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Well that was the thing in Deep Breath, he was openly questioning what kind of person he was when you stripped away all the artifice as well as his sense of identity (the whole new broom thing), and commented that his new face was his subconscious telling him something. I always figured it had to to with Caecillus being a visual reminder of a time the Doctor had to be forced to save a single family in a city of thousands, and that he was seen as (and perhaps enjoyed being seen as) a godlike figure as a result. Basically, his subconscious was saying,"Are you a good man?" which he then explicitly asks Clara in Into the Dalek, and by the end of the season he finally gets an answer - he's neither good nor bad, he is simply an idiot with a box, a guy who tries his best to do the right thing and looks to his companions as a grounding/stabilizing force to keep him from going too far or losing his "humanity". If the new season suddenly throws in a lot more convoluted explanations for a simple matter of reusing a previous actor (ala Colin Baker) then I'll probably be disappointed.
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Jul 16, 2015 02:41
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Here's a Radio Times article discussing it; http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2015-04-30/doctor-who-series-9-to-address-mystery-of-peter-capaldis-recurring-faces
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Jul 16, 2015 05:01
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Oh it's an RTD idea? Well cool, it'll turn out Caecilius was his cousin because that's how genetics work apparently.
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Jul 16, 2015 05:05
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What if Caecilius was just the Doctor having a bout of amnesia? 
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Jul 16, 2015 05:14
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Ofaloaf posted:What if Caecilius was just the Doctor having a bout of amnesia? No no, it's Peter Capaldi, not Paul McGann!
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Jul 16, 2015 05:26
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moffat will explain it in depth. he can't leave it alone, remember he had to shove in a quick scene to show us what was behind the door in the hotel episode.
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Jul 16, 2015 07:45
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Its gonna be zygons
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Jul 16, 2015 09:22
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Had a weird dream last night – instead of Peter Capaldi, it was Colin Baker in Dark Water/Death in Heaven. I don’t remember much, save for the Sixth Doctor looking at the Master and going (as only Sixie could), “Am I supposed to be impressed?”
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Jul 16, 2015 11:48
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I don't think it will be the end of the world if they explain it. It'll be something nonsensical about genetic patterns in the Universe and how the Time Lords at some point made a whole bunch of the Universe look like them, probably. As long as they don't dwell on it for a particularly long time, it's fine. It's how a lot of people have explained the "Why do so many aliens look exactly like people?" question anyway. At SDCC, when Capaldi was asked why he thinks the Doctor has such an affinity for humans, he said "Budgetary reasons," which, along with "the practical reality of the filmed television world" is the reason for a lot of stuff, but it's okay to have "in Universe" explanations for things, as long as they aren't forced down our throats in a protesting, weak kind of way like the whole "why some Klingons have forehead ridges but others don't" thing.
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Jul 16, 2015 14:33
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Something something looms something. (I would laugh for a month if the ultimate origin of the Time Lords were revealed to be a human scientist called John Smith who invented a time machine and ended up stranded on a planet at the rear end end of the universe at the dawn of time, and that were used to co-opt both the "The Doctor is the descendant/reincarnation of a founder of the Time Lords" thing and the half human thing.)
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Jul 16, 2015 14:54
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Would this scientist look remarkably like Peter Cushing? Because I think he needs to.
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Jul 16, 2015 14:57
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Attitude Indicator posted:moffat will explain it in depth. he can't leave it alone, remember he had to shove in a quick scene to show us what was behind the door in the hotel episode. Bicyclops posted:At SDCC, when Capaldi was asked why he thinks the Doctor has such an affinity for humans, he said "Budgetary reasons," which, along with "the practical reality of the filmed television world" edit: Oh god Moffat made it a crack in time. One of the only great episodes that season and he's gotta put his grubby little hands in it. Dr. Gene Dango MD fucked around with this message at 21:54 on Jul 16, 2015 |
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Jul 16, 2015 21:49
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I'm usually okay with the Moff and his meddling. I've generally enjoyed all of the new Doctor Who to come out while he has been in charge. That being said, god drat if he didn't go and deflate all the cool ambiguity out of The God Complex by just showing us what was in the door. Before Time Of The Doctor, it could be anything you wanted it to be, or thought would make sense. Now it's just a crack. Boo. I'll also be upset if he ever goes and explains anything about the thing under the sheet in Listen. Let it be.
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Jul 16, 2015 22:37
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FreezingInferno posted:
I think he will, with that. He likes to go back to the well, but it seems fairly clear to me that he is satisfied to leave all of the unanswered questions in that story alone.
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Jul 16, 2015 22:50
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I'm prepared to be cautiously optimistic about where it's all going. And yeah, Moffat's capable of leaving well enough alone when he knows he should. I remember people being mad when it seemed like he was going to give the Doctor a name but of course that was only ever going to end up with "his name is the Doctor". I'd be really surprised if Listen cropped back up ever again.
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Jul 16, 2015 22:59
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Well were revisiting the events of Listen at least this season because, again, Moffat says he's still got a story to tell around their visit to childhood Gallifrey.
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Jul 16, 2015 23:39
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I never want to prejudge until I've seen how it's done, but good lord Moffat learn when to leave well enough alone.
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Jul 16, 2015 23:41
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PriorMarcus posted:Well were revisiting the events of Listen at least this season because, again, Moffat says he's still got a story to tell around their visit to childhood Gallifrey. I don't remember seeing that in interviews 
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Jul 17, 2015 05:24
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Tim Farron looks like Mr Saxon.
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Jul 17, 2015 06:32
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Bicyclops posted:I don't remember seeing that in interviews "In my head, he's in the Wastelands of Gallifrey (where the burnt orange dims to a lovely blue). Originally the script specified this, but I cut that, to give myself some wiggle room, should I ever need it. I wonder if this is a Time Lock question? Gallifrey and the events of the Time War are supposed to be held in a Time Lock, preventing the Doctor's return. However, in The Day of the Doctor, the Moment not only unlocked those events, she allowed them to change. The Doctor doesn't realise it yet, but, as demonstrated in Listen, the Time Lock no longer holds..." I kind of misremembered how much of this was him saying he'd revisit the scene and how much was him saying the explanation exist, the Doctor just hasn't found it yet. My bad.
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Jul 17, 2015 14:33
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Wheat Loaf posted:Tim Farron looks like Mr Saxon. Phew, no risk of him becoming Prime Minister in this timeline, then.
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Jul 17, 2015 16:00
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Gaz-L posted:Phew, no risk of him becoming Prime Minister in this timeline, then. None at all.
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Jul 17, 2015 16:13
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That's the worst version of The God Complex ever.
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Jul 17, 2015 16:39
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Looking at the leaders of all the parties, and the slate Labour's come up with, Mr Saxon would probably be an improvement at this point.
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Jul 17, 2015 16:42
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Wheat Loaf posted:Looking at the leaders of all the parties, and the slate Labour's come up with, Mr Saxon would probably be an improvement at this point. Saxon's policies are basically the same as the conservatives but without pretending it's for anyone's benefit but his own.
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Jul 17, 2015 16:59
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Saxon is an interesting artefact; a product of the 2005-2007 window when everyone had forgotten the minimum wage, the Human Rights Act, the Belfast Agreement and Sri Lanka, Sierra Leone and the Balkans, and Tony Blair had become ALL IRAQ ALL THE TIME SPIN SPIN SPIN SPIN SPIN. Same thing with President(-elect!) Winters in "The Sound of Drums". And even Obama in "The End of Time". All part of a particular zeitgeist.
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Jul 17, 2015 17:15
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The whole Saxon arc, even with The End of Time, rubbed me the wrong way for that reason. I always felt Doctor Who should have something to say about society and humanity as a whole. But getting into specific details (Obama) or using incredibly similar proxies (Winters) not only makes those episodes feel dated but preachy, especially in an era where it seemed every television show was saying the same thing. Something like The Happiness Patrol is my idea of the right balance – it’s about Thatcher, but isn’t ABOUT Thatcher.
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Jul 17, 2015 17:45
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Wheat Loaf posted:Saxon is an interesting artefact; a product of the 2005-2007 window when everyone had forgotten the minimum wage, the Human Rights Act, the Belfast Agreement and Sri Lanka, Sierra Leone and the Balkans, and Tony Blair had become ALL IRAQ ALL THE TIME SPIN SPIN SPIN SPIN SPIN. The 78 days of bombings in the former Yugoslavia have more in common with the Iraq war than you appear to realise. It was essentially a proto-Iraq, the way the 2003 Iraq war was supposed to go - short, sharp, able to spend vastly more energy on economic and political aspects than military ones. The war in the Balkans wasn't a war on oppression, it was a war for oppression. It was a war on the ownership of industry by the workers. It was a war on the law that formerly state owned businesses needed to have the controlling interest still owned by its workers. Nearly 400 publicly owned industrial facilities were bombed. 14 tanks were bombed. Zero privately or foreign owned factories were bombed. One of the triggers for the war was a rejection of a treaty that demanded the ability for foreign nationals to own Serbia's national industry. Post-war, the new government immediatley passed a law allowing exactly that. It went exceptionally well for the forces of multinational corporations and the super-rich. So well that they attempted to do the same in Iraq, and we know how well that went.
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Jul 17, 2015 17:53
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Sure, whatever. I'm disengaged with politics most of the time; it doesn't really interest me outside elections. I mean, most of my knowledge of that region comes from a politics lecturer I had whose family were Bosniak Muslims who were able to leave, so maybe that's painted a biased picture for me. Wheat Loaf fucked around with this message at 19:27 on Jul 17, 2015 |
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Jul 17, 2015 19:24
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So unless Oxx gets utterly loving twisted sideways I have a strong suspicion that Forest is going to break his soul
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Jul 18, 2015 04:43
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I'm rewatching Death In Heaven and I'm slightly annoyed that the Doctor has to activate Danny's Cyberman inhibitor thing to find out the big plan, and there's no line about why he can't just ask one of the other 175 Cybermen milling around in the scene. I guess they're too degraded and rotted to be able to do much other than follow orders and kill, but a line to that effect would have been nice. The Master also kind of just stands around and does nothing while Danny is giving his big speech. It doesn't really matter I suppose and I love that scene otherwise, but it'd be nice if it was perfect.
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Jul 18, 2015 21:27
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 On the human colony planet Nocturne, there is suffering and blight, tragic symptoms of an ages-old war. Never the less, Nocturne is also one of the Doctor's favourite places in all of time and space, because it is here that a late, great flowering of human art - the High Renaissance - is taking place. He has been back here many times. It is a place of music and art which he finds inspirational and uplifting. It is a place he wants to share with Ace and Hex. It's always been a safe haven for him, a world of friends and laughter. But with strict Martial Law imposed on the front-line city, and the brutal scourge of interstellar warfare vicing the system, how safe can anyone really be? There is a note of death in the wild, midnight wind... Sylvester McCoy is the Doctor in Nocturne. X X X X X Cast Sylvester McCoy (Seventh Doctor) Sophie Aldred (Ace) Philip Olivier (Hex) Trevor Bannister (Korbin Thessinger) Paul David-Gough (Will Alloran) Eric Potts (Lothar Ragpole) Ann Rye (Lilian Dillane) Helen Kay (Cate Reeney) Written By: Dan Abnett Directed By: John Ainsworth Trailer - http://www.bigfinish.com/releases/popout/nocturne-258 X X X X X quote:Don't be so gloomy. After all it's not that awful. Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock. Nocturne is a story that could have been better with just a little work. The ingredients that make up a good story are present; a unique antagonist, the potential of interesting secondary characters, and a cast member getting a chance for some major characterization. Sadly, only the last one gets any sort of development, leaving Nocturne a barely mediocre story that stood on the precipice of being a solid one, if only for the addition of a few appropriate measures. The planet of Nocturne is the primary transit point for the military, the last stop in friendly territory before soldiers and materials are shipped to the front as part of humanity's 70 year war against the Foucoo. But here at the very edge of human space, the conflict has given rise to the Far Renaissance. Glasst City has seen a flowering of art, music, fiction, and poetry. The grim passage of fresh soldiers and the walking wounded has drawn artists and philosophers on a number not seen since the Florentine Renaissance. The Doctor has brought Hex and Ace to Glasst City for a break, admitting to them that the colony is one of his favorite places in the entire universe, to the point that he's actually friends with some of the more renowned artists in the city. But his arrival coincides with some strange proceedings; robots scavenging materials beyond their programming, mysterious fires, and a harsh noise resonating through the streets at night. Death has always found Glasst City a nice place to visit, but now it appears to be looking to call the city home permanently... Veteran writer Dan Abnett (Doctor Who, Warhammer Fantasy, Warhammer 40,000) penned The Harvest, a Cybermen audio that served to introduce Thomas Hector “Hex” Scofield to Big Finish. While The Harvest was a great story, it suffered from what I call “first time audio blues,” where Abnett spent a lot of time having Hex talking to himself and describing his surroundings in great detail. Nocturne doesn't contain that same flaw, but the engagement and tension that was woven throughout The Harvest fails to appear in this story. Nocturne is a very straight-forward run of the mill story that doesn't have any true stand out moments. The actions taken by the characters tend to drag out the scenes, while the plot itself becomes repetitive as the story progresses. Characters either repeat themselves or use too many words to get their point across, leading to characters that the listener simply doesn't become invested in. Near the end of the story, characters seem to take action against their nature solely because the plot demands it. A subplot involving the robotic Familiars as the source of Glasst City's problems turns out to be a time wasting red herring. And the biggest disappointment with Nocturne lies with its failure to capitalize on the unique nature of the serial's antagonist, one that was perfectly suited for the audio format. With all its flaws, Nocturne come together as a story that is, put honestly, incredibly dull and really needed a series of rewrites to take full advantage of all it had to offer. With each successive release, it seemed that Big Finish's writers are getting the hang of writing for the Seventh Doctor. Nocturne is sadly a step backwards for the Seventh Doctor. Sylvester McCoy has the chance to portray a unique side of his Doctor; one who appreciated art to the extent that he actually became close with artists, returning time and time again to Glasst City to meet and socialize with them. The Doctor's habit of “arrive, raise hell, leave” could have been turned on its ear with this story, but there's never any true sense of closeness with the artists in McCoy's performance. The Seventh Doctor could have arrived for an art show in Glasst City and the story wouldn't have changed much. There's also a moment at the end of the story where McCoy acts very un-Doctor-like. He vows to kill the creature that's haunting Glasst City, with little talk about capturing it, or proclaiming that it is just misunderstood. Even though the creature is incredibly deadly...the Seventh Doctor's eagerness to destroy the creature is incredibly out of nature for him, and it takes away from the story's climax. The highlight of McCoy's performance comes during the opening of the fourth episode, as he comforts Ace as she recovers from an attack. The opening of the story has Ace teasing the Doctor about how he brings her and Hex to new and exotic locales but never tells them any important details about the locations OR any of the situations that find themselves in until it's much too late. The Doctor admits to Ace that he does have a tendency to play his cards close to his chest, but does so out of a need to protect his companions in case he's wrong. The Doctor promises to be more open in the future, and it will be interesting to see if indeed future Big Finish stories see a more forthcoming Doctor. In any case, it's a very touching moment of friendship done very well between McCoy and Sophie Aldred. That one scene aside, Sophie Aldred's performance in Nocturne borders a bit more on melodrama than on drama. For some reason, Ace's teasing of Hex seems a little more forced and a little less natural. I'm normally an Ace fanboy, but I had a hard time getting into her scenes this time out. Again, it's a case where Ace's storyline SHOULD be interesting as she interacts with a soldier returned from the war, Will. An awkward introduction leads to Will giving Ace a tour of Glasst City as the two of them share stories; Will discussing his brief time in the war and Ace talking about her brother (the third time he's been mentioned in Big Finish...could this actually be the start of a trend?). For some reason, Ace's time with Will (played by Paul David-Gough) just doesn't click. There's some chemistry between the two actors and characters, but Abnett's attempt to write a romantic relationship (or a quasi-one) between them falls flat. And it leads to Ace spending most of the fourth episode laid up, save for a violent outburst about Will's final fate that just doesn't seemed earned based upon their time together. Hex's time in Glasst City is defined mainly by being accused by military Overwatch officer Cate Reeney about the murder of a local artist. Hex running into a burning building in an attempt to save a complete stranger is perfectly in line with his character, and Philip Olivier does a fine job as Hex. But Hex really isn't given very much to do in this story. Aside from his attempt to save someone's life and his interrogation by Reeney, I honestly can't remember anything about Hex in this story! I remember more about Reeney, though. Helen Kay's performance at the military policewoman in charge of Glasst City reminded me 100% about Captain Tanya Oswin in The Nowhere Place. Both women were in positions of power, but came off as complete reactionaries who had no clue how to react the moment things were sideways. Their responses to the situations they found themselves in were those of people who had never been in power before or would have never been put into positions of power in the first place! Reeney was simply the “shouty” speedbump who got in the Doctor's way solely because the plot demanded the Doctor get sidetracked by someone in authority. And really, there's no reason to mention the artists that make up the rest of the cast as performances by Trevor Bannister as composer Korbin Thessinger, Eric Potts as poet Lothar Ragpole, and Any Rye as Lillian Dane are completely mundane and fail to truly stand out in any way, save for Lillian suddenly attacking the Doctor in an attempt to save the creature for art's sake during the story's climax. Even the normally superb post-production sound work by Steve Foxon feels unfinished. There are many times where the pauses between lines of dialogue go on longer than they should, there are the barest minimum of sound effects throughout the story, and the creature itself doesn't sound like a raw force of nature so much as it sounds like the Who smashing up their instruments at the end of their set. I did enjoy the classical piece at the end of the third episode, but that's really about it for the sound work. There's just so much about Nocturne that is unfinished. The performances by the secondary characters are lackluster save for an almost petulant police officer, Hex doesn't get anything to do, Ace's story doesn't really click, and the Doctor's moment of admitting one of his major flaws is ruined a few minutes later by his eagerness to destroy the creature. Add to it some weak sound work, normally one of Big Finish's strong points, and Nocturne is best described as “unfinished.” A little editing, some additional characterization, and a better focus on post-production would have been enough to make this a worthwhile listen, making it hard to recommend this story otherwise. Pros + Seven admitting his tendency to keep information from his companions Cons - Lack of interesting secondary characters - Ace's storyline lacks engagement - Hex's lack of interaction with the plot - The Doctor's eagerness to kill the creature - Poor post-production work  Synopsis – With a lack of interesting characters and little to engage the main characters, Nocturne barely ranks as an unfinished symphony. Next up - It seems the Doctor's deadliest foes have woven a tangled web indeed. And in order to defeat them, he must cross the forbidden barriers of time and walk into the very centre of their latest, most outlandish scheme of conquest. Peter Davison is the Doctor in...Renaissance of the Daleks.
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Jul 20, 2015 03:46
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Yeah, a little more editing would have done Nocturne a world of good. It's not a bad story at all, but it has no depth at all and makes some really peculiar choices in how particular characters act and react. Exploring the theme of beauty arising out of horror alone could have provided plenty of meat for exploration, but half-a-dozen themes are shallowly touched upon and then abandoned/go nowhere.
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Jul 20, 2015 06:00
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So I found this in the depths of my computer. I remember forever ago there was a project to rewrite NuWho stories with Classic Doctors as Target novelisations. This is a scrap of what I got done before moving onto other things: Chapter One In the corner of a vast, empty hall, the TARDIS materialised in a mote-filled sunbeam with a wheezing, groaning sound. The door opened and light spilled out in the shadow of the blue police box. A short, older man stepped out. He was slightly rounded in appearance, dressed in a dark brown jacket, checked trousers, and a loud jumper covered in question marks, all topped off with a straw Panama hat. As he walked, he would tap his question mark-handled umbrella on the floor. "Books!" he exclaimed to the room in general, his arms aloft. A teenage girl in a black bomber jacket and skirt followed him out. "Books, professor?" she asked. "Boring!" "Boring?" The Doctor turned to face her. "Ace, books are the cultural repository of knowledge across the universe." He carried on walking towards a large pair of double doors. "We're in the 51st Century and people are still reading books. There's all sorts of holovids, digital downloads and interactive amusements, but people never tire of reading." The doors ran to the full height of the room, but they opened with ease as the Doctor pushed them. Beyond was a wide balcony overlooking a unending city of buildings and skyscrapers. Glass, steel and bronze glinted in the afternoon sun. "This is the Library," said the Doctor, pointing with his umbrella. So big it doesn't need a name." "Impressive," said Ace. "It's a whole city?" "It's a whole planet. Artificially engineered, with the index computer as its core. An entire world containing every book ever written. Out there are whole continents of literature, history, and even the humble cookbook. All of them brand new editions, especially printed for the Library." Ace picked up a slim volume from a stack balanced on the balustrade and flicked through its pages. "Funny cat stories," she said, holding it up for a moment before replacing it on the pile. "Well, I did say every book. They can't all be masterpieces." The balcony extended around the outside of the building, leading to a skybridge that connected it to another gleaming spire. Ace looked over the edge and made out a monorail station far below them. "So where are we? " asked Ace. The Doctor looked around and scanned a nearby shelf. "Biographies, by the look of it," he replied. "Oh, you know all about those. You've probably met most of them!" The Doctor shrugged noncommittally. "Maybe. I don't like to brag." Ace laughed and sat down on a step. The Doctor leaned over towards her, resting his chin on his umbrella handle. "Now, given that we've been here a few minutes, and you've had the chance to soak up the local atmosphere, what would you say is out of place?" She frowned and looked around. "If this is the biggest library ever, with every book ever written..." "Yes...?" "Then where is everyone? I've heard of silence in the library, but this is ridiculous." "Very good," said the Doctor, tapping her nose with affection. "A whole planet, and we appear to be the only people here." "Maybe it's Sunday?" volunteered Ace. "All the libraries in the whole of Brent were closed on Sundays." "Somehow I doubt it," he said, shaking his head. "Besides, it feels like a Wednesday." He strolled off towards the skybridge. Ace went to pick up another book, but got as far as looking at the spine before she was interrupted. "Ace? Come and look at this!"
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Jul 22, 2015 11:41
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I remember when we were all going to do one of those, before the harsh grind of daily life crushed our girlish dreams. 
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Jul 22, 2015 13:33
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To be fair, my morphed into a Mass Effect/Doctor Who fanfic...five chapters up now, sixth should go up this weekend.
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Jul 22, 2015 13:35
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For what it's worth I could read it in the doctors voice 
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Jul 22, 2015 14:01
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Little_wh0re posted:For what it's worth I could read it in the doctors voice That's all I could hope for.
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Jul 22, 2015 14:43
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I've still got my rewrite of Fear Her with Pertwee/Jo/UNIT. (Guess who gets to light the torch? It's not the Doctor.)
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Jul 22, 2015 17:13
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Trin Tragula posted:I've still got my rewrite of Fear Her with Pertwee/Jo/UNIT. (Guess who gets to light the torch? It's not the Doctor.) Mike Yates
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Jul 22, 2015 17:16
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