SictorVullivan
Member
Another reference to an hybrid eh?
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Doctor Who Series 9 |OT| Let Zygons Be Zygons
- Thread starter Quick
- Start date
Broken Joystick
At least you can talk. Who are you?
The Face of Arya
peanutbutterlatte
Member
Wow. Best episode in a long, long time. Had me completely hooked, Maisie was fantastic, and the conclusion was both satisfying and intriguing.
Quick Mustard
Member
Huh, no
Clara at all in the next time trailer...
WadiumArcadium
Member
It was a bit silly but I still enjoyed it. Laughed a bit too much at the Benny Hill bit.
peanutbutterlatte
Member
I don't even know what you want then man. That was solid on all accounts...
peanutbutterlatte
Member
They could set her up now and use her later I.e. Donna
CrimsonFist
Member
Fun episode, middle part dragged a bit for me, but overall pretty decent. and rip in peace sonic glasses.
Also: it was part one of her story, maybe save the companion speculation until after next week
Also: it was part one of her story, maybe save the companion speculation until after next week
That's not a five on a videogame scale or anything btw. 7/10 if we aren't using the whole scale. Solid, entertaining but not great or shocking or clever or innovative.
Arya confirmed to die in next Song of Fire and Ice book
Perhaps. To be fair, she could die in this series of Game of Thrones, we really don't know, or if there isn't going to be a full series of Doctor Who next year like many are speculating she could probably fit in both.
peanutbutterlatte
Member
So uh they're really going for this hybrid thing aren't they
Can someone get RTD to teach Moffat plot arcs. Please.
Can someone get RTD to teach Moffat plot arcs. Please.
GustyGardner
Member
Another fantastic episode. This series is shaping up to become my favourite since Series 5. The main plot was a fun romp with a satisfying ending and I enjoyed the villains even if they didn't really do anything (with the Fisher King first and now these guys, this series might have the least threatening villains yet!) The resolution about Capaldi's old role playing a part in the Doctor's new appearance felt really sloppy though (I guess that's the bit Moffat wrote for this episode) but it was pretty surreal to see such a strange call back to what is a pretty old episode at this point, flashback and all. Not sure if next week's looks interesting or not yet, but the villain's design and lack of Clara are intriguing. Also that Sonic Sunglasses scene must have been added later, after the negative fan feedback right? lol.
peanutbutterlatte
Member
I'd rather the "faces" plotline be a nice little reference like that than a massive subplot Moffat founded on pure coincidence though.
Napoleonthechimp
Member
Um... WTF. RTD has no business teaching anyone anything.
CrimsonFist
Member
Confirmed for the finale
Also, the ending to this episode reminded me a bit of the ending to Evolution.
peanutbutterlatte
Member
Nicely put. Say what you will about him, and I agree he's overrated, but damn I'll take Mr. Saxon and Bad Wolf over "This impossible girl is IMPOSSIBLE" any day.
I just thought the episode was a bit messy, personally. Rather like Magician's Apprentice in that regard. Too much going on, no real resolution for things because we need to have next week's storyline.
Good to see I was right that the NuWho continuity nods were not a coincidence.
Good to see I was right that the NuWho continuity nods were not a coincidence.
GustyGardner
Member
Absolutely agreed, I just thought it was a bit strange. I can't imagine a direction where that plot could have been taken without it being a ridiculous pile of nonsense. With Moffat referencing the idea in Deep Breath I imagined it would become a series wide arc at some point, but I guess he added it in there just in case he had any ideas later on.
peanutbutterlatte
Member
Well in it's nature it's just them working with what they were given, but I liked it. Better than the "who blew up the Tardis" explanation in any case.
GustyGardner
Member
I had to google 'blow up the Tardis.' As much as I love series 5, (and 6 part 1) that whole thing was soooo dumb.
paradox121
Member
I loved that. Probably the first episode I'm dying to rewatch since Flatline (what a coincidence).
Yes it's campy and rompy and every other throwaway pejorative you can come up with, but brimming under the surface is this whole idea of the Doctor affecting time to varying degrees, and how stories aren't these nice little self contained things. I love that he points out having the Vikings win and beat the Mire could just potentially put the whole planet in jeopardy. And then of course you have him doing the noble thing and save Ashildr only for that to have the biggest ripple in time possible.
That final shot was beautiful, and kind of managed to sum up the concept of immortality in one go. Generally, I thought this episode just visually looked fantastic. CG dragon aside (which I guess you can write off as being intentionally poor looking) everything from the Mire to the spaceship to the mountains in the distance to pretty much every one of those shots of the Doctor and Clara talking was beautiful.
I actually think this would be a perfect episode to introduce someone to the show. It kinda has everything and handles it superbly.
Yes it's campy and rompy and every other throwaway pejorative you can come up with, but brimming under the surface is this whole idea of the Doctor affecting time to varying degrees, and how stories aren't these nice little self contained things. I love that he points out having the Vikings win and beat the Mire could just potentially put the whole planet in jeopardy. And then of course you have him doing the noble thing and save Ashildr only for that to have the biggest ripple in time possible.
That final shot was beautiful, and kind of managed to sum up the concept of immortality in one go. Generally, I thought this episode just visually looked fantastic. CG dragon aside (which I guess you can write off as being intentionally poor looking) everything from the Mire to the spaceship to the mountains in the distance to pretty much every one of those shots of the Doctor and Clara talking was beautiful.
I actually think this would be a perfect episode to introduce someone to the show. It kinda has everything and handles it superbly.
Exterminieren
Banned
3 for 3 for Mathieson, there.
Yeah, it was a romp, but it's been a while since we've had a good romp! What set this apart from something like Robot of Sherwood or Dinosaurs on a Spaceship, though, were the tones it juggled- even setting aside the last five minutes, we had funny comedy side-by-side with really quite poignant and lyrical material, and that last five or ten minutes was really great- the very last shot is one of the finest that Who has ever offered up, and I'm really interested to see where it goes next week.
The alien plot was thinly sketched, but still fun. It will, however, always be damaged by the fact that BRIAN BLESSED had to pull out of playing Odin at the eleventh hour- just IMAGINE him delivering those abbotoir lines!.
Yeah, it was a romp, but it's been a while since we've had a good romp! What set this apart from something like Robot of Sherwood or Dinosaurs on a Spaceship, though, were the tones it juggled- even setting aside the last five minutes, we had funny comedy side-by-side with really quite poignant and lyrical material, and that last five or ten minutes was really great- the very last shot is one of the finest that Who has ever offered up, and I'm really interested to see where it goes next week.
The alien plot was thinly sketched, but still fun. It will, however, always be damaged by the fact that BRIAN BLESSED had to pull out of playing Odin at the eleventh hour- just IMAGINE him delivering those abbotoir lines!.
peanutbutterlatte
Member
Yeah exactly, it would have been a romp if not for the part where we got some genuinely excellent Clara/Doctor development.
And WHAT. Didn't he play someone on Who before?
Was a decent episode, but it didn't blow me away. It was funny and had some poignant moments. I love that the idea of changing history keeps coming up and the "beat you over the head with it" foreshadowing of Clara's departure.
Was surprised to have a callback to the idea of the Doctor turning his companions into soldiers or weapons.
Absolute highlight of the episode was seeing that scene with Donna again, yessss.
The doctor listening to the baby scene lasted way too damn long and was a silly idea to begin with.
Odin looked fucking ridiculous with the eyeshadow and the eyepatch/visor thing and god he was hammy, what the hell was that about? worst villain ever.
I'm not disappointed because I wasn't hyped for the episode at all, it was just meh. Had its high points, had its low points. Just meh overall.
Was surprised to have a callback to the idea of the Doctor turning his companions into soldiers or weapons.
Absolute highlight of the episode was seeing that scene with Donna again, yessss.
The doctor listening to the baby scene lasted way too damn long and was a silly idea to begin with.
Odin looked fucking ridiculous with the eyeshadow and the eyepatch/visor thing and god he was hammy, what the hell was that about? worst villain ever.
I'm not disappointed because I wasn't hyped for the episode at all, it was just meh. Had its high points, had its low points. Just meh overall.
peanutbutterlatte
Member
The baby scene was a nice callback. Bad me nearly in tears. Not even ashamed.
The villain was totally supposed to be hammy and a Sontaran stand-in, the villian wasn't even the point of the story.
The villain was totally supposed to be hammy and a Sontaran stand-in, the villian wasn't even the point of the story.
Dr Zhivago
Member
Yeah, he played King Yrcanos. Bearing in mind this was the episode that explained why Capaldi returned, I wonder if this would have been a plot point?
Yup, loved it. Maisie Williams was perfect, as always. She's so good at conveying a natural, effortless blend of vulnerability and strength. Capaldi and Coleman owning it, as ever. For once, no glaring plot holes leapt out while I was watching (yes, it was silly and the solution a bit easy - electric eels are not all that powerful - but not distractingly so), meaning it was just fun all the way through. The best stand-alone since, well, Flatline. Loved it. Having last last season mostly mediocre, this season's had inconsistencies, but also a lot of variety and each episode has, at the very least, been interesting. Hope the whole thing about Capaldi's face is taken further.
Exterminieren
Banned
Man, some Doctor Who fans are absolutely allergic to anything that anyone can even conceivably consider silly. I haven't seen a Gallifrey Base rate-the-episode thread quite so out of step with what most others are saying for quite a long time.
I mean, Trial of a Time Lord and all that...
Time Lords are shits?
I mean, Trial of a Time Lord and all that...
Seems pretty solid scores over there. A lot of 7-9s for the episode. I think it's a 7/10 for me personally, quite an enjoyable ep.
Exterminieren
Banned
Yeah, the poll scores are always more positive than the written reviews, but it's particularly bad this week. If you read their opinions, you'd think this episode was a laughable disaster.
I enjoyed it but your probably going to hate this review which is titled Maisie Williams should of stuck to game of thrones.
Written some by british reviewer whose last article was about doctor who being canceled.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/neilmid...illiams-should-have-stuck-to-game-of-thrones/
Exterminieren
Banned
I don't have any problems with negative reviews at all- I disagree with this guy's conclusions, and think his tone is hyperbolic, but it is what it is.
His ratings article, on the other hand, is total trash. Such an incoherent pile of context free, vitriolic rubbish would barely pass muster in a YouTube comments section, never mind on Forbes.
He was the only other Doctor to have previously played a role on the show before he was cast. Doubt it's anything more than that.
Episode was meh up until it was holy shit.
Still the worst of the season, but we haven't got any outright bad episodes so far, so everything's good. And yes, this is sort of a two-parter, but the new setting makes it way better, since, as the Doctor so perfectly said, I'm not in the mood for (more) Vikings.
Capaldi is so great this season, so much better than the last, imo. Really sold on his Doctor now.
Really liked the Tennant flashback.
Still the worst of the season, but we haven't got any outright bad episodes so far, so everything's good. And yes, this is sort of a two-parter, but the new setting makes it way better, since, as the Doctor so perfectly said, I'm not in the mood for (more) Vikings.
Capaldi is so great this season, so much better than the last, imo. Really sold on his Doctor now.
Really liked the Tennant flashback.
Hot Coldman
Banned
I'm surprised that most of the humour this episode was led by Capaldi. Actually, he did pretty much of the heavy lifting with the comedy, and he nailed it too. I was half-expecting an incredibly camp interpretation of the Vikings, like the Robin Hood episode did with its era and people, but the Vikings were played mostly totally straight and just had to bounce off of 12 being an arse, which is the way it should always be.
I thought the giant serpent being a hologram was hilarious, because I thought that CGI looked like total shite in the trailer, so that showed me up.
Oh, and everything else was... huh. Hmmm. Surprising and pretty cool; I'm glad the face thing is just that and not an actual plot line involving Time Lords stealing faces throughout history or some nonsense. And a hybrid, eh.
If things keep up, this could be my favourite series since 5 - actually, it'll probably be better than 5.
I thought the giant serpent being a hologram was hilarious, because I thought that CGI looked like total shite in the trailer, so that showed me up.
Oh, and everything else was... huh. Hmmm. Surprising and pretty cool; I'm glad the face thing is just that and not an actual plot line involving Time Lords stealing faces throughout history or some nonsense. And a hybrid, eh.
If things keep up, this could be my favourite series since 5 - actually, it'll probably be better than 5.
mightynine
Member
I quite enjoyed that. Are we playing around with Time Lord Triumphant again?
EDIT: Hmmm. Re-reading the plot for The Fires of Pompeii (it's been a while since I saw it), I wonder if we're supposed to take that more as Clara was acting like 10, and 12 chose a face to remind him of what Donna convinced him to do and break the rules.
Of course, the end made it appear that perhaps breaking the rules can end poorly for the Doctor...
I'm ready for next week!
As an aside, I like the attempt it seems to minimize the sonic so far this season. It's not been used as a one-size-fix-all at all.
EDIT: Hmmm. Re-reading the plot for The Fires of Pompeii (it's been a while since I saw it), I wonder if we're supposed to take that more as Clara was acting like 10, and 12 chose a face to remind him of what Donna convinced him to do and break the rules.
Of course, the end made it appear that perhaps breaking the rules can end poorly for the Doctor...
I'm ready for next week!
As an aside, I like the attempt it seems to minimize the sonic so far this season. It's not been used as a one-size-fix-all at all.
It appears so.
I'm of firm belief that he chose his face as a message to not intervene or break the rules and will spend the rest of the season fucking shit up because of getting it wrong/
ClivePwned
Member
I thought the episode was a solid 7. I liked the rubbish Vikings and the Benny Hill bit.
next week's ep looks a Clara-free lark.
next week's ep looks a Clara-free lark.