife" and most of the 1969 two parter, even if the River Song subplot seems to have gotten bogged down and petering out in "Let's Kill Hiler". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Bart' Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 And the emotional bits were actually emotional. The Stephen Moffat era did seem to dial back some of the emotional punch of the RTD stories for a while but tonight's definitely tugged at the heartstrings. An excellent episode in what has been (so far) one of most consistently good seasons since the 9th Doctor was in the TARDIS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Bart' Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Some of the Tennant ones were good but IMPO because Tennant is a fine actor. Tennant was just as good an actor in rancid cack like "Fear Her" and "Gridlock" as he was in good episodes like "The Girl in the Fireplace" and "Blink" (both Stephen Moffat scripts BTW). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@contradevian Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Stephen Moffat, and Mark Gatiss are among my favourite Doctor Who writers. Downloading the latest episode now on iPlayer. Glad it is a good one and gets the HPC seal of approval. Of the new series Doctors I list them below in order of my preference..though all excellent. 1. Matt Smith (outstanding) 2. Chris Ecclestone (should have done a second series). 3. David Tennant (just a bit too much gurning for my liking, but still very good, excellent in fact). My Doctor will always be William Hartnell of course. Watched him the other day in Brighton Rock where he played a shifty villain/gangster in a loud cheque suit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Bart' Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 My Doctor will always be William Hartnell of course. Watched him the other day in Brighton Rock where he played a shifty villain/gangster in a loud cheque suit! As my Hartnell DVD collection has expanded, I've realized that the ultra severe Hartnell of the very early stories became a rather wonderful, dotty old duffer who is a pleasure to watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juvenal Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Stephen Moffat, and Mark Gatiss are among my favourite Doctor Who writers. Downloading the latest episode now on iPlayer. Glad it is a good one and gets the HPC seal of approval. Of the new series Doctors I list them below in order of my preference..though all excellent. 1. Matt Smith (outstanding) 2. Chris Ecclestone (should have done a second series). 3. David Tennant (just a bit too much gurning for my liking, but still very good, excellent in fact). My Doctor will always be William Hartnell of course. Watched him the other day in Brighton Rock where he played a shifty villain/gangster in a loud cheque suit! Top man! Who can forget him as Sgt. Bullimore in Carry on Sergeant?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Hovis Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Well, I've been fairly critical of the latest series... Tonight's episode was, I'd say, probably the best since the Ecclestone season. Absolutely outstanding script, acting, sets, story. And the emotional bits were actually emotional. Brilliant. Um, didn't do much for me. Not bad but not what I was expecting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Bart' Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Top man! Who can forget him as Sgt. Bullimore in Carry on Sergeant?! Pendant alert! Sgt. Bullimore was the character he played in The Army Game. He was Sergeant Grimshawe in Carry on Sergeant. Although was there really much difference between 'em, apart from the name? I've never seen The Army Game so I don't know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Hovis Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Pendant alert! Sgt. Bullimore was the character he played in The Army Game. He was Sergeant Grimshawe in Carry on Sergeant. Although was there really much difference between 'em, apart from the name? I've never seen The Army Game so I don't know. I hope that was deliberate 'Bart' The Army Game and Bootsie and Snudge are two I would like to try if they ever get shown on one of the digi channels, Charles Hawtree was in one of those as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Bart' Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 I hope that was deliberate 'Bart' Whoops! Now, where's that edit post button? I should no doubt expect people to yank my chain about that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTMark Posted September 12, 2011 Author Share Posted September 12, 2011 The Stephen Moffat era did seem to dial back some of the emotional punch of the RTD stories for a while but tonight's definitely tugged at the heartstrings. An excellent episode in what has been (so far) one of most consistently good seasons since the 9th Doctor was in the TARDIS. I'm not sure about the "emotional punch". The episodes from Season 2 thru to now have, I'd say, been characterised far too much by what in literature might be "purple prose" and incidental music spooned over the top far too liberally. Whether or not the Doctor is a net force for good or not is a subject that has come up in the past, particularly in the Trial of a Time Lord season (classic series, Colin Baker), but it has been overplayed since the Tennant era IMO, plus, it's one thing to do character development, but another to over-cook it. I can imagine what some of the characters might be feeling, I don't need it explained to me over and over. More subtlety, please. It's a sci-fi drama, not an episode of Casualty. From the Ecclestone era: The Parting of the Ways, Billie Piper sent back to Earth sitting in the cafe with Micky and her Mum. "I can't just sit here and eat chips..." - outstanding script, outstanding acting. She was truly special, and that scene was contexted properly and superbly against the "war" being fought on the space station. That's when it works and works well. This episode presented a moral dilemma, but thanks to not being overdone, over-scripted, over-acted, all of those "RTD" elements (if I might call them that) really worked. There was only one moment in the whole episode - near the end, when they were going to escape and the "The Doctor has a plan and is going to win now" music (you know, that same rousing bit of incidental music they always put in) came in that I thought was just fractionally overdone. Most of it hung on the acting, and weren't Amy and Rory superb. The moral aspects of the thing were credible, believable. And (almost) no gurning. The balance was just right. Stephen Moffat, and Mark Gatiss are among my favourite Doctor Who writers. Downloading the latest episode now on iPlayer. Glad it is a good one and gets the HPC seal of approval. Of the new series Doctors I list them below in order of my preference..though all excellent. 1. Matt Smith (outstanding) 2. Chris Ecclestone (should have done a second series). 3. David Tennant (just a bit too much gurning for my liking, but still very good, excellent in fact). For me: 1. Chris Ecclestone (Shakesperian actor - someone had taken a tip from Star Trek The Next Generation there - outstanding; appeal for both children and adults). 2. Matt Smith (outstanding) 3. David Tennant (far, far too much gurning for my liking, appeal for children only). My Doctor will always be William Hartnell of course. Watched him the other day in Brighton Rock where he played a shifty villain/gangster in a loud cheque suit! For me (I think, this is so hard to do): 1. Peter Davison 2. Tom Baker 3. Christopher Ecclestone 4. Matt Smith 5. Patrick Troughton 6. William Hartnell 7. David Tennant 8. Sylvester McCoy 9. Jon Pertwee 10. Colin Baker What's really hard is to try to separate the portrayal of the character from the quality of the episodes and stories, and I can't ignore the fact that when I was watching the broadcast shows as I grew up, most of them were (1) and (2) above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Bart' Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 I'm not sure about the "emotional punch". The episodes from Season 2 thru to now have, I'd say, been characterised far too much by what in literature might be "purple prose" and incidental music spooned over the top far too liberally. It seems to me that when the script chooses to go for the emotions in the Moffat era, it is often less successful than in the RTD era. The deaths of Amy and Rory in series 5 fell very flat IMO, and that was before they were undone. Years 1-4 seemed to have a lot more of these moments that stick in the memory than years 5-6: The finale of "Dalek" Large parts of "Father's Day" The Doctor kissing Rose at the end of "The Parting of the Ways" The ending of "School Reunion" The ending of "The Girl in the Fireplace" The Doctor's separation from Rose at the end of "Doomsday" The death of The Master at the end of season 3 In contrast, for series 5-6 I can only think of: The last 5 minutes of "Vincent and the Doctor" "The Girl Who Waited" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rantnrave Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 Stand out episodes for me since the relaunch: Blink Waters of Mars Both parts of The Empty Child (there's a scene in a much later episode with the Sontarons when 10th doctor puts on a gas mask and says "are you my Mummy?" Hilarious) Dalek (just the one of them with Chris Ecclestone) Human Nature & The Family of Blood two-parter The Girl In The Fireplace Midnight The Impossible Planet (part one only) The Stolen Earth (first episode of the season four finale) The Christmas Invasion Love & Monsters Silence In The Library (part one only) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Bart' Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 Love & Monsters I'm glad I'm not the only one who likes that one. I tend to prefer the "smaller" stories rather than the overblown epics. The Long Game Father's Day Boom Town School Reunion The Girl in the Fireplace Love & Monsters The Runaway Bride Blink Turn Left The Lodger The Girl Who Waited Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maffo in oxford Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 It ain't Star Trek, Stargate SG1, Battlestar Galatica or numerous others. I agree, Dr Who is a tad lame compared to US/Candian Sci-Fi. I have tried to watch it but it just.....I feel like I've seen it already a thousand times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happy_renting Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 Stephen Moffat, and Mark Gatiss are among my favourite Doctor Who writers. Downloading the latest episode now on iPlayer. Glad it is a good one and gets the HPC seal of approval. Of the new series Doctors I list them below in order of my preference..though all excellent. 1. Matt Smith (outstanding) 2. Chris Ecclestone (should have done a second series). 3. David Tennant (just a bit too much gurning for my liking, but still very good, excellent in fact). My Doctor will always be William Hartnell of course. Watched him the other day in Brighton Rock where he played a shifty villain/gangster in a loud cheque suit! I'm afraid Tennant did too much gurning for me to take him as a serious actor in Dr Who. Full stop. I haven't watched the latest series, I don't need to in order to know the scriptwriters will sort everything out by lazily resorting to the sonic screwdriver at some point. Odd that you should mention Brighton Rock. I got a copy of it on DVD yesterday and didn't realise Hartnell was in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Bart' Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 I haven't watched the latest series, I don't need to in order to know the scriptwriters will sort everything out by lazily resorting to the sonic screwdriver at some point. Definitely still too much of that I'm afraid. My fave is from the end of "Doomsday" (I think) where David Tennant uses the sonic screwdriver to adjust some setting on the TARDIS when he's 2 flippin' feet away from the console! Odd that you should mention Brighton Rock. I got a copy of it on DVD yesterday and didn't realise Hartnell was in it. That's because he looked like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happy_renting Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 I also refuse to watch the latest Dr. Who because, by definition, anyone who wears a bow tie is a tw*t. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Bart' Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 by definition, anyone who wears a bow tie is a tw*t. We disagree Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Orange Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 I found Amy's death in "The Pandorica Opens" emotional and also certain parts of "The Big Bang", but found the Doctor getting gunned down by the astronaut very forced and more weird/random. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Bart' Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 I found Amy's death in "The Pandorica Opens" emotional I didn't find it as emotional as it could have been. I think the fact that it would be negated within a few minutes of the next episode meant that the production team didn't go all out with it. The loss of Amy 2 (or is it Amy 1?) in TGWW was 10 times more effective (IMO). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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