| Author |
Message |
Calamity
Member
10-18-2001
| Saturday, May 18, 2013 - 6:07 pm 
Socks knocked off by that final scene!!!
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Roteach
Member
06-01-2003
| Saturday, May 18, 2013 - 6:15 pm
This was the first Dr. Who I've watched in a long time. I will have to catch up on some back episodes.
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Reenie
Member
06-24-2006
| Saturday, May 18, 2013 - 6:16 pm
OMG OMG OMG..socks shoes and all items of clothing knocked off Calamity!!
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Kitt
Member
09-06-2000
| Saturday, May 18, 2013 - 7:53 pm
Very, very curious! I guess November 23rd is when the 50th anniversary special will be shown. Not sure what to say... I'll just be waiting for November!!
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Kitt
Member
09-06-2000
| Saturday, May 18, 2013 - 8:27 pm
By the way, the next Doctor Who Revisited, the Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison) is NEXT Sunday, the 26th, 8pm.
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Curlyq
Member
07-10-2002
| Sunday, May 19, 2013 - 5:14 pm
Very good finale. For the past several episodes I've found the stories a bit more confusing than usual, but this one made up for it. I still can't quite remember how the lizard woman ended up in Victorian London, though.
Sad to see the end of River Song. I liked her character.
So is the John Hurt Doctor perhaps the one who destroyed Gallifrey?
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Calamity
Member
10-18-2001
| Monday, May 20, 2013 - 10:52 am
Hi, Curlyq, good to see you again!
For the past several episodes I've found the stories a bit more confusing than usual...
For me, it's been more like the past several seasons have been a bit more confusing than usual, lol. Like, I don't quite understand the Clara-through-the-Doctor's-time-stream twist. The voiceover in this past episode made it seem like she's been sort of a guardian angel/guide for the Doctor. And yet in at least a couple episodes it really seemed like she didn't know who the Doctor was...
As for the figure at the end who was revealed to be "John Hurt as the Doctor". At first his silhouette reminded me of Christopher Ecclestone's Doctor because it looked like his jacket. Then I thought it might be that Dream guy, a manifestation of the Doctor's darker side, because they'd been in dream state at the beginning of the episode.
But then (this all takes longer to explain than it did to think of while watching) Matt Smith's Doctor - it may be easier if we just call them by their numbers - said that JH was his secret and accused him of doing something not in the name of the Doctor. That could be a reference to the Time War. Or maybe, since this is the anniversary and they keep including references to stuff in DW's history (ETA: or future - that's the thing with time travel shows!), he could be someone from the old show. It's been a long time since I saw these but I remember there being a shadowy-like figure before Four regenerated into Five. And then there was someone called the Valeyard. He was at Six's trial (and all I can recall about that is him accusing Six of genocide and there being a video screen showing what supposedly happened).
I really don't know. From what Eleven said, it seems like JH is the Doctor but not the Doctor. I don't think he's the second David Tennant - the one who stayed with Rose - because he was just human, wasn't he? Maybe to do whatever terrible thing he did "in the name of peace and sanity" forced him to give up being the Doctor. Or maybe that's what made him become the Doctor. Except 11 said that JH had broken the Doctor's promise which would seem to indicate the Doctor was already around...I have a headache.
ETA: But I still agree, it was a very good finale.
Reenie: I loved seeing the former Doctors too but I need to re-watch my recording because I missed 9 & 10, I'm sure they must have been in there somewhere. I definitely saw 1-8.
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Kitt
Member
09-06-2000
| Monday, May 20, 2013 - 11:44 am
I think I saw Christopher Eccleston. Not sure about David Tennant. David Tennant is meant to be the only past Doctor in the 50th special, so they might have paid tribute to the rest but not him.
It seemed to me that John Hurt may have been the person before the timelord. Presumably timelords grow from children(???) and perhaps only when mature do they get an honorary title (for our one, The Doctor) and start doing timelordy stuff. I wondered if John Hurt was the person of timelord race that morphed into the First Doctor but somehow split, in that the First Doctor appeared and started doing Doctor stuff, but the original timelord remained, but was not the Doctor as such.
I don't know... 
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Calamity
Member
10-18-2001
| Monday, May 20, 2013 - 3:32 pm
David Tennant is meant to be the only past Doctor in the 50th special...
Aww, that kinda blows. I realize there may be a straining-the-audience's-credulity gap given that most of the other actors - those still with us, that is - likely look older than when they played the Doctor. But they can get around that somehow. Makeup, camera filters and angles, along with other visual effects, combined with a clever story could make it work. It could kind of tie-in with the number of times these past several years that we've seen duplicate Doctors.
At the very least, why can't Nine be included? Did he & the show part on bad terms because he quit after only one season?
Maybe they want to keep the others' appearances as surprises and so are saying only Ten will be back (this is so much easier using numbers!).
Presumably timelords grow from children(???)...
We saw the Master as a child but do all Gallifreyans start out as tykes or was that one of his regenerations? There are lady and gentleman Time Lords but darned if I know how the birds & the bees work for their species.
I wondered if John Hurt was the person of timelord race that morphed into the First Doctor but somehow split, in that the First Doctor appeared and started doing Doctor stuff, but the original timelord remained, but was not the Doctor as such.
Yeah, I wondered about that too but Eleven saying JH had broken the Doctor's promise complicates that a bit. But it could still fit, I suppose. Maybe this is a way to give the Doctor more regenerations if the show is to go on. To me, it seemed like he was an in-between Doctor - a Doctor who's not the Doctor. Eleven knew about him so does that mean he's from Eleven's past? Of course, Eleven also knew where his grave was (will be?) which is also confusing since the Doctor doesn't seem to know at least some parts of his future (or whatever it's called).
I don't know...
Me neither And actually, despite all my rambling, there's a part of me that doesn't want to know the Doctor's name or who he really is or about his secret.
Btw, the dying, giant Tardis made me sad. It looked like a haunted castle. And the Whisper Men were creepy. Physically they reminded me a bit of the Gentlemen from Buffy, who in turn had reminded me of the bad guys in Dark City. Sometime ago I'd said I'd like Richard E. Grant to appear on DW since Paul McGann had been on it. But this isn't quite what I meant. I like him (REG) better when he's funny, though he has been good in this scarier role.
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Curlyq
Member
07-10-2002
| Monday, May 20, 2013 - 10:41 pm
You two have turned my brain into a pretzel. But then, that's the effect this show has on my brain as well. Since I didn't watch this show before the Eccleston season, I don't know about all that history. Well, I did watch much of the first season online, but that is all.
I had the thought that this new John Hurt version may be from the future, since Clara said she saw all of his timeline and hadn't seen this one. But then the Doctor seemed to know all about what he'd done. Plus I keep thinking about that dream episode that pointed to him having a dark side that he was already well aware of. And he's also well aware of whatever it is John Hurt did.
And it doesn't help that the Doctor seems to have different personalities with each regeneration, although the past two have been similar. Tennant's version was much more of a pacifist than Eccleston. And the original was a cranky curmudgeon who was a bit sinister, at least in the beginning. So whether what Hurt did was really that horrible or this is just the Doctor being insufferably self-righteous once again remains to be seen.
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Calamity
Member
10-18-2001
| Wednesday, May 22, 2013 - 2:38 pm
I checked last night and you were right, Kitt. Nine was shown. I was only thinking about the Doctors montage at the beginning of the epi, not sure if he was in that but he's definitely seen near the end of the epi when the various figures run past Clara after she's landed in the time stream. I forgot about that. And Ten is shown too, right after she jumps into the time stream - but that, I didn't notice the first time.
When I was flicking through the epi looking for the clips of Clara seeing the Doctor, I listened again to what River said to Eleven and, now, having seen the whole epi, it made me wonder if there's more to Clara than what we've learned. It would be nice if she's not just another female character made into a plot device.
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Scotchbright
Member
10-05-2006
| Wednesday, May 22, 2013 - 3:44 pm
I'm late to the party, again - I just watched episode 'Rose' from 03/2005 on Amazon prime. It gets better, right?
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Kitt
Member
09-06-2000
| Wednesday, May 22, 2013 - 6:39 pm
I think Doctor Who is an acquired taste, Scotchbright, the more you see the more you like it. And some recent seasons have been a mixed bunch, some exceptional, some a bit of a miss. Having said that, "Rose" was pretty classic Doctor Who, so if you give it a couple more episodes and you're still not a fan, it might not be for you!
I think I read Eccleston was asked but refused to be in the anniversary special. The age thing is the problem with the others, even if they jump into their timeline they'd have to do something like they did with Clara as they can't age beyond their metamorphosis.
I also didn't understand whether Clara knew she was there to help the Doctor in the past, because at the time she didn't seem to know (or help, really). I'm still a bit confused about it all, actually ;).
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Rissa
Member
03-19-2006
| Wednesday, May 22, 2013 - 6:55 pm
'Blink' is the episode most people make their friends watch to turn them onto Doctor Who. Hasn't failed to make a convert out of my friends/family yet but like Kitt said, perhaps it just isn't for you. Will be too bad, nothing a Who fan likes more than creating new Who fans. Lol
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Curlyq
Member
07-10-2002
| Wednesday, May 22, 2013 - 9:11 pm
Yes, "Blink" was one of the best, even though it featured very little of the main characters. It was just good storytelling. I also liked the one where the Doctor was stuck on that shuttle with an alien outside that you never see. I think it's called "Midnight." That one was intense, because the scariest part was the humans' response to their own fear. I always most enjoy the episodes where you don't see any aliens walking around in odd costumes and masks.
That first Rose episode was a little low-budget. I enjoyed it at the time, but looking back on it now you can see a difference.
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Calamity
Member
10-18-2001
| Wednesday, May 22, 2013 - 10:53 pm
Ah, "Blink". Fantastic episode. If we're not going to get a Doctors reunion for the anniversary special (though I haven't quite given up hope yet), can they bring back the wonderful Sally Sparrow? Yeah, I know - not even remotely likely that might happen. Oh heck, I'd settle for a casual mention that Sally was the woman in the shop who gave Clara the Tardis phone number. Don't ask me how she got it. And it was probably actually Rose (who also worked in a shop) or maybe River somehow but I can pretend, can't I?
I remember "Midnight" had a split reaction here. Some panned it but I was among those who thought it was very good. Taut, claustrophobic, and truly frightening.
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Calamity
Member
10-18-2001
| Wednesday, May 22, 2013 - 11:11 pm
Scotchbright: I'm not going to kid you - this show often doesn't make much sense (if you stop to think about it, that is). And it can be completely ludicrous. I still cringe thinking about the Slitheens (sp?), aliens from that first revival season.
But if you can get past those things, it can be a really fun, often emotionally-affecting, and even thought-provoking adventure. A couple years ago Craig Ferguson did an appropriately weird & entertaining musical number explaining why it's such a beloved series.
"Dalek", "Father's Day", and the 2-parter "The Empty Child"/"The Doctor Dances" were my favorite episodes from that season.
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Curlyq
Member
07-10-2002
| Wednesday, May 22, 2013 - 11:29 pm
Ah, yes. The Empty Child. "Are you my mummy?" That was another freaky one. How is it that children can be so effective at giving the creeps?
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Calamity
Member
10-18-2001
| Wednesday, May 22, 2013 - 11:50 pm
Scary kids & scary old people can be extra creepy. Maybe because it's unexpected that they'd be threats? Or because it seems less likely one could reason with them? Or that they're generally closer to the extremes of life - birth and death - and so seem nearer the unknown, which is frightening in its own way? I don't know.
Btw, it occurred to me that it's possible Clara got the number from the bad lady as a set-up. But I still like the Sally Sparrow idea.
Okay, back to bed. Was up because my dog was scared of the thunder.
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Scotchbright
Member
10-05-2006
| Thursday, May 23, 2013 - 8:51 am
I've written down the episode names you've all mentioned and look forward to watching. I'll watch more - I've been hearing about this series for long, long time but never knew where to begin. Now with Prime, I can go back to the (re)beginning.
Thanks!
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Calamity
Member
10-18-2001
| Thursday, May 23, 2013 - 10:53 am
Scotchbright: Looking over an episode listing, these are the ones I remember liking best (* means a special favorite) - though as Kitt & Rissa have noted, this show isn't for everyone so YMMV:
Season 1
"Father's Day"
* "The Empty Child"/"The Doctor Dances"
Season 2
"New Earth"
* "The Girl in the Fireplace"
"Rise of the Cyberman"/"The Age of Steel"
Season 3
"Gridlock"
* "Human Nature"/"The Family of Blood"
* "Blink"
Season 4
"Planet of the Ood"
"Silence in the Library"/"Forest of the Dead"
* "Midnight"
Season 5
"The Pandorica Opens"/"The Big Bang"
Season 6
"The God Complex" (tossup between this one and "The Doctor's Wife")
Season 7
* "Asylum of the Daleks"
I tried to pick at least one for each season. There are also a number of special episodes that aired individually during the year, not as part of a proper season. Now, admittedly, there's a bunch of other episodes & at least one special you'd have to watch to have any hope of following who/what is going on (and even then it may seem incredibly confusing - I usually watch in some degree of bafflement). And there are a number of other decent epis I haven't included on my list because I don't think they're quite as strong overall as the above but which still have some standout moments of their own. (For sheer haunting creepiness, it's hard to beat "The Almost People" while "Partners in Crime" and "The Unicorn and the Wasp" may have two of the three funniest scenes in the revived series.)
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Scotchbright
Member
10-05-2006
| Thursday, May 23, 2013 - 12:26 pm
Awesome Calamity, thank you! I've printed out and put with my Kindle for reference.
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Curlyq
Member
07-10-2002
| Thursday, May 23, 2013 - 8:32 pm
Oh, one more suggestion. Since this is a reality-themed website, you may also enjoy "Bad Wolf" just for laughs. The characters find themselves pulled into future versions of several reality shows including Big Brother, The Weakest Link, and What Not to Wear. It's from the first season, but you'll probably want to wait until you've seen "The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances" first to understand who one of the characters is.
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Calamity
Member
10-18-2001
| Thursday, May 23, 2013 - 8:38 pm
You're welcome, Scotchbright. I don't know how useful my list is because it's not really a "guide to Doctor Who" since I did leave off some big episodes (story arc/show mythology-wise, that is). It's just a sampling of the ones I enjoyed the most each season.
~~~~~~
We saw Star Trek Into Darkness tonight. One of the actors looked familiar but it took me a couple minutes to place him. Pretty sure it was "Mickey" from DW.
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Sanfranjoshfan
Member
09-17-2000
| Friday, May 24, 2013 - 12:34 am
Yep...it was Mickey!
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0164929/
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