Watched ep 1 of Terminus last night. Interesting that they had a spaceship with interior design by Ed Hardy.
Stories You've Watched Recently
- Thread starter Bones2
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While we haven't gotten any non-alien stories on the new series, at least I am pleased that we've gotten a few episodes that are a bit more relaxing than the usual running around corridors like "The Lodger." (And at least Donna got some rest in "Midnight."
)I kinda don't count it if the Doctor never intends to shoot anyone. Shooting the gravity globe at the end of "The Time of Angels" doesn't count.
Nor does the 9th Doctor's gun-toting moments when he breaks into the Game Station control room in "Bad Wolf." Heck, he even hands his gun to one of his hostages at the first opportunity.
As for "The Doctor's Daughter," I was really trying to forget that one.
I finished "Arc of Infinity." It's got some interesting Time Lord intrigue. Lots of fans make fun of the Ergon but I don't think it looks any worse than the weird-ass design of Omega himself in this one.
Amen to that. I just watched that one recently myself. Mawdryn & his undead mutants are more gruesome that the show typically gets. Plus, why is Tegan the only one here smart enough to realize that Mawdryn clearly isn't the Doctor?
On the plus side, the explanation for why the Brigadier is working as a math teacher works pretty well. Had I not already heard about it, I never would have suspected that the role was originally written for Ian Chesterton.
I also watched "Enlightenment." This one uses some awful pantomime music whenever the sailors run up & down the stairs. The Black Guardian is an insufferable ham even by Doctor Who standards. And Turlough is such a whiny bitch I'm starting to miss Adric!
One thing I've noticed so far this season is how joyless so much of it feels. The Doctor can't help but grimace when Tegan says she's coming back. Then Nyssa & Tegan look really peeved when the Doctor adds Turlough to the group. It's hard to look forward to the show when the characters all seem to have such disdain for each other (except for the potentially femslashy subtexts between Nyssa & Tegan). Also, the Doctor doesn't seem to have the same sense of whimsy & wanderlust that I think defines the character. He treats all of his adventures with such grim seriousness. Between that & the dismal quality of so many of the stories, it's no wonder Peter Davison wanted to quit.
The companions not wanting to be there or be with each other is my major beef with the 1980s episodes. Who wants to watch that weeks on end?
It seemed to work ok with Ian and Barbara? It's clear the 5th Doctor and crew was an attempt to emulate the 1st Doctor and crew feel, and I think all of them are there for more interesting reasons than say Rose or Donna or Martha, or even Amy.
I kinda miss the Doctor having no real control over the Tardis...
Well by this point the Brigadier has seen four different versions of the Doctor, and been around for two immaeitely post regeneration, in a way that makes him the easiest to fool of them all because he's seen widely different variations in the Doctor's personality!
I kinda miss the Doctor having no real control over the Tardis...
Well by this point the Brigadier has seen four different versions of the Doctor, and been around for two immaeitely post regeneration, in a way that makes him the easiest to fool of them all because he's seen widely different variations in the Doctor's personality!
If anyone in the UK is at a loose end, the Beeb still have a few stories on their official Doctor Who channel.
I'm not sure if anything has disappeared from the list of episodes, but I'm sure there were more last time I checked.
I'm not sure if anything has disappeared from the list of episodes, but I'm sure there were more last time I checked.
Watched the first 3 episodes of Terminus last night. Ugh.
I'll agree with what The Borgified Corpse said about the show being cheerless. I just feels like something you endure rather than enjoy. The idea that a spaceship's extra fuel caused the Big Bang is so ridiculous I can't believe anyone thought it, let alone filmed it.
The thing about Mawdryn was, they were really creepy looking aliens with pulsing brains, but then they were dressed up like clowns. So it's not really scary, but it freaks out little kids watching. Seems like the worst of both worlds.
I'll agree with what The Borgified Corpse said about the show being cheerless. I just feels like something you endure rather than enjoy. The idea that a spaceship's extra fuel caused the Big Bang is so ridiculous I can't believe anyone thought it, let alone filmed it.
The thing about Mawdryn was, they were really creepy looking aliens with pulsing brains, but then they were dressed up like clowns. So it's not really scary, but it freaks out little kids watching. Seems like the worst of both worlds.
The reason why they're on the TARDIS in the first place is immaterial, particularly since it usually has nothing to do with the reason why they leave. Most of the time, these kinds of story arcs aren't of any particular interest to the show. The companion just exists to give a sub-plot, get put in jeopardy, or give the Doctor someone to explain things to. What's important isn't why they're on the TARDIS but that they're interesting & likable while they're there.
The reason why Ian & Barbara worked as unwilling companions was because they very quickly decided to suck it up and just try their best to survive. They weren't constantly whining like Tegan or being a useless bitch like Turlough. (At least Adric didn't start whining intolerably until "Earthshock.") By the time you get to "The Rescue," Ian & Barbara seem to have farily well acclimated to the pace of life aboard the TARDIS. In "The Romans," they seem content never to leave ancient Rome at all (or at least not until the real owners of the house get back).
It's certainly interesting in "The Romans," where they all willingly stay in one location for weeks on end. It's a very different feel from when the Doctor & Martha spent several months hiding from the Family of Blood in "Human Nature" or several months trapped in 1969 in "Blink."
QFT.
Yeah. I'm starting to consider selling off a bunch of my lesser Peter Davison & Colin Baker DVDs. I'll stick with some of the highlights--"Castrovalva" (because it's part of the New Beginnings box set), "The Visitation," "Black Orchid," "Earthshock," "The Five Doctors," "The Two Doctors," & "The Trial of a Time Lord" (the last one mostly for the bonus features rather than the story itself)--and ditch the rest.
Lesser Colin Baker? Lesser? There ARE no "lesser" Colin Baker dvds! They are nothing short of brilliance, the lot of them!
Finally watched the last episode of Terminus, then the making-of feature, where I found out that just about everyone involved in making it thought it had problems.
That was just a bad story in every possible way.
Does Enlightenment really get a lot better? If not, I might just save myself the aggravation and mail it back, and get something I haven't seen from 1-3 instead.
That was just a bad story in every possible way.
Does Enlightenment really get a lot better? If not, I might just save myself the aggravation and mail it back, and get something I haven't seen from 1-3 instead.
Continuing my joyless slog through the Peter Davison years:
"Warriors of the Deep" is a mess. Everyone still hates Turlough and that makes me hate him too. I don't think the giant sea monster looks as bad as all that. It's certainly on par with many of the show's other monster effects.
One of the things that really rings un-Who-ish about this story and others of its era is that everyone is constantly talking about retreating back to the TARDIS or the Doctor is ordering Tegan back to the TARDIS. It seems like no one is daring enough to embrace the danger of it all. Why exactly are these people traveling with each other again?
It's a shame because the underwater base is a cool setting and I really enjoyed the prior Beneath the Surface stories "The Silurians" & "The Sea Devils."
"Warriors of the Deep" is a mess. Everyone still hates Turlough and that makes me hate him too. I don't think the giant sea monster looks as bad as all that. It's certainly on par with many of the show's other monster effects.
One of the things that really rings un-Who-ish about this story and others of its era is that everyone is constantly talking about retreating back to the TARDIS or the Doctor is ordering Tegan back to the TARDIS. It seems like no one is daring enough to embrace the danger of it all. Why exactly are these people traveling with each other again?
It's a shame because the underwater base is a cool setting and I really enjoyed the prior Beneath the Surface stories "The Silurians" & "The Sea Devils."
Well I was watching The Time of Angels the other day and 11 orders Amy back to the Tardis so I don't think it's that unusual. Warriors isn't great though, though I don't think its far away from being good. Has been says many times, it's all just so bright and overlit, a slightly dimmer look would have aided no end the notion that they were under sea.
Kudos to Ingrid Pitt's character for the dumbest Who death ever...who in their right mind tries to kararte a sea monster
Kudos to Ingrid Pitt's character for the dumbest Who death ever...who in their right mind tries to kararte a sea monster
I loved the karate attack against the Myrka. My least favorite part of the story was the episode 1 cliffhanger, when the Doctor falls in the water, his head barely gets wet, and Turlough says "forget it...he's dead."
I know they didn't want a repeat of that "Deadly Assassin" cliffhanger where the Doctor's head was held underwater, but that was ridiculous.
I heard somewhere that this is when Michael Grade decided he wanted to get rid of DW. I honestly can't say I blame him.
I know they didn't want a repeat of that "Deadly Assassin" cliffhanger where the Doctor's head was held underwater, but that was ridiculous.
I heard somewhere that this is when Michael Grade decided he wanted to get rid of DW. I honestly can't say I blame him.
In almost every first-season Hartnell storyline, they spend the whole time trying to get back to the TARDIS.
Finally got around to finishing The Sensorites. The alien make-up was cool, otherwise it was pretty meh.
We decided to skip past the rest of the Hartnell era and get to the real first Doctor. We both loved Tomb of the Cybermen (which I had previously seen and is still awesome) and The Dominators (which was also great.)
We decided to skip past the rest of the Hartnell era and get to the real first Doctor. We both loved Tomb of the Cybermen (which I had previously seen and is still awesome) and The Dominators (which was also great.)
Well I was watching The Time of Angels the other day and 11 orders Amy back to the Tardis so I don't think it's that unusual. Warriors isn't great though, though I don't think its far away from being good. Has been says many times, it's all just so bright and overlit, a slightly dimmer look would have aided no end the notion that they were under sea.
Kudos to Ingrid Pitt's character for the dumbest Who death ever...who in their right mind tries to kararte a sea monster
Oddly I don't ever have a problem with the look of the underwater base. I don't think it's so rediculously overlit. And why wouldn't it be? Surely an expensive undersea base like that would have tons of artificial lighting.
As for the karate attack against the sea monster, what I want to know is who in their right mind thought up that scene and let it go to air. (Probably the same person who signed off on the design of the candy man in "The Happiness Patrol.")
One of the other things I don't like about "Warriors of the Deep" is the ending. It reminds me of "Horror of Fang Rock" in that, yeah they saved the world but all of the guest stars are dead!
Yeah. Turlough is a pussy.
Yeah, but that had a different feel to it. Time & space were really dangerous back then and it felt like a miracle every time they did manage to survive and get back to the TARDIS. But by the Peter Davison years, the TARDIS has been so de-mystified that it just feels like obnoxious cowardice on the part of Turlough & Tegan. Why do they even leave the TARDIS in the 1st place? During the William Hartnell years, getting back to the TARDIS seems like a goal. Once they cross that finish line, they can move on to the next story. During the Peter Davison years, it feels more like an urge to drop out of the story before the plot is complete.
I'm nearly finished with Peter Davison now.
"The Awakening" & "Frontios" were decent. Turlough didn't suck quite as much as usual.
"Resurrection of the Daleks" is a vast improvement over "Destiny of the Daleks" and has a lot of decent guest characters.
"Planet of Fire" is very wierd. Kameleon is kinda annoying. Peri makes a bad first impression. (Although, I've seen her later episodes and her later impressions aren't any better.) The best I can say is that the Doctor doesn't seem quite as annoyed by taking on Peri as he did when Tegan came back in "Arc of Infinity" or as Tegan & Nyssa did when Turlough joined the crew in "Mawdryn Undead." Peri & her step-father have two of the worst fake American accents I've ever seen on TV. We're finally rid of Turlough and he seems mildly useful. But really, the only saving grace of this story is Anthony Ainley as the Master.
Next up, "The Caves of Androzani," then I need only muddle through 5 more seasons of crappy, WTF writing.
At the same time I've been doing Peter Davison stories on the classic series, I've also been going back through Matt Smith episodes on the new series. I love Matt Smith and his episodes keep getting better each time I watch them. (I'm even starting to get used to the new paradigm Daleks, although the bulge out the back side is still very unflattering.) A couple of random notes:
Feeding "citizens of limited value" to the star whale? Very "Children of Earth"-y. What is it with the British government glibly putting a number on the value of a human life?
Best line of the season, from "Amy's Choice": "Ah, my boys, my poncho boys. If we're going to die, let's die looking like a Peruvian folk band."
BTW, just finished listening to the Paul McGann audio "Storm Warning." Is it just me, or are the vortesaurs the same creatures that the new series later used in "Father's Day"?
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