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I tend to appreciate or not appreciate Doctor Who episodes based on tonal consonance. My least favorite season 8 episodes were the first half or so of Deep Breath, Time Heist, The Caretaker, and Forest of the Night, because their tone felt off. The reason most of the season drew me in was that consistent tone, which was chilly and dark, but not in a "gritty" or "grim" way. More like an existential dread, underlining the Doctor's identity crisis. Although weirdly, I liked Robot of Sherwood a lot too, even though it was tonally dissonant with the rest of the season. But it had an internally consistent tone.
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Dec 19, 2014 21:33
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| # ? Apr 20, 2024 03:03 |
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The Seeds of Power The Seeds of Fear The Seeds of Evil The Seeds of the World The Seeds of Decay The Seeds of St Bartholomew's Eve
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Dec 19, 2014 21:33
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DoctorWhat posted:
Oh here we go, another voyage around the English language.
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Dec 19, 2014 21:39
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MrL_JaKiri posted:The Seeds of St Bartholomew's Eve Legit want to watch this.
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Dec 19, 2014 21:48
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MrL_JaKiri posted:The Seeds of Power "...of Death" works pretty well too. The Curse of Death The Horns of Death The Brain of Death Planet of Death The Massacre of Death
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Dec 19, 2014 22:04
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Forktoss posted:The Massacre of Death Mary Whitehouse furiously scribbles a letter to the editor.
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Dec 19, 2014 22:05
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Jerusalem posted:Mary Whitehouse furiously scribbles a letter to the editor. It's a sequel to The Deadly Assassin
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Dec 19, 2014 22:06
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I'm just rewatching Remembrance of the Daleks (I found the special edition DVD somewhere for £3 while hunting for the last of my Christmas presents and I figured that the special features and all-round better quality of the episodes themselves was worth it) and I'd forgotten just how good it actually is. I've seen all of the post-Genesis Dalek stories bar Revelation of the Daleks and I think that this is the only one that manages to make the Daleks look good since it doesn't make Davros the focus of the story, just a key part of part 4. Also Ace is probably the best companion there's ever been... The part one cliffhanger was so good I'm sure they reused it in part of Parting of the Ways... The first classic Doctor Who's that I saw was about five years ago when my Mum bought me Caves of Androzani and the original Remembrance of the Daleks for Christmas: that's probably one of the best combination of classic stories that you could get someone to get them into classic who tbh
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Dec 20, 2014 01:42
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IceAgeComing posted:I'm just rewatching Remembrance of the Daleks (I found the special edition DVD somewhere for £3 while hunting for the last of my Christmas presents and I figured that the special features and all-round better quality of the episodes themselves was worth it) and I'd forgotten just how good it actually is. I've seen all of the post-Genesis Dalek stories bar Revelation of the Daleks and I think that this is the only one that manages to make the Daleks look good since it doesn't make Davros the focus of the story, just a key part of part 4. Also Ace is probably the best companion there's ever been... The part one cliffhanger was so good I'm sure they reused it in part of Parting of the Ways... I think the Remembrance cliffhanger does it much better honestly. It's confident enough in its own strength that it doesn't even have to call attention to the fact that the Dalek's going up stairs. Dalek, I think, spells it out too much. You can call it out, but I think having Rose actually taunt the Dalek goes a bit far.
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Dec 20, 2014 01:56
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So...what did I get from my Secret Santa, Diabolik 900, this year? A little something my stepdaughter will love and something my wife will take to work with her...  A little something that is now fighting my Dalek ornament...  And a REALLY FREAKING AWESOME something that's getting framed and hung on my home office wall ASAP!  Absolutely ace, Diabolik 900! Thank you so much!
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Dec 20, 2014 02:34
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Sweet! So glad to see they came and that you like them. Please share any particularly good results from the Mad Libs.
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Dec 20, 2014 03:13
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MrL_JaKiri posted:The Seeds of Power The Web of Caves
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Dec 20, 2014 03:25
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That was the best season finale I've seen since Big Bang. That was the best stinger I've seen since the fat blue head shouting DOCTOR WHO at the screen. That was the only decent use of Cybermen since Doomsday, which proves that Cybermen are only good when showing off how utterly useless they are. This stupid show owns, everything owns, Michelle Gomez owns even harder where was this woman when I was enduring John Simm
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Dec 20, 2014 05:33
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Oxxidation posted:Michelle Gomez owns even harder I liked Simm but she is utterly incredible, I can watch her as the Master all day, and ESPECIALLY her interactions with Peter Capaldi.
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Dec 20, 2014 05:37
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Oxxidation posted:That was the best season finale I've seen since Big Bang. That was the best stinger I've seen since the fat blue head shouting DOCTOR WHO at the screen. That was the only decent use of Cybermen since Doomsday, which proves that Cybermen are only good when showing off how utterly useless they are. I can't wait till Toxx gets to see this. 
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Dec 20, 2014 10:34
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Oxxidation posted:Michelle Gomez owns even harder I know, right? She is amazing and single-handedly made the entire finale.
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Dec 20, 2014 13:57
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MikeJF posted:I know, right? She is amazing and single-handedly made the entire finale. I liked it as a Cyberman episode, and think it would've been great as just a Cyberman story, and even I agree with this. She's fantastic, and I want her back all the time.
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Dec 20, 2014 14:04
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Bananas!
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Dec 20, 2014 14:30
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I love how quickly everyone shifted from "Ew, a female Master" to "Wow, this is the best Master we've had in years!" Note: the disgust was more from other more knee jerk forums. I was more worried Moffat would make her extra feminine to compensate.
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Dec 20, 2014 17:19
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Solaris Knight posted:I love how quickly everyone shifted from "Ew, a female Master" to "Wow, this is the best Master we've had in years!" Oh, don't worry, there are plenty of other forums out there who still hate the Master being a woman.
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Dec 20, 2014 17:33
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Solaris Knight posted:I love how quickly everyone shifted from "Ew, a female Master" to "Wow, this is the best Master we've had in years!" I read the thread for Dark Water and while it was horrible (all the threads for these episodes are, God, you people) the number of d-bags who either kept calling her River 2.0 or literally wanted her to be River just so they could keep the hate-train rolling was hilariously tragic. She won me over the second she did that "I have you now, my pretty" chomp in her introduction.
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Dec 20, 2014 17:52
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You can now get the new Sixth Doctor & Peri audio Masters of Earth on discount for £10 on download with the discount code "DALEKS", thanks to the official Doctor Who Christmas calendar thing. Anyone heard it, is it worth a tenner?
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Dec 20, 2014 20:17
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Forktoss posted:You can now get the new Sixth Doctor & Peri audio Masters of Earth on discount for £10 on download with the discount code "DALEKS", thanks to the official Doctor Who Christmas calendar thing. Anyone heard it, is it worth a tenner? I think I remember liking it.
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Dec 20, 2014 20:49
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Forktoss posted:You can now get the new Sixth Doctor & Peri audio Masters of Earth on discount for £10 on download with the discount code "DALEKS", thanks to the official Doctor Who Christmas calendar thing. Anyone heard it, is it worth a tenner? Don't look at me, I was so disappointed by The Widow's Assassin that I haven't bothered.
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Dec 20, 2014 20:52
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double post
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Dec 20, 2014 21:50
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Forktoss posted:You can now get the new Sixth Doctor & Peri audio Masters of Earth on discount for £10 on download with the discount code "DALEKS", thanks to the official Doctor Who Christmas calendar thing. Anyone heard it, is it worth a tenner? It's pretty decent. The premise is neat, and each episode manages to keep things fresh. Not one of my favourites but still, it's Six and Peri! Definitely worth a tenner.
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Dec 20, 2014 22:49
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Cruel Rose posted:It's pretty decent. The premise is neat, and each episode manages to keep things fresh. Not one of my favourites but still, it's Six and Peri! Definitely worth a tenner. How heavy does it lean on the "cannot rewrite history, not one line" stuff? I'm honestly sick and tired of those types of stories, and between Doctor What's taking The Widow's Assassin to task, I've not gotten an audio in a while. Also, has anybody gotten The Rani Elite yet? I think I might just blind buy this one, since between the new Rani, the new Master, the other new Master, and the new Doctor, it's just canon now that all Time Lords are Scottish.
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Dec 20, 2014 23:02
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Rochallor posted:Also, has anybody gotten The Rani Elite yet? I think I might just blind buy this one, since between the new Rani, the new Master, the other new Master, and the new Doctor, it's just canon now that all Time Lords are Scottish. If you haven't already, you should pick up the first episode they've put up for free if you'd like a taster. I haven't listened to the whole thing either, but I quite enjoyed the first part and it felt like it had potential. And, of course, in true Doctor Who fashion the cliffhanger to the first episode of an audio called "The Rani Elite" was that the one super-suspicious woman behind all those weird goings-on was actually - and you're not going to believe this - THE RANI.
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Dec 20, 2014 23:18
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Forktoss posted:If you haven't already, you should pick up the first episode they've put up for free if you'd like a taster. I haven't listened to the whole thing either, but I quite enjoyed the first part and it felt like it had potential. And, of course, in true Doctor Who fashion the cliffhanger to the first episode of an audio called "The Rani Elite" was that the one super-suspicious woman behind all those weird goings-on was actually - and you're not going to believe this - THE RANI. I love Big Finish, but sometimes I just want to say, "Really guys?" Cliffhangers are fine, I guess, but the name of the monster is in the story! It's not 1966 anymore! Just cut to the chase! And while you're at it, you don't need to make every single story four parts and 2-2.5 hours long. The Eighth and Fourth Doctor Adventures work just fine with an hour of time, with the occasional two-parter.
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Dec 21, 2014 01:10
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 Time Works is basically the type of story I would have liked to have listened to in the Divergent Universe arc. Even though it's a story obsessed with time/schedules/deadlines etc and thus technically wouldn't fit into the so-called "universe without time", it IS a story that embraces the weirdness of a world that feels utterly alien to the "regular" type of worlds/scenarios the Doctor frequently encounters. It also has about the best use of C'Rizz and his own limited understanding of the concept of time I've heard so far, and even though the character still feels like he isn't quite gelling, this is another step in the right direction. It's a great concept and it is executed fairly well, with some neat misdirections, though this also leads to certain elements of the story being abandoned as the audio goes along - things that seemed vitally important or the overriding goal of the episode quickly become irrelevant or overridden by some more pressing concern. In that respect, probably this story's closest television counterpart would be The Space Museum from William Hartnell's era, a story that I also quite like - so maybe I'm biased in regards to the quality of THIS story. The Doctor has promised to take Charley and C'Rizz to a fun location - which in Charley's mind means a sunkissed beach or a big party... and in the Doctor's mind means a Bandril warship. They're ALL disappointed though, when they instead arrive on a planet with a seemingly pre-industrial society frozen in time. They wander a city of market stalls, horse drawn carriages.... and wristwatches. Every single person wears a wristwatch, and every single one is showing the exact same time - the society appears to have frozen in place at 8 seconds past 5 in the afternoon. As they explore, they increasingly find signs that something is wrong with this place beyond the obvious - a giant clocktower sits at the center of a castle overlooking the town, the militia were chasing a woman clutching a device that is strangely familiar to the Doctor, and the Doctor keeps hearing an odd sound that Charley and C'Rizz do not.... and then suddenly the Doctor is gone, and the TARDIS is similarly frozen in place, the key unable to turn in the lock to let them back in. Through this first part of this story, the driving force is the attempt by the Doctor to reunite with Charley and C'Rizz. The TARDIS, confused by the odd time aberrations of the planet, has jumped back in time a couple of hours and taken the Doctor with it. With time running properly in the "past", his fear now is that if he doesn't reunite with his companions by 5pm (and 8 seconds) then they will remain trapped in that time forever. They in turn are searching for him, a frustrated Charley interfering with some of the frozen people on the way till she arrives in the court of the King and discovers to her horror the Doctor frozen along with everybody else, surrounded by 4 guards, one of whom is swinging an axe to behead him. So while the Doctor is running around in the past trying to figure out how to find Charley and C'Rizz, they in turn are in the present trying to figure out how to save him from a fate he doesn't realize he is running straight into. If that alone had been the entire premise of the story it could have carried the audio easily, much like the TARDIS crew trying to avoid their fate as exhibits in The Space Museum COULD have carried that entire serial as well. Instead, this just serves as the set-up for the actual storyline, as both the Doctor and companions independently discover the inner workings of the society they have become trapped in. Interestingly, it is the companions who get to meet and interact with the behind-the-scenes powers, while the Doctor is left to figure things out from the "outside" through his interactions with the citizens who are effectively victims of the bad guys. It is fun to see the Doctor working things out with limited and biased data, and quite true to his character that almost the first thing he does once arriving in the past is seek out a companion to work with. That said, there are a lot of false leads in terms of where the story and particular subplots are going. This both works and doesn't, in that it is a pretty good representation of the paranoia, confusion, and subterfuge that would be the hallmark of a society like the one the Doctor finds himself in. Characters appear, disappear and (sometimes) crop back up again later but don't serve to do much or impact anything - they're pretty much present as world-building, which is laudable but can also be frustrating. One character in particular has an enormous impact in interactions with the Doctor, with the quasi-companion, and with the quasi-villain of the piece... and then is unceremoniously removed from the story about 3/4ths of the way through. The quasi-villain is quickly shown to be as much a victim of the circumstances of his society as everybody else, but his self-interest and arrogance - as understandable as it is - does make it difficult to accept the almost sympathetic end-result for his storyline. The quasi-companion's partner on the other hand is shown as sympathetic right from the get-go but is actually technically speaking far more the villain of the piece, complicit in who knows how many murders. The ACTUAL villain of the piece only has a few scenes, and is very much in the vein of the villains of serials like The Green Death or The War Machines. There is only ONE scene between the villain and the Doctor, though it is a good one, and the villain's motivations make a logical kind of sense even if they're utterly abhorrent. There is a slight touch of the Cybermen to the whole thing too, especially when the Figurehead reveals that their ultimate solution to the directive to make sure the species doesn't waste their potential is to have that species get to the point that they can build robots and machines to do all the work, then kill off the species and just continue on without them! Most of the Figurehead's time is taken up in interactions with C'Rizz, which is interesting mostly because it serves C'Rizz's development throughout this story as he attempts to figure out for himself how he should act, react, think and feel. I think it's quite nice that we see him struggling to explain how time travel works when he barely understands time itself, and how for much of the story he talks about what the Doctor would do, what the Doctor would say etc.... and then by the end flat out says (paraphrased),"No, forget what the Doctor would say, this is what I say." On a minor note, there is a really interesting thing going on with the 8th Doctor in this story in reference to his thoughts and feelings on his prior incarnation. At one point in the story he talks with some distaste about a Time Lord who became obsessed with ordering the universe to his own liking, and my immediate thought was that he was referring to Rassilon. It quickly becomes apparent he actually means himself, however, or rather the 7th Doctor - and he makes reference to the 7th Doctor's penchant for taking down "corrupt" societies almost as a hobby. It's rare (at least so far in Big Finish) to hear the 8th Doctor talk about his prior selves AND how he feels about the man (men) he used to be. If we can look at his personality as a reaction to his prior self - the 8th Doctor is a far more reactive, relaxed and ultimately hopeful incarnation than the often scheming, grandmaster 7th Doctor who went out of his way to track down and destroy corrupt Governments/societies. And yet, in what I thought was a rather sweet moment, at the end of this story, the Doctor confronts the Figurehead in best 7th Doctor fashion, points out that it took him 2.5 hours to end this corrupt society ("not a personal best" he says, or words to that effect) and then adds in a thank you to the Figurehead, because he has regained an appreciation for "my work". It feels to me like the 8th Doctor coming to terms with his prior self's attitude and appreciating once again the value of that attitude. I'll be very interested to see what if any impact this has on the 8th Doctor as a character going forward. Interestingly, the Clockwork Men of this story bear a very passing similarity (in description at least) to the Clockword Droids of The Girl in the Fireplace, and this story was released a couple of months before the latter aired on television. They're really cool in concept, though in practice they're more like the "Spoonheads" from The Bells of Saint John - they're there for the cool "look" but are merely tools used by the actual power behind the scenes. They have no agency or personality, they're just the scary things that come out and put the characters into peril - particularly the companions. They serve to showcase the growth of Charley and C'Rizz (and Collis) when they figure out how to beat the Clockwork Men's "precognitive" abilities. They're not active antagonists, just a cool concept and tool for the development of others. Time Works works for me. It makes very good use of the three main castmembers, tells a very interesting story, showcases character growth including the Doctor's own, and does some interesting experimental stuff with time. It also includes a few false leads/dropped storylines or red herrings, and the morality of some of the characters is questionable at best. But the overall impression I got was a positive one, and it's a story I'd happily recommend. The Doctor/Charley/C'Rizz trio is starting to grow on me, which probably means it doesn't have too much longer to go! Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 04:02 on Dec 21, 2014 |
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Dec 21, 2014 03:48
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Thanks Santa!
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Dec 21, 2014 07:33
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bobkatt013 posted:Thanks Santa! Oh that's a really good read! Definitely one of the best BBC PDAs, it's got an engaging concept, a good ear for the Doctor and Romana's voices and is surprisingly funny too.
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Dec 21, 2014 13:20
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"OH YEAH!!"
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Dec 21, 2014 18:38
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The kiddo wants to know if, like dinosaurs, there are any episodes of the show involving a fight against goats. I am not making this up.
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Dec 21, 2014 20:04
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Has anyone said the bad guy in the Christmas special is probably Krynoids yet? I reckon it's Krynoids. Almost definitely not the Rani.
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Dec 21, 2014 20:05
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CobiWann posted:The kiddo wants to know if, like dinosaurs, there are any episodes of the show involving a fight against goats. I am not making this up. Goats have yet to appear in Doctor Who (on screen at least) http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Goat
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Dec 21, 2014 20:26
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Psybro posted:Has anyone said the bad guy in the Christmas special is probably Krynoids yet? I reckon it's Krynoids. Almost definitely not the Rani. Nah mate it's the Pescatons
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Dec 21, 2014 20:27
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MrL_JaKiri posted:Goats have yet to appear in Doctor Who (on screen at least) A goat was an animal that was a common sight in India. The most-well known breed was the Mountain Goat. Upon landing in 1947 Calcutta, the Tenth Doctor was, perhaps jokingly, worried about scaring the goats. So prevalent were goats in Indian society that it could be troubling if they were absent. Cameron Campbell once travelled in rural India and was disturbed by the fact he couldn't see even one child pulling a goat around by a string.
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Dec 21, 2014 20:31
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Like cows, goats also produced milk which humans consumed. (PROSE: Goats of India) Meanwhile, the most Doctor Who Wiki statement to exist outside of the sex articles: quote:Mountain goats were amongst the distinctive subspecies known to exist on Earth. [source needed]
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Dec 21, 2014 20:35
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I just picked out Festival of Death because I figured a book would be solid, and some archaic list had it, and you can't go wrong with Four 
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Dec 21, 2014 22:18
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