Doctor Who 2024 - News, views, spin-offs

[Epona]

Yes, I thought the same about the Doctor. It was definitely something that could have been explained better.

I mean on thinking about it after the episode, unless it was explained somewhere else in the episode and I missed it, I thought that the trap was the bounty hunter's device, and he therefore had a better understanding of how it worked than The Doctor

 

[Gromit]

I think it just needed to be made a bit clearer by means of dialogue

Spoiler

By their actions and the way it worked, it seemed fairly clear to me that the trap was configured to that number of people or approximate total mass at the point it was triggered, or something along those lines, and it wasn't just a case of pushing Ruby out of the trap, she needed to be replaced. What puzzled me a bit I think is why The Doctor didn't immediately do that himself to save Ruby, leaving her stranded there might have been preferable to whatever fate she faced by remaining in the trap - he got her into that mess, and it seemed a bit selfish or not very quick thinking - but maybe whatshisface as the bounty hunter had a better understanding of how the trap worked which is why he was able/had knowledge about how to intervene to save Ruby? But yes, not terribly well explained.

Spoiler

It was configured up to 6 people. Charged up (red) and locked (blue). At that point no change in configuration should have been possible. Not only did they replace a short woman with a tall man they added another alien. Whilst breaking a molecular bond with a rugby tackle. But surely the shoes are just bonded not the feet. Just step out the shoes. I’m rambling but it doesn’t make any sense however you try to explain it.

Only one shot at it was dumb too. Not properly explained why either.
It’s like bombs have to be defused just before zero.
1 minute and 40 seconds doesn’t work.

 

[danny la rouge]

I never worry too much about that stuff in sci fi. It’s like Star Trek when they look serious and say “we could just spend the next two minutes getting there by warp drive, but because of the zemrify xavieox 9 we have to vroomibolg the dorfvom. Which will mean us pretending to stagger and hold onto consols for the rest of the scene”.

 

[Chz]

Spoiler

It was configured up to 6 people. Charged up (red) and locked (blue). At that point no change in configuration should have been possible. Not only did they replace a short woman with a tall man they added another alien. Whilst breaking a molecular bond with a rugby tackle. But surely the shoes are just bonded not the feet. Just step out the shoes. I’m rambling but it doesn’t make any sense however you try to explain it.

Only one shot at it was dumb too. Not properly explained why either.
It’s like bombs have to be defused just before zero.
1 minute and 40 seconds doesn’t work.

I think that's standard movie logic. I can't fault Who for being like everything else on the screen. Heavens' sake, it's worse than a lot of things. If I hold it to actually be better then I'll never be happy and may as well stop now.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

I think it just needed to be made a bit clearer by means of dialogue

Spoiler

By their actions and the way it worked, it seemed fairly clear to me that the trap was configured to that number of people or approximate total mass at the point it was triggered, or something along those lines, and it wasn't just a case of pushing Ruby out of the trap, she needed to be replaced. What puzzled me a bit I think is why The Doctor didn't immediately do that himself to save Ruby, leaving her stranded there might have been preferable to whatever fate she faced by remaining in the trap - he got her into that mess, and it seemed a bit selfish or not very quick thinking - but maybe whatshisface as the bounty hunter had a better understanding of how the trap worked which is why he was able/had knowledge about how to intervene to save Ruby? But yes, not terribly well explained.

Also

Spoiler

at the point when they calibrated the machine they thought there were four birds. OK maybe they re-calibrated (without us knowing) to five when they thought ruby had been taken. So why didn't they push on the other bird and pull ruby off? Or was it calibrated to hold six? But why? Also having discovered that there were more than four, would they not have thought "shit, there could be loads of these things!" ??
The Doctor would also have immediately let them all go and found another way. It seems out of character to even think about it for that long.

There is loads to pick holes in this episode.

Other points. I HATE the doctor and romance. In the old days he was like a space hobo that was mostly just playing with ants. Despite his human appearance I enjoyed his other worldly eccentric genius and emotional nativity, he was above romantic entanglements of any species or sex . . . hell, he barely even cared about any of his assistants (apart from maybe Jamie) until the more empathetic Davision.
I'm not enjoying any of the 'fancying' or 'snogging' whatever the sex (yes I know this shit has been going on since flipping Rose). It would be cooler if he fancied a tree person or a robot or something. Something to show he was truly uni(versally)sexual.

Also - They make a big hoo ha about creating a scene by having two males dancing together. This was sometimes done and seen as a bit of fun. There were dances where men would dance with each other. . . but inter-racial, not so much. Why, after trying (very half hardheartedly) to make a point about race in the last episode is Doctor who glossing over the fact that it would have been unlikely that there would have any visible coloured servants let alone guests / aristocracy at such an event.

. . . and I almost cringed myself to death a the Kylie bit.

 

[Gromit]

Also

Spoiler

at the point when they calibrated the machine they thought there were four birds. OK maybe they re-calibrated (without us knowing) to five when they thought ruby had been taken. So why didn't they push on the other bird and pull ruby off? Or was it calibrated to hold six? But why? Also having discovered that there were more than four, would they not have thought "shit, there could be loads of these things!" ??
The Doctor would also have immediately let them all go and found another way. It seems out of character to even think about it for that long.

There is loads to pick holes in this episode.

Other points. I HATE the doctor and romance. In the old days he was like a space hobo that was mostly just playing with ants. Despite his human appearance I enjoyed his other worldly eccentric genius and emotional nativity, he was above romantic entanglements of any species or sex . . . hell, he barely even cared about any of his assistants (apart from maybe Jamie) until the more empathetic Davision.
I'm not enjoying any of the 'fancying' or 'snogging' whatever the sex (yes I know this shit has been going on since flipping Rose). It would be cooler if he fancied a tree person or a robot or something. Something to show he was truly uni(versally)sexual.

Also - They make a big hoo ha about creating a scene by having two males dancing together. This was sometimes done and seen as a bit of fun. There were dances where men would dance with each other. . . but inter-racial, not so much. Why, after trying (very half hardheartedly) to make a point about race in the last episode is Doctor who glossing over the fact that it would have been unlikely that there would have any visible coloured servants let alone guests / aristocracy at such an event.

. . . and I almost cringed myself to death a the Kylie bit.

Russell T. Davies on why Doctor Who has so many LGBT fans

The mastermind of modern Doctor Who on the importance of camp, diversity and representation on the show

www.bbc.co.uk

p.s. you must have missed the bit where they said “what if there are more” and so he maxed it out to 6.

 

[danny la rouge]

Also

Spoiler

at the point when they calibrated the machine they thought there were four birds. OK maybe they re-calibrated (without us knowing) to five when they thought ruby had been taken. So why didn't they push on the other bird and pull ruby off? Or was it calibrated to hold six? But why? Also having discovered that there were more than four, would they not have thought "shit, there could be loads of these things!" ??
The Doctor would also have immediately let them all go and found another way. It seems out of character to even think about it for that long.

There is loads to pick holes in this episode.

Other points. I HATE the doctor and romance. In the old days he was like a space hobo that was mostly just playing with ants. Despite his human appearance I enjoyed his other worldly eccentric genius and emotional nativity, he was above romantic entanglements of any species or sex . . . hell, he barely even cared about any of his assistants (apart from maybe Jamie) until the more empathetic Davision.
I'm not enjoying any of the 'fancying' or 'snogging' whatever the sex (yes I know this shit has been going on since flipping Rose). It would be cooler if he fancied a tree person or a robot or something. Something to show he was truly uni(versally)sexual.

Also - They make a big hoo ha about creating a scene by having two males dancing together. This was sometimes done and seen as a bit of fun. There were dances where men would dance with each other. . . but inter-racial, not so much. Why, after trying (very half hardheartedly) to make a point about race in the last episode is Doctor who glossing over the fact that it would have been unlikely that there would have any visible coloured servants let alone guests / aristocracy at such an event.

. . . and I almost cringed myself to death a the Kylie bit.

There was a conversation about how many birds there were and what to calibrate the machine for and it was very quickly decided that 6 was the max which made it important to MalteseFalcon the machine only once.

 

[Santino]

What happened to the bird person who wasn't caught in the trap?

 

[8ball]

Haha. This is shit.

#alternativeopinion

I only managed about a third of the episode myself (rough guess).

There were a few bits where it really seemed like they were trying, tbf - the dialogue seemed to have perked up in several places.

Alas, it was too difficult a cheese.

 

[CNT36]

Also

Spoiler

at the point when they calibrated the machine they thought there were four birds. OK maybe they re-calibrated (without us knowing) to five when they thought ruby had been taken. So why didn't they push on the other bird and pull ruby off? Or was it calibrated to hold six? But why? Also having discovered that there were more than four, would they not have thought "shit, there could be loads of these things!" ??
The Doctor would also have immediately let them all go and found another way. It seems out of character to even think about it for that long.

There is loads to pick holes in this episode.

Other points. I HATE the doctor and romance. In the old days he was like a space hobo that was mostly just playing with ants. Despite his human appearance I enjoyed his other worldly eccentric genius and emotional nativity, he was above romantic entanglements of any species or sex . . . hell, he barely even cared about any of his assistants (apart from maybe Jamie) until the more empathetic Davision.
I'm not enjoying any of the 'fancying' or 'snogging' whatever the sex (yes I know this shit has been going on since flipping Rose). It would be cooler if he fancied a tree person or a robot or something. Something to show he was truly uni(versally)sexual.

Also - They make a big hoo ha about creating a scene by having two males dancing together. This was sometimes done and seen as a bit of fun. There were dances where men would dance with each other. . . but inter-racial, not so much. Why, after trying (very half hardheartedly) to make a point about race in the last episode is Doctor who glossing over the fact that it would have been unlikely that there would have any visible coloured servants let alone guests / aristocracy at such an event.

. . . and I almost cringed myself to death a the

Spoiler

Why the fuck are we all spoilering? I missed two weeks so stayed away from the thread until I had caught up. Anyone not caught up please don't read my posts. Maybe a case for spoilers between the midnight iplayer launch and the episode going out on BBC1 but after that...

Romance stuff is shit. Eccleston did fancy a tree woman but she became firewood.

Is it a casting thing? Choosing to cast actors/extras because they're actors/extras with the viewer supposed to assume they have similar experiences to those around them? Or are they supposed to appear out of place in the time/place/class and for the audience to assume they have lived quite different lives to the characters around them?

I didn't mind the Kylie bit too much until someone pointed out the dancing was sexy. I assumed it was shit dad dancing which would have suited the Doctor better.

 

[8ball]

Spoiler

I didn't mind the Kylie bit too much until someone pointed out the dancing was sexy. I assumed it was shit dad dancing which would have suited the Doctor better.

The difference between the two is purely a matter of age and waistline.

 

[CNT36]

Spoiler

Why the fuck are we all spoilering? I missed two weeks so stayed away from the thread until I had caught up. Anyone not caught up please don't read my posts. Maybe a case for spoilers between the midnight iplayer launch and the episode going out on BBC1 but after that...

Romance stuff is shit. Eccleston did fancy a tree woman but she became firewood.

Is it a casting thing? Choosing to cast actors/extras because they're actors/extras with the viewer supposed to assume they have similar experiences to those around them? Or are they supposed to appear out of place in the time/place/class and for the audience to assume they have lived quite different lives to the characters around them?

I didn't mind the Kylie bit too much until someone pointed out the dancing was sexy. I assumed it was shit dad dancing which would have suited the Doctor better.

I spoiled my rant about spoilers and other things containing no spoilers(well one for 2005). Fucking Mondays.

 

[nottsgirl]

Thought this one was a bit shit.

 

[Wilf]

Thought this one was a bit shit.

Tend to agree. The whole shapeshifter thing, spreading by touch, is pretty well worn in SF, to say the least. Maybe not so much shit as boring. I also found the Doc falling in love after about 11 minutes not all that convincing. Though when his love interest was ripped away - sent into some random place/dimension? I wasn't really listening by that point - it was actually very sad! However I'm guessing Rogue will feature again, appearing out of the blue to save the Doc (whilst still himself trapped in a paradox/time loop/unconvincing plot device so he can't be whisked away to travel with the Doc and Ruby).

Actually, whilst I agree that Who is better without the Doc in an active relationship, it would be interesting to see him travelling with a lover for a while.

 

[PR1Berske]

Oh. My. God.

 

[Karl Masks]

FUCK!

Was NOT expecting that. Worked it out right before they revealed who it was.

 

[seeformiles]

Love the “Pyramids of Mars” throwback story

 

[CNT36]

The baddie was better as an amorphous wotsit though it looked a bit shit at the end. Otherwise enjoyable enough romp. I assume that was a dig at Musk early on? Or maybe Zuckerberg?

 

[danny la rouge]

Great stuff. And fab fan servicing. Cheers!

 

[Epona]

OMG I am overjoyed, callbacks to my favourite Classic Who story ever
(I got it before the reveal because of the above and also my interest in ancient civilisations/mythology)
But bloody fantastic - is the finale on iPlayer yet, or do I have to wait for next Saturday?

It was good to see Yasmin Finney again, plus I love Jemma Redgrave as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, and Lenny Rush was great too - very atmospheric episode.

 

[Epona]

I need to watch that again before next week, I had to go to the loo about halfway through.
Probably watch it with N in the morning when he gets in from work.

 

[surreybrowncap]

OMG I am overjoyed, callbacks to my favourite Classic Who story ever
(I got it before the reveal because of the above and also my interest in ancient civilisations/mythology)
But bloody fantastic - is the finale on iPlayer yet, or do I have to wait for next Saturday?

It was good to see Yasmin Finney again, plus I love Jemma Redgrave as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, and Lenny Rush was great too - very atmospheric episode.

Finale not on iplayer yet..
So yes one will have to wait until next week..
Will be screened on iplayer midnight Saturday and then at 6.40 in the evening (22/6)

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

I'm glad others enjoyed it. . . I personally did not. At. All.

I really don't like this doctor, I don't like the stories and I don't like the pacing and overly dramatic tone. I don't like Leftbridge Swelett, and her unprofessional over emotional vocal choking.

Too many holes, too many things don't add up.

Doctor in such a rush to talk to unit (why??? Why would unit know?) and ask about the woman he keeps seeing. . . Doesn't he have some sort of space reverse google image search? He missed that she's super mega famous on earth and has been for ages???.
So why were they suddenly sidetracked into looking for Ruby's mum? We the viewers know it must be connected, but only because they are both in the same dr who episode. . . Nobody in the show had any reason to link the two . . Or did I miss something?
So now we suddenly need that vhs. Right now? When only minutes ago we wanted to check out who the doctor thought was his granddaughter to find out why she was popping up all over the place before she releases some software. . . They don't have much time, but somehow they are now fucking about digging out tapes on the other side of town for something that as far as they know is tottaly irrelevant?

Then the Richard O'Brien reveal! ! !
Terrible.


Did they bring Bonnie Langford back to remind us that there have been lows like this before and doctor who might have always been this bad?

 

[Gromit]

The wordplay was a bit overused.

K At. Wait a minute Cat!

 

[Kaka Tim]

pretty cool that - something of a gripping story managed to get through all the usual bombast, emoting and OTT background music. Im quite intigued about how anita dobson's charchter fits into all this - and worried about Ruby's Nan ...

 

[lazythursday]

I have mixed feelings. It was perfectly enjoyable to watch, and the ending had genuine menace, but so much made no sense whatsoever if you took a few seconds to think about it. I don't like this absurdly high tech big budget UNIT much either.

But I am desperate to know who Mrs Flood is so RTD has hooked me in despite his terrible plotting.

 

[T & P]

Great stuff. And fab fan servicing. Cheers!

Really enjoyed that, but as a non-native who’s never watched the classic seasons before the 21st century revival, I wasn’t sure if this is a brand new nemesis or a pre-existing one. Judging by your comment I guess this villain is not new to the franchise?

 

[danny la rouge]

Really enjoyed that, but as a non-native who’s never watched the classic seasons before the 21st century revival, I wasn’t sure if this is a brand new nemesis or a pre-existing one. Judging by your comment I guess this villain is not new to the franchise?

Doctor Who (1963–1996) - Season 13: Pyramids of Mars: Part 1

The TARDIS lands in 1911. In the grounds of the Old Priory, Egyptian mummies are walking and the Doctor and Sarah find that an ancient and powerful evil is menacing mankind.

www.bbc.co.uk

Thank me later.

 

[Wilf]

Great episode, though I wasn't that impressed with the doggy thing.

 

[Epona]

Doctor Who (1963–1996) - Season 13: Pyramids of Mars: Part 1

The TARDIS lands in 1911. In the grounds of the Old Priory, Egyptian mummies are walking and the Doctor and Sarah find that an ancient and powerful evil is menacing mankind.

www.bbc.co.uk

Thank me later.

Pyramids of Mars is my favourite Classic Who episode as I mentioned earlier, and probably at other times on this thread too.
It incorporates a bit of Egyptian mythology, it's my favourite Classic era Doctor Tom Baker
And the unwitting human manipulated villain is played by the father of someone I was good friends with as a teenager.

So I was absolutely ecstatic to see the callback to that in this episode.