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Official Doctor Who Series 1, 5, 31, or Fnarg Thread of Moffat & Smith

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MCF said:
I'm glad Euros Lyn isn't directing any eps. His stuff always seemed awful.

* "The End of the World" (2005)
* "The Unquiet Dead" (2005)
* "Children in Need" (Children in Need mini-episode, 2005)
* "Tooth and Claw" (2006)
* "The Girl in the Fireplace" (2006)
* "The Idiot's Lantern" (2006)
* "Fear Her" (2006)
* "The Runaway Bride" (2006)
* "Silence in the Library" (2008)
* "Forest of the Dead" (2008)
* "Music of the Spheres" (BBC Proms mini-episode, 2008)
* The End of Time (2 parts, 2009-10)

He's had a pretty good run, really. The only true dud there is Fear Her, and that was just a badly, hastily written episode after Stephen Fry pulled out.
 

Mr. Sam

Member
MCF said:
I'm glad Euros Lyn isn't directing any eps. His stuff always seemed awful.

Some of the episodes he directed were great but that wasn't because of good direction. In fact, it may well have been despite poor direction.
 
Donna was the worst assistant that I can remember. Catherine Tate is awful.

Although my initial impressions of the new Doctor and look are good, I've seen the trailer and that seriously damaged my expectations.

Punching people? Smashing Daleks with sledgehammers? WTF...

I'v been on a DW binge recently, "The Girl in the Fireplace" is probably my favourite episode. I'm looking forward to this.
 

Mr. Sam

Member
liquid_gears said:
Punching people? Smashing Daleks with sledgehammers? WTF...

I think those clips were specially selected to make us WTF. I can guarantee the clip of him firing a gun was.
 

pnjtony

Member
liquid_gears said:
Donna was the worst assistant that I can remember. Catherine Tate is awful.
I never understood the hate for Catherine Tate. She seemed just fine for me and I actually sort of liked her. I liked having a companion that wasn't swinging from the doctor's balls in love with him.

Then I watched The Catherine Tate show.....what an abortion and yes, I was very bothered.

I still like Donna as a companion, but I understand why people would have a shit taste in their mouth for her.
 
Mr. Sam said:
I think those clips were specially selected to make us WTF. I can guarantee the clip of him firing a gun was.

Well it's certainly worked :lol

I'm defiantly digging the retro look and everything else though.

pnjtony said:
I liked having a companion that wasn't swinging from the doctor's balls in love with him.

The premise and the idea is certainly interesting, but I just despise Catherine Tate and everything about her. She basically ruined the entire show for me.
 

Blader

Member
Mr. Sam said:
Some of the episodes he directed were great but that wasn't because of good direction. In fact, it may well have been despite poor direction.

Maybe, but I really loved the way he shot the scene in End of Time part 2 where
the Doctor (and the audience) learn what "he will knock four times" really means.
Being my favorite scene in all of New Who, that earns him a lot of points in my book. :lol
 
What I love about Doctor Who Confidential (and by that I mean find amusing), is what they do, is basically take a scene/shot like that, and then play it back about 5 times, with different talking heads explaining what you're seeing on screen only gaining slightly more insight in to it.

Oh, and whatever happened to the cool visual style of splitscreen they had on the Planet of the Dead episode of Confidential? That mixed things up nicely.
 

MCF

Develop Magazine
I stand corrected on Lyn then. Maybe. But I always noticed that his way to create unease was to just put the camera at a 35 degree angle - there was lots of that in the last two specials.

All I really want out of the new series is for the show to drop that brightly-lit, boring, shot-on-video-tape feel. But I might be asking too much from a show that has to be accesible for a UK Saturday evening audience.

Edit: Oh, I didn't realise I had been tagged. That's cool.
 

Blader

Member
JonathanEx said:
What I love about Doctor Who Confidential (and by that I mean find amusing), is what they do, is basically take a scene/shot like that, and then play it back about 5 times, with different talking heads explaining what you're seeing on screen only gaining slightly more insight in to it.

Oh, and whatever happened to the cool visual style of splitscreen they had on the Planet of the Dead episode of Confidential? That mixed things up nicely.

Maybe it's because I've always been interested in watching those kinds of behind-the-scenes shows, but I love Confidential.

Although I am looking forward to never having to hear RTD speak in his seemingly always-congested voice again. :lol
 

phisheep

NeoGAF's Chief Barrister
OMG Aero said:
I'm still wary of Matt Smith, but then again I was wary of Tennant when he first appeared.

I was wary of all of them first time round (yep, that old). Especially first regeneration when Hartnell 'gave birth to' Troughton - that was just a shock because we didn't know what was happening. But every time I've warmed to them. Occasionally it wears off a bit (Pertwee and McCoy), but it is all part of the game.

Loved Tennant, except for excessive number of shots of overcoat flapping. Smith will be just fine.
 

bengraven

Member
Awesome. :)

One of my New Year's resolutions is to only watch British television from now on. I need to catch up anyway. ;)
 
I do also enjoy Confidential, but the amount of it spent by Russel T Davies going "brilliant!" is truly amazing.

I've ordered the new edition of the Writer's Tale book, 300 new pages, should be interesting.
 
pnjtony said:
I never understood the hate for Catherine Tate. She seemed just fine for me and I actually sort of liked her. I liked having a companion that wasn't swinging from the doctor's balls in love with him.

Then I watched The Catherine Tate show.....what an abortion and yes, I was very bothered.

I still like Donna as a companion, but I understand why people would have a shit taste in their mouth for her.
Her way of acting "mad" always rubbed me the wrong way and it didn't help she did it frequently.
 

Raydeen

Member
MCF said:
I stand corrected on Lyn then. Maybe. But I always noticed that his way to create unease was to just put the camera at a 35 degree angle - there was lots of that in the last two specials.

All I really want out of the new series is for the show to drop that brightly-lit, boring, shot-on-video-tape feel. But I might be asking too much from a show that has to be accesible for a UK Saturday evening audience.

Edit: Oh, I didn't realise I had been tagged. That's cool.

That's what I thought. Only real atmospheric episode that captures a movie feel with some decent filters and lighting is Tooth & Claw. The TARDIS materialisations in the new series are horrible - plonk the camera down horizontal to the TARDIS and have it appear - with all the cranes ect they have access to you'd think they could have a bit more imagination.
 

Blader

Member
Despite being a huge fan of Tennant's Doctor, I haven't seen all of his episodes. Looking through wikipedia, here are the ones I never saw for whatever reason:

New Earth
Tooth and Claw
School Reunion
Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel
The Idiot's Lantern
Love and Monsters
Fear Her
The Runaway Bride (I actually did start watching this but turned it off after 10 minutes because of Tate lol; does the episode get any better further in?)
Midnight


Are any of these worth watching?
 
Blader5489 said:
Despite being a huge fan of Tennant's Doctor, I haven't seen all of his episodes. Looking through wikipedia, here are the ones I never saw for whatever reason:

New Earth
Tooth and Claw
School Reunion
Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel
The Idiot's Lantern
Love and Monsters
Fear Her
The Runaway Bride (I actually did start watching this but turned it off after 10 minutes because of Tate lol; does the episode get any better further in?)
Midnight


Are any of these worth watching?

I'd recommend School Reunion, Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel (not the best but Cybermen are cool) and Midnight. The Runaways Bride does not get any better.

Midnight is one of the best RTD episodes of the series.
 
Official Doctor Who Series 1/5/31 Thread of Moffat & Smith & Amy's Sweet Sweet Legs.

Also, how do I make an animated .gif from a youtube video?
 
Has anyone seen the new Doctor Who monthly (or is it weekly?) magazine? Its got a pretty neat lenticular cover of David Tennant morphing into Matt Smith. Was close to picking it up for that alone.
 
Messypandas said:
Has anyone seen the new Doctor Who monthly (or is it weekly?) magazine? Its got a pretty neat lenticular cover of David Tennant morphing into Matt Smith. Was close to picking it up for that alone.

I need to find a copy of this in Canuckistan.
 

mclem

Member
FnordChan said:
Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead (2008 eps 4.9-4.10)

There, 11 episodes and nothing continuity heavy or anything that goes more than two episodes.

It'd probably worth mentioning that SitL/FotD might be a bit daunting with an aspect which *seems* continuity heavy. It's nothing to worry about, though.
 

mclem

Member
infiniteloop said:
Things I would like from this next series:
- Have at least one episode where it's not some alien causing mischief. There was plenty of classic series stories where they'd run into trouble with the locals and have to find a way out.

I believe there was a stipulation - not sure where it originated, or if it's purely 'something wot I 'eard on t'internet' - that each episode had to have *some* sort of visible 'monster' in it, although there was no requirement for the 'monster' to necessarily be the villain. For instance, in Human Nature/Family of Blood, I'd say that
the monster quotient is covered by the scarecrows, even though the very human-looking Family are the actual villains
.


In terms of your requirements, I'd suggest that
Gridlock
fits that bill, despite the inclusion of
the Macra
. If you're after something with no alien involvement at all, though, I'd guess you're talking about the pure historicals, but I don't think there were actually all that many of them, were there?
 

mclem

Member
Messypandas said:
Has anyone seen the new Doctor Who monthly (or is it weekly?) magazine? Its got a pretty neat lenticular cover of David Tennant morphing into Matt Smith. Was close to picking it up for that alone.

Just to clarify, this is Doctor Who Adventures, the 'kids' magazine, *not* Doctor Who Magazine. But the cover would be a dead giveaway anyway.
 
I stopped watching after that new special where they were in the desert or something in that bus. It was awful and shockingly bad. Did it get any better after that. Can anyone tell me who wrote that special and if they still are employed because man it was a HUGE turn-off.
 

maharg

idspispopd
The_Inquisitor said:
I stopped watching after that new special where they were in the desert or something in that bus. It was awful and shockingly bad. Did it get any better after that. Can anyone tell me who wrote that special and if they still are employed because man it was a HUGE turn-off.

That was only two specials ago. Just go watch Waters of Mars and decide for yourself.
 

Clevinger

Member
The_Inquisitor said:
I stopped watching after that new special where they were in the desert or something in that bus. It was awful and shockingly bad. Did it get any better after that. Can anyone tell me who wrote that special and if they still are employed because man it was a HUGE turn-off.

Water of Mars was pretty good for the most part. End of Time did a few things really good and a lot bad. It's worth watching to see the end of Tennant's run.
 

mjc

Member
Totally off topic, but every time I see an official thread with the title "Official ______ Thread of ______________ (usually something corny)" I cringe. Its one of those weird internet pet peeves. Just had to get that out there.

Anyways, this song from the End of Time is really well done and I can't stop listening to it.

Does anyone here get the DWM on a monthly basis? I'd imagine it's easier to get a hold of in the UK but I've seen it at Barnes and Noble. They tend to be an issue behind all the time but its fun to flip through it. Are there subscription options for Americans?
 

Blader

Member
The_Inquisitor said:
I stopped watching after that new special where they were in the desert or something in that bus. It was awful and shockingly bad. Did it get any better after that. Can anyone tell me who wrote that special and if they still are employed because man it was a HUGE turn-off.

That was Planet of the Dead. I hated it too.

Next came The Waters of Mars, which I loved. Then the final special was The End of Time, which was broken into two parts. With the exception of one or two scenes, I thought Part 1 sucked pretty badly. On the other hand, I thought Part 2, despite a shaky start, was excellent. It's worth the 90 minutes of crap just to get to the last 30 or so minutes, which are brilliant imo.

Oh, and don't click on the links below. =P There are major spoilers in mjc's and mine.

mjc said:
Anyways, this song from the End of Time is really well done and I can't stop listening to it.

Yeah, there were quite a few tracks from the specials that I really love. In addition to the one you posted, I also really like this track, which was played at the end of Waters of Mars and during
the Doctor's "reward"
in The End of Time.
 

Regulus Tera

Romanes Eunt Domus
Apparently the new The Writer's Tale says that RTD was going to use the Daleks for Tennant's goodbye.

Moffat got him to back off by (spoilers for the next series)
using them first for his outlines of the new series
. :lol

EDIT: Fuck it, I just pre-ordered it. It is the first piece of Doctor Who paraphernalia I've ever bought besides the DVDs.
 

Alphahawk

Member
The Daeleks have to be one of the most overused villains at this point, Cybermen too. I actually dread episodes where they are the villains. I think the only real reacurring nemesis the Dr needs is The Master
It'd also be kinda cool if the Timelords became a reoccurring enemy
I mean it's cool bringing back older enemies every now and then, but I don't think we need a Dalek or a Cyberman episode every season.
 

mclem

Member
Alphahawk said:
The Daeleks have to be one of the most overused villains at this point, Cybermen too. I actually dread episodes where they are the villains. I think the only real reacurring nemesis the Dr needs is The Master
It'd also be kinda cool if the Timelords became a reoccurring enemy
I mean it's cool bringing back older enemies every now and then, but I don't think we need a Dalek or a Cyberman episode every season.

I'm going to spoiler this, because sometimes it's not obvious a given enemy is in an episode from the start:

I said this last thread, but the Cybermen haven't actually been used all that much. I think it's just because they were *so* central to Series 2 that people think they've been around so much. They've been in three stories, total - series 2 and a Christmas Special; the Daleks, on the other hand, have been in five, one in every season (two in the first).
 

kaching

"GAF's biggest wanker"
None of the specials ending Tennant's run have been particularly good, IMO. I haven't seen the second half of End of Time yet, but the other three Eps were padded too heavily with useless stuff.
 

mjc

Member
Planet of the Dead was pretty throwaway but Waters of Mars and the last half of End of Time were pretty entertaining IMO. The End of Time part one had a part that I liked though, the scene with
Wilf and the Doctor at the diner. Seeing Wilf get emotional over the Doctor's mortality instead of his own was pretty interesting.
 

Mr. Sam

Member
mjc said:
Totally off topic, but every time I see an official thread with the title "Official ______ Thread of ______________ (usually something corny)" I cringe.

I don't see what's so corny about "Moffat and Smith". It's literally the thread of Moffat and Smith's first series.

I bought Series 2 off Amazon the other day - only £14 for us Britons - and I've got to say, the opening Christmas special is much better than I remember. Some great lines in there:

[Tennant breaks Sycorax's staff] "You just can't get the staff."

"Is that the sort of man I am? Rude? Rude and not ginger."

[Throws tangerine at button, causing Sycorax 'champion' to fall to his death] "No second chances. That's the sort of man I am."

I also agree with Alphahawk in that I think The Master should become a recurring villain (if, after two appearances, he isn't already considered as such). John Simm is just too charismatic and awesome; I could never get tired of him.
Maybe don't give him superpowers again though, thanks.
Daleks and Cyberman have no charisma - it's a fact.
 
I'd like a series with a more "obvious" link. Kind of like how Pertwee was stuck on Earth, perhaps a 5-6 episode run on one larger story... or they can stop teasing us, and give us the Master as a companion. The untrustworthiness of Turlough from the Peter Davidson days, with the attitude and charisma the Master is associated with :p
 
Blader5489 said:
Despite being a huge fan of Tennant's Doctor, I haven't seen all of his episodes. Looking through wikipedia, here are the ones I never saw for whatever reason:

New Earth
Tooth and Claw
School Reunion
Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel
The Idiot's Lantern
Love and Monsters
Fear Her
The Runaway Bride (I actually did start watching this but turned it off after 10 minutes because of Tate lol; does the episode get any better further in?)
Midnight


Are any of these worth watching?

Love and Monsters and Fear Her are pretty widely regarded as the worst episodes of any show ever.
 

Mr. Sam

Member
Mister Zimbu said:
Love and Monsters and Fear Her are pretty widely regarded as the worst episodes of any show ever.

Can't disagree. Hate 'em. Love and Monsters is bad for reasons other than "it doesn't have enough of The Doctor in", too - Blink proved that.
 
Blader5489 said:
Are any of these worth watching?
I haven't seen Idiot's Lantern either, for some reason, but the rest of them are worth watching, aside from Fear Her, which has no redeeming features.

Love and Monsters has an interesting premise that's ruined by truly horrible writing. All of RTD's worst tendencies are on full display. It's almost worth watching just to see one of the worst episode endings ever.

Midnight is definite must watch. The single-set thriller premise is executed wonderfully and it has one of Tennant's best performances of the show. Probably my favourite RTD penned episode.
 

gerg

Member
Mister Zimbu said:
Love and Monsters and Fear Her are pretty widely regarded as the worst episodes of any show ever.

Any sci-fi show featuring a main monster designed by a nine year-old is a bad one.
 

mjc

Member
Midnight is probably my favorite RTD episode too, although Gridlock is close behind it just because I love the premise behind it.
 

Blader

Member
Spotless Mind said:
Love and Monsters has an interesting premise that's ruined by truly horrible writing. All of RTD's worst tendencies are on full display. It's almost worth watching just to see one of the worst episode endings ever.

What a ringing endorsement. :lol

So at the very least, I'll watch Midnight. What's this "Curse of Fatal Death" I've seen posted a few times in this thread? More Moffat Who?
 

kaching

"GAF's biggest wanker"
mjc said:
Planet of the Dead was pretty throwaway but Waters of Mars and the last half of End of Time were pretty entertaining IMO. The End of Time part one had a part that I liked though, the scene with
Wilf and the Doctor at the diner. Seeing Wilf get emotional over the Doctor's mortality instead of his own was pretty interesting.
Diner scene was very well done, I agree with that. And I just got a chance to watch the second half of EoT and I agree that turned out much better than the first half - a fitting sendoff for Tennant's Doctor.

Waters of Mars had a great premise but I think it was just executed poorly.
 

Mr. Sam

Member
Blader5489 said:
What a ringing endorsement. :lol

So at the very least, I'll watch Midnight. What's this "Curse of Fatal Death" I've seen posted a few times in this thread? More Moffat Who?

It was a Comic Relief Special Moffat wrote in 1999, six years before the series returned proper. It's basically a spoof. A rather funny one at that. I think you can find it on YouTube.

Was I the only one unaware that there was a Children In Need Special set in between Series 1 & 2? It deals with Rose's immediate reaction to The Doctor's regeneration. I never knew it even existed. Blew my mind when I found it on the Series 2 DVD just now.
 
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