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Doctor Who Series 2011 |OT| Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey Stuff

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S

Subliminal

Member
Zenith said:
Didn't the ep completely conflict with the early Eccleston ep of Rose saving her dad from death and being eaten by spacebats? Right down to Karzan touching his younger self.
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No, The doctor changed the life of two people. Karzan didn't drastically changed he just met icewoman, He still turned out miserable.

Whereas rose's dad living changed countless things
 
R

Reno7728

Member
Mr. Sam said:
Watching the special again this morning. Slight callback to The Eleventh Hour with The Doctor figuring everything out about Kazran's relationship with his father from how he arranged his furniture.
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It reminded me of Sherlock, with the breakdown from small details. Would like to see more of that this series.
 
S

StoOgE

First tragedy, then farce.
Zenith said:
Didn't the ep completely conflict with the early Eccleston ep of Rose saving her dad from death and being eaten by spacebats? Right down to Karzan touching his younger self.
Click to expand...

and ignoring Russel T Davies writing is a bad idea when exactly?
 
M

mightynine

Member
Zenith said:
Didn't the ep completely conflict with the early Eccleston ep of Rose saving her dad from death and being eaten by spacebats? Right down to Karzan touching his younger self.
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Moffat threw that crap out during the Big Bang - the Doctor grabbed himself to set up the distraction in the museum.

Looking at the preview, the Doctor's wearing "normal" shirts - making it easier for the costume department and those making Halloween costumes, I suppose.
 
M

Mr. Sam

Member
Was anyone else watching the special in HD? At times, it seemed as if The Doctor was wearing leather trousers.

Also, a recurring theme over Christmas:

"His name's not "Doctor Who"! It's The Doctor!"
 
M

Mr. Sam

Member
Sage00 said:
Wasn't Eccleston credited as 'Doctor Who' in the ending sequences of Series 1?
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So I hear - and also numerous times during the old series. I also hear that Tennant insisted it be changed to "The Doctor". I have TVTropes to thank for that. I won't link it; wouldn't want anybody to lose their entire Boxing Day.
 
J

JonathanEx

Member
Mr. Sam said:
Was anyone else watching the special in HD? At times, it seemed as if The Doctor was wearing leather trousers.
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God, it was so pretty in HD.


Slight disappointment with the box set - only 6 eps have commentary. It's nice that they're all invision, but I'd trade 6 in-vision for 13 audio-only. It's like, why do I have to watch you talk about Cold Blood when I want to hear discussion about Vincent and the Doctor!
 
D

DrForester

Kills Photobucket
Zenith said:
Didn't the ep completely conflict with the early Eccleston ep of Rose saving her dad from death and being eaten by spacebats? Right down to Karzan touching his younger self.
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Continuity conflict in Doctor Who?!


That's it everyone, pack it up, cancel your license fees, close the thread.

We're done.
 
D

DangerousMali

Member
zhUbv.gif


Claimed!

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loved the christmas special, it was great fun to watch with the family, shark riding had me rolling and reminded me just how much I've missed Doctor Who

previews have got me buzzed, when is this due to return?
 
K

killer_clank

Member
DangerousMali said:
zhUbv.gif


Claimed!

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loved the christmas special, it was great fun to watch with the family, shark riding had me rolling and reminded me just how much I've missed Doctor Who

previews have got me buzzed, when is this due to return?
Click to expand...

Probably Easter, give or take a week or so each way.
 
R

Regulus Tera

Romanes Eunt Domus
Zenith said:
Didn't the ep completely conflict with the early Eccleston ep of Rose saving her dad from death and being eaten by spacebats? Right down to Karzan touching his younger self.
Click to expand...

People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey... stuff.
 
F

Freeza Under The Shower

Member
Did I mishear it or did Abilgail at one point sing 'silence is all you need' ? This with all the 'old' and 'ending' bits.

Absolutely fantastic christmas special.


I hate to ask (well, beg) for it, but: does anyone have the small part where the shark- wagon passes from left to right in .gif or avatar form?
 
L

Lard

Banned
I really enjoyed this special.....

But the Blinovich Limitation Effect!

I hate when the writers ignore shit.


Edit - I'm going to go back tonight and read Continuity Errors, which is the story that Moffat riffed this special off of. (It was also written by him)

It's interesting how much the Seventh and Tenth Doctors play with time to suit their own needs.
 
Zomba13

Zomba13

Member
XD
Just went on facebook to find a friend bitching about the Christmas Doctor Who. He says he's a huge fan but he doesn't half moan about how shit it is most of the time.

What a shite episode of dr who... absolute fucking shit. am very upset with mister moffat now... I expect better of you. easily the worst dr who for sometime... deffos the worst Xmas specail!

the fact that they spent 20 minuets giving katherine jenkins "the greatest days everz LOLZ!!!!" the fact that the CG was WORSE than the normal episodes... the whole premise.... The fact time line would have causes paradoxs... HE touches him...

yeah that was one of the crowning moments of aweful (he's talking about the Shark Sleigh). what purpose did that serve... to waste resources they could have spent on making me feel like amy and rory - shite though he is - were actually in danger.
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He then goes on to bitch about how Doctor Who should be educational while entertaining. Just thought I'd post it because it's always funny reading opinions that are just plain wrong (worst special effects, worst Christmas Episode, Shark Sleigh not being the best thing every to do with Sharks)
 
G

GameplayWhore

Member
Lard said:
But the Blinovich Limitation Effect!

I hate when the writers ignore shit.
Click to expand...

It feels like there's so much arbitrary involved from episode to episode, not just from season to season. It's easier to digest if there's a new crew and it disagrees with last year's producer's vision of how it all worked, but we just ended the series with an episode that showed that erasing a major character's influences in history (in this case the Doctor, who never existed about ten minutes from the end of the show) had no effect whatsoever in regards to how things went down (Vesuvius still erupted and Humanity repelled all those alien invasions on their own). But now he can't go back and retroactively save the girl. I know that we saw her save the day, and her suddenly not being there to save the day would seem to be a conflict. But we saw the Doctor save the day all those times, and him suddenly not being there to save the day didn't make a single difference. Time fixed itself when he wasn't there, it should fix itself when she wasn't. So basically the Doctor's a git for not saving her at the end of the episode.

oddly enough, I historically enjoy the Doctor the most when he's an asshole, so maybe I'm just trying to skew my view that way in order for me to enjoy him all the more :)
 
A

APZonerunner

Member
I loved A Christmas Carol, but the reaction from everyone else I've known - the non-fans, the kind of people who watch Eastenders and stuff and have no real interest in Sci-Fi past Who - the families who watch it with their kids - my Aunt, Uncle and Cousins for example - seemed to enjoy it less than previous Christmas specials. "It wasn't every epic!" one exclaimed today while out on a shopping trip, before buying one of the Sonic Screwdriver Wii Remotes. Seems the show still has it regardless.
 
R

Regulus Tera

Romanes Eunt Domus
Steven Moffat wrote a Doctor Who episode about Christmas, not a Doctor Who episode set on Christmas. I love how seemingly random ideas that lesser people would only put in because "they seem cool" actually play out during the finale, creating some really memorable story elements.

Fuck the haters, this was amazing.

EDIT: I have to commend it especially in that the Scrooge-character's redemption comes out of an act of love for someone else, and not one of transcendence of oneself. It's always bugged me about the original story.

So is it fair to assume we're gonna tackle Roswell next season?

EDIT2:
PMwnK.gif


Taking this one.
 
A

APZonerunner

Member
Regulus Tera said:
Steven Moffat wrote a Doctor Who episode about Christmas, not a Doctor Who episode set on Christmas. I love how seemingly random ideas that lesser people would only put in because "they seem cool" actually play out during the finale, creating some really memorable story elements.

Fuck the haters, this was amazing.
Click to expand...

Like I say, I loved it. It was a different tone and style to the others, and one thing I'm truly happy with is the setting. While I do understand the temptation to set Christmas Episodes on modern-day earth to make it more accessible, I think the worst thing about both The Runaway Bride and The Christmas Invasion were all those damn scenes set outside in the glaring summer sunlight. I always find it impossible to believe it's Christmas day. Especially in The Runaway Bride, where there's huge segments (TARDIS chase, bank stuff) set outside.

So, good on Moffat for setting it in a place where they could avoid that pitfall. In general, I loved the episode, and I loved the tone - but I think a lot of the family/kids audience would rather have something more action-packed and trashy. Voyage of the Damned was very successful in both critically and in ratings for that very reason coupled with the Kylie celeb factor and better schedule timing - it aired a little later if I remember correctly. That said, this episode has been hugely successful in the ratings and I'm sure the AI will be massive. It's a great episode, but I actually felt like this might've been more appropriate, in terms of positioning, as a regular episode rather than the 'tentpeg' Christmas episode. I think that slot is meant to be loud and shouty. I feel the same way about The Unquiet Dead, which is set at Christmas, and Planet of the Dead, which is stupidly tenuously linked to Easter.
 
R

Regulus Tera

Romanes Eunt Domus
Goes to show you that people tastes are generally shite. Voyage of the Damned is in my opinion the worst modern Doctor Who story televised precisely because it relies on its star casting to provide any sort of entertainment value at the expense of actual good storytelling.

I believe A Christmas Carol works precisely because it's not bombastic -it's a genuinely heartfelt story about an old man who manages to find the joy in life with some help from a Santa-like figure. You know, what Christmas should remind us. It would lose a lot of its punch if the fate of the entire universe hung by the thread of the Scarmiglione Constellation and the Key to Rascasupercalifrigalotorious.

P.S. Sharks + Sleighs =

h95NY.jpg
 
L

Lard

Banned
APZonerunner said:
So, good on Moffat for setting it in a place where they could avoid that pitfall. In general, I loved the episode, and I loved the tone - but I think a lot of the family/kids audience would rather have something more action-packed and trashy. Voyage of the Damned was very successful in both critically and in ratings for that very reason
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Just finished watching VOTD and I'm struck by how terrible it is.

And now The Next Doctor just started. Even worse.

RTD is generally a shitty writer, but man his Christmas stories were terrible.

I'm glad Moffat is taking the high road.
 
R

Regulus Tera

Romanes Eunt Domus
Lard said:
Just finished watching VOTD and I'm struck by how terrible it is.

And now The Next Doctor just started. Even worse.

RTD is generally a shitty writer, but man his Christmas stories were terrible.
Click to expand...

The Christmas Invasion has more interesting ideas than every script he wrote for Series Four barring Midnight.

RTD had his lows, but I think he gets too much slack. He's a really good writer who got stressed out by the workload of having to manage a successful franchise (and spin-offs) 24/7. It doesn't help that he became enamoured of the blitz and glitter that came with the showbiz. He really should have left a season sooner (script quality-wise, since it's obvious his stuff resonated with the audience).
 
K

killer_clank

Member
Anyone who's read the Writers Tale will know that Davies was a total procrastinator. He'd waste weeks doing nothing and then write scripts the day before they were due (or sometimes after), as well as rewrite everyone elses scripts apart from Moffat's. Definitely sounds like he bit off more than he could chew work wise.
 
A

Android18a

Member
The Writers Tale pissed me off. I couldn't even finish reading it. I wanted to throw it out of a window. Instead I sold it :p Haha.

Christmas Invasion was pretty good, but I generally found RTD's scripts, more than anything else, extremely childish. Whether it's farting Slitheen or Tennant running around with Cassandra inside of him acting extra-camp it just reeked of Panto rather than Serious Television.

Having said *that*, I think Midnight remains one of the strongest episodes of the Eccleson/Tennant era and when he managed to keep it fairly subtle and interesting, he was capable of some darn good writing.

Perhaps if they got him to do 1 script in the next season, it would shine. I'd like to think so.

Anyway, loved this special. Leagues ahead of the last three.
 
D

Discotheque

Banned
I think it's Michael Gambon that made this one really good. Scenes were great with him being an asshole at the start and then breaking down when he sees himself.
 
M

Mumei

Member
I've been watching new Doctor Who for a few months now, and I've finally caught up completely and seen the new special. Love it so much.
 
D

Discotheque

Banned
Also maybe it's just the writing but I'm consistently more impressed with Smith's Doctor right now than the previous two.

He just feels more alien and unusual.
 
D

DrForester

Kills Photobucket
Discotheque said:
I think it's Michael Gambon that made this one really good. Scenes were great with him being an asshole at the start and then breaking down when he sees himself.
Click to expand...


Gambon is awesome when he's playing an asshole (or Wizzard). If you ever get a chance watch the old Robin Williams film Toys.
 
D

DrForester

Kills Photobucket
Discotheque said:
Yeah I'm only aware of him in the Harry Potter movies and Layer Cake. I'll check out Toys one day.
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The movie isn't without it's problems but it's worth the rental. Some of the casting was hilarious on it's own (LL Cool J plays Gambon's biological son).
 
R

Rokam

Member
So I finally got around to watch The Pandorica Opens and The Big Bang. I thought I had favorite episodes, but they really hit it out of the ballpark with these two. Amazing episodes and I enjoyed the commentary for The Big Bang. However I don't have BBC america so... sadness for quite some time.
 
M

Maiar_m

Member
The episode was great, and I enjoyed it. Then came the trailer, and I burned my house down with cheer impatience. I mean, stensons! So yeah, now I've got a reason to be looking for a job in London: I want to go back to the UK and be able to catch next season live on BBC.

Who needs more?
 
P

PhoncipleBone

Banned
Maiar_m said:
The episode was great, and I enjoyed it. Then came the trailer, and I burned my house down with cheer impatience. I mean, stensons! So yeah, now I've got a reason to be looking for a job in London: I want to go back to the UK and be able to catch next season live on BBC.

Who needs more?
Click to expand...
Rumor has it BBC America might even air episodes on the same day as they do in the UK. That would be awesome if they did.
 
G

Gamer @ Heart

Member
Rewatched it.

Matt Smith is my favorite doctor now. I felt it during the big bang, but now i know it to be true.

I am now retroactively hating on RTD for wasting david tennant even though i still enjoyed watching them. Moffat is just to good.
 
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