Doctor Who - Spoilers!

[N2k-swb]

Its been wayyy over used, started in Blink then again in Time Crash (Moffat) then again in The Eleventh Hour etc...its a bit childish for a 900 year old to say.

I do love the guessing games though trying to piece together a puzzle that hasn't got half its parts revealed yet, i still want to know about the random door Lady especially since Rory mentioned his past Auton memorys being like a door he couldnt open.

 

[bcm77]

I first heard it in "Blink", so that would put it on Moffat.

Why am I not suprised?

As with some of his other gimmicks ( see hats are cool, the repetition of ) he doesn't seem able to resist the temptation to keep using them long past the point where the humor wears off, a failing he shares with his predecessor.

Apparently ratings for the first 2 episodes are down so maybe this overly convoluted style of storytelling is putting off some of the casual viewers as it's no longer the sort of show you can dip in and out of.

 

[ProgMatinee]

maybe its that people realized after season 1 that Smith was a tremendous downgrade from Tennant?
Could also be that people are fed up with having a director's personal agenda about race and sexuality ramrodded in without any real point. You have to think your audience is full of idiots if instead of actually having a worthwhile conversation about the matters that you simply make every other character either gay or in an interracial relationship, or for the newest character both. But lets not really delve into the topic like a director or writer with real balls would do (and one that Star Trek addressed 40 years ago).

Would it have made sense after a 2 episode arc involving a character in which his romantic relationships were never mentioned at all to at the end just declare, "hey by the way, how is your caucasian girlfriend?" Did anyone care what sexuality he was? Did anyone care what color his partner was? Silly silly pandering by the Who team.

 

[N2k-swb]

Smith a downgrade from tennant? I will politely disagree there, in both looking and acting the part Smith reigns supreme. He took a part that was almost entirely human in essence from Tennants portrayal and despite his youthful looks made him seem old and Alien again. I like Tennant but he wasn't a great doctor, bit too vunreble and quick to cry. Also the sexual preference has been toned down from last era, this is one rare openly gay character in Moff's series and provided a fun little Nixon moment. RTD was a little crazy about it and while it's nice to be diverse it is overdone I agree.

 

[pixletwin]

I disagree too. I am pretty sure that most all of fandom disagrees as a matter of fact. Heck, I would even say that your opinion that "ratings for the first 2 episodes are down so maybe this overly convoluted style of storytelling is putting off some of the casual viewers" is completely debatable.

 

[ProgMatinee]

I will definately credit Matt Smith's work in the last 2 episodes has been top notch, but lets not let 2 episodes obscure the fact that all of his first season he was a chicken with his head cut off even worse than Tennant ever was. I couldn't understand 1/3 of his lines the delivery was such a mess. Again, these last 2 episodes have been brilliant though and I do credit him for doing a much better job thus far.

 

[Kabukiman]

Apparently ratings for the first 2 episodes are down so maybe this overly convoluted style of storytelling is putting off some of the casual viewers as it's no longer the sort of show you can dip in and out of.

Anecdotally, I can confirm this. I've been talking up this show for so long and with BBC's mega advertising campaign here in the States, many of my non-fan friends gave the show a shot.

After the first two episodes, they are totally lost and are ready to give it up.

 

[TheObsoleteMan]

Anecdotally, I can confirm this. I've been talking up this show for so long and with BBC's mega advertising campaign here in the States, many of my non-fan friends gave the show a shot.

After the first two episodes, they are totally lost and are ready to give it up.

I can't imagine coming in cold, starting with these 2 episodes and having a clue what the hell's going on.

 

[N2k-swb]

It's very strong for first time viewers, my friend had difficulty understanding what was happening since he hadn't seen previous episodes. For fans it's cool to have long arcs rather than a two episode finale quick fix but there are tons more questions than answers which can be a tad overwhelming.

 

[bcm77]

I can't imagine coming in cold, starting with these 2 episodes and having a clue what the hell's going on.

From the spoilers I've read things aren't going to become any easier for new viewers to follow so maybe Moffat's ego will get in the way of his judgement and trying to be too clever will come back to haunt him.

My feelings on the RTD era as a whole are what they are but even his first series or so was more watchable than anything from the Moffat era so far.......I rewatched most episodes of that first series multiple times but from the current era have only seen "Victory of the Daleks" a second time and have no inclination to rewatch any of the others.

As for Smith, his Doctor is the most alien of the modern Doctors but he's neutered by scripts that feel like rejects from the previous regime and aside from the already overused catchphrases has no character of his own...he's either doing a slightly different version of Tennant's "manic" schtick or a great impersonation of Patrick Troughton.

 

[TheObsoleteMan]

They need to be careful with these grandiose, arcing storylines because the show really does run the danger of becoming too self-referential. While that may be fun for us established Who fans, it's bad news for trying to grow an audience which is what BBCAmerica seemed like it was trying very, very hard to do with these 2 episodes. I enjoyed Impossible Astronaut and Day of the Moon, but I definitely felt like I was watching something written by fans specifically for existing fans.

 

[bcm77]

They need to be careful with these grandiose, arcing storylines because the show really does run the danger of becoming too self-referential. While that may be fun for us established Who fans, it's bad news for trying to grow an audience which is what BBCAmerica seemed like it was trying very, very hard to do with these 2 episodes. I enjoyed Impossible Astronaut and Day of the Moon, but I definitely felt like I was watching something written by fans specifically for existing fans.

I think the problem is that Nu-Who spends more time trying to be another show than actually being Doctor Who.

RTD tried to turn it into something Joss Whedon could have created and Moffat now seems to be trying to make it into something like Lost only some viewers end up switching the channel because nothing makes much sense.

Both modern producers have alleged to be huge fans of the show ( I don't believe they were being genuine ) but despite this it seems that they haven't a clue why it worked so well for so long.

 

[pixletwin]

I enjoyed Impossible Astronaut and Day of the Moon, but I definitely felt like I was watching something written by fans specifically for existing fans.

I felt the same way and..... I like it.

LOST was the same way and... I liked it.

Keep going Moff-man!

 

[Kabukiman]

Have any of you guys in the UK seen (or heard of upcoming) Doctor Who birthday party supplies from the Matt Smith era? My son is wanting a Who-themed party this year and I haven't found anything. His b-day is in July so I have some time to plan, but I want to get a jump on it if I can.

 

[N2k-swb]

Since i'm an avid watcher im fine with the self-references but drops in ratings are to be expected if they want to go down this route. Saying about the ratings didn't they make it all back up to 8.8 again with the help of iPlayer, where they seem to get all the viewers back.

 

[bcm77]

I managed about 10 minutes of the first episode of Lost and then switched it off.......this series of Nu-Who hasn't quite got me reaching for the remote yet but I've stopped paying full attention by the last few minutes because I don't like how barely anything gets resolved.

 

[pixletwin]

Time to face it Brendan. NuHu is not for yu.

 

[bcm77]

Time to face it Brendan. NuHu is not for yu.

If I do draw the line the only new TV I'll be watching is the occasional soccer match and Top Gear 'cos there's nothing else worth the effort

 

[pixletwin]

I hear you there. I still don't watch TV. Everything I get I make sure it worth my time and then get either the blue ray or watch it on netflix.

 

[Crimsonbob]

Maybe he's a grandad?