Support NeoGAF

[iFirez]

Wow there is some rough acting and editing this episode.

Looks like that scene from the trailer of the Doctor regenerating takes place next week (end of the next week tease shows the same room) so that'l be fun!

This seemed to me like a week centre episode of the three parter after the stellar episode last week, I feel next weeks may redeem this three parter though as it looks to be darker and that next week tease looked pretty good.

 

[Sir_Crocodile]

Man, that was a stinker.

 

[Doctor_Thomas]

Solid, but only as a set up for the next episode.

 

[N7Commander95]

Thought that was pretty great

Next weeks is going to be amazing though

 

[mrklaw]

'We can't search for the thing in 2 minutes' - no but the doctor could go back in time and have as much time as he needs to find it.

 

[Doctor_Thomas]

'We can't search for the thing in 2 minutes' - no but the doctor could go back in time and have as much time as he needs to find it.

The general rules of time travel on Doctor Who are, generally, ever changing to suit whatever makes the most sense in terms of entertainment.

 

[iMax]

Tony Gardner would have made a great Doctor.

Glad it's not just me who thought this!

 

[Robin64]

If the Doctor carried a phone he could've just Skyped with Bill and had her tell him what numbers to turn on the lock.

 

[N7Commander95]

Also just to say guys, if that 'what could the threat really be' it seemed short it's because they cut out a chunk of it where they mention terrorism due to Manchester.

 

[Slowdive]

Good episode, next week's looks great.

 

[Sheroking]

The general rules of time travel on Doctor Who are, generally, ever changing to suit whatever makes the most sense in terms of entertainment.

Eh... they've been pretty consistent with the "not crossing your own timeline" thing that would apply in this case.

 

[Broken Joystick]

Glad it's not just me who thought this!

Plus

He's an actual Doctor!

 

[Santiako]

This was mostly setup but was solid nonetheless.

 

[Mr-Joker]

Plus

He's an actual Doctor!

And he played an alien before, almost like the role of Doctor Who is perfect for him.

 

[mclem]

Intrigued where this is going. And while I liked the moral challenge at the end... it was more than a little contrived! Why the hell would you have a combination lock on the door of a cleanroom... and why the hell would it be on the inside

 

[Real Hero]

Intrigued where this is going. And while I liked the moral challenge at the end... it was more than a little contrived! Why the hell would you have a combination lock on the door of a cleanroom... and why the hell would it be on the inside

yeah logically it was silly but emotionally it was great

 

[APZonerunner]

Next week is looking very Last of the Time Lords alt dictatorship-universe-ish. Excited for that!

 

[iMax]

Plus

He's an actual Doctor!

Bonus! What other doctor-actors would be good? Harry Hill? Ken Jeong?

 

[mclem]

Bonus! What other doctor-actors would be good? Harry Hill? Ken Jeong?

Graeme Garden!

 

[Mariolee]

Probably one of the weaker episodes due to how easily everyone gave up and consented despite the Doctor's warnings, and all the weird time constraints. "We give him two minutes and then we'll consent." But I love the consequences of this episode. The fact that him being blind meant not being able to open a simple lock was really good. Bill definitely sold the emotion in that scene too.

Middling episode but excited for next week's!

 

[Kuraudo]

Bonus! What other doctor-actors would be good? Harry Hill? Ken Jeong?

Mayim Bialik!

 

[Mariolee]

Mayim Bialik!

Would kill for this.

 

[Sheroking]

Would kill for this.

You'd kill for an American with dubious acting credentials to play The Doctor?

 

[Symphonia]

Tony Gardner would have made a great Doctor.

The man doesn't get enough credit for his roles. I loved him when I was a kid watching My Parents Are Aliens, and he was great in Fresh Meat. He needs more roles on TV, for sure.

 

[Broken Joystick]

The man doesn't get enough credit for his roles. I loved him when I was a kid watching My Parents Are Aliens, and he was great in Fresh Meat. He needs more roles on TV, for sure.

Played the great asshole Dan Miller in The Thick of It too.

 

[Jackpot]

UNIT ones are always rough. The humans always act stupid, the really bad accents makes everyone's acting come off as wooden, the rah-rah patriotism scenes, the attempt to portray a massive operation on a shoestring budget, and the showrunners just seem flat-out bad at doing a war film/espionage atmosphere.

 

[iMax]

Played the great asshole Dan Miller in The Thick of It too.

That fucking brushed-aluminium Dan Miller cyberprick!

 

[Hot Coldman]

Thought it was spinning its wheels a bit there but by time it wrapped up with Bill's choice, I'm fucking in love. Shame about the wonky acting from the UN and military folk.

The monks sure seem ridiculously powerful!

 

[Boem]

Yeah, I agree that the acting/editing seemed really rough this week. Not just the guest stars, even the regulars (including Capaldi) felt off. It felt like maybe they focused on the two eps surrounding it and ran out of time with this one or something.

Still saying the Monks are Cybermen. They look the same, their way of talking is the same, they turn out to basically be (twisted) saviors of the human race (which is, in the Cybermen's mind, what they've always been), and they even started talking about efficiency with the consent thing.

 

[Dryk]

Shouldn't have cheaped out on those lungs Doctor

 

[ghstwrld]

this is bad

 

[Maddocks]

Yeah, I agree that the acting/editing seemed really rough this week. Not just the guest stars, even the regulars (including Capaldi) felt off. It felt like maybe they focused on the two eps surrounding it and ran out of time with this one or something.

Still saying the Monks are Cybermen. They look the same, their way of talking is the same, they turn out to basically be (twisted) saviors of the human race (which is, in the Cybermen's mind, what they've always been), and they even started talking about efficiency with the consent thing.

I agree with this. Also the Monks are totally the cybermen, the way they walked away from the plane back to the pyramid, just looked like a cyberman and how they walk.

 

[PaulloDEC]

Intrigued where this is going. And while I liked the moral challenge at the end... it was more than a little contrived! Why the hell would you have a combination lock on the door of a cleanroom... and why the hell would it be on the inside

I actually wouldn't have thought twice about this if it hadn't been that ridiculous tumbler lock. What possible reason could there be for having a lock like that on any door, anywhere?

 

[Bluth54]

I didn't think this episode was awful but it was certainly worse than the rest of the season. It was a lot of setup though so we'll have to see if there's a good payoff next week.

 

[hamchan]

I always find the UNIT episodes or Doctor dealing with world leaders a bit lame.

Excited for the next episode though.

 

[GodParticle]

Yeah, that was pretty terrible. President of earth is so cringey. At this point I'm just counting down the episodes until the changeover. I just hope it doesn't get even worse

 

[Sir_Crocodile]

Yeah, I agree that the acting/editing seemed really rough this week. Not just the guest stars, even the regulars (including Capaldi) felt off. It felt like maybe they focused on the two eps surrounding it and ran out of time with this one or something.

Still saying the Monks are Cybermen. They look the same, their way of talking is the same, they turn out to basically be (twisted) saviors of the human race (which is, in the Cybermen's mind, what they've always been), and they even started talking about efficiency with the consent thing.

This'd be more powerful then they've ever been though, with the way they restored the doctor's sight remotely and instantly. But that could just be bad writing, and they are very tech focused with the simulations and all, and a pyramid is very evocative of all the Egyptian trappings of Tomb.

 

[Sheroking]

UNIT was kind of a rough concept during Pertwee's run. I don't know why they refuse to let it go.

 

[Bluth54]

UNIT was kind of a rough concept during Pertwee's run. I don't know why they refuse to let it go.

Given the number of alien invasions of Earth in Doctor Who it makes a lot of sense that Earth would have an alien defense group and they would work with the Doctor. Sadly UNIT seems to be done poorly more often than not.

 

[Symphonia]

Yeah, that was pretty terrible. President of earth is so cringey. At this point I'm just counting down the episodes until the changeover. I just hope it doesn't get even worse

It's been noted before that the Doctor is the President of Earth. In 'Dark Water' and 'Death In Heaven' had him flying around in Air Force One. It a stupid concept, I agree, but it's not a new one.

 

[Hot Coldman]

This wasn't UNIT guys, it was just the normal UN. Otherwise we'd have Kate and co.

And the Cybermen don't have the power to rewrite history, I don't think the monks are them. They said they chose the form of corpses, anyway.

 

[Lynd7]

UNIT was kind of a rough concept during Pertwee's run. I don't know why they refuse to let it go.

Probably because it was/is in one of the most popular and well remembered era's. The Pertwee era took the mainstream popularity to new heights.

 

[DeathyBoy]

Given the number of alien invasions of Earth in Doctor Who it makes a lot of sense that Earth would have an alien defense group and they would work with the Doctor. Sadly UNIT seems to be done poorly more often than not.

It's why I liked Torchwood, they always seemed to be portrayed a bit intentionally naff.

 

[Mariolee]

You'd kill for an American with dubious acting credentials to play The Doctor?

I would love to see it just to see it, blinded by my admiration of her as a person.

 

[SlipperyFishes]

Probably because it was/is in one of the most popular and well remembered era's. The Pertwee era took the mainstream popularity to new heights.

I think that had more to do with the show suddenly being a bit higher budget and in colour starting with Spearhead from Space.

 

[BossDarkseid]

This wasn't UNIT guys, it was just the normal UN. Otherwise we'd have Kate and co.

And the Cybermen don't have the power to rewrite history, I don't think the monks are them. They said they chose the form of corpses, anyway.

Yeah, I've cooled on that idea now. I kinda liked the idea of them being the Mondasians and even thought "Oh, maybe this bio-chemical death plague is what forced them to cyber-ize themselves in some new canon" but eh. With the Monks getting 3 episodes this season, I'm curious as to what the Mondasian Cybermen's setup will be to make them feel appropriate as the final boss of Capaldi's last season.

 

[Tizoc]

Man, that was a stinker.

Agreed, the lab subplot was OK I felt though, but geez a bacteria that disolves your body structure being the end result of a hangover/being drunk is too ridiculous IMO

 

[Hot Coldman]

I'm actually pretty OK with the world ending not via conflict or terror, but mere negligence. Feels likely!

This is an episode with a ton of holes but I liked it overall. The entire design of the lab was hilariously stupid, mind.

 

[Doctor_Thomas]

Eh... they've been pretty consistent with the "not crossing your own timeline" thing that would apply in this case.

Which they also ignored when it made for an interesting episode, such as any time there's more than one Doctor.

 

[mrklaw]

Intrigued where this is going. And while I liked the moral challenge at the end... it was more than a little contrived! Why the hell would you have a combination lock on the door of a cleanroom... and why the hell would it be on the inside

Such a bad episode. They needed to get from point A to point B but this was just shit.

- the combination lock was hilariously bad. Who has a giant version of a lock from a suitcase on a wall. You'd have a number pad. But that wouldn't fit the conceit because you could work out the number positions so they make it a dial

- the airlocks are fucked too - the guy that melted just opened both of them at once, fuck it. And they're just in the next room - half the air in there will be full of the bacteria stuff already.

- what kind of lab has an automatic air filter that just dumps the air outside? Doesn't it *filter* it? Worst lab ever.

- in the end we find out the mix was wrong due to a decimal point in the wrong place. I suppose because the guy was tired? But we are never shown any information of him getting things so we have no idea what's going on until the plants actually die. Doesn't really matter - they're showing a bio lab and talking in parallel about the world ending so it's obvious they're going to be the ones that fuck up, but it was just badly done

- why can Bill give consent? The doctor is still alive as apparant president of the world (because fuck it why not) disagreeing with her, so she clearly has no power. Again you see where they're going, focusing on the 'love' angle for the permission but in doing so they throw away the power part. Just nonsense.

- the UN Secretary General spends a scene explaining how the doctor is president of the earth in these situations, then after seeing what might happen to the earth just decides to ignore that? Same with the soldiers. None of them would suddenly have authority just because they feel like it.

- why the fuck did Nardole just fall over in the tardis?

- why the fuck didn't the doctor melt as he was exposed to the bad stuff in the lab for ages?

- how do the monks fix the doctors eyesight by remote control?

Last week was a great episode. This was all over the place.