Doctor Who Series 8 |OT| We've fucking time-travelled, yes?

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Synopsis for Episode 2 :
Into The Dalek

A Dalek fleet surrounds a lone rebel ship, and only the Doctor can help them now… with the Doctor facing his greatest enemy, he needs Clara by his side.
Confronted with a decision that could change the Daleks forever he is forced to examine his conscience. Will he find the answer to the question, am I a good man?

Hmm, I'm a bit worn out of the Daleks. I hope the dark philosophical questions the episode brings out of the Doctor help strengthen the premise.
 
Hmm, I'm a bit worn out of the Daleks. I hope the dark philosophical questions the episode brings out of the Doctor help strengthen the premise.

They do.

I don't like the Daleks at all. Just another element of the old series that I have trouble taking seriously 90% of the time. The episode "Dalek" in series 1 was the only Dalek-focused episode that I loved before this season.

I watched the leaked version of Into the Dalek, and I really, really liked it. (no particulars, but theme spoilers:)
The episode tries to deal philosophically with what makes a person "good" or "bad", and whether a soldier can be either within the framework of following orders. Capaldi completely kills it here, and shows off how different he is from Matt Smith and David Tennant.
 
That's why Journey to the Center of the TARDIS was such a letdown. They could have actually explored the TARDIS and it's various rooms and how it works, and instead did nothing of the sort

I actually really liked that ep, more so on rewatch, but the entire brothers plot makes zero sense. What is that story about, and why is it even in this episode anyway? They're like two completely different plots, sandwiched together and poorly.
 
They do.

I don't like the Daleks at all. Just another element of the old series that I have trouble taking seriously 90% of the time. The episode "Dalek" in series 1 was the only Dalek-focused episode that I loved before this season.

I watched the leaked version of Into the Dalek, and I really, really liked it. (no particulars, but theme spoilers:)
The episode tries to deal philosophically with what makes a person "good" or "bad", and whether a soldier can be either within the framework of following orders. Capaldi completely kills it here, and shows off how different he is from Matt Smith and David Tennant.

You've rekindled my interest in this episode :)
 
They do.

I don't like the Daleks at all. Just another element of the old series that I have trouble taking seriously 90% of the time. The episode "Dalek" in series 1 was the only Dalek-focused episode that I loved before this season.

I watched the leaked version of Into the Dalek, and I really, really liked it. (no particulars, but theme spoilers:)
The episode tries to deal philosophically with what makes a person "good" or "bad", and whether a soldier can be either within the framework of following orders. Capaldi completely kills it here, and shows off how different he is from Matt Smith and David Tennant.

THis one leaked in video form too ?

WHAT didn't leaked ?
 
I got bored in training at work...

BvAk7sRCYAE3P9y.jpg:large
 
That random Dalek appearance in Waters of Mars means yeah, I'm pretty sure the one-Dalek-a-year rule is still in full effect.

I'm waiting for them to do the obvious thing and save them for a Christmas special, personally. Seems like the most effective use of them.
 
Really? I thought it was very average, but with it being a Phil Ford episode I wasn't expecting much.

Hmm.. Well, you have to remember that this is Doctor Who. I love the show, but it comes with a certain level of cheesiness. Their handling of the themes is clumsier than in an Oscar-winning film.

But, I found it satisfying, and I'm digging Capaldi's take on the doctor. I loved (specific spoilers)
when Clara slapped the Doctor and called him out for being satisfied when reforming the Dalek failed. Sure, what followed was cheesy, but I'm enjoying Capaldi as a cranky darker Doctor
 
I'm glad I'm not the only one who dislikes the Daleks. In general, I feel Doctor Who recycles villains way, way, way too much. It's the shows greatest weakness, as far as I'm concerned. This man can travel through space and time! Let's see some new shit!

I'm only into episode 5, but my favorite villains so far: Sontarans. These dudes had personality, and I loved their costumes. Just an overall enjoyable and fun villain.
 
You've rekindled my interest in this episode :)

From infiniteloop's reaction, I suspect this might be similar to The Beast Below in series 5, I loved that episode, despite some iffy aspects, because (theme spoilers)
it explored the fact that the Doctor is an alien. That was something I hoped they'd explore more with Matt Smith, but they kind of pulled back on that. They kind of do a similar thing here, and although they could have done a better job, I love what they *tried* to do with it.

Don't really want to go into much more detail here, since this isn't the spoiler thread, but I'll just say that it isn't a typical Dalek episode. You might not end up loving it either, but I dug it.
 
That random Dalek appearance in Waters of Mars means yeah, I'm pretty sure the one-Dalek-a-year rule is still in full effect.

I'm waiting for them to do the obvious thing and save them for a Christmas special, personally. Seems like the most effective use of them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuBJ5H9m3Sc

From infiniteloop's reaction, I suspect this might be similar to The Beast Below in series 5, I loved that episode, despite some iffy aspects, because (theme spoilers)
it explored the fact that the Doctor is an alien. That was something I hoped they'd explore more with Matt Smith, but they kind of pulled back on that. They kind of do a similar thing here, and although they could have done a better job, I love what they *tried* to do with it.

Don't really want to go into much more detail here, since this isn't the spoiler thread, but I'll just say that it isn't a typical Dalek episode. You might not end up loving it either, but I dug it.

Series 5 had a lot of those actually, with Vincent and the Doctor and Amy's Choice very much being theme first episodes that people either loathed or loved. I love them all, even Beast Below which gets an unfairly bad rap. So if nothing else you've made me hopeful for ep 2.
 
So, I'm on line for the Deep Breath screening in NYC. This is the third DW thing I've been to, and it's always cool to be among other fans of the show.


Also, sooo many hot girls dressed as Clara.
 
Series 5 had a lot of those actually, with Vincent and the Doctor and Amy's Choice very much being theme first episodes that people either loathed or loved. I love them all, even Beast Below which gets an unfairly bad rap. So if nothing else you've made me hopeful for ep 2.

There are people who loathe Vincent and the Doctor? :o
 
Bought mine and a friend's tickets for the Rio leg of the world tour earlier today. Looking forward to it.
 
Five more minutes, and we start moving in.

Capaldi + Coleman arrived in an awesome old NYC Taxi, but since I was both too late and too early, I was caught in the middle of a line while they greeted fans.
 
Moffat on the new title sequence:

Moffat: Trying to assess Doctor Who’s audience from its online community would be like trying to assess world affairs from the comments section. I had this conversation with Gale Ann Hurd [of The Walking Dead] about how you cannot mistake Twitter for the voice of the audience. I’m aware of it and it can be a difficult thing, but let’s look at the positive side. Our beautiful new title sequence -- it’s absolutely stunning -- is from an online Doctor Who fan. Billy Hanshaw just decided to make a Doctor Who title sequence and put it up on YouTube. I happened across it and thought it was the only new idea for a Doctor Who title sequence since 1963. We got in touch and decided we were going to do that one. I suppose when we talk about Doctor Who fandom online, that’s what we should be talking about. We should be talking about the extraordinary creative response. We give them a show and they give us the show back, sometimes better. That’s cementing. There’s something magical about Doctor Who that makes some of the people actually want to do it.

http://www.blastr.com/2014-8-14/doc...me-lord?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

I wonder what Neon Visual thinks of this haha.
 
Yup. I was as surprised as you but seemingly its a 'divisive' episode, mainly thanks to the chicken monster.

People are dumb.

The monster is one of the best new creations for the series! I mean, Vincent battling depression, and an invisible monster that only he can see who hurts everyone around him while he can't do anything about it until he gets help from some friends, and then it turns out that the monster doesn't want to hurt anyone, he's just blind, lonely and scared... That's great stuff. I know that most viewers don't watch Who as obsessively as I do, and most of them wouldn't even begin to try to find a deeper meaning behind a giant invisible space chicken in a series that also involves giant farting green aliens, rhino cops and angry pepper pots, but even without that subtext you're left with a very lovely, beautifully shot small-scale episode exploring the fragility of the human mind, perception of mental illness, and the beauty of art.

I'm not saying that Doctor Who should tackle depression that head-on every week, but I would love it if they would get a bit more poetic with their monsters once in a while. Reminds me of Douglas Addams, although he applied literal translations of literary/scientific/philosophical concepts more for comedic results rather than dramatic ones.

Matt Smith's best episode, and the best episode of Modern Who. Without a doubt. A very brave episode, and one that could have turned out very wrong very easily. But it worked. I'm kind of amazed/proud that the BBC allowed it to go out. I still remember that the original broadcast ended with a BBC voice-over telling viewers the number of the suicide hotline in case the contents of the episode upset them. I mean, that's completely insane when you think about it.

I understand the opposing viewpoint on everything regarding Doctor Who - which era is the best, if Pertwee is actually playing the Doctor or another character entirely, the great RTD-Moffat debate - but saying that Vincent and the Doctor is a bad episode is just objectively wrong.
 
So, I just got back home from the screening and apart from the start time - about an 1/2 hour/1 hour later than expected - everything was excellent. Capaldi absolutely kills it as the Doctor, Jenna's great too - probably because it felt like the ep focused on Clara as well as Twelve.

New title sequence was awesome (I even heard a few "ooohs" in the crowd), and I feel like the theme arrangement is gonna grow on me.

Funny note from the Q&A: Someone asked Capaldi how much input he had in the direction of the show, and in the process mentioned the "No Flirting" convo he had with Moffat. Apparently, both of them said that the conversation/argument never actually took place. It was a misquote.

And I'll just get this out of the way before the 23rd - Jenny Flint. Goddamn, Jenny Flint.
 
All this hate about the daleks. :( I LOVE them, the probably need to use them less though, but still never dissapear.

As I posted above, I think the reason Moffat stopped using them for important storylines is because they were constantly defeated and became more comedic than threatening. I sort of like how the Daleks are portrayed in Asylum; as a great empire building their forces to eventually take on the Doctor more directly. If we HAVE to see the Daleks once every season, I'd rather it be illuding to something far bigger down the road rather than stuff that just sort of... Happens.
 
The monster is one of the best new creations for the series! I mean, Vincent battling depression, and an invisible monster that only he can see who hurts everyone around him while he can't do anything about it until he gets help from some friends, and then it turns out that the monster doesn't want to hurt anyone, he's just blind, lonely and scared... That's great stuff. I know that most viewers don't watch Who as obsessively as I do, and most of them wouldn't even begin to try to find a deeper meaning behind a giant invisible space chicken in a series that also involves giant farting green aliens, rhino cops and angry pepper pots, but even without that subtext you're left with a very lovely, beautifully shot small-scale episode exploring the fragility of the human mind, perception of mental illness, and the beauty of art.

I'm not saying that Doctor Who should tackle depression that head-on every week, but I would love it if they would get a bit more poetic with their monsters once in a while. Reminds me of Douglas Addams, although he applied literal translations of literary/scientific/philosophical concepts more for comedic results rather than dramatic ones.

Matt Smith's best episode, and the best episode of Modern Who. Without a doubt. A very brave episode, and one that could have turned out very wrong very easily. But it worked. I'm kind of amazed/proud that the BBC allowed it to go out. I still remember that the original broadcast ended with a BBC voice-over telling viewers the number of the suicide hotline in case the contents of the episode upset them. I mean, that's completely insane when you think about it.

I understand the opposing viewpoint on everything regarding Doctor Who - which era is the best, if Pertwee is actually playing the Doctor or another character entirely, the great RTD-Moffat debate - but saying that Vincent and the Doctor is a bad episode is just objectively wrong.

Totally agreed. Very nicely put too.

Along with your points I also think its a really great Amy episode. As is suggested during the ep, she too is suffering from depression, what with having seen her husband erased from time and all, but she can't quite place why she feels that way. And I think, along with the monster metaphor, that also nails what its like to be depressed.

And, to top it all, it portrays a historical figure in a less cartoony fashion than normal. I mean compare Vincent to, say Shakespeare, who apparently just went around quoting his future works.

tumblr_mzertmGMQN1qkopuoo7_250.gif
 
As I posted above, I think the reason Moffat stopped using them for important storylines is because they were constantly defeated and became more comedic than threatening. I sort of like how the Daleks are portrayed in Asylum; as a great empire building their forces to eventually take on the Doctor more directly. If we HAVE to see the Daleks once every season, I'd rather it be illuding to something far bigger down the road than stuff that just sort of... Happens.

This is a great idea.
 
Oh man, why would anyone hate Daleks. Daleks and Cybermen are the perfect Who villains imo, equally as menacing as they are ridiculously camp. Pretty much matches the definition of the series 90% of the time.
 
Vincent is my favorite episode too. I'm not as eloquent as Boem, but I will say it moves me to tears everytime I watch it. When Vincent shows them how he views the world, and you see the real sky become Starry Night-that idea and execution is magnificent. It's so beautiful.
 
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