peanutbutterlatte
Member
Yup. Not a massive fan of Moffat at times (though overall he's great), but he's far better than the alternatives.
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Doctor Who Series Seven |OT| The Question You've Been Running From All Your Life
- Thread starter Mr. Sam
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Yup. Not a massive fan of Moffat at times (though overall he's great), but he's far better than the alternatives.
infiniteloop
Member
nope. no new news on nothing.
acheron_xl
Member
I have a hard time buying Karen's acting in just about anything. She would've been pretty high on the companion-acting-skills ladder if you only compared her to classic companions, but she has a higher bar to hit now. I think even Freema had more believable character moments.
peanutbutterlatte
Member
No trailer, no exclusive clips, no nothing!
Market your fucking show BBC
Aww, thanks.
Exterminieren
Banned
No hard evidence, and the Capaldi appointment's thrown it wide open. Many were assuming he would leave with Smith before Smith actually announced he was going.
As for replacements... well, Chibnall's simply too busy at the moment, with him writing Broadchurch series 2 and then moving on to be the showrunner for the US version. Gatiss is probably the most likely, but he hasn't got experience of running a show like Who by himself and he may well feel too close to Moffat to do it justice. For me, the outstanding candidate is Toby Whithouse. Creator and showrunner of Being Human (where he showed an absolutely uncanny ability to keep the show on the road- some of the cast and location changes that Being Human went through over its life would have killed lesser shows), his star is in the ascendant in the BBC with his prestigious Cold War miniseries currently being shot... I'd love to see Whithouse's take on it.
I don't rate Karen all that highly as an actor, really. She often sold Amy on pure charisma rather than acting talent. I always bear in mind The Girl Who Waited when I say that, though, because I think she's genuinely astonishing in it, far beyond anything we saw elsewhere in the series. We're not meant to think that Old!Amy actually hates the Doctor, but she's an extremely damaged but tough old bird who's trying her very best to hate him. Her ending monologue through the TARDIS door to Rory at the end is up there with the best bits of acting that a companion has ever had, up there with Catherine Tate in her circle of mirrors or Billie Piper in Father's Day.
They can market the show when there's some show to market. We've still got 3 months till we get a new episode, so I can live with them holding back for now.
I also think they should have held back from Comic Con, but eh.
peanutbutterlatte
Member
I just think with them going all out in terms of showing it in theaters they should be already pushing it. It's never too early.
Exterminieren
Banned
They are pushing Doctor Who's anniversary, though. In recent weeks we've had a hugely hyped new Doctor announcement and the Proms taking pride of place in the bank holiday schedules. They're keeping the show in the public eye without spoiling many of the surprises in the special itself. I'll criticise the Who team's PR all night long, but I can't fault their logic of sprinkling Who about.
EDIT: Watching the Proms again. The Impossible Girl really is the best companion theme we've had. Love how delicate and airy it is.
The Real Abed
Perma-Junior
I may be misusing it in this case but, while masterfully used, the sets were all minimal and restrictive (aside from the garden scenery which was more of a backdrop it was all either in white rooms with little to no furniture and Old Amy's hideout) and it only featured the main cast + the Robots. It has more to do with holding back on budget than having it take place in one location, so I think it qualifies as the season had episodes that required many more effects and resources. From Wiki:
This definition can be applied to a lot of Who episodes though, lol.
edit: fwiw, tvtropes also lists it as an example of bottle episode.
The Real Abed
Perma-Junior
I prefer to only acknowledge episodes that take place mainly on a single set as a bottle episode. Like the "Cooperative Calligraphy" episode of Community, or that episode of 227 where they get locked in a toy store storage room with Pee Wee Herman. (That really happened. I seen it.) Damn the budget. Hey, remember in the '80s and '90s when people would always get locked in freezers or pregnant women always had their baby in an elevator?I may be misusing it in this case but, while masterfully used, the sets were all minimal and restrictive (aside from the garden scenery which was more of a backdrop it was all either in white rooms with little to no furniture and Old Amy's hideout) and it only featured the main cast + the Robots. It has more to do with holding back on budget than having it take place in one location, so I think it qualifies as the season had episodes that required many more effects and resources. From Wiki:
This definition can be applied to a lot of Who episodes though, lol.
edit: fwiw, tvtropes also lists it as an example of bottle episode.
APZonerunner
Member
I may be misusing it in this case but, while masterfully used, the sets were all minimal and restrictive (aside from the garden scenery which was more of a backdrop it was all either in white rooms with little to no furniture and Old Amy's hideout) and it only featured the main cast + the Robots. It has more to do with holding back on budget than having it take place in one location, so I think it qualifies as the season had episodes that required many more effects and resources. From Wiki:
This definition can be applied to a lot of Who episodes though, lol.
edit: fwiw, tvtropes also lists it as an example of bottle episode.
It isn't really a bottle episode, but it is a Doctor-light episode, which I would say is the New Who equivalent. Basically, they film two episodes at the same time, splitting the cast and crew across two different things at once. By having minimal use of certain members of the cast, it avoids clashing.
Love & Monsters (very little Rose/Doctor, carried instead by Elton & co) filmed alongside Fear Her
Blink (Martha has two lines, the Doctor has about 25 lines repeated on a recording, carried by Sally) filmed alongside Utopia
Midnight (Doctor only) filmed alongside Turn Left (Donna Only)
The Girl Who Waited (Amy/Rory focused, with almost all of Smith's scenes set on the TARDIS so they could be filmed in one day) done alongside Closing Time (no Amy/Rory except a brief cameo, Doctor only.)
These sort of bottle episodes have never been about saving money, but more about saving time. In many cases they've made the decision to tie these episodes to cheap ones, though. Like, Midnight and Turn Left both have some of the slimmest budgets of the series - but only so they could pour money into the big explosions and stuff for the Dalek episodes. They never divide their money 13 ways for a series, they pick & choose their battles. The nature of the episodes helps, as well - with the crew split, as well, it's really wise to dial back the scope a bit. I think that's a lesson learned with the awful Fear Her, which has a pretty traditional Who tone/scope - larger than all its other counterparts - and suffers on execution most likely due to a reduced crew.
So that's what they mean. Series One didn't need one, and nor did Series 5, as what caused the time shortage was inserting an additional episode (Christmas) into the schedule. Series 7 being split as it was meant they had additional time.
We'll probably not get another one of these episodes, as the indication is that Series 8 and possibly all series from then on will have at least one less episode to them, eliminating the problem.
Exterminieren
Banned
Say what you will about that episode (and I have, repeatedly), Murray Gold knocked that assignment out of the park. No one rescues that episode, but he's the individual who does the most for it.
Discotheque
Banned
I just saw Vincent and the Doctor again recently. call it hokey and manipulative but I thought it was very nice. I loved that ending.
it also got me thinking, instead of that shitty hitler episode we got in the later season they should have had them hang out with 6 year old adolf and shown him the holocaust museum and other memories in the future.
do an episode like this every year where they get a historical figure and spin it on it's head. i don't care how formulaic it sounds lol.
it also got me thinking, instead of that shitty hitler episode we got in the later season they should have had them hang out with 6 year old adolf and shown him the holocaust museum and other memories in the future.
do an episode like this every year where they get a historical figure and spin it on it's head. i don't care how formulaic it sounds lol.
the hitler thing was kind of a joke but i would like another episode in the vein of vincent and the doctor again
Twitter would be raging that he could never regenerate into a carrot.
"Another white potato? Isn't it about time for a sweet potato?"
trudderham
Member
Yeah it's a stunning piece of music, and I think it'd make a great piece for when Smith regenerates. For those outside of the UK you can listen to it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbYjjun6C2A
Edit: Amazing to think this was written for a TV show. It's easily up there with the best of John Williams.
JonathanEx
Member
While we're on music, a quick reminder the S7 soundtrack comes out 9th Sept. Woohoo.
Interesting, thanks for the insight! Understandable but it's a shame that we'll possibly get one less episode next series, I'd rather get one Doctor-light ep than none at all. I hope they still make those once in a while, even if they aren't born out of production constraints anymore.
http://whatculture.com/tv/doctor-wh...s-well-never-get-answers-to-and-1-we-will.php
Almost 10 days late but I just saw this article, interesting. Some of these plot points I never thought about again (while others I have).
Almost 10 days late but I just saw this article, interesting. Some of these plot points I never thought about again (while others I have).
Exterminieren
Banned
Sir_Crocodile
Member
#4 is the only interesting one.
I also still want to know who hacked the tardis in the big bang and said "silence will fall". But it'll probably end up a sop answer like "uh, the silence....somehow!"
Bit like "no living creature can speak false or fail to answer", which turned out to be garbage(I'm guessing moffat forgot about this line when he did his "clever" subversion).
Garbage? It is not a rule there, it was just a prediction for the state of the situation (which was dire indeed), as in...the Doctor would have to say his name in the next few seconds anyway.
Would the 50th Anniversary be - technically - a Doctor-heavy episode?
It's so heavy that the Doctor is actually just in one episode, and the remaining episode are Doctor-lite.
Sir_Crocodile
Member
It was a prophecy. Prophecies are supposed to be gotten round cleverly or smashed through, not have the script writer forget what he wrote.
APZonerunner
Member
I don't think Moffat is as much of a 'prophecy' person as RTD was, though, really. Still, years of the latter making prophecies and then passing them in one way or another trained Who viewers in a certain way, I suppose.
aHebrewMenagerie
Member
Hey guys, new here on GAF, i'm looking forward to having awesome Whovian discussions with you guys, and watching the 50th as well.
In order to be accepted here, you have to answer one important question: what do you think of Love and Monsters?
aHebrewMenagerie
Member
Please don't get me started. I'm trying to get my mother caught up for the 50th, and that was the one episode I tried my hardest to dissuade her from watching.
equippedwithtowel
Member
We're not gonna get along very well.
How do you feel about The Family of Blood?
aHebrewMenagerie
Member
I thought it was fine, I haven't seen it in a while, I certainly like the concept of the episode.
Wasn't it based on a Sylvester McCoy story?
peanutbutterlatte
Member
Sun is shining in the sky! There ain't a cloud in sight!
Good call. My gf is watching through the show for the first time and we skipped a few episodes because they offer almost zero value. (Fear Her/Love and Monsters being the biggest offenders)
Its amazing how all these years that I've watched the show, I never really had it sink in that most of the stories are SUPER sad and depressing. Like bad stuff happens to a lot of people and characters even though the show seems so happy. I just realized this watching through the Series 1-4 episodes.
You came to the wrong neighbourhood.
peanutbutterlatte
Member
No he didn't. Nobody with good opinions likes pavement blowjobs.
And nobody with such a serious demeanor should be watching Doctor Who
oh wait we're all allowed to like different things
peanutbutterlatte
Member
If concrete fellatio jokes are your bag, watch Doctor Who!
You're impossible
Ignis Fatuus
Banned
He's Clara?
peanutbutterlatte
Member
Welcome to Alternate Reality WhoGAF. Love and Monsters is excellent. Helen Mirren is the 12th Doctor after Matt Smith bought disgrace to the series by getting his cock out at the BBC Proms. Moffat was killed in a freak accident whilst trying to construct his own TARDIS. The kid who designed the Abzorbaloff took over as head writer. The 50th Anniversary will star Helen Mirren, a digitized version of Peter Cushing, and Keith Chegwin as the evil Valeyard.
I'm Cl-
Fucking dammit.
aHebrewMenagerie
Member
Part of the problem is that no other writer on the show has demonstrated a strong vision of Doctor Who in particular. Which is what made Moffat the heir apparent. Even before knowing his name most people already knew his episodes stood right out. The candidates have clear visions of *other* things, but on Who they're mostly just interchangeable.
EleventhDoctor
Banned
I like GAF but some of the Doctor Who opinions on here are mind blowing.
We're now going on about how The Girl Who Waited is bad and Love & Monsters is good. Everyone's a contrarian these days.
APZonerunner
Member
Agreed. That said, I think Gatiss is most likely, as he sort of shows that same lineage as Moffat and RTD, with Doctor Who running through all his pre-Who work massively and all that. Plus, he does have experience running shows, from League of Gentlemen to Sherlock.
I don't think he has much of a vision for the show, mind. But maybe there's a master plan lurking away there.
He was recently asked in an interview if he'd like to take over from Moffat, and he sheepishly smiled and said "You know I can't answer that." Which is code for "Yes, christ, yes."
equippedwithtowel
Member
I still love 90% of Love and Monsters.
I'm gonna start my own Who-GAF with Davies fans and hookers.
I'm gonna start my own Who-GAF with Davies fans and hookers.
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