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First?!!
by hypno27
Dec 15th, 2006
01:44:28 AM
I believe is the correct thing to do
Would appear to be my first, first
by hypno27
Dec 15th, 2006
02:18:58 AM
Never thought I'd bother until the opportunity came up ;-)Bless you trans atlantic time difference and slight lack of interest in Doctor Who
Fear Her
by Ralph Hinkley
Dec 15th, 2006
02:20:07 AM
Sure, this initially looked like a good episode as it directly followed "Love and Monsters", but after reflecting on it I was a bit disappointed. While there were the good episodes like Impossible Planet/Satan Pit this season, after this episode I thought that this was turning into "just another TV show" as opposed to the greatness that is Doctor Who...but then came the two part finale (showing NEXT week) which I enjoyed immensely.
If you thought Idiots Lantern and last week's were shit
by photoboy
Dec 15th, 2006
05:45:32 AM
wait till you see this week's episode! It even makes "Rose" look half decent. But fear not, the quality returns for the last two episodes and we finally get rid of Rose. Hopefully next season will be awesome because there's no stupid Rose love story and Tennant will be dosed up on depressants to stop him doing his Jim Carrey impression in every scene.
Idiot's Lantern and Fear Her director?
by jccalhoun
Dec 15th, 2006
07:03:21 AM
It makes sense that they have the same director since they were both good ideas but not very well executed. I know someone who shouldn't get any more work...
Weakest episode
by Thomas Cromwell
Dec 15th, 2006
07:10:27 AM
Overly sentimental and smug. And I want to throttle that little kid. Why does RTD insist that the other writers and directors make Docter Who so bloody happy and twee. At least Torchwood trys to be a bit dark.
Fear Her
by Phimseto
Dec 15th, 2006
08:32:15 AM
Was def. the weakest episode of last season. However, the lamest moment of last season wasn't actually in a show. The writer of "The Idiot's Lantern" put in a line where the Doctor looks at the broadcast tower, grimaces a bit and says "Hmm...I fell off one of those things once." It was a direct nod to the passing of Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor, and would have been a great moment for fans. It never happened because Russell Davies struck the line out because he has this issue with alluding to the old show except, of course, when he doesn't (Daleks, Cybermen, Sarah Jane Smith). Oh well.
Oh...
by Phimseto
Dec 15th, 2006
08:34:12 AM
...and "Idiot's Lantern" = parable on fascism? Rubbish. This is as silly a statement as James Cameron hemming and hawing about T2 being a moral about nuclear war because he felt he had to after T2 beat Boyz in the Hood at the MTV Movie Awards.
This is the worst episode of bothe Series One and Two
by James_O'Nasty
Dec 15th, 2006
09:13:58 AM
Horrendous!!! Boring!!! I thought Tennant shat pure gold, but this one is bad, bad, bad! The only thing good is when the Doctor arrives and leaves...like removing a splinter, when you have it and know it is almost out, then the relief as it is out and the hole is filled by antibodies and the like, because it is over.
Weakest Episode of the Season
by dem0nseed
Dec 15th, 2006
09:39:25 AM
At least Love & Monsters got a more energetic response than this one, even if you hated it or not. This was just dull, and silly. Minus a few points for that way foreboding final scene that was oh so subtle in its delivery :)
"Fear Her" -- * 1/2 (out of 5)
by SpyGuy
Dec 15th, 2006
09:55:33 AM
While I don't really like "Fear Her," it gets an extra half-star from me for at least trying to be a DOCTOR WHO episode instead of basking in its own self-indulgence like "Love & Monsters" did. (And no, let's not rehash all that mess again, shall we?)

"Fear Her" is especially disappointing because writer Matthew Graham does such an incredible job on his series LIFE ON MARS. Unfortunately, Graham's Scribble Monster and animated kid's drawing of the Doctor end up being cheesy to watch, and for such a key role, could the producers have found a worse child actress than Abisola Agbaje? I certainly don't think so...

Two clunkers in a row
by INWOsuxRED
Dec 15th, 2006
10:29:04 AM
I remember really fearing for the finale after this episode. I did enjoy seeing the TARDIS have to re-park, and its always nice to see that children are dissapearing, but after that it just kinda sucked. Not as irritatingly horrible as Love & Monsters, but at least as dull and lifeless. With Sci-fi close to finishing out Season 2, will they be airing the new Christmas Special around Christmas this year, or am I going to be celebrating the birth of Jesus with a torrent? Anyone?
I'm confused I thought this season was good.
by Lovecraftfan
Dec 15th, 2006
10:35:29 AM
So should I not buy the DVD set because I thought this season was supposed to be good but it sounds like it sucks.
Behold...
by Thomas Cromwell
Dec 15th, 2006
11:30:24 AM
...the Doctor Who method for getting rid of the vengeful ghost of an abusive parent. Altogether now: 'Kookaburruh sits on the old gum tree. Merry merry king of the bush is he. Laugh, Kookaburrah laugh. Kookaburrah gay your life must be!' Repeat if neccessary or call the police.
Doctor Who loves Zombies!!!!
by Merlox
Dec 15th, 2006
11:34:01 AM
so i JUST started watching both seasons these past two weeks and I just can't get over how many Zombie-like foes the Doctor comes up against...it seems every enemy he faces is a slow moving mass of people hell bent on turning you into one of them or killing you (the plastic people, the cybermen, the diseased-ridden humans, the Daleks, the gas masked people, the Gelf, the Ood, etc)...don't get me wrong...I love the Doctor and Zombies...and there's nothing I find more creepy than a group of people slowly coming after you for blood....it's just something I've noticed
Saw the Preview on Sci Fi
by skydemon
Dec 15th, 2006
11:38:17 AM
While watching, "The Lost Room" miniseries. The promo shows the Tardis materializing with the door against a wall or something, trapping the Doctor inside, so he then has to re-position the Tardis to get out. It gives away nothing about what the episode is about, so it’ no surprise to me that this week is going to suck too. A pity, the writers could use a lesson in consistency. Budget, Smudget, they just got lazy.
Lovecraftfan: Buy the DVD set, just skip a few
by SpyGuy
Dec 15th, 2006
12:03:56 PM
The Series 2 DVD set is definitely worth picking up, if only for "The Christmas Invasion" and the 5-minute prelude set directly after "The Parting of the Ways," "School Reunion," "The Girl in the Fireplace," "The Age of Steel," "The Impossible Planet," "The Satan Pit," "Army of Ghosts," "Doomsday," the DOCTOR WHO CONFIDENTIAL documentaries (even if they are cut down), and the outtakes. I think that justifies picking up the set, especially if you get it for 30% off on Amazon.com.
Phimseto
by lynxpro
Dec 15th, 2006
05:36:31 PM
Speaking of references to the 4th Doctor's plunge from the Pharaos tower, the TVM had a reference to that with a passing comment when the 8th Doctor said he didn't like heights. But you are right, that cut line would have worked in that episode.
the awesome 2 part/hour season finale is next Friday
by lynxpro
Dec 15th, 2006
07:13:51 PM
Well, according to the programming guide on my TiVo. 8-10pm. With a marathon of season 2 episodes starting earlier at 8am - 3pm.
Lovecraftfan
by INWOsuxRED
Dec 15th, 2006
11:42:11 PM
That is probably a hard question to answer without knowing more about you. Did you buy series 1? Were you a fan of old Who? If you like either, I would ask what you like and could then have a better idea about how you'd feal about Series 2. Is buying the DVD the only way you'll ever watch the episodes? Do you care about the extras(Confidential is sometimes as entertaining as the show)? If you plan on watching the 3rd series, there are almost certainly things in the 2nd that will play into future stories. On the other hand, if you wait it out, I'm guessing you'll find savings in multi-season box sets in the future. You don't seem to be in any rush to buy now, otherwise you'd already own the set. The longer you wait, the more bang you'll get for your buck, and the more Who you'll be able to watch in a row if you get into it.

I liked the first new series better than the 2nd, but not by much. I don't think Tennant was as good at working with bad material, so when Series 2 was bad, it was really bad. Additionally, Rose is much less likable in the 2nd Series, and in many cases downright irritated me with repeatedly selfish actions with little reguard of consequences. I still wonder if this was a concious effort to lessen fans attatchment to her, a result of Piper losing interest in the show, or just coincidence. Most old Who fans enjoyed seeing the return of Sarah Jane and K-9, and overall that episode had a positive reaction. Mickey was good pretty much whenever he appeared in Series 2. Impossible Planet is pretty universally liked, with the 2nd part being well liked too, but not as much. The re-imagined parallel universe Cybermen are worth a look with another 2 part episode. There were certainly good parts of those episodes, even if they don't quite seem to live up to the potential. The 2 part season finale worked shockingly well, when it could have been a disaster. Probably best of all is "Girl in the Fireplace", which, if you aren't going to watch Who any other way, is probably enough to justify the DVD set. A good story, some interesting sci-fi type issues, good performances, and some interesting design work with the robots. The two major clunkers "Love & Monsters" and "Fear Her" are probably worth seeing once in your life, even if it is just to see how bad it could get, and to see what everyone else is talking about. Much to my amazement, there are some people that don't consider "Love and Monsters" to be total shit, you could wind up being one of "those people". There are some very good episodes and some very bad episodes in this season. I think the fact that the finale worked well causes some people to praise this season more than last, which had a less than stellar finale, imo, but was more fun to watch.
Just.... just.... wrong!
by WiseJoeyD
Dec 16th, 2006
09:00:59 AM

For a few stunned moments after it finished words failed me; glad then that I recalled Lex Luthor's wonderful delivery of the one word that summed up this effort. If you thought Love & monsters opened one up to ridicule from one's non-Whovian friends this one took the biscuit.

SpyGuy covers the major points but someone else said it felt almost like a lost X-Files episode. It had the feeling it was meant to play as an unsettling look into supernatural goings on in suburbia, but had to play as normal detective story for mainstream BBC 1.

*So* in with stupid "I'll draw the world and it'll be my friend" out-there idea tacked onto make it Dr Who-worthy and you had a show trying to deal with abusive fathers and single parent families and... and... a murderous squiggle?!

As a certain ambitious, ruthless, murderous, business man and scientist once said... "WRONG!"

INWOsuxRED
by Lovecraftfan
Dec 16th, 2006
10:58:02 AM
I really enjoyed the first season. I mean I have to say there were times where I didn't think it hit me emotionally, but I enjoyed it. And I have to say I got really pissed at Rose at times. The way she treated Mickey and particuraly her mother was horrible, but in the next episode she would kind of redeem herself. I just heard that the second season was a lot more creative and emotionally powerful. I'm going to pick it up mainly because I gave the first season a chance, but some of the negative comments here just got me confused.
its a mixed bag for sure
by INWOsuxRED
Dec 16th, 2006
11:59:01 AM
Putting up two of the worst episodes of the new run back-to-back is going to get people talking, it isn't indicative of the whole season though.
The final 2 episodes are pretty good...
by kwisatzhaderach
Dec 16th, 2006
02:24:36 PM
so hang in there. Love & Monsters is not only the worst Doctor Who episode of ALL TIME, but a strong contender for the worst piece of television I have ever seen. Fear Her is better, but not by much. The soap opera production design doesn't really help. It just looks overly cheap and the script is very silly, especially all the Olympics stuff. Keep your fingers crossed for next year...
Doctor Who at its worst....
by TheDo
Dec 16th, 2006
03:06:14 PM
is still far superior than modern american sci-fi. Enterprise, BSG, Firefly?
TheDo- Umm BSG is great
by Lovecraftfan
Dec 16th, 2006
07:07:45 PM
So Im not sure what you're talking about
BSG is badly written action-orientated tripe
by TheDo
Dec 16th, 2006
08:59:31 PM
yarly
Torchwood
by proper
Dec 16th, 2006
09:13:18 PM
dear oh dear or is it just me??? =0.
Here's hoping that the finale...
by chromedome
Dec 16th, 2006
09:29:57 PM
makes up for Love and Monsters, and Fear Her, twice over. L&M was definitely the worse of the two, I think, but Fear Her was not far behind in the race for Worst.

Billie seems to have checked out, and just showing up out of contractual obligation--she had ONE good moment: the hand-holding scene with Dr in the Tardis--that was the Rose we all liked to see.

Tennant is just not as good as Eccleston (or this season is so much more poorly written--or both, I suppose). He was good in the first ep, and in The Girl in The Fireplace, but is otherwise mostly annoying rather than likeable. His ONE good moment in Fear Her: "Ball bearings you can eat!!"

Chromedome: "Army of Ghosts/Doomsday" is worth it
by SpyGuy
Dec 16th, 2006
10:46:11 PM
While not as strong as last season's "The Parting of the Ways," "Doomsday" ends Series Two on a high note, if only because of what happens to Rose.

And David Tennant is as good as Christopher Eccleston (at least the readers of DOCTOR WHO MAGAZINE seem to think so in their Favorite Doctors poll), but he does need better material. Tennant really shines when written properly -- "The Christmas Invasion," "Tooth and Claw," "School Reunion," "The Girl in the Fireplace," "The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit," and "Doomsday" -- but too often the scripts (or the directors) call for unnecessarily hyperactive and jokey. On the flip side, though, I certainly couldn't see Eccleston's Doctor pull off "The Girl in the Fireplace," especially the scenes involving Reinette. Eccleston mugged and grinned a bit too much for the camera, in my opinion, almost as if he was trying to one-up Tom Baker. Hopefully, the scripts for Series Three will play to Tennant's strengths more now that the writers have had a year to nail down his Doctor's persona.

Fuck CBC
by UMAGA
Dec 17th, 2006
08:11:37 AM
They've delayed The Satan Pit for two weeks now to show Christmas shows. Christmas is on a Monday which means it will probably be delayed for three weeks.
what about the new christmas special?
by INWOsuxRED
Dec 17th, 2006
11:49:56 AM
Does anyone know if Sci-Fi will air it in a timely fashion now that they've caught up with the rest of the world?
Thanks, Spyguy
by chromedome
Dec 17th, 2006
02:31:21 PM
Glad to hear good stuff is coming up!

As for Tennant, I will give him the benefit of the doubt, since I DID like him at first, and he still has his moments. I suspect you are correct: the writing is to blame here. I guess my overall disappointment is that he started so well, and it has become hit and miss, now. I don't recall any such instabilities with Eccelston's Who--but there again, could be writing as much as anything.

My favorite character in season 1 was Rose, and I loved the way Billie Piper brought a wide-eyed wonder, curiousity, and willingness to trust the Dr. into the role. I thought she was pitch-perfect.

This season, and again it may be the writing alone, but not only has her character gotten cocky and arrogant at times, Billie Piper just hasn't brought the sparkle to the role as before. The hand-hold moments in Fear Her were about it.

looking forward to the finale, though, and thanks for the assurance that it is a good one, sir. Cheers

INWOsuxRED: No news on Sciffy airing "Runaway Bride"
by SpyGuy
Dec 17th, 2006
05:32:51 PM
Unfortunately, my money's on them holding it off to air with Series 3 in September 2007, just as they did with "The Christmas Invasion" and Series 2.

One bit of good news, though, is that Sciffy is rerunning "The Christmas Invasion" ON CHRISTMAS DAY (!) at 3:00 p.m. EST. Even better, they've slotted 90 minutes for it, so it shouldn't be chopped up to make room for all the commercials.

Why no reviews of Torchwood?
by TheDo
Dec 17th, 2006
05:51:35 PM
i'd write them if i knew there was interest.
Here we have a Torchwood review...
by Thomas Cromwell
Dec 18th, 2006
06:05:38 AM
This week's episode: very sad, especially when the guy met his son in the nursing home. Torchwood is still the Beeb's best weekly show despite moments of indulgence. And its better than Robin Hood
Torchwood thoughts; close but no cigar
by WiseJoeyD
Dec 18th, 2006
01:08:28 PM

Yeah I wanted to see a few more reviews (or even just good ol' plain *views*!) on Torchwood.

I myself have enjoyed it, but seemingly in spite of its attempt to hobble itself with its "crack team does something cool against a below-par scifi enemy with a few really nice moments of characterisation tacked on". Hmm, sounds like some episodes of Dr Who series 2!

Anyway, one of the problems with Torchwood is the majority of episodes at the start of the run were given over to Freak O' The Week formula. It was something they stuck to dogedly at the expense of brilliant episodes like the one we were treated to last night. A limited budget, action sequences that were stilted and poor directorial flourishes (how many helicopter shots can we fit in of Cardif bay!) cripple its ability to pull off a believable British Sci-fi threat in suburbia.

However the shows that worked best for me were the very first episode Everything Changes, They Keep Killing Suzie, Cyberwoman and Out Of Time. These episodes had us just looking at a team with its foibles and problems, getting on with their mundane jobs. Lots of character building. I think they needed more of these type of episodes towards the start. I mean, who would've missed the "Sex Alien" which was a clichéd and horribly childish attempt to scream from the rooftops "we're an adult show!" and had it replaced with We Keep Killing Suzie.

It feels they're only now giving the writers room to expand the characters, which is surely the wrong way round; this show needed more story arcs like Suzie's early on in the run to make us care about them and far less The Hills Have Eyes rip offs! Nevertheless I'll keep watching it in the hope for a few more quality shows (and especially any written by Cath Tregenna).

Fear Her is one of the worst episodes either
by cooper2000
Dec 18th, 2006
09:28:32 PM
Terrible as was the episode before it. Love the last two of the season. Great duel with old Doctor Who foes. Torchwood. Just ok so far.
is Sly a Doctor Who fan?
by lynxpro
Dec 19th, 2006
03:19:52 PM
I wonder if anyone asked him about that unresolved internet rumor...
Torchwood: Out Of time; utter brilliance *again*
by WiseJoeyD
Dec 19th, 2006
04:30:47 PM

Due to scheduling luck I've managed to somehow catch every repeat of this brilliant episode that the BBC have put on.

Aside from making me wonder how many times the BBC can get away repeating it in one week I'm actually quite happy. Got a friend to watch tonight's so here's hoping he'll come away liking it.

Oh and anyone else notice the formula that really worked well this week? Capt. Jack, Gwen and Own being split up and dealing with their own little love/motherly moments with these time travellers. Also liking Yanto going all Rain Man in the store when they're shopping. I just wish they'd had as strong episodes as this early on in the run.

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