|
DetoxP posted:I think I'm in the minority but I'd probably consider this episode - up to this point, at least - to be the worst episode of Moffat's whole tenure. I loving hate it. Same. I should really give it a rewatch, but on the first viewing it just didn't click with me at all..
|
#
?
May 29, 2015 04:20
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 14:21 |
|
|
I love the "you are unique in the universe" speech, maybe (EDIT: on second thought, definitely) even more than the end speech. Even though I know that the end speech surpasses even Eccleston v Dalek for the hammiest speech in Doctor Who (revival?) history. Also, he mentioned Susan. The singing would have been passable if it was actually just choral singing and not actually singing the words "wake up", which sort of reduces the impact to remind you that, oh right, this is Doctor Who and it assumes the viewer is dumb. Craptacular! fucked around with this message at 04:43 on May 29, 2015 |
|
#
?
May 29, 2015 04:40
|
|
|
The stuff that wasn't singing or related to singing was decent imo. The setting was cool, I liked the Doctor's hesitant "Well, that's what they believe" when Clara asked about the people's stupid beliefs, and her giving him the business over being a stand-in for someone else. Plus one of my favourite lines in the whole show: Clara: It's really big. The Doctor: I've seen bigger. Clara: Really? The Doctor: Are you joking?! It's massive!
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2015 04:52
|
|
|
This episode redeemed season 7 for me.  I love the singing
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2015 05:07
|
|
|
I don't like this episode. There's not even a reason. Objectively I don't think I could give it under a C because there's nothing especially bad or repugnant about it (e.g. no Blowjob Cinderblock), but it's just so... blech. How I feel about this one depends on my mood, though. I think I loved it at some point.
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2015 05:27
|
|
|
The song is amazing, even though the rest of the episode is hit or miss.
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2015 05:29
|
|
|
Jsor posted:I don't like this episode. There's not even a reason. Objectively I don't think I could give it under a C because there's nothing especially bad or repugnant about it (e.g. no Blowjob Cinderblock), but it's just so... blech.
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2015 05:31
|
|
|
I normally hate singing in television episodes, and the trailer for Rings looked really cheap and awful and I thought it would be an awful episode. It absolutely blew me away and I love it a hell of a lot, and every so often I get the song stuck in my head and it makes me feel really happy and inspired 
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2015 05:34
|
|
|
I'm in bloody second?
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2015 05:37
|
|
|
That gif doesn't include the close-up of the nodding skull. 
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2015 06:00
|
|
|
I love the setting, I love all the aliens, I love the story of Clara's parents, but the whole thing just didn't quite add up. The Old God felt a little too Satan Pit redux, and the arrangement for the song did nothing for me. The episode is also peak sonic screwdriver is just a magic wand deal with it, so if that's not your thing, whoa nellie.
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2015 06:00
|
|
|
I liked this one. I did just post that I was down on Clara's initial character, but here's the thing, being generically charming wasn't really dragging things down, and there are some really good and entertaining stories told in the back half of season 7. The Rings of Akhaten has this big goofy classic sci-fi feel that Moffat doesn't usually go for, and I appreciated at least the feel of the episode, and how Eleven's yelling at an angry destructive God being differed from Ten's. TOXX IF YOU READ THIS PLEASE COMPARE THIS MOMENT TO WHEN TEN CONFRONT SATAN IN THE IMPOSSIBLE PLANET/THE SATAN PIT.
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2015 06:12
|
|
|
Dear Lord! I'm frankly amazed that I'm not just in first, but have held onto it through... how many reviews? And I'll join my voice in the chorus of people saying that they found Clara to be very, VERY dry during the second half of the season. It almost felt like Moffat was trying to Bella Swan it and create a two-dimensional character to stand in for the viewer, and I really found myself missing Rory and Amy.
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2015 07:00
|
|
|
Oh, "Rings" makes me itch. I can see what that episode was trying to be, but it just didn't come together. I think it would have been better if they'd found a little girl to sing that song who could actual sing with power and nuance (they do exist), and if Eleven's Big Moment speech hadn't been shouted at the top of the lungs, it could have worked, I really think it could have worked and maybe if Clara hadn't still been pretty much a card board cut out at that point, the leaf thing would have actually resonated... "Rings" could have been so much better.
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2015 07:08
|
|
|
I liked the episode for a simple reason I liked the atmosphere/experience That said it had a lot silly things The sun did not need a grumpy face and the screwdriver did not need to be dueling soundwaves
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2015 07:23
|
|
|
DeafNote posted:That said it had a lot silly things There is only so many ways to show the thing is alive. I agree about the screwdriver. Holding an infinitesimal heavy STONE door with it was goofy.
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2015 07:41
|
|
|
I stopped watching Doctor Who after this episode because that big yelled speech was just SO BAD, one of those things I couldn't believe got through so many writers and producers and actually made it on screen. It's one of the only moments I've seen that I think Smith straight-up isn't able to sell, because nobody could sell it, because it's pure poo poo.
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2015 08:22
|
|
|
Rings is bad. The first 10 to 15 minutes is okay, but then it falls apart with the doctor waving his magic wand around, riding a hovercraft with lovely effects, some vampire guy shows up and disappears, the sun from super mario 3 is there, the bad guy is boasted into submission from the doctor and his companion, the pacing is awful, the plot is just bullet points on the script where we jump from one to the next with no build-up or reason, the song is boring, clara is just a prolonged Moffat masturbation session with no character, bleh. The worst Smith episode.
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2015 08:33
|
|
|
Attitude Indicator posted:...the doctor waving his magic wand around, riding a hovercraft with lovely effects, some vampire guy shows up and disappears, the sun from super mario 3 is there, the bad guy is boasted into submission from the doctor and his companion... You say that like it's a bad thing. And you are wrong about the song - it was awesome. #FACT
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2015 10:24
|
|
|
The speech itself was fine to me, but just didn't fit right for Eleven. Now, Six... http://youtu.be/vasazrCYTCE
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2015 10:36
|
|
|
Bown posted:I stopped watching Doctor Who after this episode because that big yelled speech was just SO BAD, one of those things I couldn't believe got through so many writers and producers and actually made it on screen. It's one of the only moments I've seen that I think Smith straight-up isn't able to sell, because nobody could sell it, because it's pure poo poo. Didn't it also not work?
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2015 10:38
|
|
|
Tornhelm posted:You say that like it's a bad thing. you ignored the important part there Attitude Indicator posted:the pacing is awful, the plot is just bullet points on the script where we jump from one to the next with no build-up or reason,
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2015 10:39
|
|
|
Attitude Indicator posted:you ignored the important part there I didn't ignore it - I just quoted the section I disagreed with. I agree there were pacing issues with the episode.
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2015 10:47
|
|
|
Rings of Akhaten is the only episode I've never been able to watch the whole way through.
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2015 10:49
|
|
|
Tornhelm posted:I didn't ignore it - I just quoted the section I disagreed with. I agree there were pacing issues with the episode. which affects all the other parts to a degree where it doesn't matter if they're good or not imo. E: to clarify; Rings, like a lot of other episodes from season 7, seems like it was a 70 minute long episode cut down to 50. So all the potentially fun parts are somewhat disjointed and just comes off like random stuff. Attitude Indicator fucked around with this message at 11:12 on May 29, 2015 |
|
#
?
May 29, 2015 11:10
|
|
|
Regy Rusty posted:This episode redeemed season 7 for me. Same. The first half of season seven honestly had me turned deeply off of Who and I didn't watch any of these until the 50th anniversary special was a week away, and I was blown away by how much I liked--not loved, but had a lot of genuine fun with and liked--this episode. It brought me back.
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2015 11:59
|
|
|
I loathed every single second of Rings. I say this as a person who liked every single episode of the revival up to this. Give me farty aliens all day over this stupid MLP musical number.
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2015 12:17
|
|
|
I liked this episode and its hammy speech (I like it better than that one in the Angels two parter, definitely) and its singing and the sun who ODs on a leaf. I can't say it is the best episode, but I think worst episode ever is one hell of an overstatement, and if the "I'm really old, take me" speech is enough to make a person quit the show, I don't know how they got through the rest of the revival.
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2015 13:46
|
|
|
It's not a sun. It's a gas giant. The initial landing site, the market, and the temple are all in its rings. Hence Rings of Akhaten. Dave Brookshaw fucked around with this message at 15:08 on May 29, 2015 |
|
#
?
May 29, 2015 14:54
|
|
|
DetoxP posted:Nah, it's bad. I find it embarassingly stupid and overly sentimental, which happens a lot in Doctor Who, but I don't find it any fun to balance it out. Really, the whole leaf thing just drives me crazy. I totally agree with this sentiment. Stupid, stupid leaf. Stupid speech about how somehow the leaf represents a person who died and an unlimited potential of unlived days which could be applied to literally anything any dead person ever owned. I mean even in the already disbelief-suspension-straining realm of sentimental value creating universally measurable heft that end still comes out completely senseless. Honestly, I think the rest of it would've been fine if not entirely memorable (well, beyond the scenery), but that leaf.. that goddamned leaf.
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2015 15:19
|
|
|
Dave Brookshaw posted:It's not a sun. It's a gas giant. The initial landing site, the market, and the temple are all in its rings. Stars can have rings! Who said they can't!
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2015 15:20
|
|
|
MikeJF posted:Stars can have rings! Who said they can't! Well, gravity, for one. A star would be far too influential on its local surroundings to not collapse a nearby ring system within short order. Then you also have the fact that a star would be streaming out stellar winds that would blast apart any nearby structures. I mean, it's Doctor Who, so who cares about science, but it'd also be pretty much a death sentence for anybody in a star system if the star died.
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2015 15:31
|
|
|
I really loving hate this episode, there's a lot of poo poo I really want to like in it like the alien bazaar and the giant death sphere, but man Clara and The Most Important Leaf in Existence really drag it down for me. It's perhaps the worst Deus Ex Machina I've ever seen in Doctor Who which is saying a lot. Out of all the companions Clara's got by far the hardest start and this did not help at all. Also yes, I realized before I wrote this.
|
|
#
?
May 30, 2015 04:39
|
|
|
ashpanash posted:Well, gravity, for one. A star would be far too influential on its local surroundings to not collapse a nearby ring system within short order. Then you also have the fact that a star would be streaming out stellar winds that would blast apart any nearby structures. Not... really. I mean, the asteroid belt is a loose ring itself. And we have plenty of examples out there of systems with circumstellar discs.
|
|
#
?
May 30, 2015 06:12
|
|
|
LeafyOrb posted:I really loving hate this episode, there's a lot of poo poo I really want to like in it like the alien bazaar and the giant death sphere, but man Clara and The Most Important Leaf in Existence really drag it down for me. It's perhaps the worst Deus Ex Machina I've ever seen in Doctor Who which is saying a lot. Out of all the companions Clara's got by far the hardest start and this did not help at all. hmm, good pohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYQ1Okyi3g4
|
|
#
?
May 30, 2015 10:16
|
|
|
I can't believe so many people hate the speech in this episode. I mean yeah it's hammy but so is every single speech Nine through Eleven have ever given, so why does this one bother anyone? When I first saw this episode the speech totally blindsided me in the best way.
|
|
#
?
May 30, 2015 10:20
|
|
|
Because it's hammy but also not very good.
|
|
#
?
May 30, 2015 10:57
|
|
|
I really thought Matt Smith sold the hell out of it. Dude outdid himself in my opinion. I'm not going to see the "it's not very good" argument without more specificity because we are talking about a show where people unironically adore "Love and Monsters" and a Dalek literally shoving a grown man up its rear end.
|
|
#
?
May 30, 2015 11:02
|
|
|
Love and Monsters and Dalek rear end-shoving are pretty hammy too but are also not very good.
|
|
#
?
May 30, 2015 11:16
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 14:21 |
|
|
The entire concept of The Leaf being so literal is the worst thing Eleven's run has had so far, and its framing and execution is inexcusably bad. It's so transparently digging at validating Clara that, if you like it, you need to get in the mindset of why someone would dislike the speech/rationalization and keep that viewpoint through the whole thing, then really think on why you believe it has redeeming aspects and try to present them. There is nothing I have been able to think of which validates that speech's existence. It is, straight-up, hackneyed bullshit. There is nothing redeemable in it. It is the worst, most forced piece of trash this new series has ever pushed, and that includes a lot of RTD poo poo for both Nine and Ten. It is simply that bad.
|
|
#
?
May 30, 2015 11:42
|
|
