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Which non-Power of the Daleks story would you like to see an episode found from?
This poll is closed.
Marco Polo 36 20.69%
The Myth Makers 10 5.75%
The Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Eve 45 25.86%
The Savages 2 1.15%
The Smugglers 2 1.15%
The Highlanders 45 25.86%
The Macra Terror 21 12.07%
Fury from the Deep 13 7.47%
Total: 174 votes
[Edit Poll (moderators only)]

 
  • Locked thread
saucerman
Mar 20, 2009

Chokes McGee posted:

This but as Ra's Al Ghul.

And they never mention the change, he just continues to be the same character as in Arrow and the Doctor rolls with it.

I look forward to him just appearing inside the TARDIS out of nowhere.

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Doctor Spaceman
Jul 6, 2010

"Everyone's entitled to their point of view, but that's seriously a weird one."

Big Mean Jerk posted:

Why is Ra's even on a Green Arrow show?

Why not? He's the right kind of power level, and there's not some Batman show around that he should be on.

Plus borrowing heavily from Batman is kinda how Green Arrow got started in the first place.

ThaGhettoJew
Jul 4, 2003

The world is a ghetto

saucerman posted:

I look forward to him just appearing inside the TARDIS out of nowhere.

I suspect that is an ability that Ra's, Jack Harkness and the actor John Barrowman all share, given that a suitably grand dramatic entrance is available.

MrL_JaKiri
Sep 23, 2003

A bracing glass of carrot juice!

Rochallor posted:

You two are the Peter Harness two-parter of people.

But neither are incredibly racist?

Ms Boods
Mar 19, 2009

Did you ever wonder where the Romans got bread from? It wasn't from Waitrose!

ThaGhettoJew posted:

I suspect that is an ability that Ra's, Jack Harkness and the actor John Barrowman all share, given that a suitably grand dramatic entrance is available.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlQfW9oK1G4

remusclaw
Dec 8, 2009

Unfortunately it looks like it's going to be some time before the change in show runner.


http://arstechnica.com/the-multiverse/2016/01/doctor-who-gets-lengthy-sabbatical-as-showrunner-steven-moffat-quits/?ref=yfp


Ars Technica UK posted:


Doctor Who gets lengthy sabbatical as showrunner Steven Moffat quits
Broadchurch creator and regular Torchwood writer tapped for top timey-wimey job.

"Doctor Who fans prepare to be bitterly disappointed: you won't be getting your timey-wimey fix this year, because season 10 won't hit our screens until 2017, the BBC has confirmed.

The reason? Long-running showrunner Steven Moffat has run out of puff. He will pass the baton (OK, Sonic Screwdriver) to Chris Chibnall—the creator of ITV's gripping whodunnit, Broadchurch—who will take over the iconic British sci-fi drama at the start of season 11.

The BBC, which fiendishly buried this news late on Friday night in the hope that no-one would notice, has promised a Christmas Day special, but that will be the first and only time a new episode of the much-loved show will appear on the TV this year.

Whovians may recall that the last time we saw the Doctor was on a date with his wife, River Song. The Time Lord explained that a night on Darillium lasted 24 years. Who knew that this translated as an entire year on planet Earth though, eh?

Moffat—who replaced Russel T. Davies in 2010—will leave Doctor Who after six years heading up the production, during which time he oversaw Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi as the eleventh and twelfth Doctors, as well as the sci-fi's 50th anniversary special in 2013, starring John Hurt.

"At the start of season 11, Chris Chibnall will become the new showrunner of Doctor Who. And I will be thrown in a skip," Moffat jovially said.

Meanwhile, will Moffat's final series—set to air in Spring 2017—go out with a bang? Chibnall says it will. One can't help but wonder, then, if a new showrunner will bring with it a new Doctor. Or, indeed, might Capaldi's Doctor regenerate much sooner than that?

One thing is clear in answer to all of these questions: we'll have a long wait to find out."

Turns out I was a little late in posting this, as people already know. It will stand as a monument to my shame.

remusclaw fucked around with this message at 23:33 on Jan 25, 2016

Wheat Loaf
Feb 13, 2012

by FactsAreUseless
Curiously enough, Britain's second-favourite navel-gazing gauche caviar lifestyle magazine today had an article about why Steven Moffat became the guy everyone loves to hate.

Edward Mass
Sep 14, 2011

𝅘𝅥𝅮 I wanna go home with the armadillo
Good country music from Amarillo and Abilene
Friendliest people and the prettiest women you've ever seen
𝅘𝅥𝅮
I think the thing people didn't like about Moffat's era is that we didn't get enough Doctor Who.

Dr. Gene Dango MD
May 20, 2010

Fuck them other cats I'm running with my own wolfpack

Keep fronting like youse a thug and get ya dome pushed back

CaptainYesterday posted:

I think the thing people didn't like about Moffat's era is that we didn't get enough Doctor Who.
At this point I'm glad we got less Who under him.

Stabbatical
Sep 15, 2011

Wheat Loaf posted:

Curiously enough, Britain's second-favourite navel-gazing gauche caviar lifestyle magazine today had an article about why Steven Moffat became the guy everyone loves to hate.

I thought he was still popular outside of some of us in this thread. At least that's the impression I got from all of Britain's other favourite navel-gazing gauche caviar lifestyle magazines.

Also, how many people actually interact with the man? This seems like a really weird idea on why some people may not enjoy the show as much. This would apply to what? A handful of media people and some tweeters?

Stabbatical fucked around with this message at 03:31 on Jan 26, 2016

Jerusalem
May 20, 2004

Would you be my new best friends?

Stabbatical posted:

I thought he was still popular outside of some of us in this thread.

He is, there are vocal elements who dislike him - some because they think his stories aren't as good as they used to be, others because they think he was a bad showrunner, others because of statements he has made around gender and sex. There are multi-faceted reasons for why some really like him and others don't, and it's a fool's errand to try and apply any kind of consensus to how he was viewed given how much trouble Doctor Who fans have agreeing on anything.

CobiWann
Oct 21, 2009

Have fun!


It has been four years since the Miracle, and Gwen and Rhys's lives have gone back to normal, very normal. They're raising their daughter (they've got pictures they'd be only too happy to show you), they're living in a nice house, and they're almost on top of the laundry.

Captain Jack Harkness has been missing from the world and their lives for a long time. But late one night the phone rings, and they're summoned to an isolated part of North Wales. The Bryn Offa Nursing Home contains a dark secret, an alien threat, and someone who really shouldn't be there.

Gwen and Rhys are about to discover that Torchwood stays with you for the rest of your life.

Eve Myles is Gwen Cooper and Kai Owen is Rhys Williams in Torchwood: Forgotten Lives.

X X X X X

Cast
Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles)
Rhys Williams (Kai Owen)
Griffith (Philip Bond)
Elunedd (Valmai Jones)
Gary (Seán Carlsen)
Ceri/Nurse (Emma Reeves)

Written By: Emma Reeves
Directed By: Scott Handcock
Produced by James Goss
Script edited by Steve Tribe

Trailer - http://www.bigfinish.com/releases/popout/forgotten-lives-1296

X X X X X

Torchwood: Forgotten Lives is a solid little audio. It's not because of the plot, or because of the secondary casting which includes a “recast” of a Torchwood mainstay, but because of the chemistry between the two leads, a bickering married couple, in a story which shows that Torchwood and its impact upon their lives will always be present.

It's been four years since the Miracle. Former Torchwood operative Gwyn Cooper and her husband Rhys Williams are enjoying a normal life in Cardiff with their daughter Anwen. No aliens, no cannibalistic Welshmen, no cyberwomen – just peace, quiet, and the occasional argument over whose turn it is to do the dishes. Gwyn's time with Torchwood is a distant memory...which makes the phone call from the Bryn Offa Nursing Home in North Wales very peculiar. It seems that there's a patient there who insists they know Gwyn from her time with Torchwood and that there's something very wrong with the staff – something of an alien nature...

After the exposition heavy The Conspiracy and the two-hander Fall To Earth, Big Finish takes the Torchwood range into familiar territory with a traditional, full-cast audio. Big Finish went with a first-time audio writer for Forgotten Lives, tapping Emma Reeves for the scripting duties. Reeves is known in Britain as an accomplished playwright and a writer/producer for a variety of children's programs. The plot for Forgotten Lives is one that would have been right at home during Torchwood's two televised seasons – a nursing home (in Wales, of course) where the residents are subjects in an alien experiment. The story ties into the larger “Committee” story arc in two ways. First, the alien race known as the Evolved are one of the few in the universe who have managed to resist being controlled by the Committee and have been brought to Earth to help fight them. Second, the Three Families who were behind the events of Miracle Day were actually controlled by the Committee. The Three Families/Committee tie is a bit of a throwaway line that exists only to tie the Big Finish audios into the main continuity, but the alien experimentation is very Torchwood – using alien technology to defend the planet, only to have it backfire spectacularly when it's revealed just WHO brought the Evolved to Earth...

(does anyone else get the feeling that the Torchwood organization isn't exactly the most elite group of agents defending the planet Earth?)

The Evolved remind me of the Eldar from Warhammer 40k. Utilizing the exchange of consciousness to transfer a being's memories and personalities from one body to another, the Evolved have developed what they consider a perfect society – no war, no disease, no poverty. They seek to expand their influence to other planets and other species that they deem worthy enough to carry their consciousness, whether or not the species actually WANT their gift. A nursing home in Wales is the perfect place to see if human beings can hold the essence of the evolved. The patients inside are barely remembered by their families and any alarm that they bring up can easily be dismissed as the ramblings of dementia. If Reeves is making a statement about nursing homes and how the elderly are often shoved there and forgotten, that statement definitely hits home.

The centerpiece of Forgotten Lives is the relationship between Gwen Cooper and Rhys Williams, and it's nice to say that this story isn't “Gwen Cooper featuring Rhys Williams.” Even four years after the events of Miracle Day, Gwen leaps into action as soon as her curiosity is piqued (a character trait going all the way back to the show's very first episode) and Rhys is there to not only keep her grounded, but also to keep her safe. Rhys isn't just some tag-along character in this story, but a husband who understands why his wife dives right back into Torchwood's mess and even though he doesn't agree with it (and lets it be known), he has her back and will do anything, ANYTHING, to make sure no harm comes to her. While Rhys covers the family aspect, Gwen is all about the duty side of things. As soon as she figures out just who has brought her to North Wales, there's no doubt she's going to be on the job until everything is settled. But she goes in with her eyes wide open, actually acting as a competent agent and acknowledging just how messed up the entire situation is, with one of the best scenes in the story being when Gwen calls out the pensioner Griffith on just how he's cocked everything up before turn around and threatening the Evolved . But the mental strain from her time with Torchwood and her dedication to its members is on display with one of the other top scenes, where Gwen threatens the head of the nursing home, all but ready to pull the trigger unless she gives him what she wants. In the behind-the-scenes extras, Eve Myles and Kai Owen both talk about how much they enjoyed getting back into character for this story and it shows in their performances. The chemistry that made Gwen and Rhys an enjoyable pair as Torchwood progressed is on display, now with the added layers of marriage and parenthood to their banter and discussion but also with the weight of Torchwood hanging on their shoulders.

The standout of the secondary cast is Gary, the manager of the nursing home. He played by Sean Carlsen who has been a big part of the Gallifrey line as well as Dark Eyes 3, and also played a major role as the Sub-Editor in the Eighth Doctor story The Natural History of Fear. All the signs point to Gary being a part of the alien conspiracy surrounding Bryn Offa, but Carlsen plays Gary as having absolutely no clue what's going on. Indeed, he's nothing more than a underpaid, overworked member of the National Health Service doing the best he can with the limited resources he's given, which extends to bemoaning the fate of a flat-screen television as “he worked hard to get a grant for that!” He's truly a government flunkie who actually GIVES a drat about the people under his care and the rarest of things in the Torchwood world – a truly decent human being. Which makes his final fate that much more of a downer.

Philip Bond played Ganatus in a little First Doctor story known as The Daleks. Fifty-one years later, he's playing the pensioner Griffith, whose phone call kicks off the events of Forgotten Lives. On one hand, there's obviously more to Griffith that meets the eye as he plays the confused elderly man up to the point where the pretenses are dropped and his true identity is revealed. The switch is instantaneous and Bond plays both sides very well. On the other hand, when Griffith reveals the truth behind his ruse, it falls into the same territory that Jack Harkness inhabited in The Conspiracy – in order to advance the plot, Griffith has to taken a firm grasp on the idiot ball (much like the Carolina Panthers did on the passes of Carson Palmer). For who Griffith is revealed to be and even for WHY he's doing what he did, his actions are incredibly stupid even for Torchwood, and it erases any possible sympathy the listener might have had for him.

The presence of the idiot ball is no reason to give this audio a pass. We're halfway through the first series of Big Finish's run with Torchwood and so far the audios have been enjoyable, with Fall to Earth an instant classic. Forgotten Lives is a darker story that relies on how we treat our senior citizens which makes it a bit unnerving, even with the presence of Gwen and Rhys to balance things out. In many ways, Forgotten Lives is what the blueprint for televised episode of Torchwood should have been and a worthy addition to its overall universe – a darker take on the Doctor Who that doesn't rely on sex and violence, but how we as human beings treat each other and how aliens might taken advantage of it.

Pros
+ A bit of a darker story
+ Eve Myles and Kai Owen slipping right back into their roles
+ Sean Carlsen's performance as the manager of the nursing home

Cons
- Griffith's stupidity

Cobi's SynopsisForgotten Lives is what Torchwood should have been, a disturbing story about alien experimentation on the elderly balanced out by the strong chemistry and performances from Eve Myles and Kai Owen.

Next up - It’s been three weeks since the Mayor of Cardiff was killed by a shop dummy and the fight is on to see who will replace him...

Tracy-Ann Oberman is Yvonne Hartman in...Torchwood: One Rule

FreezingInferno
Jul 15, 2010

THERE.
WILL.
BE.
NO.
BATTLE.
HERE!
Hooray! It's Christmas in January!



Thank you very much, The_Doctor! (There's an underscore in there, right? I'm pretty sure there is.)

The_Doctor
Mar 29, 2007

"The entire history of this incarnation is one of temporal orbits, retcons, paradoxes, parallel time lines, reiterations, and divergences. How anyone can make head or tail of all this chaos, I don't know."

FreezingInferno posted:

Hooray! It's Christmas in January!



Thank you very much, The_Doctor! (There's an underscore in there, right? I'm pretty sure there is.)

Woo, Part 1 arrived!

FreezingInferno
Jul 15, 2010

THERE.
WILL.
BE.
NO.
BATTLE.
HERE!

The_Doctor posted:

Woo, Part 1 arrived!

No no, all three parts of Survival are on the one DVD, see. :rolleyes:

MrL_JaKiri
Sep 23, 2003

A bracing glass of carrot juice!

FreezingInferno posted:

No no, all three parts of Survival are on the one DVD, see. :rolleyes:

Also it's part 3 of the Ace trilogy :reject:

CommonShore
Jun 6, 2014

A true renaissance man


I'm finding conflicting information from google news searches - is Netflix dropping Doctor Who or not?

computer parts
Nov 18, 2010

PLEASE CLAP

CommonShore posted:

I'm finding conflicting information from google news searches - is Netflix dropping Doctor Who or not?

They did this last year. It'll probably be back in like a week, tops.

And More
Jun 19, 2013

How far, Doctor?
How long have you lived?

I've been listening to a bunch of Doctor Who audio plays. Just some brief impressions:

Phantasmagoria
Very pleasant, completely uninspired. Forgot it almost immediately. 2/5

The Land of the Dead
Starts off as an amalgamation of Re-Animator and The Thing, ends up crawlingly slow and vaguely racist. The mostly lame banter between the Doctor and Lucy takes up way too much time. 1/5

Red Dawn
The Ice Warriors generally make for good antagonists because they can be reasonable. It really suits Doctor Who well when someone listens once in a while. Red Dawn executes on this premise adequately. However, all tension is killed by having the true antagonist be some snotty brat. 2/5

Spare Parts
This story takes the Doctor back to the moment when the Cybermen were created. It's every bit as nail-biting and depressing as one might imagine. Especially the fate of Yvonne and her family made the apocalyptic scenario more than just a pretty backdrop. 4/5

Whispers of Terror
Taking the concept of audio to create a monster unique to the medium is no small feat. In Whispers, the sound creature's abilities shift from scene to scene. What it can or can't do seems up to the whims of the author. The ultimate downfall of the story, however, is Beth who couldn't be more one note. 2/5

The Marian Conspiracy
Evelyn Smithe is a lot of fun. She carries the story on her own. Sadly, the script is not as inspired. You can see the big plot twists coming from a mile away. Still good. 3/5

The Holy Terror
It's a story about an over-the-top monarchy that elects a shapeshifter penguin to be their new god emperor. Then it seamlessly shifts into full on horror. It's an amazing balancing act, and a great story in every way. 5/5

Davros
Davros really becomes somewhat sympathetic here. He also has the meanest yet most relatable evil capitalist to play off. You know where it's going, but it makes up for it with great writing. 4/5

The Fearmonger
Where Whispers of Terror failed, The Fearmonger succeeds brilliantly: Using the possibilities of the medium to create a unique villain, and a supporting cast that just works. Additionally, the scenario is tailor-made for Ace, and the finale resonates because of her. 5/5

The Genocide Machine
Feels like Silence in the Library mixed with a very typical Dalek episode. Decent enough. 2/5

The Chimes of Midnight
A very intriguing concept with an utterly unsatisfying conclusion. The culprit shouldn't have to explain who they are at the end. Any emotional impact gets lost in a big, ugly plot dump. 2/5

The Sirens of Time
A very bombastic concept that is absolutely impossible to convey through audio alone. Instead, the characters just narrate what happens. It's boring. 1/5

Torchwood: The Conspiracy
Good premise, ends on one hell of a cliffhanger. I have never seen Torchwood, but I can only assume that it wasn't like this (because this was really good). Only downside is that the other members of the team don't show up, and it has to be awkwardly hand-waved. 4/5

Worlds of Big Finish
A bunch of people fight a common enemy throughout different historical periods and genres. It's done quite well, but gets a lot less interesting once it's clear that the episodes are essentially always going to end the same way, and that there's not going to be a satisfying conclusion. Still a good way to spend a few hours. 3/5


Next up are Dalek Empire, Cyberman and the Stageplays. This format really suits Doctor Who. Sure, there are some duds, but that's to be expected.

Thanks for your suggestions, Cobi!

And More fucked around with this message at 10:59 on Jan 29, 2016

Jerusalem
May 20, 2004

Would you be my new best friends?

And More posted:

The Fearmonger
Where Whispers of Terror failed, The Fearmonger succeeds brilliantly: Using the possibilities of the medium to create a unique villain, and a supporting cast that just works. Additionally, the scenario is tailor-made for Ace, and the finale resonates because of her. 5/5

I'm still shocked at how good this one is, both because it is an early audio and also because McCoy stories often struggle to raise above "mostly pretty good" outside of a few notable exceptions. That they got it so right so early is kind of mindblowing.

Dr. Gene Dango MD
May 20, 2010

Fuck them other cats I'm running with my own wolfpack

Keep fronting like youse a thug and get ya dome pushed back
"Time, like space, although a dimension in itself also has dimensions of its own."
"So you know about it child, hmm. We must have a little chat sometime."
The Space Museum is pretty good so far! Hartnell is working his way into my top three.

And More posted:

The Chimes of Midnight
A very intriguing concept with an utterly unsatisfying conclusion. The culprit shouldn't have to explain who they are at the end. Any emotional impact gets lost in a big, ugly plot dump. 2/5
oof , tough crowd.

Dr. Gene Dango MD fucked around with this message at 23:20 on Jan 26, 2016

IceAgeComing
Jan 29, 2013

pretty fucking embarrassing to watch
I've just finished watching the first series of old Doctor Who and thought it was quite fun: the best stories I thought were The Daleks and The Aztecs; especially the latter since it actually moved along at a half decent pace. The historicals were generally stronger than the sci-fi ones for some reason; they just seemed to be slightly less padded and drawn out. An example of that is The Sensorites; when it finally gets going its not that bad but you could probably combine the first two episodes into one and make it work slightly better. The only real stinker is Keys of Marinus, I got what they were trying to do and , but you could tell that it was done on a budget of 2p per episode and the ones in the middle without Hartnell really don't work.

And More posted:

The Chimes of Midnight
A very intriguing concept with an utterly unsatisfying conclusion. The culprit shouldn't have to explain who they are at the end. Any emotional impact gets lost in a big, ugly plot dump. 2/5

literally the first bad chimes of midnight review i've ever seen

IceAgeComing fucked around with this message at 23:37 on Jan 26, 2016

MrL_JaKiri
Sep 23, 2003

A bracing glass of carrot juice!
The Keys of Marinus was done on a tiny budget and written at extremely short notice because the previous script fell through.

cargohills
Apr 18, 2014

I liked Sword of Orion more than either Storm Warning or Chimes of Midnight.

CobiWann
Oct 21, 2009

Have fun!
Hey, that's the beauty of this show. People like what they like and it's all good. There is so much out there to soak in and enjoy. And to some people, it's not even about the episodes so much as the Doctor...

(I say this as I'm in an argument on Facebook with a bunch of people who think The Rapture is McCoy's best story)

Fil5000
Jun 23, 2003

HOLD ON GUYS I'M POSTING ABOUT INTERNET ROBOTS

CobiWann posted:

Hey, that's the beauty of this show. People like what they like and it's all good. It's not about the episodes so much as the Doctor...

(I say this as I'm in an argument on Facebook with a bunch of people who think The Rapture is McCoy's best story)

That's categorically impossible.

Jerusalem
May 20, 2004

Would you be my new best friends?

CobiWann posted:

(I say this as I'm in an argument on Facebook with a bunch of people who think The Rapture is McCoy's best story)

There are some corners of the universe which have bred the most terrible things. Things which act against everything we believe in. They must be fought.

And More
Jun 19, 2013

How far, Doctor?
How long have you lived?

Jerusalem posted:

I'm still shocked at how good this one is, both because it is an early audio and also because McCoy stories often struggle to raise above "mostly pretty good" outside of a few notable exceptions. That they got it so right so early is kind of mindblowing.

It really sets the bar very high. The way it uses radio, speeches and propaganda to comment on audio as a medium is pretty unique.


Dr. Gene Dango MD posted:

oof , tough crowd.

IceAgeComing posted:

literally the first bad chimes of midnight review i've ever seen

:shrug: I feel like I missed something. For example, there is generally nothing I disagree with in Cobi's review, but he also never really addresses the way the mystery is resolved. Even if everything else about it is perfect, Chimes simply fails at being good detective fiction.

egon_beeblebrox
Mar 1, 2008

WILL AMOUNT TO NOTHING IN LIFE.



Jerusalem posted:

There are some corners of the universe which have bred the most terrible things. Things which act against everything we believe in. They must be fought.

I laughed too much at this. My wife wanted an explanation, and I just didn't know how to explain it.

I have some bad Doctor Who tastes, but The Rapture is just... Terrible.

MrL_JaKiri
Sep 23, 2003

A bracing glass of carrot juice!

egon_beeblebrox posted:

I laughed too much at this. My wife wanted an explanation, and I just didn't know how to explain it.

"It's a quote from early Doctor Who, and it applies here because The Rapture is both a terrible story and almost deliberately insulting to any concept of taste"?

Jerusalem
May 20, 2004

Would you be my new best friends?

And More posted:

It really sets the bar very high. The way it uses radio, speeches and propaganda to comment on audio as a medium is pretty unique.

I think it also helps that it feels very much like a natural continuation of the (good parts of the) McCoy television years, I can almost see the "episodes" in my head.

jivjov
Sep 13, 2007

But how does it taste? Yummy!
Dinosaur Gum
I just finished up The Churchill Years, and rather enjoyed the set. My only real complaint is that Ian McNiece's impressions of each Doctor aren't all that good. But the Doctor is used rather sparingly throughout (which I actually really enjoy) so its not a huge issue. The third story in particular is full of well-executed fanservice including continuing the joke that if you try to speak Latin to a Roman, he'll think that you're Celtic; and the whole story takes place during A Christmas Carol and features Kazran Sardick as a companion!.

CobiWann
Oct 21, 2009

Have fun!

And More posted:

:shrug: I feel like I missed something. For example, there is generally nothing I disagree with in Cobi's review, but he also never really addresses the way the mystery is resolved. Even if everything else about it is perfect, Chimes simply fails at being good detective fiction.

I didn't want to give away anything about the actual plot if I could help it, which is why I didn't address the "solution." But I feel that it worked - the seeds are there with the time loop and the phrase "Edward Grove is alive." The little bit of exposition is mixed with the house taunting Charley so it doesn't feel like an info dump.

Jerusalem
May 20, 2004

Would you be my new best friends?



Short Synopsis: Lucie Miller gets mad jelly

Long Synopsis: Lucie is "recruited" by the Head Hunter to track down the Doctor, missing and presumed dead since defeating Morbius. "Retired" to the watery planet of Orbis for 600 years, the Doctor has forgotten (not amnesia!) a lot, but he still recognizes an invading fleet and an evil scheme when he sees it.

What's Good:
  • The reunion. At the end of the previous season, the Doctor had his Reichenbach Falls moment as he and Morbius went over a chasm to their deaths. Of course NOBODY thought the Doctor was dead, but what was important was that the character of Lucie Miller did. Captured by the Head Hunter and fed a load of bullshit, she is dumped into the ocean of the water world of Orbis and has a beautifully handled reunion with the 8th Doctor. Chasing after the Doctor's new quasi-companion, she finds the mans she thought she was dead, the two gasp out in shock and surprise, the emotions well.... and then the Doctor enthusiastically takes her stolen leggings to use in his efforts to restart an old engine, having no idea who she is or any recollection of her name whatsoever! Lucie's spluttering indignation at this is perfectly handled, as is the Doctor's very pleasant confusion as to why she is so furious at him. The episode doesn't spend any time having her wallow in self-pity, instead she gets furious and starts hitting him, and the dynamic between the two is quickly reestablished like it was in season one, only this time with something to back it up. Lucie and the Doctor have been forced together by external forces, they have great chemistry, but sparks always fly when they're together and they end up squabbling - the Doctor all passive pleasantness and confusion, unknowingly winding her up even further because his apparent indifference is completely inappropriate. It would be easy to make Lucie catty and overattached, but the Doctor brings it on himself with the way he acts, even if he doesn't intend to offend (or can't really be bothered if he does) and Lucie is often justified to react the way she does.... only then she starts overreacting.

  • The 600 years. All jokes about the Doctor being "only" 900 years old at the start of the revival, the 600 years absence of the Doctor is used to good effect in this story. It makes sense in the context of the horrors he has seen while fighting Morbius, the weariness and desire to just go away somewhere and live a quiet, unassuming life for awhile. The 600 years also proves a good gap between himself and Lucie, it has only been a few months for her but he, of course, looks exactly the same so while she can intellectually accept the reasons for his changes it is difficult to reconcile them emotionally and psychologically. The Doctor doesn't come across as callous, but after hundreds of years her face/name has probably blended in with all his other prior companions - still important and valued, but relegated to the background of his mind while he focuses on the here and now. Putting that gulf between them gives them something to cross, a key to conflict within the story while also making a return to the status quo feel earned and welcomed rather than just more of the same from season 2.

  • Lucie's predicament. Lucie has every reason to want to reunite with the Doctor, but little reason to work for or even with the Headhunter beyond getting what SHE wants. So the Headhunter's solution is both cruel and sensible, and completely fitting within her character, while also introducing a neat sci-fi gimmick. The end of season 2 saw the Headhunter show up on Lucie's doorstop and straight up shoot her.... with "time" bullets. The weapon shoots bullets that can then be temporally adjusted - Lucie can be shot for hours, the bullets incredibly slowly working their way towards internal organs.... or she can be "unshot", the bullets entirely removed from her flesh which heals up behind them as they're removed. The key is that the Headhunter controls the bullets, and so Lucie is forced to do her bidding, because her life is almost literally in her hands. This gives Lucie the impetus to work towards the Headhunter's goals, as well as the device to "save" the Doctor at the end of the story.

What's Not:
  • The supporting characters. Whether they're the "jellyfish" that the Doctor has taken to living with as their "Old Doctor", the invading sex-changing alien oysters mixing politics with their dinner, the Headhunter smugly smugging her way smugly through her smug plan, or the Doctor's "quasi-companion" and her meek dad.... none of the supporting characters are particularly compelling or interesting. They basically get in the way of the Doctor/Lucie dynamic, with the only character who has any kind of development being Selta, played by the talented Laura Solon. She shifts from companion to jealous rival to unintended traitor, but the process feels too rushed, there is never really a chance to enjoy any of these roles. Meanwhile the others range from dull to annoying, with Andrew Sachs' Crassostrea coming across like a bargain-basement Sil from Vengeance on Varos/Mindwarp, with the bubbly voice proving a distraction from whatever performance they coaxed from the veteran actor. It doesn't help that the story never really settles on if it wants to be serious or pure comedy, and as a result we get a mixture of both that don't sit well together.

  • The contrived setup for the season arc. It's a matter of preference of course, but it is rare that I enjoy a story that ends with the villain gloating to themselves about how they actually tricked the hero and totally fooled them and now everything is going according to their plan and they're just so smart and clever :smug:. This story is no exception, the "revelation" at the end that the Headhunter allowed for the chaos the Doctor was going to cause and used it to trick him into thinking the super-weapon was destroyed and now he's unknowingly doing what she wants him to do just made me roll my eyes. It's sad because her earlier cover story was so much more interesting - the absence of the Time Lords and the Doctor's exile means nobody is putting out fires around the universe anymore, and that meant the Headhunter and others were having to pick up the slack in the interest of keeping the universe from being destroyed/falling into a chaos that didn't suit their interests/bottomline. The Headhunter as a pragmatic "hero" who was doing the right thing for the wrong reasons (what's the use of being rich and powerful if the universe has been ripped apart or some elder-god abomination has turned everybody into mindless slaves) was far more interesting than just a continuation of the immoral villain who casually manipulates Time Lords she has mostly been. Hopefully the eventual climax of this season arc will be interesting, the 8DAs were very much interested in emulating the revival tv series so a season arc was inevitable.

  • The surprising death count. It's all surprisingly nihilistic, nobody gets saved and everybody dies. Whether through their own cruel design, or as hapless victims, the Doctor's efforts are ultimately futile as the good aliens are either gobbled up in a feeding frenzy or burned alive when the superweapon goes off. The bad guys lose complete control of the situation, go nuts in a feeding frenzy and then get burned alive as well. Everybody dies, nobody gets the planet, the planet itself gets destroyed, and.... that's that. It's over. The Doctor is upset but gets over it VERY quickly, even cracking some jokes as the story ends. That in fact makes him come across as far more callous than his initial failure to recall Lucie Miller did. After all, it was 600 years since he last saw her, it is barely six minutes after Orbis is destroyed that he seems to have already moved smoothly on.

Final Thoughts:

Orbis marks a good 'reboot' of the 8th Doctor Adventures universe following the big climax of the (sadly rather pedestrian) second season. The chemistry between Paul McGann and Sheridan Smith remains strong, and is given a rather neat twist by the Doctor's lengthy absence from not just her but humanity and the universe in general. When the two are verbally sparring or working together the story is very strong, and a very fun listen. Unfortunately when they're not together, things kind of go south quickly. The bad guys are uninspired and treated too goofily for the stakes of the story. The good guys are just annoying to listen to, and are a waste of some good talent like Andrew Sachs. The return of the Head Hunter works as a catalyst for the reunion of the leads, but she quickly outstays her welcome after having such a heavy presence over the last two seasons. As set-up for the ongoing adventures to come, it's fun, but as a story in its own right it is a bit of a letdown.

Davros1
Jul 19, 2007

You've got to admit, you are kind of implausible



Fil5000 posted:

That's categorically impossible.

Hey, there are people on this board who think The Fearmonger is good, when it is, in fact, quite bad.

DoctorWhat
Nov 18, 2011

A little privacy, please?

Davros1 posted:

Hey, there are people on this board who think The Fearmonger is good, when it is, in fact, quite bad.

i mean, you're wrong, but not as wrong as that guy is about Chimes

usenet celeb 1992
Jun 1, 2000

he thought quoting borges would make him popular
Been years since I've listened to Fearmonger but I have neither good feelings nor bad toward it, all I remember is it being a pretty standard "Seven fights a tyrannical regime" story, and any specific good/bad details have been washed away with time

This, however

And More posted:

The Chimes of Midnight
A very intriguing concept with an utterly unsatisfying conclusion. The culprit shouldn't have to explain who they are at the end. Any emotional impact gets lost in a big, ugly plot dump. 2/5

is monstrous

Zaroff
Nov 10, 2009

Nothing in the world can stop me now!

CommonShore posted:

I'm finding conflicting information from google news searches - is Netflix dropping Doctor Who or not?

Apparently it is leaving Netflix US this time. At the same time however it is remaining on Netflix UK and Netflix Canada...

AnonymousNarcotics
Aug 6, 2012

we will go far into the sea
you will take me
onto your back
never look back
never look back

Zaroff posted:

Apparently it is leaving Netflix US this time. At the same time however it is remaining on Netflix UK and Netflix Canada...

Nooooooooo I need to rewatch them all incessantly.

PS saw this in my local library



I asked the librarian "What's in the TARDIS?" and she had no clue what I was talking about.

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Rhyno
Mar 22, 2003
Probation
Can't post for 10 years!
The last time Who was leaving Netflix there was a last minute hail mary and they kept it on.

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