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The Unicorn And The Wasp!! Doctor Dan And His Fellow Britishers Want To Tell You About DOCTOR WHO 30.7!!
SPOILER ALERT !!
I am – Hercules!!
“Doctor Dan” says:
DOCTOR WHO 4.7 – "The Unicorn And The Wasp"
Writer: Gareth Roberts
Director: Graeme Harper
Cast: David Tennant (The Doctor), Catherine Tate (Donna Noble), Fenella Woolgar (Agatha Christie), Felicity Kendal (Lady Eddison), Felicity Jones (Robina Redmond), Christopher Benjamin (Colonel Hugh), Tom Goodman-Hill (Reverend Golightly), Ian Barritt (Professor Peach), David Quilter (Greeves), Adam Rayner (Roger Curbishly), Daniel King (Davenport), Charlotte Eaton (Mrs Hart) & Leena Dhingra (Miss Chandrakala)
The Doctor and Donna arrive in 1926 and have to help Agatha Christie solve a murder that appears to involve a giant wasp...
Gareth Roberts returns with another episode that puts a sci-fi spin on a literary author, after tackling William Shakespeare in season 3's The Shakespeare Code. This time it's Agatha Christie (Fenella Woolgar) who has her reality blurred, as the reason for her 10-day disappearance in 1926 is explained as a necessary bout of amnesia to help The Doctor (David Tennant) and Donna (Catherine Tate) defeat an alien murderer...
As you'd expect, this episode is crammed full of murder mystery iconography: an English country mansion, posh residents, a local vicar, a thunderstorm, a jewel thief, a knifing during a blackout, a body in the library, two secretly gay men, a suspicious-looking Butler , a Drawing Room scene where the villain is unmasked, etc. There are even a few allusions to the board game Cluedo in the alliterative Professor Plum, whose death by lead piping kicks off this whodunit. Roberts is clearly a fan of Christie's work, as there are plenty of clever in-jokes and allusions -- most of which have entered pop-culture, so don't exclude anyone. But for Christie aficionados, there are a few cleverer moments – such as her plot-point of a wasp sting in Death In The Clouds being linked to the events of this episode.
David Tennant is very good, as usual -- as captivated around Agatha Christie as he was around Charles Dickens in The Unquiet Dead, although it was amusing to see Christie turn her nose up at his (slightly) distasteful glee at being involved in a murder mystery. As the world-famous authoress, Fenella Woolgar was excellent; one of those actresses who has a face that belongs in the 1920s, and gives a measured believable performance. The script managed to make her a worthwhile temporary companion for The Doctor, but one who never overshadows proceedings. Catherine Tate was okay, although it seems like she's less vital to many season 4 plots. She gets a few nice comedy moments to play (more of the playfulness last seen in The Fires Of Pompeii), a handful of dumb sequences (her magnifying glass vs. the giant wasp scene was just silly) and the obligatory face-pulling in exaggerated shock. This was actually the first episode she filmed as Donna after The Runaway Bride, so I can overlook any shrieking lapses as her ongoing adjustment to the character.
The supporting cast were mainly playing stereotypes, as befitted the spoof style of the episode -- but Felicity Kendal and Tom Goodman-Hill stood out as Lady Eddison and Reverend Golightly, respectively. Everyone else was perfectly fine, and the script did a good job of keeping the killer's identity a secret (neatly avoiding the comedy resolution of "the butler did it"). I was a bit disappointed to see how jewel thief "The Unicorn" factored into the story, and must confess that the eventual resolution to things – involving an alien lover for Lady Eddison and a mysterious Firestone gem – began to strain credibility. A part of me would have preferred a more believable human climax to events, but I suppose Doctor Who has to find a balance between pleasing adults with a worthwhile whodunit and kids who just want to see The Doctor battling a giant insect.
Overall, this was an amusing and spirited adventure that unfortunately became a bit too preposterous towards the end. But the episode's sense of fun, boundless energy, and some intelligent links to reality made up for a few lapses. Writer Gareth Roberts clearly intended to put a pseudo-historical spin on Agatha Christie's 1926 disappearance, while indulging in whodunit clichés and just having fun with some literary traditions. The Unicorn And The Wasp totally succeeds on that level and provided plenty of entertainment. It was a bit daft at times (the overlong Time Lord cyanide "detox" scene), and the resolution wasn't as neat and concise as I'd hoped for, but for sheer enthusiasm and narrative bounce it really hit the spot.
The Good
-- Fenella Woolgar joins Simon Callow (Dickens) and Dean Lennox Kelly (Shakespeare) as perfect interpretations of classic British literary figures on the show. Nice support from Felicity Kendal and Tom Goodman-Hill, too.
-- The general whodunit atmosphere and abundance of intended clichés; poking fun at murder mysteries, the books of Agatha Christie, and even the board game Cluedo, gave the episode much of its spark and energy. Gareth Roberts' script ensured plenty of pace, energy and quite a few laughs.
-- The giant wasp CGI was very good most of the time. The production design was also appropriately picturesque and believable – as you'd expect from the BBC, who can do circa 1920s in their sleep.
The Bad
-- The ultimate resolution to the giant wasp was a bit too complicated and strained, while The Unicorn jewel thief character was pretty much wasted. It wasn't enough to ruin the whole episode, but things did get a bit ridiculous in the last 10 minutes.
-- How to defeat a giant wasp: magnify a beam of sunlight onto it using a magnifying glass. That would work in a cartoon, but it looked laughable in live-action.
The Geeky
-- Agatha Christie really did vanish for 10 days in 1926, although her car was actually found near a chalk pit not a lake.
-- Fenella Woolgar starred opposite David Tennant in Bright Young Things, also playing a character called Agatha! She also appeared in Who writer Steven Moffatt's mini-series Jekyll last year.
-- The healthy presence of bees in 1926 is mentioned by Donna; another season 4 mention of the modern dwindling of the insects.
-- Christopher Benjamin (Colonel Hugh) has appeared on Doctor Who twice before, in 1970s Inferno and 1977s The Talons Of Weng-Chiang.
-- Reference is made to season 1's The Unquiet Dead, when Donna protests that it wouldn't be very likely to meet Charles Dickens surrounded by ghosts at Christmas time.
-- This was the first episode Catherine Tate filmed as Donna, following her debut in The Runaway Bride.
-- Donna's smooch with The Doctor in this episode means the Tenth Doctor has now been kissed by all of his companions.
-- It's revealed here that Time Lords can reverse the effects of cyanide poisoning through the bodily intake of protein and salt, eventually expelling all nastiness in cloud-like vomit.
-- In season 3's Last Of The Time Lords, The Doctor said he would love to meet Agatha Christie.
-- The Doctor once again uses the alias (Chief Inspector) Smith with his psychic paper.
-- Donna is revealed as giving Agatha Christie some of her ideas, such as Murder On The Orient Express and Miss Marple.
-- In the TARDIS, The Doctor apparently keeps some mementos of his adventures, alphabetized. In a trunk we see a Cyberman's chest-plate and a crystal ball containing trapped Carrionites (The Shakespeare Code).
Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
“Kelvington” says:
Every series of the new "Doctor Who" they have managed to do a nice historical episode, this series is no different. Tonight we meet Agatha Christie, played exceptionally well by Fenella Woolgar. Plus after weeks and weeks, I think Donna is finally growing on me to the point of enjoyment. It's actually cool that there is a character that isn't really that impressed with the Doctor's power of observation. I hope that the next companion will be somewhat skeptical as well.
Before the credits even roll, we are introduced to virtually every stereotypical character from the novels one could ever want, from the Reverend, and the Professor, to the butler they are all there. And the episode starts out like a game of "Clue" right down to the death of the professor, in the library, with a lead pipe. It's a great little moment. The episode is filled with them. I'm not sure where this was shot in the run, but you can tell everyone appears to be having a great time in this episode, and it really shows through.
If you try to take this episode seriously, then it's going to seem very dull, and probably if you're under the age of thirty, you might not enjoy it as much. But seeing all the classes of people doing their little bits was very fun. Plus watching the Doctor and Donna looking in on them adds to this episode. My biggest complaint about the episode revolves around the actual fact that Agatha Christie actually did go missing for ten days. And in the episode we hear all about it, complete with cliched spinning newspaper and a very "Murder She Wrote" set of flash forwards. Mind you it's a minor complaint, but it was a little too foreshadowing for me.
The rest of the episode plays out like your typical murder mystery complete with flashbacks, lies and the occasional giant wasp. For every fan of murder mysteries, this is a near perfect episode of "Doctor Who", for hard core fans they might be a turn off because of the complete change in style and narrative. As for me, I loved it! Right down to Donna going on about how great it is to see Agatha Christie dealing with an actual murder, it would be like meeting Dickens, surrounded by ghosts, at Christmas. But that never happened, did it?
Just my 2¢
“The Handsome 12th Doctor” says:
That was blinking brilliant.
I like it when they do an out-and-out fun episode. As long as they're sufficiently spaced out. I wouldn't want a comedy every week. I understand you need freak-the-shit-out-of-the-kids stories too, like "Blink", to keep a fair balance.
Some people though don't seem to like it when Who goes comic. I for one enjoyed the Adipose ep but I heard a lot of folks didn't. And ok, I'm happy to accept differing opinions on that one.
But if you didn't like tonight's show then you're nothing but a sad old MumbleGrumble and I don't want to talk to you no more.
Reasons why it was brilliant (part 3) -
It was laugh-out funny. Smart funny. Not farting aliens funny. It was an affectionate send-up of your typical Agatha Christie tale. A country house, posh people, murders, red herrings galore. It got it all spot on. From the opening "Oh, it's you" scene, right through to the part where everybody is gathered together on a stormy night to reveal the killer (which I guessed wrongly btw).
Tennant and Tate appeared to have great fun making this one. The charades part cracked me up. I also loved Donna pretending to be posh, followed by the Doctor's "Don't do that" (which harked back to when Rose pretended to be Scottish).
Fenella Woolgar playing Christie herself did some very fine, more subtle, witty work as well.
It wasn't just a plain murder mystery. It still kept its sci-fi heart, with a vespiform alien hiding out among the suspects. The giant wasp was rendered beautifully. And I liked the old-school transformation scenes done mainly using lighting, smoke and a fair amount of overacting.
The sci-fi element gelled well with the mystery and it even managed to create a bizarro explanation for what really happened to Agatha Christie when she went missing for 10 days.
The production looked superb throughout. In my view the BBC are the best in the world at making period television. Tonight they proved this again. Not just in the big noticeable things like the costumes and cars, but in the little details too. Such as the design of the playing cards for instance. I already want to watch it again to look closer at the stuff like that.
Actually no, I want to watch it again because it was a damn marvellously fun episode.
Now sadly there's no Who on next week. The horror known as Eurovision will be taking over the schedule.
The week after that it's the Steven Moffat penned story. And I have to say that we, as a fan collective, may need to ground ourselves a bit. I know his scripts have so far always been the best but there is an overly high expectation that he'll produce something outstanding again. And he might well do so. I have strong faith that he can. But hey, if he doesn't, let us not get all mad at him.
DOOGIE HOWSER UNDER $10 PER SEASON!!
$39.99 For All Four!!
Yesterday They Were $107.99!!
SRP is $119.97!!
SALE EXPIRES IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS!!
$15 For Spidey’s Whole MTV Series??
One Of Hundreds Of Titles In
The SPRING TV 2FER SALE!!
Writer: Gareth Roberts
Director: Graeme Harper
Cast: David Tennant (The Doctor), Catherine Tate (Donna Noble), Fenella Woolgar (Agatha Christie), Felicity Kendal (Lady Eddison), Felicity Jones (Robina Redmond), Christopher Benjamin (Colonel Hugh), Tom Goodman-Hill (Reverend Golightly), Ian Barritt (Professor Peach), David Quilter (Greeves), Adam Rayner (Roger Curbishly), Daniel King (Davenport), Charlotte Eaton (Mrs Hart) & Leena Dhingra (Miss Chandrakala)
The Doctor and Donna arrive in 1926 and have to help Agatha Christie solve a murder that appears to involve a giant wasp...
Gareth Roberts returns with another episode that puts a sci-fi spin on a literary author, after tackling William Shakespeare in season 3's The Shakespeare Code. This time it's Agatha Christie (Fenella Woolgar) who has her reality blurred, as the reason for her 10-day disappearance in 1926 is explained as a necessary bout of amnesia to help The Doctor (David Tennant) and Donna (Catherine Tate) defeat an alien murderer...
As you'd expect, this episode is crammed full of murder mystery iconography: an English country mansion, posh residents, a local vicar, a thunderstorm, a jewel thief, a knifing during a blackout, a body in the library, two secretly gay men, a suspicious-looking Butler , a Drawing Room scene where the villain is unmasked, etc. There are even a few allusions to the board game Cluedo in the alliterative Professor Plum, whose death by lead piping kicks off this whodunit. Roberts is clearly a fan of Christie's work, as there are plenty of clever in-jokes and allusions -- most of which have entered pop-culture, so don't exclude anyone. But for Christie aficionados, there are a few cleverer moments – such as her plot-point of a wasp sting in Death In The Clouds being linked to the events of this episode.
David Tennant is very good, as usual -- as captivated around Agatha Christie as he was around Charles Dickens in The Unquiet Dead, although it was amusing to see Christie turn her nose up at his (slightly) distasteful glee at being involved in a murder mystery. As the world-famous authoress, Fenella Woolgar was excellent; one of those actresses who has a face that belongs in the 1920s, and gives a measured believable performance. The script managed to make her a worthwhile temporary companion for The Doctor, but one who never overshadows proceedings. Catherine Tate was okay, although it seems like she's less vital to many season 4 plots. She gets a few nice comedy moments to play (more of the playfulness last seen in The Fires Of Pompeii), a handful of dumb sequences (her magnifying glass vs. the giant wasp scene was just silly) and the obligatory face-pulling in exaggerated shock. This was actually the first episode she filmed as Donna after The Runaway Bride, so I can overlook any shrieking lapses as her ongoing adjustment to the character.
The supporting cast were mainly playing stereotypes, as befitted the spoof style of the episode -- but Felicity Kendal and Tom Goodman-Hill stood out as Lady Eddison and Reverend Golightly, respectively. Everyone else was perfectly fine, and the script did a good job of keeping the killer's identity a secret (neatly avoiding the comedy resolution of "the butler did it"). I was a bit disappointed to see how jewel thief "The Unicorn" factored into the story, and must confess that the eventual resolution to things – involving an alien lover for Lady Eddison and a mysterious Firestone gem – began to strain credibility. A part of me would have preferred a more believable human climax to events, but I suppose Doctor Who has to find a balance between pleasing adults with a worthwhile whodunit and kids who just want to see The Doctor battling a giant insect.
Overall, this was an amusing and spirited adventure that unfortunately became a bit too preposterous towards the end. But the episode's sense of fun, boundless energy, and some intelligent links to reality made up for a few lapses. Writer Gareth Roberts clearly intended to put a pseudo-historical spin on Agatha Christie's 1926 disappearance, while indulging in whodunit clichés and just having fun with some literary traditions. The Unicorn And The Wasp totally succeeds on that level and provided plenty of entertainment. It was a bit daft at times (the overlong Time Lord cyanide "detox" scene), and the resolution wasn't as neat and concise as I'd hoped for, but for sheer enthusiasm and narrative bounce it really hit the spot.
The Good
-- Fenella Woolgar joins Simon Callow (Dickens) and Dean Lennox Kelly (Shakespeare) as perfect interpretations of classic British literary figures on the show. Nice support from Felicity Kendal and Tom Goodman-Hill, too.
-- The general whodunit atmosphere and abundance of intended clichés; poking fun at murder mysteries, the books of Agatha Christie, and even the board game Cluedo, gave the episode much of its spark and energy. Gareth Roberts' script ensured plenty of pace, energy and quite a few laughs.
-- The giant wasp CGI was very good most of the time. The production design was also appropriately picturesque and believable – as you'd expect from the BBC, who can do circa 1920s in their sleep.
The Bad
-- The ultimate resolution to the giant wasp was a bit too complicated and strained, while The Unicorn jewel thief character was pretty much wasted. It wasn't enough to ruin the whole episode, but things did get a bit ridiculous in the last 10 minutes.
-- How to defeat a giant wasp: magnify a beam of sunlight onto it using a magnifying glass. That would work in a cartoon, but it looked laughable in live-action.
The Geeky
-- Agatha Christie really did vanish for 10 days in 1926, although her car was actually found near a chalk pit not a lake.
-- Fenella Woolgar starred opposite David Tennant in Bright Young Things, also playing a character called Agatha! She also appeared in Who writer Steven Moffatt's mini-series Jekyll last year.
-- The healthy presence of bees in 1926 is mentioned by Donna; another season 4 mention of the modern dwindling of the insects.
-- Christopher Benjamin (Colonel Hugh) has appeared on Doctor Who twice before, in 1970s Inferno and 1977s The Talons Of Weng-Chiang.
-- Reference is made to season 1's The Unquiet Dead, when Donna protests that it wouldn't be very likely to meet Charles Dickens surrounded by ghosts at Christmas time.
-- This was the first episode Catherine Tate filmed as Donna, following her debut in The Runaway Bride.
-- Donna's smooch with The Doctor in this episode means the Tenth Doctor has now been kissed by all of his companions.
-- It's revealed here that Time Lords can reverse the effects of cyanide poisoning through the bodily intake of protein and salt, eventually expelling all nastiness in cloud-like vomit.
-- In season 3's Last Of The Time Lords, The Doctor said he would love to meet Agatha Christie.
-- The Doctor once again uses the alias (Chief Inspector) Smith with his psychic paper.
-- Donna is revealed as giving Agatha Christie some of her ideas, such as Murder On The Orient Express and Miss Marple.
-- In the TARDIS, The Doctor apparently keeps some mementos of his adventures, alphabetized. In a trunk we see a Cyberman's chest-plate and a crystal ball containing trapped Carrionites (The Shakespeare Code).
Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
Before the credits even roll, we are introduced to virtually every stereotypical character from the novels one could ever want, from the Reverend, and the Professor, to the butler they are all there. And the episode starts out like a game of "Clue" right down to the death of the professor, in the library, with a lead pipe. It's a great little moment. The episode is filled with them. I'm not sure where this was shot in the run, but you can tell everyone appears to be having a great time in this episode, and it really shows through.
If you try to take this episode seriously, then it's going to seem very dull, and probably if you're under the age of thirty, you might not enjoy it as much. But seeing all the classes of people doing their little bits was very fun. Plus watching the Doctor and Donna looking in on them adds to this episode. My biggest complaint about the episode revolves around the actual fact that Agatha Christie actually did go missing for ten days. And in the episode we hear all about it, complete with cliched spinning newspaper and a very "Murder She Wrote" set of flash forwards. Mind you it's a minor complaint, but it was a little too foreshadowing for me.
The rest of the episode plays out like your typical murder mystery complete with flashbacks, lies and the occasional giant wasp. For every fan of murder mysteries, this is a near perfect episode of "Doctor Who", for hard core fans they might be a turn off because of the complete change in style and narrative. As for me, I loved it! Right down to Donna going on about how great it is to see Agatha Christie dealing with an actual murder, it would be like meeting Dickens, surrounded by ghosts, at Christmas. But that never happened, did it?
Just my 2¢
I like it when they do an out-and-out fun episode. As long as they're sufficiently spaced out. I wouldn't want a comedy every week. I understand you need freak-the-shit-out-of-the-kids stories too, like "Blink", to keep a fair balance.
Some people though don't seem to like it when Who goes comic. I for one enjoyed the Adipose ep but I heard a lot of folks didn't. And ok, I'm happy to accept differing opinions on that one.
But if you didn't like tonight's show then you're nothing but a sad old MumbleGrumble and I don't want to talk to you no more.
Reasons why it was brilliant (part 3) -
It was laugh-out funny. Smart funny. Not farting aliens funny. It was an affectionate send-up of your typical Agatha Christie tale. A country house, posh people, murders, red herrings galore. It got it all spot on. From the opening "Oh, it's you" scene, right through to the part where everybody is gathered together on a stormy night to reveal the killer (which I guessed wrongly btw).
Tennant and Tate appeared to have great fun making this one. The charades part cracked me up. I also loved Donna pretending to be posh, followed by the Doctor's "Don't do that" (which harked back to when Rose pretended to be Scottish).
Fenella Woolgar playing Christie herself did some very fine, more subtle, witty work as well.
It wasn't just a plain murder mystery. It still kept its sci-fi heart, with a vespiform alien hiding out among the suspects. The giant wasp was rendered beautifully. And I liked the old-school transformation scenes done mainly using lighting, smoke and a fair amount of overacting.
The sci-fi element gelled well with the mystery and it even managed to create a bizarro explanation for what really happened to Agatha Christie when she went missing for 10 days.
The production looked superb throughout. In my view the BBC are the best in the world at making period television. Tonight they proved this again. Not just in the big noticeable things like the costumes and cars, but in the little details too. Such as the design of the playing cards for instance. I already want to watch it again to look closer at the stuff like that.
Actually no, I want to watch it again because it was a damn marvellously fun episode.
Now sadly there's no Who on next week. The horror known as Eurovision will be taking over the schedule.
The week after that it's the Steven Moffat penned story. And I have to say that we, as a fan collective, may need to ground ourselves a bit. I know his scripts have so far always been the best but there is an overly high expectation that he'll produce something outstanding again. And he might well do so. I have strong faith that he can. But hey, if he doesn't, let us not get all mad at him.
DOOGIE HOWSER UNDER $10 PER SEASON!!
$39.99 For All Four!!
Yesterday They Were $107.99!!
SRP is $119.97!!
SALE EXPIRES IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS!!
$15 For Spidey’s Whole MTV Series??
One Of Hundreds Of Titles In
The SPRING TV 2FER SALE!!
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+ Expand All
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What, I'm first? How'd that happen?
For once I agree with the critics. My fellow Brits are a little over enthusiastic usually, especially over the Sontaran story... This one was actually rather good. For once the WHOLE WORLD wasn't in jeopardy. Sometimes WHO is at it's best when kept small. -
Has been delivering on a consistent and excellent basis, and this season has been no exception, minus a couple of small qualms here and there. I'm excited for this ep.
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"David Tennant is very good, as usual -- as captivated around Agatha Christie as he was around Charles Dickens in The Unquiet Dead"
WHAT?!? -
It was near perfect. I guess he beat you to the punch!!!
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Who's There?
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Doctor Who?
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I forgot about the perfect line. The irony of it is I did think the episode was actually perfect.
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...that Tate woman is actually growing on me!
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Oh you can't help yourselves... I bet you were chewing at the bit when the closeted gay men were alluded to. Smashing episode though, I'm a huge Christie fan and Fenella was superb. I thought they were going to explain away her disappearnce with a few adventures with The Doctor and Donna. Shame.
That wasp was corking, the effects are so much better this year. No WHO next week instead we get the camp bollocks that is Eurovision.
Jesus... -
is the best thing ever! I have a vodka bar booked for my biggest Eurovision piss-up yet, for about 100 of my mates to get drunk and laugh at foreigners. Reckon Ukraine have the best chance of winning, but have also backed Sweden, and have sneaky each way bets on Croatia, Bosnia (AMAZING!) and Spain.
Oh and although the majority of its fans are gay, there's something for us straight viewers too: namely Malta, Ukraine, Armenia, Greece, Czech Republic, and Bulgaria.
Oh and Dr Who was quite fun! -
The most annoying thing about losing Who to Eurovision next week is that it's completely unnecessary. Eurovision begins at 8pm, so there'd be ample time to show Who before then.
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...will be able to beat last year's "vampires are alive" as the biggest WTF moment EVER!
oh, and since I live at the eastern border of croatia, there is an actual chance for me to take a 2 hour trip and blow all of those idiots up.
/flips a coin -
Anyone who's (a) gone to a boys' public school in the UK or (b) read any fiction from the 1920s will know that hidden homosexuality was widespread amongst the upper classes in the 1920s. So - for once, the gay agenda was JUSTIFIED!
Oh, and that episode rocked. Jolly hockey sticks, much fun, spiffing what ho? Great fun, Fenella Woolgar was EXACTLY as I'd have expected Agatha Christie to be, and the whole thing was fun. Bit of an underwritten ending, but you can't have everything. Definitely my favourite this season, along with POMPEII.
Next week: BRING ON THE MOFFAT! -
You start criticising the "gay haters" then refer to Eurovision as "camp bollocks"? Either you think you're being ironic and funy, or have no clue what you just said. Either way, you came off as a bit dumb. Or, you're a self-loathing gay hater :D
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I hate to pick this nit, but he never kissed Adam, Mickey, or Rose's Mum. Not that I can remember anyway. You could say he's kissed everyone's name that's appeared above the Title that would be correct. LOL Plus I'm hating the fact the TARDIS is just one room, FIX THIS RTD! The TARDIS is HUGE! Deal with it.
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I have not seen it yet, you won't hear another peep out of me until I have. BTW, what is Eurovision? I'm guessing a sporting event? International? Don't mind me, I'm just an american jerk.
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Maybe it wasn't clear, but I just meant that The Doctor was starstruck by both Christie and Dickens in those historical episodes.
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RaveX: I figure you haven't watched Spain's song from this year then, not to mention Ireland's Turkey hand-puppet, Latvia's pirates and Bosnia's washing line.
axcel1: Eurovision is a contest where every European country sends 3 minutes of either camp or ethno, badly-sung pop music, which is then voted on and the country with the most neighbours wins. Its claims to fame include ABBA, Celine Dion and Gina G. -
http://tinyurl.com/6k7xof
just a word of an advice: you're gonna wish it was rickroll. -
It would be nice to have a bottle show set entirely inside the TARDIS, if only to see other rooms. Can't believe The Doc needs to keep trunks under the floor to save space :)
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"and the country with the most neighbours wins."
lol, so true... -
I've a feeling that the disappearing bees are the red herring of this season, esp. when mentioned in an episode made up of red herrings. More likely the disappearing planets, must be dalek-related somehow... Loved it tonight, had a lot of fun trying to spot all the Agatha Christie novel titles mentioned! Best season so far and we've still go the Moffat to come. Nest year will be so much the poorer for no series 5....
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Eurovision is an annual music event where a lot of countries in Europe (most of which we've barely heard of), come up with a song each. They then have a live performance of each song, and at the end there is a *lengthy* vote casting section where each country votes for it's neighbours or political allies, and completely ignores the quality of the songs in question. Speaking of this, Eurovision is reknowned for having the shittiest, god-awful songs ever written. They are all reprehensible beyond words, and the further into Europe you get, the more bizarre they become. Overall, it is a truly horrendous event for the ears and eyes but somehow has become something of a tradition. As is the tradition of the UK coming last amongst the tirade of runny ass-puke that even the most backwards Euro-freak comes up with. Be thankful, America, that you have no knowledge of Eurovision, and please make sure you, or your kids are never subject to it.
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is the typical sort of comment from a Russel T Davies fan boy. You know the sort... incapable of seeing anything his idol does as being shite, therefore all criticism must somehow be because we're homophobic.
Gimme a break. There's NOT a large contingent of gay-hating members of the audience. If anything, the Who audience has historically been high percentage gay or gay friendly.
If I never see another "gay hater" comment again, it'll be too soon.
And if I never see another Russel T. Davies SF script, well that's just a fucking bonus.
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Here we go..cue the "Not to sound homophobic, but..." posts in 5,4,3,...
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There is usually 1 or 2 good songs a year. Never the UK one though.
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Ok, I'll admit there is one single, saving grace of Eurovision. You do get some good tarts in skimpy outfits. S'bout it.
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Think Cher, celine Dion, and Kylie Minoque then multiply the camp factor by 100
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you didn't say Terry Wogan.
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This "gay hater" ain't biting. For once, the gay agenda was justified in the period setting. But as V'Shael says, if we never get another RTD script in WHO again (I wish!), it would definitely be a fucking bonus.
Tonight's episode kicked ass. Next week, will even more so. -
as much as it hurts me to admit it, that serbian female hiro nakamura had kinda good song last year...
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that the doctor's psychic paper worked on Agatha Christie? Yet last season didn't work on Shakespeare because he was, as the Doctor put it, "a genius."
guess silly girl Agatha was just a mere mortal..
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And back on topic next week's Who looked very Blink-like, which is good in a way, but it seemed too similar really, hope it is a bit more original than the trailer made it seem.
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I think the Shakespeare thing was explained by him having a low-level of psychic ability. For this same reason, in ARMY OF GHOSTS the Torchwood London technician could see that the psychic paper was blank because he'd had "basic psychich training". Ergo, psychic paper only works on people with no psychic ability, or the easily influenced / suggestible. Perhaps Shakespeare had low-level psychic ability, but Agatha Christie didn't? Makes sense, sort of...
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I kinda wish that, in this episode, the only sci-fi element had been time travel. I would have enjoyed a low-key episode where the Doctor travels to the 1920s and solves a murder mystery with Agatha Christie - and no aliens. Also, will someone please tell the prouction team that music doesn't need to be playing *constantly*?
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It reminded me a lot of the romp that was "Black Orchid" (which is probably why they just released it on DVD). I'd like to have seen more of the Unicorn, and the ending was a bit silly (but then just about every nuWho has weak endings). But overall it was good fun.
Next week looks pretty lame to say the least based on the trailer. The whole "stay out of the shadows" thing sounds like a poor man's rehash of Blink.
And after eating all those anchovies, you'd have thought Donna would have said something about the Doctor's breath after kissing him. But I'm sure RTD just throws in the companion kissing to rile up fans because they don't universally love him like the gay community does. -
Actually, I think RTD took all the fanboy objections to why we fanboys hated the 1996 TV movie, and began his new Who showbible around that. Example: Lots of car chases. Kissing the companion in as many episodes as we can write it into. Portrayals of the Master that are as far from the Machiavellian strategist Master from old Who as you can get.
Scary thing is - and I say this as a major Who fan - it seems to work... -
but wasn't it never actually explained who poisoned the doctor and why? Are we to just assume it was the vicar who wanted to get rid of him because he might discover the truth??
anyway I thought it was a good episode, very enjoyable. Unfortunately I'm not particularly enthused about next week's - hope Moffat will continue his winning streak though. -
Didn't you notice how none of the reviewers, and none of the talkbackers (up until you) had revealed which character 'dunnit'? Now ok, if somebody comes to this page without having seen the episode then they run the risk of seeing spoilers. But I had been thinking people would have the sense not to give that away.
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May 17, 2008 7:49:52 PM CDT
Well, i guess it's a good thing I watched it before seeing......
by axcel1
Cedar_Room's comment. But, then again, I like to know the ending to tv shows and movies. My wife hates that I do that. Oh, and, I really mean it when I say this, best Who ever!!! I was laughing during the poisoning and really enjoyed when the Doctor and Christie had everyone in the parlor to unmask the murderer. Sorry, I have to say it, it was PERFECT!!!!! (The Handsome 12th Doctor, I had to!!!)
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Yeah, he'd sort those pesky Skaro-dwellers out, no problem!
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That's hilarious, none of us gave it away. That's a first. Last series I was doing detailed recaps, but thought this series I would just review the show. But I'll admit, I never thought to say who did it. I'm sure a lot of people in the states come to this page before they get a chance to see it.As for the poison, they didn't wrap that up, but once you knew there was a murderer, then you just have to assume it was that perzeeennn.
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And Doctor Dan too. I expected one of the reviewers was bound to give away who did it. And yet we didn't. So a big thumbs up there. Unfortunately we have no control over the talkback.
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"The Doctor will return in a fortnight?! FUCK YOU, EUROPE!" But after reading the description of how camp it is I now feel compelled to see if it'll be available for download.This was the best episode of the season so far. Everybody was firing on all cylinders, the comedy was right on and the mystery was well handled. The only thing I was left wondering was how long had passed for the Doctor and Donna since the last episode, because he appeared to be back to normal after losing his daughter last week. Still, pretty fantastic overall.*copyright Donna Noble.
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(Doctor) Who knew?
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Tennant muffled the line, as he often does. I'm referring to the line where Donna makes the comment alluding to all the best men are gay and not interested in women folk, and The Doctor says something about Time Lords.
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but still, I put on my ear buds to try to figure out the rest of Tennant's line but it didn't work.
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I have to take issue with the Doctor claiming that Noddy isn't real.... up your's Doctor
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DONNA: Typical. All the decent men are on the other bus.
DOCTOR: Or Time Lords. -
Donna: Typical. All the decent men are on the other bus.
Doctor: Or Timelords.
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never mind.
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Eurovision used to be an actual credible and decent competition and was the place to find some of the best songwriters in the world.
Then Ireland won it four times in five years or something and the guys who organise it, fearing that Ireland would run away with the contest for years to come, decided to change it from a jury vote to a public vote...also they wanted to make money for the show.
When the televoting came in, however, the best song stopped winning, as people voted for neighbouring countries and gimmicks.
It stopped being a serious song contest and became a farce...so this year, Dustin the Turkey, a puppet from kids tv in Ireland decided to enter with a send up of Eurovision.
Ireland are the most successful country in the competition, (I'm Irish by the way) and if anyone was going to take the piss out of Eurovision, it was going to be us.
The Irish people voted to send the song and the puppet to Eurovision...and it has a huge chance of winning.
It is both an example of what Eurovision has become...and that's the point. It's Irelands way of saying "this competition is completely fucked up and needs to change" done in a uniquely Irish way.
After last years miserable performance though, Ireland have to qualify for the final and will take part in a semi final on Tuesday....the voting trend there will indicate how big a chance Dustin actually has.
The traditionalists are up in arms about the whole thing...they just don't get it.
Televoting has destroyed Eurovision...and Dustin the Turkey puppet is Irelands way of trying to fix it. If any other country had tried to do it, nobody would listen...but Ireland is the king of Eurovision, and this may be the thing that finally shows how much of a joke it has become and convince the organisers that it needs to be fixed.
So if you're from Europe, vote for Ireland. A vote for Dustin is a vote for change.
Oh and tonights Doctor Who was pretty fun. -
This was really really good. However, it did frustrate me that the Doctor or Donna didn't even think that perhaps maybe a member of the staff might have had something to do with it. While it was in keeping with the fiction of the era that the servants were in the background and not even considered (although to be fair in Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone the servants play a large role and there's a reason why the phrase "The butler did it" is so well know) it would have been nice to at least have our characters with a modern sensibility to say something about how the staff were at least capable of murder.For the UK folks in the beginning when Donna was mentioning Dickens meeting ghosts on Christmas she also said it would be like someone meeting someone else. What was that? I don't think that's a reference that many of us over here in the States will understand. (or I'm just incredibly ignorant)
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Just watched it again, and it got even funnier. Best line at the mement - "That's too salty!!!". Genius.
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The other reference was to Enid Blyton and Noddy. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noddy for details.
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It's nice to see Graeme Harper's name keep cropping up as director. You don't really notice his direction, but that's the way it should be. You'd fear the BBC, trying to court the youth audience, would use wretched twentysomethings, whose directorial style is along the lines of "People standing still talking for longer than five seconds - bring me the handheld camera! Time for some flashcuts!"; swooping around and filling the screen with visual 'noise' to keep the attention of even the most determined attention deficit kid. Harper's connection with Doctor Who goes back over thirty years, since he was a mere runner on set. He later got his hands on the last truly great story of the old series, The Caves of Androzani, and he did the best Colin Baker story too, Revelation of the Daleks. I also see he's down to direct the final two episodes this season, which bodes well.
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Who didn't think this episode was brilliant? Sorry to miss getting a full review in. I'd have liked to. But, briefly, my gripe is that it contained - for me - the best (historical, thoughtful) and the very worst (manic, slapstick) of Tennant Who. That GODAWFUL poison scene. But it did make me finally realise that it's Donna that's the problem. Sorry, but she doesn't get my vote. She manages to be quite dignified in certain scenes but then totally blows it for the whole episode in a matter of seconds. Come on... someone else out there has to take their blinkers off. Not a patch on the Dickens story, but there were some very good bits.
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Ireland don't have a chance of winning Eurovision. And others have sent much funnier stuff to the contest and done well (Ukraine 2007, Lithuania 2006, Austria 2003), and Spain's comedy entry will do much better than Dustin the Turkey this year too.
Nice to see Ireland trying to 'save' the contest, even though they did it more damage than any other countries in the 90s! -
I think I speak for everyone when I say, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!
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This episode got the series back on track. After the not quite as brilliant but still pretty good episode before it. Was initially disappointed to see that there wasn't a coming soon trailer, but thankfully there is one available next week. Can't wait!! This is the best series of New who yet.
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Who can speak for 'everyone'? So far, series three is way ahead. Martha may have run her course but she was way better than Donna back then. Gloves are off!
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I would say this current season is ahead of the third right now. By this halfway point last year season 3 had the worst pair of episodes yet (Daleks Take Manhattan). This season hasn't had anything as bad as that. I've found even the lesser episodes this year have been good. However the later half of last season contained some of the best eps of all, so let's compare notes again in a few weeks.
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Take Manhattan. I mean, sweet zombie jesus, are they really trawling old Friday 13th movies for titles now?
I will, on the flip side, say that I was wrong about Catherine Tate. Her comedy show will never be my cup of tea, but Donna Noble is not the screeching harpie I feared she would be.
And as an anonymous internet talkbacker, I'm naturally an arrogant egocentric twit who always thinks I'm right about stuff. (So say we all.)
So it's weird to admit I was wrong about her, and that she's actually pretty good. -
Catherine Tate is a better actress than Freema, series 3 suffered from her poor deliery throughout. I will agree that Blink and Human nature/ Family of Blood are genuine classics. I also think that this series has already delivered a genuine classic with the Fires of Pompei. I really enjoyed the Sontaran 2 parter, lots of fanboy geekiness too enjoy. Thought that the planet of the Ood wass also pretty brilliant. Catherine Tate has been great and I hope people will admit that their initial fears have been layed too rest. Freema can't act that is the truth.
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Agreed, Handsome. On Freema vs Catherine.. I also can't argue that CT is a better actress. It's just what she chooses to do with it (or, to be fair, what RTD and the scriptwriters do for her). I just think Martha worked better as a 'classic' Who assistant. I don't agree that the Dalek two-parter was that bad (the Adipose and parts of last night's story were easily worse). I do admit, however, that Tate isn't as bad as I thought she'd be either. I'm just sensing that this series is approaching Die Another Day territory, as a parallel with Pierce's Bond. I hope I'm wrong. (btw - I did like DAD and thought it contained classic moments, but on the whole it needed Casino Royale badly. Does that mean we need a new Who too? Meooowww!)
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Best eurovision song ever
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It would be like cancelling Lost for American Idol, I mean why can't they show both?, I hear the BBC has been scheduling TV for a while now, how come the big 2 week wait? gah
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It actually made me laugh out loud on one or two occassions so well done there NuWho.I'm a bit fearful of the next episode though. I'm hoping I'm wrong but it didn't look that great from the trailer...
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The trailer for the next episode didn't look that hot I agree. I'm still eager to see it. Steven Moffat hasn't failed to deliver yet. Colin Salmon is in it, who even in his worst roles he's always great to watch. Plus I remember the trailer for "Human Nature" made that look very poor and it turned out to be superb.
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You can't really judge something from a trailer I suppose and Moffat has yet to let us down. Plus it's a two parter so there will be more room for a good story. And who doesn't love tense cliffhangers (although I doubt it'll be as good a cliffhanger as "The Empty Child" which was followed by one of my favourite cliffhanger resolutions - having The Doctor simply tell the aliens to go to bed was one of my favourite scenes in that season!)
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When I said "everyone", I meant just me..........and...............whoever else was in the room at the time. Oh, and, for the record, I'm wearing rose-tinted glasses, not blinkers or, is that the same thing in the UK?
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There was no one in the room at the time, besides me. And, on the subject of Eurovision, OMG!!!! I have to wait a fortnight....oh for god's sake, it's two weeks!!!!! Where oh where did this "fortnight" come from? Am I the only american who has wondered this? does it have something to do with a fort? (And, JADSTERSDAD, put your gloves back on, isn't it always cold and rainy in the UK?
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We in the UK do indeed have Clue but it is called Cluedo and we have a Reverend Green and not Mr. Green.
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Ahhh I see! You prefer Rose to Martha AND Donna? ;-) Yes.. it's the same thing. I'll put my gloves back on. Obviously I haven't succeeded in baiting any CT-lovers with my ire. Oh well. I should be grateful we have a show, I suppose. For my money (good old English pounds) there hasn't been a companion to better Ace so far. Hehe
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Cluedo. Nice.
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what you want in a companion? If female, do you want hot? easy-on-the-eyes? protector? screener? helper? If male, do you want young? old? protector?, helper? I saw Ace as the Doctor's protector. I think she saw herself as his protector, too. She was easy-on-the-eyes, too. (keeping in mind her real age, not her age on the show.) For hot companion, it's Peri all the way!!!!
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Basically there wasn't any need to for it to be a giant wasp alien. It could have been something a *little* more plausible, or any kind of shape-shifting alien we've already seen. I just thought the giant wasp was kind of....silly. Even for Doctor Who.
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I imagine the name Professor Peach was supposed to sound like a Cluedo character. But did anyone else think first of Benny Hill in "The Italian Job"? Or was that just me? Oh, and a 'fortnight' came from the Old English 'feorwertyne niht', meaning fourteen nights. There endeth the dull English History lesson of today.
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May 18, 2008 11:02:52 AM CDT
Oh and the order of companions in terms of 'best' for me is..
by lemming
1. Sally Sparrow2.Jenny3.Martha4.Donna Noble.5. Rose 'the gob' Tyler.
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Professor Plum. It wasn't a direct reference, but it was supposed to be like a Cluedo character, as was his death (library with the lead pipe)
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Ok, axcel. We agree on something! Peri is definitely the hottest. I met her once and she is all that in real life too. I always had a thing for Zoe when I was young (met her too! At the same convention. And my family got her to sit on my lap for a photo. I was so embarassed I couldn't really enjoy it!)
But bring back Ace, I say.
Thanks for the history lesson, Handsome. I didn't know that.. and I'm British! -
For a discussion of why Rev.Green was turned into a Mr. in the US..probably..see Richard Dawkins' 'The God Delusion'. And note that his current wife is Lalla (Romana II) Ward!
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I'd dearly love to see her return, if only for one episode. I didn't know Richard Dawkins is married to Lalla Ward. That's a cool couple. Dawkins is making a guest appearance in Who sometime soon. Unless I've been informed wrongly.
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May 18, 2008 11:57:10 AM CDT
The Handsome 12th Doctor, I hate to be the one to tell you this,
by axcel1
It was that just you, but, then, I never saw "The Italian Job", original or remake. LOL BTW, thanks for telling us what "fortnight" came from. Short for fourteen. JADSTERSDAD, oooooooo, you stood next to Hotnesssss!!!!!!
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I wasn't expecting to like this episode for some reason, so I was quite pleasantly surprised. I suppose what with Sontarans, the Doctor's daughter, Pompeii, the return of Rose and the million other things that made me anticipate this season eagerly, a story about Agatha Christie fighting giant wasps didn't figure too highly on my 'most wanted' list. I'm glad to have been mistaken. However next week there will be no Lost, no BSG and no Who! A pox on the writer's strike and the Eurpvision song contest. A pox I say!
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I JUST LOVE these crazy adventures that I watch each week - we don't have anyone near as 'out-there' as Doctor Who in our mythology. I am just loving this entire series! I am, like, the ultimate Doctor Who geek (my Papa thinks the Doctor is faggy). Anyway I have been adding some geekoid facts each week for you guys to marvel at.
1. Doctor Who took no pleasure in kissing Donna.
2. The big Bee managed to repair the loss of his stinger.
3. Doctor Who had no IDEA who Unicorn was, this is similar to the time he didnt realize who the Master was.
4. Doctor Who has used the Smith name three times now.
5. The theme tune has changed, is this due to the return of Dalek?
6. Doctor Who looked sad at the end of the episode as if he were gatting ready to turn into the third Doctor Who.
If anyone else has any more info please write. -
..of having to overact in the poison scene. Or because of having to kiss Donna (see above). Or that Peri wasn't there. Or... sorry! :-)
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If my theory about Doctor Who changing is correct I have some ideas as to casting:
1. How about an American/ Mexican Doctor Who, imagine how good this programme would be if it had good budgets?
2. A black Doctor Who would be fun for a few episodes. Imagine the situations he would find himself in?
3. Donna should be played by a more pretty American/ Mexican. I like this character and know she is importnat to Doctor Who's history.
Any thoughts? -
The tv show is called, "Doctor Who", not the person played by David Tennant. But, then, now that I think about it, some people do call him that.
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laugh at the dozy mexican kid, thanks man. Make me look a fool in front of all the guys on here.
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That was one of my two favorite parts of the ep. That and the "come into the parlor so I can tell you who the murderer is" scene.
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In fact I'd say the third season is currently my favorite of the new Who. it just seemed to be a darker more serious more interesting Who than the other seasons. I think the guest characters were better developed, when they died it meant more. The bad guys were more psychologically complex. The Sontarans and the Ood factory boss seemed a little too moustache twirly. I've loved thi seaon, but it seems a bit more for kids than last. The stories are more social or political, less personal. They seem to be pushing a moral a little more heavily. And really think that in some ways Rose and Donna have been a bit too rigidly defined Rose is the young working class perspective, Donna is the older middle class perspective and the funny one. The fact tht Martha doesn't have such a consistant briefe I think made her character more interesting and adaptable. I don't think Donna or Rose ever had to carry an episode like Martha did in both parts of the Family of Blood two parter. And I think last season the stories sereved the characters better, guests and main, here this season we still great characer scenes but they seem to be shown in braeks from the main plot not revealed through the events of the story. I really have enjoyed this season and think it ranks well and even better than most of the first two seasons, but season 3 just connected with me.
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God,I did one thing I haven'y done this season and that's to avoid any spoilers.Did't help.Terrible.This story means nothing and teaches us nothing.May as well as not existed.Boring.Dull.I'm bored.
Seriously...this season is just dreadful.None of it matters."I'm sorry.I'm so sorry." -
Eurovision is the biggest ratings puller for absolute minimum effort that BBC has on a Saturday night, so it makes sense that they'd delay their 2nd biggest family entertainment show for their 1st one. On Eurovision night they are guaranteed the audience share, why waste Dr Who when they've already won the 24th May battle? Oh and vote BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA! Or Spain!
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two parter, sure it had its faults, but it had some fantastic guest characters. Solomon was great and that show girl was a hoot.
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May 18, 2008 2:13:52 PM CDT
Reverend Golighltly. Ha Haven't gotten this downloaded
by crichtonastronut
But Reverend Golightly's got to be the funniest name ever. And perfect or a mystery spoof.
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May 18, 2008 2:18:03 PM CDT
I could see a black Doctor if he's played by that guy
by crichtonastronut
who played the young Detective Shipton, in last season's Blink. He was awesome.
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Shakespeare, I mean Dickens is brilliant, Agatha Chrisytie is brilliant, but Shakespeare is William f'n Shakespeare. The human genium has everbeen as the Doctor puts it, btw brilliant line. He practically super human in talent recognized throughout the world and Brits are rightly proud to call him their own. Dude wrote friggin Hamlet. That's wy he can see through paper and pierce the veil between demisions cause he's awesome. Though if you want girl power J.K. Rowling saved the day in that one.
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It's all in the casting. In movies, Denzel is superb in everything he plays in. I think Colin Salmon, due next week, would be superb.
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May 18, 2008 2:36:36 PM CDT
old Shipton could work too, but I really like young dude.
by crichtonastronut
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he'd make pretty awesom 11th Doctor
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great "No. Don't do that." moment. She does great deadpan, should've been given more such moment.
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May 18, 2008 3:28:37 PM CDT
Maybe not deadpan but whatever it was it was delightful.
by crichtonastronut
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Your post made me laugh - seeing as how it was badly constructed and made no sense. 'Camp' - does not mean gay - you may want to look that up. Thus I was not referring to Eurovision and it's 'gay excesses' rather it's overly camp nonsense. They put an award winning drama back a week to broadcast THAT! Also I'm anything but a self loathing gay hater. In fact I adore gay men - I quite often help them out when they're busy.
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But the tipping point was the poison scene. I was rolling my eyes, but then all of the sudden I started laughing. It was weird. But when guessed something stupid to what the Doctor is trying to say, and Tennant stops chocking to repeat it in disbelief... I was laughing out loud. I'm finally sold on Donna. If they can put Martha's ass in a little box at the corner of the screen, Donna can stay.
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...I agree with this wholeheartedly. This weeks and last weeks WHO both seemed to have an unsatisfying technobabble ending, all other eps a bit meh...I find it all a bit staid. When I see the trailer for the next episode I already know what type of story it will be, and there are precious few surprised (unlike the season 3). There seemed to be a lot of the WHO premise not tapped into (eg. the fact he is half-human for example). The new WHO seems to be mired at times in it's own mythology. Will Jack, Martha, Rose etc. always be popping up at some stage? I always enjoyed the clean-break the old stories used to enjoy as this kept a sense of an onward journey for the Doc. I have on the whole enjoyed Tennant as time in the role, but a new actor with an new take on the character sounds good also. Anyone agree?
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May 18, 2008 4:52:23 PM CDT
I watched this episode again earlier tonight
by the handsome 12th doctor
And again, it was brilliance. I laughed out at a joke that I somehow missed last night. After the Doctor has been poisoned the first thing he does when he runs into the kitchen is go straight up to the (secretly) gay servant and shout "Ginger beer!" to his face. Class.
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The half-human thing is strictly from the Doctor Who TV movie (and never part of the 20+ years of the show), and I'm sure that they've chosen to just plain ignore it as a bad idea.
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I've been watching the CE season again, and I'm now convinced he never shagged Rose, and he's sure as hell not half human. They have to let this go and never look back. Plus I think the guy from Johnathan Creek is a little too Tom Bakerish for his own good to be the Doctor, but the guy from the next episode, if he had hair, he would rock as the Doctor. I read once they were considering the guy who did Jekyll as a Doctor and that guy would be wicked cool.
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And it is part of "teh canon"
The TV movie is part of the series, like it or not, and while RTD may choose to ignore the "half human" aspect, it doesn't make it any less valid.
And I happen to think it's a good idea and explains a lot. It could make for some really interesting stories though the only real problem with it is that it might take away some of the mystery of who the Doctor is.
We know very little about the First Doctor as he was before the series. We know nothing of his daughter or his wife or what happened to them.
A part of me would like one of next years specials to focus on the early years of the First Doctor, and have another one focus on the Eight Doctor and the Time War.
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http://tinyurl.com/639zy3
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would explain why the Doctor is so obsessed with humans, even in regenerations that seem to think of humans as annoying, primitive gnats (sixth Doctor, I'm looking at you!)
No, the worst thing from the TV Movie was the Doctor dying from getting shot and having a surgeon botch an exploration of his innards. That bugged me, and it was a poor way for one of my favorite Doctors to die (That being seventh Doctor, Sylvester McCoy, who didn't get a fair chance to expand the character before being cancelled).
Oh. yeah, and I still wonder what the hell happened to get The Master out of the eye and into Jacobi's Professor.
The Doctor can be half human, but still have predominantly Gallifreyan physiology. I don't have a problem with that. His mother would likely have been the Gallifreyan, and his father would have been the human. His dad doesn't have to be from the 20th or 21st century, either. He could be from the year 4,000,000 when humanity is stretched across the universe, or he could be from an earlier time. It doesn't matter. Frankly, I like the idea of the Doctor's mother being a TimeLady who fell in love with an Earthman and kept the identity of her child's father a secret, hoping it would protect her child's chances to become a Timelord himself... And THAT is why, as a Timelord, the Doctor is so unconventional. He never stuck to the hard-and-fast, written-in-stone rules of the Timelords. He interfered a lot more than they would have liked, and was exiled for it. He initially STOLE his TARDIS, for goodness sake! So many things about the Doctor are just so blatantly human, it's completely believable that he's got a human dad.
I object to the idea that the Doctor is to be this sexless, monk-like, time-traveling detective. Where does canon establish that he can't fall in love, have sex, or become attached to people? Indeed, canon would argue that he HAS fallen in love, had sex, and has constantly become attached to people!
If THOSE are not human traits, then I don't know what is. -
where to begin- that is the episode I've hated most for a long fucking time. Woeful winking at the audience shite, a fucking kiss between the doctor and Donna (I'd probably throw up smoke if that tumour-faced troll grabbed me), a fucking stupid giant wasp that can be defeated using a magnifying glass, I can go on and on with this. The whole episode seemed to be constructed so that CATHERINE FUCKING TATE could show her "comedic" range- "Flapper or slapper" No, love, fat troll. A pity because I've generally been quite liking this series (with the exception of Adipose) and Tate has been growing on me, but that was rotten. The trailer for the next episode looks much, much better.
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Actually Mister Lost Jarv - you do have a bit of a point. I watched the repeat yesterday and I think you can definitely tell that this episode was filmed first. Donna is very shouty and 'Runaway Bride' in her delivery. But I wouldn't go so far as to call her a troll! You cad!
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It sounds like such a grand idea to do special stories about the Doctor's past, but I fear they just wouldn't happen. The BBC has entrusted this ratings giant to David Tennant. They LOVE David Tennant - (as well they should, though he does shout a lot which gets on my nerves) - thus they'd hardly have a special centred around another actor portraying The Doctor. I'd adore a story centred around Paul McGann and Sheridan Smith, maybe leading up to the hideous 'Time War' but alas that will always remain a fanboy wank-a-thon.
Shame. -
It's usually "sir". In fact, next time I get banned I'm coming back as Sir Jarv. Only joking, and the Troll comment was harsh, I just couldn't believe the love in being poured on it- especially regarding the "copyright Donna Noble" shit- it wasn't particularly funny in the Shakespeare episode, but was absolutely criminal when it was recycled. And the gay son did piss me off a little bit- it could just as easily have been a chambermaid or a fucking sheep or something and still been anathema to that class. All in all, worst episode since Daleks take Manhatten: F-
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conssidered and is in fact the front runner, too. I think that would be very awesome. Especially if Steve Moffat is gonna be running the next season.
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where one of the newbies holds up the paper in front of a bunch of armed guards about to shoot him/her and the leader of the guards says, "Why are you holding a sheet of paper that says 'Please Don't Shoot Me'."
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With you on that ZC - I always assumed that the reason the Doctor saw himself as Earth's protector or guardian is that he has a special connection to it - having one parent being from Earth, maybe?
Plus, Hartnell's Doctor had a human grand-daughter - who was human...
Balls to canon - make it so! -
Fuck no, horrible idea
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My choice for the next Doctor is Mark Heap. I wouldn't want him to change for a few years though. I'm liking Tennant lots right now.
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I think that's the fella. He played John Lennon in Backbeat.
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May 19, 2008 10:48:13 AM CDT
Another thing I liked about season 3 is it set the tone
by crichtonastronut
for Blink. Blink would have seemed out of place in seasons 1 and 2 a probably the current season as well. In the season 3 given the darker sacrrier tone of the season as a whole, Blink fit prfectly.
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That's ridiculous. A whole season set the tone for one episode? that episode had better be the finale.
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more that Moffat was inspired by the nature of the season so far to go a bit darker, which
I liked. -
I preferred the darker tone on season 3- but I wouldn't say that Blink would be out of place in any of the series. Even this one, although it could do with darkening up a heck of a lot of The Waspvicar Did It. I knew I was going to hate that episode as soon as I saw the wasp at the start and the lead piping.
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before seeing the other seaso episodes. I'm sure and RTD and other producers and writer talk about these things, he may have even asked, what RTD wanted to do in season and set his skills to helping with that.
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tone of the series- don't forget those gas mask thingummies in the first series. So far this season I reckon it has been: meh to crap, quite good, meh, meh, meh, woeful. The plus point was that Tate was growing on me, not unlike that thing on her face, before that atrocity last weekend. I'm really looking forward to the next one.
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with for this season.
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"stay out of the shadows" but I don't think that's a bad thing. I'd like a Dalek-free series. I'm getting a touch bored of them (something I'd never thought I'd say).
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where he shows it to some guy on the street, who then smacks him and says "you giving me a fucking parking ticket, cunt?" but it may be out of place.
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May 19, 2008 11:40:50 AM CDT
I like the idea of the Doctor's love for Earth being
by crichtonastronut
a fanboy love, not a part of his family. I always thought the Doctor liked his companions humanity because it was something he didn't that completed him because he didn't have. The half human thing never quite set right with me. But anything done right can work.
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May 19, 2008 11:47:18 AM CDT
For better or Davros's rumored presence makes a totally
by crichtonastronut
Dalek free season unlikely, but yeah at least freshen the approach to them a bit, the were pretty bad ass in season one. Would like to see the crusiform bit that scares the hell out of the Master. Does the Dalek Emperor still have that power an is the Emperor in fact Davros. He ruled a faction of Daleks for awhile after his first creations turned against him.
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First of all - it does say SPOILER so you guys who cannot bear to read anything, look away now. Now, it's not a HUGE spoiler in the fact that the trailers back in March actually SHOWED THE BUGGERING THINGS!!!!! Yes, I'm talking Daleks, lots of Daleks, Donna actually commented on them! For goodness sake. And I thought we would go a whole season without the f*cking things. Now, we have pics of Billie Piper blasting one in half on the street, pics of one firing at a milk man, and a very strange posting on youtube purporting to show the pictures of the new Davros... But there's shit all to see! Anyhow totally agree with fellow posters (Lost Jarv et al)with regard to that New York story. Absolute tripe from beginning to end. A two part bag of shite. You have an actress of the calibre of Miranda Raison and then get her to act like a twat! The whole thing was just dreadful, dreadful rubbish. I have my fingers crossed for the grand finale. PLEASE let's have some rollicking good action, moving scenes with depth, not just Tennant shouting - give him something to do! He's so good, so very bastard good that he needs depth and quality or the boredom seeps through. Oh and lots of Rose! (and no matter what you people say Billie Piper can act. The scene on the beach when she runs to her Mum. God she saved WHO for me.) And kill Martha. Horribly.
Possible future Doctor's - I always wanted Charles Dance - but far too old now and middle class is out of favour, so I'd go with Jamie Draven. -
Traffic warden gag - fucking priceless! Love it!
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that, carefulsilly, is a fucking great suggestion. I've avoided all the early BBC hype, because aside from Who there's fuck all I watch on it. I thought davros was just a rumour, but if they're back then so be it. I'd rather they weren't though. Squidward Dalek has ruined it for me. Glad you liked the gag.
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NOT a repeat of that appaling shite that masqueraded as the finale last year. Fucking awful crap- and I liked the 2 set up episodes. Fucking Dr Dobby the jedi knight and the power of positive thought. Especially when that cunt RTD had been wittering on about how this Episode was the big Martha moment. Big fucking moment, what a load of hoary old pish.
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but I never want to see Captain Jack in an Episode again. I'm fucking sick of him as well. Keep him in Torchwood.
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Oh Christ - Torchwood with that big headed twat. Is anyone else pig sick of that man? Fucking John bastard Barrowman - the one night stand that just won't go away. He was great in the Empty Child but we don't need it EVERY week. Sod off!!!!!!! Go away. Torchwood is such a total waste of wank. Eve Myles is amazing, but the rest of them...jesus wept. What a let down.
And Martha's big moment appeared to be cowering half way up the staircase of a terraced house in Cardiff. Oh and overacting. A lot. -
KAK!
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seriously I am sensing alot of negative energy here. Torchwood is great and this series finale was brilliant last years finale was good I will admit not great. Seriously though everyone steals ideas from everyone else, what is the big deal. As long as ideas are used in an original and new way that is fine, RTD is pretty awesome and without him there would be no new who. Now that is a very sad prospect indeed!
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Why do you keep putting down Squidward Dalek? Good Golly Miss Molly, if it wasn't for him and his buddies, Alpha & Beta, we wouldn't have the Empire State Building!!! At least give him props for that!!!!
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They were planning to take over the Earth and then, the Universe, but, can we overlook that? I can.
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Marthas episode was great. She got to be dead clever helping figure out the Reboot bug, and that very lever concept itself from the writers. She also got to do some fun undercover work. She didn't near as much to do in her three Who episodes. Though her Martha meets Martha scenes were pretty good, and the Hath interactions. That bit with the missing people on Torhwood was heartbreaking. I look foreward to season 3 and hope they don't tame it down too much. I know I'm in the minority here, but one minority vote to another. I agree with Lloydywho.
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I appreciate the support there, thanks alot. I am sure there must be other people here that has much love for Torchwood. Lets show our love for the new who universe, Torchwood and all!!
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CrichtonAstronut, Lloydywho, I agree with you guys. Torchwood and Who have been great every year they have been on. If they tone down Torchwood to Who level, how can that be bad? If some of my posts are a little silly, it's because most of the posts here are so serious. Guys, lighten up, relax and enjoy the aw and wonder of Doctor Who. (BTW, I already know that the next ep of Who is going to be PERFECT!!!!)
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but now we're on to the last half. all quality and all worth the crappy daughter episode and the christie one. yeah, it was a "fun filled romp" etc. but it was more of a comedy episode than anything else. don't get me wrong, i love my light-hearted shit, but this episode felt more out of place than love and monsters.
either way, we're on to the quality half now. rose is back in episode 11 (i think) and then stavros returns to kick ass in what will probably be the best who season finale since Bad Wolf and PotW.
make the most of it though, we don't get much who next year :( -
hasn't let us down yet, so I expect next weeks ep to be brilliant. Looking forward to Torchwood to help tideus over between scials until we finally get seaon 5. The sarah Jane Adventures have been pretty good too. The last four to air on Scifi were really quite clever.
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to the New York skyline. Whoops. Quite agree, We're into the non-meh half of the season now, so I'm hoping that they've left the comedy behind and lets have some fucking darkness now.
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utterly unspeakable. Arguably the worst episode so far.
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Worst kept secret in Dr Who confirmed: RTD go bye-bye in 2009.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7411177.stm -
Come on there must be more of you lot out there Torchwood was watched by over 3 million people, anymore wanna admit to loving the Torch? Welcome too the Grand Moffat this is going to be amazing!
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He brought Who back in the first place and made it a success. For this he'll always have my admiration. Even so, Moffat taking over the reins is great news.
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Goodbye, campiness...Welcome back, spookiness!
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Hope that's true. I'll check it out. That's great news. Mind you, there will still be some 1990's and 2000's sitcomsy and dramedy moments in the new Who, but it should only be up from here. RTD, when you were good, you were sort of good, and when you were bad, it was bad. Thanks for bringing the program back. We owe you that, at least. And, HELLO Moffat! Speaking of MOFFET? How about Peter Davison's daughter, Georgia Moffet? Quite nice, if I do say so myself.
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Here's a little something from Gallifreyone.com....The BBC Press Office and various media sources (originally broken by MediaGuardian) have announced that Steven Moffat is to succeed Russell T Davies as the chief writer and executive producer of Doctor Who when it returns for its fifth series.
The article states that Moffat will replace Davies in 2009, taking over as "showrunner" for the fifth series in 2010. Moffat has been responsible for several episodes of the revived Doctor Who to date, including the BAFTA Award-winning "Blink" and the fortmcoming two-parter "Silence in the Library" and "Forest of the Dead".
Davies is quoted as saying: "It's been a delight and an honour working with Steven, and I can't wait to see where his extraordinary imagination takes the Doctor. Best of all, I get to be a viewer again, watching on a Saturday night!"
The BBC press release includes a comment from Moffat himself: "My entire career has been a Secret Plan to get this job. I applied before but I got knocked back 'cos the BBC wanted someone else. Also I was seven. Anyway, I'm glad the BBC has finally seen the light, and it's a huge honour to be following Russell into the best - and the toughest - job in television. I say toughest 'cos Russell's at my window right now, pointing and laughing." As Sam J. Jones proclaimed at the end of 1980's Flash Gordon, "YEAH!" -
Just the 9 year old Flash Gordon geek coming out in me.
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May 20, 2008 2:07:25 PM CDT
I've loved Coupling, Jekyll and every episode of Doctor Who
by crichtonastronut
Moffat' written so this will be awesome to see him run the whole show. I've loved Daviesd take on the Doctor and he has my everlasting thanks for bringing him back to the screen, but Moffat's more thanproved is metal in a flawless trackrecord of brilliant award winning episodes so I'm sure we'll see some great thing this coming fifth season. Wouldn't mind seeing a Jekyll follow up either that was left wide open for a sequel.
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I'd love to see what he would do wth that group. Afrter all he wrote the ep that introduced Jack Harkness. How bout a Jekyll Torchwood crossover. That could be cool. Though I'd leae it to his own brilliant imagination to ome up with something completely different.
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First year had more miss than hits, but year two was a vast improvement. I am looking forward to the next season, and Martha's bum ;)
Moffat!!!!!
No more Jekyll :( but Who will only get much better... -
I am thinking that Moffat will be able to create so truly scary NEW monsters and obviously have a shot at some of the remainingg classic monsters. I personally would love to see his take on the Zygons and the Ice warriors. Oh lordy what about the Sea Devils now that is a pretty cool idea. What other monsters would you like to see the Grand Moff work his magic imagination on?
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May 20, 2008 3:47:19 PM CDT
I be he has some brilliant new baddies. The weeping angels
by crichtonastronut
were genius and the concepts for the Empty Child and the Girl in the Fireplace were brilliant.
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Have a heart, Jarv! LOVE AND MONSTERS = Dr Who X "Jose Chung's From Outer Space".
Come on, it WAS pretty funny. Except for the horribly out-of-place oral sex / paving slab joke, which really should've belonged in TORCHWOOD.
Seriously - there can't be ANY fun/silly episodes in new Who? I'm not against them, if done right. Ditto UNICORN AND THE WASP - contrived, yes, but contrived in order to fit the cliche murder-mystery dinner party template. Sometimes light and frothy CAN be a good thing in Who...
With you on Squidward Dalek though - I mean, no-one in the practical FX crew thought ot say out loud, "Erm, Mr the T... Why does the hybrid have 6 cocks hanging off his head? Isn't this a kids' show? Or shouldn't he be on the TORCHWOOD set, fucking Gwen seven ways from Sunday?".
I'm just saying. And the FUCK is up with this HIGHLANDER remake? FUCK ALL REMAKERS. seriously. -
May 20, 2008 6:33:14 PM CDT
I just wondered why the hybrid had a southern accent
by crichtonastronut
He's half human, half Dalek and his human half is from New York. How does that add up to a Southern accent. Did like the jam it put the Doctor in though. Love moral conflicts.
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Blink had some pretty funny moments. "It'll come to you." "Sally Shipton." "Life is short and you are hot." "I've learned not go near chickens, it's messy when they go pop" "All of time and space he promised me and now I work in a shop I have to support him." "I have that written on a T-shirt." "You can do short hand?" "Look to your left? I think its political." "You only have seventeen DVDs?"
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A Dr Who episode without the Dr. Complete crap. It isn't that there is no place for the lighter episodes, it's just that they are always the most cack-handed bollocksy ones.
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