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Sep 27, 2015 22:39
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Mr Beens posted:Except the Doctor didn't get put into a trap and clever his way out by the skin of his teeth, the Doctor put him self there and smugged his way out with a series of Deus Ex Machinas. Literally nothing that happened over the past 2 episodes meant anything. A Deus Ex Machina is something that literally comes out of nowhere. We know regeneration energy is powerful and can be transferred in some circumstances. We know there are decomposing Dalek mutants in the sewers. There is foreshadowing.
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Sep 27, 2015 22:55
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Jerusalem posted:(The Master and Clara had great chemistry, but Clara took far too eagerly to the role of the Master's companion), I think I'd have liked it better if we'd seen more of Clara doing what she often did (especially early on) with the Twelfth Doctor, and trying to function as the Master's absent conscience. Their chemistry was indeed fantastic, and I could believe Clara getting caught up in the adventure, as she is wont to do, but I'd have liked to have seen a little more awareness of the conflict than just that one scene where she ineffectually threatens Missy with a stick.
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Sep 27, 2015 22:57
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Maxwell Lord posted:A Deus Ex Machina is something that literally comes out of nowhere. We know regeneration energy is powerful and can be transferred in some circumstances. We know there are decomposing Dalek mutants in the sewers. There is foreshadowing. Ever since regeneration energy became a thing, rather than the Doctor or other timelords just having some regenerations, there hasn't really been any hard-and-fast rules about it. You could write regeneration energy as doing anything and it wouldn't contradict anything. It's basically magic. Besides, regeneration energy wasn't even mentioned in the episode up to that point. If I were new to Doctor Who, it would be totally out of nowhere.
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Sep 27, 2015 23:16
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I have yet to see the episode due to goon friend being out of town, but that's one thing I hope they address. I knew they wouldn't address how the gently caress Davros is still around, though it would have been nice- but the Doctor doesn't just have regeneration energy whenever. He has to be mortally wounded for it to be in effect. Like, that's the only rule laid down about the stupid stuff so far. His regeneration is only in effect for 24 hours after he does it, which HAS been a plot point a few times in the Revival.
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Sep 27, 2015 23:22
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Stabbatical posted:Ever since regeneration energy became a thing, rather than the Doctor or other timelords just having some regenerations, there hasn't really been any hard-and-fast rules about it. You could write regeneration energy as doing anything and it wouldn't contradict anything. It's basically magic. Besides, regeneration energy wasn't even mentioned in the episode up to that point. If I were new to Doctor Who, it would be totally out of nowhere. If you were new to Doctor Who, you could conceivably argue that the existence of the TARDIS "came out of nowhere" for you. Burkion posted:I have yet to see the episode due to goon friend being out of town, but that's one thing I hope they address. I knew they wouldn't address how the gently caress Davros is still around, though it would have been nice- but the Doctor doesn't just have regeneration energy whenever. He has to be mortally wounded for it to be in effect. Like, that's the only rule laid down about the stupid stuff so far. His regeneration is only in effect for 24 hours after he does it, which HAS been a plot point a few times in the Revival. He was able to use regeneration energy in Angels Take Manhattan with River.
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Sep 27, 2015 23:23
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Burkion posted:I have yet to see the episode due to goon friend being out of town, but that's one thing I hope they address. I knew they wouldn't address how the gently caress Davros is still around, though it would have been nice- but the Doctor doesn't just have regeneration energy whenever. He has to be mortally wounded for it to be in effect. Like, that's the only rule laid down about the stupid stuff so far. His regeneration is only in effect for 24 hours after he does it, which HAS been a plot point a few times in the Revival. Eleven healed River Song's hand in The Angels Take Manhatten. Which makes even less sense because Eleven didn't have any regenerations left. cargohills posted:If you were new to Doctor Who, you could conceivably argue that the existence of the TARDIS "came out of nowhere" for you. Please don't talk bollocks.
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Sep 27, 2015 23:24
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Dabir posted:Eleven healed River Song's hand in The Angels Take Manhatten. Which makes even less sense because Eleven didn't have any regenerations left. Look, trying to defend this episode with a frankly awful episode isn't going to win me over. It's just going to make me annoyed at how bad the writers are at internal logic and consistency. And yes, drat it, that should be important for this show. Unless you want to argue that only an idiot would care about what buttons do what on the TARDIS console.  If you know who that references
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Sep 27, 2015 23:28
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This pair of episodes was definitely not written for people new to Doctor Who. Which isn't the same as being impenetrable to people new to Doctor Who, but I don't know how most of us could realistically judge that at this point. And I kind of don't mind that. I know, I know, "every episode is someone's first", but I think you don't necessarily have to treat that as the Golden Rule Of Serial Storytelling, you know?
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Sep 27, 2015 23:37
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Dabir posted:Eleven healed River Song's hand in The Angels Take Manhatten. Which makes even less sense because Eleven didn't have any regenerations left. I always thought that was him returning the remaining regeneration energy River had previously transferred to him during Let's Kill Hitler.
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Sep 27, 2015 23:43
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I kind of thought of regeneration energy as being something that's basically always ticking away in the background, allowing time lords to live for hundreds of years without aging, then there's a big rush of it when something deadly happens. So Matt Smithy had some regeneration energy left, enough to keep him ticking over for a few centuries, but he didn't have enough to actually grow a whole new face or whatever. I think David Tennant used a bit of regeneration energy to boot up the Tardis when it got stranded in a parallel universe and said "that's a year off my life" or something.
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Sep 27, 2015 23:49
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 Trapped and alone on the terrifying planet Skaro, the Doctor is at the heart of the evil Dalek Empire - no sonic, no TARDIS, nobody to help. With his greatest temptation before him, can the Doctor resist? And will there be mercy? Peter Capaldi is the Doctor in The Witch's Familiar X X X X X Cast The Doctor - Peter Capaldi Clara - Jenna Coleman Missy - Michelle Gomez Colony Sarff - Jami Reid-Quarrell Davros - Julian Bleach Boy - Joey Price Voice of the Daleks - Nicholas Briggs Daleks - Barnaby Edwards, Nicholas Pegg Writer: Steven Moffat Director: Hettie MacDonald Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhuVg5vKGwQ Gifs by: J-Ru X X X X X The Witch's Familiar is a solid follow-up to the story that began in The Doctor's Apprentice but does so with very little carrying over from the previous episode. While the script sidesteps some of the plot hooks from the previous episode and continues to have Clara be a little too friendly with Missy as well as perpetuating the revival's failure to make the Daleks scary, the acting triumvirate of Peter Capaldi, Michelle Gomez, and Julian Bleach once again carry the story to an satisfying conclusion. Missy and Clara are dead. The TARDIS is destroyed. The Doctor threatens to kill Davros. Only one of these sentences is true. With no allies, no TARDIS, and no sonic screwdriver the Doctor has only his wits to survive in the heart of the Dalek Empire. Even as Missy and Clara, alive and force into an unlikely partnership, make their way back into the city to rescue the Doctor, Davros offers the Doctor the one prize that's always tempted him – a chance to eliminate the Daleks once and for all, if only the Doctor would grant a dying Davros a merciful death. But when the Doctor refuses, another side of Davros emerges. The Doctor knows Davros' playboook by hearts...but if the heartless creator of the Daleks can show a brief moment of regret, can the Doctor risk overlooking granting his archenemy one final moment of absolution?    The narrative of The Witch's Familiar follows a series of familiar steps, with two moments (one to open the episode and the “twist” at the beginning of the end) that anyone whose the least bit familiar with how fiction works won't blink an eye at. When looked at as two stand-alone episodes, very little from The Magician's Apprentice carries over to The Witch's Familiar. There's no mention of Davros in the handmine field until the very end, with the same going for the Doctor's last will and testament. Why would a summons from Davros lead to the Doctor's devil may care actions in the 12th century? Damned it I could explain it, because The Witch's Familiar sure doesn't. The cold open explains that the Doctor always has a plan to escape, and he would only send his last will and testament if he knew it was the end...but he HAD a plan, as viewers see. Even if he knew it was a trap, he had a way out of it...so why act like he was going to die? Hell, it doesn't even bat an eye at the concept of Clara in a Dalek shell...you know, the Souffle Girl? What The Witch's Familiar does do is something that has been a criticism of Moffat even since “The Great Intelligence/Impossible Girl” story arc and amplified with Clara and a young Doctor in the barn during the events of Listen. Moffat's script touches upon two key components of Doctor Who's mythology – the physiology of the Daleks and the Doctor's past on Gallifrey. In one of the episode's inspired moves, Missy places Clara inside the empty shell of a Dalek as a plot to infilitrate the city. It turns out that the Daleks, thanks to the direct neuron connections that link their brains to their armored shells, are incapable of declaring themselves as anything other than “A DALEK.” Any concept of love or compassion can only be spoken as “EX-TER-MIN-ATE” and it's that display of emotion that arms and reloads the Daleks' weapons. Missy posted:Cybermen suppress emotions. Daleks channel them. A little later in the episode, Davros makes mention of something in a very casual manner when asking why the Doctor fled Gallifrey. The dialogue implies that the Doctor was part of some program or project that focused on creating a hybrid – half-Dalek, half-Time Lord. The viewer really didn't get anything beyond that moment relating to the topic. But it was enough to perhaps set up what would be this season's story arc – why did the Doctor leave Gallifrey, and what IS in the Doctor's last will and testament? Now, these moments were enough for some fans to get up in arms, proclaiming that Moffat was doing nothing more than rewriting the entire history of the show to fit HIS view of what Doctor Who should be, including the Doctor just throwing around regeneration energy like it's pixie dust. To which I say – so did Russell Davies. Remember how the Time War got rid of the Time Lords and Gallifrey. Remember Philip Hinchcliffe, who did everything he could to turn Doctor Who into a televised Hammer Horror film? Remember the (Andrew) Cartmel Masterplan? Moffat is doing what every showrunner, script editor, and producer from Verity Lambert to John Nathan-Turner (and hell, Gary Russell and Nicholas Briggs) has done, and that's tell the story of a madman with a blue box the way THEY want to tell it. Down the road, when Moffat has stepped down and someone like Paul Cornell or Toby Whithouse or Howard Overman or Edgar Wright has taken over, it will their job to put their imprint on Doctor Who. And if that means creating a new generation of Daleks who fire their weapons from a miniature cold fusion reactor and the Doctor left Gallifrey because the Time Lord version of Columbia House was knocking on his door, then that's what their legacy will be until the next showrunner comes along and rewrites it. So what did work in the script? The opening scene with the Doctor running from a group of invisible assassins twinged the chords of nostalgia with some really cool effects.  Along with director Hettie MacDonald, the script places on screen an absolutely horrifying concept...a Dalek graveyard, which also functions as a sewer. Daleks don't poop, but they decay. And when they decay, they end up here. It's a sickening moment that does serve to drive home just how devoted to the cause of killing the Daleks are – their DNA is hard-coded so that they never die, and even when thrown to the side to be nothing more than tissue coating the walls, they still scream. It's chilling...but sadly, it makes the concept of the Daleks scary, as opposed to the Daleks themselves being scary. For an enemy that made children dive behind the couch during the 60's and 70's, the revival Daleks haven't been scary since 2005's Dalek, and perhaps during Army of Ghosts/Doomsday. Episodes like Asylum of the Daleks and Into the Dalek gave viewers a look into Dalek society and how a Dalek functions, but the focus of those episodes wasn't on what Daleks do best – exterminate. The idea of a Dalek is scary and Daleks are completely capable of being scary...but much like the Cybermen, the revival Daleks need a bit of a break and a good writer to make their next appearance a truly memorable and unnerving one. But to be fair to this episode, the emphasis isn't on the Daleks so much as their creator. Julian Bleach is absolutely mesmerizing as Davros. Under all the makeup, Bleach still manages to portray a variety of emotions. First, he taunts the Doctor about the fate of his companion, all but begging him to pull the plug on his life support cables and simply end his life, his pure contempt and anger for the Doctor pouring out of every ancient pore. As soon as the Doctor resists the temptation to end Davros' life, Davros immediately switches gears. It's a testament to Bleach's acting that he does the impossible – he makes the viewer feel sorry for Davros. His reaction when the Doctor gloats that Gallifrey stands is unexpected and catches the Doctor off guard...joy.  The Daleks were created because Davros wanted to ensure that in one form or another his people, the Kaleds, survived. He knows what it's like to lose your entire race...and he pleads with the Doctor to keep the Time Lords safe. ”If you have redeemed the Time Lords from the fire, do not lose them again. Take the darkest path into the deepest hell, but protect your own … as I have sought to protect mine.” The creator of the Daleks, who consistently upgrades them and does what he can to make them the ultimate force for destruction in all of time and space...sheds a tear. And even though everyone and their grandmother was screaming this... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ko-Yj6ZL9qE ...I'm willing to bet that there were a lot of viewers who were sold by Bleach's performance, that maybe, just maybe, seeing the decrepit Davros open his eyes (probably all part of the trap) and shed a tear means there's was a sliver of hope. It's a rare moment in a Moffat story where an emotional moment is actually EARNED, and it's all thanks to Bleach's incredible performance. Of course, it all goes wrong, and Bleach does give us a fantastic moment of triumph that only Davros can. For Bleach to sell the moment, he has to have someone on the other side willing to buy in. Peter Capaldi...ok, one hand, the Doctor is very “Doctor” in this episode, with lines like “The real question is...where did I get the cup of tea? Answer: I'm the Doctor, just accept it” and “Admit it, you've all had this exact. Whose up for dodgems?”  On the other side, Capaldi shows just why he's the best Doctor in the revival when it comes to pure acting (just above Eccleston in my mind) simply because of how he reacts to Davros' final words. I'd love to just write out the whole thing, but it wouldn't come close to doing their interactions justice. Two longtime enemies, both who have tried to kill each other and wipe out their respective races, who have clashed time and time again through television, comics, and audios, and would probably be the last two beings at the heat death of the universe fighting over the last sharp object. And here they are, sharing a horrible joke.  Of course, it all goes wrong...but the Doctor knew it would go wrong, and as Missy and Clara said, the Doctor always knows he's going to win. What makes the whole thing work is because of this question - why would the Doctor go see his archenemy? Because Davros asked. And deep down inside, the Doctor believes in hope. Hope that there's a thin thread of compassion, decency, and regret buried deep inside Davros...and maybe, just maybe, by one way or another, there's mercy.  Clara, oh Clara...there's one thing I've always wanted – a story where we see the Master with a companion, someone traveling alongside that they haven't killed YET. The Witch's Familiar shows just how the Master would treat their companion – by lightly threatening them, using them as bait, encouraging them to do something risky, and casually throwing them away without a second though. The chemistry between Jenna Coleman and Michelle Gomez is off the charts, and every moment the duo is on screen is a delight. But...Clara Oswald has shown she's a good liar, quick on her feet, and can improvise at a moment's notice if need be. She's very clever...and following Missy around without concern about that fact that in the previous episode she killed members of UNIT as well as threatening over and over again to kill the Doctor's companion. She willingly climbs into a Dalek because Missy asks, jokes with her about having a stick, and just acts like she's not letting a little thing like mass murder come between friends. It's tough to talk about Coleman's performance here. She's wonderful while inside the Dalek, seeing the enemy from the inside and flat out panicking when the Doctor is about to kill her, her words being twisted by the armor's programming, but it's Clara who gives the Doctor the idea to save the young Davros. The companion, as usual, gives the Doctor a quality of mercy, and in that regard Coleman's great, but Clara's just a little too buddy buddy with Missy for my taste. She should have at least been given the change to serve as Missy's conscience at some point. And Michelle Gomez. Oh, Michelle...  ...I'm sorry, I'll post that again.  I'm calling this right now – Michelle Gomez is the best Master since Roger Delgado. It's no slouch on the other Masters (yes, even Eric Roberts), but Gomez is just everything the Master should be. She's classy when she wants, bold and commanding when need be, and underneath it all flat out INSANE AND EVIL. I could see how some people might find her “whacky” performance off putting, but when she's on screen I simply can not take my eyes off of her. It's not just because she's a beautiful woman (Jack Davenport, you lucky lucky man) but her presence and charisma is dangerously enchanting. She has a plan, a very clever plan, maybe just as clever as the Doctor...but where the Doctor keeps his clever nature just a bit deferred, Missy is much more coy and about. The Doctor is “I'm clever, shut up,” and Missy is more “I'm clever, go on, ask me about it, I'll never tell.” She's also not afraid to get her hands dirty, with the best use of a brooch since Scherzo as she gets up close and personal with a Dalek. But much as Davros almost made viewers believe he was going to die on the side of the angels, there's no doubt at Missy's evil as she sets Clara up to be killed by the Doctor, pushing and pushing the Doctor to kill this rogue, insane Dalek who keeps screaming for “MERCY.” And when called out on it? “Oh, would you look at that, oops.” I love Michelle Gomez to the point that I hope we don't see her again this season...a little Missy goes a long way, especially when that Missy is concentrated to the point of being Evil's equivalent of 190-proof Everclear rectified spirits. The Witch's Familiar There are some valid criticisms regarding Clara's characterization, some changes to the “canon” of Doctor Who, and the events of The Magician's Apprentice having little to no bearing on this episode. It's up to the actors to carry this story. While there are some memorable moments such as the Dalek sewers and Clara in a Dalek shell, it's Peter Capaldi, Michelle Gomez, and Julian Bleach who hold the banner high. It's an interesting start to Series 9 as it potentially lays the seeds for some answers concerning the Doctor's past. The question for Moffat in this case shouldn't be “What are you going to do,” but instead should be “Is what you do going to be good?” Random Thoughts - The episode contained hints of the classic series, with throwbacks to Genesis of the Daleks and a couple of long scenes with some quasi-monologues. - The return of the Hostile Action Displacement System from The Krotons, The Girl Who Never Was, and Cold War - Vampire Space Monkeys. Wow. - The Sonic Sunglasses? Jon Pertwee drove fast cars in his stories. If Peter Capaldi wants to wear sunglasses, Peter Calapdi can wear bleedin' sunglasses.   Cobi's synopsis – The acting is what carries The Witch's Familiar, with several revelations about Dalek society bolstered by an eye-opening performance by Julian Bleach as Davros. Next up - When an underwater base comes under attack, the Doctor and Clara must save the frightened crew and defeat an impossible threat... Peter Capaldi is the Doctor in...Under the Lake. CobiWann fucked around with this message at 00:22 on Sep 28, 2015 |
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Sep 28, 2015 00:02
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Dabir posted:Please don't talk bollocks. Hyperbolic, I admit, but they're both major parts of the show.
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Sep 28, 2015 00:02
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Timby posted:I haven't read The Writer's Tale in quite a while, but Doctor Who was printing money for the BBC in 2009-10. Moffat wasn't sure if he wanted to take over producing the show, but the BBC was going to find someone to do it. Phil Ford was running SJA. That makes more sense than a guy who's only written a few stories.
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Sep 28, 2015 00:08
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quote:Why would a summons from Davros lead to the Doctor's devil may care actions in the 12th century? Damned it I could explain it, because The Witch's Familiar sure doesn't.
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Sep 28, 2015 00:10
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Davros1 posted:Phil Ford was running SJA. That makes more sense than a guy who's only written a few stories. At least on SJA Lidster's stories were just dark for a kid's show and came out as solid pieces of work, instead of his normal grimdark badtimes flavor.
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Sep 28, 2015 00:14
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2house2fly posted:Because Davros was asking the Doctor to come and see him and the Doctor was fairly certain that it would be a trap but also felt that he had an obligation to go, so he sent out his confession dial and threw himself a goodbye party. Missy and Clara discuss this in the cold open. But if the Doctor knew it was a trap, he had a plan to get out of it...so why would he act like this was the end especially if he had the "I'm going to regenerate the sewers" plan? Unless he absolutely believed this was the end, but I never got that sense from his actions or the dialogue.
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Sep 28, 2015 00:19
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Burkion posted:You do realize that's not what I was doing or conveying right? Ah right, apologies then.
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Sep 28, 2015 00:25
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CobiWann posted:But if the Doctor knew it was a trap, he had a plan to get out of it...so why would he act like this was the end especially if he had the "I'm going to regenerate the sewers" plan? Unless he absolutely believed this was the end, but I never got that sense from his actions or the dialogue. I don't think he walked in knowing what his plan was. He was just a clever man with a box.
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Sep 28, 2015 00:26
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cargohills posted:Hyperbolic, I admit, but they're both major parts of the show. Not even close to equivalent and I think you know it.
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Sep 28, 2015 00:34
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Aside from Gomez and the chair joke I didn't much enjoy that one.
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Sep 28, 2015 00:41
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I honestly wouldn't mind if Gomez just pops up every episode this season, Delgado-style.
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Sep 28, 2015 00:44
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egon_beeblebrox posted:I honestly wouldn't mind if Gomez just pops up every episode this season, Delgado-style. She's the major saving grace for me right now so I'd be okay with this as well.
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Sep 28, 2015 01:09
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I would like to have her just randomly show up in a story that has nothing to do with her what so ever, like the Claws story.
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Sep 28, 2015 01:11
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Burkion posted:I would like to have her just randomly show up in a story that has nothing to do with her what so ever, like the Claws story. I would love this too. Just suddenly Missy shows up when no one expected she would. Sadly, in the Internet age...well, you know what they say...  ...drat it. 
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Sep 28, 2015 01:41
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CobiWann posted:Cobi's synopsis – The acting is what carries The Witch's Familiar, with several revelations about Dalek society bolstered by an eye-opening performance by Julian Bleach as Davros. Har Har. It was interesting that in the end that the Doctor was literally trying to help Davros to see the light.
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Sep 28, 2015 01:45
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Mr Beens posted:Except the Doctor didn't get put into a trap and clever his way out by the skin of his teeth, the Doctor put him self there and smugged his way out with a series of Deus Ex Machinas. Literally nothing that happened over the past 2 episodes meant anything. When someone says that whatever happened didn't mean anything they are usually referring to a scenario where it was all a dream or the future was changed by changing the past. But in this case, this didn't happen. There was a clear arc where the Doctor abandoned young Davros, felt shame and so went to back to amend (not erase) his mistake (and to put "mercy" into Davros's head). Neither the past nor the future were changed because young Davros was always saved.
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Sep 28, 2015 02:18
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Sometimes "Doctor Who" is good. People just can't agree on when that is.
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Sep 28, 2015 02:23
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egon_beeblebrox posted:Sometimes "Doctor Who" is good. People just can't agree on when that is. #Let's go Doctor!# #Doctor sucks!#
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Sep 28, 2015 02:26
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I think best Master since Delgado is a fair call. Gomez just has the confidence to pull off the crazy theatrical stuff, in a way that seems... natural? I hope she is the Master for a good long time.
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Sep 28, 2015 02:40
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For a trainwreck the 2-parter had some good moments. That prophecy poo poo was unbelievably stupid though, as is the idea of a Time Lord - Dalek hybrid. I suppose the actor playing Davros did the best job he could with the material given.Rhyno posted:Aside from Gomez and the chair joke I didn't much enjoy that one. Dr. Gene Dango MD fucked around with this message at 02:55 on Sep 28, 2015 |
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Sep 28, 2015 02:46
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Dr. Gene Dango MD posted:For a trainwreck the 2-parter had some good moments. That prophecy poo poo was unbelievably stupid though. I suppose the actor playing Davros did the best job he could with the material given. I feel like Capaldi has been in the same position since he took over. Just doing the best he can with the poo poo he's handed.
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Sep 28, 2015 02:47
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Of course it entirely remains to be seen what actually happens this season, but I remember in season 7 people being utterly convinced (and furious) that Moffat was going to come up with a name for the Doctor to arrogantly stamp himself all over the show's history.... and then they get to the last couple of stories and first the Doctor and later Clara make the point of,"His name is the Doctor, his "real" name is irrelevant", which to my mind was just perfect. I imagine that this little comment about THE PROPHECY (which I'm already pre-judging and hating as a thing) will end up being a similar red herring, in that it'll refer to somebody/something else and when pushed again as to why he left Gallifrey, the Doctor will again reply that the reason he left doesn't particularly matter, it's what he's done since then that does. Or maybe I'll be completely wrong and a cackling Moffat will tear off his mask to reveal Andrew Cartmel, and doom will LOOM over us all.
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Sep 28, 2015 02:53
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Maxwell Lord posted:I think best Master since Delgado is a fair call. Gomez just has the confidence to pull off the crazy theatrical stuff, in a way that seems... natural? I hope she is the Master for a good long time. She has the chops to pull off the manic energy that Smith and Tennant had in their doctors that made them fan favorites to an almost unbearable segment of the fanbase, but given that it's the Master whose sense of maniacal evil was pretty much set from Day 1, it's more sensible for her to have it as opposed to the more fanciful, but ultimately more subdued Doctor. Putting that sort of energy that the more rabid fanbase eats up in a character that's more appropriate to it was a good move. It's just a matter of how long she'll want to stick around to cross swords with Capaldi and whoever else he passes the torch to. On the other hand, I'm starting to get tired of Clara, but having her pal around with Missy was at least relatively refreshing.
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Sep 28, 2015 02:54
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Yeah the last thing I'm expecting Moffat to do is play a prophecy about a mighty warrior straight and expose the dark truth behind the Doctor leaving Gallifrey, any more than he was really going to give the Doctor a real name or rewrite Genesis Of The Daleks
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Sep 28, 2015 03:04
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So does Carla not remember when she literally was a Dalek before? I've always been fuzzy on how she died a hundred times or something.
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Sep 28, 2015 03:04
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Jerusalem posted:Of course it entirely remains to be seen what actually happens this season, but I remember in season 7 people being utterly convinced (and furious) that Moffat was going to come up with a name for the Doctor to arrogantly stamp himself all over the show's history.... and then they get to the last couple of stories and first the Doctor and later Clara make the point of,"His name is the Doctor, his "real" name is irrelevant", which to my mind was just perfect. Yeah. Honestly at this point most of my MOFFAT WILL RUIN EVERYTHING fears revolve around the idea of more barely-edited first drafts being thrown haphazardly on screen. Like, these last two episodes are, I think, some of Moffat's best scriptwriting work since Season 5 (with the exceptions of Listen and Day of the Doctor), but that's not to say there isn't plenty of room for an editor's hand to have tightened things up. (It also wouldn't kill him to occasionally remember that Doctor Who should at least be a show that appeals to children, even if it's not, strictly speaking, a "childrens' show".) I know some people don't care for him playing with the Doctor's past or with the general mythology of the show, but I don't really mind that stuff at all. Contrary to popular belief, I think he cares more about Doctor Who than he does about Steven Moffat's Doctor Who, if that makes sense. I wish he didn't rely on the mythology so much, and I wish everything didn't have to be some massive epic that spans centuries and galaxies* but I don't mind the occasional dip into the Doctor's past if it makes for a better story. And it often does. ___ *There was a bit in a prospective writer's guide for the New Adventures that has always stuck with me. It went something like "a threat to a few specific people in a specific place and time can be much more interesting than a threat to the entire universe." And I'm sure it was written because every other submission they got was THE DOCTOR FIGHTS THE MASTER AND THE DALEKS AND RASSILON AND THE CYBERMEN AND THEY'RE PLANNING ON PUTTING THE PLANETS OF THE UNIVERSE IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER AND IT'S ALL THE VALEYARD'S FAULT AND HE REGENERATES TWENTY-SEVEN TIMES AND AND AND** **And those were just Russel T Davies' pitches!
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Sep 28, 2015 03:19
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Jerusalem posted:I imagine that this little comment about THE PROPHECY (which I'm already pre-judging and hating as a thing) will end up being a similar red herring, in that it'll refer to somebody/something else Valeyard?
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Sep 28, 2015 03:21
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The Fuzzy Hulk posted:So does Carla not remember when she literally was a Dalek before? I've always been fuzzy on how she died a hundred times or something. At the end of Name of the Doctor and in one little brief snippet of Day of the Doctor, it's heavily implied (but I don't think ever outright stated) that after she lands in the deepest recesses of the Doctor's (literal) memory, she's split herself so far apart that she basically remembers nothing about what all those other versions of herself did - she can barely hold onto her own sense of self let alone remember the lives of hundreds (possibly thousands) or other versions of herself throughout time and space.
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Sep 28, 2015 03:21
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The Fuzzy Hulk posted:So does Carla not remember when she literally was a Dalek before? I've always been fuzzy on how she died a hundred times or something. That wasn't Clara, that was a temporal xerox of Clara - an "echo", like the Victorian-era version. Our Clara has none of her experiences.
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Sep 28, 2015 03:22
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