The Doctor Who Discussion Thread

[Paul B]

New companion:



You can't really judge from a picture, but I'm a bit disappointed they went down the 'pretty' route again - I would've liked to have maybe seen Moffat's take on someone more "down to earth" like Donna (no offence to Catherine Tate's looks!).

[Moon-Crane]

Yeah, i know nothing about her, but i've just read that she's previously been in Waterloo road and Holby and the usual crappy Brit shows. Hopefully she's better than that implies I expect she is.

As long as they don't have an "in love with the Doctor" type storyline i don't mind a bit of eye candy

[Mr Blue Sky]

New companion:

Yep, I'd tap that.

[Cake for Brains]

I already prefer the new companion to Amy Pond.

[Hector]

Is that in hindsight though? I think I was way more excited about Amy Pond. I remember reading about that almost mythic child connection she had to the Doc, plus - redhead! police uniform!

Anyway, I've all but stopped watching the show now. How were the viewing ratings overall for the end of last season?

[Cake for Brains]

I didn't like the recent Christmas Special at all, but I thought last year's series was very good. I am ready for a new companion now though. I think the Amy/Rory story has run its course.

As for the ratings, the raw overnight figures are down on what they once were, but the final consolated figures are still excellent and it does big business on the BBC iPlayer, so I don't think the show has anything to worry about at the moment.

[Moon-Crane]

Doctor Who actress Caroline John dies aged 71

I remember her showing up at a few memorabilia shows in years gone by.

[Paul B]

I never saw her in the show, but my condolences to her family and fans.

[Moon-Crane]

Diana Rigg and daughter Rachael Stirling to star in Doctor Who

[Mr Blue Sky]

Diana Rigg and daughter Rachael Stirling to star in Doctor Who

Wonder if they'll wear leather

[Moon-Crane]

Doctor Who actress Mary Tamm dies.
Romana from Tom Baker years.

[Moon-Crane]

I'm assuming everyone caught the trailers on BBC for the show's return? Got to admit it's got me looking forward to seeing it back on our screens.

[Cake for Brains]

I'm assuming everyone caught the trailers on BBC for the show's return? Got to admit it's got me looking forward to seeing it back on our screens.

I've seen the latest trailer - looks like business as usual. I liked the more arc-driven nature of Series 6, so I'm a bit disappointed that the seventh series looks set to feature only standalone episodes that, going on what I've read, look like crowd-pleasing genre pieces. I'll still be watching, of course.

[Moon-Crane]

Not long to go. Roll on saturday so we can see what we're actually getting this time out.

[Cake for Brains]

Not long to go. Roll on saturday so we can see what we're actually getting this time out.

Yep, I'm very much looking forward to it. It feels like ages since the last series ended - I don't think we've ever had to wait this long since the show returned in 2005 for new episodes. Ordinarily, the prospect of yet another Dalek story would make me groan, but I'm intrigued to see Moffat's take on them (he's not tackled a Dalek story yet). The reviews - all very positive - suggest that we're going to see a new spin on them and that they are back to being properly scary again. Fingers crossed.

[Moon-Crane]

Yep, I'm very much looking forward to it. It feels like ages since the last series ended - I don't think we've ever had to wait this long since the show returned in 2005 for new episodes. Ordinarily, the prospect of yet another Dalek story would make me groan, but I'm intrigued to see Moffat's take on them (he's not tackled a Dalek story yet). The reviews - all very positive - suggest that we're going to see a new spin on them and that they are back to being properly scary again. Fingers crossed.

Yep, could do with a decent dalek story. The last one was a waste of time. I don't think i gave it too hard a time at broadcast, but i caught a repeat and it really was a terrible dilution of their character. Reminded me of Joel Schumacher turning Burton's Batman franchise into a technicolour joke. And to be fair, Moffat's got to be held responsible for allowing it to go out. Let's hope he can give them back some lost threat.

Caught Karen Gillan on The One Show tonight. Looking good.

Edit: Oh and happy birthday, Paul, wherever you are

[Cake for Brains]

Yep, I'm very much looking forward to it. It feels like ages since the last series ended - I don't think we've ever had to wait this long since the show returned in 2005 for new episodes. Ordinarily, the prospect of yet another Dalek story would make me groan, but I'm intrigued to see Moffat's take on them (he's not tackled a Dalek story yet). The reviews - all very positive - suggest that we're going to see a new spin on them and that they are back to being properly scary again. Fingers crossed.

Yep, could do with a decent dalek story. The last one was a waste of time. I don't think i gave it too hard a time at broadcast, but i caught a repeat and it really was a terrible dilution of their character. Reminded me of Joel Schumacher turning Burton's Batman franchise into a technicolour joke. And to be fair, Moffat's got to be held responsible for allowing it to go out. Let's hope he can give them back some lost threat.

Caught Karen Gillan on The One Show tonight. Looking good.

Edit: Oh and happy birthday, Paul, wherever you are

Victory for the Daleks gives Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks a run for its money. It's a real stinker of a story. The Daleks great victory was to... run away! Anyway, I'll stop there - don't want to descend into rant mode tonight.

[Moon-Crane]

Victory for the Daleks gives Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks a run for its money. It's a real stinker of a story. The Daleks great victory was to... run away! Anyway, I'll stop there - don't want to descend into rant mode tonight.

MustThinkPositiveThoughtsMustThinkPositiveThoughtsMustThinkPositiveThoughts.

[Cake for Brains]

Victory for the Daleks gives Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks a run for its money. It's a real stinker of a story. The Daleks great victory was to... run away! Anyway, I'll stop there - don't want to descend into rant mode tonight.

MustThinkPositiveThoughtsMustThinkPositiveThoughtsMustThinkPositiveThoughts.

I happened to catch a bit of the most recent Christmas Special, which was repeated on BBC3 tonight, and I'd forgotten how absolutely dismal that was.

Oops, positive thoughts, yes.

[Paul B]

A pretty good start to the series, I thought. It felt very epic and movie-like, much like last year's opener. Visually, I think the show improves more each series. Not too sure about the altered opening credits - I'm glad the awful thunder effect is gone, but it seems to flow less as a whole now. The Daleks were not scary as promised, but they were certainly better than they have been for a long time. I can't help but feel that despite the episode's glitz and glamor, there wasn't much depth to it - Moffat's previous series set off with a "purpose" of sorts: meeting the new Doctor in S5, then witnessing his death in S6, but here it felt a bit lacking in direction. I suppose that's one of the pitfalls of a series consisting of nothing but stand-alones. As much as I still adore the Amy/Rory relationship, and am profoundly moved by their baby troubles, it kind of feels like they're going round in circles at the moment - not really contributing much to the plots and feeling a bit like spare parts. This must've been the 10th time Amy almost got turned into a monster of some sort (that might be an exaggeration.) I may eat my words if something dreadful happens to them in the coming episodes, mind you. The lady Dalek stuff I saw coming from a mile away. It may have been more moving had it happened to a more well-known character, and rebooting the Daleks knowledge of the Doctor at the click of a few buttons seemed a bit cheap given the long-time history of their conflicts. (edit: holy shit, she was the new companion?! Shows how unobservant I am - didn't really take to her if I'm honest, but her being a Dalek suddenly makes her a whole lot more interesting!) Oh, and the "Doctor Who?" stuff at the end was contrived as hell. Despite my few qualms with the episode, I still thought it was really enjoyable and succeeded at being a solid 50 minutes of pure escapism telly.

8/10.

[Cake for Brains]

I'm late on parade. This has been my first oppertunity to get near a computer all evening. Family stuff... ever so boring, you know.

Luckily tonight's series opener was anything but boring. I'd forgotten how much I missed the show during its longer-than-usual hiatus. I much prefer the new opening credits - they feel less childish, though part of me thinks they'd have waited for Amy and Rory to depart before altering the title sequence.

I'm unsure at the moment about how I feel about a whole series made up solely of self-contained standalone adventures. I know I'm going to end up missing the traditional cliffhanger endings. I rather liked the 'arc' driven nature of Series 6 - but as yet, so far, so good. This did the job just fine - a good romp well told in the space of 45 minutes. I spent the first half an hour moaning about Amy - 'Isn't she a cow?', 'Why has she got to be so mean to poor Rory?', 'Who the hell does she think she is!' And then Moffat makes me go and feel terrible for saying such things. That was genuinely sad, and beautifully played by Karen Gillan (yep, that's right, I said it). Seems quite a brave place to go in a children's drama. It's actually made me want Amy to have a happy ending.

I agree with Paul - the Daleks weren't scary, but I still loved them. It's probably the kid in me, or the fanboy, but I just never get sick of a room crammed full of Daleks screeching. They've felt tired in their past few outings, seeming to exist only for some cheap laughs, but Moffat's employment of them worked really well. Some elements of the plot were predictable, and they remain too easily defeated, but I loved the asylum. It was a brilliant idea realised well on screen. In fact, there was quite a lot of imagery tonight that felt like it could have come from a horror movie. Definitely a good thing.

I spotted the name Jenna Louise Coleman in the closing credits and had to rewind to make sure. Fair play to Moffat and the press for keeping that one under their hats. She was a bit too wise-cracky for my liking, but I warmed to her by the end. Making her a Dalek was a really nice twist and, as with Amy, made me care about her much more.

You may be sick of Amy turning into monsters. As for me, I'm sick of all the contrived 'reunions' Moffat keeps giving us to bring the threesome back together at the start of every episode.

But yeah, good start, one of my favourite series openers, I think.

8/10 - but I'm already itching to see it again, which is always a good sign. Smith and Jones remains my favourite season premiere though.

[Paul B]

Amy's revelation made me want to burst into tears. I so want everything between her and Rory to work out for the best. I notice they didn't mention River - but they were deprived of their baby's life, so it's understandable that they feel like they've missed out.

Calling it now, River somehow reverts to a child, and Amy and Rory are given the opportunity to raise her properly, giving them the child they want and River the childhood she deserved. That might be a bit too Disney-happy for Doctor Who, but a man can dream.

[Cake for Brains]

Amy's revelation made me want to burst into tears. I so want everything between her and Rory to work out for the best. I notice they didn't mention River - but they were deprived of their baby's life, so it's understandable that they feel like they've missed out.

Calling it now, River somehow reverts to a child, and Amy and Rory are given the opportunity to raise her properly, giving them the child they want and River the childhood she deserved. That might be a bit too Disney-happy for Doctor Who, but a man can dream.

Well, Alex Kingston is confirmed to be appearing in Amy and Rory's final episode (yay), so you never know. Both Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill have said that they're not interested in reprising their roles once they've left, which suggests to me that the Ponds fate is going to be something rather final.

Oh, and randomly, in bed last night I thought of something that annoyed me about the episode. Monsters/character's memories. Moffat does that far too much!

Overnights were 6.4 million. Looks low, and I suppose it is considering what we've had in the past, but it should timeshift to a final figure of at least 8.5 million, which isn't too shabby.

[Paul B]

Ooh, please make this happen!

Moffat aside, he's the best writer the show's had lately.

[Cake for Brains]

Ooh, please make this happen!

Moffat aside, he's the best writer the show's had lately.

After Mark Gatiss, of course.

But yes, fingers crossed this comes off. I'd love another Gaiman episode. Rumuors are it'll feature the return of the Cybermen.