New season of Doctor Who ranting (some spoilers)

[Woodsey]

I think the new doctor is kind of ugly, David Tennant was hot (I'm straight by the way)

He is extremely skinny (his spine popped out of his back like Mr Burns!) and he had an odd-looking face. I'll never understand what people find attractive about him.

I'm a straight guy too btw.

 

[Doitpow]

Also,

Spoiler

Matt Smith said in an interview there were 5 different recurring themes in the opening episode. The crack, presumably, is but one.

I reckon <spoiler=the 5 themes are>
1. The cracks
2. The pandorica
3. the doctor always being late (tardis malfunction)
4. Everyone forgetting earths contact with aliens.
5. Amy's Marriage has some great relevance (her child?)

 

[Uncompetative]

Spoiler: The new Doctor Who since Russell T. Davies & Steven Moffat can be summed up simply... in one word...

R.E.T.A.R.D.I.S.

 

[ironmace2.0]

The episode 2 episodes after the conclusion to the weeping angels is good and very suprising and I like Amy pond shes good and cute by my standards.

And Matt Smith is good hes just leading from one of the greatest Doctors ever, if he was playing before David we would all be like well hes cool and funny.

 

[dragontiers]

I don't think thats why he shouts at her. He shouts at her because he finds out let the priest die

All right, I'll accept the second one, but it seemed to me that he wasn't that phased when he found out about her past. It seemed more like he trusted her and was willing to find out the details before he made any assumptions. I also like at the end where

Spoiler

it was heavily implied that she was imprisoned for killing the Doctor.

Again, I'd have to see how it plays out, but at least it's intriguing.

The thing that really annoyed with me about the new Angel episodes, apart from pretty much everything the OP said was

Spoiler

{the entirely selective effect of dumping the angels into the time erasing vortex, how it meant the angel in Amy's mind was never there, but the men the angels killed were still dead. Plus the only reason they were there in the first place was to stop the angel, which then hadn't ever existed so there was no point to them being there.}

If you notice at the end

Spoiler

while Dr. Song is waiting in handcuffs, there are still a few soldiers around. I don't remember if they left anyone up top when they went down to the ship, but they could have been the ones the Angels killed. Also, if they play it like they do the Daleks, it is possible certain Angels didn't get sucked in, and therefore anyone they killed would remain dead. I do agree that unless that loophole happened, there was no reason for them to be there. Also, causing that many Weeping Angels to never have existed must have reeked havoc on the time-line. Anyone they sent back in time would never have gotten sent back in time, causing any marriages/children that happened as a result to unhappen, new marriages and children being created, etc. The whole thing is a mess.

Furthermore, anyone else notice

Spoiler

at least in the scene where the Angels have a hold of the Doctor, numerous Angels are looking at each other. In fact, the whole episode the Angels never take care to cover their eyes. They are in full out attack mode, not caring if they end up looking at each other. Obviously, when they turn out the lights they can move again, but that just seems like a huge loophole to me. Furthermore, even when Amy isn't looking at them, they still seem to stay stone, just are able to move as stone. I thought they only turned to stone when you looked at them. That was part of the horror, that you never really knew for sure what they looked like. Argh, the whole way they treat the Weeping (ha!) Angels just grinds my gears. /rant

 

[Lt.Snuffles]

I think the series so far has been getting better, but what I hate is how they take a monster (i.e the smilers) which is quite scary just sitting there but having the power to control the ship and kill, but they ruin the effect by making them move, they have done this twice, with the smilers when they got up (they were possibly the most unthreatening thing in doctor who when they got up), and the Angels when their ROCK limbs move, which shits all over the scariness of the angels. However, "amy's choice" is pretty good.

 

[teeb]

I'm an American, as well. Learn to torrent, it will save you a lot of time. I won't spoil anything FOR YOU! but it starts to get pretty good.

No, don't.

Doctor Who is one of a very small number of things where Brits get to spoil the upcoming episodes for Americans.

Usually it's us British trying desperately to avoid finding out that Lost is actually set in a polar bear's imagination, or that Gregory House is Luke's father.

 

[GuerrillaClock]

The new stories are great. I know a lot of people hated the way the Tennant could just pull something magically out of the air to solve everything at any time, whereas Smith seems a little more gung-ho, and it creates a lot more fun for the show, which, as a Saturday teatime show, is exactly what it should be. Remember, he's not Tennant anymore, he's a new character with new personality traits. He's definitely a lot quirkier than Tennant was, and has a much less annoying voice. I think he's inhabited the role perfectly.

 

[Sammi Costello]

Note: I am in America, so I have only just seen The Time Of The Angels/Flesh And Stone two parter. Those of you in England who are luckier than me and are about three episodes ahead, please keep this in mind. Also note, this is all just my opinion.

All right, this new season of Doctor Who is really starting to irk me. Don't get me wrong, I still think it's better than most shows on TV anymore, but it just doesn't feel like Doctor Who to me. Part of the draw, at least for me, was in the same formula for why Sherlock Homes worked. As anyone who's read an Sherlock Homes novel will tell you, it is impossible for your to predict the actual outcome. Oh, you can be close, and maybe even know whodunnit, but you will never know exactly who, exactly why, and exactly how. This is because, until the big reveal, you never have all the pieces to the puzzle. Oh sure, (to continue the analogy), you have all the border pieces, and maybe even a few of the inside pieces, but even though you can get a general idea what the puzzle looks like, you won't know the details. This season, they seem to give you all the pieces, and then wait till you've figured it out before the Doctor does. That doesn't work for me.

For example

Spoiler

In Flesh And Stone, there is a scene where Amy starts counting down from 10 without realizing it. I personally picked up on it at 8 (although I was suspicious at 9), the Doctor picks up on it at 7, and Dr. Song at 6. Ideally, as an audience, you should be picking up on it somewhere between the Doctor and Dr. Song.

Spoiler

It's called pacing. The reason it feels different in this season is because RTD knew nothing about pacing. The countdown thing was meant to tip you off; you're meant to figure it out. Why? Because otherwise, all the pacing falls apart. There's less tension, less "creepy", and the creepy tension is what MAKES the Weeping Angels.

I figured out exactly what the Doctor figured out, a step before him. Now, this isn't me gloating. I think a lot of people would have picked up on it. However, the Doctor is supposed to be quicker than us. If we can figure it out, what do we need the Doctor for?

What, exactly, did you work out? That she was counting backwards from 10 (I think the "10 9 8" bit would give that away somewhat) or that the Angels would kill her when she got to 0? Incidently, that's what the Doctor picks up on at "7" (that she was counting backwards), and there's no way in hell you could know what would happen to her. Hell, the Doctor even has to ask the Angels himself.

He is supposed to be slightly smarter (although with a lot more knowledge), slightly quicker, and just basically slightly better than everyone else. I don't get that feeling from him this season. In fact, this is reinforced when

Spoiler

The Doctor yells at Dr. Song. Not because she did something wrong, not because she was going to get them all killed, but simply because she pointed out what seemed like obvious flaws in his plan. In fact, a couple times this season he has yelled at people for pointing our why his plan stinks, when the plan actually does stink! On top of that, he has said (about three times that episode) that he doesn't have a plan, doesn't know what's going on, and is as in the dark as everyone else. Used occasionally, that is a fine way of building tension, but as often as they use it this season, it just makes him look like a pretender.

Spoiler

Oh god forbid he's allowed to have a character flaw, like, a short temper, or not being good under pressure. And in the episode you're refering to, it would loose a lot of it's atmosphere if the Doctor just went, "Oh yeah, X, Y and Z are happening for reasons A, B and C, and I know exactly what to do and how to stop it, everyone can stop panicking now." Again, it's called pacing and atmmosphere. The reason this is so alien to you - the reason these things are "spoiling" the new Doctor Who for you - is because they've never really been present in any strong way in many of the previous episodes (and the ones they were in weren't written by RTD, think, Blink and Shadows in the Library).

Also, I love how the seasons usually have some background thing tying them together. I never picked up on Bad Wolf until after the Doctor, and never realized how pervasive it was till they went back and showed us. This season, they are basically slapping you in the face with it every episode. They are purposely making sure you know it is there, like some bad magician telling you to keep your eyes on the pocket watch before he fumbles the disappearing act and shoves it up his sleeve. This doesn't make us feel smart, it just makes you look dumb.

It's called building to a climax. There's a reason they're doing it this way; I'm sure of it. There are other things, besides the crack in time as well. Also, Moffet had to wipe up a lot of woopsies that RTD made.

And finally, plot wise, the group going in knew they were going to be handling (a) Weeping Angel(s), yet all they brought with them to take care of it were guns, which for some reason even though it's the future, aren't powerful enough to do more than chip stone.

I don't know if you watched Blink, but in Blink, the Doctor basically says, "You can't kill a stone", and that, coupled with the information we get in this episode all point towards the "indescructible stone" being a part of the Angels defense.

I personally, would have at least brought a sledgehammer.

I should really put this in spoiler tags, since it's such a huge spoiler. I mean seriously, if you haven't seen the episodes, look aways now, but the Weeping Angels aren't normal statues. I'm betting that hitting them with a sledgehammer is going to have as much effect as tickling them with a feather duster.

And don't even get me started on the expansion of the Angel's powers. There are just too many flaws there for me, not to mention they feel like the bad guy version of a Mary Sue./rant

Too many flaws? Like what? The whole, "The image of an Angel becomes an Angel" is pretty good, and is implemented in an ingenious way, or so I thought. The fact that they can just snap necks is not a new power, just something else they do. And they had a fair few flaws. Like, "Walk like you can see". That, my friend, is what we call a flaw.

All right, that's it, I swear. Ranting done. Now go ahead and tell me what you think of the new season, and as always, please use the spoiler tag when appropriate.

I think the new season is going well. I wasn't fussed on the latest episode, "Amy's Choice". It just didn't seem to end well for me, but that's a personal thing. Apart from that, I think the whole Doctor Who TV show just got a shot in the arm from a compatent writer who knows about pacing and tension and character building and all those other things that make great TV, as opposed to RTD, where it just felt like he was writing fanfiction half the time.

 

[ScorpSt]

No, don't.

Doctor Who is one of a very small number of things where Brits get to spoil the upcoming episodes for Americans.

Usually it's us British trying desperately to avoid finding out that Lost is actually set in a polar bear's imagination, or that Gregory House is Luke's father.

Hey, it goes both ways. You Brits could torrent our shows.

For the record though, I mainly torrented the previous seasons because watching them on SciFi sucked. They cut out parts and made commercial cuts wherever they damn well felt like it rather than where it would make sense. It's been a lot easier to watch on BBC America, though I still like to stay ahead. I'm impatient like that.

 

[Mr. Self Destruct]

I don't like how Amy solves all of the mysteries. From all the previous -two- episodes I've seen, this was not the case

IT MAKES ME SO MAD.

 

[Stryc9]

The only thing I don't like about the new season so far is that they're dragging Amy's boyfriend along for the ride, which they did in the first couple of seasons with Rose and Mickey and I didn't really care for those episodes either. They should just make the companions be single or find a convenient way of getting rid of whatever attachments they have before traveling with the Doctor.

 

[teeb]

Hey, it goes both ways. You Brits could torrent our shows.

We can and do.

There's still a gap from a show airing in the US and it arriving on a hard drive though, which is plenty time for people to go "Wow, did you hear what happened in Heroes this week? Sylar killed a Romulan with his nerve pinch!" on forums everywhere without spoiler tags.

For those of us who're fans of US tv, it means avoiding the internets for a while after airing.

 

[Quiet Stranger]

I think the new doctor is kind of ugly, David Tennant was hot (I'm straight by the way)

He is extremely skinny (his spine popped out of his back like Mr Burns!) and he had an odd-looking face. I'll never understand what people find attractive about him.

I'm a straight guy too btw.

When you say he, you mean David or the new doctor?

 

[Woodsey]

I think the new doctor is kind of ugly, David Tennant was hot (I'm straight by the way)

He is extremely skinny (his spine popped out of his back like Mr Burns!) and he had an odd-looking face. I'll never understand what people find attractive about him.

I'm a straight guy too btw.

When you say he, you mean David or the new doctor?

David Tennant.

*shudders*

 

[Quiet Stranger]

I think the new doctor is kind of ugly, David Tennant was hot (I'm straight by the way)

He is extremely skinny (his spine popped out of his back like Mr Burns!) and he had an odd-looking face. I'll never understand what people find attractive about him.

I'm a straight guy too btw.

When you say he, you mean David or the new doctor?

David Tennant.

*shudders*

How do you even notice? He wears a jacket all the time and the new doctor is just as skinny if not more, he's also paler then David was

 

[Woodsey]

I think the new doctor is kind of ugly, David Tennant was hot (I'm straight by the way)

He is extremely skinny (his spine popped out of his back like Mr Burns!) and he had an odd-looking face. I'll never understand what people find attractive about him.

I'm a straight guy too btw.

When you say he, you mean David or the new doctor?

David Tennant.

*shudders*

How do you even notice? He wears a jacket all the time and the new doctor is just as skinny if not more, he's also paler then David was

He did a BBC drama 2-years-ago-ish, where he went a bit mad and stripped butt naked. Trust me, it's Mr Burns.

 

[Bigsmith]

I prefer matt smith to David, I prefer the new tardis to the old, I prefer the new assistant to the old ones. Oh also... Steampunk tardis and (the vampire episode) the Dr wears Steampunk goggles whilst fixing the tardis, this pretty much had me sold .

 

[Plinglebob]

The only thing I don't like about the new season so far is that they're dragging Amy's boyfriend along for the ride, which they did in the first couple of seasons with Rose and Mickey and I didn't really care for those episodes either. They should just make the companions be single or find a convenient way of getting rid of whatever attachments they have before traveling with the Doctor.

I prefer Rory to Mickey. It felt a lot like Mickey was only there for Rose to run away from in the first episode and to then go the the alternate dimention in the second series. Rory seems like he could have some interesting character growth and after Amys Choice, he will hopefully be complaining a bit less.

Overall, I prefer this season so far. I really like Matt Smith and while I find Amy annoying at times, she really does have nice legs.