So far, what impresses me is that the various ex-Companions and spin-off characters have fit into the story quite nicely. That said, I'm going to hold off trying to rate this episode until I see the next one.
Doctor Who – 4x12 – The Stolen Earth (Grade/Discuss)
- Thread starter Servo
- Start date
I'm kind of curious about what they're going to do with the Doc's regeneration, and how they'll explain it.
Spoiler
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When he saw Rose he was running to greet her, then was shot by a Dalek, which caused him to die. They brought him back to the Tardis to regenerate, and when he was releasing energy, they ended the episode there.
BUT
In an ad for next week they show him as the same Doctor.
So I'm wondering what gives, and how they'll explain it.
My best guess is that they may pass it off as him being the Last Doctor, somehow.
Spoiler
5
4
3
2
1
When he saw Rose he was running to greet her, then was shot by a Dalek, which caused him to die. They brought him back to the Tardis to regenerate, and when he was releasing energy, they ended the episode there.
BUT
In an ad for next week they show him as the same Doctor.
So I'm wondering what gives, and how they'll explain it.
My best guess is that they may pass it off as him being the Last Doctor, somehow.
Oooh, I forgot to mention that. I have no idea what the Shadow thing means but I really liked how he went to some central agency, full of beings in the know, and got some answers. It made the Universe bigger some how.
I really liked seeing the Rhino dudes again. They were minor, but they are still cool looking and for some reason I like the idea of having a Rhino police force guarding the galaxy. I think it's just the audacity of it all.
Well apparently we were supposed to see a whole lot of different races there, from previous episodes, making it like a United Nations type organisation but they couldn't fit them all in to the budget.
There really wasn't an original series 'bible', in the current US sense.
EVery now and again, if the new script editor was particularly enthusastic (Dennis Spooner, Douglas Adams, Christopher Bidmead), they'd write a set of 'Notes for writers' (A list of 'Don't Do This' - eg: 'Don't have the Doctor go back 15 minutes and try again after it's all gone wrong. It's banned because if it wasn't everyone would do it.', and a list of past stories 'So you don't duplicate.') which would then get used by their successors.
Peacemaker's referring to notes put forward by some of the people behind the first few episodes, like CE Webber and Antony Coburn (but who weren't necessarily still on board by the time the series entered production), which were reprinted in The First Doctor Handbook IIRC, and also David Whitaker's early drafts for what became Power of the Daleks, but in both cases they were heavily downplayed before they hit the screen (in the case of Power, as the initial idea of the Doctor simply becoming younger was overtaken by the bigger change that eventually became known as regeneration).
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Another reason why you really want to move to Britain: not only do you se the episodes earlier, but the BBC had the sense to simply not have a next episode trailer on The Stolen Earth. Just a big portentious To Be Continued (which appeared in three stages).
Followed by a week of incredible suspense.
What?! I cannot believe they spoiled that cliffhanger for you guys! I mean, it's one thing to show, say, a Cyberman shooting a Dalek or the Ninth Doctor dancing with some nanites, but to ruin the greatest cliffhanger in all the new series, if not all Doctor Who/if not television history?
Man, I've been lurking around here long enough to know Sci-Fi aren't the greatest, but this...
Thankfully there's so much going on the finale not even Sci-Fi could spoil all of it.
Man, I've been lurking around here long enough to know Sci-Fi aren't the greatest, but this...
Thankfully there's so much going on the finale not even Sci-Fi could spoil all of it.
We got that too, followed about a half-second later by
Ten yelling "maximum power!" and clearly showing his face to be the same.
Ah, thanks for that.
What an excellent episode! This season has really been on a roll after a lackluster first half.
Was I the only one happy to see Harriet Jones former prime minister? I loved when she did it to the Daleks and they knew who she was.
I liked the Torchwood people so I may have to check out that show...
Most of what I'd like to say has already been said so I'll just say again that it was a lot of fun.
Was I the only one happy to see Harriet Jones former prime minister? I loved when she did it to the Daleks and they knew who she was.
I liked the Torchwood people so I may have to check out that show...
Most of what I'd like to say has already been said so I'll just say again that it was a lot of fun.
After "Turn Left," I began to wonder if they're going to overlay some of the planned Rose backstory -- that Rose was engineered to be the Doctor's perfect companion -- onto Donna. That perhaps the same energy that Rose used in "Parting of the Ways" to destroy the Daleks and make Jack immortal created Donna so that, when the time came, she would be in place for the Daleks' ultimate defeat.think that next week will be where Donna turns out to be the most important person in the world. Universe. Whatever.
Of course, I also like Lawrence Miles' theory. Just because it's bonkers.
Right, I've got it. The Doctor is going to regenerate into someone completely different, either a well-known celebrity (if they want to make it look legit) or someone we already know from the series (if they want to go for comedy value, so Mickey Smith is a very real possibility). Then he's going to die. However, his DNA / Time Lord essence / biodata will somehow be transferred to a human host in the past, and it'll turn out that Donna has been a carrier of Doctorishness all the time. She's called "Noble" because she's a Time Lord, hence the second heart we can almost hear beating in her chest, the ludicrous coincidences, and all that jism about her "sacrifice". In other words, she's going to regenerate back into the Doctor we know, thus qualifying her as his most faithful companion.
Off course the biggest hints come from the SciFi promo for the next episode. Beside seeing Tennant, he mentions "Doctor Donna."
Yet another reason I'm so grateful I don't have to rely in Sci-Fi for my fix. And feel kinda sorry for those who do.
The BBC was bad about this the first season though (World War Three and Bad Wolf come to mind. Fortunately RTD proably complained so they switched to having the cliffhanger trailers after the credits.
Yeah I loved it when the Daleks knew who Harriet Jones was. It was one of the funniest jokes on the show.Was I the only one happy to see Harriet Jones former prime minister? I loved when she did it to the Daleks and they knew who she was.
I liked the Torchwood people so I may have to check out that show...
If you start watching Torchwood don't go into it expecting Doctor Who 2.0, it's a very different type of show (more along the lines of an adult version of the X-Files or the 4400). In my opinion it's not as good as Doctor Who, but it has been getting better.
That would have been a good edit.
As I said before, I didn't mind Rose except when she was whining about Martha and coming before and that scene. Edit those bits out and I would like "Stolen Earth" all the more.
I wouldn't expect Rose not to whine. She has shown to have a bit of a jealous streak.
They did learn to put the trailers after the credits on 2 parters, rather than before in time for Bad Wolf though.
^ Hmmm, I'll take your word on that one as I'm too lazy to check.
Unfortunately they totally ruined the surprise ending by reveiling the Daleks in the Bad Wolf trailer.
Unfortunately they totally ruined the surprise ending by reveiling the Daleks in the Bad Wolf trailer.
I was happy to see her again. I like strong woman characters done well and the actress does an excellent job of playing her.
I was also happy to see Harriet Jones again and thought her departure was quite fitting.
