Doctor Who

[All Tell]

Saw this on Facebook

 

[PepRock01]

I felt the same way about Donna (she also had serious comedy chops in her own right before being cast on the show); it's why I'm a bit confused by your approval of Moffat. Seems like the Doctor is running around kissing anything with a pulse since he took over. I'm hoping that putting a little visible age difference between the Doctor and his companion with the casting of Peter Capaldi will ease some of that up a little bit.

 

Truth be told, I've been a little disappointed with Stephen Moffat. I was pretty let down by the Christmas special since any Doctor's final episode is a big deal and I went in hoping for a lot. I thought the plotting and the character development in that final adventure for Matt Smith were pretty bad.

 

I am sorry but the Davies era wasn't nearly as good. The pacing was crappy and they were more into the romance aspect with the Doctor reciprocating. In the case of Moffat there is far less reciprocation. Additionally the writing has been consistently better by and large. The bad episodes aren't nearly as bad as they once were (Love & Monsters or Daleks in Manhattan ring a bell?) and the good episodes are fantastic. On top of that the best episodes of the Eccleston and Tennant Eras in my opinion were written by Moffat as well.

 

Season 1: The Empty Child, The Doctor Dances

Season 2: The Girl in the Fireplace

Season 3: Blink (I don't think anyone can argue against this one at all.

Season 4: Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead

 

 

Also the season finale's since he took over are less "How many more Dalek's can we fit on screen" and more a matter of taking a long running plot thread and developing it. I get that they did it in Seasons 1, 2, 3, and 4 but they were such obtuse references you wouldn't notice unless you were really paying attention.

 

 

Maybe I am just biased against Davies because of the Rose Tyler stuff. Rose was TERRIBLE by comparison to many of the other companions. Googly eyes and "I LOVE YOU," come on that isn't Dr. Who that's your regular fluff for networks. Dr. Who never really did anything like that during its early run and frankly the rise of the "Tennant Girls" was so irritating because they were among the most vocal fans. Hence my dislike of Davies in comparison to Moffat.

 

I liked the Christmas Special this year and felt that it wasn't nearly as self serving as the "I don't want to go," mopey stuff of 10th regeneration into 11.

[CincySportsFan]

Saw "Blink" and "Silence in the Library"/"Forest of the Dead" during the marathon the other day. All three were very good, and very intriguing...but "Blink" was a GREAT episode!

[PepRock01]

Saw "Blink" and "Silence in the Library"/"Forest of the Dead" during the marathon the other day. All three were very good, and very intriguing...but "Blink" was a GREAT episode!

 

Oscar Winning Actress Carey Mulligan in that one.

[Getslow]

I liked the Christmas Special this year and felt that it wasn't nearly as self serving as the "I don't want to go," mopey stuff of 10th regeneration into 11.

 

I suppose I'm with you on the mopey stuff but I just can't get behind that episode. It was great for 30 minutes then just stopped. The Doctor just sat there waiting to die and it turned out that all he had to do at any time in the last 300 years was whisper through the wall to the timelords for some help? All through Matt Smith's tenure, the Doctor has been miles ahead of everyone; always had a plan. This time, in his final episode... that was the resolution we got? No plan? No brilliant Doctor? Just a whisper through a wall so he could get Raiden's lightning hands during regeneration? Meh.

 

As for Moffat's tenure... I didn't mean to suggest I haven't enjoyed it, but there are certain things he does that frustrate me. He and Davies bothe write women like they're 15-year-old boys. The show at times becomes this string of women that the Doctor leaves in his wake, all of whom are, at best, infatuated with him or, at worst, completely helpless without him. Clara's been nice in that regard because I think he didn't quite know what to do with Amy anymore. Either way, someone's getting grabbed and kissed without their consent like it's a Cary Grant picture from the 40s.

 

I'll agree that the bad episodes are better; the overarching storyline helps keep things pulled together in a lot of these. As I said, I'm really looking forward to Capaldi.

[CincySportsFan]

Perhaps one of you guys can answer a question or two about the whole regeneration thing.

 

One - once it happens, do you automatically get a new "face"? (I'm assuming the Doctor has to be mortally wounded to regenerate.) Was puzzled about a comment made in the Christmas episode where the Doctor was talking about previous Doctors, and he made a reference to a regeneration where the Doctor kept the same face.

 

Two - has it always been know that there was a limit on the number of regenerations that could occur? If so, why 13? Seems like an odd number? And now that that number has been passed...what happens next? Unlimited regenerations? Or did he get just one more? Or 13 more?

 

In previous regenerations, have the companions carried over from one "face" to another? The reason why I ask this, is because it's still the same Doctor, right? Same memories, etc. But, do the personalities change? That might be the only reason I could see why a companion WOULDN'T want to continue on.

[Getslow]

Perhaps one of you guys can answer a question or two about the whole regeneration thing.

 

One - once it happens, do you automatically get a new "face"? (I'm assuming the Doctor has to be mortally wounded to regenerate.) Was puzzled about a comment made in the Christmas episode where the Doctor was talking about previous Doctors, and he made a reference to a regeneration where the Doctor kept the same face.

 

Two - has it always been know that there was a limit on the number of regenerations that could occur? If so, why 13? Seems like an odd number? And now that that number has been passed...what happens next? Unlimited regenerations? Or did he get just one more? Or 13 more?

 

In previous regenerations, have the companions carried over from one "face" to another? The reason why I ask this, is because it's still the same Doctor, right? Same memories, etc. But, do the personalities change? That might be the only reason I could see why a companion WOULDN'T want to continue on.

 

1) Yeah, I think that happened during Tennant's era once. Don't really remember how it worked.

 

2) Yes. I don't know how it started, but there are references to Timelords having only thirteen lives in the Eighth Doctor's movie. No idea how many more the Timelords managed to give him. Enough to last until the show gets cancelled again.

 

3) Yep, sometimes the companions carry over and the difficulty the companions have adjusting to a Doctor with a new face has varied. When the ninth (Eccleston) regenerated into the 10th (Tennant), it took Rose about one episode to be cool with it. When the fifth (Davison) changed into the sixth (Colin Baker), Peri hated him for about a year... and with good reason, the sixth doctor was somehow a buffoon and a complete jerk all at the same time.

[CincySportsFan]

1) Yeah, I think that happened during Tennant's era once. Don't really remember how it worked.

 

2) Yes. I don't know how it started, but there are references to Timelords having only thirteen lives in the Eighth Doctor's movie. No idea how many more the Timelords managed to give him. Enough to last until the show gets cancelled again.

 

3) Yep, sometimes the companions carry over and the difficulty the companions have adjusting to a Doctor with a new face has varied. When the ninth (Eccleston) regenerated into the 10th (Tennant), it took Rose about one episode to be cool with it. When the fifth (Davison) changed into the sixth (Colin Baker), Peri hated him for about a year... and with good reason, the sixth doctor was somehow a buffoon and a complete jerk all at the same time.

 

Thanks man!

[All Tell]

The whole 13 regenerations dates back to the classic series. The Master, who was a renegade Time Lord bent of domination, was the Doctor's arch nemesis while he was in exile on Earth (Doctor 3). When the Doctor was allowed by the Time Lords to start traveling again the Master kind of went away. During the tenure of Tom Baker (Doctor 4) I believe he was to be brought back but the actor who had played him had been killed in a car wreck and it had been stated before that he was on his last regeneration so they contrived a story line where the Master kidnapped and killed the father of Nyssa (a future companion) and in some kind of Time Lord forbidden voodoo stole his face.

 

And just before Matt Smith regenerated didn't he say the Time Lords had given him a whole new set of regenerations? I'm assuming that means a new set of 13.

[Dlbdonn]

I felt the same way about Donna (she also had serious comedy chops in her own right before being cast on the show); it's why I'm a bit confused by your approval of Moffat. Seems like the Doctor is running around kissing anything with a pulse since he took over. I'm hoping that putting a little visible age difference between the Doctor and his companion with the casting of Peter Capaldi will ease some of that up a little bit.

 

Truth be told, I've been a little disappointed with Stephen Moffat. I was pretty let down by the Christmas special since any Doctor's final episode is a big deal and I went in hoping for a lot. I thought the plotting and the character development in that final adventure for Matt Smith were pretty bad.