Doctor Who - Spoilers!

[Memnoch]

Thank you. S U S A N

I really wish there was some mention of where they were originally going to take things after the original pilot. You know the one, with Susan doing odd things with ink blots, and the fact she says she was born in the 43rd century. But the ink blots intrigued me the most. I'd love to see the Moff bring her back somehow.

 

[pixletwin]

Me too... But I think she is dead. Dead Dead Dead.

 

[Memnoch]

Me too... But I think she is dead. Dead Dead Dead.

and that makes me sad. But come on, if Caan can break into the Time War and go insane.. who's to say the Doctor won't decide to when it comes time to regenerate.

 

[pixletwin]

True... I do have feeling the Time Lords will be coming back before we say byeeeee to DT.

 

[bcm77]

Ya know I don't know where it's coming from but what's with the Palpatine Davros thing? He's had the lightning since the Classic series and he's always been prone to outbursts. I guess I just don't see it.

Nothing to do with the lightning more that his voice and mannerisms in Journey's End were very similar to Palpatine in ROTJ.
Even my Mom remarked on it and she usually pays zero attention to stuff like that.
It's not necessarily a bad thing as Palpatine was great in ROTJ but Davros to me should have sounded as close as possible to his debut in Genesis Of The Daleks or they shouldn't have bothered bringing him back.
It's the only time the character came across as being a real threat and the way his voice began to sound more like a Dalek as he got more agitated really added to the character's beliveability as their creator and it hasn't been repeated by anybody since.
Kabukiman,
Yeah I meant about it making the post Time War Doctor being less intresting.

 

[Memnoch]

True... I do have feeling the Time Lords will be coming back before we say byeeeee to DT.

Well honestly.. who is the next really BIG nemesis they could bring back to make an impact other than the Doctors own people.

And as for Davros, I dunno, I sorta liked that he went all crazy and such. Also there isn't much you can do when you're confined to a chair. I think Bleach did a fantastic job, riffing off Palps or not.

 

[bcm77]

Well honestly.. who is the next really BIG nemesis they could bring back to make an impact other than the Doctors own people.

And as for Davros, I dunno, I sorta liked that he went all crazy and such. Also there isn't much you can do when you're confined to a chair. I think Bleach did a fantastic job, riffing off Palps or not.

Considering Michael Wisher's performance in Genesis was the best by a villain in the best story in the shows history Julian Bleach did OK and the costume never looked better but after a season of disappointment the Palpatine homage was the final straw for me.

 

[Darklord Dave]

I can finally read this thread and there's no chat about the finale? All the children of Time teamed up to save the Earth? Doctordonna? Rose and the Doctor together forever?

I guess Davies wanted to go out with a bang, and I think he succeeded. I don't know that the season has been that successful though. This season was the first time I felt they were trying to amp the drama without really earning it. But it was great seeing all the companions together. This would have been a great series finale, but I'm glad that Tennant is continuing.

Is the Christmas special trailer online yet? They showed it at SDCC.

 

[Memnoch]

I can finally read this thread and there's no chat about the finale? All the children of Time teamed up to save the Earth? Doctordonna? Rose and the Doctor together forever?

I guess Davies wanted to go out with a bang, and I think he succeeded. I don't know that the season has been that successful though. This season was the first time I felt they were trying to amp the drama without really earning it. But it was great seeing all the companions together. This would have been a great series finale, but I'm glad that Tennant is continuing.

Is the Christmas special trailer online yet? They showed it at SDCC.

Haha I guess most of the excitement of the finale has worn off for me by now. And actually you could hear the Cyberman noise at the end of the Sci Fi airing but they cut it out. I've seen the trailer, and it looks awesome. Like I said in the figure thread, I now want figures of Rose, Mickey, Sarah Jane, Martha, DoctorDonna and New Doctor from the finale so I can put them all in the TARDIS. Overall I really enjoyed Series 4, hope the specials are fantastic and look forward to Series 5.

I'd have to say Davies tied things up for his characters nicely leaving them all at a good conclusion with no NEED to bring them back, which is good. Most left the Doctor of their own accord, and those that didn't leave on their own left the only ways I could see being right.

 

[Blackhole]

Ahhhh...Davros...He was great...

Still...CYBERMEN...

FINALLY!!

 

[Kabukiman]

I don't know if I can articulate just how I felt about the finale. I want to post my thoughts, but I feel my words will somehow sully a mostly-perfect episode.

Honestly, I didn't have very high hopes after the first 10 or so minutes. The resolutions to last week's cliffanger(s) I felt were cheap and achieved nothing but extending the story into a two-parter.

It started to pick up when the TARDIS was dropped into the pit with Donna in it and Jack was "killed."

Once the hand-Doctor showed up allowing Tate and Tennant to play off each-other, I was enjoying it more than I enjoyed any episode this season. Tate played Tennant and Tennant played Tate so perfectly, and it was a treat to watch. Brilliant acting here.

I have to reluctantly agree with bcm here about Davros' Palpatine impression. I'm not talking about the lighting either. The character's arrogance coupled with the actor's line delivery was total Palpatine. Some will argue that that's just Davros, and they might be right, but it's hard not to think about Palpatine; especially when he talks about everything is proceeding as forseen.

Dalek Kahn. Don't get me started. I'm such a sucker for bad-guys turned good it's not even funny. Kahn's turn had me cheering.

I thought, and I might be against popular fan-boy belief here (I haven't read any impressions yet), that the reasoning for Rose becoming responsible for the hand Doctor and the subsequent kiss was some of the best writing on any television show. It makes perfect sense. Doctor nine was hell-bent on revenge at any cost, it took Rose to show him is error. This gives the Doctor/Rose shippers what they've been waiting years for, as well as gives the rest of the fans the satisfaction that you don't see the (proper) Doctor engage in the lovey-dovey stuff.

As for the Donna tragedy. Brilliant. That's all I can really say. Words cannot express how much that whole series of events moved me. Just brilliant writing and brilliant acting.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. This show needs to be on a regular US network. It's better than anything airing in the US right now, and I truly believe, given the chance, US audiences would openly embrace the Doctor and his companions.

The only thing that I was a little disappointed by was the lack of new music. There was a lot of older stuff, but very little new stuff. However, the little new stuff was excellent.

 

[Kabukiman]

On the Tin-Dog podcast, it was mentioned (in passing) that Season 5 would be in HD. Has that been announced? I wonder if that means the TARDIS gets a new desktop theme...

 

[pixletwin]

I believe it has been mentioned that the Tardis will get an overhaul for HD. I am not sure how drastic a change that may mean.

 

[ProgMatinee]

My wife and I are finally getting into this after watching most of season 2.

I don't know anything about Dr. Who really, but I like this guy soooooooo much more than the guy from the first season. He's a bit goofy and manic, but the other guy seemed too bitter and spiteful.

Anyway, can someone recommend specific classic DVDs for newbies to watch?

Thanks.

 

[pixletwin]

1) Talons of Wang Chiang
2) The Green Death
3) The Five Doctors
4) Caves of Androzani

Those are my faves.

 

[ProgMatinee]

Cool. I've added them to Netflix. Is there a certain order to run these or maybe an intoductory episode that my wife and I should watch first? Or should watching the new-Who be enough warm up for these classic episodes?

Also, if you were a newbie to Who and were going to watch many of the shows would you watch them in order or pick and choose the better episodes first despite bouncing between the different Doctors?

 

[pixletwin]

I would watch in chronological order--though it doesn't really matter a whole lot because there is no story arch connecting the stories.

The Green Death is a 3rd Doc adventure, my fave of his run as the Doc.
Talons of Wang Chiang is a 4th Doc adventure. My favorite 4th doc story is The Deadly Assassin but that one is not out on dvd yet.
The Five Doctors is awesome because it brings back the past Docs and you get a real feel for their personalities.
The Caves of Androzani. One of the best written, acted, executed stories in WhoDom. Absolutely fab.

 

[pixletwin]

I also forgot to add that The Green Death is the final nail in the coffin for all the classic Who die-hards (who insist that the Doctor would never fall in love with a human) as he clearly was in love with his companion Jo Grant.

 

[Kabukiman]

Anyway, can someone recommend specific classic DVDs for newbies to watch?

I'm going to get ^^^^ for this but I have to say it. I recommend not watching the classic series. Nu-Who is so above and beyond the classic series, they're not even in the same league.

I've been going through classic Who on Netflix, and while there are some great episodes, the are more miss than hit. For most classic stories you'll find a formula of:

Part 1: Introduction
Part 2: Nothing happens
Part 3: Nothing happens
Part 4: Nothing for the first half, then the story is concluded.

There are exceptions to this rule, but I haven't found many.

That said, there are some gems. I can recommend the following:

- Anything from the Hartnell era
- Anything from the Troughton era
- The Five Doctors
- Genesis of the Daleks (though not as good as most people make it out to be)
- The Pirate Planet
- Earthshock (probably my favorite classic episode)

I also like the Sylvester McCoy era, but I know I'm very much in the minority on that one. At least see "Survival" (the final story of the classic series)

 

[barbelith]

I recommend not watching the classic series. Nu-Who is so above and beyond the classic series, they're not even in the same league.

The classic stories often have much more imagination in them. There's a reason the original series ran for 26 seasons. The new one is great and of course more modern, but the old one has room to stretch out and run.

I find the episodes fans pick as favorites don't necessarily translate as good gateways for new viewers. I would try Genesis of the Daleks or The Robots of Death as "first viewing" efforts.