Doctor Who (1 Viewer)

[Jeffery_H]

Like most, this was certainly a standout episode for Doctor Who and I would agree one of the best, if not the best Moffat has done. I have been VERY critical of most of his writing, with few exceptions and this was one of them. It reminded more of what RTD might have done with it.

The entire show was quite well done and brought several of the key elements together. Sure, there are a few things they could've improved and added, but overall it was worth it. Billie Piper was quite good but starting to show some age and seeing Tennant again was as brilliant as usual in his role. It's a shame Eccleston refused to be part of it and hated his time working with those on the set so much. I don't know why he couldn't set that aside to have a small part at least, it's not like he was slave labor or something.

My absolute favorite was the surprise at the end when Smith said "I never forget a face" to Tom Baker. It was just perfect as that line and the moment made sense. Tom Baker IS Doctor Who and the most recongized face of that character to have played the part. Having him return as one of his former selves was a fantastic way to finish. I just knew they would try to do something with Tom Baker given how big a part of Who he was in the show's history. Once I saw the LONG scarf make an appearence on that girl, I knew something must be coming and I wasn't disappointed.

Just awesome is all I can say.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

I enjoyed it, too. Good story, wonderful character moments, and John Hurt certainly classes up anything he's in. However, I wonder if there's any particular reason why Hurt's character couldn't have been Paul McGann the whole time. Can you imagine the reaction if it had been McGann that showed up at the end of "The Name of the Doctor?"

Yeah I agree, while John Hurt was Excllent, there is no reason why McGann Could'nt have done it he was great in that Prequel, does someone at the BBC have it out for the guy, he was never given a chance

 

[Bryan Tuck]

Except it wouldn't have been a big reveal if it had been McGann's Doctor, since the Doctor's never hidden from his eighth incarnation. It would have been a surprise for the audience to see McGann reprise the role, but it wouldn't have been a surprise to Clara.As to the broader question of why it wasn't McGann for the whole Time War, Moffat said he couldn't picture McGann's soft-spoken Doctor fighting the Time War. He thought it'd have to be an old and grizzled version of the Doctor who did that. As great as John Hurt was, I there would have been far fewer headaches if it had just been McGann.

I think some slight rewriting could have made it work. The reveal would just have had a different meaning, and I think if the Eighth Doctor had had a long life and watched the Time War rage on around him, he could have been driven to fighting. At any rate, it's just something that stuck out to me; I still really enjoyed the special.

Of course, they may be planning something with Capaldi's being the supposedly "final" incarnation (maybe something to do with the Valeyard). Of course, I'm sure they'll find a way to reset the regeneration cycle to keep the show going.

 

[SAhmed]

I very much enjoyed this episode ( not been too impressed as of late ) thanks largely to the great, classy performances by John Hurt and Tom Baker - in particular, Tom, who in a mere few minutes of screen time brought back, for me, the true magic of Dr Who.

Regards,

 

[Jeffery_H]

I very much enjoyed this episode ( not been too impressed as of late ) thanks largely to the great, classy performances by John Hurt and Tom Baker - in particular, Tom, who in a mere few minutes of screen time brought back, for me, the true magic of Dr Who.

Regards,

Fully agree about Tom Baker, he simply is Dr. Who. Just like Sean Connery defined Bond, Tom Baker defined Who without a doubt. The Classic Who are simply the best of the era with Tom.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Poster for the Christmas special, and Matt Smith's final appearance in his run as the Doctor:

The clock strikes twelve in "The Time of the Doctor".

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Poster for the Christmas Special:

The episode's directed by Jamie Payne, who last directed "Hide". I consider that episode one of the few bright spots of series 7, so that's a good sign. Interesting that there's no sign of Peter Capaldi so far in the marketing materials. Sort of hints that this is going to be like "The Parting of the Ways" or "The End of Time" where the new Doctor only cameos for a minute at the very end. As excited as I am to get an idea of what Capaldi's Doctor is going to be like, I'd be very happy to get Matt for as long as possible in his last outing.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

In Colin Baker's behind-the-scenes featurette on the 50th Anniversary, you can see how they did that shot at the end of The Day of the Doctor with all of the iterations the Doctor together:

John Hurt, Matt Smith and David Tennant were the real deal, and then they used body doubles in the original costumes for the rest and replaced the faces digitally. Given that Paul McGann filmed the "Night of the Doctor" mini-sode as part of the 50th Anniversary shoot, I'm a little bit surprised they didn't have him in studio with the other three as the Eighth Doctor. I wonder if there's a difference in compensation between actually filming scenes versus just having your likeness used, where it was actually more cost effective to use the double.

 

[AlexF]

Time of the Doctor trailer released today.

http://www.doctorwho.tv/whats-new/video/the-time-of-the-doctor-trailer/

 

[FoxyMulder]

I sure hope this doesn't end up being like David Tennants final episode where they spent far too long at the end with him visiting various people, they should have edited that better and trimmed the fat, i believe they actually did trim it for the original USA showing.

I have been re-watching many old Tom Baker episodes, they didn't have todays CGI effects and the sets were cheap looking but i gotta say it has me hooked due to the scripts and nothing beats Baker and Elisabeth Sladen, i guess i'm nostalgic for some classic Who.

 

[Jeffery_H]

I sure hope this doesn't end up being like David Tennants final episode where they spent far too long at the end with him visiting various people, they should have edited that better and trimmed the fat, i believe they actually did trim it for the original USA showing.

I have been re-watching many old Tom Baker episodes, they didn't have todays CGI effects and the sets were cheap looking but i gotta say it has me hooked due to the scripts and nothing beats Baker and Elisabeth Sladen, i guess i'm nostalgic for some classic Who.

Well, I agree with you about Tom Baker episodes and the scripts. The pacing, stories, etc. I thought are what really defined Dr. Who and Tom IS The Doctor no doubt. That's why a some of the new Who just hasn't clicked as well for me, mostly though it has been the Matt Smith and Moffit written shows.

I highly disagree about Tennant's final episode at the end with him re-visiting some old friends. I wanted to see even more and felt this was what made it even more dramatic to see his time come to an end. He knew that version of himself would be gone for good and there is a great scene talking about how it "feels like dying" with Wilfred. These moments drew me in even more so and made it much more emotional when he regenerates. They tied up some lose ends too very well. In fact, I thought that show was one of the best regeration stories ever done in Who.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Matt Smith gave what I thought was a lovely quote about leaving the show: "I don't think it's easy, but it's not my show, it's the fans' show, so I'll be a fan and then it will be my show."

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Extended Trailer for the Christmas Special:Lot of hints that many of the dangling plot threads from throughout the Eleventh Doctor's tenure might be getting addressed.

 

[FoxyMulder]

I think the sonic screwdriver has been overused as a way of getting out of danger for at least the last two versions of the doctor, i would certainly like to see them go back to a time when the doctor didn't just rely on the screwdriver, when he wasn't invincible, i hope with Peter Capaldi they try a new approach, they can still have humour and action but i would love to see a more vulnerable doctor, though i guess they wouldn't want to change a winning formula too much.

 

[joshEH]

It's almost here!

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

There were bits I really enjoyed, but it faced an impossible task following the 50th Anniversary Special and was an inevitable letdown compared to that.Mostly, though, I wish the Eleventh Doctor hadn't regenerated in a Christmas Special. Matt Smith's swan song shouldn't have had to serve the dual masters of being a regeneration episode and a Christmas Special. Some of the normal rules of the show are suspended or fudged for the Christmas Specials, and some additional storytelling restrictions are imposed.Not sure why the Doctor suddenly started aging in Christmas, since he hardly aged at all during the similar span of centuries he spent trying to figure a way out of his fate at Lake Silencio.I wish they hadn't brought the cracks from Series 5 back. It sort of undermines the great "The Pandorica Opens"/"The Big Bang" finale since rebooting the universe apparently didn't solve the problem. The Mother Superiess explains that Madame Kovarian's breakaway faction was responsible for blowing up the Doctor's TARDIS and causing the cracks, but no explanation of how it was done or why the Doctor still has his TARDIS today.The Time Lords giving the Doctor another regeneration had many of the makings of a deus ex machina, but I think the episode managed to skirt it a bit. I loved Clara's speech to the Time Lords that precipitated the gift, sort of like a mortal pleading to the Gods on Mount Olympus. Amy was smart but instinctual; she flew by the seat of her pants and acted without a lot of forethought. Clara's more like the Doctor. She takes the time to think things through, and when she acts there's a strategy behind what she does. She made the argument that saved the Doctor.For all of its faults, "The End of Time" was a grand send-off for the Tenth Doctor and introduced the Eleventh Doctor with gusto. This felt a bit like Moffat was rushing to cram everything in, with the Twelfth Doctor's arrival almost as an understated afterthought.

 

[joshEH]

"I will always remember when The Doctor was me."

As we got near the end, I found myself thinking, "I can't believe they haven't made me cry," then the scene in the TARDIS happened.

Glad Capaldi's keeping his Scottish accent. If only he'd get to go full-on Malcolm Tucker on everyone.

I completely understand the divisiveness of it -- this isn't something like "The Angels Take Manhattan," where I'll argue with people because I think they're wrong** -- but as an end of an era, I thought it was excellent. In terms of what it's trying to accomplish, it's the antithesis of "The End of Time."

(Also, credit to the Beeb's makeup team. Most feature films don't do aging makeup that well.)


** ...Dammit, it's not my fault I was born right about everything.

 

[AlexF]

Not sure why the Doctor suddenly started aging in Christmas, since he hardly aged at all during the similar span of centuries he spent trying to figure a way out of his fate at Lake Silencio.
...
The Time Lords giving the Doctor another regeneration had many of the makings of a deus ex machina, but I think the episode managed to skirt it a bit.

One theory running around on the aging thing is that he aged because he didn't have the TARDIS around him.

In terms of the Time Lords giving him another regeneration, I thought that it was another "regeneration cycle"... what struck me at the end was that the new Doctor didn't seem to remember anything... I guess that we'll find out if that's the case in ~9 months or so.

 

[joshEH]

Capaldi drinking tea is more intimidating than Tennant pointing a gun. I liked how wiry and animated he looked while being flung around the TARDIS: "...Probably crashing."

I'm also assuming he'll be playing the role against what we expect of him -- instead of angry and intense, à la Malcolm Tucker, we might get something more animated and childlike. I think as an actor, Capaldi will be wanting to show he has range, instead of cementing himself forever as the angry Scotsman.

I kinda want to him to call Daleks cunts. Just once. First, because they deserve it, and second, because I'm hoping it will drive the tabloids into a, "Won't someone please think of the CHILDREN??!?"-frenzy of epic proportions.

But yeah, it probably isn't gonna happen.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Given how animated the last two Doctors have been, I'm kind of hoping for a Doctor that's more low-key and centered, like the calm at the eye of a storm.One thing I liked is that the Eleventh Doctor's final hallucinations of Amy Pond (great of Karen to come back for that cameo, by the way) emphasized the special bond between a given iteration of the Doctor and "the first face [that] face saw." Rose was more special to the Tenth Doctor than the Ninth Doctor for that reason, and Amelia Pond was the most special to the Eleventh Doctor for the same reason.Because, while on one hand it takes away from the Eleventh Doctor's good bye to Clara, it emphasizes that Clara fills that role for the Twelfth Doctor. Since she's literally in the room with him when it happens, Clara's the first face the Twelfth Doctor sees.Since she only got half a series, two Christmas specials and the 50th Anniversary Special with the Eleventh Doctor, I'm excited to see a full uninterrupted series again with one Doctor and one companion. We haven't had that since the fifth series, which was probably my favorite uninterrupted run with new "Who".I also liked that this regeneration was different. The classic regenerations were always so individual and different from one another in the execution, culminating in my personal favorite with the Seventh Doctor regenerating into the Eighth Doctor in the morgue drawer while intercutting with the "It's Alive!" sequence from the 1931 Frankenstein. But then the Ninth regenerating into the Tenth and the Tenth into the Eleventh used the same effect. I enjoyed that Moffat had the regenerations from the Eighth Doctor to the War Doctor and from the Eleventh Doctor to the Twelfth Doctor shake things up a bit. The jarring sudden head jerk from the Eleventh to the Twelfth in particular, having expelled most of the excess regeneration energy outside destroying the massed enemy fleets, was particularly effective.