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 Arriving on an underwater base under attack, it's up to the Doctor and Clara to save the frightened crew. But also on board is an alien spaceship, and the base is being haunted by the most impossible of things. The Doctor's deepest beliefs are challenged when he encounters something he cannot explain. Can it really be possible? Can ghosts be real? Peter Capaldi is the Doctor in Under the Lake. X X X X X Cast The Doctor - Peter Capaldi Clara - Jenna Coleman Moran - Colin McFarlane Cass - Sophie Stone Lunn - Zaqi Ismail O'Donnell - Morven Christie Bennett - Arsher Ali Pritchard - Steven Robertson Prentis - Paul Kaye Writer: Toby Whithouse Director: Daniel O'Hara Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtY_E8TYosI Gifs by: J-Ru X X X X X Under the Lake is everything the first half of a two-part serial of Doctor Who should be – unique setting, secondary characters with identifiable traits, creepy aliens, and one hell of a cliffhanger that sets the stage for the second half while also keeping aspects of the first episode in play, topped off by Peter Capaldi showcasing just how energetic this incarnation of the Doctor can be. The TARDIS usually goes wherever she wants to go, taking the Doctor along for the ride. The Drum, an underwater mining facility at the bottom of an artificial lake, is not one of those places. In fact, it's a place the TARDIS wants to get far far away from, to the point that the Doctor has to apply the handbrake. While the corporate overseer of the Drum is more concerned with the facility's assets and the huge oil deposit it sits atop of, the military crew is focused on the spacecraft that was dredged up from the lake bed Its placement inside the Drum sets off a chain reaction of events leading to the death of their commanding officer...and the creation of his ghost, who haunts the crew alongside another, older looking apparition Of course, the Doctor knows there's no such thing as ghosts...but what if all the evidence points conclusively towards their very existence?  Writer Toby Whithouse (School Reunion, The Vampires of Venice, The God Complex) and director Daniel O'Hara have worked together before on the BBC series Being Human. Whithouse's script and O'Hara's direction combine to give Under the Lake a creepy old-school feel. With a great set of pacing that keeps the action moving while adding in moments to give the characters, the viewers, and the story a chance to breath, O'Hara also sets the scene with a shooting style that lays out just how big the underwater mining facility is but also shows just how cut off and claustrophobic the Drum truly is. By using camera tricks to show rooms and corridors as bigger than they really are as well as using computer screens and displays to show both a sense of scale and isolation, O'Hara also sets up a good scare or two in the process.   Whithouse's script throws back to the classic era of Doctor Who with its “base under siege” styling, along with your standard obstructive bureaucrat type (in this case, the corporate liaison played wonderfully by Steven Robertson), groups getting cut off from one another, and the aliens/ghosts/monsters playing havoc with the base's systems once the survivors feel that they are safe. Whithouse also touches upon the classic BBC science fiction presentations involving Bernard Quatermass as the Doctor attempts to use science to explain the metaphysical and the possibility of life after death. Throw in a couple of science fiction elements (a spaceship without its pilot and missing part of its power core), a unique setting (the ruins of a military town/facility flooded by a dam break as opposed to an ancient civilization like Atlantis or Yonagumi-Jima), an enemy who shows flashes of intelligence (the ghosts splitting up and going after two targets instead of one), a good bit of corridor running, and a few moments of humor, and Whithouse's script combined with O'Hara's direction sets the table for one cracker of a story. Of course, it also helps that Whithouse's ghost are as creepy as hell, missing their eyes and repeating the same words over and over again as well as realizing how to use the base's day/night cycle to their advantage. The concept behind them is unnerving as well – alien words rewriting one's brain to become a sort of intergalactic transmitter once they've died...  A good script is nothing without a good cast. The secondary characters in Under the Lake aren't fully fleshed out, but they're fleshed out enough for story purposes – the tough as nails Commanding Officer who becomes the Drum's first victim (Colin McFarlane, who provided the voices of the Angel Host in Voyage of the Damned), the skeptical but curious scientist (Arsher Ali from the hilarious film Four Lions), the fangirl who recognizes the Doctor when the psychic paper proclaims him from UNIT (Morven Christie), and the second-in-command/now-in-command Cass, played by Sophie Stone. Stone is the first deaf actress at the Royal Academy for the Dramatic Arts, and in this episode's Doctor Who Extra she praises Whithouse's script for ”the fact that he's written for a deaf character that isn't vulnerable, who isn't a victim, or typecast as someone who can't – she was definitely a can-do girl.” Says it better than I could. But Cass is a great character who, along with Zapi Ismail doing the translating, looks out for her crew first and foremost, realizing and calling out the Doctor when she attempts to evacuate the base to keep them safe. What impressed me about the whole thing is that Cass being deaf and communicating through sign never seemed weird, out of place, or as some sort of casting stunt. Cass is an awesome character who just happens to be deaf, and hopefully that kind of zen-like “realizing by not realizing” realization is a hopeful sign for television casting in years to come! Clara is in full-blown companion mode after two weeks at Missy's side, and Jenna Coleman channels her performance from Flatline a bit in this episode. From the get-go after returning from some sort of long party, Clara is incredibly eager, ready to enjoy the next adventure to the point where the Doctor has to tell her to take it down a notch.  While Clara does what a good companion should do – ask questions, do what the Doctor tells her, runs like the dickens, appear to be in danger, and realize that it just might be all up to her once the cliffhanger hits – there's one thing that's just a little off. Jenna Coleman is fine in this episode, and it appears the next episode will see her acting in a Doctor-like capacity. It's a concern with the script, the only drawback I have with Under the Lake. With all the talk of ghosts and the possibility of life after death, there's no mention of Danny Pink, who's death and survival thereafter was a huge part of Clara's story arc last season. We don't know just how long it's been since Night of the Living Cybermen, but the scene in the TARDIS where the Doctor reminds Clara to take a deep breath and be careful wouldn't have seemed as out of place as it did if the Doctor had said something more than “get in a relationship or find a hobby.” How was Peter Capaldi in this episode? Let me check my notes.  Capaldi's performance in Under the Lake seemed to channel a bit of both William Hartnell and Tom Baker. There was Baker's manic delight at realizing he was dealing with something he had never dealt with before (the scene where the Doctor believed he was actually dealing with real ghost is a treat) as well as Hartnall's casual dismissal of authority (“Who's in charge so I can ignore him?”). This is an episode where there's no doubt the Doctor is an alien who takes interest in the the unexplainable and the inexplicable while not letting anyone else get hurt, with Twelve in full detective mode as well as logically putting himself in harm's way so Cass can read the lips of the ghost. Just the sheer energy that Capaldi exudes during his investigations is infectious...and something that Cass rightfully calls him out on at one point. As Cass is preparing to evacuate the base, the Doctor asks the crew, without asking the crew, to stay because if they leave they'll never know why this happened and spend the rest of their lives wondering about it. He needs their help, but he's not going to directly put them in harm's way unless they choose to. It reminded me a bit of Rory's joke in The God Complex about people who get pally with the Doctor needing to notify their next of kin. In a way, the Doctor saves lives...but he needs an audience. He probably could have solved the puzzle of the Drum without the help of the crew, but having them around makes it easier...and makes him look just a bit better. As opposed to The Magician's Apprentice and The Witch's Familiar, a little bit of tweaking could make Under the Lake a solid 44 minute episode. Instead, “The Season of Two Parters” continues with a promising first episode. We've got creepy aliens, we've got a unique underwater setting with the promise of another one, we've got Peter Capaldi being smashing and Sophie Stone an engaging actress playing a great character, and we've got one hell of a cliffhanger to lead us into the next story. I mean, unlike Missy and Clara at the mercy of the Daleks we all know the Doctor isn't going to die. Right?  Random Thoughts - A nice use of the much-discussed sonic sunglasses, as both a camera and a hologram generator. If you're going to use the sonic sunglasses as a plot device, don't just make them sonic. Make them multi-purpose! - The Drum sits on top of a large oil deposit? It's about time the people who run this planet of ours realised that to be dependent on a mineral slime just doesn't make sense! - Loved the call back to the Tivolians, the cowardly race from The God Complex. Otherwise, I would have thought the first ghost was some sort of fire-and-brimstone Victorian preacher!  Cobi's Synopsis – The first episode of a two-part story, Under the Lake is a gripping “base under siege” tale that harkens to the classic era, including one heck of a cliffhanger, with some fine acting from Peter Capaldi and Sophie Stone along the way. Next up - The ripples will be felt around the universe. Is this chain of events inevitable? And can the Doctor do the unthinkable? Peter Capaldi is the Doctor in...Before the Flood CobiWann fucked around with this message at 00:27 on Oct 7, 2015 |
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Oct 6, 2015 23:41
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MrL_JaKiri posted:The Seeds of Death I love this story so much, it's the first proper Troughton I actively remember watching and I was so pleasantly surprised on subsequent rewatches to find it was as good as I remembered it being. Plus it's got this wonderful scene where Wendy Padbury gets an active case of the giggles:  CobiWann posted:Next up - Stuff about the next episode - Peter Capaldi is the Doctor in...Before the Flood I enjoy your reviews Cobi, particularly seeing your initial reactions to the new episodes, but could you please do me a favor and not lay out the synopsis for the next episode before it has actually aired? I know you're just giving what is probably the basic write-up that might be found in the Radio Times or whatever but you've just basically spoiled at least one major aspect of the next episode 
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Oct 6, 2015 23:54
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Resurrection of the Daleks is really good. It's my first time seeing it. It doesn't look good, but the story is good. Probably the most I've enjoyed a Fifth Doctor TV story outside of "The Five Doctors" and "The Caves of Androzani."
egon_beeblebrox fucked around with this message at 00:17 on Oct 7, 2015 |
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Oct 7, 2015 00:15
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Jerusalem posted:I enjoy your reviews Cobi, particularly seeing your initial reactions to the new episodes, but could you please do me a favor and not lay out the synopsis for the next episode before it has actually aired? I know you're just giving what is probably the basic write-up that might be found in the Radio Times or whatever but you've just basically spoiled at least one major aspect of the next episode Bugger. Sorry man...I did take it from the BBC's website. But I will keep in mind any future synopsis where there might be a spoiler! Edited. Does it work better? CobiWann fucked around with this message at 00:37 on Oct 7, 2015 |
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Oct 7, 2015 00:27
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Consolidated rating for The Witch's Familiar: 5.71 million, the lowest since 2005. Or, put another way, a show that used to sit up with Coronation Street and EastEnders in the weekly charts is now being handily beaten by loving Emmerdale. Once again, the limit of timeshifting appears to be about 2 million regardless of whatever else was going on during original broadcast. If ratings stay at this level I wouldn't be surprised if something happens in time for the next series. Meanwhile, Under the Lake got an AI of 84, so at least the people who are left are still enjoying it.
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Oct 7, 2015 00:40
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Trin Tragula posted:Consolidated rating for The Witch's Familiar: 5.71 million, the lowest since 2005. Or, put another way, a show that used to sit up with Coronation Street and EastEnders in the weekly charts is now being handily beaten by loving Emmerdale. Once again, the limit of timeshifting appears to be about 2 million regardless of whatever else was going on during original broadcast. If ratings stay at this level I wouldn't be surprised if something happens in time for the next series. RIP Doctor Who
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Oct 7, 2015 00:45
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Trin Tragula posted:Consolidated rating for The Witch's Familiar: 5.71 million, the lowest since 2005. Or, put another way, a show that used to sit up with Coronation Street and EastEnders in the weekly charts is now being handily beaten by loving Emmerdale. Once again, the limit of timeshifting appears to be about 2 million regardless of whatever else was going on during original broadcast. If ratings stay at this level I wouldn't be surprised if something happens in time for the next series. I'd imagine Moffat and possibly Peter C. could be kicked loose. New blood, get people excited again and all that. I seriously doubt they'll cancel it yet. This could be the point where the Doctor becomes a woman finally, that'd get viewers. Tikifire fucked around with this message at 00:57 on Oct 7, 2015 |
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Oct 7, 2015 00:55
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Witch's Familiar was up against England losing at Rugby, I expect Under the Lake to do a lot better.
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Oct 7, 2015 01:00
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Tikifire posted:I'd imagine Moffat and possibly Peter C. could be kicked loose. New blood, get people excited again and all that. I seriously doubt they'll cancel it yet. This could be the point where the Doctor becomes a woman finally, that'd get viewers. I would hope not (about Peter C). Clara would be booted before 13, I would think. A lot easier (on the audience?) for a companion to leave than a Doctor. And the woman thing might, but I would think it would be taken as a gimmic, and the ratings would just go crashing back down again, since it wasn't the Doctor's gender that got us here in the first place.
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Oct 7, 2015 01:09
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RunAndGun posted:I would hope not (about Peter C). Clara would be booted before 13, I would think. A lot easier (on the audience?) for a companion to leave than a Doctor. I'd definitely hope not too, I love Peter's Doctor so far.
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Oct 7, 2015 01:12
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Enourmo posted:Finally caught the episode earlier. Really solid overall; I can't remember the last episode that really left me feeling satisfied at the end instead of IT WAS GOOD EXCEPT FOR [X], maybe Flatline? Well, IT WAS GOOD EXCEPT FOR...THE CLIFFHANGER. Getting really tired that characters that are CLEARLY protected by Plot Armor (yes, the TARDIS is a character!) are shown as being in "danger" as a cliffhanger. It was really thick last cliffhanger (Master? and Clara? and TARDIS? Nope, not buying any of it). And its done again this time. My only really quibble.
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Oct 7, 2015 01:16
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egon_beeblebrox posted:Resurrection of the Daleks is really good. It's my first time seeing it. It doesn't look good, but the story is good. Probably the most I've enjoyed a Fifth Doctor TV story outside of "The Five Doctors" and "The Caves of Androzani." Counterpoint: it's pretty bad. The daleks are written as complete imbeciles so Saward could have his so cool mercenary character get set up as really cool and competent (Saward wanted him to be a recurring character, beyond his additional appearance in Attack I assume) and he then goes on to make the story about him, and not the Doctor (the Doctor's presence is almost completely superfluous to the main plot, spending most of the time of the first three episodes either being confused in a warehouse or tied to an operating table). The plot really makes no sense if you stop and think about it (the Daleks are doing about a dozen simultaneous plans that get in the way of eachother). It's needlessly gritty (the well put together scene at the start with a lot of people being gunned down... what exactly is going on there? It's never revealed. Similarly, the Doctor is perfectly happy to slaughter the Daleks en masse, including shooting one with a handgun, but Davros must return in future stories so he gets off scot free. Either that or the Doctor is just a big space racist and didn't kill Davros because he looks a bit humanoid). It's also another fine case of Saward getting up his own arse with Doctor Who continuity, while also having things make no sense when that continuity is taken into account (how very modern) It does reveal something about Terry Nation though, quote:Meanwhile, Nathan-Turner contacted Nation's agent, Roger Hancock, to obtain approval in principle for the new story. To his dismay, however, Hancock indicated that Nation would not authorise another writer's use of the Daleks, since he had been disappointed in the past by those Dalek serials not authored by himself. viz: that he was an idiot with no taste. Those Dalek serials that he was so disappointed by? Power of the Daleks, Evil of the Daleks and Day of the Daleks. (To be fair, I enjoyed the "lovely space station" aspect as I do every time that idea appears in Doctor Who!) MrL_JaKiri fucked around with this message at 01:24 on Oct 7, 2015 |
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Oct 7, 2015 01:18
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Dabir posted:Witch's Familiar was up against England losing at Rugby, I expect Under the Lake to do a lot better. Is this a joke, because Under The Lake was also up against England losing in the rugby
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Oct 7, 2015 01:25
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Rhyno posted:A source that is apparantly trustworthy claims they have a small set designed for every Doctor. Where'd you read that? It's awesome news if true!
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Oct 7, 2015 01:26
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MrL_JaKiri posted:Is this a joke, because Under The Lake was also up against England losing in the rugby Let me tell you how much I care about the rugby. I forgot OK
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Oct 7, 2015 01:34
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Due to work, I have missed all the episodes so far, but catching up tonight and seriously,SiKboy posted:Michele Gomez is fantastic. That is all.
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Oct 7, 2015 01:59
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You think other Time Lords (and Ladies) look at the Doctor like we look at celebs with purse-dogs? "Oh for gently caress's sake, he's got another one, and look at how he dresses them up!"
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Oct 7, 2015 02:35
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MrL_JaKiri posted:The Hand of Evil would be a lot better if the obvious twist didn't actually happen. Although it did give us more Stephen Thorne shouting about how I CREATED THIS WOOOOORRRRLD "Eldrad must live" would be the best insistent, yet polite, line reading until Robots of Death. egon_beeblebrox posted:Resurrection of the Daleks is really good. It's my first time seeing it. It doesn't look good, but the story is good. Probably the most I've enjoyed a Fifth Doctor TV story outside of "The Five Doctors" and "The Caves of Androzani." Welcome, brother/sister/fellow being. 
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Oct 7, 2015 02:35
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Gaz-L posted:You think other Time Lords (and Ladies) look at the Doctor like we look at celebs with purse-dogs? "Oh for gently caress's sake, he's got another one, and look at how he dresses them up!" I think the TARDIS commented about the Doctor "picking up strays"...
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Oct 7, 2015 03:12
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CobiWann posted:Edited. Does it work better? That's cool, thanks 
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Oct 7, 2015 04:32
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Trin Tragula posted:Consolidated rating for The Witch's Familiar: 5.71 million, the lowest since 2005. Or, put another way, a show that used to sit up with Coronation Street and EastEnders in the weekly charts is now being handily beaten by loving Emmerdale. Once again, the limit of timeshifting appears to be about 2 million regardless of whatever else was going on during original broadcast. If ratings stay at this level I wouldn't be surprised if something happens in time for the next series. I feel a bit bad for Capaldi who seems to genuinely enjoy being the Doctor.
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Oct 7, 2015 05:38
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saucerman posted:I feel a bit bad for Capaldi who seems to genuinely enjoy being the Doctor. I'm a little worried it's because the tumblr girlfans have left in droves because they can't ship the Doctor anymore.
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Oct 7, 2015 08:45
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Espilae posted:I'm a little worried it's because the tumblr girlfans have left in droves because they can't ship the Doctor anymore. I doubt it, last year's ratings were pretty solid.
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Oct 7, 2015 08:58
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Cleretic posted:I doubt it, last year's ratings were pretty solid. Yeah, I'm far more inclined to think this is just down to the Rugby, though we'll get a better idea now that England are basically dead.
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Oct 7, 2015 09:01
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Are BBC America's numbers taken into account in any capacity? If so, I can't wait to see the time shifted numbers for "Breakfast with Baker!"
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Oct 7, 2015 09:35
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Espilae posted:I'm a little worried it's because the tumblr girlfans have left in droves because they can't ship the Doctor anymore. Is that a particularly numerous viewer demographic?
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Oct 7, 2015 10:15
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egon_beeblebrox posted:Resurrection of the Daleks is really good. It's my first time seeing it. It doesn't look good, but the story is good. Probably the most I've enjoyed a Fifth Doctor TV story outside of "The Five Doctors" and "The Caves of Androzani." I like Resurrection much more than I should. It's relentlessly bleak (e.g. the body count, the effects of the Daleks' poison gas on the space prison crew, the nihilistic offing of the riverside detectorist etc.) which really works well with the overcast gritty location filming. Having Tegan leave at the end of the story due to the bleakness is almost like the programme holding its hands up and admitting it might have gone too far this time. How about some Peter Wyngarde in Lanzarote to lighten things up? Yes, it's got about four plots too many by the final episode, yes, the Doctor doesn't really do anything except walk around a warehouse, lie on a table and point a gun at Davros, yes, the dialogue is functional at best, and yes, Rodney Bewes can't stand the confusion in his mind, but... well, okay, it still isn't exactly good in any objective sense. But I still like it. Probably a lot more than if it had been directed by Peter Moffatt or Ron Jones, say. I actually think it looks pretty good for its time, daft headwear and shaving foam effects notwithstanding. Anyway, what I heard was that Nation was annoyed at the changes and additions Douglas Adams had made to Destiny of the Daleks (the jokes about them not being able to go upstairs, and so on) and had to be persuaded that the production team weren't going to take the mickey out of the Daleks again. This is a bit rich as apparently the scripts he had delivered for Destiny were very "thin" and had to be worked on heavily by Adams even just to fill out the running time to an acceptable length. I'd be surprised if he was thinking specifically about Evil or Power, not least because he'd happily written several Dalek stories for the show since their broadcast without bringing it up, but it's certainly possible. Oh, and it might sound like I'm forever defending Saward, but according to him he was happy to start from scratch with a completely new plotline for Resurrection, however JNT insisted he carry on from where Destiny left off, thus simultaneously satisfying a handful of Doctor Who fans and alienating the general viewing public at large. Ah, 1984!
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Oct 7, 2015 10:21
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qntm posted:Is that a particularly numerous viewer demographic? Viewing figures would seem to suggest they're not, as season 8 seems to have been on par with all the previous seasons including Tennant's. It's far, far, far, far, far too early to "panic" about the future of Doctor Who. pinacotheca posted:I like Resurrection much more than I should. This sums up a lot of my own feelings about it. There is a ton that is demonstrably bad about it, but there's just something about it I like. v  v
Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 10:24 on Oct 7, 2015 |
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Oct 7, 2015 10:21
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Jerusalem posted:It's far, far, far, far, far too early to "panic" about the future of Doctor Who. I don't know, cancellation is the Doctor's oldest and greatest nemesis.
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Oct 7, 2015 10:52
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I have two friends that are very much "Tumblr Girlfans". Only one of them uses Tumblr, but both are very, very much in the "post glurgy pictures with poems/short fanfiction about Rose/10" demographic which I assume is what people are generally alluding to, and they've really been digging this series so far. One of them had a lot of criticisms of Capaldi's tone in Series 8 ("too mean"), but they really like Series 8/9 Clara and the episodes this series so far. Not a statistically valid sample etc etc, but at least those sorts of fans I know personally aren't running away. The people I know who are leaving are the ones who seemed to just be in it because they liked 11's wackiness, if anything.
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Oct 7, 2015 10:54
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the revival has been running for 10 years now. that's a long time for most tv-shows. And there hasn't really been any big changes to the show, and by that I mean that the formula is pretty much the same. A lot of casual viewers are going to lose interest after a while, that's natural. Blaming it on tumbler is dumb.
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Oct 7, 2015 11:08
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Jerusalem posted:This sums up a lot of my own feelings about it. There is a ton that is demonstrably bad about it, but there's just something about it I like. v I sometimes wonder if people just assume that "Resurrection", "Revelation", "Earthshock" and "Attack of the Cybermen" must be good because they have the Daleks and the Cybermen in them? (Not suggesting this is your view; it's just the discussion made me think.)
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Oct 7, 2015 11:19
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pinacotheca posted:not least because he'd happily written several Dalek stories for the show since their broadcast without bringing it up That was the point: he could write for the daleks, nobody else could. Nation didn't like the "can't climb stairs" bit because he thought it'd make the daleks less popular if their obvious weaknesses were pointed out - his are the actions of someone only in it for the money. pinacotheca posted:Oh, and it might sound like I'm forever defending Saward, but according to him he was happy to start from scratch with a completely new plotline for Resurrection, however JNT insisted he carry on from where Destiny left off, thus simultaneously satisfying a handful of Doctor Who fans and alienating the general viewing public at large. Ah, 1984! Contemporary sources show Saward decided very early on that Davros must be included because he found dalek dialogue to be dull. He was going to kill Davros off, but Nation refused to let him. MrL_JaKiri fucked around with this message at 11:42 on Oct 7, 2015 |
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Oct 7, 2015 11:38
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MrL_JaKiri posted:Contemporary sources show Saward decided very early on that Davros must be included because he found dalek dialogue to be dull. This is the same Eric Saward whose only problem with writing for the logical, emotionless Cybermen was that they were logical and emotionless, correct?
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Oct 7, 2015 12:07
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Today I learned that Sophie Stone, the woman playing Cass in the ongoing two-parter, is actually deaf. And is also a legitimate actor. She's going entirely without her hearing aid for the role (because Cass wouldn't have one), and had to work with the guy playing her interpreter to invent whole new signs for words like 'prototype'. Holy poo poo, this woman is amazing. If any disability would cause difficulties in being an actor, deafness is number one.
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Oct 7, 2015 12:22
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Stone is the first deaf performer to attend the Royal Academy for the Dramatic Arts as well. I loved her character (and the way Whithouse wrote her) because being deaf didn’t come into play at all other than the “semaphore” joke. Cass was a well-done leader type who just happened to be deaf. She wasn’t weak or vulnerable and her deafness wasn’t used by Whithouse as a crutch or a tool to put her in danger. It’s a far cry from some of the “have I happened to mention I’m [BLANK]” characterization that’s often seen on TV, especially American television.
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Oct 7, 2015 12:33
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Well, it does come into play in a greater way than that; she's the one that reads the ghost's lip movements, because deaf people are so used to doing that. Which is basically the best way to write her, since it gives her deafness a greater purpose in the story without making her a victim, of course, but also without creating some extraordinary circumstance where deafness is magically the best asset to have.
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Oct 7, 2015 12:48
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MrL_JaKiri posted:Contemporary sources show Saward decided very early on that Davros must be included because he found dalek dialogue to be dull. He was going to kill Davros off, but Nation refused to let him. Oh yes, I didn't mean to suggest he wouldn't have used Davros even if given a completely free hand, just that he would have jettisoned the whole Movellan war/virus nonsense. To be fair, though, that would probably just have meant a whole lotta Lytton in its place, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Luckily all this has alerted me to the fact that Nation wrote some episodes for MacGyver's first season at around the same time he was making his various Dalek demands of the Dr Who production team, which I will now have to watch to satisfy the same irrational urge that compelled me to sit through those two episodes of Magnum PI featuring Peter Davison.
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Oct 7, 2015 12:56
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Cass' translator, Lunn, has the most amazing eyebrows. 
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Oct 7, 2015 13:00
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The_Doctor posted:Cass' translator, Lunn, has the most amazing eyebrows. If the Doctor has “attack eyebrows,” what name would we give this gentleman’s?
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Oct 7, 2015 13:07
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