Doctor Who (may contain SPOILERS for current episodes)

Meh.

I'm getting tired of the same old type of female villain. Tailored suit, severe hair style, etc. etc.

firedrake said:

Meh.

Click to expand...

QFT.

The mediocrity abounds. It could have been a fun episode, but it kept stubbornly refusing to be.

The "brain soup" bit was stupid, but put into context with the end of the episode it was worse. If the creatures literally fed on thoughts like guilt, etc, then they should have starved to death once put on a deserted planet where they were isolated from all other sentient life.

Also, their design kind of annoyed me. They were a cross between the Minotaur from the fear-hotel and a Calamarian from Star Wars. Not bad for a monster-of-the week, but something just rubbed me the wrong way with the execution.

The clone-bit was a nice twist, but another rip-off given the Star-Whale episode.

Hey, I actually enjoyed that one a lot. Cute hook, fun story, the twist worked and just about held together... Principally, though, it gave Capaldi something to chew on, and he chewed the heck out of those scenes.

I'll be disappointed to go back to The Clara Diaries next week.

Wasn't bad as I was cringing initially, but still... <snarky bit>I liked it better when it was Critchton & Dargo breaking into the Shadow Depository when it was "Farscape"</snarky bit>

I am curious how much of that episode was the Other Guy and how much was Moffat.

It didn't make me as ragey as previous Moff episodes. Low bar there though.

Still, did they HAVE to kill a black guy as a criminal? And, richest bloody bank in the [MEEP]ing universe and there's NO non-human species outside the Teller?! Too much convenient handwavium for my tastes, though I did call it on the teleportion instead of smiting. Though, I was curious if Psi & Saibra would end up in "Heaven" instead.

Grinned a little at the Abslon Daak Easter egg at Psi's "death" scene. And hey! Clara wasn't annoying Sueish like she was last week!

Nualláin said:

I'll be disappointed to go back to The Clara Diaries next week.

Click to expand...

I'm actually looking forward to it. I like the idea of her travels taking a toll on her in real time. It's like the punchline scene from one of those "impersonation" movies where the hero/ine has to keep two simultaneous dates - one in disguise - and inevitably wears the wig to the wrong one. I'm not sure they'll go so far as to introduce Pink to the Doctor, but a few close calls should make for some fun scenes.

And this is the perfect sort of episode for someone who excels at scenes, but can't master sequential consequences.

But again, the design bugs me. The assumed killer robot thing looks like the one from Short Circuit (80's movie).

As I said on twitter last night: We've had Don't Blink. And Don't Breathe. Today it was Don't Think. What shouldn't we do next? https://twitter.com/hashtag/DoctorWho?src=hash

Hmm. I find it interesting that (from what I've read/seen) reaction to this series has been pretty positive, but in certain places it is overwhelmingly negative. Obviously, this is a subjective thing, and I understand a lot of the criticisms being put forward, but I can't help but feel there's a bit of over negativity going on. Time Heist was as good as most of Series 2 and 3 (nu-Who), and yet those are proudly proclaimed as the 'golden era' by a lot of the same people who stamp down on everything Moffat does. Not necessarily here, mind you, where most of the criticisms are reasoned and reasonable, but in other places. For me, this series has been enjoyable, well paced, fresh, and chock full of good themes. I can't help but feel people are holding the show to a standard that never really existed.

I, for one, enjoyed it. A fun little romp with no real significance outside of the episode. Capaldi continues to be a breath of fresh air into the show, Clara's character is becoming a little more fleshed out (though I've got to admit she is a bit Mary Sue-ish, which is a frustrating misuse of Jenna Coleman's wonderful acting), and, unlike last series, it seems they're telling stories that are the right length.

Hated the random scene transitions, which made an otherwise well directed episode a little bit jumpy. Enjoyed Madam Delphox, who put in a good performance, but it irritated me that we have ANOTHER sexy suited suave lady villain (I'm looking at you Missy, Madame Kovarian, Miss Hartigan, Ms Hartman... AARGH!) I think it's excellent we've got female characters in such prominent roles, and female characters as villains, but every. single. one. of them is the same character. Can't we have a female Moriaty, or an older woman, or someone who isn't as sexy as they are evil? (and this problem stretches beyond Who and Moffat, mind, though he is a repeat offender).

Loved the Teller though. Always have been a huge fan of realised effects rather than CGI, and even though he was a bit monster-of-the-week he was still lovely to look at.

7/10 from me. Decent, enjoyable, probably quickly forgotten.

J.S.Fairey said:

Can't we have a female Moriaty, or an older woman, or someone who isn't as sexy as they are evil?

Click to expand...

Well, there was Mrs. Gillyflower from The Crimson Horror.

jvc said:

As I said on twitter last night: We've had Don't Blink. And Don't Breathe. Today it was Don't Think. What shouldn't we do next?

Click to expand...

Well, the pee-weevils of Micturitia-9 can lock on to the sound of a human bladder being relieved from a kilometre away, so ... Hold it in.

You need to add "don't date" to last, given the Doctor's proclivity for bad timing. Though if we're talking the "secret" to defeating the monster of the week, it will probably be "don't move."

The age of Moffat began in earnest with the Weeping Angels, who couldn't move if they were seen. It progressed from not looking to not even opening one's eyes with Amy's blind faith. The natural progression is to make the victim the one that can't move the next time, as a defense mechanism, bringing the idea full circle.

Maybe a creepier Mme. Tussauds, where all the people are alive and just standing very still?

What if Moffat wants to re-write the Master's history. He was originally a she, who married the Doctor, they had kid(s), then regenerated into a bloke, became evil. Now is back as a woman? Missy?

I quite liked it. I am enjoying Capaldi's Doctor quite a bit, and I think Clara is far better this season than she was before.

It was an ok episode. Easily forgotten. I thought last week's was better. More tension. I don't know, still not really into this new Doctor. I like his darkness, but he's a bit too emotionless, which is such a switch from the last three Doctors. He seems like a different character entirely.

Calla Lily said:

The men in the house were watching rugby. I didn't realize till 9:20 pm that I was missing Doctor Who. And then I realized I didn't care.



That's just wrong. I've been a Who fan since the late 1960s.

Click to expand...

I've been having a similar problem with this series. Doctor Who time used to be the highlight of my week, and now I don't even remember its on until afterwards when I see the reactions appearing on Twitter.

I enjoyed the episode a lot, though. No complaints about it. And the next episode looks like some really silly fun.

I think overall this has been quite a solid season so far, especially compared to the later Matt Smith seasons. But I'm struggling to find any of my old enthusiasm for it.

I preferred last week.

This week was way too predictable.

phantasy said:

It was an ok episode. Easily forgotten. I thought last week's was better. More tension. I don't know, still not really into this new Doctor. I like his darkness, but he's a bit too emotionless, which is such a switch from the last three Doctors. He seems like a different character entirely.

Click to expand...

He actually reminds me a lot of 10, although I can't quite put my finger on why.

Albedo said:

Well, the pee-weevils of Micturitia-9 can lock on to the sound of a human bladder being relieved from a kilometre away, so ... Hold it in.

Click to expand...

The sad part is that I can see this being an episode.

noranne said:

He actually reminds me a lot of 10, although I can't quite put my finger on why.

Click to expand...

He can flip the switch from manic to controlled at the drop of a hat, and he can also go between subtle and overt bravado with ease. Both Ten and Thirteen did things like that. In Ten's darker moments, there were definitely glimpses of Thirteen's "big picture" mentality.

And there's the whole Scottish thing. Ten may have only used his natural accent in one episode, but his mannerisms and the way he carries himself are quite similar to Twelve.

noranne said:

He actually reminds me a lot of 10, although I can't quite put my finger on why.

Click to expand...

Really? 10 was so always 'sorry, so so sorry'. He actually cared when people died and thought everyone could be saved. He was dark at times, but there was also tragedy in his reactions. And he jumped and twirled around far more. Plus he laughed and loved and hugged. And seemed to even get excited at times.

This guy is like...oops, their dead. Oh, well too late, nothing we can do now. Let's move on.

I liked the beginning, when Clara was talking to "John Smith," but I am beyond my patience with "The Promised Land" bits. The finale put a blight on an otherwise decent episode.

For anyone who did watch -- do you think Courtney the Troublemaker is a red herring, or is she on deck to be the next traveling companion?

A headstrong kid traveling with the "dark" Doctor might be interesting, but if she's sticking around, I hope they tweak her personality a bit. Right now, she's mainly annoying.

Actually, if they're going the kid route, I'd rather see her paired with another, more level-headed kid or an older sibling, just to balance the character out.

(Of course, I'm near the point of not watching thanks to Missy, so I may not stick around long enough to see if Courtney steps into Clara's shoes come Christmas.)

The other possibility, (not likely mind you, but it would still be interesting) is that something happens so that Clara is "lost." Either dead, or at least beyond reach, and Pink takes her place on the TARDIS trying to find her again, since they've got potential kidlets out there in the fluctuating time line.

I think it would kind of hilarious if "the promised land" people keep landing in is an insane asylum on Galifrey. Missy-The-Master's locked up, and no one realizes she's zapping people from Earth at the moment of their deaths. That would at least tie the storyline back into the "it's still out there" thread from the end of The Day of the Doctor. At that point, it sounded like the next series would be him in search of his home planet, but Thirteen's not even mentioned it.

I don't like Pink. He's whiney and needy and bossy. Really not my kind of man.

But I did like Disruptive Influence. She's a good character and I'm hoping she comes back at some point.